Goose Island -Gillian

Quite expensive and quite enjoyable. 

I'll take their word that there are strawberry's in here, but the white pepper is definitely in the aroma and fully present while imbibing. Moderately tart and fairly sweet. I'd definitely get it again. 

Allagash - Old HLT

Stored in the cellar at the in-laws in Maine. Purchased sometime in 2012 and has a Nov 2011 bottled date. 

There is barely any cherry taste left. Mildly tart and finishes with barely any aftertaste. Carbonation is still good.  Should have drank them all last year. I have one bottle left and may leave it to see what happens for another year. 

Allagash - FV 13

From Joe Drinks Dinner and Stuff

Woo this is tart. Starts off a little sweet and then... bam. Tart cherry. Carbonation is perfect for the style. Not too sweet, tartness fades so its not ridiculous to drink the whole bottle.

Only downside was the price, but it wasn't too much more expensive than the Old HLT that I purchased at the brewery. Recommended if you see it. 

Uinta - Birthday Suit

From Joe Drinks Dinner and Stuff

"Sour Brown Ale" - they should have called it "sort of sour brown ale."

Its actually pretty enjoyable. Not a great beer, but drinking the entire bottle by myself wasn't a complete chore. 

Cascade - Blueberry

From Joe Drinks Dinner and Stuff

Not as tart or blueberryific as I was expecting. A hint of brett in the aroma. A hint of blueberry is there, but not really as prevalent as I thought it would be. Nice, but I wouldn't bother getting it again. 

New Belgium - Tart Lychee

Certainly tart.

New Belgium - Peach Porch Lounger

From Joe Drinks Dinner and Stuff

Slightly malty, a little hint of peach. Also a hint of brett. Less interesting than it sounds from my very boring description.

Mandy described this as "slightly cidery."

History of Beer with Greg Engert

From Joe Drinks Dinner and Stuff

Mandy and I went to a class at the Livingsocial space in DC. It ended up consisting of Greg Engert (from Churchkey fame) rambling about the history & origins of beer for two hours. Depending on your interest level in beer, this was either a good thing, or a terrible, terrible thing.

First off, the beer drinking portion consisted of seven 4 oz. pours of a wide range of beers. Here's what I can remember:

Jolly Pumpkin - Bam Noire
Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier Weizen
Stillwater - Cellar Door
Victory - Hop Devil
Duck Rabbit - Doppelbock
Flying Dog - Pearl Necklace
Tupper's Keller Pils

There was also a table with an assortment of meat, cheeses & olives which people went to town on.

Greg talked non-stop for two 45 minute periods about the history of beer. It was pretty interesting for me, not so much for Mandy. Most interesting point was that all beer probably started out as very smokey & sour due to how grains would be dried and the beer fermented. Mandy was not impressed with the smoked beer:

From Joe Drinks Dinner and Stuff

The dude that sat next to me was not impressed with any of his beers. In the back right corner of the picture below, you can see his first two beers still full even after they passed out the second set of beers. He barely touched anything that was put in front of him. I have no idea why he signed up for and attended this class.

From Joe Drinks Dinner and Stuff

Overall it was a little long and a little pricey. I'm not sure I'd recommend it, but it was certainly a change of pace on a Sunday night.

Allagash at Meridian Pint

From Joe Drinks Dinner and Stuff

Part of yet another DC beer week event. There was a crazy amount of Allagash on tap, including two vintages of Confluence, some barrel aged beers, one coolship beer and other beers I had not heard of.

Goulschip - on the right Definitely tart. That's all I really get. It's brewed with pumpkin and an assortment of other things, but its just tart. Definitely enoyable though. (And the first Allagash coolship beer I've had). Yakuza - on the left Tripel dry hopped with sorachi ace & cascade hops It doesn't seem as sweet as I remember their standard tripel. I didn't get too much out of the dry hopping. Nice enough. Saison Mihm - (Not Pictured) This was really enjoyable. Dry and slightly spicy. Recommended. Confuence 2011 - (Not Pictured) Something didn't come together for me on this. The brett is more pronounced, but its not as "bright" as I remembered. Maybe better fresh?

Sierra Nevada & Russian River - Brux

From Joe Drinks Dinner and Stuff

This was enjoyable enough. The brett was more pronounced in the aroma versus the actual taste. It may be more interesting after a year or two after the brett has been able to do some work, but I'm not that patient. It was substantially more drinkable than the New Belgium Brett Beer though. Pass, for the short term, buy another for the long term?

New Belgium/Lost Abbey - Brett Beer

From Joe Drinks Dinner and Stuff

Not that wonderful. I was hoping for something close to Epic's brett beer (I can't remember if it had some sort of barrel aging too to get the tartness).

This was pretty malty compared to what I was hoping for. It has an aftertaste slightly similar to their Biere de Mars that I actually poured out, but this is a lot better than that beer was.

I'd pass and would not recommend.

Goose Island - Juliet

From Joe Drinks Dinner and Stuff

Yet another tart/sour beer. This one is particularly tart. Mandy did not appreciate the sip I gave her. It says its made with blackberries, but I can't really tell. I think I like it better than the Tart Lychee from last night.

Allagash Interlude

On tap at max's taphouse

Fairly similar to the goose island dominque.

Slightly tart with a hint of sweetness. Slightly funky. Pretty enjoyable.

Jolly Pumpkin Oro de Calabaza

Do not order this again. Slightly sour and funky but it just doesn't hang together.

Russian River Supplication

Mmm. Tasty. Sour beer, aged in oak barrels with cherries added. Apparently it starts out as a brown ale.

Not too tart or over the top. The cherry taste helps balance the sourness. I like it a lot better than the Lindemans Gueze and the Rodenbach.