Sound Brewery Ursus Spelaeus Belgian Imperial Stout

Sound Brewery Ursus Spelaeus
Belgian Imperial Stout
10%

Looks like motor oil. Pitch black, with small brown head. The smell is complex. I get roasted malts with a little bit of Belgian yeast. Faint hint of licorice. Taste wise, a little roasty but also a little sweet. Kind of subtle, but that might be because it is cold when I started drinking. Everything seems to come together nicely. I will sip it and see how it tastes and smells when it warms up....And after it warms up, it is roastier and now I am getting slight chocolate. Medium mouthfeel and easy drinking. It hides the 10% pretty well.

Fremont Oktoberfest Beer Porn Pictures

Leavenworth Dunkelweizen

Mad River Double IPA

Lagunitas Lil Sumpin Sumpin

Lazy Boy Oktoberfest

Widmer Bros Brrrrbon '12

Stone Oak Aged Arrogant Bastard

Deschutes Jubeale

Alaskan Baltic Porter
My friend and I waited for awhile for this beer. It was pretty damn good and worth it.

Sound Brewery Sommerweizen

Greenflash Double Stout

Afterward, we went to Brouwers and had some damn fine beers

St Bernardus Abt 12

Westmalle Tripel

Westmalle Tripel
9.5%

This was my Monday Night Football beer. Too bad it was such a controversial game for my Seahawks.

Fruity and bready. One thing that hits me is the after taste. I am not quite sure what it is. Very crisp and carbonated. It was really good, but there was something a little off. Not sure if it was my bottle, but I noticed a lot of yeast particles in it. Maybe I need to pour it differently next time.

Ava the Whiner and Other Goodies at Chucks

Right now, there are some wonderful things going on at Chuck's on 85th. First of all, he is commissioning different breweries to replicate Pliny the Elder. With slight tweaks, these beers are sure to please. All of them named after employees.

T

This week on tap is Ava the Whiner brewed by Skookum. I don't know the ABV nor did I write any notes, but it was very delicious, pretty fruity, and a beer I hope they continually put on tap. I can't wait to see what they put up next.

Another great thing going on at Chuck's is that they now have a cask. Currently (unless they've tapped out) they are hosting Two Beers Infused IPA, which was my favorite beer at last years Winter Beer Festival. Usually when I go to a bar, I try to get any beer that is on cask or nitro.

Which leads me to...

Oskar Blues G'Knight Imperial Red on NITRO!!!

Needless to say, I had a really good time at Chuck's and I can tell things are going to get better.

 

Hair of the Dog Fred

Hair of the Dog - Fred
Golden Special Ale
10% ABV

Poured a brownish rust looking like something that would come out of an old faucet. Not very "golden" and looks more like root beer. Very creamy white, one finger head that has great lacing. Lots of carbonation. The nose smells a lot like a barley wine,which I found out some consider a barley wine. Got some dark fruits, caramel, and some sweet sugar. Taste is like the nose. Not sure if I would call this dry or hoppy, and there is some slight breadiness to it. It is very complex beer that I enjoyed while watching my Seahawks beat the Cowboys.

Billy Beer

I found a bunch of these in my mom's attic. Pretty cool!

http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/77475

Great Divide Chocolate Oak Aged Yeti Stout

Great Divide Chocolate Oak Aged Yeti Stout
9.5%

I have been wanting to drink this for awhile and finally got my chance. Yes!
It looked like motor oil coming out of the bottle into my glass. I can smell the oak and chocolate and maybe some dark fruits. Was a little dry but easy to drink. It was a full, big beer. Took me about 45 minutes to drink. Great sipper! Great beer!

Naked City/Lazy Boy - Naked and Lazy IPA

Naked City/Lazy Boy - Naked and Lazy IPA

From notes: light orange color, small head, nice lacing. Medium mouthfeel. Light citrus hops, malt backbone. Nicely balanced. Bit of a dry finish. Perfect for drinking on a warm day outside.

BUT THERE IS A FUCKING SHARK IN MY BEER!

Schooner Exact 3-Grid IPA

Schooner Exact
3-Grid IPA
6.7%

From notes: Light orange, nice carbonation, little head with nice lacing. Piney hops and what smells like faint bubble gum which I have gotten from IPAs before but not many people get that. I also get a bready biscuit malt. Nice hoppy finish. A little more malt based IPA on this one. Delicious!

A Trip to Quinns for Beer O'Clock

Chimay Tripel
8%

A little warm but tasty. Fuck ya!

LaTrappe Dubbel

Fuck ya!

Quinn's own house beer.







I forgot what it was called, but....fuck ya!

21st Amendment Spring Saison

21st Amendment Spring Saison
6.2%

After a night of drinking with my friend I wanted something light to end the night. Didn't realize this was 6.8%! I am not the biggest Saison fan but I enjoyed this because it was something different that I usually drink. What I remember is licorice and a slight pepper note. Maybe the licorice note was clove. It was good but unless it was at a party I went to, not sure if I will have it again.

Harmon ESB

Harmon ESB
5.8% ABV

I have been wanting to check out the Harmon brewery for awhile. I finally got to check it out. Not only do they really good food, but I was pretty happy with this beer. It didn't kick me in the balls and screamed in my face how good it was. It was well balanced between malts and hops and pretty drinkable. I can see myself bringing this to my friends house (a lot of my friends are not beer drinkers) and can assume they would like it. A good beer for a BBQ out in the backyard with good friends.

This Guy

Kind of Vacation

Old Rasputin on NITRO! from Chuck's on 85th. Not sure why more people were not drinking this. It was beautiful, delicious, and only $4, and on NITRO!

Maritime Pacific
IPA on Cask

I have never been to this brewery before and I don't remember having these beers too many times. What the hell, I will give it a shot. I didn't write down notes but I do remember liking it. Wasn't too much hop profile but I remember the biscuit malt. It seems like they frequently have beers on NITRO and cask so if you are around here, give them a try.

Sint Canarus
Tripel

I thought it would be a nice night to drink a Belgian. I grabbed this Tripel from Big Star in Aurora. I am not sure but it didn't really do much for me. It smelled of apples and caramel, but...I don't know, it was alright.

Oskar Blues Dale's Deviant India Pale Ale

Oskar Blues
Deviant Dale's India Pale Ale
8% ABV

It is Saturday and I have to work. So that means I deserve a beer.

I picked this up at Ken's Market in Greenwood. Beautiful hazy, rusty color with nice, big cream head. Nice lacing. It smells like grapefruit hops with a little bit of biscuit malt. Has a dry sweetness to it, if that makes sense. Dry finish. Great malt/hop balance. Medium mouth feel. Solid IPA.

Avery Samael's Oak Aged Ale

Seahawks are on tv. Time for a beer.

Avery Samael's Oak Aged Ale English Barleywine
15.47%

Rusty, almost reddish orange looking. Kind of murky. Very effervescent. Small, foamy head. Very beautiful looking beer. I can't stop looking at it. I'm serious. Very sweet smelling beer. I get dark fruits, caramel, vanilla, brown sugar. Lots going on in the nose. Taste like it smells. Sweet. While it is 15.47%, you can taste the alcohol but it is hidden well. It is really a sipper. Medium to bigger body, feels sticky (I never really understood what that meant when I read that in other beer reviews but now I get it. Sticky like a sugar soda.) Fucking great beer.

This is where I realize that while I love beer, I am horrible at describing it. This is a big beer and demands respect. There is a lot going on.

Ayinger Celebrator Doppelbock

As it pours, it looks like coca cola. Kind of fizzy with a big light brown head. Roasted malts hit me in the face. Got slight chocolate Very malty in the mouth. Nice heavy malts which would be perfect in the wintertime (it is summer). Pretty chocolaty with a little sweetness to it. Smooth and creamy.  Very easy drinking. As I drink it I am starting to get faint dark fruits.

Burgundies of Belgium

The Beer Hunter episode of Belgians.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

The Beer Hunter: Belgians

Belgian beers have become fashionable, yet the pleasures they offer have been truly explored by only a discerning minority of drinkers. The rule, never ask for "a beer" applies especially in Belgium. Such a request will bring forth a perfectly acceptable lager of a type, but one that could just as easily be found in many other countries. The great beers of Belgium are not its lagers. Its native brews are in other styles, and they offer an extraordinary variety, some so different from more conventional brews that at the initial encounter they are scarcely recognisable as beers. Yet they represent some of the oldest traditions of brewing in the Western world.
No other country (even those with far more breweries) has among its native styles of beer such diversity, individuality, idiosyncrasy and colour. Nor does any other country present beers so beautifully. Belgian brewers often use wired and corked Champagne bottles, and serve each beer in its own shape of glass, ranging from flutes to snifters and chalices. It is something of a Belgian speciality to bottle beers with a sediment of live yeast, so that they can be laid down to mature. This technique is usually indicated on the label by the phrase "re-fermented in the bottle" (Refermentée en bouteille / Hergist in de fles ).


http://www.beerhunter.com/documents/19133-000213.html

Beer Pictures: Trip to Naked City

My friend was in my neighborhood and wanted to meet up for some food and good drink.

Naked City Some Like It Hop India Summer Ale was a good first choice. Nothing too heavy and nice.

When we decided to have another beer, we both decided on Ninkasi's Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Stout

Really tasty, but tasted more like a scotch ale. Probably because of it being bourbon barrel aged.

Beer Pictures: Trip to Chuck's

First started out with a delicious Green Flash Imperial IPA. So delicious and refreshing on a hot summer day.

Had a taste of The Bruery Trade Winds Tripple and had to have a half pint. I believe it is around 11%.

I always like to try new beers, but sometimes you have to go back to your old favorites. I present to you, Dogfish Head 90-Minute IPA.

Boulevard Brewing Sixth Glass

Beer, I've missed you.

Sixth Glass
Quadruple
Boulevard Brewing
10.5%

Bought from Ballard Central Market. Poured into my Orval glass. Kind of a brownish, copper body with a small, fizzy, off-white head. The smell of was dark fruits: cherries, date, plum, grape, raisin. Medium bodied, slightly fizzy carbonation. This is a nice, dry sipper on a hot afternoon.

Beerfast

I have been on a beerfast the last month an a half and will continue until the end of the month. I have some more reviews to write about and will do it soon. I can't wait to put some beer in my mouth but I am also glad I lost weight from my beerfast.

Beerfast

I also want to change the name of the blog because I think "He Drinks the Beer" sounds kind of stupid. It was a play on "I Drink the Wine" by Murder City Devils.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9nR9DUUBJo

Berfrois: Westvleteren Trappist Beer

I follow Berfrois on Facebook. You should check it out for a great, all around general interest online magazine. Here is a podcast about Westvleteren.

http://www.berfrois.com/2012/07/westvleteren-trappist-beer/

Ice Harbor Barley Wine

Ice Harbor Barley Wine
10% ABV

From notes
Poured a beautiful rusty auburn into tulip glass. No head. Very strong on the dark fruits and got some caramel in the nose. Very smooth beer and a sipper. I drank this while watching Drugstore Cowboy. A very good beer, English style barley wine as opposed to American. I will have no problem drinking this again.

Quick trip to Chuck's

I wanted to make a stop by one of my favorite market/bars before I got on a beer ban for 2 months. No notes, just drinking. Here is what I got:

Hopworks Survival 7-Grain Stout Nitro!
5.3% ABV

It was a delicious stout, but really good on nitro! Chuck said that the smaller glass was better than the mason pint because of the glassware so I went with that. Really good, really smooth. Roasty. I love nitro!

Avery Karma Belgium Pale
5.2% ABV

I thought this one was ok. Probably not a good choice after drinking a stout. They really filled it up for me.

Great Divide Wood Aged IPA

Great Divide 18th Anniversary Wood Aged Double IPA
10% ABV

When I got back from San Diego I went straight to my mom's house for Mother's Day, ate a delicious steak and had a delicious beer.

From notes:
Poured a rusty auburn with a small, frothy head. Pretty complicated smell and taste. Oak is very prominent and the beer is medium bodied. Dark fruits and a little bit of caramel was in there as well. The taste was of hoppy oak. Dry finish.Very good beer but I couldn't drink a whole bomber by myself. Definitely a beer to share with good friends and to discuss.

San Diego

Two weekends ago I went to San Diego for my best friend's bachelor party.

Karl Strauss Tower 10 IPA
6.5% ABV

I drank this right when I got off the plane at 9 in the morning. I needed it. I didn't write any notes but I remember it was an ok IPA. I remember you can really smell the hops on this and some toasted malts. I drank it pretty quick though because of other things going on.

Then I had another...

Firestone Walker Wookie Jack Black IPA

Firestone Walker Wookey Jack Black Rye IPA
8.3% ABV

From notes:
Pours a brownish black body with brown frothy head. Smells very citrusy. Get a little chocolate in the nose but not much. Messed with me because though it smelled very hoppy I thought it tasted more malty. Medium bodied and very easy to drink. The head lasts as you drink it and the lacing is phenomenal. Good beer!

Some Beer Pictures

Great Divide Oak Aged Yeti Stout
So good!

Fremont Pale
Pretty damn good pale ale.

Great Divide Titan IPA
We finished all of these at Quinn's.

Southern Tier 2XIPA
Another beer that was finished by us at Quinn's.

Schooner Exact Pacific Crest Pale from Cask
A really nice treat to have a cask beer at my friend's going away party

And here is the cask:

La Trappe (I believe) Quad
One of my favorite Belgians

Ninkasi Spring Reign
Pretty good Pale Ale, though not my favorite. Good if I were to hang out in my lawn on a warm spring or summer day.

Georgetown Chopper Red
Good for a red.

Ninkasi Commonwealth
I am not sure if I've shared this yet. Limited edition beer from Ninkasi that isn't even available here. I have yet to enjoy it.

Yellow Wolf IPA
I would like some more, please.

Odin's Gift
Spring time is a great time for some Odin.

Silver City Fat Scotch Ale
My favorite Scotch Ale.

So this a collection of some of the beers I have been drinking lately. Haven't really written any notes for these because I was spending time with some good friends and enjoying their company.