CS Booze Club.

[Victory Sabre]

Wells Banana Bread Beer, by popular request.
Color - amber
Nose - mmmmm banana smell. nummy smell
Taste - ooooooooooo. it might be slightly better on tap, but not much. it taste's like banana bread, which I love.it might be in my top 10 beers. 9 out of 10.

I will save my 2nd bottle for a later day.

[Victory Sabre]

Final for tonight.

Great River Golden Ale.

color - golden
Nose - a skunk smell to it. not a good sign.
Taste - well the smell threw me off. it doesn't taste bad at all.

[Jester]

Vic, while I don't mind some coffee taste in my beer, if it's overly coffee-tasting, I won't enjoy it at all, as I don't like coffee. Obviously it's hard to explain what that level is, but if you're only smelling and tasting coffee, you might want to keep that beer to enjoy yourself rather than sending it to me. Just saying.

[Victory Sabre]

I'm not sending that one. I've got 8 good choices that I should be able to run to the Fed Ex office tomorrow.

Now to tonight's choice. After the utter crapstorm I had to deal with today, I really want a good brew, and here's my first choice that I'll review.

Owney Irish Style Red Ale - Great River Brewing.
Color - As the name says, quite red.
Nose - somewhat of a sweet nose .
Taste - Not a bad red ale at all. There's a sweet aftertaste, that's not too over the top. Nice choice to end this messed up day. 7.5 out of 10. I will get this one again, for sure.

[Victory Sabre]

Now to the Backpocket Spiced Amber.

When I was in the brewpub Saturday night all I could do of this was a sample, because I was too over served. The next day as I was driving west on I 80, my car had a mind of it's own (this was after it forced me to visit the Herbert Hoover Library/Museum in West Branch, Iowa), and stopped in Coralville at the Backpocket Brewery, and I was "forced" to pick up a growler of this beer.

Color - Nice amber color
Nose - I smell some nutmeg, and I like it
Taste - Pretty damn good. I like pumpkin pie, and it's got the spices of pumpkin pie in it. You would think it would be a beer for fall, but it isn't (though I'd drink it year round). Really good, and a good purchase. 8 out of 10.

There's a chance I'll be there late June, and, if so, I will refill my growler with that, if they still have it.

[Jester]

Vic, if there's any chance of sending me any of the Backpocket Spiced Amber, I'd appreciate it. However, it sounds like it's only available on draft or in growlers, which would preclude sending it. Which is, of course, a bummer.

My newest beer....

The Beer Monger posted on Facebook that he had a new beer in, but it would not be put on the shelves, and would be for elite customers only, and would be hidden away in the back for said elite customers to ask for as they came in. Two lucky points in my favor: first, I am one of the aforementioned elite customers (yet another example of why it pays to be known), and secondly, the Beer Monger happened to be in the store when I showed up, so I didn't have to worry about the staff having no idea what the hell I was talking about when I asked for the "hidden beer in the back."

Wandering Pelican Black Ale can: Interesting. Technically, this is a product of Great Lakes Brewing Company of Cleveland, Ohio, but it's canned by Cigar City Brewing of Tampa, Florida.

Color: black as black can be. Dark tan head. I should point out that it poured out of the can like a motor oil, and anyone who knows me knows that this is usually a sign that I'll really like the beer. The nose is dark and malty, but with a hoppy overtone. This would seem odd, if the can did not proclaim this a "hopped up American black ale." Taste is malty, with a rich aftertaste. The hop bite is apparent only on the initial taste, and as it sits in the mouth, the maltiness and richness just increases, and the beer finishes with a dark malty goodness, with very little hops. Kinda backwards to the way most such beers go, but as a malthead, I freakin' approve! 7.5.

[Victory Sabre]

If, when I go back, it's in a bottle, I'd gladly send you some. In Iowa you can buy the beer in bottle directly from the brew pub if it's in bottle form (unlike Minnesota), as well as growler form. Sadly, I think it's only in tap/growler form, just like the Raygun IPA.

[Jester]

Something new and different, and apparently so hard to find, it is sometimes being sold on the black market, my Beer Monger tells me. Partly due to the fact that various sources have named this the number one beer in the world. Of course, I am always dubious of such distinctions, as one man's magical potion can be another man's vile poison. And of course, the beer in question is an American Double India Pale Ale. Now, if you know my tastes in beer, you know I'm not a huge hophead, and while I do enjoy hoppy pale ales and mellow IPAs, ultra hoppy IPAs and double IPAs tend not to be my thing. However, I've been told that this one is not over the top hoppy, and I may even enjoy it. With such hype, how could I resist?

Now, the brewery says you should drink this right from the can. They say it's been designed to be drunk right from the can, and they even have in big bold letters on the can instructions to drink it directly from the can. Well, the Beer Monger ignored this rule, and as I don't like being told what to do, so shall I--I will drink it from my usual vessel, a good old honest pint glass. Also, my thought is that if a beer can't be drunk from a glass, how good can it really be? So damn the torpedoes (and the brewery's instructions), full speed ahead!

From The Alchemist in Vemont, we have a lovely 16 oz can of Heady Topper (8% ABV). The appearance is a deep golden orange color, and it is very hazy, with a thick white head. The nose is unmistakably hoppy but not overbearing. The taste is hoppy with a citrus undertone, but very well-balanced, and very tasty. Not the usual hop punch to the gut that normally makes my eyes melt. It is very nice, very tasty, and very good. Is it the best beer I've ever had? In a word...no. It's a nice hoppy beer that I enjoy, but it's not something I'd seek out, not is it something I'd pay the price I paid for it again, which was $10 for the single can. I don't regret buying it, but for me, at least, it does not live up to the sky high hype. Definitely worth a try, though.

My score: 7.0. Very high score from me for a double IPA, indeed, but as I said, not a beer that will change your life. Worth a taste, as it's really nice, and the printed copy in the can is rather amusing, including the environmental admonition on the can: "Don't be a d-bag, recycle this can!"

[Jester]

So this beer is supposed to be the "older sister" if you will of Old Speckled Hen, a more aged version of OSH. I had the regular OSH a while back at World of Beer. My notes from that tasting: "Ruby red/brown color. Interesting nose...unusual, slightly bitter. Taste is lovely. Creamy, balanced, bit of hoppy finish. Nice. 7.0." Let's see how Big Sis stacks up.

Old Crafty Hen Vintage Ale (England, 6.5% ABV): a deep ruby red/brown color. Not sure, but think it's richer and darker looking than OSH. No bitterness at all in this nose, though, which is smooth, caramely, and slightly sweet. Smells very inviting to be honest. But when it comes to taste, it is not nice like it's younger sister. Oh no, not at all. It is wonderful! Very smooth, somewhat caramely and creamy, well-balanced, and utterly delicious. I've barely started on this one, and I'm ready to go buy more bottles of it. (I only have the one single 17 oz bottle.)

I am going to enjoy this beer immensely as I watch Game of Thrones tonight, and I think Tyrion would enjoy it as well. If you see it, buy it. Score: 8.0.

[Jester]

From my favorite Georgia brewery, Terrapin, we have Maggie's Peach Farmhouse Ale (5.3% ABV). Now, I don't know much about farmhouse ales, other than that they are basically the same thing as saisons. Problem is, while I've had a decent number of them, I don't really know what a saison is, either. I mean, I've had explained to me....sort of. But it's a style I can't really wrap my head around and really GET it. Like, I know what a porter is. And a stout, a pale ale, an IPA, a hefeweizen, a wit, a nut brown, etc. But while I've liked some and hated some saisons, I still have no idea what it really is. This one, though, is apparently a peach version thereof. I like peaches. I like Terrapin. I figured, why not?

The beer is dark orange/reddish, sort of. Let's just say it does look like what a peach beer might look like. This is a good start. Then there's the nose. If you love peaches and you love beer, you absolutely have to buy this beer just for the nose. It is the best combination of beer and peaches I've ever smelled. Ever. I pray to the beer gods that the taste lives up to--no, scratch that. I pray that the taste is even HALF as good as the nose. And I can stress enough how truly amazing the nose is. I just keep smelling it. I almost don't want to actually drink it. Seriously.

Well, the taste is very nice. It is not the religious experience that the nose is, I'm afraid. It is a lovely peach beer, and one that I would certainly drink again. I don't know that I'd seek it out, but it would be a lovely beer to drink on a hot summer day....or as we call them in Key West, a day. It would go REALLY well with pork, as peaches do. Ohhh.....I may just buy some of this to braise the pork bellies in my fridge in. And then drink some more of it with them. An entire dish is starting to form in my head. I can't remember when a half a beer has inspired an entire recipe in my head. Wow.

Okay, back to the beer. Again, this is a farmhouse ale. So perhaps I was thinking it would be heavier on the peach angle than it is. It is a very, very nice beer. And I do a have plans for it. And did I mention how ridiculously awesome the nose is? The nose gets it's own score, and that is a 10. Period. The beer overall, though, gets a solid 7.

It is definitely a beer for food, though, rather than one to simply drink by itself, as I am doing here. I will revisit it as such, and report back.

[sms001]

And did I mention how ridiculously awesome the nose is? The nose gets it's own score, and that is a 10.

I ran into a (sadly, name unremembered ) whiskey like this once. A good friend's father passed, and he threw the parental liquor cabinet into a box in the course of closing up their house. This Irish Malt was probably at least thirty plus years old (on top of its pre-bottled aging) when we decided to give it a try one evening a few years later. My god the smell! The taste was good, don't get me wrong. But that nose; dirt and wood and just a hint of honeysuckle. I can smell it now.

[wolfie]

This Irish Malt was probably at least thirty plus years old (on top of its pre-bottled aging) when we decided to give it a try one evening a few years later.

When you mention pre-bottling aging, I assume you're talking about a distilled spirit. If that's the case, it's a "dead" liquor - once it's bottled (and no longer interacting with the wood of the barrel it's aged in), time has no effect on its flavour. Wine is "live", in that it continues to undergo changes while in the bottle. Presumably beer would do the same, but to a lesser extent (either pasteurized, which kills the yeast, or cold-filtered, which strains them out). Also, beers tend to be drunk "young".

[sms001]

When you mention pre-bottling aging, I assume you're talking about a distilled spirit.

Malt whiskey, not liquor, yes. But I mention the age to indicate that it would be difficult to track down, despite how few distilleries there are in Ireland now, not to suggest that the flavour is enhanced.

continues to undergo changes while in the bottle. Presumably beer would do the same....

Indeed it does. There was a wonderful article in the Chicago Tribune in the late 90's/early 00's about this very topic, including a list of beers that changed well or improved with aging. I grabbed a handful of them and set them off for over a year, then compared them to their younger siblings. If I can't find the article on line somewhere, I'll try to dig up my notes.

[Jester]

I ran into a (sadly, name unremembered ) whiskey like this once.

We recently got several new rums in The Bar, and one was a spiced rum by a distillery whose aged rum I've enjoyed in the past. Myself and a coworker had a mini-tasting of the new rums (we're allowed to do so), and this particular spiced rum had a nose that promised so much. Tons of flavor and wonderfulness and....then we tasted it. And it didn't deliver on any of it. It was one of the most flavorless spiced rums I've ever had. One of the most empty promises I've very had from a rum, or any liquor.

There was a wonderful article in the Chicago Tribune in the late 90's/early 00's about this very topic, including a list of beers that changed well or improved with aging.

When I was last at the Beer Monger's, he showed me a beer enthusiast magazine that's been getting sent to him, the title of which escapes me. As I enjoyed a fantastic Due South Caramel Cream Ale, I perused a couple issues of said magazine, and there was a similar article to what you mention, which advises which styles of beer are good or bad for cellaring. It mentioned which beers are good to drink young, which age well, and which age poorly. I don't know how much stock I put in such things, but it was still an interesting read.

[Jester]

Bedele Special Beer (Ethiopia, 5.5% ABV): Yes, this is a beer all the way from Ethiopia. Hey, you gotta get out and see things (and drink things) that you might not normally, right? Also, while we do not have an Ethiopian restaurant down here in KW, I have eaten at one once, and the food is pretty much awesome.

The color on this pale lager is darker than I would have expected, a deep golden amber, bordering on orange. The nose is very subtle, but what I do get is light and fresh, with not a trace of the skunkiness I feared, as one often finds in beers from countries not necessarily known for beer.

Oh, that's gooooood. Rich for a pale lager, flavorful, and the idea of skunkiness has been taken out back and shot. This is a delicious pale lager, a far superior version to the typical American macro-swill, and my only regret about is beer is that I only have the one bottle I'm drinking....which means I won't have any of this in two hours when my dinner is done cooking. Because this beer would go very, very well with food, especially my experiment tonight: Peach and Beer Braised Pork Belly with a side of Southern Candied Sweet Potatoes. (I've never made either one, and the first one is my own recipe, the product of my brainstorm while drinking that peach beer the other night.)

But back to Bedele....I recommend this beer, and would definitely drink it again. And will probably seek out more for an excellent accompaniment to my dinners. Score: 7.5, which is very high for me for a pale lager. Ethiopia, I salute you!