Session Black Lager
January 5, 2012 by justin · Leave a Comment
Nice thin session lager. Tasty, I could drink this all night. I just might!
Parabola
September 11, 2011 by justin · Leave a Comment
Parabola is a VERY Tasty Imperial stout from Firestone Walker Brewing Co.! Beware though, 12.5% ABV! Smooth, dark, just wow.
Short’s huma lupa licious
September 5, 2011 by justin · Leave a Comment
Picked my hops last week and expected more from the huma lupa. Very tastey not as strong on the hops. More sweet hop flowers
World Wide Stout
January 23, 2011 by justin · Leave a Comment
I have been reading about Dogfish Head’s World Wide Stout for sometime now and keep looking for a bottle. I found this bottle on my big trip to Nejames in Lenox where my receipt was longer than my grocery receipt.
When first released in 1999 it was considered the strongest, in ABV, beer in the world. Of course we have since seen brewers like Brew Dog and Sam Adams pass the WWS. WWS has varied in its alcohol volume at one point, 2003, coming in at 23% and today averages 18%. There has been much discussion on the interwebs about “why” the ABV is not printed on the bottle. Some suggest that this might be because of state laws in regards to “what is beer” many setting a definition that includes a limit on ABV. This tradition goes back to the days of prohibition repeal and the arguments for beer being a temperate beverage as opposed to whisky and bourbon.
Anyway. Who the hell cares? Bottled in 2009, this beverage kicks ass! I am a lover of stouts, especially on nights like tonight where the tempature is going to dip into the negitive range on the ferinheight scale. A dark beer with warming alcohol is just what the doctor ordered. The aroma and flavour of this beer are so complex you could write a book about just this one beer, I will spare you.
In summary, barley, roasted, slightly smokey, the alcohol is totally hidden… you can only get a sense of the strength in the warming character and towards the end when you realize that it is a good thing it wasn’t a 22oz bottle!
This is an amazing brew. It will be hard to top this one when I write my top-ten list next week.
Avery Anniversary Ale – Seventeen (Dry Hopped Black Lager)
January 22, 2011 by justin · Leave a Comment
Make it black is all the rage, as I stated in my Back in Black review. This one, a lager, and in black. I dig it. Too bad the Avery Anniversary Ale – Seventeen was only brewed once. Perfectly hopped and not too sweet this beer is proof that putting the yeast at the bottom doesnt have to mean that it is light and tasteless. Happy birthday Avery!
Stone Sublimely Self-Righteous Ale
Well, Happy Birthday to me! For my special day I decided to hide a bottle of Stone’s Sublimely Self-Righteous Ale in my coat pocket and head to the theater to watch Black Swan. I couldn’t see the beer since I was in a movie theater drinking to out of the 22oz bottle but wow could I taste it! I think this is the perfect beer to pair with Black Swan. Both are great, both are disturbing.
This beer is bitter and sweet all at the same time, like the swan queen. It is strong and not to be messed with. It doesn’t back down and it good to the last drop. The aroma could probably be smelled 3 rows away, not the best to sneak into a place. However, no one would complain cause the hops and malt are so perfectly balanced. Drink this beer!
(Thanks to The Full Pint for the image, I was in a dark theater)
Back in Black
Everyone is doing it, Black IPA’s. Black IPA’s are hipper than PBR on a warm day in Williamsburg. And in a can? Watch out Pabst!
So far I have been a fan of the 21st Amendment (brewery and otherwise). Back in Black is no exception. Hoppy and delicious! What beer in a can should taste like. Crisp and not syrupy like some strong IPAs. There is a slight roasted flavour that you will not usually find in lighter colour IPA’s. Slight citrus aroma, which throws my brain in a knot since the colour is dark. I like to be fucked in the head so I’m down with this beer!
The Dogfather
January 16, 2011 by justin · Leave a Comment
I know, I say “Dogfather” and you automatically think of the infomercial dog trainer dude. No, I’m talking about Laughing Dog Brewing’s Imperial Stout. This stout is as dark as my black lab but not as sweet. At 11% ABV it is heavier than my dog as well. A slightly roasted flavour is present but it is too thin and bubbly in the mouthfeel for me and a bit, could be less carbonated for sure. The aroma is very full, chocolate, almonds, fennel, coffee. The alcohol is nicely hidden. Not bad at all.
PS Yes that is my street in the background, hard to tell its a road with all that snow on it!
Miller High Life
Well, people love them some shitty beer. This week has seen new records for page visits. I hope that my dip into what my friend deemed, “low brow” beers has encouraged you to try something new and different.
Speaking of “low brow” this one goes out to my buddy Jeff who has stood more than once in defense of Miller High Life. According to the interwebs, lowbrow is “a person who has uncultivated or nonintellectual tastes” According to the wikipedia, “Lowbrow is a widespread populist art movement with origins in the underground comix world, punk music, hot-rod street culture, and other subcultures. It is also often known by the name pop surrealism. Lowbrow art often has a sense of humor – sometimes the humor is gleeful, sometimes impish, and sometimes it’s a sarcastic comment.”
I’m not sold that Miller High Life, or most of the beers I have tasted this week, fit the lowbrow definition, however Miller High Life was surprisingly drinkable. I was pleasantly surprised that a beer so open to the potential of off flavours, was not off at all. It might even be better if it was in brown glass or a can.
Miller High Life is crisp and slightly malty. There is a slight acidic twang to the beverage. The twang is not bad, but it is not a hoppy twang, I can’t really place it.
Overall, not totally awful but I can think of a ton of other crisp lagers I’d rather drink on a hot summer day while chopping wood.
Keystone Light
Williams kids, this one goes out to you. I’ll be honest, I have been bashing your beer of choice without ever trying it. Part of my reason for suffering through “Shitty Beer Week” was because I found a can of this beer like beverage on a walkway on campus a few weeks ago and needed a reason to consume it. One day I asked a student, “Why Keystone?” There are so many other shitty beers WHY??? The student said to me, “[Beer Geek, dude], it is cheaper than water, why not?” Ok, good reason.
Last night as I poured this beer the main thing I noted was the lack of standard things I notice when I usually pour a beer:
- no colour
- no aroma
- no flavour
- no lacing
- no head
OMG… its water! No it really tastes worse than water, but it is so close. This beer is closer to water than anything else I’ve seen. My dear student friends, Water that comes out of the tap is beautiful well water. It is FREE to you. It is healthy, clean and clear. It tastes better than this beverage you often refer to as beer. Please drink it instead.
Rating this is hard cause it is not beer in my opinion. I guess a near-beer can only get a 1 star, sorry.