Bells Hopslam

Brewer : Bells Brewing Co. (Michigan)
Style : Double  IPA
ABV : 10%

So the season of Hopslam is upon us, South Florida that is, and the beer community is up in arms. People are fighting each other in the stores for a six pack, which is limited to one six pack per person. People are selling their first born child for a sip of this beautiful elixir. There is pandemonium in the streets. People are chomping at the bit with foam dripping from their jaws. It will surly be the death of us all.....

Or maybe that was just a bad dream I had last night

But in all seriousness this is truly an amazing beer. People are super excited about this beer officially hitting the South Florida market. So much so that there is a limit to how much people can actually buy, one sixer per person. Personally I don't need a sixer, just one or two bottles and I'm on to the next great beer in my cellar. That being said I shouldn't neglect to say how amazing this beer really is. 

The aroma is hoppy and sweet. Label says "brewed with honey" and that is no lie my friends. There is a good amount of sweet honey in the aroma and flavor. I handed a small sample to my brother and his fiance last night to get somewhat of an outsiders perspective and they mentioned that they smelled apricot and peaches in it. I might not have really noticed that at first but I can see it now. It's hoppy, and yes my girlfriend sneezed within the first 10 seconds, but isn't super over the top hoppy. Just writing these words gets me salivating for one right now and there just happens to be one more in my fridge. 

All in all, if you get the chance to try this, whether it be out of the bottle or on draft, jump at the chance. Become a believer

Grade A+

Song of the Day : Megadeth---Sweating Bullets

Ballast Point Big Eye

Brewer : Ballast Point Brewing Co. (California)
Style :  IPA
ABV : 6%

Well I haven't been able to update the blog as much as I'd like this week but that's because I've been pretty busy with work and school. I  suppose those things are a little bit more important then beer, but I don't know sometimes... Speaking of which I only have 20 minutes to  review this beer before I have to leave for my next guitar lesson, so I'm gonna keep this brief. 

Ballast Point makes some great beers, especially the  IPA style. I've had a few of their beers, most importantly Sculpin, which was heavenly, and they really seem to have their IPA's down to a science. 
This one sort of reminded me of Sculpin,  but the balls just haven't dropped yet. It has a good amount of hops and citrus in the aroma, and flavor, but doesn't quite carry the bite that Sculpin had. The color is darkish and hazy, with a slightly cloudy center. The way I know if a beer has a good amount of hops in it or not is if my girlfriend sneezes within 10 seconds of trying it. She's allergic to hops I believe ( and chocolate, so pretty much all things good in this world, or any other). She better stay away from Hopslam or  Hopstoopid. Anyway, I really enjoyed this beer. The beer wasn't too heavy on the mouth and as it warmed up a bit the malt backing really made it's presence known.

Probably too brief of a description but I'm running out of time.

Grade A

Song of the Day : Iron and Wine ---Communion Cups and Someone's Coat

Kuhnhenn Solar Eclipse Imperial Stout

Brewer : Kuhnhenn Brewing (Michigan)
Style : Imperial Stout
ABV : 18% (Big old boy)

So for the Sarasota/FlaBrew meet up two weeks ago I wasn't sure what I was going to bring. A good bomber of something is always a good plan, but most of the bombers in my cellar are things I want to share for a special day. Kuhnhenn Solar Eclipse was a beer that I just got in a recent trade, and at a staggering 18%ABV I knew I'd need some help with this big boy. As it turns out the tasting was a bit smaller then I was expecting and most everyone brought bombers. So bringing a 12oz bottle turned out to be a good thing. The sad thing was that there was more beer then everyone could consume, we ended up dumping some amazing beer. Oh well, at least the plants were happy.

This one ended up having a pitch black pour with a creamy head. Swishing it around in my taster glass like a snob I noticed it had somewhat of a spotty lacing and an oily texture. The aroma was pretty intense to say the least. It had hints of brown sugar, chocolate malts and coffee. Heavenly, and to quote The Ferm, it was "sexual". The flavor was boozy, malty, and creamy. The booze sort of a gave my palate a good swift gut shot, but sometimes I enjoy a good surprise. 

I believe that everyone that got a chance to try it either really enjoyed it or gave me a hug for bringing it (AlesFromTheCrypt).

Grade A

Song of the Day: Led Zeppelin --Fool In The Rain

White Whales and the ride that got me there

In the craft beer community a "white whale" is often referred to as a beer on your want list that is highly sought after, or very limited. I have a few white whales that I've been after since becoming a craft beer enthusiast, and here's just a short list:

1.Dark Lord
2.Kate The Great
3.Darkness
4.Isabelle
5.Pliny The Younger

Within the last week I've been able to either taste or obtain two of those beers from my whale list, Darkness 09', 10' and Dark Lord. The Darkness bottles where shared by my good friend Phil, or The Ferm, from DosBeerigos. Now I have a few milestones coming up, beer #900 and #1000, but I think the most important thing to remember here is not just the beers themselves but the ride that got you there.
This may sound like a  I'm singing a sappy country song, but for me it's always been more about the chase then the catch. I love hunting down beers I can't find in South Florida and trying just about every different beer under the sun. I read somewhere that the difference between a beer snob and a beer geek is that a beer snob wants to  know everything about craft beer and a beer geek just wants to try everything. 
Sounds true to me because I probably couldn't tell you how beer is brewed or made, even though it's pretty much only 4 simple ingredients (water, barley,  hops, and yeast), but I could probably tell you if I've tried a certain type of beer or not and my thoughts on it. Even today it's odd, to me especially, how my brain can retain certain information like that. There's pretty much three types of information my brain can retain without a doubt. 1.Movie lines and quotes 2.Music 3.Beer, everything else may fall by the waste side.
OK, well I've gone off on a tangent here, but my big underlining theme was suppose to be something like this. Enjoy every glass of beer you drink. A beer you may find commonly around South Florida, such as Cigar City Jai Alai, could be someones most sought after beer or white whale. And don't forget to enjoy the ride.


"Buy the Ticket, Take the Ride" (HST)

Song of the Day: Van Halen -- Ain't Talkin' Bout Love

New Belgium Lips of Faith - Imperial Berliner Style Weisse

Brewer : New Belgium Brewing Co. (Colorado)
Style : Sour/Wild Ale
ABV : 7%

A few months back Mike from www.mikelovesbeer.com invited me and a few other beer lovers over to his place for a good old fashion BBQ, and drinks of course. While I was there someone pulled  out a bottle of New Belgium Lips of Faith La Folie. I had heard things about New Belgium's  Lips of Faith series but never had any of them. Well needless to say I  was quite surprised about how good it was. After the BBQ I went home and did a little more research on these Lips of Faith beers. I found out that there are somewhere around 25 beers from the Lips  of Faith series. I decided the only way to make an accurate assumption about these beers is to try them all, hell or high water. 

This one was another beer I picked up while in California. The pour was golden with slight brownish tints. A thin bubbly head,  with very little lacing. The aroma had hints of citrus and sour zest but nothing that  made me jump out of my seat. The flavor was also a little bland with a little bit  of sour funk and citrus notes. The flavors were actually a little  bit bitter on the back end and things just seemed a little off balance. 

I don't know how many of you out there have had this beer, but  for me the flavors just seemed a little too inconsistent and arbitrary. Not only do I  love stouts, but I'm also slowly becoming a sour head, so I  guess I really love a super  sour beer.  This one just didn't  have enough sour funk to impress me. 


Grade C+

Song of the Day -- Lamb of God Ruin (yeah it's one of those kind of days)

Firestone 14

Brewer : Firestone Walker Brewing Co. (California)
Style : American Strong Ale
ABV : 12.5%

Picking up  this beer was sort of a last minute decision while I was on vacation in California. I walked into a store, saw this beer sitting in the cooler, and then saw the price tag. $25!!!!! WTF!!!! 
With a price as high as that there must be some kind of hype behind it, or something rare about it. I got in front of my computer later on that day and did a little research on it. Here's what I found out (and I'll just copy and  paste it because I'm too lazy to type the whole  thing out verbatim)

COMMERCIAL DESCRIPTION
As a finished beer, 14 is brimming with amazing flavors and textures. DDBA leads the blend lending American toasted oak, English caramel toffee and light leather nuances. Newcomer, Sticky Monkey, folds in the taste of brown sugar, molasses, cinnamon, ginger and ripe figs. Parabola brings the familiar flavors of bitter dark chocolate and cherry pit. Velvet Merkin carries silky bourbon soaked chocolate cake goodness to the party while a touch of Black Xantus teases coffee and tobacco. Last, but not least, Good Foot brings the hops... hints of citrus zest and tangerine, which adds a pop to the aroma and nice finish to this big, sexy brew. 14 is best enjoyed in a half filled brandy snifter or wine glass. Allow it to warm to 55F to fully enjoy the pleasing and complex aromas. If left in a cool dark place, I suspect this beer will age well. It was an absolute pleasure making it and I truly hope you enjoy our fifth oak–aged blend! The journey continues

So it's a blend of some really awesome beers, one of  which, Parabola, is one that I've had the pleasure of sharing with my friends after my first successful trade. So I asked myself the most logical question at the time: "Is it worth it?" 

Well by the time I answered the question I had already had a few drinks and I figured I didn't want to miss out on the opportunity to try it. So I walked a few blocks back to the store and forked over my $25. Was it worth it? Oh yeah

It was super dark when poured into the snifter I was using. I thought it should have been under the Imperial Stout moniker, but whatever, I'll just go with it. The taste was rich and creamy. Good amount of roasted malt character along with hints of chocolate and caramel. It carried somewhat of a milky lactose texture, but it also had a good amount of oaky-ness to it as well. The mouth feel was a little heavy, but not enough to slow me down from taking my next sip. 

Overall it was a great experience and a great final beer of my trip. 

Grade A+

 

Song of  the  Day: Trivium----The Crusade (A great display of guitar riffing)

Alesmith Speedway Stout

Brewer : AleSmith Brewing Co. (California)
Style : Imperial Stout
ABV : 12%

First off I must say that my trip to Sarasota this weekend was one  hell of a great time. I got to drink some incredible beer with some awesome beer enthusiasts from South Florida. Big shot outs to DosBeerigos,MikeLovesBeer,AlesFromTheCrypt,CrazyCatLady,RoadTripsForBeer,CervezaChica,and AlanShaw. You  guys all rock. Till next time, Cheerz!!!

This was another beer I picked up while out in California. I'd heard a lot about this beer from the  forums, postings, and even from the few South Florida beer bloggers that have been able to try it. Well it most certainly lived up to all the hype. 

The pour was pitch black and somewhat syrupy. The texture was thick with an off brown bubbly head. It left a good amount of lacing  around the rim, spotty and somewhat runny. The aroma was packed with coffee and roasted malts. The flavor had a good bit of dark chocolate and coffee in there, with a nice bitter back end to it. 

It drank incredibly smooth, while the ABV was masked superbly amongst the flavors. Every part of this beer seemed very well balanced and structured. Hopefully next time I'll be able to bring a bottle back.

Grade A+

The Dissident

Brewer : Deschutes (Oregon)
Style : Sour/Wild
ABV : 9%

Dictionary.com defines the word Dissident as "disagreeing or dissenting, as in opinion or attitude". OK, now that the vocabulary lesson is over let's "get right down to brass tax" as the good old Dr. HST would say (Dr. Hunter S. Thompson)


There's no area of this beer I disagree with whatsoever. This could be, if my mind serves me correctly, my very first brown sour. Now I've had a few sours in my short beer career, but none of which I can say were brown. So I went ventured into this bottle somewhat blind not knowing what to expect. 


What I found was a small piece of heaven. It had the sour funk that most sours/wilds have with that distinct funk that only that style can pull off. It also had a tiny bit of malt, which I was expecting, since it is a darker beer. I dug the aroma the most, I wanted to crawl inside the bottle and just live in there for a while.  The flavor had a good bit of sour cherries and some oaky character to it. The mouth feel wasn't super heavy, but the flavors stayed on the palate for a good while. 


I wanted to pass the bottle around but no one else in the room had the taste for sours yet, so I had to finish the bomber by myself, which I was totally fine with. 


Grade A+

Song of the Day : Dear and The Headlights "It's Gettin' Easy"


Can't wait to meet a bunch of new beer geeks tomorrow at the Meet Up at Cock and Bull. Should be a great time. Cheerz!!

Red Poppy

Brewer : Port Brewing/Lost Abbey (California)
Style : Sour/Wild Ale
ABV : 5.5%

When I traveled out to California I had made a list, somewhat, of the beers I wanted to try. Pliny, Speedway,Sculpin etc etc. Most of them I  got to try and then there were some that made me think "I'd love to get that, but probably won't find it". Red Poppy was one such beer. 

I came across this in a small wine store about 2 blocks from where I was staying in Manhattan Beach,CA. I saw the bottle and thanked the beer gods, but then saw the price. 375ml bottle for $20. Was it worth it? I pondered for quite some time and realized that I wasn't about to let this one get away. Lucky for me my girlfriends mom promised me some beer as a Christmas present and I figured this would be a good a time as any to cash in on that deal. Well not only did she buy this for me but she proceeded to get me The Dissident, Jubel 2010, The Abyss, plus a few others. What can I say, I was truly in luck. 

Uncorking the bottle took a little bit of time but once I got it opened I started to salivate at the aromas I got from it. I was hit with an onslaught of cherries and sour funk goodness. I also got some woody, oaky characters as well. The appearance was dark and hazy. A brownish hue with a very thin head. The flavors were sour and fruity. Not too overly sweet, but just the right balance between sour and sweet. Nice tart after taste, which hung on the palate for a good while. 

I quickly poured everyone at the table a small taste. Of course no one was into it, but that was the plan, more for me (I'm sort of greedy beer geek). I felt it only fair to try and spread the wealth around since it was Christmas time and the season of giving. 

Grade A+

As you can tell by the photo I use the tools I have around me at the time.  You/I never know when a possible review might strike.

Song of the Day : MetallicA's All Nightmare Long

All Hail The Mighty Pliny

Brewer : Russian River (California)
Style : Double IPA
ABV : 8%

For those of you who don't follow/read up on beer as much as I do you probably have never heard of Pliny the Elder from Russian River. For those of you who do, you know that it's one of the most highly sought after beers on the  planet.

If you jump over to RateBeer and click on the "top beers" icon on  the  left hand side you will see that Pliny ranks at #2 as one  of the top beers on the planet. Why so highly ranked you ask? Well this is a question I had been asking myself too. While out in California I was on a mission to find the  answer to this question.

I was lucky enough to not only score a bottle, which I've been told cases have sold out in just matter of minutes, but to also try it on draft. It was actually one of the first beers I consumed while  on my trip. The taste is not only extremely hoppy, but has a good amount citrus and malts in the mix as well. The taste was somewhat of a mix of those three flavors, sort of a bland explanation I know, but what really impressed me was how well this beer was balanced. Every flavor was easily distinguishable. It was incredibly smooth/light on the palate and was incredibly easy to drink. I don't know what you look for in a beer but those qualities can win me over most every time. 

Is it worth being ranked at #2? I believe so. Is the hype monster a big factor to play in this? Probably, but it most certainly lives up to all of it. All I know is that it was a great beer and a great drinking experience. Another feather in my cap to say the least. 

Grade A+

 New Feature....Song of the Day : Neil Young "Harvest Moon"

Mikkeller It's Alright or is it It's Alight?

Brewer : Mikkeller (Denmark)
Style : Belgian Ale
ABV : 4.5%

While I  was out in California for Christmas and New Years I  was on a mission to pick up  beer from 3 different brewers. 
1.Mikkeller
2.Alesmith
3.Deschutes

I was lucky enough not only to score bottles from each brewer but come across some real gems, which I will get to in the  following weeks. But first things first, let's start with one of the very first beers I was able to get while on my Cali trip.

If you've been following this blog for a awhile then you don't need to hear me say how much I love Mikkeller beer. Most of everything I've tried has been fantastic. On my first stop in Cali I stopped at Beverage Warehouse, literally a warehouse, to pick up whatever I could find. I saw this baby and I knew it was in the basket. When I checked it out on RateBeer.com it told me that the new alias for this beer is "Its Alight" but the name on the bottle was still "Its Alright". I was a little confused by this but didn't pay much attention, since the style and the ABV matched up I knew I had the right beer. 
The pour was hazy and cloudy. Orange tints around the rim with a very intense bubbly head. This thing fluffed up like an animal. The aroma was citrusy with hints of orange peel. The ladies would love this one, that is if they like Blue Moon. The flavor is somewhat sweet with the citrus and orange peel coming through. It's also got a bitter yeast flavor to boot as well. 
There was nothing super exciting about this beer, but any Mikkeller beer not readily available to me in South Florida is a find for me. 

Grade B

Tommyknocker Golden Saison

Brewer : Tommyknocker (Colorado)
Style : Saison
ABV : 5%

Tommyknocker holds a special place in my heart. They were one of the first breweries that got me interested in craft beer, with there maple brown ale. Plus every time I visit Colorado I always make a stop into their brew house for some lunch and a beer, the buffalo burrito is the shit. 

When I first saw that this beer was available in South Florida I thought it was only on draft at World of Beer, but was pleasantly surprised to see it on the shelves at my local Total Wine. 

Poured into my Delirium snifter I first noticed the hazy golden color. It also carried with it a fluffy, bubbly head that  seemed to stick around for quite a while. The aroma had hints of lemon zest and a little bit of floral aroma with it as well, sort of like sniffing a flower. The flavor was citrusy with a nice tartness to it, plus a little bit of sour tartness as well. 

It was great to revisit a brewery to got you started in the craft beer scene and to try something new from them. They really are brewing great beers out in Colorado so I suggest you grab some while you can. 

Grade B

 

Brewdog Paradox Isle of Arran

Brewer : BrewDog (Scotland)
Style : Imperial Stout
ABV : 10%

I've got so many beers to review after my California trip that I don't even know where to start. How about those beers I didn't get to right before the trip. That sounds like a natural place to start.

Those brewers from Scotland, BrewDog, are just insane. It seems like they keep pushing the envelope on where beer can go, most of all the ABV. They have 3 beers that are over 30% ABV, which is just nuts in my opinion. That spells one and done in my book, I don't care who you are and what your drinking status is. You finish a beer like Sink The Bismarck, which weighs in at 41% ABV, all by yourself and you better hand over your car keys. 
The one I picked up recently in Orlando, Paradox Isle of Arran, is a little easier to handle, but still a bit high in the ABV range.

I had the pleasure of sitting down with my sister Natalie to get some outside perspective on this beer and how it hit here palate. 

I poured the  12oz bottle into two Cigar City snifter glasses and we examined the color first. It was very dark, that was obvious,  but the  texture was pretty thick, almost syrupy. Very little carbonation and a very small head. 
Next we went for the aroma next. Both of us thought there was a sweet chocolate vanilla to the aroma,  but also with a bit of alcohol burn and oak aromas as well. (I somewhat coached Natalie into smelling the oak aromas because she's a Corona type girl, but you gotta start somewhere)
Next came the flavor. Since the carbonation was so low Natalie took a sip and thought it was almost like flat Coke. I examined it a little closer. I could see where she was coming from. The mouth feel was very light and I could see how the flat Coke thing could come to mind. I also got a little  bit of chocolate and whiskey flavors on the back end.

I didn't want to get super technical with Natalie on her first go around with rating so I decided to call it quits after just going over three aspects of this beer, but I think she did a fine job for her first beer rating. 

Grade B+

 

What a Trip. The Good/The Bad/The Horrible

So I just got back into town today from sunny California. The trip was simply incredible but it probably a bit too long. 10 days is a long time to be away from work, the gym, and my normal life, but I was able to partake in some incredible brew. Here's the entire list of what I was able to consume:
1. Black Butte Porter
2. Alaskan IPA
3. Pliny
4. Sculpin
5. Russian River Blind Pig
6. Mikkeller It's Alright
7. La Terrible
8. Mikkeller Nelson Sauvin Single Hop
9. Hair of the Dog Fred
10. Goose Island Pere Jacques
11. Lost Abbey Devotion Ale
12. Lost Abbey Gift of the Magi
13. Tecate (don't ask me why I have this here)
14. Ballast Point Seamonster (Bourbon Barrel)
15. Saison de Buff (Victory Version)
16. Parrot in a Palm Tree
17. Mikkeller Chinook Single Hop
18. Mikkeller Simcoe Single
19. Goose Island Matilda
20. Requiem Espresso Stout
21. Stone San Diego county session ale
22. Obsidian Stout
23. Infinium
24. Russian River Damnation
25. Midnight Sun Kodiak Brown
26. Lips of Faith Sahti
27. Goose Island Demolition
28. Lost Abbey Red Poppy
29. Goose Island Sofie
30. Bruery Levud's
31. Lips of Faith Vrienden
32. Lost Abbey Lost and Found
33. Port Brewing Shark Attack
34. Firestone Merlin
35. Hair of the Dog Adam
36. Bruery Mischief
37. Lost Abbey Red Barn Ale
38. The Dissident
39. Speedway Stout
40. Lips of Faith Imperial Berliner Weisse
41. Alaskan Smoked Porter
42. Jubel 2010
43. Bear Republic Red Rocket
44. The Abyss
45. Firestone Walker 14

I had a few others, but nothing too special to name. 

I'm gonna try and start reviewing some of those beers tomorrow if I can find the time. 

The whole trip was a success except the traveling home part. Here's the short and skinny of what happened.
We had a flight that was scheduled for 9:30am and our plane didn't take off till 9:30pm. We missed our connecting flight in Houston by a long shot so I ended up sleeping in the Houston airport with my girlfriend from the hours of 4am till 6am. We boarded a plane in Houston at 7:20am and landed in Fort Lauderdale today at 10:30am. I was probably able to get maybe an hours worth of sleep on the plane and had to work today dog tired. But on the bright side all the bottles I stowed in my bag arrived in one piece, so that was the only positive note about the trip. 
If I never fly on a plane again it won't be soon enough. I'd rather drive next time.