Ymm, Beer

[devildeac]

I was not impressed with the Green Flash you left me. I am wondering if a Mendocino should be on the list. Also, I wonder if the Alaskan Amber should be somehow on the list.

1. The Green Flash was suggested originally by 2535Miles, IIRC. A hospital rep also suggested it and I believe RMD has reviewed it, too. I'd bet the 7% ABV did not bother you too much but the 95 IBU may have been too much.

2. A Mendocino is on the list at #16-I got the brewery wrong. The Eye of the Hawk is a Mendocino brew, not a North Coast concoction.

3. I liked the Alaskan Amber but not enough to include it. I enjoyed several Alaskan offerings last summer but none enough to consider adding any of them.

[devildeac]

Haven't had about half of these, but I like most of the ones I have tasted. I would've put West Coast IPA higher, but I have a bitterness sickness (which is why I love the amount of Barleywines). Not a fan of the Alaskan Smoked Porter, but I think that beer is like Wisconsin. You may not enjoy watching them, but you can't deny what they do on the court year in and year out and you certainly can't complain when they pull a high seed.

Russian River makes great brews, but they don't have the distribution to make it onto a list like this.

All in all a tough bracket that, IMO, is the most wide open of the bunch.

Good thoughts. I actually like the Green Flash better but kinda jumbled the seeds and added it late so I would not have to put another Rogue or Bridgeport in the bracket. I did hear some howls about the east bracket with all my DFH brews.

[devildeac]

The three seed, Alaskan Smoked Porter, is my "dark brew" favorite to make it to the final four. Since the play in game is being played in Dayton, a couple of mid west non-mbc( non micro brew conference) beers such as Buckeye and Old Dutch should tangle. Obviously no chance to advance, but highly popular in their respective areas.

Maybe we should have a drink-in, err, play-in game in each of the brackets with each of us nominating a couple small, local brews to the field...

[devildeac]

Well, unless I go hunting for some in the next few days, I'm having my final New Belgium Frambozen of the season tonight. I bought a 6-pack for NYEs and we only went through four of them (too busy sampling Avery Salvation, DFH Indian Brown, and Great Divide Old Ruffian). I had one last night during the Buckeye game and another tonight.

One beer that I did have over the holidays that I'll post some quick thoughts on was Rogue's Double Dead Guy Ale. This is from Xmas Eve memory (and, prior to drinking it, I'd had a few glasses of champagne) so it's not great. The beer was not nearly as hoppy as I expected. Instead it had a distinct malt sweetness that provided a great balance. The usual bitterness--pine and minerally lemon zest--were there, but didn't dominate. ABV was, IIRC, around 9%. Good beer, although you can do better for the price.

D@mn, beat me to it. I bought one prior to Christmas but haven't enjoyed it yet. I would not expect much bitterness as the regular Dead Guy is in the maibock style, so I would expect this to be very malty and caramel or butterscotch type sweet. Plus, the bright red (think neon red) bottle is a collector's quality vessel.

[devildeac]

Eureka! http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/whatsontap

A blog about beer in Seattle - places to get it, places that serve it, beer brewing, beer tasting, all beer!

DevilDeac, I'm sorry I didn't find this before your trip out here last summer!

Edit: But for those of you visiting Oregon anytime soon, particularly those who love barleywines, from one of the more recent posts

No apology needed. I had a Mac and Jack's amber on arrival at the hotel and a Belgian I can't remember at the excellent gastropub you recommended (this name eludes me, too). I also had several Alaskan species while cruising the inner passage.

As a matter of fact, we will be visiting Oregon soon. We'll be out in the lovely, and hopefully, somewhat drier Pacific NW from 3/24-3/29 to ski at Mt Hood and visit my brother and his family in Portland. Do you and Mr. DA want to join us in Hood River to tour the Full Sail Brewery, sample their brews and argue whether they are better than the Deschutes' ales? That will be after 3 exhausting days of spring "powder" skiing, of course...

[devildeac]

I have on hand or rather on table my beer for tomorrow's football game. Left Hand Milk Stout and Fort Collins Chocolate Stout. Serious games call for serious beer. I know the chocolate has been reviewed here recently with,IIRC, glowing terms, but am not certain about the Left Hand product. Any comments on which I should start with, I assume they should not be too cold or poured into a cold glass. I bought these this afternoon from my favorite beer store. Three of each. The beer lady (one of my former students) was high on the Milk Stout.

I think CB&B reviewed the Milk Stout. Not sure if anyone penned a note about the FCCS. I know a couple of us really liked the Bison Chocolate Stout.

[devildeac]

I tried a Double Bastard (Stone Brewing) on tap at my favorite BBQ joint County Grill. It pours a deep red with a good head. What sets it apart from Arrogant Bastard is its sweet caramel malt flavor on top of the heavy citrus hops. An excellent brew, but almost too sweet to drink with a meal. It's also 10.50% ABV.

Got one of those in the cellar, too. Couldn't work it into the tasting cycle over the holidays. There were just so many big beers that Lavabe and I could enjoy. Maybe next weekend at the coast...

[devildeac]

Just making my way back through this thread to look over the holiday season reviews. Looks like everyone had some enjoyable brews, especially the DDs and Lavabes, who did a nice set of Avery tastings . Glad to see Lavabe enjoyed the Old Jubilation. My review of that beer was with you in mind given your noted distaste for over-spice winter/holiday beers (which I agree with).

I'm curious about the cheddar pairing with the barleywine. I've always paired BWs with really pungent bleu cheeses (and nothing else) simply because the beer has to be paired with something that can hold up to it (and its sear-the-tastebuds nature). Would you recommend this only with a very sharp cheddar?

Full disclosure: I'm planning a beer tasting dinner at my place and am looking for good pairings. BWs are tough to pair with and many people don't like bleu cheese, so I'm trying to plan around that.

A really sharp cheddar will match nicely with barleywines. Make sure you have some simple wheat crackers as palate cleansers between food/beer samplings. Spicy sausages might work well with the barleywines, too.

[devildeac]

Sorry about the PWing here. I try to save that for the LTE. There were just too many posts I had missed over the last 5 days of not reading the boards, I felt compelled to read and type a lot. Plus, now I know what it's like when other folks suffer bouts of insomnia. Not funny.

[Lavabe]

Sorry about the PWing here. I try to save that for the LTE. There were just too many posts I had missed over the last 5 days of not reading the boards, I felt compelled to read and type a lot. Plus, now I know what it's like when other folks suffer bouts of insomnia. Not funny.

It just so happens that I have one as well tonight. Tonight's is weird; it's mostly gastric-related.

Yes, I was wondering about the Mendicino entry. That seemed a bit odd. Thanks for the clarification. Having said that, I wonder:

Are there two brews out there with the same name?

[Lavabe]

1. The Green Flash was suggested originally by 2535Miles, IIRC. A hospital rep also suggested it and I believe RMD has reviewed it, too. I'd bet the 7% ABV did not bother you too much but the 95 IBU may have been too much

The Maharaja had a higher IBU, but that was an extremely pleasurable beer. On Green Flash, I didn't get the hop complexity that I wanted. The malt did nothing for me, and the ABV did nothing much to complement the IBU.

Other than that, Mrs Lincoln ...

[devildeac]

The Maharaja had a higher IBU, but that was an extremely pleasurable beer. On Green Flash, I didn't get the hop complexity that I wanted. The malt did nothing for me, and the ABV did nothing much to complement the IBU.

Other than that, Mrs Lincoln ...

There were several hop varieties listed on the label on the neck of the bottle which actually helped me quite a bit to appreciate the hop variety/tastes of the different ones used, either individually, or in conjunction with others in sorting out the aromas/flavors of different IPAs. If the malt had balanced it better, I suspect they would have had to use larger quantities. If that were done, the ABV would be higher and it would then probably become an IIPA, like the Majaraja.

[devildeac]

It just so happens that I have one as well tonight. Tonight's is weird; it's mostly gastric-related.

Yes, I was wondering about the Mendicino entry. That seemed a bit odd. Thanks for the clarification. Having said that, I wonder:

Are there two brews out there with the same name?

My bout is "on call" related but I generally don't have this much trouble returning to sleep after a relatively simple phone call.

Now the GI issue is another minor problem, but enough thread hijacking with our personal health issues.

The first name I can think of assigned to two brews is Blue Heron Pale Ale. IIRC, Mendocino and Bridgeport each have a PA by that name. I haven't verified that however.

[DukePA]

bump. trying to pick up a little slack for DD It stinks when you have to work I don't know if this has been reviewed (too lazy to search and this is a brief little blurb anyway), but has anyone tried Kennebunkport's blueberry beer? I usually like those fruity beers but this was yuck. You open the bottle and are overwhelmed by the blueberry smell. The beer itself is rather cloyingly sweet. Hmm, it might go well with pancakes now that I think about it (Did I use enough emoticans?)

[Lavabe]

bump. trying to pick up a little slack for DD It stinks when you have to work I don't know if this has been reviewed (too lazy to search and this is a brief little blurb anyway), but has anyone tried Kennebunkport's blueberry beer? I usually like those fruity beers but this was yuck. You open the bottle and are overwhelmed by the blueberry smell. The beer itself is rather cloyingly sweet. Hmm, it might go well with pancakes now that I think about it (Did I use enough emoticans?)

You need another emoticon in the message text, and an emoticon in the subject line.

If New Glarus did a Blueberry, you'd describe it's taste the same way, but you'd have a much different opinion of it. Having said that, what you could do is compare it with the Sweetwater Blue. That's a fair comparison (and undoubtedly easier to accomplish, unless you know someone in Wisconsin).

Cheers,
Lavabe

[CameronBornAndBred]

bump. trying to pick up a little slack for DD It stinks when you have to work I don't know if this has been reviewed (too lazy to search and this is a brief little blurb anyway), but has anyone tried Kennebunkport's blueberry beer? I usually like those fruity beers but this was yuck. You open the bottle and are overwhelmed by the blueberry smell. The beer itself is rather cloyingly sweet. Hmm, it might go well with pancakes now that I think about it (Did I use enough emoticans?)

The homebrew shop had blueberry flavoring, bleah. If they had cherry I would have gotten some. Cherry stout would be in the works, mmm.

[rockymtn devil]

My bout is "on call" related but I generally don't have this much trouble returning to sleep after a relatively simple phone call.

Now the GI issue is another minor problem, but enough thread hijacking with our personal health issues.

The first name I can think of assigned to two brews is Blue Heron Pale Ale. IIRC, Mendocino and Bridgeport each have a PA by that name. I haven't verified that however.

Not sure if Bridgeport makes a Blue Heron, but Mendocino absolutely does (and it's a wonderful example of American English Pale Ale; very enjoyable).

Another "same name" set of beers is Salvation by both Russian River and Avery. That led to the creation of Collaboration, Not Litigation Ale which will be in its 3rd year of production this spring, IIRC.

Simple night for me tonight. Finishing up a six-pack of Denver Pale Ale by Great Divide.

[rockymtn devil]

The homebrew shop had blueberry flavoring, bleah. If they had cherry I would have gotten some. Cherry stout would be in the works, mmm.

I think blueberry would go very well with a wheat beer or even a pale ale. What's Sweetwater's Blue? I think it's a wheat.

[bluebear]

I've been on an imperial stout kick lately (though tonight it's one of the Palo Santo that reemerged in my local store after nearly a month)...
Over the past week, I've tried...
Old Rasputin
Stone
Founders

I was little disappointed in the Old Rasputin which was a bit too bitter for me..I found the Stone to be the smoothest of the 3 and probably my favorite. The Founders was a bit more bitter than the Stone but very good...heading back tomorrow to get a 4 pack of the Founders. The store also had a Founders Breakfast Stout...has anyone tried it?

[CameronBornAndBred]

I've been on an imperial stout kick lately (though tonight it's one of the Palo Santo that reemerged in my local store after nearly a month)...
Over the past week, I've tried...
Old Rasputin
Stone
Founders

I was little disappointed in the Old Rasputin which was a bit too bitter for me..I found the Stone to be the smoothest of the 3 and probably my favorite. The Founders was a bit more bitter than the Stone but very good...heading back tomorrow to get a 4 pack of the Founders. The store also had a Founders Breakfast Stout...has anyone tried it?

I've had the breakfast stout, from what I remember it was pretty good. I had a really good imperial this weekend, Great Divide's Yeti. Never had it before, but it was excellent. High alcohol, high flavor, I wish I had bought more than one. Lotta malts, caramel tones, tons of hops.