Beer Log: June 1-13, 2012

Beer Log: June 1-13, 2012

June 1: Tonight’s Beer: Alaskan’s: Amber: The signature beer from Alaskan. Though, oddly enough, this is the first time I’ve gotten around to trying it. It has a nice clear, light amber color – it is more toward the golden honey color end of the amber spectrum. Nice frothy head that dissipates pretty quickly. It has a pleasant, sweet, somewhat fruity scent. The flavor is also fruity, with a hint of apple, banana and strawberry (though there is no actual fruit in the beer, in case you were worried). Lightly hopped, there is a mild bitterness at first, but the sweetness from the malt is the most dominant characteristic. Not much of a lingering flavor, it exits the palate quickly. Pleasant, and not challenging.

 

June 3. Tonight’s Beer: Firestone Walker’s: Walker’s Reserve Porter: While I have had this before a few times, this is the first I’ve sat down to reflect on it. It pours from the 22oz. bottle very thickly, and very dark. Though when holding it up to the light, some light comes through, revealing a very dark amber hue. Nice thick, foamy head, but not overly carbonated. Tasty burnt, toasty flavor, with mild sourness. Also a nice oaky undertone and a hint of bourbon. Very tasty and complex. As much as I enjoy their pales, FW does great dark beers.

 

June 5: Tonight’s Beer: Lagunitas’: Hop Stoopid. The name pretty much says it all. Very hoppy. Very delicious, but nothing subtle about this one. (June 2011) Trying it again. Basically, this is a more intense version of the IPA. As with the IPA, it has a strong, citrus, almost grapefruit taste. The hops are even more present than in the IPA and there is stronger bitter finish that lingers longer than with the IPA. Nice crystal clear honey blonde complexion with a nice foamy head that dissipates quickly.  It also has a very intoxicating floral aroma. Potent at 8% ABV and very hoppy at 102 IBU (International Bitter Units; though, I have no idea how they calculate that; sure, I could look it up, but, well, you know, I just haven’t gotten round to it).

June 6: Tonight’s Beer: 21^st Amendment’s: Brew Free or Die IPA: Excellent IPA. Didn’t have access to a computer to describe it in detail, but tried this at a friend’s house during poker. Very good beer; will have to revisit later and describe in detail. (5/5/2012). OK, now sitting at home with more time on my hands. It has a lovely dark honey color. Not quite into the amber register, but darker than many IPAs. Limited carbonation and head.  Good kick at 7%ABV – definitely doesn’t feel that strong. It has a nice mildly citrus presence, somewhat like orange rather than lemon or grapefruit. What I also like is that while it is a distinctly hoppy beer, the hops are well balanced with the malt. Some IPAs are so tilted toward the hops, that the sweetness of the malt is overwhelmed. Not so with this Brew Free or Die. The malt is also slightly darker and has a hint of a singed sugar flavor (not quite burnt sugar – didn’t have a good descriptor, here, so did what I could to push the idea of mildly toasted).

 

June 7: Tonight’s Beer: Deschutes: Inversion IPA: this is a very good beer, though I don’t know if I’d have sold it as an IPA. The malts are darker than most, and there isn’t the same intense hoppiness of most IPAs. The color is almost amber rather than pale. It starts sweet, but the hops take over with an initial citrus taste, followed by an increasingly bitter yet pleasant finish. Tastes more like how a brown should taste, but with less of the toasty flavor of a brown. Good strength at 6.8%. Very good summer beer.

June 8: Beer Adventure: Sale Day at Whole Foods! So, another great 20% off sale that applied to all single bottles – essentially the 22 oz. bottles, which have become one of my favorite ways to sample new things. So, once again, I was like a kid in a candy store. While I opted for some standards (Stone Smoked Porte, Deschutes Hophenge, Firestone Wooky Jack), I also indulged in some that I had looked at but never purchased. So, ended up with Full Sail’s Black Gold (Imperial Stout), High Water’s  Retribution, Drakes’ Denogginizer IPA, New Belgium’s Lichee beer, Green Flash’s Le Freak, The Bruery’s Mischief). Should be good days ahead in sampling the new and revisiting the old.

June 11: Tonight’s Beer: High Water Brewing’s: Retribution Imperial IPA:  Nice golden, almost orange, color. Even the aroma coming off the foam gives off kind of an orange scent. There is a bit of citrus in the taste, but the hops are dominated by an earthy bitterness – very deeply, bitingly bitter. The hops dominate the maltiness, so it is a fairly one-dimensional beer. Oddly enough, while the hops hit hard and linger on the tongue and roof of the mouth, the after flavor is kind of thin and almost watery. At 9.5% ABV, it hits hard, though the alcohol is subdued in the flavor. HWB is clearly a small operation out of San Leandro. I want to like this more than I do so I could justify supporting a local company. It is an OK beer, but not worth revisiting anytime soon.

June 12: Today’s Beer: New Belgium’s: Tart Lychee: (Part of the Lips of Faith Series): Sometimes it is fun to branch away from the traditional forms and styles and venture into creative land. For me, fruit beers and sours are a way of getting off the IPA/Porter/Stout path and exploring the outer reaches of the beer-o-verse. This is both a sour and a fruit beer, making it particularly unusual. It is made with 56% ale aged in oak and 44% ale brewed wit lychee and cinnamon. They had me at “lychee”. It has an inviting fruity aroma with the scent of tartness that I associate with sours. It is honey colored and cloudy. Very thin head with little carbonation. Just a bit fizzy, but not too much. The flavor follows the scent. Very tart and tangy. As with other sours, there is a white wine type of flavor, but more sour and lighter, more refreshing – maybe it’s the carbonation. Or, in this case, the lychees. This was available for $7.99 for 22 oz., which is a good bargain for a sour – most are significantly more expensive. And at 7.5% ABV, a good strength for a sipping beer. Sours are most definitely for sipping!

 

June 13: Today’s Beer: Drakes: Alpha Session: Nor Cal Bitter Ale: This is a new release from Drakes, and it was highly touted by Brian the Beer Guy, so, I bought a bottle. Normally, I’m used to seeing very high ABVs listed on the 22 oz. beers, so was somewhat taken aback by the 3.8% listed. Surely, that much have been a misprint? Maybe, 13.8, or 8.8? But no, it is accurate. I don’t know much about the session beers. The style is essentially a British bitter, kind of like an American Pale, but lower in alcohol. Some of the Sessions I have had were really not very interesting. I tried on last summer and was not impressed, perhaps because I was looking for something stronger. But, as I’ve seen more of them being produced, I’ve tried to keep an open mind. The most recent one that turned my head was the Bitter American from 21^st Amendment. Great flavor, low alcohol – great summer beer. And this one is very much along those lines – low alcohol, good flavor. The head was not very thick, but has a very strong piney peppery scent. The color is a very pale gold, so not much color. The flavor is nice and hoppy and the piney, peppery character comes out quite well. Past the pine is a slight citrus, almost grapefruit flavor, but not as grapefruity as say the Lagunitas IPA. I’m liking it! And, tomorrow, I make good on my threat to make a trip to San Leandro to visit Drakes in person!