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.