Chumleys and Princess...

Intriguing title, once again. I might finally be getting the hang of this.

Tried two more beers for my passport at Chumley's, Magic Hat #9, and Maudite Red.

Starting with Magic Hat. This is a beer I've seen lots of people drink, but never ventured to try, mainly because it's a middle tier beer on their price list (remember, Bud Light is 3.75). Also, it's listed as a fruit beer....Don't fruit the beer, man. Well, on a whim I decided to knock it out on the passport, and I was definitely rewarded for the risk.

#9 is an interesting beer. I had no idea what to think of it. It looks like a pale ale, it smells like a fruity pale ale, and it tastes like, well, it tastes like Magic Hat #9. There is a hint of what may be either cranberries or cherries, impossible for me to tell since it was actually an undertone of the greater flavors, which were those of a quality American Pale. There was smooth, hoppy and tart all going on in the same sip...it was truly bizarre. But, more importantly, it was good. I'm not sure I'd start with this beer, but it's a decent beer. I do admit, this was beer number 3 of the night, and the previous two were Oberon and an IPA, so I definitely did things in the wrong order which probably made the fruity flavor more mild. Now...beer number 4...that was another story.

Beer number 4 was Maudite Red. This was a bottle, and I'd seen it on the list because I always figured it was a red ale or some such nonsense. Then I glanced at the passport description and kicked myself. By "Red" they mean according to belgian traditions, where Doubles are typically referred to as Reds. This was a BIG belgian double, almost 8% big. And it was delicious. The smell and flavor are both of big, sweet malts. Lots of malts. Tons of malt. However, the finish was nice and dry with just the gentlest hint of some hoppy goodness. This was an awesome beer, well worth the premium price. I may search for this, and it's trippel brother in the shops.

Peoples Amazon Princess is BAAAAAAACK. I love this IPA. I love single (wink) hop variety IPAs. And this one is all Simcoe, which is kind of a strange hop variety to make a single variety beer. Regardless, this beer is spectacular, which is why it is so hunted for in the area. While hanging out in the tasting room I saw around 20-30 pints poured (conservative estimate), and 90% of those were Amazon. This was day one of this batch. The ABV was actually up to 6.8% (from 6.5) without any recipe changes, simply because the yeast was drawn off of another beer. The flavor was very very good, although I am looking forward to it mellowing out a touch. It's definitely smoother than mound builder, and there aren't any truly dominating flavors, allowing you to sample all of the ester-y goodness of the Simcoe. I can't wait for this beer to start being distributed. I'm also happy to see that even though they're bottling and have established "flagship beers," Peoples can still go out there and introduce a small batch which is still different.

Home brew update tomorrow...

-J