365 different beers from 365 different breweries in 365 days with random musings on beer, food, music, sports, dogs and anything else interesting along the way
Beer #697 Head Hunter IPA / Fat Head's Brewery, North Olmstead, OH
Previously from this brewery: Bumble Berry, Head Hunter
Today's beer was a gift from a fellow beer geek and co-worker; a bottle of Head Hunter from Fat Head's Brewery in Ohio. This beer shows off a deep gold color and a persistent white head. There's an aroma of resinous pine and grapefruit, and when you take a sip, you get a big dose of hop bitterness, with ample pine, lemon, and grapefruit and a dry finish. Perfect beer for the hop lovers out there in the world. Should you find yourself in Ohio (and let's face it; I hope you don't have to go to Ohio any time soon), you should definitely track this beer down. And then leave Ohio.
Fat.
Thing to Think About Today:
With Fat Head in mind, that means you get one of my all time favorite bands,Talking Heads! I love this group due to their funky, intelligent, artistic songs, which always sound better when played at loud volumes, preferably on a warm summer day with the windows rolled down. We'll close things out tonight with a live rendition of Girlfriend Is Better. In the words of David Byrne himself, "Nothing is better than that." Good night, all.....
This beer blog thing is so much easier when I only write every other day. I'm stockpiling beers like mad! The only problem is that some of the reviews aren't as timely as I would have intended. Take for example the Christmas ale from Great Lakes Brewing Company. Christmas is so over despite my decorations still hanging around the house. I'm over the clutter and can't wait to pack them all up next weekend and continue purging all the extraneous junk from my kingdom.
I guess the purging begins with this dusty review for a beer I drank back in December. The Christmas Ale is handcrafted with honey and spices per the label.
It poured a bright crystalline copper color with a loose ecru head. It smells lightly of honey and mostly of general beer. The taste has a much stronger honey profile with a good amount of malt. There's also just enough of a hint of hop at the finish to keep it well balanced. I can definitely taste the spices, but I can't quite name them. Overall this is a good beer.
Links to prior reviews for Great Lakes Brewing Company
Gary's thoughts on this winter warmer are here
My review of Dortmunder Goldand then there's Gary's thoughtson Dortmunder
Day #373 Christmas Ale / Great Lakes Brewing Company, Cleveland, OH
Previously from this brewery: Dortmunder Gold
I think (I think) that we're finally done with Christmas shopping for another year. Now, to wrap them.... or just hand them out without wrapping. Either way, right? Thought that counts, right?
Before we get to the beer of the day, I want to get back into the awards tour and hand out a prize for Best Brewery Visit. I've been on many brewery tours in my time, and in thinking about this category, I realized I didn't do a single brewery tour this year. I know how beer is made in theory, and if you've seen one you've sort of seen them all. However, I'm always partial to businesses I can visit in person and see first hand. I feel more of a connection when I get a chance to meet the people directly associated with my beers, really. While I didn't take any brewery tours this year, I did visit a number of breweries in person - and greatly enjoyed their tasting rooms. The best of the best? Sure....
And your winner? A round of applause, please, for Green Flash Brewing Company! Located in what appears to be more of a corporate office than a brewery, Green Flash has a great new tasting room, all of their beers on tap, an outdoor seating area (huge plus when you have San Diego weather), and food trucks that pull up to cater to the crowd drinking and socializing. Congrats, Green Flash - I wish I could visit you in person tomorrow. And every other day, too Every single day.
To get in the holiday spirit to celebrate being done buying gifts, tonight's beer is the Christmas Ale from Great Lakes Brewing. In the glass, this beer is a bright amber color, and the aroma has notes of spice and malt. The flavor is mellow, with nutmeg, malt, cinnamon, caramel, and some bitterness on the finish. Very well done, and would go well at any holiday celebration.
Hey, Great.
Great Lakes has been brewing since 1988 in Cleveland's Ohio City neighborhood. In 1998, they moved into a larger brewing facility formerly occupied by the Schlather Brewery. Now you know.
Thing to Think About Today:
Christmas beer? That calls for a Christmas song. And what says holiday spirit like Twisted Sister signing O Come All Ye Faithful? Nothing really. Enjoy, dear friends. Enjoy.
Beer #360 Bumble Berry / Fat Head's Brewery, North Olmstead, OH Beers to go: 6
We've hit the 360 beer mark, which means we're in the final week of the blog! So many exciting things in store, as I'm counting the ballots for my year-end awards. Brewery of the Year, Beer of the Year, Newcomer of the Year, Brewery Visit of the Year, etc. Be on the lookout..... it's going to be legendary.
Can't look too far ahead, as we're still on our last seven beers. Tonight's brew is Bumble Berry, a honey blueberry ale from Fat Head's Brewery in Ohio. This beer was a late season gift, which I very much appreciate. In the glass this beer has a clear light amber color, with a wispy white head. Your nose picks up a nice blueberry and grain aroma, and the taste is pure summertime - good, natural blueberry taste, with some good sweetness and a clean finish. It's as though they managed to take a blueberry muffin, and make beer out of it. This beer would be great in the summertime, and seeing how it was over 60 degrees today here in Philly, it's not too bad in December either.
I've also had the fortune of recently sampling Fat Head's Head Hunter IPA (also a gift from a dear friend!), which was a very good beer. Looking forward to adding these beers into my rotation if they start shipping further east.
Berry good summer beer. See what I did there?
Side note: The guy on the label, Mr. Fat Head, I presume, has more than a passing resemblance to former University of Kansas head football coach Mark Mangino. See?
Fat Head Logo
Coach Mark Mangino. Separated at birth?
This brewery originally started as a brewpub on the South Side of Pittsburgh in 1992, and they moved to a larger brewery space in Ohio in 2009. They also maintain pubs in Pittsburgh and Cleveland. No information available on their website about the girth of the founder's head, but we'll assume it was/is significant.
Thing to Think About Today:
We've talked a fair bit about the Fat Head aspect of this brewery, so let's change course and close out today's post with a tie to the beer: in the spirit of Bumble Berry beer and the Christmas season, Chuck Berry will be taking us home with his rendition of Run, Run Rudolph. Good night, friends.... see you tomorrow.
Beer #358 Coke Oven Stout / Rust Belt Brewing Company, Youngstown, OH Beers to go: 8
Very productive today, accomplished many things. Not everything, but the important things. And, I managed to get some takeout Chinese food dinner, which is always a great way to close out a Sunday afternoon. Good day, indeed.
We'll close out today with a beer, and tonight I'm going with a Coke Oven Stout from Rust Belt Brewing. This beer was a gift from a dear friend with roots back in Ohio, and when you pour it in a glass, it has a dark black color with a tan head. It's a stout, of course it looks like that. There are aromas of cocoa and toasted malt, and the taste has a smoky characteristic, with plenty of toasted malt and some chocolate hiding out in there. A relatively thin stout, it has a clean, dry finish. I like their label - all of their beers have a gritty, industrial feel. For better or for worse, the area known as the Rust Belt earned the name for a reason. Rather than pretending that Youngstown (and many towns just like it) is something it isn't, these guys embrace the blue color work ethic and celebrate the industry that helped quite literally build a nation.
Does not taste rusty
For those who don't know how steel is made, coke is carbonized bituminous coal, used to power the blast furnaces involved in the making of steel.
Thing to Think About Today:
Wish there was more time left in this Sunday, as I freely admit I'm not looking forward to going to work on Monday (partially because I was there today, but whatever). So, in honor of the Rust Belt, let's keep the party going with some Rusted Root. And - just because I'm good like this, Rusted Root also hails from the Rust Belt. This song was great when it came out sophomore year of college, and it's still great today. Enjoy the remainder of your day, my friends...
Today was spent doing a little clean up and plotting for post #366. But before we get ahead of ourselves, let's talk beer #358.
It's the Coke Oven stout from Rust Belt Brewing Company. This beer found its way to us thanks to a good friend who was doing a bit of traveling in Ohio, where Rust Belt is based.
The light barely penetrates the inky blackness of this stout. It has a thin tan head that's leaving just a bit of lacing in the glass. Smell is dark bread and grain...hints of chocolate. Nothing too crazy. It drinks with a thin mouthfeel. The flavor is bitter roast predominantly. There's underlying chocolate malt, bread and spices. I've had way better stouts. This one is average.
Holy hangover, batman. Yesterday was the final tailgate of the season and we went big. So much so that I'll be paying for the celebration for the next two days. Funny thing about getting older...I can still party like I'm in my college years but I recover like I'm in my retirement years.
I started out drinking out of the bottle and that's when I took this photo.
Then I decided that a glass was necessary but never retook the photo. Oh well. It poured an golden orange color with a thick white head. It had an amazing and strong grapefruit aroma. It tasted of sweet grapefruit, lots of hops, and a tiny bit of malt. There was a great deal of general fruity hops, some of which leant a nice pineapple flavor. I think this is a great example of a big, bold IPA. Cheers.
Beer #303 Hoppus Maximus / Thirsty Dog Brewing Company, Akron, OH
Marci is at the salon this evening getting her hair did, so it's just me and the dogs this evening at BlogNamedBrew Manor. The dogs are still recovering from going to the kennel this weekend, so mostly they're being rather lazy, sleeping in their giant dog bed while I drink and type. That is, when they're not sleeping in the laundry basket, as seen below. Damn lazy dogs.
Guardian of the Clean Laundry
With some lazy dogs in mind, it makes a great deal of sense that tonight's beer is Hoppus Maximus, an amber ale from Thirsty Dog Brewing Company (see what I did there) out of Akron. In the glass, it shows off an clear, honey amber color, with a fluffy white head that lingers. Your nose picks up the aroma of citrus fruit and some malt, and the taste brings you notes of grapefruit and some light pine, with a strong malt backbone, with some hints of caramel and a bitter finish. Very nice beer, particularly on a cool fall evening. Well done.
Doggone good beer
Thing to Think About Today:
The dogs clearly aren't helping me blog tonight, but that's because they may be better suited as back-up singers. You know, like the gone-too-soon Nate Dogg (RIP, all doggs go to heaven) and his masterful work backing up Warren G on the smash hit, Regulate. I defy you to find a person in their 30's who doesn't know the words to this song. I defy you!
Beer #286 Old 21 Imperial IPA / The Brew Kettle, Strongsville, OH
It's a hustle day today - started off in the city for a Red Cross awards ceremony (we didn't win), hit the Beer Yard (one of the better beer distributors you'll find in the Philly burbs) to stock up for the tailgate, and now I'm eating lunch (thanks, Whole Foods!) and writing about beer.
Today I'm going with the Old 21 Imperial IPA from The Brew Kettle. This one came as a gift from a friend (thanks, Pat!) who picked up a few lesser known beers during a recent trip to Ohio (boo, Ohio!). In the glass, this one is a clear copper color, with a thin white head. Your nose picks up a strong citrus aroma, and the taste gives classic pine and lemon flavors, although there's a bit more sweetness than I was expecting from. This is one of the easier drinking double IPAs you'll find, but it does pack a strong 9.5% ABV. Great beer for a Friday where I'm relaxing at home with lunch rather than working. Cheers, people.
Typical Friday
This brewery started up in 1995, and they spend a lot of time helping home brewers get started. That works.
Thing to Think About Today:
Because I'm a little high strung about things lately (see my phone post from yesterday), and because I spent the morning with the great people of the Red Cross, here's some Otis REDding (see what I did there?) to mellow us out on a sunny and warm Friday afternoon.
Bag of dicks! That pretty sums up how my day went. I spent 10 minutes at my desk, walked out for the first of four meetings at 8:55am and didn't get back until 4pm, then worked like a dog for 2 hours. I've been reduced to a whiny, cranky mess. Like I said...bag of dicks!
Thankfully I have a fridge full of good beer and a summer shandy that was created for a funky humid day like today. The Hoppin' Frog Turbo Shandy poured a mellow straw color, lots of carbonation and zero head.
It tastes like an Orangina and a light lager had a baby and named it Turbo Shandy. The nose is light malt and citrus and those notes carry through to the flavor. This shandy is light and flavorful...lots of citrus ( I taste mostly orange) and smooth malt. There is also a noticeable spice. It weighs in at 7% ABV.
While beeradvocate.com wasn't slinging glowing praise for it, I certainly think it is delicious. Cheers!
Beer #142 Mean Manalishi Double IPA, Hoppin' Frog Brewing Company , Akron, OH
As you've clearly seen by now from Marci's post, the Mrs. is under the weather. Thankfully, I've watched a lot of ER over the years, so therefore I'm a completely trained and skilled physician. I've got this one under control. For example: I need a chem panel, CBC, tox screen, cross-type and hang two liters of O neg, STAT!!!
In between rounds for my patients, tonight's beer is the Mean Manalishi from Hoppin' Frog (note: I'm pretty sure beers between rounds was allowed on ER). This double IPA pours a cloudy amber color, with a thin but persistent white head. Your nose is greeted immediately with the traditional hop aromas of pine and citrus. You get hit with flavors of grapefruit, along with caramel malt and a big dose of earthy, hop bitterness. It's definitely a beer for hop lovers only - all others, beware.
No frogs were harmed in the making of this beer. I think.
This brewery is a small operation out of Akron, and has been in business since 2000. While it's not on their website, the interesting Hoppin' Frog name comes from the nickname of the brewer (Frog), and the fact that things are always hoppin' at the brewery. There you have it.
Thing to Think About Today:
If we're thinking about frogs today..... I don't have much. There's the Celebrated Jumping Frog of Caleveras County, the old mascot from the WB, and I guess, Frogger. Yeah, Frogger sounds about right. Let's allow the Seinfeld guys to wrap things up in style with the episode where George clings to his youth and tries to save the video game with his high score. And now I have patients to see, lives to save, results of the CBC to review. Until next time, people.....
Today’s productivity was brought to us by a free cupcake and high-test coffee. In exactly one week, the hardest part of my year will be behind me. It makes me happy and sad -- mostly happy. You know what else makes me happy? That ceramic dachshund sitting on my desk. We talk. He has opinions. Especially about my obsessive list writing. Whatevs.
***
Last night TJ’s in Paoli saved my beer drinking butt with a new-to-me brewery: Thirsty Dog out of Akron, Ohio. I tried the Siberian Night Imperial Stout - the granddaddy of imperial stouts per their website. All their beers have fun dog-related names but I couldn’t find a backstory on why. But anything related to dogs is good for me so off we go.
This imperial stout poured pitch black with a full cocoa color head that fizzled away. It was everything I’d want in an imperial stout -- coffee, roasted malts, some caramel. It also came with just a hint of smokiness. Quite honestly, it was perfect for the rainy night. I did find it to be heavier than a lot of the other stouts I’ve had recently. It had a full, creamy feeling in my mouth (go ahead, laugh). Does it make it into my top 25, no. But I bet it could be in the top 50.
