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When in Portland recently, I picked up my first (well designed) bottles from Crux Fermentation in Bend, Oregon. Here, is my review of the Impasse Saison….
Here is the description from the Crux website, “Saison, French for season, was traditionally brewed during the harvest season for Belgian Farm workers. With the harvest season upon us, we bring to the table our Saison, teasing with hints of citrus and spices. Hops and malt are well-balanced and layered with just a touch of sourness.”
It had been awhile since a box from Stone Brewing had reached my doorstep, but then I received this….
To give away my review, I am so glad that I did not get Punishment. This beer is all pepper. Seriously, it is hot. My cheeks are warm and my lips are stinging. Crime is part of the 2013 Series, Quingenti Millilitre. This was Batch No. 8. It has red and green Jalapenos. Cause why not. Then they added MORE peppers. Caribbean Red Hots, Black Naga’s, Fatalis and something with Scorpion in the title.
Supposedly it is Lukcy Basartd Ale aged in Bourbon barrels. But those flavors are gone. Obliterated. Nowhere to be found. To me it is undrinkable when warm and barely good when ice cold. I am not a pepper fan but I have enjoyed Habanero Sculpin in the past as well as other beers with chile in them when they worked “With” the rest of the beer. That is not the case here. This is one note and that note is hot. More novelty beer than anything else.
I wish I had gotten No. 7 in the series the Southern Charred. Oh well. At least the new book I am reading is good. It is by L.A. (Echo Park) author Charlie Huston. Skinner is about “asset protection” in general but fast paced action with social commentary on the side. Another cracking read from Huston whose book The Mystic Arts of Erasing All Signs of Death is one of my favorites.
Here is the second review of a Mid-Western beer brought back from Chicago, 5 Grass from 5 Rabbits…
Was expecting a little more hop to this one, considering the name and all. Pours a nice clear amber color. Spices really take the forefront here. The sage is coming through and I am getting some savory ginger type notes as well. Some pepper too. A little metallic note as well. Tasty, just mis-named for me. I much prefer the 5 Vulture which was a take on the mole, in beer form. I am intrigued to try more of the line-up from this brewery though.
I brought back a few bottles from my recent trip to Chicago and now is the time to review them! First up is a French Country Ale from Two Brothers, Domaine Du Page…
The Domaine pours an orange/brown color. Nutty aroma at first then perceptibly changes into something like a fruit but granola bar. There is a bit of alcohol heat in here too. This is classic Dubbel realm and quite good. When I was in Chicago, I also tasted their pale ale, Sidekick. It was quite enjoyable sitting in the sun, staring at the Cloud Gate sculpture, AKA the Bean, and having a hoppy good time.
Yes, I am deeply afraid of clowns. But I am growing fonder thanks to the beers of Clown Shoes from Massachusetts. The Sci-Fi heroine on the label points to a hoppy concoction from the hop staff she wields. Galactica pours a bright orange color. Thin head on this one, a quick dissipation of bubbles. A bit of caramel on the nose with some slight citrus behind it. My initial taste is of grape and grape juice. And that taste doesn’t fade as it warms up. It is almost like a grape barley wine. Good little sparkle to it as well so it doesn’t get too cloying. I would like to see this in an XPA version to get a little more of the hop character. As is, it is more an East Coast big malt bill that leads the way.
The Terrible Real Estate Photos blog is my new favorite site (after mine of course). Photo after photo of some really bad home shots that shouldn’t have seen the light of day. Hit the delete button people! Or better yet, don’t. I love reading the pithy little comments below each one.
What could be more perfect for Halloween? For a SoCal hop fan, AleSmith’s Evil Dead Red is a perfect Halloween treat. It pours a reddish brown and has a fragrant hop aroma coming off the glass. The taste starts off with some chewy maltness that is quickly overcome by some sharp carbonation and a wild melange of hops. I get a little citrus, some fruit punch and some floral notes. And they are strong. But the whole thing is well balanced. You get some more cereal notes at the end to really round the beer off.
And in keeping with the zombie theme on the label, my favorite Halloween film to watch is Shaun of the Dead (tragically mis-spelled). Followed by the first Paranormal Activity, The Exorcist, Arachnaphobia and the Blair Witch Project. I am not a big horror fan. Don’t like the chain saws and knives and crazed pyscho’s on the loose. I prefer a little more realism and some humor. Maybe it is because I watched a Pinhead movie when I was young and was turned off the whole blood and gore thing. Obviously, Evil Dead should be paired with it’s namesake movie but for Shaun of the Dead, I would go with Fuller’s Black Cab Stout. Dark but light bodied.
Los Angeles has been the recipient of some East Coast beers of late including this British style pale ale from Cisco Brewers. I love the simple label, especially the 3/4 pint notation. Pours a very clear and dark orange color. Aroma is more British pale for sure so kudos to brewing to style. Taste is primarily cereal malt with a small dose of hops. Does taste a bit watery which is odd for a 5.6% beer. Upon re-checking the aroma, you can almost smell the lack of oomph behind the beer. I am not arguing for a more hop approach but this does taste a little on the weak side to me. Then again my palate has had to work through Green Bullett and Carrack from San Diego brewers so maybe this is just an adjustment.
On a beautiful Autumn day with a light crispness on the air. I walked from Wrigleyville to Lincoln Park and the Half Acre taproom.
The space is next door to their growler/merchandise store and had tables as you walk in with the bar and tap handles in the back right corner.
You first notice this cartoon looking bear head over the taps with no beer names on them. Only emblazoned with the Half Acre name.
The leather bound menu augments the board on the wall with the day’s available beers.
I started light with the Pony pilsner. It poured a pretty yellow color and hit all the marks of a craft pils. A little more fizz might have helped but it was a promising start to my tasting.
Since it was October, I went for the Okto/Marzen next and it was the surprise beer of the trip. Big nutty taste, a little touch if sweetness and a firm spicy hop note. If it weren’t for the next beer, it would have been my choice as best of the trip.
And that beer is the famed Daisy Cutter. A perfectly balanced pale. Great fruit punch hop notes on top a bed of light malt. One of those rare hoppy beers that mixes hops so that the sum is greater than the parts.
Oddly enough, the two wet hop beers that I was psyched to see on the menu were only so-so. I would rank them behind the pilsner.
The Half Acre tap room is my kind of place. Quirky vibe with a great selection of beers.
Wow! A pilsner with a plus 90 rating! Wait, it says Imperial in front of it. But this is a damn fine, simple pilsner from Boulevard. No bells and whistles. No extra dry hopping. Just a bigger ABV pils that is clean and lovely. Good bubbly look to this dark yellow hued beer. Some notes of vanilla sneak in but mostly grain tastes here.
And I like the Nigel Tufnel name check too.
This is a rhino of a beer from Smuttynose (which now has a presence here in Los Angeles despite being in the rebuilding phase of their brewery). Pours a dark orange and a bit foamy. Takes some time to settle. Big piney hop presence up front in the aroma. Then the rye really takes over in the taste. But the hops aren’t second fiddle. More of a co-conspirator. A bit of an alcohol aroma as I make a second pass through it. Certainly more west than east coast. Ways heavily on the tongue.
So, it’s mid-October and the books and music are being shoved to the side for college football as I root for in order:
1. Linfield College – my alma mater which needs one more win in 5 to secure another winning season. But they have higher goals. Rising higher than # 2 in the country for Division 3.
2. Oregon State – my dad’s school and despite wearing orange and black have the best uniforms of the two state schools. Mostly because a certain other team wears highlighter yellow or other strange combos of silver, yellow and green.