A review of a pale ale made with Mr. Beer. Code name – Minkey
Pint’s Pub
Denver, like Portland and now Los Angeles is full of great places to sit down and have a great craft brew or two. Pint’s Pub marries the English pub with the American brewpub. All of their beers sound great but the Dark Star caught my eye.
Here is the description to whet your appetite…”Dark Star Ale
Live ale from the hand pump. A robust nut-brown ale with a malty start and a traditional dry-hopped finish.”
Ojai Beverage Company
Since my parents are more into wine than beer, I am relieved to find places that serve both and serve both well. The Ojai Beverage Company is such a place.
This is a recent tap list. (Yes, tap list)
St. Louis Framboise Lambic
Sierra Nevada Crystal Wheat
North Coast Scrimshaw Pilsner
Green Flash West Coast IPA
Paulaner Salvador Doppelbock
Unibroue Trois Pistoles Strong Dark Ale
Abita Turbo Dog Brown Ale
Shipyard Pugsley’s Signature XXXX IPA
Klokke Roeland Belgian Strong Ale
Kona Pipeline Porter
Acme Pale Ale
Nitrogen Tap-Island Brew. Starry Night Stout
Check their website HERE
Tree Brewing
Now that the Winter Olympics are over, we can go back to BC for beer. Here is one place to head to. Tree Brewing in Kelowna.
And the Raspberry Porter sounds good. “650 ml single bottle
5.0% AlcoholThe Raspberry Porter, takes the smooth dark chocolate character of the Spy Porter and adds a Raspberry twist.”
Review – Troegs Nugget Nectar
Even though whenever I see the name “Nugget” I think of Denver and how badly I want Portland to beat them, I had to try this beer that is # 19 on the Beer Advocate ALL-TIME TOP BEERS list.
The beer Oscar goes to…
Which beer for the 10 oscar best movie nominees?
Avatar – Jasmine IPA from Elysian Brewing
An Education – Olde School Barleywine from Dogfish Head
The Blind Side– Pigskin Pale Ale from Beer Valley
District 9 – # 9 from Magic Hat
The Hurt Locker– Palate Wrecker from Green Flash Brewing
Precious– Precious Pils from Amnesia Brewing
A Serious Man– Abrasive from Surly Brewing
Inglorious Basterds– Double Bastard Ale from Stone Brewing
Up– Marriage Parfait from Brouwerij Boon
Up in the Air– Alt from Hangar 24 Brewing
Session # 38 – Announcement
This April, the Beer Search Party has the privilege of hosting Session # 38.
With Kate the Great Day a recent memory and the day of the Dark Lord fast approaching, I started thinking about what beer or beers that I would get up at 4:00 in the morning, drive across state lines, stand in a long unmoving line in the cold and rain for the chance to taste with a crowd the size of Woodstock.
So here is my question to you (with a couple addendums).
What beer have you tasted recently (say, the last six months or so) that is worthy of their own day in the media sun?
And to add a little extra to it, how does “great” expectations affect your beer drinking enjoyment?
AND If you have attended one of these release parties, stories and anecdotes of your experience will be welcomed too.
To join in:
1) Publish your blog post by Friday, April 2, 2010.
2) Leave a link to your blog in the comment section of this post or put your response in the comment section or email me your link to beersearchparty@gmail.com.
3)On Monday, I will post a round-up with comments and links to all entries.
Thanks to Stan and Jay for giving me the opportunity to host.
LongShot
This is my favorite Sam Adams beer release of each year, hands down. Each year it’s dramatically different and you get a wide style variety from a mere 3 different beers.
Here is the pertinent information…..
“The 2010 Samuel Adams LongShot variety six-pack will be available nationwide in select retail stores beginning in April for a suggested retail price of $9.99. The variety pack will include two bottles each of Michael Robinson’s Old Ale, Ben Miller’s Barleywine, and Jeremy White’s Saison.
ABOUT THE WINNERS AND 2010 CONTEST
Michael Robinson’s Old Ale is a malty English-style brew boasting notes of dried fruit, nut, and caramel. A slight bitterness balances the combination of five malts in this full bodied beer. Light brown with reddish highlights and good clarity, the ingredients of this English-style brew are all American with the exception of the yeast which is distinctively English. Created to enjoy on cold nights or as an after dinner treat, Mike’s Old Ale is 9% alcohol by volume, about twice that of the average beer. An experienced homebrewer, Mike was recognized as a finalist in the 2008 Samuel Adams American Homebrew Contest, as well as in the 2007 Samuel Adams® Patriot Homebrew Contest.
Ben Miller’s Barleywine is a dark red, flavorful brew with rich plum undertones to complement its caramel malt flavor. A self-proclaimed ‘hop head,’ Ben used several varieties of citrusy American hops in this beer, creating its resiny aroma followed by clean bitterness. Ben’s Barleywine is his 100th homebrew, brewed to commemorate two years of enjoying the hobby.
Jeremy White, who works in the IT department at Samuel Adams, channeled his love of Belgian beers to create his Saison, a classic Belgian-style brew. Jeremy’s flavorful, refreshing and lighter-bodied beer is brewed with Grains of Paradise, an exotic tropical spice also found in Samuel Adams Summer Ale. The peppery flavor is complemented by a slightly sweet aroma with hints of vanilla and citrus.”
The Old Ale sounds tempting.
Session # 37
First, a little backstory. The last apartment that my wife and I shared was on the 2nd floor. Since Los Angeles is the home of bright lights and nearly year long heat, it was not conducive to creating an “awesome stash” from jaunts to San Francisco, Portland or San Diego.
Now, in a larger and more temperate apartment. The cellaring can begin. Unfortunately, this session has caught me too early in the process. So I will have to tell you what I will be opening in 2015.
Anchor Steam: I will start with the 2009 Our Special Ale and end with the 2015 version. I will convene a tasting panel to decide which year has aged well and whether or not the latest will be good in 2020.
IPA’s: For my 45th birthday, I will open up a selection of aged IPA’s to see if this style can withstand the aging process.
Local: I will re-gather my tasting crew to sample a variety of beers from the then (fingers crossed) thriving LA brewing scene. Cellared Eagle Rock, Gentlemen Scholar, The Strand and others.
Collaborations: Of one thing, I am sure. There will be some great collaborative beers out and I plan on grabbing what I can while the grabbing is good.
Masters Degree in hoppiness
From the Oregonian and a Portland Business Journal article:
“A new aroma hop breeding program will be created in the College of Agricultural Sciences at Oregon State University in Corvallis.
A gift pledge of $807,000 from Indie Hops, a Portland-based hop
merchant, will support the new program, which will be led by Shaun
Townsend, a research associate and hop breeding specialist at OSU.
Indie Hops already has provided $200,000 to OSU’s Thomas Shellhammer, holder of the Nor’Wester Professorship in Fermentation Science, to foster research in new techniques for developing aroma hops and to study aroma hop chemistry. The new hop breeding program will work closely with Shellhammer’s lab to study hop essential oil composition and how individual oil components impart the characteristic flavor and aroma to beer.”
This means in a few years we might get the next Citra or Nelson hops. IPA’s will not be the same.