Wee Heavy

Dry Dock has created some truly outstanding beers, and I have to say that this is another great one. A truly fine Scotch ale. The taste was really smooth, and despite the significant alcohol content, it didn't have that liquory taste some strong beers get. This was perhaps too smooth, since I gave myself a little hangover from drinking it too soon before bed.

Still, highly recommended.

Plaid Bastard

This is my second beer from Grand Lake (the first being Woolly Booger), and overall I'd have to say that their taste in beer just does not mesh with mine. In both cases, I really tasted a yeastiness that I didn't particularly enjoy. In this case, though, the main offender is the peat. That was intentional, but just not my preferred taste: too loamy for me. We shared this bottle around, and really only had one person who liked it, who was also a big fan of Woolly Booger, so it just goes to show there's no accounting for taste.

Red Rocket Ale

This is a really nicely balanced ale, a great combination of rich malt flavor with a really strong hop backing. I don't know what the combination of malts they use, but it's really distinctive, and the moderate alcohol content means I can finish a bomber by myself with just the right buzz.

They distinguish this Scottish ale from Scotch ales because of its lower alcohol content, and on the whole I'd have to say that of the two styles I enjoy Scottish rather than Scotch ales.

Highly recommended!

Beer Year Complete!

Today, on schedule, I finished my 300 beer year. I'll blog about more of the beers in detail, but to commemorate the day, here's the more-or-less complete list:

1. Negra Modelo
2. Peroni
3. Heineken
4. Tecate
5. Breckenridge Avalanche Ale
6. Dos Equis Amber
7. Tommyknocker Maple Nut Brown Ale
8. Sam Adams Boston Lager
9. Killian's Red
10. Coors Light
11. Odell 5 Barrel Pale Ale
12. Pacifico
13. Boulevard Tank 7
14. Stone IPA
15. Shiner Blonde
16. Modelo Especial
17. Avery New World Porter
18. Left Hand 400 Pound Monkey
19. Boulevard Single Wide IPA
20. Great Divide Claymore
21. Stone Levitation Ale
22. He'Brew
23. Guinness
24. Sierra Nevada Summerfest
25. Widmer Bros. W '10
26. Avery Ellie's Brown
27. Odell Red Ale
28. Pyramid Audacious Apricot Ale
29. Widmer Bros. Broken Halo IPA
30. New Belgium Mothership Wit
31. Great Divide Titan IPA
32. New Belgium Ranger IPA
33. Great Divide Hoss Lager
34. FCB Chocolate Stout
35. Left Hand Milk Stout
36. Breckenridge Lucky U IPA
37. Shiner Bock
38. Sam Adams Blackberry Witbier
39. Bass
40. Deschutes Red Chair
41. Dundee Kolsch-Style Ale
42. Newcastle
43. Odell's St. Lupulin
44. Lagunitas Maximus
45. Dundee IPA
46. Odell Easy Street Wheat
47. Steamworks' Colorado Kolsch
48. Hardtail
49. Alaskan Amber Ale
50. New Belgium Mighty Arrow
    
51. Graham's Home Brew #1
52. Red Hook's Copper Hook
53. New Belgium Fat Tire
54. Weihenstephaner Vitus
55. Victory Hop Wallop
56. Santa Fe Hefeweizen
57. Paulaner Hefeweizen
58. Deschutes Mirror Pond
59. New Belgium 1554
60. Anderson Valley Hop Ottin IPA
61. Victory Golden Monkey
62. Oskar Blues Old Chub
63. Bristol Compass IPA
    
64. Upslope IPA
65. Boulevard Lunar Ale
66. Red Hook Longhammer
67. St. Pauli Girl
68. Molson
69. Lagunitus Lucky 13
70. Lagunitas Hop Stoopid
71. Franziskaner Weissbier
72. Dundee Stout
73. Oskar Blues Dale's Pale Ale
74. Bard's
75. Del Norte Mañana
76. Coney Island Sword Swallower
77. Deschutes Twilight Summer Ale
78. Boulevard Pale Ale
79. Coney Island Mermaid
80. Victory Prima
81. Deschutes Inversion IPA
82. Widmer Bros. Drop Top
83. Deschutes Black Butte Porter
    
84. Baker St. Brown
85. Great Divide Samurai
86. Shipyard Export
87. Deschutes Green Lake Organic
88. Bellhaven Twisted Thistle
    
89. Stone Arrogant Bastard
90. Dam Straight Lager
91. Dry Dock 7 Seas
92. Goose Island Sofie
93. Birra Moretti La Rosie
94. Boulevard Sixth Glass
95. Breckenridge Summerbright
96. Santa Fe State Pen Porter
97. Boulevard '47 Oktoberfest
98. Anderson Valley Barney Flats
99. Beck's
100. Kona Pipeline Porter
101. Stone Russian Imperial Stout
102. Lakefront Pumpkin Lager
103. New Belgium Skinny Dip
104. Great Divide St. Bridget's Porter
105. Sarnac Pumpkin
106. Left Hand Blackjack Porter
107. Shipyard Pumpkin
108. Bear Republic Hop Rod Rye
109. Colorado Native Lager
110. Shipyard IPA
111. New Belgium Hoptoberfest
112. Wasatch Polygamy Porter
113. Sarnac Oktoberfest
114. Sam Adams Oktoberfest
115. Avery DuganA
116. Left Hand Oktoberfest
117. Great Divide Denver Pale Ale
118. Dry Dock Keel Haul Kolsch
119. Ska Modus Hoperandi
120. Avery Fumator
121. Avery Karma
122. Blue Moon
123. Great Divide Hades
124. Sierra Nevada Torpedo
125. Saison Du Buff
126. Avery The Reverend
127. Boulder Buffalo Gold
128. Boulder Mojo
129. Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA
130. Coney Island Lager
131. Hops' Hoptoberfest
132. Hops' Alligater Ale
133. Paulaner Salvator
134. Avery Old Jubilation
135. Avery IPA
136. Twisted Pine IPA
137. Lion Stout
138. Sam Adams Black Lager
139. Sam Adams Mile High Barleywine
140. Avery Joe's Pilsner
141. New Belgium Blue Paddle
142. Boulevard Bully!
     
143. Lagunitas A Lil' Sumpin Wild
144. Ska True Blonde
145. Backcountry Brewery IPA
146. Sierra Nevada Porter
147. Rock Bottom Naughty Scot
148. Utica Club
149. Wynkoop Silverback
150. Wynkoop Railyard
151. Deschutes Jubelale
152. Oskar Blues Mama's Little Yella Pils
153. Odell's Levity Ale
154. Stone Ruination
155. Tommyknocker Glacier
156. Left Hand Warrior
157. Rogue Dead Guy
158. Tommyknocker IPA Nouveau
159. Anderson Valley Boont
160. Sam Adams Lemon Pepper Saison
161. New Belgium Sunshine Wheat
162. Sierra Nevada Tumbler
163. Bear Republic Pacer 5
164. Sam Smith's Nut Brown
165. Stone Vertical Epic '10
166. Stone Self Righteous
167. Odell Mountain Standard Reserve
168. Sam Adams White Ale
169. Sam Adams Winter Lager
170. O'Fallon 5-Day IPA
171. Widmer Bros. Brrrr
172. Left Hand Sawtooth
173. Odell Isolation
174. New Belgium 2 Below
     
175. Rock Bottom Adam's Free Rye'd
176. Dry Dock Manger Danger
177. Tommyknocker Cocoa Porter
178. New Belgium Frambozen
179. Great Divide Hibernation
180. Bristol Winter Warlock
181. Flying Dog In Heat Wheat
182. Deschutes Hop Trip
183. Shiner Smokehaus
184. Boulevard Nutcracker Ale
185. Flying Dog Doggie Style
186. New Belgium Trippel
187. Sarnac Big Moose
188. Cuvee Van De Keizer Blauw
189. Great Divide Smoked Baltic Porter
190. Graham's Home Brew 2
     
191. Anchor Steam
192. Anchor Liberty Ale
193. Sierra Nevada Celebration
194. Shiner Holiday Cheer
195. Hermann Joseph's Winterfest
196. Anchor Porter
197. Foret
198. Lagunitas Cappuccino Stout
199. Great Divide Yeti Espresso Oak
200. Sam Adams Old Fezziwig
201. Sam Adams Chocolate Bock
202. Rogue Mocha Porter
203. Bridgeport Hop Czar
204. Lagunitas Brown Shugga
205. Deschutes Obsidian Stout
206. Ska 10-Pin Porter
207. Del Norte Cinco
208. Asahi
209. FCB Rocky Mountain IPA
210. Abita Purple Haze
211. Alaskan IPA
212. Graham's Home Brew #3
213. Wynkoop Patty's Chile
214. Green Flash Le Freak
215. Sam Adams Cherry Wheat
216. Fuller's London Porter
217. O'Fallon Hemp Hop Rye
218. Joseph's Spelt Ale
219. Dry Dock ESB
220. Bristol Laughing Lab
221. Left Hand Fade to Black Volume 2
222. Anderson Valley Brother David's
223. Elysian Bifrost
224. Flying Dog Tire Bite
225. Great Divide Yeti Imperial
226. Rogue Oatmeal Stout
227. Lost Abbey Serpent's Stout
228. Green's Endeavour
229. Wynkoop B3K
230. Anderson Valley Winter Solstice
231. Sarnac India Copper Ale
232. Breckenridge ESB
233. Hermann Joseph's Private Reserve
234. Shiner 101
235. O'Fallon's Smoke
236. McTarnahan's Amber
237. Deschutes Bachelor Bitter
238. Deschutes Inverted Pale
239. Pyramid Snow Cap
240. Bridgeport Highland Ambush
241. Bridgeport Kingpin
242. Redhook Big Ballard
243. Sam Smith's Toddy Porter
244. Sam Smith's Oatmeal Stout
245. Foster's Premium
246. Port Brewing Company Wipe Out IPA
247. Del Norte Orale
248. O'Fallon Chocolate Cherry
249. Spoetzle Kosmos
250. Widmer Bros. W '11
251. Grand Lake Wooly Booger
252. Trumer Pils
253. Sarnac Vanilla Stout
254. Bohemia Clasico
255. Odell Cutthroat Porter
256. Kona Fire Rock
257. FCB Red Banshee
258. North Coast Old Rasputin
259. Mountain Sun Java Porter
260. Mountain Sun FYIPA
261. Lagunitas Hairy Eyeball
262. Left Hand Jackman's
263. Kona Longboard
264. Cisco Brewery Grey Lady Lager
265. Leinenkugel Bock
266. Great Divide Belgica
267. Oskar Blues Deviant Dale's
     
268. Sarnac Irish Stout
269. Flying Dog Road Dog
270. Oskar Blues Gordon
271. New Planet Tread Lightly
272. Avery Hog Heaven
273. Kona Koko Brown
274. Sprecher Black Beer
275. Sam Adams Scotch Ale
276. Great Divide Wild Raspberry
277. Green Flash West coast IPA
278. Wynkoop Cowtown Stout
279. Wynkoop Mile HIPA
280. Left Hand Good Juju
281. Lagunitas Little Sumpin Sumpin
282. Sierra Nevada Bigfoot
283. Maui Brewing Mana Wheat
284. Uinta King's Peak
285. Elysian Avatar
286. Boulevard Bourbon Barrel Imperial Stout
287. Green Flash Imperial IPA
288. Avery Maharaja
289. Silverton Ice Pick
290. Odell Myrcenary
291. FCB Hop Juice
292. Twisted Pine Hoppy Knight
293. Twisted Pine Hoppy Man
294. Tommyknocker Hop Strike
     
295. Santa Fe IPA
296. Billy's Chillies
297. Golden City Brewing Belgian IPA
298. Lagunitas Wilco Tango Foxtrot
299. Miller Genuine Draft
300. Miller High Life
301. Pabst Blue Ribbon
302. Bud Light
303. Olympia
304. Corona
     

The generic ones got tacked on at the end because I wasn't counting them, but had to add them in when I accidentally double-counted a few and skipped a blank or two.

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.