Ymm, Beer!

[devildeac]

Liberty Summer Amber Ale-Bull City Brewing

Sample #3 from Saturday night. Think Fat Tire but perhaps a shade lighter in color and body. Small head, mild floral and spicy hops and medium bready, caramel tastes. I'd guess the IBU around 20 and ABV around 5% so it was a nice ale to have with sweet potato and dirty fries and my bacon bleu burger. Named after the Liberty Street Warehouse on Rigsbee Ave which was once a giant tobacco auction warehouse.

[devildeac]

hsaWaknoW (Wonka Wash backwards) Chocolate Beer-Bull City Brewing

The fourth and final sample of the evening served as my dessert beer and was quite the treat. Somewhere between a brown ale and porter, this brew is aged on Peruvian and Guatemalan cacao nibs that are roasted fresh in Raleigh and brought directly to the brewery for the aging process. Creamy, dark and smooth, this ale reminds me a bit of Sam Adams Chocolate Bock but with a bit more body/texture and flavor. I'd estimate the IBU around 30 and the ABV around 6%. This would be delightful with any chocolate/caramel desserts but was delicious by itself.

A few notes about the brewery tomorrow.

[devildeac]

Ruby Redbird-Shiner (Spoetzl) Brewing

Now this was an intriguing beer. A summer seasonal brew that starts out a lager and then becomes a grapefruit ginger beer. Straw-colored with little head, this concoction has far more ginger than grapefruit. Minimal hop presence with an IBU of 13 and the Texas Ruby red grapefruit added in the brewing process is minimally perceptible on the palate. The ABV of 4.01% makes this sessionable and certainly worth a taste, especially since my son-in-law gave me one from his 6er last week.

[devildeac]

Who's gonna be the first here to sample and review this one:

http://www.newsobserver.com/2012/08/...ylink=misearch

Rogue's Voodoo Maple Bacon Ale....

http://www.rogue.com/beers/voodoo-bacon-maple.php








13 Ingredients:

Malts: Briess Cherrywood Smoked Malt, Weyermann Beechwood Smoked Malt, House-smoked Hickory Malt, Great Western 2 Row, Munich, C15, C75 Malts

Speciality: Applewood-Smoked Bacon, Pure Maple Flavoring

Hops: Perle, Sterling

Yeast & Water: Pacman Yeast, Free Range Coastal Water


Specs:

14º PLATO

30 IBU

76 AA

30º Lovibond
World Class Package:

750ml painted bottle.


Lovely bottle.

http://voodoodoughnut.com/index.php

[devildeac]

Raison D'Extra (2006 edition)-Dogfish Head Brewing


I have been pondering and savoring this brew and review for a couple weeks now and finally have some time to post about it. Twelve ounce bottle dated 11/7/2006 and divided into three nightcaps after my son's wedding. Poured a muddy, reddish-brown with aromas of raisin puree. Brewed with a massive amount of raisins, this really resembled a sherry more than a beer due to its huge maltiness and flavors or caramel, figs, dates, brown sugar and dark rum. The head was small and only briefly maintained and I sipped this slightly chilled. The IBUis rated at 20 (fairly low as the hops here are minimal) and the ABV is a ginormous 18.5%. Apparently, an earlier 750 ml bottled vintage tipped the scales at 20.5%. This was purely a celebratory brew for our multiple events last month and I am extremely pleased to have saved the bottle for nearly 6 years and that it was so smooth and sherry-like after that period of time. Pretty spendy at $9 for the 12 ounce bottle but well worth the splurge for a tasting or a celebration.

[devildeac]

Your Guide to Cool Microbreweries in NC-There's No Place Like Foam:

http://www.newsobserver.com/2012/08/11/ ... k=misearch

[devildeac]

Best brewery name. Ever.

http://assclownbrewery.com/Official_Ass ... _Site.html

[devildeac]

Best brewery name. Ever.

http://assclownbrewery.com/Official_Ass ... _Site.html

Just imagine the discussions after visiting there:

Man, I had some good Ass brews last night!

Their high gravity series products are really big Ass ales!

[ArkieDukie]

Best brewery name. Ever.

http://assclownbrewery.com/Official_Ass ... _Site.html

Just imagine the discussions after visiting there:

Man, I had some good Ass brews last night!

Their high gravity series products are really big Ass ales!

Or: Those assclowns brew a good beer!

[devildeac]

Brett Beer (listed as Bretta Beer on the NB website)-New Belgium and Lost Abbey Brewing Companies

This is another addition to their Lips of Faith Series and is a collaboration with Lost Abbey Brewing.

I found this to be a rather interesting brew. Much as described above except I found a $9 bottle of it at Whole Paycheck, err, Foods last weekend and enjoyed 1/2 a bomber a couple nights during this week. Poured a hazy straw yellow with generous fizz and nice Belgian lacing into my Ommegang tulip. Aroma is a bit sour and funky with crisp notes of fresh apples and pears and tastes of the same along with a bit of mango and pineapple. The funk comes from the Brett yeast and the fruitiness comes from the Sorachi ace hops. Looks like a single malt concoction (pale) with no wheat as I might have thought for a brew of this style. I'd guess IBU to be 20-30 and the ABV is 7.5% and it would be a great pairing pre-dinner with lighter cheeses and crackers or fruit and as a dinner beverage with shrimp/scallops and softer/lighter bodied fish with a fruity salsa topping. Another fine collaboration from NB and a hearty thanks to fuse for his prior review which convinced me to purchase this.

[devildeac]

Devil's Tramping Ground Tripel-Aviator Brewing Company

How can you not like this one ?

I found a bomber of this for $5.49 at Whole Foods last weekend and divided it over a couple nights last week and found it pleasantly surprising. I believe I had a pint of it at Mellow Mushroom a couple years ago before a show at the DPAC. Poured a slightly cloudy yellow-golden with a small fizzy head which did not linger. Aromas are floral and fruity and tastes are crisp apples, pears and candi sugar which is added in the brewing process. IBU relatively low at 31 and ABV typical at just over 9%. I could match this with a plate of fresh fruit before dinner, a seafood main course or a cobbler for dessert. I still think I like Victory's Golden Monkey better but I'd certainly include this in a tasting during a brewery tour in Fuquay later this summer or fall.

[captmojo]

Devil's Tramping Ground Tripel-Aviator Brewing Company

How can you not like this one ?

I found a bomber of this for $5.49 at Whole Foods last weekend and divided it over a couple nights last week and found it pleasantly surprising. I believe I had a pint of it at Mellow Mushroom a couple years ago before a show at the DPAC. Poured a slightly cloudy yellow-golden with a small fizzy head which did not linger. Aromas are floral and fruity and tastes are crisp apples, pears and candi sugar which is added in the brewing process. IBU relatively low at 31 and ABV typical at just over 9%. I could match this with a plate of fresh fruit before dinner, a seafood main course or a cobbler for dessert. I still think I like Victory's Golden Monkey better but I'd certainly include this in a tasting during a brewery tour in Fuquay later this summer or fall.

I saw this at the Total Wine in Winston-Salem last week. I picked up some Warsteiner Marzen instead. Uggh, I should have taken the Dunkel and tried this ale. Ahhh...the Oktoberfest is actually 'drinkable', it just really is nothing special.

[devildeac]

Devil's Tramping Ground Tripel-Aviator Brewing Company

How can you not like this one ?

I found a bomber of this for $5.49 at Whole Foods last weekend and divided it over a couple nights last week and found it pleasantly surprising. I believe I had a pint of it at Mellow Mushroom a couple years ago before a show at the DPAC. Poured a slightly cloudy yellow-golden with a small fizzy head which did not linger. Aromas are floral and fruity and tastes are crisp apples, pears and candi sugar which is added in the brewing process. IBU relatively low at 31 and ABV typical at just over 9%. I could match this with a plate of fresh fruit before dinner, a seafood main course or a cobbler for dessert. I still think I like Victory's Golden Monkey better but I'd certainly include this in a tasting during a brewery tour in Fuquay later this summer or fall.

I saw this at the Total Wine in Winston-Salem last week. I picked up some Warsteiner Marzen instead. Uggh, I should have taken the Dunkel and tried this ale. Ahhh...the Oktoberfest is actually 'drinkable', it just really is nothing special.

I also read that their fall seasonal, Octoberbeast, is now available. Sounds interesting, especially at almost 8% ABV, about 1.5X the usual ABV for a beer of that style.

Their brewery tour is $25. I've never paid for any of the limited number of brewery tours that I have taken but this sounds pretty reasonable as it includes 2 pint glasses, three bombers, a filled growler suitable for refilling, the tour and samplings, IIRC. Might be worth a Friday night or Saturday afternoon road trip down to Fuquay .

[devildeac]

Claymore Scotch Ale-Great Divide Brewing

I went on a different tangent with my purchases last week as I procured three Scotch ales and a couple Belgian-type brews, all by US brewers, of course. I am surprised I never tried this before as I really enjoy this style of beer. The pour is a dark brown, somewhere between a brown ale and a porter. As typical for this style, faint aromas of smoke and dark caramel waft gently through the air as they emanate from the two fingered head. The tastes are luscious dark caramel, toffee and rich milk chocolate, mixed with a bit of dark rum. I'd guess the IBU to be about 30 so little hop bitterness. The ABV is a pretty standard 7.7%. I'd compare this very favorably with Sam Adams Scotch Ale, one of my favorites of this style, and Traquair House Ale which is one of the world standards. The SA product is rarely available and usually only then as two bottles in a mixed 12 pack. The Traquair is about $6 (or more) for a 12 ounce bottle.

[devildeac]

Monkshine-Uinta Brewing

The more brews I sample from this Utah brewery, the more impressed I become. I have written before, that a decade or so ago, Utah was not a good place for brews due to liquor laws limiting their ABV to a budlite-like 3.2%. Now, with a much higher "upside" to borrow a phrase from our recruiting threads, this particular brewery produces some very fine session brews along with some unique high gravity offerings.

This pours a straw-golden color with a modest head and is very clear. Faint floral notes in the olfactory division and hints of black pepper from the Belgian yeast and crisp pears, apples and light caramel from the pale organic malts. IBU are low at 26 so little hop bite and the ABV is 6.8% is a bit high for a blonde ale but not boozey at all. Pair this with soft cheeses or fruit before dinner or a light fish and fruity salsa for your main course.

[devildeac]

I'd post pix of some of these brews but keep getting this disclaimer:

It was not possible to determine the dimensions of the image.

Never had that before a month or two ago and I keep using the same sources for these screen shots as I have used for quite a while . Some of these bottles are rather cute/pretty/cool looking.

[devildeac]

Who's gonna be the first here to sample and review this one:

http://www.newsobserver.com/2012/08/...ylink=misearch

Rogue's Voodoo Maple Bacon Ale....

http://www.rogue.com/beers/voodoo-bacon-maple.php








13 Ingredients:

Malts: Briess Cherrywood Smoked Malt, Weyermann Beechwood Smoked Malt, House-smoked Hickory Malt, Great Western 2 Row, Munich, C15, C75 Malts

Speciality: Applewood-Smoked Bacon, Pure Maple Flavoring

Hops: Perle, Sterling

Yeast & Water: Pacman Yeast, Free Range Coastal Water


Specs:

14º PLATO

30 IBU

76 AA

30º Lovibond
World Class Package:

750ml painted bottle.


Lovely bottle.

http://voodoodoughnut.com/index.php

OK, I caved and bought a $13 bomber along with my Scotch ales and Belgian-style brews this week. It had better be tasty at this price . Think this will be a share brew with family or at a Brunchgate this FB season.

[devildeac]

Tripel-Allagash Brewing

Fine beer, fine brewery. I am pretty sure it has been quite a while since I sipped one of these. I went on a US brewed foreign beer theme last week and chose this over the Dubbel. It is a strong Belgian-style golden ale with aromas of apples, pears and honey with a peppery bite from the Belgian yeast. This was a 12 ounce bottle from a $9 four pack and poured a slightly cloudy golden-yellow with a small head that rapidly disappeared. I'd guess an IBU around 30 and the ABV is 9%, both of which are pretty standard numbers for the style. This would be fine with lighter fare but strong and spicy enough to match with curry or hot Chinese dishes. Wish their specialty series ales weren't so damned spendy as they sound delicious.

[devildeac]

Great Scott Ale-Harpoon Brewing

This is one of their Leviathan series, or big beers. The best way to describe this would be an imperial Scotch ale. But, it really tastes like a blend of the old ale, barleywine and Scotch ale styles. Lots of dark, sweet, caramel malts with hints of toffee and mild chocolate, a bit nutty, mild bitterness and a hint of smoke from the peated malts, typical of Scotch ales. There was little retained head to this clear dark brown pour with a nose to match the tastes. This was about $9 for the four pack and worth the purchase as I'll save one for winter or next spring, give one to my son and trade one tomorrow. IBU about 30 and the ABV was a boozey and stunning 10.2%. It would make a nice match with game, BBQ fare or with a caramel chocolate dessert.

[CameronBornAndBred]

Are you a beer snob?