Rubaiyat of Beer Pt. 3

See part 1 here

See part 2 here

Bedimmed by memories of absent friends
Who one by one to their separate ends
By life's dark coachman taken,
We are leavened by the light beer sends.

Each pour a thousand bubbles raises
Rising slow through translucent mazes
Reaching the top, the bubbles pop,
Their cries are clear, but the beer rephrases

Death, sorrow, and attendant pain
Into jokes so we may smile again
As summer afternoon's showers when
The golden sun pierces through the rain.

India Copper Ale

So Sarnac can produce some pretty bad beers, so I was prepared for something much worse. This was pretty good, but really doesn't pass the IPA muster. Although they changed the name to admit that it isn't really an IPA, there's still the implication that it is. If you called this a pale ale, I'd be okay with it.

Winter Solstice Seasonal Ale

Anderson Valley is, all-in-all, a solid brewery where they know how to make some pretty good beers. This example of a malty ale I found quite enjoyable. Not so dark as many winter warmers, and definitely sweeter than some without being grossly so (I'm looking at you Spoetzle), this is a beer I can easily see people celebrating with.

Graham's Home Brew #2

This was the first example I had of a schwarzbier, and possibly the best. A really dark color with a really light flavor and texture. Great job, Graham.

B3K

This was also an addition to the U-Bring-Em. I was very excited because I'd only had one schwarzbier, and it was very tasty. However, this one significantly disappointed. It wasn't as light in taste and texture as the previous beer, and was actually a little nasty. Jay, who'd brought it, said it tasted very different than it had tasted the night before. The growler barely got 1/4 drunk, but Jay left it behind. After cleaning up, it got put on y desk, so I took it home and made a beer-cheese soup with it. Fresh, it wasn't that good, but after a couple days in the fridge, the soup became really pretty tasty.

Endeavour

Most gluten free beers are pretty nasty because they depend heavily on malts that derive from sorghum or rice. This one gives enough flavor (flavour?) to pass for beer, and is definitely drinkable. A traditional beer strength, too, but doesn't taste too liquory.

Serpent's Stout

I had long been eying this bottle in the cooler. It's really attractive, but the beer is pretty pricey, and I've often been burned paying more for a less tasty beer, but with the U-Bring-Em bomber exchange, I thought my opportunity had come to try it, show off the attractive bottle, and if it was bad, I wouldn't be stuck drinking the whole thing. How I wish I'd kept this all to myself. Simply delicious, and though strong, the flavor was unimpaired. Well worth the cost and definitely recommended.

Oatmeal Stout

The two previous brews I'd had from Rogue had not really inspired me with a great deal of confidence that the brewer's reputation was justified (like Flying Dog), but this solid stout changed my mind. They certainly know how to make a good oatmeal stout.

Yeti Imperial Stout

This beer was one of the ones we shared at our most successful U-Bring-Em Bombers event at Page 1. A really tasty stout. Very strong roasted malts, and very strong hops. So much flavor that you don't hardly notice you're getting hammered, too. A nice thick texture, too. Highly recommended.

Tire Bite

Tire bite gets a fair amount of praise among craft beer fans, but I haven't really found anything of theirs that I have been very fond of. This golden ale was pretty lame. I am not a fan of golden ales generally, anyway, they seem like wannabe lagers with less flavor, but this was was even worse. Not recommended.

Bifrost Winter Ale

What better way to get through a winter night alone than with a bomber of a seasonal ale, right? If you're looking for consolation, you'd probably best look elsewhere. I wasn't particularly enthused with this concoction, which seemed pretty bland. Malt and hops kind of jumbled together without great definition, and I felt both got lost in the crossfire.

Brother David's

So let's say you're looking for a beer to bring to your friend's house for dinner and you see a beer with your friend's name on it. That's pretty much a requisite buy, right? And what if the guy on the label is waist-deep in a pond the way your friend was once waist-deep in the willow marsh at the base of Mt. Bierstadt ("Beer City"), that'd pretty much make it more than requisite. It'd make it criminal not to buy it, no matter the style, and if you didn't like it, you'd just say, "Well, I had to buy it." And if it were monastic themed and you were going to watch Secret of the Kells, it'd have to be fate and nobody here wants to mess with fate. I've seen that go down and I don't want to be putting my eyes out by the end of the evening.

So, anyhow, I actually liked this pretty well. Yeast, malt, hops all make their presence known. I've read reviews that say this one is too hoppy, but that's probably why I liked it better than many Belgian-styles I've tried. On the strongish side, but the alcohol doesn't show beneath the other flavors.

Fade to Black, Vol 2

So, it's pretty easy to make a bad smoked beer. I mean, up to this point I haven't really had one I liked. I don't think it's a coincidence that rauch sounds so much like ralph which is a euphemism for hurling, which is not an ice-based Olympic event. In other words, I was kind of expecting this beer to be disgusting, which would be a shame because I bought a six pack for my dad for Christmas because he likes to try unusual seasonal brews. (Irony alert: his name is Ralph, so maybe smoked is the style for him.)

But, long story short, this is not a bad beer at all. The smoke flavor is understated and doesn't at all remind me of my wife's ill-fated attempt to create home-made bacon substitute. (Not something I'd recommend, it nearly made me rauch my guts out.) But this beer tasted like a pretty good porter and made me feel really pretty good. Sad to say, you probably can't try this beer because it's a seasonal one-off, but if you do happen to find a six pack or a single around, I'd say you should try it. If my dad hasn't finished off that six, I'll definitely crack one of these next time I'm at his place.

Laughing Lab

Based on my previous experiences with Bristol, I was not expecting a lot from Laughing Lab, but I was pleasantly surprised. Really, this was a very tasty example of the Scottish ale style, which if done reasonably well is among my favorites.

HMS Victory

I stopped off at Dry Dock to pick out a growler to bring to a poker game. Ran into an interesting guy there--a regular who is also a gamer and a game designer. I tried the URCA, which was good, but could wait because it was coming out in bottles, and the HMS Bounty, which is just not my style, and found that this ESB was the clear winner.

This amberish configuration is hoppy enough that I really enjoy it, but not so much that it's out of the reach of most beer drinkers. It's got a good malt character that helps balance it. Definitely recommended.

Joseph Spelt Ale

Tried this one in my quest for a decent gluten-free beer to share with a friend. No dice on this one. Spelt does not make a good malt.

Hemp Hop Rye

Hemp, hops, and rye--how can this possibly go wrong? O'Fallon, that's how. Strike 2.

London Porter

When I began my beer year, I was no big fan of porters, but by this time in my beer year, I've had enough (the count says 15 at the time I drank this one, probably 25 by the time of writing) that I've developed a reasonable taste for them. I've had the microbrew everybody recommends (Black Butte Porter) and a pretty good selection of variations on the theme.

But of all the porters I've had, this is my favorite. The flavors are bold and the texture is silky. None of that stankiness you often get with imported beers. You know what I'm talking about. This is just a purely great tasting beer with strong malts and just enough hops to keep it from sagging at the back end. This is one of those beers I probably commented seven or eight times, "I really like this beer," and was very sad when I finished it. I really wished I'd picked up a six pack.

Cherry Wheat

Again, Sam Adams is a pretty reliable brewer. They're not likely to produce anybody's favorite beer, but when you open a Sam Adams beer, you're not likely to get swill, either.

I remember clearly the first time I bought Cherry Wheat. It was late 2007. The rain was turning to snow, and I was driving the Volkswagen. Dinner was spaghetti. I stopped into the sleazy corner liquor store looking for something a little different. This was what they had. I also picked up some free Budweiser posters with Latin flair to send to Nog.

When I got home and opened up my first bottle, the sweet smell rose into my nostrils and I looked into the mist at the top of the bottle, I was struck by the thought that it would be cool to always be opening a new, untasted beer. "More happy love! More happy, happy love!" And it was probably in that moment that the first seeds of this 300 beer year began.

Having tried it a second time, it was still a pretty OK beer. Swheat and tart. If you like mild fruit beers, this is a good one for you. Otherwise, I wouldn't go out of your way to try it.

Le Freak

When I picked up this beer, I was looking forward to a repeat of the delightful experience of A Little Sumpin Wild. This one wasn't quite that good, but still pretty decent. The Belgian IPA is a delicate equation: you have to get just the right transition and balance between the hops and the yeast. I felt the hops on this were just a little rougher than I like and the Belgian yeast was a little too strong.