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.

Anchor Summer Beer

I arrived at Cha Cha Chicken and scrounged for leftover ropa vieja and deliciously unhealthy plantains, when Aaron B offered David and I an Anchor Summer Beer.

Interesting malt / hops action. It is an all-malt beer, and over 50% of its malt comes from malted wheat. Anchor Summer is not as refined as some summer ales, but that's not a bad thing. It's like a good whiskey old fashioned. Sugars and bitters take most of the edge off, but there's still some bite. This fella filled me up though, and if I was out in the hammock on a hot summer day I would need to split the sixer.


Love the bottle shape too. TRANSFORMERS rating.

Anchor Summer Beer, Gumbo, Kristen Bell

Hey Anchor Summer, meet ChaCha Chicken's Gumbo, in my belly.

Aaron B was delightful enough to toss me an Anchor as I sat down to enjoy a delicious meal. Then Walker showed up and we had a tasting situation in full effect.

Anchor Steam is some interesting stuff, and the Summer keeps up the tradition. A good balance of Amber flavors and light wheat ale attitude. The carbonation is pretty moderate, big bubbles but not too crisp. Not bitter at all, almost no hops to be found. I like this, and would grab it in place of Steam.

This beer is Kristen Bell after her appearance in Forgetting Sarah Marshall. Part of a good franchise, cute and good at being the fresh, female starlet. Effervescent without being crisp. But ultimately she's destined to be a supporting cast member forever.

Wells Banana Bread Beer

Against David's hesitation, I convinced him in the spirit of Sunday Funday to taste the Wells Banana Bread beer. Yes, you read that correctly. This definitely falls into the category of "that's an odd idea for a beer." As for what compelled this creation, I'm assuming the English brew master was very inebriated in his grandmother's kitchen one night, smelled the above mentioned scrumpet and between heavenly mouthfuls EUREKA! A beer flavor was born. Anyone else have an origin story?

In all it's glory

So why buy this beer? Because my year long experiment/adventure is the perfect time to try beers I would normally never drink. I have no desire to only drink the top rated Belgian beers (or whatever). The whole point is to explore the beer spectrum. So here we are. Banana Bread. In a glass. Random note, this reminds me a little of the end in ENVY when Ben Stiller and Jack Black create Flan in a tube, aka, 'Pocket Flan.' Yum.

The subject is an English Ale that is brewed with bananas, as well as having banana flavor added. Hm. After pouring, we caught wind of a distinct banana bread aroma. Smelled surprisingly good. I became a jest a bit excited, as I was secretly hoping to find a sleeper and prove David's doubts wrong. We took our first sip and....eeeeeeeeeeeck, not so good. An overwhelming malt taste with no goodness behind it. I drank this quickly and was quite thankful that my old friend Wild Turkey was present. We watched Mad Men together and it was glorious. Wells brewery, sorry but not sorry, you have earned a PEARL HARBOR rating.

Sierra Nevada Autumn Brown Ale Tumbler, Yum

Saturday afternoon I suggested red meat to go along with our Autumn Brown Ale Tumbler. I helped David create a terrifically ridiculous meal: andouille sausage and beef burger with blue cheese and caramelized onions, topped off a spicy mayo sauce. Savory and sweet and spicy.


This-Was-Amazing. It will also be known as the burger that almost destroyed me.

A supreme heart attack and a half

Onto the beer. I'm only familiar with Sierra Nevada's seasonal Summerfest and Pale Ales (shame one me) but both are superb. This beer is no exception. This Autumn Brown Ale Tumbler pours a beautiful dark brown color. I could not only taste the light hops of a traditional Sierra Nevada but also well-balanced rich caramel and brown sugar flavors typical in an American ale. Delicious. it was perfect for red meat. The beer is a solid ale and while I'm rating it as TRANSFORMERS, I will certainly purchase this again soon. 

Hoptopia Double IPA

Kamari, my adopted dog child for the weekend, and I waited for Walker
right up until 1150, almost had to go it alone. I was excited to try
this double IPA because it's one of my favorite styles. Hoptopia is a good
variation, there's a mellow sweetness that settles in after the
typical bitter taste of a strong IPA. Walker has decided he doesn't
like this beer, but he's probably just jealous that Kamari likes me
more than him.

This beer is Jack Nickolson in as Good As It Gets. A (double) bitter
curmudgeon that is actually kinda nice once you get to know the guy.

Hoptopia Double IPA

So this fella was a reasonably cheap purchase at BevMo. The name raises tasting expectations and I imagined a super nova explosion of hops in my mouth, like an amazing science experiment gone wrong.

It's a lot to live up to and Hoptopia failed to meet expectations. It's not a bad beer, but the hop was less explosion and more Black Cat Firecracker. If the label said, 'a mild mannered IPA' then I wouldn't be left so unsatisfied. They could make the name an homage to Clark Kent, Superman's mild mannered alter-ego. Hermitage Brewery, I'm available. And cheap. Did I mention terrifyingly handsome? Meanwhile, Hoptopia Double IPA can be found on THE ISLAND.

Ommegang Chocolate Indulgence Stout

Well thanks to advertisers who pimp out the word for feminine beauty, clothing or nutritional ad campaigns, 'indulgence' exudes an determinedly feminine quality. I never hear it used during a Chevrolet truck ad. Even those shirtless douchenozzles at Abercrombie & Fitch won't utter it (but please, make my day).

But in the beer world? Apples and Oranges my friend. Horse of a different color. Priest of a different frock. Now, I didn't race home after purchasing and instead kept it for over a week, waiting for a night when I felt like drinking my dessert. This is the way I see it: 80-90% of the beer market is dominated by your big companies, Budweiser/Coors/Miller, leaving a tiny fraction for brews with originality and specialty. There are still A LOT of micro-brews within that small group but of that percentage, how many dessert beers do you think there are? Not that many. I figure this beer is an indulgence even before tasting.

Snapshot: essentially the Indulgence is a Belgian Dark Ale, however, at 7% alcohol it's technically labeled a Stout. It's also made with Belgian Dark Chocolate. Point being, it's a sipping beverage.

Speaking of indulgence, Lindsey A. makes her MIFB debut via Skype. Thanks for being the vanilla between our chocolate stout

Poured with a beautiful head. The taste is heavy on chocolate but not as rich as I'd imagined, more like a Ghirardelli quality light mousse. It's well crafted, indulging but not overwhelming. Props to Ommegnang because I think they accomplished what they set out to do. However, my glass emptied, and I was left slightly unsatisfied. I would've liked a dessert beer to have a fuller body (it finished too quickly) as well as a more complex character - hints of coffee, nuts, etc. This is a specialty beer meant for special occasions and within its specific mission it delivers. TRANSFORMERS rating.

Eye Of The Hawk, KYAAAAH! From Mendocino Brewing Co

Eye of the Hawk sounds like an excerpt from those misleading motivational speeches made by my basketball coach during middle school, home of the Spring Branch Eagles.

David brought this in after a coworker threw a party and the hawk's were the sole survivors, a dubious distinction. Straight from Ukiah, Californa, the hawk pours a reddish/amber color and has a caramel malt taste. However...

Survivor's new single: "It's the eye of the hawk and the thrill of the pitcher's balk, rising up to the mistakes of our rivals."

However, it has a strange aftertaste. And it's not good strange, like going to the gym drunk. But it's also not weird strange, as in grandpa obsessively watches the WNBA. No...it's peculiar, like Goth kids who also play varsity football.

As you can tell I'm having trouble placing the taste. However, regardless of my questionable tasting faculty, the fact is I didn't quite enjoy this ale. Yet if this was the last beer in a party cooler, I would never not drink it (double negative, count it!). TRANSFORMERS 2.

Rubicon ESB

Little background on the beer type: ESB's are in the family of Pale Ales ('Bitters' in England). ESB is the big brother of the IPA and ESB stands for Extra Strong Bitter. The 'Strong' does not refer to the degree of hops, but rather the alcohol strength, which is anything greater than 4.8%.

Complimented by a foam mustache, the first taste of the Sacramento based Rubicon ESB made an impression. It was crisp and distinctive, and the hops were subtle, sleuthing. The Rubicon's sharpness derives from its carbonation. Check out the foamy head in the picture, I find the next part interesting:

Foam Mustache Ride Anyone?

So I tasted just after opening but stepped away to play a video...read a book, and some time later I reached for my beer. The taste changed, becoming flat and bitter. It was bad but was simply different. See, opening the bottle allowed oxygenation to occur and as time passed, the carbonation dissipated and the hops were replaced by the real backbone of an ESB, a bitter. Like Kesier Soze, the greatest trick the hops ever pulled was convincing the tongue it did exist. And like that (poof), it was gone.

It's an interesting beer and I wouldn't mind drinking at least once before ARMAGEDDON.

p.s. I'm not a total geek, so I can only hope the science above is correct and if it's not, correct me in the comments, I'd love to learn.

Haywire Hefeweizen, It's Not Entirely Your Fault

This post is less of a review and more of a jeremiad (today's Word of the Day anyone?). Here is the picture and afterwords a story.

Culprit of my Aluminum Jeremiad

Based on actual events: So one evening a young man desired a beer but at the local liquor store found mostly beers with unsavory price tags, until in the corner he spied micro-brew for cheap. 'What he bargain!' The naive child giddily thought as he purchased the item with laundry money. At his apartment, he poured a frothy glass and as he tasted it's sweet....metallic-ness? At once, his mind became awash with memories long suppressed, images and tastes from other beverages such as Coca-Cola and Modelo Especial ruined by the element known...as...Alum (street name 'Aluminum'). He struggled on, heroically utilizing his years of suppression to continue bravely onward. Sip, after sip, after sip brought forth the beer's watered-down banana and uninspiring spice, however, the finish could not hide the disgusting afterbirth of aluminum in the Pyramid Brewery's beer and so he threw the can over the porch railing and fell to his knees screaming "STELLA!" for no readily apparent reason. What was left in the tallboy, soon emptied onto the ground before an awaiting terrier, scraggly and unkempt, who sniffed and licked at the light but cloudy golden color. Its lips curled up as it turned to make haste, but not before muddying the classless, aluminum-tainted liquid with its excellence. It kicked the can down the marina dock where the notorious Sea Lion 'Sanctuary Sam' seized the moment and clenching the tallboy between his jowls, escaped into the starless night.

Everyone was a loser here: the young man, the pissant terrier, Sancutary Sam, PETA and especially Greenpeace.

Moral of the story, spend the extra dollar and go with glass; only cheap beer and soft drinks whose end purpose is to provide quantity consumption (over quality) deserve a metallic poisoned coffin. Oh and Haywire Hefeweizen deserves to be on THE ISLAND, where he will be visited by Sanctuary Sam.

The Bruery Saison de Lente

A Summer seasonal that's true to its word, I drank this beer while watching Entourage (actually good for once) but is better suited for a picnic outdoors.

The pour on this creates a MASSIVE head and I definitely over-poured the first time (sploosh). The taste is an interesting mix of an upfront floral/hoppy-ness indicative of this Belgian style but was soon followed by a grassy/bitter taste. It's a perfectly fine beer but not suited for all occasions. Autobots rule, TRANSFORMERS rating.

When Splinter from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 'makes a funny' you may say he's being a...

PRANQSTER. Ha. Ha. Ha. Ahhm. From North Coast Brewing comes a Belgian Style Golden Ale that compels you suavely say, 'Hello beautiful. Shhh, no words. I'm just gonna drink you."

Hello GoldBeer, seems we meet again

Saturday night I took a detour from a pub crawl on Main St. to drink this on tap (!) at the Library Alehouse. I was joined by Melissa R, Jessica W, Blake L and Nick G (who all loved sipping on Allagash White). Back to Pranqster, it's an unfiltered smooth golden ale. Look at that body! The taste is rich and substantial but also subtle. It's a nearly perfect beer. Nearly. It lacks a little spice, a distinctive kick that makes you say, 'that's the one.'

Some people may disagree with me on this, but here's my take. A home cooked meal usually lacks the polish of a professional chef, however, it can still be terrifically delicious. I will always order Pranqster at the Library Alehouse, as it makes me a happy camper. That being said, in my hearts of hearts and liver of livers, I don't feel this beer deserves the penultimate honor. But please, enjoy your stay at THE ROCK.

Christmas Time in August: Something Special from Unibroue, the Quelque Chose

Arriving at Whole Foods in Venice Friday night, I walked right into an ambush/beer tasting with Unibroue sales rep Michael Smith, who interestingly enough owns a CrossFrit gym in Huntington Beach (i.e.he's huge). We tried six beers, including Blanche de Chambly, Ephemere Apple, Maudite, La Fin du Monde, Trois Pistoles, Terrible and the night's special Quelque Chose - more on that later. Apparently Whole Foods invites brewers every Friday night to the store at 7pm. For $15, a thirsty individual can receive a bunch of beer and a free meal (always different) and sometimes a free glass. Duly noted Whole Foods, you're in my calendar. I also won a free shirt for being excellent and/or correctly guessing an irregularity in the Trois Pistoles bottle (more when we profile that beer).




What I'm choosing to speak about this evening was the night's special, Quelque Chose, which is pronounced 'Quell K Shows' and means 'something'. Now, why is it special?

A). This is a limited edition Unibroue, only 750 cases worldwide.

B). It falls into the category of a mulled beer, which is basically a beer served hot (like gluvine - hot wine). Mulled beer is usually produced during the winter season. I'll tell you what, this beer is delicious any time of year. I wish it was on every street corner liquor shop.

C). Why only 750 cases? Because it takes three years to make. Ah, that's why it isn't everywhere.

Mulled beer is served at 122-155 F degrees, which is accomplished by bringing a pot of water to boil and then simply dipping the beer in-and-out of the water. It's that simple. (Hot Saki uses the same basic technique, only you have wait for the bubbles to rise).

The Unibroue website describes the Quelque Chose as a blend of Belgian Kriek Ale and a Brown Ale brewed in Chambly. Now as Michael Smith poured it, he describes it as a Sour Brown Ale, which I find closer to the truth and instantly easier to comprehend. I usually don't like sour ales but this beer changed my mind. First off, it's not super sour. The cherries come up front but quickly wash away as the heated ale rises up and then finishes with the sweetness of vanilla and honey.

This beer is arresting. The unique blend, the spices, the heat. Everyone in the bar gasped and involuntarily exclaimed 'oh my god! This is amazing.' High off winning my novelty Unibroue t-shirt, I join in with the dweeb chorus around me....but inside my mind was going YUM YUM YUM YUM like a kid who'd waited a long hot summer's day for delivery of a ice cream fudge sunday.


 
Michael promised that they would have cases in Whole Foods for the seasonal and while I'm holding out crossing my fingers he isn't one to make empty promises, I'm not holding my breath. It's just so rare. Still, if you see one BUY IT - it's one of the BAD BOYS.

Alesmith IPA, I've Never Doubted You

You know those moments when you look over at someone and say yep, that's happening? Happens to David and I when we agree to purchase this beer. Not one you buy all the time but when we do purchase, it always pleases our palates (and bellies). It's just a great beer. Full of hops, a rich malty base, it's just great. I was excited to see it on tap recently at O'Brien's pub on Main St.

It's a beer that's highly rated and thoroughly enjoyed. This is easily one of the knights of the round IPA table. One of the top cheeses, like Sir Lancelot or Sir Galahad. In addition, AleSmith cleverly creates an IPA acronym on the bottle back (top right). How can you turn down delicious and clever? Not I said the wolf. BAD BOYS rating

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.

Red Hook 8-4-1 Expedition

Wow, I will get this again.

Don't usually like brown ales, but this is an imperial brown, a ruler of other browns, apparently. There's a ton going on here, some hoppy, rich sweetness, probably the candi sugar, then a bit of honey and smokiness. This is easily one of the most original beers I've had in a long time. The finish and aftertaste is similar to any other brown, with the addition of some hops and a little bitterness from the 9.5% alcohol. If there was some additional crispness, and a stronger sweet note on the finish, this beer could get pretty close to perfect. This is my favorite beer of the one-a-day-tour so far. Plainly and confidently, this beer is Freddie Mercury (on a vacation in the US).

I should add that Walker had recorded "Wipe Out" on ABC and is howling like a monkey at the TV as I write this.

I'd Set Sail with the Red Hook 8-4-1 Expedition

I really only know Red Hook from their excellent ESB but this specialty beer 'Expedition' made a very indelible mark. 

Watermelon not included

It's a brown ale with a honey, like a pub beer turbocharged with sweetness. This is a great sipping beer and something to enjoy on THE ROCK.


And WIPEOUT is the most hilarious TV show ever. Nothing is funnier than people constantly falling on their face. It's science.