1001 Beers

Beer No: 106
Page No: 420
Category: Blond

It's funny, back to back posts where I originally rated the beer 7-8 years ago, and then looking back today, I feel completely different about it.  I really enjoyed this Liberty Ale and it'll be my go-to in the future if I'm just looking for a quick six-pack to take to a party (previously I usually just picked up Sierra Nevada Pale).  I really enjoyed this American Pale Ale finding it to be incredibly complex, yet wonderfully balanced.  Easy to drink with tons of flavor, I just couldn't have been happier this morning.  As mentioned, this is the second beer in a row that I've taken another look at and a commenter yesterday picked up on the change and I agree with him how fun it is to sometimes look back at old ratings and see how our tastes have evolved.

I really like the fact that you came back and did a re-review. It's interesting from a beer drinkers' perspective to see how our tastes and moods change from one sitting to another over time. And from a readers' perspective it's interesting to see two different takes on a beer - especially if they're from the same person. Gives a more complete idea of the beer.

In beer news, the Craft Brewers Alliance bought Kona, rescuing them and allowing Kona to contiue to create great craft brews.  When I first read about the acquisition, I at first thought of Kraft, and found a brewery to be an odd choice, but then realized it's something completely different:

Under the agreement, Kona will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Craft Brewers, which also distributes the beers of Chicago's Goose Island Brewery. Craft Brewers was formed with the merger of Portland's Widmer Brothers Brewing and Woodinville, Wash.,-based Redhook Ale Brewery in 2008.

I'm glad Kona will be able to continue to produce the beers the way they want to and hopefully the Craft Brewers Alliance can provide distribution that will help them grow.

((And yes, this review is being back-posted to fill in some gaps in reviews.  So you'll notice the re-rate on August 4th and the article from August 3rd despite the article being "posted" on July 29th.))

My review, cross-posted at RateBeer.com:

Anchor Liberty Ale by Anchor Brewing Company

Aroma: 7/10
Appearance: 4/5
Taste: 8/10
Palate: 4/5
Overall: 15/20

Rating: 3.8 / 5.0

UPDATED: AUG 4, 2010 Wow, what a difference 7 years makes. Had from bottle, this beer is thoroughly refreshing. Pours golden yellow with a slight orange tint and tons of head. Beer actually foamed over on me when taking the cap off. Aroma is perfect balance of floral hops and muted malts. Flavor is wonderful. Quite possibly my new favorite easy-drinking beer. The perfect amount of hops complement the complex malts. Probably my new favorite in the APA category. Wonderfully smooth finish, a very well-rounded beer.

Had on tap at Callahan’s on February 19th, 2003
The beer was poured a golden yellow with a slight head that dissipated quickly. Aroma is slightly fruity, but weak. Taste is hoppy and bitter with an aftertaste that is slightly acidic. Not an outstanding taste - drinkable, but not tops on my list.
Original Rating: 4/3/6/4/12 2.9/5.0

Beer No: 98
Page No: 418
Category: Blond

It's always tough to review a pilsner.  Most of the time, they're watered down, lack any real flavor, and are hard to objectively rate from one to another.  Every once in a while though, you come across a pilsner that has more flavor then all the others and is actually able to be differentiated from all the other so-called "pilsners" out there like Bud, Coors, and Miller (technically they're American Lagers, but they derive directly from the classic pilsners).

So it's nice to come across the Lagunitas Pils, which as Lagunitas founder Tony Magee states, "This is our best beer."  Now, I'd disagree on that, but I do think that the Lagunitas Pils is a damn fine beer, able to hold itself against other imported pilsners, like Pilsner Urquell and other "true" pilsners from the region.  The Lagunitas Pils is pretty much your standard pilsner with a clear yellow appearance and a nice white head and good carbonation.  It features a slight bit of hops on the nose and a slight bitterness on the end.  It's easy to drink like almost any pilsner and really quenches a thirst.  But complex it is not.

My review, cross-posted at RateBeer.com:

Lagunitas Pils by Lagunitas Brewing Company

Aroma: 6/10
Appearance: 3/5
Taste: 6/10
Palate: 3/5
Overall: 12/20

Rating: 3.0 / 5.0

12 oz. bottle. Pours clear, golden yellow with good white head and slight lacing. Aroma is of slight hops and a bit of bread with malts. Body is light like most pilsners with a clean, crisp flavor of malts with a slightly bitter hop finish. A nice, drinkable pilsner.

Beer No: 95
Page No: 473
Category: Blond

World Cup Day 17...With the United States out, there's just one team left for me to root for - Germany.  So I got up nice and early today, gathered up the pillows on the couch, and settled in to watch an epic match of Germany vs. England.  Germany went ahead early 2-0 with two goals that both could have been prevented.  However, England then stormed back, scored a quick goal and then a couple of minutes later scored again, however, the referees didn't see it.  So it was Germany up 2-1 heading into half time.  Who knows what would have happened or how the game would have played out if England had tied Germany 2-2, but in the end, with England pressing for an equalizer, Germany was able to counter-attack twice and take the final score to 4-1.  While it's easy to say that Germany outplayed England, we just never know how it would have ended if the goal were called correctly.  England probably would have played much more defensively and Germany might not have been able to counter-attack.  But in the end, Germany wins, advances to play Argentina, the winner of the second game against Mexico, and I'm still a happy German fan.

Unfortunately, the Reissdorf Kolsch didn't make me all that happy of a German beer drinker.  Watered-down, clear yellow, this beer didn't produce much flavor at all and was a disappointment.  It's not a bad beer by any stretch of the imagination, just a standard Kolsch that has some flavor, but not much, and the aroma is almost non-existent.

My review, cross-posted at RateBeer.com:

Reissdorf Kolsch by Privat-Brauerei Heinrich Reissdorf

Aroma: 3/10
Appearance: 3/5
Taste: 5/10
Palate: 2/5
Overall: 8/20

Rating: 2.0 / 5.0

Had from 500ml bottle from Hi Time Wines. Pours clear golden with slight head that dissipates quickly and leaves slight lacing behind. Aroma is faint, notes of grass and hops. Taste is watered-down, weak, hints of hops, sweetness, slight malty flavor. Easy to drink, almost like drinking water, slightly bubbly with good, clean finish.

Beer No: 93
Page No: 371
Category: Blond

Day 15 of the World Cup and the round-robin round is complete.  We now know the final 16, so it's time for some predictions and I'll see if I can keep up my World Cup Beer Challenge (picking a beer from a country that plays that day).

June 26 - Uruguay vs. South Korea, United States vs. Ghana - The first game is a bit tough to pick.  I've been impressed by South Korea's resilience through the tournament, however, I think that Uruguay is the superior team here and I see them winning 2-1.  And of course I'm going to pick the United States.  I don't think Ghana will be nearly as tough as England was and if we can take it to penalty kicks, I think we have the best goalkeeper in the league.  However, I don't think it gets there.  U.S. 2-0.  Beer: United States something...I've got too many U.S. beers to count these days.

June 27 - Germany vs. England, Argentina vs. Mexico - That first game will be amazing.  And it's almost impossible to pick.  However, I think Germany has the better team chemistry and we've seen that England has been struggling to score.  Germany wins 1-0.  Argentina / Mexico is pretty tough too.  I don't really recall exactly what the Argentinian team looks like other than Messi.  However, they did win all three of their games in the first round and have pretty much dominated Mexico, losing only 4 times in 25 total international matches.  So, Argentina 3-2 in extra time.  Beer: German something...I've got a bunch of them too.  Probably will have more than one German beer that day.

June 28 - Netherlands vs. Slovakia, Brazil vs. Chile - I like the Netherlands here.  They breezed through their first three matches with 3 wins while Slovakia managed a win, loss, and a draw.  NED 2-0.  Brazil vs. Chile should be fun, but I don't think anyone can stop Brazil in this round.  Brazil 3-0.  Beer: NOTHING...I'll have to stop by my usual locations to see if I can find a Brazilian or Netherlands beer.  Chances are slim, but you never know what new stuff might have arrived since I last checked.

June 29 - Paraguay vs. Japan, Spain vs. Portugal - I think Paraguay / Japan is a pretty tough one to pick like the Uruguay / South Korea.  Pretty strange that Uruguay and Paraguay are both facing Asian countries in Japan and South Korea.  Like South Korea, I've liked Japan's play through the group play so I think they might have a chance here.  So, I'll go out on a limb and pick Japan to win in penalty kicks.  As for Spain / Portugal, another interesting match-up with the two countries of the Iberian peninsula.  However, Spain just looks too good and I've not been impressed with Ronaldo, so go Spain!  Spain 2-1.  Beer: Spain Alhambra Negra or Japan Hitachino Nest XH. (probably Japan's XH so I can save Spain for the next round).

There's then 2 days off for the teams to recuperate and then we move to the Quarterfinals.

Incidentally, with today's win by Spain, I finish the first 15 days of the World Cup Challenge with a record of 6-6-3 for the teams I picked to drink from.  Not bad, but I wasn't going for wins, just trying to match teams to beers, which has been fun.  As for my predictions on the teams that would advance, I was 3 for 4 today, picking Switzerland instead of Chile.  So for the final round of picks, I correctly picked 13 of 16.  Not bad, but also, not that great since a lot of the teams were already easily on their way to the next round.  We'll see how my picks above do.  Those are much tougher to call.

Today's beer comes from Spain as I had no beers left from North Korea, Ivory Coast, Portugal, Brazil, Switzerland, Honduras, or Chile...The Estrella Damm Lager obviously comes from the same brewery as the Estrella Damm Inedit.  Unfortunately, the lager is nowhere near as good as the Inedit.  Granted, it's not horrible, but it's nothing special and pretty much your standard watered-down lager with mediocre flavor.

My review, cross-posted at RateBeer.com:

Estrella Damm by S.A. Damm

Aroma: 3/10
Appearance: 1/5
Taste: 4/10
Palate: 2/5
Overall: 6/20

Rating: 1.6 / 5.0

Pours a clear straw, yellow color with very slight head that dissipates quickly. Aroma is almost non-existent with slight hops and grass. Flavor is weak, watered-down, malty, astringent, hoppy, dry. Boring lager.

Beer No: 90
Page No: 431
Category: Blond

Day 12 of the World Cup...the first day of eliminations.  The day got off to a great start with a great France vs. South Africa game while I watched Mexico vs. Uruguay on my second TV.  When South Africa whent up 2-0 and Mexico down 0-1, I thought...there just might be a chance.  South Africa just might pull this amazing comeback off.  But unfortunately, it was not to be.  France scored, and Mexico and Uruguay advance.  In the late games, nothing too special.  For a second there I thoguth Greece might actually have a chance, but then Argentina turned it on as expected and S. Korea fought to a tie to advance.  So, based on my predictions from yesterday, I got the 4 teams advancing correct - Uruguay, Mexico, Argentina & S. Korea.  So in the knock-out round, Uruguay will play South Korea and Mexico will have to battle Argentina.

Next up, Groups C & D.  Tomorrow morning...7am...United States...win and advance.  Go U.S.  Afternoon games...Go Germany!

Today's beer comes from France and it's another 'biere de garde.'  If you're unfamiliar with the style, I just went over it a few days ago with my other French beer, 3 Monts.  The La Goudale was a good beer, better than the 3 Monts, but nothing special.  I liked the malt sweetness that balanced well with the hop citrus flavors, but ultimately, in the end, the malts overpower the other flavors and you're hit with a bit of alcohol on the tail end.  Maybe I'll get something better from tomorrow's England pick.  Maybe I'll have a Samuel Smith tasting tomorrow...I know I've got a bunch of them ready to taste.

My review, cross-posted at RateBeer.com:

Gayant La Goudale by Les Brasseurs De Gayant

Aroma: 6/10
Appearance: 3/5
Taste: 7/10
Palate: 3/5
Overall: 14/20

Rating: 3.3 / 5.0

Had from 750ml bottle from Hi Time Wines. Pours a golden orange with slight head and good lacing. Aroma is mostly malts, slight funk, a bit of yeast, and some bready flavors. Taste is malty, floral, slightly hoppy, alcohol, and citrus. Pleasant aftertaste lingers. Not a bad beer, unfortunately, nothing special. Fairly simple and one-note with the malt sweetness.

Beer No: 87
Page No: 582
Category: Blond

Woohoo, Day 9 of the World Cup.  A few interesting games today, but no downright good games.  It started with a tie between Ghana and Australia, a Japan loss to the Netherlands, and Denmark's comeback from 0-1 to beat Cameroon 2-1.  Tomorrow, for Father's Day, we have Slovakia vs. Paraguay (yawn), Italy vs. New Zealand (eh), and Brazil vs. Ivory Coast (Brazil dominates I will guess).  Tomorrow's beer will be coming from Italy, but today's comes from another losing team, making me 2-5-2, Japan.

The White Ale from Hitachino Nest is based on the popular Hoegaarden White, but the brewery also found that because it contains fruit and spices, it's also taxed at a lower rate than beer in Japan.  Finding the right formula was a pretty long experiment according to 1001 Beers.  But they finally settled on a wonderful mix of flaked barley, flaked wheat, and pilsner malt.  Then, for some added good measure, they toss in some coriander, nutmeg, orange peel, and a hint of orange juice.  It doesn't quite matter how it's made, this is a refreshing beer, but I thought it could use just a bit more carbonation.  Also, I thought the fruit flavors overwhelm the wheat and malts a bit.  Overall, an enjoyable beer though.

My review, cross-posted at RateBeer.com:

Hitachino Next White Ale by Kiuchi Brewery

Aroma: 6/10
Appearance: 3/5
Taste: 8/10
Palate: 4/5
Overall: 12/20

Rating: 3.3 / 5.0

Had from 12oz. bottle from Hi Time Wines. Pours hazy yellow with very slight head that dissipates to nothingness. Carbonation is slight, but lasts throughout. Aroma is citrus, flowers, lemon, and grapefruit. Taste is a very nice white with orange, lemon, spices, and floral tastes. Finishes sweet with citrus lingering. A nice white that could maybe use a bit more carbonation, but overall easily drinkable and refreshing.

Beer No: 85
Page No: 304
Category: Blond

Day 7 of the World Cup.  We're now a full week in and teams have started playing their second games of the round robin format.  Argentina thoroughly destroyed South Korea today, Greece won their first World Cup game in the country's history, beating Nigeria, and France lost 0-2 to Mexico.  So alas, my record drops to 2-3-2 with the French beer I selected today.  1001 Beers notes that the 3 Monts beer from the St. Sylvestre brewery utilizes locally grown hops along with malts from Northern France.  The beer ferments for a few days and then is "garded" for between three to four weeks.

Now, I've heard of the style "biere de garde" before, but never really knew what it meant, so let's go to Wikipedia for the answer:

Bière de Garde, or "keeping beer", is a pale ale traditionally brewed in the Pas-de-Calais region of France. These beers were usually brewed by farmhouses in the winter and spring, to avoid unpredictable problems with the yeast during the summertime.

The origins of the name lies in the tradition that it was matured/cellared for a period of time once bottled (and most sealed with a cork), to be consumed later in the year, akin to a Saison.

So, basically, it's a cellared beer, which really doesn't mean much these days as many beers are cellared before release and then bottle conditioned.  But what Wikipedia doesn't mention and 1001 Beers does, is that a 'biere de garde' usually is a "classic amber malt bomb."  So, I'm glad that St. Sylvestre strays away from tradition as this golden, hoppy, 8.5% ABV beer is definitely anything but a malt bomb.

If you have a chance to try this fine French beer, give it a shot.  The alcohol is hidden well and the citrus and yeast flavors dominate the palate.  Just another great selection from 1001 Beers - opening my palate up to many a new flavors and my knowledge up to new and unique beer styles.  Oddly enough, I have had one other 'biere de garde' - the New Belgium Lips of Faith (which I rated at a 3.6 vs. the 3 Monts 3.0).

My review, cross-posted at RateBeer.com:

St. Sylvestre 3 Monts by La Brasserie de St.-Sylvestre

Aroma: 6/10
Appearance: 3/5
Taste: 7/10
Palate: 3/5
Overall: 11/20

Rating: 3.0 / 5.0

Had from 750ml bottle, corked, strange cage, then wrapped in plastic. Pours golden yellow with good carbonation, head, and lacing. Foamed out of the bottle slightly, but quickly caught in tulip glass. Aroma is floral with citrus, bread, and yeast. Taste is grassy, almost lager-like. Alcohol is present along with bread and citrus flavors. Drinkable, enjoyable, but ultimately, nothing special.

Beer No: 81
Page No: 396
Category: Blond

Day 2 of my World Cup journey.  Today saw three games - Algeria vs. Slovena (pretty boring, with a goal coming late on a keeper miscue and allowing Slovenia to take the lead in the group with 3 points over England and USA's 1 point each), Serbia vs. Ghana (another boring 0-0 game which ended 0-1 on a penalty shot), and then Australia vs. Germany.  And suffice to say, this Australian lager is about as good as Australia's soccer team (they lost 0-4).

But enough soccer for now, about the stout party.  It was a smashing success.  We had lots of great stouts, and the blind tasting yielded some interesting results (more on that in a future post).  Unfortunately, I still had a box of stouts still left over after the party.  Beforehand, I was questioned if 35 beers would be enough.  With 14 left over, yeah, we had plenty.  Best beer of the night?  Three Floyd's Dark Lord.  Yum, yum, yum.

My review, cross-posted at RateBeer.com:

Boag's Premium Lager by J. Boag & Son (San Miguel)

Aroma: 4/10
Appearance: 2/5
Taste: 4/10
Palate: 3/5
Overall: 9/20

Rating: 2.2 / 5.0

Had from bottle from Hi Time Wine. Pours golden yellow, good fizzyness, not a large head. Aroma is light, hops, sweet. Taste is better than expected, but still underwhelming. So far, my highest rated lager outside of Stella Artois (just 0.1 higher).

Beer No: 78
Page No: 327
Category: Blond

I think I've done it.  I've found a way to have a beer from a team playing each day during the World Cup round robin.  After that, I'll have to see who advances.  If England, Germany, and the U.S. advance, that makes it easy on me, but any South American team will present a challenge - especially when you see what my Day #5 pick has to be.

Day 1: Mexico - Cucapa Barleywine Ale

Day 2: An English or American stout (my stout party is that day)

Day 3: Australia - Coopers Best Extra Stout

Day 4: Denmark - Mikkeller Beer Geek Breakfast

Day 5: Brazil - Xingu (I have to take Brazil early due to New Zealand, Slovakia, Ivory Coast, Portugal, and North Korea being the other teams playing that day - all of which I could find no beers for).

Day 6: Switzerland - L'Abbaye St. Bon-Chien (my find of the day, a $25 bottle of beer)

Day 7: France - 3 Monts

Day 8: Germany - TBD (I picked up about 10 German beers today)

Day 9: Japan - Hitachino White

Day 10: Italy - TBD (I have a couple Italian beers around)

Day 11: Spain - Estrella Damm

Day 12: France - La Goudale (unfortunately, this ends my French beers, so if they advance, I will have to hunt down more)

Day 13: England - TBD

Day 14: Japan - Angry Boy Brown

Day 15: Spain - Alhambra Negra

And that ends the round robin round.  Starting the day after, June 26th is bracket play, so I'll just have to wait and see how the brackets will fill out before I can start to plan the next round of drinking.

My review, cross-posted at RateBeer.com:

Bitburger Premium Pils from Bitburger Brauerei Th. Simon

Aroma: 3/10
Appearance: 3/5
Taste: 4/10
Palate: 2/5
Overall: 8/20

Rating: 2.0 / 5.0

12 oz. bottle from Hi Time Wines. Pours clear yellow with good fizz, no head, no lacing. Aroma is non-existent, a little sweet, a little lager-ish. Taste is bland, watery, devoid of flavor. Easy to drink, maybe a bit better than the Buds and Coors of the world, but still, that’s nothing to be proud of. Finishes with a slight hop bitterness, but nothing special.

Beer No: 76
Page No: 392
Category: Blond

After a failed attempt at two sours and a delicious delirium, I continued on to a duo of Chouffes.  First up was the Houblon Chouffe, aka Dobbelen IPA Tripel.  Wow, this tripel was good.  A wonderful blend of 9% alcohol, citrus hops, and malty undertones was just a perfect way to continue the night.  More on the beer later.  Now for my next endeavor...

With the World Cup starting in just a few days, I wanted to see if it would be possible to drink a beer from each of the different countries represented in the Cup.  So, let's see if this is possible.

The first game of the World Cup is South Africa v. Mexico.  South Africa actually has quite a few beers listed in the book - 6 to be exact.  However, I haven't heard of 4 of them, and I do not know if I'll be able to track down Castle Lager or Castle Milk Stout.  I will try and find them in time for the game though.  With Mexico, I'm presented with another problem...I tried to buy as many Mexican beers as I could to review around Cinco de Mayo.  So of the 7 Mexican beers, I've had Cucapa Chupacabras, Negra Modelo, and Dos Equis XX Amber.  That leaves just 4 others, including two more from Cucapa which I have not seen in stores along with Mexicali and Tijuana Morena.  Again, I will try and track them down.

Game 2 features Uruguay and France.  Uruguay does not have any beers in the book, but France sure does.  25 to be exact.  A lot of them I haven't heard of though.  And last time I was at Hi Time Wine Cellars, I looked for some French and Italian beers and didn't see many.  I will return though, search high and low, and hopefully return with some French beers to sample throughout the tournament.

The next day features three games, with South Korea v. Greece, Argentina v. Nigeria, and England v. United States.  Obviously England v. United States is the game of the day, but it's almost cheating to use that game for the day.  So while South Korea does have one beer in the book, Prime Max, I have never seen or heard of it, so I doubt I'll find it.  Greece, oddly enough, also has just one beer in the book - Mythos Red.  Apparently it's distributed to 30 countries, but I've never seen it, but will try to find it.  Argentina, like South Korea and Greece, also has just one beer listed, Antares Stout Imperial.  It sounds good, but chances of finding it are slim.  So I'm left with Nigeria, which also has just one beer listed, oddly enough, it's...Guinness Foreign Extra (Nigeria).  However, this isn't your standard Guinness.  The dark stout wort is imported from Dublin and then blended with a Nigerian-brewed pale beer made from locally grown sorghum and maize, resulting in a sweeter beer.  Chances of find this one...slim to none.  So what does that mean?  I have to take the easy way out with an English or American beer.  Blah.

Oh wait, I just remembered, Day 2 is the day of my stout party, so I'm most likely going to be having an English or American stout review that day.  And then I'll just save the rest of my stout reviews until the World Cup round robin ends.

Day 3 features the team I'm rooting for above all others, Germany, facing Australia.  But let's see if the other two matches can provide a drink.  First up is Algeria v. Slovenia.  No dice there, neither has a beer in the book.  Next up is Serbia v. Ghana.  Again, nothing.  So it will either be a German or Australian beer on Day 3.  Australia actually has 32 beers in the book, and even though I've had Barons Black Wattle Seed Ale and Coopers Sparkling Ale, I should be able to find something else from Australia.  If not, there's always Germany and its 96 beers in the book.

Day 4 has some matchups that could easily produce some good drinking.  Netherlands v. Denmark (13 v. 12 beers), Japan v. Cameroon (22 v. 0), and Italy v. Paraguay (47 v. 0).  Ok, so it seems like Netherlands v. Denmark is the most evenly matched, and maybe that will be the day to have Grolsch.  If not, we can go to Denmark and knock out a Mikkeller or two (since Elephant has already been done).  I'll save Japan and Italy for another day.

Day 5 features matchups between New Zealand v. Slovakia, Ivory Coast v. Portugal, and Brazil v. North Korea.  New Zealand leads the way with 17 beers in the book, but I have heard of none of them, so I don't think my chances are good to find any.  Slovakia actually does have two beers in the book - Brokat Dark and Zlaty Bazant 12%.  I would love to find that 12%, but again, chances are slim.  Ivory Coast features no beers and Portugal has just three - Sagres Bohemia, Sagres Preta, and Super Bock Stout.  Again, I will try to find them, but I wouldn't count on it.  North Korea has zero beers (surprise, surprise), but Brazil has 9, including one of my favorite dark session beers, Xingu Black.  So you can count on me having that on at least one of the days that Brazil plays.

Day 6 features the final four teams of the 32 in Honduras v. Chile and Spain v. Switzerland.  South Africa will mix it up and play Uruguay that day as well.  Both Honduras and Chile feature no beers in the book, while Spain has 11, including Estrella Damm (one that I will definitely review during a "Spain Day") and Switzerland features 12 beers, however, I have not heard of any of them, but would love to try them all.  Hmm...maybe I should just go to Switzerland.

So in all, there's 15 days of Round Robin play.  After that, we have 4 days of Second Round play with 2 games each day.  Those teams are all to be decided, but chances are, many of the big teams will be there - England, United States, Germany, Brazil, Spain, etc. so I should be able to keep my "Beers of the World Cup" going.  There's then a couple days off, two days of quarter-finals (2 games each day), another couple days off, 2 days of semi-finals (1 game each day) and then another couple days off, a third place game (one match) and the final on July 11 at 11:30pm Pacific time.  Hopefully I'll be able to predict which teams will win each round and have beers ready and waiting for me as the teams progress through the later rounds.  Obviously, going with the smaller countries in the earlier rounds should leave me with plenty of easier-to-find beers to imbibe in the later rounds of the tournament.

My review, cross-posted at RateBeer.com:

Chouffe Houblon Dobbelen IPA Tripel by Brasserie d'Achouffe (Moortgat)

Aroma: 8/10
Appearance: 4/5
Taste: 9/10
Palate: 4/5
Overall: 15/20

Rating: 4.0 / 5.0

Had from 750ml bottle. Pours a hazy yellow with good two-finger head, nice head retention, and good lacing. Aroma is heavy with citrus hops, pine, spices, and yeast. Taste is heavy hops, light blonde undertones with hints of malts and spices. A wonderfully balanced tripel that artfully hides the 9% ABV. Finishes slightly dry, but with good hop finish. A treat on a hot day.