Beer Review: Collaboration not Litigation – Avery & Russian River
Apr2
Maybe a lawyer should have been involved...
I have seen this beer at one of my favorite watering holes but have never purchased a glass. The back story of this beer is that it was created because both the Russian River and Avery breweries had the same beer name and instead of getting all of those crappy lawyers involved they decided to combine beers. Here are some stats:
Amount of brew in bottle: 22 fluid ounces
ABV: 8.72%
Type of brew: Belgian style ale
Price: ~$6
Like many craft beers this beer is not meant to be consumed cold (i.e. right out of the fridge) but I always like to try it anyways 
. For this beer I would highly suggest not doing that as it gets about 10x better once it warms up a little bit. But even after the beer has been warmed up there is nothing really noteworthy about it. The beer has a hazelnut color, is decently carbonated and had no noticeable smell. When the beer did warm up it did have a very slight sweetness to it but only slightly. This beer gave me a serious case of the blahs and I consumed it without much fanfare. My fiance was not a fan of this beer she thought I should rate it 0.5 out of 5 and she tends to like Belgians.
The good: easy to drink Belgian beer once it warms up
The bad: not very noteworthy just a middle of the road Belgian (once it warms up that is)
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Beer Review: Traquair Jacobite – Merchant du Vin
Apr0
May I have some cilantro with my beer, please?
During this past week I went to the store with my fiance to pick-up some food I was running low on review beers so I decided to grab a few. This beer was picked out by my fiance (who also digs beer but that is a whole different subject) but I get to drink it, I am not sure who gets the better half of that deal in this case! On a dorky sort of note the design and typography of the label on this beer is damn good it has style but is still very easy to read, well enough design dork shit here are some stats:
Amount of brew in bottle: 11.2 fluid ounces
ABV: 8%
Type of brew: Ale w/Coriander
Price: ~$5
This beer pours a dark molasses type of color and is decently fizzy (sort of like a cola that has been sitting out for a few hours). There is a sweet and tangy smell to the beer which is almost normal except I don’t usually describe my beers as “tangy”. One thing that stood out to me was the part of the label that said “Ale flavored with coriander” I had no fucking clue what coriander was so I did what any self-respecting person would do I google’d it. Coriander is also called cilantro which made me emit a WTF and to look sideways at this ale that I was about to consume. On first sip I drew back a face like it had just been hit with a very disgusting wet dishrag but as the beer warmed up the taste got better or I just got accustomed to the taste. I think once it got to serving temperature the tastes mellowed out and blended together. This beer reminds me of a wood-aged beer but not as sweet or mellow.
Overall this beer is pretty damn decent it is very drinkable once it warms up a bit. It has some taste to it but is not overwhelming like some of the higher alcohol beers but it is not piss-water. It does not have the bite of something crazy hoppy or anything else it is just a straight sipper type of beer.
The good: Easy to drink and it gives you bragging rights that you drank a beer with cilantro in it
The bad: If the beer is cold it tastes like shit
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Beer Review: Hop Rod Rye – Bear Republic
Apr0
One hoppy mofo!
This review is full of firsts: my first bear republic beer and my first rye ale. Before we get into the bulk of the review here are some pertinent stats:
Amount of brew in bottle: 22 fluid ounces
ABV: 8%
Type of brew: Rye ale
Price: ~$5
This beer smells like an IPA but it doesn’t exactly taste like one. The hop taste is very prominent but go figure since the name of the beer is “Hop Rod Rye.” However it does not exactly taste like a normal IPA it has a hint of weird spiciness and bitterness to the beer. On top of the flavor differences the color of the beer is a dark amber. Besides that this beer is pretty much a middle of the road IPA like beer. I don’t have too much to say about it except that it is pretty much a strong ass IPA. I know it isn’t called an IPA but it sure as hell tastes like one. I think the added rye does give a certain punch to the beer I know on first swig I respond with “wow.” But it is something I got quickly used to. If you ever are in the mood for a different type of hoppy beer I would definitely suggest you try this one!
The good: Pretty good hoppy beer
The bad: If you don’t like hoppy beers run away
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Beer Review: Dogzilla Black IPA – Laughing Dog Brewery
Apr1
Run away from this monster!
This is the second the beer I have had from Laughing Dog. The first one I had was the Dogfather which was pretty good. When I first saw an ad for this beer in a local beer magazine I was really looking forward to it since I had never heard of a black IPA at that point. Since then I have always kept my eye out for this beer and when I saw at one of my local grocery stores I snatched it. Anyways enough back fill here are some pertinent stats for the beer:
Amount of brew in bottle: 22 fluid ounces
ABV: 6.9%
Type of brew: Black IPA
Price: ~$5
From the first sip I hated this beer. It tasted like someone took a sock threw it in a toaster oven for a few minutes, liquefied it and threw in some hops. On the flip side my fiance thought it was a pretty good beer. For me I think the taste was off because the malt and hops they used did not blend well together. Either that or they burnt the shit out of the malts to make the IPA black. One other interesting flavor was that the beer had an initial sweet taste and then went all down hill from there. This is not a beer I will ever buy again.
The good: cool name
The bad: horrid taste
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Beer Review: Spring Reign Ale – Ninkasi Brewing Company
Apr0
It is reigning beer! - Photo by Jana
This is the second Ninkasi beer I have had and my first seasonal from them. Here are the pertinent stats:
Amount of brew in bottle: 22 fluid ounces
ABV: 6%
Type of brew: Session / ale
Price: ~$5
The first thing I noticed when I poured this beer was how much carbonation it had, it almost poured like a pop! This beer has a hoppy taste but not as full of hops as an IPA. It has an IBU rating of 38 so it isn’t as bland as a lager but it is no 120 IBU monster . The color of the beer is close to apple cider but thankfully it doesn’t taste like cider. The beer is not that sweet so the bitterness from the hops is very apparent which makes it a nice weekday beer. Like many spring and summer beers it is highly refreshing and it would be great to have during a warm day or while eating a nice juicy burger.
There is not much more I can say about this beer. It is a great beer for drinking throughout the day on a hot day or after a hard bike-ride/hike/run. I like this beer but it is not something I will be having dreams about.
The good: great session beer
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Beer Review: Pliny the Elder – Russian River
Apr0
This IPA is a keeper!
So for the past month I have heard about this beer Pliny the Elder as a must drink IPA, given all of these claims I was skeptical. My fiance was even told by a bartender at a local beer bar that a grocery store had some but they didn’t stock it on the shelves but you had to ask nicely and they might give it to you. Before I get into the bulk of the review here are the pertinent stats:
Amount of brew in bottle: 500ml (~17 fluid ounces)
ABV: 8%
Type of brew: IPA
Price: $6
What can I say? This beer lives up to the hype! It is one of the best IPAs I have ever had and it comes at a decent price which is a welcome change to some of the beers I have been drinking. The beer has a fruity smell to it and on first taste there is a slight sweetness to it with a hoppy aftertaste. One of the cool things about this beer is that it isn’t too hoppy but it still has a great taste. Considering that this beer is an IPA it is fairly mellow. But being a mellow IPA is not a bad thing. I think it is great especially for an IPA as many people try to just load up on the hops and make it a hop monster. I feel that Russian River has struck a great balance between a beer that you can taste the hops but still make it great tasting. If you ever get a chance to try out this beer do so, I know I can’t wait to try the beer off the tap.
The good: a great IPA!
The bad: not always available
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Beer Review: Aecht Ochlenferla Rauchbier
Apr0
Smoke it up
This is my second time drinking this beer. Each time I drink this beer it takes me a few drinks to get to its very unique taste. Some stats before we get to the meat of the review:
Amount of brew in bottle: 23 fluid ounces
ABV: 5.1%
Type of brew: marzen (a type of lager)
Price: ~$5
This beer definitely has a very strong smoke taste. It is almost like putting a tablespoon of liquid smoke (it is a cooking ingredient for the uninformed) and putting it in a lager. The beer goes great with fish and steak. It is not overpowering when paired with food but you can still notice it. When poured the beer has absolutely no head and is a very dark brown for a lager. Besides the smokey flavor there is very little to talk about for this beer. There is a medium-high amount of carbonation and there is a slight bitterness flavor but other than that there is not much to report.
The good: Fairly easy to drink, goes great with a lot of meals
The bad: The unique taste might turn off some people
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Beer Review: Quilters Irish Death by Iron Horse Brewery
Apr0
It is as deadly as it is smooth. Photo by Jana
Here in Washington (or maybe it is just Seattle) we have people that come out and knit at coffee shops and bars. I find this kind of weird but hey whatever floats your boat. Any ways I saw this bottle called “Quilters Irish Death” and I thought of these people (yes I know quilting and knitting are different but they are god damn close enough).
Amount of brew in bottle: 22 fluid ounces
ABV: 7.8%
Type of brew: stout
Price: ~$4.50
What can I say the bottle really says it all with “smooth dark ale.” Yep, that pretty much sums up this beer. On first taste there isn’t too much to the beer but there is a pleasantly sweet after taste that isn’t too strong but is still noticeable. Since there is no barley (at least from what I can tell) in the beer it isn’t as bitter as you might expect. Even though this beer is very easy to drink that can also be a bad thing, especially on an empty stomach! I know for me I came off feeling more buzzed from this beer than I did from the belzebuth. This is one of the few dark beers that I have had that can be easily gulped down.
The good: easy to drink perfect for cold rainy days (so 4 out of 5 days here in Seattle)
The bad: It only comes in big bottles 
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Beer Review: Belzebuth by Brasserie Grain d’ Orge
Apr0
Watch out for this monkey! - Photo by Jana
On my last trip to the beer store I saw this weird ass bottle that had a funky monkey on the main part of the label and around the neck a smaller label stating the beer was 13% ABV. Before I knew it my hand was around that bottle and it was on its way into the basket. That was two weeks ago and I have finally cracked open this monkey to see how funky it truly is. The pertinent stats for the ADD among us:
Amount of brew in bottle: 250ml
ABV: 13%
Type of brew: belgian
Price: ~$4
As with the majority of belgian style beers this beer was lightly colored and had more carbonation than other styles of beer. Probably one of the most interesting things about this beer is that even though it had a fairly high level of alcohol it didn’t have the usual taste, in fact it was hardly noticeable that this beer was anything over 7%. Which is great and horrible all at the same time, this beer could really make you feel like you have a monkey on your back (har har).
Besides the high ABV this beer was pretty much unremarkable compared to other belgians. It had very little after taste and it was overall very mellow. It had an almost wine like feel to it, this might have been from the higher alcohol but it could also have been just how they brewed the beast. This is also the first french beer I have ever had. France is not exactly a place I associate with beer but that doesn’t mean they don’t brew any worthwhile beers; apparently they do. So, next time you are in a store and you see a little bottle with a weird ass monkey on the label I would recommend you pick it up. Just make sure you don’t have to drive anywhere after you drink it!
The good: doesn’t taste like a high ABV beer, easy to drink
The bad: the taste is fairly bland
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