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
Day #467 IBA / Lakefront Brewery, Milwaukee, WI
Previously from this brewery: all about the Pumpkin Lager and the Pumpkin Lager
Hustle day and a road trip day, so I'm getting right down to business here. Your review for the day is the IBA, an India-style black ale from Lakefront Brewery. When you pour it, you get an almost dark chocolate color, with a thin off white head. Aroma of lightly toasted malts and a touch of hops. When you drink it down, you find more of the same; lightly toasted malts, some hop bitterness on the otherwise clean finish, and hints of citrus and pine hiding under the surface. It's an interesting take on an IPA, although not one I'm likely to seek out too often.
"Black" beers have become all the rage lately, as brewers work to incorporate more roasted/toasted malt into their products to jazz things up. Hell, even Anheuser-Busch rolled out a Black Lager this year (not that I intend to ever drink that unless I've been captured by enemy forces and they're forcing me to drink one as a form of cruel and unusual torture). I appreciate brewers being adventurous and looking for ways to continue pushing the envelope, but I'm just not on board with "black" beers right now. Sorry.
Eye B A. Get it?
I have been to Milwaukee, but only as a stop on a business trip. Looking forward to visiting one day.
Thing to Think About Today:
Song I heard on the radio today doesn't quite describe my feelings on this beer, but You Know I'm No Good deserves some recognition. Hopefully you enjoy, because I do always worry about your enjoyment, dear readers.
Beer #347 Sublimely Self-Righteous Ale / Stone Brewing Company, Escondido, CA Beers to go: 19
Welcome to the long weekend! Today is apparently one of the biggest bar days of the year, as everyone cuts out of work early/comes home from college and heads immediately to a bar to begin celebrating. I'll spend more time on the topic of Thanksgiving tomorrow, but for tonight please make sure that you all stay safe - can't enjoy Thanksgiving if you're absurdly hung over, or in jail, or something bad like that.
What better way to celebrate a legendary bar night than with an awesome beer: the unusually named Sublimely Self-Righteous Ale from Stone Brewing Company. In the spirit of full disclosure, this is probably the third time I've drank a Stone beer this year. However, due to the fact it's frequently available in stores near me, I never felt pressure to review it, figuring I could always come back to it later. And here I am. Anyway, this black ale has a cola color in the glass with an off white head. The aroma is a heady mix of malt and citrus, and the taste is a lightly toasted malt, with plenty of pine and citrus, some notes of stone fruits, and an enjoyable dry, bitter finish. Quite good, and definitely on the verge of being included in my Top 25 for the year. This beer was originally brewed as a special edition for Stone's 11th anniversary, and it was so popular it was added to the regular rotation.
Demons and beer
Stone opened for business in 1996, and have gained a well-deserved reputation for producing big, bold, delicious beers. In 2005, they moved to a larger space, and fellow awesome brewer The Lost Abbey now occupies their old real estate. I did not get to visit Stone in person during the San Diego leg of our journey, as Escondido was a bit out of the way from where we were. Next time, I promise.
Thing to Think About Today:
While the Rolling Stones would be an appropriate connection here, let's go against the grain and let Van Morrison send us into the weekend with the always enjoyable And it Stoned Me. I'm thankful you all read this. See you all tomorrow....
Beer #297 Hoppy Bunny American Black Ale / The Duck-Rabbit Craft Brewery, Farmville, NC
Why does this picture have to do with beer? Um, keep reading.
Today's beer is the Hoppy Bunny American Black Ale from The Duck-Rabbit Craft Brewery. This one has a dark, nearly black hue with hints of ruby and a tan, lingering head. The aroma is of toasted malt and floral hops, and when you take a sip you get a thin mouth feel, with a solid toasted flavor, along with notes of chocolate and a dry, bitter finish. Probably a little too toasted for me to include in my regular rotation, but certainly a good option for fall. If you love stouts and dark beers, definitely check out Duck-Rabbit.
Just ducky.
Duck-Rabbit has been open since the mid-2000's, and was opened by a former professor of philosophy. Wondering where the unusual name and/or unusual logo comes from? I'll quote from their website here: "A version of the duck-rabbit diagram, which looks like a duck or a rabbit, depending on the viewer's perspective, appeared in a philosophy book Paul admires (Philosophical Investigations by Ludwig Wittgenstein). He liked the idea of using a logo with ties to his former life." Now you know.
Thing to Think About Today:
For whatever reason, when I see the name of this brewery I instantly say (shout) in my head, "THE KING AND DUCK!"
This likely means very little to you, and certainly has no connection to this brewery.
However, if you were a huge fan of the 1992 comedy classic White Men Can't Jump, then we may be on to something here. This movie tells the tale of two basketball hustlers who make their living winning playground games for money. The unlikely duo of Wesley Snipes and Woody Harrelson join forces to become a team, leveraging Harrelson's, um, tremendous white-ness as their chief tool in luring in victims to challenge them for money.
Along the way, they get the chance to make a huge score and take down the top street basketball team on the West Coast - that's right, "The King" and "Duck". In that game, Harrelson throws down a dunk off a lob pass from Snipes, proving that he once and for all CAN dunk. Seriously, if you like to quote movie lines, this movie is a must watch, because while this movie didn't invent trash talking, it certainly made it into an art form.
Tonight me and the Army of Dachshunds are celebrating Mardi Gras with beads and beer! I’m drinking a Dixie Blackened Voodoo lager. The dachshunds got beads! Oh the things they did for those beads.
Flash's come hither look
It's always the cute little one you have to watch out for...
The Dixie lager poured a deep amber hue in my glass. It had a small head that slowly left a thin layer of light tan lacing. Dixie Brewing Company started back in 1907 in New Orleans. After Hurricane Katrina decimated it, several attempts were made at restoring it but it appears they failed. Check out some of the photos I found of the abandoned facility.
Sidebar: I love the website www.abandonedusa.com. Such interesting stories and haunting photos.
Photos via Kris Arnold
Photo via Kris Arnold
More details on the story are hard to come by but for awhile it was brewed by Heiner Brau in Covington (LA) and now I think it’s coming out of Huber Brewery in Wisconsin. Despite the original Dixie brewery building falling into total disrepair, it does appear that a VA hospital will be built on the site and, if the internet is to be trusted, will use the façade of the old building in the new design.
I’ve never been to New Orleans but I still feel an overwhelming sadness when I read stories about the devastation from Hurricane Katrina. It’s a city I hope to visit one day soon and it is a city that I hope will rise again.
I realize the pendulum of emotion on this post has swung wildly from one extreme to the other. Apologies for that…I for one did not see that coming.
Back to the beer. It is a schwarzbier -- German for black beer. Typically they aren’t overly roasted but get their bitterness from hops. This one smelled of malt and maybe brown sugar. It drank very smooth and finished with a hopped flavor. I swear I tasted rich chocolaty flavor, which reminded me of roasted flavors associated with porters and stouts. That shouldn’t be the case based on the definition of schwarzbier that I found. Odd. Reading some reviews online, many people don’t think Dixie Blacked Voodoo tastes like it did when brewed in New Orleans. I don’t have a point of reference so I can’t judge that aspect of the beer.
Is it good? Sure. Would I drink more of it? Yes. Is it the best beer I’ve had? No.
