Allagash Fluxus 2010

Almost tastes like a magic marker. In a good way.

I really liked this and would highly recommend picking up a bottle if you should run across one.

Green Flash Imperial IPA

Really bitter. Mandy really liked it.

21st Amendment Back in Black

Slightly bitter but with a nice roast malt taste. Almost just a bitter porter.

If I recall correctly, this was a hit with the table.

New Belgium Blue Paddle

Not bad. Don't think I'd go out of my way to get it.

Goose Island 312

Light and slightly wheaty. A lot better than the white ale

Bonus Mandy Thoughts:
It's paricularly goosey and islandy. Apparently those are good are good qualities that I'm looking for.

Great Lakes Christmas Ale

Pretty good. Probably not worth the $4 I paid for the bottle though I do appreciate actually being able to find some to buy.

Moderately spiced with cinnamon and some ginger coming through. Slightly sweet.

Goose Island Wrigleyville White

Rather flat. Kind of has an off taste to it . Would not recommend for an after game drink.

I didn't finish it. I finished the Old Style (of course). Not sure what that says.

Goose Island Green Line Pale Ale

Joe Drinks Chicago continues.

Fairly light but with a nice hoppy taste. Pretty great for outside drinking or drinking six in a row

Goose Island Matilda

Joe Drinks Chicago tour continues.

Generally refreshing Belgian ale. Not bad. Typical Belgian yeast taste.

Leaps and bounds above the Old Style.

Old Style

More from the Joe Drinks Dinner Chicago tour.

Tastes like any other shitty beer. But with more cursed baseball.

Three Floyds Gumballhead

My first Three Floyds beer. Imbibed on our trip to Chicago. I was fairly excited.

A fairly hoppy wheat beer. I don't get any bubblegum aftertaste but it's light and refreshing. Good times.

Bell's 25th Annivesary Ale

Hmm. I think I like it. Slightly fruity, slight citrusy hop taste. Not heavy or thick. Not over the top at all.

Lagunitas - A Little Sumpin' Wild

I passed up a six pack of a Little Sumpin' Sumpin' Ale (as it will soon be year-round) for this puppy. Doesn't say its a belgian ipa, but it sure tastes like one.

Pretty good for the style. Lots of hops. I think I still like Raging Bitch better though.

Heavy Seas - The Great Pumpkin

Not too shabby. I had my other pumpkin beer of the season a while ago so my comparison might be a little off. Its neither too sweet, nor too thin, nor too overly spiced. I think it tastes more alcoholic than most pumpkin beers, and maybe a little too much for me. Its certainly leagues better than the historically bad Shipyard pumpkin ale that is still seared into my memory.

Bonus Mandy Thoughts:
It smells fruity. Oo, it smells like a candle. It does not taste like a fruit or candle. Well, I don't really eat pumpkin things, so I can't say whether it tastes like pumpkin or not. Ooo oo. Maybe a pumpkin candle? I think I like my pumpkin beer with more spice. My thoughts on this pumpkin beer are going to be much longer than your thoughts [accurate].

Bell's - The Oracle

Yet another imperial IPA from Bell's.

Woo. Pretty bitter. Lots of piney hops taste. More malty/sweet than hopslam?. A lot more bitter than hopslam. Comparable to Arrogant Bastard in how bitter it is. I don't think I'd buy a six pack, but I'd definitely drink it again.

Bonus Mandy Thoughts:
Its pretty good but I like Two Hearted Ale better. Which is good because I imagine that this would take one and a half years of your salary to buy.

Bell's Batch 9000

Larry Bell says this is not an imperial stout. Not sure I agree. Its fairly similar in taste to Dogfish Head World Wide Stout.

Lots of molasses and some licorice in the taste. Really sweet. Pretty tasty.

Avery The Kaiser

Really caramely sweet. Too much so for my taste.

Bonus Mandy Thoughts:
I like this a lot more than a the beers you usually make me try.

Founder's Breakfast Stout

This bottle had been sitting in my fridge for probably 10 months or so. Saved from a 4 pack from last fall.

Nice coffee and chocolate flavor. Good times. Not ridiculously heavy.


Bonus Mandy Thoughts
very coffee and chocolate syrupy.

and the aftertaste of an ashtray.

Great Lakes Edmund Fitzgerald

Ooo. Very nice. Good balance of chocolate, coffee and malt. Gary, you should drink this if available.

Lindeman's Cuvee Rene

Definitely sour. One glass probably would have been enough. Mandy thought it was bubbly. Jeremy thought it was wine like. I'm glad I had people to share it with. Its a big bottle.

I think the Rodenbach was a lot more drinkable.

Great Lakes Burning River Pale Ale

From a sampler pack:
Slightly sweet/caramel-y, not overly hoppy. Pretty drinkable and enjoyable. Not mind-blowing though.

Victory Prima Pils

When you want a pilsner that doesn't take like crap, drink this. Wonderfully hoppy.

Saison du Buff

Dogfish Head version.

Still smells herby. This actually tastes better to me than the Stone version. Slightly more lemon flavor.

Victory Twelve

Surprisingly good. I was a little hesitant after the last two belgian-style Victory offerings (Wild Devil & Helios). Slightly fruity and some caramel. I'd recommend it.

Bonus Mandy Thoughts:
Um. Yeah. Its okay. A little sweet. Tastes like disappointment.

Even More Bottle Caps!!!!

18 - Two Hearted Ale
14 - Founders
11 - Southern Tier
9 - Great Lakes
8 - Dogfish Head
7 - Bell's
6 - Heavy Seas
6 - Flying Dog
5 - Victory
3 - Weyerbacher
2 - Stone
2 - Sierra Nevada
12 - Others

I think this was from mid-August to the end of September (there is a bottle cap from the flying dog barrel aged porter in there which is identifiable, looks like a red cap with a V).

Sierra Nevada 30th Anniversary Jack and Ken's Ale

Hmm. This is extremely "hot". It would probably benefit from sitting in the back of my closet for a year or two.

Fairly bitter for a barleywine. Lots of roasted maltiness all up in it.

Not sure I like it. My least favorite of the anniversary releases so far. Elwood, avoid if you 're able to buy this.

Southern Tier Creme Brulee Stout

Not sure what I thought this one would taste like.

I get a lot more hazelnut than I do vanilla. Its not bad though. Not great. Probably shouldn't have poured it to eat with a BLT.

Bonus Mandy Thoughts:
smells like it will go well with bacon. [long pause] it smells like it should taste like delicious butterscotch candy but it doesn't. [takes another sip] [grimaces] [smells again] [takes another sip] [long pause] [puts down the beer] i would have preferred a delicious piece of butterscotch candy.

like most of your beers, it smells better than it tastes. how about this? i don't like any of your beers. [pretty sure she wasn't serious].

Terrapin Gamma Ray

Interesting. Banana smell. Lots of alcohol. Pretty sweet. Like a wheat ale on steroids.

Dogfish Head Theobroma

Another one of the ancient ales or whatever they want to call them.

Supposedly brewed with honey (yes, you can taste it), cocoa nibs (nope), cocoa powder (nope again) and ancho chilies (maybe a little). Its not bad, infinitely more drinkable than the Midas Touch. Not out of this world or anything. Can probably skip buying a bottle.

This also marks the first appearance of my Ommegang glass that I was given as part of a beer week event. I had Rare Vos (okay), BPA (very tasty) and Scotch Ale (very smokey, more of a smoked porter than scotch ale, wasn't very malty). No Zuur to be found. Sad.

Bonus Mandy Thoughts:
Tastes like a dog picked it.

Troegs Troegenator Doublebock

Not overly sweet or malty. Not sure I could drink multiples in a night but I enjoyed it a lot more than the Bell's Dopplebock.

Founders Cerise

Almost like drinking a cherry pie. In a sort of good way. Fairly sour kick in the end.

I haven't had a Sam Adams Cherry Wheat in years, but I think this tastes a lot better.

More Bottle Caps!!

9 Two Hearted Ales
8 Raging Bitches
7 Founders
6 Anderson Valley Summery Solstice
6 Heavy Seas
4 Schlafly
40 Slew of random bottlecaps (oberon, harpoon, victory, weyerbacher, rodenbach, bell's, dogfish head, corsedonk, troegs, brooklyn, shipyard, great divide, red hook)

At this point, I can't remember the time period of this batch. I guess about two months? July and some of August?

Flying Dog - Wild Dog Barrel Aged Imperial Porter

Consensus between Gary, Mandy and I was that it was pretty enjoyable.

Not as syrupy as the barrel aged stouts. Alcohol doesn't really burn all that much and the bourbon isn't overpowering.

Gary thought it had a slight buttery smell. Mandy thought it smelled a little yeasty.

The dog didn't have an opinion because she was at daycare.

Founders Centennial IPA

Its good, but not earth shattering for me. I guess I don't love centennial hops all that much. Fairly bitter aftertaste. Well balanced, yadda, yadda. Also makes my nose get really stuffed-up.

Dogfish Head World Wide Stout

Happy 100th Beer post on Joe Drinks Dinner and Stuff (I think I counted correctly). Or at least posts tagged with "Beer". May have missed one or two in there. Meaning that maybe the Black Orchard or La Chouffe or some other random post was number 100.

Onto the beer.

Very, extremely boozy. Slight licorice and raisin taste. Not as thick as I thought it'd be.

Bonus Mandy Thoughts:
It looks like flat Coke. Smells like... I'm not really sure how to describe it. It smells like I won't like it. [Makes a terrible face]. Its too sweet. Tastes like a carbonated dessert wine, and not in a good way, obviously.

The Bruery Black Orchard

So according to Beer Advocate, they've stopped brewing this beer. Explains all the dust on the bottle I bought.

Bottle says its a black wheat ale. Faint chocolate and coffee smell. Slight taste of chocolate, mostly wheaty. Fairly bubbly. I guess its okay. Don't think I'd get it again (not that I'll have the chance).

La Chouffe

Light bodied belgian pale ale, no matter if the bottle says its dark. A little funk in the smell, but not really in the taste.

Slight spice taste, I guess from the coriander. Not bad, not great.

Bonus Mandy Thoughts:
Smells Belgian-y. Tastes Belgian-y. Would be a good beer for people who don't really like Belgian beers though.

Heavy Seas Loose Cannon

Bought in place of Two Hearted Ale. I actually brought a six pack of this for Jeff and I in the past year or so. I believe its the go-to brew in the Richardson household now.

A nice east coast style IPA. Not overly bitter. Pretty good.

Bonus in the picture is an appearance of Leah's hippo toy.

Southern Tier 2XIPA

Pretty hoppy. Not surprising. Has a similar hop profile to 60 Minute IPA. Not as malty as 60 Minute IPA though. I'd recommend it.

Bonus Mandy Thoughts:
Also nailed the 60 Minute IPA comparison. A++ for her identification. "It tastes like most other unoffensive IPAs. But not as cute as my puppy."

Sierra Nevada - Charlie, Fred & Ken's Bock

Another in the series of beers Elwood may be able to purchase.

Pretty good. Its not as malty as I thought it would be. Pretty bitter for the style.

Avery Samael

Much more drinkable as it warms up.

When cold, the alcohol is really overpowering. At closer to room temperature, its not that boozy. You can definitely smell and taste the oak that was used with this. Leagues better than the Heavy Seas Bourbon Barrel Aged Below Decks.

Once again, my biggest complaint is the price. Ridiculously pricey for a 12 oz bottle, even if its the alcoholic equivalent of 3 to 4 beers.

Heavy Seas - Below Decks (Bourbon Barrel)

This beer went on a tropical vacation.

I thought this was actually rather plain. Slight vanilla/woodiness from the aging. Not too sweet which I was worried about. It just doesn't stick out in my mind and I think the cabernet barrel aging of this was a lot better.

Weyerbacher Imperial Pumpkin Ale

What the fuck, fall? Its only August. Next thing you know, Winter Ales will be available in September.

My first pumpkin ale of the season. Its actually pretty good. Not overly sweet. Nutmeg and some cinnamon are nicely balanced along with the pumpkin. I'd buy it again next year.

The Bruery Rugbrod

Can definitely taste the rye in it, but its not as aggressive as the Founders Rye Pale Ale. Starts with a heavy dose of roasted malts, but its not really sweet. Good beer.

Bonus Leah the Dog Thoughts:
I placed this and Heavy Seas Bourbon Barrel Aged Below Decks on the floor. After staring at me for 5 seconds she wandered over to the Bruery beer. Clear winner.

Bell's Special Double Cream Stout

From the back of the fridge. I guess I bought the six pack probably in the fall.

There's a weird acidic taste to this. A lot of carbonation and not all that sweet.

I'm not sure if this just didn't age well in the back of the fridge or if it always tasted like this. Will not buy again.

Bonus Mandy Thoughts:
You just want my quote because you know I won't like it because its dark. Are you writing that down? I think I've tried this one before and I didn't like it then and I don't like it now. Its fizzy and that's all I like about it. I should have my own beer blog. Leah [the dog] thinks I should too.

Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA

On draft

Nice and grassy hop flavors. Nice malt balance. Was once the official go-to IPA before Mandy and I discovered Two Hearted Ale.

Houblon Chouffe Tripel IPA

Definitely hoppy. Tasted a lot better as it warmed up. Not too funky. Definitely a "Belgian" made IPA. Not a lot of malt taste to it. Tasted like a well hopped belgian pale ale.

Anderson Valley Summer Solstice

Surprisingly tastes a lot like the Winter Solstice beer, just less "spicy". Really nice malt flavor. I'm sad that I never tried it before this summer because I love Winter Solstice. I went out a bought a six pack after having this on draft which is saying a lot for me.

Bruery Trade Winds

Hmm. Maybe a little more alcohol burn than other triples it's maybe a little heavier than others. Definitely don't get any basil. Not great, not bad.

Founders reds rye pale ale

This is pretty awesome. The rye comes through crystal clear. Less alcohol content than a manhattan. One of my favorite beers.