Redhook Blonde and Jay's triumphant return

Jay "Jabroni" Subbers is back in town for a one night special and we met up at the Townhouse and ran into old friends Adri and Brad and what I thought would be a quick drink turned into an erstwhile festivus talking about old times, bourbon, Coachella and one of my favorite subjects, savory food. Brad keeps segueing into stories by yelling out "RAAAANDY" from Aziz Ansari stand-up and it surprisingly never gets old. Awesomeness prevails tonight.

Blonde's have more fun - but not as much as gingers

Back home I'm cracking open a Redhook Blonde. I'm a big fan of blonde ales but I recall not liking this in college. However, there's truth to the "every seven years your taste buds change" because I'm enjoying this even though it has failing marks on the beer advocate website. Maybe that's the Maker's talking, but the medium body feels right and the taste is clean with a touch of hops. If Redhook was pitched against Sam Adams in a Beer Bowl, I'd be rooting for Redhook to win - ima fan. ARMAGEDDON rating.

Rogue Yellow Snow IPA is better than a real Yellow Snow Cone

You know the last time I saw yellow snow cone? JACKASS. Someone peed in the snow and paid someone else to eat it. The snow cone was still warm. I almost yacked onto the front row. This experience should be better than my last but if it's not, I hope David enjoys projective vomiting.

On his face

And then there were two, Jay and Lindzpoop

David lucked out, this doesn't taste like horse piss. Yellow Snow is a nice IPA that isn't overly bitter. The hops hit you, then the you taste the American pale ale body, and then the bitterness hits again at the end. Nice complexity for an IPA. TRANSFORMERS rating.

Widmer Brothers Brrr Seasonal Ale should be used as a penalty drink in our Kings game

We're playing an epic transcontinental game of KINGS up in Big Bear with Abrye (in Australia) after a great day at Big Bear and Snow Summit. Whoever pulls a king has to take a shot and fire the trick pistol, which electrocutes you. It's so strong that each person who has tries it immediately flings the pistol across the table. It really sucks. Thanks Jay!

The Widmer Brrr Seasonal ale has a TON of spices. It's as close as I will get to chewing a bag of all spice, cinnamon and nutmeg. I'm not enjoying this at all, in fact, it's going down as a TRANSFORMERS 2 rating.

Aaron B however, prefers this over the Infinium that David opened up as his beer of the day, so to each his own.

Weihenstephaner Vitus in honor of Jay

At the Library Alehouse for Jay's penultimate night in LA. Jay - you are cool, we will miss you. Excellent beer list here, but I quickly suggested an old standby - Weihenstephaner Vitus. Booyah. Good value being that it's 7.5% alc, so Base, Walker and I made moves. It's light but strong, sweet but light on your stomach. The not quite fruity, Belgian-style sugar character is my favorite part.

This beer is L'Anderson, minus the fact that it's brewed by the oldest brewery in Germany, which doesn't bear any similiarity to the Lander.

Weihenstephaner Vitus, Where Have You Been?

We went to Library Ale House to celebrate Jay's soon-to-be-departing presence and encountered a beast of a beer (and glass, which I hope to collect many of someday). Introducing, the Weihenstephaner Vitus.

This beer goes up to 11

I say introducing because I've haven't seen it in bars before (maybe I'm blind), though it should be because this beer is fantastic. It's a strong wheat beer, which basically translates to a hefeweizen that has a higher than normal alcohol content, hence the 'strong.' It is full bodied and has an excellent flavor profile. There are hints of banana and actually tastes sweeter than most hefes. This beer I wanted more and more of. Thankfully, my inhibitions were on sabbatical and I made the most of a delicious night.

Though I didn't know ye before, I'm glad I do now because this is one of the BAD BOYS.

Group Review! Hennepin by Ommegang

This is Duvel's American little brother. It's clean, balanced and delicious. A little less crispness, less alcohol and a little less sweetness. Some of the complex spice notes are missing as well, but if you like Duvel you'll like this, and if you like light, crisp, Belgians, makes moves. Pick up a Hennepin.

Joining Walker and I were some distinguished and excited beer friends. Their thoughts:

Sarah: "Oooo I like this! I think that it's crisp, sour, citrus, but like a day old citrus, not fresh citrus, (takes big sip) definitely something you should eat with. It needs to go with a white fish. But my favorite part of the beer is how the bottle looks."
Baseman: "Kinda reminds me of Duvel! (Continues playing PS3...)"
Blake: "Mmmm, pleasantly... ok hold on I need another sip, it's pleasantly citrusy, I guess that's kinda redundant. Pleasantly citrus; I would say serve with a slice of orange (!) and you have a perfect Sunday afternoon.
Jay: "I'm just gonna say nutty, but it's not nutty, it's not nutty at all."

Hey Ommegang, thanks for the great evening. Also, we all agreed that this beer could be well represented by Cate Blanchett.

Oh my gosh, Ommegang , Hennepin delivers

The last beer from Ommegang we drank last Friday, Three Philosophers, and was no good. However, the New York brewery rebounded with a beer chosen celebrate our first official group tasting with Blake L, Jay S, Sara P and Aaron B.

Hennepin is a 'Farmhouse Saison' and has a beautiful golden body with a sweet and floral and slightly spicy taste. It's crisp and delicious. I could say more, but in researching this beer, I found a comment on the Ommegang website that makes a very powerful statement which I'd like to share with you. Thank you everyone at the tasting, that night was a blast! BAD BOYS rating.

(posted 12/11/2007) "How sad that we learn some very important things at the late stages of our lives. I have spent a lifetime, well at least from about 16 to 85 looking for the perfect beer. Eureka, today I found it. I have no stock in the company, no vested interest, no axe to grind, but today I had a bottle of Hennepin Beer from the Ommegang Brewery. It has an alcohol content of 7.7% and a superb body and taste. Since I love you all, I am passing on my discovery." Robert (85 years old)

We appreciate your sentiment Robert.