Sierra Nevada Beer Camp Juniper Black Ale is a boozy dessert

On the heels of the Beer Camp Weizenboch comes an 8% Juniper Black ale that sounds very enticing. Both these beers are high in alcohol for their style and I'm convinced that these people at beer camp just want to get drunk on the good stuff. And I have to say...good for you!

This is delicious as hell (happy berfday Jesus, sorry). There is a smooth roast with only a small but tasty spicy bite to it thanks to the juniper. It's especially amazing with the ice cream and pairs like a like a liquid syrup. . I'd say it's THE ROCK rating. This is a beer I would like to gather more of and share with my friends.

Lagunitas Fusion 2 Black IPA celebrates Karl's berfday

Frequent collaborator Karl celebrates his birthday today and in case you forgot who this classy gentleman is and whether he likes cheese, below is a subtle reminder:

At The Daily Pint, I order a pint of a black IPA, a very different style that I'm considering home brewing. I've tasted a few along the way, Deschutes Hop in the Dark was the first and by far the best, but the rest have been a mixed bag. Will my 348th beer of the year be delicious and help me destroy Karl at Foosball on his berday?

Me thinks so. Poured a two finger head out of the tap and has a rich roasted aroma that's enticing. It has a medium bodied consistency, less than a Guinness. The taste is a great combination of roasted malts with a hoppy kick at the end. It's pretty malty up until the hops kick in, which I enjoy but it doesn't make the beer much of an IPA and is more along the lines of a hoppy Black Mild. Potatoe, Potatoo I suppose. The main problem in creating a black IPA, is mixing the hop bite with the bitter roasted malts, and Lagunitas solved the problem by creating a malty IPA, and I'm enjoying it.

I also enjoyed beating Karl for second time by 1 point! CLUTCH CITY. TRANSFORMERS rating.

Eagle Rock Solidarity starts the party at Surly Goat happy hour

My coworker Tiffany and I started doing the Surly Goat Happy Hour every Friday after work and it's been a boon. They have four or so beers for $4 dollars till 8pm and a host of other unique beers for under $8. Their bartenders are both cool and knowledgeable. For a beer geek, the place is an oasis. More to the point, they also have Foosball. Today's beer was from the local Eagle Rock brewery:

The Solidarity is a black mild ale and pours a great head. She has nice toated malts with a hint of cocoa that goes down light and makes for a good happy hour starter. I could drink a couple of these but I instead branched out for a Firestone Pale Ale (nice hops) followed by the ever gracious, Pliny the Elder. Plus bartendress Amy encouraged me to sample a few beers. Can't beat that night.  Next stop is Korean BBQ and some Hite! TRANSFORMERS rating.

Gunga Galunga....Gunga, Galunga-Lagunga (The Bruery Provisions series)

Chalk up another reason why The Bruery is awesome; they named one of their Provisions series after a Bill Murray / Caddyshack quote. Unfortunately the internet Nazi's have disabled the audio for all the video clips of the scene so I can't post it but below is the quote. It is tummy-tickling hilarious that they actually named a beer after an improvised Tibetan phrase from a golf comedy.

Carl Spackler: "A looper, you know, a caddy, a looper, a jock. So, I tell them I'm a pro jock, and who do you think they give me? The Dalai Lama, himself. Twelfth son of the Lama. The flowing robes, the grace, bald... striking. So, I'm on the first tee with him. I give him the driver. He hauls off and whacks one - big hitter, the Lama - long, into a ten-thousand foot crevasse, right at the base of this glacier. Do you know what the Lama says? Gunga galunga... gunga, gunga-lagunga. So we finish the eighteenth and he's gonna stiff me. And I say, "Hey, Lama, hey, how about a little something, you know, for the effort, you know." And he says, "Oh, uh, there won't be any money, but when you die, on your deathbed, you will receive total consciousness." So I got that goin' for me, which is nice."

The Gunga Galunga beer is a black ale brewed with galanga (ginger), kaffir lime and fermented with brettanomyces, whatever that nanobot sounding material is.

I lost my Caddyshack box and this was in arm's reach, what can you do?

Strangely enough, it smells like icy hot. There are super dark malts with crazy fruit flavors and a little citrus thrown in for good measure. The Gunga and the Premiere have intense profiles. This beer is kiwi coffee on steroids. It's wild. I don't know who could drink this often but it's worth a shot if you're into fruity coffee beer. ARMAGEDDON rating.