I have some to review, but not as many as I'd like. All this moving hullabaloo means I've had to write (and later tear up) checks for up to twelve grand, so I've had to go easy on the beer budget.

In the meantime, I'm starting to gather beers to ship to Loogs. I have a Matilda, but what else do I send him? Buorbon Co Stout if I can find it again, for sure. They need to be top-shelf beers he can't get there, ideally. I know he likes beglians, but I feel like he can find most of them near home.

How about a Bell's Kalamazoo Stout?
You got one to share with him?

No, I can't get Bell's here. I wish.

That Goose Island Pepe Negro was really good, too.

I actually like Victoria fine from a utilitarian perspective. It's not a beer I'd seek out if I was only having one at a place with much of a selection but it isn't completely flavorless and is something you can drink in hot weather or if you're planning on having 3 or 4 or more.

I've been trying a lot of Deschutes beers which I thought I really liked and have discovered that I'm really only a big fan of the Black Butte Porter.

I've been out of the game for about 3 weeks. Bronchitis took me down to Chinatown.

But, about to make a run to the store to purchase a heroic amount of brew.

Best things I've had lately. Mostly light summer fare:

North Coast Scrimshaw Pilsner - solid summer beer with only 4.4%.
Souther Tier Hop Sun - Pale Wheat Ale - all fresh cut grass and lemons. Delish. Around 5% I think.


Also, somebody recommend me something in that super mentholy, citrusy, green flavor vein that Hopslam hits on.

I tried Lagunitas Little Sumpin Sumpin recently and it was about as close as I've found. Good beer.

Fem G and I are big fans of Scrimshaw. I also had a really good cocktail last year that was made with mezcal, scrimshaw and a few things that I forget.

That beer (Sumpin') is hard to top in that category, but try...

Sierra Nevada - Torpedo


?

This has been interesting:



Its actually really good, and its local for me. Also, don't know if you all saw but Bell's Two-Hearted Ale was named no.2 best beer by some beer connoisseur group. Know there are a lot of fans on the board. I've eased my poor review of it, deciding that I must've gotten a bad batch.

As for our trip to the Berkshires, we had some incredible beer. Wish the region got more props or had better distribution.

First up: Berkshire Brewing Co. made in South Deerfield, Massachusetts.

My favorite was surprisingly, this:


I say surprisingly, because I'm generally not a huge EPA fan, but it definitely hit the spot.

Also had their IPA, which was decent to good. I was expecting a lot more, but it simply was what it was--an IPA. Nothing more, nothing less.


Took home a growler of the Steel Rail, so I have that to look forward to.

One of our favorite places to eat and drink while in the Berks, is the Great Barrington Brewing Company. Its a solar-powered brewery, which while probably doesn't do much in differing the taste of the beer, makes you feel a little better while drinking it. The food is great. We usually start off with their sausage sampler which comes with incredible sauerkraut. We ended up red meating it up with grass-fed cheeseburgers, which I probably dumped my sauerkraut allotment onto. So good.

It was a hot day, so I went with their Pilzner, which again is odd because I'm normally not a huge fan. But, its great for hot days and pairs up amazingly well with the German cuisine. They also were making a Scottish Ale, which I slurped up as well. We walked out with 2 22's of the Pilz, 1 22 of their IPA (which I didn't get this time, but is great), and a 22 of the Scottish Ale.

While in Bennington, VT we happened across Madison Brewing Company. Another brewpub. They were running an AYCE fish fry, so that worked as well. I opted for the 8-beer sampler @ 6oz. pours of each of what they had on tap. They included: Old 76 Strong Ale (English Ale), Buck's Honey Wheat, Sucker Pond Blonde, Wassick White Wall (Belgium Wheat Ale), Willoughby's Scottish Ale, Crowtown Pale Ale, Maple Porter, and one more I can't remember. The Wassick and Crowtown were the big winners. Their flagship brew, the Old 76 was really, really bland.

Did not know that (2 Hearted), but not surprised by it.

The local tapping parties will begin again in earnest tomorrow afternoon with the Amager Sundby Stout being the beer of choice. There is also a Firkin party for Summit IPA tonight, but I need to skip it so I can save a little cash for the Beer Bus tour to Des Moines next weekend. It is also extremely hot today, with a heat index reaching 110+, so I think I will avoid walking outside after consuming a few beers.

Found it, again: http://www.mlive.com/kalamabrew/index.ssf/2011/06/bells_brewery_incs_two-hearted_1.html

Oh and Berkshire Brewing Co is a solid over-performer in their pricepoint. Wide distribution up here, lots of styles to choose from, no duds, and some decently suprising ones among 'em.

Some recents:

As with all other things Lagunitas (at least what I have tried), I really dug this. Smooth copper ale.


I've had this before, and it was on special at the pizza place up the street on Sunday night. Flying Dog is another brewery I haven't found too much wrong with.


L-R - Thomas Creek River Falls Red Ale, Abita Restoration Pale Ale, Anderson Valley Summer Solstice, Sundog Amber Ale, Oskar Blues Old Chub Scotch Ale, Great Divide Hoss Rye Lager

Did a mix and match sixer at the deli down the street. Have only had the Abita Restoration (solid but unspectacular) and Great Divide Hoss. I had never had a rye lager before, and this was real good. Could very well be a go-to warm weather beer. Plus its recommended to pair with carnitas tacos and barbecue. Sounds good to me.

Catching up...


May I humbly present:


The cans I've been spending the most time with this summer. The Avery brews are sixpack only, but the others are 12 and up.

Avery - Joe's American Pilsener

Clean, very much a filtered beer. Not a trace of yeast to be found. They got a lot of the german flavors right here, this is like a stronger version of what immigrant brewers started making in the midwest a hundred and twenty years ago. It's crisp, very very dry, and in this case (unlike the old ones) has a slight alcohol kick to it. I didn't really come away liking this one very much, and wouldn't get it again. Ultimately too dry and bitey to be enjoyed in a session. The bitterness accumulates as you get deeper into the can - this is what people are talking about with those old "bitter beer face" ads. It's just too sharp and pointy with nothing to balance it out. B-


Narragansett - Lager

The last time I had Gansett, I had just moved myself into my shitball apartment in Worcester in 97 degree heat, with no a/c and a fuckload of stairs thrown into the mix. I got everything in, collapsed on the carpet for ten minutes, then decided to cross the square to the irish bar for dinner and a buzz. The guy at the next bar stool started chatting and when he found out how long I'd been in town ("what time is it?" was my answer) he started buying me these. He also entered my name into a drawing going on where Gansett was in the bar giving away Sox tickets, which I won - Neuro and I got to see Buchholz's no hitter 3 months later... fucking crazy. Anyway, as much fun as that evening was, I had this filed away as "not good, do not buy" ever since. I decided to bring an 18 pack camping this past weekend in VT and give it a proper chance again. My guy at the beer store hooked me up - the case looked like hell, was taped up, and the price didn't pull up in their system. "Give it to him for the 12 pack price, he's gonna take that ugly-ass case off my hands." So the verdict is that it's not as bad as I remember, but holy shit is it SWEET. There's soooo much latent sugar left in it somehow. Must be the mix of grains combined with whatever yeast strain they use, where the yeast can't process all the sugar, so it comes out with less alcohol content and more sweetness. It is what it is. Cheap local beer, with a sweet twist. B-


Harpoon - Summer Beer

Enjoyed here as it was meant to be, on the shore with random families walking in the background. This is a strong choice at a good price, almost great but not quite. They certainly do a better job here than the big fat kid down the block named Sam A. This is the superior summer beer between the two, Squirrgle-can-bias or no. Good mix of sweet malt and green hop bite, all in a pleasant balance that begs you to have another. B+



Brooklyn - Summer Ale

This is the clear winner of the lineup. Not even close. The Harpoon is in the same vein, and solid, but this has a lot more of everything. They just know what the fuck they're doing, I don't know how else to put it. Several times I would go a few nights not having these, and invariably upon opening one again I'd take a sip and proclaim its delicious aloud. It's sweetish but not too sweet. Hoppy but not an IPA. Mellow but not boring. Session-ready but not watery. For canned summer beer, I haven't met its better. A


BONUS - Non canned summery beer:

Abita - SOS (Save Our Shore) Summer Pils

Wife got me this last night for a picnic dinner on the way home from getting groceries. It's half pils, half wheat beer, and I swear it tasted a little like belgian yeast but that may have been the wheat fooling me. Anyway it's above average, goes down slicker than shit through a goose, is just slightly different enough to be exciting, and I dug it tremendously. The cause is just icing on the cake. Pick one up or you're a horrible freedom-hating human being. B+

That Lagunitas Censored is probably my favorite of theirs, tho the Maximus is hot on it's heels.

And I got a sixer of that Summer Solstice a few weeks back. I should've just left the rest of out at my friends house. Awful.

Local beer shop never has the Censored, but I tried it recently and have been really wanting to pick some up. I've only tried a few of Lagunitas's beers, but this one and the WTF one are my favorites so far.

Bought some Bell's Third Coast Old Ale last night. It's great, but not an ideal hot weather beer. I'm going to try to save most of it, I guess.

I've been really enjoying Bell's Oarsman for summer drinking. It's really refreshing and even pretty good warm.

I got my first growler this week and filled it up with Victory's Summer of Love seasonal (didn't really have many great options when I went). It was a pretty solid choice, I think. Ended up drinking it outdoors at a fish fry, and it went over great with everybody.

Ha! Hop City? I just picked up a Growler of that on my lunch break. Was deciding between that and the Hacker-Pschorr german hefe.

Yeah that North Coast is great but it's a total after dinner type of beer IMO. Good in a snifter or something with dessert or a cheese plate. Super complex.

Yeah, Hop City. It's right by my office.

Agreed on the Third Coast... I really wasn't even planning on drinking any of it yet, but my brother-in-law grabbed one last night and then couldn't finish it (after being warned that it wasn't cold yet and highly discouraged from drinking it) and so I had to take over and finish it off. Still it was pretty damn good. I need to get some snifters, though, especially since I like to buy Belgians fairly often.

Also, I'm loaded for bear this weekend.

The players:

North Coast - Le Merle - 22oz
Unibroue - Blanche de Chambly - 22oz
Chimay Blue - big bottle
Weihenstephaner Hefe - 3 20oz-ers
Ayinger Brau-weisse - 1 20 oz-er
Lagunitas Little Sumpin Sumpin - 6 pack
Allagash White - 4 pack
Brooklyn Summer Ale - 12 pack
Victory Summer of Love - Growler
Bud Light - 2 1/2 cases

Other assorted: Pork Slap, Victory Whirlwind Wit, Southern Tier Hop Sun, Abita Satsuma Harvest Wit

Man I bought an Allagash White 4 pack the same day I got the growler, and it pretty much vanished instantly.

Gott DAMN son. Holy fucking shit, if this doesn't do it up right nothing will. Some class acts in there.

That keg I got of it for the ski weekend did the same thing. Shit just goes down RIGHT, for everyone.

Do they have this at Hop City? I've been wanting to pick some up ever since I had it at the EABF.