Ymm, Beer!

[devildeac]

Smuttynose IPA-Just what I would expect from an IPA. A little citrus, a lotta pine with Simcoe, Santiam and Amarillo hops in a golden, ever-so-slightly hazy IPA with a good balance. The IBU are 65 and the ABV is 6.9% and it was a nice beverage to have with a late night garden salad. Serve it with ribs or 'cue or a brisket. I'm cheating on CB&B as this was part of a trader today with a drug rep. However, he did bring 2 and the 2nd will end up in a trader with CB&B during our next beer hunting expedition ;) .

[devildeac]

Smuttynose Winter Ale-This one fooled me. I thought it would be a typical winter ale brewed with caramel and chocolate malts with toffee and dark caramel flavors in the style of an ESB. The web site says it is brewed with a Belgian yeast in the style of a dubbel. It's almost like an ESB/brown ale with a hint of raisins. Malts dominate here and the IBU are prolly 30-40 and the ABV is 4.8%, somewhat below that expected of a true dubbel ale. Good offering with no added spices and a very pleasant session brew. There's an extra in my trader from today so CB&B will see this one later this month or next month ;) .

[ohioguy2]

My wife and I ate lunch at the Kona Brewing Co. on the big island last week. Their dessert menu featured beer floats. I noticed other tables enjoying the combination--I felt it only polite to join them. BTW, the food was great also.

[devildeac]

My wife and I ate lunch at the Kona Brewing Co. on the big island last week. Their dessert menu featured beer floats. I noticed other tables enjoying the combination--I felt it only polite to join them. BTW, the food was great also.

You joined them to enjoy THEIR beer floats!?

Probably woulda been more polite to order your own. ;)
(jk)


Hope you had a tasty experience.

[ohioguy2]

My wife and I ate lunch at the Kona Brewing Co. on the big island last week. Their dessert menu featured beer floats. I noticed other tables enjoying the combination--I felt it only polite to join them. BTW, the food was great also.

You joined them to enjoy THEIR beer floats!?

Probably woulda been more polite to order your own. ;)
(jk)


Hope you had a tasty experience.

It was cheaper (long straws are inexpensive). Besides, I made new friends.

[CameronBornAndBred]

My wife and I ate lunch at the Kona Brewing Co. on the big island last week. Their dessert menu featured beer floats. I noticed other tables enjoying the combination--I felt it only polite to join them. BTW, the food was great also.

You joined them to enjoy THEIR beer floats!?

Probably woulda been more polite to order your own. ;)
(jk)


Hope you had a tasty experience.

It was cheaper (long straws are inexpensive). Besides, I made new friends.

I drink your beerfloat!

[ohioguy2]

Irish beer for lunch today, but no ice cream.

[devildeac]

Irish beer for lunch today, but no ice cream.

That sounds like a wise move...

[devildeac]

Gordon-Oskar Blues Brewing-Quite the interesting ale-On the web site, they list it as an imperial red/double IPA. Make no mistake, this is a fine IRA and NOT an IIPA. The first sniff fooled me as I thought I was pouring Tropicana grapefruit juice with the pungent citrus nose. There are a ton of malts here for balance and I'd guess mostly caramel as the taste of toffee and butterscotch battle nicely with the citrus and it comes off as a draw. The color is red-orange and the head is frothy and about 2 fingers deep. The IBU are 60, further evidence it is not an IIPA, and the ABV is a hefty 8.7%. I'd enjoy this with some aged cheddar or Stilton cheese, a curry dish or some spicy salsa topping a grilled chicken breast or slab of salmon. Not a dessert beer. I could certainly sip this with some 'cue also. I think my son gets one of these delivered this weekend and CB&B sees one in his next 6er/trader ;) .

[devildeac]

Hoss Rye Lager-Great Divide-Unique brew-This is a trader from rmd from the devildeac's great adventure. It is a marzen style beer, or a German lager. Reddish-orange in color and very toasty. Think amber type ale here. There are hints of light caramel and cherries with little hop presence. The rye malt imparts a bit or mustiness or earthiness to the flavor and aroma. I'm gonna guess the IBU are 20 or 30. The ABV is a bit high for a lager at 6.2%. I'm working on our taxes tonight so it made a nice starter brew. This would be fine with burgers, grilled chicken or brats or with some mild cheeses and crackers. I have not seen this in NC so a big and to rmd for his selection.

[devildeac]

Colette-Great Divide-A Belgian farmhouse/saison style ale and very well done. This has 3 malts, barley, wheat and rice. Barley is standard, the wheat gives ales a lemon-orange flavor and slight cloudiness and the rice is usually reserved for the cheap crap like budstuff for "filler" grains. I am not sure what it adds to this brew but it does not detract from its flavor. As a side note, I have seen beer festivals which list the buds and millers as "adjunct ales" which means they are brewed with the "filler " grains . This reminds me of Hooegarden (sp?) and Ommegang Witte and is a very refreshing beverage with a hint of coriander, too. The IBU are low I would bet in the 20-30 range and the ABV is a hefty 7.3%. This would be highly enjoyable with a fruit plate or light cheeses as an appetizer brew or with some lighter fish/seafood/chicken off the grill with some mango or pineapple salsa topping. Another and to rmd for a selection yet to be found in NC from our recent Rocky Mountain high .

[devildeac]

Heard someone is brewing an IIPA today...



Wonder if there will be any "leftovers?"

[CameronBornAndBred]

Heard someone is brewing an IIPA today...



Wonder if there will be any "leftovers?"

[devildeac]

Friday was IPA night.

First player: Avery IPA. This was a trader from rmd recently and a darn good one. I am not sure I have every seen this in NC. Actually, both brews sampled that night were pretty similar. This was about what I have come to expect form these fine folks from Avery. At 69 IBU and 6.3% ABV, it was pretty standard fare with some citrus, a bit of piney "resin" and a good malt balance/backbone. Mildly foamy head which lingered over the beer and down the sides of the glass and a slighly orange-yellow color. Clean, clear and crisp. Good session beer, good dinner beer with mildly spicy entrees or perhaps some jalapeno jack cheese and crackers. A fine choice.

[CameronBornAndBred]

Heard someone is brewing an IIPA today...



Wonder if there will be any "leftovers?"

I'm planning on pitching the yeast after the game tonight. As an experiment, I'm going to use the yeast sediment from the bottom of my Samael that I have saved. I'm not going to make a culture, which is what I should do, but instead just use the wort to culture it. I'm a bit leary of actually having a bug-free culture by doing it the way you are supposed to. We'll know in a couple days if this works, if not, I've got some actual yeast I can pitch.

[devildeac]

Another trader IPA. This was from CB&B a few weeks ago during our beer hunting expedition in J'ville, NC. What a great name: Modus Hoperandi from the Ska Brewing Company in Durango. Continuing a growing trend, this was a canned beer from another Colorado brewer. This was a bit lower IBU at 65 but not noticeably different on the bitterness perception scale. I thought this was a bit "fresher" than the Avery as it tasted a bit more like freshly squeezed grapefruit juice with a bit of zest and the Avery had a bit less zest . Slightly more orange-colored than the Avery with a similar foamy head. This was also crisp, clean and clear. Similar malt balance with an ABV a tad higher at 6.8%, again really not perceptable. I'd enjoy this with similar fare to the Avery and I wouldn't throw it outta bed if it brought a few slices of pepper jack cheese and a handful of whole grain wheat crackers with it ;) . A solid choice/trader from the brewman at the coast.

[CameronBornAndBred]

Here's another one from Harpoon..also in a sampler..
Belgian STYLE Pale Ale
I would buy a 6 of this easy if I saw one. It's really strange, and that's why I like it. They are shooting for a Belgian, and they sort of get there, but not really. But what they DO come up with is pretty good nonetheless. Rich golden color, not much head, really fruity and spicy. Mildly bitter, this is a malt driven ale, well accented by their choice of yeast, which I'm pretty sure is where the noted pepperiness comes from. Hard to describe, but easy to enjoy, this beer is worth buying the sampler for. Also included are their UFO wheat (eh..), IPA (pretty good) and their Munich dark...which is the second best beer in the box.

[CameronBornAndBred]

I'm planning on pitching the yeast after the game tonight. As an experiment, I'm going to use the yeast sediment from the bottom of my Samael that I have saved. I'm not going to make a culture, which is what I should do, but instead just use the wort to culture it. I'm a bit leary of actually having a bug-free culture by doing it the way you are supposed to. We'll know in a couple days if this works, if not, I've got some actual yeast I can pitch.

1.090 OG. That is the highest I've ever brewed. Now, it's up to the yeast.

[CameronBornAndBred]

Most horrible review of the best beer ever...
"Damn this is good"
Samael from Avery. That's all I got for a review. "Damn this is good". I've saved this for a loooong time, too. I drank it out of need, not celebration. I brewed tonight, OG is 1.090. In brewers terms, this beer will be a monster. I needed a yeast that could hang with that, and Samael is bottle conditioned, so I poured the dregs in. I'll find out in a few days if I'm lucky enough to have gotten a winner from the yeast, but from the bottle I know I did. High octane, high pepper notes, suprisingly low sweetness. It's an ale with a LOT of spice. Flavors only though, the yeast is the source of the spicyness..I'm pretty sure none are added. TW marks it on their shelf at 14.5%, the bottle says 16%. Either way...it kicks yer ass. Just like Duke! "Damn this is good!"

[devildeac]

Most horrible review of the best beer ever...
"Damn this is good"
Samael from Avery. That's all I got for a review. "Damn this is good". I've saved this for a loooong time, too. I drank it out of need, not celebration. I brewed tonight, OG is 1.090. In brewers terms, this beer will be a monster. I needed a yeast that could hang with that, and Samael is bottle conditioned, so I poured the dregs in. I'll find out in a few days if I'm lucky enough to have gotten a winner from the yeast, but from the bottle I know I did. High octane, high pepper notes, suprisingly low sweetness. It's an ale with a LOT of spice. Flavors only though, the yeast is the source of the spicyness..I'm pretty sure none are added. TW marks it on their shelf at 14.5%, the bottle says 16%. Either way...it kicks yer ass. Just like Duke! "Damn this is good!"

I found 4 of these at TW about a month ago. I'll have 1 each year for the next 4 years. ;)