CS Booze Club.

[wolfie]

I expect more from Canada, beer wise.

Canada's mass-market beers are targeted at the same demographic as those in the U.S., so don't be surprised about the lack of quality. There's a reason one of the biggest sellers goes by the name "Blue".

Germans drink cold beer
Brits drink warm, pissy-tasting beer
Canadians drink cold, pissy-tasting beer
Yanks drink cold, beery-tasting piss
Australians drink anything with alcohol in it

[deadbody]

Well, today was frustrating. My car is in the shop and it's a major engine repair that will cost me $1200.

So, what better way to raise my spirits than with beer.

I don't know if I've reviewed this yet. First beer tonight is The Schell Brewery (New Ulm, MN) Schell Shocked Grapefruit Radler Beer.

Schell Brewery is the second oldest family owned brewery in the nation after Yuengling, and they put out some amazing products. This is no exception.

Little head when poured. Very light colored, but a wonderful greapfruit taste when consumed. It goes down way to easy, since I've got one more day of work tomorrow before vacation, I've got to take it somewhat easy, so all I'm having is one of them.

Also, to Jester, I know what I'm bringing for you, and I hope you'll like it. See you Tuesday.

Had a few 6ers of this last summer, great disc golfing beer.

[Victory Sabre]

Well, I've seen the amazing Jester, and several beers to review, if my semi drunk ass and kinda bloated and sick feeling ass can.

Weihenstephaner. oldest brewery in the world, and loved it. nice flavor.

[Jester]

To clarify what Vic said, he's talking about Weihenstephaner's hefeweizen, as they have many beers, but that's the one he tried.

[Victory Sabre]

Thanks for the correction to my previous drunk post. Yes, Jester did his job and got me drunk, though he would have preferred to get me more so. I got too full to drink more.

I also wish I could have remembered the name of the tequila I had in Cozumel, it was way too good and caused me to sleep for 12 hours.

[mathnerd]

Thanks for the correction to my previous drunk post. Yes, Jester did his job and got me drunk, though he would have preferred to get me more so. I got too full to drink more.

Jester does a very fine job of getting people drunk. I remember the first time I went out drinking with him. Correction: I mostly remember that night. Sort of. The whole point of going out that night was to get me completely wasted. We succeeded. I recall a very drunken magic show (get your mind out of the gutter!) and sort of recall a cab, then I remember waking up with an evil hangover the next morning absolutely dreading the drive back to Miami. Totally worth it though.

On topic: Tonight's beer.

Gillespie Brown Ale from Manzanita Brewing Co., Santee, CA. Not a very strong nose. This definitely foreshadows what's to come. It's a very drinkable beer with good, though subtle chocolate and caramel flavors. In this case, subtlety is not a good thing. It's boring, though at 9.5% ABV, it does kick a bit.

[Victory Sabre]

Well I'm back home. My car is fixed, and the bill came to over $1300. I, pretty much have a rebuilt engine in it. Yeah, my vacation is over. So, time for a beer.

Third Street Spotlight.

Almost like an IPA, but not quite. The flavor is pretty good. it's going down pretty fast.

[Victory Sabre]

Walk in to my local wattering hole and see a new beer on the board - Horny Goat Chocolate Peanutbutter Porter.

Yeah, it seems like a strange combo. When I smelled it it smelled like a penutbutter cup. I wasn't sure what to think about it. it also tastes like a dark chocolate penutbutter cup. I'm still undecided about it to be honest.I might order another, but not sure.

[Victory Sabre]

Well now off to Grain Belt Nordeast. This beer is one of my favorites. When it first came out 5 years ago it was so popular, the Schell Brewery had to limit distribution, because they couldn't keep up with demand. I remember making several trips to New Ulm, and the twin cities to smuggle it back home.

Head - moderate
color - amber
Taste - lots of flavor,but a lighter beer. really good, and I'm always glad to come back to it.

[sms001]

I've had a couple of Horny Goat's other offerings so I'll keep my eyes out for this.

[Jester]

For a while now I've been saying that I don't really like anything from Victory Brewing in Pennsylvania except Golden Monkey, which is a magical beer. This is not entirely true.

Don't get me wrong, Golden Monkey IS pretty damn awesome. But I was reminded last night that Victory does, in fact, have at least one other great beer: Storm King Imperial Stout. If you like dark beers, you'd love Storm King. It's very, very dark, but very, very awesome. And at 9.1% ABV, it's no slouch.

[KiaKat]

Tried the Aligoté 2011 from Calera. Kinda typical California, 100% malolactic fermentation, 10% old oak. Very round and rich, with notes of honeysuckle and Meyer lemon. It was good, but Aubert de Villaine does it better. I go back and forth on Calera. They're good, reasonably priced wines, but they're just so defined by ripeness and oak that I just don't really love them.

Interesting notes about the grape: it's "the other white grape" in Burgundy, allowed, but rarely used, since it doesn't match up to Chardonnay in versatility, complexity, or age-worthiness. The exception to that is in Bouzeron, where the director of Domaine Romanée-Conti, the aforementioned de Villaine, has his personal property. His presentation of the grape is so refined and precise that the appellation has been created around him.

[Victory Sabre]

Rush River Lost Arrow Porter.

Not too much head whe poured from the tap. Color is pretty dark. Not too much nose. Taste kinda of a dark chocolate taste, but not too strong. Pretty good, and I'm on my 3rd right now.

[Jester]

Yuengling Summer Wheat (Pennsylvania, 4.5% ABV): very hazy, with a dark orange amber color. Summery, slightly wheaty nose. Surprisingly delicious. Strong banana elements, as all good hefes should have, but so few American hefes deliver. Rich wheaty taste. Possibly the best thing by Yuengling. 7.5.

Amusingly, I received this one as a freebie, but not from a liquor vendor or even a friend, but from a guy who knows my GM's brother and was bringing my GM the sample. Since my GM was not in either of the times this guy came in, but I was, he gave it to me. (I think he has more for my GM.)

The next three I bought at World of Beer to bring home and drink.

Stawski Premium Lager (Poland, 5.3%): light-medium gold color. Slightly sweet, slightly skunky nose. No indication of how the beer is gonna be. Tasting it, I realize the skunk was a distraction to be ignored. This is a smooth, solid beer. Very tasty, very honest, with a hint of sweetness. There is also a hint in the background of that skunkiness, I'll admit, but that seems to be a counterpoint more than anything, and it works. Having tried several Polish beers recently that let me down, this is a definite breath of fresh air. Or would that be fresh beer? Would be great with just about any food (especially Polish-duh!), and at any time of year. 7.0.

Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Stout (Lexington Brewing, Kentucky, 8.0% ABV): black color with very little head. Rich mocha nose, with the coffee part of the mocha being stronger than the chocolate part. The taste does not follow the nose exactly. It is rich, it is malty, it is mocha, yes. But it is definitely more chocolate, with a suggestion of coffee bitterness, though the coffee element is definitely there. This follows through on the aftertaste as well. It's very good, but the bourbon element is not very obvious, certainly not as pronounced as it is in Lexiongton's Bourbon Barrel Ale. Still, very tasty dark beer. 7.0.

The above beers were yesterday. Today, the last beer I bought at World of Beer has many good omens around it. First of all, I've poured it to drink while I'm watching an episode of Chopped featuring beer. Secondly, I've poured it into the pint glass from Nordeast that Victory Sabre brought me when he was down here last week. (Thanks, Vic!) Finally, when I poured it, it poured like motor oil, and if you've been reading these reviews for any length of time, you know that that almost always bodes well for me.

Stoudts Fat Dog Imperial Oatmeal Stout (Pennsylvania, 8.02% ABV*): Color: black. Nose: Malty and rich, with hints of coffee. Taste: phenomenal. See the nose description, and add hints of milk chocolate, bittersweet chocolate, and chocolate syrup. Score: 8.02.*

*Yes, they actually list the ABV on the bottle as 8.02%. Seems a bit precise for beer, and maybe it's a marketing gimmick (wouldn't be the first, and I'm wondering if 802 is the area code for the brewery's town), but hey, whatever. Happens to work well for the score, too!

[Jester]

WARNING: NON-BEER REVIEW ALERT! NON-BEER REVIEW ALERT! NON-BEER REVIEW ALERT!

I know most people expect beer reviews from me. And why wouldn't they? It's the main thing I review in here, and pretty much my favorite drink. But every now and then, I review something else. And tonight, that something else is wine.

In a box.

No, not my usual bottle of some obscure Spanish red, this. My friend and coworker left me this box of wine (and a bottle of Fireball--sweet!) when she moved back up north. But box or not, this is a damn tasty wine. Pepperwood Grove Pinot Grigio. Delicious. Not an award winner or anything, but refreshing and tasty. And there's plenty of it. I'd buy it if I saw it in the store, in a box or a bottle. Damn tasty.

And yeah....that's it for the review. I know, not as detailed as most of my beer reviews. But as I often say, I love beer and I know a lot about it. I love rum and I know a lot about it. I love wine, and I don't know a DAMN thing!