BoozeReviews.net

The label on Port Brewing’s Hop 15 Double IPA shows a bunch of WWII bombers dropping hop bombs into a frothy pint glass of beer, and no one is going to sue these guys for misrepresentation. Read more »

Once a year Russian River releases a beer that is now so famous that El Guapo himself may elevate this to the category of in-famous. Beer heathens from all over the U.S. and abroad travel great lengths for the chance to taste and fill growlers of Pliny the Younger, a triple IPA that packs a serious wallop at 10% plus and “gobs” of IBU’s. What took a week last year to finish off was gone in less than 8 hours. Insanity. This is one man’s point of view of the experience. All photos courtesy of Chad, aka cpferris on BeerAdvocate.

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I don’t care if the financial sector is crumbling or if the extreme religious fucks of the world are manufacturing their apocalyptic prophecy, in fact with a glass of the Bruery’s Black Tuesday in hand, I couldn’t care less. A bourbon barrel aged imperial stout with an astounding 19.5% abv., Black Tuesday is currently the most hyped beer in the beer geek realm.

After a rough pour, a beautiful chocolate brown head forms over a jet black body with a slightly brown twinge at the edge of the glass. I’d tell you about the lacing, but it’s so fucking pungent that I couldn’t stop swirling and smelling. Black Tuesday reeks of bourbon, charred oak, molasses, and dried dark fruits. Even with the glass 2 feet below, a bourbon soaked chocolate cake aroma can still be detected. Tuesday tastes like a vanilla bourbon truffle with a sprinkle of espresso. The coffee flavor comes out in the finish in what is otherwise dominated by bourbon, molasses and vanilla. The taste lingers for over a minute after each sip is gone; taste buds are saturated and nearly overwhelmed by the depth of flavor. Mouthfeel is thick and rich, but lightened by adequate carbonation. Considering the 19.5% abv, the drinkability is silly.

Black Tuesday is an amazing beer: the best imperial stout on the planet, bar none.

It’s no wonder that hundreds of people, including me, lined up hours before the release of this beer at the Bruery. The release price of $30 now looks like a bargain with bottles already selling for $100 on ebay. If you can get your hands on it, try it. But don’t be surprised if you’re asked to give up your youngest child in exchange.

That crash you heard wasn’t the stock market, it was me trying to drink a whole 750 ml of Black Tuesday by myself.

Official Boozereviews score: 100 points

Odonata Rorie's Ale

Goddamn, I drank far too much last weekend.  I mean, I had one of those weekends where, looking back now, I’m embarrassed.  I was a complete lazy drunken ass all fucking weekend long.

See, we went up to wine country.  Healdsburg, to be exact, and we stayed in a really nice house overlooking a lake.  ‘We’ being almost all the reviewers here on this obnoxious blog, we split the time evenly and divided our trip up into two kinds of days: beer days and wine days.  We had a lot of work to do there, so tasting typically began before breakfast.  Seeing that all of us see spitting wine (or beer) as alcohol abuse, I don’t think a single one of us made it past 9:00 on any given night.

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Good beer from Mexico?  Yes, there really is such a thing.  Now I’m not talking about Tecate, Corona, Dos Equis, Bohemia, Negro Modelo, or any of the great summertime thirst quenchers.  I’m talking big, bold, highly flavored, brew straight out of B.C.. We’ll just call it “grandote” for now and leave it at that.

BJR tried to kill JDavid and me with this bottle by busting it out minutes before starting the long walk home. This certainly turned what would have been a slightly intoxicated walk into a downright stumble.  All I remember is that the sidewalk was playing tricks on me by moving back and forth while I was walking in a perfectly straight line.  Fucking sidewalk…
When we poured the beer, the color was reddish brown with little to no head. A bit undercarbonated, even for the style. When I stuck my big Jew nose in the glass there was caramel, alcohol, malt, and a bit of sweetness. Some leathery notes in the background.
Dark fruit and alcohol are the biggest players in the taste of this beer. Although there is a bit of a hop presence, the candied raisins, toffee, and brown sugar are present in the finish as well.
Mouthfeel is a bit stagnant; the carbonation could be pumped up a little in this bottle, which , coupled with mucho alcohol, make the drinkability almost nonexistent.

Great to see a great style of beer coming from our friends down south.  A good example of the style, and well done at that!  De puta madre!

Official BoozeReviews Score: 85/100

L’Chaim!

“It’s all very exciting. We have wood. Now you do too.” Huh, you might ask? But it’s true: I’ve never been so excited- to the point of getting wood- that another dude got wood! Palo Santo Marron is a brown ale brewed in 10,000 gallon Palo Santo wood vessels. That’s right, the off-centered folks at Dogfish Head went all the way down to Paraguay to get…wood! And I’m pretty god damn happy that they did.

The first time I tried this beer last year I wasn’t a big fan. But don’t fault the beer. You see, drinking a big, malty, high abv (12%) beer in 100 degree heat is a lot like getting head when you feel like having diarrhea. Whether you’re male or female, it’s hard to focus on pleasure when you’re worried about a butt pee eruption exploding in your lover’s face. I’m just not down with fecalphelia; But Palo Santo Marron when it’s cold out, yes I am.
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Lagunitas has been producing some quality brew lately. Hop Stoopid, Old Gnarleywine, and now 2009 Correction Ale, although it might be better named “erection ale” as this is one pants-raising beer. Although this beer marks the end of the Zappa line of beers it was brewed in the spirit of celebrating the financial turmoil that Americans are currently experiencing. “Live to party” is the motto inscribed on the side of the bottle, and I wholeheartedly agree with this philosophy.

2009 bottle from Windmill Farms in Del Cerro. Well deservedly consumed after a mountain bike ride at Mission Trails with JDavid. My balls and inner thighs paid the price for this one.  Clocking in at 6.3%, this beer rests squarely in the category of a lighter West Coast IPA, or APA.
Poured a light orange with a fluffy IPA head that one would expect. There is some good lacing around the glass as the beer is consumed.
Smell is tropical, floral, and hoppy. Reminiscent of Kill Ugly Radio and Hop Stoopid on a smaller scale. Some mango, pineapple, fresh flowers, and hops round out the aroma.
The taste imbibes all of the tropical notes that one would want out of a fruity IPA. The hop bitterness is present in the finish, but not overwhelming. Although this isn’t the typical “balanced” IPA, it does conform to the West Coast style of being overly hopped, and lacking a malt backbone. The dryness of the finish is pleasant and cleanses the palate before the next quaff, making this a perfect summertime beer.  Clean, refreshing, fruity, hoppy, and dry.  These are the qualities that a good APA should have!

Official BoozeReviews Score: 90/100

L’Chaim!

OK, look: unlike the San Diego contingent, I am not a beer snob. If the weather’s warm, the beer’s piss-colored or darker and cold, and I’m thirsty, I’ll drink it and probably like it. It’s cold, it’s somewhat refreshing and it tastes great when you’ve been out angling for Halibut all day with nothing else to do but talk about strippers with the other guy on the boat. Look, I’m a guy who once split a flask of Jack Daniels’, 3 homebrews, a 12-er or Bud, a joint and another 30-pack of Bud with 2 other people while at-sea on my canoe, then stopped at the gas dock (in a canoe with no motor, go figure) so I could get another 12-er for the long half-mile trek through the harbor.

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This west coast style triple IPA is big and unapologetic. With an abv over 11% disguised like a stripper in a nun’s suit, Exponential Hoppiness will leave you exponentially inebriated and absolved satisfied. Drunken hyperbole aside, it is with good reason that this beer has been dubbed “the most dangerous beer in America.” Having split my last growler with Tunk last night, I’m still fighting back a headache today (the 09 Stone IRS and the Cuvee Rene I had first probably didn’t help). Drinking your own growler is not advised!
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I have had some shitty beer in my time, but this is the first one with shit in it. The folks at Mikeller thought it would be a great idea to not just brew a coffee stout, but a civet cat coffee stout.  Some supplemental reading for those of you not keen on Kopi Luwak.  Call me a skeptic (or an asshole), but I really can’t see how Mikeller could afford to brew a beer out of coffee that costs over $100/lb.

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