Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Auction lot 48
One Samichlause 1995 and one Samichlause 1996
One 1998 North Coast Anniversary X.
This brew is a Wit style brewed with Pinot Noir Juice, and aged in Pinot barrels and on oak staves. Red orange in color it pours with a white head. The aroma is big with cherry fruitiness. The flavor is sweet with vanilla, oak and orange peel. It has a mild bitter finish with an alcohol spiciness.
Labels: Beer, dogfish, dogfish head, red and white
This 10% brew is made with black Raspberries and blueberries. It pouts red with a small head. The aroma is berry sweet. The flavor is sweet and fruity with wine tones and a spicy alcohol hit. An aggressive fruit beer in many ways, just like you would expect from Dogfish Head.
Labels: Beer, black and blue, dogfish, dogfish head
This fourteenth anniversary brew is something to behold. It pours medium brown with a red tint. It is kind of a cross between a dark Belgian and a stout. Light pine hop aroma with whiffs of molasses, cake and raisins. The flavor is sweet and rummy then settles into a more bitter, earthy, roasty flavor. Both tasty and weirdly fascinating. I have had some unique beers lately but none with the overall impressive quality as the 14.
Labels: avery, Beer, fourteen
Fantome does another great job with this years Strange Ghost. Amber golden in color with a massive pillowy head. Spicy and slightly must in aroma. The flavor is of juniper and herbs (mint and basil???). The up front sweet malty character blends well with the herbaceous mid and late pallet.
Labels: Beer, fantome, strange ghost
This Jolly brew pours a copper brown color with a thin fizzy head. The aroma is yeasty, spicy and oaky with whiffs of tart orange. The flavor is creamy with a bread like maltiness and hits of pepper with a mild sourness.
Labels: Beer, Jolly, jolly pumpkin, pumpik
This Indian lager pours a golden color with a frothy effervescent head. Slightly sweet malt aroma, light body, small creaminess up front with a fresh hay hop flavor and well defined bitter finish. 7% ABV
Labels: 5000, Beer, hayward, haywards
Pale golden in color with a thin head that falls quickly. Herbal in aroma with fresh grain whiffs. Pale malt up front with a bit of grainy husks with herbal zesty hop bitter finish. Dry in the finish with a malt tone that hangs in there.
Labels: Beer, himalayan, inda, Yeti
This Yeti is a 7% ABV lager from India. Sweet malt aroma with a big floral hop (for a lager). Lightly creamy up front with a pale malt flavor and a mild bitter finish.
Labels: Beer, india, Yeti
A straight forward lager style with a malty flavor that moves into a hop flavor that is lemony with a touch of apple. A nice brew to go with your vindaloo.
*** Back In Stock ***
Man oh Man when AleSmith brews a beer they do not kid around. This Imperial Stout is something to behold. This 12% jet-black beauty has a nice thick body and lower (appropriate) carbonation level. The flavor is HUGE with big roasted malt and molasses with chocolate and toffee notes. The big fun is the coffee flavors which come from the pounds and pounds of Ryan Brothers’ coffee added to the brew. This is a stout that AleSmith should be very proud of and I’m pretty sure they are.
Labels: alesmith, back in stock, speedway, stout
This saison is brewed with cocoa and chili peppers. Light brown in color with a medium size persistent head. It has all of the usual funky saison character with a slight cocoa hint and a wonderful chili flavor (without heat). Even for Fantôme this is a unique pairing for a beer. The chilies give it a deeper tone than the fruity, floral, spice ones you usually get from Fantôme.
Labels: Beer, chocolat, chocolate, fantome
Leave it to Dogfish Head to make an 18% fruit beer. This HUGE on the raspberries. Start to finish it is all about the fruit with a spicy kick at the end. It could use a little aging to clamp down the heat at the end but it should smooth out nicely.
Labels: Beer, dogfish head, fort
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Lot 46 Rogue one 19995 Scotch, one 1996 Imperial Stout, one 1997 Old Crustacean.
Not much needs to be said, great beers, great vintages, in great condition.
Lot 45 Three bottles of Full Sails 1998 Old Boardhead Barleywine.
IMHO (and others that follow this beer year to year) 1998 was the best vintage. That year seemed to have a higher malt presence and a softer mouth feel. Now the mouth feel and changed over the years (a little thinner and a little sharper) but the malty goodness goes on and on. I have not tried a 98 since 2004 but it was pretty awesome then.
Father's Day
Be thinking of Dad, Father’s day is coming soon
Labels: Father’s day
Allagash Hugh Malone
For those of you out there who are not total beer geeks, this beers name is a pun on humulone. Humulones are the orangey, soft resin in hops that is primarily responsible for the bittering properties of the hops. This Belgain style IPA pours a hazy orange with a dense sticky head. The flavor is fruity, lemony, and spicy like a good Belgian, with a pronounced woody, piney hop hit like a good IPA. Very limited, get it while you can.
Better than a tie, this father’s day lager is what dad really wants. Perfect gold color it has a large dense head. With Harington and Klages malts it is malty up front with a lightly sweet cookie flavor The crystal hops provide a lemony grassy finish. The label tells the story of Henry Jackson Smart, the reason Father’s Day was invented. It’s a compelling story of a single dad, six kids and two presidents.
Elysian Avatar Jasmine IPA 22oz:
Frankly I have not gotten a bad beer from Elysian Brewing. The Avatar is another fine example of Dick Cantwell’s brewing talents. This fine IPA is infused with real jasmine flowers. This gives it a big floral aroma and a slightly sweet flavor that comes in right before the hop bitterness takes over.
Labels: Elysian Avatar Jasmine IPA, ipa
Dark garnet in color this beer was designed for the Japanese market. Big malty up front with crystal malt and fruity aromas and flavor. I am not usually taken with red ales but this one has an aggressive flavor profile that makes it well worth it
Labels: Rogue Red Fox
Although they bill this beer as an “Extra Pale” it is really a well-made hop driven golden ale. With floral and lime hop flavors. With its crisp lightly bitter, dry finish it is a beer will go great with those hot summer days out on the deck.
Forget Fosters, Tooeys is Australian for beer.
Labels: Tooheys
Monday, May 07, 2007
For those of you who don’t know scrumpy is an unfiltered style of cider and that is why you will see a dusting of yeast at the bottom. The Orchard Gate Gold has not sulfites added and is organic to boot. The flavor is sweet and complex. Big apple upfront with a spicy cinnamon component (but no spices are added) along with some tannins for texture and a crisp acidity to make it finish well. 6% and sparkling it is a very well done cider sweet cider.
Labels: cider, JK Scrumpys Orchard Gate Gold, Scrumpy
Dark brown winter ale with aromas of dried fruit, spices, chocolate, coffee and plum. Medium body with slightly tart and mild bitter- sweet finish.
I know this is winter ale and I am releasing it in May but as with most Belgian Strong Dark beers it ages beautifully. As it ages the dried fruit flavors go up and the finish is a touch drier.
Labels: Pater Kerst Special Winter Ale
Created by adding whole fresh raspberries to young lambic, which provides both seasoning and sparks another fermentation resulting in a product of great complexity. It has the acidity of champagne, the bouquet and delicate flavor of raspberries, and balance of almondy dryness.
Labels: d Beersel Framboise
Following spontaneous fermentation in wooden barrels (no yeast or sugar added), young and old lambic are blended; which results in a dry, tart and fruity wine like taste. Oud Beersel Oude Geuze is the white sparkling wine of the beer world.
Labels: Oud Beersel Oude Geuze Veille
Created by adding whole fresh cherries to geuze (a blend of young and old lambic), which provides both seasoning and sparks another fermentation resulting in a product of astonishing complexity. It has the acidity of champagne, the bouquet and delicate flavor of cherries, and balance of almondy dryness. Oud Beersel Oude Kriek is the pink sparkling wine of the beer world.
Labels: Oud Beersel Oude Kriek Vielle
Mountain Meadows makes very high quality meads, and does a superb job of balancing the honey character in the mead with the other flavors they add. The one thing I like about their product line is the fact that they not only have a wide selection of flavors but also have a wide selection of sweetness levels. From a semi-dry 1.5% residual sugar to a sweet 9%. This range means that they have a mead for just about every palate.
This is a unique semi-dry mead made with blue agave nectar. The Agave cactus is what they make tequila out of. The flavor is not over done and has just a light smokey hint at the end. It is one of my personal favs, very well done and must try.
Labels: mountain meadows agave
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
Auction Lot 43
Lot 43 1 Bottle Westveleteren 8 & 1 Bottle Westveleteren 12
Yes, that’s right two bottles of the Holy Grail of beers are up for grabs. The 12 is considered by some as the best beer on the planet. These are no longer available here in the US and are quite hard to come by.
Auction Lot 44
Lot 44 Beer For Bob charity auction. 1 2000 Rogue Imperial Stout, 2 1999 Rogue Old Crustacean .
Good beer for a good cause. All proceeds going to the Bob McCracken scholarship fund; for brewers at OUS.
I know many of you have been waiting for this and here it is! Hair of the Dog “Blue Dot Double India Pale Ale”. It pours a golden orange color, the head and carbonation are low but as this was just bottled I’m sure both will increase very soon. The nose is citrusy with tangerine and grapefruit with a touch of caramel. The flavor is HUGE and hoppy without being too bitter.
The drinkability is great and it should age well given that it has plenty of malt to make things interesting as the hops mellow with age. I plan to put a few down and see where it goes.
Labels: Hair of the Dog Blue Dot
Tuesday, May 01, 2007
Abita Turbodog is a dark brown ale brewed with Willamette hops and a combination of British pale, crystal and chocolate malts.
This combination gives Turbodog its rich body and color and a sweet chocolate-toffee like flavor. Turbodog began as a specialty ale but has gained a huge loyal following.
Labels: Abita Turbodog, Turbodog
Purple Haze is a crisp, American style wheat beer with raspberry puree added after filtration. Therefore, you may see raspberry pulp in the beer. The raspberries provide the lager with a subtle purple coloration and haze, a fruity aroma, and a tartly sweet taste.
Labels: Abita Purple Haze
Abita Amber is a Munich style lager brewed with crystal malt and Perle hops. It has a smooth, malty, slightly caramel flavor and a rich amber color.
Labels: Abita Amber
No pretense here, this beer taste just like banana bread. Amber brown in color, it pours with a nice creamy head. The aroma is malty, cake, and banana. The flavor is nutty, toffee with a light banana and golding hops and a light floral hop finish.
Labels: Wells Banana Bread Beer
A very festive and hardy holiday ‘saison’ home-made at Belgium’s smallest family brewery. Extra rich for the holiday season, at 8% alcohol by volume. Rated 8’s and 9’s (out of 10) by the authors of The Beers of Wallonia. As the label says, really just a richer version of La Moneuse, using a little caramelized malt and maybe more hops. The malt flavor of the Special is a little darker, roastier, and certainly sweeter, which must somehow distract attention a bit from the earthiness which is so notable in La Moneuse.
Labels: Blaugies La Moneuse Special Winter
A traditional style named for John Darby, preacher of temperance whose parishioners were oddly moved by a ‘soft drink’ they insisted was just fig juice . . .
The Blaugies Darbyste is a saison made with wheat and fermented with fig juice. A variant of the Belgian “Wit” or “Blanche” style, but a little drier and a lot more substantial and flavorful.
Labels: Blaugies Darbyste
Saison D’Epeautre is a saison beer made in a unique traditional style, using spelt and barley malt in the mash. Very dry and light in body, with a hint of wheaty tartness and a hardy texture that expresses the character of spelt, a primitive strain of wheat. It is one truly feisty brew, with an outrageous pop and a natural long-lasting head. And ah, the aroma! It’s a wonderfully heady, musty, cellar character that is unmistakably Belgian.
Labels: Blaugies Saison d Epeautre
It has a hardy, semi-dry malt character - fresh, but not overpowering hoppiness, abundant yeasty, fruity flavors and a fairly strong, but pleasant and enticing, mustiness. Among Belgium’s saisons, La Moneuse sits with Saison Dupont on the opposite end of the spectrum from the quirky, thin, fruity varieties. But La Moneuse is quite distinct from the Dupont, which drinks much colder, hoppier, harder-edged, and has no discernible sweetness. This beer is a warmer, richer, spicier, more vinous, and arguably more approachable saison. Like many saisons, La Moneuse is a little bit over-carbonated, with an aggressive head.
Labels: Blaugies La Moneuse Saison
