Sierra Nevada/Dogfish Head: Life & Limb 2
Summary: Company: Sierra Nevada/Dogfish Head Type: Ale Taste: Sweet, Luscious, Nutty, Cloves, Spicy, Smooth Alcohol Content: 10.2% Food Pairing: Steak, Pizza, Buffalo Wings, etc… Rating: 4 out of 6 Website: Life & Limb It’s back! Oh yes, it’s back. Life & Limb a collaboration between Sierra Nevada and Dogfish Head brewery is back. Originally a [...]
Ninkasi Brewing Company: Oatis Oatmeal Stout
nfortunately this guy is not what I was expecting… The problem is that this beer does not taste like a Stout… It tastes like a Porter… Kind of disappointing when you are expecting a smooth creamy Oatmeal Stout and you get a bitter smokey Porter. It doesn’t have much of a nose… kind of has a hint of tabacco but not strong. In the mouth you get a smokey tabacco flavor. If you chew on it for a bit, you get a little chocolate… but what I don’t get is the oatmeal…
Brouwerij ‘t Brouwkot: Netebuk
Yet another great Belgian Ale from K&L. This guy comes to us from Brouwerij ‘t Brouwkot imported by a Twelve Percent LLC. This guy is great for a hot day or great as a dinner beer. In the nose it smells sweet with a hint of apple and in you mouth it just explodes… You get this sweet apple flowery nutty malt followed by a nice bitter to balance it all out.
Midnight Sun Brewing Co.: Panty Peeler
I have heard a lot of good things from Midnight Sun Brewing Co. but have never had a chance to try any of their beers out until now. For my inaugural brew from these guys I thought I would go with their Belgian Tripel called Panty Peeler… come on, with a name like that there was no way I would have to pass this guy up… This guy is an 8.5% Belgian Tripel brewed with bitter orange peel and coriander…
De Hoevebrouwers: Toria Tripel
Wow, this is a great beer. It reminds me of Damnation from Russian RIver Brewery, but has a strong bitter bite on the end which really balances this guy out. In the nose you get what smells like wild flowers and wheat, in the mouth you get the light complex classic Belgian blond malt and only after it goes down do you get the bitter bite. These are super hard to find in the states and K&L just hooked up with a new distributor that specializes in Belgian beers like this, so if you live in the Bay Area, you should look up K&L and pick up a couple.
Firestone Walker: 13th Anniversary Ale
All I can say is we-woo-wah-woooo… this guy is dark– so dark sweet and luscious. It has a real subtle nose but if you get way in there you can really get hints of the barrel and caramel… nothing to get tight pants over, but in the mouth it is a different story… when you take a sip, the first thing you get hit with is this crazy sweetness…
Sierra Nevada: 30th Anniversary Stout
Summary: Company: Sierra Nevada Type: Stout Taste: Sweet, Luscious Alcohol Content: 9.2% Food Pairing: Steak, Pizza, Buffalo Wings, etc… Rating: 5 out of 6 Website: Sierra Nevada 39th Anniversary Stout This is a great stout. What I love about it is it has that signature American twist to it. It is almost like a sweet [...]
The Bruery: Saison de Lente
Based on the name and the nifty pink packaging, this guy is an Easter/Spring seasonal. It is crisp, light, refreshing, sour and slightly bitter. The nose is like all of The Bruery beers, magnificent. I can just sit here all night and just sniff this thing without even taking a sip. In the mouth it is really bubbly like a Txocoli and really crisp. When you swallow you get the sourness of the bret and the bitterness of the hops, plus a mellow nuttiness and mild caramel flavor.
The Bruery: Saison Rue
Freakin awesome! That is all I have to say about this guy… It is freakin awesome. This guy is a Belgian/French farmhouse ale. It is super complex. The nose is luscious and you get a little tartness from the bret which reminds me of a Russian River Bret brewed beer, but you also get a strong caramel, biscuit rye scent that just fills your nose. This guy is really aromatic. In the mouth it is slightly greasy and coats the mouth, but in an awesome way.
The Bruery: Orchard White
Orchard White is a light lemony and refreshing wit from The Bruery. In the nose it is wheaty, lemony with a hint of Belgian ale. In the mouth it is clean and refreshing. You get the strong lemon flavor with the rich Belgian wheat flavor as it goes down.
The Bruery: 2 Turtle Doves
Ok, so I’ve been saving this guy because… well, I’m not sure why… this guy has been sitting in the fridge for a couple months now and The Bruery makes some of my favorite craft beers soooo… actually, maybe that is why I have been saving this guy… wait who am I kidding, it is rainy and cold as shit outside and I am craving a dark rich beer…
Nectar Ales: Black Xantus Imperial Stout
This beer is magnificent. Lately all of the imperial stouts I have tried have been deep dark thick monsters, but this guy is dark as night yet is fruity, sweet and luscious. In the nose it is sweet and delicious… like taking a deep breath of chocolate coffee ice cream. In the mouth this guy is super smooth and velvety. When you swallow you get the sweetness with hints of flowers or fruits and then an awesome vanilla aftertaste.
Sierra Nevada/Dogfish Head: Life & Limb
Man I was freakin bummed out when this was released in November because I sent my brother who lives up in Chico out to the Sierra Nevada brewery to pick me up a couple bottles but they were already sold out…yea, freakin sucks… so just when I was finally getting over not getting to try this guy I got an email from my beer pusher Bryan at K&L saying that they just got some in!… I was so excited I almost peed my pants a little.
Cuvee Angelique: Dubbel Speciale
Dubbel Speciale is a magnificent dark Belgian ale. It is brewed according to the ancient “Dobbel Special Belge” style and rings up at 8.3% ABV. It comes wrapped up like a x-mas present which is awesome for two reasons… 1. it keeps the light out and 2. makes me feel like a kid opening up the best gift ever!
The Bruery: Rugbrod
God Damn, I am a fan of The Bruery’s beers! Rugbrod is a Dainish style ale. It means Rye Bread in Danish talk… In the nose you get some light sweetness from the malt, some Belgian-ish spiciness and chocolate. In the mouth you get a hint of cloves and bananas, a ton of chocolate, caramel and a rustic earthy flavor from the Rye malt which really does make this guy tastes like Rye Bread. Tis a great beer. This guy is super balanced, fresh and freakin flavorful.
Russian River Brewing Co: Salvation
So on my weekly beer run to K&L I was surprised to hear my beer pusher say that they just got in Salvation from Russian River Brewery… I have never had Salvation before…. they didn’t even have it at the brewery when we ran up to Santa Rosa a few months ago, so when he brought out the bottles from the back I got all excited. I could barely concentrate the rest of the day at work because all I wanted to do was break open one of my bottles and try it.
Deschutes: The Abyss, 2009 Reserve
It is here, oh yes, it is here. K&L just got in a few cases of these bad boys and I was lucky to score 3 bottles. This is the first year I have been privileged enough to score a bottle and man do I feel like a lucky lucky man….that being said, let me try to review this dark and lovely beast. It pours from the bottle super smooth. It almost looks like you are pouring motor oil…it creates an awesome (have to apologize for the excessive use of awesome now) dark brown head.
De Proef Brouwerij / Bell’s Brewery: Van Twee
Van Twee is a collaboration between De Proef Brouwerij of Belgium and Bell’s Brewery of Michigan. Taking the best of both Belgium and Michigan and mixing them into one nice beer. This guy is a mix between a super dark spicy belgian ale and a porter brewed with sour cherry juice. In the nose you get a sour spicy cherry scent similar to what you get from a lambic ale or a belgian ale brewed with Bret and lactobacillus.
AleSmith Brewing Co: Grand Cru Ale
A Grand Cru Ale is what breweries call their best of the best, and AleSmith’s Grand Cru lives up to the name. This guy is a dark spicy Belgian ale. It is on the sweet side, but it is perfectly balanced with what tastes like cloves and nutmeg and other spices. I am normally not the biggest fan of sweet beers, but the malt in this guy is complex, smooth and delicious….
The Bruery: Autumn Maple
Wow, Autumn Maple is another great beer from The Bruery! It is a seasonal dark Belgian style ale brewed with a ton of yams, a ton of spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and vanilla), molasses and maple syrup. The first sip of this guy is sweet and you get the strong alcohol flavor coming from the massive 10% ABV, but the next sip is pure awesomeness.
Sierra Nevada: Estate Brewers Harvest Ale
This is one of the only estate made ales available in the world, made with both barely and hops grown at the brewery. This little gem is freakin good. It is super smooth and flavorful. It is a perfect balance between the bitter hops and smooth delicious malt. Sierra Nevada isn’t one to disappoint when it comes to their specialty brews and this guy is no exception.
Port Brewing Co: High Tide IPA
High Tide IPA is a seasonal brew by Port Brewing Co. It is brewed only in the fall season to coincide with the annual hop harvests in Yakima Washington. This is an awesome IPA…well if you are a hop head… It is a little on the bitter side but the mixture of Centennial and Chinook hops along with the two row malt makes for a nice grape fruit citrus and bitterness in this beer.
The Bruery: Hottenroth Berliner Weisse
Wow, I really like this beer. It is super super light in both color and alcohol content (3.1%) but it also has a super super flavorful. It is brewed with lactobacillus and a hint of brettanomyces which are actually bacteria’s that most brewers don’t want to get in their brews because they leave a distinct sour flavor in the beer…
Dogfish Head: Pumpkin Ale
Smooth and sweet…no “pumpkin” flavor up front, well at least not the pumpkin flavor you would expect …this is a great mild “Bitter” type beer… Imagine New Castle but super fresh and kind of sweet with a mild spiciness and sweetness you just can’t place … it is very light on the hops, has a smooth sweet malt and you are left with a little spiciness on the tongue…
Russian River Brewing Co: Temptation
This is another extraordinary beer from RRBC. Just like Consecration this guy is aged in used wine barrels but instead of Cabernet barrels like Consecration this guy is aged 9 to 15 months in Chardonnay barrels. The nose is tarty and fruity, slightly sweet. Almost like a sour green apple. In the mouth it is magnificent. The tartness immediately makes your mouth water as the flavor fills your mouth.
Russian River Brewing Co: Consecration
I have seen this guy in the refrigerators of K&L for a couple months now but unfortunately the $20 price tag kept me from trying it. I knew this beer is probably awesome but it is hard to justify (especially to the wifey) paying $20 bucks for a bottle. Then I had an idea, we live in the bay area (about 2 hours from Santa Rosa), why don’t we take a road trip up there and try the beer at the source.[...]
Brooklyn Brewery: Brooklyn Pilsner
After a long day of touristy walking in New York and seeing Passenger 57 himself on the street, I needed a cold one. We waited forty more minutes outside Grimaldi’s in Brooklyn for pizza. This place was packed and all the people in line where hyping it up. It turned out to be amazing pizza. [...]
Sapporo: Yebisu
It is always a good day when the wifey comes home from the Korean grocery store with a new beer. Pretty sweet huh? This time she brought me a Yebisu Traditional Beer from Sapporo Breweries Ltd. This guy tastes a lot like a Sapporo without the bitter. It is kind of sweet but very balanced [...]
Duvel
While I am on my Belgian Ale kick I decided to pick up one of the quintessential Belgian Ales, Duvel. This guy is pretty good. I would describe this guy as a mixture of a Pilsner and Belgian Ale. It is really light and blond, smells like a Pilsner, and even tastes like a Pilsner [...]
Russian River Brewing Co: Redemption
So, I went into K&L today during lunch and what do I find?… a new Belgian Ale from Russian River Brewery! Well, it is not a new ale, but it is new for K&L and me. Redemption. It is another great Belgian Ale from Vinnie Cilurzo at Russian River. It is a awesome golden ale [...]
Echigo Stout
My wife is half Korean and every once in a while she gets the itch to cook some of her favorite childhood Korean food recipes. This means we get to take a trip to the Korean supermarket, which also means I get to spend about an hour or so checking out all of the crazy [...]
Russian River Brewing Co: Blind Pig
Wow, this is a great IPA. It has an awesome nose. Right when you crack this guy open the hops fill the air. It has your American IPA citrussyness, but it is definitely different than something like a Racer 5. This guys has more of a grapefruit taste to it versus more of a lemon/orange [...]
Russian River Brewing Co: Pliny the Elder
So I’ve been kind of putting this beer off for a while mainly because it costs about $4.30 a pint at K&L and I have been kind of cheap lately, but a couple days ago I found myself back at K&L on a mission to pick up another beautiful bottle of Damnation…and I said to [...]
Russian River Brewing Co: Damnation
I picked up one of these guys a few weeks ago on one of my weekly beer hunting trips to K&L. I have seen Damnation before but I have always avoided it thinking that with a name like Damnation, this guy is going to be either dark and bitter or super strong and sweet like [...]
Red Stripe
Nothing like a cold one when you get home after work on a Monday. It doesn’t have to be the fanciest or most obscure beer, you just gotta have one. Tonight’s was Red Stripe. It may be a mediocre beer with a moderate bitterness but sometimes that’s all you want when contemplating how mediocre and [...]
Dogfish Head: 90-Minute IPA
This massive Imperial IPA boasts 90 IBUs and 9% ABV. It is bitter yet balanced out by a sweet, rich and complex malt…Surprisingly it doesn’t seem that bitter… This beer is really sweet but not gross and overpowering. This is really a malt lover’s beer. It is chocolaty and caramelly and super complex. Normally a [...]
Monk’s Ale
So one of the perks of being a self employed/freelance (aka unemployed) photographer is that I have the privilege of staying in touch with all the friends that have left California over the years. One of my favorite trips, and one I try to make at least once a year is to visit a college [...]
Bear Republic: Hop Rod Rye
Bear Republic right now is one of my favorite breweries because everything they make is super complex and full of flavor. This guy is no exception. This guy has a really sweet nose but is balanced out with a super bitter bite that tames that sweet nose and makes the beer go down smooth. The [...]
Bear Republic: Big Bear Black Stout
This is one of the best beers I have had in a long time. I mean, holy sh*t this is a great Stout. It is smoother than Billy Dee Williams hawking a bottle of Colt 45 in the 80s and actually just as dark and lovely. It does leave a little bitterness on the tongue [...]
Bear Republic: Red Rocket Ale
Bear Republic Brewery could be my new favorite brewery. I’ve enjoyed there Racer 5 Pale Ale for a while now, and the local BevMo has started carrying a few of their other beers as well. The Red Rocket Ale is definitely a different beast. It has complex flavors that I can’t put my finger on [...]
Long Hammer IPA
Let me start by saying, I am an IPA fan. But this beer is now near the top of my list. Brewed by Red Hook brewery, they took the time to add a buttload of hops. A common complaint of non IPA fans is that the added hops bitter up the beer. This beer strikes [...]
Anchor Summer Beer
Like all Anchor Brewing Co. beers, this is a great one. “Anchor Summer Beer is the first American Wheat beer to be brewed in modern times” This pretty much means that Anchor Brewing not only started the micro brew movement but they are the first to make an American Wheat beer, and this one is [...]
Red Chair IPA
This is a great summer seasonal Double IPA. It has a super citrus nose and a clean and slightly bitter finish. The hop aroma from this beer is awesome. When you go in for a sip, the hop fragrance fills your nose and palate. This is a seasonal beauty from Deschutes Brewery, the same guys [...]
Undertaker Ale
My father-in-law works at a funeral home/memorial park and told me that his boss brews beer and had given him a bottle to try. He busted it out at our 4th of July gathering and I was very skeptical. Usually, home brewed beers if done incorrectly make you dump for days but I tried it [...]
Racer 5
Man this is a smooth hoppy beer with a strong citrus flavor permeating throughout. First when you see a beer with a 7% alcohol content you think, damn that sh*t is going to taste harsh and so sweet that it is gross..(normally high alcohol content beers are really sweet because of the extra sugar they [...]
Leffe Blonde
There’s often a buffet of beers at a barkyard barbecue so I was hella quick to grab one of the Leffe Blondes still sitting on ice from a six pack someone brought. This beer is served in restaurants and bars with a specialty glass but of course that sh*t is nowhere available at backyard barbecues [...]
Trumer Pils
I normally shy away from European Pilseners because they tend to be kind of skunky with all of the traveling they have to do to get to the US, but not this Pilsener. In 2003 Trumer decided that after 400 years of being in business, it is probably time to open up a second brewery [...]
Claim Jumper Red Ale
Claim Jumper Red Ale failed. It tasted very watered down, lacked head and if I was to get another red ale at one of these restaurant/brewery chains, I’d still settle for BJ’s Jeremiah Red. Claim Jumpers’ Red will never be my top pick when I’m eating there. I’ll drink one out of a six pack [...]
Damm Lemon
Another great beer we found in Barcelona was Damm Lemon by Damm SA. This is a Clara, which is a lemonade and Lager beer mix. One thing I love about kicking around in Europe is that you can get these awesome half and half beers, and they are always really tasty. I was originally introduced [...]
A.K. Damm
I was recently in Barcelona, drinking my way around the many different tapas bars and I came across this pretty good beer called A.K. Damm in a tapas bar in the Barri Gotic. It has a really smooth character and a nice finish. Like all of the Spanish beers I have tasted, it does remind [...]
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