ZOMBIES ATTACK - and the horror cult that is Three Floyds

There have been many breweries that have emerged from the scenes of the craft beer drinking masses.  It seems us beer drinkers sometimes want more interesting beers, and more choices.  If there is one brewery that has stood out since it’s inception in 1996, it would be Three Floyd’s out of Munster Indiana.

Three Floyd’s was started by two brothers in 1996 in Hammond originally, but soon grew with increased demand in 2000 to their new home in Munster.  Like many breweries word seemed to travel, their beers became highly desirable.  The brewery also has a limited distribution depending on where you live.  Good beer is one part of the equation and we all have our opinions on what we like, but one thing that seems to be unique about three Floyd’s is their image.

I spent some time hearing about the brewery talking to a few beer geeks who raved about their unique take on styles.  With some footwork I acquired a few bottles of their beers and had to admit I was quite impressed with their taste, but more striking was their labeling.  Glancing at a bottle of Gumballhead, a scary demented yellow character of a Looney Tunes tweety bird reject stared back at me wanting to pick a fight.  Another bottle of Alpha King Pale Ale had a mad Neptune like character swirled around with big artist rendering, as did Dreadnaught with what looked like a manic British general dancing around in front of the Taj Mahal.

Art work and neat graphics are fun, and everything about the artwork and the characters that grace the bottles of this brewery hints at a group of creative attitudes, but also some sense that there’s a bit of mad scientist working behind that Munster curtain.  It seems to be a working formula for the brewers, as their brand had reached what one could call a fanatical devotion.

Still as much as I have never stepped foot in their brewpub (currently), I have always wanted to try more of their beers, to romp in the fun and mania that is Three Floyds.  Checking out some of the laws for shipping to my state I was able to get a shipment from a store in Chicago for some Three Floyd’s beers.  When I called to place the order they actually just received a beer that normally flies off the shelf, and that was a pale ale called Zombie Dust.

Zombie Dust, almost a take on fairy dust for the demented.  The imagination that is Three Floyd’s is truly quite unlimited.  The beer is a very desired pale ale.  The brewers decided to bottle this beer year round due to the raves of their fans who had it.  When it is produced it goes fast. I was able to get a hold of some and try it out.  To see more about it click the video below.  Cheers!

The year in beer 2011

It wasn't suppose to happen this way.  It wasn't suppose to happen at all.

When I started out deciding to write a blog about drink, I was very focused on spirits.  I've been a big fan of cocktails and spirits, and started focusing on bourbon primarily when I started.  However, there were many times I just want to just sit back and grab a beer, instead of mixing up drinks.

Beer.

It's one of those ubiquitous drinks that is just about anywhere on the planet, and when it comes to imbibing alcohol it's probably the first place you begin.  I started drinking beer up in Canada when I was in my late teens, not unlike most people who discover beer.  Back then there really wasn't much choice.  Many of the top producers or what some today would call macro-breweries, even made beers that weren't available in certain areas of the country, keeping certain brews to only local markets (I still to this day have never seen Molson Export sold anywhere West of Ontario, maybe things have changed?).  On top of that many of the liquor laws did not look kindly to imports, and taxes were generally higher.  In short there was less options, and you ended up usually drinking the same domestic mass produced fizzy yellow lager that probably first fell in your hands, because it was cheap and easy to get.  Then something happened.

It's hard for me to pinpoint the exact date I noticed something change, but around the late 80s / early 90s a word came up that I heard called "micro". Small independent brewers were trying to make their way on to the scene.  Part of my personality is to always taste something new, and when I heard there were small independent micro-breweries trying to make an appearance I desperately wanted their beer.  Reports came out about mass produced beer being pedestrian.  There were comments that small producers could make a better product, they used old recipes, better ingredients, the large mammoth breweries got so large that they could no longer make a quality product, and so forth.  They were "different".  All the points seemed to indicate their beer was better to some.  Still, whether you believed this or not, I often could never get my hands on these micro-beers, and if I did they weren't cheap.

When I came to the US and settled down 14 years ago, I remember distinctly wanting to try some better beer.  I was definitely not a fan of beers of macro US produced breweries.  I grew up being inundated with their advertising, and flooding the market, and perhaps more so really hated their beer not just on taste but out of some pride to buy local and some perhaps nationalistic sentiment.  Hey why have fizzy yellow US lager, when I can have... umm.. fizzy yellow Canadian lager?  This sentiment, didn't last very long, my tastes changed, and more importantly, I got bored.  Also in my young days of yore, it was probably a stupid sentiment to be had, so I'll chalk that up to inexperience.  I found myself leaving beer and going to wine.  Then something else happened.

I was at a liquor store in the US and started noticing more varieties of beer on the shelves.  I went to other places, some even specialized in beer sales.  Depending on what state I was in, the laws sometimes were less restrictive than what I grew up with, the shelves were filled with LOTS of different beers, some from around the world, more so than what I saw in Canada.  I was quickly drinking a lot of Belgian beer and liking it.

My head exploded, I had to have them all.  Then around 2002 I saw a 6 pack on the shelf that said beer of the year.  I thought that was a pretty dam bold statement to make.  I looked at the package and it said Dogfish Head Raison d'Etre.  Long story short, I took it home, and my life since then for beer has never been the same.  When I gushed my enthusiasm for the beer to a store employee about the micro brewery he described a term that to me was new.  Dogfish as he mentioned, was some of the best "craft beer".

Since that day over ten years ago, "craft" beer has taken off unlike anything I have ever seen.  There are more breweries now that I can think of.  Beer made locally is now considered desirable, perhaps even filling in with the niche of supporting local farms, and having an emphasis on a better product.  In Washington DC where I was living there were no local breweries 10 years ago, now with Port City, DC Brau, and a host of others there are several.  The same thing has happened in other areas of the country, and there is now a lot of craft beer.  Attitudes are changing about acquiring beer.  Instead of just going out to the bar and having "the usual", there are craft beer bars, where you can drink several kinds of beer from multiple breweries.  Events can be held, and even the brewery reps and sometimes the brewers themselves will be there and you can talk to them.  Local breweries are also turning into social centers.  Instead of heading to the store, you can go to the brewery and buy beer there direct from the source.  Many breweries have tap nights, entertainment, and it has become a social gathering spot and not just a place to take away the wares, or have a tour (you've seen one fermenter you've seen them all I say!).  Speaking of beer to take home, you can fill up on tap beer with a growler and take it home as well (either at the brewery, and some other beer bars).  This is a common practice in many States (it varies depending on the law), where you can bring in a growler to fill of 64oz of fresh tapped beer and just walk home with it.  Growing up in Canada, this was impossible because of the liquor laws.  When I first came  here I didn't even know what a growler was.

Suddenly I was very excited about beer again.

With my insatiable appetite, I had something at my disposal that as a young beer drinker years ago was practically impossible.  The Internet, and more so, the information that comes with it.

With a host of active tools and a world of instant information literally at my finger tips, I discovered beers I could only dream of twenty five years ago, and more importantly "understand" them better.  In 2011 I finally decided to chronicle my year in tasting beer, and I decided to make a video about it.  The results are below.  Grab a few beers, sit down and relax and watch the show.

I don't know where craft beer is going in this trend, but I am really liking the amount of drink and choice that is available.  Even back in Canada, there are more independent breweries than before, beer is now taking off more than ever and what could be a better time to have a great drink to imbibe on once in awhile.

Cheers!

Oysters and Lambic Gueze, a match made in heaven

I love seafood.  Whipping up a good dish to eat is incredibly satisfying, but it's even easier when the preparation is really simple. I really enjoy fresh crab, peeling just cooked shrimp and drawn butter, and once in awhile I jump into just a solid raw oyster on the half shell.  Nothing needs to be done, except for perhaps some shucking skills, and a good appetite.

However, I always thought something real good to imbibe on with raw oysters would be a real nice gueze.

So here I try out a gueze from two different breweries. Oude Gueuze Tilquin à L’Anciene, and Drie Fonteinen Doesjel.  Turned out to be a great food pairing, and they were also pretty good drinks to imbibe on as well.


Cheers!

Something Skunky this way comes. How quickly and easily beer can go bad.

Look closely at the picture to your left.  Aside from the fact the height level of beer in these glasses is slightly different, one of these things is not like the other.  They are all filled with the same beer, Stella Artois, but can you tell what's wrong?  Before you start emailing me hate mail, or beating yourself brainless, the reality is there is nothing you can physically see that is different.  There is though a distinct difference I experienced with these beers after I took this picture.  One of these beers, is perfectly fine, the other two have been ruined by a very common problem.  The problem is, two of these beers are "skunked".  (Just for the record the first beer on the left is the one that is fine :)  ).

So what does this mean?

The term "skunked" beer or "skunky", is a product of having beer exposed to blue light, that will break down the hop compounds (isohumulones), and produce a very undesirable aroma/flavor, that basically smells like a skunk (sometimes going by a more scientific name as 'methyl', or 'isopentyl mercaptan'). [Randy Mosher, Pg. 61 "Tasting Beer"].  Sunlight is a good source, but this will also happen in one of the most common beer purchasing environments, and that is the cooler-lit cases of a beer store isle.

Beer as we know comes in a variety of  formats, bottles and cans being the most common.  As we all know cans are metal, and we can't see through them and neither can light.  Having beer on tap, comes from a keg, basically filled from the brewery at time made and then shipped to somewhere for consumption.  This no doubt prevents the beer from the chance of being skunked.  I will say though, I have been in many a drinking establishment where some idiot at a bar is drinking his "craft" beer, doesn't like it or it's unappealing, or perhaps it might rarely be off in some other way, but he will actually thinks it is skunked and says so.  Believe me I've seen it with my own eyes, as the bartender (who can often be the proprietor) will just roll his eyes usually and bite his tongue, and pour the schmuck something else.

This leaves then the other common delivery of beer that we all know as the glass bottle.

Skunking can happened to bottled beer not even opened because bottles are essentially clear.  I mean you can see through them when you look at them right?  Of course.  Beer bottles in the US are mostly brown, this prevents "some" skunking but not entirely.  The biggest culprit of skunking happens in either green or clear bottles.  These bottles offer NO protection whatsoever.

I have always wanted to test this theory out and set out to do so.  The perfect candidate seemed to crop up and I chose it because it is often stored in a green bottle, and it just recently started showing up in cans.  That beer is Stella Artois, a basic European Pale Lager.

I grabbed a few cans, and a six pack at a store and proceeded set up my test.  The bottled six pack I have to admit was "sort of" sitting in a refrigerated section for awhile, in of course a typical store.  It would be pretty much impossible to buy a six pack of Stella that had been lying around in darkness, because that isn't how they are displayed of course.  This is also why this problem is so common among beer on the shelf in green and clear bottles.

I decided I would try three Stella Artois beers in three different ways.  One was from the can.  The second would be from one of the glass bottles I bought from the six pack that I had stored away in my basement and wrapped up so that no light could get to it.  The third bottle would be a bottle I would take from this pack, and place outside in direct sunlight for 15 - 20 minutes.  All beers would then be chilled in my fridge to be tasted together for consumption and reviewing.

I did this, and the results were really amazing.  This is science and it doesn't lie.  It was also real fun to do.  You can do this with any green or clear color bottled beer and I suggest you also try this experiment at home.  It will really open your eyes to imbibing beer. To see how this turned out, watch the video below.  Cheers!

Trying to wrap my head around this one. Heady Topper makes a rare appearance

It's happening again, and to some extent I understand, but other times I sort of just shake my head.

I was out on my usual beer run in DC and in one of my go to stores which once in awhile gets some obscure beers.  My eyes scanned the shelf selection, recognizing much of the same beer I had seen on the previous visits not too long ago.  Yeah nothing new...

I did remind myself to either ask the proprietor if something new came in, or if something might be coming, but more importantly I always tell myself to look again in the same spot.  I often miss items on shelves, and have found new ones by scanning them again with razor like precision.  My eye drifted to an empty corner of the book shelf where some Surly use to sit in the past, and some Dark Horse plead the 5th still remained.  There were some cans there that practically blended into the wood work, but there were many of them and in a sparse black design almost seemed to be invisible.  I did realize this was a new product on the shelf, but then looking closely it hit me what exactly I was looking at, and I had to make sure I wasn't dreaming.

Several cans of Heady Topper from a brewery in Vermont called The Alchemist, were on the shelf, a very highly desired beer.  From their website the beer is described as a "Double IPA that will put hair on your chest".  As far as I know, the beer has a limited distribution range and having it show up here seemed a complete fluke. Big IPAs seem to be the rage with many beer fans, and lots of people want to have this beer and many beer related sites rate it very highly.  In short, the beer is highly coveted, but has limited distribution.

I went and reviewed the beer, and have to admit it is really enjoyable.  This seemed like some sort of karmatic retribution for myself.  A good friend of mine had recently moved away from the area and took a job in Vermont.  Both of us being big beer fans, he sent me emails about his trips to Hill Farmstead and The Alchemist, in a way taunting me.  Suddenly it seemed like the beer gods felt sorry for me and decided to drop a bunch of Heady in my backyard.  The irony wasn't lost on me.

However, it occurred to me that highly coveted, obscure, and great tasting beer might have a price to pay.  A recent Youtube comment from "zodiak3000" brought it to my attention that the beer was going for crazy prices on Ebay.  This was sounding all too familiar.

Having just went through the Founders CBS madness, I plugged in Heady Topper in the Ebay search bar.  The first listing came up, four cans...  60 dollars.  Wow, I sat there stunned.  Other listings showed single cans going for 10-12 dollars, with many days still left in auction for the price to go up.  When I mentioned to a family member back in Canada that I paid 7 dollars for a can of this beer, they asked me if I was crazy.  Suddenly looking at Ebay I don't feel so bad, but more importantly, a basic beer in a bar in DC goes for that amount, usually higher (and you wont get 16oz of it either which is the size of the can).  Telling the prices to others what they were going for on Ebay, a good friend just simply said, "there's one born every minute."

Suddenly this is where I feel torn, but I also feel this is where the great divide really happens among consumers when it comes to beer.  Nobody bats an eye, or gets wildly upset, seeing people buy bottles of wine for forty dollars, but someone purchases a can of beer for over 4 dollars, they need their head examined.  There was also a great article recently in the Washington City Paper that asked why is craft beer so expensive in Washington?, and it hints of the economic reality of what people will pay for certain things, compared to elsewhere, and how this relates to "craft" beer.  It's a great article, you should check it out.  It certainly put things into perspective when I took a three and a half hour drive North to Selin's Grove PA to check out the tavern and Selin's Grove Brewpub/Brewery, and have phenomenal craft beer for 3.50 - 4 dollars a glass.

This is where I feel torn.  One part of me wants this drink to be taken seriously, the other part doesn't want it to be outrageously expensive and wants it to be accessible to all.  But one thing is all too common, it's just economics 101.

Hopefully, it just doesn't get too far out of reach for myself, to enjoy good drink.

Here's my review and thoughts on Heady Topper - The Alchemist,  Enjoy!

Fruit beer goodness, and from all obscure places... Wisconsin.

While jumping around the imbibing trail, beer is often on the radar for myself.  However, in my search for good beer, even great beer, my thoughts have usually drifted to tried and true tested beer hot spots.  Often I am thinking of West coast state breweries for their hop pleasures, or countries with long brewing traditions such as those of Germany or more importantly Belgium, and the breweries that have made those countries the standard for which beer is measured.  In the end the best beer for myself is in the United States, with it's array of breweries, multiple styles, and it's focus on innovation and perhaps pushing boundaries to the extreme.

Nevertheless, when I was on my search for great beer in the US, an obscure brewery to me came up from Wisconsin called New Glarus.  Wisconsin?  I thought... the place that is known for cheese?  Dairy?  But beer?  Beer WORTH drinking in Wisconsin?  get out of here..

The idea that Wisconsin was to have a brewery that could make fascinating beer not unlike great breweries in California, Oregon, Michigan and so forth seemed like an afterthought.  However, when looking at New Glarus it was obvious this place was doing something very unique.

From their website: "New Glarus is run by an enthusiastic couple Daniel and Deb Carey, who have successfully combined business management and brewing professionalism."  One thing I noticed when checking out their website was that there were some beers here that had an emphasis on fruit as a main ingredient.  Two particularly stood out.  One was a beer titled "Wisconsin Belgian Red", a beer with a pound of Door county Montmorency cherries in every bottle, lagered in oak tanks and balanced by Hallertau hops for a year.  The other "Raspberry Tart" is a classic Framboise made in a similar manner.

New Glarus is not distributed very wildly, but somehow I needed to try these beers having read their descriptions and salivating.  It didn't hurt that both beers were also highly award winning, and also quite coveted by beer fans.  Long story short I was able to acquire the two products, and also get a bottle of Unplugged Enigma, which is as a sour brown ale not unlike a fantastic Flanders Oud Bruin.  I am very grateful for getting it since it is no longer being brewed.  In short it was amazing.

Below is both a review of the Belgian Red and the Raspberry Tart.  Make sure you make an effort some day to try these fantastic brews if you can.  Cheers!

Raspberry Tart

Wisconsin Belgian Red

Wesvleteren arrives a chance to taste beer greatness?

In the times I have spent imbibing, and specificaly drinking beer, there were many great brews that I came across.  Going down the malt and hops road takes you on lots of interesting twists and turns, some places near, some far, and with that come many tales of greatness.  There isn't a day that goes by that I hear someone usually raving about a beer, claiming it to be the greatest thing ever since sliced bread.  Often times the beer is not where I am, it's from a brewery in some other part of country, and/or it has a limited release that is gobbled up with a low production.  In many ways the hype of it increases the desire among many beer fans to want it even more.  The beer is hard to get, and the rarer it is the demand starts increasing.  The stories get bigger, the raves keep continuing.  In the end it's like a snake eating iteslf into a vicious repeating cycle.  The beer in the end, becomes in a sort of way.. a myth of epic proportions, one where it's great tastes seems hard or impossible to believe.  In many ways the beer almost fits the mantra of, it must be good, because it's rare.

There are a few breweries in the world who have beers that fall into this category.  There is one though that every beer fan finds out about and it basicaly seems to fit into a special category that no other brewery can classify.  The brewery is simply known as Sint-Sixtusabdij van Westvleteren in Belgium, or as many refer to as just Westvleteren.  This is a brewery run by trappist monks who have been making their beers since 1838.  They only make three beers currently, each one placed in a very simple brown non descript bottle.  The only way to differentiate each one is by the breweries distinct cap on top containing the brewery's coat of arms.  A green cap is for their blonde ale, blue for a dubbel style refered to as simply "8", and one of their most coveted a yellow capped bottle containing a Belgian quadrupel style known as "12".  The "12" or "Westy 12" as some refer to, has been written about not just by beer fans but also other well known beer writers.  Many have refered to it as "the best beer in the world". 

The fascination with Westvleteren is nothing new having been talked and coveted about for so long.  In many ways the beers take on the great mythical proportions coupled with images of an old monastery monks, sitting around in robes making beer from their secret traditions.  The reality is they are a solid brewery operation, and don't walk around in robes all the time, but take great pride in what they make.  There is one unique issue that makes their beers coveted as well and herein lies the interesting character.  Westvleteren beers are only sold in one place, the brewery itself and a cafe they own in Westvleteren Belgium.  They are not even sold elsewhere in the country of Belgium (well technicaly read more below).  The fact they have been written about as the greatest and also have an idilyc history with extremely limited distribution (the monks will only produce enough beer to support their monastery) makes them very special.

At some point every beer lover wants to have these beers, but how? 

The result is with the demand many of the beers a "gray" market has appeared.  Demand for these beers all over the world, has created opportunities for people to purchase them and resell them, many times for large amounts of money, very much against the monks wishes.  The bottles within the local area aren't that expensive but have often been resold through other distributors for much more in ways that makes you wonder if it's really worth it.  If you live in America like I do, getting the chance to try these beers requires some leg work and also some introspection.  You can either spend the time to actually fly over and visit, or perhaps spend less money by finding them possibly through a distributor who bought some bottles, but is a small bottle to pay online from some distributor you don't know exactly worth it?  The other angle though which most beer fans do though, is trading with other beer fans to get them.

Acquiring these three beers for me was quite an interesting journey.  In many ways there has been criticism on both sides of the debate about Westvleteren beers. One is the obvious side of the monks who express succinctly for their beers to NOT be resold.  The second is the side and criticism of the monks to make more beer to stop the heightened demand and prices thus making them more available and affordable.  It's an interesting debate with no clear winners.

In the end, I've had many trips to Europe, but one right now is not in the cards anytime soon.  Finding another beer fan, we exchanged some goodies and I have now my chance to try all three of these beers. The best thing was sharing appreciation of good beer with someone, instead of just handing over cash to someone who might have alterior motives and could care less about good drink.

Below are my thoughts on all of them first starting with the Blonde Ale.  I had since purchased a chalice to hold these brews to see them in all their glory.

It was a long journey to get to this point in my imbibing life, a road that takes you many places and certainly ones that make it all worth it.  Another road I hope to do someday, is to get back to Belgium not just to have this beer again, but to also return the bottles and say thanks. My imbibing thoughts are posted below. Cheers to you all!

Review of Westvleteren Blonde Ale



Review of Westvleteren "8"



Review of Westvleteren "12"

Beer that smells like my cat's litter box? Surely you jest!

So I was pursuing my regular beer imbibing frolic, when I had discovered a unique bottle on the shelf deciding on what to purchase next, when a title sprang forth from a rather dull diamond looking label that I could not ignore.  On that label simply stated the words written in phonetic jocular connotation as to not arouse suspicion but  almost made so the brewers could have a good laugh. On that label was titled the words "Katz Pis".

Now right away I knew what this was about and thought it was pretty funny, but also knew that it would be a good opportunity to review it being a beer fan, and also a cat owner.

You see, the label refers to a bottle of cat piss, or more likely the idea that the beer will smell/taste like a litter box of your feline persuasion.  Sometimes I thought for sure there might be a brewer at the place named "Katz" and this is his addition to glory but let's not go there...

The reality is that in the beer world, there are certain hops that will give of an aroma that many people will identify as urine.  Or specifically a strong ammonia that smells like cat piss.  Hence the name of this beer which is a single brewed hop beer of the Nelson Sauvign variety.  The idea of a urine smelling drink is not knew, it's also particular common among some people who get a cat urine scent off of certain wines, particularly in my opinion, certain varieties of German Riesling's and Gewurztraminer and sometimes Sauvignon Blancs.

For me, I own two cats, and even before sharing their spaces I was more than aware of what cat pee smells like.  I can honestly say I have never smelled a wine or a beer that smells like cat piss.

However, I went into trying this beer out hoping to find something interesting.  What I got was something I truly did not expect.  For more, watch the video review below.

Beer and Champagne, one great imbibing way to enjoy anew

In the realm of imbibing we often think of Champagne or champagne like drinks (referred to as sparkling wine) as a way to celebrate. However, there was one version of bubbly I was not familiar with but after now being acquainted, I would love to try more of. That drink, is called Bière de Champagne, or Bière Brut, or simply put Beer Champagne.

Like Champagne, Bière Brut follows the method of methode de champenoise, but follows the beer styles usually of well.. whatever the beer maker wants. These two are traditionally Belgian and definitely bring Belgian Pale Ale styles to the table mixed with Champagne like great taste. This was also an occasion to celebrate, but bubbly doesn't have to be just for celebrating, there is no excuse to just drink bubbly on any moment that arrives.

I went and reviewed and checked these both out, having moved into my new home. It was without question, a blast. Watch the video to find out more.

Cheers!

American Wild Ale - Pucker up for a beer imbibing drink

"This beer is sour!!" I exclaimed when my wife gave me a beer she had in Belgium called a "lambic" some time ago in my imbibing early days of yore. Beer can taste like this? I said to myself, and in reality it can. There are varying degrees of sour beers out there of different sour levels and style. There was interesting properties about them, tart, viscous, fruity, vinous... there was much to explore here.

After some time, my road lead back to the heartland of America and away from Belgium to discover a style of beer called "American Wild Ale".

An American Wild Ale is a beer style that contains wild yeast, usually Brettanomyces, Pediococcus or Lactobacillus, which makes the beers sour, "funky" and musty. These are quite interesting and unusal to others, but to me quite fascinating.

Two particular wild ales I wanted to get my hands on are made by Russian River Brewing in California, one called Consecration and the other Supplication. Both are aged in oak wine barrels that held Cabernet Sauvignon wine.

So how did this turn out? Feel free to check out the video review below.

Cheers!

KBS and more bourbon beer barrel goodness

In the realm of craft beer, barrel aged beers specifically from bourbon barrels seems to be all the rage. Many are made, much of them seasonal and come out with much anticipation. Sometimes though, a beer will be released with a limited production and high demand, but also touted by many as the best ever. Often the production of how that beer is made seems to give it more mystique, and one beer that seems to be wrapped up in it is from Founders, called Kentucky Breakfast Stout, or KBS for short.

KBS, is a 2 year aged imperial stout, made to rest in bourbon barrels. Besides the fact that it sits for 2 years, the brewery mentions that the beer is actually "cave aged", because the barrels are actually stored in an old abandoned gypsum mine. Does that make a difference? Does that impart a certain flavor? A sort of I dunno what? Regardless, whatever Founders is doing they are doing A) something right B) making some dam good beer while doing it.

Watch the video review to see more:

Cheers!

Frolicking through Flanders... not red this time but old brown!

Enter, new imbibing territory. Some time ago while discovering the world of beer I learned mostly from my wife who spent some time in Belgium, that beers could actually be sour.

I thought, no you're joking right? Actually it was a big eye opening experience to hear of beers from Belgium that are called Lambics, Kriek, Gueuze and so forth. These beers while being varied in their own right are almost always some degree of sour, and filled with wild active yeast to impart a dramatic taste and flavor. Many of them feel like crisp champagne.

I was given a style recently made by a small American producer in Utah named Squatters Pub Brewery, who made a beer called 529 in the style known as Flanders Oud Bruin. This beer was a one time brewing offering. A brown Flanders style ale in the Flanders Red tradition it seemed, to take on perhaps an American flavor? With that I cracked open my first Oud Bruin, and imbibing pleasure commenced.

Watch below to fine more. Cheers!!

Wandering back in Maine... revisiting the imbibing beer trail

Last Christmas, I was up in Maine and hit a beer store in Waterville called Jokas. My intention then was to buy some local craft beer, and to partake of a simple winter weekend on the off chance I'd get to sit down and have a beer. Turned out my trip to the beer store was even a smarter plan than I imagined since a giant blizzard rolled in and I was stuck inside with nothing to do but well.... drink... Good thing I was ready.

However, when I returned back home to DC I was left with a beer on my mind that I saw on the shelves there that I didn't buy while I was up there. It had a cute little simple smiley face, on a tiny bottle... and it looked and reached out to say to me... you sir... with my plain simple label do not ignore my bland surroundings... please come and drink me.. I remember glancing at its purple ink and thought.. this looks really interesting, but having coddled bottles of Cadillac Mountain, Dogfish and Sebago in my hands the bottle sat. But somehow I never forgot about it.

The beer I am referring to is an Amber Ale called Zoe from Maine Beer Company. When I got home I actually researched it a bit and found that it was actually very highly received, and thus started really kicking myself for not trying it while I was up in Maine. In the end... I acquired some, with some help of a trade. After that, I got into my Maine beer imbibing mode below.

To see how the imbibing went, check the video below.

CHEERS!

Acquiring one of the most desired American Doubles, Pliny the Elder and Double Trouble Founders imbibing fun!

In beer land, there is an American Double IPA that many try to seek it out. It is available year round, but only available mostly in California. If you live like I do on the East coast, your chances of finding the beer on store shelves are slim to none.

The beer is called "Pliny the Elder" from Russian River brewery. It comes in a very non descriptive bottle with a basic red dot logo which doesn't seem to leave a lot to imagination. However, it is the contents inside that are what is really important.

I put Pliny in comparison with another favorite brewery of mine, Founders and tried Double Trouble side by side. To have even more fun with this tasting, I slept on this and awoke the next morning and cracked open both bottles at 10:00 AM with a very rested palate having nothing to eat or drink for at least 14 hours. How did this turn out? Well check out below.

CHEERS!

When 70 degrees hits in February It's time for some light and crisp imbibing Pilsner joy

We got some stupidly warm days all of a sudden here in my area. When that happens my mind turns to things of light air, crisp summer days.. and great things to imbibe on such as a great light beer. Nothing satisfies like a Pilsner to hit the spot.

I had some German style pilsner lying around. One is from Germany the other is an American made beer out of Pennsylvania called Victory Prima Pils. Both of these beers while being of the same style are VERY different from each other in taste and feel, but they would be just the perfect thing to imbibe on a warm summer day.

In my latest video I pair these two in a taste test for great tasting goodness. To see how it went, watch the video below.

CHEERS!!!

Amber waves of grain, a good amber ale beer is great to imbibe on

Amber Ales seem to be an after thought to me in the beer realm, but after tasting 3 that were all very different (one that sort of sells itself as an Imperial Amber and feels more like an IPA), there might be more to this style than I imagined.

The three beers I pulled out were, Full Sail's Amber, Troegs HopBack, and Troegs Nugget Nectar. Placing HopBack and Nugget Nectar side by side in this tasting just seemed to make sense. They are both similar and sort of an evolution from one (HopBack) to the next (Nugget Nectar).

Full Sail was very different from both these, and it was beer that really grew on me the more I drank it.

To see more of what I thought, watch the video review below. Cheers!

Imbibing Orval and understanding how a proper glass makes a beer shine

Sometime ago I was at a Belgian beer tasting hosted by Belgium native Bart Vandaele from Belga Cafe and learned a very important lesson. The proper glass for a beer from Belgium makes a big difference in your tasting experience. So much so that of the thousands of beers you could have from breweries each glass is unique.

I remembered this and when setting out to make my latest tasting I realized I never had an Orval glass to compare against my Leffe Blonde. So I decided to wait, and got one in the mail. That time was well spent and made a huge difference and impression on me in tasting this unique beer.

It's kind of hard to sometimes justify having lots of glassware, but it truly does make all the difference. To understand why, watch the review below of Orval and Leffe Blonde.

Hefeweizen beer battle, or how I like to butcher the German language.

Hefeweizen. It seems to be one of those beers that has been sort of bastardized of late. People get a real skinny glass and throw a lemon in and that's it. Is there more to this than that? Turns out there is. First off... skip the lemon.

I can say that this isn't my favorite style of beer, but if you want to have a good one try one of the two I had here. Weihenstephaner is a product from Germany that claims to be the oldest brewery in the world. Reading the bottles on these was enough to make my head spin as I probably butchered the pronunciation of all the German language I could.

For comparisons I grabbed also a bottle of Edel-Weisse Mein Grunes from Scheneider & Sohn a green grenade sporting a USDA organic seal.

Turns out there was much imbibing joy to be had. These definitely feel like summer beers, so while there is loads of snow outside it felt hard to get into character. But for the price point for these beers, they just can't be beat.

Check them out. CHEERS!

Scratch another off the list, Imbibe Hour crashes DC's Churchkey for the Tröegs scratch night and nugget nectar goodness.

How do I love thine beer... for let me count thy ways... For imbibing in DC special events make it more fun!

I headed down to one of DCs prominent beer bars called Churchkey, in nearby Logan circle as part of a special Tröegs Scratch night tasting.

Tröegs brewery is located in Harrisburg Pennsylvania, and they were offering a good promotion in DC at Churchkey to showcase their "scratch" series beers of playful American IPAs. It was a special treat because most of these on tap don't make it outside of Pennsylvania, but also because they were offering something else. They were also offering their famous Nugget Nectar beer from a firkin cask. IMBIBE HOUR TO THE RESCUE!!! I enjoy their doppelbock as well, and it seemed like a perfect excuse to go have some more Tröegs!

I first heard about the event through BeerAdvocate.com, a sight where I find much information on beers, and a place I stash all my beer reviews. The site is stupidly addictive, almost like Facebook but much more mature and organized. I never understood why I never got into it years ago when I first signed up being such an imbibing purist.

I had made arrangements to make sure I was going to be ready for this. I contacted the manager asking if it was okay to write about the event, take pictures... etc.. They were more than happy to oblige. I was told however that the beer wouldn't be kicked in until 6 PM so that staff could partake of some before hand. So I arrived about 15 minutes early and I sat at the bar at one of the few seats I could find. I was asked if I wanted anything and I said.. "Well.. I am just waiting until 6 for the Tröegs stuff... I heard you got a firkin of Nugget, true?" The server said "we sure do!" "Well guess I am waiting!" as I sat there twiddling my thumbs at the bar, not trying to suly myself and drink something amongst the 40 offerings on tap. Those minutes seemed to go by... real... sllooooowllllyy....

10 minutes to six the server seemed to relent and came over and said... well you want one? I hesitated... took the night in... and paused....

"Yeah sure!", HA he cracked before I did!

Nugget Nectar is another showcase and seasonal beer that lots of people get to go goo goo gaga over. It's pictured up in the left there next to Scratch #37 and #38. The brewery describes the color as straw/orange, but out of the cask it is an obvious copper/brown.

That wasn't the only thing though, I was all set on reviewing and tasting all these beers but sometimes Churchkey is a bit crowded but also a bit dark inside to judge a brews appearance. I got a fairly good spot, not the most optimal but at least one good place to review the beers. Unfortunately I noticed I was provided snifters. Snifters??? Is this not an American Ipa? What's going on here? In the end it turned out it was because I was only given samples. Man I wanted PINTS baby!

Some things were also not helpful. A patron next to me got his flatbread order, and for the next 4 minutes after it arrived all I could smell was salt and ham prosciutto. I had luckily got the first beers nose before this, but I was almost ready to call quits and give up thinking the environment wasn't going to be conducive. Luckily things settled down and it all came in after a short while.

I flagged down a server as I was cleansing my palate with some bread crust, a must I find sometimes when going between drinks to soak up other flavors and neutralize my palate. The bar on a Tuesday was surprisingly stupid busy. "Hey", I said, "can't you serve pints of this?" I asked. The congenial server apologized and didn't realized I wanted to nestle in on 2 pints at a time but that was okay. In retrospect it made the night a bit easier, and my liver was probably ready to jump for joy at getting a break. He actually came back with a pint of Nugget Nectar and said "Here ... this one's on me." WELL I'll take that for sure! and that joy is framed above.

I had much to say about these beers. They were all decent, some considerably better than others, and there were ones to me that I preferred even though many didn't fit the classic American IPA style. It was a good atmosphere and I got to sit next to another guy who wasn't that big of a beer drinker, but had certainly been to many pubs in England and felt right at home. I told him to grab the cask Nugget Nectar since so many people were ready to kill each other to get at it, which he jumped on. Long story short, the nugget nectar is a solid brew out of the cask, but it's personally not something that I think I would crave again even after having two of them that night. It is without question a beer everyone should try!

The night was nearly over when of course I remembered they were giving out glassware. "Hey!" I inquired, "you got glasses?!" I asked, and before I knew it, one showed up and then another server came by and said... why don't you take another. So there I had it... two Nugget Nectar pints to take home for keepsakes. Seems like the perfect excuse now... to get some Nugget out of the bottle and try some!

All in all... for Tröegs and Churchkey, it was a night of win, just like always. If you want to get a better idea of what I thought of these beers, see my reviews on BeerAdvocate.com here (this link).

Cheers to you all, and have some good brew!

American Strong Ale Battle, more big beers for big fun

In the realm of beer, one category seems to defy explanation and that is the American Strong Ale. An American strong ale is sort of what its namesake implies, a particularly strong Ale like beer. This has become a sort of go to catch all category for craft brews that are high in ABV. It basically gives brewers a big blank template to essentially go crazy, many of the beers sometimes are stored in oak barrels, or they have specific ingredients that you wouldn't normally find.

For todays imbibing joy I brought out three heavweights to compare. The beers imbibed on were from Stone Brewery in San Diego Double Bastard, Great Lakes Nosferatu, and Lagunitas Brown Shugga, a strong ale with a large amount of brown sugar added. The results were some very good imbibing joy.

Cheers!