This will be yet another short post, as I am still playing catch up on errands this week. Laura and I got snowed in at my parents, where the snowfall the day after Christmas was about 28 inches! It took over 7.5 hours to return to Virginia the other day - due to road conditions in Monmouth County, NJ and several days worth of Holiday travelers condensed on I-95 on the same day. I received several beers as Christmas gifts (all are new), so I will be reviewing those in the coming weeks.
St. Pauli Girl: Laura's Dad is a big fan of this one. I thought it was a little better than a Heineken. It's a generic pilsner from Germany. It's actually made by InBev. This means you can expect a highly manufactured beverage, but one with highly consistent taste.
Fordham Genius: A friend told me that this was a take on Guinness. The beer was very good, but I do not agree with their analysis. Guinness is very dark, but almost watery when it comes to taste. Guinness is also light in alcohol. On the other hand, this had almost twice the alcohol by volume (ABV). The nitrogen tap (as opposed to carbon dioxide) gave it a similar experience to Guinness, but the two are fundamentally different.
Dogfish Head World Wide Stout: Colleen summed this beer up here. Laura called the beer a "punch to the face." What did I think? This beer is not for the faint of heart. If you're not a fan of aggressive, heavy beers...this is not for you at all. If you like lagers, amber ales, hefewiezens, and perhaps the occasional pale ale - then you should avoid this beer. It's extremely dark. It has a very aggressive taste. It weighs in at 18% percent alcohol. I absolutely loved it. I took my time drinking it over the course of two hours. Those on my short list of hardcore beer drinkers would greatly enjoy this. It's expensive, but worth a try.
Anderson Valley Winter Solstice: I got this as a gift for Christmas from Laura's mother. This was very interesting, and it was a great seasonal. There was a blend of spices that did not overwhelm the beer, but added to it as the blizzard was rearing its ugly head. Most spiced beers are a lot to handle, so this was a pleasant surprise. The finish was nice and smooth, with a little dry flavor afterward. However, the slight spice flavor stays with you for fond memories- 6.9% alcohol doesn't hurt either.
Samuel Adams Latitude 48 IPA: This is one of very few Samuel Adams beers that I had yet to try. That list is narrowing down to a handful. I thought this was an excellent introductory IPA. It gives all the wonderful elements of an IPA without adding an offensive amount of hops. There was a bitterness to the flavor, but the was almost a sweetness to the hops as well. This is worth a try.
Dogfish Head Midas Touch: The ingredients for this beer were determined from pottery residue found in King Midas' exhumed tomb. An academic styled review can be found here (see page 4). The beverage is somewhere between beer, mead, and chardonnay. I thought it had a very interesting flavor that can't be found in beer today. It's interesting to note how beer has evolved over the past 2,700 years.
Wells Banana Bread Beer: My cousin Brendan graciously shared some of this with me. I've heard about it from him before, so I wanted to give it a try. I do love banana bread, but combining it with beer made me apprehensive. In short, it's a novelty beer. It smelled like banana bread and the flavor was there as well. It was nice to try, but I would recommend splitting a bottle with someone.
The scorecard:
Colleen - 341
Paul - 324
Cheers,
Paul
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Friday, December 24, 2010
Holidays '10 - Part 1
For many of us, this will be a hectic Holiday season. In that spirit, I will keep this post simple and to the point. I'd like to wish you all Happy Holidays. I'd also like to wish my dear beer friend a very Merry Christmas. Hopefully, I can close her lead down to 20 before the new year begins...
Great Lakes Eliot Ness: One of the more enjoyable beers that I've had in the past month. This amber lager was very, very smooth. The caramel hops really came out in the flavor, and were well balanced with the hops. I've heard many excellent reviews of Great Lakes brewing, and this certainly lived up to those expectations.
River Horse Belgian Freeze Winter Ale: This was a rather mediocre winter brew. It's style is related to Trappist beers, which really aren't my thing. I thought the beer, which had a nice amber hue, was a bit sweet. The alcohol was moderately high. Overall, I'd probably avoid this in the future, but if Belgian styles are your preference this is worth giving a shot.
Terrapin Rye Pale Ale: The interesting part about this beer comes down to the rye in the recipe - hence, the name. If you like hops or are an IPA junkie, this is worth giving a shot. I think the rye malt helped balance the hops out well.
Peak Organic Pale Ale: If you look at the review on ratebeer, you will notice that this beer got a rather low rating. I greatly disagree with the review there. I thought this is how a pale ale should taste. There was a pleasant after taste that really persisted. When purchasing the bottle, I worried it might be underrated due to the buzz word organic in the name. I was wrong. If you like pale ales or IPAs, try this.
Peak Organic Nut Brown Ale: Unlike its sibling, this beer does not do much for me. It came across as being rather underwhelming. In this case, the term organic was more of a marketing buzz word than an indication of quality.
Ommegang Three Philosophers: This beer is a blend of a malty, Belgian style ale and a classic cherry ale. The Belgian ale accounts for 98% of the volume, and the cherry ale accounts for the remaining 2%. The cherries are quite present in the taste, but by no means is this Kool-Aid for adults. Like a lot of Belgian style ales, the yeast is still present in the bottle and gives a fruity aroma to the beer as well. This would make a good beer for a few friends to try.
The scorecard:
Colleen - 341
Paul - 317
Cheers,
Paul
Great Lakes Eliot Ness: One of the more enjoyable beers that I've had in the past month. This amber lager was very, very smooth. The caramel hops really came out in the flavor, and were well balanced with the hops. I've heard many excellent reviews of Great Lakes brewing, and this certainly lived up to those expectations.
River Horse Belgian Freeze Winter Ale: This was a rather mediocre winter brew. It's style is related to Trappist beers, which really aren't my thing. I thought the beer, which had a nice amber hue, was a bit sweet. The alcohol was moderately high. Overall, I'd probably avoid this in the future, but if Belgian styles are your preference this is worth giving a shot.
Terrapin Rye Pale Ale: The interesting part about this beer comes down to the rye in the recipe - hence, the name. If you like hops or are an IPA junkie, this is worth giving a shot. I think the rye malt helped balance the hops out well.
Peak Organic Pale Ale: If you look at the review on ratebeer, you will notice that this beer got a rather low rating. I greatly disagree with the review there. I thought this is how a pale ale should taste. There was a pleasant after taste that really persisted. When purchasing the bottle, I worried it might be underrated due to the buzz word organic in the name. I was wrong. If you like pale ales or IPAs, try this.
Peak Organic Nut Brown Ale: Unlike its sibling, this beer does not do much for me. It came across as being rather underwhelming. In this case, the term organic was more of a marketing buzz word than an indication of quality.
Ommegang Three Philosophers: This beer is a blend of a malty, Belgian style ale and a classic cherry ale. The Belgian ale accounts for 98% of the volume, and the cherry ale accounts for the remaining 2%. The cherries are quite present in the taste, but by no means is this Kool-Aid for adults. Like a lot of Belgian style ales, the yeast is still present in the bottle and gives a fruity aroma to the beer as well. This would make a good beer for a few friends to try.
The scorecard:
Colleen - 341
Paul - 317
Cheers,
Paul
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
keeping busy
Well. It's a busy time of year: finals, holiday preparation, visiting lots of family and friends. And you know, it's all three of those things that have lead me to try the following new brews:
Rogue Santa's Private Reserve Ale: I picked this one up to help me meet a thesis deadline earlier this month. Appropriately a red ale, it was a decent combination of the bitter of hops and the sweetness of something citrus fruity. It was pleasant, and while it did not help me to stay awake and finish the section of thesis that I owed my advisor, it did help me in being less critical and over-thinking of what I was writing... but I don't think that was exclusive to this brew so much as beer in general. Hm. Anyway, this was not the most amazing thing ever, but not a terrible price or taste for being festive.
Flying Fish Exit 13: Very rarely do I seek out a beer. Usually I just keep a vague idea of what I've had and try to find things with funny or super unfamiliar names. However, embarrased by having missed two of the Flying Fish Exit Series so far (Exits 11 and 16 E W) (do you know how much I love Jersey!?), and having read of its release in an ongoing series in the Star Ledger, I asked the manager at the nearest liquor store with a decent beer selection. Surely enough, he'd received it-- hadn't even put it out on the floor yet, but I bought my bottle and opened it the moment I got home. This is a chocolate stout, and while the flavor is not overly complex or especially strong (think kick in the ass rather than punch in the face), it was really nice and smooth. I love me a strong stout, but I realize not everyone does. I love this beer because it's New Jersey themed and New Jersey brewed, but I also think it's a reasonably accessible stout.
Rogue Yellow Snow IPA: Taylor came to visit and chose this while I drooled over the Exit 13, but he was nice and shared (possibly because we bought an entire growler). He said, "meh" but is way more of an IPA aficionado than I am (which leads me to believe I should go back and retry a lot of earlier IPAs now that I'm sort of getting a taste for them). This one tasted kind of like flowers. It wasn't the most incredible IPA I've tried, but it also wasn't super gross like some I've had. Rogue can be somewhat hit or miss, but again, given the price on this, I thought it was pretty good. If nothing else, hilariously novel name.
"Black Ice": While this doesn't by any means count as a new beer, this is an interesting idea I stole from my cousin Andrew after seeing him post something on facebook about it last winter. It's half Guinness, half Sam Adams Winter Lager. I tried this at The Office catching up with Paul and Laura (with Taylor, too) but found it to be kind of... bland. Sorry Andrew. I think I'm missing something. Definitely interesting in theory, and definitely motivates me to try the concept on other beers-- the half and half is a go-to for both authors of this blog (Guinness and Harp).
The incredible Cheryl gets credit for choosing three different beers that were not on my list when she hosted Taylor and me for dinner this past weekend--
21st Amendment Fireside Chat: a lovely winter warmer, nice spiced flavor. I wasn't crazy about the aftertaste but the beer itself was worthwhile. Also, it came in possibly the coolest cans I've ever seen, featuring Franklin Delano Roosevelt giving a fireside chat.
Boulder Never Summer Ale: This was another warm, malty, wintery beer, though it was hoppier than I expected. It was a nice balance though.
Stone Imperial Russian Stout: This was more the punch in the face kind of stout that I love. Very strong, definitely got a taste of coffee. I approve of this beer!
Taylor actually hung out for an extra day in order to get the Stuff Yer Face Monday night experience. I feel it's worth rementioning Dogfish Head's World Wide Stout, which is currently on tap there, and is awesome. It's 18% ABV and so delicious and strong. Oh man. Good. No, GREAT.
After my love affair with the World Wide Stout, both Taylor and I ordered Stone Ruination. We noticed upon pouring them out that mine was much lighter in color. We checked the bottles-- one of us had one that was best by this past July, one of us had one that was best by this coming January. I suspect I had the older one, because while it was a decent IPA, Taylor's had much more flavor to it-- the strong hops, something citrus, and even a bit of yeast taste. Obviously fresher is going to be better, but in this case, it made a very noticeable difference. Mine was ok, but his was pretty good.
Some good stuff lately.
Paul: 311
Colleen: 341 (no I did not count World Wide Stout again, although it counts as like 3 beers)
Rogue Santa's Private Reserve Ale: I picked this one up to help me meet a thesis deadline earlier this month. Appropriately a red ale, it was a decent combination of the bitter of hops and the sweetness of something citrus fruity. It was pleasant, and while it did not help me to stay awake and finish the section of thesis that I owed my advisor, it did help me in being less critical and over-thinking of what I was writing... but I don't think that was exclusive to this brew so much as beer in general. Hm. Anyway, this was not the most amazing thing ever, but not a terrible price or taste for being festive.
Flying Fish Exit 13: Very rarely do I seek out a beer. Usually I just keep a vague idea of what I've had and try to find things with funny or super unfamiliar names. However, embarrased by having missed two of the Flying Fish Exit Series so far (Exits 11 and 16 E W) (do you know how much I love Jersey!?), and having read of its release in an ongoing series in the Star Ledger, I asked the manager at the nearest liquor store with a decent beer selection. Surely enough, he'd received it-- hadn't even put it out on the floor yet, but I bought my bottle and opened it the moment I got home. This is a chocolate stout, and while the flavor is not overly complex or especially strong (think kick in the ass rather than punch in the face), it was really nice and smooth. I love me a strong stout, but I realize not everyone does. I love this beer because it's New Jersey themed and New Jersey brewed, but I also think it's a reasonably accessible stout.
Rogue Yellow Snow IPA: Taylor came to visit and chose this while I drooled over the Exit 13, but he was nice and shared (possibly because we bought an entire growler). He said, "meh" but is way more of an IPA aficionado than I am (which leads me to believe I should go back and retry a lot of earlier IPAs now that I'm sort of getting a taste for them). This one tasted kind of like flowers. It wasn't the most incredible IPA I've tried, but it also wasn't super gross like some I've had. Rogue can be somewhat hit or miss, but again, given the price on this, I thought it was pretty good. If nothing else, hilariously novel name.
"Black Ice": While this doesn't by any means count as a new beer, this is an interesting idea I stole from my cousin Andrew after seeing him post something on facebook about it last winter. It's half Guinness, half Sam Adams Winter Lager. I tried this at The Office catching up with Paul and Laura (with Taylor, too) but found it to be kind of... bland. Sorry Andrew. I think I'm missing something. Definitely interesting in theory, and definitely motivates me to try the concept on other beers-- the half and half is a go-to for both authors of this blog (Guinness and Harp).
The incredible Cheryl gets credit for choosing three different beers that were not on my list when she hosted Taylor and me for dinner this past weekend--
21st Amendment Fireside Chat: a lovely winter warmer, nice spiced flavor. I wasn't crazy about the aftertaste but the beer itself was worthwhile. Also, it came in possibly the coolest cans I've ever seen, featuring Franklin Delano Roosevelt giving a fireside chat.
Boulder Never Summer Ale: This was another warm, malty, wintery beer, though it was hoppier than I expected. It was a nice balance though.
Stone Imperial Russian Stout: This was more the punch in the face kind of stout that I love. Very strong, definitely got a taste of coffee. I approve of this beer!
Taylor actually hung out for an extra day in order to get the Stuff Yer Face Monday night experience. I feel it's worth rementioning Dogfish Head's World Wide Stout, which is currently on tap there, and is awesome. It's 18% ABV and so delicious and strong. Oh man. Good. No, GREAT.
After my love affair with the World Wide Stout, both Taylor and I ordered Stone Ruination. We noticed upon pouring them out that mine was much lighter in color. We checked the bottles-- one of us had one that was best by this past July, one of us had one that was best by this coming January. I suspect I had the older one, because while it was a decent IPA, Taylor's had much more flavor to it-- the strong hops, something citrus, and even a bit of yeast taste. Obviously fresher is going to be better, but in this case, it made a very noticeable difference. Mine was ok, but his was pretty good.
Some good stuff lately.
Paul: 311
Colleen: 341 (no I did not count World Wide Stout again, although it counts as like 3 beers)
Monday, December 13, 2010
Pathetic
This post has been slowly updated in draft form for about a month now. I wrote these reviews over the course of a couple of weeks. Any beers I tried, but failed to review during this time I am going to negate. I'll call it my punishment for failing to update. I don't think I could fairly review those beers this late without more detailed notes. I also missed a 1 year anniversary post - I've really dropped the ball. I owe apologies to my readers and beer friend. In any event, here's what I have...
Starr Hill Festie: I have an affinity for Starr Hill since they are a Virginia brewer and they make one of my favorite Amber Ales. That said, this tasted like a beer from Bizarro world. Oktoberfest beers tend to be very brown in color and are heavy on malts. These can sometimes be a little sweet as well. This was on the lighter side, since it is classified as an Oktoberfest Lager. I wasn't sure whether I was drinking one style or the other. I'd probably avoid this in the future.
Hook and Ladder Flash Point Pale Ale: I got really excited when I saw this on the shelf, since it is from the brewer that makes a great brown ale - Backdraft Brown Ale. For a pale ale, this was on the lighter side of the color spectrum. I also thought it was mediocre to bland in flavor. It was by no means terrible, but nothing to write home about either.
Fisherman's IPA: I had this beer paired with some excellent enchiladas that Laura made. I tend to like to pair spicy food with IPAs. I think the bitterness from the hops compliments spicy food very well. This was a middle of the road IPA, which served it's purpose with dinner.
Full Sail Amber: I thought this was a mediocre amber ale. It went well with conversation, but it was nothing to write home about.
Philadelphia RowHouse Red: I thought this was a somewhat creamy flavored red ale. While I like Killian's Irish Red, I wasn't impressed with this one.
I had lunch with Colleen yesterday - it was lovely to catch up. We discussed how many beers I am behind, and the length of time I have been behind. I had a few more beers (maybe 6) I could have added, but the bottles and notes are in New Jersey (I forgot them there). With that, I'll work with what I have in the near future. It's the Holidays, so if I can control the damage, it will be a win.
My new rule is that I have two weeks to post a beer review (even if it's one), or I lose the ability to add it to my list. It's time to man up and do something about Colleen's lead...
The scorecard:
Colleen- 334
Paul - 311
Cheers,
Paul
Starr Hill Festie: I have an affinity for Starr Hill since they are a Virginia brewer and they make one of my favorite Amber Ales. That said, this tasted like a beer from Bizarro world. Oktoberfest beers tend to be very brown in color and are heavy on malts. These can sometimes be a little sweet as well. This was on the lighter side, since it is classified as an Oktoberfest Lager. I wasn't sure whether I was drinking one style or the other. I'd probably avoid this in the future.
Hook and Ladder Flash Point Pale Ale: I got really excited when I saw this on the shelf, since it is from the brewer that makes a great brown ale - Backdraft Brown Ale. For a pale ale, this was on the lighter side of the color spectrum. I also thought it was mediocre to bland in flavor. It was by no means terrible, but nothing to write home about either.
Fisherman's IPA: I had this beer paired with some excellent enchiladas that Laura made. I tend to like to pair spicy food with IPAs. I think the bitterness from the hops compliments spicy food very well. This was a middle of the road IPA, which served it's purpose with dinner.
Full Sail Amber: I thought this was a mediocre amber ale. It went well with conversation, but it was nothing to write home about.
Philadelphia RowHouse Red: I thought this was a somewhat creamy flavored red ale. While I like Killian's Irish Red, I wasn't impressed with this one.
I had lunch with Colleen yesterday - it was lovely to catch up. We discussed how many beers I am behind, and the length of time I have been behind. I had a few more beers (maybe 6) I could have added, but the bottles and notes are in New Jersey (I forgot them there). With that, I'll work with what I have in the near future. It's the Holidays, so if I can control the damage, it will be a win.
My new rule is that I have two weeks to post a beer review (even if it's one), or I lose the ability to add it to my list. It's time to man up and do something about Colleen's lead...
The scorecard:
Colleen- 334
Paul - 311
Cheers,
Paul
Thursday, December 9, 2010
geography beer!
I mentioned that I had picked up a beer with Cheryl in mind, to thank her and her husband Gurzo for allowing me to live with them part time (most Monday nights I can be found in their home). That beer was Pangaea, which I was immediately attracted to for two reasons: its geographic theme, and its Dogfish Head label. I read the label in the store and saw its mention of crystallized ginger, and thought back to Left Hand's Good Juju that Cheryl and I totally adored early in the summer. So I bought it, as a gift, not even meaning for Cheryl to share it with me, but ever sweet and thoughtful, she did.
Dogfish Head's Pangaea was not at all what I expected, with a far more subtle ginger taste than anticipated. It has some spices in its flavor but doesn't cover up how clean and refreshing this pale ale tasted (possibly due in part to the image of it being brewed using water from Antarctica). Overall, I liked it. My favorite Dogfish Head is still probably one of the stouts (perhaps the other majorly geographically themed World Wide Stout), but this is a really nice beer, and I imagine it goes well with food because it doesn't have a particularly overwhelming flavor. Its unoffensive nature (both in flavor and in the theme of bringing the world together) makes it a good beer to share, too.
Colleen: 334
Paul: 306 (plus a few that he's been meaning to share...)
Dogfish Head's Pangaea was not at all what I expected, with a far more subtle ginger taste than anticipated. It has some spices in its flavor but doesn't cover up how clean and refreshing this pale ale tasted (possibly due in part to the image of it being brewed using water from Antarctica). Overall, I liked it. My favorite Dogfish Head is still probably one of the stouts (perhaps the other majorly geographically themed World Wide Stout), but this is a really nice beer, and I imagine it goes well with food because it doesn't have a particularly overwhelming flavor. Its unoffensive nature (both in flavor and in the theme of bringing the world together) makes it a good beer to share, too.
Colleen: 334
Paul: 306 (plus a few that he's been meaning to share...)
Monday, December 6, 2010
Anniversary Post... a week late.
Thank goodness the amazing Cheryl made an anniversary update for us, because Paul and I have both been busy lately, in case you couldn't tell by the lack of posts. I'm sure he's got a zillion beer update coming, and Cheryl shared my most recent beers for you (Flying Fish's Grand Cru Winter Reserve-- excellent; HaandBryggeriet's Norse Porter-- would be excellent except way too fizzy). So for now that leaves us at Colleen: 333, Paul: 306.
Wait, what? She's already shared scores. That was too quick! This post can't be over!
Don't worry, it's not. I haven't tried any new beers since then (though I bought an awesome looking one today to share with Cheryl and Gurzo next time I visit-- a preemptive thank you of sorts), but for no real reason I went through the saved text messages in my phone last night, and thought it would be fun to celebrate our beer friend anniversary (a week late) by sharing a few texts from Paul during the past year:
"pint night?" --I actually had three of these saved
"Mom used Sam Winter Lager to cook the roast with. I tried to stop her, but she said it was the cheapest beer we had. Sad part is she's right. Merry Christmas." 12/25/2009
"I don't know this for a fact, but I'm pretty sure that a 6 dollar pint of Guinness makes baby Jesus cry. Thoughts?" 03/06/2010
"Drinking Guinness at 9am. Be jealous." 06/23/2010-- actually sent at 8:25AM
"You are actually up by 1." 08/07/2010-- sent moments after I posted this.
Cheers, beer friend. Here's to many more responsible, delicious beverages!
Wait, what? She's already shared scores. That was too quick! This post can't be over!
Don't worry, it's not. I haven't tried any new beers since then (though I bought an awesome looking one today to share with Cheryl and Gurzo next time I visit-- a preemptive thank you of sorts), but for no real reason I went through the saved text messages in my phone last night, and thought it would be fun to celebrate our beer friend anniversary (a week late) by sharing a few texts from Paul during the past year:
"pint night?" --I actually had three of these saved
"Mom used Sam Winter Lager to cook the roast with. I tried to stop her, but she said it was the cheapest beer we had. Sad part is she's right. Merry Christmas." 12/25/2009
"I don't know this for a fact, but I'm pretty sure that a 6 dollar pint of Guinness makes baby Jesus cry. Thoughts?" 03/06/2010
"Drinking Guinness at 9am. Be jealous." 06/23/2010-- actually sent at 8:25AM
"You are actually up by 1." 08/07/2010-- sent moments after I posted this.
Cheers, beer friend. Here's to many more responsible, delicious beverages!
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