Stone

September Beer Club

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Tonight was Beer Club, a gathering of beer minded folk from my work who get together every month at a local BYOB for libations and fun. I should note that what I call beer club is offically called “social club”, and there are frequently attendees who want nothing to do with beer. We’ve often had folks who bring wine or even stuff like sake or just plan, non-alcoholic root beer. In short, usually, only a portion of attendees are drinking the beer. Well, we had a great turnout tonight, and most everyone drank most every beer. I think only one beer was left unopened (a Brooklyn Oktoberfest), and most everything else was kicked almost as soon as it was opened. So it was an impressive showing tonight! Check it:

September Beer Club

For the sake of posterity, some half-remembered thoughts on each beer are listed below. Standard disclaimers apply, these are not ideal tasting conditions and I was only half paying attention and you’d be a fool to trust most of these ratings. Except for the ones I’ve had before. Those are mostly awesome. Here goes:

  • Ken’s Homebrewed Pumpkin Ale – Really nice pumpkin ale homebrew from my friend Ken. He had kegged it and transferred to a growler this morning, so the carbonation was a bit on the low side, but it was otherwise a pretty damn good take on the style. I was going to say that it’s the best homebrewed pumpkin ale I’ve ever had, but it’s also the only homebrewed pumpkin ale I’ve ever had, so that doesn’t really tell you much. But it was good, and I liked it. B+
  • Stone Enjoy By 09.13.13 IPA – I know, heresy! We drank this almost a week after we were supposed to “enjoy by”, and yet, I can’t help but thinking that I enjoyed this more than the fresh bottle I had. I didn’t get that weird plasticky character that I had from the fresh version, though I could kinda see where it came from. The slightly faded hops actually improved this for me! I know, heresy, right? I still feel like I’m pretty sensitive to faded hops these days, but this one tasted fine. Perhaps it was stored better than my last bottle? I’ll still leave it at a B, but better than the last bottle I had (which was also a B)
  • Neshaminy Creek County Line IPA – I’ve not reviewed this, but I’ve mentioned it before on the blog, and I enjoy it. A local brew, this is your typical East Coast IPA, well balanced, more malt character than your West Coast IPAs, but a nice light hop character too. B or B+
  • Kaedôme Saison (regular version) – My regular ol’ homebrewed saison is still drinking pretty well. The hop character has mellowed a bit and never quite achieved the Nelson Sauvin awesomeness I was hoping for, but it’s still a pretty kickass saison and seemed to be very well received by the beer club crew. The Brett version of this is still in secondary, and probably has a solid month or two left it in before I bottle. I’ll leave this at a B+
  • Lexington Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale – Proof that “Bourbon Barrel Aged” does not always translate to “good”… this wasn’t especially bad or anything, it was just sorta bland. It was pale in color, and I didn’t get much bourbon or oak out of this at all… nor did I get much else. Which is to say, it’s better than most macros, but nothing to write home about. Perhaps it would fare better in a non-sampling context, but for tonight it was a lowly C+
  • Erie Brewing Mad Anthony’s APA – Oh wow, this is just awful. It’s got a certain blandness to it, but also a diacetyl note that I always hate. Some might be willing to put up with that, but not I. F
  • The Alchemist Heady Topper – I don’t need to say much beyond my review, but yeah, it went over pretty well with the beer club peeps. Still a solid A in my book.
  • Saucony Creek Captain Pumpkin’s Maple Mistress – Extremely sweet and a little boozy, this is an interesting take on the pumpkin ale. It’s got some spice, but not quite your typical pumpkin spice, and I can sorta detect that maple syrup character as well. It’s unbalanced, but in a sorta endearing way. One of those beers that’s excellent in this sort of sampling context, but which would probably become cloying if you tried drinking a whole bottle. I enjoyed it well enough and will give it a B
  • Finch’s Fascist Pig Ale – I didn’t really get much of this, just the dregs of the can, but it seemed like a nice enough amber ale. I’ll give it a provisional B, but even considering the context of beer club, I need more of this to really give it a fair shake.
  • Samuel Adams Fat Jack Double Pumpkin – You know what, I really enjoyed this beer. It’s a more-or-less traditional take on a pumpkin beer, pumpkin pie flavors all the way, but perhaps the lopsided affair of Captain Pumpkin’s Maple Mistress made this one appear better by comparison. It’s not as interesting, but it’s maybe a better crafted beer. B or B+
  • Cascade Kriek Ale – One of my contributions for the night, this sucker is just as good as I remember it, maybe even better. It was a big hit with beer club peeps as well, and definitely the most unique beer of the night. I love this stuff and might be tempted to upgrade it to A status, but I’ll leave it at A- for now, trusting my previous judgement.
  • FiftyFifty Imperial Eclipse Stout – Heaven Hill Rittenhouse Rye – My other contribution, and another eye opener for the beer club crew. I’ve had this before and absolutely loved it, which is one of the reasons I wanted to bring it to beer club. Happily, it went over very well. A

And that just about covers it, another successful night, and I am already anticipating the next meeting!

August Beer Clubbery

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Tonight was Beer Club, a gathering of beer minded folk from my work who get together every month at a local BYOB for drinkery and fun. A light turnout this week, so we didn’t actually get through every beer pictured below, but we made a valiant effort and actually drank a few that aren’t pictured. I know, I’m disappointed by my neglect to capture those additional beers in photographic form too, but we’ll just have to live with this:

August Beers

(Click for larger version)

Standard tasting note disclaimers apply: these notes are not trustworthy in any way, shape, or form, because whatever, I had fun tonight. In approximate order of consumption, not necessarily how pictured.

  • Fantôme Saison – One of my contributions, it seems that Fantôme hasn’t quite emerged from their smoky, rubbery funk phase just yet, though this one wasn’t quite as janky as the one I reviewed recently. It actually had more of a Saison Dupont feel, with just a bit of smoky, barnyard funk to make things interesting. I’ll keep it at a B+ and pine for the lemony, sour Fantômes of yore.
  • Dale’s Pale Ale – Pretty standard fare, but excellent as such beers go. Always a good choice, and I’ll hit it with a B+, just like before.
  • Kaedôme Saison (regular version) – So my regular homebrewed saison is actually drinking quite well at this point, big spicy yeast notes, plenty of Saaz hops, not as much Nelson Sauvin hops as I was going for, but quite a pleasant brew nonetheless. About half the batch is still in secondary, dosed with Brettanomyces (like Fantôme, hence the name of this beer). Probably still a few months away from that sucker, but even this non-funky version is doing pretty well. Another B+
  • Bear Republic Red Rocket Ale – Rock solid hoppy amber ale, not quite as mindblowing as some of those hoppy imperial reds, but a worthy, highly drinkable beer. Yet another B+. I swears, not everything in this post will be rated the same.
  • Ken’s English White Beer – My buddy’s homebrew, this one was made with wheat, rose hips, and an English ale yeast. A rather odd combination, but it works out reasonably well in the end. Nice wheat character, not much in the way of rose hips, but some English yeast character (thankfully without the diacetyl note that I often get from such yeasts)> Not a mind-blower, but a nice summer beer. B-
  • Ken’s Roggenbier – Another of Ken’s homebrews, and possibly my favorite of the homebrews tonight. Nice spicy rye character mixed with hefeweizen notes from the yeast. Really nice combination that works very well. B+
  • Port City Essential Pale Ale – Terrible. Ok, not quite that bad, but not particularly good either. A sorta muddy mess of hops and malt, never quite coalescing into good.C+
  • Dominion Oak Barrel Stout – Now this one is legitimately terrible. Ok, so some people like that British diacetyl note sometimes, but I cannot stand it, and it just overshadowed everything else about this beer for me. Not undrinkable, but definitely not good. D
  • Stone / Farking / Wheaton W00tstout – Ah, now we come to my favorite beer of the night, the Wil Wheaton collaboration with Stone and Fark.com, a huge imperial stout made with pecans, wheat, and rye, partially aged in bourbon barrels. Great rich sweetness, a hint of that bourbon and oak, with a nice overall malt character. A bit heavy, but quite a nice beer, really glad I got to try some. A-
  • Ken’s Irish red Ale – Another homebrew, this time a pretty straightforward Irish Red that was made with potatoes, a pretty nice combo. Sweeter than your typical Irish Red, though it keeps that same flavor profile and works well enough. I’ll go with a standard B for this one.

And that just about covers it. For those who saw the Eclipse beer in the picture and are upset that we didn’t get to it, do not fear, I reviewed it a while back. You’re welcome. See you next month…

Stone Enjoy By 04.01.13 IPA

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As someone who’s been rounding the corner into the sad sort of beer geekery where I cringe at the sight of unrefrigerated IPAs and bemoan the lack of clear bottling dates on bottles and other such pedantry, I have to say that the marketing that surrounds Stone’s Enjoy By series of beers is superb. What’s more, it’s actually relevant! They’re not resurrecting some foul ancient recipe and passing it off as something other than pure gimmickry, they’re actually harping on something appropriate here. I joke about my growing pedantry on the subject, but freshness is actually important.

For the uninitiated, Stone’s Enjoy By is a beer that is brewed not to last (oh shit, I just used a line directly from their marketing, I feel so unclean). Rather than etch a tiny little date on the bottle (that only pedants like myself would seek out), they slap the expiration date in big numbers right on the front of the bottle. In addition, the time window is extremely short – I believe it’s only 35 days from bottling. The idea is that once the date passes, that beer won’t be sold anymore. To do this, Stone appears to limit the size of the batches as well as the distribution area. By all accounts, this stuff sells out pretty quickly wherever it appears. However, they send new batches to a different area each time, so if you can’t get it now (or you missed out the first time around), you will probably get a chance soon enough (there’s a whole social media jamboree about how they choose the next market, but whatevers). My bottle was “Enjoy By 04.01.13”, a gift from a friend (thanks Danur!) procured in the great state of Delaware (we missed out on the Philly batch due to general apathy and laziness).

So I love the concept of this beer, and groupthink indicates that everyone loves this stuff. Alas, I was not quite as taken with it. A fine beer, to be sure, but perhaps it wasn’t fresh enough!

Stone Enjoy By 04.01.13 IPA

Stone Enjoy By 04.01.13 IPA – Pours a strikingly clear golden color with a finger of white head and plenty of lacing as I drink. Smells of pure hops, pine, lots of citrus, almost plasticky white grapes, a New Zealand hoppy feel – Nelson Sauvin, Motueka, and the like (Update: I was correct! Kinda! Those two hops are there, but also a crapton of other varieties, including some usual suspects and some more exotic stuff). Taste follows the nose and is almost purely driven by the hops. I would be surprised if there were any actual specialty grains used in this. It’s very sweet, but otherwise the actual flavor comes from that piney, fruity citrus plastic from the hops, and the bitterness in the finish manages to counteract that high sweetness factor. I keep describing this as plasticky, which probably sounds worse than it really is, though I don’t think it entirely works either. Mouthfeel is on the upper end of medium bodied, well carbonated but smooth enough. Overall, this is working out, I guess, but it’s not really blowing me away. Not exactly the glowing experience I was hoping for. B

Beer Nerd Details: 9.4% ABV bottled (22 oz bomber). Drank out of a tulip glass on 3/14/13.

Would perhaps try this again sometime if the opportunity presents itself, just to make sure I’m not crazy about the plasticky character I was picking up. Still love the concept, and the way they exclusively distribute to other areas of the country on a rotating basis.

Stone Saison du BUFF

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Back in 2003, the beer brewing trio of Sam Caligone (of Dogfish Head fame), Bill Covaleski (of Victory Brewing fame) and Greg Koch (of Stone Brewing fame), got together and formed some crazy organization called BUFF, which stands for Brewers United for Freedom of Flavor. It sounded like PR fluff, and naturally, nearly no one showed up to their press release. So Brewdog these guys are not, but that’s part of their charm! Back in 2010, they finally realized that they could garner some attention for BUFF by brewing a collaboration beer. So they developed a saison recipe that was spiced with parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme (I see what they did there), each went back to their respective breweries, and made up a batch.

During that initial release, I managed to get my hands on Victory and Dogfish Head versions of the beer, but I missed out on the Stone version. Such is the way of collaboration beers, and I thought this would have been lost to the annals of time, but lo and behold, Victory, Stone, and Dogfish Head rebrewed the same beer this year. Score. I’ve had a couple of the Victory brewed batch (in non-notes-taking social mode, sorry!) this year, but I also managed to find the Stone version to complete the trifecta. Kinda. I mean, I’m trying them over two years, so I’m sure some nerds think that doesn’t count, but who can ever satisfy those people? They all tasted pretty comparable to me.

On the other hand, despite the fact that they’re ostensibly using the same recipes, the Stone version clocks in at 7.7% ABV, while both the Victory and Dogfish Head beers are a mere 6.8%. As such, I’d expect this to be significantly dryer than than the other versions, but it still felt comparable. In short, they’re all good, and despite the suspicious difference here, this one is no exception:

Stone Saison du Buff

Stone Saison du Buff – Pours a light golden yellow color with a finger of white head. Smells strongly of aromatic herbs and spices, partly from the actual spicing, but also from the yeast. The taste starts sweet, with those herbs and spices coming into play again, drying out a bit in the finish, which also has a slight bitter note. Mouthfeel is well carbonated, medium bodied, a little spicy bite. Overall, a solid, interesting take on the saison. It’s distinct from the other varieties I’ve had, but just as good. B+

Beer Nerd Details: 7.7% ABV bottled (12 oz.) Drank out of a goblet on 9/1/12.

I think this may be the first time I’ve ever seen a craft beer collaboration beer brewed again (unless you count Mikkeller, but I don’t think that counts due to his Gypsy ways), so perhaps they’ll do it again, and I can save up three bottles and try them next to one another and see the differences close up. Could be interesting…

In other news, my server has apparently been acting up lately, so things have been a little futzy of late. All is well right now, but apparently my hosting service is replacing hardware and whatnot, so there may be some more downtime later this week. I actually wrote this entry last night, but couldn’t publish until now. I’m actually doing pretty well with the backlog of reviews at this point – I only drank this, like, a week and a half ago. Score.

Stone Ruination Tenth Anniversary IPA

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I had originally planned to pick up a bottle of regular ol’ Stone Ruination to compare with this beer, brewed in honor of the tenth anniversary of Ruination, but I never got around to it and I wanted to make sure I drank this thing fresh. It’s been at least a couple years since my last Ruination, but my recollection is that it’s hopped to high heaven, with an impressive and intense bitterness. I remember a friend saying something like “They call it Ruination because it will totally ruin your palate!” This was said approvingly, and as the years have gone on, I’ve certainly become more and more of a hophead. Ruination was one of the defining Douple IPAs of its era, certainly not the first, but one of the most popular. For its tenth anniversary, Stone amped up the strength to a whopping 10.8%… and apparently doubled the amount of hops used in the recipe. Well, I guess I don’t need this enamel on my teeth anyway, let’s crack this thing open:

Stone Ruination Tenth Anniversary IPA

Stone Ruination Tenth Anniversary IPA – Pours a hazy, darkish pale orange color with a finger of tight beaded head that’s leaving plenty of lacing as I drink. Smells strongly of juicy, fruity, and floral hops, maybe a hint of pine, and lots of sugary sweetness in the nose too. Taste starts sweet, with a massive blast of hop flavors emerging in the middle and intensifying through the finish, which is quite bitter and surprisingly dry for such a big beer. The hop flavors strike me as having a profile that is unique to Stone – I feel like I could pick this out of a lineup, whereas a lot of other IPAs, even world-class stuff, doesn’t feel that distinctive. There’s tons of citrus, a little pine, but also something floral and almost spicy that’s asserting itself. Again, this flavor profile is something I feel like we get from Stone a lot – Kaedrin friend and beverage compatriot Padraic would call it the “hop it til it’s nasty” effect (though I wouldn’t say it’s nasty, I rather like it). Mouthfeel is medium bodied, amply but tightly carbonated, and surprisingly dry for such a huge beer (it’s not super-dry or anything, but I was expecting something boozier and stickier in the finish and was pleasantly surprised at how well this one avoided those pitfalls). Overall, extremely well crafted beer, perhaps a bit too extreme for frequent drinking, but hell, this stuff won’t be around much longer, so I may even pick up another. B+

Beer Nerd Details: 10.8% ABV bottled (22 oz. bomber). Drank out of a snifter on 8/10/12.

I can’t say as though I loved it as much as the Beer Rover, but it’s another solid entry from Stone, as per usual. I still may need to pick up a regular bottle of Ruination at some point and review it, but I’m pretty well overstocked at the moment, so I think it’s time to drink down the cellar again. Speaking of whittling stuff down, I’m officially less than 2 weeks behind on my reviews at this point. No danger of running out of things to post about or anything, but for a while, I was over a month behind, which was just silly.

Stone Old Guardian 2010

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I didn’t realize this, but apparently Stone tweaks the recipe for their barleywine every year. This partly explains why I was so surprised by this beer. The difference between American and English barleywines tends to come down to hops. American varieties have a ton of them (and we tend to favor the high alpha-acid, citrusy, piney varieties), whilst the English go for a more rounded approach. Knowing what I know of Stone, I would expect this thing to be bursting with hops… what I got was unexpected, but not unpleasantly so.

The first thing worth noting is that this bottle is apparently from early 2010 (I only bought it recently, so I’m not that patient) and so I assume those hops would have mellowed out a bit since it was fresh. The second thing to note is that apparently in 2010 and 2011, Stone went in a more English direction with this beer. According to their blog, there were two big recipe changes in 2010. First, they began using a new crystal malt that was derived from English Maris Otter malts. This change would retain the caramel flavors of other crystal malts, but apparently also contributes a distinct nutty character. Second, rather than using huge US hops for dry hopping, they went with East Kent Golding hops. A smooth, pleasant English aroma hop that has a slight citrus and big floral component (it’s apparently the go-to English hop, and it’s used extensively in Belgian beers too). Stone also contends that it smells like unicorn tears, but that stuff is rarer than Pliny the Younger, so I haven’t had a chance to compare yet*. Now, it’s still Stone, so there’s 90 IBUs, which is still higher than most English barleywines, but I have to say that I still found this to be more on the English side of things:

Stone Old Guardian 2010

Stone Old Guardian Barleywine 2010 – Pours a deep amberish brown color with a finger of quickly disappearing, light colored head. Intense smells of caramel with some floral hops, fruitiness and lots of booze. Taste starts sweet, with just a bit of that caramel and fruit character emerging in the middle, only to be snuffed out by a heaping helping of booze and balancing hop bitterness in the finish. Mouthfeel is smooth, well carbonated, and a little sticky. Not quite full bodied, but let’s say, high-medium bodied. Overall, a solid, if a bit simplistic, barleywine. B+

Beer Nerd Details: 11.1% ABV bottled (22 oz. bomber). Drank out of a snifter on 3/10/12. Bottle sez: “Limited Early 2010 Release”. 90 IBUs.

On thing I’ve just realized is that most of the barleywines I’ve had have been barrel aged in some way, which perhaps explains why I felt this one was a little simplistic (also why I didn’t call it full bodied). I’m kinda curious to try out some of the newer varieties, which have apparently veered back to American hops like Chinook, Calypso and Cascade (so tons of citrus, pine, and resin, as opposed to the floral, unicorn tears of East Kent Hops). And it should go without saying, there are barrel aged versions of this brew that I’d love to get my hands on… As craft brewers go, Stone is so ubiquitous that it’s (ironically) easy to forget about them, but I’m always happy to try another of their brews.

* I’ve recently made the acquaintance of a mythical/endangered species poacher, so I may be able to pick up a growler of unicorn tears next week. Fingers crossed!

Stone 11.11.11 Vertical Epic Ale

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Back in aught two, Stone started what they call a Vertical Epic. Each year, they put out a one-time brew that is meant to be aged until December 12, 2012. Assuming you’re patient enough, you can then enjoy a vertical tasting of all the brews (it’s not strictly a “vertical” tasting, as each year’s beer has a different recipe, but you get the idea.) Each beer is released on one of them funny numerological dates, like 2/2/02, and 3/3/03, and so on, with the culmination being on 12/12/12 later this year (after which, such numerical games are not possible). This year has the added benefit of being binary (for the last time this century!)

I’ve actually never had any of these beers until now, but they generally seem to be a Belgian Strong Ale with some sort of twist. This year’s installment was brewed with Anaheim chiles and cinnamon. Yeah, I think we’re all thinking the same thing here:

Stone Vertical Epic 11.11.11

Stone 11.11.11 Vertical Epic Ale – Pours a dark amber color with a finger of light head and some lacing as I drink. Smell is filled with bready, musty Belgian yeast and some spiciness. The taste starts out surprisingly bland, with some sweet flavors emerging in the middle and a big bang of spice (chile and cinnamon are both there, though I’m not sure how well I’d be able to pick them out if I didn’t already know about it) hitting in the finish and plowing through the aftertaste. It’s most unusual. The chiles are definitely there and you even get a bit of heat from them (and it seems to build as you drink), but they’re nowhere near overwhelming (the way they’ve been in other chile beers I’ve had). Overall, this is an interesting beer with a unique character. It’s not a beer I’ll be pining after for years to come or anything, but I’m really glad I got to try some. B

Beer Nerd Details: 9.4% ABV bottled (22 oz bomber). Drank out of a tulip glass on 1/6/12.

An epic idea, for sure, but it seems I’ve come on board a little too late in the process! Still, I’ll check out that 12/12/12 beer for sure.

January Beer Club: Hoppy New Beer!

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Tonight was beer club, a meeting of beer minded individuals from my work who get together for a meal and lots-o-beer once a month. We had an average turnout this month, with 5 folks drinking beer and one pregnant club member who actually brought some non-alcoholic beer for us to try:

January Beer Club

For the sake of posterity, some thoughts on each beer we tried are below. As usual, conditions were not ideal, so take it all with a grain of salt. Or a giant hunk of salt. In order of drinking (not necessarily the order in the picture):

  • Samuel Smith Winter Welcome Ale – I already reviewed this beer last month, but this bottle seemed a lot better than the one I had before. Not sure what the deal is there, but it was a better balanced brew than I remember, and certainly not a C. Maybe an upgrade to a B- is warranted.
  • Clausthaler Premium – The first of our non-alcoholic beers, this one was actually not the worst thing I’ve ever had. It’s not particularly great either, but it’s certainly comparable to a solid macro lager, maybe even better. If you’re pregnant, this would certainly hit the spot (though apparently there’s an amber version that is better). I give it a C
  • Stone Oaked Arrogant Bastard Ale – I’ve had this a few times before, but it’s actually better than I remember. Very nice, lots of hop character in the nose and the taste (nice floral and pine notes), but not overwhelmingly bitter or anything. I don’t get a ton of oak out of this, but it’s definitely more complex than the standard Arrogant Bastard. A-
  • Rogue Voodoo Doughnut Maple Bacon Ale – Rogue’s collaboration with the Voodoo Doughnut shop generated a lot of buzz when it was announced, but once it was released, it got denounced as a “foul abomination”. Fortunately, it’s not that bad, though it’s certainly not a mainstream beer. It smells very strongly of maple syrup with a little smoke coming through. The bacon comes out a little in the taste, but I’m still getting more maple syrup than anything else. There’s some smoke there too, but it’s not an overpowering flavor. Mouthfeel is actually quite nice, though it’s still not an easy drinkin beer. I’m not sure I’d want to drink an entire bottle, but I did seem to like it a lot more than most beer club peeps. Perhaps because I was drinking this along with the burger I had ordered? Whatever the case, it is a bit of a gimmick, but I kinda enjoyed it. B-
  • Kaliber – This is the other non-alcoholic beer we tried, and we had high hopes. It’s brewed by Guinness, and when my pregnant friend asked around, this was one of the recommendations she got. But yeah, this is horrible beer. Bland and watery with some off flavors or something. The only good thing I can say about it is that it was a kinda nice palate cleanser after the strong character of the Voodoo Doughnut (but then, water would probably have done just as well or better). F
  • The Bruery Mischief – A classic. I reviewed this a while back, and it’s just as good as it was the first time. Still an A and probably my favorite beer of the night.
  • Tröegs Troegenator Double Bock – Very sweet and malty beer, I rather enjoyed this, though it was far from my favorite beer of the night. Perhaps a bit too sticky sweet, though still quite solid. I actually have one of these in my fridge somewhere, so I’ll have to give this some closer attention at some point. For now, I’ll give it a B
  • Port Brewing Santa’s Little Helper – During a beer run in early December, I actually bought one of these (along with a few others) and put it on my passenger’s side seat for the trip back home. At some point, I had to brake suddenly and my beer went flying… and this one broke open. I knew what happened right away, but since I was driving I couldn’t really address it until I got home. For the next week or so, my car smelled of imperial stout… which, actually, wasn’t that bad. I eventually picked up another bottle, but never drank it, so I brought it to beer club. It’s quite a solid imperial stout. Roasty aroma with a taste that features a lot of dark chocolate and roasted malts. It was quite good, though perhaps my taste buds were a bit shot at this point of the night, as this wasn’t quite as great as I was expecting. I’ll give it a B for now.
  • My Homebrewed Christmas Beer – I think this is perhaps my best crafted beer yet and other folks at beer club certainly seemed to enjoy it (it went pretty quickly, which is pretty gratifying). I keep saying this, but I should really do some reviews of my homebrewed beers at some point.
  • Dana’s Homebrewed Tripel – This did not come out as Dana had planned – there was a bit of a sour flavor present in the beer – but it actually turned out ok. Very citrusy nose and the taste, while not a typical tripel, was actually pretty good.

And that covers all the beer that we drank. As always, a great time was had by all, and we’re already looking forward to February.

Texas Beer Dispatch

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As previously mentioned, I spent the last week watching horror, SF, action and just plain weird movies, not to mention hobbits beating the crap out of each other (see my other blog for thoughts on the movies and other events of Fantastic Fest). Of course, nearly all of this was accompanied by beer. I must say, the Alamo Drafthouse is one awesome venue for a number of reasons, but right now, I’ll just say that it represents a melding of two passions: beer and movies. They’ve got some common offerings, but most of their beer menu is local craft stuff, and I spent most of the week sampling beers I’ve never heard of and can’t really get up here in PA. As I mentioned in an update to my previous post, I was tracking my beers via Untappd all week, but then, I was also watching movies and talking a lot, so take the below thoughts with a grain of salt. Alright, here goes (in roughly the order in which they were drank):

  • Live Oak Oaktoberfest – So not only local beers, but local seasonals – and this is a pretty damn good one. I wouldn’t say it’s a spectacular beer, but it was exactly what I was looking for out of an Octoberfest beer, and one of the better examples I’ve ever head of that style. B+
  • Shiner Bock – You can’t got to Texas and not have at least one of these, right? And Shiner happened to be a sponsor of the festival, so these were available in abundance, sometimes even being handed out for free. I’ve talked about this beer before, though that was on another trip so I didn’t actually rate it. It’s certainly nothing special, but it’s a solid beer and it’s hard to argue with free pints, right? B
  • New Belgium Hoptober – Ok, so this isn’t a local Texas beer, but New Belgium doesn’t really distribute here (though they have started in Maryland) so I always try some of their stuff whenever I can. I would have described this as a very good IPA, but BA calls it an “American Blonde Ale”? Strange because, as the name suggests, it’s massively hoppy. A really nice piney hop aroma. Well matched sweetness and hop bitterness in the taste. Overall, a really good brew, one of my favorites of the week. B+
  • Lagunitas Mystery Red Ale – So on Friday, my local Austin friends took me out and I ended up getting some sort of Lagunitas seasonal beer which I can’t recall, but it was a red ale of some sort, very hoppy and tasty. I actually enjoyed this one immensely, so I wish I remembered what it was called. I think it may have been the Lucky 13, but who knows. B+
  • Independence Brewluminati Braggot – Well, braggot has gone from a style I’d never heard of to a style I’ve had two examples of in the past few weeks or so (the other being Weyerbacher’s Sixteen). Go figure. I don’t know that this one was as good as Weyerbacher’s offering, but it was still a nice change of pace and worthy beer. It was lighter in color, so honey flavors dominated the taste more, but I still really enjoyed it. B
  • Real Ale Fireman’s #4 – Another blonde ale and apparently another of Austin’s typical session beers, as it was available all over. It’s not a mind-blowing beer or anything, but pretty good for a simple blonde ale. It’s got some subtle bready caramel notes, but is otherwise pretty straightforward. I only had one, but it’s certainly a worthy session beer and I’d try it again. B-
  • North by Northwest Black Jack (Bourbon Barrel Aged) – Local friends took me out to dinner at this most excellent brewpub, where I had their bourbon barrel aged black ale (BA calls it a Belgian dark ale, but I don’t think that’s right). It’s quite fantastic. I didn’t detect a ton in the nose, but damn, that taste is fantastic (and once I had some headroom in the glass to swirl the beer around, the nose came out more). Rich flavors of caramel malts, bourbon, vanilla, a light oakiness, and maybe even some chocolate. Just a hint of toasted malts, but nothing like a stout. Very well balanced – no flavor dominates, making for a very complex brew. Appropriately carbonated, but a smooth and creamy mouthfeel. Not too heavy and not too boozy, but it’s certainly not a lightweight either. Probably my favorite beer of the week. A-
  • Thirsty Planet Buckethead IPA – This is the sort of beer that makes me feel like IPAs are kinda… samey. It’s hoppy in the nose and the taste, and it’s bitter, but it’s kinda one-note. Not much going on here. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed it, but there wasn’t really anything special about it. C+
  • (512) IPA – Now this IPA, on the other hand, was maybe the best I’d had all week. Great citrus/pine nose, well balanced sweet/bitter combo in the taste (with some of that citrus/pine shining through). Nice and complex, a very well made beer. And damn, I didn’t try any other (512) beers. Given this one, I probably should have sought them out! B+
  • Left Hand Milk Stout – Another non-TX beer that isn’t super common in PA, so I gave this one a shot too. It’s very good, roasty, coffee and chocolate flavors and that milk stout chalkiness (probably the wrong way to describe it, but it seems common to the milk stouts I’ve had recently). Well done, but nothing super special either. B
  • Stone Arrogant Bastard – So this one’s really not local, nor is it something hard to come by, but I’d had a bunch of drinks that night, and was settling in for the Fantastic Feud, so I gots me a comfort beer. If you’re reading this blog and need me to describe Arrogant Bastard… I’m sorry. Actually, I wouldn’t call it a favorite, but it’s of course very good. B+
  • Independence Bootlegger Brown – I have to admit that I’m no expert on brown ales, but this one didn’t really do the trick for me. It was fine for what it was – a dark, roasty, almost stout-like ale, but there wasn’t really much complexity to it. I had no problems putting one down, but it doesn’t really stick out for me at all either. B-
  • Live Oak Hefeweizen – I enjoy a good Hefe as much as the next guy, but they do tend to get pretty boring… but not this one! Wow, what a fantastic (pun intended) brew. If I had this earlier in the week, I’d have certainly had more of them. Really wonderful aroma of bananas and clove. Typical wheat and yeasty flavors mixed with a surprising fruitiness. Well balanced, complex, and a joy to drink. A-
  • Avery White Rascal – Another non-TX beer, but since I was rockin the wheat beers, I gave this one a shot. It’s… not as good as the Live Oak, but it is pretty tasty all the same. Perhaps if I didn’t have these two wheat beers back to back, I would have rated this higher. B
  • Bear Republic Racer 5 – Yeah, I’ve had this before and of course it’s very good. I don’t really have much to say about it – hoppy and bitter! – but if you like a good IPA, it hits the spot. B+

Well, there you have it, a successful outing and quite a variety of new beers I’d never heard of before. If you’re ever in Austin, I recommend anything by Live Oak, as they seemed to have put together the best lineup (yeah, I only had 2 of their beers, but BA seems to rate the others pretty highly too). Before I left, I did stop off at a grocery store and picked up a big beer to bring home: Jester King’s Wytchmaker Rye IPA in a fancy 750 ml bottle. Look for a review… uh, in the next month or so! Overall, I’m pretty jealous of Austinites. Not only do they have the best movie theater I’ve ever been too, but they can drink beer there too. We really need to get us some Alamo Drafthouse style places up here.

Stone Levitation Ale

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Stone makes a real, honest-to-God, session beer? Will wonders never cease!

For the uninitiated (i.e. those of you who aren’t British), the goal of a “session beer” is to allow you to consume multiple beers in one reasonably long session without overwhelming your senses or getting you completely sloshed. As such, these beers typically feature very low alcohol content, clean, balanced flavors, and an overall high drinkability. For some reason, the specifics of session beers are absurdly divisive in the beer nerd community. For example, just trying to pin down the ABV threshold after which a beer is no longer sessionable can be a laborious exercise. For the most part, though, people seem to agree that the beer should be no higher than 4-5% ABV. You’ll see lots of arguments (usually from Americans) that a 5.5% or even 6% beer qualifies, usually accompanied by harsh denouncements (usually from Englishmen who claim that anything over 4% is an affront to the beer gods).

There really isn’t a single, definitive answer, and quite frankly, it seems like the history behind the phrase isn’t even that well established (though the concept of a “session” has certainly been around for a while, the term itself seems to be a relatively recent development). Whatever the definition, these low-ABV, highly-quaffable beers are certainly a worthwhile pursuit. In case you can’t tell, this whole concept grew out of British pub culture, and as such, sessionable beer is most common there. But there are certain circles in America that are also doing their best to promote session beers in the craft beer arena.

Stone Brewing has a reputation, though. They’re rebels, angry and aggressive. Their most famous beer is called Arrogant Bastard and printed on the bottle is the phrase “You’re Not Worthy!” It’s also 7.2% ABV, which I don’t think anyone would argue is sessionable. According to BeerAdvocate, Stone currently has 68 different beers available. The average ABV for those beers is over 8%. I could go on, but one of the interesting things about Stone is that they do put out some more “normal” beers. They have an interesting and distinctive pale ale, and their regular IPA is phenomenal. Then there’s this beer:

Stone Levitation

Stone Levitation Ale – Pours a dark amber color with a finger of tight head. Smells absolutely delicious – very hoppy, some citrus, and sugary sweet aromas. The taste is perhaps less sweet than the nose implies, but it’s really quite good. A nice, complex malt backbone with a prominent but not overpowering hop bitterness throughout. It’s got a relatively light body body; very easy to drink. I had this after a particularly long day, and so I think I was ideally primed to like this sort of thing, but boy did it go down easy. I really enjoy this beer and it’s definitely something I could drink all night… A-

Beer Nerd Details: 4.4% ABV bottled (12 oz.) Drank out of a, uh, glass that I don’t know what to call on 8/20/11. 45 IBUs.

At this point, I don’t actually have any Stone beers on my plate, but there are definitely some that I need to get around to (in particular, the decidedly non-sessionable Old Guardian Barleywine has been calling my name).