What Was the Last Beer You Drank?

[ParkTrips]

goodies from the past few days

It was a good beer overall, the garnet color is uncommon in a tripel. The aroma was predominately raisin with alcohol, and the taste yielded a lot of funkiness and sour flavor, with the more typical candied malt flavor present as expected. It hid the alcohol well apart from the aroma, just as Struis did, and all told Zatte was a very good Belgian beer and an odd interpretation of the style.

With the date 03.05 notched on the bottle, its been sitting around a long time, as seen in the bottom of the bottle and eventually glass

Next was Zatte, a tripel from the IJ brewery in Amsterdam

Tonight, I started off with a Sam Adams pale ale, which was one of the weaker pale ales I had ever had. Much like the cherry wheat it wasn't bad, but it did lack anything special and is just another BBC brew that is a nice intro to the style.

Duvel was one of the first belgians I had, and I still think its a fine beer with its crisp, spicy flavor, nice carbonation and [of course] beautiful appearance. I love the devil!

I was in the mood for head yesterday, so I popped open a Duvel!

The beer itself was very blah though, a watery ale with the cherry flavor. I still was able to drink very easily, and it wasn't bad by any means, but I can totally see why chicks dig this beer

For dinner one night I paired some pasta with Sam Adams cherry Wheat, an odd combo but it worked

I got this the other day too, always good to sign for beer! the contents will be consumed soon, if not for my birthday next month

oh well who cares, I drank the damn beer and it was as good as always!

Then I tried to get cute with the picture, but was too impatient to make the 420 look really cool..

I came home with this the other day, because I never have enough 420

[Bubba83]

Ahh, I've been slackin a bit on getting the pictures posted from Tacoma. Not much more beer pictures from there really, but I'll throw them up now so I can catch up with my American Craft Beer Week celebration tomorrow.

Here's a picture of Pyramid's Seattle Taproom at the Sea Tac Airport. I had an Alaskan Amber but didn't take a picture, the place had nothing special on tap unfortunately. Guess I should have gone to Rogue at Portland's airport after I landed on the beginning of the trip instead.

Interesting stuff. Had all your typical porter flavors, and a nice intensity, with good mouthfeel. The only thing weird about it was this bready cake batter flavor that was also in the mix that made it a little bit overly sweet.

Harmon Brewing's Puget Sound Porter. Something I've never heard of.

And here's a picture of Puget Sound out the car window. Not bad for a moving pic eh? Blurry a bit but oh well!

And I'd also try their IPA, which seemed to be in the british style and also just not very good. No hop notes besides some stale bitterness, and also perhaps too thin.

I love me some good fish and chips, and these were no exception. They look pretty standard, and they were I suppose, but they were made with Halibut and the batter was cooked perfectly. Good fries too, I had great food on the trip.

I'll start off with their porter, which tasted a lot like my porter. It was too thin, and the flavors were good, but a little on the less intense side.

Beautiful entrance into the place, they left a lot of the structure of the firehouse intact, including the big bay garage doors.

Engine House No. 9 Restaurant and Brewery in Tacoma, WA. It's in an old fire house that was built in 1906.

[roland303]

Bubba83, nice to see you went to the Edgefield. I used to work at a McMenamin's in Portland (called the Kennedy School). A lot of their standard beers are... not great but here's the rub: 1) Hammerhead from Nitro tap- great, 2) the seasonal IPA is usually the bee's knees, and 3) Well, Portland (and Oregon in general) has so many good beers that you can just bail on McMenamin's in general and sample all the the local brews at some non-McMenamin's establishment. They're good but it's the atmosphere that people like.

 

And for my first beer review- Berkeley Bison Brewing Red Ale (sorry, no pic), a satisfying ale with less sweetness and more hops, so more of a pale or IPA style. Smooth and malty but not "sticky". Plus, it's organic. Very good. 6.0%.

[Rugged One]

^Great pics Bubba. Keep em' coming!

 

I'm finally getting around to posting these.

 

So last Friday, Kim and I both had the day off. With the newly refurbished Victory having just opened 2 days before, we knew that a trip to the Philly burbs was definitely in order.

...with watching game 1 between the Flyers and Penguins. Well we all know how that ended but they are at least winning game 4 as I type this. Go Flyers!

It was naturally a little herbal with some subtle hop bitterness and went well...

Lots of good stuff on but I decided to go with their latest Project IPA varietal. The Fuggles IPA.

They also had a ton of merch that the other location doesn't having because (after I talked to the merch manager) it turns out that because they are each run as separate business, they can order and sell their own stuff. That's good because I really liked the stuff they had here more!

...including a game room. Pretty cool!

This is the only pic I took of the interior but this location is quite different then the one in Phoenixville. While that one has more of a pub feel, this one was a lot more spacious with a ton of room...

We still had some time to kill in the day, so we decided to seek out a new to us place. The "other" Sly Fox location in nearby Royersford. This is the location where they do all the bottling and canning of the Sly Fox products. We couldn't help but laugh at how it seamlessly meshes into the Dollar Bargains store next door.

Finally, one more pic of their new automated growler filler. Unfortunately I didn't get to see it in action but it sure does look impressive.

We'll finish this visit with a couple more shots of the bar, including all of those glorious taps! If they can keep this many on at all times, I think that we'll be visiting a lot more than we used too.

It was quite tasty with a crisp hop bite and dry feel.

I next went with their special Tettnanger Tettnang Braumeister Pils which was specially brewed for the Craft Brewers Conference last month.

...including their brand new Wilddevil, which is the Hop Devil IPA that's been infused with Brett. It was OK, the IPA still really shined through with the Brett only adding some mild tartness.

The beer menu has fantastic descriptions of each beer as well...

As you can see, they pulled out all the stops with the grand re-opening taplist, including a whopping 5 on cask, which will be a regular thing. Awesome!

Kim shows off the swanky new food and beer menus.

This is where the old entrance now takes you, to the new game area. Around the corner is the newly refurbished bathrooms and the gift shot which are the about the only things that are still in the same spot.

This is where we sat at and it filled up almost immediately after we sat down. Does it look familiar? It's where the old bar used to be.

They have lots of these brass brew tank tops as decorative theming scattered throughout. I must say that they do add a nice touch.

Here's a shot of their new cafeteria style seating "Fest Haus" inspired dining room. They are going to use this for additional seating (and they needed it on this night) and for their beer dinners.

I miss the old bar but this new one looks pretty kick ass too! I'm looking forward to many more pints here.

...and you go inside...and things look a lot different! There used to be a bottling line and bags of malt in here!

And it's been even longer since we've been back to Victory and uh...something looks different...

Of course I've got to get me some of the newly tapped Czech Mate Pils they just put on. It was OK. I was expecting a little more hops for a Czech style Pils though.

You know a trip to Rock Bottom isn't complete without a gigantic plate of nachos.

...including their April release, the Hop Bomb. I can't believe that this stuff is still on tap! It's a bit unbalanced towards the hop end but for a Hop Head like me, that's never really a problem!

Lot's of good stuff on tap as always...

But first, we're finally back at the King of Prussia Rock Bottom after a 2 month absence.

[nay]

I had quite a few beers during a trip to Orlando last week. I only have very little knowledge of beers, so please bear with me. Basically, I can tell if I like it or not. And usually, I like it!

And finally, a Skip Jack amber at the Boardwalk pool bar. Nice and refreshing. Plus they had coasters for the best reality show ever, The Mole.

Rose and Crown, one more time! With the Strongbow cider and Harp lager combo. Very tasty.

Another trip to Epcot and the Rose and Crown. Got a Black and Tan this time. I'm not a big Guinness fan but thought I would try it anyway. Still a bit too heavy for me.

Land Shark lager from Margaritaville. I liked this one a lot.

I had Killian's Irish Red in the Lost Continent part of Islands of Adventure. I think I liked it.

Back at the Rose and Crown, I tried another blend with Sprite and Harp Lager, an interesting combo. Not bad!

This was the Fire Rock. I also had a Stone Mill and Kirin Ichiban. It was so hot there, so all tasted good and refreshing.

Have to stop for free beer at Sea World.

Tsing Tao from China in Epcot. Nothing too special.

This was a pub blend of Strongbow cider with blackcurrant at the Rose and Crown Pub in Epcot. Really good!

I had a Safari Amber at the Yak and Yeti area in Disney's Animal Kingdom. Pretty decent.

[DerekRx]

^^Now I know why you were telling me not to go to Victory last Thursday, you just wanted to steal my thunder here on TPR! Oh well, I'll get there soon enough to try the Wild Devil and friends.

 

^You've done more drinking in Orlando on this trip than I have in all the time I lived down there, you go girl!

 

My latest brews...

I'm not sure if this face of disappointment is from the lame Smallville season finale or the fact that this Bell's brew didn't do it for me. Too much medicinal alcohol flavor in here, blech!

Finally, Bell's Consecrator Doppelbock

I had this previously but this baby is definitely sessionable and has great flavors. Not sure how much longer this special release will be around before the Grand Cru comes out

Troeg's Scratch 11 is next, an ESB.

Definitely a unique spin on a brown ale with great flavors and a good hoppy finish

Next up, finally about time I tap into this Lumpy Gravy from Lagunitas that I picked up who knows how long ago

Hops, rye, caramel, alcohol, it's like the rye pale ale, only twice as nice!

First up, a gift from Joe, Terrapin's Spring seasonal, Rye Squared.

[ParkTrips]

^ smoked Rye debuts tomorrow at the brewery! but I can't go

 

5am beer goodness

eh, typical barleywine.. as if thats a bad thing! Syrup viscosity with heavy sweetness and a bit of caramel malt, and pretty easy to drink, Gnarleywine was a nice late-night treat

Gnarleywine from Lagunitas, picked up this week!

[Rugged One]

^^Now I know why you were telling me not to go to Victory last Thursday, you just wanted to steal my thunder here on TPR!

 

Hey man, I gave you almost a full week to go yourself and post after we did but you never did it. Not my fault. Anyway, it's only fitting that the person who did the first ever BTR from Victory, should also do the first one from the new place.

 

Friday night after work found us heading up North for a little dinner...

And I unfortunatley had to kiss probably my last glass of the Kriek away before it's gone. But I won't be complaining if it's still on during our next visit!

The food here is always great with different specials every week. On this visit, it was the Pad Thai made with tofu. Very tasty!

You've always got to get ya' some of the IPA when it's on (which is a lot more now than it used to be). Hand's down the best in PA and one of best I've ever had period.

Our dinner companions Jeff & Brandi enjoy the new Organic Pils and Phoenix Kriek as well.

Kim, she settled down with a half pint of the Phoenix Kriek, which we still couldn't believe was still on.

Luckily there's lots on tap to help raise our spirits.

We're back at the Grove on this rainy and dreary Friday evening.

I finish up with the just on Wilder's Hefe. It's always good to see this on, as you know that summer is soon on its way.

[ParkTrips]

a couple today

It was.. eh. A pale ale that was pretty hoppy, which I expected from Colorado. An ok beer but there are better PAs out there

Next was Jackman's Pale Ale from Left Hand out in Colorado

First was Oude Geuze Vielle, my first Geuze. It was very tart - mostly apple, but with some funk too. Not my favorite style, but I'm venturing more into sours and it was fairly drinkable and I'd like to try more pucker-inducing beers

[mcjaco]

Just a couple over the past week or so.

Not sure what to make of it. It's nice a sweet, and very light.

Finally, Breckenridge's Agave Wheat

I like most of Capital's stuff, but this was not good. Too much carbonation, and almost tinny.

Next up Capital's Island Wheat.

It's good, but I'm too whipped over the Tart.

After sharing my last bottle of New Glarus Raspberry Tart, I thought I give the Rubeus a try.

Honestly, the more this ages, the better it gets!

Back to Longshot's Weizenbock.

[DerekRx]

The weekend's fun drinkingness.

Nice coffee flavors, but a weird tart aftertaste and high carbonation.

finally, yesterday it was time to open up a bottle of Berkshire Brewing's Coffeehouse Porter that I got back in February

Accompanying my dessert, some White Horse Porter on cask. nice way to end the evening

for dessert they were out of the lemon cheesecake, but they did have Swiss Chocolate Cheesecake instead which worked fine for us

Next up, a small Organic Pilsner. Pretty good and fruity with some good earthen hop finish. Check out that head!

For dinner we each got the Pad Thai

I jumped right into their IPA, so West Coast style and so incredibly awesome

But that's ok with Nicole because the Phoenix Kriek is still on, and still tasting like liquid cherry cobler. Two awesome Phoenixes in the same day, ain't much better than that.

Not really! With college out there was not much of a problem getting a seat at the bar, though table seating was a little longer of a wait. Here's the tap list, sadly no root beer

Selins Grove Brewing on a Saturday evening, bad idea?

Even this Autobot in disguise didn't have any ideas. Luckily I've got an idea

after riding the Phoenix several times it was time to get some beers nearby. Where could we possibly go?

Saturday it was off to Knoebels to meet up with some TPR peeps

Dark Horse's was pretty satisfying, like a brown ale meets strong ale

First up, Dark Horse's part of Dark Corner Ale, 2 ales brewed with the same recipe by Corner Brewing and Dark Horse Brewing at each of their locations for 2 different tastes

[ParkTrips]

beer from the past couple days

The initial smell made me think this was gonna be a hop-heavy beer.. and while it certainly had hops, the taste didn't match the nose, and there was a lot of malt to make the beer balance out. It is really easy to drink compared to some of the extremes in the style, a nice DIPA

Next up was Odyssey from Sly Fox, which I got from Derek last August. I have to say it held up quite well...

A medium-bodied dark ale with a red hue, this Grand Cru offered a pretty mild dose of tartness. I couldn't really pick out the source or compare it to anything. Overall it was pretty smooth and drinkable though, maybe I'll revisit as my sour taste buds develop

Continuing with the sour ale exploration, tonight was Ichtegem's Grand Cru, a Flemish sour

Just loads of awesome hops and malts, this is one of my favorite beers! Only one more left this year though

Starting with Nugget Nectar last night..

[Bubba83]

I have been really busy lately! Finalizing a new job offer as well as finishing up a huge website I've been working on with my dad for a long time. I also need to get a car so I can travel to work, looks like I'll be starting June 2nd...

 

Anyhow, I still need to post the pictures from American Craft Beer Week, I tried to drink something each night from a craft brewery, and I succeeded. I'll also post the pictures from my Uncle's... We went to BevMo together for the first time in a while.

Just as I remember it from when I had it in Vegas with my pal Ray. A strong malt backbone with high raw bitterness and a good balance of hop flavor.

More new glassware! Oh... and yes, Dogfish Head has made it to California, HOORAY! They had 4 packs of this, Palo Santo Marron, and Midas Touch. This is my 2nd time having 90 minute IIPA.

And I just don't know about this guy. Overall it has an A- on BA, but I don't think it deserves that, it's just too sweet. Doppelbocks are supposed to be sweet, I know I know, but it was close to sickly sweet, and didn't have the flavor complexities I had hoped for. I'll give it a B.

Sudwerk's Doppelbock was actually in stock at BevMo this time! Which is the one six pack I decided I'd be willing to spring for from Sudwerk, located in Davis, CA.

Still a solid and tasty well balanced porter, albeit not nearly as full flavored as I remember. My palate has clearly developed.

Revisiting Black Butte Porter after a long hiatus. Let's see what I think of my former favorite beer now...

A rather spicy tripel with heavy yeast flavor and a decent malt backbone. Refreshing yet somehow also high in ABV.

Saturday we'd start with some more Petrus Golden Tripel.

And it certainly deserves its accolades. A nice malt backbone with an assertive piney kick. One of the better single IPAs for sure.

BevMo does indeed carry this regularly now. Firestone's Union Jack, something I'm quite sure Heath will want in our next trade.

Sort of a stout and a half if you will. Pretty intense flavor but not quite at the imperial level. All flavors are there in good balance, chocolate, roasted barley, coffee, smoke, even hints of anise?

After sending a bottle of this stuff to Heath, I got a little jealous since I hadn't tried it in a while and picked it up this week. Marin's San Quention Breakout Stout.

Surprisingly it held up very well. Not quite as extreme as Stone XI, but has nice roasty toasty flavor with some chocolate and caramel before the citrus hops kick into play. We both liked it a lot!

Now we'll see what poor beer has to follow that amazing beer... New to my Uncle and I, Drake's Expidition Ale, sort of a Stout/IPA hybrid like Stone XI.

Very yummy. I was wondering how this would be since it was their first attempt at a Southern Hemisphere Harvest ale, but it worked out really well. The hop varieties are very different than the original Harvest Ale, with Pacific Hallertau, Moueka, and Southern Cross hops spicing things up a bit. Very fresh though, excellent!

And I'm surprised I'm the first BACT member to review this 24oz behemoth. Sierra Nevada's Southern Hemisphere Harvest Fresh Hop Ale. Say that ten times fast! The hops are from New Zealand.

Actually pretty refreshing this way. My uncle likes this beer quite a bit, though I find it a bit boring with a small off flavor.

Over at the Uncles on Friday, we were trying to cool off with a Full Sail Amber into some frozen glasses. It got to 98 that day and never got below 80 until after midnight, crazy heat for May!

Good stuff. The cherries and honey really come through, along with some spicy alcohol that is very warming. Not many typical malt or hop flavors shine through, but it was still pretty good. Thanks Heath.

Troegs Mad Elf, courtesy Heath. And served in new glassware, hooray!

A picture was necessary of this healthy yet delicious summer meal.

And Joe's review was quite accurate. It's a well done barleywine, nothing flashy about it, but has well rounded flavor and all the usual flavors are here. Probably the best bang for your buck Barleywine out there at $2.99 a bomber.

To quote Sean Penn as Jeff Spicoli: "Awww Gnarly Braw!" Looks like this bad boy was had by more than one BACT member during ACBW.

Starts with a bready sweetness, melds into caramel and finishes with dark fruits with a side of hop bitterness. A wonderful mouthfeel brings it all together.

A nice strong beer that has become somewhat of a staple for me, North Coast's 2007 Old Stock Ale. At 11.7% ABV, this beer doesn't mess around.

It didn't taste oxidized though, and overall it delivered. Nice bready dark fruit backbone with chocolate and even a little coffee too. Background smoke flavor is there too. Great mouthfeel, not quite as good as Fred in my opinion but still great.

First up we have the man called Adam. It's an Old Ale at 10%. It's also pretty old, I think about 2 years old, and smells oxidized.

[DerekRx]

This week I decided to dive into a series of beers that we picked up while up in Michigan. I also visited a newly renovated place, but that's been done already recently so I'll save those pics for another day. As for now, onto Dark Horse's Holiday Stout series minus Plead the 5th since we sadly never found any of that.

Another sort of a let down, just a touch of smoke flavors, not very different from the One Oatmeal stout except this had more dark fruit and coffee notes. Don't get me wrong, it was good, but I was expecting more smokiness, especially after how roasted all their other stouts were

Finally, Fore- a smoked stout

Wow, definitely blueberries in there, really fresh with some chocolate and a touch of coffee as well. This was definitely unique and tasty

Now, Tres- a blueberry stout, this aught to make Matt happy

Not very creamy though, very bitter and roasted with just a little bit of lactose coming through

Next, Too- a cream stout

Fairly good with lots of burnt and roasted flavors

First up, One- an oatmeal stout

[mcjaco]

^ Plead the Fifth comes in somewhat regularly here. I can see if I can get you a bottle.

[ParkTrips]

Vintage barleywine and St. Bernardus... does it get much better? (and does it get much more alcohol-laden??)

Drinking my favorite beer always makes me happy.. or maybe it was all that alcohol consumed... super smooth, sweet and complex with all sorts of flavors hitting the palate, seriously, what more can be said? Amazing beer, and a great way to finish any night!

Finally, the daddy.. the abt 12

More toasted flavor and fruits like grapes and plums, but it just isn't quite as good as the 6. Still very good, but it, like the Wit, just falls short in its style IMO

Next was the Prior 8, also a dubble, but a bit heavier in alcohol at ~8%

Excellent biscuit flavor with dark fruits and a bit of a brown sugar taste, it ended up being better than the 8!

Monk #1 would be the Pater 6, a dubbel with 6.7% alcohol

Next would be a vertical tasting of St Bernardus offerings..

J.W. Lees Harvest Ale - 2003 Vintage, I also had the 2002 Vintage. What a fantastic barleywine! Very thick and syrupy, with a sweet taste and hints of chocolate and raisin. An excellent beer, thank you Manchester for producing SOMETHING good

[DerekRx]

Been away on a fun-filled trip with BACT Team Extreme this weekend up to the Western NY area. Maybe I'll do a PTR of all that later, but for now, here's the beers.

On our way to Waldameer on Monday we visited Fredonia and Nicole's old college stomping grounds. Unfortunately for us Ellicottville Brewing's Fredonia chapter was closed for Memorial Day. Bummer! Oh well, Ravine Flyer II was awesome and Fredonia is midway between Waldameer and Nicole's parents, so I'm sure we'll get back there sometime soon. Now back to reality :\

and so we all do! Everyone got something different, and each one was great. They're like small strombolis, only they look like Mayor McCheese

the artwork on the walls tells us to get the pods

Heath enjoys the Flying Bison Maibock and Kim goes with the Duchesse. Everyone finds something to drink at Pizza Plant

Nicole goes for the Middle Ages Raspberry Ale while I enjoy some Great Lakes Commodore Perry IPA

The tap list may have changed since March, but that's good as it means the place gets business and at least it's still all good stuff on tap

After some time at Canada's Wonderplace, it was back to Buffalo, where we decided to eat dinner at Pizza Plant, a place we scouted on our last visit to the area in March

and here be our wings and onion rings death meal of awesomeness. For even more greatness, dip the onion ring in the bleu cheese and then the wing sauce. Yum!

After we were seated we decided to indulge ourselves with some local draft beer that even excites the brewers at Selins Grove, Genesee Cream Ale from High Falls Brewing in Rochester. Refreshing and low in abv with good vinegar and butter flavor. Whats up with the butter up in WNY?!

Since the line was long, Heath called in his order

The vibe is very TGI Fridays cluttered junk on the walls, but with motorcycles and license plates

after a stop at Darien Lake we found ourselves in Buffalo. Only one place to go to start off our time there, Anchor Bar, origin of the Buffalo Wing

Heath went right for the Dragonslayer Russian Imperial Stout while I tried the ImPaled Ale, which also tasted like butter. Maybe it's the type of malt or hops they use? Or the Syracuse water is tainted with butter

It's only a tasting room like Troeg's, but they bottle everything, and here's a good chance for us to try some of their stuff

Our next stop was a few blocks away, Syracuse's own Middle Ages Brewing

Pretty cool vibe though, even if it was more of a locals hangout since there was no signage as to how to sit or order food or drink

and I went with the Syracuse Pale Ale from Middle Ages right down the road. For some reason it tasted like butter, lots of butter! Bad tap perhaps?

Heath decided to go with the Hop Sun from Southern Tier since we were in NY and all

69 taps, lots of pretty good stuff, though most of it we can get down our way somehow

Saturday we drove thru Syracuse during hungry time, so we decided to stop off at The Blue Tusk for some food and drink

Really hoppy to go along with the malt, but also really boozy and medicinal as it warmed up. Not one of Pizza Port's better brews for some odd reason

Friday night we headed to our departure point, Heath and Kim's house! I brought with me some Port Brewing Shark Attack Double Red Ale just in case they didn't want to let us in at first

[Bubba83]

^ Sweet action!

 

I've got some beers to post from last weekend as well as a few I've had throughout the last week or so.

 

I'll also post some pictures of the hop progress, a little slower than I thought they'd grow, I'm not sure if I'll get many cones this year, but next year they should come in great!

And here are the horizons in partial shade. As you can see they are still a bit bushy and don't have much in the way of vines reaching for anything yet. 'Til next time!

A closeup of the centennial plant that is doing the best out of all 4. I actually coiled the longest vine around the wire today, I hope it holds and continues growing upwards.

As promised some pictures of the hop progress. Here's the centennial variety, in full sun and growing a little quicker than the horizons.

Now here's a beer I can get excited about. WOW! Everything was great about it, awesome look, awesome feel, and the flavor was out of this world. Great mild dark fruit flavor rounded out by caramel, dark chocolate, coffee and roasted malts. There's also a nice little tartness to it that adds a lot of character. The best Imperial Stout I've ever had, and it's a comfortable 8% ABV.

And last but definitely not least, I had this guy on tuesday and it knocked my socks off. My last beer from the Heath trade, fittingly called Old Heathen. An Imperial Stout from Weyerbacher.

You talkin to me? Well I'm the only one here, who the f*** do you think you're talkin to?

More SN SH? Yeah, hey, gotta drink it while it's fresh!

Lagunitas shows us its sweet side, and while there are still some nice hops here, it doesn't compare to Racer 5.

How about a Lagunitas Imperial Red to wash that down?

After having Alaskan IPA, and Union Jack recently I was sort of wondering what I'd think of Racer 5 after them. It's still top dog in my book, an amazing IPA.

We drank on sunday too while watching Taxi Driver in my Uncle's garage. I hadn't seen Taxi Driver before and I liked it. Also has been a while since we've had a Racer 5!

Nice grapefruit and citrus qualities piled on top of an okay malt backbone. A pretty good IPA albeit not one of my favorites.

Last beer of the night, Mendocino's White Hawk IPA.

Those dank hops still come through and the nice sweet red backbone is also there, held up nicely and glad I picked this one third.

My uncle was like, how the heck do we follow those two whoppers up? And I was like, it's going to be tough. So I pulled out our last bottle of Prohibition Ale.

And I like it for the awesome flavors it presents. Great coffee and chocolate as well as roasty toastyness. The oilyness of it feels real nice all the way through too, deserves its spot in the top 100.

Another old favorite that we haven't had in a while. Samuel Smith's Impy Stout. My uncle likes it because it's low in ABV.

It was nice leading with this beer this weekend, since it has subtle qualities that are interesting to pick up on. The overall theme is spicy hops but there's a lot more going on.

Saturday we'll start off with another Sierra Nevada Southern Hemisphere. You guys can get this out east right?

Mmmm, just like eating a pine tree.

Next up Firestone's Union Jack, another first try for my uncle. He sure is getting some credits in tonight!

I was pretty sure he'd love it, and I was right. We both give it a thumbs up!

And he gets to try his first Dogfish Head tonight as well, the lucky dog! 90 Minute IPA.

Wicked as usual, strong banana with some mild spice and interesting flavors that run the gamut from the perfect yeast strain. My uncle also thoroughly enjoyed it.

Next up one of the best hefe's in the world, Weihenstephaner's Hefe Weissbier. This is a first time try for my uncle.

I am a little frustrated with this doppelbock. I want to like it because it's local but it's just too darn sweet and lacking some complexity!

Now at the uncle's, we'll open with some Sudwerk Doppelbock, this time he can't be buzzing too much to try it!

Pretty good stuff too, nice malt backbone. The figs aren't overpowering and add just the right amount of flavor that blends in with the other dark fruits. I'd recommend trying this interesting brew.

First up, I think from last thursday, I drank the Chosen Jew. Rejewvenator! Listed as an American Strong Ale at 7.8%, this guy is brewed with Figs!

[65skylark]

First of all I want to apologize to Justin for the thunder I am about to steal from him... But Justin, you are just too busy nowadays to be the first one to Portland Deschutes!

 

Actually, I was there the day after it opened, I just haven't posted my pics yet. It has been a couple weeks since I have even looked at the beer thread. I'm a disgrace! Anyway, great report Bubba! McMenamins has some great properties, but I think Edgefield might just be their best. Glad you got to see The Gorge. It is a pretty awesome site. Pictures really don't do it justice.

 

I have been beyond busy with my new business but hopefully I'll get around to posting some more in here.

[DerekRx]

Just a few in the last few days before heading off to a wedding this weekend.

Pretty good stuff. A nice smoked bacon taste mix well with lots of caramel and molasses sweetness with a little bit of roasted coffee and grassy hop kick in the finish

Finally, Alaskan Smoked Porter from Alaska, #89 in the US Top 100, got this one in a trade

A fairly decent IPA with lots of spicy, earthy, and grassy hop flavor as well as a solid malt/grain and even a touch of citrus and pine. Not overly hoppy though, not like the West Coast IPAs

Fort Collins Rocky Mountain IPA comes all the way from Fort Collins in the Rocky Mountains! It's true

Just loaded with hoppy goodness, yet with a nice caramel backbone to boot

First, an old favorite that seems to taste better each and every time, AleSmith's IPA

[ParkTrips]

random beers from the week

Finally, one pic from today, the nice and clean Einbecker Ur-bock helles, on tap at the Brick Store. I also was able to sample Victory's Scarlet Fire raunch (very mild compared to others, a nice thing), Victory's Braumeister Pils with the Spalt Hops (about as crisp and tasty as a pilsner gets), and Rye Squared aged on oak (eh, didn't really seem to be an improvement)

Creamy-smooth body with a ton of hops in the aroma and taste, but with a malt backbone to keep the hops from getting too powerful, wow,a killer beer

ok.. Hop Rod Rye, this is a beer to get wet over!

Sam Adams Boston Ale.. yawn, nothing special. BBC honestly kind of disappoints me as a whole, the Oktoberfest and Doppelbock withheld, they sure get a lot of love for their line of mediocre beers

It was ok... there was just enough coffee in the initial taste to make me not like it, even though it did fade quickly on the palate. Otherwise, it was a decent beer

Samuel Smith's Oatmeal Stout, which I decided to give a try

First, Schlenkerla Ur-bock Rauchbeir, enjoyed with bbq on Memorial Day! Very tasty and smokey, a bit better than the weizen

[Bubba83]

^ Give Samuel Adams Hallertau Imperial Pilsner a try.

[Skittlebrau]

Olde Frothingslosh:

 

The pale, stale, ale wth the foam on the bottom.

[mcjaco]

BBC honestly kind of disappoints me as a whole, the Oktoberfest and Doppelbock withheld, they sure get a lot of love for their line of mediocre beers.

 

I'm a fan of Sam Adams only because they have the balls to produce stuff that the other major brewers won't. So although it's not the greatest stuff on the shelf, at least they're making it.

[DerekRx]

Saturday's wedding's best beer offering was Spaten Premium Lager, which was good, but it was a little too hot out to enjoy mass quantities of it, so the Kutztown Birch Beer was more in line.

 

As for Sunday, we headed to Hersheypark and met up with some old chaps to the beer thread who were passing through the area. Decided what a better follow up than a visit to one of the nearby microbreweries afterwards for dinner.

Pretty darn good stuff, lots of nice grapefruit and pine flavors with a nice solid biscuit and caramel backbone.

Tonight I went with a homebrew that was thrown in as a bonus in a trade I did. The Baked IPA from Double Head Home Brewing in Colorado

When last I left the Buzzards, they were enjoying the Abbey Bar upstairs. Hope they made it to Kennywood today!

For dinner I got the Blueberry Pomegranate Chicken, which was just plain awesome. Jason got fish and chips because he hadn't been in England in like 2 days!!

While I went with the Major Hops Olde Ale, which I'm glad they started brewing again. Good sweetness mixed with a different but good dry hopped finish

Nicole was excited to see the Hinterland Hefe Weizen on tap

Nodders had a little too much fun the night before at LBC so he stuck with ABC's root beer for now, while Mike went all out and tried the Hoppy Trails IPA, pretty big difference between that and the English IPAs to them

a look at the current tap selection

even dudes like Juggler!

ABC welcomes people from all sorts of countries

Back to ABC since the gang visited Lancaster Brewing the night before