Three Floyds, Two Brothers and an Old Dominion in a Pear Tree.

This is one of those posts that... isn't so much written as gathered.  Normally I find a brewery, have as many samples as I can stomach and really get into their guttyworks.  Sometimes that is not possible to do.  Sometimes I'm in a hurry to get to the next city.  Sometimes I happen upon a random beer in a random bar that I don't know what to do with.
So what follows is sort of a collection.  By themselves, I don't feel they have enough meat to equal a full post.  So they've been mashed together.  We have a couple of beers from 3floyds, a couple from Old Dominion and something from Two Brothers thrown in for good measure.

3Floyds:
I managed to get my hands on some Gumballhead from this brewery a little while back and I've been stalking this weird Indiana Brewery ever since.

Zombie Dust: In the bars and taverns of Indiana this is a beer spoken with a certain reverence usually reserved for a Deity of some kind or another.  It's one of those beer that is a challenge to even taste since it has a tendency to fly off the shelf the minute it arrives.  Luckily, I know some people.  Well one person, but he is a fellow traveler and a good human.  If you are reading Patrick, thanks again. 
Anyway I picked up a lot of fruity malt on the top of this beer in the form of pear, berry and light citrus.  This serves a a base for an impressive hop bill that brings a lot of citrus along with some spicy, floral hops.  Worthy of the hype?  Not sure.  But for a heavily hopped beer, I really enjoyed it.

Alpha King:  Flagship beer of 3Floyds.  I loved the citrusy floral aroma on this beer. These qualities are well-balanced with the malt and the result is a nice, drinkable beer with a lot of flavor and a little kick.

Two Brothers

Domaine DuPage: This beer is described by the brewery as a 'French Country Ale'.  I picked up a touch of hops on the aroma.  It's got a medium body with a light toasty sweetness right before a slightly bitter, herbal finish.  Nice beer, but nothing much to set it apart from every other amber ale.

Old Dominion: Another brewery from the surprisingly beer-fueled state of Delaware that I managed to find just outside of D.C.

Pale Ale: I picked up some spicy hops on the aroma from this beer.  Definitely a hoppy beer, but it has enough flavor to hold against the pure back-of-the-throat bitterness.  I picked up a lot of spice and pine on the flavor.  It finishes quite dry but without that lingering hop character.

Oak Barrel Stout: There was a very light sweet fruit aroma on this beer.  I picked up a lot of wood on the flavor along with some leather and a touch of caramel sweetness.  This beer was harder to pin down because the flavor is truly complex and the flavor hits hard and almost disappears. 

Bottle Beer Tour #4: Beer, the Great and Powerful

I was down in California a couple weeks ago.  Sadly my free time was dominated by eating enough food and getting enough sleep so that I could be half-way functional for the job I was doing down there.  So now brewery trip.  I did, however bring a few old friends back with me.  So it's bottle beer tour time again, this time featuring some beers that, although I have had many times before, I have never written about and, quite frankly, I can't get them in the Midwest and I miss them.

Dogfish Head; Palo Santo Marron: Okay, so I didn't pick this one up in California.  But it was in the beer fridge and it was begging to be opened. 

Proving the commitment, drive and complete and utter insanity of the good people at Dogfish Head, the Palo Santo Marron is fermented in huge 10,000 gallon fermenters crafted out of a rare South-American wood.  There's commitment and then... well then there's pure, blind obsession.

The aroma has a light caramel, vanilla flavor.  The beer is fruity with hints of spice, vanilla and maybe a little smoke and herbs on the back.




Lanunitas Brewing; IPA: Heavy pine and citrus aroma.  Flavor has lots of the same qualities, but they hit and they are overtaken for a minute by some more malty flavors.  The hops do end the palate leaving a dry herbal taste.  The flavors are smooth enough that, although this is a very dry, hoppy IPA, it's one of the more approachable of it's type.








Widmer Brothers; Hefeweizen: Talk about an old friend.  This was my first exposure to wheat beer and was probably one of the first, if not the first, microbrews I ever had.  The aroma is citrusy and almost like a sweet white wine.  Flavor is light and sweet with some light peach fruit and grassy notes.  The flavor turns slightly herbal and lemony towards the end of the palate.  Was and will remain almost the quintessential summer beer for me.

Stone Brewery; Levitation Ale: Stone is known, first and foremost as the brewer of Arrogant Bastard, a beer that... well that's a pretty accurate description.  It's a big beer with flavors about as subtle as an axe to the head.  For this, they were going for more of a session beer.  The aroma is lemony and herbal.   Herbal, citrus hops hit right off the top and stay.  They have some light malty support right off the top, but it quickly disappears leaving the bitter, hoppy flavors to carry the show.  It's a good beer, but as far as a session ale, I prefer something a little more subtle.  This is too similar to an IPA for a good sit-down-kick-back-have-a-pint, beer.

Radical Brewing on the Beach: Rehoboth, DE

I was out on the East Coast this week on a little romantic get-away with my fiancé. Our travels took us to the Delaware Beach area. When the locals found out that we were on vacation in the area, they would often ask, "Why did you come to Delaware?". Answer: The beach area there is beautiful and the state is home to the mad scientist of microbrewing.
Much has been said about the head brewer Andy Tveekrem and his brewery. He even had a show on the history channel that is worth seeing. Opinions about his experiments in fermentation vary greatly but no person could argue that these beers are not unique. I am personally a fan of beers that feature strange ingredients and bizarre brewing techniques. There is no shortage of those types of beer at this brewery.


Punkin Ale:
I started with a pint of their seasonal brew. I have talked to a few people who really dislike this style and I admit it is always hit or miss for me. This one was a definite hit. The nose has some mild cinnamon and clove aromas and the flavor blends those spices with some light malt sweetness and ends with slightly bitter hops. Very enjoyable beer to kick off the autumn months.
Pangea:
This beer is brewed with one ingredient from every continent on Earth. This includes crystallize ginger from Australia, moscavado sugar from Africa and basmati rice from Asia. The nose has a light, fruit smell mixed with ginger. The flavor is surprisingly mild, with some light malts mixed with ginger and a hop finish. Essentially a complex version of a ginger beer, but pretty good.

Rasion D'être:
This is a Belgian ale brewed with green raisins. It had lots of fruit in the aroma including strawberry and melon strangely enough. The flavor had a lot of fruit with some nice roasted flavors. The 8% alcohol creates a nice warm mouthfeel. Not their best offering, but not bad either.

Indian Brown Ale:
A cross between a brown ale and an IPA. The aroma is all espresso. The flavors mix coffee and chocolate and is followed with a surprisingly dry hoppy finish. I liked this one a lot. It's a good example of what can happen when two styles play nice.
Chickory Stout:
I liked this beer because it is full of deep roasted malt flavors with a dry slightly bitter finish, and it does all this while remaining surprisingly drinkable. I have not come across a lot of dark beers that I would consider 'session beers', but his one nails it pretty well and keeps those warm toasty malt flavors that make a stout what it is.
Back on the road for now. The work season is ramping up, and it is time for me to get some serious time on the road.
Cheers!