Woah mama. Do I even need to write about this one? No, but I will.
A few buddies and I get together once a month to drink beer. Good beer. We thought Tuesday would be as good of day as any, and thus started the ingeniously titled Tuesday Night Beer Club (TNBC). Needless to say, we ended the night with this beer from the heavens (or Belgium, close enough).
I was skeptical whether this could possibly live up to the hype. Hell, its #1 on the BA Top 100. The Michael Jordan of beers, or Tiger Woods. After popping the top, we all took a sniff, and werent blown away by the initial scent from the bottle. We all poured a nice amount into a snifter, and witnessed its nice dark brown color. A very nice looking beer.
After my first sip, I think i blurted out something like “holy crap”. This is good stuff. Its ridiculously smooth, and tastes like sweet caramel, darker fruits and maybe some brown sugar. I could drink this every day. I need to go to Belgium. Now. This is high in alcohol content, but you’d never know it. So very complex.
Yes, it lives up to the hype, and surpasses it. I love this beer. Now I want, no need more. Help?
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Posted 19 July 2009
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Surly resides in MN, and is probably most famous for their intense and wonderful Darkness stout. Thats not to say they do not make other great beers, and in cans no less! Furious is their take on an American IPA. Enough talk, lets drink.
This pours a dark orange/rusty color and smells of the usual hops, along with some piney elements. It actually has a very pleasant smell.
The taste comes off as moderately bitter, but not over the top. Very refreshing and (to me) extremely easy to drink. This four pack certainly wont last long. This isnt what I would consider a hop bomb (like Hop Juice or Hop Slam), but that isnt necessarily a bad thing. Furious is very well balanced, and even the lady of the house had a few sips and gave it a “thumbs up” (a rare achievement).
Big thanks to Ed for hooking up his Chi-town buddies while on a fishing trip in Minnesota. Unfortunately, now that were addicted, we’ll be wanting you to make the trip again soon!
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Posted 18 June 2009
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First off, let me start off by saying this is by far one of my favorite label designs from Three Floyds. Bravo fellas.
This beer has been available on tap, and finally made its way to us in bottled form. It pours a nice amber color, and smells of citrus and tropical flavors. This tastes very similar to their famed Dreadnaught, but also very different. There is a decent amount of sweetness mixed in with the hop flavors, and I also find myself tasting grapefruits. Extremely smoov (see what i did there) and fun to drink.
Like most of you out there, I am a hop fanatic. I can go through a bottle or six in one sitting without problem, but I dont see myself wanting more than one Cow.
Overall a very interesting beer that I would recommend trying at least once. The general consensus has been hit or miss, but I am glad I took the plunge. I have to applaud 3F’s for always trying to innovate.
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Posted 17 June 2009
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I feel pretty lucky to have been able to grab four bottles of Dark Horses latest concoction. My local liquor story only received a case, and by the time I got my ass over there, they had one four pack remaining. I had never tried this IPA before, but heard so much praise. My expectations were set pretty high before the first sip.
After popping the top, I poured this elixir into a nice tulip glass. It looks like a hazy copper color, and smells like malts, citrus and hops. The first sip brought tastes of sweetness and slight, wonderful alcohol burn (hey, I love whisky too). Nice hoppyness, and very well balanced flavors. Quite the synergy going on.
Oh, and nearly 14% too? Wow. What a unique IPA.
What can I say that hasnt already been said? This is an incredible beer, and easily ranks in my top 5 IPAs. Dark Horse consistently delivers quality beers, and I always find myself trying to spread the good word about them.
If you do stumble upon this, by all means, give it a try. Don’t let the booziness scare you away from this superb beer.
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Posted 17 June 2009
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Tyranena is new to us IL folks, so I picked up a few sixers as soon as they were available (the other being Scurvy).
This pours a dark ruby color, and noticed scents of brown sugar and maybe some cinnamon. It tastes very much like it smells, and I really cannot find any hints of bourbon. Bummer. This turned out to be a very thin beer, and while easy to drink, I cannot help but be let down.
Overall, this didnt do much for me, and I probably wouldnt recommend it to anyone.
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Posted 25 May 2009
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Hoppy goodness right here. What a pleasant inexpensive treat this was.
Wipeout poured a pleasant orange amber and smelled of citrus, and HOPS! This was light and refreshing, and you know what? If I was able to have this after every time I cut the lawn…I’d be cutting the lawn a lot, and with a smile. Great summertime beer that you can drink all night long.
Not sure I like this as much as Port’s Hop-15, but the price is definitely right. Any other big hop bombs that you guys would recommend? Next up for me is another Hop Stoopid or a Scalpin.
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Posted 25 May 2009
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I love you Southern Tier. Combining two of your excellent stouts…ingenious! Mokah is the spawn of Choklat and Jahva, aka, a match made in heaven…
This pours a pitch black color and instantly smells of chocolate with a hint of coffee. It tastes very much the same as the smell, with hints of barley. Its a bit thinner then I expected, but doesnt detract in the least.
This is way too easy to drink at 11%, but for a dessert beer, I cannot see myself having more than one.
Once again, ST provides a quality beverage. I wouldnt mind ending every night with a sweet treat like this…
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Posted 16 May 2009
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First off, big props to the kind soul that sent me this growler. Masala Mama is only available on tap at the Town Hall brewpub, and I didnt exactly see a trip to MN. in the near future. I threw this in the ‘ol beer fridge, and now its ready to rock!
After the pleasant pop of the growlers CO2 injection, this beer poured a pleasant orange color. The aroma was mostly of hops and maybe a bit of pine.
Taste was bitter, with a tad of citrus. Extremely smooth and light, and could easily qualify as a session beer. Too bad I cant have a keg sent over (hint hint).
This beer came with a lot of hype, and even several “best IPA ever” claims. While it was exceptional, I dont know that I’d rank it higher than some of my other favorites (Furious comes to mind).
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Posted 16 May 2009
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Wow.
Why did I wait so long to purchase and drink this beer? Probably because the IPA field is plentiful… but lesson learned. This is a wonderful DIPA! It poured a beautiful golden amber color, and instantly hits you with a superb hoppy scent. They should bottle this as cologne, or make an air freshener out of it. Hey, I’d buy it!
The taste is very balanced. Loads of hops, malts, a touch of sweetness, and of course, bitterness. Extremely tasty, and dare I say, almost on par with Hop Slam or Double Trouble.
At 10%, it aint a slouch either, but you hardly notice the alcohol content as you drink this large bottle down.
Well done, Avery. I will definitely pick more of this up on my next trip to the store.
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Posted 14 May 2009
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I thought this would be a fitting beverage as the world is currently in a panic over Swine Flu. Don’t get me wrong, Piggy flu is nothing to joke about, but what makes most situations better? Yeah, beer. Precious beer.
So here you have it, from the makers of the almost untouchable Pliny the Elder (and Younger), comes another superb IPA. This pours a beautiful yellowish-orange color, and smells strongly of hops and citrus (grapefruit?). The initial taste is of harsh bitterness, followed by sweetness. A tad bit malty, but its like Michael Jordan (aka hops) going against John Starks (malt). Its no comparison.
I think its safe to say that Russian River knows how to make an IPA. To me, these are the ultimate summertime beers. I wish RR was more easily available in my hood (you know, the western Chicago burbs), but I’ll gladly throw down some dollars in order to ship it across the state line. I prefer the Plinys overall, but would certainly have this little piggy again.
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Posted 30 April 2009
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