Beer, Beer and Beer

I've been able to try several different beers lately and have pictures of most but haven't gotten around to posting about them yet so in order to help clean the camera here are a few...

Red Brick - Brown - 6.0%ABV

Brewed here in Georgia (ATL) I was pleasantly surprised by this one. It had a great smooth taste with complex flavors that I didn't really expect from a very reasonably priced ale.
The label has a nice little word from the brewers:
"Weep for your northern brethren: Long winters, suspect college football, and perhaps worst of all, no red brick beer. Since 1993 we've been brewing fine craft beers for the south. We're proud to stand alongside grits, hound dogs and mama as embodiments of the southern lifestyle. We're proud to be beer from around here."
I thought that was funny

Crown Valley Brewing - Big Bison Ale - 7.2%ABV

I think this is one that I like more than all the rest that I tried so far from Crown Valley. The rest were very good but I just really enjoyed the sweet taste and finish of this beer. Brewed in Genevieve, Missouri this is their take on a Belgian Dubble. It's not thick like a stout or porter but carries a bit of weight with it and is easy to drink despite it's higher abv.

Crown Valley Brewing - Plowboy Porter - 5.5%ABV

Another beer from Crown Valley, this porter was good but personally I like my porters thick and dark brown to almost solid black in color. You can see in the picture it is a bit lighter than a more conventional porter and I think that translated to the taste as well. It wasn't bad by any stretch but I feel that it could have been just a wee bit closer to conventional, just my humble opinion.

Weyerbacher- Merry Monks Belgian Style Golden Ale - 9.3%ABV

I am a sucker for a higher alcohol beer! I poured this into two wine glasses for Molly and I (we split all beer that we don't have multiples of) and the first thing you smell is bread! You could smell the yeast in it. This might not sound great to some of you but I love it, and couple that with a ABV of 9.3% and all I can say is that I wish I had more so I would get a full glass!

Kiuchi Brewery - Real Ginger Brew- 7.0% ABV

Molly and I first had this beer the night we arrived in Camden, ME. We were running later than we had planned because of our flights changing on us but because of that we ended up eating sushi with beer for dinner. This is one that was paired with our meal and it has a wonderful ginger taste and was perfect with our sushi dish. The ginger taste was not overpowering but was present enough to taste and enjoy the cool crispness that comes with ginger. We have had trouble finding this particular beer for sale in places other than on the internet however, on our trip to Charleston, S.C. this past Feb I happened upon it at the Charleston Beer Exchange.

Stone Brewing Co. - Sublimley Self-Righteous - 8.7% ABV
Southern Tier Brewing Co. - Imperial Iniquity Black Ale - 9.0%ABV

Both of these brews which I also bought at the Charleston Beer Exchange peeked my interest because on the flight down to Charleston I read an article about the rise of a style of beer known as a "black IPA". There are many opinions from what I understand as to weather can actually be categorized on it's own or weather it's just a sub category of an dark ale. It has however been given it's own rank at most beer competitions now. The Stone Brewing I thought was good and it had a large hoppy taste as many IPA's do, it was very dark in color but was not thick like the color might suggest it would be. For my personal tastes though I would prefer just a bit less bitterness.
Southern Tier's version was wonderfully well done I thought. Not over powering bitter but had a very well balance between the bitterness and dark sweet maltiness. The hops were definitely there, you couldn't miss them but I thought the balance and drinkability were spot on.

Boulevard Brewing Company - Dry Stout - 4.9%ABV

While Molly and I were in Iowa, we were pleasantly surprised at the abundance of beer we found from Boulevard Brewery out of Kansas City, MO. We tried several beers and Molly also loved their great reusable six pack boxes (no pictures I'm afraid). This was a good example of a dry stout and had a good drinkability as well. It was smooth and had a great taste. Hopefully sometime they will start carrying it further east so we can have it again!

MMMM...BEER....

So I've been pretty excited about trying some new beers here in Iowa that are not available back east. And as always I'm a big supporter of buying local as often as you can to help promote smaller brewery's and let them now that people are taking notice that they are creating good tasting beer. So I was given permission the other day to run across the street and pick up a six pack and this is what ended up in our fridge. "Iowa Pale Ale" brewed by Millstream Brewing Company out of Amana, IA. I have never disliked pale ales but I rarely buy them, I'm not sure why, but this little guy reminded me that good pales are REAL GOOD PALES. I also liked their play on IPA but instead of India it's Iowa. I also like the trees made out of hops on their label. I don't feel that I'm capable of describing what is going on within the tastes of these beers given that there is such an incredible amount of work that that goes into them and I'm but a novice in this game. So I'll keep my comments to, it tasted great, and I like their artwork. As I become a little more learned maybe I'll venture into describing the flavors and the variety of hops being used in the beers I try but I have a ways to go.

I been eying this bottle in the store now since we moved here and I haven't tried it yet because of the cost. About $5.50 a bottle. So I finally caved (Molly wasn't with me). It's brewed in Scotland in the oldest inhabited home in the country! I gotta say this is the best beer I've had in a while. Brewed with Coriander it takes an interesting taste and is easy to drink even in light of it's 8% ABV. The color was a very pleasant dark cola brown with a very thin white head.

The Gift that Keeps on Giving!

My wonderful wife gave me a gift for Christmas this year that keeps on giving! It's a TrueBrew Gold home brewing kit!! I know!! So, after I read a ton more and scape together a little cash to buy ingredients I'll hopefully be brewing some tasty stouts and porters. Then when the weather warms pales and wheats... mmmm...
So the kit comes with a 7 gal food grade bucket with a hole in the top for a airlock and a hole near the bottom for a valve, a glass 6.5 gal carboy for second fermentation, a siphon hose with bottling valve, a brush for bottle cleaning, a hydrometer, an adhesive thermometer to stick to the carboy, an airlock and stopper, a bottle caper, cleaning solution and a beginners book to home brewing. So wish me luck and stay tuned to see what comes out of all this...