the butte of jokes

I couldn't resist sharing this article, because it seems like a joke unto itself:

Budweiser May Seem Watery, But It Tests At Full Strength, Lab Says



I've passed 500 beers on my list, which I have been pretty negligent in updating, but it looks like 500 goes to Black Butte Porter, if for no other reason than it was good, no, great enough to remember to add to my database. (In case you're not a geography geek, that's pronounced /byoot/.)

Deschutes Black Butte Porter, from Oregon, graced our refrigerator here in western Arizona, but it looks like the furthest east it's available is Illinois. Bummer. It was rich but wasn't heavy, with a really nice roasted flavor that nicely balanced the sweet and the bitter. This is one of the few beers I've seen on Beer Advocate with a rating of 100 from The Bros. I know the negligence has extended beyond my beer database, and to this blog (for both of us!), but this one was absolutely worth mentioning.

Other beer news: I am extremely disappointed that I was on the other side of the country for the release of FU Sandy, a beer produced by my beloved Flying Fish to raise funds for Sandy relief. Oh, New Jersey. I love you so much, even (especially?) when I'm far away. It was such a limited released that I understand it sold out everywhere within a few hours of tapping. Good news: there are rumors that it will be rereleased in six packs this summer. A girl can dream. I know at least two people who got to try this though-- one liked it, one didn't, but the one who didn't is not into wheat-related beers.

Drink anything good lately, anyone? Craft beer choices are limited in western AZ, although we've found some gems of breweries in our travels, most of which we'll be returning to during Spring Break in March with visitors, and checking out a new one recommended to me in Phoenix during Spring Training.

Gluten free beer?

I would be really sad if I had to quit gluten, 1. because I like good beer, pasta, bread and all the grains and 2. because that would make vegetarianism slightly more complicated (though not impossible, but I strive to be as un-picky as possible, since it's bad enough I don't eat meat. or olives.).

But I read this article from NPR about gluten-free beers, and what one Celiac disease sufferer deems the best picks. I like reading about food and beer almost as much as I like trying it myself.

The only gluten free beer I've tried is Red Bridge, Anheuser-Busch's widely available brew. It made me sad because it seemed to be the only choice out there for friends who can't tolerate gluten for whatever reason, but I guess it wasn't terrible if all you're looking for is a plain old beer. This was a few years ago. It seems there are more choices now.

Has anyone seen this Dogfish Head Tweason'Ale (or any of the others in that article, actually)? I generally like Sam Calagione's creative works. I'd like to try it.

Have you tried any of these beers? Are you living in a gluten-free world? I'm just curious about this stuff. I'm obviously on hiatus from brewing till I move somewhere in a more complete fashion (I really just brought the essentials to Arizona, figuring it'd be stupid to fully move here only to potentially turn around and move somewhere else entirely upon finding employment), but I still like reading and learning about beer.

Lake Havasu City

Yesterday's trip to Lake Havasu City was mostly inspired by Mud Shark's Desert Magic IPA, which I tried when I visited Arizona in August. Mud Shark is located about an hour and a half south of my current abode, an easy day trip. That IPA was about the only local craft beer Mike had been able to find.

Wandering along the waterfront in Havasu, we stumbled upon Barley Brothers Brewery while walking across London Bridge and decided we'd try that out before heading over to Mud Shark. This place was great. We tried the tostada style nachos (really nicely done) while we each had a pint:

Kickstarter Oatmeal Stout: all of the warm, roasted, mellow flavors one could hope for in a stout. It was strong but not overwhelming. This was such a nice stout.

Big Horn India Pale Ale: This also had big, strong flavor, but in a really good way. That floral taste that some IPA's have is not usually something I like, but it was so well balanced with the rest of the bright, refreshing hoppy flavors that both Mike and I agreed, this was really, really good.

We walked back across London Bridge and headed over to our original destination, Mud Shark. We really enjoyed this place too, but found it to be way more user-friendly than the strong flavors of Barley Brothers' brews. We got the sampler, which included a good spread of styles: lager, hefeweizen, Belgian white, amber in addition to these--

Solar Red IPA: As mentioned, the flavors weren't particularly strong or risky at Mud Shark, but this was interesting, kind of a solid red beer with the extra hoppy flavor of an India Pale Ale, so a little more malty than a typical IPA but definitely more pale than red. It was good.

California steam style: This was different, and we really couldn't figure out why. Apparently it's a different brewing style popular in California ("Yeah, I don't know, they're weird there." -our server, when I asked more questions). It was pretty plain, but a little sweet. Just... different.

Abominable Winter Ale: We tried a flight of this because it sounded awful. It's brewed with dark chocolate, white chocolate and mint. All we tasted was coffee with a really weird aftertaste, which lead us to be believe there had been a mistake-- we knew there was a coffee stout on tap, too. We asked for a sample of that, just to see if we were right.

Morning Buzz Coffee Stout: We weren't right. This was a REALLY strong coffee flavored stout, probably the most remarkable beer we had here. The others weren't bad-- just nothing particularly special. This was a nice, strong stout that finished way better than the Abominable.

The food at Mud Shark was great. Mike liked the wings, but we were both really impressed with the real onion rings (like, huge slice of vidalia onion dipped and fried) and the garlic fries (oh man oh man good). Good trip. I'd go back to either, or both...

Wait Wait! Pumpkin Beer Part IV

This week's Wait wait... Don't Tell Me! featured Randy Sprecher of Sprecher Brewery outside of Milwaukee. I am generally amused by this snarky radio game show, but now I want to visit Milwaukee!

Not My Job with Randy Sprecher


Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! from November 17

In other news, the pumpkin ale that Mike and I made in October apparently came out well. I have been sick for the past week, so it tasted pretty awful to me, but those who tried it have had positive reviews so far. Looking forward to tasting it myself when my mouth doesn't taste like bronchitis, and hopefully enjoying a few with friends this holiday season.

Pumpkin Beers Part III

Celebrating New Jersey-- River Horse's Hipp-o-latern: I split one of these with my cousin Jon when he and Janet so graciously hosted my charge and me earlier this week. This was pretty sweet, but if it was less sweet, would have been perfect. You can taste pumpkin! The spices are strong and good! Despite being sweeter than I'd like, I really enjoyed it. Clean finish so it wasn't weirdly sweet or leaving an awful aftertaste, very smooth to drink. I would probably actually get more of this if entertaining people who like pumpkin beers.

The Definitive Guide to Pumpkin Beers, Part II

This post is a little more relevant, since I tried this within the past month and have all of my notes!

Before Mike came to spend his two week break in New Jersey, he was lamenting about missing out on fall-- apple cider, changing leaves, and of course, pumpkin stuff. I responded by acquiring a mixed six pack of just pumpkin beers to sample while he was home from Arizona.

Saranac: This was kind of how I expect Saranac beers to be-- pretty good, but not incredible. Accessible but not earth shattering. This was a pumpkin ale for sure, but neither the pumpkin nor the spices were particularly strong (nor was the ale in general). This one might be good for people who want to be festive but who don't care to commit to drinking pumpkin pie all night.

Weyerbacher's Imperial Pumpkin Ale: Upon trying this again (it was already on the list!), I decided I don't really care for this. My notes read, "No thanks. Sweet and weird."

Blue Point: I chose this one because I liked their Toasted Lager. Mike's assessment was that it was dry. I found it to just not have much going on. I just didn't taste much, it's very mild.

Buffalo Bill's: a little sweet, but pretty good

Smuttynose: spiced well, better than Weyerbacher but not as good as Wolaver

Shipyard Pumpkinhead: This one remained consistent from whenever I first added it to my list! Very sweet, but great spices. This is good, but I couldn't do too many of them.

Post Road: I didn't know this was Brooklyn Brewery until I looked it up just now, but that explains a lot! This was a fine beer. GOOD. You can taste the pumpkin and spice, but it's not really sweet.

Wolaver's: I bought this one because I loved the oatmeal stout they make, and I'm not opposed to organic products (in this case, the organic label for Otter Creek). I was not disappointed. This is pretty much my ideal pumpkin beer, more resembling vegetable pumpkin than dessert pumpkin. Awesome.


We are all safe and sound here in Ocean County, NJ, having lost and regained power. It's been flickering but I thought I'd finish this post before we lose it again, which we think we might. We have a lot of branches down, high winds, and water is pooling anywhere it can, but overall, we're doing just fine. My baby brother has joined us from the barrier island, which I'm really happy about, and brought with him two packs of pumpkin beer, which I'm also totally ok with, so I suppose there will be more posts in this series yet!

The Definitive Guide to Pumpkin Beers, Part I/?

Fall CLEARLY means pumpkin! (Unless you are my older brother and his dog, who are disgusted and terrified of pumpkins, respectively.) I really do love pumpkin foods, and just recently started getting into slaughtering my own pumpkin, which has lead to more pumpkin lasagna and pumpkin ice cream.

I know a lot of people get excited about pumpkin lattes and muffins and pies and sweet things, but I prefer pumpkin as a vegetable rather than as a dessert (I do love pie, just not all the time!). Subsequently, I admit am kind of picky about my pumpkin beers.While most people enjoy sweeter, nicely spiced brews, I prefer mine to be milder (though still spiced). I have ridiculously high expectations for my pumpkin beers, and while I enjoy most, there are very few that I just simply LOVE.

This post will include all of the pumpkin beers in my database, although I admit it's been a few years and my tastes have changed. I'm just going to copy my reviews word for word from my list--

Dogfish Head Punkin Ale: as far as pumpkin beer goes, probably the winner

Harvest Moon Pumpkin Ale: (This one had two entries by accident, that even show how my tastes have changed!) my favorite pumpkin ale/ too sweet

Mad Fox Punkinator: perfect awesome non-pie spicy but not sweet pumpkin ale (I can only assume I mean pie spiced but not pie sweet)

Michelob's Jack's Pumpkin Spice Ale: (I tried this one with my grandma!) the spices are nice but there are better pumpkin beers out there

Sam Adams: spice but no pumpkin

Starr Hill's Boxcar Pumpkin Porter: a nicely spiced porter

The Shipyard's Pumpkinhead Ale: DELICIOUS. But confuses my tastebuds, meaning, what on earth do I drink next?

The Shipyard's Smashed Pumpkin: "It's like a Belgian pumpkin ale!" -Gurzo

Triumph's Pumpkin Ale: very much like pumpkin pie but smooth and not too sweet

Weyerbacher Imperial Pumpkin Ale: recommended by NoJo (Noah Joseph). Tastes like pie. Good spices but too sweet. Smooth, but not my favorite pumpkin.

Williamsburg Alewerks Pumpkin Ale: too pie like for me


It was interesting to read through these again. Ha. Yay fall! Part II coming soon of pumpkin beers that I've tried recently and have better notes on, and can give a more current and better seasoned (spiced?) opinion on.