DOUBLE TROUBLE, THAT’S WHAT YOU ARE

That’s about the only title I could come up with for this one – a lyric from a long-forgotten Half Japanese song from an LP I don’t even own anymore. FOUNDERS DOUBLE TROUBLE is a double IPA from FOUNDERS BREWING in Grand Rapids, MI. I drank it with the full expectation that it would be something special, given other beers I’ve had from this brewer. Yet I got a yellow, highly undifferentiated IPA standing squarely in the lower-middle of double IPAs on the market in 2009. That’s not to say it’s not a decent beer – but how do you feel if a woman you’re lusting after calls you “a decent man”? What does a parent mean when she describes her children as “decent”? I searched and I searched for adjectives, verbs and conjunctions that would help me to describe the beer I was ingesting, and then when I looked at the results in my “notes” (Main Menu/Applications/Memo Pad/Founders Double Trouble on my BlackBerry), I saw two words: “yellow”, and “decent”. Oh, and this: 6/10.

HOP CITY, YEAH

Yesterday I found the Mother Of All Craft Beer Stores in Atlanta, GA - I was there on business and went looking for local brews; it's called HOP CITY, and it has one of the most jaw-dropping selections of beer I've ever seen. Their web site is not up to date, so don't be discouraged. Local micros, Belgians, Norwegians, Germans, weird Japanese craft beers - it's all here. I weighed myself down with three new bombers (alas, none of them Georgia beers, but also nothing I can get at home):

VICTORY BREWING "Wild Devil"

SAINT SOMEWHERE BREWING "Lectio Divina"

BROOKLYN BREWING "Local 2"

I sincerely look forward to sharing the results of each tasting, presently. Meanwhile - when in Atlanta, I doubt it can get much better than HOP CITY (though look for my reports on 5 SEASONS and the BRICK STORE PUB next week).

WITKAP-PATER SINGEL

You know this one - it's a bottle that seems to be in the limited Belgian beer selection of every upscale American liquor store, one that you always think about trying, but always pass on in favor of some Trappist ale or something big & meaty. Not this "singel" - that's gotta be pretty lightweight, ain't it? (Incidentally, someone please let the Belgians know about the spelling error - really, it's embarassing!).

I enjoyed a fresh bottle of WITKAP-PATER SINGEL at Aziza Restaurant in San Francisco somewhat recently, and I kicked myself under the table for letting this one pass me by all these years. This hazy, amber/orange ale is highly carbonated, with the lively carbonation allowing a lot of fruit flavor - lemon, apricot - to dance around the mouth (as it were). It finished pretty crisp and dry. It's a really classic Belgian taste, and one that's enough on the lighter end of the spectrum that you can probably polish off a couple-three bottles and still go do your laundry or what have you. Kudos to Browerij Slaghmuylder (top browerij name in Belgium right now) for keeping this one well-distributed. 7.5/10.

WHAT HATH THOU WROUGHT, O BROTHERS?

So much for my personal TWO BROTHERS BREWING winning streak. I was on a roll with these guys, after totally falling for their HOP JUICE (9/10), their DOMAIN DU PAGE (8.5/10), their HEAVY HANDED IPA (7.5/10) and their CANE & EBEL (7.5/10) the past few months. To say that I expected anything less than near-perfection from their TWO BROTHERS “OH BROTHER!” tripel would be to err. I was certain that this limited-edition, small-batch Belgian-style experiment would be a whopper, and in some ways, it was. It is a totally harsh, overly spiced beast of a beer – not in the are-you-man-enough-to-handle-it imperial big-beer sense, but in the “whoops, how did we end up releasing this mistake?” sense. I wonder sometimes if a beer that’s been designed to be a little “risqué” hits the final round of tasting before bottling, and if there isn’t sometimes a little "looking the other way" when it comes out less than perfect. Sunk costs and all that.

OH, BROTHER! is quite a bit far from perfect, I’m afraid. While there is some fruitiness in both the aroma and the mouthfeel, the carbonation is too dense & strong, and man, the spicing just makes this almost eye-watering to get through. I had to pour it out - it was just no fun at all. It’s a total bastard, homebrew version of the Belgian tripel, and if it was from my neighbor I might forgive it and say, “hey, keep trying”. From the otherwise stellar TWO BROTHERS BREWING, I advise, “lose this one from your lineup” and keep doing what you do so well – which is not this. Ouch. 3/10.

MY FIRST NOGNE Ø

I got to go to Scandinavia a couple of times in the early part of this decade; my travels were focused primarily on Karlskrona and Stockholm, Sweden – with a side trip for fun to Copenhagen, Denmark. I actually did drink a decent amount of beer on those two trips, but nothing of consequence. As I understand it, there wasn’t anything of consequence being brewed in Sweden, Denmark, Norway nor Finland until relatively recently. Me, I remember something called PRIPPS BLA – a light, macro lager that seemed to be on every tap handle in Sweden. Lately, though, there’s been a lot of noise from MIKKELLER in Denmark and HAANDBRYGGERIET & NOGNE Ø from Norway, all of whose beers have found a loyal audience with American beer dorks and who’ve been able to charge some pretty high prices to same. I’ve had beers from the first two and have been nothing but very impressed.

Recently I got my hands on a bottle of NOGNE Ø BROWN ALE – yeah I know, probably not the place to start to get some real proverbial bang outta your buck, but it’s what was on offer and I jumped for it. NOGNE Ø BROWN ALE is a quality brown ale through and through. It’s got a much stronger hop presence than your traditional British pub warmer, but otherwise a lot of the same characteristics that make this such a favorite style of pint-pullers worldwide. It’s got a really nice satin texture to it, and some good smooth balance. Sure, it could have been made by just about anyone with some mad skillz, so here’s what I’d have to say: if you’re toolin’ for a brown ale, and that’s what you’ve got to have, then save a few shekels and go with AVERY ELLIE’S BROWN ALE. If an exotic label and the thought of a few more hops justifies you spending a few more dollars on a bottle of brown ale, then NOGNE Ø BROWN ALE totally works. We’re calling it a 7/10 over here.

DARK HORSE BREWING'S (ME) "TOO"

I've sung the praises of DARK HORSE BREWING in these digital pages before - namely I've been singing about TRES BLUEBERRY STOUT and PERKULATOR COFFEE DOPPLEBOCK. You can look 'em up by clicking on the links. Said songs will not be sung about their TOO CREAM STOUT, a fairly straighforward milk/cream stout that I drank yesterday eve. TOO, despite being an innocuous, medium-bodied, decent stout, does almost nothing to distinguish itself from other such beers, including the more widely-produced beers of Ireland and England. Not an especially "sweet" beer, despite appearances and descriptions - I actually found it to be a bit more bitter than I'd expected or wanted. It does have that roasted malt backbone and the aroma and feel of melted chocolate - but again, so do a lot of beers of this ilk. These guys are on to a winning thing with the Tres Blueberry Stout; that's the one to pull for when you're placing your Dark Horse bets. 6/10.

SOUTHERN TIER GEMINI - TWO GREAT TASTES TASTE BETTER THAN ONE

(Thanks to Kyle Roth for use of the photo)

I think I might have a new favorite Double IPA, or at least one tied with my other favorite IPAs - because ya can't beat a 10/10, folks! SOUTHERN TIER GEMINI is what it's called, concocted of course by our heroes over at Southern Tier Brewing in upstate New York. The recipe is very simple: take 50% of Southern Tier Hoppe (rated 9/10 by us) and 50% of Southern Tier Unearthly (rated 8/10 by us), pour them together, and you've got yourself a 22-oz. bottle of GEMINI. It's an Imperial, Extra, Double, Bigtime IPA, and it's one of the best beers I've ever enjoyed. Revelations like this are why I keep up at this, uh, "hobby".

SOUTHERN TIER GEMINI's smoothness and ability to disguise its 10.5% alcohol content is a big surprise. It tastes like it was bottled five minutes ago, and is incredibly refreshing (I know for a fact I've had it in the queue for two months now). It's an orange-colored ale, with very little head - what there was disappeared very quickly. I taste the pale malts - it's got a really strong malt backbone - and naturally the hops, which are smoothed-out enough that even an IPA-hater like my wife said, "I could drink this". There are loads of different hops in this thing. The chemists that put it together must've gone one of two ways while creating it - the hard way, which was through much trial & error & refermentation & experimentation (it sure tastes like it); or the easy way (take a big tank and start draining Hoppe & Unearthly into it until it's full). Whatever they did, I'm on this train for good. I'm going to make this an every-few-months treat, despite it not being sold within 2500 miles of my home. I'll figure it out. 10/10!!

FROM WORST TO FIRST: AVENTINUS WEIZEN-EISBOCK

Over three years ago, just as I was truly “going big” on selective beer drinking, I started aggressively buying strange brews from Belgium, Germany and the US. Before 2006 I was a “dabbler” who’d buy the odd amber ale, porter or IPA that I’d never heard of, but rarely targeted my searches on highly-rated, high-ABV beers that beer dorks raved about. Now, of course, I do. Well, back then I bought an AVENTINUS WEIZEN-EISBOCK, a German beer that was an accident of history, created when a portion of the water was frozen off from the rest of the beer, then re-introduced. Hey, don’t ask me, but this process add a ton of alcohol kick and some really intense malty taste. When I tried it three years ago, I crudely and dismissively pronounced it “the worst beer I’ve ever had”. Ladies and gentlemen, I was simply not ready. We all have our growing-up moments, and after drinking my second AVENTINUS WEIZEN-EISBOCK the other night, I say “mea culpa” and consider myself properly chastened.

Thanks to “Peet” for bringing me one of these and getting me to reconsider. I’m not going to say it’s now my #1 favorite beer (“From Worst To First” just sounded like a good headline), but I loved it this second go-round. Big, syrupy malty taste, almost like maple was dropped right into the fermenter. It also tastes heavily of bananas and dark plums, and yes, of alcohol. Yet that hot boozy taste that I noticed the first time I had it wasn’t really that apparent this time around – which either means I’m now acclimated and grown-up enough to finally enjoy one of these, or that I drink too much. I’m going with the former. It’s 12% ABV, which is easily one of the strongest beers out there. AVENTINUS WEIZEN-EISBOCK was at one point on the Beer Advocate 100; right now it looks like it just misses the cut. Over here at HBJ we’re going with a big 8.5/10. Are you ready for this one yet?

MAREDSOUS 6 - THE BLONDE

We had a little "team outing" the other day, you know, recognition of good work during the 9-to-5 & all that. It took place at a waterfront restaurant in San Francisco, which usually conjurs up images from my childhood of awful seafood and oily Italian dishes served up only to tourists or greater-Bay-Area locals who haven't done their homework. Yet I'm pretty sure LA MAR CEBICHURIA PERUANA is making a pretty strong bid to change that perception, because not only was their food totally amazing (get as much raw fish as you can handle - I know I did) - but hey - they had a few bottled beers I'd never had before. That always wins points here at HBJ. Enter the MAREDSOUS 6.

I'd only had MAREDSOUS 8, and wow, that was three years ago. I was so young and stupid then (yet I smartly gave it a 7.5). I like this one just as well - it's a Belgian pale ale, and as such, is pretty straightforward. Very malty, with a lot of sweet, ripe fruits in both the smell and the aftertaste. If I had to throw out a dominant flavor I'd go with apple, maybe even the slightest bit of honey - but not like EPHEMERE, for instance. Effervescent and carbonated, yet dry - and a bit bready as well. I'm sure that sounds like Belgian-by-the-numbers, doesn't it? Well this blonde is what she is and I like her this way. MAREDSOUS 6 = 7/10.

THAR SHE BLOWS! CAPTAIN LAWRENCE "NOR'EASTER"

After drinking nothing but yellow, orange, red, and yellowish-orangish-reddish beers for the past month, I was well overdue for something dark, scary and walloping. I got this in spades when I busted open a bottle of CAPTAIN LAWRENCE BREWING’s “NOR’EASTER” that’d been sitting in my beer cellar (a.k.a. the shelves in the garage) for a couple months. This came to HBJ in a trade, and our trading partner is especially fond of what he calls these “pound packin’ parcels”, or in beer dork terms, high-alcohol, dark, barrel-aged ales. NOR’EASTER, the 2008 “winter warmer” from Captain Lawrence, has everything this particular genre of beer dork would love (this is even labeled "3rd batch") – and frankly, I flat-out loved it too.

NOR’EASTER is a big, intense, 11% ABV dark Belgian-style ale. Immediately you’re hit with the rich & malty taste of licorice, along with nutmeg & other spices. It smells of black licorice as well. They say there’s something called an elderberry in here – may be, but I don’t really know what that is. It is aged in bourbon barrels, and as such, you get a very slight alcohol burn on the aftertaste. I learned to like it. It’s a really balanced beer, despite all that’s going on here, and I kept upgrading my “score” for the beer as I drank, because I kept noticing new things about it, some of which I could not put into words. Here’s what I can say: Me like! Mmm! Beer good! Captain Lawrence good! 8.5/10.

A TRIP TO THE CALISTOGA INN & BREWERY

If you’ve been following the “beer media” for a while, you’ve probably noticed a spate of articles about “Beer in Wine Country”, almost exclusively centered around first-class Sonoma and Marin county brewers like RUSSIAN RIVER, LAGUNITAS and MOYLAN’S. Trouble is, if you’re actually from around here, you know these guys aren’t really brewing rebels laying down stakes in the heart of wine country. They’re in downtown Santa Rosa, Petaluma and Novato respectively – hardly the heart of wine country; rather, these are three larger cities near by the real grape-growing towns of Napa, Calistoga, Oakville, Yountville, Sonoma and Glen Ellen. Alcohol palates may be a little more refined up here, and thus the beer had better match the quality of the wine, but this whole “look at these guys going up against the dominant winemakers” hoo-hah is a bunch of malarkey.

You want a real beer brewer making it happen in the heart of the Napa Valley wine mecca? Try the CALISTOGA INN & BREWERY, a hotel and restaurant who’ve been brewing their own beer in downtown Calistoga since 1987 (!). Whenever my wife & I are up here trying new wines, I’ve cast a wistful eye over at this place as we’ve driven by – well, the other night, while looking for a dinner, I finally got her to bite on the idea of setting our family down for a spell here. “Kid-friendly”, I think were the words I used. It worked. I’d ordered a pint of beer before we’d even sat down.

The first up was the CALISTOGA RED INDIA PALE ALE, which is just about exactly what it sounds like – an amber-colored, muy hoppy IPA. The menu said it was the result of a local homebrew contest – I guess the person responsible for this won a contest, and thus got to brew the beer at the pub/restaurant. I really enjoyed it. It poured a deep, deep red, had lots of juicy hops, and unlike a lot of strong beers, this one actually tasted really good nice n’ cold. As it warmed, I liked it slightly less, but hey, it was surprisingly good & would be the one I’d pick again if I made it back here. 7/10. I just had to try the tripel next, imaginatively called CALISTOGA BELGIAN TRIPEL. You know what? This was nothing like any tripel I’ve ever had. More like a “spicy amber ale” – really spicy and biting, in fact, but not hoppy. Seems like someone was really groping for a category to throw this one in, but it was only slightly less enjoyable than the RED IPA. 6.5/10. I’m telling you folks, once you’re done trying the best wines America has to offer (I'm talking about you, Vincent Arroyo), you could do a lot worse than to top things off with a meal and a couple of beers here. Good on ya, Calistoga.

ANOTHER DUPONT-LIKE BEER FROM THE DUPONT FAMILY

I just had my fourth beer from Belgium’s BRASSERIE DUPONT empire – MOINETTE BLONDE this time – and checking the Hedonist Beer Jive ratings board, I’ve found that I’ve never found one of them to fall short:

FORET – 7.5/10
SAISON DUPONT – 9/10
BIERE DE MIEL – 8.5/10

What’s more, and I wanna check with you guys on this one, I think that every one of these beers starts with the same basic recipe, and then branches off ever-so-slightly into something of its own. My overriding thought while I was enjoying this glass of MOINETTE BLONDE the other night (and to be sure, I was enjoying it) was, wow, this tastes just like Saison Dupont, which tastes very much like Biere De Miel, etc. It’s probably a pretty special trait to have, this consistency. To be able to make beers of such high quality that in some unique way announce that “this is a Dupont beer” – well, that’s what winemakers are always trying for, isn’t it? Can you think of a comparable brewer that stamps his/her own signature this well on any beers he/she makes?

MOINETTE BLOND is a lovely, but somewhat sharp Belgian pale ale – one that has a lot of saison-like characteristics as well. The go-to word is “earthy”, and this beer has it. There are tastes of green apple and honey, as well as some spice, and it’s a very “quaffable” ale. It poured with a big white head, as these beers do, and had a very fruity aroma. These guys apparently don’t know how to make a bad one. 7/10.

A MOST EXCELLENT FLEMISH WILD ALE

I’ve spoken highly of Belgium's DE PROEF BROUWERIJ on this site before – even plunked ‘em into my Top 10 Living Brewers list. They’ve earned it. One fairly easy-to-procure beer of theirs that I’d yet to grab for is the DE PROEF REINAERT FLEMISH WILD ALE, available both in 750ml bottles and a simple 11-ounce stubby as well. I just knew it was going to be a good one, I just knew it. REINAERT FLEMISH WILD ALE is – my notes say this – “a total Brett beer”. No, Brett’s not my wild ale-drinking pal, it’s Brettanomyces, the wafting bacteria that gives beers like this their funk. It’s not a long list, but I think it’s pretty much my #1 favorite bacteria.

This beer has a really big smell, and immediately the yeast just leaps into the nostrils, and quite soon thereafter, onto your tongue. The beer itself is golden yellow, and very cloudy. Sour, but really not too much. Imagine DUVEL just kicked up a couple of notches in terms of funkiness, and infused with tangy fruits. Damn. It’s really good. Why did I just buy the ‘lil bottle when I could’ve kept the house party going another twenty minutes or so? 8/10.

DROPPING THE BOMB ON FULL SAIL “SLIPKNOT”

This year’s FULL SAIL SLIPKNOT Imperial IPA gave me nowhere near the “pleasure” that 2007’s did, which I reviewed here. This time it’s a harsh, too-hopped, raw-ass IPA that’s just too much for even this daring IPA swashbuckler to get through. Grapefruit’s just loaded into this thing, so it coats the tongue with dry, bitter, intense flavor. It seems to lack all juiciness and/or pine tastes. Almost like the “original recipe” craft brewer, part of the great second wave of 80s/90s microbrewers, decided that it needed to one-up the upstarts and show them how it’s done old school style, and in the process got too carried away with trying to be cool. Sort of like me trying to breakdance & pop-lock in 2009, just because I used to own Sugar Hill Gang and Kurtis Blow records long before hip-hop took off. No one wants to see that. 5/10.

TWO BROTHERS’ TINGLY, TANGY “CANE AND EBEL”

“What’s up with all the Midwest beers, Jay?”, I’m absolutely certain you’ve been asking yourself. What’s up is me drinking through this gonzo order I placed with ARCHER LIQUORS for a dozen or so Midwest beers. You get the benefit of hearing what’s going on ale-wise up there, and I get the benefit of trying so many good ones. Speaking of, how about this CANE AND EBEL from Chicago’s TWO BROTHERS BREWING? They call this a “hoppy red rye ale” made with “Thai palm sugar” (that must be the "cane" - the "Ebel" is the last name of the fraternal brewers behind this one). As if I’d taste the difference between Thai palm sugar and any other kind of sugar. This is indeed a hoppy amber ale that tastes of rye – and so much more to boot. I found it very, uh, “tangy”, with a deep caramel, red/amber malty-centric taste. Medium carbonation, and a nice “tingling” sensation with every gulp. And yep, yep, that’s definitely rye I’m tasting. In all, these guys just continue to impress, and I’ve yet to bring a beer of their to my lips that’s not way above average. 7.5/10.

….AND A DISCOMBOBULATING PARTRIDGE IN A PEAR TREE…

Tried this PARTRIDGE IN A PEAR TREE beer from our new heroes THE BRUERY the other day, and well, it’s proof positive that no one can hit them all out of the park in their rookie season. This is a strong and sweet Belgian-style quadrupel, and like the others from The Bruery, it bends a little bit to the left if you know what I mean. It’s not your father’s Xmas beer. It pours with almost no head, and is still and flat (i.e. very uncarbonated). It is quite sugar-sweet, and does not hide its 11% ABV very well. It has a sort of fruity, maple/cinnamon pie taste to it, and if that sounds sorta strange, well yeah. Maple and cinnamon pie would be sort of odd now wouldn’t it? The malts are rich and intense, and the hops bite near the end of the finish. It tastes “fizzy” despite the lack of carbonation. I gave these guys a pass on their AUTUMN MAPLE experiment a few months ago, because I actually enjoyed drinking it even though it was like nothing I’ve had before. I can’t say that this one was quite as much of a treat. I’d recommend the SAISON RUE or the ORCHARD WHITE over this one any day. 5.5/10.

LET’S GO….DRINKING IN ORLANDO, FLORIDA

My latest work-related trip found me in Orlando, Florida, one of America’s main cities for industry gatherings thanks to its many hotels & convention facilities. Hey, I said, “at least it’s not Las Vegas”. (Vegas is #1 on this circuit, followed by San Francisco and then probably Orlando). I’ve been to Orlando a couple times for work stuff, most recently in 2002, and I’m always away from the “real Florida” part of the city (downtown) and stuck out by Disney World and all that, where virtually nothing is there for the locals, and there are chain restaurants, chain hotels, chain gift shops as far as the eye can see. At least the tropical heat is something new. Otherwise, this place, at least this part of it, is almost as unappealing as Vegas.

Naturally, as I always do, I did my beer homework before the flight. Naturally, as it so often is, it was all for naught. The places that sounded appealing to me for their Belgian & local beer selections – “Redlight Redlight”, “Underground Bluz”, “Tailgaters Smokehouse & Spirits” – were all at least 30 minutes away. Now that’s truly not that big of a deal, but there wasn’t exactly tons of time to cruise an hour round-trip just to drink a better beer – I still had to call the family back home, do some work in the hotel, get some beauty sleep etc. My priorities may be different than yours, but there it is. So here’s what happened instead.

We enjoyed a fine sushi dinner at some upscale- but chain-like restaurant called MOONFISH. Moonfish had all the usual suspects on tap, except for one interesting one: MOONFISH BARRACUDA BROWN. I did a little research on this one and it’s made by CHARLIE & JAKES BREWERY & BBQ in Melbourne, Florida, and then re-branded for this Orlando restaurant. You know what, it wasn’t half bad, at least not at foul at these folks make it out to be. On a hot day, like this 93-degree evening in Orlando, this malty brown ale, served cold, was pretty decent, all things considered. Lots of flavor, with tastes of banana and grain. 6/10. I would have had two, but we’d decided to go find TAILGATERS SMOKEHOUSE & SPIRITS, which we thought was only 5 minutes away. After a 45-minute fruitless search using the phone-based Google Maps, and lots of U-turns, driving into malls and Walgreens’ parking lots, we figured out that we were nowhere near the place. My pal Amanda suggested an “Irish pub” located right next to our hotel in the “Downtown Disney” entertainment complex, knowing full well that it was a desperation move and that we’d probably mock ourselves mercilessly for doing so.

I can’t remember what it was called, Molly McGuillicuddy’s or something like that, but this place was everything you’d expect a Disney-run Irish pub to be. Bad “Riverdance”-esque music, cheesy Irish décor, and of course, a bad beer selection. Amanda knew they had a couple of locals on tap, though, so I chose something I’d never heard of, SACKETS HARBOR WAR OF 1812 AMBER. Great name, but turns out it’s not even a local, and is brewed in New York. Wow, is this one bad. A total macrobrew in every way, barely cutting the drinkability Mendoza line with a thin, weak, lifeless amber ale that probably should have been served with ice and a straw. 3.5/10.

My date with the finest in Orlando drinking is going to have to wait for the next trade show. Hopefully I’ve given you one to avoid and one to briefly contemplate before you order something else.

BIG UPS TO DARK HORSE “CROOKED TREE IPA”

It must be the summer-like heat waves we’ve been having in San Francisco every other week, or just getting back in good with an old friend after straying a bit, but I’ve been trying new IPA after new IPA lately. For the most part, I’m discovering some new knockout ale just about every week. Take this DARK HORSE CROOKED TREE IPA I ordered over the internet. It has got what they call a “big hop profile”, but not obscenely so. Very malty, actually, and with a great oily/citrusy combination that makes it exceptionally smooth and drinkable. It’s a really clean taste, not a mouth-gushing-with-hops taste. Doesn’t happen too much with IPAs, but I was seriously in need of another one once this was down the gullet. Man, was this one good. Michigan’s DARK HORSE BREWING did it again; definitely suggest finding your way to their products any way you can. 8.5/10.

A SHOT IN THE DARK, A HOLE IN THE HEAD: DE STRUISE "TSJEESES"

Since I've only ever tried less than 10% of the commercially-available Belgian beer imports out there, I like to roll the dice on something appealing-sounding, and/or with a funny name, or just something totally obscure and unlikely to be discovered again. I'm a wild man that way, hunh? I've found that that's made for some pretty killer beer discoveries in the past. Alas, one takes a shot in the dark, one also ends with a hole in the, uh, wallet. Thus it was with the $6.50 I spent on a tiny 'lil glass of DE STRUISE TSEJEESES at San Francisco's Toronado the other evening. I believe it was served in an 8-ounce glass, some fancy-schmancy Belgian glassware the likes of which I've never seen before. I always see these little glasses as a curse and a blessing - I'm bummed because it's such a small amount of the given beer, and yet I'm heartened because it means I can order (one) more beer and still drive home without a heavy load on.

Cutting to the chase, I did not like this beer. It's a pale orange, chalky, earthy beer - and man is it strong. Bourbon is what it tastes like - a serious bourbon-barrel beer, minus the barrel. Extremely high carbonation. Tastes of white grapes and a little - very little - bit of funkiness. That chalky flavor is really off-putting, as is the high ABV that boldly shows itself like a flasher at the Methodist Church ladies' auxiliary meeting. Just flat-out did not come together for me, and is not something I'd recommend. 5/10.

SOUTHERN TIER “UNEARTHLY” IMPERIAL IPA

Already up to my ninth SOUTHERN TIER BREWING beer now, thanks in large part to east coast beer fiend MCM flinging them my way. It has been a wild ride. The brewer is almost wholly unknown out in San Francisco, but I feel like they’re one of my best best friends in the whole wide world. Here are eight reasons why, along with the scores to back it up:

Hoppe – 9/10
Heavy Weizen – 9/10

Cherry Saison – 8.5/10

Oat – 8/10
Raspberry Porter – 7.5/10
Oak-Aged Cuvee 1 – 7/10
Phin & Matt’s Extraordinary Ale – 6.5/10
Big Red – 6/10

Outside of two that just didn’t quite measure up, all of the beers I’ve had from this outfit have been superlative, exceptionally well-crafted, moderately experimental ales. Let’s add another winner to the list. Some people will tell you that SOUTHERN TIER UNEARTHLY Imperial IPA is the best thing they make. These are people that undoubtedly like a little hop action in their beer. I’m not gonna argue with them. UNEARTHLY comes on really strong, dosed to the max with five different hops (!!!), but soooo balanced. The brewing scientists behind this one were somehow able to tame an 11% ABV beer into something quite manageable – a malty, somewhat piney hoppy ale that’s good for every drop. Contrary to other reports I’ve seen on this one, I don’t feel like it’s particularly sweet or sticky – believe me, if it was, I’d tell ya. More of a musty and warm feel to it, and just not as bitter as these things can get when done wrong. I really dug it, and would love to have it fresh on tap the second after the keg hits the lines. 8/10.

I’VE FINALLY MET MY MATCH: THE BERLINER WEISSE

Until Tuesday night, I’d never decided to “give up” on a beer style that wasn’t working for me. No, I’m not a big pilsner drinker, but that’s only because I drank gallons upon gallons of bottom-feeding pilsners during my college years. No, I don’t know a whole lot about lambics, about guezes, about eisbocks. I’m working on those. But I do know what I don’t like: the Berliner Weisse style of beer. As you might expect, this is a German ale that grew up around the Berlin area and was apparently – and inexplicably – very popular at one time, pre-WW1, pre-Weimar, pre-Hitler. Wikipedia’s got all sorts of information about ‘em, as does this link.

I bought a TELEGRAPH BREWING RESERVE WHEAT ALE the other day and was pretty psyched to get going on it. It’s from TELEGRAPH – one of my favorite brewers on the planet. The afternoon before I’d set a date and time to drink what I thought was going to be some specially-formulated, weird-ass wheat beer, I read this post on SUMMER OF BEER, who hipped me to what it actually said on that bottle I’d procured:

This intensely sour "wild ale" recalls the earliest rustic beers crafted centuries ago before brewers had an understanding of controlled fermentation. Brewed with the addition of lemon verbena, as well as lactobacillus and brettanomyces, Telegraph Reserve Wheat is an all-together different beast from modern beer. Not for the faint of heart, this special brew is available in extremely limited quantities.

Now folks, I’m not “the faint of heart”. I’m a hearty, strapping, meat-eating American male with a love of grog, grub and wild adventures. But I can’t stand this stuff, nor the other Berliner Weisse-style beers I’ve tried before this one (another Santa Barbara-area brewer called ISLAND BREWING made one that I once savaged here). This is an ultra lemon-heavy, thin-bodied sour and very, very wild ale. You drink this when you’ve tried everything else. But does one really drink this for enjoyment? Really? I definitely love the pound-the-chest feeling that comes from throwing down a sour beer or a super-high ABV coffee imperial porter or whatever, but I can’t imagine ever buying another Berliner Weisse beer when life, such as it is, is so fleeting and filled with opportunity. If Telegraph can’t make one that gets me all excited, then I don’t know who can. Hedonist Beer Jive Rating: Totally unratable.

LET’S CHECK IN WITH MAGNOLIA PUB & BREWERY

If you ask most San Francisco beer hounds what the best in-city brewery is, you’re almost always going to get one of two answers: 21ST AMENDMENT or MAGNOLIA PUB & BREWERY. While I personally lean toward the former, I’ve been long overdue for a new date with the latter. (Other in-town breweries include the legendary Anchor Brewing; Speakeasy; Beach Chalet; Thirsty Bear and San Francisco Brewing Company). MAGNOLIA PUB & BREWERY is nestled right there on Haight Street & Masonic, a busy corner with tons of foot traffic from thirsty pilgrims. They’ve done well for themselves this past decade, and the solid beer lineup is a big reason for it.

The other night I got to be “interviewed” for a piece Brian Yaeger, author of “Red White and Brew: An American Beer Odyssey”, is writing in ALL ABOUT BEER, and given that MAGNOLIA’s about halfway between his abode and mine, we agreed that’d be a fine place for a discussion. As it turned out, even though I hadn’t been to Magnolia in over a year, there were only a couple of things on the menu I’d never tried. They actually had a gruit on tap, which was certainly intriguing, but in the end I went for style that would allow me ample room for pontification, rather than contemplation:

IN WITH THE NEW IPA – Good to see a new IPA from these folks, especially one this tasty. This is very smooth, “delicately”-hopped IPA, almost the inverse of the Great Lakes Burning River Pale Ale we talked about a couple of days ago (i.e. today’s pale ale is yesterday’s IPA). Magnolia decided to go all the way back to 2006 for this “throwback” IPA. Really good. 7.5/10.

PRESCRIPTION PALE ALE – This has been part of their lineup as long as I can remember, but I’m not sure I’ve ever tried it – certainly not since I started “rating” my beers, cough cough. Pretty nondescript and still. I actually thought it might have come from the cask, but there was faint carbonation there. Low hops, some juicy citrus in the aftertaste, and that’s about it. 6/10.

Never did get to that gruit or to the two porters they had on draft. Don’t worry, I’ll almost certainly be back next year. (PS - thanks to Bittermelon for the great photo).

THIS YEAR’S GOOSE ISLAND “MATILDA”

Last year I attended this gastronomic overdose of a food/beer fest called SLOW FOOD NATION in San Francisco; perhaps you may recall my beer report from there. It was quite a day, and everyone whom I tell about it swears they’re going to go this summer – except for the fact that the festival is transient, and is going to be relocated to IOWA this year. Ouch. My favorite beer that I tasted last year was MATILDA from Chicago’s GOOSE ISLAND BREWING. This beer gets its own full-page ads in beer magazines, so they’re really flogging it…..and last year I’d have told you “deservedly so”. Here’s what I said about the 2008 version:

Outstanding. Smooth and mildly sweet, this is a still, unclouded Belgian-style ale without all the intensity that implies. I have no idea what style category to throw it into…..a fantastic beer that is available in bottles wherever these guys distribute (unfortunately not where I live).

I bought the 2009 edition of GOOSE ISLAND MATILDA from Archer Liquors, and popped the cap a few nights ago. To be honest, I don’t like this year’s version anywhere near that epiphany-creating glass I had last year. Again, this is a still, no-head-at-all translucent Belgian ale that pours a rich reddish-orange. Smooth, with sweet malts. It features tastes of honey and banana, and is dominated by its yeast, but it really doesn’t come together in a way that makes me want to shout from the rooftops. It’s just a solid, mildly experimental, albeit unspectacular Belgian-style ale. It’s being aimed for the restaurant/foodie/connoisseur crowd, and no doubt it will do well there, but I’ll probably reach for my restaurant standbys – CHIMAY RED or LA FIN DU MONDE – before I try this one again. 6.5/10.

CAYAHOGA CHARMER: GREAT LAKES “BURNING RIVER PALE ALE”

One of the great low points of any American city’s history was Cleveland, Ohio in the late 60s to mid 1970s. With a 31-year-old, nearly-Communist mayor (Dennis Kucinich) soon to take charge within a decade, the city’s main artery, the Cayahoga river, caught fire from all the garbage, oil & general filth floating in its waters. That Cleveland today is quite a vibrant, dynamic city speaks highly to its regenerative powers from that June 22nd, 1969 incident and from the reign of Mayor Kucinich, who drove the city into default a few years later. Rising from the ashes along with its city is GREAT LAKES BREWING, whose excellent BLACKOUT STOUT we reviewed here. I purchased a bottle of their BURNING RIVER PALE ALE through the post, and here’s what I have to say about it.

GREAT LAKES BURNING RIVER PALE ALE is a lovely orange/copper color, and has a great dose of hops both in the nose and all over the tongue. This is one of those moderne American pale ales, the ones that are assertively hopped but not intensely so, like IPAs were maybe 5 or 6 years ago. Crisp and sharp with a pretty dry finish. Malts are big and thick, but it’s that blast of hops that’s what you’re going to notice. Another fetching “pale ale” from the Midwest, a place certainly not lacking for great beer. 7.5/10.

THE BRUERY’S WORLD-BEATING “SAISON RUE”

I think I just had the greatest saison in the world – and it wasn’t called SAISON DUPONT. No, get this, I tried SAISON RUE from Orange County, CA’s THE BRUERY the other night – and for good measure, followed it up with a bottle of Saison Dupont just to see what would happen. Would ya believe that I’m proclaiming, with trumpets and all manner of fanfare, SAISON RUE to be the greatest saison-style beer in the entire world? At least among those I’ve tasted. Wow, this beer is a musky, earthy, sweet/sour yeast bomb that has subtle surprises galore. It has a creamy, hazy, dry-tasting head of foam to get things started, and once that settles down (it takes a while), SAISON RUE also has a dry but really fruity and peppery taste. It’s not that “barnyard” thing that gets bacteria fans all excited, though that’s certainly present – this is just delicious through and through. Every sip brings another sort of subtlety out. I shared it with a pal, and he was pretty much in the same camp. We followed it with the aforementioned SAISON DUPONT, pretty much the saison gold standard, and while excellent itself, I gotta say this one was its superior.

THE BRUERY have very quickly become one of the go-to, first-class brewers in the USA. They know it, too – their beers are priced and packaged accordingly. I’m still buying for sure, as they’ve produced three winners since I started paying attention, two of which are knockouts. I’m giving this one a 9.5/10.

“THE LAST WINTER BEER OF 2008?” I THINK NOT

Regular readers know that I’ve consummated multiple beer trades with a shadowy north-of-the-border gentleman known pseudonymously by the name of “Peet”. The way it works is pretty simple – he grabs something off the shelf in Ontario, Canada, I grab something off the shelf in San Francisco, California – and we meet up at a predetermined location in the US for the handoff, usually the site of a major wireless industry gathering so as to blend in, stay cool and not blow our cover. This last exchange involved me bringing a rare TELEGRAPH BREWING beer; “Peet” responded in kind with GREAT LAKES 2008 WINTER ALE. “Great Lakes”, you’re thinking, “…aren’t they those fellas from Cleveland?”. Aha, you’re right and yet very wrong there, my friend. There are two GREAT LAKES BREWINGs. Those highly-regarded Cleveland brewers, and an equally highly-regarded Toronto brewer who’ve been around since the 1980s.

GREAT LAKES WINTER ALE is what was slipped into my satchel, and it’s what we’re here to discuss today. As “Peet” mentioned to me, I had not tasted my final beer of the 2008 winter beer tasting season, contrary to previous writings. GREAT LAKES WINTER ALE pours a deep, dark red – exceptionally beautiful in the glass. They say that we should have been expecting predominant flavors of cinnamon, orange peel and ginger, but all me & my drinking/rating sidekick could get out of it was the cinnamon. It is a liquidy, malty beer, more thin-bodied than I would like and definitely downplayed when it comes to the alcohol – a “big beer” this is not, appearances to the contrary. (Which is no problem and not a complaint by any means). Here’s the thing – while this beer smells great with a terrific fruity & spicy aroma, not enough of that actually makes it through to the back of your throat – which is where it counts, right? It’s when the men are separated from the boys. I liked Great Lakes Winter Ale just fine – it was a good complement to the dinner it was enjoyed with, and went down easy – yet I’d have liked it more if they’d packed a little more of their wintery je ne sais quoi into the taste of the beer itself. 6/10.

MIKKELLER SIMCOE SINGLE HOP IPA

Yeah, I know that yesterday’s “Hedonist Beer Jive Guide to IPAs” was pretty weak. I started out with a list of the twenty best I’d ever had, and had every intention of filling in the post with a bunch of whatzit around IPAs. Different varieties, different hops, some gentle mocking of beer dorkitude, and so on. I really didn’t have enough time for a proper post – as is so often the case – so I just fired off the list and let it be. Let it be said that no beer variety can hold a candle to the India Pale Ale in most situations: hot days, lazy summer nights, raging at the beer bar w/ yr beer dork friends, etc. I may get bored with them from time to time, but when they’re on, they’re on, and now we’ve got folks from all the way across the Atlantic schooling Americans on how to put a new twist on our appropriated masterpiece.

I really like the idea behind a single-hop IPA. If I’m ever going to graduate to craft beer guru status, I’m gonna have to know my Amarillos from my Centennials from my Simcoes, and maybe these Danes at MIKKELLER can help show me the way. MIKKELLER SIMCOE SINGLE HOP IPA shows off, you got it, the Simcoe hop, a hop very prevalent in US IPAs but one that I can’t personally tell you much about. I’ve been wanting to try MIKKELLER’s beers for a great long while, but the price tag and their lack of easy availability (they do come here from Denmark, you know) have made that a bit difficult. The other night at The Church Key we ordered one of these up, though, and it was a very good call. SIMCOE SINGLE HOP is strangely super-hopped; a very different sort of IPA than any I’ve had before. Very thick mouthfeel, and wonderfully hoppy and robust. A big IPA for sure, but not off the hook alcohol-wise (7%). Spicy and piney, with some serious bitterness. Again, it’s really a new taste to me, and for that alone I highly recommend it. This isn’t some lazy west coast IPA-by-numbers, but a weirdo beer made by some crazy-ass Danish cats (and brewed at the De Proef brewery in Belgium, no less!). 8/10.

THE HEDONIST BEER JIVE GUIDE TO IPAs

Both celebrated and sometimes derided as the craft beer obsessive’s favorite drink, the India Pale Ale, and its kissin’ cousin the Double India Pale Ale, are the be-all and end-all when it comes to unadulterated and hedonistic celebration of hops. Though these things can get a little samey-tasting if you’re going for them all the time, when you find the crème de la crème, it’s as pleasing an experience as there is in life. No, not in beer-drinking – in life.

Here are a few that we’ve tried that have taken the Hedonist Beer Jive staff to the summit of happiness and back. If you’re shopping for IPAs or Double IPAs, and need a few to bring home this week, you’d do well to pick up a small bushel-full of these. Any questions, please let me know.

1. MOYLAN’S – Hopsickle (Double IPA)
2. SIX POINT CRAFT ALES - Bengali Tiger (IPA)
3. STONE BREWING – IPA (IPA)
4. CAPTAIN LAWRENCE - Captain's Reserve Imperial IPA (Double IPA)
5. BEAR REPUBLIC - Racer 5 (IPA)
6. RUSSIAN RIVER – Blind Pig (IPA)
7. IRON HORSE – Beer Shoppe Anniversary Ale (Double IPA)
8. MOYLAN’S – IPA (IPA)
9. LAGUNITAS – Freak Out! (IPA)
10. DRAKE’S – Denogginizer (Double IPA)
11. PORT BREWING – Hop Suey (Double IPA)
12. BOULDER BEER – Hazed & Infused (IPA)
13. DOGFISH HEAD – 90-Minute IPA (IPA)
14. SIERRA NEVADA – Celebration Ale 2007 and 2008 (IPA)
15. SOUTHERN TIER - Hoppe (Double IPA)
16. TWO BROTHERS BREWING - Hop Juice (Double IPA)
17. VICTORY BREWING - Hop Devil (IPA)
18. BELL’S – HopSlam (IPA)
19. DRAKE’S - Hop Salad (Double IPA)
20. LAGUNITAS - Maximus (Double IPA)

MEET ROSEE D’HIBISCUS

Anyone who tells you that great label art is meaningless on a beer is full of it. I’m certain that DE DOLLE, O’DELL, LOST ABBEY and now Quebec’s DIEU DU CIEL sell at least 10% more than they otherwise would due to their fantastic label art, just as I’m certain that BOULDER BEER and GREEN FLASH sell that much less because of theirs. So here come ROSEE D’HIBISCUS, and she’s a fine-looking, if a little bewildered, girl – plump lips, waifish gaze and flowers in her hair. DIEU DU CIEL are a highly-regarded newish Canadian brewer (certainly new to me), and I’ve been reading a lot about their wares recently. I tried ROSEE D’HIBISCUS the other night, and before I go into it, lemme tell you what the brewer has to say about it:

Rosée d’Hibiscus is a soft spoken wheat beer. The rose colour comes from the hibiscus flowers added during the brewing process. The aromas and flavour of this tropical flower are very prominent in the beer, giving it a slight acidity and a very agreeable fragrance. It is the perfect thirst quencher on a hot summer day.

It is flowery for sure. My drinking partner that night said, “I’m not sure that’s even beer”. I think it is. The use of this hibiscus “adjunct” gives this highly-carbonated beer a slight sourness and the vague taste of apricots. It is thin-bodied, and a bit spicy. It may very well be a wheat beer, but if you’d asked me to throw darts at a board I’d have had a better chance of picking “wheat beer” as the quote-unquote style for this one. An experimental fruit/flower beer all the way. It’s certainly a nice scientific concoction and a credit to DIEU DU CIEL’s brewing prowess, but probably not something I’d have repeatedly. 7/10.

REVISITING DRAKE’S “DENOGGINIZER”

(Hope you appreciate what a fantastic photographer I am)

I got this blog going a little over three years ago when I, much like most folks getting their craft beer obsession going, was heavily into IPAs. Better yet, Double IPAs – which were just then starting to hit big. One of the first of that ilk that I ever tried was from San Leandro, CA microbrewer DRAKE’S. It was called the DENOGGINIZER, easily one of the top 10 beer names of all time. I totally fell for it, and to this day I still have it listed in my top beers of all time. (And let it be said that while I’m not a raving fan of DRAKE’S beer, they do make some incredible hoppy beers, including the 2007 brain-eraser called HOP SALAD).

Last night I visited a great new San Francisco beer bar in North Beach called CHURCH KEY (highly recommended – will write more about these guys another time), and they actually have the 2009 version of DENOGGINIZER on tap. It’s been three years – let’s see how it holds up. Luscious orange color with a slight pillowy, foamy head, and oh wow this is good. Smooooooth. Not at all as hopped-out as I expected. Compared to the version I tasted three years ago, this is more juicy, subtle and less intense – but of course it could be my perceptions of IPAs that have changed. I have a much larger sample size under my belt now. Really juicy and smooth. Excellent. I’m keeping my 9/10 rating. On tap in select San Francisco Bay Area locations, though you might wanna try it at the Church Key if you’re in town.

BEACH CHALET MOUNTS A TRIPEL THREAT

Normally when I take my five-year-old son off on a beer-drinking excursion it’s well-planned, if somewhat subtly executed. Something along the lines of, “Hey, how would you like to take a boat trip that just happens to end up at the Marin Brewing Company, big guy?” (this really happened). But the other day, in the course of helping him to learn how to ride a bike (OK, how about a collective “awwwww”?), we somehow turned this Norman Rockwell-esque, “my young man's growin’ up” moment in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park into a chance for Dad to suck down a new high-ABV Belgian-style ale he’d never had before.

My son was just tearing through the park on his training wheels, and it dawned on me that should he continue down the literal path he was on for another 20 blocks or so, we’d end up in THE BEACH CHALET & BREWERY’s parking lot. C’mon son, you can do it….! I hadn’t been to the Beach Chalet, I’m ashamed to admit, since around 2000-2001 or maybe even the late 1990s. It is in a beautiful spot – right at the end of San Francisco and the west coast, right on the Pacific Ocean. For nearly 12 years they’ve been serving a bevy of hand-crafted ales and lagers to tourists and some locals, often adventuresome hikers, bike-riders and kite-flyers willing the brave the area’s strong winds & generally foggy weather. We happened to be there on a fantastic sunny day (this past Sunday), and both of us needed a liquid reward after traversing many miles to get there.

I tried two beers. Let me just get the bad one out of the way first – it was an English-style bitter called D.B.A., or DEE’S BITTER ALE. It was warmly served out of a cask, and tasted alternately of copper and of metalloids of unknown origin. 4/10. That said, BEACH CHALET makes a very fine Belgian-style tripel called TRIPEL THREAT. It’s pictured here. Note the complementary crayons in the background. It pours a pumpkin orange color and is exceptionally yeasty. What I like about it is it was way more hoppy than I expected, sort of like one of them newfangled Belgo-American IPA/Tripel hybrids the kids are always getting their knickers in a twist about. It tasted fresh and alive, and could be at home at a more renown brewery like STONE or LAGUNITAS with no problem at all. I’ll totally make it back here before the end of the decade to try a couple more from these guys – just not that English thing. 7/10.

TRAPPIST WESTVLETEREN 12 – NOT TOO SHABBY

Well, I did it. I drank the TRAPPIST WESTVLETEREN 12 that was so kindly provided to me for evaluation purposes. Hey, it was a Friday, and Fridays are for kickin’ the weekend into overdrive, am I right? Before I did so I took a gander around the www and found that bars in NYC were selling a 12-ounce bottle of this for $55 a pop, and they were going on eBay for about half that (which is actually quite a bit less than I expected). And don’t forget that it’s absolutely and without doubt the greatest beer in the history of the planet. So yeah, I considered myself lucky to try the most unduly hyped beer of all time. I took a few pictures – ah yes, the ceremonial “hold it up to the window” photo; the “wow, that’s got a big foamy head” photo and so on.

Dispensing with all the snark, let me state for the record that TRAPPIST WESTVLETEREN 12 is an excellent, delicious, well-crafted quadrupel. I totally enjoyed every sip, and there’s no doubt it’s going to be making it onto the Hedonist Beer Jive 75 next time I update the thing. It’s an aromatic, very yeasty dark Belgian ale with a slight cola taste; i.e. a little thinner than I’d expected and consequently it’s actually very easy to put down. By “put down” I mean drink. Really smooth, very fruit-packed (raisins, dates) and bready. Those who care deeply about how a beer “feels” in the mouth (the cult of the mouthfeel) will be all over this one if they can ever find a bottle. I’m guessing this guy, the most recent post on Beer Advocate about this beer, is one of those fellas:

You have to be brain dead to not like this beer. It was a religious experience, it smelled like a church, tasted like heaven and had the body of the Holy Trinity.

It smelled like a church. That's a good beer, hunh? Hey, this is a beer that inspires hyperbole. Scoring it any less than a 10/10 will likely invite invective and abuse, so HBJ’s going to say this is a great goddamn beer and then call it like we see it: 9/10.

THE SPRING OF MY TRAPPIST WESTVLETEREN 12

So thanks to a fine individual with an equally fine friend who just got back from a trip to Belgium, I’m now in possession of a bottle of the mythical TRAPPIST WESTVLETERN 12. The greatest beer in the history of the world, if you ask the collective brain trust of Beer Advocate readers. My wife wants to know what special occasion I’m saving it for. Hey, how about Friday night? Or Saturday evening? You think this thing should sit around waiting for me to get a raise or for the Giants to win the World Series? Come on. I’ll report back in this space early next week.

TWO BROTHERS’ HEAVY-HANDED IPA’s LIGHT TOUCH

Sometime I wish I was a heavy drinker. I suffer from a crisis of abundance, a beer-tinged version of “alfuenza”, you might say. I currently have sitting in my fridge and garage a dozen west coast beers I bought around my town; 5 incredible east coast beers + 1 special Belgian received in a trade; and now the 10 beers I ordered from ARCHER LIQUORS in the Midwest. It’s time to get to work, but knowing me, the last of these three batches will be polished off around the end of summer. O, to be an alcoholic!

Let me first talk about my ARCHER LIQUORS order. This Chicago-based mailorder outfit came highly recommended by THE DRUNKEN POLACK, and folks who read his blog know that he don’t lie. I picked out ten whoppers from the likes of DARK HORSE, THREE FLOYDS, GREAT LAKES and other heavyweights – including three from TWO BROTHERS BREWING in Warrenville, IL. I’ve enjoyed the two of their beers that I’ve had immensely, and hey, their HOP JUICE is clocking in at #73 on the Hedonist Beer Jive 75. So Archer Liquors basically did everything they said they would and then some – packed the beer well, shipped it quickly, and communicated status without fail. Their selection is fabulous, and for those of us with no access to the Midwest and east coast superstar brewers they’re carrying, their service is a proverbial godsend.

TWO BROTHERS HEAVY-HANDED IPA is what I pulled out of their box first. Only 27 beers to go after this one, provided I buy nothing else! This highly-regarded IPA is highly regarded for a reason, as I found out. It’s like a very ripe, exceptionally juicy grapefruit. Not too piney, and not too overly hopped. It’s not advertised as a “double” and it doesn’t taste like one either. It’s a 6.7% ABV beer, and it goes down easy. There’s a bit of sweetness on the tongue that you only see in a subset of the IPAs out there. Great effort, and another winner from this crew. 7.5/10.

SOUTHERN TIER PRACTICES THE BLACK ARTS

(Thanks to Shyzaboy for the image)

I’m feeling just as well-versed in SOUTHERN TIER BREWING products these days as any east coaster is; except I’m a west coaster who just happens to have a stellar trading partner way out east, & I’ve taken a few trips out that way of late as well. Definitely one of the top brewers in the United States right now – these Lakewood, NY honchos are getting it done on all sorts of levels. The latest example to cross my lips is “OAT”, a big, intense imperial oatmeal stout. I thought the bottle said it was clocking in at 11%, but the Beer Advocate site says 12.5% alcohol by volume. It’s going to scramble your night if you drink it in a hurry for sure.

You know that candy called Whoppers? SOUTHERN TIER OAT is the big boy’s, belly-busting version of Whoppers in a glass. Rich chocolate malts, with oat (naturally) and cocoa powder combining into a rich, satisfying brew. Mine barely had any head at all, yet the bottle mentions a “thick tan head”. You call that a head, Southern Tier? Out west we do things a little differently, partner. In any case, this thing just opened up and got better & better as it warmed, and while an exceptionally rich beer, it only had medium thickness and not that cloying, ultra-thick soup you get from some big-ABV imperial stouts. These guys are great – kudos to them once again. 8/10.