Up with Upland

Went to the Upland brewpub tonight to finally try their new Infinite Wisdom Tripel. After the Bloomington Brewing experience/debacle, my hopes were very low for this Belgian. One of the most pleasant surprises in recent Indiana beer history. This was legitimately great. One of my favorite Trips I've ever had (in my limited, non-Belgium visiting experience). It was pretty dark and thick for a Tripel, nice and candy sugary without being gross, very strong, and just plain excellent. Reminded me more of a quad. Huzzah Upland. They also have a new Maibock I want to try but couldn't drag myself away from the Trip. If this is still on tap in June, I will be dragging everyone there to try it. 4.6/5

Mmmmmm....chili

Confirming what we all already knew, Cincinnati was listed the "Chili Capital" of the (WORLD/Possibly America?) on MSN.com today. Damn straight. Take that Gilroy, CA...who want to be garlic capital? Not me. The corn capital debate seems to continue to rage.

*insert funny Jewish joke here*

Well, Barry's rye obsession drew me to this one despite my longtime avoidance of this brand due to fears that Jewish beer would be as bad as Jewish wine. He'brew Bittersweet Lenny's R.I.P.A. This is a rye Imperial IPA and part of the "tribute to jewish stars" collection-in this case Lenny Bruce. Probably should have followed my instincts and avoided this one. First impressions: it is really dark, almost a blood red. The rye flavor is noticeable mostly in the smell. The emphasis in the name should definitely be on the "bitter" aspect...this was one of the bitterest beers I've ever had, and the bitterness grew with the aftertaste. Not so much a "hoppy" flavor as just straight bitterness...like biting into a clove. I wasn't crazy about it. It has some of the imperial ipa flavor, but is lacking malty balance. I don't think I'll be trying this again. Disappointing because I was very much in the mood for a good beer tonight after a hard day of arguing with students and with the coordinator for my course. One of my favorite quotes actually passed through my head with brutal honesty several times during the evening ("I would kill everyone in this room for a drop of sweet beer."-Homer Simpson)

(Also, remind me sometime to go on a scathing diatribe against departmental exams). The best thing I can say...at least the alcohol content is high. 2/5

Edit: Upon further imbibery, I've found Hopslam continues to cure all that is wrong in the world. I'm buying a case or two of 'slam tomorrow if they still have any.

Double Bastard

Stone Double Bastard - Great name and great beer! Although I had this one on Sunday morning when I was in no shape to be drinking. Malt balanced and pretty hoppy (but not 'soapy' like I thought the Stone IPA tasted) 4.6/5.

Alphabetical Musings

I'm sitting here bored proctoring and putting my tests in alphabetical order, and I've
come to the conclusion that with everything typed now, we should change the alphabet and
call w "double-vee" instead of "double-you" because it just doesn't look like 2 u's
anymore it looks like 2 v's. Thoughts? Am I the first to think of this? Is there anyway to capitalize on this financially? (This was sparked out of the inordinate number
of people in my class with u, v, and w last names)

Saturday's Beers in State College

I might add some pics once I can figure out how to get them off my phone.

By my count, there were 39 different beers consumed by Pete, Neil and I.

Belgian Beer Fest:
Here were my choices:

Abbaye des Rocs Grand Cru - 9.5% ABV - Great Belgian Strong Ale - 4.5/5
Abbaye des Rocs Triple Imperiale - 10% ABV - Unique Dark Tripel - 4.6/5
Achel Brune - 8% ABV - Decent Trappist Brew - 4/5
Cantillon Iris - 5% ABV - Absolute unique Lambic. Guaranteed to taste like no other beer you have ever had. 4.3/5
De Dolle Arabier - 8% ABV - Good Belgian Blonde Ale - 3.9/5
De Dolle Dulle Teve - 10% ABV - Outstanding Tripel - 4.4/5
De Dolle Oerbier - 9% ABV - This is one of my favorites - 4.7/5
De Dolle Stille Nacht - 12% ABV - A little too alcoholly, but still a good winter beer - 4.1/5
Duchesse de Bourgogne - 6.2% ABV - A boring Sour Ale - 3.3/5
Gouden Carolus Classic - 8.5 % ABV - Another great strong ale - 4.3/5
Moinette Artisanal - 7.5 % ABV - A good saison, not my favorite style though. 3.9/5
Orval - 6.2% ABV - The most unique of the Trappist beers. It has some lambic funk to it that is great 4.3/5
St. Bernardus 12 -10.5% ABV - Another one of my favorites - 4.6/5
Struise Pannepøt - 10% ABV - Great Strong Ale, lots of anise flavor 4.4/5
Unibroue Terrible -10.5% ABV - I hadn't had this before, so I figured I'd try it. It is quite good. Maybe a little below the Trois Pistoles for me, but damn close. 4.5/5

Average ABV = 8.72%
Average Rating = 4.25/5

Damn good weekend. More to follow later.

Where are all the State College reports?

Were you guys drinking or knitting? I want to hear about some beers.

Belgian round-up

The Belgian Beer fest was fantastic. The quality of beer was topped only by the quality of the company. I think we all enjoyed ourselves, and perhpas a little too much.

Of all the Belgians I tried, the Cantillon was my favorite. My next favorite was an Abbaye Des Roche Triple. The other 40 or so beers I tasted (!) were good too - it's hard to rate a bunch of incredible beers; none were bad, but others were better. I'll add, Milwaukee Classic knows what he is talking about. MC's picks were always the best of each individual round between the three of us.

We also had some really outstanding rounds (before and) after the beer fest. The Hoppin' Frog's B.O.R.I.S. and Mikeller are off the charts. And by that I mean at least as good as good as Hopslam, perhaps better.

If only by MC's selection, Beer Fest will feature some outstanding brews. I hope my home brewed Honey IPA will register on the charts.

Some More Floyds'

Had this one yesterday sitting outside on a nice sunny day. Three Floyds Gumballhead. A wheat beer with some interesting hop flavors and maltiness going on. Like all the floyds beers, its certainly a little different. I think I like it, but it takes some getting used to. Not your typical wheat beer-I'm infinitely curious whether Barry would love this or despise it after his latest Wheat bashing rant. 3.4/5

Devil or Duane?

"Draft" beer bottle number 2

Much like Duane, Katie was sick of tasting IPA's and was hungering for a Belgian, so today's choice was the Unibroue... rhymes with wow, tastes fabulous. This is the 15th anniversary vintage and lives up to the billing. Contender with the "Terrible" as my favorite Unibroue so far. Tastes thick and flavorful like a darker version and looks light and airy like a Delirium. Lots of alcohol, lots of candy sugar. Puts the "potent" in potent potable-a definite tongue numb-ner. 4.3/5.

"Draft" Beer #1 is from a bottle?

Well, it's official. I don't like Barleywines. I've given them several chances, but my overwhelming opinion is that they taste like over-ripe prunes 1 day away from a fruit fly infestation. Not a fan. Not even Mel Kiper rates these high on his board. Flying Dog Horn Dog Barleywine. 2/5

Note: if you look closely you'll see this picture was taken exactly as the Bengals' #1 pick was coming in...I'm hoping he's better than this beer was.

Cantillon Iris

First beer of the day...a tasty lambic.

Draft day!

Let the horrible Bengals picks begin! Barry, I still remember the draft spent drinking and euching at Kathleen's old apt. with the radio draft as the best ever.

Imperial Weizen

Pours like dehydrated cloudy urine with a frothy head. Smells like bubble gum, lemon peels, and cotton candy. Taste like sweet wheat, bananas, and hops. Why don't I like this better, like the time I drank it on tap at the Old Fashioned? Oh yeah, wheat beers suck. Nice try hops, but you got stuck with an ugly dancing partner. Better than any wheat beer I've had, but what does say about the type?

3.7/5

Addendum: This may be one of the favorites at Beerfest, and is most likely delicious on a summer day, but it's just not doing it for me today.

Otto's

I was not that impressed with Otto's.

Expedited

Thought I'd give this one a new try after Duane's recent review a week or so ago. Bell's Expedition Stout. First impressions... kind of mild taste for an imperial and no overpowering alcohol taste. Also a smokey hint. Complaints... I wish it were a little less sweet/molasses-ish. Pretty solid, but not my favorite Imp Stout so far, which would probably be Yeti or Stone. 3.4/5

Imperials continue their fine line walkin'

Ok, so I have come full circle it seems. My love affair with the hops continues unabated. She is a lovely plant of intoxicating beauty. My appreciation for the imperial has risen with the tides and ebbed at the shores of Beerland. I expect alot. Imperials that over stress the alcohol content over taste have begun to frustrate me. I stand on the border with Dark Horse's Double Crooked Tree. I prefer it's smoother, sluggable little brother. Good, not great. High anticipation after getting rather drunk with Duane and Clark after slipping into Woodman's as the store was closing. Hype not equal to results upon secondary drinking.


3.9/5

Expecting some good Nittany Tide posts this weekend

Forgot to post this last night...went out to celebrate my friend Ian's successful PhD defense yesterday and had a couple of Flying Dog Doggystyle APA's. Pretty good, somewhat above average beer. Some decent flavor and hops, pretty tasty. 2.9/5

Paint counter-attack

Take that Duane!

Gargoyles again

Stone Ruination Double IPA. Another day, another imperial ipa for me, much to Duane's apparent displeasure. I think I had this beer years ago, but didn't appreciate it at the time. Now it's great. Lot's of IBU's here, seems like a Walsh special, but I liked it too. 4.5/5

Tyranena is hands down the best brewery in Wisconsin

Tyranena Devil Over a Barrel Imperial Oatmeal Porter Brewed with Coffee Beans and Aged in Bourbon Barrels - Longest beer name ever and by far their best offering to date. Tyranena's Brewers Gone Wild series are the most exciting and best beers in Wisconsin in my estimation. Better than New Glarus, although New Glarus is good. This one is the single best porter I've ever had. The coffee flavors are obvious and very tasty. The bourbon barrel flavors are present, but not overpowering. Smooth as silk...I think I could drink 40 of these. If you think you don't like coffee beers, then you should try this before passing judgment. I think this might be a perfect beer...perhaps not quite perfect, but damn close. 4.9/5

More Bungling

Cincy's decision not to trade Ocho Five-o for 2 first rounders may be the worst decision since the Rickey Williams draft when we passed on the offer of New Orleans' entire set of picks in order to retain the privilege of drafting Akili Smith. In other news, the Jared Allen trade means another few days of gratuitous Carson Palmer sack footage plastered all over ESPN. At least the Reds are doing well...oh wait, they fired their GM today two weeks into their worst start in 10 years.

Too many IPAs

There have been a disturbingly large number of IPAs recently. Chris and Barry, don't you guys drink anything else?

Battle of the barrel-aged beers!!!

Today's battle pits two formidable and unique barrel-aged beers.







Harviestoun Ola Dubh Special 16 Reserve vs. Hitachino Nest XH

The Harviestoun is aged in Highland Park 16 year old single malt scotch barrels and the Hitachino is aged in Sake casks. The Harviestoun is classified as an Old Ale (not sure exactly what that means), but it is vaguely Porter-like. The Hitachino is more or less Belgian in style, but it has some wheat beer bubble gummy flavors.

The Harviestoun has a very distinct Scotch flavor and is quite good. The Hitachino is also quite good and the sake flavor adds a nice kick to the beer. I think that I like the Hitachino a little better. It is very refreshing to have a beer from Japan actually be good.

Harviestoun Ola Dubh Special 16 Reserve: 4.2/5
Hitachino Nest XH: 4.4/5

Another great name, another great beer

Please excuse the stock photo.

Great Lakes Blackout Stout - This is another monster stout. This one is a little sweeter than some of the rest of ones I've had recently. Strong coffee flavors and roasted malts. Solid. 4.3/5.

This name seems over-used to me, but the beer is solid.

New Holland Mad Hatter IPA. Fizzy, hoppy, tasty, refreshing. Reminds me of a slightly less strong version of Hopjuice (see earlier review here). This is an IPA for a warm summer day, which today is pretty close to. 4/5

My anti-drug

Frogs for Duane

After Duane's last Hoppin' Frog review, thought I'd give this one a try. Hoppin' Frog Mean Manalishi Imperial IPA. Very hoppy beer but didn't quite have the malty/caramelly balance I would have liked. It really reminded me of something, especially the smell, but I haven't put my finger on it yet. To my taste, this is an above average beer but below average Imperial IPA. It's no Hopslam, but certainly a potent potable. 3.7/5

Updated Beer Fest Lists

I figured that since the date is more or less settled, we should build a list of beers that we have and want to bring and more importantly, beers that we want others to bring.

I would suggest editing this thread and adding your own wants and gots.

The italicized entries are the updated beers.

Duane wants:
Stone Russian Imperial Stout
Stone Arrogant Bastard
Stone IPA

Duane will bring:
Bell's Expedition Stout (4x)
Bell's Hopslam (2x)
Victory Storm King (I'll probably let Pete bring this one)
Westvleteren 12 (2x)
Westvleteren Blonde (2x)
Tyranena Hop Whore (4x)
Tyranena Dirty Old Man (4x)
Gouden Carolus Cuvee van de Keyser (bomber)
Great Divide Oak Aged Yeti Imperial Stout (bomber)
Spezial Rauchbier (1x)
De Dolle Oerbier (2x)
Struise Pannepøt (1x)
Struise Mikkeller (1x)
Founder's Kentucky Breakfast Bourbon Aged Stout (2x) (This was incredibly hard to find, so you better appreciate this one Chris)
Three Floyds Alpha Klaus (bomber)

Chris wants:
Tyranena, Lake Louie, other cool Wisconsin beers
Homebrews
Anything you've rated over 4.5 and I haven't posted about
Anything quad or imperial

Chris plans to have: (this list is fluid)
extra Hopslam
Oak Arrogant bastard
Two Brothers mead and hopjuice
Red Tail Hawk ale
Great Divide double IPA
Stone Russian Imp Stout
Avery Reverend
Some Goose Island reserves
Bloomington growler or two

Pete wants:
Hopslam on tap (pleeaaasee)
Olde Glory APA (yes.)
Spotted Cow (moooooooo)
Lake Louie Arena
New Glarus Naked (itsa niice)

Pete will bring:
Sposborth Imperial Honey IPA (hopslam killa?)
Otto's DD Imperial IPA
Otto's Imperial Stout
Any Victory suggestions?
Any Troegs suggestions?
Some random Cincinnati / Jungle Jim's beers

The Trilogy Ends with Ewoks

Mikkeller Jackie Brown - This one was just ok. It was Brown Ale, which I typically don't like, but I was excited because the Mikkeller beers are generally good. This one had a little too much skunk to it for my tastes. 3.7/5

Yummy Beer and sunshine

Lagunitas is a good brewery. They make good beer. I like drinking good beer. Maximus IPA is a good beer. Here's why: it's dubbed an imperial, but it's not overly sweet, not overly bitter, not overly malty, not overly alcoholy. It's hoppy, with extremely evident tastes of orange and pineapple, and just a bit of malt with a pronounced hop finish. It's all that is good about an IPA, with a bit more.

4.7/5

Addendum: sunshine and warm temps means I played golf today. I had fun. I am ready for beerfest.

Momo & Mojo

As Clark makes his Madison visit, we appreciate dogs and beer. Mojo IPA is not overly impressive, nor is Duane paying 1300 bills to see Pete. Duane insists on a "flacid" review, or ho-hum. I see hop as a plus, but we agree it's rather boring. Good, that's it. Clark send his love.

3.8/5

I can believe I drank the whole thing

Dogfish Head Red and White Ale.

Expensive, excellent. They brew it in part with wine (the Red part) and in whiskey barrels (the white part (?)). It's strong -10%- and tasty. But not the bee's knees. Not good enough to warrant a picture.

There will be plenty of pictures upon Duane's visit. I know how to upload pictures mobile-y, so be prepared for plenty of drunk pictures. Also I am planning to cancel classes on Friday so, Duane, we can take our drinking mobile. I am thinking we might make a trip to Williamsport to the Bullfrog Microbrewery. Saturday the Belgian Beer Fest will be rocking.

Till then!

Also, if Marvin Lewis can't sort things out with Chad J, then maybe he really can't coach.

Guest Katie Review

Dogfish Head Festina Peche.

Take some beer, say, a Stella. Make some lemonade. Mix. Drink.

You've just had a Festina Peche, which was as refreshing as a lemonade, but not necessarily something you'd want to have more than once. It was a sour, gulping beer, the sort of beer that you'd really only want after some heavy yard work. It also reminded me of a drink my uncle taught us kids how to make, called Skip 'n Go Naked. His frat brothers would mix it up for parties, and it involved vodka, beer and lemonade. Festina Peche was better than that hoppy swill Chris had (see below), which I thought was just awful. I regretted the one sip that I had of it.

2.5/5

Another Spectacular Imp IPA

Another imperial IPA, another winner. This is definitely my favorite style of beer, hands down. I don't even have much desire to try anything else anymore. Dark Horse Double Crooked Tree IPA. This was a Hopslam rival with very similar taste...in fact Katie thought that's what it was when she tasted it. The main difference was more hops flavor and no honey, so I'm guessing Barry and Duane might like it more and I'm guessing Pete will be like me and put it just behind. As a double, this truly was twice as good as the regular Crooked Tree. My only complaint is the nearly impenetrable wax top which made this the single hardest beer to open in the history of beverages. Lucky for all of you, I bought the only two in the store, and will try to save the other for June.
4.7/5


PS...I was looking at the top rated Imperial IPA's...has anyone ever seen a Russian River Pliny the Elder or Pliny the Younger? I'm dying to try these. Would also like to try some Pizza Port beers. There isn't much here in the way of California beers.

New Label category run amok

Today was Big Red stock-up day for me and I wanted some ideas for good stuff, so I went through and added a new "4+" label for everything we've rated 4 or higher. Turns out that's almost everything (51 total so far and counting). I'm probably the worst grade inflating culprit. Curious, do you think we're getting better at buying things we'll like, or are we just starting to like beer more and more? Discuss amongst yourselves.
Some good reviews coming this week...an imperial rye in honor of Barry and some cool looking IPAs, belgians, and stouts. Also got a 12 pack of hopslam for beerfest...we'll see how long that lasts. The 6 pack I got when Barry and Pete made their wager is long gone. I may have to go back and get a case or two.

Which King Will Reign Supreme?

Here's a special edition of Battle of the Beers. Yesterday, I had a Victory Storm King immediately followed by Three Floyds Alpha King.

Labels: Creepy, storm hawk versus super creepy hop king. I think the edge has to go to the Alpha King, but just by a little bit.


















Taste: Maybe this was because I had the Storm King first, but I thought the Storm King totally overpowered the Alpha King. I think the Storm King is much hoppier and has a lot more flavor. I'm surprised, but the victory goes to the Victory Storm King.

The Empire Strikes Back...

Mikkeller Black Hole - Personally, I think that Black Hole is a great name for a imperial stout. This one was pretty good. Some chocolate and fruity notes and a fair amount of hops. A solid stout. At 13.1% alcohol, I was more or less drunk after one beer. 4.2/5

The watery version...

Comparison beer: Two Brothers The Bitter End APA. This has really similar flavors to the flying dog but less of all of them. The hops, malt, and spice are all muted, and it tastes as if I opened the flying dog and melted 3 or 4 ice cubes in it. It just tastes watery and muted. I wonder if I'd had them in the other order what I'd think. Overall, this is ok and would be a great pounder on a hot day to cool off, but is not a stellar sipping beer. 2.8/5.

Two Brothers roundup: My favorites so far are Hopjuice, Mead, and the Rye. I could skip the french ale and the pale ale.

Who is frustrating me more?

Chad Johnson or the Reds? It's a toss up.
In beer-related news however, I'm drinking a Flying Dog Snake Dog IPA. Fabulous. One of my favorite IPA's ever I think. For me, this is a near-perfect balance of hoppy, spicy, and malty. Seems to be universally hated on Ratebeer.com, but I like it. 4.5/5

Black hole sun, won't you come...

Tonight's the night to crack open my Three Floyd's Black Sun Stout. Currently warming up closer to room temp from the fridge...I will update this in a few minutes with the results. From the smell and looks, I'm cautiously optimistic, although the fiendish sun on the label is creeping me out a bit.

RESULTS: Wow, this was a very unique stout. It had the thick black oily-ness of an imperial, the sweet bourbon-y flavor of an oak barrel, and the creaminess of a milk. Crazy. At first you taste the sweet creamy flavor, and as that fades you're hit with some strong hoppy hints. A definite Floyd's brew with all the weird conflicting flavors. Took me a minute to get into it, and it definitely needs to warm up for the flavors to come out, but by the end I was a convert. This was a good beer. If I can find another I'll save one for beer fest.
4/5.

More Barleywine

Forgot to post this last night...tried another barleywine. This time: Clipper City Heavy Seas Below Decks. I'm still not sure how I feel about this style. I definately don't hate it, but am not sure that I love it either. I'm going to keep trying a few more I think. Very flavorful, but maybe a little sweeter/fruitier and maltier than I wish they were. Beginning to grow on me a bit though. 3/5.

A Danish trilogy begins...

Mikkeller All Others Pale - Wow, a beer that is less that 9% alcohol for once. This one is a Danish take on the American Pale Ale. This one does not disappoint. Lots of hops at the finish and smooth and drinkable as well. This one is knocking on the door of Alpha King quality, but not quite there yet. However, this beer is quite good and a good start to the trilogy. 4/5

Best beer name ever

Quite often, when I buy a beer purely because I like the name of the beer, I regret it dearly (see my Pizza Beer post). Thankfully, this was not the case with this one.

Hoppin' Frog B.O.R.I.S The Crusher Oatmeal Imperial Stout - For some reason, I love the name BORIS The Crusher for an Imp Stout. Unlike the Expedition Stout, which is a definitely sipping beer, this one is an Imp Stout that you can pound. This, of course, makes it a very dangerous beer. I don't know if I've had a stout like this that is as smooth as this one.

The oatmeal taste and aroma are unmistakeable. Other tastes are dark chocolate and strong malts with just enough hops, but not as hoppy as some Imp Stouts I've had recently. This is one outstanding beer from a brewery I've never had before. This one is a repeater if I can ever find it again. I consider my taste buds crushed. 4.8/5

PS: Notice that the O's in Hoppin' Frog are beer mugs. Nice touch

Hopsickle....the end of a trilogy

Hmmmm......there is a delicate balance that the best of IPA's, or their evil counterparts in the double or imperial realm, need to achieve. This is more hoppy than malty, bitter and sticky, and improves as it warms. I'm not sure why I drank the first glass cool. However, the alcohol, like the previous double in this series, is not that well hidden. This is a negative. As a Duane-dubbed hopaholic, it's very hoppy, but it needs more. I love the hops, I don't dig the astrigency that comes with the high alcohol.

3.8/5

Beer Magazines

For airplane reading, I went through a few beer magazines this week and thought I'd share my findings. The big winner: "All about Beer" magazine. This was a fun read and good enough that I would actually consider subscribing. I learned a lot and generally agreed with their reviews. Of note: a discussion of oak and the use of barrels vs. wood chips. Barry and Pete, we need to discuss getting some bourbon oak chips for your next homebrew projects.

A close second: "Draft" magazine. This had a little more flash and a little less substance but was still pretty good. Bonus points awarded for having John O'Hurley (ie: Mr. Peterman) on the cover.

The big loser: "Beer" magazine. Truly awful. This one is written to the audience of 19 year old frat guys who have just discovered Busch and Naty light. There was nothing redeeming about this one.

Last lunch in Denver

Before leaving on an epically long journey home (I got in at 2:45am last night...ouch. Also, Harper and Katie were unmoved by my return and just wanted to go back to sleep. Man's best friend indeed) I had one last lunch in Denver, and returned to the Falling Rock for some more unique tap beers. First item of note: It was only 2 days since my last visit, but there was an entirely new beer menu. It seems they print up a new one every few days. I would estimate this was maybe 10-20% different, which was cool, although a few of the ones I had wanted to try were now gone. D'oh!
Beer #1: New Belgium Mighty Arrow APA. This was solid...pretty hoppy for an APA and good flavor. One of the better New Belgium's I've had but not earth shattering. 3.8/5

Beer #2: I wanted to try another Odell after the IPA I had the first time, so this was the Odell 5 Barrel English Pale Ale. Another Odell winner. I was searching for descriptive words for this one, and settled on "balanced." It was smooth and flavorful, hoppy but not a smack in the face. The type of beer I think we'd all like and highly chuggable. 4/5.

Beer #3: After two hoppy-ish beers and a lunch, I was kind of in the mood for something sweeter or dessert-ish so I opted for a nice dark Belgian. There were tons in bottles but I didn't remember Duane's reviews and didn't want to pick wrong so I decided to go for one of the few they had on tap and got what was listed on the menu as a Maersous 8. A ratebeer and then subsequent google search yielded an astounding ZERO hits for "maersous" so who knows what this really was. It was pretty good. Not *exactly* what I was aiming for with the flavor I had in my head that I wanted, but pretty close. This was alot like the Unibroues. Solid but kind of unmemorable. 3.8/5
EDIT: Thanks to Duane this has been identified as a Maredsous 8. Way to type Falling Rock Tap Room.

Final thoughts: The beers I chose on trip 2 to the falling rock were slightly less good, but I still loved the bar and highly recommend it. The only drawback was that both visits I found the waitstaff to be pretty grumpy, but they were also overworked and understaffed, so I will let it slide. I would also like to take the opportunity to slam the type of people who go to a bar like this and order a Bud light in a bottle. I'm looking at you, guy next to me. My other complaint is that the menu breaks down your choices by: Pale, Amber, and Dark and not by actual type of beer which is kind of awkward and confusing, especially since half the IPA's are in "Pale" and half are in "Amber" and because the names usually aren't very descriptive. Oh well.

Heresy on a beer blog

Drinking a glass of wine today. For my health. It's Dyed-in-the-Wool for the record. A Pinot Noir, and it's hitting the spot.

Duane, a Baltic Thunder will be brung. What a great name for a beer.

Successful beer run to Chicago and bonus review

I spend way too much money today at a sweet Chicago liquor store (West Lakeview Liquors) where lots of imperial stouts are queued up to try now. Some of the "Beers for me" could become "Beers for Beerfest" with a little bit of lobbying.

Beers for me:
Mikkeller Black Hole (Imperial Stout)
Mikkeller Jackie Brown (Brown Ale)
Mikkeller Stateside IPA
Mikkeller All Others Pale (APA)
Hoppin' Frog BORIS the Crusher (Bodacious Oatmeal Russian Imperial Stout)
Great Divide Oak Aged Yeti Imperial Stout
6er of Alpha King
Nøgne Imperial Stout
Hitachino XH

Beers for Beerfest
De Dolle Oerbier (x2)
Struise Pannepøt
Struise Mikkeller
Gouden Carolus Cuvee van de Keyser
Spezial Rauchbier

On to the review:
Bell's Expedition Stout - I'm surprised that no one has reviewed this before, since this is Bell's best beer in my estimation. Much better than HopSlam :) Yet another example of a beer that needs to warm up a bit before you drink it. Nice roasted malts and huge hops at the end. Almost a perfect imperial stout. Probably the second best imperial stout I've had (#1 being the Struise Black Albert that I had in Belgium). 4.7/5

Victory Baltic Thunder

Excellent porter by the folks at Victory. Their marketing dept. is on its game with this beer's label and I love the name as well. As for taste, The Baltic Thunder is nutty and creamy like a good malted milk. Somewhat oily on the glass. Highly recommended. Best dark beer I've tried this season. 4/5.

From the label, "Exhibiting the enticing, toffee roast of the British porters of the 18th century...."

Definitely tastes like toffee.

Final Denver Day

My paper was well received this morning, so that was nice. Bad news for Barry though, my findings basically suggest that schools should really be paying math and science teachers differently than humanities teachers. Sorry. Then again, this is high school so I'll let you off the hook for middle school.
Time for one last lunch before I head to the airport. I think I'll go back to the Falling Rock and sample a few more rarities.

Happy Hour Day 2: Great Divide

Great Divide tap room. This was very much a "tap room" and very much NOT a "brew pub". Also kind of ghetto neighborhood...the taproom closes at 8, which I think is because leaving there buzzed after that would make you easy mugging bait. Around the corner was the local rescue mission where about 200 people seemed to be lining up for a bed when I left-rather depressing.
Back to the beer: There was kind of a homemade looking little bar in front of a giant window looking into the main brewery room and enough room for about 20 people. Not even any TV's or snacks. One thing to do here: drink good beer.
I happened to plop myself down next to a friendly local beer enthusiast and we passed the time discussing both education policy and beer. He was originally from Grand Rapids and his home bar there was Founder's. He was also well versed in Bell's and New Holland.
My beers of choice: #1 was the Hercules Double IPA that I reviewed last week. Just as good fresh out of the tap, but this batch seemed hoppier to me. Excellent. 4.2/5
Next up: Oak Aged Yeti Imperial Stout. Wow...this was fantastic. Maybe my favorite Imperial Stout ever. The bourbon-y oaky flavor really came out with some vanilla, coffee, chocolate flavors. Fabulous. 4.8/5.

Also purchased: the best shirt you've ever seen. This will be unveiled at beerfest.

Denver Lunch, Day 2: Wynkoop Brewery

The whirlwind tour of Denver beers and Education Finance Reform continued yesterday with entries into both categories.
Lunch consisted of a visit to Wynkoop Brewery. My general critique of this brewpub establishment, which is listed in the top 50 places to drink a beer in the world, is that it is more "pub" than "brew." I have similar complaints for this and the Dane, in that the beers are kind of safe and bland usually and more emphasis is put on the atmosphere and food. All in all, enjoyable but not amazing.
Beer #1: Monkey Fist IPA. This was hand pulled from the cask and pretty good. Not very hoppy or malty...kind of lacking big flavor or definition, but solid. 3/5
Beer #2: Railyard Ale. I think this is an "oktoberfest" style beer whatever that means. Basically it was kind of like an amber that was more filling than good. 2/5.
Food: Crab cake and soft pretzels, both very good.