Ymm, Beer!

[cl15876]

Met up with my old customer who was in town with wife and some old colleagues that worked with and for me at a Lebanese restaurant this evening (my first experience) and had the opportunity to taste a Lebanese beer called Almaza. It was a pilsener beer, light, and smooth. Not to bad! Almaza stands for Diamond after converted from arabic. According to the evaluation guides of beer in the world like "The Beer Lover's Rating Guides" of the Bob Klein American team, regard the Almaza beer as one of the best pilsener beers in the world. The Mediterranean style food wasn't bad either.

[wilson]

Atlanta Mafia, the following is the clearest cause for celebration to come into my life in quite some time:

http://thefullpint.com/2009/04/27/new-b ... n-its-ride

[devildeac]

Atlanta Mafia, the following is the clearest cause for celebration to come into my life in quite some time:

http://thefullpint.com/2009/04/27/new-b ... n-its-ride

Ha! Typical Georgia "progress" and being behind the times. We've had New Belgium products in NC for a while now. Probably at least 3 months. :roll: I hope they start sending their Abbey and their Tripple .

[devildeac]

CB&B leftover-OR-It has been a while so I forget what this is :oops: . Original Red? Original recipe? This one was spoiled, I think. I am not sure whether it was at the bottlers (ha-ha) or the age of the beer or what the explanation is, this one was highly foamy and tasted like wet cardboard. I'll blame the fact that I probably kept this one too long as I also had an oatmeal stout bottled about the same time, I think, and it was still quality stuff. Lesson learned: drink fresh beer-ideally less than 90 days after bottling unless it is higher alcohol or highly hopped for preservation purposes. Bottle conditioning also helps and may do so for years.

[CameronBornAndBred]

I hope they start sending their Abbey and their Tripple .

Double HA! I hope they start tasting better!

[devildeac]

I hope they start sending their Abbey and their Tripple .

Double HA! I hope they start tasting better!

The NB or your home brews? ;)

[devildeac]

I hope they start sending their Abbey and their Tripple .

Double HA! I hope they start tasting better!

The NB or your home brews? ;)

As a matter of fact, the OS, or Oatmeal Stout I had last PM after the OR was rather good. Deep, dark brown and hints of coffee and mild chocolate. I really like the addition of oats to the brews as it makes them almost silky smooth (like a Jon Scheyer jump shot). Enjoyed at cellar temp. Probably 40-50 IBU and I'd guess about 65 ABV. That one kept better than the OR. This is one Lavabe was supposed to get but he had no room in the Georgia mobile at Christmas time and I think both ILJ and I forgot to pack them in February when she visited. Tonite, it's the A brew (alt, I think) and the SIPA (smoky IPA).

[CameronBornAndBred]

CB&B leftover-OR-It has been a while so I forget what this is :oops: . Original Red? Original recipe? This one was spoiled, I think. I am not sure whether it was at the bottlers (ha-ha) or the age of the beer or what the explanation is, this one was highly foamy and tasted like wet cardboard. I'll blame the fact that I probably kept this one too long as I also had an oatmeal stout bottled about the same time, I think, and it was still quality stuff. Lesson learned: drink fresh beer-ideally less than 90 days after bottling unless it is higher alcohol or highly hopped for preservation purposes. Bottle conditioning also helps and may do so for years.

Woooooooooooohooooooooooooooo!!!!
That's 100% awesome! Welcome to the wonderful world of home brewing. You (DD and select other brunchgaters) have been lucky in tasting my goods. Now you have gotten a bad. Luckily my brew comes with no guarantee, but thanks very much for the rotten review.
1. It means your reviews are honest, but I never doubted they weren't.
2. It means you finally got a bad beer. While I'm sorry for that, I'm also very happy. I've dumped gallons before, it hurts me way more to dump a bucket then it does a bottle, but I wish neither happened.

Sucks for you too, because OR stood for Original Recipe. I gifted that (or those, hopefully the others are good and it was a bad capping) to you during Sue's visit, so you are past the "90 day" limit. Try again if you can, if it's still wet carboard, have a great trip to Total Wine.
One day I too, will live withing stumbling distance of a great beer store.

[CameronBornAndBred]

Just read more of your post,..damn I miss my oatmeal stout. That was good. And gone quickly.

[CameronBornAndBred]

This is one Lavabe was supposed to get but he had no room in the Georgia mobile at Christmas time and I think both ILJ and I forgot to pack them in February when she visited. Tonite, it's the A brew (alt, I think) and the SIPA (smoky IPA).

No beer for the lemurs, tough patooties. And damn, you're drinking my memories. Because that's all I have left of those, hope you enjoy. (Save the SIPA for last, very tasty, and yes, Smokey Pale Ale doesn't make sense...if it weren't mine I'd complain about the name)

[devildeac]

CB&B leftover-OR-It has been a while so I forget what this is :oops: . Original Red? Original recipe? This one was spoiled, I think. I am not sure whether it was at the bottlers (ha-ha) or the age of the beer or what the explanation is, this one was highly foamy and tasted like wet cardboard. I'll blame the fact that I probably kept this one too long as I also had an oatmeal stout bottled about the same time, I think, and it was still quality stuff. Lesson learned: drink fresh beer-ideally less than 90 days after bottling unless it is higher alcohol or highly hopped for preservation purposes. Bottle conditioning also helps and may do so for years.

Woooooooooooohooooooooooooooo!!!!
That's 100% awesome! Welcome to the wonderful world of home brewing. You (DD and select other brunchgaters) have been lucky in tasting my goods. Now you have gotten a bad. Luckily my brew comes with no guarantee, but thanks very much for the rotten review.
1. It means your reviews are honest, but I never doubted they weren't.
2. It means you finally got a bad beer. While I'm sorry for that, I'm also very happy. I've dumped gallons before, it hurts me way more to dump a bucket then it does a bottle, but I wish neither happened.

Sucks for you too, because OR stood for Original Recipe. I gifted that (or those, hopefully the others are good and it was a bad capping) to you during Sue's visit, so you are past the "90 day" limit. Try again if you can, if it's still wet carboard, have a great trip to Total Wine.
One day I too, will live withing stumbling distance of a great beer store.

I will ALWAYS have 6-12 brews available for trading purposes so you might not live near a great beer store, you certainly selected some high quality stuff when your local one went out of bizness recently. BTW, did you get a Full Sail LTD and IPA last month in your "trader?" I still have 2 of each. I also have another Inversion IPA I'll save for you along with a Terminal Gravity IPA if you got one of those and liked it. I found an organic IPA from the Deschutes brewing company that I have not tried yet but will save 1-2 for you also.

[devildeac]

This is one Lavabe was supposed to get but he had no room in the Georgia mobile at Christmas time and I think both ILJ and I forgot to pack them in February when she visited. Tonite, it's the A brew (alt, I think) and the SIPA (smoky IPA).

No beer for the lemurs, tough patooties. And damn, you're drinking my memories. Because that's all I have left of those, hope you enjoy. (Save the SIPA for last, very tasty, and yes, Smokey Pale Ale doesn't make sense...if it weren't mine I'd complain about the name)

The alt survived well. A bit darker than most alts but just as much bisquit and bread flavors. Clear and clean with a hint of caramel, too. Mild bitterness. The first of a 2 beer night. I'd guess about 30-40 IBU and a standard 5-6% ABV. That may be my last one of those . Memories taste good, too.

[devildeac]

Sierra Nevada Torpedo Extra IPA

AND

Sam Adams Longshot 2008

IN THE HOUSE

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Film at 11

Nightly for the next several nights

[CameronBornAndBred]

Nice. I've had the Torpedo, Harris Teeter carries it here, still haven't seen the lonshot pack. Enjoy!

[devildeac]

CB&B's Smoky IPA-I guess the is the 90 day tasting and still really good. As CB&B discussed yesterday, Smoky Pale Ale just doesn't sound right but on 2nd, or 3rd tasting, that's really what this is. A modestly hopped, mildly malty and caramel-like pale ale. The smokiness is slight, nothing like you get in the smoked porters or a German Rauchbier and nothing fishy. Perhaps a bit gamey. It has some of the floral IPA characteristics of the Bridgeport IPA and none of the citrus tones that some have. There may be hints of spruce or pine. I may have one more in storage to review again in another 30 days. I'd guess 50-60 IBU and perhaps a bit over 6% ABV.

[devildeac]

Sam Adams Longshot Cranberry Wit-A bit of background for those who may not know this story. About 10 years ago, they had a homebrewers contest and the winners had their recipes brewed by the Boston Brewing Company and then distributed nationally. I think this happened for 2-3 years and then ended. It was revived 2-3 years ago and the 2008 winners are now on the market with the 3 winners each getting 2 spots in the nicely boxed 6ers.

First up is the above brew. I am not that big a fruit beer fan and don't have fond memories of their Cranberry Lambic but this is one fine beverage. A pretty traditional witbier which means it is light, slightly cloudy from the wheat malt and moderately fizzy. This is pinkish yellow and brewed with cinnamon, orange peel, coriander, grains of paradise and cranberry. The orange and coriander are pretty typical but the others are not and all the flavors are fairly subtle and none dominate. Bitterness is slight and the taste is smooth and pleasant. I'd guess about 5% ABV and IBU around 30 or even less. This is a wonderful porch swing or lawn mower beer and would make a very tasty pre-dinner drink with fruit salad. The 6er is $8 at Total Wine and I'll bet the other 2 winners, the Traditional Bock and the Double IPA will be quite good also. A great way to sample 3 very different styles of beer.

[captmojo]

Fuckin' Sierra Nevada's Porter is mighty damn tasty folks. Quite refreshing and smooth, just like your captain.
"Can't we all just get along?"...

[devildeac]

Hey, Mojo Man, this one's for you, but it might be a bit more bitter than that porter!

Sierra Nevada Torpedo Extra IPA-An American IPA and a damn good one. If RMD hasn't had this yet, he needs to head to his local beer emporium and procure a bottle or three as I think this one is just right to make his taste buds dance and sing. Don't know the malts but they don't quite balance all the hops here and that's fine. I suspect several varieties as the grapefruitiness is somewhat subdued but the pine/spruce and herbal ones are fairly intense throughout the sampling. Have some spicy chicken or fish off the grill with this with a few grilled/roasted veggies and you'll have a fine evening meal. I'd guess the IBU are 60-70 or so and the ABV is 7.2%. Looks like another one to throw in the sampler pack for CB&B, too.

[devildeac]

Deschutes Brewery-Green Lakes Organic Ale-A bargain/closeout brew from the Portland airport. Not a bad pickup for 1/2 price. An amber ale that has some characteristics of an APA with "5 types of 100% organic malted barley" and "Liberty and Salmon-Safe Sterling hops." I kid you not. That's what it says on the bottle. Some breadiness but more sprucey/piney hops in the nose and taste. This made a nice match with the late dinner tonight which was a 1/2 corned beef sammich which was then followed with a 1/2 pastrami sammich which my newly crowned favorite niece gave to us as "taxi fare" for the round trip to RDU for her long weekend trip to NYC. IBU about 40-50 with an ABV of 5.2%. That made it easier to enjoy the SA Longshot Bock as the 2nd sammich beer :oops: . I'll save 1-2 of these for the hombrewmeister also. .

[devildeac]

Sam Adams Longshot Traditional Bock-Just about a perfect bock beer with a medium brown color and a bit lighter than a brown ale. This is actually a lager. Tons of malty sweetness with toffee and caramel and butterscotch. A bit of hops balances it but the emphasis is on the malts. The label says notes of plum and cherry but not to my lips and palate. I neglected to mention biscuit-y, too. And I'm talkin' homemade and nicely browned all over. I had this with the pastrami portion of my Carnegie supper late last PM. And before OZZIE gets too mad, I did not know it was being delivered until my newly crowned favorite niece called from LaGuardia as she was boarding the plane and told me she was flying a late supper in as a thank you for our taxi service to/from RDU for her long weekend OOT. I'd guess the IBU here are 20-30 range and the ABV was a very warming 6.8%. Want me to save you one, CB&B, or are you on your own here? ;)