Beer: Pale Ale Brewer: Sierra Nevada
Style: Pale Ale
Tasting notes: Ditto as previous review.
Rating: 4 glasses
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Pale Ale
Beer: Pale Ale Brewer: Sierra Nevada
Style: Pale Ale
Tasting notes: Ditto as previous review.
Rating: 4 glasses
Racer 5
Beer: Racer 5 IPA Brewer: Bear Republic
Style: IPA
Tasting notes: (0909) A bomber @ Acacia. A wonderful IPA. Floral nose and nice bitter bite at finish. (0608) A pint at CAH. Hops is king here. Pine and grapefruit.
Top 100: 29 December 2005 but not 10 March 2007 or 26 September 2009.
Rating: 5 glasses
Bigfoot
Beer: Bigfoot Barleywine Style Ale Brewer: Sierra Nevada
Style: Barleywine
Tasting notes: (0908) 1.5 year-old bottle. Delightful. Malty and mellow at first sips. Then piney bitter hop bite which was almost over the top emerged. Ages wonderfully. Click here to read an earlier review.
Top 100: 29 December 2005 but not 10 March 2007 or 26 September 2009.
Rating: 7 glasses
Friday, September 25, 2009
Red Seal Ale
Beer: Red Seal Ale Brewer: North Coast
Style: Pale Ale
Tasting notes: (0908) A bottle as a Bday gift. Nicely balanced red ale. Close call but downgraded to 4 glasses. (0803) Another bottle @ Avalon. Nice, malty, easy drinking pale ale. Upgraded from 4. (0612) As bottle warms pine begins to dominate. (0608) A bottle at Avalon. A nice balance of malt and hops.
Note: BeerAdvocate now classifies the beer as a Red Ale.
Rating: 4 glasses
Chocolate Stout
Beer: Chocolate Stout Brewer: Rogue
Style: Stout
Tasting notes: (1010) On draft @ World Market. Chocolate milkshake. Sweeter than I remembered. Went great w/ chocolate gananche pie. (0908) Shared bottle w/ GS. CHOCOLATE! Dark bitter chocolate taste predominates (0706) Downgraded to 5 glasses in new rating based on Shakespeare. (0601) Yummy. Chocolate taste with rich smokey flavor. Enough edge to sip but smooth enough to gulp.
Top 100: 29 December 2005, 10 March 2007, and 25 September 2009.
Previous ratings: 6 glasses
Rating: 5 glasses
Mothership Wit
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Goose Island 312 Urban Wheat Ale
Floreffe Prima Melior
Beer: Prima Melior Brewer: Floreffe
Style: Belgian Strong Dark Ale
Tasting notes: (0908) Pleasant, interesting, but not complex. Anise gives it a nice bite. Downgraded from 5 glasses. (0711) Pleasant and interesting. Sweet malt w/ fruit when cold. As it warms (better) the anise and spices come forward, sweet up front with a licorice sour/spicy bite at end.
Rating: 4 glasses
Duvel
Beer: Duvel Brewer: Duvel
Style: Belgian Strong Pale Ale
Tasting notes: (1308) This has become one of my favorite beers. Upgraded from 6 glasses. (0908) A complex beer and a beautiful pour. Dry, fruity, a touch of funk and spice. A great introduction to the world of Belgian beer. (0809) Wonderful. (0806) 2nd of the 4. Wonderful, sour, and funky. Great w/ lemon chicken, saltines, and brie. Upgraded from 5 glasses. (0806) 1st of a 4-pack. Light funk w/ a touch of sweet apple up front and peppery hops at finish. Massive head. May rate 6 glasses. (0710) A bottle @ Mary Lou's. Light funk. Very nice. Massive head. (0602) 12 oz. bottle at Millie's. Light and lots of funk. At first taste I wondered if the beer had soured. Good with subtle foods. A pretty pour. Lots of long lasting head and bubbles in glass. Fantastic lacing that lasted well after the glass was empty. (????) Unimpressed with first bottle. Rating = 2 glasses.
Notes: Recognized as one of the world's great beers and a classic example of Belgian Strong Pale Ale.
Top 100: 29 December 2005, 10 March 2007, and 1 September 2009.
Rating: 7 glasses
North Coast ACME California IPA
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbier
Rogue Shakespeare Stout
Beer: Shakespeare Stout Brewer: Rogue
Style: Stout
Tasting notes: (0908) Shared bottle w/ Knapps. Yummy, Chocolate and coffee and hops bite. Complex, balanced, tasty, sippable and gulpable. Upgraded from 6 glasses and would like to compare w/ Siberian night. (0702) A bottle at Williams. Very nice. Downgraded to 6/8 after having Bell's Expedition. (0610) Shared a bomber with Valeries. Wonderfully complex and balanced. Present but not overbearing burnt charcoal blends to dark malt with chocolate and coffee and a touch of caramel and then melts to mild hop bitterness.Good to sip and fine to drink.
Top 100: 29 December 2005 and 10 March 2007. (Not on 3 August 2009.)
Rating: 7 glasses
Friday, July 31, 2009
Sierra Nevada Kellerweis
Beer: Kellerweis Brewer: Sierra Nevada
Style: Hefeweizen
Tasting notes: (0907) 3 bottles from a 6-pack. Interesting, easy drinking and complex but somehow misses my mark. Fruity, lemony, sweet apples, banana, breath of clove, and spicy. Could pass for a triple or belgian-style blond ale. A tiche heavy and sweet for a hefeweizen. May rate 2 glasses.
Comment: The brewer has recently added Kellerweis to its year-round lineup.
Rating: 3 glasses
Starr Hill Northern Lights
Sunday, July 12, 2009
"Finest Kind" IPA
Beer: "Finest Kind" IPABrewer: Smuttynose
Style: IPA
Tasting notes: (1003) Beautiful lacing. (0907) 2 from a six best by 0911. Wonderful. A perfect blend and amount of hops. Nice bite but not overpowering, some flowers, some citrus, and some pine, especially at the finish. (0809): 1st of a 6 pack. Lots of piney hops.It has "flava". (0807) Continues to impress. (0802) Last of the 6. It continues to hit the spot. Dry, hoppy, w/ the perfect bite. (0801) Upgraded from 6.glasses. (0801) Just enough hops. Flavorful AND easy to drink. Goes great w/ a wide variety of food. What more would you want? (0801) Not as much hop bite as I remembered but still very nice. (0708) 1st 2/6. Still my fav IPA. Nice mix of floral, bitter, and piney hops. Loooong bitter finish. (0609) Pineier than I remembered but still GREAT. Nice bite: a little rough, but not harsh. (0604) 8 oz. in South Winds, on tap. Confirmed this as my favorite IPA. Lots of hops but not harsh. (????) Do you like hops?
Comments: "Finest Kind" has become and remains my favorite IPA and one of my favorite beers. Click here for an earlier description.
Top 100: 29 December 2005. (Not on10 March 2007, 8 February 2009 or 12 July 2009.)
Rating: 7 glasses
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