Quick Beer Notes - Recent Tastings

Well, I haven't been as diligent on posting as I hoped to be after Labor Day, but once we get our whole housing situation figured out I hope to be better. Anyway, onto the beer "reviews":

Miller Lite Brewer's Collection Blond Ale - 5 rating.

I was lucky enough to have some of this sent to me from the kind folks at Miller's PR firm (interestingly enough the guy who sent them married a girl who went to the same HS in Indy that I went to). I wanted to like it, I really did. Unfortunately, I didn't really care for it. It tasted a bit flat and it left a slimy mouth feel. It wouldn't have been too bad except for the whole slimy mouth thing.

Bell's Third Coast Old Ale - 3 rating.

I had this one left from our trip to the Bell's Brewery this summer. Just like most of the beers I ended up bringing home from the brewery it was very solid. Nothing too amazing, but just a rock solid beer.

Sierra Nevada Wheat Beer - 4 rating.

I saw this at Trader Joe's (available as a single bottle), and decided to give it a whirl. It was OK, but not remarkable. I thought it was a little watery and lagery. I normally don't mind wheat beers, but for some reason this one didn't really do it for me.

Brewbits Red - 6 rating.

This is an OLD homebrew I had in the fridge (I'm still working through my old homebrews). I haven't had one of my homebrews in a long time. Now I remember why I quit brewing - not very good beer. It had no head or carbonation to it, it was VERY dark, and very watery. It was a little better than I remember it being, but with all the great stuff out there why drink bad beer?

Clipper City Brewery Heavy Seas Red Sky at Night Saison Ale - 2 rating.

This came courtsey of the Beer of the Month club. I've been holding off drinking any of the BOM club beers until I could do a "proper" review. I couldn't hold off any longer. This is a good beer. A really good beer.

I didn't really look too much at the label until after I poured the beer. I was expecting a red (yeah, I should have read the label), but it's a Saison. Have I mentioned that I liked this beer? It's extremley smooth. It tastes a bit more like a traditional Belgian beer with flavors like banana, a little clove, citrus flavor, wheat, yeast, etc. It's very good. I hope this is an indicator of the other Clipper City beers that came in the BOM box.

Bada Boomz Downtown - Samplers

What: Bada Boomz Sampler
Vessel: Sampler Glasses
Price: $9.00
Where: Bada Boomz Downtown
When: April 25, 2008
Comments: Here's a continuation from the guy's night I had with Brewer McDuff. After dinner at Rock Bottom, we hit Bada Boomz for some good craft beer. We had a great time, with an entertaining bartender (Christopher). There was also a group of folks who stopped in on their way from Atlanta to DarkLord day (it was the next day). For an update on Bada Boomz, check out DIG-B. These are my comments.

Founder's Dry Hopped Pale Ale:

This was an OK beer. Didn't love it, didn't hate it. It had a bit of a smoky flavor, compared to some of the others we sampled. I also gave it another shot at Hot Shotz on 5/3 during lunch. My opinion hasn't changed.

Rating = 4

Mad Anthony IPA:

This seemed more like a pale ale than an IPA. Having said that, it was nice and hoppy. I'd order it again (and again).

Rating = 3

Bell's Hopslam:

Yeah, I really like this beer. The hand pull adds another dimension to it.

Rating = 1

Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA:

It seemed to have a smoky aftertaste, similar to the Founder's. It also seemed to have a nutty flavor. I was enjoying it until the aftertaste kicked in. I really didn't like how it finished.

Rating = 4

Stone IPA:

I enjoyed this one quite a bit. It was smooth and hoppy. It really seemed to smooth out at the end also. A very nice finish.

Bell's Oberon:

As the bartender, Chris, said - this is just like Blue Moon, but everyone loves it just because it's Bells. I wasn't crazy about this year's offering. There just wasn't too much to it. It tasted a bit like a lager to me. (For the record we sampled all the IPAs after all the non-IPAs).

Rating = 5

Red Hook CopperHook:

The mouth feel on this was a bit slimy, but not necessarily in a bad way. It seems a bit like Budweiser, but more "funky" (in a weird way). I don't think I'd get this again.

Rating = 5

Abita Turbo Dog:

I didn't write down too many notes 0n this one. I might need to give it another chance. My notes say "nutty, watery, but smooth".

Rating = 4 (with a 3 scratched out)

Brugge's Triple De Riple:

I really like this beer. It was pretty solid, but not as good as I remembered it being. Having said that, it was still one of the best of the night.

Rating = 2

3 Floyd's Gumball Head:

This had a nice floral hop profile for a wheat beer. It also had a nice hoppy flavor. Pretty good.

Rating = 3

Founder's Devil Dancer Triple IPA:

Christopher, the bartender, was nice enough to let us sample this one. He was raving about it. It was pretty good. It's an extremely complex beer. It had a nice hop profile, but it was also scotchy, warm and buttery. Evidently the only places this is on tap is at Founder's and at Bada Boomz (although they were almost out of it at Bada Boomz).

Rating = 3

Bell's Brewery - Two Hearted Ale

What: Bell's Brewery - Two Hearted Ale
Style: American IPA
Vessel: Bottle (no glass offered)
Price: $4.50
Where: D'Vine - A Wine Bar
When: March 26, 2008
Rating: 2
Comments: Met some friends for drinks and a cigar after work. We'll be going on a fishing trip in a few weeks and this was a great preview of what we have in store for us. If the trip is anything like the evening, I expect a lot of immature hazing, drinking and cigar smoking. What more could a guy ask for?!

Even though D'Vine is a wine bar, I was in a beer mood. I've had Two Hearted before, and having enjoyed it, I decided I would order it again, for review purposes. This is another great IPA. It's probably a little more "balanced" than some of my other favorite IPAs. It's a pretty hoppy beer, but the beers I rank as a "1" have a bit more hop flavor than this one. I'm becoming more and more impressed with Bell's - I haven't had any of their beers that I didn't enjoy.
Ratebeer Link: http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/two-hearted-ale/1502/

Bell's Brewery - Hopslam

What: Bell's Brewery - Hopslam
Style: Imperial IPA
Vessel: Pint Glass
Price: $13.99 (6 pack)
Where: Home
When: Whenever possible
Rating: 1
Comments: Ho. Lee. Shit. This is good stuff. The holy grail of beer. I thought I knew good IPAs. I didn't until I tried this. Best beer ever.
Ratebeer Link: http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/bells-hopslam/35488/