11.16 - Shaken to the Bone

Drinks at a brewer's apartment?  Bring beer!  Not like there won't be enough there... right?

Moat Mountain Smoke House & Brewing Company - Moat Bone Shaker Brown
a 5.5% ABV English-style Brown Ale.  12 oz can?  fuck off.  this right here is a bomber in a can.  a Comber..  wait.. that sounds stupid.  Ok, just a 22oz can.  Yeah, that works!  When one can isn't enough and you just really can't be bothered double fisting.  Ok.. this post is already getting weird.   Well then.  The beer.. right!  I'm not sure what the hell it looked like since I pounded this fucker straight from the can.. I'm guessing it was brown.  good guess?  It probably had some sort of head too.. and smelled like a brown.  I think I'm 3-for-3 so far!  What matters here is the taste.. cause that's all I can really judge.  It's smooth, light, sweet..  caramel and nutty malts.. slight toasty notes.  This is solid.. this is crushable, this is tasty, this is a huge beer for a great value.  There simply are not enough solid Brown Ales.  This is legit

- - 8 Hops!

11.15 - Snake Bitten

Beer mail is the best mail.  Got myself a growler of this little beauty and another brew from down South. Had some guys in my beer group rave and rave about this.. let's see if it lives up to the hype

Good People Brewing Company - Snake Handler 

a 9.3% ABV  103 IBU Double IPA out of Birmingham, Alabama.  Coppery orange pour with almost no head; I would've considered the growler to be a bit flat.. but the pour in the stock photo above looks a touch flat too.  HUGE thick syurpy orange citrus notes ooze from the pour.  Booze and pine encompass the rest of the nose..  simple and straight-forward, but massive in every aspect.  The taste picks up where the nose left off in that it's just a boozy, hoppy, malty beast of a DIPA.  The malts give it a strong sweetness that balances out some stone fruit and piney resin hops.  Super citrusy, super resinous, super good.  Great up-and-comping brewery, or so I hear from the folks that sent me this!

- - 8 Hops!

11.14 - Why Can I Bee You?

Another one of those random 'oh-hmm-this-looks-interesting-and-is-$3-why-not-buy-it?' purchases.  We've all had those, right?  Oooh, fancy.  Oooh, shiny.  Right?   Bueller?

Stillwater Artisanal Ales - Why Can't IBU?

a 5.7% ABV hoppy Belgian IPA.  A rich sunny yellow pour and full, thick pure white head.  Supposedly a blend of a Belgian IPA with a Farmhouse influence..  there's the grassy hay notes on the nose that are indicative of this.  There's also abundant floral and citrus hoppy aromas with some peach/apply sweet fruits and slight hints of pepper.  Fairly complex that gets a bit more simple once it hits your lips.  This is a spot-on Belgian IPA/Farmhouse Ale blend.  Bright and yeasty with that sharp, clean grassy and hay-like notes. Again, there's touches of pepper with subtle, sweet biscuit malts.  Dryer than most IPAs, with some nice balanced tropical pulpy fruits towards the end.  The nose led me to expect a bit more complexity from the body, but it's solid nonetheless.

- - 7 Hops!

11.10 - Beat the Deadline!

For once I'm finally drinking one of these PRIOR to the recommended date..  is it the Mayan Apocalypse or something?  Full moon?  What's wrong with me?

Stone Brewing Co - Enjoy By (11.12.13)

a 9.4% ABV  85 IBU Imperial IPA   The first batch was the gold standard, in my humble, yet clearly correct opinion.  Since then, every other one has fallen a bit short in one way or another..  Maybe I'm waiting too long by drinking them on the exact day it says to actually enjoy it by?  Bitch please.... that's like 5 weeks after it's bottled.  Even unicorn tears don't fade that quickly.  Pours the same as every other batch..  finally less onion on the nose!!  Pungent, dank hops, piney, thick heavy orange peel.. oozes from the glass.  And the taste is finally better too!  Closest to batch 1 yet..  cleaner malt profile, less sticky sweet honey and bread.. more hops are able to shine through in a less oppressive resinous fashion.  All the flavors are very similiar batch to batch.. just finally less onion-y garlic hops and a much cleaner overall profile.  Finally getting close to batch 1!

- - 8 Hops!

11.8 - All Aboard the Spice Express

This one sounded interesting.. but is it actually?  Is. It. Actually?

Ballast Point Brewing Company - Indra Kunindra

a 7.05 ABV "Export Stout" brewed with curry spice, coconut, Kaffir line leaf, cayenne, and cumin.  Did I just belly flop into the Indian food section of Whole Foods?  WTF?!  The worst time of my life was any time I had to step foot into the hallways of my off-campus apartment building junior and senior year of college.. fucking reeked of curry.  Now I'm gonna drink it?  I'm a moron.

Black-as-night pour, but not too viscous with a faint tan head.  It's got roasty note combined a giant smash of spice to your nose holes..  loaded curry and cumin aroma.  Borderline overpowering.  aaaaand this is just odd.  There's roasty chocolate flavors.. some coffee.. and BOOM comes the spice.  ZERO coconut or lime notes.. just pure pepper/curry Indian spice.  As it warms, these fade to give way to a fuller roasty malt body.. but it's close to undrinkable at times.  It bounces back and forth.. terrible to ok to terrible back to OK again. Thankfully the spice overall is a bit subdued, and while not my thing AT ALL, it is exactly what it sets out to be.. can't knock it for that

- - 6 Hops!

11.7 - It's Quite Divine

I'm not feeling really creative with my leads lately..  here's some beer

Saint Arnold Brewing Company - Divine Reserve #8
a 9.3% ABV Wee Heavy/Scotch Ale brewed in 2009.  This is a mainly dead pour.. zero head on top of a rich amber/copper body.  There's not much carbonation either..  maybe chalk that up to 3+ yrs in a bottle? Hugely malty and sweet on the nose.  This oozes of brown sugar, figs, toffee, caramel, brown bread, raisins and even touches of peat and booze.  Slick, sweet, and a touch thick.. this has an amazing mouthfeel and body.  Gobs of raisin, caramel, molasses, dark fruits, heavy bready malts..  there's some faded earthy hops that could either be due to the age or the amounts of malts that just dominate this.  This has got to be an Imperial something or other cause it's just massive.  Take the best Scotch Ale you've had, distill it down, double that.. and you get the ricidulousness that is this uber-rich beer

- - 8 Hops!

11.5 - SOA

If you don't enjoy Sons of Anarchy.. stop. reading. now.  Leave.  Go.  We're not friends


Brought a few things over to a friend's place for SOA.  She likes beer..  she works in beer.. so we drink beer.

Surly - Bitter Brewer
a 4.1% ABV 37 IBU "English Bitter"  They call it a "not really British Bitter" and I can see why.  More hops, less maltiness than a traditional Bitter.  Definitely has a unique Surly twist on the style.  Crappy lighting, but a nice orange/copper pour, full head.. there's honey/cracker malts and faint, earthy hops.  It's a lighter beer (duh), and very smooth.  I don't traditionally enjoy Bitters, but this is solid, fits the style, and does what it does well.  Milder hops, floral, a touch of nutty malts, very smooth

- - 8 Hops!

Surly - CynicAle

a 6.6% ABV  33 IBU Farmhouse/Saison Ale.  Picture doesn't do it justice, but this is a lovely hazy golden orange pour, full bubbly white head.  It's got bright honey, hay, and banana notes.  Touches of pepper and orange peel.  Great nose for a canned Saison.  It's earthy, touches of hay and grass, with the typical clove, banana, bubblegum that you'd expect with plenty of smoother sweet notes to balance this out.  There's a bit more body to this than most Saisons, and finishes with a touch of earthy hops and yeast.  Not the truest interpretation of the style, but it seriously delicious!

- - 9 Hops!

11.03 - Beers & Bands

Sunday night.. one of your favorite bands is going on a 'farewell tour'.. you're going to the show with a fellow beer geek. It's at a dive bar.  OF COURSE YOU HAVE CRAFT BEERS BEFOREHAND!!

Revolution Brewing Company - Anti-Hero IPA
a 6.5% ABV 70 IBU IPA.   Gorgeously clear amber/orange pour, solid head, the nose..  woooo baby! Dank, floral, slightly piney.. but almost ALL hops, barely any malt aroma.  But in the body/taste, the first thing to hit the a lighter, sweet cracker/caramel hop body.  But this is only 1/10th of the body.. barely worth noting..  such huge, crisp, clean hops notes in the taste.  Floral, piney.. and a butt-load of dank hop flavors just bombard your palate, but never dominate.  This is so unbalancedly balanced that it's just downright crazy.  An amazing IPA!

- - 8 Hops!

Saucony Creek Brewing Company - Captain Pumpkin's Maple Mistress

a 9.5% Imperial Pumpkin beer.  One of 2 beers sent to me by a trader in PA, the brewery is owned by a retired X-Games BMXer.  Now I love pumpkin beers, but they have to be good AND unique, which are few and far between, for me to enjoy them.  This is actually both!  A rich mahogany pour, the spice and vanilla pour from the nose.  It smells sweet, earthy, and spicy.  The spice is subdued, there's more sweet potato/yam than pumpkin notes.. and a ton of brown sugar sweetness.  This is very nice, especially for a first-time brew.  

- - 7 Hops

Saucony Creek Brewing Company - Chocolate Cherry Schnicklefritz Stout

an 8.0% ABV 20 IBU Milk Stout.   The 2nd of 2 beers send to me, this intrigued me more, so I saved it for second.  Just what you'd expect.. a rich brown pour and light brown head.  Heavy lactose nose with milk chocolate and just a hint of tart cherry.  A very luxuriant and silky stout, the lactose works very well in this, unlike most milk Stouts.  It's not overly sweet as the bright, tart cherry notes come in and cut through the lactose.  The tartness starts to creep in on the finish of the beer with darker chocolate/cacao overtaking the sweeter milk chocolate.

- - 8 Hops!

Prairie Artisan Ales - Prairie BOMB!

a 14.0% Imperial Stout aged on coffee, cacao nibs, vanilla beans, and ancho chilies.  14% and this ain't even barrel aged..  goddamn!  (clearly the blue wax version)  huge espresso and dark chocolate notes on the notes with subtle sweetness - vanilla.  Not much spice here at all.  There's only a very faint bit of heat from the chilies in the body.. this is more prevalent early on, before the vanilla sweetness and coffee notes take over as the beer warms.  Super thick and slick, this is still a bit hot from the booze.  I'm sure with some age that'll fade and the chili spice may come through more.  Regardless, this is fantastic.  Would love to compare to Hunaphu at some point.. if I can ever land one!

- - 9 Hops!

10.30 - WORLD SERIES!

2013.  Red Sox.  World Series.  Up 3-2.. AT HOME.  You bet your sweet ass I'm gonna be having some beers!

Hill Farmstead Brewery - Jimmy
a 10.% ABV "Cascadian Dark Beer" or Black IPA.  Brewed only once in 2012.. so let's see if it holds up. Roasty nose and hints of a sharp piney hop.  The body is slightly light and oxidized for a higher ABV beer..  the hop profile still remains after 12+ months.. decent piney notes balanced out by mild roasty chocolate and iced coffee flavors.  Dry finish.. more roast..  hops are close to fading out completely.  Not my favorite style, but for the age, this held up very very nicely

- - 8 Hops!

Hill Farmstead Brewery - Everett

a 7.5% ABV Porter.   Now I've heard amazing this about this Porter.. but as a no-frills Porter, it's really tough to be stand out.  Can it live up?  Typical rich pour, mocha head..   has a rich, roasty nose, more akin to a non-Russian Stout than a Porter.  There's the chocolate and coffee you'd expect, but the roast is heavy and amazing.  Smooth and strong.. this is just plain solid1

- - 8 Hops!

Mystic Brewery - Cabernet Sauvingon Barrel-Fermented Saison

a 7.0% ABV Saison fermented in red wine barrels.. yeah, not aged in the barrels.. actually fermented in the barrels.  Suck it, neck-beards.. you aren't on this level.  The natural bacteria in the barrels assists in the fermentation, adding a level to the Matrix that you just can't get from barrel-aging.  Dry, funky, hay nose with an underlying tannic, fruity note.  The body is the perfect blend of CabSauv and Saison.. yeasty, funky, and jammy without being tart.  This is exactly as advertised.. a Saison blended with a Cab Sauv wine.  Juicy barnyard goodness

- - 9 Hops!

SOX WIN! SOX WIN! SOX WIN! SOX WIN! SOX WIN! SOX WIN!!!!

Alesmith - Speedway Stout (Vietnamese Coffee)

a 12.0% ABV Imperial Sout brewed with Vietnamese coffee.   I was told I can pick any beer from my friend's cellar.. everything was so epic, the decision was ridiculous.  This is a fine celebratory beer, right? Such a huge, thick head and just oozes with this amazing coffee aroma.  This drinks like a sub-6% ABV beer, absurdly smooth and sweet, zero booze bite, the coffee notes are like the most luxuriant coffee you could image, blended with orgasm-inducing chocolate.  Highly recommend ANY of the Speedway Stout variants.

- - 9 Hops!

10.28 - Harpoon #46

Nice to get free beers from time to time from a local shop.

Harpoon 100 Barrel Series -#46 Hoppy Belgian Style Blonde

a 6.5% ABV  53 IBU Belgian Blonde-style ale.  A hybrid of the nose of a Belgian White and a Triple.  Strong esters and grassy hops.  Not a ton of complexity to the nose, nor the body..  this is a straight-forward "Belgian blonde" that's hopped up.. exactly as the name says.  Banana, close, Belgian yeast with tropical esters and a floral hoppy bite.  There once was a time when the 100 Barrel series made some standout beers.. but if you're aiming for 100 unique beers, there's bound to be some duds.  

- - 6 Hops!