Another day, another good Imperial Stout

Oskar Blues Ten Fidy Imperial Stout - I almost titled this thread "Best beer ever to come out of a can". I'm not sure why Oskar Blues cans instead of bottles, but who am I to argue if it is good. Good tastes of chocolate and nice oily palate. This is probably the heaviest bodied beer I've ever had. At 90 IBUs, there is good bitterness for the hop types and huge malts to satisfy me. Top notch. It will be added to the Beerfest list shortly. Probably a little better than the Storm King, but I need a head-to-head battle to tell for sure.

4.6/5

IPA Champ? Hmmm.....

I am drinking Green Flash Brewing Co's West Coast IPA, the beer that won the great IPA tournament recently. It's creamy, really hoppy and really bitter. It's rather unrelenting, with a constant pummeling of resin and hops and a hint of bitter pineapple; finishes very dry. I want to really love this beer and it's good, but I've had better.

4/5

Happy birthday Pete! (One day late I think)

Happy birthday to Pete. The big 3-1 I believe? Congratulations on cheating death for one more year...invincible!

Chris Beer list

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 has stashed away: (this list is fluid-ha!)
extra Hopslam (I have 11 left at the moment and am trying to keep at least 8)
Oak Arrogant bastard (6 pack)
Left Hand Chainsaw (2 vintages for blind tasting)
Breckenridge 471 (bomber and part of a six pack is left)
Dark Horse Double IPA (1 bottle)
Stone Ruination (6 pack)
Two brothers Mead (22oz)
Great Divide Hercules (22oz)
Dogfish 120 minute IPA (4 pack)

Chris plans to have:
Red Tail Hawk ale
3 floyds black sun stout
Bloomington growler or two
Hoppin Frogs for Duane (if Pete doesn't find them)
Beer Valley Leafer Madness Imperial Pale Ale
Green Flash Imperial IPA
Ninkasi Tricerahops Double IPA
Other various surprises and cool things that appear in the next two weeks

Label suggestion for Sposborth imperial stout

Katie just sent me a link to this picture of a volcano eruption during a thunderstorm. It has a certain old testament, wrath-of-god, sort of quality to it. Plus it have lighting coming out of lava which is always cool. Very glad I don't live in Chile.

Updated Beer Fest List

Latest entries

The italicized entries are the updated beers.

Duane wants:
Hoppin' Frog varieties
Victory Storm King (Pete)

Duane will bring:
Bell's Expedition Stout (2x)
Westvleteren 12 (2x)
Westvleteren Blonde (2x)
Tyranena Hop Whore (4x)
Tyranena Dirty Old Man (4x)
Tyranena Devil Over a Barrel (4x)
New Glarus Unplugged Imperial Weizen (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 (2x)
Founder's Kentucky Breakfast Bourbon Aged Stout (2x)
Three Floyds Alpha Klaus (bomber)
Cantillon Classic Gueuze (750 ml)
Mikkeller Santa's Little Helper (750 ml)
St Bernardus Christmas Ale (750 ml)
Hair of the Dog Adam (2x)
Struise Pannepot (2x)
Alaskan Smoked Porter (bomber)
Alesmith Yulesmith Winter Holiday Ale (bomber)
Stone Imperial Russian Stout (bomber)
Nøgne Ø Imperial Stout (500 ml)
Nøgne Ø #100 DIPA (500 ml)

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 has stashed away: (this list is fluid-ha!)
extra Hopslam (I have 11 left at the moment and am trying to keep at least 8)
Oak Arrogant bastard (6 pack)
Left Hand Chainsaw
Breckenridge 471
Dark Horse Double IPA

Chris plans to have:
Ruination
Two Brothers mead and hopjuice
Red Tail Hawk ale
Great Divide Hercules
Bloomington growler or two
Hoppin Frogs for Duane
Beer Valley Leafer Madness Imperial Pale Ale
Green Flash Imperial IPA
Ninkasi Tricerahops Double IPA
Other various surprises and cool things that appear in the next month

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

Pete will bring:

Otto's DD IPA
Otto's Maibock Lager
Otto's Mt. Nittany Pale Ale
Stone IPA
Troegs Hopback Amber
Troegs Nugget Nectar (haven't found this one yet)
Victory Baltic Thunder
Victory Hopdevil
Victory Old Horizontal Barley Wine Ale
Victory Storm King
Sposborth Honey APA
Sly Fox Rte. 113 IPA
Abita Jockamo IPA
Thomas Hardy's Old Ale
Some random Cincinnati / Jungle Jim's beers

Dogfish Head's Other Ridiculously Large Beer

Dogfish Head World Wide Stout - This beer borders on the ridiculous. At 18% ABV, this is the strongest beer I've ever had. Honestly, it does not taste like it is that strong. The aroma is very boozy. The taste, however, not so. It is quite smooth for a beer of this magnitude, but it is almost entire malty in character and thus comes off a bit sweet for me. That being said, this is a good beer, but not the best diesel stout I've had.

4.3/5

Beer list

Add your own beers to this list if you want and, secondly, if you've tried any of these beers please let me know - 'cause I'd like to only bring beers that are hard to find or worth trying. (E.g. if the Stone or Abita are easy to get where you live I'll find something else.)

Otto's DD IPA
Otto's Maibock Lager
Otto's Mt. Nittany Pale Ale
Stone IPA
Troegs Hopback Amber
Troegs Nugget Nectar (haven't found this one yet)
Victory Baltic Thunder
Victory Hopdevil
Victory Old Horizontal Barley Wine Ale
Victory Storm King
Sposborth Honey APA
Sly Fox Rte. 113 IPA
Miller Lite
Abita Jockamo IPA
Thomas Hardy's Old Ale

I'm going to pick up all the Hoppin' Frogs I can get at the brewery and still plan on hitting Jungle Jim's before I go.

Bell's Two Hearted

Smells good, tastes like perfume and flowers with a slightly bitter hop finish.

4/5

Chris, tee times yet? We are getting close and my liver is quivering with anticipation.

But if we have such another victory, we are undone.

Victory Old Horizontal Barley Wine.

Found another seasonal brew by Victory. I'm fairly ignorant of Barley Wines. This one tastes good to me. Very spicy. Smells of figs and whiskey. Oaken.

4/5.

A new (to me) Floyd's entry

3 Floyd's Rabbid Rabbit Belgian Farmhouse ale/Saison. This was another one of those Floyd's products that is just kind of weird. There's just something that's not quite right about it. I don't love it, but I'm also not sure I like the style either, so that could be the issue. It is vaguely reminiscent of a blue moon with a lot of orange in it...very yeasty and sour. 2.8/5

Hail Storm King

Storm King. Picked up a 6 pack today - first time I've seen this sixer (rather than by the case at the distributor). Yeah, heavy and a bottle of bread, sums it up. Tastes hoppy at first then more like espresso toward the finish. Strong flavor. Very good. The malt profile is outstanding. I could drink this one all night.. but won't.

Milwaukeeclassic, I've got two of these in the beer fest beer chest with your name on them.

Since I don't do fractions, 4/5.

Holy Grail of Beer

Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA
This beer meets two important criteria:
1) Best beer I've ever drunk
2) Most drunk I've ever been after a beer

So, this beer has single handedly changed my dinner plans from take-out to delivery. At 21% alcohol. this packs a punch (and is therefore requiring significant editing during this typing session). If you ever see this beer, buy every one they have in the store, regardless of price. If a second mortgage is required, call the bank and do what you have to do to buy all of these. I don't know how they spend that extra half hour, but however it is, I'm not sure it should be legal.

I came home after a fairly exhausting summer-school-Friday ready for a nice beer. This particular beer is socking it to me, in a good way. This is like a Hopslam, with twice the hop flavor (still tasty and balanced, not bitter) and twice the alcohol. Best of all worlds unless you are a state trooper, who would probably not agree. I'm going back whenever the liquor store opens tomorrow and buying all of these that they have, even though they are like $9 a 12 oz. The single greatest beer I've ever imbibed. I will try to save one or two for beerfest, but in all honesty I'm not sure I have the willpower. 10/5

Furthering the Belgian sampling

At Duane's recommendation I picked up one of these today: Trappistes Rochefort 10. Gotta say this is a tasty beverage. It reminds me a lot of some of the Unibroues, with the big difference being a little more alcohol burn aftertaste, which I guess sounds like a bad thing, but is actually pleasant and warming like a peppermint. I'm not sure this is the perfect beer, but I like it. 4.6/5

Katie's out of town...

...so I can have all the beer I want. At least until she reads this, which she probably will. D'oh! Stupid internet. Also on the downside, she took the camera with her so no pictures-we'll have to make due with pitiful website images (ala Barry Walsh)
Beer number one: Another Unibroue, the Unibroue Seigneuriale. This is lighter than most of the others I've had, but still good. Lots of spicy flavor without the ripe fruit flavors of some of the darker ones. Lower alcohol content and taste as well. Not my favorite but pretty solid. 3.8/5

Of the Unibroue's I've had, I would rate them best to worst(or more accurately, least best...none of them are bad) in the following order:
La Terrible
Unibroue 15
Maudite
Trois Pistoles
Seigneuriale

I'd get one of these for a tattoo

If Barry were to get a tattoo, what would it be?

This is my best guess.

Yay Beer Order

Struise Pannepot - This is probably my favorite beer. The aroma is outstanding, smelling of dark fruits and spice. This beer is incredibly well-carbonated for the style, which something that not everyone likes, but I like a lot. Smoother than the Sint Bernardus Abt 12. I think better than the Rochefort 10. Maybe not quite as good as the Westvleteren 12, but damn close.

The taste is of Belgian yeast, candi sugar, and nice and spicy. If you do not like this beer, then you do not like beer.

4.9/5

Brewing idea

Pete...I just poured a hopslam into a glass, and as I was doing it I was holding it over a carton of fresh strawberries that Katie had on the counter. Now, I'm not usually the biggest fruit beer fan, but I couldn't help but notice that the smell of the strawberries matched the smell and taste of the Hopslam very nicely (possibly "perfectly"). Curious if you think a strawberry honey Sposborth APA would taste good. Also, I don't think I've ever seen a stawberry beer (rasberry, blueberry, cherry- yes, but no staw)...could be a million dollar idea. Or, more likely, could be undrinkably gross.

Updated Beer Fest List

Since the beer shipment arrived, my list has changed a bit.

The italicized entries are the updated beers.

Duane wants:
Hoppin' Frog varieties
Victory Storm King (Pete)

Duane will bring:
Bell's Expedition Stout (2x)
Westvleteren 12 (2x)
Westvleteren Blonde (2x)
Tyranena Hop Whore (4x)
Tyranena Dirty Old Man (4x)
Tyranena Devil Over a Barrel (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 (2x)
Founder's Kentucky Breakfast Bourbon Aged Stout (2x)
Three Floyds Alpha Klaus (bomber)
Cantillon Classic Gueuze (750 ml)
Mikkeller Santa's Little Helper (750 ml)
St Bernardus Christmas Ale (750 ml)
Hair of the Dog Adam (2x)
Struise Pannepot (2x)
Alaskan Smoked Porter (bomber)
Green Flash Imperial IPA (for Chris)
Ninkasi Tricerahops Double IPA (for Chris)
Alesmith Yulesmith Holiday Ale (bomber)
Stone Imperial Russian Stout (bomber)
Beer Valley Leafer Madness Imperial Pale Ale (for Chris)

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 has stashed away: (this list is fluid-ha!)
extra Hopslam (I have 11 left at the moment and am trying to keep at least 8)
Oak Arrogant bastard (6 pack)
Left Hand Chainsaw
Breckenridge 471
Dark Horse Double IPA

Chris plans to have:
Ruination
Two Brothers mead and hopjuice
Red Tail Hawk ale
Great Divide Hercules
Bloomington growler or two
Hoppin Frogs for Duane
Whatever I ordered from Duane and have since forgotten
Other various surprises and cool things that appear in the next month

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 Bounty is in. The bounty is good.

Nectar Ale's IPA tastes of passion fruit, papaya, and guava. Creamy mouthfeel, actually "nectary". I dig it. I feel the need to edit this after drinking this beer side by side with the Alpha King. It's better.

4.2/5

Sadly, the good stout streak comes to a end

Bear Republic Big Bear Black Stout - I wasn't a huge fan on this one. It wasn't terrible, but the malts weren't that presents and the hops had that same soapy taste that I don't like. The other Bear Republic beers are better.

3.4/5

Forget the NRA...this is a lobby group I can support

Newsweek Article: US Brewers Bid for Influence on Capitol Hill.

Sposborth Imperial Rye Bourbon Honey Whiskey Cask-conditioned Triple Quadrupel American Pale Ale

vs.

Alright, I'll settle for calling it:

Sposborth Imperial Honey APA - Pete was calling it an IPA, but it seems more like an APA to me. And a good APA at that. So good that I immediately followed it up with an Alpha King and I could barely tell the difference. The Sposborth was stronger than the Alpha King and a little darker. The hops were a little subtler in the Sposborth than the Alpha King, which is by no means a bad thing. The fact that this beer is drawing comparison to the Alpha King should speak volumes.

I'm not sure I could taste the honey, but I don't think that really matters very much. The bottom line that is that this very good beer and homebrewing is where it is at.

4.4/5

Above average for an Indiana beer...

Mad Anthony IPA. This was purchased in my stubborn attempt to support Indiana breweries. Surprisingly, it actually was pretty good. A little bitter for my taste, but very flavorful and very un-lame. I guess overall it was a pretty run-of-the-mill IPA, but not bad at all. I would happily drink another. 3.2/5

Chainsaw, 2008 edition

Catching up from a few days of slow posting. The Left Hand Chainsaw has changed bottle logos, so I got both to try and compare. I will put the 2007 away for beer fest (the last one in the store). If you recall my previous review, I loved it as one of my favorite beers of all time.

The 2008 vintage is almost as good, but seems a little thinner with less complex flavors. It is "bottle conditioned" so maybe our resident brewers can tell whether it is likely to be the aging that leads to the difference (and whether or not it would improve if I stashed a couple bottles away for a year). Verdict: Still great, but not quite as great. 4.7/5

Nøgne Ø #100

Nøgne Ø #100 - Believe it or not, this very dark beer is a Imperial IPA. And a very enjoyable Imperial IPA at that. The most unique characteristic was the head, which was incredibly creamy for this style. Sweet maltiness is nicely balanced with huge hops. This is simply one of the best IIPAs I've had...especially for one that is coming out of Europe (Norway)

4.7/5

Knot Stock

I have to admit that I like this beer. It pours beautifully to a slightly hazy orange with a thin creamy head. Very much a beer that you drink many of. Timing may be everything, and maybe it's the weather. It's a pale ale, well hopped, with a lightly tingling and bitter finish of black pepper. If you weren't aware that it was brewed with pepper, you may just find it bitter. Once identified though, the pepper taste is enjoyable along with the hops. Surely not an awesome big beer, but one that I'd like to bring to beerfest for people to try. I'm curious if Duane's had this, and of his thoughts.

4/5

Nøgne Ø Imperial Stout

Nøgne Ø Imperial Stout - Big malts domintated this one. Alcohol content was not noticable, although this one isn't too high at only 9% ABV. Bitter and tasty

4.3/5

I'm way behind on posting

Perhaps it is because I've been drinking too much...
Trappistes Rochefort 10 - This is a classic Trappist beer and probably the finest beer that is easily available commercially. Smells and tastes of dark fruit and great mouthfeel. The mouthfeel is what makes this one probably slightly better that the St Bernardus Abt 12, but not by much.

4.6/5

Instant Karma

I got a couple of bagels and some juice for breakfast today at one of my preferred bagel establishments (Also the BBC-Bloomington Bagel CO., not to be confused with Bloomington Brewing CO. or Bluegrass Brewing Co.) The service was bad and the bagel-ist was talking to her friends instead of serving me properly, so when I gave her a $10 for my $7.20 bill, I received $7.20 in change instead of 2.80. I started to walk away thinking it served her right for poor service (she didn't even slice my bagels or spread the cream cheese-she gave me a little cup of it on the side?!?!) but thought better of it and turned around to correct her mistake.
This seems to happen to me about once every 2 or 3 months and I seem to react differently every time (I'm not always good-especially at a bar. I feel like a bar is the wild west and every man for himself. I also oddly seem more likely to keep it the more it is, which is very wrong. My best bar experience ever was when I gave a 20 and got change for a 50 back on a $6 tab-it was too loud and crazy there to attempt to fix it, so I left a $5 tip and walked away). Thoughts? My prediction: Duane keeps the change, Barry gives it back and Pete *almost* always gives it back. Or, possibly Duane always gives it back and I'm the only one who considers not giving it back.

Hard to Break the Big Beer Bias

After drinking so many big beers, it gets easy to find any non-imperial, non-double, non mega hop infused brew to be simply meh. I fall victim to it all the time. Happily, I've found a beer that is pretty tasty, and a regular old pale. Great Lake's Burning River reminds me of a poor man's Two Hearted. Maybe it's the Cascade hops. It's fruity, a tad hoppy, and very floral...hence the similarity to Bell's yummy IPA. Nice.

4.25/5

Sly Fox Rt. 113 IPA

Sly Fox is a Philadelphia brewery and the Rt 113 IPA is brewed at a smaller facility in Royersford (which I've never heard of). I stumbled across it at a bottle shop I don't usually go to, but might start, since this is a rare beer to find in town. I also wanted to find something you fellows can't get..

To sum up: Hoppy. It is very hoppy. Hopheads should seek out this beer.

4.5/5

Hoppy.

Update: This hop-o-tastic offering is brewed on the Schuylkill River. Bonus points if you can pronounce that. According to the bottle, Rt 113 has 113 IBU's. (Hopslam has 106.)

Southern Tier Part Deux

Southern Tier's IPA is another beer from this brewery with some dumbass nonsensical label claim. What is an iso-alpha acid experience? This beer smalls great upon poor, but the color is almost perfectly clear.....in my opinion, a bad sign for an IPA. It tastes pretty good, likes some hops and some caramel, and a bit fizzy and tingly on the tongue. I drank it in ten minutes. It good, that's it.

3.8/5

Yeti stout...now Oak Free!

I thought I'd see if the regular Yeti was as good as the oak version. I'm happy to say that it is. Both are great, and I'm not even sure I'd say one is better than the other...just different.
This is a great imperial stout. I think my current ranking is:
1. Boris
1a. Oak Yeti
1b. Yeti
2. Stone Russian Imperial.

So my Yeti ranking I guess should reflect that...we'll call it 4.7

I'm out of witty Frog comments

This is a leftover post from yesterday, but rest assured the beer was fresh.
Hoppin' Frog take 4. Golden Fraug. Another Frog, another winner. This was, actually much to my surprise, one of my favorite Belgians of recent weeks. For some reason, from the name I was expecting something light and wattery...possibly Hoegarden-esque, so I was pleasantly surprised when I started pouring and saw some amber goodness. Then I took a sip, and was proven correct. This was quite good...it had some spice flavor and body, although not tons, and definitely had some alcohol kick. Katie pronounced me "wrecked" after I downed the bottle...I would argue that was a gross overstatement, but there was at least a grain of truth there. This was a great beer. 4.5/5

Hoppin' Frog recap:
Boris Oatmeal Imp Stout=great
Hoppin' to Heaven IPA=great
Mean Manalishi Imp IPA=good
Golden Fraug Belgian=great

Pretty impressive. Many thanks to Duane for introducing us to these. I think now I'm going to try the Wheat and the Black & Tan, which I had no interest in, but which I feel compelled to at least sample. Stay tuned.

Funktastic

Struise Struiselensis - I would best describe this as a Belgian funk ale. This one is brewed with Brettanomyces wild yeast and Pediococus Cervisae lactic acid producing bacteria. The aroma is outstanding...tart and lemony.

I personally love the taste of lambic beer and this is a great hybrid between a Belgian blond ale and a pure lambic. The lactic acid gives it a sour taste and the wild yeast provides a nice dry finish. And no hops whatsoever :)

4.4/5

Extraordinary Misnomer

Southern Tier's Extraordinary Ale tastes like beer. Yellowy urine-like color, small nose of hops, tastes like.....beer with a hint of apple at the end. Easy to drink, but pretty lacking in anything that stands out. This is made more disappointing by the intensely backed research statement on their website "Voted best beer in the galaxy".


2.8/5

BBC for dinner

Katie and I went to the Bloomington Brewing Co. for dinner tonight. I had a few Quarryman Pale Ales. They are very good APA's. I think I'll get a growler for us in June. Should be good yard drinking/thirsty chugging session beer after a hot afternoon of golfing.
4/5

The siren's song beckoned at last

For the last 3 months, these glorious bottles of Rogue have been calling to me for a purchase. Despite the $12 price tag, I just couldn't pass this one up. Rogue Imperial IPA. The store also has a barleywine and imperial stout in the same bottles which I may give in and try as well. Duane has previously reviewed the stout here.
This is a pretty solid Imp IPA. It is very hoppy, and not super malty, so I would compare it to a Dreadnought or a Stone Ruination. (aka...a Walsh hop bomb) I liked it though. Not quite to the Hopslam level but a solid 4.5. I just wish there was more to the flavor than just hops (but at least it is "hoppy" not "bitter" like whatever the last IPA I reviewed was...I refuse to grant it the satisfaction of looking it up again). 4.5/5

ps...handy tip: the little red ring that forms the seal on a bottle like this (or a Grolsch) can double as a strap-lock for your guitar. You never know when this will come in handy (for me, it was when Jeff's strap broke in the middle of a set in Barcelona, but your own examples may be more or less exciting). I suspect it would also add some "indy cred" to your Guitar Hero guitars for those of you who don't have real ones.

About Stouts

Last night's beverages: Stout showdown.

Stout #1: Bell's Cherry Stout. Very sour, very cherry flavored. Odd cherry aftertaste that was like a chocolate cherry bon-bon or something along those lines. Kind of gimmicky, but actually not horrible. I think I would try it again, but I didn't love it. Not as good as some of the blueberry stouts I've had in the past. 3/5

Stout #2: Hoppin Frog BORIS Imperial Oatmeal.
Duane did not lead me astray with this one. Previous reports were actually under-exaggerated, and this is a great beer.
One of the best imperial stouts I've ever had. The oatmeal aspect of it took the edge off and turned this into a nearly chuggable Imp stout...a far cry from an Ol' Raspy. I'm not sure where I put this with the list of my favorites (Yeti and Stone Russian...also still want to try the Storm King), but it is right there even at least. 4.5/5

My faith in the Imperial IPA is renewed!

The IPA hate had to come to an end eventually...

Perfect hopping and nice spicy rye notes. The bitterness was nearly perfect. A great example of a good imperial IPA

4.5/5

Hopslam - why have I not officially rated thee?

Hopslam is so damn delicious that it hurts.

5/5

Rogue Brutal Bitter

very good. brilliant color. Reminds me of what I think the Dane's Old Glory APA tastes like. Orange-y flavor, sticky. I like it.

The Hoppiest Gnome

Achouffe Houblon Dobbelen IPA Tripel - Continuing my streak of beers with long names is the Achouffe Tripel IPA. This is an interesting mix of styles and one that I think should suit just about everybody. The Belgian yeasts stand out, but the hop bitterness also shines though.

4.5/5

New IPA for me

Much like Will. E. Coyote, I found myself purchasing an Acme product the other day. Also like the aforementioned coyote, I regretted the decision. No roadrunner was captured via the drinking of this beer.
Acme California IPA is a very bitter IPA...all hops, no malt or spice makes Chris... something, something. Bash the beer on a blog? Don't mind if I do. 2/5

Denver Battle of the Double IPAs

Second round Denver...

Great Divide Hercules Double IPA vs. Stone Ruination IPA



vs.

This one was absolutely no contest. I think the problem is that I just don't like Stone's IPAs. The Arrogant Bastard varieties and the Imperial Russian Stout are great. But the IPAs (both the regular IPA and the Ruination) taste too soapy to me. I don't know if it is the variety of hops or what.

On a positive the Hercules was outstanding. Nicely balanced and no soap taste.

Great Divide Hercules Double IPA - 4.7/5
Stone Ruination IPA - 3.5/5

More Beer Fest lists

The italicized entries are the updated beers.

Duane wants:
Stone Russian Imperial Stout
Stone Arrogant Bastard

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)
Cantillon Classic Gueuze (750 ml)

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 has stashed away: (this list is fluid-ha!)
extra Hopslam (I have 11 left at the moment and am trying to keep at least 8)
Oak Arrogant bastard (6 pack)
Left Hand Chainsaw
Breckenridge 471
Dark Horse Double IPA
Chris plans to have:
Ruination
Two Brothers mead and hopjuice
Red Tail Hawk ale
Great Divide Hercules
Bloomington growler or two
Hoppin Frogs for Duane
Whatever I ordered from Duane and have since forgotten
Other various surprises and cool things that appear in the next month

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

Spos Honey APA

Milwaukeeclassic's got one of these at home, so I'll wait for his opinion before I post. But until then, notice how clear the brew is! I would say that this is the most beautiful beer I've made. At 8% it's the strongest too.

Not sure why, but the picture comes through only when I click on the entry. Barry, maybe you aren't crazy after all.

Sometimes the free beer is best left in the fridge

New Belgium Fat Tire - If there was ever a more blah beer, I would be be surprised. I'm with Barry in agreeing that most Ambers are gross. This one isn't gross, but just tasteless. 1.3/5

Denver Battle of the Imperial Stouts

Time for another battle. It's time that we had a battle within a style that is vastly superior to IPAs, the imperial stout!

Great Divide Oak-Aged Yeti Imperial Stout vs. Stone Russian Imperial Stout


vs.

Both of these are outstanding and I wish I could get both of these in Madison. The Yeti was a lot smoother and the Stone was more robust. The Stone was slightly more hoppy, but not in a bad way at all. I think that I like the Stone gargoyle mascot slightly better than the Yeti.

Oak-Aged Yeti 4.7/5
Stone Russian Imperial Stout 4.6/5

From Darkest Peru like Paddington Bear...

...comes part 2 of the rarely attempted Schwarzbier Showdown. (Actually it's from Brazil, but who's counting, other than possibly the resident social studies teacher). Xingu is next up. It's amazingly different from the Sprecher. Thinner, fizzier, and a sharper, citrusy flavor. Very sweet. It almost tastes like the Sprecher mixed with a sprite, but not quite as gross as that sounds. A little too light and sweet for me-I'd like a little more body. So, I guess this is more like a 2/5.

Just for Duane

Duane's mounting frustration with the parade of IPA's I've rated lately has led me to branch out a bit the last day or two. His endorsement of the Sprecher Black Bavarian made me try this one out. I'll be honest...I'm not crazy about it, but it does improve as it warms up. Doesn't measure up to the Shoreline Bavarian Schwarz I had. Kind of has a dirty porter, burnt toast kind of flavor, but that seems to dissipate a bit as I let it sit and breath (I feel like a tool using that phrase) and more chocolately-caramel-toffee sorts of flavors come out. Not gross, but I'm not sure if I'd reach for this one again. 2.6/5

Another un-good Ommegang

Got suckered in by the label and clever name again. Ommegang Ommegeddon which is a hoppy Saison. The first few sips of this I thought were utterly gross, and I didn't like it at all. It did slightly grow on me as I downed the rest of it, and I didn't hate it by the end, but still didn't really like it. Oddly Katie really liked it. It's an odd flavor...very light and fizzy, but with an odd hoppy, sharp malt flavor. Very yeasty.
2 strikes for Ommegang but I still plan to try one or two of the others. I'm nothing if not stubborn. Not a fan, but I won't dub it with the "swill" label either. 2.4/5

Paging Mr. Ellington

More Denver blogging Duane. Tell the Kaiser to go back to Germania.

Good ending to a long day

Boy did I need a beer when I got home today. 12 hours straight of econ for me, including teaching my own class, auditing a class, and teaching one of my friend's 3 hour classes. Desperate times call for Hoppin' Frogs. Hoppin' Frog "Hoppin' to Heaven" IPA. This was a REALLY good IPA by my standards. Very flavorful, but that flavor was both hoppy and malty in the balanced way I like. Almost more of an imperial flavor to me, but actually better than the Hoppin' Frog Imperial as reviewed here. Hoppin' Frog has now found a place on my "most preferred brewery" list and will warrent trials of all available flavors/styles in the upcoming days. My favorite regular IPA of recent memory and a definite winner I would expect everyone here would like. 4.5/5

Edit: In reviewing old posts, it seems my view of "recent memory" probably goes back about a week. There were a number of IPA's I seemed to have liked including New Holland, Flying Dog, and Odell 2-3 weeks ago that I basically have no specific memory of and can't compare to this. Sorry. I can say with certainty that this one is good though and I like it.

Ithaca Cascazilla

An ex-ellent 4/5.

Today was the day of my students' final exam. I hope they did well. The grading is done except for the multiple choice section portion. To relax after grading, I stopped by Zeno's (home of the Belgian fest) to relax. The tattooed bartender was there (looking sexy), but she doesn't like IPA's so she's not completely perfect. She did offer free samples of Cascazilla and Hoptimas Prime (both on tap at Zeno's!) and in the taste test Cascazilla was the clear winner. So I ordered a pint.

Zeno's also offers a Troegs' cask-conditioned Hop Devil which I will review tomorrow. Considering that they also offer live bluegrass on Wednesday's I will now state that Zeno's is the best bar in State College.