Sprecher Brewmaster's Premium Reserve Russian Imperial Stout

Perhaps at some point this beer was only called Sprecher Russian Imperial Stout, but that's what it's listed as on BeerAdvocate currently. Let's check the label on the keg I'm drinking it from....just says "Imperial Stout". I had an RIS from Sprecher on tap before, and it was the bourbon barrel-aged edition a year or two ago. Alas, that is not this. This one I'd actually had for the first time back in August, 2003, and here are those notes preserved for posterity:

Big, black color. Huge, towering, cocoa-hued head. 
Aroma: soft, but showing hints of coffee and chocolate, sweet and yummy. 
Lush mouthfeel, but short finish. Rather abrupt, actually. Body is not as full or as deep as I'd like in an imperial stout, but these words were captured during my notations on this botttle: "Warm, rich, chocolatey, toasty, bits of licorice...yum...suh-weet.." 
I love Imperial Stouts, and I liked this one, a fairly middle-of-the-road effort, not bad. 

I hold the same opinion today. Nothing wrong with it, except everything that should be a whole lot righter. 

Harriet Taproom Soft Open, Part Two

I said that last one was Part One, of Two, didn't I? Well, here it comes, especially since I made a small promise. Someone asked me if I was going to put my playlist online. Well, I didn't think of it, and don't know if they'll ever see it here, but what they, hey, here it goes, to the best of my recollection.

"Blowin' The Blues Away", Horace Silver, album of same name.

"It's Your Thing" (Isley Brothers), "It's Gotta Be Real", The Jazz Crusaders, "Lighthouse '69"

"Come Together" (The Beatles), Richard 'Groove' Holmes and Ernie Watts, album of same name

"Spear For Moondog, Part Two", Jimmy McGriff, "Electric Funk"

"Hang Up Your Hang-ups", Herbie Hancock, "Man-Child"

"Give Up The Booty", Jimmy Smith, "Sit on it!"

"Afro-Blue", Kenny Burrell, "Up the Street, and Round the Corner."

"Happy Medium", "The Show Has Begun", Horace Silver, "That Healin' Feelin'"

"The Way You Make Me Feel" (Michael Jackson), Charles Earland, "Third Degree Burn"

"Ben" (M.J.) Gene Ammons, "Got My Own."

"Never Can Say Goodbye" (M.J.), Junior Walker, "Moody Junior."

"(Sittin' On The) Dock of the Bay", Mongo Santamaria, "Soul Bag"

"Soul Time", Bobby Timmons, album of same name.

"The Sidewinder", Lee Morgan, album of same name.

"Moment's Notice" John Coltrane, "Blue Train."

"Aligator Boogaloo", Lou Donaldson, album of same name.

"The Witch Doctor" Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers, album of same name.

"The Sixth Sense", Lee Morgan, album of same title.

"Night Dreamer", Wayne Shorter, ditto.

"Chicken and Dumplin's", Bobby Timmons, ditto.

"I Was Born To Love You", (Stevie Wonder) Charles Earland, "Soul Story"

"Light Blue",(Thelonious Monk) Arthur Blythe, album of same name, "plays the music of Thelonious Monk."

"Trinkle Tinkle" (Monk) Don Pullen, "...Plays Monk."

"Well You Needn't" (Monk) Jimmy Smith, "second Coming"

"More Today Than Yesterday" (Spiral Staircase), Charles Earland, "Black Talk!"

"Beer", The Jack Walrath Group, "Revenge of the Fat People"

"Killer Joe", "Milestones", Charles Earland, "Living Black"

"New Year's Day", "Lithium", "Comfortably Numb", "Barracuda", The Bad Plus, "For All I Know"

The taproom is closing, employees are loading tables and chairs back into the building, and Matt Yetter is now playing on the patio, and since the taps are turned off, we're drinking from growlers.

and then I played some Thelonious Monk, but I can't recall which. Good stuff, of course.

Everything's getting blurrier, but I must have had enough clarity to see her cuteness.

More of Zach Lozier, this time with Tanner Taylor in the frame, and lots of sunlight shining through.

Who's this? Who knows? He's amused by something, while Jason appears very happy at right.

And now, some more pictures!

More green-clad beer lovers getting their glasses filled by green-wigged Ginny.

something interesting happened when Matt Yetter took the stage later on, after the sun went down. Look at all that bright light inside, while we're cast in blue on the outside.

Things are getting fuzzier, with Paul Johnston, brewer, at right.

Pictures are coming down, perhaps due to heavy music vibrations, and Jason gets up on a ladder to correct this.

More of that light shining on the right side of the room, while a second shift keeps the glasses flowing.

Here's me, as captured by Jesse Brodd. All the great ales have caught up with me, and I'm basking in the bliss of my final musical selections.

Alaskan Black IPA

I got this one as a sample from my distributor rep, and I never ordered any kegs. So, I finally sat down with that bottle, while my cursor went berserk, and I made most minimal notes. I look at them now, and think, fine, it said what needed to be said. So, I'll just put them up. Maybe some day I'll go further in depth, but they did the job then.

Alaskan Black IPA. 6.4% ABV.

Very dark. Not quite black. With crimson/brown highlights. Cocoa-tinged froth, lush and lacy.

Aroma: bright, grassy hops, chocolate malt. 

Taste: deep, dark malt, bright hops, smooth and tasty. Medium-bodied, easy drinking. Grassy hops stay on top. 

I like this. It's beer and you can drink it.

Left Hand Ambidextrous Ale Imperial Milk Stout

So here's another one from the time frame when my laptop was acting up strangely. I've since arrested this activity, but haven't solved the problem completely. I can write, though, but looking at those aborted notes, I could not, then, no sir, and those half-notes sat on my desktop til now.

But some backstory, which makes my failure of writing all the sadder. This was not a beer I necessarily wanted, and was sent to me in a keg after I couldn't get something I did want. (Great Lakes Blackout Stout was the one I asked for.) I accepted this Imperial Milk Stout, and oddly enough I found no information online about it, this Ambidextrous Ale, aka Step One. The only thing I could find was a reference on Left Hand's website about it being on tap at their taproom, but this was a keg sitting in my cooler in Minnesota, but there were no reviews from anyone, anywhere, on any site. Eventually, I decided it wouldn't be part of our Imperial March, because I found 4 true Imperial Stouts, and tapped this Imperial Oak-aged Milk Stout early, it was very popular, and I finally took this photo, and started these notes before it ran out last Tuesday. Here are the notes:

Beautiful, l Left Hand Ambidextrous Ale

Full-on ebony appearance, under a rich, cocoa-tan head of froth. A beautiful glass of stout.

Cream and oak in the nose, hints of vanilla

Wow, that's it, that's as far as I got. Because of the crazy dancing cursor, sometimes spinning a blue screen that erased everything I wrote.

But here are my memories of my thoughts of what I remember, so to speak. It was tasty, it was smooth, and it was strong. And although it was good, I didn't like it. Milk stouts should not be 10.2% alcohol. It was every bit good except for the BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, in the brain, without a fullness and richness of flavor and texture that prepares you for such an alcoholic barrage.

There were some reviews online, on both BeerAdvocate and ratebeer.com, when I finally had it on tap, and I found a few common refrains from some reviewers. Most were in the line of "I wish it were more like an Imperial Stout", "I wish it had the flavors of an RIS", etcetera. Well, you're not getting them, Bucko. You're getting the flavors of a milk stout, a light, sessionable style, with all the alcohol it shouldn't have. 

Instances where I actually like and enjoy and rave on about "imperial" version of lighter styles are a very small set indeed. This one did not break through that mold. 

Maui Brewing Flyin'HI P. Hay. IPA

Maui Brewing Company.  Flyin' HI P. Hay. Okay, it took me awhile to get it, but now I get it. Or do I? The HI is for Hawaii, but P. Hay? I'll get it eventually. Maybe the label will help?is 

"This brew is dedicated to Glen Hay Falconer, my best friend and mentor, "…etc., etc., blah, blah, blah.

Brewed exclusively with Falconer's Flight hops, and…the finest malts, etc. Proceeds go to a scholarships for brewers in Mr. Falconer's name. 

Certified Made on Maui. Live to the fullest.  Brew to the fullest.

Well, let's get into it. My first Maui Brewing beer, one of three cans brought back from "the big island" by Dave Anderson. 

Right off, I love the smell of this. But, let's look at it, first.

Beautiful, l ... well, I lost complete track of this one. Complete goofing off on behalf of my computer, that I couldn't control. The cursor whizzes all over the screen, and randomly deleted what I tried to write. At least 3 reviews I tried to do met this fate. Some lasted longer than others, but frustration grew too great. 

So, I wasn't able to take decent notes on this excellent IPA. But put it into the win column for this brewery. And their regular IPA is still yet to be cracked open. 

Funny, I really thought I could remember my notes mentally and transcribe them later. Not 10 days later, that sure doesn't work. 

Now, to see if the other two I couldn't finish got far enough.

Maui Brewing Coconut Porter

Maui Brewing Company, Certified Made on Maui, CoCo Nut Porter. "…Like Hot Chicks on the Beach." What? Huh? Just gonna ignore that, not touch it, let it go. 

"Porter brewed with hand-toasted coconut."

Dark brown, nearly black, fully opaque, with a full, flush dotted head of creamy tanned foam, leaving lots of lace. Looks good. 

Aroma: there it is, freshly toasted coconut, straddled over a …I'm not sure. We get lots of coconut, though. Beautiful. 

Taste: nicely hopped, lightly roasty, full-bodied. Cocoa and coffee linger below, and show themselves briefly, outside flashes of more coconut. A very tasty porter, robust enough, with a coconut flavor that never quits, but mellows a bit. Like hot chicks on the beach. I have a feeling you can use this phrase to end a sentence, they way they end fortune cookies with "…in bed." Maybe they do, perhaps it's a quaint local Maui-ism. "Hand toasted coconut…like hot chicks on the beach!"

Anyway. Nothing too "wow" about this one, but it's nice and I thank DA for it. Just like hot chicks on the beach.

Harriet Brewing Taproom Soft Open, 3/17/12

Let's talk about beer. Let's talk about tap-rooms, and legislation, and also, let us talk about jazz.
Anyone paying attention to what's going on in beer in Minnesota knows that we now have tap-rooms at breweries legally allowed in Minnesota. This was on Jason Sowards' agenda for Harriet Brewing from the start, and he pursued it on the local level  before Omar Ansari kicked Surly Nation into action to make reality what has since been called "the Surly Bill." The first tap-room in the state actually belonged to Lift Bridge in Stillwater, and I have no idea whether they got any media attention when that happened, but the media did pay attention  last week when Fulton beat Harriet to it. I actually got a call from Jason that morning asking if I would join he and the Harriet crew at Fulton's inaugural night for their taproom. I could not do it, because I had a beer event to make happen (Imperial March 2012, 12 8% and above beers on tap, 4 Imperial Stouts,  barley-wines, and double IPAs), and a potentially big bar/club night after that. It (the Fulton taproom, not my event) made the local evening news, which added to their frenzy. Many people who came in that afternoon/night came after the Fulton thing, including my sister Lynn.
So, the next week, Harriet finally passed inspections and although not everything was perfect and finished according to their ideal notions of how their tap-room should look and feel, they had to get open and get a cash infusion. And Wednesday night, Jason asked me if I would DJ for the day, or at least part of it.

Jason is chatting my my good friend and Blue Nile regular Don Metzger, while Hank Williams, Jr. watches over the record collection in the background.

So, let's step back and revisit the Harriet brewing company of last year. At some point in the early day, I noticed Jason had a turntable and several boxes of albums in the brewery. I said I had a vinyl collection, but that most of my stuff was jazz. Great, he said, that's what I'm missing. I brought a few dozen LPs in, thinking of what I imagined Jason's musical sensibilities were, and the response was so enthusiastic that I couldn't believe it was true. This was not just from him, but from brewery employees, friends, volunteers, etcetera. I thought there was some insincere sarcasm or something, but that's my paranoid mind talking. They really all had jazz-sized holes in them waiting to be filled. At my last count, I had at least 100, maybe even 150 albums at the brewery, which I occasionally bring back home, but only after bringing more for them to hear. And it really has made an impact, at least with Jason. I brought him an Alice Coltrane record, and next thing you know, he found the album she made with Carlos Santana, before I did. I brought some Joe Farrel, an little-known 70's saxophonist, as well as George Benson's first record. What do you know, he gathered so many GB records I've never heard, as well as one with Joe Farrell. And Chico Hamilton! He found a CH record I've never heard. I'm catching up with the man. I've yet to find his love of Sonny Rollins, Thelonious Monk, and John Coltrane come anywhere near mine, but there's time, everyone needs time.

Here's Ted from Acadia Cafe talking with Todd from the Nomad. Todd had already had a long day, since his bar has a long-standing tradition of giving away free beer on St. Patrick's Day until someone pees, starting at noon.  This is something he loves to do, whether or not he makes money from it. That is a beer drinker's saint, that's what he is.

Well, like I said, he asked me to DJ and lo and behold they put it on their website and everything, my first time being identified as a DJ! After agreeing to it, I started looking at the LPs at home, putting them in order, making a playlist, think about it. Friday night I didn't leave work until after 3:30 AM (that would make it Saturday morning, of course.) and didn't fall asleep until after 6, maybe even 7 AM. Got up at 11 and made sure I'd be there on time. Jason called me at 12:45 to be sure, I threw the LPS on the back of my bike, and headed off, getting there a couple minutes after 1PM, ready to go. Looking later on, my wristband said I was number 5, but I don't recall any customers being in before me. Later on, Jason's wife said her wristband was number 350-something, although I've yet to hear if there was a larger head count. Harriet really wasn't ready to deal with something larger, so that's why it was a "soft open", and a Grand Opening, tied into the release of a Maibock, will be in another month, once they've gotten enough funds to finance a taproom that really approaches their ideal.

Here's someone who's name I should know, but I don't. He comes to the Nile sometimes, but I mainly know him from Town Hall. Great guy, I'll call him Jim. Or maybe it's Steve. He's sitting in my chair. I never told him it was my chair. While my records gently spin.

Here come the pictures. These may not be in chronological order. In fact, throw all logic out. And dig it.

An early view of a small line waiting for beer. There's Jake in the beard at left, and Ginny in here green wig, at right. Ginny likes to play dress-up.

I thought it would be funny to take a picture of these girls taking a picture of their beers. Ah, it's not that funny.

Here's Zach Lozier holding his trumpet high, with bass player whose name I've forgotten to the left, and Tanner Taylor on piano, completely obscured, with an admirer listening on. Zach plays my kind of music. If it isn't hard bop, it's songs associated with Louis Armstrong. For the latter, I head "Do You Know What it Means to Miss New Orleans" and "Stardust."

Here's good ol' Dan Stets with a Harriet East-Side IPA in his hand. Once I heard they'd tapped East-Side, I had to go in and get one. I don't normally see Dan in a green polo shirt, but you know what? There was a lot of green clothing going on, more than normal. What's up with that?

One of the many records I put the needle to, the classic "The Sidewinder" from Lee Morgan, Blue Note records, 1963. One of the best jazz albums of all time. I got nods of approval from trumpeter Zach Losier as he came in, at around 2:40 pm, and I figured I had time after that track for one more great one, and put on "Moment's Notice" from John Coltrane's Blue Note LP (his one and only on that label), the desert island disc, "Blue Train". If it inspired them at all, I'm honored to provide that inspiration. After the first set, I had to ask Zach about the songs, since so many were familiar, yet I couldn't name the titles. "Along Came Betty" (composer: Benny Golson) from Art Blakey's great "Moanin'" Album, also with Lee Morgan. Plus, "Hipsippy Blues", a Hank Mobley tune from an Art Blakey album in the early 60s', which also featured Lee, and which he personally identified as an album which included "Chicken and Dumplin's", by Bobby Timmons. My final cut during their break, was that tune, from the album of the same name, by Bobby Timmons. Zach gave me a big thumbs up, clearly appreciating the tune he'd mentioned earlier. Man, that really makes my day.

More from the Zach Lozier Trio, seen under the huge selection of Jesse Brodd paintings. Harriet never had time to paint the walls, but the colorful original artwork made up for that. 

Here's Justin, who doesn't have any interest in wearing green on March 17th, and has no problem wearing black in 70+ degree weather. I did the "wearin' o' the green" with a Harriet stocking cap with a green logo, and also wore a brown blazer with a Thelonious Monk pin over my Harriet t-shirt. That was my DJ attire. How could I wear such in this warm weather, I was asked? Well, look at Justin with his black shirt and mighty beard, plus a beer in each hand. Somehow we do it.

I like this view, behind the couches, because it shows the garage doors opened up for the patio on this incredibly unseasonally warm mid-March Saturday. It would have been hard to fit the 79 person capacity if that outdoor seating had been unavailable. Beautiful day all around. Again, notice all that green. What's going on?

Ted, Todd, and Jason clearly have something to talk about. I, eventually, when my beer consumption had exceeded my food consumption, or water intake, went with T and T and their wives to nearby Japanese restaraunt Midori's Floating World. Todd kept ordering bottles of sake and giant cans of Sapporo, although he's already met many of the sheets he'd be throwing to the wind. Me, I found that this round of sushi experimentation did not end well in my stomach. My apologies to their janitor. Or, whoever has to deal with that. Me and sushi = no good, sometimes.

Todd Smith loves Ireland. Many people around him love the color green. And people behind that fence would love to come in and have some Harriet beer!

What is Ginny saying here? "Don't drink the green beer! The green beer will give you bad trips, man!"

Jason has three beers in his hand. Three people are about to be very happy.

21st Amendment Monk's Blood

21st. Amendment Brewery, Monk's Blood. Belgian-style dark ale brewed with cinnamon, vanilla, oak chips, and dried figs. That's all I'll share from the label of this can. There's a long story in Gothic typeface that's difficult to read. It begins "Legend has it…" and I'll let your imagination run wild with the rest. Wait. I really should read it…. Couldn't. It's impossible. Can't male out 10% of the words. The rest are over-cooked and overly dramatic. Apparently, elder monks believe in capital punishment when dealing with young monks who tinker with old recipes. Sure, makes sense. Or maybe it was the cigars, "nice hands of Texas Hold 'Em" and "breaking  the vow of silence by spinning a remix of Gregorian chants" that drew the Abbot's ire. I wouldn't know.

Unfortunately, it tells me nothing about the beer.

8.3% ABV. 12 oz. can. brewed in Cold Springs, MN.

Dark, plum brown body, opaque, smallish cream-toned head, drifts down, but leaves lace.

Aroma: dark fruit aplenty. raisins, dates, figs. Plum. With plenty of spice, as well, and a hint of sweetness. Wait, more than a hint, with the vanilla and oak coming in loud and clear. 

Taste: First sip is rich and full, with a complex mix of flavors coming together in the mouth. A touch sour, lush with fruit and spice, dark, deep and delicious. Reminds me of favorite authentic Belgian dark ales, with without that rare quality from the Belgian yeast. Comes close enough. Very delicious. 

Full-bodied, long finish, deeply textured, with apparent alcohol. Rises higher with each additional drink. Rich, warming, and comfortable. But I couldn't more than two of this without causing trouble. In fact, I can feel the urge to raise a ruckus right about now. 

Founders Dry-Hopped Pale Ale

Founders Dry-hopped Pale Ale. Drinking this from a bottle, looking back at my initial notes from August, 2004:

whoops, another gusher! I think my Founders shipment got jostled a bit too much en route...ah, well, must excercise patience and understanding...
Appearance: peachy, golden color, slight haze, enormous, creamy white head, softly shifting down. Scads of floaties dart about, or are they errant hop pieces? 
Aroma: peach, apricot, apple and pine resin, pineapple, banana, vanilla bean, not too outspoken, more on the subtle side, but still, very appealing. 
Taste: high, brash hops jump on the palate at first, then slide back, having done their work. Citric bitterness continues sip after sip, with sweet fruit matching bitter hop bite. 
Light/mediumish in body, bitter, medium finish, non-stop flavor. 
Copuld stand to be a lot hoppier, then I'd be happier with it, but as it is, this is a very nice pale ale, one I would accept in any situation.
-----------------------

That was from a bottle received in trade, almost 5 years (or six) before it was available in Minnesota. This bottle had no floaties and was no gusher. Makes me wonder if may have suffered from transit, and perhaps it was a little old. Maybe. But, we can guess the answer.

Lucid Air

Here's a little background about me and Lucid Brewing Company. It was one of those names that floated around as up-and-comings, and about-to-happens in 2009/2010. In October of 2010, some of the principals involved visited the Nile to tell me they were the yet-to-be Lucid folks, and one of them was Jon Messier, who has been a customer at the Nile for several years, as he lives in the Seward neighborhood. I didn't really know him well, since he always visited when I was busy, and in the company of friends, so I just remembered them as those guys drinking the good stuff.

Lucid got the keys to their Minnetonka facility last fall, and released Air, a wheat-based (30%) light ale first, and later got Camo going. It's a bit odd, I think, to do a crowd-pleaser and a geek-pleaser as your first two, especially since they haven't done a regular IPA or pale ale. Double IPAs are notoriously maligned because they can cover the flaws of a lighter beer, with all those hops. And all that alcohol. Where's the middle ground stuff, the brown ales, the ambers, etcetera. As it is, Camo is hitting off with the geeks, even me, and I had a hard start at it. My first taste was at the Nomad, when they tapped them both, where I also got some Air. Not sure exactly what I thought. Nothing bad, though. Second taste was from the Lucid salesman, and I was less impressed. Especially since I had Abrasive on tap at the same time, and just couldn't see it stacking up against a better double IPA. I was straddling the line, sitting on the fence, and wishy-washing all the way, until I decided to just put them on, and see what people thought. So, we had a tapping event, it was well-attended, and opinions were all over the place. Some loved Camo, didn't care for Air. Some found Air perfect and lovely. Some tried Camo and moved on. Some really like boring beers, and others feel the need for booze and hops. Big surprise. 

The idea that Lucid is flirting with both ends of the beer spectrum seems to be very clear and true, especially if they hit that segment of the suburban bars (they are in Minnetonka, after all) filled with light beer lovers, who still want to support the local. 

So, I sat down with a pint of Air, which may be the worst name for a beer, and may be the best, for this beer. Here are those notes.

Lucid Air. Sounds like an appliance. Maybe it is?

I won't quote their verbiage, but I'll give you a link to it. Read that before, or after, but please give it a look.

Very clear, very yellow. Nice white head, starts about medium, trims down quickly.

Aroma: Very mellow, very minor, clean, but not exactly crisp. Nothing wrong, but nothing stands out, either. Inoffensive.

Taste: Smoothness personified. Beer-ified. Wheaty texture is evident, and does much for the mouthfeel. There's a spank of lime in there, and a tickle of pineapple, maybe. The mango mentioned in the house copy is a bit of a stretch of the imagination. There's just enough hops to keep the tongue interested. Just enough wheat character, just enough citrus, and it slides away effortlessly.

Very light in body. Drinkable and likable. Not lovable, though.

It gets the job done. It's beer and you can drink it. It's just the thing for today, which was 77 degree weather in mid-March. But I can't see having more than one, unless you're into that kind of thing. And I'm hoping they find plenty of people who are.

Lucid Camo Double Pale Ale

Lucid Camo. Imperial, or, Double Pale Ale, or India Pale Ale. Lucid Brewing, Minnetonka, MN.


Clear and coppery/amber colored, nice head of white, lace-leaving froth. Looks nice.


Aroma: Ah! Soft, floral, hoppy, fruity, citric…just right. Lovely, lovely stuff. Very, very nice. I could just keep drinking this in through the nose.

But enough drinking through the nose, let's try the mouth. 
Mmmm meets yum. Tasty, tasty stuff. Tropical fruit, citrus, some pine, but mostly mango and guava. Pineapple, and apricot. Tasty. Mmmm. I mean it, mmm.

Great mix of hop and malt. Some caramel, some fruit in the malt body, with a bright, beautiful, fierce, and bitter hop profile. This is easily consumed, although t. he alcohol is not that terribly hidden, no, it is there, it is around, and it will not be silenced.



Yum. I'll say it again. This is very nice. And it took me long enough. My first taste was undecided. My second, I was further on the fence, and felt perhaps that it was not as good as I'd liked. That was from a sample bottle. But I took a chance, put it on tap, and now I'm really digging this, and I feel that I will dig it again. 

Minneapolis Town Hall 342 Pale Ale

Minneapolis Town Hall 342. 

Clear, amber-hued, huge, lace-leaving head, creamy-white, beautiful. 

Big, wide-open, floral aromatics. Lightly spicy, softly fruity, purely delightful. 

Let's drink it up: Mmmm. Hey! Hoppy. Lovely bitterness, glides softly over the palate, and gently subsides. Citrus and tropical fruit is at the fore in the flavor. Hoppy bitterness hangs in there, clinging in, never quittin'. I like that.

A little astringency emerges, a slight aspirin harshness, but it remains minor, and doesn't trouble too much. A hop-head like me thrives on the stuff. Hey, there goes the pineapple and here comes the coconut! A little catch-up play from malt, although the bitter edge never goes away. Mmm, toasty, fruity, 

Ah. I lke this one. One of many hits from Town Hall.

Oh, here's what they officially say: "American Strong Pale ale brewed with an experimental hop variety simply known as "HBC 342". You may never see this hop, so we wanted you to try it. Although this beer offers a definite bitterness, the flavor and aroma profile of this hop is that of watermelon."

Watermelon? Watermelon? Really? What is it with everyone tasting watermelon when I can't? Do I lack the watermelon taste receptor? 

Wait, there it is! A little…I guess...

N'Ice Chouffe

Brasserie d'Achouffe's seasonal strong dark ale. I call it a Belgian barleywine. I missed out on getting a keg of this year, but I grabbed a bottle and shared it with a friend last night. Unfortunately, I grabbed glasses so quickly, I forgot that I actually have a N'Ice Chouffe glass proper, and used a Houblon glass instead. I hope you will forgive me.

In any case, here are my original notes from December, 2003:

2003 Edition 
This is my first stab at his brew in quite some time. The last "dead soldier" I have is of the 1999 version, but probably purchased in 2001, and the differences are that that one called itself a barleywine on the label, and this one advertises itself as an "ale brewed with thyme and coriander peel." The descriptions on the back label are slightly different, but this new one calls itself a "winter warmer", not a barleywine. 
Deep, dark reddish brown color, with a prodigious, creamy tan head, fluffy, bilious. overwhelming. 
Aroma: airy, nutty, spicy, but sadly subdued, at least not providing what I was expecting, though I continued to enjoy it before taking a taste. 
Fruity, spicy, a wonderful marriage of flavors, richly malted, brilliantly hopped, full of dark fruit (grapes, cherries, plums), various spices, utterly tasty, happily helped by the orange in the mix. Very sublime, very subtle. Full-bodied, full-flavored, with spice and fruit awarding your good taste at every sip. Nice finish, nice texture...just beautiful... 
Highly recommended.

Petrus Oud Bruin

Petrus Oud Bruin Ale, "The Key to Heaven." Here's what the back of the label tells us: "This style of beer is called the Flanders Red Ale, A sour-sweet balance is the signature of this type of brew. After fermentation the beer is aged in oak vessels between 20-30 months! The finished product (Petrus Aged Pale) is then masterfully blended with fresh sweet brew to produce Petrus Oud Bruin. The result is a complex beer with an oaky nose that hits the pallet with a touch of fruit-like sweetness.  Petrus Oud Bruin is an excellent thirst quencher on a hot summer day thanks to light sourness. It is also a wonderful marinade for fish or beef. The beer also goes well with meat and pasta dishes where the sourness of the beer offsets the sweetness of the sauce."

Interesting. Note how they mention "sweet-sour balance". These days, in the U.S., Flanders Reds are only referred to as "sours" and considered "extreme". Oud Bruins aren't as prized among the common contemporary beer geek because they are not as extreme and sour as Flanders Reds.

Here are notes from my first taste, back in September, 2005:

Darkness in the glass, a deep brown, thoroughly opaque, 1/2" of creamy foam above.

Aroma: Smooth, spicy, yet complex in the fruit, dark, nearly sour, twisted.

Taste: rich and well-rounded, the brown ale mixed with dark fruit, tasty...oaky...big carbonation, big zest, big fruit, very tasty...did I say that already?

Medium bodied, fullness in the mouth, the brown ale and the cherry, playing happily amidst the oak and the crisp, brisk snap.

Very nice. Enjoy, please.

New Glarus Two Women Classic Country Lager

New Glarus Two Women Lager, 12 Fl. Oz. 

Get ready for more pompous, overblown gasbaggery. Here comes the label copy: "Four thousand years before Christ, Sumerian women created the divine drink of beer. Viking women brewed in Norse society. European Ale Wives were so successful as cottage brewers they were taxed. Artisanal women lost their domination of the daily ritual of brewing during the Industrial Revolution. Today's brewing trade is controlled by men. The collaboration of two Craft companies both led by women, New Glarus Brewing and Weyermann Malting is unique. You hold the result "Two Women" a Classic Country Lager brewed with Weyermann's floor malted Bohemian malt and Hallertau Mittelfrueh hops. A tempting and graceful classic lager found…Only in Wisconsin!"

This history of the role of women in brewing,leaves out one that still continues, and that is the brewer of sorghum-based homebrew in Africa. Let South African songbird Yvonne Chaka Chaka tell you all about it. (I hear this song about twice a night whenever we host African DJ events at the Blue Nile, which happens at least twice a month.)

Alright, enough, let's open and get to it. 

Clear, amber coloring. Large, lush off-white head. 

Classic Lager nose, cereal grains, low bitterness, small sweetness. All-malty goodness.

Taste: Clean, dry, and lightly malty. A hint of sweetness, gone in a wink, wrapped up with subtle hops. Slightly fruity, again, appearing for a minute, then whisked away. Quaffable, indeed. Simple, straightforward, with just enough flavor, to make it worth drinking.

I won't be returning to it, though. Not for me. I won't turn down a good "Classic Lager", but I won't go looking for any, either. My feelings on lagers have already been made plain.

Gouden Carolus Cuvee Van de Kaiser Rood (Red)

Ladies and gentleman, an apology. I am deeply sorry for the crappiness of this photo. It is a dark bottle, but I can't explain why it's so terrible blurred and undefined. Very sad. Forgive me, please. Oh, well, the bottle is drunk, and I can't re-do or re-stage it. Nonetheless, here come the notes:

Cuvee van de Kaiser Rood (Red). Jaargang 2011. 10% ALC. Vol. "Special Blond of the Emperor."…I will skip the further descriptions on the label, so as not to influence my thoughts. 

30/05/11 reads the bottleneck. 

I've had the Blue (Blau) before, and tapped it at the Nile. Incredible stuff. More coveted than this one, but that's because the beer geek's taste typically run to the darker flavors. 

Let's untwist the cage, pop the cork, and get down to it.

Clouded, opaque orange-ish coloration, no head at all. Starts, tries, and falters. 

Aroma: Slight. Citrus and straw, spice, but quiet, meek, mild. Not showing much of anything. (I've been battling a cold, though, so maybe that interfered with my senses?)

Taste: Big hops up front, bristling bitterness, then Belgian yeast character, and splashes of citrus and spice. Deep and complex, a rising richness, reminiscent of a good triple, but murkier, messier, much more wild and unrefined. Flavors are all over, and the alcohol rises high. Brisk, effervescent, and turning slightly sour. Interesting, complex flavors. A bit quirky. Not normal. The Emperor has a taste for crazy blondes. A lot of nasty yeast action going on. Buzzing carbonation. Bright lemon-y flavors persist, delicate spice plays on the palate. 

It's taken me many years to get to this one, compared to how long I've loved this brewery. Typically, I'm not nuts about blondes, but I do like and appreciate them. They're damned tasty, easy to pass down the gullet, and utterly enjoyable. Not as complex and rich as darker Belgian brews, but this one takes a twist. It's vast in it's own way, and terribly tasty. It's easy to fall into the trap of the dark ales, and sink into the viscous chocolate malt, the cocoa, the coffee, the dark fruit, etc. Just let that thickness fall all over, and succumb. With a crazy blonde, you don't know what you're in for. You didn't expect this, you just thought it would be light and pretty. you thought it would be a hayride, a romp, a jump in the sack, but, no. It's starting to pound on your brain, and the complex flavors are a little confusing. 

Candied orange, coated with champagne. Coriander and cardamom, still ring true in here, pithy lemon, zesty and delicious. Mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm.

Let's look at that label copy now: " Cuvee van de Kaiser Rood is brewed once a year on the 24th of February on the birthday of Charles the Fifth. It is brewed in a limited quantity by the Anker Brewery of Mechelen, one of the last remaining classic producers in Belgium. This blonde ale of top fermentation illustrates the subtle balance between the different natural ingredients. Bottle fermented."

New Belgium Lips of Faith Prickly Passion Saison

New Belgium Lips of Faith Prickly Passion Saison. I don't have a bottle, drinking off tap, so I won't be reading the silly label copy for you. Instead, just click the link, and see how awful it is for yourself. (I had a bottle, but shared it with a friend, knowing I had a keg to tap soon.)

(Hold the phone! A little Googling leads me to realize that stuff on the website is not the label copy, which I suddenly remember more clearly now. A found it reprinted on another blog/site/thing, and here it is: Peter [Bouckaert, Brewmaster] picked a prickly pear and paired it with a passion fruit. 'Perfect! Pitch it in!' he proclaimed. Now we have this pleasing prickly passion saison brewed with fruit juices and french saison yeast to our brewmaster's picking.

We've got a saison, flavored with prickly pear juice and passion fruit. It's clear and amber-colored (ostentatious-ly, nonetheless), with creamy off-white foam that starts big and slims down, but sticks around. Tiny dots, with big pools.

Aromatics: Sweetness and spice. Belgian yeast. Very fruity. Peach and apricot, passion fruit, melon, mango, and mellow pear. With funk and spice mingling in.

Taste: Starts with mild bitterness, leads into fruit, gets right into Belgian yeast character, while remaining a smooth ride. Soft, supple, and almost creamy. Very clean, other than the tasty Belgian yeast component. Well-integrated mix of fruit, nothing too "off" in this, quite delicious. Yup. Deee-licious.

Lightish body, long, lean, fruity finish. Lingering bitterness happily matched the malt and yeast character. I haven't called this "yummy" yet, but I'm close to doing so.

I like this one a lot, just enough sweet fruit flavor to match the dry-ness of a classic farmhouse ale. I will miss it when it is gone. The 8.5% ABV is starting to dent my braincase a bit.

Martens Pilsner

Martens Pilsner. Martens Beer Anno 1758, Traditionally brewed Premium Pilsner.

Clear, golden hued, head starts huge, shuffles down, leaves a little lace. 

Aroma: cereal and straw. Highly hopped with traces of corn. Largely inoffensive.

Taste: Tasty hop profile up front, lean bodied, soft and supple. Drinks easy, with an insistent hoppy edge. A little lemon-y now, a touch of fruit. But, overall, dry, with a slight bitterness. 

Not bad at all. Even good. I don't often drink lagers and pilsners, but I wouldn't turn one of these down.

Founders Kentucky Breakfast Stout

We have in our lives the hard facts that we know and believe in. What are some of mine? What are some of the things that I know that I love? I'll list three off the top of my head. I love hearing the tenor saxophone sound of Hank Mobley when I least suspect it. I love the brush strokes in a Walt Kelly "Pogo" comic strip. And I love a truly deep and satisfying stout, no matter what make, brand, creed, or category.

Some things I truly know I don't like? A really mushy, icy day like today. (I want spring so badly right now, I honestly don't care how lame our winter was.) Bad art being passed off as good. Half an 'r' and three orange stripes, with newspaper clippings added, that's art, right? It must be, if someone paid for it, and hung it on a wall. And, to complete the rule of listing three things, when a perfectly good, even utterly excellent beer is totally super-ceded by a flashier, hotter hipper one. Such as, "yeah, yeah, Furious is good, I can get that anywhere/drink that any day, but it's not as good as Abrasive." Or, "oh, Breakfast Stout...ho, hum...if only it were KBS. Or, ...CBS?!?!"

It's not enough to have a magnificent coffee chocolate oatmeal stout, but Founders has to come out with these variations that get all the geeks twisted up in their knickers. And they are good. But come on, the other beers are still great. And these other varieties are so difficult to find, so quick to fly off the shelves, that I've never seen a bottle of KBS for sale anywhere, or a precious CBS, naturally. I just don't have time to visit these stores on the day of release. They are so hard to find that I thought that I'd never reviewed a bottle of KBS, but lo, and behold, I got one in a trade five and 1/2  years ago, and wrote a review in July of 2006. I have a bottle today, because Meagan O'Brien is moving to Wisconsin and was kind enough to let me take a bottle off her hands. Much thanks and appreciation to her, and best of luck representing Tallgrass Brewing in her native Wisconsin, as I drink down this delicious Kentucky Breakfast Stout, and share my notes from my first tasting. And they start...now.

Deepest ebon hue, an impentrable blackness, above which nestles a modest ring of earthy brown, espresso tinges. 

Aroma is chocolate first, followed by coffee, then molasses, brown sugar, and licorice. 

Taste: Full and thick as it boards the mouth, slipping rich, deliciousness everywhere...this is stoutness of the highest order. Bourbon flavor is here, but feels less sweet than the same stuff straight from the bottle, an impressive blend of flavors. Further in, I can taste the charcoal, even. 

So huge, and rich, and very rewarding. Each sip has enough flavor to taste a good 20 minutes, if you're not too thirsty...definitely a sippin' stout! If you don't take your time, you're spoiling a wonderful experience. 

I must say, this is a hyperbolic label, but it's all truth in advertising. Gotta wonder how they slip it past the beurocracy, with it's jesting claims of giving relief from all manner of ailments. It is most assuredly "good for everything a stout ought to be good for." 

Very nice bedtime brew. Wish I had a case or three to last me a spell. 
Way to go, Founders, another impressive ale! 

(currently the label states: "DOES NOT GIVE RELIEF FROM: rheumatism, neuralgia, sciatica, lame back, lumbago, contracted muscles, toothache, sprains, swelling, and all manners of distress." Did I read it wrong, or did they change the label?)

Samuel Adams Tasman Red IPA

Samuel Adams' Tasman Red Red IPA. 6.75 % ABV, all Tasmanian Galaxy and Topaz hops. And Gabby Hayes in a derby on the label.

Let's get into it.

Clear, deep burgundy coloring, creamy, tanned head, starts big,lasts long but lays low. 

Tropical fruit aromatics, melon, pineapple, some berry, much malt sweetness. Low bitterness. Nice enough.

Tasting it: Mmm, nice and hoppy. Fruit flavor and malt sweetness return, with a lingering, while low, bitterness. Medium body, mellow mouthfeel. Caramel-y malt flavorful, a little roasty, with a toasted edge. 

An interesting mix of malts in this: 2-row Harrington, Metcalfe and and Copeland Pale malts, Special B, Caramel 60, raised dehusked malt. 

Much maltier than most IPAs. And less hoppy than most, too. I'd say this doesn't really belong to any style, properly, but it's not as if I care about that. However, it doesn't really deliver what I'm looking for, either.

Nothing too wrong with it, just nothing too right, either. 

But, keep at it, Boston Beer Company, don't let me deter you.