Nogne O Imperial Stout bottles my Oatmeal Stout

As the Labor Day weekend begins with a half-day at work, I head directly to my temple for my style of Friday Shabbat service at Beverage Warehouse.

This store has been our go-to beer supplier for the year and as you can tell, it is fantastically stocked. These two pictures only represent bottles in the bomber size, there's an entire wall of 4 and six pack options two long to photograph. This will probably be my final time here, as I'm moving to San Francisco shortly after a vacay in Australia, so I'm nostalgically taking pictures and taking the time to wistfully stroke my chin whiskers as I choose my final selections.

I pick out the beer of the day as well as my final, beer 400 beer in 400 days. I chose a beer that has fantastic potential for not only as a symbolic end to my experience, but also to revisit. I chose a 2011 North Coast Old Stock Ale. I plan to drink one next Friday, the 2nd in 6 months, and then the third a year from now. The final beer I will save for David's consumption. Revisiting a single beer as it ages will hopefully have the effect of purposing me to continue drinking and revisiting beers. Stay tuned a week from now to see how the first one does.

Afterward, I head home and bottle my 7th home brew and third partial mash, an Oatmeal Stout, with the help of Lindsey, who's unemployed butt makes itself useful as a bottle cleaner and capper. As always, I was worried about high temperatures, but this one tastes solid. It's a bit watery but the roast comes through nicely. I bottle it a happy homebrewer.

Classy glass for a classy beer

I celebrate with a newly acquired Imperial Stout from Nogne O, a Norwegian brewery. I've heard really great things and I'm excited to make it beer 393, on the day, of my first stout's bottling...

75 IBU's and 9% alcohol, these Norgie brewers don't back down. My first sips reveal an incredibly smooth and balanced product...like, fantastically so. Dark chocolate flavors with a slightly little roast and coffee and brown sugar flavor thrown in for good measure. I'm really enjoying how the hops balance out the malt. Rich but easy to drink -- this is motor oil light. The alcohol is so well hidden it's sneaking up on my brain as I finish the bomber. Half-day Fridays are off to a glorious start! This is strong, subtle and smooth. Absolutely worth the 8 bucks I spent on the bomber. BAD BOYS