Green Flash

BBQ Beer Club

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Due to the capricious whims of Mother Nature, we had to push beer club back a ways, very nearly missing the month of January. But thanks to a no-show on yesterday’s storm, conditions were fine (if a little cold) tonight, where we hit up a new BYOB BBQ place, shared some beer, did some “Adult” Mad Libs (“I need a noun.” “Assless Chaps.”), and generally just had fun. For dinner, I ordered something called “Loose Meat”, and drove everyone crazy attempting to make double entendres about it. In case you were wondering, this is what loose meat looks like:

Loose Meat

(Click to Embiggen)

It has a nice phallic arrangement, but the feng shui could be a little better if the brisket and pulled pork were a little far back, don’t you think? Also of note, the parsley merkin. Anyways, it was good stuff, and we had some decent beer to go with it:

January Beer Club 2015

(Click to Embiggen)

For the sake of posterity, thoughts on each are below. Standard beer nerd disclaimers apply. I’m sorry, but the BBQ place did not have a hermetically sealed environment suitable for proper note taking. Also, I didn’t really take notes. I’m the worst. In order of drinking (not necessarily the order in the pic):

  • Kaedrôme Saison – Hey, remember that saison I dosed with Brett, like, a year ago? It’s doing reasonably well right now. It’s carbed up to a drinkable state, though still not as effervescent as I’d like. But the flavor is there, and it’s doing reasonably well. B
  • New Belgium/Three Floyds Lips Of Faith – Grätzer – My first Grätzer, and um, it’s a weird style. Light smokiness, very thin, with a weird tartness in the finish. A perfect beer for this situation, as I’m happy to try something like this, but I’m not sure I’d go out of my way for more. C+
  • Left Hand St. Vrain Tripel – A pretty standard American take on a tripel, a little too sticky, but a nice palate cleanser after the Grätzer. B
  • Wicked Weed Terra Locale Series – Appalachia – I’ve heard great things about Wicked Weed, so I was really looking forward to this, and a Brett saison made with sweet potatoes and grits sounds like it could work, but I found it a bit on the bland side. Nothing wrong with it, per say, but there’s not a lot of funk, and it just felt a little on the dry side. It’s certainly cromulent and I could probably drink plenty of it, and maybe it was just that this is not ideal for a tasting like this, but I was disappointed. B
  • Chimay Red – Yep, it’s Chimay all right. I’ve never been a huge fan of this particular expression though. B
  • Cigar City Maduro Oatmeal Brown Ale – Rock solid take on a brown ale. Not going to knock your socks off, but it’s a tasty alternative to macro slop. B+
  • Almanac Devil’s Advocate – Another fantastic little sour from Almanac, very tasty, vinous, sour, oaky, delicious. I don’t normally think of “hoppy” and “sour” going together very well, but these folks are doing it right. Probably my favorite beer of the night. A-
  • SoChesCo Valentine’s Day Chocolate Milk Stout – A friend’s homebrewed milk stout, asolid take on the style, very tasty. B
  • SoChesCo Pennsyltucky Chocolate Milk Stout – The same stout as above, conditioned on bourbon soaked oak, which wound up as a light character. You could definitely taste the difference drinking them side by side, but I don’t think I’d have pegged this as a bourbon oaked beer if I drank it blind (my own Bourbon Oaked Bomb & Grapnel fared little better on that account). B
  • Bière De L’Amitié (Green Flash & Brasserie St. Feuillien) – A very interesting and different beer. Standard Belgian yeast spice and fruit, but also some citrus hoppiness, and something that really felt like they dosed it with white grape juice (I don’t think they did, but that’s what kept coming to mind). B
  • Ken’s Homebrewed Creme Brulee Stout Clone – Holy vanilla, Batman! Like the Southern Tier inspiration, this is incredibly sweet and it’s got a great nose that I could just sniff all night long. I think there might be more vanilla here, but I love me some vanilla. B
  • Stone Bourbon Barrel-Aged Arrogant Bastard Ale – Another beer that I was looking forward to, but which didn’t quite live up to expectations. It was a fine beer, one of the better of the night actually, but I didn’t get a tone of Bourbon barrel character out of this. It felt like the barrels muted the aromatic aspects of the hops while leaving the bitterness. Fortunately, the Bourbon sweetens it up a little, so it’s still reasonably well balanced (er, for Arrogant Bastard), but it’s not something you really need to drop everything and try (like, for example, Stone’s Fyodor’s Classic). B+

At this point, we decided to call it a night, and we didn’t get to the last two beers. Oh well, there’s always next month, which should come up soon!

Beer Clubbing

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Tonight was beer club! For the uninitiated, beer club is a gathering of beer minded individuals at a local BYOB for libations and fun. Tonight we returned to a mainstay of our beer club experience, a local sushi place that we have all grown to love. Reasonable turnout, and some rather fantastic beers:

Beer Club for July 2014

For the sake of posterity, some basic thoughts on each below. Usual disclaimers apply, this is clearly not an isolation chamber environment, so please take this with the requisite grain (or boulder) of salt. In order of tasting (not necessarily in the order pictured):

  • Forest & Main Palomino – One of my contributions and a favorite of the night, this is just as good as it was when it was fresh, if not even better. A-
  • Ken’s Homebrewed Pilsner – Nice typical pilsner hop nose, incredibly light and quaffable, this is the sort of thing that would be a perfect hot day drinking beer. This was Ken’s first all-grain brew, and it turned out really well, even if it’s not my favorite style. B
  • Anthony’s Homebrewed ESB – Another homebrew (we seem to attract those types at beer club, I don’t know why), this one has all the hallmarks of a good ESB, nice muted hop character, some solid biscuity malt, but also an almost brown sugar component that works really well. Another beer that would make for a great session, even if it might be slightly too much ABV… B+
  • Crown Valley Big Bison Ale – A fairly malty, well carbonated take on the dubbel style, though it’s a bit more raisiny than expected, with maybe even a hint of diacetyl, which we never really appreciate here at Kaedrin. Not at all terrible, but a bit of a disappointment. B-
  • Anderson Valley Boont Barl Bourbon Barrel Amber Ale – Not as much bourbon barrel character as expected, and as such beers go, this is decidedly low cctane, but it actually drinks reasonably well. Decent balance, the bourbon is there, but it’s very light. Not something I’d seek out, but it’s a reasonably decent beer. B
  • Terrapin Pineapple Express – The bottle sez this is a smoked pineapple Helles, not something that seems like it would work out. In reality, it’s not as bad as I feared, but it was cromulent enough. Very sweet, with only a light smoky character (it’s not one of those beers where you’ll wonder who put their cigar out in your beer!) I’m glad I tried it in this setting, as I don’t know that I’d want to take down a full bottle of this. B-
  • Kaedrin Barleywine – I’m pretty sure I screwed up the carbonation factor of this beer. The flavor and aroma are there in spades, it just hasn’t quite carbed up to the point where I thin it works well. And actually, this regular version is probably the best carbonated of them, which is not encouraging. The Bourbon one tastes a lot better, but it’s also flatter… B-
  • Oskar Blues Old Chub Nitro – Much better than the standard Old Chub (which I always felt was too dry and too well carbonated to be a great Scotch ale), really smooth and creamy (typical of the nitro), malty, tasty stuff. B+
  • Green Flash Road Warrior Imperial Rye India Pale Ale – Tons of Moscaic hop character out of this, tropical fruits with that spicy rye character, this is a really solid beer worth checking out. B+
  • Evil Twin Imperial Biscotti Break – I’ve actually had this a few times before, and it’s really nice, especially if you like coffee. As I’m pretty much ambivalent to coffee, I thought this was fine, if not the best evar, though it seemed to go over really well. This was another favorite of the night amongst the beer club peeps, but I’ll go B+, but only because my coffee feelings are well documented (could easily be higher for most other folks).
  • Blue Point (Sour) Cherry Imperial Stout – I have to admit that I’m not the biggest sour stout fan out there, but this worked well enough, with that rich malt and sour twang, maybe even a hint of that cherry. A few of us tried blending this beer with the Imperial Biscotti Stout, just to see what would happen, but it didn’t turn out particularly great. This beer by itself is better, but still around a B level beer for me.

So there you have it. August may be a weird month in terms of beer club, but I’m sure we’ll work something out. In any case, stay tuned for some moar local awesomeness this week on Kaedrin.

April Beer Clubbing

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Tonight was beer club! For the uninitiated, beer club is a gathering of beer-minded individuals from my workplace who get together once a month for beer and revelry at a local BYOB. This time around, we went to a local Pizza place, got our fill of deep fried pizza pockets and other such delights, and naturally partook in lots of beer:

April Beer Club Selections

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For the sake of posterity, completely unreliable notes on each beer are below. Standard disclaimers apply, and other such waffling. Great, now I have a sudden craving for waffles. Thanks a lot. Anywho, in order of drinking (not necessarily the order pictured above):

  • Green Flash Le Freak – Labeled a Belgian IPA, I didn’t get much in the way of hops out of this, but it remained a pretty solid Belgian Strong Pale nonetheless. Nice spicy Belgian yeast character. B
  • Ovila Abbey Saison – Bog standard saison material, nothing special at all, though certainly not bad or anything like that. Still, there wasn’t much to make it really stand out in a setting like this. Mild Belgian yeast character, maybe a hint of lemon peel if you are really looking for it. B-
  • Stone Stochasticity Project Grapefruit Slam IPA – Rock solid IPA that feels like it’s actually made with grapefruit (as opposed to only hops that lend a grapefruity character). I don’t actually know if that’s the case for sure, but that’s what it feels like. Beautiful nose, what seems like Stone’s trademark hop profile, and a heaping helping of citrusy but astringent grapefruit. An interesting beer. B
  • Evil Twin / Crooked Stave Ryan And The Gosling – One of my contributions for the night, this is dominated by funky Brett. This is quite welcome in the nose, and the front end of the taste is fantastic, but the finish is very odd. That funk turns super earthy, almost savory in the finish, which brings this down a bit. Still an interesting beer to try though. B
  • Allagash Midnight Brett – Hey, look at that, a beer I just reviewed yesterday. And it held up rather well in this setting as well.
  • Ken’s Homebrewed Honey IPA – Brewed with a bunch of New Zealand hops, this was quite nice.
  • Sly Fox Nihilist – An interesting take on the imperial stout style, huge carbonation, dryer than I’d normally expect, but a nice roast character, with hints of booze (but not overpowering). It’s definitely a decent brew. B+
  • Kaedrin Bomb & Grapnel – Straight up imperial stout, this one compared very favorably to the Nihilist, definitely thicker and more creamy, less roast, but really quite nice. B+
  • Kaedrin Bomb & Grapnel (Bourbon Oaked) – Interestingly, I feel like the char that came through on early bottles has mellowed out, and the bourbon seems to be lessening the roast as well, making this an interesting blend of flavors. It’s turned out quite well, though not at all like your typical bourbon barrel aged stout. Still, not bad for a first attempt, and quite nice on its own. B+
  • DuClaw Dirty Little Freak – Holy hell. Huge chocolate nose, like powdered cocoa. Less chocolate in the taste, as it takes a back seat to a big coconut character. Surprisingly not super sweet, and it works well enough I guess (certainly a unique beer), though I was a little disappointed. B-
  • DuClaw Cocoa Fuego – Brewed with dark chocolate and chipotle peppers, its the latter that seems to dominate this beer, even contributing a sorta smokey flavor that’s pretty tough to overcome. There’s some peppery heat that takes up residence in your jaw, but it’s not punishing or anything like that. Not the worst hot pepper beer I’ve had, but not a beer that I connected with either. C+
  • DuClaw Hell on Wood – Ah, now this is more like it. This is DuClaw’s excellent Devil’s Milk barleywine aged on bourbon barrels, and it turned out reasonably well. Clearly not a top tier BBA barleywine, but it works really well on its own. B+

So all in all, quite a nice night. As per usual, already looking forward to next month… In the meantime, stay tuned for another .rar wale review tomorrow.

Quick Hits

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When I started this blog, I was generally looking to write about every new beer I tried. I learned a lot, which was the point, but I’m also sure it was boring. Being the 3583756th blog to review Sierra Nevada Pale Ale isn’t particularly constructive or, frankly, all that interesting. I don’t want to read that, let alone write it and inflict it upon you. So what I’m getting at here is that I might not review every beer I try anymore, and I might do more posts like this, with just a few quick hits on mildly interesting beers I’ve had lately. In fact, this has been happening for a while now, and it’s part of the reason I feel like everything I review is really good – I’m not putting much energy into those bad beers. Anyways, I’m sure you’re devastated by all this, but I’ll try to make up for it by drinking and reviewing interesting beer and maybe even writing things that aren’t just reviews. So for now, let’s just look at a few beers I’ve had over the past couple months, but which haven’t inspired posts of their own:

Marooned On Hog Island - 21st Amendment

21st Amendment Marooned On Hog Island – Jay loved this and I always fall in love with 21st Amendment’s artwork, but then, I’m not a particularly big fan of oyster stouts either. Something about the salinity that most of them have just doesn’t work that great for me, though it can make for an interesting change of pace. This one pours a black color with a finger of tan head. Smells of sweet roasted malts along with something I can’t quite place (brininess? Presumably the oysters…) Taste is straight on stout, sweet with plenty of roasted malt and that briny oyster character coming through towards the finish, which retains a bitter roast too. Mouthfeel is very nice, well carbonated, lighter bodied than I’d expect, but still substantial. Overall, it’s a solid beer, but it didn’t hit me in the gut like I wanted. B

Beer Nerd Details: 7.9% ABV canned (12 oz). Drank out of a tulip glass.

Duck-Rabbit Wee Heavy Scotch Style Ale – Man, Duck-Rabbit sounds like it’d be right up my alley – a brewery specializing in dark ales? Sign me up! And yet I’m almost invariably disappointed by their wares. Granted, I haven’t had anything other than their regular lineup, but still. I like Scotch ales, but this one doesn’t feel like the style at all. It pours a deep, dark brown, maybe copper color with a finger or two of fluffy light tan head. Smells rather odd, kinda like a soda. Caramel and fruit are there, but perhaps a uncommon yeast character is showing up as well. Taste is similar, plenty of caramel, some fruit, and that soda-like character from the nose. Mouthfeel is more carbonated than expected, and I’m guessing this has a higher attenuation than your typical scotch ale. I mean, it’s not dry, but it’s nowhere near what a Scotch ale is supposed to be either. Feels a little unbalanced, sloppy, though it’s not at all unpleasant. Overall, I guess I’m just not feeling this one. Certainly not a bad beer, but a little disappointing and not really on-style. B-

Beer Nerd Details: 8% ABV bottled (12 oz). Drank out of a tulip glass.

Milwaukee Brewing Louies Resurrection

Milwaukee Brewing Louie’s Resurrection – I got a pair of these beers in that trade that brought me a bunch of Three Floyds, and I had one right away that was pretty darn good. Not mind-blowing, but a really nice bourbon character mixed with a typical malty red ale. Solid stuff, but then I think I let the other one sit around for a bit too long. It pours a brownish amber color with a finger of off white head. Smells of toffee, caramel, light bourbon. Taste hits with that toffee and caramel right away, very sweet start, rich flavors, mild bourbon character, some euro hop flavor. Mouthfeel is medium bodied, well carbonated, very easy drinking. Overall, a very nice beer. Not going to expand consciousness or anything, but good. B+ (fresh) or B (not so fresh)

Beer Nerd Details: 7.5% ABV bottled (12 oz). Drank out of a snifter.

Green Flash West Coast IPA

Green Flash West Coast IPA – This one would probably qualify as a boring review of a regular beer, but it happens to be my first Green Flash beer ever, which is surprising given their wide availability in the area. Will have to seek out more from them. This one pours a deep orange color with a finger of white head, plenty of lacing. Smells like an IPA! Lots of citrus and pine hops. Taste follows the nose, a little more crystal malt character than I was expecting from a “West Coast” IPA, but as an east coaster, this does not bother me at all. Again with the citrus and pine, maybe some herbal spice too, nice bitter finish. Mouthfeel is medium bodied, crisp, easy drinking stuff. Overall, solid beer! B+

Beer Nerd Details: 7.3% ABV bottled (12 oz). Drank out of a tulip glass.

Deschutes Obsidian Stout – This one came to be via my first BIF trade (which is something I’ll explain in a later post). Pours a very dark brown color with a couple fingers of fluffy, light brown head. Smells like a sweet stout, caramel malts and some roast apparent, but also maybe some floral, citrusy hops. Taste starts sweet, with a light roastiness emerging quickly and lasting through the finish. Some floral and citrus hops make themselves know, but they’re not aggressive, just adding a nice complexity and balancing bitterness to the brew. Mouthfeel is well carbonated, with a slightly yet pleasant astringent character, medium bodied. Overall, it’s an above average stout, more along the lines of what I look for in a stout. It didn’t blow my mind, but it’s a worthy brew. B+

Beer Nerd Details: 6.4% ABV bottled (12 oz). Drank out of a tulip glass.

So there you have it. Tomorrow, we return to the realm of amazing barrel aged monsters, so grab your broad sword and strap on a shield, things are going to get elemental up in here.