20110907
This Blog Is Not Abandoned
Being this is probably the last night that I will have net access in a while, I figured I should post this. Not that it matters in the least. The day seems to finally be here. I went to MEPS for the last time and I am heading out to Missouri. From that point everything should be golden. All I have left is a comprehensive physical/medical exam. So, see you around for now and drink some good beer for me. Later Guys.
20110904
Blue Moon vs Allagash White
This is a review that I am doing for one reason. My sister and all her friends love Blue Moon. I know I can never convert them from crap beer to Craft Beer, but I am hoping I can open their eyes and make them realize that Blue Moon is not good. They are all complete Winos so I am not sure if this really matters at all. It is just annoying that every time I come over I am offered beer and this is what they have. I was shocked when I came over and they said they had some Deschutes Twilight Ale. I took that! So for this Review, I am going to do my best to give an unbiased opinion on Two Beers, Allagash White and Blue Moon. I chose these two beers because they are both Belgian White Ales and one is from a Craft Brewery while the other is from a Corporate Brewery.
This is not my first attempt to give her real ale. The first Beer I brought to her attention was Dogfish Head Midas Touch. I figured this was very fitting being she is in love with wine, and I think the Muscat Grapes in this beer make it taste really "Winey". She told me she liked this beer like she likes Blue Moon... FAIL! My next attempt was Hell or High Watermelon from 21st Amendment. Which, since it is my favorite "chick beer", I thought she would get a kick out of it and love it. For this beer all she said was, "that is pretty good"... and then she kept drinking her wine. I have five more cans in the fridge and I will make her drink a whole one. So this is pretty much my last attempt.
My main issue with Blue Moon is not that it is made by one of The Big Three. I actually had Blue Moon before I was first into Craft Beer on a suggestion from a friend while visiting Philadelphia. I had already started homebrewing at this point and had never seen the documentary, Beer Wars. When I first had Blue Moon, I almost gagged and sent it back. They brought me out a Sam Adams Boston Lager to replace it. Which, in my opinion, is not much better... but my opinions on The Boston Beer Company is another story. They are just Craft Beer for the masses, not the ones who actually care... I guess I told you my main point here.
So this will be my first revisit since that situation. If she does not like Allagash, I guess I will just give up. Not to mention that I am leaving in a day.
I am not one of those people that think there is a beer for everyone, some people are just not beer people but Blue Moon, really? Maybe I will surprise myself with this review. At this point, only time will tell.
First I will start on my initial reactions of the beers and then get into their flavor profiles, etc. etc. and score the beers on a ridiculous point system. As well as give my sisters opinions in a short blurb.
Initial Reaction
Blue Moon: The first thing that caught my eye on this beer was the twist top. It is a more convenient way for everyone to have access to your beer and satisfies the drinking from the bottle part of the beer society.
I honestly think that pouring every single beer you drink into a glass is just a tad pretentious. If it is the first time I am drinking a beer, or if I am reviewing it, I will always pour it into a glass. After that point, I don't really care anymore unless there is something about the beer that tells me to always pour it into a glass.
Allagash White: I guess it is just the homebrewer in me, but I have problems with bottles that are twist tops. Again though, at one point in my life, I did not care. It is far less work. Allagash uses the classic pop top bottle that you need extra accessories in order to open.
Both Beers give serving suggestions. I, as a beer lover, think that the suggestion on Blue Moon is ridiculous. "Bring out Blue Moon's natural spices by serving it in a Pilsner glass with an orange-slice garnish." That is just a major Faux Pas as anyone would know. The Allagash Bottle reads, "Pour. Swirl. Pour Yeast." Very simple, and very "traditional".
These two points make it very hard to judge but for the fact that you do not need to pour Blue Moon and that you can easily twist the top off, it gets the first point in this review. Though, I am not putting an orange slice into my beer...
Blue Moon: 1
Allagash White : 0
Appearance
Blue Moon: So when I poured this bottle of Blue Moon I was quite disappointed by the fact that there was no head on the beer. It was nice and Hazy like a Wit beer should be but it also had little to no noticeable carbonation apparent on the pour. It was almost the color of a dehydrated persons urine. I love color to a beer, but that was pretty much a major turn off.
Allagash White: This beer poured a nice straw color, which is more common for a beer. It was hazy as well, but again, that is a factor the style. There was a nice, lasting head as well as rising carbonation on the beer. This is a sign of a true living ale.
Blue Moon: 1
Allagash White: 1
Nose
Blue Moon: This beer was really Funky and pretty much reminded me of straight stank. The aroma was not very inviting. I kind of did not want to drink this ale sip after sip just because of the way it smelled.
Allagash White: The aroma was very subtle. It had hints of lemon but it was not very yeasty. The aroma was quite pleasant. It asked to be sniffed, and continuously sniffed throughout the whole tasting process.
Blue Moon: 1
Allagash White: 2
Taste
Blue Moon: I thought Blue Moon was pretty flat, and nearly flavorless. It had a lasting finish of coriander, but not in a good way. It was really overpowering. There was some citrus flavor initially, but it soon faded out to a bland... well, I don't know what I would call it at this point. The beer was very drinkable, but that could have been due to the lack of flavor. I did notice a silkiness to the beer. I am attributing that to the wheat in the beer. It had a light mouth feel, but that is what I expect from this style.
Allagash White: This beer was very light bodied as well, and it had a nice lemony taste that followed what I thought to be a citrusy, orange flavor on the initial sips. Before the orange dropped in though, there was a nice spicy kick. I believe this was coriander as well. It really chopped through the citrus taste and balanced it out. There was flavor all the way through this beer and it left nothing to be desired on the palate. It was maybe a little acidic, but not distracting in the least. The coriander in the Blue Moon really stuck to the mouth, but in the Allagash, it had a really dry finish and left me asking for more.
Blue Moon: 1
Allagash White:3
Overall
Blue Moon: It was far better than my initial taste about a year and a half ago, and it does stand above anything else I had from this brewery. Though, the taste that I had is not something I want in my beer. I see this as a worst case scenario beer and I really do not want a glass of water. It does the job but not for the craft beer lover like myself. I give this beer a 3/5. Would I buy it while out to eat... Probably not, but after this second tasting this is maybe an option. Coors is making money off of this beer without me purchasing it, so I do not really want to contribute to their success, but, like I said, they do not need my help anyway.
Allagash White: This beer was a great definition of the style and it has a high level of drinkability. It is very nice for a hot day, and is, in my opinion, Damn Good. I give this beer a 4.5/5. I am not really a fan of Wheat Beers, but this one I have always came back to as it is just that damn good. It is ashamed that they pulled out of Washington State, but Oh Well.
My sister drank the Allagash White first after having an initial taste of the two and she said it was really good. I think that is a Win, No? For it's price point I do not think that it will ever replace Blue Moon in her eyes, but she was actually interested in this beer and enjoyed it. That is good enough for me. Again, I wish they still distributed in Washington because I feel she would pick it up again, but at this time she cannot.
Therefore, My winner 3:1 is Allagash White. I guess I should have had another category in the case of a tie so I will add another point to the Overall category. Allagash White 4:1... Okay, so maybe that is not fair, but in my opinion Allagash is the Superior beer. Though, there was some complaint about an after taste in the Allagash. Something about a wood barrel taste. I did not pick this out at all... I have no idea what they were talking about. I thought if anything, Blue Moon had an after taste and I did not care for it. To my knowledge, Allagash white is not aged in barrels, unless noted, so I do not see where this taste came from...
Read my opinions on the two, and taste them for yourself. I cannot tell you what you like, but I can let you know what I think. Let me know how you feel on the two. I promise to play nice.
Hooah!
This is not my first attempt to give her real ale. The first Beer I brought to her attention was Dogfish Head Midas Touch. I figured this was very fitting being she is in love with wine, and I think the Muscat Grapes in this beer make it taste really "Winey". She told me she liked this beer like she likes Blue Moon... FAIL! My next attempt was Hell or High Watermelon from 21st Amendment. Which, since it is my favorite "chick beer", I thought she would get a kick out of it and love it. For this beer all she said was, "that is pretty good"... and then she kept drinking her wine. I have five more cans in the fridge and I will make her drink a whole one. So this is pretty much my last attempt.
My main issue with Blue Moon is not that it is made by one of The Big Three. I actually had Blue Moon before I was first into Craft Beer on a suggestion from a friend while visiting Philadelphia. I had already started homebrewing at this point and had never seen the documentary, Beer Wars. When I first had Blue Moon, I almost gagged and sent it back. They brought me out a Sam Adams Boston Lager to replace it. Which, in my opinion, is not much better... but my opinions on The Boston Beer Company is another story. They are just Craft Beer for the masses, not the ones who actually care... I guess I told you my main point here.
So this will be my first revisit since that situation. If she does not like Allagash, I guess I will just give up. Not to mention that I am leaving in a day.
I am not one of those people that think there is a beer for everyone, some people are just not beer people but Blue Moon, really? Maybe I will surprise myself with this review. At this point, only time will tell.
First I will start on my initial reactions of the beers and then get into their flavor profiles, etc. etc. and score the beers on a ridiculous point system. As well as give my sisters opinions in a short blurb.
Blue Moon: The first thing that caught my eye on this beer was the twist top. It is a more convenient way for everyone to have access to your beer and satisfies the drinking from the bottle part of the beer society.
I honestly think that pouring every single beer you drink into a glass is just a tad pretentious. If it is the first time I am drinking a beer, or if I am reviewing it, I will always pour it into a glass. After that point, I don't really care anymore unless there is something about the beer that tells me to always pour it into a glass.
Allagash White: I guess it is just the homebrewer in me, but I have problems with bottles that are twist tops. Again though, at one point in my life, I did not care. It is far less work. Allagash uses the classic pop top bottle that you need extra accessories in order to open.
Both Beers give serving suggestions. I, as a beer lover, think that the suggestion on Blue Moon is ridiculous. "Bring out Blue Moon's natural spices by serving it in a Pilsner glass with an orange-slice garnish." That is just a major Faux Pas as anyone would know. The Allagash Bottle reads, "Pour. Swirl. Pour Yeast." Very simple, and very "traditional".
These two points make it very hard to judge but for the fact that you do not need to pour Blue Moon and that you can easily twist the top off, it gets the first point in this review. Though, I am not putting an orange slice into my beer...
Blue Moon: 1
Allagash White : 0
Blue Moon: So when I poured this bottle of Blue Moon I was quite disappointed by the fact that there was no head on the beer. It was nice and Hazy like a Wit beer should be but it also had little to no noticeable carbonation apparent on the pour. It was almost the color of a dehydrated persons urine. I love color to a beer, but that was pretty much a major turn off.
Allagash White: This beer poured a nice straw color, which is more common for a beer. It was hazy as well, but again, that is a factor the style. There was a nice, lasting head as well as rising carbonation on the beer. This is a sign of a true living ale.
Blue Moon: 1
Allagash White: 1
Blue Moon: This beer was really Funky and pretty much reminded me of straight stank. The aroma was not very inviting. I kind of did not want to drink this ale sip after sip just because of the way it smelled.
Allagash White: The aroma was very subtle. It had hints of lemon but it was not very yeasty. The aroma was quite pleasant. It asked to be sniffed, and continuously sniffed throughout the whole tasting process.
Blue Moon: 1
Allagash White: 2
Blue Moon: I thought Blue Moon was pretty flat, and nearly flavorless. It had a lasting finish of coriander, but not in a good way. It was really overpowering. There was some citrus flavor initially, but it soon faded out to a bland... well, I don't know what I would call it at this point. The beer was very drinkable, but that could have been due to the lack of flavor. I did notice a silkiness to the beer. I am attributing that to the wheat in the beer. It had a light mouth feel, but that is what I expect from this style.
Allagash White: This beer was very light bodied as well, and it had a nice lemony taste that followed what I thought to be a citrusy, orange flavor on the initial sips. Before the orange dropped in though, there was a nice spicy kick. I believe this was coriander as well. It really chopped through the citrus taste and balanced it out. There was flavor all the way through this beer and it left nothing to be desired on the palate. It was maybe a little acidic, but not distracting in the least. The coriander in the Blue Moon really stuck to the mouth, but in the Allagash, it had a really dry finish and left me asking for more.
Blue Moon: 1
Allagash White:3
Blue Moon: It was far better than my initial taste about a year and a half ago, and it does stand above anything else I had from this brewery. Though, the taste that I had is not something I want in my beer. I see this as a worst case scenario beer and I really do not want a glass of water. It does the job but not for the craft beer lover like myself. I give this beer a 3/5. Would I buy it while out to eat... Probably not, but after this second tasting this is maybe an option. Coors is making money off of this beer without me purchasing it, so I do not really want to contribute to their success, but, like I said, they do not need my help anyway.
Allagash White: This beer was a great definition of the style and it has a high level of drinkability. It is very nice for a hot day, and is, in my opinion, Damn Good. I give this beer a 4.5/5. I am not really a fan of Wheat Beers, but this one I have always came back to as it is just that damn good. It is ashamed that they pulled out of Washington State, but Oh Well.
My sister drank the Allagash White first after having an initial taste of the two and she said it was really good. I think that is a Win, No? For it's price point I do not think that it will ever replace Blue Moon in her eyes, but she was actually interested in this beer and enjoyed it. That is good enough for me. Again, I wish they still distributed in Washington because I feel she would pick it up again, but at this time she cannot.
Therefore, My winner 3:1 is Allagash White. I guess I should have had another category in the case of a tie so I will add another point to the Overall category. Allagash White 4:1... Okay, so maybe that is not fair, but in my opinion Allagash is the Superior beer. Though, there was some complaint about an after taste in the Allagash. Something about a wood barrel taste. I did not pick this out at all... I have no idea what they were talking about. I thought if anything, Blue Moon had an after taste and I did not care for it. To my knowledge, Allagash white is not aged in barrels, unless noted, so I do not see where this taste came from...
Read my opinions on the two, and taste them for yourself. I cannot tell you what you like, but I can let you know what I think. Let me know how you feel on the two. I promise to play nice.
Hooah!
20110902
Gravity Beer Market
Moving is a hard adjustment for everybody but I think the thing that makes it harder is not staying in one place for too long. I only have a few days left but I was on a mission to find Kick and Clutch. You have to remember what is important, right? Thanks to some fancy searching from Nikkee, Yelp, and King 5 I ran into Gravity Beer Market. I basically struck gold finding this place.
I called this store and a few others. Not a single person at the other locations knew what these beers or even the Lips of Faith series was. I had someone tell me that they had The Grand Cru and the purple one. I, being the Self Proclaimed New Belgium Fan Boy of the World, knew that he meant the Dunkelweiss but I was like, ugh. When I called Gravity, The guy who answered the phone sounded really excited when I asked about it and said that they should be getting it in sometime next week. I pretty much had a beergasm at this point.
A week later, I called back and the woman who answered the phone told me exactly what I wanted to hear. KICK AND CLUTCH WERE IN!!!!! She told me that she literally just opened the case and that they were not even in the system yet but to give her 15 minutes to take care of it all. ZOOOOOOOOMMMMM!!!!!!!! SCORE YEAH!
Gravity Beer Market
First and foremost, we are beer lovers. We are a wife and husband team that has spent 25 years collectively working in the beer industry. Our path has been filled with many pints of wonderful beers and now we have come home to open Olympia’s only bottle shop which officially opened in June of 2007.
This shop pretty much seemed to have everything. Their bottles were set up all along the walls around the shop and had an island with four and six packs for the shoppers who only want one thing. Behind the counter they had vintage bottles of beer, (most of them empty), but it made me smile. There was a bottle of the original Life And Limb up there as well as many others. The thing that caught my eye the most though was this.
Sadly, it was not for sale. I really want a bike once I get situated and this would be the most amazing bike ever. If I didn't need my car to get around I would totally put my name in for the Tour De Fat.
I found several other bottles that I was looking for and wanted while on this trip. I found a bottle of Ninkasi's Summer IPA, Maiden The Shade, Dogfish Head Chateau Jiahu as well as a few other DFH brews I was looking for, and probably the very last bottle of Allagash White in Washington State.
Later on I will be doing a side by side review of Allagash White and Blue Moon. I am trying to show my Sister that Blue Moon is crap and to quit buying it. I know she will never be a craft beer person, but she should make better decisions in her life. It is unfortunate that Allagash no longer distributes to Washington but each company has to take care of themselves.
Just a few more days left. Hooah!
I called this store and a few others. Not a single person at the other locations knew what these beers or even the Lips of Faith series was. I had someone tell me that they had The Grand Cru and the purple one. I, being the Self Proclaimed New Belgium Fan Boy of the World, knew that he meant the Dunkelweiss but I was like, ugh. When I called Gravity, The guy who answered the phone sounded really excited when I asked about it and said that they should be getting it in sometime next week. I pretty much had a beergasm at this point.
A week later, I called back and the woman who answered the phone told me exactly what I wanted to hear. KICK AND CLUTCH WERE IN!!!!! She told me that she literally just opened the case and that they were not even in the system yet but to give her 15 minutes to take care of it all. ZOOOOOOOOMMMMM!!!!!!!! SCORE YEAH!
Gravity Beer Market
First and foremost, we are beer lovers. We are a wife and husband team that has spent 25 years collectively working in the beer industry. Our path has been filled with many pints of wonderful beers and now we have come home to open Olympia’s only bottle shop which officially opened in June of 2007.
This shop pretty much seemed to have everything. Their bottles were set up all along the walls around the shop and had an island with four and six packs for the shoppers who only want one thing. Behind the counter they had vintage bottles of beer, (most of them empty), but it made me smile. There was a bottle of the original Life And Limb up there as well as many others. The thing that caught my eye the most though was this.
Sadly, it was not for sale. I really want a bike once I get situated and this would be the most amazing bike ever. If I didn't need my car to get around I would totally put my name in for the Tour De Fat.
I found several other bottles that I was looking for and wanted while on this trip. I found a bottle of Ninkasi's Summer IPA, Maiden The Shade, Dogfish Head Chateau Jiahu as well as a few other DFH brews I was looking for, and probably the very last bottle of Allagash White in Washington State.
Later on I will be doing a side by side review of Allagash White and Blue Moon. I am trying to show my Sister that Blue Moon is crap and to quit buying it. I know she will never be a craft beer person, but she should make better decisions in her life. It is unfortunate that Allagash no longer distributes to Washington but each company has to take care of themselves.
Just a few more days left. Hooah!
20110901
Elysian Brewing
One of the main things I wanted to do in Washington that was brewery related and that I have been looking forward to for a long time is Getting over to Elysian Brewing and Tasting one of their Trips!
The Trip is a collaboration between New Belgium and Elysian brewing, and being NB is my favorite brewery, I had to get out there and try what ever I could. I wish I would have been able to try all 9 trips, did I forget to mention that they are at nine beers with New Belgium now?, but getting to try one of them would be good enough at this point.
I figured that this brewery was pretty good and established being that they have done some pretty big collaborations. Another one that is going on with them, or has, I don't really know is a collaboration between them and Stone. That really peaked my interest and I had to see what this place was all about.
On our way up there we stopped by this awesome Bottle Shop that just recently installed Taps in the place in order to sell growlers in the shop. I KNOW RIGHT! Washington just passed a new law that allows you to sell any beer, anywhere (well almost), in any glassware. Pretty kick ass if you ask me... and guess what? NO CRV!!! That annoyed the hell out of me in CA. I hated CRV, I mean, seriously? Why?
I was completely overwhelmed with the amount of beer that was in there that it made it so very hard for me to collect a six pack. There were specific beers that I was looking for that I could not find and a ton of local beers that I never even heard of. It was just awesome. I picked up some New Belgium, and some Local brews like Scuttlebutt Hoptopia. When I am back in this area, I have some craft beer research to do.
Once we got to Elysian, all I really wanted was a flight of their brews but since I was pretty hungry too, I figured I should eat. Service was slow but my beer finally came. The thing that I thought was funny is that when my flight was presented to me, it came with a card naming all of the beers that I had got but it was completely inaccurate. They crossed out two of the beers and replaced them with others. This was not an issue for me because I was going to drink whatever they gave me but I just assumed if they were taking the time to give it such a display, they would at least have the correct listing.
Most of the beers I thought were just average, which is the same experience I had of most of the beers I had that are from Washington, (at the time I am writing this I had already had the Scuttlebutt Hoptopia, and that was damn good. As you probably know, I am not a fan of most IPAs but this Imperial IPA was something worth finding and enjoying. I want to find more from this brewery), but maybe I am just looking in all of the wrong places.
The best beer I had from here was the Dragons Tooth Stout. This one was actually damn good. The server told me it was their best selling beer, and even if he was lying to me, I see why. This was my growler fill for the night.
As for The Trip IX, I was really happy with this "Down Under IPA". It was brewed with New Zeland hops and was not like the typical West Coast IPA that everyone brews and loves, which I feel is kind of killing beer... I mean, be innovative and create something instead of trying to be bigger and hoppier than the rest. Some people do it right, and well, so kudos to them. I drink your IPA but not everyone gets it and they should stop... Not every beer in the world should be Imperial this, barrel aged this, Why can't somebody brew a low ABV session anything that can just be enjoyed for what it is... but then again, I guess that is why I homebrew.
Anyway, it was more like what a True IPA would be like. The style was not meant to be drank fresh. The hops were added as preservatives so they mellowed out quite a bit during the voyage to India and it was kept for sometime before drinking... This beer aknowledged that. Very Happy about it. I even think they used Galaxy hops. This was my first experience with them but now I have been seeing them all over the place. I realy hope that they are used well and do not become the new Cascade...
The Trip is a collaboration between New Belgium and Elysian brewing, and being NB is my favorite brewery, I had to get out there and try what ever I could. I wish I would have been able to try all 9 trips, did I forget to mention that they are at nine beers with New Belgium now?, but getting to try one of them would be good enough at this point.
I figured that this brewery was pretty good and established being that they have done some pretty big collaborations. Another one that is going on with them, or has, I don't really know is a collaboration between them and Stone. That really peaked my interest and I had to see what this place was all about.
On our way up there we stopped by this awesome Bottle Shop that just recently installed Taps in the place in order to sell growlers in the shop. I KNOW RIGHT! Washington just passed a new law that allows you to sell any beer, anywhere (well almost), in any glassware. Pretty kick ass if you ask me... and guess what? NO CRV!!! That annoyed the hell out of me in CA. I hated CRV, I mean, seriously? Why?
I was completely overwhelmed with the amount of beer that was in there that it made it so very hard for me to collect a six pack. There were specific beers that I was looking for that I could not find and a ton of local beers that I never even heard of. It was just awesome. I picked up some New Belgium, and some Local brews like Scuttlebutt Hoptopia. When I am back in this area, I have some craft beer research to do.
Once we got to Elysian, all I really wanted was a flight of their brews but since I was pretty hungry too, I figured I should eat. Service was slow but my beer finally came. The thing that I thought was funny is that when my flight was presented to me, it came with a card naming all of the beers that I had got but it was completely inaccurate. They crossed out two of the beers and replaced them with others. This was not an issue for me because I was going to drink whatever they gave me but I just assumed if they were taking the time to give it such a display, they would at least have the correct listing.
Most of the beers I thought were just average, which is the same experience I had of most of the beers I had that are from Washington, (at the time I am writing this I had already had the Scuttlebutt Hoptopia, and that was damn good. As you probably know, I am not a fan of most IPAs but this Imperial IPA was something worth finding and enjoying. I want to find more from this brewery), but maybe I am just looking in all of the wrong places.
The best beer I had from here was the Dragons Tooth Stout. This one was actually damn good. The server told me it was their best selling beer, and even if he was lying to me, I see why. This was my growler fill for the night.
As for The Trip IX, I was really happy with this "Down Under IPA". It was brewed with New Zeland hops and was not like the typical West Coast IPA that everyone brews and loves, which I feel is kind of killing beer... I mean, be innovative and create something instead of trying to be bigger and hoppier than the rest. Some people do it right, and well, so kudos to them. I drink your IPA but not everyone gets it and they should stop... Not every beer in the world should be Imperial this, barrel aged this, Why can't somebody brew a low ABV session anything that can just be enjoyed for what it is... but then again, I guess that is why I homebrew.
Anyway, it was more like what a True IPA would be like. The style was not meant to be drank fresh. The hops were added as preservatives so they mellowed out quite a bit during the voyage to India and it was kept for sometime before drinking... This beer aknowledged that. Very Happy about it. I even think they used Galaxy hops. This was my first experience with them but now I have been seeing them all over the place. I realy hope that they are used well and do not become the new Cascade...
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