Beer Review: Old Rasputin – North Coast Brewing Co.
Jun0
A beer made by ZZ-Top's predecessor
I sure do love a good imperial stout, so, when my Uncle suggested that Old Rasputin is a great Russian imperial stout I just had to try it. Before I get to the bulk here are the pertinent stats.
Amount of brew in bottle: 12 fluid ounces
ABV: 9%
Type of brew: Russian Imperial Stout
Price: $5
When my fiancée tried this beer she said “if you don’t finish this beer I will.” But I don’t think she will get a chance 
. The beer is pretty darn good it is a bit fuzzier than I normally like my stouts but it is not like drinking a soda. There is a slightly sweet initial taste that becomes a little bitter. This beer isn’t as thick as other imperial stouts I have had but it is definitely no pilsner. It is a very easy to drink beer, I can’t say that it is better than the other imperial russian stouts I have had but it is a contender. As with most of these beers you need a very flavorful food to match with it or you can just enjoy the beer by itself. One thing I noticed is that as the beer got warmer it was sweeter and less bitter. Overall I am glad I have had this beer but I don’t know if I would buy it again, I would be interested to see how it tasted coming from a keg (or cask).
The good: Great example of a Russian Imperial Stout that you can get in most grocery stores
The bad: A bit strong to have on an empty stomach or if you don’t like sweet beers
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Beer Review: Wild Blue – Blue Dawg Brewery
Jun0
Is this juice or beer?
While visiting my Mom down in a small rural town in Washington I dropped by the only place that sold craft beer and picked up a few brews. This one caught my eye mainly because most beers aren’t brewed with blueberries. The owner of the shop asked if I have ever had it which I said “no” he replied with “well it tastes like blueberries.” Well the owner was correct it sure does taste like blueberries. Some pertinent stats:
Amount of brew in bottle: 12 fluid ounces
ABV: 8%
Type of brew: Lager
Price: $2.50
After buying this I found out this beer was actually brewed by Anheuser-Busch which surprises me as it isn’t half bad and it doesn’t taste like water! Mainly this beer tastes like a liquid version of fruity pebbles. I almost don’t want to call this beer a beer because it sure as hell doesn’t taste like one! This would not be a beer I would drink all of the time but it was a nice change of pace. Granted if you don’t like fruity beers I would steer clear of it. I do think this beer might go well over vanilla ice cream or something you could make a float out of. Maybe some year I will have to give that a try .
The good: easy to drink
The bad: a bit too sweet for some people
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Beer Review: Flemish Sour Ale – Monk’s Cafe
Jun0
Who you callin' sour boy? Photo by Jana
Whenever I drink a sour beer I am always wishy-washy about it. On one hand it tastes like a weird apple cider but on the other hand it is kind of refreshing. Before I get into the bulk of the beer review here are the pertinent stats:
Amount of brew in bottle: 11.2 fluid ounces
ABV: 5.5%
Type of brew: Sour ale
Price: ~$4
If they renamed this beer to “sweet and sour red ale” it would sum this beer right the hell up. It has the taste of an apple cider that had a few extra cups of sugar added but still the slight tang of sourness. It pours with a red color and has a decent head on the top of it. I am not entirely sure if I am drinking a beer or a kids drink that has been spiked by my evil cousin Vinnie. This beer is ridiculously easy to drink and if I was on an empty stomach while having it this beer would do me in not because it has a high ABV but because it is too easy to drink. I do notice that after having this beer there is a slight bitterness that lingers in my mouth. This beer really reminds me of sweet and sour pork mainly because it is really sweet and with just a touch of sour. As with most sour beers it is a taste you must enjoy or else you will not like the beer. When my fiancée tasted this beer she said it “tasted like apple cider gone bad” which pretty much sums up most sour beers . I personally don’t mind sour beers and they are especially nice way to cleanse your palette after a meal.
Overall I felt this beer was ok for a sour ale, but I felt it was too sweet for my tastes. When I have a sour beer I want sour not some wussy “sour” beer that just has a hint of sour. That is like getting the “fire” sauce at Taco Bell which is a poor imitation of things that should make you cry.
The good: super easy to drink
The bad: way too sweet
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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)
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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.
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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
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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?)
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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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