Non-Snob Beer Reviews

Avery Eighteen

2012-02-17T10:00:00.000-08:00

type: rye saison (dry hopped)
origin: Boulder, CO
price: $8 / 22oz
abv: 8.1%
NSP: 6.6
website

What an intriguing idea: a dry-hopped, rye saison. I had no idea what to expect, but it sounded delicious. I do remember enjoying this, but unfortunately I lost my tasting notes. So to summarize: Shitty pics and shitty reviews, FO' LIFE!

Sebago Slick Nick Winter Ale

2012-02-16T10:00:00.000-08:00

Type: Strong ale
Origin: Gorham, ME
Price: Not sure, let's guess $9/6-pack
ABV: 6.2%
NSP: 14.67 (unscaled)
website

My parents got me a craft beer club membership for Christmas, so you're going to start seeing me reviewing a lot of beers from random breweries all over the country from now on. I don't actually know the prices on any of these, and I can't be bothered to look, so I'm going to normalize them all to a $9/sixer for NSP calculation purposes. Although I suppose none of you give half a shit about that.

The website calls this a strong ale, but it's a winter warmer (hence winter ale) through and through. It's pretty malty on the nose, though not as much as I expected given the color. There's also some nice spice notes in there as well. The flavor's also lighter in malt than I anticipated, plus a twist of hop bitterness and a bit more of that spice. If you're wondering what spice exactly...I'm not really sure, it's not clear enough to identify it, but there's something spice-ish.

This isn't what I'd call complex, but all in all it's not half bad. I'm not a huge winter warmer fan, so it's nothing I'd hurry to track down in the future, but I appreciate that they used a light enough hand with the malt to keep it refreshing and clean. And there's enough complementary flavors, even if they're simple and limited, to keep it from being one-note. It's the sort of thing you might find at a dinner party, and nobody including you will mind if you drink four or five of them. That's about as non-snobby as a craft beer gets.

Mammoth Brewing Company

2012-02-16T09:20:00.000-08:00

94 Berner Street
Mammoth Lakes, CA 93546

website

Last weekend with three of my friends we headed up to mammoth and the first night I headed straight to the store to pick up some Mammoth brew. I always liked their beer, but have mostly just drank their IPAs and of those my favorite was the IPA 395. The beer has a nice hop bite with some malts and a unique flavor with sage and juniper berries that surprisingly works and fits in with the mountain vibe.

After waking up Saturday a.m. with little snow we decided to head to the Mammoth brewery to check out the rest of their beers. The place is larger than I expected with several fridges of cold beer to purchase, growlers to fill up, merch to purchase, cool solid wood bar top, and beer to drink! Once you get there they go through all of their 9 beers and discuss each one (for free I might add). I liked this format and do not know why other breweries do it like this as you go from light beers to dark (the way you should taste). Also they used laminated sheets with information on each beer just in case you forget what you are tasting. All of their beers were great. The Hefe tasted very similar to one I would get in Germany, which is a great compliment, the Pilsner was smooth and refreshing, Paranoid Pale had a nice balance of hops to malts, and the Double Nut Brown was a in your face brown porter with lots of dark chocolate and coffee.

The remaining beers included some great IPAs, a delicious take on a Barleywine and a seasonal Owens Valley Wet Harvest Lager, which I probably could drink every day. The owner and tasting room guy said this has the "drinkability" of a lager with the taste of an IPA. Kind of reminds me of Evel Keel by Ballast Point, which I love except Wet Harvest one ups it with 6.8% alcohol. Keep up the good brewing guys.

P.S. They have a root beer that is easily the best I have ever had and they sell it in growlers.

Newcastle Founder's Ale

2012-02-15T18:25:00.000-08:00

Type: ale
Origin: Burtonwood, UK
Website
ABV: 4.8%

I got this one in the mail Formula PR to review before its released to the US. I haven't been much of a fan of Newcastle brews in the past (I won't post the backlinks because the reviews are not flattering). In fact, I tend to think Newcastle Brown just tastes dirty, and is pretty much the only reason I hate brown ales (the non-snob crew was discussing doing a blind tasting of beer styles we hate - brown ale is first up).

Onto the Founder's Ale. You can tell that it comes from Newcastle because there is a very faint note of the brown ale in the background, although the rest of the beer is very crisp and enjoyable. It does taste a little watered down, however this I think is a positive since it mutes some of the off flavors from the brown ale background. This could almost fall into the session category because it wouldn't be hard to consume many of these (although there are other brews I would pick over it). Its definitely not a failure, and I wouldn't be disappointed if a few of these were leftover in my fridge after a party. If they upped the IBUs (sitting at 20 here), and maybe went towards a more floral hop variety, it would be incredible.

Green Flash Rayon Vert

2012-02-15T10:30:00.000-08:00

Type: Belgian-style Pale Ale
Origin: San Diego, CA
Price: $8/4-pack/12oz
Abv: 7.0%
NSP: 12.4
Website

My opinion of the American BPA style is based on Ommegang's BPA, which is brilliant and delicious. But Green Flash can't just make things delicious and traditional, they've got to add a butt load of hops to everything. In this case the affected quality is the bitterness: it's simply too bitter to overtake Ommegang in greatness. That's not saying it's a bad beer (the aromas are wonderful), but it's just not what I'm looking for in a BPA.

Anyone know the story behind the name?

Crooked Stave Fertile Soil Golden Ale

2012-02-14T10:00:00.000-08:00

Type: Fresh-hopped (Belgian) Golden Ale
Origin: Fort Collins/Denver, CO
Price: $8.49/750 mL
ABV: 7.0%
NSP: 6.18 (unscaled)
website

I hope Andy's not too bitter that all the beer I used to share with him from my recon efforts I now drink and review myself.

I was a little confused about this one. The bottle says 'Brewed and Bottled at Funkwerks, Inc. in Fort Collins, CO'. So naturally, I thought this beer was a product of Funkwerks, a new (late 2010) brewery that focuses exclusively on saison-style beer. But I went on their website and found no mention of this beer. So then I looked up Crooked Stave, and I find a website for the Crooked Stave Artisan Beer Project. Crooked Stave appears to be a registered but not yet built brewery in Denver started by a guy who wrote a Master's thesis on brettanomyces, the yeast strain responsible for the sourness in sour beers. I'm not sure about the details, but from what I can tell the Crooked Stave folks have been based in Fort Collins and are on the verge of opening their facility in Denver. And this beer appears to be either a) a collaboration between Funkwerks and Crooked Stave, or b) Funkwerks allowing Crooked Stave to use their facility to make a small-batch special release before their own place has opened. That's a whole lot of BS when I was just looking for a URL to link up at the top.

But enough of that, and on to the beer. These guys are clearly very meticulous about their craft- the bottle includes the batch number (1-11/11) and the bottle number within the batch (427/838). It also recommends a temperature range for serving, 40-50 degrees F (I checked, mine was at 47). Every single ingredient is locally grown in Colorado. So how's the beer? Pretty delicious. It's highly carbonated- the bottle coughed when I opened it, and the head exploded despite my best efforts at a smooth pour. The front part of the label contains no mention of Belgian yeast, but make no mistake, this is a Belgian golden ale, not an American golden ale. The yeast is definitely the most prominent thing that jumps out in the nose, with all the banana and cloves and such that you'd expect from a Belgian ale, though they're a touch muted relative to some of the others I've had. There's also a bit of the musty dubbel-style malt in there, but very little obvious hop aroma. The flavor's very nice, refreshing and well-balanced, with a nice tinge of bitterness from the hops and the usual Belgian fruitiness. There's also a touch of sourness in there...maybe the guy brought some of his brettanomyces into the equation? In sum, I quite enjoy it, and have no problem drinking it while watching Tom Brady carve up the Broncos like a Thanksgiving turkey.

I'm intrigued enough by this beer and what info I've found on Crooked Stave to keep my eye on them in the future. For the time being, I will be perfectly content to drink Cali-Belgique or the incomparable Le Freak if I want a hoppy Belgian, but this is a pretty impressive product for a brewery that's not yet a brewery.

Bootleggers Mint Chocolate Porter

2012-02-13T10:30:00.000-08:00

Type: porter
Origin: Fullerton, CA
Price: $5.49/22oz
ABV: 6.2%
NSP: 7.3
website

Sid at BDBS gave us a recommendation for this when we were last there. I was a bit hesitant since the label looks like one of those who the hell is this type beer you might find at Pier 1, but Sid was right on the mark.

The backbone of this is a solid porter with plenty of roasted, nutty flavors going on. But the addition of mint takes this to 11, and really accentuates those great porter flavors. So I'm a pretty big fan of this, but given it's a seasonal I'm not sure how much longer this will be on the shelves. Otherwise, I'm looking forward to other releases by Bootlegger's Brewery.

And a side note, is that the eagle from the Polish flag???

Odell Mountain Standard Double Black IPA

2012-02-12T10:00:00.000-08:00

Type: Double Black IPA
Origin: Fort Collins, CO
Price: $3.99/12 oz
ABV: 9.5%
NSP: 8.45
website

I've been looking for this one for a while, as I like the flavor profile of black IPAs, and I've liked Odell since I had my first 90 Shilling way back in the day. Now, I'm not sure what makes this a double black IPA...maybe it just means that it's steeper and has more moguls than a regular black IPA.

This one poured with minimal head, pretty much as you see in the photo. The nose is really interesting, with a floral punch and some deep roasty malt. There's also initially an odd (but not off-putting) soapy scented candle thing, but that fades away fairly quickly. It kind of tastes like weak coffee, but in a good way, with a bit of smoke. It has a surprisingly light body, making it very drinkable. Even though it's an IPA, the hops are just an accent, much stronger on the nose than the flavor.

This is basically a muted version of an imperial porter, kind of like a diluted Victory At Sea. It has a lot of the same flavors (though the coffee is understandably less potent), just reduced across the board, and it's also somehow refreshing (not an adjective I'd use for Victory At Sea). The alcohol is also completely concealed. So this beer ends up as kind of a pleasing puzzle- I'm not sure how they managed to make a 9.5% black IPA refreshing, but they did, and I like it.

My original notes complained about paying $3.99 for a 12-oz. But then I thought that ~$8.50 for a 750 of this would be pretty damn reasonable, particularly at 9.5%. Goes to show what good packaging can accomplish.

Pretty Things Baby Tree

2012-02-11T10:00:00.000-08:00

Type: quadrupel
Origin: Somerville, MA
Price: $10/22oz
ABV: 9.0%
NSP: 5.9
website

Chris came into my office the other day around 5pm and just said "Beagle?" So obviously we went there. It didn't turn into a blast-a-thon though, so Brats and I ended up back at my place watching Liam Niesen fuck shit up in Taken, and decided to crack into the "to review" stash. First up, Baby Tree...

I really enjoyed my last Pretty Things beer Jack D'or, so I was willing to shell out the $$ for this. No, I've not yet tried The Stoic, but this is one of the best American quadrupel ale's I've ever had, and I think Brat's agreed on the deliciousness. The flavors are clean, and crisp (more of those cola flavors I love!), the ABV is high, and the bottle design is aesthetically pleasing. Too bad the brewery is still quite small, so we won't be seeing a drop in price anytime soon.

Boulevard Tank 7 Farmhouse Ale

2012-02-10T10:00:00.000-08:00

Type: Farmhouse/Saison
Origin: Kansas City, MO
Price: $4.49/750 mL
ABV: 8%
NSP: 13.36 (unscaled)
website

I was taken in once again by the 750, as with the previous Boulevard Double-Wide. I dig the old-timey label too, it kind of looks like something an Old West snake oil salesman would sell as a cure-all out of the back of a covered wagon. Yeah, I kind of pulled that analogy out of my ass.

The Tank 7 was super frothy, with a fizzy mouthfeel to match. It had a nice light bitterness, with a lot of peppery spice and some light citrus (it may sound like I took that right off Boulevard's website, but that's what I tasted). I drank it while munching on some sweet peppers and it was a delicious complement. It wasn't terribly challenging (but then, it's not supposed to be), just easy drinkin' and refreshing. It would serve as a nice summer beer, as intended, if it wasn't 20 degrees outside- although, if one treated this like one usually does with summer beers (i.e. like a session), one would end up quickly pie-eyed due to the well-hidden 8%. In short, it's basically a wit, but a bit more hoppy, peppery, and alcohol-y, and a bit less fruity. All around, quite good, and one I'd revisit. Go Avs.

Knee Deep Hoptologist Double IPA

2012-02-10T08:19:00.000-08:00

Type: Double IPA
Origin: Lincoln, California
Price: $4.50 per pint at Small Bar (San Diego)
Website

I won't bother with the NSP's on this one since I just wanted to shoot off a quick review. Andy, Brent and I went to Small Bar last night and saw this baby on the board. I have never heard of Knee Deep Brewing before, and considering its 9% ABV and low price, figured I should give it a try. To keep it simple, this is what double IPA's should taste like. The nose on it is incredible, probably the best I have smelled anywhere. It was very floral and citrusy, and probably some other things. Just damn good is all you need to know. The flavors are not as strong as the nose, and it takes on a slightly smoother, subdued floralness. I almost don't want to put this review out because everyone is going to drink this, leaving none for me. After I bought one, the table bought like 8 of these. Gargoyle Brent approves.

Moylan's Moylander Double IPA

2012-02-09T10:30:00.000-08:00

Type: double IPA
Origin: Novato, CA (Sonoma Co.)
Price: $4-6/22oz ??
abv: 8.5%
NSP: 9 to 14-ish
website

Big malt and bitterness with good flavors going on. Excellent color and head. Could be a bit stronger abv-wise, and then the finish wouldn't be so bitter. But if you're drinking IIPA for a nice clean finish, you're an idiot. This is good beer and the bottle is pretty amusing too: the beer has apparently won quite a few awards, which seem to have stopped in 2007. What happened since then? Either way, looks like we've got another candidate for a second-annual Sonoma Trilogy.

Will Ferrell rules beer commercials.

2012-02-08T14:14:00.000-08:00

Either Old Milwaukee has got quite an ad campaign going, or parodying retro beer commercials entertains Will Ferrell in his spare time. You decide...

On a log.

Hand fishing.

V. Very Amber!!

And the 2012 Superbowl commercial that aired only in Nebraska.

Will Ferrell, we salute you.

Bear Republic Peter Brown Tribute American Brown Ale

2012-02-08T12:15:00.000-08:00

Type: Brown Ale
Origin: Cloverdale, California
Price: $4.99 per 22 oz

nsp 9.5

Website

Ah bear how I want to visit you, so so bad. Next trip to SF I'm renting one of those zip cars and doing it. Even though when I get there I will likely not be drinking this beer as I will indulging in various others like Racer, XP, and some...hell I will just be honest, I will indulge in most then get one of my friends to drive me back.

So anyways, this beer for a brown was pretty solid even though the after taste was a little root beery (ligit beer review term right there). Definitely a malty brown ale with few hops, lots of molasses and brown sugar, and little to no head. I'd say get Racer 5 instead, or XP, or...hey I am just not a brown ale guy. and who's this pete guy, I couldn't find any info except he was around from 1949-2002. well RIP Pete.

Boulevard Brewing Double-Wide IPA

2012-02-08T10:00:00.000-08:00

Type: IPA
Origin: Kansas City, MO
Price: $4.49/750 mL
ABV: 8.5%
NSP: 14.20 (unscaled)
website

Back to regularly-scheduled programming after the BeerPlow and the Boulder County Trilogy. I love the juxtaposition of this bottle. High-tone cork and cage and a 750-mL bottle (note to all burgeoning brewers- 750s. Bottle your shit in 750s. It immediately adds an extra level of allure). But then it's called Double-Wide (the bottle says "It's Twister Proof"), which is not a term usually associated with high living, no offense to any of you trailer trash folks.

The beer's got a nice frothy head and a beautiful reddish amber color. The nose is pretty floral to start, but that fades fast. It ends up just vaguely malty, which is kind of disappointing, given that it's an IPA. The flavor's got a heavy malt body with a sort of musty cardboardy accent, sort of like a hyper-malty dubbel but without the candy sweetness. There's a decent bitterness from the hops, but little floral/vegetal flavor. The alcohol is fairly strong on the finish, which is otherwise decently clean. I'm not really sure what to make of this. There's nothing bad or out of whack. But I think I'd refer to the flavors as more muddled than balanced. There's just nothing that's really outstanding. But in the end I also enjoyed it. I guess that's a juxtaposition in its own right.

Rock Bottom Kolsch

2012-02-07T11:00:00.000-08:00

Type: Kölsch
Origin: La Jolla, CA (Rock Bottom)
Price: $3.50/20 oz
ABV: 5.1%
NSP: 8.1
website

This is absolutely delicious, refreshing, and the closest replication of what I remember from Köln. I think the whole 20cl-glass thing in Köln is neat, but those German's have got it all wrong. I got through two of these in the time needed for the waiter to bring another round at Früh; so there's no need for small glasses when it's as good as this.

I've never really given Rock Bottom due attention, partly because chain brewery-restaurants usually suck beer dick, but this makes me reconsider. It seems to me the La Jolla location found themselves a pretty talented brewmaster, and I'm looking forward to seeing what else he has to offer.

And because this has made me a bit sentimental, here is Reissdorf, Paulaner, and Oktoberfest. Ah, memories!

Boulder County Trilogy #3: Oskar Blues Brewing

2012-02-06T10:00:00.000-08:00

On the way from Avery out to Left Hand, we cruised past the monstrous and irreverently named eyesore of Oskar Blues' main brewpub in Longmont, Home Made Liquids and Solids (coincidentally, this is also what Andy calls his bathroom). However, a ways off the beaten path, they have a second tap room, the Tasty Weasel, which was our third and final stop of the Boulder County beer tour.

1800 Pike Rd, Unit B
Longmont, Colorado 80501
303-776-1914 ext. 313

Oskar Blues is sort of the new kid on the block in the Colorado craft brew scene, and also the belle of the ball, it seems. Their beer has been pushed aggressively and received with enthusiastic acclaim since the brewery's inception. I remember wandering around the beer aisle at Liquor Mart in Boulder many years ago and having some random dude walk up to me and say "Hey, man, if you're looking for some beer, I hear this Dale's Pale Ale is awesome," only to walk by him and see that he was wearing an Oskar Blues polo shirt with his name on it. Up to this point, I hadn't spent much time with Oskar Blues' stuff, so here was a good chance to see what all the fuss is about.

The exterior of the Tasty Weasel is impressively nondescript, as the photo above shows (picture it without the Christmas decor- it looks like a boring old warehouse). When you walk in the door, it's immediately obvious that Oskar Blues is not Avery or Left Hand. The Tasty Weasel is basically the dive bar of craft beer taprooms. There's barrels of peanuts, and it's $9 for 7 4-oz pours, only two of which on this day were sub-8% ABV.

The first beer in the flight was Mama's Little Yella Pils. It was clean and easy- I basically shot it, because at this point in the tour a pilsner was essentially just a hydrating mechanism. Next was Dale's Pale Ale, their flagship brew. I thought it was a pretty standard pale- you could have one or eight, and be content either way. Things escalated with the third beer, G'Knight, their imperial red and the first 8%+ taster. I thought this was quite good, nice and floral, and malty but dry. The fourth beer was Gubna, their IIPA. This one stood out so much that I've decided to address it at the end. Fifth was Old Chub, their scotch ale. It's a malt bomb (as it should be), and in a bit of foreshadowing, it's not often that a scotch ale serves as a delicious palate cleanser. My future sister-in-law commented that it smells like Bonnie Bell Tinker Bell lip gloss, and obviously I had to take her at her word. Sixth was Ten Fidy, their Imperial stout. I'd think I'd call this the best-in-show of their regular line (with the G'Knight a close second), and the first one I'd revisit. Last in the flight was a special 50% Ten Fidy/50% Old Chub mix brewed with winter spice. It tasted a bit like they mixed the two beers with the potpourri my mom used to have all over the house during Christmas, and then dissolved a Hot Tamale in it. Not my favorite, but I could see how it would be appealing to some. To top things off, they tapped a cask-conditioned double dry-hopped G'Knight right before we were about to leave, and I couldn't resist. The cask conditioning gave it a silky smooth mouthfeel, and the double dry hopping made it like chewing on a pinecone in a very appealing way. Absolutely delicious.

OK, now back to the Gubna. I partially agree with Andy's review, but I have to go a step further. Frankly, Oskar Blues should be ashamed of this beer. Now, I'll grant that my palate wasn't exactly razor sharp at that point in the day's activities, but beer should never smell and taste like spoiled cheese, regardless of the state of one's palate. It's hard to believe that they're willing to submit this into the IPA market, and it's even more egregious that they charge what they do for it. Hell, the $1.29 for the taster was at least $1.30 too much. It's hard to comprehend that they're capable of crafting a beer as good as the casked G'Knight, but the Gubna is such a resounding clusterfuck. So, while I can appreciate what Oskar Blues brings to the Colorado and US craft brew scenes, and I definitely enjoyed visiting the Tasty Weasel and would go back in a heartbeat, until they improve (or even scrap) the Gubna, the supposed belle of the ball is a two-face.

P.S. I should note that they had Skee-Ball in the Tasty Weasel. While it would have been cooler if you could win the little tickets and trade them in for beer, it's still fun.

P.P.S. Hopefully next year a wider-ranging Colorado tour can be in the cards...Odell, Great Divide, and Breckenridge, maybe?

Boulder County Trilogy #2: Left Hand Brewing

2012-02-04T10:00:00.000-08:00

For the second stop, we made our way out to Longmont (which we cleverly called Schlongmont when we were younger) to visit Left Hand Brewing. Left Hand is another local brewery I started in on early- I had my first Sawtooth when I was 21, give or take four or so years.

1265 Boston Avenue
Longmont, Colorado 80501
303.772.0258

Left Hand is another place with a ski lodge feel, and like Avery is surprisingly small given the brewery's popularity with locals. Speaking of the locals, one thing I immediately noticed here was that the clientele covered a wide range of ages. The San Diego breweries, and Avery before this, are chock full of mostly younger folks. There were a bunch of older folks at Left Hand, grandparent-aged, hanging out enjoying an afternoon beer or two with friends. I'm not sure why that detail stood out to me or why I enjoyed it, but there it was.

I went to the light end of the scale at Left Hand, starting with a Polestar, their pilsner. It was pretty standard for the style (at least the American version of it), though it was a touch sweet, which gave it a cidery character. Second was their flagship Sawtooth, an ESB. I still love this beer- it kind of tastes like herbal tea, but with the herb being hops. They describe it as a great session beer, and they're right on point with that. Third was the Stranger, an American Pale Ale. It's got a bit of rye in it, which gave it a nice depth, and the hops provide a good balance. I could probably treat this as a session too. And last was their 400-Pound Monkey IPA. Super grassy, which is a nice touch, but the malt sweetness is a bit strong. The grassiness won out in the end, though, which produced a clean finish. It was inevitably going to be tough for this one after this IPAs at Avery.

If I had to sum up Left Hand succinctly, I'd call it well-crafted easy drinking. They make delicious and approachable beers, which explains their popularity among the full cross-section of ages present in the taproom. While their stuff would probably get lost in the IPA-laden shuffle of San Diego, they've got a nice niche in Colorado and a loyal following that they've maintained for a long time.

Boulder County Trilogy #1: Avery Brewing

2012-02-02T10:00:00.000-08:00

Before I moved out to San Diego, which styles itself as the craft beer capital of the world, I lived in Boulder, CO, which styles itself as the craft beer capital of the world. Just a month (apparently equivalent to two days in blog time) after my Thankgsiving BeerPlow in Portland, which styles itself as the craft beer capital of the world, I found myself back in my hometown, and obviously a trip to some of the local breweries was the first activity on the docket. First up: Avery Brewing in Boulder.

5763 Arapahoe Ave. Unit E
Boulder, CO 80303
303.440.4324

I've loved Avery for quite some time, ever since I had my first Ellie's Brown Ale when I was sevente...twenty-one. Ellie's was my favorite beer for a long time. My palate has changed, and unfortunately I no longer have a strong taste for it. But thankfully, Avery has evolved too. In my opinion, it has easily surpassed New Belgium as the premiere craft brewery in Colorado. There's lots of competition for top dog, but in my opinion, nobody in the Centennial State has the craft of brewing as well honed as Avery.

For such a successful operation, the taproom is surprisingly small, tucked away behind a car wash in an industrial park in east Boulder. The ambiance is basically like a ski lodge, which is unsurprisingly a common theme in Colorado.

The tasting list includes everything that you can find in the stores, plus a few specialties scattered throughout (unfortunately, on this day, almost all of the specialties were sours, which is far from my favorite style). I started with a Freckles Saison, which is brewed with rosehips, cherries, and orange peel. I don't know what rosehips are supposed to taste like, but I assume something like roses. Anyway, the Freckles was fizzy, fruity, floral, and refreshing, a nice start to a day of beer. Second was a dry-hopped IPA. It smelled like it was dry-hopped with weed, which would have fit in Boulder perfectly. It was pretty much a SD-style IPA, lightly malted and green as hell, and dammit, it was right up there in quality. And last was the Maharaja, their massive Imperial IPA. I hated this stuff when I first had it five or so years ago. I don't know if the formula's changed, but as I said I know at least my palate's changed, and this has become one of my favorites (Matt's too, apparently). Very, very few breweries have managed to solve the supremely difficult malt-hops-alcohol three-body balance problem inherent in an IIPA, but Avery has it nailed.

I could've stayed here all day, especially since they also have top-notch food (they've also honed their french fry craft well), but the order of the day was pacing since we had two more stops to make. A Mile High Salute to you, Avery.

*P.S.: I've generally avoided Avery's Demons of Ale line because I quail at the thought of paying $8+ for a 12-oz beer. However, my brother got a sample of their 2011 Mephistopheles, and it was easily good enough to change my mind. It's 16.43% ABV (it'd almost be more apprpriate to call it 32.86 proof), but they've concealed the alcohol behind dual haymakers of roasted malt and 105+ IBU. Thunderous, well-balanced, and absolutely delicious.

*P.P.S: Just a few seconds after we walked in, one of the warehouse guys unfortunately dumped a full forkload of White Rascal in the parking lot. I'm glad it didn't end up being a harbinger for the day.

PNTO, GTFO.

2012-02-01T19:00:00.000-08:00

While doing a bit of research for an upcoming post, I realized something: I'm so tired of seeing PNTO reviews. They go like this: The pour... The nose... The taste... Overall... (e.g. this). And yes, they're rampant on BA, where everyone and their brother is self proclaimed cicerone. Beer For Lunch hit it out of the park in this post, but I'm talking about the structure of a boring, snobby, formulaic, shitty review.

In the world of beer, is there anything more obnoxious than a PNTO review? Maybe, but not right now. Certainly I don't claim we here at the Non Snob firm write fine prose or poetry (certainly this is neither), but I like to think we've done a good job maintaining our connection with this thing called reality. Shit happens in everyone's life, and beer is usually involved somehow. So why must a "review" have to proclaim some sort of beer truth, like there's only one way to experience or taste a great (or even shitty!) beer.

But let's say you can evaluate all the components of a PNTO in fine detail (and yes they are important!). Is the problem then that you're so uninspired that you can't place some context behind your review? I hope not, because that would make BA a barren wasteland, like the sad ending in Wayne's World (nothing like the Scooby Doo or Super Mega Happy endings).

So, please, if you insist on writing a rigid, boring, uninspired PNTO review, why don't you just GIIIIT OUT.

Ska Pinstripe Red Ale

2012-02-01T10:30:00.000-08:00

Type: red ale, ESB-style
Origin: Durango, CO
Price: $1.59/12oz
abv: 5.15
NSP: 11.5
website

I was a fan of Ska since Decadent, so I'm especially thankful for the recon-man (Chris) bringing me this, even after his Oregon BeerPlow and the Boulder Co. Trilogy (stay tuned). And, if this was flowing at Shakespeare's I would immediately buy it in place of any English-style ESB or Bass* (but probably not Anvil).

But that ain't gonna happen anytime soon, so I'll be honest: this isn't great. It's good, and bitter like the style demands, but it's also light bodied enough that I thought I smelled and tasted dishwater at the start. Of course after a few glugs**, that shifted to "so what, it tastes good now", so that whole tasting-dishwater thing is a moot point. Talk about a dynamic review! So my recommendation is to give it a try, if you can find it.

*For a "beer snob" website, this review is surprisingly not snobbish. I think they need to rebrand their site!

** In college Matt, Eric (not a contributor to this blog), and I used to make cocktails (usually vodka) to pre-game anything. We would ask "How many glugs?" to each other because that was the sound a 1.75L bottle would make during a pour at full-tilt, and we wanted to make sure they were stiff. Tastes varied among us, but usually the mix was too strong for anyone else, and usually resulted in a cough/choke/spit on their part. Good times.

Lompoc C-Note Imperial Pale Ale

2012-01-31T10:00:00.000-08:00

Type: Imperial IPA
Origin: Portland, OR
Price: $3.99/22 oz
ABV: 6.9%
NSP: 11.24 (unscaled)
website

Eleventh and final beer of the Portland BeerPlow. Please don't let me ever do this again because it's exhausting. This one is another IIPA, though they left the India part out for some reason (maybe the ABV isn't quite high enough?). It's called C-Note because it's 100 IBUs on the dot, and it's brewed with the seven "C" hops (I'll let you look those up for your own edification). I definitely bought this one because the brewery shares a name with the federal penitentiary (and town) in central California. Seriously, how many movies are there with a line that goes something like "I did a 3 to 5 stretch in Lompoc, and I ain't never going back"?

Right out of the bottle, it sort of looks like Dr. Pepper. As with the Laughing Dog AlphaDog, not a good sign by my anti-malty IPA tastes. The head is pretty much nonexistent. The nose does little to inspire me, with no discernible hop aromas, heavy malt, and a little something that kind of smells like cat food. Not a good start. Despite this, I dove right in, figuring I'd treat it like a band-aid ("One motion! Right off!"). And the flavor is malt, malt, malt, and malt. But strangely, right at the end, the hops elbow their way in and cut the malt off mid-sentence, leaving a super clean and fairly enjoyable finish.

What an odd beer. I don't really like it, and I wouldn't buy it again. But at least it's not sweet. It's malty as hell, but at least they've avoided over-sugaring it. It's actually so not sweet that it almost seems salty. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that it almost seems like they brewed it with soy sauce. And, no, Andy, that's not just because I'm Asian, you bleached asshole. There isn't really any notable complexity to speak of here. It's more like the malt and hops are stumbling around in the darkness only to smack their heads together and knock each other out.

So, the 2011 Portland Thanksgiving BeerPlow in very brief summary:
Best in show, IPA category: 1) Bridgeport Hop Harvest 2011 2) HUB Hopworks IPA
Best in show, everything else: 1) Deschutes The Stoic 2) Chatoe Rogue Good Chit Pilsner 2a) Deschutes Twilight Summer Ale
Best in show: 1) Deschutes The Stoic 1a) Bridgeport Hop Harvest 2011 (I know that's a cop-out, but frankly I'm worn out by the BeerPlow. Just drink both of them)

Zipfer

2012-01-30T19:51:00.000-08:00

Type: lager
Origin: Linz, Austria
Price: $4.29 per 660 mL
Website
NSP: 8.3
ABV: 5.4%

First beer review with my new camera. Now you can see all the beer-tails with 18 MP. I bought this beer awhile back because the labeling and bottle reminded me of late 80s/early 90s styling. Just think Sinbad, BoKu, and Zima. The beer itself is pretty ordinary and there are no real distinguishing qualities. I can tell you it is a) an average lager and b) there are no major defects. Also, they actually list the ingredients on the beer, and it is just: water, barley-malt, hops. You have to love that simplicity and makes you wonder why humans drink anything other than beer.

Laughing Dog AlphaDog IIPA

2012-01-29T10:00:00.000-08:00

Type: Imperial IPA
Origin: Ponderay, ID
Price: $7.99/22 oz
ABV: 8.5%
NSP: 6.91 (unscaled)
website

Beer #10 of the Portland BeerPlow, though it's actually from Idaho, and I'm back in San Diego. I'll give Laughing Dog credit- the name is clever (for the unaware, alpha acids are what give hops bitter flavor). This one claims to be 127 IBU, which I believe is the highest IBU I've ever sampled...although I'm also aware that such a number is a bit of a marketing gimmick because the scale saturates at 100. Anyway, after most of the other Portland IPAs, I'm a bit wary of amber-colored IPAs, especially imperials. They tend to be extremely malt-heavy, and super malty IPAs are not my bag. And when you kick it up to imperials, the maltiness can transition to cloying sweetness. So I admit I wasn't expecting much when I poured it.

It has a very sweet, musty malt nose with just a dash of florality. So the malt dominates the nose, but hopefully not the flavor, but...yup, it's too sweet. The problem here, as with the previous Silver Moon Hoptagon, Speakeasy's Double Daddy and dozens of other IIPAs, is that the sweetness of the malt completely obscures all of the complexity the hops offer, leaving them unable to add anything beyond basic bitterness. There are appealing qualities to this beer- the malt by itself could produce a decent brown ale- but I can't help but feel like this is a mistreatment of hops. Folks, you can't just dump a shitload of hops into a sugar bomb. I realize the IIPA hops/malt balance is a difficult proposition, but this just isn't the way to solve it.

Scotch Silly

2012-01-28T17:23:00.000-08:00

Type: scottish style ale
Origin: Silly, Belgium
Price: $9.99 per 750 mL
Website
ABV: 8%
NSP: 6

Scottish ales are not my normal go to as I think most are boring and off-putting. This one however made me not care about my prior scotch ale disposition. For one, it's from the Silly Brewery, which is well, silly. Secondly, I was wondering how the belgians would pull off a scotch ale. And let me start by saying that I am pleasantly surprised with this one. There are background notes of traditional scotch ale layered nicely on a light belgian dubbel. There is a slight cola(I think) flavor lingering around and some hazelnuts.

On second inspection, I change my review to overbearing. This beer gets a bit overpowering, and is not easy to drink. Definitely drink with a friend, or don't drink at all. I don't know how I'm going to get through this, but I'm sure I'll survive.