Sunday, August 25, 2013

Elysian Space Dust IPA


I love WA beers.  Even more so now that I don't live there.  This one was hoppy and delicious and reminded me of all good things Seattle!

Check out the brewery's site for more info.
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Birra del Borgo My Antonia


Pretty tasty and easy to drink.  It was slightly hoppy without being overpowering.  Much more interesting than most other pilsners.  It's a great beer and even though the price is steep, you should pick up a bottle.


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Mikkeller Beer Geek Breakfast


Delicious. Everyone should try this one. Lots of coffee flavor. Bitter in a good way.

Check out the brewery's site for more info.
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Stone RuinTen IPA


While in Boston we read on a blog that they had RuinTen on tap, just after it was released.  We made a special trip to a bar just for this.  It was worth it.  OMG it was worth it.  This beer is amazing.  It's similar to 120 Minute by Dogfish Head, but not as sweet.  I love this beer and can guarantee if I see it again, I will get it!  This one is worth hunting down folks...yes, it's that good.

Check out the brewery's site for more info.
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Harpoon Munich Dark


Good if you wanted large quantities at a summer picnic. Not bad and easy to drink.

Check out the brewery's site for more info.
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Saturday, August 24, 2013

Blatant IPA


Very nice citrus and hop flavors.  The lacing left on the glass was nice.  It was delicious and something I recommend picking up if you see it.  

Check out the brewery's site for more info.
See if it's distributed near you and what others think at Rate Beer.

Mikkeller Single Hop Series - Citra


This may be one of my favorite hops.  I really enjoyed this beer and it was very easy to drink.  The hops were present, but not overwhelming.  I now know to look for more drinks with Citra hops.

Check out the brewery's site for more info.
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Curious Traveler Shandy


Brewed as "Curious Traveler" beers, this is really made by Boston Beer Company.  I had this on tap and was quite surprised by how good it was.  It was light and flavorful and tasted almost like a real shandy.  

Check out the brewery's site for more info.
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Samuel Adams American Kriek


We had this one on the Sam Adams tour.  It was decent - a bit sour and a lot of cherry taste.  Not my favorite one ever, but still pretty good.  

Check out the brewery's site for more info.
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Mikkeller Single Hop Series - Cluster


This one smelled very syrupy.  Not like sweet maple syrup, but it almost smelled thick.  The hops were pretty mellow in this one.  Not super impressed.

Check out the brewery's site for more info.
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Friday, August 23, 2013

Mikkeller Single Hop Series - Centennial


This one had floaters and was slightly floral.  The taste was, yet again, familiar.  The hops had an almost fruity flavor.  

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Mikkeller Single Hop Series - Super Galena


This beer smells like skunk...or pot...depending on your point of view. Not as strong tasting as it smells. Smooth to drink.

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Mikkeller Single Hop Series - Galena


This beer had a nice hop to it with a familiar aftertaste.  I think I like it.

Check out the brewery's site for more info.
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Left Hand St. Vrain Tripel



Left Hand is one of those solid breweries where I am rarely disappointed by them.  This one was lighter in color than I expected.  It was fruity and not very boozy tasting for the 9.3% ABV.  Another great one from Left Hand.  

Check out the brewery's site for more info.
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Thursday, August 22, 2013

Southern Tier Plum Noir



First, I love the new Southern Tier designs.  I like the labels and always enjoy their beers.  This one was tasty, but a bit sweet.  The plum flavors were delightful.  Definitely one to pick up if you see it.

Check out the brewery's site for more info.
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Blue Moon Blackberry Tart Ale



For a Blue Moon it wasn't 100% terrible, however there wasn't a lot of blackberry flavor going on.  

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Bacardi Silver Mojito


Every once in a while you end up with crappy stuff in your fridge.  This was a "OMG it's 8 million degrees outside and we only have crappy window AC unit" type nights.  We wanted something light and refreshing.  The options at the grocery store of what was cold were very limited.  It was try something like this or drink Bud.  We decided to try the mojitos.  If you're a 21 year old girl, you'll like this.  It's extremely sweet and not very good at all.  It's like a hangover waiting to happen.  If you're going to a backyard picnic full of young girls and boys who don't like beer, try this.  If you like beer, just pass.

Check out the site for more info.

Southern Tier Imperial Compass


This beer was quite active - I know you can see those floaty bits in the beer.  They were suspended and didn't fall all to the bottom, even while drinking.  Overall, this beer was very good and easy to drink.  It has an ABV of about 9% but doesn't drink like it.  This is one you should pick up when you come across it.

Check out the brewery's site for more info.
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Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Sassy Bitch Cabernet Sauvignon


 

As you will discover, I love red wines.  I also love great labels.  I don't know a ton about wines and usually pick them almost always based on labels.  On a rare occasion, I will buy based on points or suggestions, but it's almost always the label or the name.  This label clearly caught my attention.  The wine was okay and at a good price point (I think about $10/bottle).  I'd suggest this for a girls night of complaining about life and gossiping or to bring to your wife after a long day (presuming she has a good sense of humor).

Check out the winery's site for more info.

Dreaming Tree Crush Wine



Though this is a beer blog, I do really enjoy wine as well.  Since I'm in control, I've decided to make notes of the wines I drink as well since I'm sure some you beer drinkers need to know what are good bottles of wine to pick up on occasion as well.  Dreaming Tree Wines is a collaboration between Dave Matthews (yes, the musician) and a wine guy (Steve Reeder).  The result is pretty nice.  Crush is a red blend and is pretty palatable to anybody who enjoys reds.  This is definitely a bottle I'd recommend picking up, as I have many times, and it also makes an interesting story for dinner parties.

Check out the winery's site for more info.

BREWERY TOUR: Sam Adams



Our first stop in Boston on our recent trip was to the Sam Adams brewery.  Sam Adams was the hubby's "gateway" to craft beer and we still enjoy them every once in a while. And I really enjoy brewery tours.  

This one was pretty easy to get into on a Friday afternoon (though we went around 12).  It is first come, first serve and it seems that there can be quite the wait.  The tour groups are pretty large (I'd guess somewhere around 50 people), but that didn't diminish from the tour at all.
The tour won't take you through a lot of the brewery, but it is informative and you will get to see some cool stuff.  The first stop on the tour is a room where you stand around and the guide educates you on the process of making beer.  In doing this, they pass around hops and such for people to try and explain the process of examining each piece.
After that you are walked into a room which you will have already passed through.  This room has their brewing equipment, which is not very remarkable since a large part of the brewing is done at regional places, and barrels of beer.  The beer being aged in the picture is Utiopia to be released in December 2013.  It was impressive to be in a room with that much Utopia in barrels.  They explain their brewing process (same as most) and some pieces about the brewery.





Lastly, you will visit a tasting room.  There are several benches with tables.  Your first sample, I presume always, will be the basic Boston Lager.  With this pour, you will learn how to taste beer and the importance of how you drink it.  

After that, two more samples will follow with information about their beers and options.  They also passed around a Utopia bottle so people could sniff since there was a lot interest on the tours since it was what was being aged and a lot of the people had never heard of it before.  Our two additional samples were the summer ale and Kreik American.  

Overall, it was a pretty good tour and not too long (or too short).  The tour ends, of course, in the gift shop.  After the tour, hop on the free trolley to Doyle's and get yourself a free Sam Adams glass!

Visit their website for more info.

Blue Moon Short Straw Farmhouse Red Ale



Kind of boring beer.  Not surprising from a "Blue Moon" beer.  I really thought this would be a strawberry beer and was interested, but really it isn't at all.  There was no fruity flavor of strawberries or anything to make it interesting.  Not one I'd ever go looking for again.  

Check out the brewery's site for more info.
See if it's distributed near you and what others think at Rate Beer.

Tuesday, August 20, 2013

PUB REVIEW: Doyle's Cafe


We were out in Boston and did the Sam Adams tour.  After the tour, they have a trolley that takes you to Doyle's, the first place Sam Adams was served.  If you take the tour, be sure to keep your ticket and then when you get to Doyle's you can keep the glass your beer comes in.  And really, they realize you may not want to walk around with a dirty glass so after you pay you can take your dirty glass up to the bar and exchange it for a clean glass.  Nice.



I expected them to be super busy on a Friday afternoon with Sam Adams tour after Sam Adams tour showing up at the place.  But really, they handled the crowd well.  A quick wait (mostly the time it took the host to take each group to a table) we were seated.  A waitress came over quickly and took our orders.  Our food arrived in a pretty prompt manner.


The husband went for the German plate (pictured above).  He was pretty satisfied with it and ho real complaints.   The french fries were delicious and definitely tasty steak fries.


Upon suggestion of the people working at Sam Adams, I went for the French Dip (see above).  I was happy with it and scarfed it down quickly.  The husband had to fight me for a bite of it.  Definitely something to get.

Check out their website page for more info.

PUB REVIEW: Newes from America




We were on a family vacation in Martha's Vineyard.  With not much to do since it was off season, and being the beer lovers we were, we decided to explore local places.  After hunting a few places down we decided to give this one a try.  It was a quaint place and it seemed like the locals were definitely in the area.  We tried the crab cakes (pictured above) and they were delicious!  I believe we also had a sandwich, which was good too.  I remember being pleased with everything we had to eat here.

The staff was friendly and more than happy to chat about the beers on tap.  We gave their "lime n light" lager a try and it was okay.  It's a lager and some lime flavor.  If you like the Buds with flavor, you'd definitely love that one.  It's a bit nicer than that, but along the same lines.  

If you ever find yourself out at Martha's Vineyard, I'd give this place a try.

Check out their website for more info.

PUB REVIEW: Wynkoop Brewing Company


Wynkoop has pretzels.  And other tasty treats.  This is one of my places to grab a snack in a mid-day beer tasting.  Their flights are done on different train paths.  They have their own beers on tap.  And they always have a root beer, which is pretty good too.  I enjoyed my visits here and suggest you stop in while in Denver.  Just beware, the bathrooms are downstairs which can be more challenging in a day of drinking.


Check out their website for more info.

PUB REVIEW: Breckenridge Brewery

I love Denver.  I enjoy Breckenridge's beer.  If you're doing a tour in Denver, I think this is a good reason to start for some reason.  Maybe it's because they have a wide variety of beers, but not are really palette wreckers.

The location is in a good place in Denver with easy accessibility to other beer places as well.  I must admit, I don't think in the two times I've visited here (on separate trips to Denver) that I've ever eaten here.  As a matter of fact, I believe both times I've just sat at the bar and drank samplers.


You'll find a knowledgeable staff and a pretty reasonable offering of their beers in a flight.  As you can see from the pictures there are 4 tastes in a flight and you may as well get two and try a good chunk of the beers on tap.  It's a good place to try some beers and enjoy some company.

Check out their website for more info.

Monday, August 19, 2013

Sunday, August 18, 2013

Dogfish Head Life & Limb Rhizing Bines



Check out the brewery's site for more info.
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Boxer Hard Apple Cider



We picked up this hard cider along the Finger Lakes (Seneca to be exact) while we doing a wine tour.  It was a cheap bottle and had we not already bout enough wine, I would have bought more of this.  It tasted exactly like apple pie in a glass and was amazing.  If you ever see it, I suggest it as a cider to pick up.

Check out the brewery's site for more info.

Sierra Nevada Imperial Red Ale (Beer Camp #65)


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Samuel Adams Norse Legend


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Samuel Adams Irish Red


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Saturday, August 17, 2013

New England Wet Willy Scotch Ale


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New England Gandhi-Bot Double IPA


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Sierra Nevada Narwhal Imperial Stout


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Samuel Adams Maple Pecan Porter


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Samuel Adams Thirteenth Hour Stout


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Friday, August 16, 2013