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Lavabe didn't get it from this guy... perchance?

Over the Rhine-Christian Moerlein Brewing

New brew and brewery to me. I have actually heard of them, one of the oldest in the US but no prior tastes before Lavabe delivered a 6er at Christmas. This is a pale ale with a very drinkable IBU or 40 and an ABV of 6% with a bold malty/caramel-like taste and very mild citrus hops. Should be fine with burgers, brats or deli sandwiches.

Honker's Ale-Goose Island

This is their flagship brew and is an English style ESB with a golden color, modest head, slight bitterness and a caramel malt dominated body. I'd guess the IBU to be about 40 and the ABV close to 6%. Sandwiches, burgers, soups and slightly spicy grilled fare would pair nicely with this brew. Lavabe brought a 6er of this at Christmas (he brought a LOT of 6ers ) so it will be used as trade bait with CB&B and the drug rep at the office and I'll slide 1 or 2 of these into a carton for my son when he visits again. Now, if bluebeer decides on a visit for a game in the next couple months, I might be convinced to save one for him, too ;) .

Goose me!

Must one be careful of one's step when walking on Goose Island?

Great Gatsby Abbey Ale-Grove Park Inn

Well, OK, the GPI is not the brewer of the beer, it's the Highland Brewing Company in Asheville. I believe it is the same beer as reviewed here several months ago.

Seven Sisters-Highland Brewing

An abbey style ale that looks like an amber but with many more aromas and tastes. Double the amount of grain with Pilsner, Pale, Extra Special and Chocolate malts combined with Trappist yeast and Belgian dark candi sugar impart aromas of vanilla and brown sugar and tastes of the same. There's also a bit of caramel or butterscotch. Hallertau Hersbrucker and German select hops provide just a hint of bitterness with an IBU of 20. The ABV is 6.5%. Enjoy this with sammiches, 'cue, ribs, roasts and burgers. I just bought this at Total Wine and it was listed at $3.99 for the 6er so I couldn't resist. I was even more pleasantly surprised at the register when it rang up at $1.99. It has a date of 3/30/10 but this was just fine 3 months after its brewing date. I may go back for another 6er when I return to Raleigh . Hope CB&B enjoys his 1/2 of the 6er .

I doubt this was leftover from 3/10 but I didn't really check. It paired well with our heavy whores devores (sic ) prior to our big band dance with The One and Only Tommy Dorsey Orchestra last PM.

Sierra Nevada hoptimum...a special release whole cone dip a..pours a surprisingly thin and crystal clear pale amber with very little head..some light candied malts up front which are quickly replaced by a rush of grapefruit..thin drinking with the typical oiliness of hop bombs...lingering bitterness with a very dry piney finish. Despite being bitter, very smooth and easy drinking..below is the description from SN..10% abv...I'd buy regularly if they mass produced it..

A group of hop-heads and publicans challenged our Beer Camp brewers to push the extremes of whole-cone hop brewing. The result is this: a 100 IBU, whole-cone hurricane of flavor. Simply put —Hoptimum: the biggest whole-cone IPA we have ever produced. Aggressively hopped, dry-hopped, AND torpedoed with our exclusive new hop varieties for ultra-intense flavors and aromas.

Resinous "new-school" and exclusive hop varieties carry the bold and aromatic nose. The flavor follows the aroma with layers of aggressive hoppiness, featuring notes of grapefruit rind, rose, lilac, cedar, and tropical fruit—all culminating in a dry and lasting finish.

bluebeer wrote:Sierra Nevada hoptimum...a special release whole cone dip a..pours a surprisingly thin and crystal clear pale amber with very little head..some light candied malts up front which are quickly replaced by a rush of grapefruit..thin drinking with the typical oiliness of hop bombs...lingering bitterness with a very dry piney finish. Despite being bitter, very smooth and easy drinking..below is the description from SN..10% abv...I'd buy regularly if they mass produced it..

A group of hop-heads and publicans challenged our Beer Camp brewers to push the extremes of whole-cone hop brewing. The result is this: a 100 IBU, whole-cone hurricane of flavor. Simply put —Hoptimum: the biggest whole-cone IPA we have ever produced. Aggressively hopped, dry-hopped, AND torpedoed with our exclusive new hop varieties for ultra-intense flavors and aromas.

Resinous "new-school" and exclusive hop varieties carry the bold and aromatic nose. The flavor follows the aroma with layers of aggressive hoppiness, featuring notes of grapefruit rind, rose, lilac, cedar, and tropical fruit—all culminating in a dry and lasting finish.

Anxiously looking for this. Sounds awesome.

bluebeer wrote:Sierra Nevada hoptimum...a special release whole cone dip a..pours a surprisingly thin and crystal clear pale amber with very little head..some light candied malts up front which are quickly replaced by a rush of grapefruit..thin drinking with the typical oiliness of hop bombs...lingering bitterness with a very dry piney finish. Despite being bitter, very smooth and easy drinking..below is the description from SN..10% abv...I'd buy regularly if they mass produced it..

A group of hop-heads and publicans challenged our Beer Camp brewers to push the extremes of whole-cone hop brewing. The result is this: a 100 IBU, whole-cone hurricane of flavor. Simply put —Hoptimum: the biggest whole-cone IPA we have ever produced. Aggressively hopped, dry-hopped, AND torpedoed with our exclusive new hop varieties for ultra-intense flavors and aromas.

Resinous "new-school" and exclusive hop varieties carry the bold and aromatic nose. The flavor follows the aroma with layers of aggressive hoppiness, featuring notes of grapefruit rind, rose, lilac, cedar, and tropical fruit—all culminating in a dry and lasting finish.

Sounds intriguing. I saw a bomber (or 24 ounce bottle) of this in Asheville this weekend but ended up with the following: Anchor 2010 Our Christmas Ale, Sweetwater Happy Ending, Anderson Valley 20th Anniversary IIPA, Weyerbacher Quad and Insanity. Passed on several bombers/750 ml bottles I shoulda bought like Sierra Nevada Grand Cru, Terrapin So Fresh So Green Green and a Sweetwater Dank Tank Series IIPA. I must have 2-3 cases of bombers I have accumulated over the last 3 years or so. Not that anyone is interested...

Oatmeal Porter-Highland Brewing

This was 1 of 2 real brews available at our cocktail hour Saturday night before the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra played and I enjoyed it with a couple plates of heavy whore devores. Solid brew with the typical mocha taste and aroma I'd expect with a good porter, along with a medium to dark brown color and light tan head. This was made very smooth by the addition of oatmeal to the brewing process which imparted a silky texture to the beverage. IBU probably were about 40 and the ABV 6% or less. A fine match with the cheeses, grilled veggies, panini sandwiches and carved roast beef.

devildeac wrote:

bluebeer wrote:Sierra Nevada hoptimum...a special release whole cone dip a..pours a surprisingly thin and crystal clear pale amber with very little head..some light candied malts up front which are quickly replaced by a rush of grapefruit..thin drinking with the typical oiliness of hop bombs...lingering bitterness with a very dry piney finish. Despite being bitter, very smooth and easy drinking..below is the description from SN..10% abv...I'd buy regularly if they mass produced it..

A group of hop-heads and publicans challenged our Beer Camp brewers to push the extremes of whole-cone hop brewing. The result is this: a 100 IBU, whole-cone hurricane of flavor. Simply put —Hoptimum: the biggest whole-cone IPA we have ever produced. Aggressively hopped, dry-hopped, AND torpedoed with our exclusive new hop varieties for ultra-intense flavors and aromas.

Resinous "new-school" and exclusive hop varieties carry the bold and aromatic nose. The flavor follows the aroma with layers of aggressive hoppiness, featuring notes of grapefruit rind, rose, lilac, cedar, and tropical fruit—all culminating in a dry and lasting finish.

Sounds intriguing. I saw a bomber (or 24 ounce bottle) of this in Asheville this weekend but ended up with the following: Anchor 2010 Our Christmas Ale, Sweetwater Happy Ending, Anderson Valley 20th Anniversary IIPA, Weyerbacher Quad and Insanity. Passed on several bombers/750 ml bottles I shoulda bought like Sierra Nevada Grand Cru, Terrapin So Fresh So Green Green and a Sweetwater Dank Tank Series IIPA. I must have 2-3 cases of bombers I have accumulated over the last 3 years or so. Not that anyone is interested...

Sounds like you did pretty well despite not going for the Hoptimum..I'm a big fan of Insanity and you clearly can't go wrong with Our Christmas Ale.

In the news and observer today:

http://www.newsobserver.com/2011/01/26/ ... -boom.html

Our Special Ale 2010-Anchor

I have not bought their Christmas ale in a few years, IIRC, so I decided to purchase a 6er in Asheville this weekend to fill up the case and I am glad I did. This year's brew has the fairly standard porter base (the recipe changes every year) with the addition of allspice (I think). Other years have had other spices and I think they have actually brewed this before with spruce or pine. This one also tastes a bit like damson plum and dried dark fruits. I'd guess the IBU to be about 30 and the ABV is 5.5%. A pleasant winter warmer that would be a nice dessert beer by itself of with some gingerbread cookies.

devildeac wrote:Sexual Chocolate is scheduled to be released 1/29/11. Bottles to be sold at the brewery only. Rumor has it Raleigh Times, Mellow Mushroom and The Pit in Raleigh will get kegs.

One of my clients has invited me to the release of sexual chocolate at one of the bars in downtown Greenville on Friday evening.

I already know that I'm not going to like the taste of it, but the name sounds so intriguing!

CathyCA wrote:

devildeac wrote:Sexual Chocolate is scheduled to be released 1/29/11. Bottles to be sold at the brewery only. Rumor has it Raleigh Times, Mellow Mushroom and The Pit in Raleigh will get kegs.

One of my clients has invited me to the release of sexual chocolate at one of the bars in downtown Greenville on Friday evening.

I already know that I'm not going to like the taste of it, but the name sounds so intriguing!

One of your clients is awesome. Never say no until you try it.

CathyCA wrote:

devildeac wrote:Sexual Chocolate is scheduled to be released 1/29/11. Bottles to be sold at the brewery only. Rumor has it Raleigh Times, Mellow Mushroom and The Pit in Raleigh will get kegs.

One of my clients has invited me to the release of sexual chocolate at one of the bars in downtown Greenville on Friday evening.

I already know that I'm not going to like the taste of it, but the name sounds so intriguing!

The "release of Sexual Chocolate" just sounds so, ah, umm, never mind.

If you remember dessert night at our house a couple years ago, we had the Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout as a dessert beer, with and without ice cream. I'd bet the Sexual Chocolate is even better. I may make some calls in Raleigh to see if anyone has a keg when we return from the coast on Sunday. I'm also starting to wonder how far it is from Topsail to Greenville and rendezvous with you and Mr. CB&B there.

devildeac wrote:

CathyCA wrote:

devildeac wrote:Sexual Chocolate is scheduled to be released 1/29/11. Bottles to be sold at the brewery only. Rumor has it Raleigh Times, Mellow Mushroom and The Pit in Raleigh will get kegs.

One of my clients has invited me to the release of sexual chocolate at one of the bars in downtown Greenville on Friday evening.

I already know that I'm not going to like the taste of it, but the name sounds so intriguing!

The "release of Sexual Chocolate" just sounds so, ah, umm, never mind.

If you remember dessert night at our house a couple years ago, we had the Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout as a dessert beer, with and without ice cream. I'd bet the Sexual Chocolate is even better. I may make some calls in Raleigh to see if anyone has a keg when we return from the coast on Sunday. I'm also starting to wonder how far it is from Topsail to Greenville and rendezvous with you and Mr. CB&B there.

You all DO know that there is a huge Beer Fest in Greenville this weekend? http://beerarmy.com/profile/JollySkullBeerFest

The release of sexual chocolate is a completely separate event from the Beer Fest.

I vote sex over Brooklyn any time. It's not close. Did Mr.O'Malley think the same thing nearly 60 years ago?

I'm sure this has been covered in here somewhere, but I don't have the time to search the whole thing. My wife is making a brisket recipe that calls for "a bottle of beer". What's a good beer for cooking meat? Preferable something relatively cheap and widely available, like at our Wegman's.

Thanks.

bjornolf wrote:I'm sure this has been covered in here somewhere, but I don't have the time to search the whole thing. My wife is making a brisket recipe that calls for "a bottle of beer". What's a good beer for cooking meat? Preferable something relatively cheap and widely available, like at our Wegman's.

Thanks.

If yer gonna cook with it, I'd go with something that isn't worth drinking. The reason you cook with beer is the alcohol acts as a tenderizer. I'd suggest a fine brew like "Horse Piss" or Bud Light.

Ugghh...I don't cook with either a beer or a wine that I wouldn't drink.
Different strokes...
I guess it depends on what meat you're cooking. I can tell a big difference in flavor, for example, in a steamer or boiler of shrimp using SA Boston Lager instead of say...Miller Lite.