Haaa ha ha I may steal that. Hell, hops don't have gluten, so hoppier styles should be easier to do well, in theory. I need to make a lot of small batches trying differing amounts of ingredients, take good notes, and then see how they all turn out 2 months later.

Ok, I am now motivated. I'm gonna go find the gear.

Well played.

Shit, rye has gluten.

awesome.

Way to fucking kill the gluten free people, failed Brewmaster Squirrgle.

I like where you're thinking is with that project though, keep us posted.

Second beer:

WHOOPS ALE
-Totally Gluten Free this Time-
-We Swear-

Last night at The Gingerman:



Dogfish Head Palo Santo. Great way to start the night, and at 12% ABV could be a quick way to end it. The look isn't quite as oil-like as the Ten Fidy, but it's pretty f'n dark for a Brown Ale. Smells like molasses, raisins, coffee and caramel. Really delicious, and will look to pick some up.



Had to calm things down a little after the Palo Santo, so I went with the Dale's Pale Ale. It's becoming a little easier to get these days in NJ, and I've had a couple of 6 packs recently. I don't love ultra-hoppy beers; this one hits the right note.



Belhaven Scottish Stout. Smooth and creamy...kind of like a sweeter Guinness. Enjoyed it, and would definitely order it again.

I liked all three of those. The Dogfish was super sweet, you're right, I remember that. Very woody and rasiny, like 25% maple syrup or something, but in a good way. The Belhaven is what I wish Guiness tasted like. Ie, a really poundable stout.

Squirg, can we actually brew a DIPA instead of a stout whenever we get started on that?

Yeah, it's almost Spring anyway. Damn.

Lagunitas Maximus - Between this, the Lagunitas Sucks and even their regular IPA, does any brewery have a better lineup of "holy shit, this SMELLS GOOD" beers than Lagunitas? Just piney, dank deliciousness. I would put this just a notch below Lagunitas Sucks but it is pretty similar. Good shit.

Founder's Porter - Holy fucking smoke/peat/coffee bomb. This is a DAMN GOOD beer, the kind you keep thinking about a few hours after you drink it. Hard to get over the massive flavors.

I bought singles of these but would definitely pick up either in a sixer for regular old drinking.

Good to hear Bloor. I've eyed both of those for months now.

Had these this week:

Chambly Noire - Unibroue- Belgian Dark Ale. Wanted to give these guys another shot as they've missed more than hit with me in the past. Sadly, this was another miss for me. Just nothing there to write home about. Doesn't approach the best American versions of Belgians much less the real deal. Just unbalanced and forgettable. Starting to think this brewery just isn't for me. The only thing I go back to is the Blanche de Chambly which is a great summer beer as well as the Ephemere (good but can only do 1 or 2 before that taste wears out it's welcome)

Skullsplitter - Orkney Brewing I mentioned this one earlier in the thread but had not given it it's proper due. Sat down with one last night and decided that it isn't for me. If this is the real deal Scotch Ale then give me the American version like Dirty Bastard from Founders any day. Just found it to be pretty harsh and had little of that caramely goodness I typically associate with good Wee Heavies. I honestly poured the last half out. I didn't think these could go bad but maybe it did. I checked the date and it was about 8 months old. The aroma was one of cheap bubblegum. Not sure what I tasted before.

Acme IPA - North Coast Brewing Grabbed this and their Pale Ale as part of a mix match and tried this one. It was fine but FAR from the typical greenl hop bombs one normally associates with West Coast IPA's. Much more of malty flavor profile. Probably wouldn't get this again and grab a Lagunitas instead. First thing I've had from them that didn't hit it out of the park.


Kind of struck out this week.

Hey Dave, I found a sixer of the Yazoo Sly Rye Porter, so PM me with your preferred mailing address and I'll get a couple of them in the mail on Monday.

Now drinking: Fuller's London Porter, and yep, it's damn good.

picked up a 4 pack of these today, their double ipa. i haven't had one yet but i'm hoping it's better than their last few beers i've tried (autumnation, diesel).

posted elsewhere, but for the sake of posterity... 266 photo'd beers in 2011.

This was slightly disappointing in that I had hopes that it would be GREAT and it was merely very good. Nice flavor and plenty of booze (not overpowering though). I would probably think a little more highly of it had I not just been absolutely floored by the Founders Porter.

Founders is not the act you wanna come on stage after.

this was pretty awesome. For a 10% brew, it was incredibly easy to drink. Very smooth, slightly sweet, but not as sweet as some Abbey styles.
Highly recommended.

I got back from my initial week in North Africa late last night to find my wife had grabbed me a mixed six pack as a welcome home. Haven't tried any yet (that will be remedied in about an hour) but here is what I have to look forward to.


Caldera IPA


Great Divide Hercules Double IPA


Weyerbacher Double Simcoe


Oskar Blues Dale's Pale Ale


Southern Tier 2X IPA

and a DFH 90 Minute. Best wife ever.

I haven't seen that before but I will attest that Andersen Valley is no joke, and in my opinion they kind of disprove the "judge a beer by it's label theory" that I had long stood by. Their Barney Flats Oatmeal Stout (in spite of the label looking like something my grandpa would take a 12 pack of out to the pond growing up) is hands down my favorite beer. Don't get me wrong, I like my beer a little more subdued than a lot of you, but seriously, for a straight ahead stout it is flawless.

Got a couple of those Yazoo Sly Rye Porters in the mail from Stu. Good stuff. If you like the dark malty taste of a porter but want something less sweet and creamy, this would be something you'd want to try. Nice balanced taste where you get the porter flavor but some hops and rye still come through.

on NYE I had one of these guys:


Not mindblowing, but quality swill for sure.





glad you dug it!

i got a sixer of those in cans sometime last year and they were terrible. maybe it was just that batch because i've liked some of their other stuff.

my friend got me a bottle of this. it sounds interesting.

My chick and I split a bottle of the Noble Rot last night, shiv. For those who haven't heard of it, the DFH website describes it like this:



We both thought it was pretty good, but not better than the sum of its parts. I will say that it tastes exactly like what it is, a white wine and a saison with the degree to which one is more predominant changing from sip to sip. High marks for it not being too sweet. Low marks for it being in the 20's here--this is a beverage that needs to be drunk on the porch in warmer weather.