#24 and #25 for Ben

One quarter of the way through. I really need to make a list so I know what I need to drink. The beer fest samples will not count, sadly.

Beer: 90 Minute IPA
Brewery: Dogfish Head Craft Brewery, Delaware
Category: American Double IPA
Date Drank: 3/25/09
Grade: B+
Location purchased/drank: Whole Foods
Served from a: Bottle

I know that I love this beer and I know that I have had it better from the tap at the Independent. But, that's okay. I still recommend it from the bottle. For the hop-head, like I, this is the best of the Minutes group... that I have tried. I want to try the 75 minute when I can. Wherever it may be. The numbers have to do with the alcohol level in the beer, so this is pretty strong for a social beer. I think, though, why this isn't in the A-range is that I am put off by raisin-y flavor. Shame, because that is the way a lot of my favorite beers go. I'm not disgusted, but it certainly is a B-level flavor for me.

Beer: Red Rocket Ale
Brewery: Bear Republic Brewing, California
Category: American Amber
Date Drank: 3/31/09
Grade: B+
Location purchased/drank: The Independent
Served from a: Tap

Bear Republic is quickly becoming one of my favorite brewers. This beer is a nice go-between for both Beth and I, since we both had it. It is a light beer for her, a dark for me. It was very well balanced between the malt and the hops. It is a great example of an Amber. But, I didn't drink a second glass of it. It was about as far away I wanted to stray for my normal beers that day.

Ben's #16 & #17

My list of beers to review was getting as long as those that I those that I had already reviewed.


Beer: Barney Flats Oatmeal Stout
Brewery: Anderson Valley Brewing Company, California
Category: Oatmeal Stout
Date Drank: 3/18/09
Grade: B
Location purchased/drank: The Independent
Served from a: Tap

THough Beth loved this beer, I wasn't overly impressed. Sure, it was a good beer, but I wasn't won over with body or taste, the two things that I expect from a stout. I guess that I really want my stouts to be like drinking milk (body wise). But, hey, it was enjoyable to the last drop. It went well with the ice-cream layered cake that we chose to eat.

Beer: Hercules Double IPA
Brewery: Great Divide Brewing Company, Colorado
Category: American Double/Imperial IPA
Date Drank: 3/16/09
Grade: A-
Location purchased/drank: The Independent
Served from a: Tap

My first experience with this was way back in Colorado, I believe at the Great American Beer Fest, and I have loved it ever since first sip. It falls into the grapefruit-like beer that I love, but it also has body, too. Great Divide is a leader among great beers, and certainly try anything you find... except the rice-beer. Funny, though, after tasting a lot of those and mentally comparing to other DIPAs, this is not all that an uncommon a taste. Either I have good picking skills or I just love the whole group. But, this one will always hold a special place for me.

#12, Beth

#12
Beer: Racer 5 IPA
Brewery: Bear Republic Brewery, California
Category: American IPA
Date Drank: 3/6/09
Grade: A
Location purchased/drank: Whole Foods/home
Served from a: Bottle

Honestly? I'm not a huge IPA fan. I taste them and I think "Okay, but I might as well be drinking grapefruit juice." Many double IPAs, the ones I like, usually have a hoppy balance to counteract the...grapefruitiness...of the beer, and I appreciate it. Single IPAs are generally not that complex in my experience. This beer? Is great. The flavor is a bit grapefruity (really, I think hops taste like grapefruit, and can't get over it), but there's a bit more balance. A floral quality. Maybe a hint of apples in the beer. It has a bit more body than most beers of its ilk...it lingers. Astringent on the tongue. Really drinkable. Great with Mexican food (which we've done twice, at least, with this six-pack. Forget what we drank with it last week)

#14, Ben

Beer: Racer 5 IPA
Brewery: Bear Republic Brewery, California
Category: American IPA
Date Drank: 3/6/09
Grade: A-
Location purchased/drank: Whole Foods
Served from a: Bottle

This is a fine example of a normal IPA. Compare this to the Harpoon version, and you'll see what can be done so simply, yet so strong in flavor. It is an easy drinking experience, too. Sure, it is bitter, but it goes down with now aftertaste/afterburps. Decently high, too, in the alcohol. I first had this, knowingly, at a bar in Northampton. I loved it there, but was weary of California beers. I still think that the majority of California beers suck. But this one is a keeper. I drank three (over a week) expecting something to be bad about it, but really, this might be the finest single IPA I have had.

8, 9: Beth Snow Beers

#8
Beer: Barney Flats Oatmeal Stout
Brewery: Anderson Valley Brewing Company, California
Category: Oatmeal Stout
Date Drank: 3/2/09
Grade: B+/A-
Location purchased/drank: The Independent
Served from a: Tap

Dark brown, lacing on glass. Very smooth and creamy (mouth-feel). Nice flavor: sweet with a hoppy balance. Caramel/chocolate/coffee/oatmeal flavors. Toasty. Very drinkable...5.7 ABV; sessionable. I really enjoyed the balance of this beer...stout flavor, but not overwhelming. Really enjoyable beer.

#9
Beer: Old Brown Dog
Brewery: Smuttynose Brewing Company, New Hampshire
Category: English Brown Ale
Date Drank: 3/2/09
Grade: A-
Location purchased/drank: The Independent
Served from a: Tap

This is one of my favorite session beers; I will gladly drink this (and most Smuttynose beers) anywhere, anytime. Great balance...malt flavor comes first, with a hoppy aftertaste (sort of the opposite of good, balanced IPA). Flavor is, as one BA drinker noted "charred oak, reminds me of a cold autumn day in New England"...and that's exactly when and why I want to drink it. It's a great New England beer. Simple, but good beer.

5, 6, 7: Beth

This is where it gets hard for me...writing about beer after going somewhere socially/where I'm not necessarily there for the beer. But I'm just gonna do it and let it be fun! This is not about being right, it's about learning. With that, here are 5/6/7

#5
Beer: Raison D'Etre
Brewery: Dogfish Head Craft Brewery, Delaware
Category: Belgian Strong Dark Ale
Date Drank: 2/26/09
Grade: B-
Location purchased/drank: Silvertone
Served from a: Tap

I loved this beer a year ago. I don't know if my tastes have evolved or if the year was better then (I think I was drinking the 2003) or if it's aged or what, but now I find it a little too...chewy and pruney. A little unpleasantness in the back of my mind as I drink this. It's even a little too sweet and I love a sweet, malty beer...I guess this is a sweet, fruity beer. I prefer sour fruity beers. I'm weird. Someone on beeradvocate mentioned it would be great for braising...and I think, in our hey-day with this beer we did make Flemish stew with it and it was great...I always think it would be great with pork or duck when I drink it. That raisiny, fruity sweetness would work well with those.

#6
Beer: Anchor Steam Beer
Brewery: Anchor Beer Company, California
Category: Steam Beer
Date Drank: 2/26/09
Grade: B-
Location purchased/drank: Silvertone
Served from a: Bottle

Another beer I've had before and didn't like as much this time. The restaurant served us just the bottle, we both took one swig and poured the rest into our glasses from the Raison D'Etre. I liked this on tap at the Burren, but now in a bottle it tasted stale (might be the restaurant's doing, though). Ben and I discussed its "honey and rye" flavors...not in a good way. Don't know a lot about the style, though. Just not my thing that night, but the more I think about how I liked it at the Burren, the more I think Silvertone skunked it. I added a link to Beer Advocate's style information.

#7
Beer: CaCow! Chocolate Milk Stout
Brewery: Cambridge Brewing Company, MA
Category: Milk/Sweet Stout
Date Drank: 2/28/09
Grade: A-
Location purchased/drank: Redbones
Served from a: tap

I really enjoy the creaminess of milk stouts. It's a pleasant chewiness. It's sweet and dry, too. Lots going on. It had a really intense flavor that reminded me of CBC's You Enjoy My Stout, but not as over-powering as that (I don't know how to describe it, but it was too much in YEMS, but a nice contrast in CaCow!). Rich and chocolately, dark and malty. Very nice beer.

#8 and 9, for Ben.

Beer: Raison D'Etre
Brewery: Dogfish Head Craft Brewery, Delaware
Category: Belgian Strong Dark Ale
Date Drank: 2/26/09
Grade: B-
Location purchased/drank: Silvertone
Served from a: Tap

Now that I am starting to really consider how beers do compare to each other, this received a lower grade. Well, lower than in would have when we were obsessed with it for a few months in 2007. But, when you compare it to Delirum Tremens, which is the pale Belgian, you would think that this would be similar. Drinking this, you don't really think of Belgian beer. Sure, it's tart, like you would want, but the kick was missing. Now, I love Dogfish madly, and gladly drink this, but it really is a middle of the pack good beer. Nothing more.

Beer: Anchor Steam Beer
Brewery: Anchor Beer Company, California
Category: Steam Beer
Date Drank: 2/26/09
Grade: B-
Location purchased/drank: Silvertone
Served from a: Bottle

Similar lines with the Steam Beer. The steam has to fermentation when refrigeration was scarce. Common back then, but not so much now. Now, I love Anchor and believe in their beer, but I have always felt that this should be their flagship. That this should be the beer that people remember them by. And, instead, it was like "honey and rye". Enjoyable, but nothing that made a lasting impression that would make me favorite it over other Anchor beers. Maybe if I had other Steam beers to compare it to, I would understand, but not in the larger picture.

Oh, and Silvertone was alright for beer when it comes to right-after-work office restaurants. The food was good, too.

100 Beers

#2
Beer: Anchor Liberty Ale
Brewery: Anchor Brewing Company, California
Category: American Pale Ale
Date Drank: 2/22/09
Grade: B+
Location purchased/drank: Whole Foods/Home
Served from a: bottle

This is a great beer to have around the house. First tried it looking for a "plain ale" for beer-cheese bread--it's great in that, btw. Nice aroma, great with most of the foods we eat. Just a great session ale. Made us fall in love with Anchor. Also always makes me say "We've got the Liberty Ale..." like the Southwest Airlines ads for Philadelphia. Ha.

100 Beers, Beth's turn

Okay, so it's not that I don't drink as often as Ben does, but rather that I'm starting this later than he is :-P

#1
Beer: Brown Shugga Ale
Brewery: Lagunitas Brewing Company, California
Category: American Strong Ale
Date Drank: 2/21/09
Grade: B+/A-
Location purchased/drank: The Independent in Somerville
Served from a : bottle

When we arrived at the Independent our waitress, Sarah, told us they had one bottle of this left if we'd like it. Having had it on tap about a month ago there, I jumped at the opportunity. I think this is a great beer. It has a really dry finish, a rich malty body, and it's sweet like sugar (it's brewed with sugar)--but not cloying. I think it's a great winter beer between the sugary aroma and flavor reminding me of winter baking, and the 9.9% abv helping to warm me up. In general, I find Lagunitas beer to be delightful, I must add.

I did also drink a Smuttynose Old Brown Dog ale on tap last night as well, but the stronger flavor and 9.9% abv of the Brown Shugga definitely colored my experience of it, so I don't feel I can accurately discuss it. OBD is one of my favorite session beers, though.

100 different beers

#4

Beer: Oaked Arrogant Bastard Ale
Brewery: Stone Brewing Company, California
Category: American Strong Ale

Date Drank: 2/21/09

Grade: B+

Location purchased/drank: The Independent

Served from a : Tap

I have had the original version of this beer and loved it, so I thought that I would give it a try oaked. Who knew that oak flavored beer would be good. At least it was done through a brewery I trust. Nice mix of body and aroma. Hoppy, but mellowed out by sweetness. It didn't necessary taste like oak, but like you were drinking from inside a wardrobe. The atmosphere, not the flavor.

#5

Beer: Delirium Tremens
Brewery: Brouwerij Huyghe, Belgium
Category: Belgian Strong Pale Ale

Date Drank: 2/21/09

Grade: A-

Location purchased/drank: The Independent

Served from a : Tap

Almost impossible to pass when you see this beauty on tap. It was my gateway Belgian beer. It has the right mix of flavor, refreshing ability, plus that certain bitter kick that you should expect from a great Belgian beer. On BA, they describe it as "hazy golden", which I think is perfect.

Last night Beth and I went out with a couple of people from her Starbucks for a few drinks. I love the staff at the bar over there. I need people who want to go play scrabble and drink beer. You know, like 5 p.m., before the dinner rush. It's my third place!

100 different beers

To revive the blog, I'm going to review 100 different beers.

Format may change over time.

#1

Beer: Anchor Liberty Ale
Brewery: Anchor Brewing Company, California
Category: American Pale Ale

Date Drank: 02/19/09

Grade: B

Location purchased/drank: Whole Foods

Served from a : Bottle

Anchor is a good brewery. I haven't had anything bad yet. Steam beer is an interesting concept, and apparently they are the only ones that do it. Whatever "it" is.

#2

Beer: Grimbergen Dubbel
Brewery: Brouwerij Alken-Maes, Belgium
Category: Dubbel

Date Drank: 02/19/09

Grade: B

Location purchased/drank: Wine and Cheese Cask

Served from a : Bottle

Simple Belgian taste, though I almost gave it a B- because it taste much worse from the bottle then poured into a glass.


#3

Beer: 60 Minute IPA
Brewery: Dogfish Head Craft Brewery, Delaware
Category: American IPA

Date Drank: 02/20/09

Grade: B+

Location purchased/drank: Whole Foods

Served from a : Bottle

I love Dogfish! Though still the 90-minute is best.

Anchor Beer Company: Our Special Ale 2006

Beer: Our Special Ale 2006
Brewery: Anchor Beer Company, California
Category: Holiday Seasonal

The Drinker: Ben

Grade: B

Location purchased/drank: Whole Foods/Home

Served from a : Bottle

The Drink: An aged beer, 2 years this time. It was red in the glass. The head stayed around a lot longer this time through. The body was lighter than the '06. There was the overall taste of nutmeg and pine, but not that overwhelming. More like you drinking at Christmastime, not drinking Christmas itself. The alcohol content was not as noticeable.

Notes: We had talked up with our friends how interesting the '03, we were planning to share the last four bottles. But too our surprise, the beer we had in hand was actually the beer we bought. So, we only had the 4 '06s and 2 '03s. We showed off our beer geekiness, and had a good time. We stuckit between Mexican meatloaf and yummy espresso chocolate cake. These two experiences with the holiday beer has led me to trust Anchor as a brewery and will look forward to trying other stuff.

Anchor Beer Company: Our Special Ale 2003

Beer: Our Special Ale 2003
Brewery: Anchor Beer Company, California
Category: Holiday Seasonal

The Drinker: Ben

Grade: B

Location purchased/drank: Whole Foods/Home

Served from a : Bottle

The Drink: An aged beer, 5 years. Syrupy in pour and texture. Sweet, too. Fruit notes, like red wine. Very quick dissipation of the head, but I suppose that is what is expected. The color is a dark cherry brown.

Notes: This was our first time buying an aged beer at a store. We had planned on buying the 2006, but we lucked out with 2 bottles of the 2003. We thought that we had got the whole six pack for cheaper, but it was just two random bottles in our pack. It was exciting, and definitely worth a taste if you ever get a chance.