Conflux No 1: Collage

So one thing I find hilarious about this collaboration, which no one else in the world will find funny, is that the first time I have been to both of these breweries was on the same day. Check it out.

But Anyway, Here we Go...

Collage is actually the first beer in the Conflux series, but it was the second to be released. Back when Number 2 came out I thought I had missed the first one and I was bummed as all hell, but figured oh well. When I heard about the beer dinners for the release I tried to figure out everything so bad in order to make it but my flights would not make it in time. I have 3 of the 4 beers used and I am hoping that the 4th is released anywhere I can get it.





I love how this is one of the first times I was able to appropriately use my glass with a beer. It was oh, so refreshing. Collage DEFINITELY smelled like a Hair of the Dog Beer. This kind of surprised me being I thought it would be more of a Deschutes ale. The two companies came together and, if I understand this right, blended their Dissident, The Stoic (which I have a bottle of in the cellar), Fred, and Adam in several casks. I do not know how they did it but wow... I cannot believe this beer exist.

In the nose I cannot describe what I am smelling, exactly. If you have ever been to Hair Of The Dog, you know the scent I am talking about and I also get a tingly sweetness of a barrel. The mouthfeel was incredibly thick and in the taste, dark fruits are predominately what I experienced. Maybe like a black raspberry. Boozy and warming but it is not overpowering. Very well done... Bravely Done. Overall I found this to be a pretty good beer... but I messed it up, big time.





I failed to realize that they put a BEST AFTER date on the bottle... 4/30/13. Wow, I had to run up to 99 Bottles to grab another. I am glad that it just came out and is kind of easy to get a hold of. I would have hated myself for a while about this one haha! I have no idea when I am going to open this beer again, but I am for sure looking forward to it. Great once, even greater then. If I can find The Dissident... even if I can't, I have plans for the day I open this one up. Wait and see...

Cheers!

1001 Beers: Boont Amber

Beer Number 6: Anderson Valley Brewing Company Boont Amber

The bahlest steinber hornin', chiggrul gormin' tidrick in the heelch of the Boont Region!

This is what the natives of the Northern Californian town of Boonville will say about this beer. This quite intrigued me... especially being I have no idea what they are talking about. But, nonetheless, This is a great amber ale.

Seriously, one of the best Ambers I have tasted. It had a little bit of a tartness, but overall very clean and very simple. Maybe I am just over the whole hop experience of every other beer in the world but it was very rich. Not in the sweet way, just in how I would expect the flavor of an amber would be. I guess... since you are not me, you don't know what this means but hey. It was damn good. It was slightly roasty and a tad hoppy. The hops filled in the back end. You got the smoothness of the beer up front and did not have to deal with the BS of every amber that is out now. I loved it. A very basic Amber in everyway. I really do not know what else to say.



995 Bottles of Beer To Go!

Bahl Hornin!

The Brave Experiment

As coined by @bjornidentity from Twitter,I recently opened a random ass growler that I had lying around my room from before I left for basic training. It doesn't really give you a good overview of the beer, but you can read about my journey of that day here.





Doesn't that picture look familiar? Anyway, wow... this beer was just bad after so long. The greatest thing about this was the head... check it out.





Other than that, shitty. Wow, I honestly can not remember how this beer tasted but wow... if it was anything similar to this, I cannot believe that I got myself a growler... wtf? The picture of this beer is so blurry because it is a direct representation of how it tasted. Very sour, smelled funky as hell. I expected it to be a lot bitter but I think when the hops died, it turned this beer to piss. I have no explanation.

Though, I went up to Seattle in order to get my niece a birthday present and I happened to come back past the brewery. I figured, you know, I want to know what I liked about this beer. There had to be a reason I wanted a growler... well, here it is.





It was actually pretty good fresh. It had a very herbal essence to it. A nice hop bite and sweet in the finish. Definitely a beer that I would love to have again and again. I guess my taste were not that bad but I still messed up by leaving it to waste. I have kept a few growlers for some time... ok, only like a week, but I will never again let this happen. Geez, unless... this becomes an experiment haha!

Cheers!