Beer Review: MoM Hefeweizen – Rogue
May0
A fine beer for Mom!
I don’t usually drink hefeweizens so this beer is a departure from my normal stout, porter, lager, IPA mix. The pertinent stats:
Amount of brew in bottle: 22 fluid ounces
ABV: 4.8%
Type of brew: hefeweizen (the rogue site also states it is belgian style)
Price: ~$5
This beer doesn’t have the normal sweet, heavy taste that I associate with hefeweizens. When I first poured this beer I noticed that it was very bubbly and the smell reminded me of Henry Weinhards private reserve. Which seemed weird to me since Henry’s is a pilsner and this is not. Anyways it doesn’t taste like a pilsner which is good and it is a very easy to drink beer and I would look to have this by my side when I am eating some super spicy chicken wings or after a good long bicycle ride. It isn’t too bitter nor is it that sweet it is just right and I could see this being an awesome session beer. It has some distinctive tastes that won’t make this beer boring but it is not some huge monster of a beer. One question I had going into this beer is; would I give my Mom this beer? The answer is positively yes! This is also one beer I would prefer cold instead of trying to warm it up to 55 degrees like many of the other beers I drink.
Overall this beer was a nice change and as it gets hotter here in Seattle I am going to have to keep a few of these in stock for when I BBQ (which is damn often).
The good: easy to drink beer
The bad: too easy to chug (ok maybe that isn’t always a bad thing)
Overall taste: 
Bitterness:
Smoothness:
Beer Terminology : Imperial
May0
Have you ever noticed a beer that had a name starting with “imperial” sort of like “Imperial IPA” or “Imperial Pilsner” etc… Maybe you just wrote it off as just part of the name or maybe you were curious as to what it meant. Well this is my understanding (and I did a little bit of research to) of the imperial term. The first beer with this name comes from “Imperial Stout” also known as “Russian Imperial Stout” which was first brewed in 1796 (wiki page) for Catherine II of Russia. Mainly because the stouts coming from England would be bad by the time they got over to Russia so the brewers increased the alcohol content and malts to help preserve the beer. When pouring an imperial stout like Stone’s Imperial Russian Stout it is usually dark, thick and resembles a light-weight motor oil.
However, nowadays the imperial label is applied to all sorts of beers. Some people don’t like this and others don’t care. I am on the don’t care side mainly because when someone uses the imperial label I understand what they are trying to convey. This beer has higher alcohol content and is a more robust beer. For instance if you drink an Imperial IPA (sometimes called a double IPA) it just means it is really, really hoppy (over 100 IBUs) and has a fairly high alcohol content.
So now you know when you run across the imperial label it just means you can get sauced faster (if that is your goal) or you will get overwhelmed. Personally I find these beers go well with really strong food like a very hearty chili or a spicy plate of wings.
Beer Review: Rainer
May0
Take your vitamins!
Ahh Rainer also known as Vitamin-R this is a staple of maybe people here in the NW. You can even see the old Rainer brewery driving down I-5 as you are leaving Seattle. Anyways, this beer is super light on flavor and reminds me of flavored water. I couldn’t even bring myself to buy this beer so I had to bum a can of this beer from my neighbor. Well, I could buy this but it comes in cases or big bottles and since I don’t expect to be drinking more than one can within the next month. Anyways back to the review… it is best cold, fairly fizzy and that is about it. There is a slight hint of barley and the can says there are “yakima valley hops” but I can’t taste any hops at all. This beer is what I was expecting from all of the jokes and stereo-types. I think of this beer like an adult version of soda pop; it is easy to go down and chug, makes you belch and doesn’t do much for you except help you gain weight.
Overall taste:
Bitterness:
Smoothness:
Beer Review : Moylan’s IPA
May0
This is one hoppy mofo (picture by Jana)
Note: This is a guest post from my lovely fiancee she also enjoys a good beer and wanted to do a review and why would I refuse? So, anyways now you know and you can stop wondering why the hell there are references to “Mr. iluvmybeer” that would be me. Well enjoy reading her witty banter 
.
Basic Stats:
Brewed By: Moylan’s Brewing Company in Novato, CA
Contains: 1pint 6oz of fluid
Warm and Fuzzy Factor: 6.5% alcohol by volume
Price: Mr. iluvmybeer can’t remember
Type of Brew: India Pale Ale
On the bottle, it says that this beer “provides a stimulating assault on all senses.” It is true that it is a pretty gold color, it smells like a hoppy IPA, and tastes like someone crammed a few barrels worth of hops into the bottle. It was a little weak in the sound arena though.
Immediately out of the fridge and bottle, this beer tastes like most other “assaultingly” hoppy IPAs. You must be in the mood to have this beer. (No, not THAT mood.) When Mr. iluvmybeer took a taste, I am pretty sure that he had sour beer face going on. As this beer warmed up, the hoppy-factor did cool it a bit and it was more drinkable.
The brewers also said that the beer had floral notes to it, but that isn’t something that I picked up on. Neither did I notice the “notes of resin and herbs.”
Unfortunately, this is the type of beer that isn’t that great for my virgin review. It isn’t that awesome and it isn’t that bad, just middling.
The good: It is a hoppy IPA
The bad: It is a HOPPY IPA, which may drive some people away
Overall taste:
Bitterness (changing to 3.5/5 as it warmed up):
Smoothness:
Beer Reviews – Moylan’s Brewers Night
May0
8 Moylan tasters
One of the events for Seattle beer week is Moylan’s brewers night. They had an 8 beer sampler with the following beers: Sömmer Kölsch Bier, Pomegranate Wheat, Moylan’s Special Bitter Nitro, Nor Cal IPA, Batch #1000 Bourbon Double Scotch Ale, Batch #1000 Double Kilt-sickle, Wet Hopsickle 08, Dry-hopped Hopsickle Cask.
Sömmer Kölsch Bier – tastes like water with wheat it is light on the body and flavor. However it is very easy to drink and pretty fizzy. A lot of girls at the table liked this beer and it was described as a good lawnmower beer which is a pretty accurate description.
Pomegranate Wheat – This beer was just slightly sweet with very little carbonation. It was nice because many beers with a fruit associated with them are usually so overpowering. The beer was super easy to drink and there was barely a wheat taste to it, so much that I forgot it was a wheat beer until someone reminded me that it was.
Moylan’s Special Bitter Nitro – This beer had very little bitterness to it and was pretty damn sweet. I know nitro beers tend to be mellower but this was almost over the top it was just too damn sweet for a bitter. It was very sweet smelling and had a sharp bite like cough syrup. Around the table I heard this beer being described with adjectives like soy and whiskey.
Nor Cal IPA – One person in the group said this beer seemed toxic after drinking the bitter but I beg to differ. It had a light hop bit and it was pretty damn refreshing after the bitter. It was a little syrupy for my taste and you it had the mellowness of malt.
Wet Hopsickle 08 - Ahh there are the hops I was hoping to see. This beer was pretty good it had an initial sweet taste but the refreshing aftertaste of the hops. This was a great change from the sweeter and bland beers I had just been having.
Dry-hopped Hopsicle Cask - Oy, this beer sucked! It smells like a wet sock, and no taste and no fucking hop taste. It was like someone took one of my gym socks ran some water through it and rung it out into the keg.
Batch #1000 Double Kilt-sickle – This beer had a tangy fruity smell, the taste was like the smell but it included lovely lovely hops. By far the best beer so far in this tasting and it the color was like a pilsner but it sure didn’t taste like one!
Batch #1000 Bourbon Double Scotch Ale – Sweet like you would expected from a beer aged in a bourbon barrel but it also had a nice bitter taste to it. It was not over-sweet like you get with some bourbon aged beers. It was very strong alcohol wise (I think it was like 10%+) but there was no noticable alcohol taste to it.
Recap – Overall I felt these Moylan beers were pretty good there was some crap ones in there but I am sure that is a matter of taste. I was glad I got to go to this and try some beers that are not available up here in Washington or available ever.
Beer Review: Panty Peeler – Midnight Sun
May0
* Results may vary
Panty Peeler is brewed by Midnight Sun Brewing Company in Anchorage, Alaska. Here are the pertinent stats:
Amount of brew in bottle: 22 fluid ounces
ABV: 8.5%
Type of brew: Belgian style ale w/orange peel & coriander
Price: ~$8.99
My fiance picked out this beer for her and I would have to say she made a great choice. Although I am not sure why the beer is called panty peeler . The beer tastes like a Belgian styled ale but it is a bit sweeter and leaves that sweetness as an aftertaste. It isn’t over powering but if you were to pay attention it is there which is kind of nice. When I usually have a Belgian beer I don’t really notice much of an aftertaste and if I do it is just kind of blah. Like most Belgian beers it was fairly carbonated which is always a nice change of pace. I didn’t really taste any orange or coriander nor did I smell anything but then again I had this beer right after standing around a BBQ with mesquite smoke penetrating my smell and taste buds. This Belgian isn’t my favorite beer of all time but it is darn good that is for sure! If you ever get a chance I would pick-up a bottle and if you are on a date maybe you can put the name of the beer to the test .
The good: Great tasting Belgian ale
The bad: It can’t over ride the smell of mesquite BBQ (is that really a bad thing?)
Overall taste:
Bitterness:
Smoothness: