So, what new beers have you poured down your gullet recently?
Right now I am drinking something called a “White Russian Nitro” from Left hand Brewing. It is described as a white stout with coffee and vanilla added, it looks like a slightly hazy IPA…and it tastes like freakin’ heaven. If you shut your eyes you will swear the stuff is as dark as a Russian Imperial stout with strong hints of espresso and Madagascar vanilla. I would serve this with tiramisu after a nice dinner.
Recently got into Belgian sours. Rodenbach Classic is my go to - affordable (compared to other imports) at about $11 for a 4 pack of 16 oz cans, and about as refreshing on a hot day as any beer I’ve ever tasted. A bit sweet, more sour, and a fruity flavor that is somehow derived from aging and fermentation rather than any actual fruit or fruit juice added.
Silver Branch Brewing in Silver Spring, MD just released Cosmic Fall, a rye IPA. It was so good Ms. P and I had another, and another. Fortunately, we were at a neighborhood festival two blocks from our house.
Last weekend I was at the Belford Brewery and tried 7 beers.
I tried the Lobster Pot Ale, it was probably the best of their beers. Crowweed Stout Nitro 6% ABV 24 IBU was disappointing
Pro Multis Ale was an OK Tripel, but nothing special
Whipporwill Farmhouse Ale - Saison 7% ABV 31 IBU Fruity but not citrusy so drinkable. Sextant Belgian Strong Golden Ale: 9.5 ABV 23IBU, strong in alcohol but underwhelming in taste.
So the other 3 were forgettable.
In house I have: Sam Adams Octoberfest. Pretty tasty. Hacker-Pschorr Oktoberfest which is probably the best and the original Octoberfest. Leinenkugel’s Oktoberfest underwhelming compared to the other two.
Founder’s Porter my favorite Porter or maybe second after Fullers. Yuengling Porter my standby and relatively cheap. In fact this is the last of the 2 case I brought back from the Brewery. Each case was only $22.40 Porter Zywiec A Baltic Style Porter. Very strong and pretty tasty. 9.5ABV. These will knock you on your ass if you drink them like normal beers.
Left Hand Brewing Milk Stout: Very tasty, desert-like ale. This company is pretty great. I’ll have to look for the “White Russian Nitro”.
Yuengling Lager on tap and I have a case in house for guest that don’t like all my heavy ales.
3 weeks back I was at The Raritan Brewery, I had a flight of 4 there and tried one extra. Hudson Trail Pale Ale 5.8% ABV / 39 IBUs Pale ale hopped with Comet, Cascade, and Vic Secret. Steamboat Wit 8.0% ABV / 15 IBUs Belgian-style witbier taken to 11. Coriander and orange peel, Belgian esters St. Ann’s Abbey Ale 6.0% ABV / 25 IBUs A Belgian style abbey ale This one stood out, a tasty ale indeed. Penelope Stout 5.2% ABV / 50 IBU A darkly delicious sweet stout with a ton of roasty flavors to it. Dark and smooth They’re not lying, it was tasty. Red Beerd 6% ABV 22 IBU Irish Red ale good, but not as good as a Smithwicks. (Which I had on tap recently)
Back in August I was at Yuengling’s plant and took the tour and sampled 5 beers there.
Ghod, I love this woman!
There was a knock on the door just five minutes ago, and My Beloved yelled out, “You are going to want to get that!”. It was Amazon Prime delivering a 12-pack of Ninkasi “Dawn Of The Red” IPA-Something I’ve wanted to try for a while. I’ll report back on it later.
If some of you aren’t rating the beers you try you should be. Even if it’s for your own use. If you come across a brew and forgotten if you’ve had it already you can quickly look it up to see if you had, and whether you liked it or not. It’s a useful tool to prevent from trying a beer again you hated in the past.
That’s a pretty good one. I’m also fond of their Total Domination IPA and their Sleigh’r winter ale.
Only beer I’ve tried for the first time lately is Sierra Nevada Oktoberfest, which makes for a pretty satisfying and balanced lager. I’ve mainly been into cider lately, and Tieton Apricot Cider is my current favorite - it’s not nearly as sweet as macrobrew ciders like Angry Orchard or Strongbow, sort of a semi-dry, with a nice tart flavor to it. Their Hazy Strawberry Cider is also pretty good though on the sweeter side.
Speaking of trying new beers, does anyone know of anyone that sells Cock-Ale? I think Cecil Adams even shared the recipe for it.
It literally is made with an old cock (i.e., rooster [or chicken, if you will]). I’d love to try it if anyone sold it. I’d even pay more money for it, and buy from overseas, if I had to.
I do wonder if it’d be legal to sell. It has raw chicken in it, I believe. Sounds interesting though.
My problem is I like most beers that aren’t lagers or pilsners. I give most IPAs a >4.
A local brewery made a Matt’s Pale Ale (Matt is the brewer). I got Matt’s ok to bring in a few cans of Dale’s Pale Ale for a blinded comparison. Very, very, close. I couldn’t reliably tell them apart.
Of my 1300+ ratings Dales is one of only two beers I have given a perfect score to.
I am convinced that they are drinking it in the movie “Beerfest” (It’s Beautiful!). Part of the flick takes place in Colorado where Dales is made. Can’t just be a coincidence.
Let’s see… I had the Yuengling Golden Pilsner for the first time a couple of weeks ago. They just rolled out the Yuengling products to Texas, and I’d had the Yuengling Traditional Lager before, so I tried the Golden Pilsner. It wasn’t bad. Certainly not on par with a real Czech Pilsner or most craft brew attempts, but still a fair amount better than the typical American style lager like Miller or Bud.
Otherwise, I think the newest one I’ve had was the Manhattan Project Double Half Life hazy IPA. I’d already had the regular Half Life and enjoyed it greatly, but hadn’t had their seasonal double IPA. I want to try their triple IPA (“Superfortress”) but I haven’t seen it in stores yet.
Fruit flavored beers usually all end up having the same problem, they don’t have much fruit flavor and are just sour as hell.
The one exception I’ve found is Grainbelt(MN) Blu that is an awesome blueberry beer.
Then this summer I had a chance to try a New Glarus (sold only in WI) Raspberry Tart. Outstanding stuff.
I liked Anderson Valley Hop Ottin when I was in CA, but I never see it out here in the East. I like Yards Thomas Jefferson Tavern Ale and Victory Golden Monkey, but be careful (9.5% ABV).
Yards makes some excellent beers and ales. The Jefferson Ale and Washington’s Porter are both excellent. Though I didn’t like their Brawler.
Brooklyn Brewery has some good stuff, of note was their Stout but it was 10% ABV.
Founders makes a Dirty Bastard Ale that is really tasty but 8.5% ABV.
Deschuttes Black Butte Porter is 5.5% and tasty.
St Paulies Oktoberfest was surprisingly good. Pleasant & Light.
Great Lakes Conway’s Irish Ale was not good
Yuengling Oktoberfest was disappointing. A little ashy flavored.
