Photo Dump

Lately it seems I spend more time taking pictures of beer than I do actually writing about beer, though I've just about filled up another notebook with notes.  None of the writing part ever seems to get transferred here to the blog.  So, to close out the year, I suppose I'll dump a batch of beer pictures taken over the last few years and have done with it.

 

August 11, 2012, Coors Archive Brewing, Batch 19 Pre-Prohibition Style Lager
My first sample of this came directly from a friend who carried it back to Arizona from Colorado.  My notes for this one read:
Vaguely grainy smell.  Golden color with a nice white head.  slightly acid.  Tastes like any good lager.  Hint of corn or something in the finish.

 

August 24, 2012, Rogue Brewing, Captain Sig's Northwestern Ale



This one struck me as a gimmick beer right up front, but the tasting results were a different story and it turned out that this one reminded me of one of my all time favorites:

Red bronze color, light tan head.  Malty sweet smelling.  Really good.  Reminds me of Deschutes Cindercone Red.  Too bad it's so expensive.  Excellent.  Thick mouth feel.

October 8, 2012, Trader Jose, Dark Premium Lager

I'm amazed by the weird things I find at Trader Joe's and I'm always impressed at the low prices there.  This one turned out to be worth the price.  The notes in the book read:

Dark tea color.  Surprisingly thick head.  sweet smelling.  Grainy, slightly acidic taste.  Really pretty good especially for the price  Brewed in Mexico by Cerveceria Alta, Tecate, Mexico.

February 24, 2010 Bell's Two Hearted Ale.

This one has become one of my most favorite beers and I laugh now when I read the closing sentence of the entry that recorded my first sample of Two Hearted Ale:

I'm wondering if I could bring myself to plunk down $11 for a six pack of this.  I definitely like it.



This one has become my go-to beer when I'm wanting something I know is good and when I see it on sale for $8 or $10, I almost always buy it.

 

 

Before Another Year Slips By...

Lately I find that my beer notebook fills up with new entries that never make it here to the blog. Here's a quick post for a new one I had just last night. 

Here's the low down as noted in the yellow engineer's notebook:

Alta 75 Anniversary Ale, Utah Brewers Cooperative. 4.0 abv. Nice bronze color with a medium beige head. Smells slightly of pine. Malty sweet and a bit dry at the finish. GOOD. 

This one was a single given to me as a Christmas gift. I recall trying to track this down last year and I'm glad to have gotten a chance to try it this time 'round. I'll try to snag more in the next day or so.

I looked back through the book and found the entry I made for this day in 2011. Seems I was in Utah then as well. 

 

(Posted from the phone.)

Widmer Brothers Citra Blonde

It's been too long since I posted here and it pains me to have to post a negative review but here you go. 

I have enjoyed every Widmer Brothers product I have had until now. I'm afraid Citra Blonde is, um, a bit dreadful. I bought a mixed 12-pack that included a few bottles of this. I'm afraid I have to say that I hope the brothers don't bother to being this out next summer. Here's a photo of the product at hand. 

Eisbock Error

Shiner's Farmhouse Ale was a bit lackluster; however I stumbled on a nifty way to extract something with a more distinct flavor profile and a whale of a lot more kick.

I won't go into the boring details but there is a brewing process whereby the beer is frozen and the unfrozen remnant retained for drinking. Since alcohol has a lower freezing point, the unfrozen liquid is a jazzed up, high alcohol version of the parent brew.

I accidentally left a bottle of Shiner Farmhouse in the freezer overnight and found it this afternoon with the cap slightly askew and a ring of foam around the neck. I gingerly popped the cap off and watched a dark brown liquid run down the sides of the bottle. I sipped it and felt the kick immediately.

I set the sputtering bottle inside a cup to capture the unfrozen remnant, which I then added to a regular glass of Farmhouse. I need to remember this and figure out a way to better take advantage of this phenomenon.

You'll see the ice in the bottle and the darker than normal remnant in the mug. It had a higher alcohol content.

Cinder Cone Is Where You Find It

Frequent flyers here will know about my love affair with Cinder Cone Red; that bygone tasty treat from Deschutes Brewing. I really miss Cinder Cone but now and then I sample a beer that reminds me somewhat of Cinder Cone.

I picked up this single bottle of Squatter's Big Cottonwood amber ale a bit reluctantly I'll admit but having tried it, I'm glad I bought it and I'll buy it again.

Who cares if I like it because it reminds me of some other beer? Good is good!

(Third post from the iPhone.)

Bought the Farm(house)

I don't shop at the old Sunflower Market as often as I used to since they changed to Sprouts. They don't have the same sort of bargains there now. However, today I stopped in on a whim to pick up something to grill and some beer to wash it down.

I was not particularly impressed with the sale items (I guess I've become something of a cheapskate in my old age) until I spied some Shiner seasonal ale labeled as a "manager's special," priced at $4.99 a six pack.

Shiner FM 966 Farmhouse Ale is packaged in an eye-catching container with the sort of rustic label that I fall for every time. I bought one six pack along with a six pack of Gordon Biersch Winterbock; a bit of an insurance policy.

Meh. Sometimes it doesn't matter what beer you've got, just as long as you've got beer. This FM 966 will do for a Friday session ale and I'll look forward to some Winterbock later this weekend. Here's a toast to insurance!

Incidentally, I got home to find I'm out of gas for the grill. So much for my grand Friday plan.

Stone Vertical Epic 12-12-12

This will represent my first attempt to make a post via iPhone. I received a bottle of Stone Vertical Epic 12.12.12 as a graduation gift from a generous coworker (I completed my master's degree in November.). I cracked it open this weekend; here are the notes straight from the notebook:

Dark brown and opaque with a thick light brown head. Tastes like gingerbread with a hint of licorice. Alcohol bite late in the finish but not too strong. Very good.

In hindsight the licorice taste reminds me a little bit of the taste of a pontifract cake. In any event, I went to Total Wine and found 3 more to save for later! Grand.