Oskar Blue's Mama's Little Yella Pils

Honestly, if someone put a Budweiser in front of me I wouldn't have been able to tell the difference.


Mandy's bonus thoughts:
It tastes like it should be cheaper than it probably was.

Corsendonk Abbey Brown Ale

First time I ever had a Corsendonk beer was at Wonderland about 5 years ago. Some dude came into the bar with one of those three foot tall bottles and started sharing it with everyone at the bar. I think it was the Christmas ale.

Not really fruity, a slight molasses and raisan taste. Not very sweet. Pretty balanced.



Bonus Mandy Thoughts:
Smells like it has hard alcohol in it too. Smells whiskey-ish.

Its carbonated and dark brown in color.

Rodenbach (classic)

Hmm.

It has a tart, cherry taste to it. I guess its refreshing, but I'm not sure I want an entire gigantic bottle to myself.

Sierra Nevada 2010 Southern Hemisphere Harvest Ale

Another in the series of beers Elwood could maybe purchase

This is actually the first Sierra Nevada Harvest ale I've had.

I thought this was going to be a wet hop ale at first, and I was slightly puzzled how they would pull this off with Australian or whatever hops.

Its pretty bready and malty and its pretty bitter at the end. I just don't get a lot of hops taste up front which I like better.

Mikkeller Stateside IPA

I'd been interested to try some Mikkeller brews for a while but none of my usually stops seemed to carry any except for some $17 per bottle Christmas ale that's been sitting in the display for months.

So this was a nice consolation prize when I was trying to track down a bottle of the Dogfish/Stone/Victory collaboration beer.

This is on the more balanced IPA side vs. the Green Flash, Two Hearted Ale, Stone "west coast" style. A piney hops taste with just enough malt/sweetness.

Definitely a good IPA. I'd buy this again.

Dogfish Head Squall IPA

Bought a bottle of this at D'Vines after Sam Calagione from Dogfish did a book signing there (after not seeing a bottle for months after release).

Per the bottle it is a bottle fermented 90 Minute IPA. Per some random video on the web with Sam talking about hops and a random clothing line, its supposedly a more aggressively hopped IPA than the normal offering. I can't really tell though.

Not a lot of carbonation. A lot of hops up front with an overall malty sweetness. I probably should have bought a 90 minute IPA to compare it to. Just from memory its awfully similar.



Bonus: I also tasted Dogfish Head Fort on draft. It was super boozy and definitely tasted of raspberries. Not overly sweet though. Not sure I could drink a whole glass of it though. In the realm of fruity Dogfish beers, I think I liked it better than Festina Peche which I had years ago with Mandy at the Dogfish Head Brewpub in Gaithersburg.

Unibroe Trios Pistoles

fruity taste. Tastes of dates and raisins. It's pretty great. Thumbs up good job Unibroe.

Pancakes

I was in the mood for pancakes, so I recently bought some maple syrup from Trader Joe's. I finally managed to convince Mandy that some pancakes were a good breakfast idea (granted, I think I only suggested it one other time).

I used the Pioneer Woman's recipe which was heavy on the sour cream. They ended up a lot thicker than I'm used to, but they were still pretty tasty and only took about five minutes to gather ingredients and mix.

They were easy enough but I think I would play around and add more eggs and/or milk next time. These were missing my favorite part, the super buttery crispy edges. The batter this time kept slowly oozing out because it was so thick.

Allagash Curieux

The bourbon barrels have definitely left there mark here. Lots of boozy vanilla flavor. Almost more along the lines of a sparkling white whine than a beer. I guess that's what you get when you age a triple ale for who knows how long.

Bottle Caps

Joe:
3 - Two Hearted Ales
6 - Weyerbacher
6 - Green Flash (IPAs)
7 - Victory
7 - Great Divide
8 - Founders
10 - Flying Dog (Raging Bitch)
2 - Brew Dog
2 - Goose Island
2 - Dogfish Head
12 - Random (southern tier, rogue, bell's, troegs, orval, st bernardus, etc.)

Mandy:
1 - Geary's
16 - Two Hearted Ale

This was over a two month span or so and basically summarizes all the beer drinking in the apartment. I'm most puzzled by the fact that we drank 19 Two Hearted Ales. Where'd the extra one come from?

Harpoon Single Hop ESB

Its a slightly fruity well balanced beer. A slight bitterness. Great for a Sunday afternoon.

Weyerbacher Verboten

Eh. The dude at the beer store was pretty excited about this. Unfortunately, I am not. It tastes very "american", lots of bitter aftertaste, only slight banana taste. As much as I've been liking the "belgian ipas" I'm surprised I don't like this more.



Bonus Mandy Thoughts:
I like it better than the other one [Unibroue La Fin du Monde]

Unibroe La Fin du Monde

A very nice tripel. Nice amount of carbonation. Tastes of green apple, lemon and pineapple. Very drinkable for 9% abv.

Bonus Mandy Thoughts:
Mandy wanted me to drink a two hearted ale instead because she thought this would make me take a nap.

Dogfish Head Aprihop

This has been in the back of the fridge for a few months.

Still some grassy hops here. A little sweet. Not much apricot left. Not bad. Not great.

Weyerbacher Double Simcoe IPA

Creamier than the standard double ipas. I think its pretty well balanced between malt and pine from the hops.

Not bad, but the hops don't stand out enough in this for me. I'd like something a little more bitter.


Bonus Mandy Thoughts:
Mmm Hmm [shakes head up and down]

Orval

A little too bubbly for my taste.

Nice subtle taste. Pretty balanced. Mostly a fruity taste from the yeast.

The bottle was aged about a year (thanks harris teeter for the hard work!)


Bonus Mandy thoughts:
Its dancing on my tongue!

Great Divide Espresso Oak Aged Yeti

Hmm. Strong coffee taste (shocking) with a slight bitterness.

I don't get a lot of oak imparted taste here. It's still a nice stout though.

Victory Wild Devil

Well this was a little difficult to drink. The carbonation was out of control, so I never bothered to take a picture.

Quite different from the other belgian ipas from Stone and Flying Dog. Brewed with wild yeast, and it definitely tastes like it. Has a taste of dirty socks.

Its interesting, but I'm not sure I'd buy it again.

Troegs The Flying Mouflan

I really like this. Not as syrupy sweet as most barleywines.

Heavy Seas Rye Porter

I can't remember how much I liked the last rye porter I had (Bell's).

This is pretty drinkable. Slight spice from the rye.

Victory Hop Wallop

Pretty good. Very hoppy. Not really balanced. Pretty bitter. But enjoyable.

I think this may be my least eloquent review yet.

St Bernardus Abt 12

I've decided to drink more imported brews (beyond Mythos). Here's the first in my new effort.

Hmm. Its very.. understated compared to most of the beers I've been drinking. Slightly sweet and malty. A hint of raisins. Maybe a slight grape taste?

I dunno. Its nice and may well be a great beer for it style but its not for me.

Goose Island Nightstalker

Along the lines of Goose Island's Bourbon County Stout.

Lots of coffee and roasted malt flavor with a touch of licorice. Excellent brew. Would buy again.

Rogue John John Ale (Juniper Ale)

Bottle says: Pale ale brewed with juniper berries and aged in spruce gin barrels

This tastes... odd. I really can't go beyond that. A little... resiny? Definitely wouldn't recommend this or buy it again.

Bonus Mandy Review:
[Shakes head in a negative fashion]

Goose Island Sofie (2009)

Per the bottle: 80% Belgian Sytle ale blended with 20% Belgian Style ale aged in wine barrels with orange peel.

I like it a lot. The belgian yeast imparts only a slight banana taste. Its a lot crisper and tarter (lemon) than most belgian ales. Good times. I'd buy it again.

Bonus Mandy review:
[Shoulder shrug]

Avery Maharaja Imperial IPA

Nicely balanced IPA. Some malt, lots of hop taste, but not too bitter.

I'd buy it again.

Terrapin Hopsecutioner

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

Not a terribly unique IPA. Not bad, not great. Certainly not as lively as the name.