Blind Tasting Reveal Time!

For the last five Fridays I've been featuring unnamed blind taste tested session beers, and now it's time to reveal which one was which. Did I guess any correct? And more importantly, which one did I and the rest of the group think was the best?

Beer #1 - We all enjoyed this one, it had a good grapefruit note to it and a solid amount of bitterness. I scored it a 71, compared to the group score of 67.25, and I took a guess, based on the grapefruity profile and high IBU level that this was the Stone Go-To IPA... it turns out that beer #1 was... the Founders All Day IPA! I'm 0/1 so far, but I've been drinking a lot of All Day IPA this football season, so I'm glad to know I scored it well even drinking blind.

Beer #2 - Another good one, but we all scored this one a little lower than Beer #1. I had it at a 67, compared to the group score of 64.5. My guess for this one was the Terrapin RecreationAle, being the only "pale ale" in the group of IPAs... and I was right! That makes 1/2 so far, but three more to go.

Beer #3 - This was the first of two that we didn't enjoy much, with a pungent and funky flavor that didn't hold up to the hops in the first two brews.  I scored it a 50, and it had a group average of 53.75.  I guessed at the Southern Tier Farmer's Tan, mostly because it was one that I didn't know much about and hadn't tried before. Beer #3 actually was... the Sierra Nevada Nooner. This was a bit of a surprise, I really expected better from the good people at Sierra Nevada.

Beer #4 - This is the one we all agreed was the best of the 5, with powerful grapefruit hop bitterness throughout. I scored it a 77, and it had a group average of 71.25. My guess was that this was the Founders All Day IPA, but we now know that that beer was #1, so I'm down to 1/4, and Beer #4, the winner of the day, was actually the Stone Go-To IPA. So, congrats to Stone Brewing! 

Beer #5 - And that leaves Beer #5, one that I thought was a little on the sweet side and a little boring.  It scored a 55 on my sheet, and a 57.5 with the group.  Process of elimination leads to the Southern Tier Farmer's Tan, but I had incorrectly guessed that this was the Sierra Nevada, leaving me 1/5 on the day.  

Most important though, our blind taste test ranks:

1. Stone Go-To IPA (71.25)

2. Founders All Day IPA (67.25)

3. Terrapin RecreationAle (64.5) 

4. Southern Tier Farmer's Tan (57.5)

5. Sierra Nevada Nooner (53.75) 

I'm not surprised that we picked Stone #1, but I am a little surprised at Sierra Nevada bringing up the rear. That's why we tasted them blind though, to eliminate that prejudice and judge solely on the beer. 

New Releases: Stone RuinTen IPA and Abita Select Strawator

First off, releasing TODAY is Stone Brewing's RuinTen IPA, a re-release of last year's hugely successful Ruination Tenth Anniversary IPA.  I mentioned it back in April, but it appears the time is now.  Well, probably not exactly now, but LA is on the release list so we should see ours before too long.  They describe the beer as "A stage dive into a mosh pit of hops." Yes please!  

 

Also, look for Abita's new select series, the Strawator starting next week.  Or this weekend at WYES! Next week in town it will be at a handful of places... Chimes East at 4:30 on Wednesday (the 26th) then Pelican House at 6:00 the same day.  Then on Friday the 28th The Bulldog will have it from 6-7 and Red Zeppelin from 7-8.  Plenty of chances to try this new one, which seems like a combination of Strawberry Harvest and Andygator.  They describe it as: 

"Strawator is a take on our most popular Harvest Series beer, Strawberry Harvest Lager. It is a strong golden lager made with malted barley and wheat. Despite being strong, it is still light in color. It is hopped with German Perle hops to give the beer a delicate hop flavor. After filtration, generous amounts of fresh Louisiana strawberry juice is added, giving the beer a pleasant sweet taste and aroma, as well as a nice golden color and slight cloudiness."

It comes in at 8% abv, the same as Andygator.  Worth trying?  Sure.  The last Select series brew, the Mayhawk, was one of Abita's best in recent memory so hopefully this one follows that trend.

Stone Is Bringing Back Ruination Tenth Anniversary!

It's a happy day for all the double IPA lovers out there, Stone Brewing is bringing back their fantastic 10.8% Ruination Tenth Anniversary IPA for another year!  This one came out initially in Summer 2012 (here's my review from that batch!) and now it looks like it will be back for Summer 2013, under a slightly difference name.  I've seen two different label variations dubbing the new release as either the "RuinTen IPA" or simply the "Ruination Anniversary IPA."  Either way, I'm a fan.  Thanks to Dan for bringing the BeerStreetJournal article to my attention, and here's the full press release:

RUINING PALATES SINCE 2002 n June 2012, we celebrated the 10th birthday of our notoriously mega-hopped double IPA, Stone Ruination IPA, with the release of a very special version that was even bigger and, incredibly, even hoppier than the original. If Stone Ruination IPA is “A Liquid Poem to the Glory of the Hop,” then Stone Ruination Tenth Anniversary IPA was an amped-up heavy metal version of that ode delivered with the force of a sledgehammer. Luckily for us, our fans love loud and aggressive brews, specifically when copious amounts of humulus lupulus are involved. The original release of this beer was so instantly beloved by those who dared try it [particularly us] that there was no way we could relegate it to one-hit wonder status. You are holding in your hands a veritable hop monster. We dropped the word “Tenth” but the decidedly indelicate recipe is the same as the one first unleashed in 2012. This belligerently delicious ale has the substantial malt backbone needed to stand up to the whopping five pounds of hops packed into each barrel. If all the hyperbole hasn’t frightened you away by now, we know you’ll love this audacious gem of hoppy splendor just as much as we do.

 

The Great American Beer Boom: Jay's Beer Journey

My brother (Jay Ducote of Bite And Booze) spent a lot of time in 2012 going to different breweries and events and talking about several issues in the craft beer world, especially the role of the wholesaler, or distributor.  During this journey he got the chance to interview beer industry giants like Greg Koch of Stone Brewing and Andrew Godley of Parish Brewing with the help of Tommy Talley from TommysTV.  Yeah, Jay's a lucky bastard. I'm not TOO jealous though, because I'm headed to NYC tomorrow morning and guess what, it's the final weekend of New York City Beer Week!  Enough about me... here's Jay's video, check it out:








If you ask me, one of the most poignant comments was from Andrew, when he said that he wanted to focus on producing beer, and he didn't want to focus on delivering the beer. It really makes you think about what role the distributors do play in the industry. 

Coming Soon: Stone 4-Packs!

Well alright Stone Brewing (facebook - twitter) fans, 4-packs of three of their "bigger" beers are on the way, including the Sublimely Self-Righteous Ale, the Ruination DIPA, and the Oaked Arrogant Bastard.  Oaked Arrogant Bastard and Ruination have been available before in 6-packs, but the Sublimely Self-Righteous was only available in bombers before.  Now it's hard to really be excited about getting 4-packs instead of 6-packs for the first two, since I know damn well that they are really good beers and don't mind getting them six at a time.  

Sublimely Self-Righteous though, that's one I'm excited to see in 4-packs!  I think the different packaging has a number of pros and cons, but buying in 4 or 6 packs is almost always cheaper per ounce than buying bombers and that's just fine for a beer that I know I really like.  For beers that I don't know much about though, I don't usually want to take the plunge and go straight to the packs.  If it's a terrible beer, then I have 3 or 5 bottles that I don't want to drink and have to pawn off on friends.  And I don't like giving friends bad beer, even the ones that claim to not care.  

So... you can bet your hop loving ass I'll be adding some Sublimely Self-Righteous 4-packs to the beer fridge regular rotation when they get here.  It's one of the best black IPAs around and there's nothing wrong with a good black IPA.

 

Review: Stone Ruination Tenth Anniversary IPA

It's been a while since I threw out a straight up simple beer review, so when I recently finally got to try the Ruination Tenth Anniversary IPA from Stone Brewing (facebook - twitter) I thought it would be the perfect beer to mention here!  Unlike my last two of my last three beer reviews, the Dogfish Head 120 Minute and the Bell's Hopslam, this Stone offering IS available in Louisiana!  Like those two, though, the Stone Ruination Tenth Anniversary IPA is a palate destroying hop bomb of a beer. 

It poured a copper color... no haze to it and a finger or so of off-white head.  A very nice looking beer, and I went with the Spiegelau tulip for this one.  In all reality I find that the tulip works with just about any beer style.  It's nice to have a pilsner or hefeweizen glass on the shelf for those styles but the majority of the time a tulip will do the trick. 

The aroma on this one is the first thing that really grabs your attention, and it's outstanding.  A grapefruit and pine hop assault on the nose and a hint at things to come, the description of the beer reads that they amount of hops used in this beer versus the regular Ruination went from 2.5 pounds to 5 pounds per barrel.  And two of those pounds of hops are in the dry-hop variety which is just killer on the nose, and leaves me excited about that first sip. 

And that first sip does not disappoint, as the pine hops come out even more on top of a substantial caramel malt base.  Even though the hops used were increased by 100% the malt used in this one only increased the alcohol content from 7.7% (regular Ruination) to 10.8% in this anniversary batch.  The result is a definite hop-forward beer but it doesn't lose the malt required to finish out a beer this hoppy.  They could have just doubled the amount of hops and left the grain bill alone, but the result would have probably been overly bitter and tough to swallow.  Instead, Stone put together one hell of a nice beer, and I'll be looking forward to trying another bottle soon.

As I said before, this one is available in Baton Rouge, but it's a one-time release and it will go fast, so if you see it on the shelves and you like hoppy beers... do yourself a favor and get one.  Or two. These aren't meant to be aged but I bet you'll want another.

Review: NOLA / Stone Pour Me Somethin' Mistah!

Alright, finally the big day had arrived... not that I was turning a whopping 32, but the release of the NOLA Brewing / Stone Brewing collaboration beer, Pour Me Somethin' Mistah.  Appropriate for any big New Orleans beer release, the party was taking place at Avenue Pub, my New Orleans beer bar of choice.  The release was announced back in mid January, so it had a month of hype building up to it.  After a quick early lunch at Cochon Butcher (delicious) it was over to the pub to wait for 1 PM to hit and the beers to start pouring. 

While waiting, the balcony bar had a few tasty warm-up brews, so it was the right time to check out the Saint Arnold Bitter Belgian, a very nice Belgian take on their Elissa IPA.  Not a bad beer and a great way to get the day started.  I followed that up with the NOLA 7th Street Wheat with grains of paradise and orange peel on cask and then it was time for the showpiece beer, the Pour Me Somethin Mistah.  

The first hint at the beer came from The Beer Buddha, who brought one out and immediately made a face like it wasn't rocking his world.  Uh oh... not a good start.  Dan brought one out for me, and my first taste was the same reaction.  It was still really cold, and tasted like an over-hopped porter, out of balance and not as rich and complex as I was hoping.  Damn.  Fortunately, I still had some cask 7th Street Wheat so I finished that while letting the Pour Me Somethin Mistah warm up a bit.  

Pour Me Somethin' Mistah, and 7th Street Wheat on cask.

Letting the beer warm was a great decision, as it really opened up and turned into quite the drinkable porter closer to room temperature.  The orange peel and molasses started come out in the flavor and the hops took more of a back seat to those flavors.  What started off disappointing finished a very nice brew.  For those in Baton Rouge, The Cove will have this one on tap in their front bar on Wednesday... just be sure to request a room temperature glass and take the time to let it warm up to unleash the full range of flavors.

My rating: B for this one.

Coming in February - Stone / NOLA Collaboration Beer!

I'm sure that any of you who read any beer forums or have Facebook and follow the local breweries/bars already know this, but get ready for some Stone Brewing / NOLA Brewing collaboration beer!  It's going to be an Imperial Porter that is brewed with satsuma orange peels and Steen's molasses.  The name will appropriately be "Pour Me Something Mistah" which I think is great despite the length.  

Look for a release party on Feb. 11th (if all goes to plan, and that's my birthday, so thanks Stone and NOLA for that awesome present!) at Avenue Pub, then hopefully the beer will make its way to local tap lines.  It will only be available on draft it seems, so that limits the options for drinking some, but I'm going to make damn sure to try it.

Stone has been one of the best craft beers in our market since they entered a couple of years ago so it's extremely exciting to see them teaming up with one of the best local breweries.  This is nothing but a good thing for Louisiana craft beer.  Cheers!

Stone Brewing 2012 Special Release Dates!

Hey everyone, I was just browsing BeerNews.org, because I'm a masochistic SOB and I enjoy reading about all the beers we can't get in Baton Rouge.  Seriously, the first page of news includes beers from Goose Island, Russian River, Summit, Victory, and Lost Abbey.  We can't get any of those in Louisiana and only Victory (and maybe Summit?) over in Texas.  There was one item of interest to those of us down here, the Stone Brewing 2012 Special Release Dates!  I don't know that all of them will find their ways to our shelves, but in 2011 the Anniversary Ale and Vertical Epic did for sure. Here you go:

Stone Old Guardian Barleywine – Feb 13th
Stone Imperial Russian Stout – April 16th
Stone 16th Anniversary Ale – August 13th
Double Bastard Ale – October 29th
Stone Vertical Epic – 12.10.12

 

So, be on the lookout for any of those on the shelves around those dates, and drink up!

 

Review: Stone Vertical Epic 11/11/11

I'm rushing this review out because it's a beer from Stone Brewing (@stonebrewingco) still on the shelves at a few local places like Calandro's (@calandrosmkt for you twitter people, where I bought a bottle) and probably a few other usual suspects when it comes to more limited beer releases. 

This is the tenth release of the Stone Vertical Epic series, starting on 02/02/02 and culminating next year on 12/12/12.  I guess they thought of the idea a year too late to start in 01/01/01, but oh well, still plenty of beer to enjoy!  The main point of "Vertical Epic" is the idea of a vertical tasting.  In beer terms, and probably wine as well, a vertical tasting is going through and tasting many successive years of the same beer release.  This of course requires the patience and storage to age beers for years and the money up front to buy beers that you might not drink for, in this case, a decade.  Recently I've been working on increasing my beer cellar so of course another one of these will be added for aging, and to be drank when the 12/12/12 Vertical Epic from Stone is released!

Now on to the beer itself... of course I had to buy one for immediate consumption!  This one is a "chile beer" which just means that it has some chile peppers in there but doesn't really describe the base of the brew.  For this one I poured into an imperial pint, but I think a snifter would be even better for next time, or for anyone who tries one after reading this. 

It's a ruby red color, clear with a couple of fingers of off white head. There isn't much lacing but some good looking pooling on the surface of the beer.  I let it warm a few degrees before drinking because the fridge is at 37 and that's just too cold for a good beer like this.  Once the beer fridge / kegerator is up and running I'm going to be keeping it right around 45 degrees, which is much better for a tasty beer.

The smell is rather malty with some strong cinnamon notes. There's a little Belgian floral hop note in there as well. Pretty appetizing. The taste is a lot more chile in there with a flavor that closely resembles a Belgian dubbel. I'm a big fan of the interaction. It's very easy to drink with a minimal alcohol note despite a strong 9.4% abv and the chile flavors really enhance the rest of the taste.

Another winner from Stone, grab one of these if you can, the price was very reasonable (I think $7 or $8 if I remember right.) I felt higher about it than the BeerAdvocate community, but at a decent price it's absolutely something worth trying.  If you really aren't sure about a chile beer, buy one to try and if you like it find another one to age.

My Rating: A

BeerAdvocate: B

Build Your Own 6-Packs At Albertsons

I was in the College Drive Albertsons yesterday buying some groceries when I noticed that they had re-done their main store beer section... okay, I'll check it out.  The first thing I noticed was a respectable selection of bombers and 6-packs. 

The problem is, they only carry 3 or 4 beers from each brewery.  If they even have that many... there's a Brooklyn Local 1, but no other bombers from them.  And Bear Republic Hop Rod Rye, but no Racer 5?  For shame!  They have 4 or 5 different Stone beers but there are so many more good ones they are missing.  They also had a handful of Belgian ales down on the end, most noticeably the Chimay line.  Like I said, it's a respectable lineup... if I was stopping here to grab some food to cook for dinner and wanted a few beers to quench my thirst while I cooked, I'd easily be able to find something good.  Just not necessarily something new and exciting.

Then I noticed the "Build Your Own Mix & Match 6-Pack Display" and had to check it out.  The custom 6-pack is a pretty standard concept but I haven't seen it too often around Baton Rouge.  Most places are either 6-packs only, or price everything by the single like Calandro's does.  Anyway, it's a cool idea and I'm really glad Albertsons is giving it a try... here's the lineup as best as I could photograph in the store at least.

Like the rest of the selection, it's respectable but nothing special.  The highlight (for me at least) is probably the Stone Levitation Ale up on the top shelf... the Sierra Nevada, Sam Adams, and Boulder Beer offerings aren't bad either.  This idea would really be cool for someone trying to sample some of the Louisiana brews, with Bayou Teche, Heinerbrau / Covington, and Abita all represented.

Hey, it's not the Baton Rouge beer revolution quite yet, but it's still a step in the right direction.

The 50 Best Beers In America!

Just thought I'd share a link with everyone... the American Homebrewer's Association asked their readers (sure to be big time beer lovers, right?) to rank their 20 best beers, and put together all the results to declare their 50 best beers in America!  The full article and list is here... and the winner for the third time in a row was Pliny The Elder by Russian River.  I tried it at a beer tasting at The Avenue Pub a while back and it is most certainly a tasty brew.

Amazingly I've tried 39 out of these 52 (yeah, there were ties at the end) beers.  Honestly I'm pretty proud of that considering our limited selection in Louisiana.  As far as I can tell, only 14 of these 52 beers are distributed to Louisiana, and that is mostly the Stone and Sierra Nevada selections that really scored high. 

The same poll was also used to determine the 25 best breweries in America, with Dogfish Head coming out on top.  Again Sierra Nevada and Stone placed high (both in the top 5) and they are the main ones that we can get here in Louisiana.  

Anyway... what do you think about the list?  How many of the top 50... er... 52 have you tried?  And more importantly, do you think you could hook me up with any of the ones I'm missing out on?

Cheers everyone!

*Image credit: American Homebrewers Association

Beer Travels: The Flying Saucer - Houston, TX

As I'm sure is obvious for anyone who knows me, or follows my blog, my twitter (@BRBeerScene) or is friends with me on facebook, I've been spending a lot more time in Houston lately.  An added bonus to this, of course, is that I've had the chance to check out a few cool places to get some beers in Houston and try a lot of their local beers that are only on draft.  A couple of weeks ago I was in town, and it happened to coincide with the Final Four being played in Houston... Mandi and I decided to go check out The Flying Saucer downtown to drink some beers, grab a little food, and watch the games!

We had been told parking downtown was a nightmare, but we ended up getting a spot on the street just a few blocks away from the bar.  Score!  The "parking" inside the bar was a different story, though.  It was packed!  And we thought we were getting there early at around 4:15 in the afternoon... lesson learned.  The place has plenty of seating inside, outside, and upstairs, all just seat yourself.  There wasn't an empty spot to be found so we ordered up a couple of beers, and found a good spot to stand, watch the pre-game, and watch for empty seats.  I started out with a Phoenixxx ESB from Real Ale Brewing in the Texas hill country, and Mandi went with a Boulevard Wheat to lighten it up a bit.

Phoenixxx ESB and Boulevard Wheat

Before we had to wait TOO long a couple of seats opened up at the bar... and from there the drinking was on.  They really had an impressive selection of local brews, and to me that's the true sign of a good beer bar. Anyone can get all sorts of popular imports on tap, or the bigger micro-brews from around the states, but the Flying Saucer in Houston had an impressive lineup of local breweries. I saw Saint Arnold, 512, Ranger Creek, Real Ale, Jester King, Live Oak, and Southern Star for sure which are all Texas breweries.  And only a few Saint Arnold and Southern Star releases are available in Baton Rouge, so that's where we started.

Ranger Creek's Mesquite Smoked Porter and Oatmeal Pale Ale

 The next six selections were all Texas beers... the 512 Black IPA, Ranger Creek La Bestia Aimable Belgian Ale, Ranger Creek Mesquite Smoked Porter, Ranger Creek Oatmeal Pale Ale, Southern Star Buried Hatchet Stout, and the Southern Star Bombshell Blonde Ale.  And I'm not going to lie, every one of these hit the mark for the styles.  Black IPAs are all the rage right now, Abita did one as a select, I tried one from the Freetail brewery in San Antonio not long ago, and even tried one from Parish Brewing at the Top Of The Hops beer festival in Lafayette.  (Blog post to come...)  The 512 (@512brewing) was up there with any of them, roasted malts and strong hops.  Ranger Creek is another one that impressed... the mesquite smoked porter was like drinking BBQ, and the other two offerings were tasty as well.  Southern Star is available in some fashion in Baton Rouge, and I can see them doing very well. 

Southern Star Buried Hatchet Stout

After that we went for two non-local brews that I'd never seen before.  The Great Divide Belgica IPA and the Stone Highway 78 Scotch Ale.  The Belgica is a Belgian-style IPA from Great Divide, currently one of my favorite breweries.  The Highway 78 Scotch Ale is a collaboration brew between Stone (@stonebrewingco), Green Flash (@greenflashbeer), and Pizza Port... all of course located on Highway 78 in California.  At 8.8% abv it was pretty strong for a Scotch Ale, but taste nonetheless. 

Great Divide Belgica and Stone Highway 78 Scotch Ale

In addition to all that beer, we tried were some cheese fries while watching the Final Four, and they were plenty tasty enough.  I'm definitely looking forward to another trip to The Flying Saucer in the future.  There were a few local breweries I didn't even get to, like Jester King, Saint Arnold, and Live Oak, and it seemed like they did a really good job of rotating new beers in as much as possible.  Kudos to them for keeping a large local tap list, I'm a fan!

Review: Stone Cali-Belgique

Last week during my visit to Parish Brewery I broke out a Stone Cali-Belgique IPA that I had picked up in Gainesville on a the previous trip.  I know, I've been all over the place lately, but hey, someone has to do it.  Good beer doesn't grow on trees.  Besides, Andrew treats us to tasty brews, only fair to bring some to share with him.

So... the Stone Cali-Belgique IPA.  What we have here, is a Californian take on a Belgian version of an American West-coast style.  Yeah, you heard me right.  IPAs are originally an English style of beer, but American breweries really took hold and ran with them.  Then the Belgian breweries started experimenting with the hoppy style of beers combined with their Belgian yeast strains.  Now this one, they are using traditional American techniques (and hops I'm pretty sure) but with a Belgian yeast strain.  Interesting to say the least, and interesting is the best way to describe this beer.  (Anyone should feel free to correct my history lesson if I'm off... I'm more of a beer drinker than beer historian!)

It's a deep golden color, with a small white head. Not much retention or lacing on this pour.  The aroma is unique... it's hoppy and bold with a Belgian spice to it. Banana, coriander... very nice, and what I expected.  The taste is very lemony... the hops used give off a very citric flavor to me, and it dominates the mouthfeel. You can still taste some of the sweet spices when you swish the beer around on the front of the tongue, but the slightly sour notes come through more strong.

I really like the way the flavors blend in the mouth, combining citrus, sweet malts, spices to form a rather different beer. It's not like any other beer I've tried recently, and I enjoyed it a lot.  If I see this one around in Louisiana, and it's possible because Stone does distribute here, I'll probably grab a few more and cellar them to see how this one ages.  I know it's not really traditional to age hoppy beers, but I'm curious.

 

My Rating: A-

BeerAdvocate: A-

On another, much more sad note, my favorite keychain bottle opener broke a few days ago.  :-(  I picked up this Guinness opener on a trip to Ireland in 2006 and it's been very good to me since then, lasting through almost 5 years worth of bottle tops.  So, if anyone is looking for a good birthday present for me, I could use a new keychain opener!  Meanwhile, this one will find its way to the kitchen, since it still works as an opener, just lost the keychain loop!

Cheers, and if you are off today due to the 'wintry weather' like I am, enjoy!

Beer #20: Stone Pale Ale at Monjunis

Last week, after hitting up The Bulldog's happy hour for three new beers, Jay and I headed over to Monjunis so Jay could do a little research on muffulettas for his next Town Favorites article.  I do all the photo work, so on trips like these I usually enjoy the food as well... it's a nice perk!  The manager / owner Blair Kornegay hooked us up with a sampling of the muffulettas available, but also to some wine and bourbon.  As we were talking the topic of my blog came up and I mentioned the 365 in 2011 resolution... and sure enough, he had a beer in the back that I hadn't tried before!  The Stone Pale Ale.

I know what you're thinking, and I was kinda surprised at myself too, but I'd never tried the regular Pale Ale from Stone.  I've reviewed them as much as any other brewery on this blog, but it was always the Arrogant Bastard or Smoker Porter or Ruination IPA, etc... and never the basic APA.  It pours a copper color, clear with a small white head. Pretty decent look to it.

The smell is a good malt hops blend that I've come to love from the APA style. Slightly on the hop edge for this one, but that's really no surprise from a west coast brewery like Stone.  The taste is a little odd to me. It hits the tongue with hops, malts, then hops again instead of the usual malt taste up front followed by a hoppy finish.  Still slightly on the hoppy side of the blend, just like the aroma.  This isn't really a bad thing at all, just a little different, and something that a hop head would probably really enjoy!

It's got a good mouthfeel, great carbonation, not thin at all.  Easy to drink, and not too strong at 5.4% abv.  Another top notch beer from Stone, I'm a fan! This one ties the Squatters Fifth Element Farmhouse Ale for the highest score so far with 20 beers down.

My Rating: A-

BeerAdvocate: B+

 

Thanks again to Blair at Monjunis on Highland Rd. for the hospitality!   The muffulettas were fantastic, but I'll let Jay cover the food side of things. 

 

Cheers!

American Pale Ale

100th Post Special! - An Update Of My 10 Favorite Beers.

When I first started this blog... oh, around 100 posts ago... I put together a top 10 list of my favorite beers that you can see over on the right side of the page.  Since I put together that list, which I haven't updated... yet... I've been lucky enough to try many many more delicious beers, so I figured my 100th post was a good time to update my top 10 list!

In count-down order, of course:

Number 10: La Trappe Tripel (Koningshoeven)

This fantastic Dutch-brewed Belgian style ale is among my favorite tripels, which is generally one of my favorite styles.  It was #7 on the original list, so obviously it's slipped a few spots but still held on to the last spot in my top 10.  For more about this brew, check out my World Cup of Beer post on The Netherlands... featuring this very beer.

Number 9: Hitachino Nest White Ale

Hailing from the far east country of Japan, this is the lightest beer in my top 10, and the lowest in alcohol content.  Don't let that fool you into thinking this one doesn't have much flavor though, because it's a bold Japanese take on a Belgian witbier.  The Belgian ales are known in large part to their spices, as is the orient, so combining the two in the right way is a flavorful masterpiece like the Hitachino Nest White Ale.  Much like the La Trappe Tripel above, this one is a holdover from the original top 10, dropping from #6 to #9.  And also, like that one it was featured in the World Cup of Beer tour... representing Japan.

Number 8: St. Bernardus Abt 12

Another holdover, dropping from #5 to #8, the St. Bernardus Abt 12 is one of the top "quads" in the world and a beer that can be found in a few select places in BR such as Calandro's.  They are called "quads" in reference to the style known as a quadrupel.  They are generally stronger, darker, and bolder than the dubbels and tripels that precede them.  And the St. Bernandus version is a great example.  Pick one up if you want to give something new a trip, but if you're jumping straight from Bud Light or even Abita Amber... might not want to make this the first stop, instead try one of the two beers above.

Number 7: Ayinger Celebrator Doppelbock

Another repeat, and another beer featured in the World Cup of Beer representing Germany!  This one is both the most reviewed and the highest ranked doppelbock on BeerAdvocate, so I think it's safe to say it might be the most popular example of the style in the world.  And with good reason, as it's a perfect example of the caramel malt feel one should expect from the style.  Easily available in Baton Rouge, give this one a try when you get the chance!

Number 6: Westmalle Tripel

This is the second 'Trappist' beer on my top 10, and it's widely considered to be one of the best tripels in the world.  It's also the first style to make a repeat appearance on the top 10, but that's really no surprise to me.  This is also another one that can be found in the BR area, I've seen it at Calandro's before for sure.

Number 5: Unibroue La Terrible

Canada, welcome to the top 10.  This is the first of three new entries into the top 10, and the only one from North of the border.  Unibroue is better known for their tripel, La Fin Du Monde, but this Belgian Strong Dark Ale (BSDA) is my favorite offering of theirs, so far.  This one is a delicious blend of caramel malts, raisin, and boozy alcoholic goodness.  One of my notes in the review was that it reminded me of a rich bread pudding.

Number 4: Great Divide Yeti Imperial Stout

Another newcomer to the list, this monster out of Great Divide Brewing in Colorado is unfortunately not available in Louisiana... but you can get some in Texas!  A few snippets from my notes when I reviewed this one:  "Looks fucking amazing. Easily one of the best looking beers I've seen in a while."  "It smells of bitter chocolate, a little dark roast coffee as well... very nice."  "One of the best Imperial Stouts I've ever tried. I'm really enjoying this one so far."  So apparently I really liked it!  Next time you're in Houston or even Beaumont, stop in at Spec's and bring a few of these back to me.  Thanks.  

Number 3: Stone Sublimely Self-Righteous Ale

I actually picked this one up at the Spec's in Beaumont on the same trip as the Yeti Imperial Stout above, and I'd say I hit the jackpot with these two.  Stone is available in Louisiana these days, but I have yet to see this particular offering on the shelves.  If I ever do, I'm going to be buying a few for sure.  It's considered an American Strong Ale by the good people at BeerAdvocate, and it reminded me a lot of a really really ridiculously good Double IPA.  Super hoppy, dominated by pine scents and flavors.  It tasted a lot like drinking a freshly cut Christmas tree.  So... if that sounds appealing to you, find one of these.

Number 2: Chimay Grand Reserve

Recognized as the Blue Chimay, this one is an old standard and still holds a high place on my top 10.  Another one of the 'Trappist' breweries in Belgium, Chimay produces world-class beers and if I wasn't limiting this top 10 to only one per brewery, their dubbel (red label) would also make the cut based on my review scores.  Easy to find all over BR, even at places like Albertson's, grab one without hesitation next time you want to try something new.

And that brings us to the number 1 beer on my updated top 10 list... and the view at the top has not changed...

Number 1: Goose Island Bourbon County Stout

Unfortunately this is one that isn't available anywhere close to BR, but it brings back fond memories of a trip to Chicago and a true introduction to how awesome barrel-aged beers can be.  This offering from Goose Island is one I first had on tap at the Wrigleyville brewpub.  The bourbon flavors are immense, but blend well with notes of vanilla and chocolate.  Maybe one day these guys will be available in BR, but until then, whenever you're up in the Midwest, find one and give it a try.

A few notes about this list... I only considered beers that I had been able to properly review for this list... I've had the pleasure of many tastings recently, but it's not fair to compare a tasting of a beer that I had mixed in with 10 others in a night to beers that I've been able to really review properly.  This unfortunately eliminated some great offerings from Brooklyn, and Russian River, among others... but hey, it's all an inexact science anyway!

Cheers!

Stone Ruination IPA

Here's one that you can find in the BR stores with better beer selections... the Stone Ruination IPA.  This is out of California and Stone Brewing Co. is a relatively new entry to the Louisiana beer market.  They have been considered by some to be the #1 brewery in the world, but that just like, an opinion man.  This particular stone selection is actually an Imperial IPA, or double IPA.  At 7.7% abv it's on the low end for the style, but if you're drinking beer just to get drunk, this isn't the right one anyway.  

Dustin Davis brought this particular one over to taste... it pours a clear deep gold color. Great head with good retention and lacing. Attractive but not exceptional.  There is a ridiculous smell to it, Dustin says "it's like shoving a hop cone up your nose," and I agree.  Just what an IPA should smell like.  

The taste is hop bitterness up fronts with pine flavors. The bitterness lingers magnificently over a slight malty aftertaste. I love the thicker body to this one, it's like you can chew through the hops to get to that slight malt flavor underneath.

One of the better IIPAs I've had and if any of you out there like the hoppy beers and see this one out at the stores, give it a try!

My rating: A

BeerAdvocate: A

My prior Stone reviews:

Stone Smoked Porter

Stone IPA

Oaked Arrogant Bastard Ale

Stone Ales at the Chimes!

So I guess I've done more reviewing of the Stone beers in the market than any other brewery.  That's not really surprising to me, I've been excited to see them here since day one and hopefully places like the Avenue Pub in New Orleans will keep getting their specialty beers on tap and places in BR will keep the bottles coming!

India Pale Ale

Stone Smoked Porter

Alright, I'm falling way behind on my beer reviews even with this diet curtailing my drinking habits.  Time to get back on it, here's one from Stone which can now be found in many BR stores including Calandro's, which is where I picked it up if I remember right.  Stone is one of the newer breweries to our market and it's a damn fine one, even considered by some to be the best brewery in the world.  That's a little subjective for my tastes (plus I don't have enough basis for comparison) but let's all agree that it's in contention.

I poured this one from a bomber into an imperial pint glass as you can see. It pours a super dark color, damn near black but maybe a little bit of brown. Huge creamy tan head, lots of lacing and great retention.  It even overflowed a bit, I hate to waste beer like that, damn!

It smells like smoke, for sure... hard to place the exact flavors but it smells like a Pacific NW salmon being smoked... at least that's what comes to mind. The taste hits up front with a little bit of chocolate before the smoke flavor takes over... and then lingers a bit. It's good but I expected more.  The beer is a little more watery than I would like to see too... but still has a decent mouthfeel.

Medium marks for drinkability... the smoke flavors are a little on the strong side and it might throw some people off.  This one definitely isn't for the faint of heart... it's a bit extreme on the smoke flavors and certainly not a session beer, but for anyone looking to try new beers, definitely pick one up.

Taste: A-

Value: B

Porter

Review: Stone IPA

File this one under:

Beer!

This is a relatively new one to the Louisiana market... and I'm thrilled that Stone and their beers are here.  They have a reputation as one of the best West coast breweries, which are typically known for their hoppy IPAs and extreme variations.  I picked up a 6-pack of this one at the Bet-R store right by my place after trying one with Andrew, Jay and friends while checking out the beginnings of the Parish Brewery.  I didn't have a chance to really review it then so it needed a second try and it didn't disappoint one bit.

You can check out the appearance in the picture... hazy golden color, not too big of a head.  It smells strong of floral hops. I love that slightly sweet smell to the hops on the nose. Not much else though, as to be expected from the style.

The taste is what you'd expect based on the smell and the hype. Sweet hoppiness up front, lingering hoppy bitterness, well balanced between in each sip. Good carbonation and no bad aftertastes.  All in all a very well crafted IPA.  This is one of the best examples of the style to be found, so if you like the hops, or want to try something different and see if you like it, pick up some of these guys!

Taste: A-

Value: A

In other notes... I've been debating turning this blog into just beer reviews and beer thoughts.  I enjoy scotch, wine, bourbon and other liquors, but it might be best just to focus on beer.  Thoughts anyone?

Review: Oaked Arrogant Bastard Ale

File this one under:

Beer!

So, I took off from work this past Wednesday afternoon to prepare the turkey for Friendsgiving (which you can read more about at BiteandBooze, Jay's blog...) and I needed a few last-minute items such as aluminum foil, so I made the quick walk from my place to the Bet-R store across from Chelsea's.  Despite living so close I haven't made too many trips over to the Bet-R, but I remembered them having a decent little beer selection.  And I was thrilled to see some of the Oaked Arrogant Bastard Ale from Stone brewing.  I had some of the regular Arrogant Bastard on tap at the Chimes a few weeks ago, and enjoyed it a lot, so I was thrilled to try this oak-barrel aged version!  It had no price tag on the 6-pack or on the shelf, so after a few confusing minutes for the cashier (sorry to the cute girl behind me!) she decided to ring it up for $8.99... a very fair price for a 6-pack of some good microbrew, in my opinion.

After that it was back to my place to do some turkey cooking, which involves a lot of waiting around making sure the oven isn't on fire.  In other words, the perfect opportunity to crack open a new beer and give it a taste.

I poured it from a 12 oz. bottle into a pint glass... hey look, an RSAK logo!  It has a clear deep red color with a small tan head... not a lot of retention in the first one although the second one had a huge head.  Hops and oak on the nose... a little sweet but the oak is definitely there.

Very nice flavor to it, the oak balances well with the hops, there's a little malt on the front of the sip too. Hops more on the back end, and more oak on the aftertaste. Very very good.  It clocks in a 7.2% alcohol but you would never know.  I didn't even know until I looked it up at BeerAdvocate to read a little more about the beer and write my quick review.  Just superb balance to this beer.

Good carbonation to it, very nice mouthfeel, easy to drink if you like hops at all. I'm a fan, definitely an improvement on the regular Arrogant Bastard.

Taste: A

Value: A  (Most likely at least...)

And some random thoughts... my scale told me yesterday morning that I needed to get back on the diet plan, as I'm 10 pounds up from my over the Summer low mark.  I guess that might mean a slight slow-down in beer reviews, but I'm sure I'll find room in the diet for a beer or two per week.  Or a glass of scotch, depending on the mood.