Mirror Mirror at the Bar...

I have heard a lot about this Deschutes Brewery - sounds like my last name (Deshayes), which I found out means trash in French. Screw you Frenchie. Anyway, I saw this was on tap and figured I better try it and see what the fuss was about.

The general appearance of the beer was pretty appropriate given that it was a pale ale and was pretty nicely golden. The head was light and dissipated quickly. I didn't get a lot of aroma from the beer, which was sad, as I like the scents that pale ales and IPAs have. Fortunately, the beer made up for the lack of smell with some great flavor - hops, bitterness, a bit of floral citrus. At the same time, the beer was very smooth, so nothing that would drastically piss off anyone. A good overall beer that I would definitely have again.

Appearance - 3.5/5.0 - A golden color with light head

Smell - 3.0/5.0 - Really light, which I was surprised with given it was a pale ale

Taste -4.0/5.0 - A really strong potent hop flavor with appropriate bitterness. Smooth at the same time.

Feel - 4.0/5.0 - Smooth and bitter at the same time and felt good in the mouth. No overkill.

Drinkability - 4.5/5.0 - A good solid beer that I would definitely get again.

Key West Golden Lager - fresh from Flo-rida

The Key West Golden Lager was one of the beers I got in my last beer of the month club shipments. I was curious about this one, as most of the beers I have gotten have been IPAs, Witbiers or Stouts. So, getting a lighter beer was a surprising change. As I can imagine, this beer does well in Florida, where it's hot and everyone sweats all their fluids out due to the humidity.

This beer was good - I had just gotten home from the gym and was really hot and wanted to play a video game. As everyone knows, video games are much better with beer. The Golden Lager was really refreshing and crisp. Unfortunately, I think it lacked a lot of distinctive characteristics, be it flavor, scent, etc... - it was a much better form of a Miller or Budweiser type beer. Personally would probably not get it again, just cause it was ok...

Look - 3.0/5.0 - Really light, golden color - clear - head retains pretty well, light white head
Taste - 3.0/5.0 - cold, sour bitter malt/hop; clean, little aftertaste, some sweetness too
Smell - 3.0/5.0 - sharp ale scent, malty, hint of sour
Feel - 3.5/5.0 - nice no aftertaste, fresh, most of the flavor in middle back of tongue
Drinkability - 3.0/5.0 - refreshing, specially after a workout - not a lot going on with it - good for someone who likes lighter beers but doesn't want Miller or Bud

I have no idea how to pronounce anything in this beer, but Chimay

Just FYI, I don't own a pineapple table cloth. I stole this image from the internets, as my camera phone didn't produce a quality image. Anyway, I got this Chimay Ale Peres Trappistes Premiere bomber as a nice gift for watching our buddy Henry (a poodle) for the weekend. I've seen Chimay around town, but haven't had a good time to try it until now!

This beer just looked pretty as I poured it. A really nice rich brown color and nutty malt aroma. The head was exceptionally foamy, but not in a bad way. The taste was really spicy, but had a champagne like taste to it with a bitter finish. As you'd expect with champagne, this beer had a sharpness to it and the carbination was a bit bubbly. There was some sweetness too, but it was not overpowering. I'd get this beer again for a special occasion.

In Mother Russia, beer flows through their veins like blood and vodka.

Happy October 15th! For those who didn't catch the tax bug, today is the final day of filing a 2008 tax return timely. So, I brought my celebratory beer to the office and sat at my desk to enjoy it with all of the returns out the door. I was going to try and get the Stone Sublimely Self-Righteous bomber, but couldn't find it at Quarters and got the Stone Imperial Russian Stout instead.

This beer pours thick and dark, almost like an oil spill. The bottle even compares this beer to "Siberian crude." The mocha-tinted head foamed up nice too, then settled after a little bit. When I poured it, I could get a hint of the scent, which is a really REALLY strong alcohol smell with some coffee thrown in for good measure. This is a fitting "Russian" beer... The flavor has nice roasted malt flavor, some molasses, some alcohol bite to it. I'm sure there are other flavors in there too, but it's kinda murky with this beer and hard to detect specific tastes. Extremely smooth though, with just a hint of sour aftertaste. I would definitely have this one again...but only one at a time because this sucker has a 10.5% ABV.

Appearance - 5.0/5.0 - A thick black oily brew with a nice colored head
Smell - 4.0/5.0 - Strong malty aroma, that I could pick up about 2 feet away.
Taste - 4.5/5.0 - Nice roasted malt flavor, some molasses, some alcohol bite; extremely smooth though
Feel - 4.5/5.0 - Very smooth beer with a good mouth feel and little aftertaste
Drinkability - 4.5/5.0 - Surely, but only one at a time! This is a great example of an intense stout that was really well made.

Know Your Beer - Märzen/Oktoberfest

Ach ja, baby! Oktoberfest time! In the spirit of this annual goodness, let's take a look at the beer that is best associated with the festival of brews - the Märzen/Oktoberfest style.

Back in the old days, when you would walk uphill, both ways, in the snow, it was nigh impossible to brew beer in the summer months because there wasn't really a way to keep it cool. As such, beers were brewed in March (hey, that sounds very similar to Märzen...) and stored in caves that were surrounded by ice until about September.

This lager is a full bodied, rich, malty beer. Depending on where the beer is from, you may get some different flavor profiles. Austrian/German beers will be more malty and lighter in color (almost pale ale coloring). North American Marzens will be a bit hoppy and bitter, but not aggresively so. Coloring may be a bit darker as well.

This style will range from 4% - 7% ABV, with most falling near mid 5%...

There are all sorts of these beers around the place - Spaten Oktoberfest, Flying Dog Dogtoberfest, Paulaner München Märzen, Gordon Biersch Märzen, Left Hand Oktoberfest Märzen and Sam Adams Octoberfest. Some of Albuquerque and Santa Fe's breweries do Oktoberfest beers.

Dogtoberfest - Not just for pups

Dogtoberfest isn't just a nice fall day at the Deshayes house, although it could easily be. No, this is Flying Dog Brewery's fall seasonal, celebrating the German tradition of fat guys in lederhosen drinking bier with their twisted dachshund. Readers of this here blog know I do enjoy the Flying Dogs beers, so I figured this one would work just fine.

This Marzen style beer looked nice from the first pour, with a clear auburn rust color and light head. The aroma of malt and caramel were enjoyable, and fit well with the malty, caramel and light nuttiness taste. The beer was smooth, with a sharpness at the end and a little bit of slightly sweet aftertaste. A good representation of the style, the Dogtoberfest was a solid brew to have in those cooler months.

Appearance - 4.0/5.0 - Clear anburn rust color
Smell - 3.5/5.0 - light malt, caramel
Taste - 3.5/5.0 - Malty, caramel, light nuttiness, hint of sweetness
Feel - 4.0/5.0 - Smooth, with sharpness at the end, little aftertaste
Drinkability - 3.5/5.0 - Good beer, especially for October/cooler temps

Ah, little late for a summer beer, but it was still good.

It's October and I just had a summer beer...didn't slip into a time warp that I know of. Anyway, found this beer in one of the mix six packs I got in September, so figured probably good to get it posted before Christmas or something.

Breckenridge beers work for me - while they are not all fantastic, they are generally good and if offered one, I'd be happy to accept it. The Breckenridge Summerbright Ale is a pretty standard summer beer - light, little fruity, little spicy, malty and refreshing. I was disappointed with the smell of the beer, which was lackluster...a lightly fruity aroma, but that's about it. The taste was really good for taking care of you on a hot day. However, the flavor wasn't really there as much I would care for and would not be a beer I'd regularly go for.

Appearance - 3.5/5.0 - light yellow golden color, head dissipates quickly
Smell - 2.5/5.0 - light fruity aroma, otherwise pretty boring.
Taste - 3.0/5.0 - light "summer" type beer, prob good if really hot, some malt crispness
Feel - 4.0/5.0 - smooth, light, refreshing
Drinkability - 2.5/5.0 - Would have again, if it was hot, but not enough flavor make this a go-to beer

Trabeck, you Rogue...

After having a few Rogue beers in San Francisco and in the Burque, I had gained a real appreciation for this brewery. Now, in ABQ, these six packs ain't cheap (I think this one was $8.99/six pack), but they are tasty.

The beer was pretty dark - perhaps not as pitch black as the Chocolate Stout, but still pretty opaque. The head (as see in el picturo) has some color to it, which was nice. Unfortunately, the head disappeared pretty quick and that gave me a bit of sad face. The smell was great - you can really get the roasted malt and oat aroma, with a hint of coffee in there. I enjoyed the various flavors this beer had, which included malt, coffee and a bit of sharp alcohol. The flavor took a bit to kick in...so don't expect a real burst of flavor immediately. When the taste comes though, it's really smooth and subdued - no punch in the face here. I really enjoyed the flavor profile of the beer - I would definitely get it again and would rank it above the Breckenridge Vanilla Porter, as the coffee seems to blend better with the beer than the vanilla does.

Appearance - 4.0/5.0 - Nice and dark with a great ebony head, which unfortunately disappeared a bit quickly.
Scent -4.5/5.0 - A wonderful blend of coffee, roasted oats and malt.
Taste - 4.0/5.0 - A smooth flavor with a blend of different tastes. The flavor takes a bit to kick in, but not overwhelming when it does.
Feel -4.5/5.0 - Smooth with a good lingering flavor, but no bite.
Drinkability - 4.5/5.0 - Would definitely drink again, put it above a number of other porters/stouts I've had.

Do you feel lucky, Punk(in)?

In the honor of the month, I figured it would be fun to try out a few seasonal brews that scream October (scream...get it? Halloween? Whatever...). During October, expect to see some Oktoberfest type feers, some pumpkin beers, etc... It's all about the orange, baby.

And the first beer that is getting this oh-so-special treatment is the Dogfish Head Punkin Ale. Dogfish Head Brewing is known for their unique takes on beer, including an uber-peach ale, some potent IPAs and this little gem, the Punkin Ale. You'll also know that you can't get them in New Mexico (wha wha.....), but fortunately Phoenix is only about 6 hours away and Arizona gets the Dogfish Head beers.

At first glance, this beer has a nice rich amber/pumpkin color, with a little bit of heat doesn't stick around all that long. Lots of "fall" smells too - nutmeg, cinnamon, a little sweetness and, obviously, pumpkin. The Punkin Ale is definitely a pumpkin beer, but it's not so pumpkin that you feel like someone shoved a pumpkin pie in your face or crushed a jack o' lantern over your head. The brew tastes flavorful and spicy, but not over the top where it could offend. It goes down really smooth and you get a moderate malt and spice aftertaste to finish off the beer. The biggest downfall of this beer is the price - $10.00 for a 4 pack...of course, that's the way Dogfish Head rolls.

Appearance - 3.5/5.0 - amber pumpkin color, some head but dissipated quickly
Smell -4.5/5.0 - great smell - pumpkin , nutmeg, cinnamon, little sweetness
Taste - 4.5/5.0 - delicious, not overly pumpkiny, but has the spice and malt with that autumn flavor profile
Feel - 4.5/5.0 - smooth, with a solid malt and spicy aftertaste
Drinkability - 4.0/5.0 - definitely would have again! Really great beer, price is higher than I'd like, but a small complaint.

Dirty Dirty Girl

On the way up to Panderies a little bit ago, we stopped over at Santa Fe Brewing to fill up one of the numerous growlers that we had. I had not actually been to the brewery itself, having just tasted the Santa Fe Brewing beers from whatever has been bottled for distribution. When I bellied up to the bar and noticed that there was a beer I hadn't seen before, I figured it was worth a try.

The Santa Fe Brewing Dirty Blonde was an interesting beer - like you'd expect out of a blonde, it was a pretty light beer and took a number of them to change a light blub. Everything about this beer was pretty light - light, crisp malt scent; light fruity taste; light body. Nothing really stood out about this beer and while that is ok with type of beer, I don't care for "eh". I like beers that have characteristic identity, be it flavor, scent, appearance, whatever.

Now before I get any judgments (and in the immortal words of Huey Louis, "eff you for judging"), I did not have any glass containers in my travel trailer. So, the plastic wine glass with a bunch of grapes on it was going to suffice. Really classes up the beer, don't ya think? Actually, we threw some of the Dirty Blonde into some OJ and made a pretty tasty Brass Monkey.

Appearance - 3.0/5.0 - Light golden as expected, but nothing that distinct about it.

Scent - 3.0/5.0 - Light fruity aroma, but not much else.

Taste - 3.0/5.0 - Crisp, freshing taste, but not much beyond that. Pretty much an average tasting beer.

Feel - 4.0/5.0 - Refreshing, which was really nice. Even though nothing distinctive about it, did not leave any weird aftertaste or anything.

Drinkability - 2.5/5.0 - While this was a good enough beer, I wouldn't order it again given the choice. However, would mix it in orange juice....

Millstream Brewing Colony Oatmeal Stout

This beer came as part of one of Tina's fantastic beer ofthe month club shipments. When this showed up at the office (and boy, I do enjoy getting beer and wine shipped to the office...really brightens up the day), I was really looking forward to trying some different types of beers, especially of the darker variety. The Millstream Brewing Colony Oatmeal Stout was a good representation of an oatmeal stout. Expect a lot of roasted malt and oat scents and flavor, with some coffee taste included. The color is extremely dark, not allowing a single bit of light through the glass. This beer had a distinctive aftertaste - mostly of alcohol and coffee (which in my book, is a great combo). The flavor really hits in the back of your mouth and throat, making it stick around with each sip.

Appearance - 3.5/5.0 - I really enjoyed the darkness of the beer - the head was ok, but nothing to write home about.

Scent - 3.5/5.0 - Lots of strong coffee, malt and alcohol aroma. While enjoyable, could have been blended better.

Taste - 3.5/5.0 - Strong flavor profile, with lots of coffee taste. The alcohol aftertaste lingered more than I would personally like, but it wasn't offensive.

Feel - 3.0/5.0 - The flavors stuck around longer than I would like after each sip and they weren't blended well enough for my taste.

Drinkability - 3.0/5.0 - I have a number of other oatmeal stouts that I would rather have. If offered, I would drink again, but not my first choice.

Know Your Beer - Belgian Tripel

This week we are going to look at the Belgian Tripel style of beer. This style has become more common in the US, but especially in Nuevo Mexico - we're really starting to see our local breweries exploring this type of beer and seeing what they can do with it.

The term "tripel" actually relates to the part of the brewing process where a brewer will use triple (aka 3x) the amount of malt that they would usually use for a brew. These beers tend to be on the fragrant end; having a bit of floral, fruity and sweet aroma to it. The brew tends to be lighter in color and body; the lighter body hides the fact that these beers are really strong - most of these start off at 8.0% abv (an average beer is 5.0% abv) and go up from there! So don't suck these down, unless you want to end up with a headache the next day.

I haven't had a lot of these, in fact, we've only featured three on the blog: the Flying Dog Kerberos Tripel, the Chama River Menege a Tripel and the Prescott Brewing Belgian Tripel.

Some others that you could try are the Rock Bottom Tremere Tripel and the Sierra Nevada Stricklander.

How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Brew

So sue me, Chama River doesn't have a whole lot of logos I can use. But the inspiration for Chama River's Dr. Strangehop Imperial IPA seemed highly appropriate. Did you realize that Russians have vodka running through their veins, rather than blood? I didn't either, but then I found out that true-blooded American drinkers have hops running through their veins.

The Dr. Strangehop was an extremely hoppy brew - but in a really good way. The cloudy and light amber look of the beer was nice, but it was the fragrant citrus aroma was what really sold me on the beer. Compared to another local Imperial IPA (from Marble), I feel like the Dr. Strangehop Imperial IPA was far more masterfully blended so that the bitterness was illustrated in the beer, but not so up-front that it overpowered the beer. The beer's aftertaste was nice in that it lingered for a little bit, but did not outright dissipate. For being at 120+ IBUs and 8.9% ABV, this was indeed a potent brew, but it was very drinkable and enjoyable over a nice crab cake and green chile stew.

Appearance - 3.5/5.0 - The cloudiness was semi-unique for an IPA and the color was very appealing.
Scent - 4.5/5.0 - The citrusly fragrance was really appealing and inticing to drink.
Taste - 4.5/5.0 - Hoppy, bitter, but well blended to make for a high quality taste.
Feel -4.0/5.0 - Strong taste that lingered, but not in a bad way.
Drinkability - 4.5/5.0 - If I was in the mood to drink potent Imperial IPAs all day, this would be a beer I would pick as part of the rotation.

Rogue Chocolate Stout - A Real Treat

When Tina and I were in San Francisco, she had the Chocolate Stout at the Rogue Public House. She loved it and I got a sip and wanted some more. We were putzing around the West Side of ABQ the other day and we swung into the new(er) Quarters over there. They have an awesome liquor store and unbeknownest to me (and knownest to the Quarters people), they have a great selection of bombers and six-packs inside the cooler. To their credit, there is a little sign on the door saying "LOOK INSIDE! MORE BOMBERS IN HERE!" Love being able to read.

The Rogue Chocolate Stout is probably one of the best beers I've ever had. From first glance, the beer has a dark, rich color and the head is a frothy, creamy light chocolate brown (see the picture). The head sticks around for a while too, so you don't have to worry about blinking and it's gone. The cocoa, coffee and malt smell is really appetizing and nothing overpowers any of the scents. The best part is the taste, which has a rich dark chocolate (not really sweet) and truffle flavor. The strongest taste hits in the middle of the tongue, but it's smooth and robust at the same time. The entire beer is extremely well balanced and versitile, as a number of different types of beer drinkers would enjoy this beer. The Chocolate Stout has 69 IBUs, which surprised me as the beer wasn't all that bitter.

Oh and this beer was only $4.99 for the bomber. I ended up seeing it at Whole Paycheck Market for $5.99 and Kelly's Liquors for $6.99 (yikes!). So, if you want this beer, check it out at Quarters and save yourself a few bucks.

Appearance - 5.0/5.0 - Rich, dark color with a tasty, frothy, creamy chocolate tan head.
Smell - 5.0/5.0 - Scents of cocoa, coffee, malt - rich aroma, with a little hint of alcohol
Taste - 5.0/5.0 - Wow! Rich, roasted chocolate, truffle flavor; Smooth but robust flavor; Aftertaste a little bitter, almost dark chocolate tasting, everything extremely well blended
Feel - 5.0/5.0 - smooth, hangs out with a nice mellow aftertaste
Drinkability 5.0/5.0 - Would drink this anytime and a number of different types of beer drinkers would enjoy it too.

Know Your Beer: Stouts

If you are following along, we're going to hit the end of the "Beer Spectrum" before we start exploring some of the more speciality styles within the spectrum. After talking about hefeweizens, ambers and IPAs, I think a logical next step would be the Stout. This type of beer may intimidate a number of drinkers, who see its pitch blackness as a black hole of flavor or "taste" that they won't venture to get close to. I have to admit that I was one of those individuals. I don't think you could get me near a dark beer to save my life. In fact, a good friend of mine (Mr. Crow) challenged me to try some of the darker spectrum and I couldn't have been happier to expand my horizons to this type of beer.

The Stout will obviously be a dark beer - so expect this brew to be pretty opaque. Head will likely depend on the type of beer, as traditional stouts will lean to a lighter head and chocolate/mocha stouts will have a more tan/brown head. The scent profile will offer a lot of malty deliciousness, as well as coffee and some bitter chocolate aromas. There will be a distinct level of bitterness - not the high amount that you'd get in an IPA, but enough that you'd taste it.

When you see a stout beer, you can expect it to be called a number of different things: Stout, Porter, Oatmeal Stout, Coffee Stout, Chocolate Stout, Oyster Stout, Milk Stout. While all of a similar nature, the flavors will drastically differ based on the type of stouts, and by a function of the type, the ingredients used in the brewing process. Utilizing traditional carbination or more modern nitrous will change the flavor and texture of the beer, appealing to some and not to others.

Obviously, thanks to Mr. Crow's challenge, we have looked at a number of stouts on this blog: Four Peaks Oatmeal Stout, Guinness 250 Anniversary Stout, Breckenridge Vanilla Porter, Breckenridge Oatmeal Stout, Rogue Shakespeare Stout and Rogue Chocolate Stout.

Other stouts that you may have heard about, but never had - Guinness, Samuel Smith's Oatmeal Stout, Lost Coast 8 Ball Stout, Marble Brewing Oatmeal Stout, Diamond Bear Paradise Porter and Rogue Mocha Porter.

Are there enough 9s in the name for ya?

The nines are very enticing - almost hypnotic. Like the Stone Gargoyle Dude is getting into your head and ordering you to buy Stone beer...do it! Anyway, the Vertical Epic series of beers are released annually according to dates when all of the numbers are the same (i.e. 09/09/09, 08/08/08, etc...). Each beer is a different Belgian take on a beer style. There have been some Belgian Witbiers, Pale Ales, IPAs, stouts, etc... The 9/9/09 Vertical Epic is a Belgian style Porter...not two types of beer I would ever think about fusing together.

At first glance, the brew looks pitch black with a big tan head. Good retention on the head, which was nice. The complex aroma had elements of spice, orange and vanilla. So, definitely a suprise on the scent side. The flavor hits it out of the park. You get the spicy, robust kick that is combined with orange, coffee, tanginess and a hint of bitterness. It tastes like a flavorful porter had a love child with a good spicy Belgian beer. Expect an extremely smooth taste that goes down easy and leaves the aftertaste of the variety of flavors for a bit.

Would definitely pick this one up again, presuming I could find it.
This was a remarkably tasty beer - I've had it twice. Once at Papago Brewing in Scottsdale, where I got it on draft. 2nd time was in one of the bombers that I purchased. While the draft was superior, you can expect that in whatever form you get the Vertical Epic, it's good.

Oh, a note - Stone recommends that you cellar this beer until 12/12/12. Fat chance in my house. If you can hold off enjoying this beer for another 3 years, you're a better person than I.

Appearance - 5.0 - big tan head; dark; good retention
Smell - 4.0 - spicy; orange, vanilla
Taste - 5.0 - a unique blend of spicy, fruit, orange, hint of bitterness, definitely a belgian beer but stout like a porter. Weird combo but excellent
Feel - 5.0 - very smooth; goes down easy
Drinkability - 5.0 hells yea - good

Lost Coast Downtown Brown

I've had some Lost Coast beers and they were pretty good, so figured I would most likely enjoy the Lost Coast Downtown Brown. That did not prove true with the Brown, which just not what I expected. The beer started off nice with a really oaty, malty aroma. It went downhill quickly though, as the head was pretty wimpy and the beer itself looked more like an amber or red, rather than a brown.

The flavor was malty at first, then ended sweet, which I didn't care for. I expect a more robust taste with a brown and this wasn't it. On a good note, this was a smooth beer, but unfortunately not one I would buy again.

Smell - 3.5/5.0 - nice oaty malt smell
Appearance - 2.5/5.0 - Wimpy head, more amber color than brown; head was gone quick
Flavor - 3.0/5.0 - there was some malt taste, with a sweeter finish - not what I would expect in a brown
Feel - 3.5/5.0 no aftertaste, pretty smooth
Drinkability - 2.5/5.0 - not my style of brown, so won't be picking this one up again

To Be or Not to Be, that is the Brewski

Apparently, Burt Reynolds is paying Shakespeare at a liquor store near you. We had about 30 minutes to kill before heading to the Oakland Airport, so ended up swinging into the Rogue Ale Public Room in San Francisco for a quick brew. They had a great selection on draft (probably 40% Rogue ales, 59% other microbrews, 1% the King of Beers). I ended up going with the Shakespeare Stout, as it sounded very dramatic.

I love nitrous beers - they have this amazing waterfall effect as the head settles. Just fun to watch and take in as the beer works its mojo. The beer's head was a nice creamy tan color and featured some light coffee/mocha scents. The beer itself was really smooth. The coffee and chocolate taste was light (just like the smell), but flavorful. No aftertaste on this one - just a great stout. WAY better than a Guiness, I'd get this one again. Too bad there isn't a Rogue place here in ABQ...curses.


Appearance - 5.0/5.0 - love the waterfall effect of the nitrous, tan creamy head - very full
Taste - 4.5/5.0 - silky smooth - coffee and light chocolate taste
Feel - 4.0/5.0 - no aftertaste, extremely smooth in mouth
Smell - 4.0/5.0 - very light with coffee/mocha accents
Drinkability - 4.5/5.0 - way better than a Guiness - very tasty, smooth - I will be repeating this beer.

I didn't get to have much of the Chocolate Stout that Tina had gotten, but damn, what a good beer. I will be on the look out for it and a review will be posted when I get my hands on it.

Know Your Beer: India Pale Ale (IPA)

India Pale Ales (IPAs) are an acquired taste. They have a very strong flavor profile due to the concentration of hops utilized in the brewing process, which gives it a strong bitterness and fragrant aroma. I have grown particularily fond of these beers because I enjoy the real distinction of the smell, taste and feel of the beer. My lovely wife strongly disagrees with me and gets bitter beer face each time she takes a sip.

Hops are the primary driver of the flavor, aroma and bitterness of an IPA. The term IBU (International Bittering Unit) is based on the amount of hops you utilize to get a beer more bitter (malt will often offset the bitter flavor, so malty beers with a higher IBU may not be all that bitter). The higher the number, the more bitter the beer typically. Most IPAs run about 60 IBUs. To put it in perspective, I would say that most other beers run 20-35 IBUs. Double/Imperial IPAs will range in the 90+ IBU range. I've had one that is 120 IBUs...wow!

Lots of flowery, sometimes citrus-y scents due to the hops. The flavor will be somewhat different depending on what hops are utilized in the beer. Expect bitterness and don't complain if you have an IPA and don't like bitterness. Color will run from a light amber to a dark copper. The alcohol content on these beers run on the higher end, typically 6%+.

Past reviews of IPAs have included Flying Dog Snake Dog IPA, Marble Brewing IPA, Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA, Stone Cali-Belgique IPA, Four Peaks HopKnot IPA, Four Peaks RAJ IPA, Hales' Mongoose IPA, Alaskan Brewing IPA, Redhook Long Hammer IPA, Green Flash Imperial IPA, Marble Brewing Double IPA, Carver Cascade Canyon Cask IPA (say that three times fast), and the 21st Amendment Double Trouble Imperial IPA.

In terms of other IPAs to try out or that you may see around town, there's Chama River Brewing's Dr. Strange Hop, Turtle Mountain Brewing IPA, Stone IPA, Boulder Beer Mojo IPA and Il Vicino Wet Mountain IPA and the Prescott Brewing Ponderosa IPA.

You'll find that almost any brewery will do an IPA - some get really into them, but I haven't gone to a brewery yet that didn't have at least one on tap.

Freaking Pittsburgh...at least I had a decent beer to console me

The Pittsburgh Steelers can suck it. As a Seattle Seahawks fan, I have a strong disdain for the Steelers as they (though an obvious series of bribes and sexual favors) managed to win a Super Bowl against the Seahawks...then proceeded to do the same thing against the Cardinals. So, after being stuck in a day's worth of estate and trust CPE (definitely not the sexy-est topics of taxation), I needed manly sports and beer.

Since I was in Scottsdale, I wanted to swing into the Skeptical Chymist, watch the game and have some brew. Carlsberg, which is apparently a good sports beer, was on special and I had never had it before. The beer was a light golden color, with minimal head. No real smell to speak of - just a little hint of malt. The taste was where it hit home for me - really crisp, malty and refreshing. The flavor got shaper and crisper as it went down your throat. With no aftertaste, the beer was extremely smooth. I would have this beer again, especially if I was watching football and wanted a good beer to wash down my team's defeat....

Appearance - 3.5/5.0 - Light golden color with minimal head
Smell - 3.0/5.0 - Crisp malt smell, although very subdued
Taste - 3.5/5.0 - Nice malty hop flavor, crisp but medium body and crisper as it went down
Feel - 4.0/5.0 - No aftertaste and real smooth
Drinkability - 4.0/5.0 - Would have again; a really nice beer for a regular drinking need (sports, tailgating, etc...)

A near religious experience

I just got to Phoenix a few hours ago for a CPE that I'm going to manana. Knowing that I would have a large vehicle to schlep a lot of beer back in, I made a stop at BevMo....and what a stop it was.

They have a HUGE selection of American craft beer, as well as a big ol' area of imported beers. I ended up getting some Alaskan Amber, Dogfish Head Raison d'etre, Green Flash West Coast IPA, Nimbus Oatmeal Stout, Four Peaks Kilt Lifter and the Stone Vertical Epic for 2009 (they only release these beers once a year...last year 8-8-08, this year 9-9-09, etc...). This precious cargo will be on route to ABQ on Saturday, so expect some reviews in the near future!

Know Your Beer: Amber

For this week's episode of Know Your Beer, let's move down the Beer Spectrum to Ambers. You'll sometimes hear these beers called Reds, given the color similiarity. This type of beer has been known to become a catch-all given it's placement in the dead-center of light and dark beer. The color of the beer will range from a dark golden to a dark copper.

The flavor profile of a amber/red ale tends to focus on malt. You may get hints of the bitterness that accommanies hops, but this will depend on the brewery. Most of these beers are pretty well balanced, so you aren't going to end up with some really extreme flavors. However, this does make this beer generally acceptible for a diverse audience. It's enough of a stretch that folks who like lighter beers are ok with it, while dark beer fans are willing to "step down" the color spectrum a bit.

Expect some toasted malt, caramel, toffee and and nutty aromas, along with the occassional hint of sweetness. These are pretty smooth beers too, so it goes down nice. Alcohol content will be mid 5% to low 6%, with the exceptions that may lower or (ridiculously higher)

I've reviewed a number of Ambers/Reds on here - including Murphy's Prescott Red, Bridgeport Ropewalk Amber Ale, Maritime Pacific Nightwatch Dark Amber Ale, Grand Teton Brewing Teton Amber Ale, Alaskan Amber (one of my favorites), Chama River Rio Chama Amber and the Mendocino Red Tail Ale.

Others that you can find around the place and are good (and will be reviewed eventually) include Full Sail Amber, New Belgium Fat Tire, Breckenridge Avalanche Amber and Bear Republic Red Rocket Ale.

Mendocino Red Tail

California knows how to brew beer. I can't think of all that many bad beers I've had that have originated from a brewery from Cali, with one exception. This beer, the Mendocino Red Tail, was a pretty tasty brew. The slightly malty aroma hides the much sharper malty taste with a hint of honey. The beer is really crisp, hitting hard at the front of your tongue, then settling into a mildly sour aftertaste. The golden amber color was nice to look at and the beer didn't have any funkiness going on.

Taste - 4.0/5.0 really tasty, good balance of malt, bitterness, honey
Appearance - 4.0/5.0 - light golden amber color
Feel - 4.0/5.0 - really good flavor that doesn't have a funky aftertaste that spoils it
Smell - 3.5/5.0 - light malty aroma
Drinkability - 4.0/5.0 - Would definitely buy again - found it in ABQ at Trader Joes

On the Road Again - 21st Amendment Brewery in San Fran

The one thing about my parents moving out to San Francisco is that going to visit them was WAY better than going to visit them in Los Alamos. San Francisco - you can see professional sporting events live, eat a lot of great food and hang out by real bodies of water. Los Alamos - you can watch professional sporting events on TV, maybe check out a movie and hang out...at the house. This last trip, before heading to the airport, we stopped at the 21st Amendment Brewery right near Giants stadium.

The first brew I had was the Double Trouble Imperial IPA. Whenever I can find an IPA with over 100 IBUs, I gotta try it and this beer comes in at 120 IBUs and a 9.8% ABV. Yikes! Fortunately, this was a masterfully blended beer. The hops go extremely well with each other, providing an extremely smooth taste with that sharp bitterness one would expect from a potent double IPA. The hops were very fragrantly fruity and enjoyable to just smell. Of course, you want to drink the beer, so can't just smell it all day. The beer was really clean on your tongue, with the taste oddly on the upper palate.

Taste - 5.0/5.0 - Wonderfully blended hops, deliciously smooth, lingering flavor, clean but sharp hop bitter taste
Smell - 4.5/5.0 - Fragrant fruity hops
Appearance - 4.5/5.0 - Nice solid head, amberesqe color
Feel - 4.5/5.0 - Smooth in mouth, lingers to back of mouth, clean on tongue (more on upper palate)
Drinkability - 5.0/5.0 - This beer was delicious - just dangerous to have a lot of.

The Monks Blood was the follow up to the Imperial IPA. This brew was extremely tasty, offering a nice blend of caramel, coffee and malt flavors with a medium body. With 35 IBUs, this beer has a hint of bitterness, but not much. The head was lacking on this one (sad face), but the color was a rich brown. You can smell the malt on this one, but it lack any alcohol scent, which was nice. No aftertaste on this one, you can expect the taste to be sharpest on the tip of your tongue, then fading as it goes down your throat. Be careful with this one, as it weighs in at 8.5% abv.

Taste - 4.5/5.0 - caramel, coffee, malt, oat - very tasty, medium body
Appearance - 3.5/5.0 - no head, but nice rich brown color
Smell - 3.5 - malty with oats - no alcohol scent
Feel - 4.0 - no aftertaste, taste sharpest on tip and middle of tongue
Drinkability - 4.0 - good beer, would definitely get again.

Just let Mr. Moylan lift your kilt....

I really enjoy Scotch Ales...very robust, very tasty. Anyway, I saw this one at Kelly's Liquors and figured I'd give it a try. Since it was a bomber and I didn't want to be greedy, I invited over Blake to see what he thought of it (as a man who appreciates his Scottish heritage). The beer was quite good. The cloudy, rusty brown color was different than I had seen in other scotch ales, which tended to be a similar color, but definitely not cloudy. The scent was a little fruity with some caramel and malt. You can get a hint of the 8% ABV at the end of each taste, where there is a slight taste of alcohol and bitterness.

Look - 4.50/5.0 - The unique haziness of the beer was cool and made it stand apart from other scotch ales I've had.
Smell - 4.0/5.0 - Slightly sweet with a nice touch of caramel and malt.
Taste - 4.0/5.0 - Smooth, malty with just a hint of sweetness to ease on the touch of bitterness. An extremely well blended beer.
Feel - 4.5/5.0 - The smoothness of the beer paired with the excellent mix of sweet and bitter made it really fresh.
Drinkability - 4.5/5.0 - Would definitely get this one again - makes for a great bomber to share with a friend!

Know Your Beer - Hefeweizen & Wheat Beer

Know Your Beer will be a new feature on From the Beer Fridge. There are a ton of different types of beer and not everyone is exquisitely knowledgable about what they are, what to expect, etc... So, every week, we'll feature a different type of beer and make this a bit of an educational moment.


We'll start of with the Hefeweizen, a beer most often recognized for its cloudy unfiltered appearance. The name comes from German - "hefe" translating to yeast and "weizen" translating to wheat. So, these beers have a high concentrate of wheat in them (if you're allergic - be aware!). Hefeweizens use at least a 50:50 mix of wheat and malt, with some breweries going as high as 70% wheat.

The flavor tends to be on the sweet and fruity side, with a bit of clove, banana and vanilla. Lots of aroma, so get a nice whiff of the beer before you start slugging it down. These beers are very refreshing, especially when it's hot, so you're likely to see them a whole bunch during the summer months. Most Hefeweizen/wheat beers tend to be on the mid to high 5% range in terms of alcohol content.

Americans have popularized tossing in a lemon or orange wedge into the beer to add some more citrus flavor into it. Some folks like this, others don't, as the citrus changes the flavor of the beer. So, if the brewer wanted the beer to have citrus in it, they would have added into the mix from the get go. Don't even think about asking for this treatment in any true German establishment, as you'll probably get das boot in your face. As my Beer Buddy Larry has informed me, the lemon messed up the "schaum" (head) of the beer. In fact, the beer should take about 7 minutes from pour to your table, in order for the head to settle properly. You can expect to see these beers served in a tall weizen glass to best release the flavors and scents and let you experience them.

We've taken a look at some of these type of beers before on From The Beer Fridge, including: the Four Peaks Brewing Hefeweizen, Carver's Raspberry Wheat Beer, Breckenridge Brewing Agave Wheat, Santa Fe Brewing Hefeweizen, and the Prescott Brewing Alpine Wheat.

Other suggestions that haven't been reviewed yet, but are quality beers include: the Flying Dog In Heat Wheat, Paulaner Hefeweizen, Sierra Nevada Kellerweis Hefeweizen, Pyramid Haywire Hefeweizen and Gordon Bierish Hefeweizen (which goes really well in OJ).

Chama River Menege A Tripel & Amber

Tina and I like to go up to Pendaries, NM (it's a little past Las Vegas, NM) - it's peaceful and relaxing. Especially, when you pack a growler or two. So, one of the last go-arounds, we stopped off at Chama River Brewing to see what they had to offer. We ended up getting their Menege A Tripel & the Rio Chama Amber. One impressed, one did not.

The Menege A Tripel was a strong tripel representation from Chama River. The beer had a very "wheatish" look to it, making the brew seem more like a combination of a wheat beer and a belgium tripel. There is a lot of crisp banana & apricot flavors with a short fruity aftertaste. The beer isn't really that sweet - just enough to get that fruity flavor in there. With a 8.6% ABV, it was strong and fit with other tripels I've had lately (the Kerberes Tripel from Flying Dog was 8.5%).

Look - 4.0/5.0 - The unique blend of a wheat and tripel was intriguing.
Smell - 4.0/5.0 - The banana and apricot flavors are pleasant and not so overpowering that you feel like you snorted a line of sugar.
Taste - 4.0/5.0 - A pretty standard tripel - strong, flavorful and crisp.
Feel - 4.0/5.0 - The lack of being overly sweet was very nice
Drinkability - 3.5/5.0 - The premium charged to get this one counts against it - while the beer was enjoyable, the extra $3 to get the growler make my wallet a sad panda.

The Rio Chama Amber was the disappointment of the pair. The aroma from the beer was...unique, but in a bad way. It was bordering skunky and that prevented much of any good scents from being detected. The beer had a slightly bitter taste and mild, lingering aftertaste. I had to keep drinking it to avoid that aftertaste from sticking around. This beer had to be served cold cold cold, which is where it had the best taste (and that's saying something).

Look - 3.0/5.0 - A standard amber color, nothing to write home about.
Smell - 2.0/5.0 - Yikes, skunky.
Taste - 2.5/5.0 - The bitter taste was nice, but then had a lingering aftertaste that wasn't terribly enjoyable.
Feel - 2.5/5.0 - Lingering aftertaste...bleh.
Drinkability - 2.0 - Very disappointing - they have enough beer there that I can avoid this one.

On a side note - I'm part of the Albuquerque 20/30 Club and we put on an annual charity event called the Equestrian Cup. This is the first year we would get local breweries to add their beers to the tasting menus (normally just really good food and wine). We asked Chama River and they denied us saying "We have given enough this year."

All I wanted was 2-3 kegs to have to feature their beer and market themselves...didn't think I was asking for that much. Anyway, if you go there, talk to them and tell them you want to see Chama River beer at the Equestrian Cup!!! That, or if you know someone who can make something happen, I'll owe you a beer.

Furry Four Legged Amphibian Cabeza

I had heard a lot about the Dogfish Head beers from Cap'n Bishop - but unfortunately for me, you can't get them here in ABQ all that often. So, I had to go to Durango to get it. My buddy G.I. Joe wasn't up for an IPA, so we opted for this Indian Brown Ale as a compromise. From what I knew about the 90 Minute IPA, this would be a potent beer.

And it was.... There is a very malty, tart alcohol flavor to the beer, and it offers up a strong aftertaste to boot. You can really taste the roasted, nutty oat flavor. And it was surprisingly hoppy, but not so much you'd assume you accidently poured a dirty IPA. I should have figured an IBA would have some hop in it. With a 7.2% ABV, it had a kick to it....

Beer Score version 2.0 is going to kick in with this beer, so any comments - very welcome. This will be a similar scoring system to Beer Advocate (so I can double post), but also will feature some other aspects of the beer that my lovely wife thought would be helpful.

Look - 4.0/5.0 - A really nice brown color for the beer, with an almond-esqe creamy head
Smell - 4.0/5.0 - You can really smell the oats and malt, but the alcohol aroma is a bit more than I would have liked.
Taste - 4.5/5.0 - A wonderful blend of hop with a brown ale that created a very unique taste
Feel - 4.0/5.0 - Robust flavor and strong aftertaste.
Drinkability - 4.0/5.0 - Would have this one again - the hybrid of the brown ale and IPA makes for an interesting flavor.

Light (1) - Dark (10) - 7...This is a brown ale, so it's not as bitch black as a stout or porter, but it's a pretty dark beer.
Clear (1) - Cloudy (10) - 3...while this beer is not transparent (b/c it's dark), it isn't cloudy/unfiltered.
Sweet (1) - Bitter (10) - 7....due to the hybrid nature of this beer, the brew is higher than you'd expect in a brown, but still not as bitter as you'd expect in an IPA.

I'll Believe it When Dogs Fly

I have actually seen a dog fly. Once Sarah (our hyperactive terrier) somehow went from the coach in our living room to the dining room table. And for a dog that is only 12 lbs, 10 feet is a long way to jump. But the Flying Dogs that I prefer are the ones that come in glass bottles. I got the Tire Bite Golden Ale and Kerberos Tripel as part of the recent Beer o' the Month Club. I had seen the Golden Ale in stores before, but the Kerberos was an unknown quantity.


The Tire Bite stood out from first whif...the aroma was pungently sour. I didn't think you could smell sour, but this beer managed to do it. The taste was pretty light, offering some hints of hops. Not hop like you'd expect from an IPA, but enough to warrant that sour smell (only 16 IBUs). I had this when I was really hot after working in the yard and it went down really quick. I had another one when I wasn't hot and I wasn't terribly impressed. This is definitely a summer beer, so if you're going to be sitting on the patio getting some rays, not a bad pick. If you're going to sit inside in the A/C, go for something else. While this was a good enough beer, it's lack of "versitility" brings down its score a bit. 78% - better than your average beer, but not quite there.


Flying Dog has a select group of beers that are a bit more...rowdy than their normal fare. These, called Canis Major, include the Kerberos Tripel, a Belgian style tripel that offers a real sneaky kick. Like most tripels, you can expect the Kerberos to have a light fruity aroma and taste. The malty aftertaste is crisp and refreshing. The ABV is what is sneaky - 8.5%, which means you can have a few of these things and really feel it afterward. Even though it features a higher IBU rating (26) to the Tire Bite, the bitter taste is really short at the beginning of each taste.

I really enjoyed the Kerberos and I do give it a few extra style points for the nice reference to the three-headed dog that guards the gates of Hades. So, 88% on this beer. If you can find it here in ABQ, let me know where, as I haven't been able to locate it at Quarters, Kelly's or Sunflower.

I Heart Breckenridge Beer

I think the first Breckenridge beer that I had was a case of the Christmas Ale that I got at Costco...To clarify, I didn't pour the whole case into a bucket and drink it all at once. I just enjoyed them individually. Although, that does give me an idea...

Anyway, I was really pleased when Tina and I ventured over to Costco on the West Side (the one that magically appeared across from Cottonwood Mall one day) and found a Breckenridge variety pack that included 12 Avalanche Ambers and 12 of a mix of beers. One of the cool things about the 12 packs is that they have these Breckenbucks on the inside (don't miss 'em!) that you can take to one of the Breckenridge Breweries and trade them for a free beer, food, hat, shirt, etc... All it takes is 1 (that's ONE) Breckenbuck to get a free beer...and you get TWO in this sampler!

I don't recall every having a vanilla porter before and if this one is an example of other vanilla porters, I think I will really enjoy them. This beer has a really nice stout flavor to it with enough vanilla to taste it, but not enough to make it taste like you've been eating whole vanilla beans. The vanilla flavor really hits in the aftertaste. A smooth and tasty brew with a light scent with a hint of malt. Only 16 IBUs and 4.7% ABV, which was surprising. Tina really enjoyed this one and she's not much of a porter fan.

The Oatmeal Stout has got a real strong oat and malt aroma...real strong. Which is a contrast to the not-as-strong, medium body taste. A sharp taste hits on the back of your tongue with a light lingering aftertaste. The flavor of the beer is crisp and is all over the tongue. More bitter than the vanilla porter (31 IBUs) but about the same alcohol content (4.98% ABV). I still enjoyed the Four Peaks Oatmeal Stout better, but this one was good enough.

The name for this beer is clever. When Pandora opened her bock, she actually released into the world all of the Evils of Beer. Skunky beer, Bud Light Lime, Zima, Smirnoff Ice, Sam Adams Cherry Wheat...The list goes on and on. The only thing left in the Bock was the hope that microbreweries would rise up and provide humanity with alternatives to the crap that emerged from the Bock. This beer has a really spicy scent to it - you can pick up a bit of hop in the aroma, but this is not a bitter beer (only 16 IBUs). The medium body of the beer has a complexity to it, that is so complex I can't adequately describe without my head blowing up. Pandora is a bit of an intense lady anyway - her Bock is too - 7.5% ABV. Sneaky Pandora.

Well, that was a lot of blah-blah. Let's do a quick summary:

Breckenridge Vanilla Porter - Oat, malt taste with a hint of vanilla. Lower ABV and bitterness makes it a beer almost anyone can enjoy. I give this a Beer Score of 87%.

Breckenridge Oatmeal Stout - A strong smell paired with a medium taste and a light aftertaste. Ok beer, but I've had better oatmeal stouts. Beer Score - 64%.

Breckenridge Pandora's Bock - A complex brew with a spicy scent, medium body and mild, but unique taste. Beer Score - 82%.

Beer Scores

So, I'm going to be utilizing a new system to more quantitatively measure what I think of a beer. Blah-blahing about it is wonderful, but I think it would be helpful to put a number of it.

Version 1.0 of The Beer Score System is a 100 point scale. Think of it like your spelling test: 0-59 is a F, 60-69 is a D, 70-79 is a C, 80-89 is a B, 90+ is an A. A beer that gets a 85 is a good, strong beer; one that I would purchase again, but maybe not travel to a remote location if it was the only place that had it.

The score is based on a number of qualities - taste, color, aroma, unique characteristics of the beer itself, memorability (so, maybe a component of the beer itself, perhaps it's the name/packaging). I'm not going to break it down presently, but V2.0 will have more of a breakdown. But let me get through my back reviews...then we'll get V2.0 off the ground.

Road Trippin' - Carver Brewing in Durango, CO

Gah, I love Carver Brewing. The food is tasty, the beer is cold, the patio is great and the place has a chill atmosphere. And when I go to Durango, that's exactly what I want. So, as we wished G.I. Joe Lay good luck on his tour to Iraq, we figured this would be a fun place to go. Obviously, I partook of a few of Carver's beers.

I first got the La Plata Pilsner, as recommended by our server. We had just got done walking the main drag of Durango with a bunch of dogs, so I was hot and thirsty. A nice light beer sounded good, so glad the server suggested it. It was just that - light, little malty with a little spice. It went down quick. And that's all she wrote.

The second beer was the Cascade Canyon Cask IPA. I hadn't had a cask IPA before - no co2, no nitro, just hand pumped goodness. There was a great hoppy head on this beer...which got the best of me, when I went in for a smell and got it up the nose. Nothing like having hops in your sinuses... But a fine hop smell none the less. Even with the characteristic bitterness of an IPA, this beer was almost milky smooth with a mild sour aftertaste. Definitely a first for me and very enjoyable.

And before there is a chorus of "I'm Super! Thanks for Asking!!", this was a beer of Tina's that I took a few sips of. Carver Brewing has a Raspberry Wheat beer that is pink...really pink. They recommended that you add lemon to this brew, so it ended up adding a lot of lemon aroma to the beer. The raspberry wasn't overpowering, just adding a bit of that tart fruit flavor. The server said this was like 6.5% ABV, so he warned everyone that they go down smooth, but can creep up on ya.

Duel of Wit/White

Last month's Beer of the Month Club came with two white ale/witbiers (I lump them together and I'm sure I will get crap for that, but they are really...really similar and makes my life easier): the John's Grocery Generations White Ale and the Joseph James Brewing Alpine Wit. Armed with a cold glass, I tackled the two beers.

The Alpine Wit from Joseph James (or Red Fox Brewing, apparently...) was really tasty. It featured a much sharper malt and spice taste than other white ales, such as Sam Adams, Mothership Wit or the other beer in this duel. It was also a darker beer than I would have expected, being more golden than other white/witbiers. There is a hint of sweetness, but it's contrasted by that sharp spice taste mentioned above. 5.1% ABV and a low low 15 IBUs.


The Generations White Ale was a bit more of the standard, with a few subtle differences from a Sam Adams type white ale. This beer was slightly sweet, but finished with a hit of spice on the back of your tongue. Like you would expect from a white ale, it's got that spicy aroma of coriander, citrus, etc... No aftertaste, so very clean.

But if I were to pick a victor of this duel, it would be the unique flavor of the Alpine Wit!

Call in the Substitute - Sam Adams Blackberry Witbier

The Sam Adams Summer Pack is a summer staple at the Deshayes household. It has enough of a variety that if I buy it, nearly anyone who comes over will find something they will drink. However, I always had a beef with one "beer" that was in the pack - the Cherry Wheat. I can't think of a more disgusting concoction that was forced down your throat with every purchase. I think the Cherry Wheats of Summer Packs Past (say that three times fast) have gone to the back of the fridge never to be seen again or passed on to some idiot who was too drunk to notice what they were drinking.

Imagine my joy when Sam Adams dumped the Cherry Wheat and called in the rookie Blackberry Witbier to fill the vacancy in the summer pack! Now, given it's a blackberry beer, there is some blackberry in it, but it's subtle enough where it's not overwhelming. The blackberries offer some tartness to the beer - definitely not fruity or sweetesy. There's some great malt in there too. The Witbier is a great summer beer as it's light and refreshing, especially on a hot day. Definitely an excellent substitute for the crap beer that was in there before....

Marble Double IPA - A Hoppy Punch in the Face

I really enjoy Marble Brewery - they have one of my favorite IPAs, though I have yet to try this year's NM IPA Challenge winner the Ilvico IPL. So, obviously, if I like the regular IPA, the DOUBLE IPA must be twice as good, right? I'm an accountant...the math works out. Word to the wise - Marble doesn't sell bombers of this bad boy...just FYI. The 8.7% ABV speaks for itself.

Whatever the unknown hop complex Marble used, it's potent. I kinda think of the Punchy from the Hawaiian Punch commercials when I think of my first sip of the Double IPA - a real punch of hops....right in the kisser. It made for a really strong taste (not a bad thing), which was very distinctive from the Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA, which I think was a much smoother blend of the hops (and far more dangerous). The bitter taste was characteristic, but there was sour aftertaste that stood apart from the regular IPA aftertaste.

Good beer - I think I'll stick with the standard IPA, though. The Double IPA, while good, doesn't have that same delicious blend that the regular IPA has.

Freakin' American Airlines

I love to travel - but I'm very particular with who I fly with. Southwest Airlines is reliable and I know what I'm getting. Anything else (especially Delta...ahhh I hate DELTA!) is a crapshoot at best. There is no telling when some random-ass technical issue/luggage delay/etc.. is going to get your butt stuck in Dallas overnight after traveling for 12 hours already.

Which is what happened to me a bit ago - coming back from the 20/30 National Convention, my plane got delayed in Cabo, then got into Dallas and through customs with 5 minutes to get through security AGAIN and run to the plane. Thanks to American Airlines employees, who said "I don't think you have a chance to get there, so here's your voucher" - I ended up staying at the Westin somewhere near the airport. Getting to the hotel, I wanted nothing more than to eat and have a good cold beer.

Fortunately for me, the bar/restaurant in the hotel was open and did have more than just Coors or Bud. I ended up with the Fireman's #4 Blonde. It had a really nice crisp flavor, with a little hint of honey or some sweetness that blends into a sharp malty taste at the end. Boy, did this go down smooth after an awful day of travel. With a low bitterness (thanks to 21 IBUs) and decent alcohol content (5.1%), I was ready to hit the sack and get up at the buttcrack of dawn to catch my flight. I think the beer was the only thing that saved me from having a whole bunch of pent-up anger for the flight. Had that happened, I probably would have ended up like Ben Stiller in Meet the Parents....

Mixed Beer Bag

I've been neglect on a few reviews that have been sitting on my Blackberry, but never seemed to get written. Bad beer blogger! BAD!!! So, in an effort to get the community educated on a few more beers, it's time to chug some beer - here we go...

New Belgium Mighty Arrow Pale Ale - the first time I had this one, the glass and beer was so cold that a thin layer of ice formed on top of the beer. Now, I like my beer cold, but I think this was pushing it. The beer definitely has a hop taste, but not the same that I'm used to with a pale ale. There's a little honey malt base to the brew and a sour aftertaste. The initial taste you get is really sharp, but quickly fades away. Not a bad offering from New Belgium.

I enjoy Blue Moon as sort of the "microbrewed, but not really beer". If you're in a restaurant and you've got a choice between Blue Moon and say...Bud Ice, I'll take the Blue Moon. The seasonal beers that they offer are equally reliable (with some better than others), especially the Full Moon winter seasonal and the Rising Moon (beware the Harvest Moon, while tasty...there are some after-effects and we'll leave it at that). I finally tried the Honey Moon summer seasonal and kinda got what I expected. This one has a nice light golden color, with a sweet honey taste. Not a sweetesy honey, just enough to get the flavor into the beer. The beer ends up with a very similar taste to a white ale, but sweeter and less "spicy". I would probably not buy this one again for myself...maybe for those who want a "beer", but don't want a beer.

Sactown Brews

Got the pleasure to visit some friends in lovely Sacramento, California recently and I drafted my buddy Kevin into the beer tasting service. So, we ended up getting a number of them in, but here are the high (and low) lights...

First off was this delicious IPA - the Green Flash Brewing Imperial IPA. We were checking out the variety of bombers at the Nugget and was looking for the most IBUs we could. The Imperial IPA came in at 101 IBUs (yikes!) and a sturdy 9% ABV. You really got that delicious hop bitterness in the beer. If you were doing a blind taste test, you could just smell this sucker and know it was an IPA. Suprisingly enough, it's a smoother beer - you just have a really strong bitter taste with it.

On the other end of the spectrum, we had the Bear Republic Racer 5 IPA. Ah...yea...not so good. It looked, smelled and tasted like an IPA...just not a very good one. While a number of IPAs I've tried have a decreasing bitter taste (so, starts strong, then phased down), this did the opposite and I didn't care for it.

The Black Boss Porter was a good way to end this, as it was a really delicious porter. This thing was pitch black - it was almost like trying to look into a black hole. No light was escaping the gravity of this beer. It's a Polish beer - Hey, what is long and hard that the the Polish bride got on her wedding night? Her new last name.

Anyway, lots of malt and coffee aroma and taste to this porter. You can even get a hint of chocolate if you look for it. It went down really smooth and quickly...heh heh. At 9.4% ABV, you can really taste the alcohol on this one, but fortunately the malt doesn't make it overwhelming. Definitely go pick this one, even if just for an one-time taste.

Bring Down the Hammer, baby

I'm trying all sorts of IPAs lately, and I had never tried the Redhook Long Hammer IPA. I tend to enjoy the Redhook beers - I had actually been to the brewery in Woodinvale, WA. A side note, the food there is really good and the brewery tour is free.

The Long Hammer IPA seems like IPA 101. The brew has the hop flavor to it, but it's way less intense that one would expect. You still get the bitter taste, with a brief aftertaste that lingers. The 6.5% ABV is on the higher end of the Redhook varieties. I would say that the Long Hammer IPA is a good IPA for those who want to ease into trying IPAs, not someone who really appreciates them.

Happy 250th Birthday Guinness!

I'm not all of that much of a Guinness fan really. Someone recently travelled to Scotland and Ireland and the message from there is that "Guinness doesn't travel well." I can usually have one, maybe two, Guinnesses (Guinnessi?) before I'm ready to move on.

Imagine my surprise when I get home from a conference to find this little gem in the Beer Fridge. Tina had seen it at Smith's and thought it looked interesting (ah, I'm rubbing off on her...) The Guinness 250 Anniversary Stout was excellent - a really smooth, rich coffee/chocolate taste with that roasted malt flavor in there too. You don't get that same aftertaste that I tend to have at the end of a Guinness Draught, but maybe that's because the 250 doesn't utilize nitrous.

Anyway, grab one of these six packs and celebrate a birthday!

Alaskan Brewing Co

You can't go to Alaska and not have some Alaskan Brewing Co. I think it's actually state law, but you'd need to check that with Sarah Palin - she'd know.

Alaskan Amber was definitely my favorite of the bunch. It had a smooth malt taste with a really nice copper color and light body. Didn't have much of an aftertaste. Weighing in at 5.2% ABV, it's pretty standard for a good beer. Don't expect any bitterness with the Alaskan Amber though, as it only has 18 IBUs. The true first time I had this one was at a lodge where my wife and I went to a crab fest. Basically, all you can eat crab (I had about 3+ of those deals on the plate) and all you can drink Alaskan Amber. Here's my lovely wife posing with the delicious beer and crab.

Also had the pleasure of trying a number of other Alaskan Brewing's offerings.

The Alaskan Brewing White was a pretty refreshing white ale - same light citrus taste as you would expect with a white ale. It's definitely sweeter than other white ales, but it didn't get to the point of "sweetesy". A very tasty brew, especially if you happen to running around Ketichan and it's 82 degrees (never expected to get a tan in Alaska...)

The Alaskan Brewing Summerale is a new "regular" beer for Alaskan Brewing from what the bartenders were telling me. Got to try it at the Red Dog Bar...talk about a dive. Sawdust was all that covered the dirt floors. Plus, there was this old guy on the piano in there who called you a cheap bastard if you didn't tip him. We had just got back from salmon fishing...with no beer and the Summerale hit the spot. Just a little spice in it, but overall light and thirstquenching. Similar ABV and IBU profile as the Amber - 5.3% abv and 18 IBUs.

The Alaskan Pale Ale was ok - it had a nice crisp taste, but lacked much bitterness or hoppy-ness. Oddly, there was a sweet taste at the end, which surprised me. Only 24 IBUs in this guy...apparently in Alaska, only IPAs are allowed over 25 IBUs. Must be state law...

Lastly, the Alaskan Brewing IPA (which did have over 25 IBUs in compliance with Alaska State Brewing Code 25.123(b)) was pretty good. It had the characteristic sour & bitter flavor you would expect in an IPA. Like the Pale Ale, it had a light sweet taste at the end.