1001 Beers

Beer No: 109
Page No: 933
Category: Specialty

I'm finally back from my second big beer-related road trip of the year.  Though not quite as long as an epic pilgrammage to Decatur, Georgia, this weekend's trip up through wine country brought with it some amazing breweries.  First up was Firestone Walker on Friday night.  I had the sampler there and already knew that I'd enjoy their DBA and IPA but I didn't realize just how good their Firestone Walkers Reserve is.  It was an almost perfect blend of roasted malts, citrus hops, and a creamy body that all just worked together amazingly.  The next day I had a wedding to attend, but before the reception, I made sure to pick up a six pack of Anchor Liberty Ale, one of my new go-to beers when I'm in a pinch at a liquor store with limited selection.  The wedding and reception were amazing, though the beer selection was lacking (so I just stuck with vodka tonics).

Day 3 of the short road trip took us to Russian River, where, as you can see by the picture accompanying this article, we enjoyed their sampler tray with every beer they had on tap including...Little White Lie, Aud Blonde, Gaffer's Bitter, O.V.L. Stout, Perdition, Damnation, Sanctification, Supplication, Consecration, Temptation, Russian River IPA, Blind Pig, Pliny the Elder, and Hopfather.  The standouts were, of course, the Supplication and Consecration.  But what both my friend and I were impressed by most was the Hopfather.  The highest IBU beer they had on tap, it had over 100 IBUs, more than even Pliny the Elder, and it was surprisingly drinkable.  The hops were balanced perfectly.  You got that strong pine hop flavor, but the finish was what sealed the deal.  It didn't linger all that long, and that fresh pine flavor was just tantalizing.

After Russian River, we made the long trek out to Chico to visit Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.  There we enjoyed some good food and a couple good beers - both the Sierra Nevada Old Chico Brand Crystal Wheat (a filtered wheat beer) and 30th Anniversary Jack & Ken's Ale were very good.  However, the night was ruined by the Brewer's Blackbird IPA.  They really should be sued for calling it an IPA.  There's no hops!  Maybe the faintest hop flavor, but the whole thing was just sweetness and ass.  A horrible beer that maybe we just got a bad pour of, but straight from the tap room itself, I would expect lines to be clean and kegs to be properly stored, so there's no excuse.

My review, cross-posted at RateBeer.com:

Russian River Temptation by Russian River Brewing

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

Rating: 4.1 / 5.0

Had on draught at Russian River. Pours golden blonde with a small white head and very nice lacing. Aroma is strongly vinous with hints of oak, yeast, and acid. Taste is amazingly complex with strong flavors of oak, chardonnay, malts, acetic acid, and the perfect amount of sourness. An easier drinking sour than the Consecration and Supplication, but no less complex or enjoyable. Worth $25/bottle? Perhaps. Worth it on tap straight from the source, any day.

Beer No: 108
Page No: 91
Category: Amber

It's always sad to read a story like this:

A small crack in a fermentation vat at the Okanagan Springs Brewery in Vernon, B.C., may be to blame for a creamy beer bomb that blew more than 32-thousand litres of fermented foam across a downtown street.

Similarly, to hear about such floods at other breweries, like the one we were told when I last visited the Stone Brewery, just make my heart sad.  All that good beer, flowing down a street, down a drain, not into my belly, just upsets me.  But alas, not every drop can flow into my belly where it belongs, but on my upcoming trip this weekend, I hope to have enough beer to make up for the beer that is spilled for no good reason.

I'll be visiting the fine folks at Firestone Walker later today and then heading out to Russian River and Sierra Nevada on Sunday.  So until I return, there shall be no new beer posts.  And I apologize for the missed days earlier this week.  I'm still trying to get back on track, but it just gets tough some days when you've got other more pressing priorities.  But hopefully when I return from the trip, I'll be rejuvenated and ready to drink more amazing beers.

My review, cross-posted at RateBeer.com:

Coopers Vintage Ale by Coopers Brewery

Aroma: 7/10
Appearance: 3/5
Taste: 8/10
Palate: 4/5
Overall: 12/20

Rating: 3.4 / 5.0

Had from bottle - 2008 vintage. Pours dark red/brown with slight tan head. Aroma is full on malts, caramel, slight fruity aroma with just a bit of alcohol. Flavors are surprisingly good. Well balanced malts and spices with a hint of some fruit and the slightest bit of acid. It was good and a pleasant surprise given previous Coopers tastings. A well done vintage ale.

Photo courtesy The Gordons

Beer No: 58
Page No: 101
Category: Amber

Today was my first visit to the Blind Lady Ale House down in San Diego.  As American Craft Beer Week concludes, I felt it would be a shame to not visit at least one new "landmark" on the craft beer scene.  So down to Normal Heights I traveled, struggled to find parking (the lot behind Blind Lady is not for customers), and then waited to find a seat in the packed house.  Luckily, while waiting to find a seat, there are MANY amazing beers to try on tap.  I started with a Russian River Supplication which was more sour than I remembered it, but still pretty much sour beer perfection from the masters of sours.  And after finally finding a seat and ordering a pizza that was downright extraordinary, I went back to try the cask - a keg conditioned Firestone Walker DBA.  It was very good.  Pretty much exactly what you'd expect from Firestone Walker.  I am a huge fan of theirs (excepting their Solace wheat beer) and this keg conditioned DBA did not disappoint.

As for Blind Lady Ale House (or BLAH as they call it), I did not take pictures, so I am using a nice picture from Flickr in today's post.  I promise to be better about my beer picture takings, but I had gone to BLAH to just enjoy the beer and pizza and not really to get through another beer in my 1001.  But, as it turns out, both Supplication and DBA are in the book, but I'm going to save the Russian River offerings for another time and see if I can do all their sours back to back to back (I already reviewed Pliny the Elder).  Oh yeah, back to BLAH.  I absolutely loved this place.  The atmosphere is fun and inviting, the other customers all seemed to be having a great time, and the beers on tap were awesome.  The only problem I had with the place was the loud music they were playing.  With a full house, you almost have to yell over the crowd anyways, and the music just added more noise pollution and was completely unnecessary.  Due to the loudness of the room, we couldn't even make out what was playing and it just forced everyone to talk louder, and then everyone else around them needs to talk louder, and it was just a loud scene.  But other than that, I found it to be perfection.  It's pretty much exactly what I would want for my own place.  Awesome, pseudo-gourmet thin crust (maybe wood fired?) pizzas with ingredients that really stand out and a tap list that cannot be rivaled.  I most definitely will be going back to BLAH and wished I had something close to me that was nearly as cool.  But...maybe that's for me to open.

My review, cross-posted at RateBeer.com:

Firestone Walker Double Barrel Ale from Firestone Walker Brewing Co.

Aroma: 8/10
Appearance: 3/5
Taste: 8/10
Palate: 4/5
Overall: 16/20

Rating: 3.9 / 5.0

Had on tap at Blind Lady Ale House - on cask - keg conditioned. Poured a deep brown / amber color with good head, got to love the Blind Lady perfect pours. Aroma is both hops and malts, with the hops dominating a little bit. Flavor is the same, a perfect balance of malty sweetness and hoppy citrus flavors. The keg conditioning seemed to bring out the hops a bit more and provided an extra layer of complexity and the perfect carbonation. Thank you American Craft Beer Week.

Beer No: 35/1001
Page No: 937
Category: Specialty

Today, a couple of my friends and I went down to the Haven Gastropub for their release of Firestone Walker's Solace - a summer wheat beer.  We arrived early and they were just getting the keg ready, so we had time to kill before we could sample the Solace.  I started with a Bockor Cuvee des Jacobins Rouge (a Flemish red sour ale) while my friends each went with the Firestone Walker Union Jack IPA.  As we finished our first round, I noticed Tokyo* on the draught list and ordered a glass to share amongst the table.  Clocking in at 18.2%, it's served as a 6 oz. pour in a sifter.  We passed it around, all marveled at the heavy alcohol aroma, and then dove in.

The Tokyo* was very complex, with strong flavors of bourbon, alcohol, cherries, coffee, and chocolate.  It finishes a bit harsh, but nothing too strange for an 18%er.  Like I say in my review, it was definitely an experience, and I'm glad I at least tried this one, but at $13 for 12oz. bottle, or $11 for a 6oz. pour on tap, it's very expensive and not quite worth it in my opinion.  I always find it funny when a beer like this gets such a high "Overall" rating at Ratebeer.com - it's in the 96th percentile of all beers.  However, it's just in the 48th percentile for Imperial Stouts.  With Imperial Stouts being rated so highly at both RateBeer and BeerAdvocate, it's tough to crack the top there - and even if your beer is better than 96% of all others, over 50% of imperial stouts are better than this.

As for the Firestone Walker Solace, well, after my Rouge and Tokyo*, it was pretty much a let down.  It was easy to drink, but the standard hefe flavors all seemed to be missing.  I didn't get the banana or clove flavors in abundance and just wasn't impressed, unfortunately.  I like Firestone Walker, but it seems like they were just trying to capitalize on a burgeoning market and failed to really put too much effort into this one.

My review, cross-posted at RateBeer.com:

BrewDog Tokyo* from BrewDog

Aroma: 5/10
Appearance: 3/5
Taste: 7/10
Palate: 4/5
Overall: 13/20

Rating: 3.2 / 5.0

Had on tap at Haven Gastropub. 6 oz. pour, sifter. Poured a dark brown / black with very small tan head and no head retention. Aroma of cherries, oak, coffee, and alcohol - lots of alcohol. The alcohol aroma almost put off one of the other drinkers, but we powered through. The taste is similar to aroma - heavy in alcohol and sweet. Hints of oak, bourbon, chocolate, and coffee. Finishes a bit harsh with alcohol and some lingering fruits. A complex beer that just has too much alcohol that is not well hidden at all. An experience, but no need to repeat.

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.

Please note: This was a test post / review before I started reviewing the 1001 Beers.

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

Rating: 3.5 / 5

Had from 12 oz. bottle from Hi-Time Wines. Pours dark black with slight tan head which dissipates quickly (leaves thin tan film on top). Slight lacing, carbonation not very strong. Aroma of hops, sugar, chocolate, and alcohol. Flavors are bitter and sweet, of hops, sugar, and more alcohol. Finishes with spices, roastiness, and more sweetness. Overall, a nice collaboration, enjoyable, but not their best.