Recents...
Bear Republic - Racer 5 IPAGreen's - Discovery Amber Ale (Gluten Free)
Busty tipped me to Racer 5, which I've had a few times before. This time I got a sixpack instead of a bomber, and it was nice to get a chance to revisit it several times over the week. What I realized this time was that this is 75% Bell's Two Hearted... very VERY similar, but not quite as far down the same road. Alcohol is 7% I think, so it's packin' appropriately. Great body, decent early (bitter) hops, and shitloads of late/wet hopping means there's a lot going on. Since I can't get Bell's here, this eases the blow.
Another Green's for the wife, #2 of 3. I didn't photo the third, which she had last night, but it was a dark ale that she liked the best. This one was similar to the first - a very well-made slightly wonky gluten free beer. Regular good beer drinkers will notice something not quite right, but it beats the shit out of like Redbridge and whatever other gluten-free swill you can always find in stock from Anheuser Busch or SAB/Miller.
Oskar Blues - Mama's Little Yella Pils
We went to a bbq at a friend's place Saturday evening, and I traded someone a Racer 5 for one of these, as I'd seen it but not had it yet. Opening the can and taking a deep whiff, I immediately had an out of body experience. I was wearing green cotton overalls and a matching jacket, stepping out of a mid-90's green vw golf diesel in the parking lot of the Bitburger Brewery at 6am. The malt, the hops... this is
incredibly close to Bitburger by smell, though somewhat less so in taste. This is sweeter than Bitburger (which is a very dry beer, fwiw), but it's 80% the same beer. I don't know what Oskar Blues is using (I fucking hate people who don't put any info on their product goddammit) but it HAS to be mostly the same shit - malt type, roast color, hop variety and amounts were all right there. WIERD. Anywho, I didn't really dig it and won't be buying more. Oskar Blues, your stock is falling.
Brooklyn Brewery - Local 2
This is an ale with citrus peel and honey, and a good content (9%). They didn't overdo anything... it's incredibly well balanced. I nursed this over the course of 5 hours, working on the wife's bike outside at first, then grilling, then eating dinner. Not only were there no mistakes, but the result was really interesting, different, memorable, worth the price... this is how it's supposed to be done. A solid "A" beer, for sure. Will be picking up other Brooklyn big beers for sure.