Rubaiyat of Beer Pt. 1

Wake! For the sun from its dark bed begins to rise
And placing warm bright kisses on your eyes
Bids them open that you may learn the
Little death, like you and me, also dies.

And as the light illumes the towers of glass
Wherein the wage-slaves their dull hours pass
Rather than wages let us seek
Our wealth in drunken hours to amass

The street lamps yielding to greater lantern fade
We enter the ready store to gain the aid
Of six packs and forties of liquid gold
And mere coins for this heavenly elixir trade

See part 2 here

Maximus

In contrast to the Hop Czar, this beer really utilizes its hops well. The taste is curled and whole like a wave that lifts you up and overwhelms you with its delicious bitterness. This is a beer I want to share with others and it inspired me to start planning a Hop into Summer event for the solstice, when people should all bring their favorite hoppy beers. We'll see what becomes of that.

Hop Czar

For a long time, Bridgeport IPA was my favorite beer, so, as my hop tolerance has increased, I was looking forward to trying this bigger and badder version. But I was disappointed because the flavor is just a big blunt hammer of hops. I didn't even really taste the delicious bitterness I love from hops because the beer just killed my taste buds.

Mocha Porter

After the good experiences I'd had with coffee beers, I was looking forward to trying this one, but it was a disappointment.

Chocolate Bock

Another one I had at the Halloween party. This one I had late at night, and it certainly was not a good choice for that time of night. As far as the taste goes, I remember it being perhaps a little more bitter than it oughta be. Probably one of the worst beers from this generally reliable brewer.

Old Fezziwig

I'm putting this in out of sequence b/c I'd forgotten it. I actually drank this beer at David's Halloween party, which I think was on the 30th. Not bad, but not the best winter warmer I've ever had.

Yeti Espresso Oak

Also a pretty good coffee beer. I split this one with a coworker while hammering out the basic training manual for our new writer. Perhaps a bit strong for the situation--we didn't get as much done as we ought've.

Cappucino Stout

I loved this beer. So delicious it was distracting. I was trying to drink it and cook at the same time, and I kept leaning to the drinking, and periodically I had to remark out loud--this is a great beer. This is definitely the best coffee beer I've had.

Foret

My first Belgian saison. A couple of generous friends got me a bottle of this as a Christmas present, and I thought it the perfect beer to have with Christmas dinner. So I bought a second bottle to share. I was not hugely impressed, and neither were the others at the table, mostly because it had the strong sour character that seems characteristic of a lot of imported beers.

I have been told that it's better in the summer, and since no one else drank much, I have a second bottle I'm saving for the dog days.

Anchor Porter

An okay porter. Nothing too special, but not too bad, either.

Winterfest

Winterfest is actually not a bad beer if you're a malt-lover. I thought the malt profile of this beer was pretty solid, and not much else to interfere. Tasty enough that I'll have another when the opportunity arises.

Holiday Cheer

Seriously, Shiner, this is your attempt at a celebratory beer? I guess maybe in Texas it's not considered a good party until everyone is gagging in disgust, but not where I come from. Peaches. I taste peaches. Nasty peaches. Gross, and it didn't get any better, though I did manage to choke down the entire glass.

Celebration

This is Sierra Nevada's Celebration, the longest-running seasonal and one of the best fresh-hopped beers I've ever had. Great beer if you like hops.

Liberty Ale

This particular trip, they'd broken out the Anchor beers at my liquor store. This was another one I wasn't especially enthused with.

Anchor Steam

I did not know that "steam" was its own style, sort of. As this is the only representative of the genre I've had the opportunity to "enjoy," I'm going to go easy on it and say I thought it was a little bland.

Smoked Baltic Porter

I was promised that this brew would be pretty light on the smoke. Not so. Definitely too smoky for my taste. Not recommended unless you really like smoke. A disappointing brew from Great Divide.

Cuvee Van De Keizer Blauw

Well, if you like strong, liquory-tasting Belgian ales, then this one might be for you. For me, though, I thought this was pretty nasty.

Big Moose Ale

With a name like "Big Moose" it has to be . . . average. Or, anyway, that's how I feel. Another kind of okay entry in the Sarnac series.

Trippel

I think it's odd that New Belgium has a number of branded beers and then they have these odd generic ones, like "Trippel." This was a pretty good trippel. Nothing too special, but not too bad, either.

Doggie Style

Not a very tasty pale ale, IMO.