Beer Party!

What better way to spend a Friday night than with a good ol' fashioned beer party!?  I've got a fellow beer lover and from time to time we bring a bottle or two of a cool beer over each other's place and just talk beer all night. Jealous, aren't ya?!

National Canned Craft Beer Day

For those of you that didn't know, today is/was National Canned Craft Beer Day!  Back in 2002 Oscar Blues became the first CRAFT brewer to can its beer and you can now find many breweries with a canned selection, and some being can-exclusive.  So not only is it the 10th anniversary of craft beer being available in cans, but on this day in 1935.. 77 years ago, beer in general was first canned!  Now, sadly, for 67 of these years, it was mainly shitty..  but let's celebrate the easy transportation that canning provides and the happiness that is craft beer being accessible this way now!

I celebrated with a Baxter Brewing Company - Amber Road.  Party because they're another all-can brewery, but mainly because I've been sick, I had a 6er in my fridge and didn't need to leave to get some good cans!  (Oh, and a sick can-glass too, huh!)  Needless to say, it was not a last resort pick at all...  at 5.5% ABV and 35 IBUs this is a far hoppier beer than most ambers.  In fact, back when I did my first homebrew, it was an amber, but ended up with the hoppiness of a Harpoon IPA.  I thought I fudged it somewhere.. in actuality, almost a year later, this beer hits the market with an almost identical taste!  Guess I didn't do too shabby, eh?!     A nice coppery-brown pour, fairly heady with a strong nose.  Definite caramel malts with some nice nutty and toasty notes.  A surprising piney hop presence here as well.  A crisp beer, more of the nice nutty and caramel malts with some rich earthy/oaky notes.  Some lighter floral/grassy hops on the finish with some orange peel thrown in for good measure.    Changes my opinion on ambers!

Peak Hop Noir

Reachin into the stash, grab bag style..   annnnnnnd we get: Peak Organic - Hop Noir!!

A special brewing of a Black IPA by Peak...  8.2% ABV and a killer 98 IBUs.  Hops, clearly...   Noir? Most definitely..  look at that pour!  Super heady, great mocha colored... and an inky black pour.  Nice mixture of aromas here.. floral and strong piney hops with some earthy/oaky notes and some richer toasted malt, coffee and chocolate aromas.  Rather light-bodied considering the pour..  the roasty toasty malts hit you first, nice rich dark chocolate with some black coffee.  The hops sneak up soon after, following the nose with predominately piney bitterness coming through, bit of floral-yness and citrus as well.  The finish is a nice drying bitterness accompanied with some burnt coffee notes.  A slight metallic note through and through, probably residual from the hops or a bit of oxidation.. this beer has been laying in wait for at least 6 months.  But a great example of a Black IPA!

Thursday Night Boulevards

So why not have the other 2 Boulevard beers I've been hoarding on a Thursday night while watchin the B's take on those dirty Canadiens!

Stone and Bruins!

Had a beer leftover from the weekend that a friend brought for me!

Vertical Epic '11!  Already had a mini review about this from my trip to the Stone Brewery.. but that was quick and also on draught.  This has had a few months to age in the bottle, and honestly, it's better than a fresh pour from the brewery itself!  a 9.4% ABV 65 IBU Belgian-style Amber brewed with cinnamon sticks and Anaheim chilies.  Definitely a sweetly malty nose, hints of the cinnamon and other spice.  Some of the Belgian yeast pokes through, but is surprisingly subtle.  A nice departure from the usual Stone (as all the Epics are), much more malt-forward than you'd expect, especially for 65 IBUs.  Sticky sweet, but light caramel malts, some hints of chocolate here too.  Spice plays a prominent role, but more cinnamon than chilies..  not much heat coming from these, more of a sweet spice.  Slightest hint of an alcohol burn.. or is that the Anaheims?  It leaves an oily slick sweet coating with a bready yeast taste.  Can't wait to see what this is like in a year!

Comparison Night!

The night is here!  Sharing my Arrogant Bastard clone (normal & dry-hopped) with some friends and comparing it to the legend..

Long & Strange

Boulevard - Long Strange Tripel.  9.0% ABV and 23 IBUs..  hot damn, why hasn't Boulevard caught on on the east coast until recently?!  This stuff's awesome!  A beautiful golden Tripel with a monstrous head..  A nice yeasty nose, hints of orange peel, banana, some spice and a little floral hop.  Oh, and don't forget the booze..  yeah, at 9.0%, you can't hide that secret ass kicker.  Very nicely carbonated...  a slight, warm spice all the way through held up by nice fruit flavors..  some sweet pear, apple, apricot..  lighter but sweet toasted malts like faint graham crackers.  Of course the Belgian yeasts and Belgian candi sugar come through, only faintly masking a nice floral/grassy lingering hop profile.  This is scary-easy to drink at 9%.. and far to flavorful to just sip...  drink the whole damn thing as easy as it goes down and prepare yourself for a long, strange trip(el)

New Year - Old Beer!

So it's 2012 now..  sweet Jesus..  Doesn't feel different though, does it?  One things for sure, it'll be a freakin kick-ass year filled with great beers.  Nothing will stop me from making 2012 a hell of a year, and neither should you!

...so with a new year, let's try and old beer!  On my recent trip to CA, I was able to procure some Stone Saison du Buff that I was "swindled" out of.. but that's another story.  At the same time I managed to find a bottle of the Stone/Maui/Ken Schmidt - Kona Coffee, Macadamia, Coconut Porter!  Seriously.. this stuff was brewed and released in September of 2009! Yes, I said 2009..  well over 2 years ago!

Also called "Aloha Plenty" after Ken's winning homebrew.. he got the chance to brew with Stone and Maui, so it's not your average collab from the start.  an 8.5% ABV Porter..  cellared for 2+ years at the primo liquor store in San Diego County.  I'm sure that influenced the taste quite a bit.. but we'll get to that.  A stunningly black pour.. very little head and an aroma that overtook the room.  Huge sweet coffee nose mixed with a creamy vanilla, syrupy bourbon and roasted nuttiness all in one.  It's indescribable.. I'm literally floored.   In simplest terms, the taste of this beer is like the best beer version of Kahlua you could ever imagine.  But calling it Kahlua is an insult (not to say I don't love me a nice Mexican coffee or Black Russian!)  this ain't Kahlua though, this is a Stone!  So rich and smooth, the coffee dominates for sure..  super rich, creamy, bold..  huge roasted malts and a sweet nutty undertone.  Not sure where the coconut comes in which is OK with me cause I'm not a huge coconut fan..  I got hints here and there as it warmed.  Boozy from the start and almost like the richest melted fudge.. slightest hint    so simple but amazingly complex.  I'm hoping they decide to re-brew this.. pure genius in a bottle!