BoozeReviews.net

Where it all began. My first time with Bear Republic’s Racer 5 on tap was at the Zeitgeist biker (mountain, street, motorized and otherwise) bar in San Francisco. I clearly remember marveling at two things in particular: the fantastic pint of hoppy creaminess I was imbibing, and the dude sitting at the other end of the wooden picnic table who proceeded to roll, and then promptly smoke something that smelled equally as delicious as the floral, fruity aroma lingering from the frothy, creamy head of my pint. This was the beginning of the lupulin threshold shift, the shift that pushed such respectable pale ales as Sierra Nevada and Stone solely into the realm of ‘beer pong’ beers, or perhaps session beers if, unkindly, such session is limited to 10 seconds.

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No kids tonight, so a little solo session. Finished with this beer, so I attempted the following drunken review:

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Just slugged a 22 oz. bomber (6.5% ABV) of one of the most recent releases from Tomme Arthur’s The Lost Abbey. As I drank it, I continually reminded myself “self, this is a saison style ale, appreciate it for what it is.” While contemplating the yeasty banana characteristics of this brew, I realized that one of the issues I have with Belgian style brews relates to the fact that, as a wine drinker, I have been conditioned to throw up (”throw up,” in no way reflects my reaction to this beer) red flags when I encounter overt bretty flavors. Don’t get me wrong, we are talking about mild brett funk in this beer, not Tijuana hooker yeast infection. Anyway, I managed to embrace the funk.

Poured a hazy golden color, medium head. Aromas of banana, maybe a little peach, a slight hint of citrus (due to American hops?), and aforementioned brett/funk. Taste was fruity/yeasty/a little bit of hoppy citrus peeking through (see above TJ/yeast reference, and add a beer-soaked lime wedge from your Pacifico). I felt like it lacked a little carbonation? Went down very easy, maybe due to the fact that I was craving and looking forward to something hoppy and bitter to go with the goddamn Kettle brand Thai potato chips that were burning my mouth. Shit, I admit to enjoying this beer despite my xenophobic views of Belgian beer, however, I am not rushing out to purchase it again for the $8.99 I paid.

87 points on the Boozereviews sliding scale.

T-h-e. Three letters. So simple, yet so profound. Anytime a name starts with “the,” that thing being described had better be good…no, it had better be the best.

“The” makes the promise of nonpareil sublimity, of prominence, of unparalleled perfection. Baseball had it’s version with “The Babe,” a larger than life spectacle whose off the field boozery was overshadowed only by his then unreachable home run record. He was a champion, the unrivaled quintessence of what a baseball player should be. George Herman Ruth just doesn’t have the same ring.

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After being stuck to countless growlers of Alpine Beer Company’s Obrien’s IPA, I forced myself to go out and seek sunlight and the companionship of really good pizza. So I ventured off in the batmobile to Pizza Port in Carlsbad to sample some good IPA’s on tap; one that really stuck out was their own Poor Man’s Double IPA. It is often said in the charlatan circles of beerspeak, that the closer you get to a brewery, the better tasting the beer. Whether it be Guinness in Ireland, Heineken in the Amsterdam, or Dos Equis in Mexico, beer, like vagina, is always best when fresh. This pearl of wisdom certainly held true for the beer sampled on this lovely occassion. Read more »

As described by Tom Nickel, owner of O’Brien’s Pub (December 2007):

The new O’Brien’s IPA from Alpine Beer Company is a collaboration between owner/brewer Pat McIllhenny (Alpine Beer Company) and Tom Nickel (O’Brien’s Pub). (Editor’s note: Tom even got to go to the brewery to help make this masterpiece. Versatile!) It is a 6.2% alcohol, golden colored IPA with tons of hops. The hops used for this brew include: Columbus, Centennial, Cascade, Amarillo, and Simcoe. The end product is nice and bitter with a very full flavor of hops. Read more »

Sampled this porter tonight after downing a few other big IPA’s, a change-up to the status quo of big hopped beers as of late. With the cold weather upon us, and the new chimenea burning, it was the perfect time to give this one a go. Read more »

I picked up a 22 oz. bottle of this old favorite on the way back from the sperm bank. I’ve been a little low on cash lately, but surprisingly full of the “sauce of life.” To make a short story even shorter, I bought the bottle with my “winnings” and headed home to ice down my marbles. Read more »

Last bottle of Stone’s 11th Anniversary Black IPA in the fridge, so here it goes…

First, just looking at the beer, this is one dark IPA. Not Darth Vader dark, more of a Montel Williams meets Flavor Flav kind of dark. When I think of Stone– IPA, Ruination, and Arrogant Bastard immediately come to mind. 11th Anniversary is a major deviation from this tried-and-true formula for creating successful beers.

At a distance, this could be confused for a porter or stout. At 8.7% alcohol by volume, it is a fairly heavy beer, nicely carbonated , and pours with a tan, frothy head. If you have ever been fellaeshed by a drooler in Hawaii, you know what I’m talking about here. Read more »

Despite the love I currently have for the many local breweries in San Diego, I have to admit that at least three of my current top ten breweries are from the northern half of California. Lagunitas (”LAH-goo-KNEE-tuss”) Brewing Company is definitely on that short list. The Imperial Red Ale is 7.6% ABV and 84.2 IBU. The initial whiff out of the glass smelled like caramel covered pine trees (wtf?). My wife said the smell of the beer made her think of smelling a fragrant flower that had been dunked in beer. The initial flavor is caramelly malt and is followed by an intense, long, hoppy finish. As the beer warmed up it either took on other taste characteristics (bread, citrus) or I was feeling buzzed due to an empty stomach. Overall, an abundantly hoppy red ale that is perfect for cold weather drinking. 92/100 points on the BoozeReviews scale.