Hoptimum!

This is an imperial IPA from Sierra Nevada. They advertise it as a whole cone hopped ale. It is hoppy, but slightly overpowered by the abv. It pours a nice full reddish brown with little head and no lace. The appearance is almost thick. I think it has a sweet nectar taste at the finish, but I may be mis-describing it. Overall, I'd have one in a night, but not sure I'd have two. And, if I did, I wouldn't remember it!

Blanche de chambly

This is a Unibroue white, brewed with coriander and orange peel. It has a nice golden, unfiltered, appearance with a thin head and little lace. The nose is citrusy, but not overly so. I'm kind of a fan of Unibroue, so it's not a surprise that I liked this white. I can easily imagine sitting on the stoop in the summer enjoying a few of these ales as the sun sets.

Allagash Tripel

When I first defected from macrobrews, I tried stouts and tripels. I stuck with tripels. For about six months. Then I tried a quad, a Trappist Rochfort 10. I was hooked. Suddenly, the tripel seemed too sweet. So I left the tripel behind for quads, saisons, lambics, porters, pale ales, wheats, whites, pilsners, kolsches, IPAs and imperials of many varieties. It was with some trepidation that I tried this tripel. But I've had good luck with Allagash and recommended the white to some friends new to the craft (read: real) beer scene, so I thought I'd give it a try. I was pleasantly rewarded. This is a smooth tripel with not too sweet a finish. I could definitely have more than one a night, which is not something I usually say about a triple.

Shift

This is a New Belgium Shift - pale lager. I was expecting a pale ale so I was quite surprised when it had the finish of a lager. It poured with a nice head and left abundant lace. But it had a skunky nose and a shallow miller lite'ish taste. I was really excited about trying the Shift, but, like many New Belgiums, I'm left a little disappointed.

I double dog dare you

At 11% abv, this definitely gets your attention. It pours a nice coppery color with a creamy head. The nose is a strong hoppy bitterness. This is bitter like the New Glarus IIPA, but more balanced with a malty finish rather than the sweetness of the IIPA. I like it, but it's definitely strong. I double dog dare you to try one.

New Glarus Double IPA

I tried the regular IPA last night (and liked it). So now I'm trying the double IPA. It reminds me a lot of Bells Hop Slam. The color is a bit more golden than I expected, but the nose is spot on - bitter hops! I think this is about 85 ibus and super hoppy. Like Hopslam, it has a sort of sweet finish. I like this double IPA a lot.

Road Slush!

This is an oatmeal stout from New Glarus. It is brown in color, but when held up to the light, it is actually reddish brown. It doesn't pour with a thick head or leave a lot of lace on the glass, but it has a nice full-bodied taste with a hint of chocolate. I wish it had a little more oatmeal taste, but the hint of chocolate makes up for it.

New Glarus IPA

I've had a lot of New Glarus beer in the last three years, but I don't think I've ever had an IPA. On a trip to Wisconsin today, I bought two IPAs, this Hop Hearty and a double IPA. I really enjoyed the Hop Hearty. It has a copper color and and hoppy nose with a nice hoppy bitterness that is not overdone. I'm glad I got the last six pack!

New Holland

On the left is an el mole Ocho - described as malty with a rich cocoa laden body laced with dried chillies and coffee. It is a deep copper brown with a slightly hot finish. I keep looking for something like the Founders spite pepper ale but this isn't close. I wish it were a little bit hotter.
On the right is a New Holland Poet - oatmeal stout. It's a little thin for me without a deeper malt or oatmeal taste. I prefer a Sam Smiths.

Baba Black Lager

This is a black lager by Uinta brewery. It's malty like a stout, at the beginning, and very dark in color. It has a thin tan head that vanished before my camera app opened on my phone -- and not because I drank it. It finished kinda funny and after a few gulps, I thought it reminded me of an oyster stout I had a few months back. I'd drink another one, but tonight.

Grey Lady of the Woods

I'm at a sour fest at a local bar. This is a Cisco Grey Lady of the Woods. It has a very oaky nose and a thin head that doesn't stick around or leave much lace. It's aged in oak wine (?) barrels and you can taste the oak, but it's quickly followed by a fermented grape taste that many might recognize as wine. The whole taste wraps up pretty quickly, which leads to drinking faster. Normally this isn't a problem, but at $10 a pop, I better slow down!

East coast swing

Another trip east and another trunk full of good beer heading back home. Almost not enough room to take home the dog and all our stuff.

Alpine Spring

This is a new release from Sam Adams. It's super citrusy and wheaty with a slight metallic taste on the finish. It's an unfiltered lager, which isn't bad.

Sweet water IPA

This is a mildly citrusy IPA, not overwhelmingly hoppy. It's not bad for a macro brew IPA, but I'd take a little more hops.

Love stout and rootbeer!

On the left is a version of the Love Stout that was brewed with chocolate added. It was really good. Hard to imagine that the Love Stout could get better, but it did.

On the right is a rootbeer. The smell is so sweet. I can't believe how good this rootbeer tastes. I've had rootbeer at a bunch of breweries and this is by far the best.

Yards - Ales of the Revolution Sampler

Left to right - Love Stout (not a revolutionary ale), Spruce Ale, Thomas Jefferson Ale and Washington Porter. The Love Stout is a nitro pour. It's smooth and creamy. I absolutely loved it. Unfortunately, they don't bottle it. The spruce ale is made from a recipe that Ben Franklin created and uses spruce and some other ingredient because hops were not available. I remember having this before and thinking I just drank my Christmas tree. I liked it better this time. And, a woman at the bar said she cooks with it. That makes sense because it tastes a little like rosemary. The TJ is one of my all-time favorites. It's a smooth tavern ale that has a bit of sweetness to it. It's brewed from a recipe that Jefferson used to make beer with ingredients he grew at Monticello. Finally, the porter is made with a recipe that Washington used. It's good, but next to the stout, it doesn't stand a chance.

Flower Power

Brewed in Ithaca, this beer is plenty hoppy. When I pried off the cap, the hoppy aroma exploded from the bottle. This tastes like all hops from the nose to the close. No fruit or malt to distract you. Just good old hoppy bitterness. And a surprisingly foamy head. If you want a hoppy beer, give it a try.

Old Slugger

From the Cooperstown Brewing Company web site: "Old Slugger" is a hearty Pale Ale, copper in color, crisp malty fullness on the front of the palate and lingering hop bitterness on the back with a dry finish.  It is brewed with four barley malts, including two-row English pale and crystal malts, balanced with Mt. Hood, Cascade and Fuggle hops, and fermented in open vessels by Ringwood Yeast, a true top-fermenting ale yeast. "Old Slugger" is the flagship beer of the Cooperstown Brewing Company and was first brewed in July 1995 and bottled in November 1995.

We stumbled onto this tiny brewery after a trip to the baseball hall of fame and Ommegang brewery. We took an informal tour of their small brewery and had a great time. In fact, I'm pretty sure I already blogged about this beer. But I enjoyed it so I thought I'd try it again.  I taste a strong spice in the beer, but can't identify it. I thought maybe it was coriander, but I'm not sure. Perhaps it's just the blend of hops. If you can fill me in, please do!

Finally, I love the caps - baseballs. Perfect. 

Zombie dust

I went to Three Floyd's with a friend to have a casual lunch, tour the brewery and pick up some beer. We didn't plan well because it turned out to be release day for Zombie Dust. We waited in line for an hour before getting inside for lunch. We skipped the tour and enjoyed a leisurely lunch. We also each picked up some Zombie Dust. I think this falls into the American pale ale category - with a twist. It has a citrusy nose and, I think, an interesting hops profile. I go back and forth on how I feel about it - I like one and look forward to the next. Perhaps the increased expectations lead me to be a little disappointed in the next. And the cycle continues.

Bitter American

Another fine beer from 21st Amendment. I'm sorry I can't get their beer in Chicago. This pours a thick creamy head which sticks around for a while. It's a pale ale with a little twist. I can't put my finger on it, but it has an interesting taste. I also love the name and the label - the picture is a monkey in a space suit. The monkey resembles our 43rd president, at least to this bitter American.