The Drunken Polack

Captain Lawrence Nor’ Easter - So there’s this little problem when it snows in Virginia Beach and surrounding areas.  Nothing happens.  This area is so unprepared for snow that when it snows like it did on Friday (7 inches to be exact) the whole area shuts down.  Roads remain undriveable for days.  It’s Monday as I’m writing this review from my home, work is closed, schools are closed.  Oh yeah it snowed on Saturday.  Hey I can’t complain, it might seem like I am but I’m not really.  I got to stay inside, play videogames, watch movies, and more importantly, drink beer!  So the last 2 days I got to try 6 different beers.  I’m to lazy to write 6 reviews right now so I’ll throw three at you today and three tomorrow.  Heck I need to get back to playing games and taking advantage of the situation

First beer on the list matches the weather outside perfectly.  Nor’Easter is a Winter Warmer from Captain Lawrence.  They call it a Winter Warmer while BA calls it a Belgian Strong Dark Ale.  I’ll call it the Belgian Dark Strong Ale.  It didn’t have the spiciness that a lot of the Winter Warmers out there.   It also left me a little disappointed.  While this beer was good, I really wanted it to blow me away.  It has a lot going for it but kind of fell short for me.  Read on!

Nor’ Easter pours a little bit like a stout.  It’s dark.  A very dark brown.  A nice frothy 2 finger head is poured and has nice retention.  Now I was expecting to get wow’ed by the smell of this beer for some reason.  The mixture that it says on the front of the bottle got me ready for something awesome.  Ale with elderberries aged in bourbon barrels.  Yum sounds fantastic but what I got was very muted.  The Elderberries gave off the biggest smell.  They were sweet.  But everything else like the ripe dark fruit, caramel, and bourbon was lingering there but just small.

Taste was more of the same for me.  Muted.  That doesn’t mean it wasn’t good though.  The bourbon woody flavor definitely came through more on the taste.  The berries are there and make for a kind of sour and bitter combination.  Under all of that caramel and dark fruits sit on the bottom.  Mouthfeel was really nice.  Thick and smooth.  Silky and sits in your mouth.

In the end I liked this brew more then the first couple sips I took.  The flavors started to add up.  Thanks for trading me a bottle of this stuff Aaron.  I’ve been looking forward to trying this beer for a while now.

Found: Beer Trade
Price: Not to sure on this one.
Website: http://www.captainlawrencebrewing.com/
What the company says: This is a truly unique brew, combining some unusual elements to create a powerful, yet flavorful brew. I brewed a similar beer to this one back in 1998, while I was home brewing out in California. Only this time around I decided to age it in bourbon barrels to add a new element to the already rich sensory profile. The combination of dark malt, elderberries and bourbon barrels makes for an interesting tasting experience. This is a sippin’ beer, so sit back by the fire and enjoy. 12% alcohol by volume.
ABV%: 12.00%
Other beers to try from this brewery: Captain Lawrence Captain’s Reserve IPA
Other beers to try within the same style: Allagash Odyssey, The Lost Abbey 10 Commandments
Rating: B+

Cigar City Jai Alai with Juniper Berries - A couple of weeks ago I got this message out of the blue in my Beer Advocate inbox.  It was a gentlemen who spotted a post I put up months ago.  In the post I was pretty much begging for anyone to trade me some Cigar City brews.  Since then I’ve been able to try a few and have been blown away.  We’ll he spotted my message and out of the blue he offers me a growler of their Jai Alai IPA mixed with Juniper berries.  Heck I couldn’t say no.  When was I going to see this again.  So the package came in a few days ago.  To my surprise this little growler arrived.  It’s small.  About enough for a few pints.  Perfect size if you ask me.  I then remembered that Florida has some weird rule about the sizes of growlers.  I guess this is as big as it gets there.  Didn’t matter.  I was hyped to try this one off beer.

This brew pours a dark amber color with a white two finger fluffy head that quickly disappears.  At first the Juniper berries aren’t to noticeable.  But as you let the beer warm up a bit the more you’ll notice the berries.  The smell was more of a malt bomb then a hop bomb.  But mixed in with the malt is nice citrus and piney hops and some other fruits.  The taste up front is more of the same.  Really nice amount of malt, citrus, pine, and what I believed to pick up as some peaches.  The Juniper is there and it gives a bit of a bitter taste.  Mouthfeel is medium bodied with a good amount of carbonation.  A little bit rough on the tongue.

I still haven’t tried the regular version of this beer but in due time.  I’m must glad I got to try an one off beer that I’ll never probably see again.

Found: Beer Trade
Price: No idea on this one
Website: http://www.cigarcitybeer.com/
What the company says: Nothing about this version of Jai Alai on the site but here’s info about the regular version.  Jai Alai IPA is a monster interpretation of an American IPA. In fact, it is so big that it equals the alcohol of some double IPAs on the market. Our IPA uses 6 different hop varietals, with Simcoe hops only being used for dry hopping. The rest of the hop additions are blended at different IBU’s (International Bittering Units) in groups of three hops per addition in order to create more hop complexity. At CCB, we love hops but also feel that balance is important for IPAs. So Jai Alai features a sturday caramel malt component which helps to create balance, staving off hop astringency. Ultimately, Jai Alai is a very strong interpretation of a single American IPA. We hope that it makes Tampa Bay natives happy because this is head brewer Wayne Wamble’s favorite Cigar City beer and he’d love to share one with you!
ABV%: 7.50%
Other beers to try from this brewery: Cigar City Warmer Winter Winter Warmer, Cigar City Hunahpu Imperial Stout
Other beers to try within the same style: Ballast Point Sculpin, Alesmith IPA
Rating: B+

The Bruery Saison Rue - With The Bruery becoming one of my favorite breweries of all time you’ll be seeing a lot more reviews from these guys.  This time around it’s their year round Saison and Saturday nights beverage of choice.

Saison Rue pours a cloudy light orange color.  Head that pours is huge.  Everytime I poured a new glass of this stuff the head would almost go over the top of the glass.  Great pour.  At first I didn’t pick up much of anything other then lemon and Belgian yeast.  But as this got warmer the flavors just started to pop!  A great musty, earthiness came through with spices, lemon, citrus, and apple.  Fantastic smelling Saison.

In the taste the lemon which I smelled a lot of in the smell takes a bit of a back seat to tart apples.  A bit of sourness comes in.  A bit of the barnyard funk as they say.  Spicy and bitter notes come in next with a great yeasty flavor.   A nice complex Saison.  One of my favorites really.  The mixture of the fruit (lemon, apple, and citrus) earthiness and funk really hit the spot.  Mouthfeel is dry, crisp and light.  One thing I did notice though is that in the beginning the mouthfeel is all of those three things I mentioned.  But maybe half way through the bottle the mouthfeel changed a bit to more of a dead kind of beer.  Less carbonation.  Not that it ruined the beer at all for me.  A little bit of heat comes through from the alcohol but not even close to enough to complain about.

It’s great to have such a good Saison available year around.  Another winner from these guys.

Found: Grape and Gourmet, Virginia Beach, VA
Price: Not to sure on this one.  I believe it was about 11 dollars a bottle
Website: http://www.thebruery.com/
What the company says: Saison Rue is an unfiltered, bottle conditioned, Belgian/French-style farmhouse ale. This is a beer of subtlety and complexity, with malted rye, spicy, fruity yeast notes, biscuit-like malt backbone, and a slight citrus hop character. With age, this beer will dry out and will become more complex with rustic notes of leather and earth from the contribution of a wild yeast strain. Being a Saison, Saison Rue is ambiguous unto itself as it is a different beer when fresh and when aged. We hope you enjoy it in all of its incarnations.
ABV%: 8.50%
Other beers to try from this brewery: The Bruery Black Tuesday, The Bruery Orchard White, The Bruery White Oak
Other beers to try within the same style: Goose Island Sofie, Victory V-Saison
Rating: A

The Bruery Autumn Maple – So my brother is a Coors Light drinker.  But on Thanksgiving night there was no Coors Light to be had.  So I took out some Autumn Maple.  What’s that he says?  Well it’s a beer brewed with yams, maple syrup, molasses, etc.  He said no way, count me out that sounds horrible.  I eventually talked him into having a small glass of it.  He put his nose up to it, hrmm he said, that smells pretty good.  He then took a taste.  That ain’t half bad!!  Give me more!  Before you knew it, his glass was done and he wanted more.  I never saw someone drink an 10% abv beer so fast.  I said slow down buddy.  He then savored another glass.  I couldn’t believe my eyes.  I too was really impressed with this seasonal from The Bruery.  I picked this beer for Thanksgiving because well come on, it screams Thanksgiving!

Autumn Maple pours a cloudy caramel color.  Kind of reminded me of a glass of apple cider.  A nice decent sized head is pours but quickly disappears into small lacing around the glass.  The smell is of vegetable.  Yup there are the yams.  In there with the yams is a nice sweet aroma.  I imagine this is the maple syrup doing it’s thing.  Spices then come in.  Nutmeg and cinnamon.  Top that off with a little bit of brown sugar and you have quite a interesting mixture.  Definitely something I have never smelled before.

In the taste the maple syrup is what I got first.  Nice and sweet.  Next in line is the spices.  Then in the end I picked up some Belgian yeast notes and the yams.  A unique beer.  It’s amazing how some of these brewers come up with a mixture of all these things and make them work.  The mouthfeel is medium bodied, slick, and smooth as it goes down.  This really is a taste of Thanksgiving in every sip.  Hey even a Coors Light drinker liked it and that was something I would of never expected.

Found: Grape and Gourmet, Virginia Beach, VA
Price: Around 12-14 dollars a bottle
Website: http://www.thebruery.com
What the company says: Brewed with 17 lbs. of yams per barrel (in other words, a lot of yams!), this autumn seasonal is a different take on the “pumpkin” beer style. Brewed with cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, vanilla, molasses, and maple syrup, and fermented with our traditional Belgian yeast strain, this bold and spicy beer is perfect on a cold autumn evening.
ABV%: 10.00%
Other beers to try from this brewery: The Bruery Black Tuesday, The Bruery Saison De Lente
Other beers to try within the same style: Allagash Odyssey, The Lost Abbey 10 Commandments
Rating: A-

Founders Red Rye P.A. – Wow just wow.  Founders is amazing.  I mean they go on and create a ton of different styles of beer.  The thing is, all of it is fantastic.  From their stouts to their hoppy stuff, not a bad beer in there.  This is no different.  Amazingly this is my first beer classified as a Rye Beer.  I’ve had IPAs with rye in it but I guess I’ve never had an actual Rye Beer.  Well this beer is a great mixture of a Rye beer and an IPA.    I could drink this stuff all night long.

Red’s Rye pours a dark amber color.  A small head is formed.  Minimal lacing.  The smell on this beer is great.  It’s a great mixture of Rye, citrus, floral hops, and spice.  Like I said above this is basically an IPA with a nice healthy dose of Rye.  When I took my first sip of this beer I wasn’t that impressed.  I got some citrus but that was basically it.  I then let the beer sit for a little bit.  As it warmed up a bit the rye and spice came through huge.  The rye was rough and raw on the palette.  Mixed in with the nice citrus backbone it makes for a hell of a combo.  If it wasn’t for Harvest Ale this might be my favorite tasting Founder’s brew.  The mouthfeel is medium bodied, smooth, and nicely carbonated.

This is a beer I will be revisiting again and again.  Good thing it’s a year round beer from these guys.

Found: Grape and Gourmet, Virginia Beach, VA
Price: Around 3-4 dollars a bottle
Website: http://www.foundersbrewing.com/
What the company says: Serious hop bitterness along with unyielding grapefruit bouquet from the Amarillo dry-hop. Balanced with the malty richness of four varieties of imported Belgian caramel malts. Pours a spectacular crimson with a creamy tan head. A generous addition of rye malt accentuates a spicy crisp finish.
ABV%: 6.60%
Other beers to try from this brewery: Founders Breakfast Stout, Founders Double Trouble
Other beers to try within the same style: First beer I’ve had in this style
Rating: A

So what we have here is Sinner’s Blend 09.  A couple of facts about this brew.  This brew is exclusive to the Sinner’s Club.  The Sinners Club is one of two clubs that The Lost Abbey runs.  It costs 250 dollars a year to be part of.  That pays for 12 beers.  2 beers even other month.  Those beers are usually some of the harder Lost Abbey beers to find.  Beers such as Brandy or Bourbon Barrel Angel’s Share, Cuvee De Tomme, Red Poppy Ale, etc.  You also get a nifty shirt.  But one thing that got to me a little bit was that I found out this beer wasn’t so exclusive.  I’ve seen a ton of reviews where people had this beer on tap at various bars.  Not so exclusive if you ask me.  Another fact is that this is a blend of three different beers.  Rumor is this beer is a blend of Ten Commandments aged in Bourbon Barrels, Gift of the Magi aged in French Oak Barrels, and Serpent’s Stout aged in Port Barrels.  And well the fact is a lot of Lost Abbeys brews lately have been flat.  This one is no different.  Dead beer.  Hopefully they can fix that next year.  Anyway on to the review!

Sinners Blend 09 pours a very dark brown.  When held up to the light red highlights show.  I mentioned that this beer was flat.  No head is poured.  A few bubbles appear but quickly go bye bye.  No carbonation or lacing.  Smell is tart up front.  In the background sits roasted malt, chocolate, and cherries.  I saw a review that called it chocolate covered cherries.  I agree on this one.

The taste is a mixture between a sour and a stout.  When the beer hits the palette it’s sour and tart up front.  Not huge but it’s definitely noticeable.  In the middle comes the cherries, some raisins, and oak.  Then the beer hits the end.  In the end comes the chocolate.  It hits the palette and lingers.  Overall a decent taste but with the kind of blend this is I thought I might get a bigger taste.  The mouthfeel is medium bodied, smooth, and slightly dry.

Overall this is a decent brew.  Not fantastic.  Not as good as some of their other more exclusive brews like their Veritas series but decent.  I wouldn’t bother spending 15 bucks a bottle for this beer but I wouldn’t pass it up on draft.

Found: The Lost Abbey Sinners Club
Price: 15 dollars a bottle
Website: http://www.lostabbey.com/
What the company says: Nothing on the site about this one.
ABV%: 8.00%
Other beers to try from this brewery: The Lost Abbey Gift of the Magi, The Lost Abbey Red Poppy Ale
Other beers to try within the same style: Allagash Odyssey, The Lost Abbey 10 Commandments
Rating: B+

Here’s my second Tomme Arthur beer of the week and yes this one is flat too.  But luckily it’s not as flat as Older Viscosity.  This one did show some life on the pour but it died a quick death.  This is one of the beers I was looking forward to the most when I joined the club.  Once again the lack of carbonation really didn’t hurt the taste to much as I fell in love with this sour Belgian Strong Dark Ale.

Cuvee pours a dark mahogany brown color.  When I popped the cork I got a nice little pop.  A lot louder then I got from Older.  A small amount of head and bubbles formed but quickly disappeared into what you see on the right.  The aroma on this beer is fantastic.  Dark fruit, sour cherries, oak, and a little bit of alcohol.  It’s definitely a sour aroma but it’s not really big.  Not like some other beers I’ve had like this.  Taste is just as good and I was left wanting more when I was done. Up front is a nice sourness/tartness.  That’s backed up by cherries, bourbon, and oak.  It’s a great combo of cherries and smokey oak.   Alcohol definitely plays a role here.  It doesn’t interfere with the great taste though.  The sourness sits on your palette and lips.  Mouthfeels lies more on the thick side.  No carbonation like I said and silky.  Goes down nice.

This beer would be world class just like Older could be.  Better luck next year.  Don’t be afraid to buy this beer though.  It’s still damn good in it’s current form and it did show some form of carbonation.  Maybe if you let one age you might see a little more.

Found: The Lost Abbey Sinners Club
Price: 15 dollars a bottle
Website: http://www.lostabbey.com/
What the company says: A massive brown ale base that is made from four fermentable sugars including Malted Barley, Raisins, Candi Sugar and Sour Cherries, this beer is fully fermented before being placed in Bourbon barrels where the beer ages for one year with the Sour Cherries and the wild Brettanomyces yeast that we inoculate the barrels with.
ABV%: 11.00%
Other beers to try from this brewery: The Lost Abbey Gift of the Magi, The Lost Abbey The Angels Share
Other beers to try within the same style: Allagash Odyssey, Fantome Black Ghost
Rating: A

First off sorry for the picture.  For some reason my IPhone likes to act up a little bit.  I took the usual picture of the bottle and glass but for some odd reason the IPhone didn’t want to save it.  So here’s an empty bottle.  This version of Odyssey was bottled in September 2008.

You won’t usually see me review to many Allagash beers.  The reason for that is the high price tag these bottles have.  But if the brew is fantastic,  I really won’t mind spending the extra dough.  This beer fits right into that category.  This is one of the best beers I’ve had in awhile.  Actually it might be one of the best beers I’ve ever had.  Odyssey is categorized as a Belgian Strong Dark Ale and has a rotating release.  My local beer place only received 6 bottles of this stuff.  So it might be hard to get.

This beer pours a dark brown color with ruby red highlights when head up to the light.  There is very little head.  Right off the bad I noticed a bad tid of a sour smell.  The smell also contained a nice oak aroma with vanilla, raisins, plums, and toffee.  It’s a rich, deep smell.  The oak presence is what really did it for me.

The taste of this beer is just amazing.  It’s complex and rich.  The mixture of the oak taste and vanilla is really what makes this beer just so fantastic.  The dark fruits, toffee, and sweet malt.  The mouthfeel is medium bodied, crisp, and a little dry.

I fell in love with this beer on my first sip.  It’s just a nice complex aged beer that I will be paying 17 dollars to try again.

Found: Grape and Gourmet, Virginia Beach, VA
Price: 17 dollars a bottle
Website: http://www.allagash.com
What the company says: Odyssey is the second edition in our Barrel Aged series. It is a dark, 10% ABV wheat beer. We age a portion of the beer in New American Medium Toast Oak, and a portion in stainless steel for more than six months. We then blend the two different portions of beer to taste. Finally we bottle condition, adding additional yeast and Candi sugar.
ABV%: 10.40%
Other beers to try from this brewery:Allagash Tripel, Allagash Four
Other beers to try within the same style: The Lost Abbey 10 Commandments, Bell’s Hell Hath No Fury
Rating: A++

Yes I’m slightly behind reviews again.  So today we two totally different types of beers.  A Belgium Strong Dark Ale from Bells brewery out of Michigan and a Herbed Spiced Beer from Brassierie Dieu Du Ciel out of Canada.  First up is Hell Hath No Fury.

If you read this blog regularly you know I love Bells Brewery.  They make a ton of different beers and all of them (so far) are just quality.  This doesn’t change with their take on the a Belgium Strong Dark Ale. 

Hell pours a dark brown, almost black color with a caramel medium sized head.  The usual suspects for this type of beer are present up front.  Dark fruits such as figs and raisins and the smell of Belgian yeast and sweet malt aroma.  But what really took me by surprise was the roasted malt.  Like burnt coffee.  This to me is really weird for this type of beer.  A very pleasant surprise indeed.

The taste is full of that roasted malt up front.  Think of it as a mix between a stout and the Belgian Dark Strong Ale.  Of course you get the rest of the usual ingredients such as the dark fruits, sweet malt, spices, and Belgian yeast.  But like I said above, the thing that separates this beer from the rest I’ve had in it’s style is the roasted malt like quality.  I really enjoyed that aspect.  But what did disappoint me a bit if that this beer starts of strong but in the end it loses some of its flavor.  Big up front, small in the end.  It kind of tapers off.  Overall though, this taste is different enough to warrant a try.  The mouthfeel on this one is a little dry, but goes down very smooth and it’s easy to drink.  Another winner from Bells.

Found: Grape and Gourmet, Virginia Beach, VA
Price: 3 dollars a bottle
Website: http://www.bellsbeer.com
What the company says: A brew that gives you either sympathy for the devil or the courage to face him. Goes especially well with your favorite lost my girl/truck/dog/trailer song.ABV%: 7.70%
Other beers to try from this brewery: Bells Oberon Ale, Bells Hopslam, Bells Kalamazoo Stout
Other beers to try within the same style: The Lost Abbey 10 Commandments, Gouden Carolus Carolus D’Or – Cuvée Van De Keizer
Rating: B

Last but definitely not least is Rosie Hibiscus, a Herb/Spiced Beer.  Now with this beer, if you didn’t tell someone that this is a beer they might think this is a tea.  Pour this baby in your favorite coffee mug and you might just fool someone.  What I mean is that this brew has a lot of qualities that might find in a good cup of spiced tea.  You won’t smell or taste a lot of alcohol in this brew.  It doesn’t pour any head at all and it looks like a tea.  But believe me it’s a beer. 

I’ve only had two beers from these guys but from what I’ve had so far I’m really falling in love with this brewery.  It actually ends up these guys make a stout that is currently sitting in the top 100 of BAs top rated beers in the world.  So look out for that too.

Rosie pours a dark orange color that’s very clear. You don’t see this color a lot in beers.  It pours absoultely no head at all.  The smell is full of floral scents and fruit.  The Hibicus is very noticable mixed in with spices and coriander.  Awesome aroma.  Could just sit there and smell it for a while but I was to interested in how it tasted. 

I’m happy to report that this beer tastes fantastic too.  Fruity up front.  Oranges.  You also get a bunch of wheat in the taste that I really didn’t detect to much of in the smell.  The Hibiscus comes in nicely with the taste with the other spices and coriander.  I also got a good amount of honey.  This beer is just very unique and they do an excellent job with it.  It’s smooth and light on the palette.  Just an awesome beer to have a few off. 

Like I said, this tastes more like a tea to me than a beer.  I can only find these beers in Maryland but next time I go up there I’m going to buy every type of beer I can get from these guys.  When I first spotted them I didn’t know anything about them so I was afraid to buy all their stuff.  Don’t be afraid.  Just buy. 

Found:State Line Liquor, Elkton, Maryland
Price: 4 dollars a bottle
Website: http://www.dieuduciel.com/
What the company says: 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.song.
ABV%: 5.00%
Other beers to try from this brewery: Corne du diable (Horn of the Devil)
Other beers to try within the same style: Dogfish Head Chateau Jiahu, Rogue Juniper Pale Ale
Rating: B+

Welcome to part two of beer I probably should of drank a while ago.  Now these beers aren’t bad in the sense they are spoiled or anything.  I just didn’t get around to reviewing them until now.  Yes I have way to much beer in my house people.

Up first is a Belgian Strong Dark Ale from Clipper City out of Baltimore, Maryland.  I’ve had 3 or 4 beers from their Heavy Seas line and while all are decent, none really knock your socks off.  I’m sad to report that this beer to your right is probably the worse one out of the bunch.  The bottom line is, this is a watered down and fake version of a Belgian Strong Dark Ale.  What do you mean by fake?  Think of the fake Rolex you can by in NYC for a few bucks.  It tries to look like the big boys but just doesn’t pull it off.  OK Clipper City don’t write me any hate mail.  

When I poured this brew I thought I might have myself a decent beer.  The smell wasn’t all that bad at all.  More on that later though.  This beer pours a dark amber color with a small amount of head that quickly fizzes away. Like I said about the smell, it really smelled pretty good.  It has a fruity aroma that includes cherries, plum, figs, and raisins.  It also smelt a bad bit spicy.  The bready malt background finishes it off.  Overall not bad.

Now on to the bad part.  You know when you make some homebrewed iced tea out of that sugary stuff you can buy in a container?  You have to keep on adding it and adding it to a jug of water just to get it right.  This is what this beer basically tastes like.  A watered down version of a Belgian Strong Dark Ale.  Tasted just off and left a weird feeling on your tongue.  Everything is there that I describe in the smell but when the beer finishes basically you’re left with no taste at all.  Disappointing.  What is in the taste that I didn’t get in the smell was a pretty big kick of alcohol but that really doesn’t save the mess that is this beer.  As for the feel of this beer, it’s smooth and a little thick.

Now maybe if I didn’t know that there was any better beers in this style out their, I wouldn’t of killed this beer in this review.  But there is much better beers in this style.  The Lost Abbey Ten Commandments for example.  If you can, look somewhere else to try.  There are a ton out there.

Found: Total Wine, Norfolk, VA
Price: 2 dollars a bottle
Website: http://www.ccbeer.com
What the company says: From the centuries-old tradition of Belgian Abbey monks comes our “Über Abbey” Ale. Aromatic and full bodied, pouring deep burgundy in color, it’s bold, it’s Heavy Seas. Grab a line…Holy Sheet!…or you’ll be swept overboard. Seasonally available in February while supplies last.
ABV%: 9.00%
Other beers to try from this brewery: Clipper City Heavy Seas Small Craft Warning, Clipper City Heavy Seas Winter Storm
Other beers to try within the same style: The Lost Abbey 10 Commandments, Gouden Carolus Carolus D’Or – Cuvée Van De Keizer
Rating: D

Up next is a beer that my buddy Jeff got when he visited Wisconsin.  I think I held off on this review because these kind of beers usually aren’t my kind of thing.  But for the sake of beer science I finally went ahead and gave it a try. =) The end result is a beer that I actually really enjoyed.  A beer you can just sit down a enjoy multiple of.  This is the first beer I’ve had from these guys but luckily in my latest beer trade I’ve received their IPA.  So look out for that one soon.

This brew pours a very cloudy straw color with a small amount of head.  It’s pretty fizzy up front, like a champagne but eventually calms down.  The smell is grainy with a nice kick honey.  The honey is the main smell on this one but it’s not overwhelming at all.  I also got some lemon and pepper.  

The taste on this beer is simple.  They don’t try to do much.  It’s just enjoyable.  Grassy hop like flavor, of course the honey, a small amount of lemon,  and a yeasty ending. It’s a little watery but goes more towards being medium bodied.  It’s crisp, dry, and easy to drink.  Overall not bad at all and would be a fantastic beer to have a lot of on a hot summer day.  I’m looking forward to trying more from these guys.

Found: My buddy Jeff
Price: No idea!
Website: http://www.tyranena.com/
What the company says: Three Beaches Honey Blonde is our Wisconsin version of the American Blonde Ale. This beer is light-bodied with a sweet touch of honey and a mild citrus accent.
ABV%: ?
Other beers to try from these breweries: Tyranena Bitter Woman IPA
Other beers to try within the same style: Been a while since I had a beer fromt his style so I’ve only ever reviewed one. Pete’s Wicked Rally Cap Ale
Rating: B-

St. Bernardus abt 12 is one of my favorite beers of all time.  So when I saw another beer from this great brewery I got as excited as when a fat kid sees cake.  Oh and yes I know it’s not the holidays anymore.  Just wait until you see my late Octoberfest reviews. 

Basically what you have here is a fantastic Belgian Strong Dark Ale.  Poured a very dark brown color with a small beige head.  Taste and aroma is full of dark fruits such as raisins and figs, other fruits like apples and pears, nutmeg, sweet malt, and Belgian yeast.  Alcohol hits your nose and throat from start to finish.  Also all throughout you get a slight bitter and tart taste.  When you put it all together, this is a killer beer.  Perfect for those cold winter nights.  Would of been perfect during those 24 hour house marathons over Christmas Break.  If you can still find a bottle of this stuff don’t be afraid to pick it up.  It’s a fantastic Belgian Abbey Ale, just a fantastic beer period.    

Found: Grape and Gourmet, Virginia Beach, VA
Price: Around 8 dollars a bottle.
Website: http://www.sintbernardus.be/
What the company says: This beer is not listed on their site.
ABV%: 10.00%
Other beers to try from this brewery:  St.Bernardus Abt 12
Other beers to try within the same style: Lost Abbey Ten Commandments, Ommegang Abbey Ale, Delirium Nocturnum
Rating: B+

Let me just start by saying I hope everyone had a fantastic Thanksgiving.  I had a fantastic one.  Also it seems someone in my beer world is having a baby soon (at least this is what my girlfriend told me =) So congrats to Mr. Father Spoon of ShouldIDrinkThat.com.  I know from just meeting the guy for a day that he will be an awesome father.  Now on to the beer!

This time around I review another beer from The Lost Abbey and I’m happy to say that I’ve found my favorite so far.  I’m also happy to say that this one had me buzzed out of my mind after just one bottle.

Ten Commandments is a Belgian Strong Dark Ale that is actually stronger version of their Lost and Found Abbey Ale (which I thought was just OK) It pours a deep mahogany color with very little head.  Has a good amount of carbonation up front that eventually dies quickly.  Aromas of figs, prunes, raisins, rosemary, and honey.  It all comes together really nice with a hit of alcohol to burn the nose. 

This one is a sipper.  I thought I was drinking it slow enough but then I realized that “Hey my stupid ass is getting buzzed” so I slowed a bit.  But it’s going to be really hard to slow down because this beer tastes pretty darn good.   What stands out in this beer is the dark fruits and spices.  The figs and raisins come through first with a good amount of rosemary.  The honey is also there but hidden a tad and you also get a nice amount of what I thought was molasses.  I thought I would get a big alcohol taste in this one but I didn’t at all.  Everything else is big and bold.  It seems he put a lot of thought into this one.  Nicely put together. 

I’ve learned that some of their beer isn’t worth trying again but this and it’s definitely worth ordering from the West Coast.    

The Final Word

Found: South Bay Drugs, Imperial Beach, CA (Mail)
Price: 10 dollars for a 22 oz bottle
Website: http://www.lostabbey.com/
What the company says: A stronger version of our Lost and Found Abbey Ale brewed to a more contemplative alcohol content. Massive in every stretch of the brewing way possible this is the sort of beer that will remind a beer drinker who considers themselves a saint that even saints stray as sinners from time to time. Not for the faint of heart, this beer weighs in at a heavenly 9% ABV and is available in 750 ml bottles and on draft at select locations.
ABV%: 9.0%
Other beers to try from this brewery: Lost Abbey Lost and Found, Lost and Found Witch’s Wit
Other beers to try within the same style: Gouden Carolus Carolus D’Or – Cuvée Van De Keizer, Delirium Nocturnum, Ommegang Abbey Ale
Rating: A-

Found: State Line Liquors (Thanks for making the trip Jeff!)
Price: Around 10 dollars a bottle
Website: http://www.fantome.be/
What the company says: Yeah I should of taken some foreign languages in high school.  Can’t understand the site. 

What I say: In Draft magazine they gave a Fantome beer a very high score.  While my buddy Jeff couldn’t find that one for me he did find me a few more beers from this brewery.  So here is review one.

The Look: Dark muddy brown color.  You could see a ton of stuff floating around inside.  Out of all the beers I’ve ever had this beer is only one where it looked like sand was floating in my beer.  It was like a beach in my beer.  Ok bad joke.  Huge tan head. 

What the nose thought: Vinegar smell.  Not as sour as other smells I’ve had in other beers.  Rodenbach Grand Cru for example but pretty sour.  Slight hints of tart fruit.  It’s very hard to tell what’s in this brew. 

And the tastebuds?: Everything in this beer is just hard to figure out.  There really isn’t much taste to this beer.  Up front you’ll get the sourness and a little bit of spice but after that everything is so muted or just not there.  Other people said they taste, lemon, cherry, and grapefruit.  Honestly, I didn’t taste anything, just sourness.  Tasteless beer.

The feel: Medium bodied and a little grainy with the beach that lives in the beer.

Would you drink more?: No. 

Ending notes: I’ll have another review up soon from these guys.  I hope it tastes better or has some taste at least.

Rating: D