Trinity Red Ale, Trinity Brewing Co., Chicago, IL

Interesting thing about Trinity Red Ale, it doesn't exist. Apparently it is brewed by Goose Island Brewing Co. for exclusive sale at Trader Joe's under the Trinity Ale name. Weird right? Anyways, back to the beer. The Trinity red is very light and has limited carbonation. The addition of rye to the brew gives it an unsweetened ice tea flavor where someone added a lemon peel as an afterthought. The ale is not hoppy, and not as creamy as it's red ale brethren. I think it's the kind of beer that traditional non-beer lovers may enjoy. I found that the sweet taste was quite enjoyable and different. I did not find the beer to be malty at all. According to Goose Island the beer or it's Goose Island Honker twin has 3.5% ABV. I rated the beer a 3.5. Trader Joe's, I've found, is a great place to find some different beers and I highly recommend it. Not all of them sell alcohol however.

La Rossa, Birra Moretti, Udine, Friuli Italy

The most alluring quality of fate is its absolute unexpectedness. There are always those times when the universe simply aligns and Destiny walks into the bar and makes her way towards you. You weren't even looking for it, but sometimes you don't choose Destiny, Destiny chooses you. I walked into a restaurant and through the crowd, I spotted the Moretti La Rossa, and said I'll have that. The La Rossa's fastball was really moving, unlike it's weaker sister beer. The chocolate malt flavoring was exceptionally delightful. The cherry undertones presented a Russell Stoverish pleasant surprise. The beer had a practiced velvety smooth quality. It was a more chocolatey Sam Ocktoberfest. La Rossa was bringing the High heat with a 7.2 ABV. Now, admittedly there are times when a beer just tastes better than normal, it could have been the batch, the environment, or a rogue bottle. 99 time out of 100 this beer could rate a 3.0, but tonight Moretti was on and it's bringing home a 4.5

Hop Ottin' IPA, Anderson Valley Brewing Co., Boonville, CA

The Hop Ottin' IPA comes out of the AVBC which judging from the picture on the label is much much different from the LBC. The Hop Ottin' has a peculiar consistency reminiscent of one of those rice beers. The IPA has a caramel apply malt flavor and there is a late whisper of hops in the aftertaste. I wouldn't consider this to be a traditional IPA, but it is different in its own right. The 7% ABV can't be laughed at either. All in all the beer gets a 3.5

My Dog Died

And by dog I mean dog in the Randy Jackson sense and by died, I mean figuratively, not literally. The Red Sox traded Hall of Famer to be Manny Ramirez, cash, Craig Hansen and Brandon Moss today for 2 Time All Star Jason Bay. Another notable 2 time All Star can be found here. See, all All Stars aren't that good. Manny has been mostly responsible for bringing much joy to the Boston area, not only with his play but his hilarious antics. It's a shame the media and Sox ownership forced this guy out of town, Baseball will be less interesting for sure. To honor Manny being Manny I downed 24 oz of Southern Tier Matt & Phin's Extraordinary Ale (after all this is a blog about beer not awesome baseball players), I then downed another 36 oz of beer to celebrate Craig Hansen being shipped to the Pirates. 24 is of course Manny's number, 36 is roughly the percent of strikes Craig Hansen throws during a typical outing.

Good Luck Manny, you'll be missed by the true Red Sox Faithful.