My Argument Against "Craft" Beer

Ok, ok. Just hear me out. It isn't what it sounds like. If you know me, you know I'm obsessed with craft beer. If you don't know me, that's pretty odd that you are reading this... BUT THANK YOU!!! I hope you come back!

I recently got my BJCP tasting exam results back and I'm preparing for the written, as well as planning on taking the Certified Cicerone Exam within the next couple of months. So I'm getting deep into every aspect moreso than ever before.

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A few years ago, I was just one of those happy kids who was first getting into craft beer and I chased down every new release from all of my favorite breweries. I still do that with my number one favorite, but how could I not support them?

In all of my research and studying, I was taken back. I began to think about where we are today and all of the changes I've seen in this very short 5 year span in the grand history of beer. Things I didn't even begin to notice until about my third year in beer. So, just think about everything I still have to learn and experience.

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Where we sit now is the greatest time that has ever existed for Craft Beer. Thinking about that, was it not common to hear Microbrew when referred to "our" beers not that long ago? To my understanding "craft beer" first began it's usage in the 1980's. And it wasn't even a commonality at that time. "Craft Brewing" was how it was referred. It was about the movement that was happening in America. The way our beer was hand crafted vs the industrial methods that were sadly sweeping the country. Recently it has been used to describe the new generation of beer around the world but it's origins seem to be with the early pioneers that were tired of what they were tasting, and for that, we praise today.

Now I understand that we want to differentiate ourselves. Make the market distinction obvious to those casual consumers, especially the ones that don't know any better. But as one who is well versed in our community, and flipping back through a little history, why can't we simply call it beer?

Do you see what I mean, now? I don't go around telling people I drink craft beer. Or that I'm going out for a few craft beers. I just use "Beer". I'm going to "X Brewery", "X Bar". I feel at a point, the thing speaks for itself.  It becomes quite obvious. I make sure to know who, to the best of my ability, makes a profit off of each pour I purchase. This is something the majority of consumers don't think about... but then again, maybe it's the appeal of the word craft, that people love.

Before the time of the microbrew, was it not just a pint of Ale or Lager? In 1516, do you think they had fancy names for the beers being created at that time? In today's beer world, the distinction between craft and not so is being blurred. Crafty is a thing. Big business tactics are happening in the wake of the little guys. Certain aspects are still about the joy and community, but others quickly pull you back in to realize beer is a business. First & foremost. So where is the point where you quit acting like a little guy and accept that you are in fact in another league?

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I don't mean like the big three. That is a whole different ball game. But the way a business operates and sells across the country. The number of barrels that are produce and sold each year. There is a difference between those just scraping by and those who can essentially rely on their consumers for years to come. This isn't a bad thing. It's just the way things are.

To me, craft isn't about a definition. It's about the way you treat your product and care about your community. While a company may try to separate themselves from corporate beer, does the scale of your brewery not introduce you into that world? The number of breweries or specific off shoot locations you own, do they not paint that picture?

Even with the Brewers Association defining craft beer and then adjusting the definition to keep the biggest brewers from losing the distinction, I wonder, why does it matter? Even if my favorite brewery went above that line, their beers, again, speak for themselves. No if, ands, or butts about it. Everything they do for the beer community as well as the charitable events and support they offer, really goes to show their passion. A side of their character you wouldn't see from those that we do not label with the craft name. And surprisingly enough, at the end of the day, they still need to worry about their profit margin.

These breweries are machines, filled with passionate people. Creating experiences that we all share. Ones we look far into the future for. While I'm not saying they don't deserve to use the title craft, I just feel we are at a point in time where it is not necessary.

Cheers!

Sierra Nevada Beer Camp

So, once again it is that time of year where Sierra Nevada has opened up their Beer Camp contest and released a 12 pack of some of their favorite beers. Actually, I have no idea how they select what beers go into the packs. The first year, they were all random numbers... and I think the same as last year. This year Batch #93, 94, & 95 are in the mixer. I will post my thoughts on those beers really soon... and it gives me more opportunities to plug this post.



Why do I want to plug this post? Well, I am need your votes! The more votes I get, the higher my odds of going to Beer Camp are. The title of my video is, "The Best Beer In The World", which is kind of a parody of Tribute from Tenacious D. Basically it follows me as I am to bring a demon The Best Beer In The World. You can check out the video over at the Sierra Nevada Beer Camp site. You are allowed to vote once a day between now and September 30th now that my video is live!!! Please help :D and have your friends help... and their friends help... and maybe their bosses... but hey, that might be pushing it.



There are some things I wish I could have done differently, but for only 10 minutes of shooting and then cutting this video together in order to get it submitted 3 days past opening, hey... It is done and submitted!!! More time for votes! I'm off to a decent start already, but those that were submitted at the very beginning already have over 100 votes, so I need to catch up and maintain it for almost 2 months... This could be tricky as new submissions roll in... but it will be worth it. And it was a very fun video to shoot. Anyway, I am sure you will hear more details about this later. For now, Enjoy my video, Enjoy some good beer, and Thank You For Your Votes!!!!

Cheers!

My Rant On The Beer Wars

So, I am one of the people out there that calls myself a Craft Beer Enthusiast. I buy everything released from my favorite breweries and even over priced bombers, collaborations, and the like just because I want to be able to talk about what is new and everything that is going on with the beer world. More often than not the beers are just ok at best. There are some truly amazing beers that come out nowadays, and those are the ones I am hunting for.

Collaboration beers are just something cool to say you have had. You can hold it above other beer drinkers heads like a badge of honor. I also use programs like untappd to show off how many more kinds of beer I have had than you or anyone else looking at my profile. I feel that the wider variety and the more rare beers I have, the cooler I am... Yeah... About that...

Now, I do not go out and buy beers from Bud, Miller, and Coors intentionally or without good reason. I know they own pretty much every company out there collectively so when I pick up a bottle of beer from Malaysia that I have never heard of or had before, I come to terms with the fact that I may have just put a little money into their pockets. Even with domestic brands, without doing research do you really know who is getting your money?

One of the things that really bothers me with these Beer Wars is the fact that there are comments like this.

If only Budweiser would put as much care and passion into their beer as the do their Super Bowl ads.

I don't really think they get the picture of what is going on. Sure, you may not want to drink a flavorless, American adjunct lager but they are doing exactly what they set out to do and nothing more. Make Beer. They never said they were out to be the most flavorful beer or they were going to be the newest and most innovated brewery in the world. No. Again, They Just Make Beer. Granted I do not condone or agree with their practices, but that is another story all together and what I feel the Beer Wars are actually about.

Like I posted yesterday from 1001 Beers,

Surely there are more challenging, rewarding beers? Yes, but Bud never pretends to be something that it isn't: this is a beer about refreshment and drinkability, not for sipping out of a china teacup with a pinkie extended.

Who knows, maybe I got the message wrong and this is actually a fight against flavor and not the multi-billion dollar corporations trying to destroy any "competition" in their way because they are starting to lose more and more money each year to a growing segment of the market.

Though, either way I feel that if you want to bash a beer because it does not taste the way you think a beer should, speak with your wallet not your mouth. There are a ton of other beers out there and even a ton of bad craft beers. There is no denying that. Care and Passion mean nothing if your idea of a good beer is to make a sub par base beer and add more alcohol or a whole harvest worth of hop growth plus whatever kind of oak and any other random ingredient you can get your hands on. That does not make you craft beer. That does not make your product better or even good.

Though, there are people out there that do understand the real situation. Even if people that make comments like the ones prior understand it, they do not go about showing it in the right ways. Even when it comes down to things like the Craft vs Crafty debate, but I will not be getting into that. Here is a response from Randy on my review of Budweiser Black Crown.

Good review. I'd like to be "beerlitically correct" and say something like, "I love beer and I will not turn down any beer that is good", but I will not try this. Even though your description appears as if this beer is pretty decent, I will not buy it for three reasons: 1. Beer Wars opened my eyes to how this company (and other macros) try to destroy other smaller mom & pop companies who are passionate about beer. 2. They seem to want to go about innovation by stealing ideas of the innovative. 3. There are way too many other awesome beers out there for me to settle for their feeble attempt to get in on the growing craft beer market.

IMO, as far as I am concerned they have dammed themselves. I will not knowingly (I say that because they are sneaky as snakes and one has to be really careful when buying beer to find out who owns it) support them ever. Maybe my opinion can be changed if they were to just bow down to the craft beer passionates and try to let them be without trying to copy them and force them out. What they do is nothing more than beer gentrification. They can't play in the sandbox because they will not be content with craft beer being probably less than 10% of the industry and they own WELL over a third and closer to 40% of the industry.

Screw ABInbev and every thing they do. I respect them for creating a massively successful business, but I won't be supporting.

Great review tho ;-)

This, to me, sounds like someone who actually gets the real issues we should be fighting. He points out that even though I say the beer is decent, he will not support it for good reasons. He did not come out and say, "Budweiser is crap! It tastes like ass and you would be better off drinking water!", he actually has valid claims and reason as to why he will not support that company and I agree and respect his decision.

Though, what I think does not matter because I am just a lowly craft beer drinker that wants to see change but the things being decided on in our community by the ones who actually have the power are things such as, "Does this brewery use traditional methods? Are they owned xx amount by this company? Do they make more money in house than out of house?" etc.... etc.... etc....

Why don't they spend this time to educate drinkers. Teach them about good beer. Teach them about what actually goes into the process, the business and give them good reasons why they should follow you. I think that would make sense? There are a lot of people out there than run with this stance. Someone even made this cool little map.

Interactive Map Of The Below Image



I borrowed it from Philip H. Howard Associate Professor, Michigan State University. This was all over twitter a while back. He has a lot of cool things on the site linked below. Not only about the beer industry but wine, soda, coffee, etc as well. Check it out. This one may be a little old as things have changed in such a little time but consider that since this was made BMC has acquired more companies.

There are other maps like this out there. A simple form of education that people will look at. Though, there are a ton of craft beer drinkers out there today that will buy and seek beers just because they are labeled rare but they will not know anything about the style, the brewery, or the beer itself. They are just caught up in the movement. Great for business but not for the cause.

There are many beers out there that are very limited that I want but I think the idea of being put into a raffle for a chance to buy the beer is just purely dumb. For other releases the parties and such they throw for them sound like a great idea and great time but then again, I am not the kind of person who will stand in line for 12 hours or so after the event just to buy the beer...

I know there is probably more to it but if you want beer that much I am sure there are comparable beers out there and you would only have to wait for the bartender to pour it for you. And think about how many you could drink in that time as well...

I understand that part of the mission may to be to pull people away from "Crap Beer" and turn them onto "Craft" but sometimes you have to let things take their course. Introduce people to beers based on what you know they like. Don't just throw IPA after IPA or Stout after Stout into their face expecting them to change. They have to find what works for them.

You know one thing that might work? Give them a Pilsner. Crazy, huh? That is what they are used to drinking and they may find your favorite beer offensive and turn them off to the idea of craft beer all together. There is no one magic style of beer that will convert every person. Though, that is another story as well...

I think my rant is over... I guess I will just keep on buying craft beer and writing about it here. I mean, what else can I do?

Tomorrow you can read about how awesome I think Sierra Nevada Ruthless Rye is. That company seems as if it can never do wrong...

Cheers!

1001 Beers: Celebration Ale

Well, I actually had Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale a year ago as Beer Number 3 but I thought I would revisit it again this year since I found a six pack to put into hiding for a little while. I actually said I would in my review last year.

I should find a 6 pack and keep them for a long time haha.

I was hoping that I got a 12 pack of it but did not find one until after I bought the last 6 pack on the shelf... Maybe I should have picked it up... This one will do just fine to see how it changes over the next 5 years.



A quick look back to what I thought about the 2011 Celebration.

It has a strong hop nose but you cannot tell this at all when it comes to the taste... Ok, maybe at first my palate was overloaded with hoppy goodness but that faded after a bit. It was very piney and broke down to a kind of sweet, caramel flavor that finished very creamy.

This year, the copper color on this thing was once again a work of art. Even how there was a bit of tan in the head made you think of just how exciting this would be. Not to mention the strong hop aroma that was there and jumping out of the bottle, into the glass, into the room, and into your nose from the very get go. No denying that but upon first taste, the hops in this beer were very bright, very floral with just a touch of pineyness and maybe a little citrus. Caramel and a little creamy.

I am looking forward to how this will age. Or even how my notes on the 2013 version will look compared to these. It may be nothing but I think this years is better than last years...

Cheers!

Mash House

Being I am new to North Carolina I thought it only made sense to try and figure out what this place has to offer for beer. I know being stuck in Fayetteville is probably not the best place to try and figure out what the state has to offer, especially after having been to an event like Twin City Taps but this brewery was local to me, and that is what it is all about. I have had a few people suggest The Mash House to me. They talk about the beer that is served there and the burgers that they make. It only made sense to me... Though, I ordered a steak... so of course I am going to do it. I guess I will have to pick out a burger next time but here we go...



I am pretty sure you can see what the beers are going around the circle so I will just tell you I started at the top, and worked my way around clockwise. The first beer, was obviously the blonde. I wrote out short hand notes on a napkin while eating haha. I just had to be sure of everything when I went back and decided what I wanted for my growler.

The Blonde was pretty decent. I have been falling for this style and the Kolsch a lot recently. I might even brew one. I mean, why not? I tried once before with the Kolsch but that was way back when in my early days of brewing before I knew that simple things mattered... like sanitation lol. Anyway, the straw color, not much could be picked out of the nose in that environment and glass though it was sweet and crisp. Lemon and wheat stood out. Very dry and light. Decent beer.

The Hefe was very hazy and kind of reminded me of milky orange juice. Not very attractive. Though orange, lemon, some spiciness of clove really hit the spot. The orange flavors kind of blended into vanilla and banana. It drank pretty light but felt a bit heavier than that... if that makes sense. I thought it was decent even though it went through some radical flavor changes.

The Red Ale was really malty. The finish of the hops though was quite harsh. Not a fan of that or the high level of carbonation. This beer was pretty much passed on. The IPA was next. I kind of wish I got the names of all these beers, but oh well. I guess that does not matter. This IPA apparently won gold at GABF in 2001. I am not going back to look in the record books but this gives me some expectations. The bitterness in this was very mellow. I appreciated that. Grapefruit came through quite a bit and it soothed out with a touch of lemon that followed into the finish. I thought this was an all around good beer. Well balanced.

Now we are getting to the darker beers. The porter was nice and malty. Pretty robust and had a sharp malt bitterness followed by a caramel sweetness. The stout, dark brown and a mellow head. Dark roasted coffee like flavors and caramel overtop. Pretty full bodied but not syrupy. That was nice. This beer was given to me on Nitro. I usually do not like beer on nitro. I don't know how to describe it but it has a funny taste... this was the first I did like... maybe, the others I have had were served on dirty lines? or I became accustomed to that flavor of the gas? I don't even know if that makes sense... I thought the gas was flavorless??? What do I know... Lets go with the dirty lines things...

I guess now that I have had a porter and stout they feel that my palate has been cleansed they are going back into the amber ale. I thought I picked up some green apples in this one but not too sure. I may have been losing it because I also got bananas... interesting for sure. The maibock was pretty hoppy and grassy. Just ok. The last beer to taste was the Cherry Blonde. I got maraschino cherries when I was drinking this one. They were all over the nose and into the taste. Cherry cordials is predominately what I thought of when drinking this. The chocolate, the cherries... I think the idea of the blonde was lost completely. It was funny because it was light bodied but still syrupy. I wondered how they brewed this one.

Now that I am at the end of this selection I guess I would say that this place has some damn good food. No doubt about that. I guess I only had one meal so I can't be too quick to judge on that but it was pretty fancy establishment as well. The beer did not really stand out to me. I mean, I did not find much that was very bad. Everything was drinkable. There were a few standouts like the IPA but I am not big on take the IPA every time. I like to experience other beers and that lead me to my decision on the Blonde to take home.



My first local brewery trip, though it was not what I would consider a typical brewery. I will get to some more soon and report back on those as well... but you already knew that.

Cheers!

Vrienden

This is one of the beers that I loved and I was happy when I was able to find it again after having to get rid of my whole bottle collection :'(. I guess at the time I never had a use for the bottles. Kind of keeping them for nostalgia purposes. I am sure the men and women of New Belgium would be proud but many others just see it as clutter. I hate those people. HAHA! JK! I still wish I had my bottles though.

To this day, I have still never had the Allagash Version of it, but now that I live considerably closer to their brewery... though, I am not counting on finding this "Colabeeration".

Get a Belgian Brewmaster and a Master of Belgian Brewing together and there's sure to be spontaneous imagination that leads to micro-organisms mingling in fermentation bliss! Bliss! BLISS! Allagash and New Belgium are pleased to offer you our CollaBeerAtion Vrienden.

This beer is an ale brewed with Hibiscus and Endive. Very amazing on my first go around so I am hoping it is just as great this time. Though, I know nothing about how it was stored before it came into my hands or how long this beer was even built to last. I guess we will see... right?

Brewed with the slightly fruity hibiscus flower, the aromatic Brettanomyces, and the flavor-boosting Lactobacillus. We recommend pairing it with creamy, soft cheeses and charming Vrienden-That's "Friends" in Flemish. Enjoy.

I did not pair this beer, and I was fairly selfish :p I guess maybe that is a bad thing but only few I know could appreciate something this amazing.

Though, I guess I got to it too late :'(. It still had that sour nose with hints of fruity, lemony, orange peel? Somebody tell me what hibiscus is supposed to be like. Lame, I know. I am missing one of the major aspects of this beer due to inexperience. The sourness is now very mellow. It was never too big before but it kind of dampened off. Not like I remember it. A bit of kick in the back, but nothing overwhelming. It doesn't even really have that funkiness I loved before. It is more dry and spicy now. I guess it is not a full loss, but still. A beer I loved lost to the hands of time. Maybe a rerelease? That would be awesome. Or am I just living unreal New Belgium Fan Boy Dreams?

Cheers!

New Belgium Brewing Company

Has there ever been a time in your life where you did the one thing that you thought you would never do? No matter how small or trivial that thing was. It did not require a lot of extra effort, just being in said place at said time... Well, I personally never thought I would get to New Belgium. The brewery of my dreams was just that. Nothing but a dream. I guess I could have had more romantic or say, exotic dreams. Like actually going out to Belgium, but that is just a bit different. New Belgium has been my Beer Love since the dawn of my Craft Beer life. 1554 quickly became my favorite beer and from then on I made it my mission to taste everything they released. From the Lips of Faith series, to their year round releases. So you know how I felt when I actually got the email...

It is destined: Touring New Belgium is in your near future. On Wednesday, June 06, 2012 at 3:30 PM, we’ve reserved 2 tour tickets under the name Allen.

I could have cried at this moment... Though, I guess I needed to start planning the road trip. I know that this was quite a while back, but it took some time for me to get settled into my new place, so blah! Trying not to be biased, I would have to say this was the best tour that I have been on. Truth!

I mean, what other tour let me pour my own beer? And that was not ever the start of it...



In order to make it to Fort Collins on time I left Seattle at about 9am the previous morning and had one hell of a drive for almost 24 hours stopping only to sleep at rest stops for a few hours at a time. Nothing was going to make me late to this day. When we finally arrived there it was about 10am and we found a motel just a few blocks away and crashed until about an hour before our tour. We got up, got ready, and left because I wanted to have a few beers before it got started. Right as we are getting near the brewery we are held up by a train! Who does that? Runs a train right through the middle of the city? It didn't really affect anything other than my drinking time but I had no idea how long this thing was.



Luckily, my first flight was everything I hoped for and more. Finally I fell into the world of my favorite brewery. I had Ken's Hefe, Valentine's Day Ale, Lost Abbey Brett Beer Collab, and La Folie 2012! La Folie is actually a beer in my 1001 Beers series, but since I have a bottle of 2011, and 2012 in the cellar, I will hold on for that for later. La Folie is actually a beer that inspired me to brew a Flanders Red. But more on that later. All of these beers were amazing. I took crappy notes on them but I was more just into enjoying myself at the brewery than anything else. The lady liked Valentine's Day Ale, so that is a plus and I got a bottle of Brett Beer for home too!

The coolest thing I thought before the tour is that the ticket was a 1554 Label... I should have kept it but they collected it pretty much at the start. 1554 is one of my favorite beers of all time. Everything about it is just amazing. I am really surprised I did not have one before we got going. The first beer of the tour was Abbey. I had seriously forgot how good this beer is. It was always one of my favorites but I only picked it up in a Folly Pack. During the first section of this tour they did the usual. Told us about the company and brewing and yada yada yada. You know, the stuff that every beer geek already knows, and those who make beer know even more about. But it was still a good time. They even gave out prizes for answering trivia questions.

The next part of the tour was extremely awesome. This is where we got more in depth information about all of the beers that the company releases. Some were held back for other parts of the tour but we also got to pour our own beer. Fan-Fricken-Tastic. That is where the video from above is. I decided to get myself a Cocoa Mole. I had this beer once and was not really sure what to think. On my second go around... I am kind of stuff in the same boat. It was not bad but it was just so different. I also got a pour of Sunshine Wheat. Another really good beer from this company. I believe they said they brewed this one originally under the name of Wedding Wheat... or something like that but changed the name because only females were drinking it.



Our next stop was the Barrel Room. Again, we got to pour our own beer here, and the beer on tap? Tart Lychee. I had just had this not too long ago and instantly fell in love. This is yet another bottle I have home with me as well. I guess I should show them all off at some point being I keep bringing this up... I really wanted to run around and try to find stuff in here but I am pretty sure that was not allowed. I am really hoping for a rerelease of Le Terrior. Now that would be great.

The next part of the tour brought us to Fat Tire, and 1001 Beers Number 18. This was seriously the best Fat Tire I have ever had. I am usually not a fan of this beer, and maybe being at the source had some magical voodoo over me but just every layer of this beer came through and made me remember why I first started drinking the beer from this company. The biscuit, the crystal, just everything that makes this beer what it is was very well showcased here. I should have taken some of this home with me too. I guess I can easily find it at the store though. Not sure if it can ever taste this amazing again.

The last stop of this tour was around their bottling line area and the last beer of the tour was Somersault. This was my most drank beer last summer. It is great for a nice warm day... or hot because that is pretty much how it always was in the San Fernando Valley. The citrus flavors plays really well on the light body that this beer presents. They gave out a couple of cans of Shift. There was a lot of cool things we saw on the way, the windmills were not one of them :( I guess we were too far away to actually see them but it is alright. They sustain themselves pretty well. Before we finished the tour, we had one last piece of fun... I will never forget this moment.



After the tour I picked up a few more beers. I mean, how could I not? We still had some time before the Liquid Center closed and I wanted to spend every minute possible there. This time around I got a big Valentine's Day Ale for the Lady and a Bier De Mars, Prickly Passion Saison, and 1554 for myself. I also had to get a Cascadian Dubbel and Billy's Beer just to say that I have had every Lips of Faith released and that was possible to get in my area since I got into beer. I love the series and I wish it was easier to get my hands on, but maybe that is part of the allure.



Once I got outside I noticed this cool trailer that was numbered after my favorite beer and pretty much told the whole story of New Belgium from the beginning. It even included a miniature scale of the facility. I wonder what the new one in Asheville will be looking like. We have had some announcements but nothing too big at the moment. I just hope that I can be there opening day. I think the whole moving to North Carolina thing was not such a bad idea in this respect but we will see how the road goes in general.







Here are a few of the bottles I kept talking about and I still have from some time. I hope a few are not past their prime and I wish I could have found others. Like another bottle of Fresh Hop Ale. I plan on turning them all into cups because that seems to be a fad now. If only I did not get rid of my old collection of bottles...

The New


The Old

I wish they would rerelease Sahti, and let Belgo out in that bottle once more instead of the year round one they have now. But anyway, no trip to a brewery, especially my favorite brewery, would be complete without me grabbing some glassware. I was kind of disappointed with the style they had but I guess it works. Each of my favorite breweries had a different style. Deschutes the Euro top, Sierra Nevada the Bulb. I filled this one with Trippel. Another great beer. Again, one I usually only get around the holidays but I did not have it while at the brewery so I had to make sure I got it. I was kind of disappointed that I did not taste Ranger while I was there or Blue Paddle but I guess I just have to make the trip back :D.



983 Bottles Of Beer To Go!

Cheers!

1001 Beers: Juniper Pale Ale and Mocha Porter

Before this day I have only ever had a few brews from one of the most Popular West Coast Breweries out there, Rogue Ales. One of which being The Bacon Maple Ale, the others, a couple variations of Dead Guy, and a few John John Ales. It is unfair for me to judge the brewery based on those beers alone but I have had a... meh?... impression of them for as long as I have known about them. Luckily my favorite bottle shop in North Carolina, Bottle Revolution, gave me the chance to get a feel for what these people can really produce. I picked up a bottle of Juniper Pale Ale, American Amber, Hazelnut Brown Nectar, and Mocha Porter. I figured this would be a pretty good set up being they are essentially new to me and I never hit any of their breweries before moving out this way and a couple of them are part of my 1001 Beers Series haha!



The first one I took a taste of was the American Amber. It was a decent beer, very clean. The flavor was sweet, a bit like toffee with the hops really coming through in the finish. Again, decent. I know I shouldn't have but upon first taste I was like, "This is nothing like Fat Tire...".



Next I moved onto the Juniper Pale, Beer Number 16. It actually has a cool story behind it and kind of put some expectations into my mind... on the good end and the bad end of the spectrum.

Juniper Pale Ale was first brewed to commemorate the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah.

I really appreciate that, but it leaves a bad taste in my mouth as well. Was this brewed to appeal to the masses or for the love of beer... and adding juniper berries to it. Actually, one of the John John Beers I had, was the John John Juniper, and I loved that so I was expecting good things from this one. I don't feel that it lived up to that one, but then again I looked at them as two different beers. This one had an odd sweetness to it. I want to attribute that to the juniper but I have no way to reference it really. I thought it was pretty light for a Pale Ale, even with my "It should be assertive but not like one of those mass produced IPAs" stance. I guess being it is a "Winter Ale" some things are to be expected? It was a nicely brewed beer for sure. I actually preferred this one over the amber as of this point. But I was ready to see what else they had.



I don't know why but I chose the Mocha Porter next. Figured it made more sense to do a brown before a porter, but hey, what are you going to do? This is Beer Number 17. The thing that stood out to me on this one was the dark malt nose and the length of time the head lasted. It was kind of coffee-esque, but assertive nonetheless. Very impressive I thought, then again, that is to be expected from someone like Rogue?

The Mocha is a prime example of the U.S. porter style, a beer that was inspired by its English cousin but has burst out of the blocks with plenty of Yankee twist.

I thought this beer was really light for a porter and maybe I do not properly understand the U.S. style but it was nothing like porters that I feel represent it, i.e. Deschutes Black Butte. It went into my mouth like water. The dark malt bitterness creeped up at the end and a burnt, dry, coffee flavor lingered in my mouth. I was kind of disappointed with that one. Porter is one of my favorite styles and while I know they are not all great, this one just kept me wanting more. The beer grew on me more as I drank it but a lot of what disappointed me followed from sip to sip.



Finally The Nut Brown. This was my favorite of the bunch. It had a nice assertive bitterness but light and sweet at the same time. It was almost everything I look for in a brown ale. The malt did not come across as too dark, the light flavor working with the medium mouthfeel just set this thing completely right. This is for sure a beer that I would revisit. This whole time I was thinking that there would be nothing significant from Rogue that in this selection.

984 Bottles Of Beer To Go!

Cheers!

Yuengling

I knew nothing about Yuengling Traditional Lager until I saw one of the most influential documentaries that I have seen since I got into craft beer, Beer Wars. It went into some depth about, and even went and visited the brewery. The story behind it was enough to make me want to find this beer, especially being you could only get it on one side of the country. Now that I am out here, it was one of the first beers that I had to taste.




One of the hotels I stayed at had the beer available on tap at the bar. I actually had to get another one after finishing my first and heading out for the night. Between the two beers, I am not really sure if one pour had more than the other but I like the glass type from my second glass. The first one just seemed a bit fancier.




This beer had a fairly high level of carbonation. It is kind of what I was expecting, but what I was not was the flavor. It had quite a bit of caramel sweetness and it was really clean. The beer had a medium mouthfeel and a fairly low abv. I also got a bit of woody character and a dry finish. It kind of dried out my whole mouth and just left the wood to linger for a bit. Not in a bad way, just different. This is a pretty solid lager.

Cheers!

Kelpie

Not too long ago I had a vary good experience with Williams Bros Brewing Co and I learned quite a bit about Scottish ales and the ales that they were producing. I loved every single one of those in the 4 pack and I cannot wait to get them again. Though, there was a problem with the 4 pack... The information that came with it had FIVE BEERS LISTED!!! I have been missing one... so what did I did, what could I do?!?! I found the missing ale, Kelpie.




Kelpie is an ale made with Seaweed. The content in the packet of information I received states:

At least four hundred years ago, the coastal & Island farmers of Scotland used seaweed beds to grow their cereal crops. This barley produced very interesting flavours in the ale and whisky they produced. Including bladderwrack seaweed in the mash tun along with organic barley gives this wholesome dark ale a distinctive flavour.

It truly did. This beer is said to be served in a lightly chilled wide glass and it sits at 4.4% abv... again, I did not listen to the glass recommendation. I will get it right someday. This ale had a very distinctive flavor alright, like a light, roasted chocolateyness and slightly salty. It was nothing that would deter me from the ale, in fact it was hardly noticeable except for in the finish. The ale was quite sweet, rich, in fact until finish. They say this ale has the aroma of a sea breeze and I would not say that it was too far off. I know nothing about ales with seaweed in them so I was trying to pick out everything I could that could lead to discovering how it was used and how it may have affected the ale, but I just settled with another great ale from this company and another one I would definitely recommend. The whole set from this brewery was really good. It's a shame I didn't discover them earlier.

Slainte!

L's Ales: Summer Starlifter

So, I have a little bit of a back log of post I need to get out due to my work schedule, but I am taking a break to get a few out there. I am still working on my visit to a few breweries, including New Belgium & The Duck Rabbit Brewery. New Belgium was the most heavenly of trips, but you will hear about that soon. I recently got to take a part in Iron Brewer. A few of my tweeps have taken part in it before and I was jealous that they got to take part and I missed out. I was pretty disappointed when I found out that I missed Round 1 sign up for Batch 3 but was ecstatic as soon as I found out Round 2 sign ups were going out! This really excited me because it would be my first brew in about a year. I have missed so much about it and this is a great opportunity to get some feedback from complete strangers.





Iron Brewer is really just an opportunity to challenge yourself to make a beer using ingredients that you might not normally use. They give you 3 ingredients and that is about it... they let you decide on your style and recipe on your own. The point is to be creative and make something that you think will stand out and compliment the given ingredients. I thought the ingredients for my round were a little uninspired but that is where the challenge comes from. I was to use Crystal 120, White Wheat Malt, and Faulkners Flight Hops. I thought the other rounds had a better set up but I was not going to let this put me down. My initial reaction was, "I always wanted to brew a hefe", so I got started on writing that recipe. It was after I went to bed and woke up that I realized that sure, I could do something interesting with the style but that kind of goes against what the competition was about. Originality. Given my list, nothing was original about that. Then I got to thinking and this is where it all starts again. The obsession picks back up and the madness goes completely out of control... I love it... I decided to brew a session ale for the summer. The Saison is always a style I wanted to brew but have never done so. I thought this would work out perfectly. I wrote up the recipe and quickly started getting everything together in order to do it... I also quickly remembered why I wanted to upgrade my equipment.





I am tired of my corona mill. It gets the job done but I am glad this was a fairly small batch. This is one of the most annoying tools in my arsenal. I totally works and I get great efficiency from my crush but the amount of time and energy it takes to do so is questionable at some points. Like back when I brewed my Fat Bastard Barley Wine. About 25lbs of grain in this beer, all crushed with the corona. It sucked. I had made my starter a few days before and once I got the brew going I decided to sample the beer it produced. I figured this would give me an idea of what this yeast is capable of, even though the ingredients going into the beer are nothing like that of just a base malt. Granted it was not carbonated but it was quite a treat. I ended up drinking a whole glass of it just because it was that good. Who would have thought that a starter would be something that I would want several bottles of.





I actually did 2 brew days for this beer. The first was a pilot batch of the same recipe just because I was worried about not having had used my equipment in a while and possible infection. I brewed them 3 days apart and both brew days went surprisingly well. The first had a few issues, but nothing too major. Just problems hitting my first few mash temps. I just had to adjust and move on. I should not have done such a complicated schedule. I usually do a single step mash and have great results and always hit the temp. I guess I was worried about nothing. The wort came up a little short but in my second batch, that was not an issue at all. Then again, what could be bad about having 10 gallons of a Sessionable Saison around your house? Again, this was my first attempt at one so that was kind of scary all in its own.




The final product. I cannot wait to taste it out of the fermenter and get everyone elses feed back as well. I'll throw some notes up here soon enough. Really excited to be brewing again. Though, I had a major problem with flys on both brew days. I wonder if that an east coast thing because I have never seen so many in all of my days of brewing. Anyway, take a look at that.




Cheers!

Funny Joke I Heard

You beer lovers should enjoy this.

One day an Englishman, a Scotsman, and an Irishman walked into a pub together. They each bought a pint of Guinness. Just as they were about to enjoy their creamy beverage, three flies landed in each of their pints, and were stuck in the thick head. The Englishman pushed his beer away in disgust. The Scotsman fished the fly out of his beer, and continued drinking it, as if nothing had happened. The Irishman, too, picked the fly out of his drink, held it out over the beer, and started yelling, "SPIT IT OUT, SPIT IT OUT YOU BASTARD!!!!"

Cheers!

Black and Blue, Red and White

I picked up a few more bottles from Dogfish Head, and what I figured out is they may not be my favorite brewery (Much Love for New Belgium), but they are for sure probably my number 1 or 2 sought out brewery. I mean, I pretty much have it down to clock work when New Belgium is releasing a new beer and where to find it... I have emailed them once or twice :p but I know what is coming out none the less. With Dogfish, I look at their calendar and I find tons of stuff in store that isn't even mentioned and I must have. What the hell? Well, what can I say?

This is my second time having Red & White. I was not a big fan of it then, and upon first taste... I am not so much this go around either. I guess some beers are just hit or miss. Though, as I am going on, it is growing on me. Or I am just losing my palate all together. This may be a bad thing with Black & Blue coming up next. I loved that beer. Oh, how glad I am SWMBO picked me up a bottle. I am hoping she likes it too. We will see.




Red & White poured with a big, frothy, golden head. The nose was fairly mellow. I mean, I could pick out a little bit of spice and oak in the nose but it was very tamed. Not what I would expect from reading the description on the label.

Red & White: Ale brewed with coriander & orange peel with Pinot noir juice added with 11% aged in Pinor noir barrels and 89% aged on oak barrel staves.

It had a citrus tang for sure and the barrels, I would say play a pretty decent role in the flavor profile but they are kind of hidden in the back as well. They linger upon finish but this beer pretty much drinks like a wine. Maybe that is just the Pinot Noir juice... though, I have no idea what they hell Pinot Noir juice is... Does that even exist? I guess so, right?




Well, now it comes to the Black & Blue. This beer is far better as it warms up. It is a very smooth beer. I honestly didn't see that many qualities of beer in it. I think the blend of Black and Blue berries really sets it apart. I get a lot of the flavor of those two berries but not much carbonation, or nonetheless, presence of a beer. It is nice in a silly kind of way. I guess I just want to share this beer with non-drinkers but, they are even still skeptical. I can kind of see it as a wine, just like the Red & White but I guess it does not fit the profile. Another Malty Dogfish Beer.

I preferred the Black & Blue over the Red & White but it is really starting to grow on me. The Black & Blue was always a favorite from taste one, so that will be hard to compete against but hey, I win either way I guess.

Prost!

1001 Beers: Fraoch Heather Ale

So I stopped by a wine shop one day because Washington State is awesome as hell. Oh yeah, I love my PNW! But the reason I did stop was because there was a sign outside of it saying "Fill Your Growler Here! Craft Beer Now Available!". How Badass is that? I love the new WA state liquor laws. Though, I did not get a growler fill. There was really nothing in the store I wanted to pick up. I mean I got a Deschutes Chain Breaker IPA, but that was it...

Until I noticed a 4 pack of Scottish Ales. I figured, "What is the worst that can happen from grabbing this?" Exactly. funny enough, I randomly look in my 1001 Beers book and Williams Brothers Brewing Company is in there and one of the ales listed is actually in this 4 pack.



Williams Brothers has a very interesting philosophy on ale. There is a lot of good information in the pamphlet they included but here are some highlights.

Heather Ale Ltd started as a crusade to revive the Scottish tradition of brewing ale from malt and heather flowers.

The variety of flavours has been forgotten-it's hardly surprising that most of today's beers taste the same, they are made with the same four ingredients. Rather than drinking a globally homogenised beer, we are trying to encourage you to try the flavour of the country which it is made. Reflect on why people used local flavours, biodiversity is a practical solution. Enjoy the taste of Scotland.

It talks a lot about ingredients that were used in beer to prior to the use of hops and how many of the materials are hand picked and frozen the same day for use throughout the year. Pretty exciting, I feel. It even tells when the ingredients for each ale were collected. There are 5 ales listed but only 4 in the pack. Damn. The one that is not in here, Kelpie, is a seaweed ale and I would love to find it.

I am just going with these in the order that I had them. So the first, Alba is Gaelic for "Scotland" and it is a Scots Pine Ale. A tawny brown strong ale with spruce and aroma, rich malt texture, complex wood flavour and lingering finish. Best drunk at room temperature from a wine goblet as an after dinner digestive. I pretty much ignored all the glass suggestions. Oh well. Though, I wish would have. Here is a little information from the brewery about this ale.

Introduced by the Vikings, spruce and pine ales were very popular in the Scottish Highlands until the end of the 19th Century. Many early explorers, including Captain Cook, used spruce ales during long sea voyages since it prevented scurvy and ill health.

So, I thought this ale had a sweet, alcoholic, and spicy nose. It tasted like tea to me and kind of drank like it too. Low carbonation, medium mouthfeel and 7.5%. Crazy, right? I am assuming that a lot of the flavors I got were from the spruce and pine. I have only had a couple of ales that used this before and it kind of reminded me of those but tasted nothing like them at the same time. This is very unique.

Next is the Grozet. Grozet is Auld Scots for "Gooseberry". I have never experienced Gooseberries before so this works for me too. Trying new things, Score Yeah! This ale is brewed with Lager malt, wheat, bog myrtle, hops and meadowsweet, whatever that is? and then secondary fermented with Scottish Gooseberries. It goes on to say that it is described by the press as Light pale ale with champagne.




It had a really fruity nose. The bitterness was really light and the ale dries the mouth. You get some bready and fruity notes. I wish I knew what a gooseberry tasted like. I am assuming that is what I was tasting. Pretty great. A good down to earth ale at only 5%.

Ebulum: Elderberry Black Ale.

Introduced to Scotland by Welsh druids in the 9th Century, elderberry black ale was part of the Celtic Autumn festivals when the "elders" would make this strong ale and pass the drink round the people of the village.

Dark roasted, fruity nose. The flavor was really mellow throughout. A bit nutty and roasted on the back end.Another great ale at 6.5%. I spent a little time with this ale. Again though, what the hell is an Elderberry?

Beer Number 11: Fraoch Heather Ale. We are finally here! The information on this ale is pretty interesting too. I mean, it has to be with the importance the brewers put on it and all of the medals it has won.

(Pron: Fru-Och) is Gaelic for "Heather"

Into the boiling bree of malted barley, sweet gale and flowering heather are added, then after cooling slightly the hot ale is poured into a vat of fresh heather flowers where it infuses for an hour before being fermented.

My thoughts. I thought this one was great as well and it sat at 5%. I got nothing bad out of this set. That rarely happens. The nose was very complex. Floral notes of bubblegum, fruit, spice. The ale had a very clean taste. Lemony, Grassy, Herbal, toasty. It really coats the mouth. Loved it. I will for sure be trying to find these ales again. This brewery is amazing.

990 Bottles Of Beer To Go!

Slainte!

Ovila Tasting

Back home, for just a little bit anyway, about to move onto my next Duty Station but got to take a little bit of time to live carefree. I went over to a buddies house and brought over a few delights that I had been holding onto for a while. I really had no idea when I was going to drink these bottles and I thought I would have done so already, but yup, no better time than now.




It only made sense that we started at the first released and worked our way to the last released. I hear that they created a new version of the Dubbel and I am wondering if I got that one or if this is a bottle of the original. I think I picked this bottle up in Julyish...

Either way, I think this one is a lot better than the original I had. I do not know if the beer, in March 2011, was too young or if that version just had more of a bite than this one. It was great, if the old version, it mellowed out amazingly, if the new, they knew exactly what to fix. Dark fruits, raisins, a bit of a sweetness made this beer great.




Next came the Saison, originally released in June of 2011, I believe. It was spicy up front, the yeast bite for sure must have played a role. There was a weird flavor over top but I have no idea what it was. Great flavor though. It was tingly and fruity. Not my favorite saison but pretty solid.


Oh, the Quad. I have never had this beer before today. I bought a bottle of it, once released in November 2011, and it has been waiting for me ever since. I love everything that this beer stands for. It is a great example of the style. I am hoping I can get my hands on barrel aged version once it comes out but I would love to just have this one over and over again. Very malty and the dark fruits were just miraculous. It had a major boozy nose but it did not burn like other beers. When drinking it the warming sensation you feel is to die for. Fig. Yeah, Fig.

This is such a great series and I plan to pick up the 4 packs of Dubbel once they are released. The Saison is supposedly being replaced by a Golden Ale I believe, and the Quad is just being revamped all the way around apparently. I want to locate the few bottles left while I still can.

Cheers!

1001 Beers: Sierra Nevada... AGAIN!

The simple things in life are what makes it worth living. Stopping fill up the tank with gas on a road trip.

I guess that runs you about $50.

Realizing that you are on the only road that leads directly to Chico and Sierra Nevada Brewery... The stuff dreams are made of.

So, the last time I went to the brewery, I had almost the biggest beergasm of my life and I didn't even make it in time for the tour or any of that... Well, this time I got there at about 1230pm. Tours run almost every hour. I could have cried and I had my growler in the back seat... I know, knowing I had no intentions on going there, that doesn't make sense. But as a good Soldier, Always ready.




So, Sierra Nevada is probably my number 2 or number 3 brewery. It is hard to figure this out. I mean, you all know Numero Uno is New Belgium. Duh, but when it comes to Deschutes and Sierra Nevada... I'm torn. I really do not know how to decide. The thing that really sucks is I have never been to the Deschutes Bend Brewery. Only the Portland Pub. Not that there is a problem with that, but when it comes to the original or the second... The original is where I want to go. Which also brings me to this. I am so glad I made it here again being I am moving out to North Carolina and Sierra Nevada will be opening up out there soon. Only 250 miles away!!! MWAHAHAHA!!! but anyway...

This time, like I was saying, I made it to the tour. I thought it was pretty awesome at first just to be there and was totally expecting the same tour I get from every brewery that I have ever been to. While this one followed the same basic format, it took the cake for all the ones I have been a part of. It revitalized my love for homebrewing.

Not that it was gone, but since I have no brewed in over a year and I do not know when I will be able to again being my housing situation and equipment situation have not been completely hashed out yet, but I just have not been around it other than talking about it. I miss it.

Like all of the major craft breweries, Ken Grossman started out as a homebrewer and with a partner in the business but then went big time and yada, yada, yada. He sticks to his roots and that is what counts. But when it comes to the tour, they take you throughout his whole world. The whole brewhouse smelled like my kitchen... or rather a brewery. The mash, the boil, the crushing of the grain. You could smell it all. I loved it so much. I missed it so much. They start with the early days of his brewing and moves to more modern but you are along for the whole ride. You do the classic, we are a craft brewery and taste the malts we use in beer thing, (I was chatting with the tour guide, so he knew I am an All Grain Brewer but they still have to go through the motions), but then we got to do stuff I have never done on a tour to date.

THEY LET US PLAY WITH THE HOPS!!!

And that was just the start of it. After playing with the hops, the grain crusher, putting our heads in the mash tun, lauter tun, and watching it head into the boil kettle, we actually got to taste the wort that was run off from the mash. They had a sampling of Torpedo available for us. Which was super awesome because that is one of my favorite IPAs... or rather, XPA. However you refer to it.

This was just so exciting because as I brewer who has not been brewing, I know how this whole process is done and with the plant in production, it was like I was doing it again. The only thing that would have made it even more similar would be if we got to taste the hopped, post boil wort and take gravity readings haha! But yeah...

They went into a lot about the brewery. About how environmentally conscious they are, what they are doing for the environment, the community, and the customers. That was all pretty cool as well. They gave us info about every step of the process, including bottling and kegging. They are actually pretty efficient and it makes me appreciate them even more. But it was after this that we got to the point that everyone goes on the tour for. The Tasting. I assumed it would be nothing less than the best but there was an amazing offering on tap and we got to try them all.

Draught Style Pale Ale, Kellerweis (Which is one of the reasons this post is part of my 1001 Beers series), Old Chico, Summerfest, Ovila Dubbel, Torpedo, Southern Hemisphere, & Hoptimum. This was pretty much a dream come true. I learned a lot of good things about these beers and the brewery along with the expansion during the tasting portion. I know I forgot to mention this earlier, but there were only 4 of us on the tour. Yeah, I know what you are saying but it was a Thursday afternoon, again 1pm. This made it all that much better. They gave us a souvenir for the hard time we got. I will carry it always.

Beer Number 9: Kellerweis. I loved the Spice, Clove, Banana, Citrus of this beer. It was done in perfect harmony. I do not like very many hefe's, but when they are done right, they are damn amazing. This is a pretty good example. I should have included this one as well in my Blue Moon alternative project.

After the tour I did the touristy thing and checked out the gift shop. I freaked when I saw a sign and thought that the 30th Anniversary Grand Cru was $99.00 a bottle but, with a little help, figured out that was the price for a case. Not bad. Though, I only got one bottle of that. I also picked up a Jack and Ken's BarleyWine. I already have a bottle in the cellar but being I only had one I did not know when to drink it. It was that classic battle of, "This is not the right occasion, I am scared it is not ready to be drank yet, etc. etc.", so now I have a bottle to have and one to save... or drink immediately after I finish the first. Then the choice came down to Pale, Torpedo, or Southern Hemisphere...

I knew I wanted the Torpedo, so that was one down but then it was a hard choice between the Pale and Southern Hemisphere. I know, it sounds easy but I just drank a bottle of Southern Hemisphere the day before and I was torn whether I wanted it again or not since I just had it on the tour too. I decided to go with the Pale. The reasoning... SWMBO picked for me and both was not an option haha! Buying for came with a cool little bag. I also got a bar towel and BBQ sauce, but yeah... after this, it was time for some eats! Both the Torpedo and Pale will get their own 1001 Beers post since I bought very fresh bottles.




This is now the part where we get into the food. I had a burger, but that is not important what is are the beers I had with lunch. They were all just tasters but it got me another 1001 Beers check in and some brewhouse specific releases. Big Day IPA (made for an employees special day), Side Car Amber Ale (damn good. What an amber should be.), Brown Ale (again, very good.), Ovila Quad (my love for this beer is so amazing, you have no idea), and the 1001 Beers, Beer, Bigfoot 2012.

Beer Number 10: BigFoot. On my first sips of this I got a dark hop bitterness, mellowed out by a bit of citrus. I think I picked out some raisins, but it ended kind of sweet. This beer was pretty boozy but that was to be expected, even in a 2oz? pour. I was expecting a bit more of the hops to present themselves. They were there a bit in the beginning, but from past experience (maybe it was not as fresh as I thought it would be for a 2012), I just thought I would see more. Especially after the whole Celebration Ale deal. But yeah. I had a great time here and I cannot wait to visit the new brewery and come back to the old.

Prost!

991 Bottles Of Beers To Go!

Pyramid Alehouse

The things I do for my family. Nikkee and I took our niece out for her birthday to find a propeller hat for her birthday. She told us that is all she wanted. She wanted it so that she could act like she is flying away sometimes. That's an easy gift, so why not. Just so happens that our trip took us up to Seattle... and that she was hungry once we got there. Oh, how convenient is it that Pyramid Alehouse is not even a mile down the same block?

I have only had one Pyramid Ale before. Their signature Apricot Wheat. I didn't care for it back in my early days of craft beer drinking but I figured I would try it again since a lot about my taste has changed. The funny thing though, I didn't order a single one of their signature ales. I ordered all specialty, brewhouse only beers. I mean, I can get the rest year round in variety packs. Why waste a trip? It doesn't really give me a feel for what the brewery is known for but it lets me know what the brewers like and how they play.





I had the Outburst Imperial IPA, Wit Beer, Dunkel, Full Bloom Lager, and the Pyramid Scotch ale. Full Bloom was by far my favorite. It was very clean, had a small/crisp hop bite. Just a good Lager. The Wit Beer was pretty bland. I could not really tell it was a wheat at all. A very watery mouthfeel. Pretty middle of the line. The Scotch Ale was extremely malty. Sweet at the start, dark fruits, boozy finish. The nose was highly alcoholic. The Dunkel reminded me of coffee, it was a tad yeasty and slightly bitter. The earthy hops were great for it. The outburst IIPA had a nice grassy flavor to start, but it quickly became very overpowering. Wasn't a fan.

Honestly, I was kind of disappointed. They were all just alright, nothing special, IMO. I kind of wish I went with the year round offerings instead but I will get around to those. Besides, the one I hear the most good about, was not available. It was the Winter Seasonal, Snow Cap. I did find some Tap Handles though at an antique shop just down the way. I didn't pick any of these ones up but I thought the Snowboard was pretty cool. I guess now I just wait for that beer to be released.





Cheers!

VooDoo Doughnuts

On our way back from Los Angeles we decided we should stop at the VooDoo Doughnut shop. This is one of the most popular doughnut shops in the Pacific NorthWest. They make all sorts of crazy things. From Cock & Balls, to the VooDoo Doughnut, and the one I am specifically talking about, The Bacon Maple Bar. Maple Bars have always been my favorite doughnut. I love the filled ones but this is exactly what I get every time I go into a shop. Not with Bacon of course.

There has been so much hype about the Bacon Maple Ale from Rogue that I knew I just had to try it. Luckily enough, I found a bottle of it at Vendome.

Here is a link to the VooDoo description of it. It basically breaks down why and what Rogue did. I still need to drink a lot of their ales, but I have never really been a fan of them to this point, so yeah.



Upon the pour you see a quick, bubbly, big head that fills toward the top of the glass but it dissipates very quickly. Not a bad thing at this point but I assumed that maybe the bacon is playing a reaction creating a loss in head retention. The nose is straight smoked bacon. It almost smelled like something I wanted no part of. I mean it was a good smell, but not something I would ever expect from a drink. I have no other way to describe it. You get exactly what you think you are at this point. I thought the beer would have a medium to thick mouthfeel but it was very light. Pretty much like water but the smokiness sticks throughout it so it lends a weird texture. Though, still good. Bacon all the way with a tad of sweetness, the maple I am assuming but it doesn't really taste mapley... is that a word? And a hint of breadyness. This is definitely an experience. But what is better than having a beer alone? The beer paired with its namesake doughnut.

Paired with the Doughnut. Interesting to say the least. Though, in a good way, once again. Remember to swallow before you taste your beer. I have had bad experiences with similar pastries before. The sweetness of the doughnut kills some of the smokiness but the bacon flavor remains. I do not know if this is from the bacon alone or the beer. I am assuming the beer. Very intense.

Overall, I would say a good doughnut and a good beer. Would I do it again? Yes. When? Who knows.

Cheers!

1001 Beers: Alaskan Amber

Beer Number 7: Alaskan Amber



Tonight we went out for my wifes, her twin sister, and my birthday dinner... Sure you think they are on separate days, but they are not! Weird huh... My wife and I were born on the same day... but anyway, that is not important at this point in time.

I have only had the Alaskan IPA and Smoked Porter but I must revisit both of those since it has been so long, so I have kind of considered the Amber to be my first experience with this brewery. I did not like the Smoked Porter on my first visit but that was like the 10th craft beer I have ever had, so I am not really counting it.



Anyway, Alaskan Amber. This was a very enjoyable trip. I thought the carbonation was pretty high but what really stood out was the sweet fruitiness and I got a hint of underlying chocolate. I thought this was kind of odd being I saw no indication that there was chocolate in this beer but that is what I tasted. It was medium bodied and bready. A very nice beer. A great experience from a new to me brewery. 3.5/5

994 Bottles Of Beers To Go!

Prost!