1001 Beers

Beer No: 47/1001
Page No: 614
Category: Dark

Ahh, beer #47.  A special number.  A unique number.  A random number.  My number.

If you saw yesterday's beer, you'll notice this is on the same counter top because I actually had this last night with the dinner we cooked for my mother.  And it paired perfectly with the steak and crab legs I thoroughly enjoyed.  There's not much more to say about the pairing that wasn't talked about yesterday, so I'll just go on with another fun topic...

Home brew!  Yup, today Arkh Brewing (e.g. me (Scott had to work late)) bottled the American Stout.  It is DARK...not too thick, a very good stout consistency I think.  I just can't wait for it to carbonate.  And it'll be ready just in time...  For what?  Why the Inaugural Hanger 24 Home Brew Competition of course - and we also plan on entering it in the OC Fair Home Brew Competition.  We hope to enter all four of our current beers in both competitions - the English Pale, American Pale, American Stout, and Cream Stout.  They are all sufficiently different to enter in different categories, so I'm really looking forward to get some unbiased feedback on our brews.

Back to the beer, the 10 Commandments is a Belgian Strong Ale that says it is brewed with raisins, honey, and rosemary.  The raisins stand above the rest of the ingredients though and almost overpower the flavors.  The spices are there, but I couldn't quite pick out the rosemary on its own.  The sweetness mostly comes from the malt, but I could taste just a hint of honey in there (though if you didn't tell me it was there, I might have missed it).  It's a very good beer, but could be great with a few years of aging.  A solid anniversary ale from the folks down in San Diego.

My review, cross-posted at RateBeer.com:

Lost Abbey 10 Commandments from Port Brewing / Lost Abbey

Aroma: 8/10
Appearance: 3/5
Taste: 7/10
Palate: 4/5
Overall: 14/20

Rating: 3.6 / 5.0

Had from 750ml bottle from Total Wine. Pours very dark brown, not too hazy, a ton of carbonation, very good head and lacing. Aroma very sweet, raisins very pronounced in nose. Some plum, spices, and malts round it out. Taste is very malty sweet with nice fruity finish. Alcohol is somewhat hidden, still apparent, but not too strong. Mouthfeel is standard with lots of bubbles. Good, but probably would be great after a few years of aging.

Beer No: 32/1001
Page No: 529
Category: Blond

Today, Scott and I bottled the second of our two pale ale iterations.  This "American Pale Ale" was brewed using a California Pale yeast strain and it is pretty darn tasty without any carbonation.  Unfortunately, while bottling we found out that our capping machine isn't working as it should.  We got it as a part of an introductory home brew kit a long time ago and we really didn't use it much as we preferred to use 750 ml champagne bottles.  But when we started opening our English Pale Ales and found the caps weren't giving us good seals, I though I just was making mistakes while capping.  But this time, with Scott on the capping machine, it was confirmed, the little hand held machine is broken.  I think I'll probably end up with one of these - since the larger version is used for capping and corking and we already have a floor-standing corking machine.  It'll just have to wait until our next grain order...

So while we bottled our own, I enjoyed this Firestone Walker Union Jack IPA.  All in all, it's a pretty tasty IPA.  It's quite refreshing with a good amount of hops and a nice, crisp finish.  Brewed in beautiful Central California, Firestone Walker has won their fair share of awards, including a gold medal in the World Beer Cup in San Diego, a gold medal at the European Beer Star Awards in Germany, and a gold medal in the Great American Beer Festival in Denver...all within the first year of release.  1001 Beers notes that "brewmaster Matt Brynildson and his crew spent the best part of a year developing the beer."  And it really shows.  A very refreshing and well balanced beer, the hops are definitely in the forefront, but the malts make a nice appearance in the body and it all comes together very well.

My review, cross-posted at RateBeer.com:

Firestone Walker Union Jack IPA from Firestone Walker Brewing Co.

Aroma: 7/10
Appearance: 4/5
Taste: 8/10
Palate: 4/5
Overall: 16/20

Rating: 3.9 / 5.0

Had from bottle from Total Wine. Pours golden orange with slight head and heavy lacing. Aromas of hops, pine, grapefruit, and citrus. Flavor of tons of hops, nicely balanced with malts. Nice crisp finish with hoppy aftertaste. A new must-have addition for my beer fridge.

Beer No: 5/1001
Page No: 915
Category: Specialty

Ok, ok, so don't go crazy on me because of the off-topic photo.  But when I was updating the listing of all the reviews by date, I saw that there were 20 dates, however, I skipped one due to Easter, but the last review I just posted was my 20th, so something was off.  Somehow, I skipped #5.  So it's review #5 that'll come right between review #20 and #21.  For this review, we head back to a review from 2002 at the Strong Ale Festival at Pizza Port, Carlsbad.  This was my first time ever sampling Russian River and since then, they have quickly become one of my favorite brewers with the amazing Supplication, Temptation, and Consecration all being featured in 1001 Beers and also some of my favorite brews.

The picture that accompanies this review is from last August when I held Arkh Brewing's annual Beers Around the World party.  Everyone picks a country and we go from there.  As you can probably see on the far right, someone picked the U.S. even though we usually don't allow it.  But we had to give in when he said he'd be bringing a Vertical Epic from 2002 through 2009.  An amazing series of beer, I can't wait for 2012 to break out the one 2002 bottle I have in storage and enjoy the series from start to finish with some good friends.  The picture atop was taken about 2/3rds of the way through the party.  The one below is what we ended up with at the end...

As for Pliny the Elder, it's a great beer as evidenced by my 4.1 rating from 2002.  Extremely hoppy, 1001 Beers notes that Vinnie Cilurzo brewed this back in 1994 for Blind Pig Brewing and started the "Double IPA" revolution.  I wouldn't doubt if his Pliny the Younger was the first triple IPA to break on to the scene.  The "younger" of the two is hopped three times more than the standard IPA and is dry hopped four different times.  Oddly enough, 8 years later, I rated Pliny the Younger a 4.1 as well.  I'll put both reviews below.

My review, cross-posted at RateBeer.com:

Russian River Pliny the Elder from Russian River Brewing

Aroma: 9/10
Appearance: 4/5
Taste: 8/10
Palate: 4/5
Overall: 16/20

Rating: 4.1 / 5.0

12/06/02: Had on tap at Pizza Port Strong Ale Festival
The first thing you notice about this beer is its strong hoppy aroma. The golden yellow appearance nicely hides the bite the beer has on the first sip. An amazing blend of hops and citrus flavor linger afterwards. My first Russian River brew - hopefully not my last.

Russian River Pliny the Younger from Russian River Brewing

Aroma: 8/10
Apperance: 4/5
Taste: 8/10
Palate: 4/5
Overall: 17/20

Rating: 4.1 / 5.0

Had on tap at Hollingshead’s Deli - first keg of the day. Pours golden yellow with slight head which persists for a long time. Slight lacing. Aroma of hops and some more hops and little more hops. For a triple IPA though, this beer is amazingly smooth. A bit oily, but very drinkable and a very pleasant beer. Finishes very bitter with a hint of sweetness - not too harsh - just about right for this type of beer. The ratings most likely are boosted by the difficulty in finding the beer and the mystique around it, but it truly is an amazing beer - able to pack all those wonderful hop flavors into a drink that is able to contain the bitterness in a smooth, drinkable beer.

First off, welcome to my humble new website.  My name is Blake and I've been an avid beer geek for the past 10 years.  Going to college in San Diego and living just blocks away from Alesmith afforded me a unique opportunity to follow the craft beer movement not only in San Diego, but also throughout the rest of California.  Living within driving distance of Stone Brewery, before they were the large brewer they are today and also Port Brewing (and the amazing Pizza Port chain) gave me ample opportunities to try new brews, experiment at beer festivals, and get to know many great people throughout the SoCal craft beer scene.

These days, I still love my beer, but just do so from beautiful Orange County.  Home to The Bruery (2 years old almost), I hang out there almost every weekend and I'm lucky enough to have many great retailers that stock a wide range of beer selections - BevMo, Hi Time Wine, and Total Wine and More.  Through the years, I've maintained my beer geek status and will always try new things.  I am also an avid home brewer (Arkh Brewing), and have bi-annual parties each year at my home - the largest being an "Around the World" beer festival where each participant chooses a country and brings enough to share.  We have also started to have an "Around the U.S." beer gathering as well since there are so many fine craft breweries throughout the United States that a lot of people never get to try.

Since I am currently unemployed after a five year stint at a real estate consulting firm (this real estate market really isn't helping our country's recovery at all...), I decided recently to take a two week trip around the United States, picking up local brews from each market I stopped in and also stopping at brew pubs and breweries wherever possible.  Upon returning home, I was browsing the internet and happened upon a new book that was released on March 23rd, 2010, 1001 Beers You Must Taste Before You Die.  I could sense a challenge, and thus, this site was born.

I ordered my book on the 24th, it arrived on the 25th, and I now have approximately 50 beers ready to be sampled, reviewed, and discussed.  I plan on post a review a day, but I know I can't keep that pace up forever.  At some point, my local beer shops will no longer be able to satisfy my need for a new beer from the book.  Luckily, there are always festivals that I can hit up (including the Belgian Beer Festival this Saturday, March 27th at Pizza Port, Carlsbad) where I will try and pick out some of the rarer Belgian beers that are in the book, but not available in store.  But if I can keep up the pace of 1 a day, it will still take me 2 years and 271 days to review every beer.  Compounded by the fact that there will be many rare beers that are just not available to me without traveling large distances, my goal is to review as many beers as humanly possible.

Follow along with me, suggest new beers that I should try, let me know what you think of the beers that I review, and, most importantly, if you're not a beer geek like me, I hope this site will open up new flavors, styles, and experiences in beer that you have not yet had the opportunity to sample.