Recent Beers - April 2013

Been on a craft beer tear lately.  Trades through BeerAdvocate, sours, stouts, etc.  I still have a few cool things not photographed, but here are the beers I have enjoyed recently.

Firestone Walker - Sucaba '13 - Single best barleywine I have ever had, and one of my favorite beers.  Perfect for sipping over 2 hours on a Sunday night.  Barrel aged notes, boozy, delicious.

Had to do a lot of legwork to find 8 bottles of this stuff, but definitely lives up to the hype.

Traded 3 KBS for 6 Heady Topper, through a local BeerAdvocate trade.  First time trying this delicious brew and it did not disappoint.

Big fan of Game of Thrones, an excellent TV show.  As soon as I heard this beer was going to be released, I knew I had to track it down.  Picked up 2 bottles, so my brother in law can try it when he comes to visit from Brazil in a couple weeks.

Least favorite of the recent beers.  Sierra Nevada's Ovila line - Quad.  I didn't hate it, but why would I drink this over Rochefort?

Beer Review: Founder's Breakfast Stout

Founder's Breakfast Stout is one of my favorite beers.  Clocking in at a heft 8.3% ABV this "Double Chocolate Coffee Oatmeal Stout" probably has more calories than some breakfasts. In addition, it is absolutely one of my favorite winter beers, regardless of what time of day.

The beer pours a dark black, with a big, brown, fluffy head that dissapates fairly quickly.  Definitely a handsome looking stout.  I poured this at about 55 degrees, which I think is the appropriate temperature for this beer.  Sticking my nose into the tulip glass, I pick up all kinds of chocolate and coffee flavors.  I have had this beer many times before, but the smell is really fantastic.  The beer is not overly thick in mouthfeel.  It has significant booziness, but it is still quite drinkable.  Definitely a bargain at $12.99/4pack.

I have already professed my love for 4 packs before, but let me take a moment to emphasize the value again!

Michigan Brews

On our hike up in New Hampshire, I mentioned that my uncle brought me some beers out from Michigan.  I sent him on the way with some Jack's Abby Lager and Mystic Saison.  None of these beers are particularly mind-blowing, just solid craft brew.  Below are them in reverse of order of what I liked best.

Bell's Brewing - Amber Ale:  My uncle said that this beer is as ubiquitous in Michigan as Harpoon IPA is in Boston.  I can see why, it is definitely a solid amber ale, great for outdoors and everything else.  With that said, there are many other better Bell's beers (almost all of them).  This bottle was also not particularly fresh, too bad.

Short's Brewing - Pontius Road Pilsner - Another decent beer from a well respected brewery.  They have actually distributed in MA from time to time, but they are known for making all manner of oddball beer.  This beer is actually a pretty straight forward pilsner, definitely an upgrade from the yellow fizzy stuff, but nothing mind blowing.

Founders - Dirty Bastard - Founders is a brewery that is actually 100% available in MA.  I have had this beer before and it did not disappoint, high ABV at 8.5%, this scotch ale is great for the fall/winter.

Bells - Two Hearted Ale IPA - Bell's most famous offering is their IPA.  It is absolutely fantastic, and this bottle was pretty fresh, so it had that great hop character I desire!  If this were available in cans 365 days a year, I could consider an exclusive relationship...

Recent Beers: Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout & Founders Double Trouble

This winter has been pretty weak for the area, very negligible snowfall and mild temperatures.  This is great for me, as I am no huge fan of snow and the accompanying shoveling, slipping on ice, and all that goes with it.  I feel bad for the snowboarding and skiing enthusiasts who are wildly unsatisfied by the lack of fresh powder.  When it's snowing, there's nothing I like better than an Imperial Stout.  You don't mind the additional ABV, because you are not going to be driving anywhere.  With that in mind, I have been picking up 4 packs of more complex, heavier beers.  I like this format a lot, since you get multiple bottles, which is better than a single bomber, but not 6 beers which may be harder to go through with the vast breadth of great craft beer available.

Founder's Brewing: Double Trouble

Michigan based Founders is absolutely one of my favorite breweries.  Everything that they brew and sell is pure quality.  There regular offerings are above market average and their seasonal and special brews are world class.  Double Trouble is no exception.  Often compared with Bell's Hopslam, another Michigan based DIPA.  The 9.70% ABV smacks you in the face, this beer smells and tastes boozy.  The other main factor, not surprisingly for a DIPA, is the hops.  I am not sure what varieties Founders uses, but there are multitudes of hop notes in the scent, taste, and long finish of the beer.  It is a citrusy hops note, rather than the piney notes sometimes favored in IPAs.  The high ABV and intense hops make this beer difficult to be called "drinkable" but it is so darn delicious.  $12.99 / 4 Pack.

Brooklyn Brewery: Black Chocolate Stout

Brooklyn Brewery's Russian Imperial Stout has been one of my favorites for the past few years.  The value is incredible, at only $7.49 / 4 pack.  There are not many Imperial Stouts that are affordable AND high quality, with many notable iterations running well over $10/22 oz bomber.  Brooklyn's BCS is able to hang with these beers, although could possibly be considered a little less complex.  As a common theme, the first thing you notice on this beer is the alcohol.  10.00% ABV makes this beer a one - and - done night for me.  It is not surprisingly very chocolatey, both in smell and taste.  The mouthfeel is very silky and carbonation is lower than most beers, but this is true to style.  This is one of my favorite blizzard beers, sipping on the dark chocolatey elixir as it warms up allowing the high ABV complexity to shine, while the white snow falls outside.

In addition, I am still loving the fresh Sierra Nevada Ruthless Rye, what an excellent beer at the perfect price.  I am looking forward to Sierra Nevada in cans, which is extremely favorable in my mind!

Summer is here

Summer is most definitely gearing into full swing. The Memorial Day weekend was abnormally hot, even Marina, my Brazilian wife, was sweating and complaining the whole weekend. I have been getting back into playing pick up basketball with some old friends and some new ones here in Quincy. We played some poker at my friend Joe from Walpole's house on Monday night, and I managed to drink roughly 20 craft beers!


I was in Western Mass with Marina checking out dorms at Mount Holyoke College, where she begins in the fall. She couldn't decide which one she would pick, but we made some progress. That campus is breathtaking in the summer, the old buildings are beautiful, its exactly what you think of in a private liberal arts college. We managed to grab some food and beer at Amherst Brewing Company right by UMass' flagship campus. Their beer is not spectacular, but the "Gone Postal" IPA that complemented my Bison Burger was hoppy and delicious. Didn't manage to take pictures, but I definitely recommend checking the place out, if you are in the neighborhood.

I grabbed a sixer of Founders Centennial IPA, could not find a date, but the hops were slightly faded, I was disappointed for $12. Additionally, I picked up a 12 pack of cans of Cisco's Whale's Tale Pale Ale, which is a solid English Pale Ale, that very lightly hopped, but thirst quenching and awesome in cans.

I grabbed a 750ml of Cantillon Rose de Gambrinus, mostly because I never see Cantillon in the bottle shops around here. Would drink exclusively sours if they weren't $17 a bottle! This was a 2010 vintage, and the raspberries were very clear, and accentuated the tart base lambic. I apologize for the lousy picture! Cantillon really is the master of sours, although my next sour will be Jolly Pumpkin's La Roja, to see what an American sour brewer can do.

Finally, I enjoyed my second 500ml bottle of Maine Brewing Co.'s Zoe. I grabbed 2 bottles for $10 at my local packy, which apparently is a pretty good deal. Zoe is a delicious amber, darker than something like Nugget Nectar, which is one of my all time favorites, but it was still hoppy and delicious, bottled 4/28 so the hops were still bright.

I will be volunteering at BeerAdvocate's American Craft Beer Fest on Saturday, and will try to get some photos!