Bottle Beer Tour #6: It's Fuggin Cold, Drink Beer.

 It is Mid-February here in Nebraska and, right now, the weather is doing it's best to make the joint uninhabitable.  It's the time of the year when a dip above thirty-two degrees is cause for running outside naked in sheer celebration of the fact that your bits won't turn blue and fall off.   It is the time of the year to sit inside and drink beer until it becomes warm enough to... well... I guess go outside and drink beer.

 It's also been a slow travel season for me.  On the upside, no white-knuckling it over some God-forsaken mountain pass.  On the downside, no weird brews to talk about.   So it's time, once again, to break open the beer fridge and root around inside for some goodies.

 
Victory Brewery, Hop Wallop: This has an absolutely wonderful
 orange blossom honey aroma to it.  Those flavors translate slightly into the flavor profile.   It kind of sits in the background while a massive herbal hop bill takes center stage.  Nice blend of flavors.  Given the nice sweet orange honey flavor I could be persuaded that fewer hops could be better, but a nice beer all around.

 Choc Beer, Last Laugh:  American White ale from Oklahoma
light banana lemon aroma.  The fruity esters are more pronounced in the flavor with that lemony flavor lingering in the background.  Clean and refreshing beer.




 New Holland, The Poet:  Deep charcoal, woody aroma on this oatmeal stout.  The aroma suggest that it might be on the bitter side, but it really isn't.  Not quite sweet either, just a nice full-bodied mellow beer with woody coffee notes.  An excellent beer for the winter months.

Three Floyds, Gumball Head: There is a light fruity citrus aroma on this eccentric wheat beer.  The flavor is hoppy.... but it's not.  The first thing you get in the flavor is a flash of citrus, floral hops and, just as you are waiting for the dry, herbal bitterness that should probably follow... it just blends away into this nice, slightly sour, bread and rye malt flavor.  I imagine it as a really good beer to use as a practical joke for a die-hard IPA fan as their beloved bitter hops remain just barely out of reach.

Canned Beer Tour: That's right. I said it.

It has been said that good beer doesn't come in cans.  It didn't come in cans, at least.  Things have changed a bit.
I've said before, I'm a fan of this and my conviction is only growing.  For the first time I've managed to assemble a few of the old 'oil can' in my Sanctuary (or where I get drunk in front of my computer) and sampled a few canned beers gathered from both hither and yon.

Ska Brewing, Mole Stout: Pretty much as advertised.  The aroma has a nice dark chocolate note to it with just a hint of pepper.  The flavor is just wonderful.  Sweet dark chocolate and coffee notes dominate with some woody, herbal flavors and just the slightest hint of black pepper.  This is one of those beers that just stands out.  Once you have this beer, I'm convinced that if I were handed this in some blind taste test some day, I'd be able to pick it out.

Sun King Brewing, Osirus:  The aroma on this pale ale is subtle, spicy, citrusy and kinda sweet.  The flavor has a lot of those same qualities flowing through it.  It's sweet, citrusy with a spice that kind of lingers with the bitterness into the aftertaste.

Sun King Brewing, Wee-Mac: Scottish style ale with a slight woody cherry aroma.  The beer has quite a bit of body with just flashes of flavor.  I pick up a hint of cherry a hint of wood and a hint of bitterness before they kind of fade into a light roasted flavor.  

 Santa Fe Brewing: Saison 88: I like the sweet, floral slightly citrus fruity aroma on this a lot.  The flavor is lighter, but not without a lot of nuances.  There's just a hint of sour along with the floral qualities.  That sort of melds into a nice malty, citrusy finish.  Light on the palate with a fizzy mouthfeel.  Nice session beer with a little extra kick.

Founding Fathers: Washington D.C.

So we're in our nation's captiol this week.

Okay, I lied.  We're on the outskirts of the D.C. area on the Maryland side of the city, but from what I can tell from the news, there is abolutely nothing going on in the middle of this city worth paying attention to.  Mostly a lot of men in suits figuring out new and exiting ways to screw a lot of people over and steal a staggering amount of money.  It's probably better for everyone involved if we find a quite place to sit and weather the storm with a pint.  And I have found such a place.

Franklin's Brewery, Restruant and General Store is... well it's a little out there.  Both in scope and brewing style which is just kinda awsome.  I think the best way to describe this place is, it's like the Cracker Barrel for lunatics.  They've got a nice restruant, an attached gift shop with all sorts of eclectic wares and enough beer to keep the voices quiet for a few precious minutes.  The whole place has kind of a relaxed art house feel which is kind of cool.  That same style translates into how they brew beer which leads to some fun when it comes time to sink a few pints.

Old Miser: A winter ale with a light fruity aroma.  It's quite malty with some rich, maybe just slightly tart cherry fruit with some earthy woody notes and a slight pine bitterness.  Slightly unusual beer but excellent one. It's packs quite a bit of body but it has a very drinkable quality about it.

Highland Hugh:  No real aroma on this scotch ale.  The flavor is intently fruity with a slight rum flavor right off the top.  As the flavor continued to work through the palate I picked up some leather and some and a slightly bitter finish.

Broken Gnome:  This is a darker belgian ale with a light Bananna aroma.  The flavor contains leathery, spicy notes that kind of start out and fade into a light bed of tropical fruit that's quintessentially Belgian.  It's takes the imbiber to a weird place for a minute before returning them home a little confused but overall very pleased with the experience.

Private IPA: Typical citrusy aroma.  It's very hoppy but its one of those beers that has enough hop flavor and malt to balance the bitterness, something that I seem to be finding more and more.  Maybe it's me and the hopheads of the world are finally wearing me down. 

Hop Zen: A hoppy beer that's closer to a bitter amber ale.  Similar hop and flavor profile as the Private IPA  with a flash of caramel and toasted grains that help manage the hop bill.

Black hop down: I'm sensing a pattern in the aroma.  The dark beer qualities, black roasted grain coffee, appear in the background and serve to prop up the hops.  

Farewell to Farms: I pick up a lot of floral aroma here with a hint of caramelly sweetness.   In the flavor the sweetness and the floral hop qualities really play well together.  It's not overtly sweet but just a nice, flavorful lighter beer.

Okie Round-Up: Tulsa Oklahoma

If you're in Tulsa, Oklahoma and you're looking for a spot to grab a hold of some quality pints, there is really only one game in town, McNellies.

I talked about this beer bar way back in 2011 when I last visited this city.   On a side note, that post is still the most popular post on this whole blog by at least a factor of at least three.  I'm lead to believe that the title I selected, 'Bar Craw of Tulsa' has lead a few savage drunks astray.  Far from finding a guide to the local watering holes they came across my inane rantings... which is probably for the best.  At least they found out where the best beer was.

They actually have two locations in the city of Tulsa, and I highly recomend either.  Good food and, of course, good beer.

Since I am in Oklahoma, I focused on the far-flung local beers that, like many breweries in the southern part of the U.S. don't go in for all that brew-pub non-sense.

Mustang Brewing, Winter Lager: This has a sweet, fruity and caramelly aroma with warm toasty notes mixed in.  Mixes body with drinkability extreemly well.  Its malty with warm woody toasted flavors with just a hint of herbs to add to the complexity of this very nice winter beer.

Mustang Brewing, Mmmmhops: There is a slight hint of hops in a lightly sweet aroma.  The flavor is... well, different.  It's got a hefty malt bill that takes Northwest citrus hops and sweetens the citrus considerably.  Add a bit of light but dustinct flavor make this a sweet hoppy anomaly.

Mustang Brewing, 66: No real aroma in this light beer.  But for the style, it's actually quite nice.  The light malts support some peppery herbal hops.  It has some body to it and it's almost dangerously drinkable (who stole my pint?.... And where are my pants!)

Prairie Artisian Ales, Standard: A farmhouse ale with a heavy tropical fruit and clove aroma. Thankfully, the flavor doesn't sport quite the same punch.  It has this slightly sour homebrew flavor that's a little odd but not unpleasant. Finishes quite hoppy which arrive late as a bit of a surprise.  Overall a very nice rustic ale.

COOP Ale Works, Gran Sport Porter: I picked up some coffee and chocolate in the aroma.  It has a full-bodied and creamy flavor with some roasted coffee and unsweetened chocolate.  Standard porter qualities but still a nice cold weather beer.

COOP Ale Works, F5 IPA: This beer has an intense, citrusy herbal aroma.  There are some floral flavors in the flavor that almost go so far as to be soapy.  There is an intense bitterness that hits and sticks in the back of the throat.  Not the most pleasant IPA I've had recently.  

Dead Amradillo Brewing, Amber: Nice toasty creamy and caramelly aroma.  I picked up a toasted buttery biscuit flavor with peppery hops just peaking through. There may have been some light fruit sweetness in there as well.

Dock of the Bay: Long Beach, CA

 Stopping in for a few pints at the Belmont Brewing Company. 

You gotta love this place if only for it's ocean side location.  It provides a nice view while sucking down beers.  

It's a little more spendy then some places, but not prohibitively so.  One can still stop in for some decent eats and a couple of beers and not be squinting at the bill hoping to the gods that total is really a phone number.

That being said, nothing all that staggeringly exiting in the beer department.  Not bad, not by any means, but nothing that really sets it apart... except for the view.

And onto said beer:

Strawberry Blonde: As anticipated, this fruit beer had a pretty heavy strawberry aroma.  The beer itself is quite sweet and the strawberry flavor is very pronounced. Basically the proverbial 'beer for people who don't like beer'.  But for what it is, not bad.

Pale ale: Pretty heavy citrus hop aroma.  It is very heavy on the hops without a lot if malt to back it up so it at first taste it's more like a lighter IPA then a pale. 

Marathon Blonde: No aroma that I could detect.  Light, sweet... light ... ... that's about it. I could detect some faint fruity flavors in there but otherwise not much complexity to speak of.

Top Sail: Nice, warm toasted aroma.  Slight roasted grain character with just a touch of bitterness in the back for a simple but rather nice amber ale.

Long Beach Crude:  No real aroma to speak of again.  Full bodied unsweetened chocolate.  With a slight herbal licorice quality.   Dry finish.  Very nice dry stout 

Just for the Helg of it IPA:  This IPA is brewed with a rather novel hop from Western Australia known as the Helga hops.  The aroma seems pretty familiar, citrusy, slightly spicy and floral.  In the flavor, the hop character is tempered nicely so there a ton of flavor without a lot of bitter.  Drinkable but pack full of citrusy floral flavor.  One of the better IPA's I have had for the sheer amount of hop flavor they managed to pack in while still making it palatable.

Left Coast Redemption: Long Beach, CA

I first came into contact with Beachwood Brewing company here in Nebraska, strangely enough.  This Southern California brew pub was one of the few to brave the Great Planes and bring a couple of pints up.

And frankly, their appearance didn't make the best of impressions suffice to say, their pale ale... meh.

I am now convinced that whatever hell-brew they schlepped up to Nebraska was something they must save for out-of-towners because, not only did I not see this rather unexciting pale on their menu, but the beers they had on tap were much better.  Nothing that will make the beer acolyte rethink everything they know about hops and barley, but very good none-the less.

The cool thing about this place is the fact that this is a place where the local beer geeks gather.  To illustrate this point, there was one moment where the bartender discretely pulled a small bottle from behind the bar and passed it to a group of guys at the other end of the bar.  They all gasped and stared in a kind of reverence one only normally runs into in a religious setting.  I asked about the bottles and the bartender said, "Goose Island is coming out with a new line of sour beers.  There was only two available and I got both of them."

Yeah... it's that kind of place.

And speaking of beer:

Melrose IPA: Loved the floral citrus aroma on this beer.  This beer packs a lot of bitterness, but it's one of those beers that's got enough citrus and hops from the hops to really make this beer enjoyable.  It's a hop bomb, no doubt about it, but in that pleasant way.

James Brown Ale:  This brown ale has a deceiving coffee mocha aroma on it.   I say deceiving because it's got some serious hops for the style.  I pick up a heavy amount of herbal earthy hop character underneath a roasted malt back.   It's different but not terribly appealing to me personally.

Utter Love Stout: Nice big roasted aroma on this milk stout.  The flavor contains big bodied, sweet  coffee mocha notes. It makes for a wonderful winter beer in a part if the country that doesn't really have any winter to speak of. 

Hops of Brixton: A familiar floral citrus aroma on this ESB.  It has an interesting blend of citrus bitter hops with a kind of fruity malt background.  It's a remarkably good balance and leads to a wonderfully bitter drinkable ale.

Oat monster:  A lot of sharp roasted aroma with maybe a hit of licorice.  The flavor is very smooth, full bodied yet fairly dry with a bit of an herbal floral finish.

Hop Ninja: Okay, this double IPA frankly scared me a little. Their IPA had a massive dose of IBU's but they managed to get away with it.  But with a double?  The urge to go completely overboard was just too great.  They would end up with hop bomb that obliterate any taste sensations I had left.  The aroma is pure cascade hops.  It was like putting my face in a hop bag.  The taster wasn't bad but it tasted like cascade hops with some sugar added.  It was pretty good but I don't think I could finish an entire pint.

Ryeco Suave:  Belgian with a spicy clove and fruity esters aroma.  The flavor is mild, smooth and wonderful.  There are some spicy qualities with the banana and tropical fruit.  Pleasant beer all around.

I've got one more dispatch from Southern California before I leave this area of the country.  Until then, cheers!

Scrap Metal City: Detroit MI

More and more I feel a weird kind of affinity for Detroit.  There is no reason whatsoever for this ruined city to have as many microbreweries; good microbreweries mind, in a city that's almost become the icon of the kind of post-industrial economy desperation.  Yet, in my semi-frequent visits I always come across another brewery.

It is my theory (my highly uninformed theory but I have yet to hear a better one) that Detroit is filled with people who know damn well that no corporation or government is going to give a damn about them.  These people find their own way to try and survive.  They build, they create and more then a few of them brew.

My selection for this visit was Copper Canyon Brewery.  And after such a grandiose introduction, honestly, I was a little disappointed with the selection, although they were out of one of their regular beers and the seasonal was in the process of being rotated out, so it kinda is what it is. 

Alt Beer: Rich and malty with a hint of dark fruit and a touch of citrus in the finish.  Nice all around drinkable beer here.

IPA: Fairly typical citrus aroma.  There was an interesting, heavy floral quality to the flavor however.  It's a nice change, but it was far too much in this beer.  It had a bitterness that was off the charts but it wasn't the normal back-of-the-throat bitterness one gets from most hops.  This one you feel everywhere and it quickly overwhelms the palate.

Brown Ale: This beer had a nice fruity and sweet aroma. The flavor was full and very malty with some chocolate, dark cherry and toasty grain characters.  Sweet, but a nice beer overall.

Golden Ale: Wheat beer with a heavy clove tropical fruit flavor.  The Belgian yeast tropical fruit clove flavor is overwhelming and my pint had this metallic off flavor that made me fairly certain that I had a pint of a bad batch, despite the waitresses insistence that she didn't think it was.

On a side note, I am proud to announce that this little tale from Detroit is the 100th post of this blog.  Given the mortality rate in the killing fields of the blogosphere, making it to 100 posts is, I feel, a bit of a mile stone.  Blogspot is littered with the corpses of blogs that were sporadically updated ten times before the author became distracted by something else shiny.

So I'm kind of proud of that.  Thought about doing a 'Best Of' post in commemoration, but honestly, couldn't be buggered.  At the sheer number of brews this site boasts, any ranking would have been completely arbitrary at best.

Instead it's business as usual.  Thank you for reading.  And now I'm off to find another beer.

Cheers!