April 26, 2008 at home

After missing out on Jim, Mike, and Gina's recent trip to HotShotz, I decided to go out and find some Struise Pannepot of my own (Crown at 65th and Allisonville). The glowing reviews made it sound like an incredible beer. And the beer is worth the hype.

Pannepot is a very dark brown beer with a dark tan thick bubbly head. It has a strong Belgian nose of plum and other fruits. The mouthfeel is metallic and soapy. From the first taste, sugary notes pop out. Brown sugar, molasses, all the usual suspects. Just a knock out of flavors. And at 10% ABV, a TKO of a beer.

So, I'm thinking of giving this beer 4.5 mugs. What does that do for the rating? If it were to be factored into the previous review, my rating would drop the average score from 4.87 to 4.78, making it the third highest score (BBC's Jefferson's Reserve Bourbon Barrel Stout would move to 2nd at 4.82).  read more »

Posted: by MayorAdamWest (1 day ago)

John reports on going to the Craft Brewers Festival held in San Diego. The CBC is held in different places around the country once a year. Brewers from all of the world attend. During the week there are talks about beer, sessions about beer, judging beer and of course drinking beer. As there are lots of great breweries in San Diego we got to tour such as Stone Brewery, Port Brewing, Green Flash, Karl Strauss and San Deigo Brewing Company and others.  read more »

We bought a new computer. In doing so, I had to move a bunch of files from the old computer to the new computer. Of course, it was a trip down memory lane, going through all the old competition documentation, pictures, and so on.

In doing all this, I came across a file entitled "beercart." Upon opening it up, I found a diagram I did a couple of years back for a cart to bring to SCA events that holds two corny kegs of beer. I never built the thing, as it was too expensive. Buying the wooden wheels, beer faucets with shanks, oak barrel, picnic cooler with a plate chiller in it, just proved to be too much. Just chalk this one up to "maybe someday."

To be honest, I'm not sure the thing would even work, as it required me to cut a hole in the side of an oak barrel big enough to fit the tops of two corny kegs. To do this meant cutting the metal hoops that holds the barrel together, and I'm pretty sure it would not stay together after that. Those hoops keep the staves of the barrel in place.  read more »

Some follow up for everyone - I don't need your name for the happy hour Saturday. You just need mine! Follow the directions in the previous post, and tell them you are on the list for my happy hour. And then? We all spend a couple of happy, cheap hours. Yay!

This here’s a seasonal brew from the folks at Flying Dog. Once I picked this beer up, I realized that we’re shy a few reviews of Flying Dog beers, so maybe I’ll try to pick those off in the next couple of weeks to complete the cycle. However, I’m also heading up to North Dakota soon, so that might open up (or close) a few beer doors for me. So, we’ll see - stay tuned…

This is, quite possibly, the best Flying Dog beer I’ve had to date. But, let me qualify that statement by telling you that I’ve been on a real French farmhouse ale kick for, well, the last several months. This beer pours a just-slightly-hazy golden color with a thin white head that quickly strips away to nothing. In the nose, this beer is sweet and subtle. There isn’t much sourness to the smell - rather, it’s just a light bready malt with a pleasant sweetness that just barely tickles the nose. In the mouth, this beer is again sweet and subtle. Frankly, I’d be hesitant to call this a French biere de garde, as it doesn’t display the sour bite that many of the genre have. Rather, there exists just a light lemon-rindy sourness that is heavily diminished by the malty sweetness, making the sour aspects a background presence that might be lost on a casual drinker. So, instead of calling this a French biere de garde, I’d prefer to call this an American biere de garde (which is a bit of an oxymoron). Lots of folks on whom I’ve pushed saisons/farmhouse ales/biere de gardes have complained of the overwhelming sourness (although I personally find it to be a refreshing trait). So, this version that displays all the traits of a saison, only with the sourness taking a backseat to the more accessible sweetness and still maintaining a very refreshing flavor with a light and fleeting mouthfeel, should surely suit a larger demographic while still being a delicious brew. My hat’s off to Flying Dog for this one - I can see it being one of my staple beers for the season.  read more »

A Good Beer Blog --

Why not? Why can't I have two new-to-me brews by Weihenstephaner in one week? The last one was a bit of a puzzle as I figured I knew what a weizenbock was but then realized I was off. Now I face a label that says "doppelbock and "dunkles starkbier" - maybe this is the replicant of Aventinus...though it's only 7.4%...hmmm. The brewery says:

A double bock beer that has what it takes. Not just for lovers of strong beer. With a malty aroma and great taste, our Korbinian is a true beer speciality. It goes well with smoked meat and fish as well as wild roasts and fowl.

The TAP Brewery — in Haverhill, MA — will be celebrating a special event on Monday May 5th from Noon to last call. They are celebrating both Cinco de Mayo and their Fifth year in business. There will be live music, Mexican food and drink specials, and deals like $5.55 for a beer sampler.

There is a rumor that a new Mexican-style Vienna Lager will be unleashed –basically a slightly darker Vienna Lager–called Cerveza 5.

We hope to see you there!

Sean
2Beerguys.com

Drink Craft Beer, You’ve Earned It!!!  read more »

Posted: by MrDark (1 hour ago)