Haven't updated in a while. CA and back on budget

So lots has happened since my last beer post.

For one, I went to a conference in Pacific Grove, CA. This meant flying into San Fran, which can mean only one thing, Anchor Steam.

Crizer and I rolled into the Anchor Steam pub in the airport, fully intending to get Purdue to pay for the $8 beer (we did, shhhh) and the $9 burger (awesome). I've never tried A.S. due to the ridiculous cost of 6-packs. I will not pay Hopslam type prices for a simple lager. And I still won't.

I was impressed with the beer, possibly one of the best lagers I've had. Very clean from start to finish, good balance of malts and hops, good carbonation, everything was good. Heavy ale-like lacing down the glass, and when I was done I wanted more. Everything you want a beer, this beer does well. So why won't I buy a 6-pack of this? If I pay Hopslam prices for a beer, I expect that beer to do all of these things extraordinarily well.

At the conference there were many a beer consumed (with profs even), all paid for by ASMS (thanks Scott!!). Anchor steam in a bottle tastes the same as on draft (surprising actually). There was a beer there from nearby Carmel brewing company (a microbrew, yay!). I tried the beer once, then went back to heinekens and whatever else they had. Bitter, sour, no hops, just not a good beer. Fortunately it's not exported out of state, so nobody need worry about this beer inflicting anybody else.

Possibly my best find of the trip was one of a hophead's holy grails. A truly monumental brew on the order of a hopslam (although just beneath a 120 min.) Sierra Nevada Bigfoot Barleywine.
9.6% ABV, 90 IBU, chinook, cascade and centenial hops used for a bittering, finishing and dry hopping session. Sounds like a beer to me. I didn't have a chance to savor it at the time, mainly because a Canadian was badgering me about the american healthcare system, but I did swipe one and bring it back to enjoy it properly (i.e. at one of Kerry's parties). As soon as you open this beer, you'll know that you are in for a ride. The odor is dominated with hops, and the other smells are actually disappointing. I usually associate pine notes (probably from the cascade hops) with a good beer, but this beer smells like a whole forest distilled into 12 oz. Definitely overpowering, and for the timid beer drinker, just stop there. The taste of this beer doesn't have the softness that the honey gives Hopslam, Bigfoot just slams into your tongue and tests your sense of balance. In fact, there is no soft side of this beer, it is an intense, possibly brutal experience for the first few sips. Once you start to feel the warmth though, go for it. Once you get acclaimated to the hoppiness, you'll begin to notice the other subtle flavors. The malt flavors are spectacular, carbonation is excellent, and the finish is clean, which is amazing considering the amount of hops.

For once, I must say that it is possible this beer would be better if the IBU was scaled back to 70-75.

That's it for now. I'll have more soon.
-James

Michelob ale tasting pack

So, back on budget. Saw the Michelob ale variety 24 pack at Sams Club for $20 and picked it up. It contains a 6-pack each of the Pale ale, Porter, and two beers that are only available in the tasting pack, Bavarian Wheat and Rye-PA. Plus a cool little tasting mat with all of the specifics of the beers.

The Pale ale was excellent as always.

The Porter is great for the past few cold, rainy Indiana days. It tastes more like a stout, which makes sense since it is actually hopped with Willamette and Saaz (a personal fav) hops. It goes down smooth, and doesn't sit too heavy. I almost prefer it to Guinness...almost. About half the price though, so theres a win. It doesn't make any sense that it is a hopped porter that says "All Malt Porter" on the label, but I won't complain.

Rye-PA: I want to kill whichever Michelob bean counter who decided not to make this beer available in 6-packs. This beer is exceptional. Michelob advertises it as an IPA that is balanced with the spiciness of Rye malt...and they are right on. IBU is 50, so a little light for IPA, but the highest I've seen in a macro to date. The balance is exceptional, and different. It isn't just their pale ale with an extra dose of hops, this beer is truly unique.

Bavarian Wheat: Yeah, that bean counter I mentioned? I really hate him. This beer is almost as good as Hoegaarden as far as belgian whites go. Very light, citrussy delicious beer. 13 on the IBU, so just enough there to make it not an alcopop. Beautiful cloudy gold color with a light and fluffy head and thick lacing.

Michelob is on a role.
-James

More LBC

Well, I was going to take advantage of LBC's $1 off growler night to get a liter of the wit beer I had last time. Checked their website and saw that they'd changed seasonals. A new, bolder, meatier IPA. Named I Am an American IPA.

After my previous LBC adventures, I used an abusive pour to get some head in my 0.4L pilsner glass. My it was a beautiful head, with sparse lacing down the glass. After the previous IPA from LBC (how many TLAs can I use), I was very skeptical about this beer. The smell was wonderful. Smelled almost exactly like Two Hearted (my favorite single IPA), so I couldn't wait and took a swig. Must say, it's a lot better than the last LBC IPA. Starts of with a bit of a sweet malt, then hits with a distinct hoppiness. It's the last flavor that keeps this from being a Two Hearted competitor. The taste of smoke. Their website brags of a deep "resinous pine" notes. Yeah, I guess bubbling the smoke from a pine fire would bring about a pine note...but not exactly in a good way.

I'm guessing aging this beer would tame down the finish. I hope that it's their next choice for the cask conditioned beer.

Now, if only the ions will turn.

-James

progress and beer

So yesterday I had zero luck at work and went to LBC to take advantage of the $2.50 pints. I started with the 85 to get the tastebuds a'rockin'. 'Twas still delicious. Then I got to looking at the medals hanging off of the signs with the names of all of their beers. Their standard beer has a crapload of awards (Gold medal at the Indiana state fair in 2007 and 2008, bronze medal in 2009). The name of the beer is Tippecanoe common ale. I decided to order a pint of it.

The color is a bit darker than I expected, it's definitely a brown ale, bordering on nut brown. The head is minimal (like all of the LBC brews), but lacing is outstanding. The mouthfeel is good, not great, but doable. Flavor is surprising. I can see how this beer won awards in a brown ale category. There's a good malt flavor, and a great hoppy finish. There is a hint of caramel malt, the amarillo hops do not disappoint, then there is a nice dry finish to the party. Good beer. Great? Well, for a balanced brown ale, yes. For me, I'd like to see another 30 min dry hopping period and call it an IPA, since the seasonal IPA is weak as balls.

After the common ale, I had the other seasonal beer, the Ouiatenon Wit beer (sic). The description is pretty lame for a real beer:
"This Belgian style wit bier is brewed with 100% USDA certified organic ingredients. A blend of wheat and pilsner malts along with German Saphir hops, coriander and curacao orange peel create a refreshing ale with hints of citrus, banana and clove."
Organic? whatever.
wheat and pilsner? yay
Saphir hops? exotic
coriander and orange peel? whatever.

I went in not expecting much, but I was very surprised. This beer is good. Hell, it is a borderline excellent belgian white ale. Sweet, but not too sweet, and it definitely goes down like a beer, not an alcopop. It's hard to describe, but it was good all the way through. I downed that beer way fast and ended up waiting out a tornado warning at the bar as I waited to burn it off.

-James

LBC

Went out tonight to Lafayette Brewing Co. for Dr. Jian Liu's celebration dinner. Had a couple beers, time to write it up.

First I had their seasonal IPA. The other IPA drinker and I were both a bit disappointed. IBU-wise this beer was weak for an IPA. Definitely lower then their Eighty-five, which rates, you guessed it, 85 on the IBU scale. An IPA with less than 80 IBU? Weak. Not saying it's a bad beer, it was possibly the best pale ale I've had. Very crisp, dry, with just a hint of bitter at the end. No off flavors. Mouthfeel and lacing were a bit weak, it was almost as if they put a keg on before it had matured. This beer went down like water after a hard day, which is probably bad because I think the only IPA characteristic this beer had was the ABV (upwards of 6 I'd guess).

Second beer was the aforementioned 85. This beer is good. It's sold as an "aggressive American style pale ale." Aggressive is an understatement. This beer comes very light colored, barely darker than Heineken. Head is small, smell is promising. Good bitter beer smells, pine esters and good malts. First sip will knock you on your heels. How is such a pale beer so hoppy? Fortunately it's not an abusive hoppiness, it is well balanced by the malt and mouthfeel. This is a very smooth beer, that still lets you know that you are drinking a beer.

LBC makes very fine ales. I'm sure eventually I'll record all of them. Especially since their 1L growlers are only $5 to refill. Almost 3 beers for $5? ($4 on Tuesdays) That's a great deal. Plus, Wed is their $2.50 pint nights, which is just awesome.

Tomorrow I'll probably troll for sponsorship at The Other Pub. Be back then.

Ions suck, drink beer.
-James

First post & Michelob

So I decided to make a beer blog, since that's what I do.

I can't pretend to remember and review all of the beers I've drank, so I'll start over again (well, I'll include the past few nights). I will review anything in here, with the following exceptions: Bud, Miller, Coors and the associated lights. Everyone's had these, and frankly, if I have to pay more than $3 a pitcher, I don't bother.

Now, to get to business. Due to the situation this month (I moved, thus paid 2.5 months rent on 80% pay) I've been looking for cheap beers that are drinkable. Due to this, I stumbled across the Michelob series. Unfortunately, I went in with the most recent Mich's I've drank being Ultra, and Ultra amber, which are really only to be drank when weight loss is the goal. I started off my new quest with the Michelob Lager. I went in expecting a fancied up Bud, I was greeted with a surprisingly good german lager. Turns out this thing actually conforms to reinheitsgebot (German purity law), which means NO RICE!! Surprisingly good bottle of beer, especially with cheap pizza. Little light on the hops, but most beers are for me. This lager is the cleanest, tastiest and most satisfying I've found for $6.30/pk.

Encouraged by my Michelob find, I went searching the webs (it's what Webby's do) and found that they have a dry-hopped beer. A dry-hopped macro? Gotta try that. The beer in question is the Michelob Pale Ale, and Damn is it a fine brew for its price. Great two finger head thst lingers and laces like a fine pair of...well lets just say it laces well. The color is on the imperial side of pale ale, but the reason becomes painfully evident on the first sip. The taste hits with a heavy malt flavor, then mellows to a damned pleasant hoppiness. Not overly bitter, just a pleasant floral dryness (no soap flavor as my dad would say). Personally I could've done with a little less malt, a little more hops, but that's because I'm a hophead.

More to come, I'm sure.
-James