1001 Beers

Beer No: 80
Page No: 892
Category: Specialty

Today's my stout party and I was going to wait until after to review one of the stouts I'm having, but I just couldn't wait until 3pm to have a beer, so during the England / USA match, I popped open Port Brewing's Hop-15 and enjoyed it during the first half.  In about an hour, the stout party begins and I can't wait to try all the different beers.  I'm giving everyone a rating book from 33 Beers.com and we'll be having a blind tasting of the Barrel Aged beers, and, if successful, another blind tasting of another select few beers.  Should be a great time.  Pictures should follow tomorrow.

As for the World Cup, I was up at 4:30am this morning and watched all three games.  I loved South Korea's counter-attacks, and though the US got lucky with their one goal, they had many chances, so I think the 1-1 outcome was fair, and the correct outcome.  I look forward to their next game and I'm just waiting now on Germany to play.

As an aside, this is a great article, busting the top 5 myths of "casual" beer drinkers (share with your friends who prefer the ice cold mugs and no head on their beer):

http://blogs.laweekly.com/squidink/beer/beer-experts-mythbust-the-top/index.php

And finally, the beer list:

Barrel Aged:
BrewDog Paradox (whiskey)
North Coast Old Rasputin XII (bourbon)
Haand Bryggeriet Norwegian Porter (aquavit)
Deschutes Abyss 2009 (bourbon)
The Bruery Black Tuesday (bourbon)

Smoked:
Alaskan Smoked Porter (2004)
Alaskan Smoked Porter (2009)
Stone Smoked Porter

Coffee Stouts:
Alesmith Speedway Stout (2005) x2
Alesmith Speedway Stout (2009)
Norrebro Bryghus La Granja Espresso Stout
Mikkeller Beer Geek Breakfast
Requiem Espresso Stout
Terrapin Coffee Oatmeal Imperial Stout

More:
Carnegie Stark Porter (2001)
Hunahpu’s Imperial Stout (2009)
Brew Dog Rip Tide
Lost Abbey Serpent's Stout
Dieu du Ciel Peche Mortel
Norrebro Bryghus Skargaards Porter
Mikkeller Black
Nogne O Imperial Stout
Sierra Nevada 30th Anniversary Stout
Stone 12th Anniversary Bitter Chocolate Oatmeal Stout
Three Floyds Dark Lord (2009)
Victory Storm King (2002) x2
Victory Storm King (2010)
Bear Republic Big Bear Black (pre-2005)
De Dolle Special Extra Export Stout
Sinebrychoff Porter IV
Avery Out of Bounds Stout (pre-2005)
Harvey's Imperial Stout (1999)

My review, cross-posted at RateBeer.com:

Pizza Port Hop-15 from Port Brewing/Lost Abbey

Aroma: 8/10
Appearance: 3/5
Taste: 9/10
Palate: 3/5
Overall: 17/20

Rating: 4.0 / 5.0

Had from bottle June 12, 2010
The last time I had Hop-15, I opened a bottle that was about 6 years old. And, as we all know, hoppy beers don’t like aging, so it was, unfortunately, a drain pour. However, I’ve got a fresh bottle now, and it is pure greatness. The pour is the same as my first rating, a nice orange color with great clarity, no head, no lacing. Aroma is very strong citrus and pine hops. Flavor is heavy hops with just the right amount of malts to balance it out. I drank it slowly, watched World Cup soccer, and enjoyed the weather. It was a perfect beer for the day. If only I had a cold Maharaja to follow...I love this beer. Wish it were available year-round. A perfect amount of hoppy greatness with the right amount of malt sweetness to balance it out. Flavors linger for a long time and just sit perfectly on the tongue.

Had from bottle #111 on Friday, May 16, 2003
Popped the cork and was immediately hit with hops. The aroma is extremely strong and extremely hoppy (as one would guess by the name). The beer pours with a dark brown color - absolutely no head and nice clarity. The flavor is VERY hoppy. Very strong flavoring - definitely a beer to drink slowly. There are some malts to balance the hops, but not enough in my opinion. An enjoyable, slow drinking beer - but just too many hops for my mouth to process - not something you could drink every night.
Original Rating: 8/3/8/3/14 (3.6)

Beer No: 29
Page No: 193
Category: Amber

My love for IPAs is no secret and I have enjoyed this Meantime IPA on many occasions in the past.  It's easily one of my favorite IPAs, tying in fact (by rating) with the Alesmith IPA.  In fact, as of this writing, I have ranked only one IPA higher than the Alesmith and the Meantime IPA - Stone's 3rd Anniversary IPA back in 2003 (here are all my IPA ratings).  Reading back through my Stone 3rd Anniversary rating, I think what's notable is that both it and this Meantime IPA don't go out of their way to hit you over the head with hops.  Now, don't get me wrong - the hops are there - and in great amounts, but they are so perfectly balanced with all the other flavors that the whole beer is simply elevated to another level.

The interesting thing about this Meantime IPA is that it's actually meant to be aged for a few years.  I didn't know this, so I'm definitely going to go pick up a bottle and throw it in my beer storage unit.  However, I'll have to be careful on how long it ages because, as evidenced with the Port Brewing Hop 15, things can definitely go wrong if you cellar a heavily-hopped beer for too long.  Also, reading back through the recent reviews of the Stone 3rd Anniversary IPA, the overall rating of the beer has been dragged down by people who stored the beer too long and it's gone bad.  Which is a shame - back when I sampled the 3rd through 5th anniversary IPAs, they were all at their peak.  Fast forward 5, 6, or 7 years later, and what do you expect?  Beers don't last forever, so it's a shame to see an amazing beer like the Stone 3rd Anniversary be in only the 56th percentile of IPAs when it truly was a great beer back in the day.

My review, cross-posted at RateBeer.com:

Meantime India Pale Ale from Meantime

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

Rating: 4.0 / 5.0

Had from bottle from Total Wine & More. I’ve had this beer multiple times in the past and it’s one of my favorite IPAs when I don’t want to get bashed over the head with hops. Pours a dark orange / copper color with a perfectly sized head. The head sticks around for a while and the beer has good lacing. Aroma of hops, grapefruit, orange, and a hint of malts. Mouthfeel is slightly oily with good carbonation and a medium body. Tastes of hops, malts, and citrus. A very, very well balanced beer that ranks up there with almost any other IPA. The hops are not as aggressive as the description states as the IPA offers more of a complex blend of flavors than you’re used to in most highly hopped IPAs.

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.