Day 710: Odin's Tipple

I'm just going to leave this here. 

I like Pink way more than I probably should.

But you didn't come here for the music, you came for the beer. Today's beer is HaandBryggeriet's Odin's Tipple, a dark Norse ale. This particular one is one of only 3,500 bottles in Batch 507. I'm not sure how Odin's Tipple came to be in my house, but I'm glad it did.

It poured an almost black, brown shade with a rosy and deep cocoa color head. The color on this beer's head was remarkable. It smelled of cherry, wood and cola. The flavor is bright with a lingering hoppy aftertaste. It's a combination of fruity and roast coffee. I would also say that it was one of the most challenging beers I've had since starting Blog Named Brew. There was a lot going on with the flavor and the velvety texture definitely turned it into an extended, sipping experience.

Beer stats
Style: Russian imperial stout
ABV: 11%
IBUs: Unknown
Rating: Good

Previously reviewed from HaandBryggeriet
Another Odin's Tipple and Farewell Ale and Nissefar 

Day 696: Bell's Double Cream Stout

It's after nine o'clock and I just finished working. I've got nothing left for you folks.

I was trying some artsy-fartsy angle. Yeah. So there's that.

That's a Bell's Beer Special Double Cream Stout. It pours a deep, dark brown with an off-white head. There was tons of sticky lacing left behind. It had a very light smell of roasted malts. The flavor had a little cola, lots of coffee and barely any hops.

Beer stats

Style: Double cream stout

ABV: 6.1%

IBUs: Unknown

Rating: Good

Previously reviewed from Bell's

Nothing says summer like an Oberon

More Oberon

Day 685: Bullfrog Gouden Ezel

Today is my Mom's birthday. If I did my math correctly, she would have been 65 years old this year. But that fucker cancer got her early. I'll be toasting her this evening...just like Gary and I have done for the past two years on this date. I wish I was toasting with her instead.

The beer in the photo is the Bullfrog Gouden Ezel, an American wild ale. It poured a hazy dark gold color ale with a thin white head. It has a tart aroma reminiscent of vinegar. The flavor has unripe melon, a soft tartness and some crackers to it. It is a very easy to drink sour beer. 

Beer stats

Style: Wild ale

ABV: 7%

IBUs: Unknown

Rating: Good

Previously reviewed from Bullfrog

First one!

Day 673: Bockor VanderGhinste

If there's one thing I love in the world of beer, it a good sour beer. This one is the VanderGhinste, an oud bruin from Brouwerij Bockor. Interesting--perhaps only to me and Mr. Blog Named Brew--is that Bockor is in Bellegem in the West Flanders region of Belgium. Why is this interesting? Because we stayed in Kortrijk, which is nine kilometers north of Bellegem and we traversed that whole area on bike this summer.

So about that beer. It poured a deep brown, slightly hazy color with a thin off-white head. It smells lightly metallic, kind of like when you hold coins in your hand for too long. There's also sour cherries and vinegar. The flavor is more sweet than sour and the tartness is light and refreshing. There's lots of cherry and other dark fruits. I wrote "light plum" in my notes. So there's that. 

Is this the best oud bruin I've ever had? No. And truth be told I was a bit disappointed at first. But the more time I spent with it, the more I realized that it was a solid example of the style. 

Beer stats

Style: Oud bruin

ABV: 5.5%

IBUs: Unknown

Rating: Good

Previously reviewed from Bockor

Jacobins Gueuze and more on the Belgian bike tour

Cuvee des Jacobins Rouge, more Cuvee des Jacobins Rouge

Day 667: Yards Brewing Company Pynk

I have mixed feelings on all the pink-hued products that get shoved down our throats this month, but nothing I wrote didn't make me sound like an uptight, self-righteous prick so I'm letting it go. I just ask that you think twice about purchasing that pink product to help fight breast cancer. What organization is getting the money? Are they directly doing research, education or patient outreach? Wouldn't you be better off writing a check to a well established research group rather than overpaying for a pink water bottle? Be smart.

One pink product that I didn't mind pouring down my throat was the Pynk tart berry ale, which is brewed by Yards Brewing Company. Yards is donating $1 from each case of Pynk sold to the Tyanna Foundation, which supports local organizations throughout mid-Atlantic region to treat and care for breast cancer patients.

It poured a rosy brown ale with a pale cream color head. It had a strong berry aroma and the flavor was nutty and full of berry notes. Pynk is brewed with tons of fresh raspberries and sweet and sour cherries. I think the addition of the cherries definitely helps give it a tart, crisp refreshing quality rather than letting it get overly sweet. I also noticed that it has more malt flavor than many other fruit beers that I've tried.

Beer stats

Style: Fruit beer

ABV: 5.5%

IBUs: Unknown

Rating: Good

Previously reviewed from Yards
Some gratitude and a Brawler
Ignore the caloric information and just read about the Philadelphia Pale Ale

Day 660: Rogue Beard Beer

A couple of months ago, I heard that my local Whole Foods got in an order of Rogue Brewery's latest installment of their Voodoo Doughnut beer--the chocolate, peanut butter, banana ale. Having been on a chocolate and peanut butter beer kick this summer, I figured I might as well try it.

As I came dashing into the beer cooler at Whole Foods, my impatience and harried self could only spot the Rogue Beard Beer. Thanks to Whole Foods' lovely beer guy on duty that evening, he pointed me in the right direction. He also asked if I was going to try the Beard Beer.  Umm, no. It's made with critters living on some dude's face. Eww.

But it wasn't just some guy. The beard belongs to John Maier, brewmaster for Rogue Ales. And after declaring my love of Belgian beers for the past two years, which rely heavily on airborne critters to give beer character, I felt challenged and quite honestly couldn't not buy a bottle.

Fast forward to last week and I finally found myself at home and ready to open my very own Beard Beer.

I perused the label for ingredients:
Water

Hops

Barley

Beard yeast

Yup. Right there in all it's cootie-fied glory was evidence of what I was about to drink. I thought to myself,  this is basically going up to Mr. Maier and licking his beard. Let's just file that away in the "Things I Will Never Think About Again" file. Sorry.

For the glory of Blog Named Brew, I pressed on. It poured a hazy, oranged-tinged light brown ale. It had a think white head. Based on looks, I was doing all right. It smelled fantastic. I may or may not have anticipated it smelling like hairy man. Again, sorry. I pressed on and took a big inhale and got orange and caramel and general beer hoppiness and maltiness.

After envisioning the boiling wort and telling myself that the critters were sterilized, I took a sip. It was light and refreshing. I wrote summery in my notes. There was light citrus fruit, grain and a nice mild hop finish. After some initial trepidation, I happily finished my beer!

Beer stats
Style: American wild ale
ABV: 6%
IBUs: 25
Rating: Good

Previously reviewed from Rogue
Another take on Beard Beer
Rogue's family include Eugene City Brewery and I reviewed the Honey Orange Wheat Ale
Juniper ale
Rogue sampler teaches me not to hold grudges

Day 658: Wet Dog Cafe & Brewery

First Saturday in the past four weeks without a football game and how do I celebrate it? By sleeping past 10:00 a.m. because this is the first time in more than four weeks that I've been able to sleep past 7:00 a.m. And if you know me, you know that I am not a morning person. Suffice it to say, so far Saturday has been glorious.  Me and Mr. Blog Named Brew have some fun planned for this afternoon...day drinking some wine and listening to some music. The wine will be easy drinking and who knows about the music. All I know is that I'm with the one I love and the rest doesn't matter.

Now for the beer. It's the Raging Bitch imperial IPA from Wet Dog Cafe & Brewery (sorry, the website is down. No link for you!) in Astoria, Oregon.

It looked like iced tea in the glass with a thick bubbly tan head. It smelled of pine and grapefruit. The flavor is full of biscuits, citrus pith with undertones of caramel. It's somewhat dry and has lots of big, bold flavor. The one thing I didn't like is that it left a very bitter, almost medicinal flavor on my lips that lingered far longer than I wanted after finishing the beer.

Beer stats
Style: Imperial IPA
ABV: 8.2%
IBUs: 138
Rating: Good

Previously reviewed from Wet Dog
None! This is the first beer from Wet Dog Cafe & Brewery. From a little Internet sleuthing, it looks like a small cafe and brewery on the coast in Astoria. Unfortunately their website appears to be down so I can't give you much more information than that. And if you're wondering how I managed to get this beer all the way on the East Coast, the answer is beer mail. I highly recommend making some beer friends across the country and taking advantage of Priority Mail flat shipping rates. So thanks to my Portland friend Wolf, I get to experience a tasty imperial IPA.

Day 656: Brouwerij Roman

When I bought this bottle of beer in March 2012, I had no idea that in about a year's time I would actually find myself in the little town of Oudnaarde in Belgium, where this beer is brewed. You really never know what life will bring you!

This is the Adriaen Brouwer from Brouwerij Roman. It poured a dark brown, sort of mahogany color with a loose tan head. It has a sweet and malty aroma. The flavor was surprisingly sweet...lots of dark fruit reminiscent of plums and maybe figs. Some caramel. And it was very bubbly in the glass. Not sure if that was due to its age or not.

Beer stats
Style: Belgian golden ale
ABV: 8.5%
IBUs: Unknown
Rating: Good

Previously reviewed from Roman
His and hers reviews of Ename Cuvee

Day 655: Victory White Monkey

Victory Brewing Company's Golden Monkey has a reputation as a phenomenal beer that will kick your ass if you're not careful. It's delicious and smooth and you really have no idea that you're drinking a 9.5% beer.

White Monkey is what you get when Golden Monkey takes a three month sabbatical in white wine barrels. Knowing all that, I had high hopes for the White Monkey.

It poured a rich gold color ale with a thin white head. It has a very rich smell--lots of spices and wine. The taste is resinous and the booze is quite evident. It actually surprised me when I read that the ABV was 9.5%. I would have bet it was a lot higher. There was also a good amount of banana and clove in the flavor. You also really notice the effect of the barrel aging. You get some oak and white wine with each sip.

Beer stats

Style: Tripel
ABV: 9.5%
IBUs: Unknown
Rating: Good

Previously reviewed from Victory
Headwaters Pale Ale, Summer Love, Golding Glow, Uncle Teddy's Bitter, Otto, more Otto, Swing, more Swing Saison, 100 Horse Ale, more 100 Horse Ale, NATO IPA, my sampler, and last but not least...the V-12

Day 649: Deschutes Chainbreaker White IPA

Read this while I go drink this bottle of wine.

Deschutes Chainbreaker White IPA is an IPA brewed with spices. The label reads, "What if wheat isn't the goal in itself, but a route to something awesomely new?" I say, "It's like a hefeweizen made a baby with an IPA!"

It poured a hazy gold color with a thin white head. It smells of orange, sweetness and hops. The flavor is best described as an orange-y IPA. It has a solid hop profile. It's spicy and citrusy, but in that full mouth hefeweizen sort of way.

Beer stats
Style: IPA, Wheat ale
ABV: 5.6%
IBUs: 55
Rating: Good

Previously reviewed from Deschutes
Twilight, more Twilight, Saison de Poivre, Sour Raz

Day 645: DuClaw Sweet Baby Jesus

After doing a little blog housekeeping this weekend, I found a bunch of reviews from this summer that went unused thanks to the gazillion reviews that resulted from my trip to Belgium. So today's post is a trip down memory lane to TJ's Independence Party where I had a chance to try DuClaw Brewing Company's Sweet Baby Jesus.

Sweet Baby Jesus is a peanut butter chocolate porter. It poured deep brown, almost black in the glass with a think off-white head. It smelled deeply of peanut butter. The flavor is full of chocolate and peanut butter with some roasted, smoky coffee notes. I also noted a little more hop flavor in this one compared to other chocolate peanut butter beers that I've had recently (Tired Hand's Five out of Five or Spring House's Big Gruesome, for example).

Beer stats
Style: Stout
ABV: 6.5%
IBUs: 53
Rating: Good

Previously reviewed from DuClaw
Venom (American pale ale), more Venom

Day 640: North Coast Brother Thelonious

I would really like to ask the people involved in the three separate accidents I saw on a quarter mile stretch of my commute what happened. The accidents appeared to be completely unrelated to each other. The weather was perfectly fine. Did someone forget how to drive? Were they caused by one of the dicks I encounter on a pretty regular basis who can't be bothered with speed limits, turn signals, ability to read traffic signs and common courtesy? I suppose I'll never know.

Instead of ruminating on how it took me 90 minutes to travel 17 miles, let's talk beer.

This is North Coast Brewing Company's Brother Thelonious Belgian style abbey ale from the American Artisan Series. For every bottle sold, North Coast makes a donation to the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz in support of jazz education. I'm drinking beer. I'm doing good. My day is totally turned around!

It poured a ruby-tinged deep brown ale with a medium tan head. It smells of molasses and roasted, dark fruit. The flavor is interesting...cinnamon, plums, bitter chocolate. Every few sips the dark plummy part tasted a bit more on the unripe side. There's lots of complexity to this beer. And despite all that flavor, it had a thin mouthfeel and was easy to drink.

Beer Stats
Style: Belgian style abbey ale
ABV: 9.4%
IBUs: 32
Rating: Good

Previously from North Coast
Scrimshaw review from me, a Scrimshaw from the Mr. and his take on Brother Thelonious

Day 638: Hopped Up 'n Horny

Today's beer is from Horny Goat Brewing Company. Against my better judgment, I opted to give my hard earned money to a brewery that advertises via over-sexualized goats. But I'll let that go and tell you about the Hopped Up 'n Horny IPA.

It pours a slightly hazy golden color ale with a thin white head. It smells of hops and kind of just like beer in general. The flavor is nice. There's a good floral hop with a slightly hoppy, bitter finish. It is exactly what I'd expect for an every day IPA.

Beer stats
Style: IPA
ABV: 6.4%
IBUs: 41
Rating: Good

Previously reviewed from Horny Goat
Mr. Blog Named Brew's review of the Hopped Up 'n Horny

Day 632: Perennial and Half Acre Make a Beer Baby

I'm just going to borrow what's already been written about this collaboration between Perennial Brewing and Half Acre Brewing from the Beer Street Journal (obviously correcting for typos because typos! Seriously?): One of St. Louis, Missouri’s newest breweries Perennial is collaborating with Half Acre Beer Company (Chicago). The beer is dubbed Plan B and is the first collaboration by Perennial. Plan B is a sour mash Belgian dark ale brewed with black currants. Currants are perennial berries with a sweet taste.

I found my Plan B at TJ's--my go to beer bar. It poured a deep, dark brown color ale with a tan head. It smells like wet wood and light smoke. The flavor is mild with just a hint of sour. The currants were very understated and I'm not sure I would have noticed them if I didn't already know they were in there.

Beer stats
Style: Belgian dark ale
ABV: 8%
IBUs: Unknown
Rating: Good

Previously reviewed from Half Acre
My review of Daisy Cutter with a warning on the dangers of string cheese
Mr. Blog's review of Daisy Cutter and some excellent breakfast recommendations in Chicago (mine has a far greater entertainment value!)

Previously reviewed from Perennial
First one!

Day 600: Dupont Pils

Does it seem crazy to anyone else that we've been at this for 600 days? That sounds like a long time, but it certainly doesn't feel like a long time. What feels like forever is today--although that may be due to working on budgets for six hours today. Add that to the seven hours I spent on them yesterday and the full day of budgets tomorrow, and I'm pretty sure that adds up to 600 days of budgeting. I'm certain that I'll see columns of numbers floating by in my sleep tonight.

Instead of flashing back to all day sessions of number crunching, let's talk Belgium and beer.

Let's start with Brugge. If I ever go back (and god knows I'm ready to leave next week), we're cycling on this thing. I call dibs on the front seat!

The canals in Brugge are beautiful as is the architecture...

Also important to note: The dogs are very advanced. This one was running a market table that sold beer-themed candles and glassware. You would think not having thumbs on your paws would be a hindrance to collecting change. Evidently it's not.

This is the tomb of the Duchesse de Bourgogne, namesake of one of my all-time favorite beers.

Now for the beer.  This is the Dupont Redor Pils and it was my tasty reward on Day 5 of the Beercycling trip and it was enjoyed on the back patio of Hotel Cordoeanier prior to to going out to explore Brugge.

As you can see from the photograph, it poured a slightly hazy pale yellow with a fluffy white head. It had that distinct pils smell...sharp but a little buttery. Or at least that's what I think pils smells like. The flavor was crisp, herbal and refreshing with just a mild hop to it.
 

Interesting note about Hotel Cordoeanier in Brugge: It's a great hotel with a great bar attached, the Rose Red. It has a great beer list. Where does the name come from? Rose Red by Stephen King--a television miniseries with a story involving a cavernous Seattle mansion called Rose Red, which is investigated by parapsychologist Dr. Joyce Reardon and a team of psychics. 

I'm glad I figured that out after my stay there...

Beer stats
Style: Czech pilsner
ABV: 5%
IBUs: Unknown
Rating: Good

Previously reviewed from Brasserie Dupont
His review of Avec Les Bon Voeux, a holiday offering
My review of Saison Dupont

Day 598: Fort Lapin Quad

Since I wrote all about Fort Lapin in my last post, I'm just going to leave this here for y'all. Lapin means bunny! Whoa, bunny!

Yee-haw!

The other beer that I had from Fort Lapin was the Quadrupel.

It poured a deep, chocolatey brown color with a loose tan head. It smelled fantastic and almost reminded me of cotton candy. The flavor was good but slightly unexpected for a quad. There was much more spice in there than I anticipated. Coriander, cinnamon, cloves. Then there was lots of big malt flavor, some dark fruit. It had a very rich, complex flavor.

Beer stats
Style: Quadrupel
ABV: 10%
IBUs: Unknown
Rating: Good

Previously reviewed from Fort Lapin
My review of the Tripel
Mr. Blog Named Brew's review of the same 

Day 594: Brouwerij De Dochter van de Korenaar

I think today's beer review is of one that was the first post-Beercycling ride beer that I had on the trip. It was consumed in the town of Kortrijk, but I have no idea what the name of the place was. It seems that my Day 1 itinerary has gone missing! Eek!

You'll note that the beer photo is also missing. It's currently trapped in Mr. Blog Named Brew's phone so hopefully he'll get my email soon and send it along. Keep your fingers crossed.

In lieu of a beer photo for the moment, Even though the photo has arrived, please enjoy some scenery from Day 1 of the great Beercycling adventure...

Me and my bike in France! It was a brief sojourn...maybe 3 minutes. 

Lots of churches and religious icons on this trip.
Luckily none of them crumbled when my non-churchgoing self was nearby!

Now that's how you build a bridge.

Teeny archways around your building? Why not!

So what about that beer? The L'Enfant Terrible is brewed at Brouwerij De Dochter van de Korenaar. Curious about the translation, I learned that it means "the daughter of the ear of corn" and that's synonymous with the word beer. From old records, it appears that Emperor Charles V around 1550 preferred the "juice of the daughter of the ear of corn" better than the "blood of grapes." In other words, Charles preferred beer over wine. Me too, Charles, me too.

L'Enfant Terrible is a gueuze style beer. It poured a sort of wet straw color with a big white head. The flavor is crisp and clean. Lots of spice and lemon with a fair amount of funk. Very refreshing and just was the dochter ordered. (Pun intended. Ha!)

Beer stats
Style: Gueuze
ABV: 7%
IBUs: Unknown
Rating: Good

Previously reviewed from De Dochter van de Korenaar
A look at Belle Fleur

Day 580: La Choulette Ambree

Yesterday's post wiped out my supply of reviews from Troegs so we're now switching gears and heading across the pond to France.

Brasserie La Choulette Ambree is a biere de garde--a traditional French ale--brewed in France. It pours a ruby-hued brown ale with a light tan head. It smells of earthy honey, marmalade and pepper. The flavor is on the sweeter side with notes of caramel apples. It has a bite that is peppery at the finish. The mouthfeel is full and the finish is refreshing.

This biere de garde is definitely at the bolder, fuller end of the spectrum and it actually reminds me of an abbey ale.

Beer stats
Style: Biere de garde
ABV: 8%
IBUs: Unknown
Rating: Good

Previously reviewed from La Choulette
Mr. Blog Named Brew's review of La Choulette
Sans Culottes reviews from me and Mr.

Day 578: Troegs Perpetual IPA

And then there was one...

...one sample of Troegs Perpetual IPA. It poured a crystal clear golden ale with a very white head. It had a super hoppy, pungent aroma. The flavor was bright and bold. Lots of hop flavor. Citrus pith, grapefruit, a little lemon in the finish. If you like hoppy beers, this is one for you.

Upon a bit of research, I learned this beer has ALL THE HOPS! It's brewed with Bravo, Chinook, Mt. Hood, and Nugget. Then it's dry-hopped with Citra and Cascade. So there's a little flavor for you!

Beer stats
Style: Imperial pale ale
ABV: 7.5%
IBUs: 85
Rating: Good

Previously reviewed from TroegsPreviously reviewed from Troegs
His review of Scratch 95 (kolsch), pale ale, Nugget Nectar and Scratch 57 (weizenbock)
My review of Sunshine Pils. Also check out posts from this week on a number of Troegs beers. Why? Because it's Troegs Beer Week on Blog Named Brew!

Day 574: Troegs Pale Ale

Is it weird that my first instinct when seeing a beautiful flight of beers like this is to paint a room a new color? OK, I lie. My first instinct is nomz, nomz, nomz! Then I think about how pretty they are.

Honestly. Look at the one in the middle. Gorgeous!

Troegs Beer Week continues with a Pale Ale review. It poured a very crisp golden color with a minimal white head. It has a peppery hop aroma. The flavor is spicy and smooth. There's a full mouthfeel. After it sat for a bit, I picked up some grapefruit in the nose and noted it had a nice buttery feel.

A note on Troegs facility in Hershey (Pennsylvania). It is a fantastic place to hang out and imbibe. If you've ever been to Green Flash in San Diego, it's a lot like that. Just a chill vibe and a ton of great beer. Don't let Troegs claim to just have a "snack bar" deter you either. There's a great variety of food and it's quite good. The beer flights include six 4.5oz pours so you get a really solid sense of their beer.

Beer stats
Style: American pale ale
ABV: 5.4%
IBUs: 45
Rating: Good

Previously reviewed from TroegsPreviously reviewed from Troegs
His review of Scratch 95 * (kolsch), pale ale, Nugget Nectar and Scratch 57 (weizenbock)
My review of Sunshine Pils. Also check out posts from this week on a number of Troegs beers. Why? Because it's Troegs Beer Week on Blog Named Brew!