Rugged One Posted September 18, 2007 Share Posted September 18, 2007 Finally back in the thread after that mid-afternoon TPR power outage that I'm pretty sure was caused by all of the flat out awesomeness in the Beer Thread over the last 24 hours! Well done gentlemen. Well done. Well it's September again, which means that it's time for another Stone Anniversary Brew. After bowling over beer nerds everywhere last year with their monstrous 10th Anniversary Double IPA, Stone once again has decided to shake the rafters of the beer community with yet another awesomely hoppy and unique creation. Oh my. Very nicely done Stone! Pretty much a straight up hybrid of both a Double IPA and a Porter. Starts out nicely with a huge hop punch up front, melds into a roasty caramel and coffee middle, and then sails smoothly into a pine and citrus finish. Definitely unique. Definitely a winner. And definitely a beer you need to seek out. Oh yeah! The Stone 11th Anniversary Ale. A "Black IPA" as some are calling it, weighing in at a toasty 8.7% ABV. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcjaco Posted September 18, 2007 Share Posted September 18, 2007 ^^ It was my first brew fest. I wasn't expecting anything too spectacular, but some of the selections were just bad. Capital Brewery didn't have Autumnal Fire, and was supposed too. Upon further discussion with the brew master (another perk of VIP, there's no one around to pester them), he told me he screwed up the second batch, so he couldn't bring it. Really, the major perk was just being able to get to all the booths before the drunks showed up. Chris (the man with the pasta salad) owns a bar and has something like 26 taps. He's a great guy to follow around since he knows most of these guys. Even better, the sales guy for New Glarus went to high school with Abra. He gave her a Spotted Cow t-shirt, and told us to come up and visit. You guys need to come out, we can hit up a ton of really good small Wisconsin Breweries. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DerekRx Posted September 18, 2007 Share Posted September 18, 2007 After Heath told me he managed to pick us up a case of the newest brew, Stone's 11th Anniversary Ale, I knew what I'd be drinking on Monday night. Looks like he had the same idea. it was pretty much like drinking a chocolate milk IPA. Definitely one of the best beers of the year, and one I could live with drinking every day for the rest of my life As the beer warmed up, more porter-like qualities came out, more caramel, coffee, and chocolate Almost a combination of a West Coast IPA and a porter, this beast was crazy good. Smells of citrus and pine, a starting taste of the citrus, then strong notes of roasted malts and caramelized grapefruits before a final assault of pine goodness Pitch black and ready to burst out of it's glass bottled prison comes Stone's latest creation, a beer only classified as an American Strong Ale Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bubba83 Posted September 18, 2007 Share Posted September 18, 2007 ^ I want some Stone 11. Last couple of nights I've had... I really liked the flavors on the tip of my tongue. It's got all the typical porter flavors with a good mouth feel. However, there is an off taste in the finish, that is a little acidic. If that wasn't there, it'd be a lot better! Farmhouse Robust Porter. Also called their Stone Fence Porter. 5.5% ABV. Yummy! Awesome fruity flavors and perfect carbonation. A little bit bready in the middle and a little twang of sourness in there too. North Coast's Brother Thelonious. It's a Belgian Dubbel, at 9.0% ABV. Pretty sweet labeling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ParkTrips Posted September 18, 2007 Share Posted September 18, 2007 With everyone else enjoying Stone, tonight I... I have to admit I didn't think I would like this beer nearly as much as I did.. I loved it!! I LOVE the aftertaste, something I never would have expected from a beer with IBU's in the triple digits. I can't wait to get more Stone in my fridge! broke out the bottle of Double Bastard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DerekRx Posted September 19, 2007 Share Posted September 19, 2007 With the changing of the weather once again, that means fall is upon us...meaning it's time for the Hop Harvest! With the harvest comes lots of wet hopped brews, where instead of throwing in dry hops for flavor, they do it with a nice helping of fresh wet hops, making for a different kind of taste. I didn't get to have too many last year, as it isn't something many breweries do, and even fewer bottle them, but one of my favorite beers was last year's Sierra Nevada Harvest Ale. Checking out Beer Advocate's list of fall seasonals, a few more made the list, and after finding one of them at Capone's on Saturday, I decided to grab it, even though it's from one of the breweries I don't really care for. How and what was it?.... Yup, typical Southern Tier stuff, not a lot of hop flavors, more focused on malt and bready flavors, with some alcohol tastes. Turns out they used British hops in this, which is why it had very little hop presence. Glad I only picked up one bottle! None other than Southern Tier's Harvest Ale, which is a wet hopped ESB, instead of a Pale Ale or IPA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rugged One Posted September 19, 2007 Share Posted September 19, 2007 ^ Only Southern Tier could screw up a Hop Harvest Ale. They are located up in the biggest area of hop production in the country, besides Washington, and that's what they come up with! Summer is rapidly coming to a close folks. It's unfortunately time to start wrapping up the summer drinking. Mmmm. This was a nicely done Witbier! Hints of lemon, orange, coriander, and a real nice spice kick at the end. Quite refreshing! From a New York brewery that I actually like, it's the Mendocino Summer Ale. A Belgian Style Witbier. Check out all that yeasty goodness! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
niiicolaaah Posted September 19, 2007 Share Posted September 19, 2007 When will you guys learn... Southern Tier does EVERYTHING backwards. I thought you had already figured that one out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bubba83 Posted September 19, 2007 Share Posted September 19, 2007 ^^ Pft, New York brewery, you wish!!! Okay, so maybe that bottle did come from their New York location, but Mendocino Brewing is the original California Craft Brew! The silly part is I can never find all the different stuff from them that you guys seem to get, I can only ever find Eye of the Hawk/Red Tail/Blue Heron Pale and their Wheat. I went to a job fair yesterday, first one I've been to... It didn't go very well, not many companies in the High Tech section that had jobs I could fill. A lot of them were biotech and looking for Mechanical Engineers and stuff. I did talk to a couple ones looking for C/C++ type Software Engineers, which I can do, though my focus is web programming, but they were looking mostly for Senior people. Oh well, it was still good experience talking to those sorts of people face to face about that kind of stuff, good interview practice I guess. Yeah, I wear two pairs of headphones when I game with my friend Ray back in Arizona... The headset just isn't comfortable on my ears! Oh, Gonzo was still great. Flying Dog's Gonzo Imperial Porter. 9.2% ABV. Woohoo, still awesome! I actually was able to taste some more vanillas and oakiness to it than the last bottle I tried. My last bottle of Oaked Arrogant Bastard. 7.2% ABV. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rugged One Posted September 20, 2007 Share Posted September 20, 2007 ^^ Pft, New York brewery, you wish!!! Okay, so maybe that bottle did come from their New York location, but Mendocino Brewing is the original California Craft Brew! Ha! I was wondering if you would catch that and defend the honor of Nor Cal brewing Bubba! It's interesting, if you look over at BA, they actually have the beers seperated by the location at which they are brewed. I actually really like the stuff that I've had from them and we're lucky to get a pretty decent selection of it around here. I'm really looking forward to trying some of their different styles soon. Well with Summer officially ending this weekend, Kim and I bid it a fond adieu... So long Summer 2007! You'll be missed but now it's time to drink the stuff that we really like! Kim has the Abita summer seasonal, the Strawberry Harvest Lager. This had a very nice aroma and (after it warmed up) taste of strawberries. Definitely Kim's type of beer! Mmmm, strawberries. For me, a Red Brick Summer Brew. It turns out that this one's a Hefe and it was decent. Nice touches of lemon and wheat but had a little too much of tartness at the end. Still pretty quaffable stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DerekRx Posted September 20, 2007 Share Posted September 20, 2007 Going after something from New York but hopefully good (unlike Southern Tier's general stuff). I've had this before, but it was bottled. Let's see if it's as good if not better out of a can. Turns out it's actually pretty tasty for a canned lager! Thanks for the brew, Heath This one we'll keep in the can Brooklyn Lager, it's in the can! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coaster Palooza Posted September 21, 2007 Share Posted September 21, 2007 Tonight we decided to break out what Derek, Heath and Kim gave us from their Norcal trip. Yes I know it was a while ago. I will post the IPAs in another reply. It definitely isn't for Gyendolynne. She will stay with Sierra Nevada. Very tasty. Thanks for the beers. I did drink the other one too! I know this will be good. mmmm...Oaked Arrogant Bastard Ale. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DerekRx Posted September 21, 2007 Share Posted September 21, 2007 Tonight I decided to stick with the canned theme from yesterday, trying out a new to me brew from a brewery I hadn't had anything from yet, but thanks to Capones managed to grab a can. Coming in at #90 on Beer Advocate's Best American Brews is Bender, a brown ale from Surly Brewing out of Minnesota. Would it live up to the rating? Wow, really good. More like a porter than a brown ale; good chocolate, coffee, caramel, and some vanilla tastes with a good hoppy finish. Smooth too with great lasting head and not too much carbonation. Looking forward to getting more Surly stuff but even the can says "beer for a glass, from a can" so we better put it in a pint glass Pretty good stuff out of the can, one fine oatmeal brown ale loaded with flavor right off the bat Another canned brew, this time from Surly Brewing, Bender brown ale ranking at #90 on BA's list. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coaster Palooza Posted September 21, 2007 Share Posted September 21, 2007 Well, I had the Inversion IPA. It was a great beer. I know, very descriptive right? It did pass the test. Thanks again. Here we are... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
65skylark Posted September 21, 2007 Share Posted September 21, 2007 Rick, that picture of Gwen is great! Today we found ourselves in Newberg, Oregon. A nice little town just outside of the Portland metro area. While we were there, we stoped in at a new sports bar. Hamburger was damn tasty too. Inversion IPA from Deschutes. What can I say, everyone posting here already knows it is one fantastic IPA. Well, everyone except Gwen. Lil' Cooperstown. I wonder what they have on tap? Sorry, all my pictures turned out nice and fuzzy. Finished with Aspen Point Amber from Kalamath Basin Brewing. Very hoppy for an amber and tasted far more like an IPA, which isn't a bad thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rugged One Posted September 21, 2007 Share Posted September 21, 2007 Bubba posting some North Coast Brother Thelonious the other night made me realize that I needed to revisit this little gem of a beer as well has another special guest. Wow, the thing I find most amazing about this beer is how it's going on 2 years old and it's lost none of it's hoppy finish. I had forgotten what I nice burnt coffee and chocolate taste this guy's got. Definitley one of the top, widely available, Imperial Stouts around. And we'll stick with the North Coast theme and revisit another one of their Heavy Hitters. The Old Rasputin Imperial Stout that I found hiding out in the back of the beer fridge. Wow, I really appreciate how smooth this is for a Belgian Style Dubbel. Deep notes of caramel and fruit and every sip ends nicely with a combo kick of bitterness and slight alchohol. Very nice. And there he is! But this time in a shorty bottle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nrthwnd Posted September 21, 2007 Share Posted September 21, 2007 Kirin Draft, in Tokyo just before leaving last Monday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DerekRx Posted September 24, 2007 Share Posted September 24, 2007 Been busy driving and riding coasters for the last few days, but managed to stop off for a beer along with dinner on the drive home tonight. and after a visit to the Rogue Dead Guy in the bathroom, it was back on the road to finish the drive home, otherwise I would have had another Accompanied my chicken enchilada nicely I decided to try the Great Lakes Oktoberfest, great marzen style A nice draft list as always Back to the Monroeville Mad Mex, a nice way to break up the drive home from Ohio Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rugged One Posted September 25, 2007 Share Posted September 25, 2007 Still not feeling well enough to drink tonight, so I'll regale you all with some pics from this past weekend's trip out to Ohio. So long Great Lakes. We're allready planning our next trip back and I guarantee that it'll be before Cedar Point opens again next May. I have to finish up with #61 on the Best of BA. The always tasty Edmund Fitzgerald Porter. Mmmm. We decide to soak up the beer with some tasty pub grub. A artichoke dip crock does just the trick. Kim gives another of their Brewpub exclusives a try. The Engine 20 Pale Ale. I start out with their Fall seasonal, The Nosferatu. A nicely hopped stock ale. Lot's of good stuff as always, although they sadly just kicked the brewpub exclusive Cleveland Brown Ale right before we got there. There's something comforting about seeing their old, classic "Eliot Ness" bar that makes you want to hunker down and drink some beers. Let's get to work! I don't think that any trip to Cedar Point can (and ever will again) be complete without a stop in Cleveland and The Great Lakes Brewing Company. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DerekRx Posted September 25, 2007 Share Posted September 25, 2007 Although it's now officially autumn, I refuse to believe it just yet. Feeling in the mood for something IPA tonight, I'm glad I've got friends in California to come thru and deliver. thanks for the beer, Bubba! This face is for you! boy do I love bombers when it comes to good beers I enjoy drinking lots of! Wonderful West Coast hop flavor, very comparible to Pizza Port's Wipeout On tonight's agenda, a bottle of Hop Stoopid from Lagunitas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DerekRx Posted September 26, 2007 Share Posted September 26, 2007 Last night I decided to try something from Terrapin that Heath gave me, as its season was up. much more flavorful. Crispness and sweet floral hop presence Looking for something appealing to drink, I went with Dogfish's Shelter Much like the Wake N Bake that Bubba got, this one was funky. Too thick and alcohol tasting. Sad to say I had to flush this turtle down the drain Terrapin's Imperial Pilsner, part of their Monster series Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DerekRx Posted September 27, 2007 Share Posted September 27, 2007 Last night I needed some head, Gumballhead that is! excellent blend of hops and wheat. One fine summer brew, and a BA best Three Floyds hoppy wheat brew, Gumballhead, displaying lots of head but no gumballs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
65skylark Posted September 28, 2007 Share Posted September 28, 2007 No beer tonight, but, I did want to drop in here and wish Bubba a happy birthday! Justin "Drink one for me" Saxe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rugged One Posted September 28, 2007 Share Posted September 28, 2007 Happy Belated Birthday Bubba! I hope you treated yourself to something good. Anyway, finally got the tastebuds almost back to full functionality so I decided to stick with something with a lighter taste tonight. Hmmm. Very interesting. Wheaty, spicey, a little sour with a nutty aftertaste. Definitely another interesting beer from Rogue but not necessarily one I need to revisit anytime soon. From the Signature Series of Rogue Ales, it's the Morimoto Soba Ale, brewed in honor of Iron Chef himself, Chef Masaharu Morimoto. This is brewed with Soba (or buckwheat) which has been a longtime staple of Japanese cuisine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DerekRx Posted September 28, 2007 Share Posted September 28, 2007 Happy belated birthday, Bubba! Still feeling a bit like summer, but starting to cool off finally, I decided to enjoy some of Troegs latest offerings. Lots of nice chocolate and coffee notes go with this beer. Gonna taste great on those chilly fall evenings Next in line, Dead Reckoning Porter, a newly unretired brew I really hope they start brewing something like this yearly, it's great for a warm day First, Scratch #1, their California Common/Steam beer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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