Old East India Pale Ale, Sea Dog Brewing Co., Bangor, ME

The Old East India Pale Ale is not your traditional IPA. If hops make an appearance in this beer, it is a brief one which my faithful readers know is a no-no in my beloved IPAs. There is a great caramel malt flavor hiding behind this beer, but they need to turn this malt flavor up a few notches as the lightness suggests a flat taste. The 6.2% ABV was one of the only things not disappointing me in this beer experience. The other? The Sea Dog Brewery had Big Buck Hunter Safari in its restaurant. The Old East IPA gets a 2.5. Add a few hops and a few more grains and this has 3.5/4.0 potential.

Organic India Pale Ale, Eel River Brewing Co., Fortuna, CA

The Eel River Organic IPA is better than your typical IPA. It has strong hop character that is complemented by a smooth fruitiness. Despite a 7 % ABV, you do not feel like you are drinking an alcohol heavy brew. I am sure that since the beer is made from organic hops, that appeals to people, not me though. What is appealing to me is the taste which this beer is full of. The Eel River IPA gets a 3.5.

Arcadia Ales IPA, Arcadia Brewing Co., Battle Creek, MI

The Arcadia Ales IPA is another of what I would call a Starter IPA. The hops aren't overpowering, but there is a smooth grapefruity citrus hop flavor. The light touch of hops however do provide a lingering bitterness. The 5.9% ABV is also on the light side for where I typically want my IPAs to be, but the citrus tones make up for it. The Arcadia gets a 3.5

Skull Splitter, Orkney Brewery, Orkney, Scotland

The Skull Splitter shows just how close some beers teeter on the edge from an American Strong Ale or Double IPA to a barley wine. This beer definitely follows suit with a Dogfish Head 90 Minute Ale as they are decidedly similar beers. Both of them have strong citrus floral presence that is enhanced by an alcohol bite. The Skull Splitter is more elixir than liquid and explores all of your taste bud senses. The 8.5% ABV is also intimidating, so the weak of heart should leave this one be. The Skull Splitter takes a 4.5.

Tremont Ale Mr Oktoberfest, Shipyard Brewing Co., Portlan, ME

This beer doesn't exist, or that's what the Internet wants you to think, but I had the Tremont Ale Mr. Oktoberfest and it was good, real good. So what's with the lack of web coverage? It seems Tremont Ale was bought by Shipyard Brewing Co. and they have decided to produce this beer without marketing it. The Mr. Oktoberfest is a great brown ale. It is smooth and it has slight fruity hints. It definitely compares with Sam Octoberfest. This beer gets a 4.5 and I will be sending my liquor store buddies off in a search for this beer.

Black Dog Ale, Spanish Peaks Brewing Co., Polson, MT

The Black Dog Ale is another one of these beers from "Parts Unknown", it seems they used to be based out of Maryland and now may be located in Montana. And I found it in Maine. This dog knows how to travel. The Black Dog is a smooth brownish ale with a good light taste. The hops are very unassuming, a trait you will find in most English Pale Ales. The beer is definitely refreshing and will not dominate your palette, but linger so you know it's there. The 5.2% ABV is right in line with the crispness of the beer. The Black Dog gets a 3.5.

Weekend Notes

I was able to knock back some great beers this weekend so the posts will definitely be flowing through the next few weeks as I catch up. I was at a College Football Tailgate this week, which caused me to think what are your favorite beer related activities/sports/games? I'd have to put Beirut, and GoldenTee up there for sure. And probably the old mainstay pool or billiards as some chaps call it. What about yours? Also there is a poll up on the right side of the page. Let me know what you think.

Hobgoblin, Wychwood Brewery, Okfordshire, United Kingdom

Check out that face on the bottle, how can you honestly pass the Hobgoblin by without taking a second glance? The thing is, I couldn't. When looking for new beers to try, I definitely look for coolest bottle. Yes I am destined to impulse buy anything that is slightly interesting, especially if it's next to the register. The Hobgoblin is on the lighter side of brown ales. While I often detract for this lightness in my reviews, I found that the Hobgoblin made up for it with a fruity/nuttish aftertaste that teased and appeased my palette. This beer definitely has flavor on it's side as well as a healthy 5.2% ABV. The Hobgoblin sneaks in at a 4.0.

Boathouse Brown Ale, Sebago Brewing Co., South Portland, ME

The Boathouse Brown Ale is your run of the mill standard brown ale. I think the boys at Sebago could add a little more chocolate malt to add a bit more oomph to this beer. Even the ABV is rudimentary clocking in at 4.8%. This isn't a beer you'd write home about, unless of course you have a blog where you write about beer. The Sebago gets the standard 3.0.

Weekend Notes

I was up in Maine this past weekend and was able to visit a local brewery as well as try a bunch of different beers, when I get a chance I'll post these over the next few days. I was very high on a few of these so I want to get them out and posted as soon as I can, so keep an eye out the next few days.

Double Dead Guy Ale, Rogue Brewery, Newport, OR

There are 3 things you can do when confronted with peer pressure (this blog is sponsored by a very special episode of Blossom) , either ignore it, succumb to it, or do something something so over the top that those pressuring you see how crazy you are and leave you alone. The problem with option one is that you will most likely keep on getting pressured and or teased. The problem with option 2 is that you essentially weak and will be victim to the peer pressure forever, and the problem with option 3, well there's a reason you were being peer pressured in the first place, so to go above and beyond that, well that takes a different kind of person. This is the situation I found myself in, with my dinner companions chanting that I order the Dead Guy Ale, I weighed my options. Option 1 wouldn't work because my companions had had a few and were determined to keep chanting, option 2 could lead to a night of them chanting outrageous drinks and god forbid they start chanting for Mind Erasers, so I went for option 3. I didn't order the Dead Guy Ale, I ordered the DOUBLE Dead Guy Ale. My critics were quieted. Now here's the dangerous part, the Dead Guy Ale is 6.6% ABV, the Double Dead Guy is 9.5% ABV (not exactly double, is it Rogue Brewery, get your math straight). Now this wouldn't be a bad move if I were having just one, but this was the end of the night. This was guarantee hangover city. I had friends in college who used to have Tuesday night parties in the summer. They always tapped the Busch Light keg first and the Bud Ice keg second. You could always tell who was at their parties because the next day the people had their heads in their hands and walked like zombies around campus This is not logical, you should always start strong and then go weak, trust me you'll feel better in the morning. I should have remembered my college example, but alas I did not. I took on the Double Dead Guy Ale, and it was delicious. It was citrusy and sugary. It was overflowing with hoppy goodness. It did have a little alcohol bite to it, but the caramel and citrus confluence of flavors complemented it perfectly. The Double Dead Guy gets a 4.0

Advice: Don't Eat Yellow Snow

Hmmmmmm

Imperial India Pale Ale, Rogue Brewery, Newport, OR

What's better than an IPA? How about an IMPERIAL IPA? It's like the old Tim Allen bit where he always wants more power, well I feel that way about hops and the Rogue Imperial India Pale Ale was bringing the hops. The beer was very hoppy and the Cascade hop bitterness quotient is perfect. This IPA is not for the faint of heart, the ABV is at 9.5%, and while there is a slight alcohol tinge to the taste, it does not detract from the beer. In fact the only problem was that it only came in a 10.5 oz serving. If you are looking for a strong IPA, definitely pick this one up. The rating is at a 4.5.

Rogue Hazelnut Brown Nectar, Rogue Brewery, Newport, OR

I am a sucker for Brown Ales, I'll admit it, so when I saw the Hazelnut Brown Nectar on tap, I thought I'd give it a whirl. I was quite suspicious of the Hazelnut piece, but after all Pumpkin beers don't taste like pumpkins, right? Right? Wrong. This beer is like a giant hazelnut syrup, which on the good side means it was smooth, but on the bad side, it means the beer is very sweet. There is a nice chocolate maltiness to the beer, but the Hazelnut is very overpowering in the aftertaste. This is a novelty beer, where you should only really have one and move on. The 6.2% ABV is surprising since the beer comes off so smooth and the sweetness makes it more like a Bacardi Breezer. The overwhelming hazelnut flavor really knocks this one down a lot, coming in at a 2.5

Weekend Notes

Good weekend for beers this weekend. The restaurant I went to had a Rogue Ale beer night, so my posts this week will be very Rogue Ale centric. I find out Tuesday if I will be travelling this weekend, if so it means up to Maine for some Maine brews and possibly some Belgians as one of our hosts is a big Belgian beer guy. We also had dinner at a friend's house and found another pumpkin beer enthusiast. I didn't know there was such a thing, I blame El Nino for this epidemic. Another epidemic I saw this weekend, was bar salesmen. These are guys who come into bars and try to sell you things. Having lived in a sketchy area where this was a frequent occurrence, I thought this was only a local occurrence. I did not think this happened other places. Now I have been offered many things in bars, bicycles, dvds, meat, but this weekend the guy was selling tan suits. Amazing. Definitely an item I would have bought if cooler heads weren't around to stop me. I mean imagine the stories I could tell of the suit I bought in a bar, oh well.

Enjoy the Rogues this week, I did and I had the headache to prove it.

Oldie but Goodie email - Investment Advice

If you had purchased $1,000 of shares in Delta Airlines
one year ago, you will have $49.00 today.
If you had purchased $1,000 of shares in AIG one year
ago, you will have $33.00 today.
If you had purchased $1,000 of shares in Lehman Brothers
one year ago, you will have $0.00 today.

But, if you had purchased $1,000 worth of beer one year
ago, drank all the beer, then turned in the aluminum cans
for recycling refund, you will have received $214.00. Based
on the above, the best current investment plan is to drink
heavily & recycle.

It is called the 401-Keg.

A recent study found that the average American walks
about 900 miles a year.

Another study found that Americans drink, on average, 22
gallons of alcohol a year.

That means that, on average, Americans get about 41 miles
to the gallon!

Makes you proud to be an American!

Glacier Harvest, Harpoon Brewery, South Boston, MA

I was out at a generic Irish pub and found the Glacier Harvest on tap. It's a member of Harpoon's 100 Barrel Series so it is only available for a limited time. The Glacier Harvest had a very alcoholly taste and it seems this beer was driven by its bitterness. The bitterness is most likely the result of the wet hops. Wet Hops, are essentially fresher hops that have been harvested in the last 24 hours or so. They are supposed to give a fuller hop flavor. It also appears this beer had an 07 distribution as well, as I found an email from a friend discussing this bee and the wet hop process. I, however, was not interested in an encore performance. The 6.7% ABV and the bitterness defeated me and I give this beer a 2.0.