Huh?

Hopsolution Ale by Bell's is a strange beer. Firstly, the bottle proclaims this beer is "brewed especially for the people of the great state of Illinois." Oxymoronic, perhaps? Anyways, when I bought this with Duane who, in true Duane form, used his mega -high- powered -analytical- phone to look this beer up while we were in Binny's, I was skeptical. Label doesn't give much away, Duane informed me it was a Double IPA. As for the taste, maybe I'm drinking this beer too cold because there's not much here. No discernible smell, predominantly sweet, semi-astringent finish along with some grapes and banana. Maybe a future drink will vindicate. Until then...a good buzz without much else.

Hmmm...as I am about to post, this beer has warmed and mellowed and improved. I taste tangerine. I like it more. I'll split the difference and wait for another try to be definitive.

3/5

I could really go for one of these right about now...

Loners and Beer

Dirty

Tyranena Dirty Old Man Imperial Rye Porter (aged in Rye whiskey barrels). The name says it all with this beer. Can definately taste the whiskey, although I don't really taste a lot of Rye flavor. It was good, but not as good as some of the other Tyranena gone wild varieties. 3.9/5

Got Milk?

Lancaster Milk Stout. I'm a sucker for Milk Stouts. This was a good one. If I'm remembering correctly, this tastes almost exactly like the Lake Louie one to me. Solid. 4.2/5

Hop Whore

Tyrannena Hop Whore is great. I really wish I could get this down here. I don't think I'm telling anyone here anything new. 4.7/5

Bullfrog

Issaquah Bullfrog Ale. This one seems universally hated on Ratebeer, and makes me wonder if it is even the same beer. Supposedly a wheat, this was very hoppy for the style and closer to an IPA by my reckoning. I liked it quite a bit...bitter but light and refreshing. Good summer beer. 4/5

Sposborth Honey

Posting from memory from a week or so ago...it was outstanding. Surprisingly, the flavor came out best when eaten with some pepper pretzels. File that one away.

Lots of posts to catch up on...

I've been falling behind lately...Time to try to catch up with some posting:
Last night I made Katie a birthday dinner and we had the Alaskan Smoked Porter with some "stout burgers." The porter was pretty good, although not nearly as smokey as the version I had on draft at the Falling Rock in the spring. It was more porter than smoke, but still tasty.
Desert consisted of java stout/bourbon brownies which were pretty solid if I do say so myself. Chef recommends.

Dale's Pale Ale (Oskar Blues)

Oskar Blues has my vote for best beer in a can. And they are quickly gaining status in the best overall brewery list.

The Dale's Pale Ale is good. It is either maltier than I'm used to, or has a hop I'm not used to. I'll try another one and and more flavor adjectives later. I detect some homebrew flavor too. Not sure why.

Bon appetit!

New York Beer

New York tomorrow to visit my friend Joe. Since I'm taking the bus, there shouldn't be any malparking infractions, or run-ins with parking officer Steve Grabowski.

Tuesday night we're heading here,
The Belgian Room,
and here Hop Devil Grill.

Wednesday night, Joe's got a concert at Rodeo Bar. It seems more like a Margarita place, but we'll make it work. Yee-haw.

Scurvy Booty

Scurvy is good. Very fresh tasting, piney, orange peel is understated. Nothing overly dramatic, just really fresh and drinkable.

3.7/5

World's Hoppiest Smelling Garbage Can/Calling You All Out

I currently have the hoppiest smelling garbage can after a crazy brewing session including nylon bags loaded with mega alpha hops, that, after steeping, required disposal because they were so damn sticky they'd clog mortal fermenters. and it is good.

You all have been weak bloggers lately. There. I said it.

Legacy Hedonism Ale

Tried a Legacy Hedonism at Zeno's last night. Bland. Too much rye. On the skunked end of spectrum. Red. Legacy makes Hoptimus Prime, so I was willing to try it,but was I ever unhappy with this one. I had a Ten Fiddy afterward to set things right.

And the music was good.
1/5

Foreshadowing......

I need help/suggestions (Pete?) but don't read too much into this.

Let's just say that you had in your possession Horizon, Chinook and Magnum hops (all really high in alpha rating (bitterness factor)-12%+ - 5 oz worth in total)

Can I pull this off or do i need to reconsider my (hypothetical) hop purchase?