What Was the Last Beer You Drank?

[Rugged One]

^ Well I'm glad you got those pics sorted out Kev cuz that was a freak'n sweet BTR. I'm glad to see that you FINALLY made it to RR!

 

Oh, and where's the pics of Natalie at...

 

I know that I haven't posted much of anything in the past month or so but I'm hoping to get back in here once in a while when I've got something cool to share.

 

I thought that I'd start out by sharing some pics of a recent visit, with our friends Jeff & Brandi, to a relatively new brewpub on the PA scene. Located not far from State College, the addition of this has now made the "Golden Triangle" of Otto's, Bullfrog, and Selin's Grove into the "Golden Quadrangle" of mid-state brewpub awesomeness.

A final shot of a local band setting up for that Saturday evenings show. Do you get the theme here? Local, local local! The brewpub that makes nice with the local community, usually sticks around for a while. We can't wait to come back!

I barely remembered to snap a picture of the Double Rainbow IPA. This was more in the English style with a more subtle hop bitterness that crept up on you.

...while I get ready to enjoy my locally raised burger (and yes I ordered well done, that's why it looks like a hockey puck).

Kim gets all excited over the hand cut sweet potato fries...

Their menu here is more on the healthy side of things, using fresh, honest, locally produced meats and produce.

I stay dark and check out one of the their most popular beers here, the Poe Paddy Porter. Needless to say, it was quite awesome with full, robust flavors and a creamy body. Tasty!

...while Jeff and Brandi try the newly tapped Colyer Kolsch.

Kim gets into some Elk Creek Copper Ale, which was jam packed with caramel and toffee notes...

I start out with the Big Trout Stout on nitro, which was quite full flavored and quaffable.

Shot of the tap board. As you can see, they don't really shy away from any styles, having a nice, varied selection of light and dark beers. Including those served via nitro and a beer engine.

The bar isn't huge but has a nice vibe as well. That's the assistant brewer there working the hand pump.

The atmosphere here is very inviting and warm, giving off the vibe of a cafe crossed with an art studio, as they have lots of local stuff hanging on the walls.

Located at the corner of the only traffic light in the small town of Milheim, it's PA's latest brewpub, the Elk Creek Cafe + Aleworks.

[Bubba83]

^ Nice post.

 

When meeting Natalie I didn't really want to snap a picture of her since that might seem a little weird. I was planning to snap a picture later in the day when she was busy pouring beer, but it seems she left a little early and had some other goobers take over.

 

Now if I had had a few more samples in me when she was there I probably would have asked to have a picture taken with her!

 

At first I thought she was just kind of Vinnie's PR person but now I understand that she is a whole lot more involved with everything than I first thought. Really glad she gives the outside world a look at what's going on at RRBC.

[Sean Menefee]

It's been some time since I've posted in the beer thread so here we go. I had the shot to visit Jack Russell Brewing up in Camino, CA a few weeks back. ( AKA Apple Hill for the folks who are NorCal locals.) Nice small farmhouse type brewery that has a small bar and larger patio seating/viewing area that overlooks the surrounding Apple Hill orchards. I picked up a mixed six pack and sampled the Jack's "All Organic Ingredients" Farmhouse Ale this evening.

 

Visit the official site here:

http://www.jackrussellbrewing.com/main.sc

 

Now for the photos:

 

Bottle and bad ass Bastard glass photo here.

 

It poured a orange/yellowish color with a decent creamy head that didn't stick around for too long.

 

Lacing was minimal after a few good drinks. I got a bit of honey, malty sweetness, banana, vanilla creaminess, citrus flavor, and even a bit of spicy clove for good measure. It's a pretty enjoyable mix of several styles of brew IMO.

 

This is my first bottle out of six so I'm 1 for 1 at this point with Jack Russell Brew goodness. I'll post more as I get into my next bottle tomorrow night.

 

-Sean

[ParkTrips]

catching up on the past week...

I'm really pleased with it so far.. I think I counted 79 bottles and the 3 cans of Gordon, with a little room to spare! This totally has made my day, because otherwise all I drank today was a 420..

Today, I finally bought myself a beer cooler!! It was basically my birthdya gift to myself, and this means I can keep my regular fridge cooler and no longer keep having milk go bad because the temp is too warm

.. I went with Oskar Blues' Gordon double IPA in a can! though, honestly, I was a bit disappointed in it. It was a little too strong for the heat outside, I guess I should have known better. I'll reserve proper judgment for an indoor tasting where I can pour it into a glass and everything

So, I broke out the cooler and loaded it up.. but I don't think quads and barleywines would be appropriate for the setting sooo...

Yesterday I decided that I needed to mow my lawn..

The face says it all...! What a powerful explosion of taste, both in terms of hops and a balancing malt sweetness. I kinda loved it.. but it also kinda crossed the line for me. Its really, really close to being both awesome and bad to me so it comes out as just average. It makes Bastard's and Hop Rod Rye's look like child's play

Moving on.. I also had a bottle of the Struise-Mikkeller DIPA. At a whopping 130IBUs, it is the highest I have ever tried

It was quite tasty! The beer itself is classified as a ruach but I think that is misleading.. its really a hybrid rauch/roggen as the name indicates. Both rye and smoked malts were used, but the rye really wins out big time. There is some smokiness but its mostly about the rye. I liked it nonetheless and thought it was a perfect choice for my meal, but I think the only thing that lands it in the rauchbier category is the fact that its a lager as the label indicates. But I have 3 more bottles to let you guys decide what you think of it on your own

Rauchbier of course! More specifically, Terrapin's Side Project #2 the RoggenRauchBier

Being summer, the grill is getting more use. What goes perfect with grilled meat?

Its an ok beer, but I just don't like the rocheforts as much as others. I'm not sure why, I think the alcohol character is just not my taste.

Moving onto the last trappist, its time to end with Rochefort 8

It had an aroma that kinda smelled like smoked meats, but more subtle and not like a rauchbier. It tasted great, with caramel, raisins and plums being the highlights, and even with the high abv is was easy to drink.

Next was the Kulmbacher Eisbock, a 9.2% abv beer from Bavaria

wow! what a strong beer turned stronger! Delicious Lees blend of syrupy malts, sweetness, vanilla and dark fruits, with a hit of Tennessee whiskey on top. A great combo IMO

I thought it needed a little extra flavoring, so I added a bit of whiskey

Next up was JW Lees Vintage Harvest Ale, this one from 02.

The beer itself was good - orange and lemon flavor with some nice tartness and noticeable alcohol presence, it was one of the better strong pales that I've had

Note that the label is entirely in flemish, so a sticker had to be added for us dumbass Americans who don't know better than to not drink when pregnant (sigh)

Continuing my march through the trappist beers, Achel 8% blonde, a strong pale

[Rugged One]

On Saturday Kim and I headed up to Harrisburg for the 5th Annual Harrisburg Brewers Fest. Fortunately, unlike last year, we hit the first session this year and were glad that we did. It was a lot less crowded with a friendlier vibe and not as many drunk frat boys running around.

 

We are also happy to report that the lineup for this seems to keep getting better and better with a real nice variety of PA breweries coming out and showing off their wares. It really did feel like one of the preeminent beer festivals in the state right now (and it should be!). They do a real nice job of taking care of the breweries at this fest and making sure that the money goes to a good cause, so I guess that the word is spreading based on the representation we saw.

 

On with the pics...

And then as a bonus on this trip, I get to pick up my official Mugger shirt. Nice! Thanks for reading.

Welcome back Major Hops! Probably the hoppiest offering they have, I'd like to see it on a little more often.

I was glad to see an old favorite was back on...

Afterwards, we headed over to the ABC for a late lunch.

...as his band Herbie hit the stage to entertain the crowd to close out the first session.

We end the fest chilling out with samples and watching Jeff pound the skins...

Naturally, guess who the most unfriendly D-Bags of the fest were?

I'm especially glad that the Church got to come, as I got to try some of their delicious Coconut Stout.

It was really good to see that some Western PA breweries could make it out as well (sadly no East End though, Scott still won't come farther east than State College).

Legacy was pouring their brand new Fat Boy Amber Lager for the crowds.

It was nice to Iron Hill of Lancaster coming out for their first HBF.

A shot of all the breweries lined up down Third St. We were really impressed at the quality lineup of PA Breweries that showed up for this thing. Makes me proud to live in such a beer rich state.

Troegs itself had a nice lineup available to sample, including some Nugget Nectar that was still sitting around. I felt that it was actually getting a little alcoholic at this point.

We ran into Jeff & Brandi and hung out with them for a bit. Jeff couldn't drink too much during this session, as he was going to be part of the entertainment in a little while.

They brought a couple of their brews including their new Weldsplatter IPA, a nicely done IPA in the English style.

Come on! You've got to love any brewery that brings a giant battle ax to a beer fest!

Another new brewery on the scene is the Bavarian Barbarian Brewing that just opened earlier this year up in Williamsport.

They had their 2 summer seasonals on. Their Whitehorse Whit beer and their Lovitz Lager (pictured here) which was a Lager with a real subtle flavor of water melon. Very nice and refreshing!

Our first stop was a brand new brewery on the PA scene. Roy Pitz Brewing out of Chambersburg, PA. I'm really anxious to get over one Saturday and check out their operation, as I actually spent my formative years growing up in Chambersburg, and I really want to help these guys out.

Kim shows off your little sampling mug. It may not be as nice as some others we've seen but at least, being made of plastic, people can't break them in the streets.

They really do a nice job of getting everyone in a timely manner. Someone walks by as you wait in line and checks your ID and ticket with stamps. All you have to do then is get checked over as you enter and given your commemorative sampler.

It's mid June, which can only mean one thing. Time for the 5th Annual Harrisburg Brewer's Fest, hosted by Troegs and benefiting the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation of PA. Located right in the heart of downtown (and only a block or so from where I work).

[DerekRx]

I've been slacking again, not only from posting, but also from taking pictures. Here's some of last week's stuff.

too busy enjoying the pool to take pictures of our other brews, but we enjoyed some Terrapin Rye Pale Ale, Racer 5 IPA, and Hop Devil as well. Then after SFGAd we stopped at Rock Bottom today where I enjoyed the Liquid Sun Hefe Weizen along with an amazing bourbon BBQ Salmon sandwich.

and since Bret likes pale ales and IPAs, I brought a few he cannot obtain, like Terrapin's Hop Shortage

afterwards it was off to Bret and Jill's to check out their new deck and enjoy the pool and BBQ

on Saturday we headed to Sesame Place for a few hours so I could be more prepared to drink

once again I wasn't very impressed. Lots of rum raisin flavors with just a tad of dark chocolate and roasted malt, and hardly any coffee. I like other RISs much better

on Friday I decided to check out the Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout again, a highly ranked beer I had a couple of years ago and didn't really care for

Now that's an awesome IPA that's a lot different than the West Coast style

I sure am glad these come in cans and are easy to transport in checked baggage. It's time to get Furious with some Surly

[mcjaco]

Just got back from Dayton, for Abra's 10th college reunion. I drank alot of crap beer, but started the weekend out right.

 

I wanted to check out a place that was rated quite high on BA, so we made sure to leave early on Friday, so we could grab lunch before we had to check in. So we stopped by Boston's just northwest of Dayton at around noon. The the parking lot was empty and I feared the worst. We headed up to the beer garden area where two gentlemen were talking, the older of the two told us he was closed but opened at three. I sighed, and when he asked where we were from, and what we were here for, I told him. Stone on tap. He quickly looked at me and Abra, and told us to come on in, he'd be our bartender. To make a long story short, we spent two and a half hours with the owner drinking Stone, and listening to him tell us the history of the bar, beers of the area, and how he loves the BA crowd. If you are ever in the area, it's a must. Awesome stuff on tap and in the cooler.

 

Humorously, as we sat there he informed us that Stone is finally coming to Wisconsin next weekend. Typical of my luck.

And a few more drinkies.

On the way home I cleaned out Belmont Party supply of Stone.

This place is a must go if you're in the area. Dave is a kick ass guy, and knows his stuff.

My horrendous Bubba face. Filled with excitement over finally getting Stone in mass quantities.

They won on the Most Arogant bar awards last year.

Half of the bar had a typical game area.

Victory. It must be good!

Nothing too spectacular, but I loved the calender updates, and news section.

Good collection in the cooler.

As you see, it's us and him. Oh yes, and his cute dog Gypsy.

Oh yummy, yummy, yummy!

Dave (the owner) had a Stone tasting the night before. I hit paydirt!

Abra and approched this forelorn looking establishment.

[ParkTrips]

beer from last night and lunch today

Today, just a light lunch at the Brick Store Pub, whom is celebrating their 11th Anniv. For the past 11 days they have had special beers available on tap and today, there were two. First was a cask Heavy Seas Hang Ten.. already an awesome beer in the bottle and amazing dry-hopped in the firkin. The other selection was the above beer, Allagash Rosa, a wild ale brewed with brett. It tasted a lot like their tripel but fused with the brett it gave off a nice, crisp grapefruit-based sour funk flavor that was awesome! An excellent beer! The pub's literature said it was brewed exclusively for the celebration, but I really hope this one sticks around and is available in the future. A great intro to brett for me, as it was super easy to dirnk

This one totally made me forget the Kellerbier! It was AWESOME! The raisin and grape character was there, but the really awesome part of the beer was the incredible chocolate flavoring. A chocolate quad, what a great idea! A very heavy beer that allows the alcohol to come through, all those fruits blend with the sweet malt body to make it a hell of a beer. One of my favorite quadruples to date

For dinner, I paired my plain cheese pasta with Judgement Day from Lost Abbey, proclaimed as a "quad-style ale with raisins"

.. and it was not very good IMO. I think it may have gone bad though. A nice serving of bitterness but not necessarily in a good way - think macro lager with heavier hops

First off, the Moosbacher Keller Bier, a new style for me - a traditional German lager that is a bit hard to come by

[Juggler]

Talking of slacking.....

 

Well the one good thing about heading across to the USA for a couple of weeks was that the two beers that I kegged before going away have had plenty of time to mature.

 

I haven't sampled any of the Weiss Bier yet but I have been indulging in the Belgian style Dark Ale that I brewed.

Just so that I can show I've been there I decided to drink from the recently acquired ABC glass. (Not bad when you consider I'm "at work")

[twisterbret]

Derek and Beer

[DerekRx]

^Wow, that shot came out awesome. I believe that's the Racer 5 in the glass. Looks refreshing!

 

This week's brews...

It's supposed to be a stout, but the roasted flavors are overshadowed by sour lactose throughout. I thought it went bad, but there are plenty of reviews from earlier in the year stating the same thing. Hopefully this weekend has me enjoying much better brews!

and we end this update with one of the worst beers I've ever had, Arbor Brewing's Espresso Love

and you can really taste the lemons! pretty much tasted like it sounds, lemonade with a biscuity finish. Light, refreshing, and a summer sessionable if you like lemons

as it warms up again, time for some Leinenkugel's Summer Shandy, a wheat beer mixed with lemonade

Chocolate, molasses, bread, caramel, coffee, and even some hops makes for a satisfying brew with a much lower alcohol at 5.1%, and canned to boot!

I followed that up with something equally as awesome, just a little bit lighter, Surly's Bender

Amazing stuff jam packed with citrus, pine, spicy, and earth hops AND great malty balance of caramel and biscuit, but at 13.6% ABV, it's also packing some serious alcohol, even more dangerous when you can hardly notice it.

earlier in the week I started off with the Double Crooked Tree IPA from Dark Horse

[FlyingScooter]

Stone is great!

One of the best IPA's i've ever had.

[DerekRx]

Happy Independence Day, USA! Here's a few things from the past week. I haven't had my camera with me lately. Earlier in the week we went to The Drafting Room again where I had their 14th Anniversary IPA from Troegs (yummy and not a hop explosion) a Brooklyn Lager (it came free with my meal), and finally got to try the Sierra Nevada Southern Hemisphere Harvest Fresh Hop Ale (different but great), while today we headed to Union Jack's to try the Avery 15 (fairly good, but not a RR Wild Ale) and Southern Tier Cherry Saison (very barnyard and lacking cherry, typical for Southern Tier).

lots of raisin flavors, didn't smell or taste like I expected

Finally, a gift from Matt, Northwind RIS from Two Brothers

turns out it was the same beer as the Drafting Room's 14th Anniversary IPA, so yay!

I was anxious to try this one, Troeg's Scratch #12, an IPA

they kicked the Blackeye PA the night before, so instead I just went with the American Pale Ale. Not the best, but not bad by any means

first up, the Organic Kolsch. Light, refreshing, flavorful, and wholesome!

back at the local place, Stoudts, which we'll become very familiar with over the next year

[mcjaco]

^ Did you like it? Or think it was crap?

 

Four days of a bathroom remodel (not the powder room), led to lots of drinking. I hope I can the pics up this week, but I'm swamped.

[Scaparri]

I went home and to my bro's place outside of Cincinnati in search of a new car during the 4th of July weekend, and as always, I can't go to Cincinnati without making a beer run to Jungle Jim's in Fairfield. I always leaving wishing I had more money to splurge, but sadly, I'm a poor college student, so I left with only five bottles. Of the five, the only one that remains is one of my favorite beers, the St. Bernardus APT 12. Here are the other four I had...

It was ok. I really didn't taste the honey flavor at all, so nothing really set it apart. I actually thought the overall flavor was considerably weak. Not something I'd get again.

Besides the St. Bernardus, the last beer from my purchase was a Leinenkugel's Honey Weiss. I had been curious to try this for a while.

"Just one more drop?" The last sip is so great, yet so depressing. I should have bought more than one!

This is possibly my favorite stout! It has such a sweet, malty flavor that goes down so smooth. The coffee and chocolate notes really give this sweet stout an amazingly rich flavor that I can't get enough of.

Next up, Left Hand's Milk Stout! I had a sip of this before and was quite impressed, so I went ahead and bought it to get full enjoyment out of it.

Back in Alabama, the second beer from my selections was Allagash's Dubble Ale. This is the only picture I took, but I was slightly let down by it. This had an awfully strong coffee bite that almost tasted burnt. It wasn't a bad beer, but it was a little over powering.

Not too shabby! I'm not a big hop guy, but I really enjoyed the balance of hops and malts in this one. I didn't completely notice the biscuity taste mentioned on the description, but my beer palate isn't fully trained yet.

This was only my second beer from Brooklyn. The other was the Black Chocolate Stout, which didn't disappoint so I was looking forward to another beer from their line up.

A substation in my brother's hometown caught fire, knocking out the power to half of the city on the 4th of July, so what better thing to do than enjoy a brew!? I opted for Brooklyn Brewery's Pennant Ale '55.

[DerekRx]

This week's brews. Maybe I'll start another themed week next week.

didn't really look or taste like a typical wit though, but it did have lots of fruity flavors like nectarine, apricot, orange blossom, lemon, honey, and toasted grain to make for a nice summertime brew

and to finish, Swallow Wit from Middle Ages in Syracuse

Nothing extraordinary, but it did have some nice flavors of chocolate mixed with roasted malt, coffee beans, molasses, and a touch of lactose. Almost like an Imperial Milk Stout, but it hid its alcohol quite well

Arcadia's Cocoa Loco, a stout pickup from back in Dark Lord Day

Not as good as it was on tap, but this beer sure does have lots of grass and pine flavors with a touch of toasted grain and biscuit to help balance it out a bit

May as well stay with the hop theme now with a can of Surly's Bitter Brewer

another excellent DIPA from those SoCal peoples. Packing in lots of pineapple, grapefruit, tangerine, caramel, biscuit, and pine with a little touch of alcohol warmth, I could just imagine sitting on the beach watching the surf crash and the sun set into the Pacific

A beer I picked up at Union Jack's and couldn't wait to open, Port Brewing's 2nd Anniversary Double IPA

This one didn't disappoint. Good flavors of molasses, nuts, chocolate, toffee, roasted coffee, and citrus hops.

Ithaca's Nut Brown Ale was next on the agenda

It was just ok for a red ale, not much hop flavor to it, nothing really exciting but flavors of malt, smoke, and grapes

Red Tulip Ale from New Holland

[Hercules]

I don't have any pictures because my camera is broken, but, for my birthday:

 

I had a Sprecher Black Bavarian with my Jamaican Barbeque Seitan and Vietnamese Bruschetta.

 

Then I picked up a vegan cheesesteak and washed that down with a Golden Monkey and a Yuegling Light Lager.

[ParkTrips]

I haven't posted in a long time, mainly because I haven't had many new beers recently! I did have a good one tonight so I thought I'd share and maybe I'll catch up Matt-style soon

 

btw, Derek, I got caught up this week and didn't get your package off so I'll do it early next week. I don't want it to be in transit over the weekend..

And I'm reporting because I loved it! A very smooth, medium-bodied beer that is great for this time of year! Very wheat-y and not bitter at all. Not too bad at 7% which is remarkably hidden for a Weyerbacher. Folks in PA, give it a try!

I'm starting off this afternoon with Weyerbacher's Slam Dunkel, a seasonal dunkelweizen and one of the beers to make it down here in the first shipment to GA!

[Bubba83]

^ *Mental Note For Next Trade*

 

Beer pics from the last month coming soon... Did I say month? It has been a month since I've posted? NO WAY!

 

By the way Derek, what pharmacy do you work at?

[DerekRx]

This week I decided to go with another themed week, so it's time to enjoy some brews from Michigan, all of which was picked up on our venture out there back in April.

even though this beer is a couple of months old, it still isn't holding back any of the great hop flavors. Great powerful bitterness with just enough sweetness from the honey. Perfect way to end our Michigan theme.

Our final stop will be Bell's in Kalamazoo for some Hop Slam, one of the best IPAs there is

another good brew that is a little different than most tripels. Packing lots of citrus flavors like orange and pineapple along with the typical banana and bubble gum tripelness

We pass by Marshall on our way back to Grand Rapids, so let's have some of Dark Horse's Sapient Trip Ale

hey hey hey, this brews packing raisin, plum, chocolate, molasses, spices, nuts, roasted malt, and even some citrus flavors

Heading out of Detroit we'll visit Ann Arbor and Arbor Brewing for their Phat Abbot Dubbel

this Belgian tripel does a fantastic job at hiding its alcohol while not being stingy with flavors. Banana, apples, spices, honey, yeast, all good

just a size comparison between a normal bottle and the Eisbock bottle

since we're in Warren already, let's head down the road to Dragonmead and their Final Absolution

raspberry jelly, caramel, chocolate, prune, brown sugar, and some pretty high ABV at 12%, this sucker is packing. Luckily it's only a 6oz bottle!

up next brings us closer to Detroit with Kuhnhenn's Raspberry Eisbock, one of the top rated beers in the world

loaded with red raspberry flavor along with a touch of malt and even a hint of grassy hops, this has summertime dessert written all over it

We'll start out in Grand Rapids with Founders and their Rubaeus, a raspberry ale

[Bubba83]

I hope to get the pics from the last month up tomorrow. Things have been way too hectic lately even on the weekends, it has been really annoying actually!

 

My beer shipment from Heath arrived today, and WOW, Heath just gained like 8,000 points in my "cool dudes" book. I can't believe some of the stuff he sent me, what a psycho!

 

I can only hope to send him back stuff that's half as rare/good, because he really outdid himself!

 

I leave on thursday this week for a special trip! Not telling where though...

[Groteslurf]

Although I'm living in Belgium, I'm not really into beers. I can appreciate a Duvel or Hoegaarden once in a while but that's it.

I like to taste and drink wines however and yesterday I drank a bottle of the infamous Gallo Winery.

-

[Bubba83]

I got a new 2008 Honda Civic LX (Automatic, Black, 4dr) today. Maybe I'll post a few pictures of it soon. I dunno if I mentioned I got a new job or not, it seems pretty awesome so far, I'm about a month in.

 

Here goes nothing!

 

By the way Derek, what pharmacy do you work at? Might be a funny connection between our jobs if you answer a certain one.

 

I'm going to skip the ones my uncle and I have all the time in favor of the more interesting ones that we were trying for the first time since I have so many pictures.

My weak attempt at an eerie moon photo. My camera gets pixelated quick when I zoom really far.

Almost forgot how good this is too. There's a reason this has been on the top 100 and held there for so long.

Finished the night with a Sammy smith Impy Stout. One of the lower ABV Imp Stouts out there.

Overall it is really solid. Nice hop bill hinting at west coast status yet has a very similar big malt backbone to Dogfish Head's 60 minute.

Firestone's Union Jack, a first for my uncle and I.

A very well balanced Belgian Pale that I adored. I was a little underwhelmed by the first few Lost Abbey's I had, but the last two have redeemed the name a bit.

And to celebrate my devotion to my new job (you like that? eh? eh?) Lost Abbey's Devotion Ale.

Pretty extreme. Not as extreme as Aventinus, but a bit more palatable in my opinion.

Erdinger's Weizen-Bock. New to us.

It looks awfully dark from this picture, but it was still a tremendous red, probably my favorite red out there, super aggressive hoppy with an awesome malt backbone!

Another old friend.

Actually, not sure if my uncle had this one before. We were both surprised that we liked it so much, actually thought it was better than Samuel Smith's?

Revisiting an old friend.

Still holding up well!

Blank Slate Porter.

From what I can remember, it was a really nice saison. Malt flavor actually came through which was key in making it better than a lot of saisons I've tried.

These beers really are from a month back, I hope I can remember them! Lost Abbey's Red Barn Ale.

[Bubba83]

Sorry I'm breaking this post up a bit, but that was from one set of photos I had, and I have a bunch more. I'm just worried the inadequate TPR uploader is going to kill my entire long photo post again and waste a bunch of my time.

 

On to the photos.

I know you guys are digging the shirtless pics because of how jacked and tan I am.

This isn't from too long ago now, Stone's Imperial Stout that I decided to drink on a random worknight? I must be crazy. It was hot out so I reached for something, refreshing?

Here's the IPA the next morning, already with lots of active fermentation and krausen building.

Malt bill is like a stout, hop bill is like an IPA. Sort of like Stone XI light, a little mellower and less alcohol than Stone XI.

After a hard days work of brewing I decided it'd be nice to have a thought provoking inventive beer from Drake's. Their Expedition Ale.

Ice water bath time to cool the wort as quick as possible to help prevent contamination.

I must say, it was a nice 85 degrees out that day, and brewing outside was definitely more relaxing. Plus I was able to sanitize right next to the boil this time so I wasn't running inside and outside all crazy like.

I ended up using Willamette and Glacier as substitutes, and the resultant beer should be quite a bit different than blind pig. Though, it is kind of exciting to have a recipe of my very own even though I'm borrowing Vinnie's malt bill. Here's the ultra light malt extract going in. This stuff is STICKY!

My recipe I picked up at the homebrew shop for Vinnie Cilurzo's famous Blind Pig IPA! Wait a second though, you have this recipe but you're out of every single hop variety on here due to the hop shortage? Nooo!!!

Time to pull the spent grains. my mom was actually around this time so I had a camera person to get some pictures of the process!

Let's have a look inside. Here are the specialty grains steeping as it comes to a boil.

After the semi-disaster in the kitchen last time and my mom flipping out, I decided to borrow my friend's dad's outdoor propane burner.

I woke up the next morning realizing that I needed hops! That's why I decided it was time to brew the IPA that I had picked up the supplies for the day before.

Drop Anchor Baby! This stuff is flat out insane as always. Still my favorite Barleywine, the best malt complexities I've ever had flavorwise perhaps, who needs hops anyways???

Looks like the fog is rolling in from San Francisco. That must mean it is late and time to end the night. Time to sound the foghorn. From Anchor!

Lacks the great body this guy has, check. Lacks the more intense chocolate cocoa flavor this has, check. I'll go more robust with the next porter I brew.

Let's see where blank slate porter falls short...

He never ever lets you down, to the mad monk!

More of that crazy guy they tried to kill a multitude of ways over in Russia.

A classic american IPA and all around really solid. The best beer I've had from Lost Coast (Not much of a feat there though!)

Another one we've been meaning to try but hadn't gotten around to yet. Lost Coast's Indica IPA.

My uncle and I had Lagunitas' Imperial Red, which we thought would probably be similar to this. We were wrong, this was much better than the Imperial Red. Nice hoppy kick and a big red backbone, almost gave Red Rocket a run for its money.

A first for my uncle and I, Lagunitas Lucky 13. It's a Mondo Red Ale, read: BIG!

[ParkTrips]

very cool stuff, and congrats on the car! I have a nice Lost Abbey order coming in soon, so I'm really excited seeing all the LA!