The Drunken Polack

21st Amendment Hell or High Watermelon Wheat - 21st Amendment hit Virginia a few months ago.  Nothing like exploring new breweries.  I’ve always wanted to try their stuff, gotta love canned beers.  First up I had to try what might be their flagship beer, Hell or High Watermelon Wheat Beer.

This brew pours a hazy golden color with a one finger fluffy white head. Well you can probably guess where I’m going to go when I mention the smell.  Yup what you get most is wheat and watermelon.  Just what the can says =)  The watermelon is kind of sweet and sour at the same time.  The watermelon is bigger then the wheat here.

In the taste it’s turned around though.  The wheat takes over.  It’s there in the front of the palette.  At the end though the watermelon comes in a bit more and leaves a slightly sour aftertaste.

Mouthfeel is light and a little bit on the watery side.  At first it’s highly carbonated but as the beer sits for a bit it loses it’s carbonation.

Now I think they did a good job on this brew.  Well why the hell would I give it a B- then?  Well because this beer isn’t terribly exciting.  I think what they set out to do was make a wheat beer that isn’t bland, has some taste in it, and is sessionable.  They did that.  It’s just not great.

Found: Grape and Gourmet, Virginia Beach, VA
Price: Around 2 dollars a can
Website: http://www.21st-amendment.com/
What the company says: We start by brewing a classic American wheat beer, which undergoes a traditional secondary fermentation using fresh watermelon. A straw-colored, refreshing beer with a kiss of watermelon aroma and flavor.
ABV%: 4.90%
Other beers to try from this brewery: First one I’ve tried from these guys.
Other beers to try within the same style: New  Glarus Belgian Red, Founders Cerise
Rating: B-

Alpine Mandarin Nectar - If you read this blog, you know I love Alpine Beer Company.  In my opinion the collection of IPAs they make are #1 in my book.  Stuff like Pure Hoppiness, Exponential Hoppiness, Duet, Nelson, etc.  But if you also go back into some of my older reviews you’ll see that I didn’t quite feel the same way about their non IPA brews.  This time around is their year round Fruit/Vegetable Beer Mandarin Nectar.  I had this brew at their brewery but it was quickly forgotten between all their fantastic IPAs.  So I picked up a bottle via mail order from South Bay Drugs.  I pretty much felt the same way I felt about their other non IPA stuff.

Mandarin Nectar pours a light orange color with a finger sized fizzy head.  Smell is kind of bland.  Bready malt backbone, small amounts of orange, honey, and coriander.  The description they give is kind of misleading

“ Like a mountain breeze through the citrus trees.”

I really wouldn’t go that far.  Maybe if you have a cold during the time that the mountain breeze comes through =)

The taste is pretty much like the smell but the orange comes through a little bit more here.  The bready malt is still there and so is the honey which gives off a little bit of sweetness.  It’s all rounded out with a little bit of spice.

The mouthfeel is light to medium bodied, crisp, dry, and refreshing.

This isn’t a beer to write home about.  But on a hot day this might just fit the bill.  I just wish some of their other stuff would match the greatness of their IPAs.  I would also love to try this beer fresh as possible again.  If it had more orange coming through I might love it more.

Found: South Bay Drugs, Imperial Beach, CA (Mail Order)
Price: I honestly forget but if I had to guess, around 5-6 dollars a bomber
Website: http://www.alpinebeerco.com/
What the company says: Fresh organic orange zest and cracked coriander complement the orange blossom honey used in this ale. Like a mountain breeze through the citrus trees. 1.060 OG 6 IBU 6.5% ABV.
ABV%: 6.50%
Other beers to try from this brewery: Alpine Nelson, Alpine Pure Hoppiness
Other beers to try within the same style: New Glarus Raspberry Tart, Charles Wells Banana Bread beer
Rating: B

Before I even get started with this best of list let me just say that I totally ripped off this idea from The Vice Blogger.  What can I say, the guy inspires me.

So with 2009 coming to an end (good riddance by the way) I looked back on all the beer I drank and said to myself “Damn you’re getting fat” Oh I also said “Damn Dave you drank a lot of great beer”  Some of these beers I didn’t think I drank this year but I went back and sure enough I reviewed them in 09.  Cool thing is though I think 2010 is going to be better.  I’ll explain that later.  So here goes, the top 15 beers I’ve tried this year.

1. Ballast Point Sculpin -If you look back at my ratings you’ll notice that this beer isn’t rated as high as some of the other beers on this list.  That’s because the first time I had this fantastic IPA it wasn’t as fresh as it could be.  It was still great though.  The second and third bottles I had just blew me away and that’s why this is sitting #1 on my list for 2009.  This is the best IPA I’ve had. It’s 100% a West Coast IPA at it’s finest.  Good news is, in 2010 they are bottling this stuff more often.

2. Surly Darkness 08 - There are times in your beer drinking career that you will always remember and when I popped open this brew I instantly knew I was in love.  I remember getting off the couch and running into the bedroom where my girlfriend was.  I tried and tried to get her to try this awesome stout but she just wouldn’t do it.  Oh well, more for me.  This was the best stout I had this year, hands down.  Too bad this years version is just totally different.  Review for that coming in 2010 =)  Thanks to Aaron over at The Captains Chair for hooking me up with this.

3. Russian River Pliny the Younger -So how the hell did I get to try a beer that is only available in draught form and is only available at select spots across the US?  Not to mention when it is available it sells out in less then an hour and is only available once a year?  Pure luck honestly.  I didn’t get to try a lot of it.  Maybe just a few ounces but what I did have is one of the best Double IPAs (They call it a Triple IPA) I’ve ever had.  I remember holding my glass up every time I finished it off hoping they would dump more in it.  Before I knew it the growler was empty and I was a sad boy.  This beer is a pure hop monster.  Hops just sit in your mouth for hours after you have it. Come back soon Younger.

4. Alpine Nelson -This is a beer I received in one of my first beer trades ever.  Nat over at The Beer Rover reviewed it and I knew I had to try it.  He was nice enough to send me a growler of it since it wasn’t bottled yet (is now) and I was blown away by the taste.  It’s a simple IPA but the Nelson Sauvin hops used in this brew are unbelievable.  With it being bottled now it’s a little easier to get this fantastic IPA.

5. Allagash Odyssey - I bought this beer in 2008 but was told to hold off on it and try it a year later.  Glad I did.  Odyssey was the best Belgian Strong Dark Ale I’ve ever had and I don’t think anything has come close to it since.  The complex taste full of oak and vanilla was just perfect.  I can’t wait to try this brew again.

6. Russian River Temptation - Wild Ales are starting to become big in the craft beer.  On beer trading sites everyone seems to want them.  Some of the best Wild Ales made in the US are made by Russian River.  The mixture of tartness, brett, and fruit make this beer  just unbelievable.  I cannot wait to try their other sours and wild ales.

7. Deschutes Abyss -  What can I say? I love and I mean love huge ass stouts.  This is one of them.  Deschutes makes some fine beers but this is my favorite from them.  Bourbon, coffee, licorice, and molasses make this just a big and beautiful beer that will age nicely. 

8. Alpine Expoential Hoppiness -I’ve always heard about this beer.  Just like Nelson, this beer was only available in draught form for the longest time.  Recently it’s been bottled (I have a few coming in the mail, can’t wait) but my first dealings were in growler form.  I visited Alpine while I was on vacation in San Diego.  I went up there hoping that this beer would be available.  I couldn’t believe it when I saw it up on the board!  Score!  This is one of the best Double IPAs I’ve ever had.  It has a nice smokiness to it to go a long with the hops and everything else thrown in.  I had no problems finishing off the growler before I had to take the trip home.

9. Boulevard Brewing Imperial Stout -I wasn’t expecting to be blown away by this stout but I so was.  For some reason I held off on trying this brew for the longest time.  I would open the fridge and never pick it up.  I’m glad I finally did.   It has a lot of the characteristics of Abyss but it’s toned down.  The dried cocca, bourbon, and coffee are perfectly balanced. 

10. De Proef Signature Les Deus Brasseurs Ale brewed with Jason Perkins -This is the only collaboration beer on the list and it totally deserves it.  This is the second in the line, first brewed with Tommy Arthur from Lost Abbey.  I loved that one but this one was just a tad bit better.  The sourness, funk, fruit, and oak make this beer just a pleasure to drink and I almost had it higher on the list.  You can still find this brew on shelves if you look hard enough and it should be aging nicely.  The third in the series is now on the shelves also.  It’s brewed with John Mallett from Bell’s.

Rounding out my top 15
11. Firestone Walker 12
12. Ballast Point Victory at Sea
13. Goose Island Bourbon County Stout
14. Cigar City Hunahpus Imperial Stout
15. New Glarus Raspberry Tart

Those who just missed the cut!
Ballast Point Tongue Buckler
The Lost Abbey Bourbon Angel Share
Three Floyds Dreadnaught
Alpine Duet
Founders Harvest Ale
Nogne O Dark Horizon 2.0
Russian River Consecration
New Glarus Wisconsin Red
The Bruery Partridge in a Pear Tree

I mentioned that I think 2010 will be better.  Here are some of the beers I have in my possesion for 2010 – The Lost Abbey Veritas 004, The Bruery Black Tuesday, Russian River Beautification, Olde Hickory Olde Rabbits Foot, Coast Jack Daniels Barrel Aged Blackbeerd Imperial Stout, Lost Abbey Duck Duck Gooze, Westvleteren 8 and 12, Pelican Pub and Brewery The Perfect Storm, Kuhnhenn Raspberry Eisbock, Ithaca Brute, Boulevard Saison Brett, Firestone 13, Ølfabrikken Porter and many, many more!

So that’s it. Bye bye 2009 and hello 2010. I wish you all a great New Years and make sure you drink some great stuff.

Lagunitas A Lil Sumpin Extra!- Here’s a beer I heard nothing but great things about.  Well this and it’s little brother A Little Sumpin Sumpin Ale.  Both didn’t make it to my area so when I saw extra come up on South Bay I jumped at the opportunity to grab a bottle.  Quick little tidbit about the beer.  This one is classified as an American Double/Imperial IPA while it’s little brother is classified as a American Pale Wheat Ale.  I didn’t get any wheat ale characteristics in this one.  This is definitely more of a DIPA.

Extra pours a clear deep copper color.  A nice big frothy head forms.  Good retention and lacing throughout the glass.  The smell on this brew is fantastic.  A great amount of fruit.  Citrus, grapefruit, tropical fruit.  Piney hops and a sweet malt character linger in the background.  The fruit is the winner here and it’s wonderful.

The taste is good but not as strong as the aroma.  The grapefruit definitely sits up front here with all the other fruit right behind it.  Piney and grassy hops follow next.  A slight bit of alcohol comes through once in a while but it’s balanced nicely with everything else.  The mouthfeel is great too.  Medium bodied and creamy.  Just makes this DIPA even more drinkable.  This brew is definitely a fruity blast.  It doesn’t kill your tastebuds with hops and alcohol like Hop Stoopid does (which I love also).  Easily an DIPA I could have a few bombers of and be totally fine.  A winner from Lagunitas.

Found: South Bay Drugs, Imperial Beach, CA (Mail Order)
Price: Around 5 dollars a bottle
Website: http://www.lagunitas.com/
What the company says: Nothing on the site about this one.
ABV%: 8.74%
Other beers to try from this brewery: Lagunitas Lucky 13, Lagunitas Hairy Eyeball
Other beers to try within the same style: Ballast Point Dorado, Dogfish Head Squall
Rating: A-

Hair of the Dog Blue Dot – This is a brew I orginally had in San Diego when I went to visit the Toronado.  I remember I couldn’t finish the bomber.  Not because the brew was bad but because right before that the girlfriend and I just got done eating some authentic Mexican food that actually made me a little sick.  So I think I got maybe half of the bottle done and had to leave.  So when I needed to fill one more spot in my last South Bay order I picked this baby.  This is my first Hair of the Dog brews.  From what I’ve read that make some fantastic stuff so look out for some future reviews.

Blue Dot pours cloudy light amber color.  A very small head is formed. Barely an lacing.  Aroma is more of a malty one.  Sweet caramel malt mixed in with grapefuit, lemon, and a small bit of spice.  Definitely more of a balanced aroma and not a huge hop bomb.  That isn’t saying that this beer doesn’t pack a good amount of hops though.  Just more balanced that a lot of other IPAs I’ve been having lately.

On the taste the grapefruit and citrus is up front.  Next is a small amount of piney hops followed by the lemon and sweet malt taste.  In the end a little bit of alcohol comes in with a nice bitter hop finish.  Medium bodied but definitely one of the more lighter feeling DIPAs.  Mild carbonation.  This is a very good brew that I wouldn’t mind visiting again if I saw it.  It’s not something I would order again though.  Not with all the better IPAs out there.

Found: South Bay Drugs, Imperial Beach, CA (Mail Order)
Price: Around 6 dollars a bottle
Website: http://www.hairofthedog.com
What the company says: Nothing about this beer on their site.
ABV%: 7.00%
Other beers to try from this brewery: First brew I’ve tried from these guys
Other beers to try within the same style: Long Trail Double IPA, Three Floyds Dreadnaught
Rating: B+

Captain Lawrence Captain’s Reserve IPA- First off thanks to Aaron from The Vice Blog for the trade.  He sent me a few of these bottles and they did not disappoint.  I think he mentioned to me earlier that this beer is just making it’s appearance in bottles.  It’s been on draft for a while now.  So thanks for sending me some!

Captain’s Reserve pours a clear light golden color with as you can see in the picture up above, a huge white frothy head.  Great retention and a ton of lacing throughout the glass.  Smell is full of citrus and piney hops.  Alcohol is pretty present also.

Taste starts of with citrus, grapefruit, lemon, and tangerine.  There’s a nice bready and caramel malt background.  Once again just like in the smell the alcohol is present.  The mouthfeel on this one leans a little bit towards heavy then medium.  It’s definitely a little thick and chewy but very smooth and silky.  Goes down nice.  It’s like golden nectar! Overall this is a great IPA.  Especially for it’s price point.  People are buying this stuff for 3-5 dollars a bottle.

Found: Beer Trade with my buddy Aaron
Price: Around 5 dollars a bottle
Website: http://www.captainlawrencebrewing.com/
What the company says: This beer is a salute to the ingenuity and creativity of the American craft brewers. A uniquely American style of beer, the Double or Imperial IPA, has become the calling card of many craft brewers who aren’t afraid to push the limits of what hops can add to a beer. This beer is big and hoppy – not for the faint of heart! Be prepared to experience sensory overload as you savor this Imperial IPA.
ABV%: 9.00%
Other beers to try from this brewery: First brew from these guys
Other beers to try within the same style: Russian River Pliny the Elder, Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA
Rating: A-

Alpine Duet- In this case I saved the best for last.  I had Duet and every other Alpine IPA when I visited their brewery during this past summer.  Nelson, Expoential Hoppiness, Pure Hoppiness, Bad Boy, etc are some of the best IPAs on this planet and it just so ends up that Alpine makes them all.  Amazing.  Nelson still remains my favorite IPA out there but this beer isn’t no slouch.  This beer packs beer packs a ton of Simcoe hops.  This beer was tap only until recently and I got one of the first batches that made they put in a bottle.  Heck maybe it’s the first batch.  I’m happy to say that this beer is just as good in bottle as it is on draft.  Order this from Cali if you have to.  It’s totally worth trying this IPA that is sitting on BA top 100 list.

Duet pours a deep amber color.  Very little head is poured.  Smell is just out of this world.  Raw and powerful Simcoe and Amarillo.  Tons of citrus and pine attack your nostrils with a good amount of malt to give it a nice bready malty background.  At first the beer is very rough and raw in the taste department.  Just piney hops everywhere.  Like you’re chewing on pine needles.  As you let the beer warm up a tad this beer just becomes out of this world.  The piney hops are still there and they are big but the fruit comes through and the mixture is just amazing.  Tropical fruit and citrus.  It’s just juicy.  This beer is like a magician.  It’s full of raw hop flavor but remains balanced and so drinkable.  Words cannot describe some of the tastes you get from this brew.  The mouthfeel is medium bodied, crisp and smooth.  This IPA easily sits on my top ten IPAs.  I have to publish that list one day =)

Found: South Bay Drugs, Imperial Beach, CA (Mail Order)
Price: Around 5 dollars a bottle
Website: http://www.alpinebeerco.com/
What the company says: A West Coast IPA Our original single IPA made with Simcoe and Amarillo hops “in harmony.” 1.065 OG 45 IBU 7%ABV
ABV%: 7.00%
Other beers to try from this brewery: Alpine Nelson, Alpine Bad Boy
Other beers to try within the same style: Ballast Point Sculpin, Russian River Blind Pig
Rating: A+

Summer is over and wow did I drink a ton of great beers during my second favorite season (fall being my favorite)  Along the way some of those beers were just forgotten about or well I was to lazy to write about them.  So here’s some quick thoughts on some of those forgotten beers.

Stone Vertical Epic 07/07/07 Aged in Red Wine Barrels – When I visited Stone,  it was my goal to bring back some one off brews that I could enjoy in the hotel room.  I came back with two growlers.  One of them was the beer you see above.  I love their Vertical Epic line.  I enjoyed what the Red Wine barrels gave to this beer.  It added a bit of a sweet taste with a mixture of a smokey aroma.  Very nice to try something that you can’t buy in the stores

Rating: B+

Stone Old Guardian Aged in Red Wine Barrels -This beer was a little bit of a disappointment.  But it was still really nice to try.  The Red Wine gave the beer kind of an off taste.  I enjoyed the Vertical Epic just a tad bit more. Old Guardian is one of my favorite Barleywines ever.  I don’t think the Red Wine made it any better.

Rating: B

Alpine Exponential Hoppiness -This is one of the beers I came to San Diego to get.  The girlfriend and I took the 35 minute drive to Alpine on  one of our last days there.  I plan on posting some pics of the actual brewery soon but let me just say that it’s small.  Very very small.  If you blink, you miss it.  But size matters not as Yoda says.  In my opinion, Alpine makes the best bunch of IPAs on this Earth.  Duet, Nelson, Pure Hoppiness, Bad Boy, O’Briens and well this beer right here.  Let me have Alpine explain this beer because well, it’s right on.  It’s amazing and it belongs on the top 100 of Beer Advocates best beers in the world.

Very popular. A complex hopping method where each hop addition is double the previous amount. More hops in the hopback and then two dry-hop sessions. The second dry-hop session is with whole hops and oak chips. 1.093 OG 10.75%ABV

It’s a mixture of hoppy goodness with a beautiful smokey flavor.  It’s dangerous.  It’s so easy to drink.  I was just estatic to try this brew.

Rating: A+

Ballast Point Dorado Double IPA -Ballast Point makes a ton of beers but this is there only Double IPA and its a really good one.  A great mixture of floral, citrus, and piney hops.  Easy to drink and crisp.  These guys are just amazing.  The one – two punch of Sculpin and Dorado is one of the best out there.

Rating: A-

Ballast Point Victory at Sea -This is the second brew I tried at the brewery and wow it just blew me away.  Dorado was very good but this was just fantastic.  I wish I would of bought a bigger glass but I was already feeling a little buzzed and I had to drive around San Diego.  A place I really don’t know to well.  The mixture of coffee and vanilla in this porter is just spot on and the mouthfeel is amazing.  Easily my favorite porter.  See this somewhere, you make sure to buy a glass

Rating: A+

Stone Sawyer’s Triple – The reason this beer exists is a sad story.  You can read about it here http://blog.stonebrew.com/?p=149 But there is a happy ending.  100% of the sales of this beer go to fight ALD.  So if you are at the brewery, pick up this beer.  Not only are you helping a good cause but hey this is actually a pretty damn fine beer.  Taste is full of candied sugar, fruit, and honey.  A real treat.

Rating: A-

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Starr Hill Northern Lights – What you see here might be the worst beer I had all summer.  I had it while I was at the Dave Matthews Band concert.  It was a bitter mess.  I would of thrown it away if it didn’t cost me 12 dollars for the plastic cup you see above.  Maybe I’ll have to try this beer again in bottle.  I see it all the time around my area.

Rating: D

Dogfish Head Goser the Gosarian -Yes this is definitely a Ghostbusters reference.  I had this brew at the Rehoboth DFH Brewpub.  It’s a brewpub exclusive and I don’t know if they will ever brew it again so I’m really glad I got to try it.  Hey look it’s even smiling at me! Gozer is classified as a Gose.  Beer Advocate says this about the style:

An old German beer style from Leipzig, Gose is an unfiltered wheat beer made with 50-60% malted wheat, which creates a cloudy yellow color and provides a refreshing crispness and twang. A Gose will have a low hop bitterness and a complementary dryness and spice from the use of ground coriander seeds and a sharpness from the addition of salt. Like Berliner Weisse beers, a Gose will sometimes be laced with various flavored and colored syrups. This is to balance out the addition of lactic acid that is added to the boil.

Somewhat recently, Gose has seen a mini-revival with a handful of breweries bringing back the style in the Leipziger area and pubs like Gosenschenke “Ohne Bedenken” serving traditionally brewed Gose.

The writeup was pretty much right on.  It defintely had a little sour twang to it.  Not much, just right for me.  Mix that in with a decent amount of coriander, wheat, and lemon and you have a nice small tart brew.

Rating: B+

Stone 10th Anniversary and Stone Smoked Porter with Vanilla Beans (sitting right behind the glass of 10th =) – One of my first nights in San Diego the girlfriend and I went out to visit Joey from South Bay Drugs.  We met him at a bar that was holding a Stone night.  Joey also brought in some Stone brews.  I got to try Juxtaposition for the first time but the highlight was trying Stone 10th Anniversary.  I missed the 10th anniversary beer because I really only got into craft beer with the 11th anniversary beer came out.  Stone 10th was classified an American Double/Imperial IPA when it first came out.  But after all the years of aging this beer is tasting more like a Barleywine these days and wow was it just fantastic.  Thanks Joey!  Also I got to try an tap only Stone beer.  Their Smoked Porter with Vanilla Beans.  Wow!!!  Smoked Porter is ok by itself but with the vanilla it’s just out of this world.

Stone 10th Anniversary Rating: A-
Stone Smoked Porter with Vanilla Beans Rating: A

I stole this from Nat at The Beer Rover.  When I read this I got pretty damn excited because the beers they will be putting into bottles are just fantastic.  I got to try all of them while in San Diego and they are all world class.   Nelson just might be my favorite IPA of all time. 

If IPA is your game, our selection will float your boat. They include: O’Brien’s IPA, Nelson, Duet, Pure Hoppiness and Exponential Hoppiness. The O’Brien’s is almost out but we have plenty of Duet and Nelson. We worked out the purchase and shipping for a small pallet of New Zealand hops so we will be making Nelson all year. Bad Boy will raise his ugly head in about three more weeks.

We bought some unique hops and have used them already. We have some New Zealand Motueka and Pacific Jade hop pellets. And, we made a 4.20% uber hoppy pale ale which should come off like an IPA but is sessionable, meaning you can drink more without that pesky inebriation thing getting in the way. The hop profiles of each of these two hops are very complimentary to each other. No name as yet.

We needed some floor drains in the new fermentor room. We improvised an exterior floor drain adjacent to the fermentors and poured a slab to hold the drain and while we were at it, we poured enough space to located several stacks of barrels. The final enclosure should provide a cool place to age some barrels of funky stuff, like “Ned” and “Ichabod.” (for now)

“Ned” is in the can. We made a Belgian Flanders which is scheduled for the wine barrels as soon as the concrete cures. We named it “Ned” but it has nothing to do with any cartoon character As soon as the proper flavor profiles develop we’ll release it in bottles and draft, probably in a few months.

Label art is scheduled to be sent to the printers this week for several new bottled editions to our lineup. Duet, Nelson and Exponential Hoppiness will be bottled in 22 oz. bombers soon. Duet and Nelson could be in bottles by the end of the month, more news to follow.

What we have here folks is what is classified as an American Pale Ale from Alpine. Well classified by Beer Advocate.  But to me, alot of other reviewers and more importantly the brewery, it’s more of an IPA and it’s easily one of my favorite beers of all time.  Never heard of it?  Maybe because it’s not bottled.  It’s only available on draft.  I know my buddy Nat over at the Beer Rover got it straight from the brewery.  Thanks for getting me this beer Nat.  It’s a true masterpiece.  So like I was saying, this to me is an IPA.  An IPA brewed with Rye Malt.  The reason it’s called Nelson is because the hops included in the brew.  Nelson Sauvin hops from New Zealand.   Enough about the history.  On to the review!

Nelson pours a hazy light gold color.  It poured with very little head.  I’m not sure if this was because it made the trip to Cali to VA.  Lacing throughout.  The smell is awesome.  Big piney and citrus hops, tropical fruit, and of course the rye.  One of the better smelling beers I’ve had the pleasure of putting my big nose to.  Just awesome.

The taste is just as good.  The big flavors attack your tongue.  Big piney and citrus hops.  Tropical fruit (mangos  come to mind) and of course the highlight, the rye malt.  All of this comes together to form a balanced, big, fantastic taste.  The beer comes in at 7.20% but you really don’t notice it at all.  I did notice it a bit when I was done with two glasses though =)  The mouthfeel is a little rough up front.  Like I said above it attacks your tongue.  But it’s light, crisp, and just easy to drink. 

I like that it’s not bottled.  I love it as a once in a while treat.  Yes Nat I might have to bug you again for some of this stuff.  If you’re in Cali and you see it on draft, make sure to give it a try.  It’s just awesome.

Found: The Beer Rover!
Price: No idea.
Website: http://www.alpinebeerco.com/
What the company says: An outstanding hop from New Zealand, Nelson Sauvin, is generously used throughout the brewing and dry-hopping of this unique beer. European rye is added for a smooth, malty addition to flavor. 1.065 OG 7%ABV
ABV%: 7.20%
Other beers to try from this brewery:Alpine Pure Hoppiness, Alpine Ichabod
Other beers to try within the same style: Bear Republic Hop Rod Rye
Rating: A++

Ahh labels, they do a funny thing to you sometimes.  Sometimes you buy a beer just for the label itself, thinking “Hey the label is cool, the beer must be just as good!”  I’m not saying this is 100% the reason why I picked up Ichabod Ale.  No see I thought it was a pumpkin ale, being that it was around October when it first started popping up in California. But alas I was wrong, it’s actually a Dunkelweizen.  I really didn’t find this out until I took the first smell of the beer.  I didn’t find the usual spices and pumpkin aroma.  What I did find though really reminded me of a beer I just reviewed.  Boris from Alpine. 

The issue I had with Boris was it’s overwhelming sweetness and bitterness.  Sadly this beer had the same issue but this time around It was very bitter and tart.  All the reviews I’m reading for this beer are saying people smelled and tasted a good amount of spices like cinnamon and nutmeg.   I really didn’t get that at all.  Some nutmeg came through the taste every once in a while.  But it was rare.  The same goes for the rest of the ingredients.  I did get a little taste of caramel and chocolate  in this beer but it was quickly over taken by the tartness. 

Honestly when I tasted this I really though this was a stout.  It had a lot of the same characteristics as their Boris stout.  The mouth feel on this one is a little thin and it goes down easy.  The bottom line on this one though is that I will probably never visit it again.  One of my least favorite beers I’ve had in a while (doesn’t hurt that I’ve had some fantastic ones lately).  I really had a hard time finishing the bomber.  It was brewed once, maybe that’s a good thing.

Found: South Bay Drugs, Imperial Beach, CA (Mail Order)
Price: Around 7 dollars a bottle.
Website: http://www.southerntierbrewing.com/
What the company says: Nothing on their site about it.
ABV%: 5.0%
Other beers to try from this brewery: Alpine Beer Company Pure Hoppiness
Other beers to try within the same style: First one I’ve tried.
Rating: C-

What we have here are a few beers I had over Christmas break.  I’m such a lazy blogger that I’ve decided to just wrap up the Christmas drinking into one big review.

First up is a beer from Alpine Beer Company.  I decided to ship this one from California for two reasons really.  Lately I’ve been in a huge stout mood and secondly the only other beer I’ve tried from these guys was Pure Hoppiness which was fantastic. 

Boris pours jet black with a small fluffy head. Mild carbonation.  What you’ll notice up front aroma wise is a very sweet vanilla with hints of bourbon, chocolate, and coffee.  The sweetness overpowers everything.

Same thing goes with the taste on this one.  The taste is very bitter and sweet.  Vanilla and bourbon really take over the taste.  The coffee is there but only at the end does it make it’s appearance and it’s a very small appearance. I think of it as a guest starring role =). To me this stout was just a tad bit to unbalanced for me.  Maybe with a little aging everything will calm down a bit but I could think of 20 different stouts I would rather have than this one.  This is not to say it’s not decent, just not fantastic.

Found: South Bay Drugs, Imperial Beach, CA (Mail order)
Price: 7 dollars a bottle
Website: http://www.alpinebeerco.com/
What the company says: Didn’t see anything about the beer on their site.
ABV%: 10.0%
Other beers to try from this brewery:Alpine Pure Hopiness, Alpine Ichabod
Other beers to try within the same style: Dogfish Head World Wide Stout, Southern Tier Jahva
Rating: C

Here’s another beer I decided to try due to myself trying another beer from these guys and loving it.  Last time it was their IPA (which is ranked on the top 100 beers in the world by BA) and it was fantastic.  This around it’s their American Imperial Double IPA.  I can tell you that this one did not disappoint at all.

As you can see by the picture this one pours a dark amber color.  But what is so fantastic about this beer is the head and lacing this brew gives off.  First off the head was huge and fluffy but the real surprise was the lacing.  This brew has the most lacing I have ever seen.  From top to bottom of the glass there was lacing.   Every sip leaves a huge sticky ring around the glass. 

Citrus, piney hops, and grapefruit are the highlights of the smell.  There’s also a nice caramel malt background.  The smell is big, sticky, and sweet.  Purely awesome.  The taste is just as good if not better than the smell.  It starts off as a huge hopbomb.  Citrus, grapefruit, and piney hops attack your palette.  It’s sticky and syrupy.  Then the malt kicks in witha good amount of alcohol that burns your mouth and throat a little.  Basically what I’m trying to say here it that this brew was a fantastic present during the holidays.  If this was a year round beer I would easily pick this up anytime.  A treat.

Found: South Bay Drugs, Imperial Beach, CA (Mail order)
Price: 6 dollars a bottle
Website: http://www.alesmith.com
What the company says:During the summer, YuleSmith is transformed into a big, hoppy, Double IPA. The enormous load of hops requires a substantial malt background to create just the right balance for a Double IPA. Lighter in color, summer YuleSmith is available around the 4th of July and is packaged in a red, white, and blue bottle.
ABV%: 8.80%
Other beers to try from this brewery:Alesmith IPA
Other beers to try within the same style:  Avery Ale to the Chief, Port Brewing Hop-15
Rating: A-

How can you not try a beer with a gnome on the front? I mean come on!  It didn’t hurt that Kevin from Grape and Gourmet said that I really had to give this beer a try.  I trust Kevin.  We have the same taste in beer for the most part.  So that day the little gnome entered my fridge.

Now what we have here folks is a Belgian IPA.  Yes a Belgian IPA.  Before I get into the details just remember that this is not meant to be an American IPA.  It’s not a hop bomb (although it does use 3 kinds of hops but they aren’t the usual American hops).  They list the hops on the back of the bottle.  Also I say the following a lot.  Let this beer warm up a little before you even touch it.  This beer is a friggin mess if you try it really cold.  It’s just bitter and not good to drink at all.  Once you let it calm down, god is it good.  It’s fantastic.

Above I said that Alesmith Holiday Ale had a ton of lacing.  This one is no slouch either.  It pours a huge head that sticks around forever.  The lacing on this beer is everywhere and I mean everywhere.  The color on this one is a cloudy straw color. 

This beer reminds me more of a Tripel than anything else.  A hopped up Tripel.  Aroma and taste of bananas, cloves, lemon, and yeast.  The hops are there and mix in quite nicely.  They don’t get in the way at all and just add to the awesome taste this beer has.  The feeling this beer gives off is creamy with a nice dry finish.  Sour and a tad bit bitter.

This is just a fantastic and different beer.  That’s the best way to describe it.  Think Tripel, but think a different kind of Tripel.  A Tripel with a nice hop bite to it that doesn’t go overboard like our American IPAs.  

Found: Grape and Gourmet, Virginia Beach, VA
Price: Around 12 dollars a bottle
Website: http://www.achouffe.be/en 
What the company says: The HOUBLON CHOUFFE was brewed for the first time in 2006. It is an ‘Indian Pale ale’ type of beer, with a harmonious balance between a marked bitterness (three types of hops are used to make it) and a pleasant fruitiness. The HOUBLON CHOUFFE is unfiltered, and re-fermented in the bottle as well as in the keg.
ABV%: 9.0%
Other beers to try from this brewery: First time I’ve had a beer from this brewery.
Other beers to try within the same style: Stone Cali-Belgique IPA
Rating: A-

Out of the 4 beers in this review this one was the biggest surprise.  For one this beer is actually made in my back yard.  The Hampton Roads area consists of 7 cities.  Virginia Beach is one and one of the other cities is Hampton, where Olde Richmond resides. Another surprise is that this brewery has only ever made 2 other beers.  A red ale and a brown ale.  They are actually contracted with St. George Brewery.  This beer is everywhere around me now and it’s not a bad thing because this is a damn tasty IPA. 

Color on this one is a light and cloudy amber.  Head pours small and disappears quite quickly.  Good amount of carbonation.  As for the smell it’s full of caramel malt, grassy hops, citrus, and grapefruit.  With the taste you get a rough and grainy caramel malt flavor.  Grapefruit and citrus is juicy and mixes in perfect with the malt and grassy hops.  Everything lives together nicely.  Not a hop bomb.  But there’s enough in there.  You also get a huge kick of alcohol in this one.  Especially when you let it cool down.  Hits your throat and stomach nicely.  It also has a nice bitter finish.  This IPA took me by surprise.  I love the rawness of it.  I really hope these guys make more and are able to out on their own one day.  If their other stuff is as good as their IPA they’ll do just fine.

Found: Total Wine, Chesapeake, VA
Price: $6 a bottle
Website: They do not have a website
What the company says: No website for this company.
ABV%: ???  Need to go check out the bottle when I get home.
Other beers to try from this brewery: Have not tried any
Other beers to try within the same style: Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA, Alesmith IPA, Ballest Point Big Eye IPA
Rating: B

Found: South Bay Drugs
Price: Around 6 dollars a bottle
Website: http://www.alpinebeerco.com
What the company says: So mega-hopped it will take you to hop heaven. We’ve used hops in the boil, more hops in the giant hopback, and added to that, an incredible amount of dry-hopping for that cutting-edge “hop bite.” Once you’ve tasted this unique beer, all others pale in comparison. 

What I say: As I was finishing up my order with South Bay I noticed I was a few short.  They have a rule where they will only send out orders of 6 or 12 bottles. I was at 5 and I had no idea what to finish with.  I asked Joey and he asked with I was in the mood for.  Of course I said something hoppy and this is what he came up with.  I will be ordering this DIPA again.  It’s now on my top ten of IPA/DIPA.

The Look: Pours a beautiful orange color.  Very clear.  Medium sized head with a ton of lacing.

What the nose thought: Like with Pliny the Elder, the smell on this beer is worth the price of admission.  Everything is big and balanced.  With the hops you get a piney, grassy, citrus, grapefruit smell.  Yes it get all the above and with it all you also get a nice huge hit of caramel malt background.  Sometimes you wonder how brewers get all this into a single beer and how they get all to mesh together so wonderfully.  It’s just something I hope I can do one day,

And the tastebuds?: With this awesome beer the first thing you’ll notice is the big caramel malt flavor up front.  It’s one of the biggest malt flavors I’ve ever had in a DIPA.   The hops are there and they are pretty big but I’ve had bigger but that doesn’t matter because they all just balance well with the malt.  Piney, grassy, citrus and grapefruit tastes all come together.  Fantastic big but well balanced taste. 

The feel: This one is medium bodied with a slight amount of carbonation.  Bitter and a bit oily. 

Ending notes:  It’s really amazing how many great West Coast IPAs there are.  Don’t get me wrong we have a few on the East Coast that are fantastic but if you are a hop head it looks like the place to be is over in the land of Snoop Dogg, George Clooney, and the rest of the stars.  On another note, by the time I was done with this bomber, I was feeling pretty damn good.  So watch out!  It sneaks up on you.

Rating: A+