365 Days of Beer

I know... I know...

noreply@blogger.com (Nick) — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 01:01:00 +0000

I never did post my top 10 beers of 2006.

My bad.

I'll get it up here soon but in the meantime, check out my new blog: http://awfulmets.blogspot.com

Top 10 Worst of 2006

noreply@blogger.com (Nick) — Wed, 21 Feb 2007 13:53:00 +0000

As requested, here is my WORST of 2006...

But first to update you on my 2007 beer activities... I have tried a whopping 11 new beers.

There is someone following in my footsteps in 2007, and you can follow his progress here: http://beer-retard.livejournal.com/

So head over and wish him luck!

Without further ado...

I present...

THE WORST OF 2006!!!

Now as a little disclaimer, I'm not necessarily going by the rankings. Some low rated beer might have been what I was in the mood for at the time, while something that was highly regarded could have tasted boring to me.

10) #307 - Left Hand Deep Cover Brown Ale - I wanted to find one beer to put on this list that was kind of an afterthought. This one passed me like a stranger on the street - you see the person coming towards you but once they're gone you can't remember a thing about them. This was the beer, of all the middle of the road ones I tried in 2006, that I couldn't pick out of a lineup if my life depended on it.

9) #254 - Odell Levity Amber Ale - Another bland one that I could hardly remember drinking. This one I noted as being the type of microbrew that is boring enough to send a macro drinker running back to his case of Bud.

8) #281 - Nikšićko Pivo - Nearly undrinkable pils from Montenegro. I remember this one being way out of balance and all over the place.

7) #29 - Molson Canadian Light - This one is wayyyyy down there on the quality scale and makes no secret of the fact... like a fat, drunk, impotent, unemployed dude at an eligible bachelor's convention.

6) #151 - Heineken Premium Light Lager - This is a beer inspired by marketing. There is no denying this fact. There is nothing "premium" about it. That is simply the label the marketing gurus came up with as a way to promote their new product. HORRENDOUS!!

5) #222 - Asahi Gubinama - The worst 5 begins with this... what tastes to me like a beer flavored soda. This is, believe it or not, brewed using soybeans and sugar, so you can imagine how nasty it is.

4) #150 - B.B. King's Blues Brew - Looks like I had back to back awful beers with this monstrosity coming just before the Heineken Marketing Light. Ugh... this tastes like BB King's sweat was added into the brewing process. Funky tasting and it was served nearly warm. I had gone back to this venue and tried another beer and it was also served at the same temperature. Someone needs to talk to management about that.

With the last 3 worst, I will just paste the original reviews, since they best capture the horror in immediate, graphic detail.

3) #228 - Sapporo Namashibori - The last beer I had in Japan I drank really quickly, and forgot to get a photo. I think this is another happoshu, and it takes like they soaked popcorn in water for 6 hours in the sun, cooled it, carbonated it, and canned it for all the world to drink.

2) #58 - Zhiguly Beer Grand 9.5 - Being half-Lithuanian (and half-Japanese - who could ever guess that combination?) I felt a responsibility to try this beer. I've only had 1 other Lithuanian beer in my life. The first sign of trouble is right there on the upper right-hand corner where it says "99¢." I picked it up with no intention of buying it until I saw it was from Lithuania. What a disgusting concoction. Sadly I picked up a bottle for my mom but I will have to warn her about the caustic metallic finish that accompanies this brew. Yuck!

And finally....

The hands-down...

Absolute...

WORST BEER...

OF 2006...

UNDOUBTEDLY...

DEFINITIVELY...

INDISPUTABLY....

1) #105 - Miyagi Memorial Date Rape Oktoberfest - What trash.

Thanks for the swill, Kuvs!

JUST KIDDING KAVAL!

Here is the real WORST of 2006:

1) #46 - Becks Light - Easily the most horrendous brew I have ever had the displeasure of tasting. Bottle touts that it is only 64 calories. Alcohol is only 3.8%. This should practically be a "non-alcoholic" beer. Pours a see-through, clear-as-day, 7th inning stretch, off-white piss color. Fizzy Sprite-like head that dissipates almost instantly. Faint day-old bread aroma. Carbonation and fizz swarms the palate with no discernable flavors to follow. Nasty, face-contorting finish packed with hints of regret, stupidity, and a desire to vomit after tasting this abomination. Bloated, gassy feeling followed by loud belching seals the deal.

See you soon with the Top 10 BEST of 2006...

Welcome to 2007!

noreply@blogger.com (Nick) — Thu, 01 Feb 2007 22:05:00 +0000

Well... Here I am back with another post.

First question on a lot of people's minds is... "are you going to do it again?"

No way.

In fact, this year to date I have only tried 7 new beers and it is February 1.

I just wanted to make a quick post, and let everyone know I will soon be posting the much anticipated Best and Worst of 2006.

Check back soon!

Mission Accomplished!

noreply@blogger.com (Nick) — Sat, 30 Dec 2006 01:29:00 +0000

The quest is over... Mission Accomplished...

I have had 365 beers this year... none of which I have previously tasted before.

As I sit here sipping beer #365, I realize that what I've done is nothing great... its just something that took a lot of patience and discipline to accomplish.

Anyway, that was it... my 365 Days of Beer. Have a Happy One...

365) Westvleteren Abt 12 - So this is the legendary Westy 12... The top rated beer in the world, and one of the rarest. I'm sipping this one slowly, to fully enjoy it. Right off the bat I will say I don't think its the best beer I've ever had. That honor still belongs to the Victory Storm King Imperial Stout. But, its damn complex. Pours a dark brown/ruby color with a tan head that lasts a long time. Aroma is complex... apples... raisins... plums.... chocolate... carmelized sugar... etc. Flavor is very complex too... spices... all of the above flavors... and the finish just lasts forever. Mouthfeel is incredibly smooth, almost like drinking melted butter or cream. A fine way to end the night, and the 365 Days of Beer.

Just one away...

noreply@blogger.com (Nick) — Fri, 29 Dec 2006 01:17:00 +0000

I don't know what else to start with other than saying right now I am having beer #364 and I realize I am just 1 frickin' beer away from having had 365 beers I have never previously tried this year.

By the way I am still having trouble shaking this cough. It's really annoying, because I'm going to San Francisco in less than 4 days.

Here are the latest two:

363) Flying Dog Gonzo Imperial Porter - FRICKIN AWESOME! I love this style... Maybe its my half-Baltic (Lithuanian) roots. But I love big beers that have a huge, smoky, chocolately, rich, not sweet profile. This has that and is going to be my go-to Baltic Porter now that Heavyweight is closed and I can't get the Hammer. There is apparently a Swedish Baltic Porter that has surpassed my intended 365th beer as the top rated in the world. I will have to investigate.

364) Rochefort Trappistes 10 - This is dark and full of flavor. Distinct plum aroma. Lots of dark fruits in the flavor with the complexity of a fine wine. Oh man I just had the last sip and that last bottle is tempting me...

364 down.... 1 TO GO!!!!

Back in Business

noreply@blogger.com (Nick) — Tue, 26 Dec 2006 17:15:00 +0000

So my illness has past and I am back on the beer bandwagon. Or off the wagon, depending on how you want to look at it.

Also, I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas.

360) Goose Island Bourbon County Stout - I may have mentioned that imperial stouts are my favorite style, and this was one of the best I have had. This was aged in bourbon barrels and as such, absorbs all kinds of woodsy and smoky characteristics. Really enjoyable nightcap with none of the annoying sweetness of other recent dark beers I have had recently, such as those eisbocks.

361) Whole Foods Lamar St. Pale Ale - Actually contract brewed by the above Goose Island, this is a decent American Pale Ale that was nice and hoppy.

362) Oaked Arrogant Bastard Ale - I've added a permanent link to Stone Brewing on the left. They can do no wrong. The oaked version of Arrogant Bastard was just as awesome as the regular one. If you love an in your face strong ale, this is the one for you.

So only 3 more left to reach 365. I am looking at having #365 on New Year's Eve, so between now and then, I have 5 days to have the other 2. Its only a matter of time now!

Under the Weather...

noreply@blogger.com (Nick) — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 13:24:00 +0000

Woke up under the weather today... but I had one yesterday at Nevada Smith's while watching football...

359) Veltins Pilsener - Previously I thought I had finished off every beer in this bar, but I think this is a recent addition. This is a German pilsner. Bit of a thin body with a metallic taste. Bitter finish. Nothing great...

6 more to go! Hopefully I will feel better enough tonight to add another to the list!

7 to Go!

noreply@blogger.com (Nick) — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 00:33:00 +0000

Welcome to my latest post!

We start with...

353) St Peters Golden Ale - This is of a similar style to the English ale I had recently but its not as good as that one. Hops were not as prominent.

354) St Peters Old Style Porter - Pretty average porter overall. Well made but nothing stands out.

355) Rochefort Trappistes 8 - Dark brown color with a huge head. Sugary aroma. Mouthfeel seemed dominated by carbonation. Complex, fruity flavors dominate. Long finish.

356) Capitol City Pale Rider Ale - A nice American style pale ale... but I didn't get a pic of the beer only. Very agressive with the hops but that was right up my alley.

357) St Peters Cream Stout - Very chocolately and sweet. I rather enjoyed this and it was the best of the St Peters beers I've had recently.

358) Sea Dog Riverdriver Hazelnut Porter - Decent but not as good as the Rogue hazelnut porter. But any porter with hazelnut in it is a winner in my book, as its usually a pretty boring style.

358 down and only 7 to go!!!

Early AM Hangover

noreply@blogger.com (Nick) — Tue, 12 Dec 2006 17:49:00 +0000

You'll see later why this post is titled "Early AM Hangover" but let me begin by recapping some other beers.

I've now purchased enough new brew to reach my goal. All the bottles are numbered and lined up in the fridge ready to be opened.

348) Faxe Premium - A crisp Danish lager served in a 1000 ml can... however, only the first few sips were good and after that this beer kind of fell on its face. Lots of pale lagers are more enjoyable than this premium and it was kind of tough to finish this huge can.

349) Faxe Amber - Not good either... Another weak offering from this brewery. Very thin and dry... the flavors do not last at all.

350) Hollandia - Pretty good lager. Having it out of the can saves it from getting skunky. Nice alternative to a Heineken.

351) St Peters English Ale - The bottle looks nice, but it lets in way too much sunlight. Initially this has a skunky aroma. The flavors are pretty decent though... Good hop bite and nice malts.

352) Dogfish Head Raison D Extra - An "extreme" beer at around 18.5% alcohol. Maybe i'm becoming a wimp but this was too much. Too sweet and too much alcohol. It gave me a headache in the morning.

352 down and just 13 to go. It won't be long now!

The Final Stretch

noreply@blogger.com (Nick) — Thu, 07 Dec 2006 17:20:00 +0000

It's been a while since my last update, and if you've think I've somehow given up or fallen off the pace you are sadly mistaken.

I am in this for the long haul and I can see the finish line on the horizon.

Let's recap the latest beers I've had...

341) Michelob Bavarian Style Wheat - I gotta hand it to AB here... they did a good job on this and should put this product out there more. Its a well made German hefeweizen, with all the flavors and aromas you are looking for. I think the low ratings it has been getting on RateBeer.com are more because of where it comes from than anything else. But AB did a good job on this.

342) Mahrs Bräu Festtags Weisse - I had this right after the Michelob... as you can see, the pour is much darker on this one. Has a little more body to it. This one came from the Beer of the Month club and was pretty decent.

343) Sand Creek Wild Ride IPA - Another one from the club, which I think I am going to leave for financial reasons more than anything else. Anyways, this was a pretty good IPA. I liked the hop bitterness in this one. Excellent complexity brought out on the finish.

344) Jopen 4 Granen Bokbier - Also from the club... This is a dunkler bock and the first one I've had. Excuse the cruddy photo... I decided to test my camera phone. The pour is a dark brown/red. Huge foamy head as you can see. Flavor is mainly nutty/smoky.

345) Schneider Aventinus - One of the more highly touted weizen bock's out there. Huge head that seemingly lasts forever. I liked the Victory Moonglow a lot better though for some reason. Still this is very powerful and intense to drink.

346) Grand Teton Bitch Creek ESB - This is a top-rated ESB but I don't think I got a good bottle. Everything just seemed kind of flat. I have 2 others saved so I will give it another go.

347) Delirium Noël - Had this one last night at the Ginger Man. Has a light brown/red color to it. Lots of caramel flavors with some spice notes. 10% alc. by volume. A good winter brew.

347 down leaving just 18 to go. I'm 6 days ahead of pace if I want to finish by the end of the year. With the last beer I also have completed 95% of the goal. Stay tuned as I come down the final stretch for the year.

Thanksgiving aftermath

noreply@blogger.com (Nick) — Mon, 27 Nov 2006 22:14:00 +0000

Well, I didn't have any beer with my Thanksgiving dinner, but there was some beer to be had anyways over the long weekend. Check out my Flickr gallery on the left if you want to see pics of the food we ate. One of the best Thanksgiving dinners my mom has ever cooked.

Onto the beer...

336) Kulmbacher Eisbock - If you recall in the last update I had my first eisbock and wasn't really crazy about it. This was a much better one. More complex flavor and the balance was better. Much more structure to it than the other one.

337) Michelob Pale Ale - Now things get a little hairy. Whilst shopping with my mom in BJs, we came across a Michelob sampler pack. We bought it mainly for my dad, who will drink anything, but I took the ones I haven't had before to add them to the list. Of all the AB macros, I think Michelob is the best one. This is an English style pale ale, and while its drinkable, its the least interesting one I've ever had. I know the brewers at AB are knowledgable and talented but they should take more risks.

338) Michelob Porter - Not bad at all... This one has a pretty smoky taste to it. This and the Amber Bock by Michelob are the best ones, so maybe they do the darker beers pretty well.

339) Michelob Marzen - Didn't really taste like a marzen. I think it had more in common with a Killians than anything else. Again, the AB execs seem to have a problem with variation. Apparently anything that seems too different is deemed unacceptable for the market.

340) Avery The Beast Grand Cru Ale - Way too syrupy sweet for my taste. 2005 bottling, 14.9% alc. I don't really seem to have a liking for this kind of thing lately.

With only 25 beers to go, future updates will be done countdown style. As of today, there are 34 days left in the year, so I've got a nice lead. Though I am looking to maybe finish this quest a little before Christmas.

See you next time.

Happy Turkey Day!

noreply@blogger.com (Nick) — Thu, 23 Nov 2006 00:09:00 +0000

Alright so its not quite Thanksgiving yet, but let me start by saying Happy Turkey Day! Its one of my favorite holidays even though I won't be drinking beer tomorrow. Turkey day is always reserved for wine and I can't wait to eat my mom's delicious cooking and my neighbor's decadent desserts.

As for the wine... hmm.. I have a great bottle I've been wanting to open for a while. Stay tuned for a post Thanksgiving food update!

Anyways, onto the beer quest.

331) Stoudts Double IPA - Haven't had a double IPA for a while. Even though this was only an average version, I still enjoyed it greatly. However, I don't think this one had as many IBUs as other double IPAs I have had.

332) Rogue HazelNut Brown Nectar - Rogue does it again! First thing I did was email my friends about this one. This was totally awesome! The best brown ale in the world, hands down. Has a subtle nuttiness to it that no other beer has. I will have this one anytime anywhere.

333) De Dolle Dulle Teve 10º (Mad Bitch) - A highly rated abbey ale from Belgium. I thought it was too sweet and the carbonation was overpowering.

334) Schneider Aventinus Weizen-Eisbock - This is the first eisbock I've had. Basically its a doppelbock that has been frozen, then the ice (water) has been removed thus concentrating the flavors and increasing the alcohol. I thought it was a bit much. Again, this was my first venture into the world of eisbocks... therefore, I can't really say much. I have another eisbock waiting in the wings, and it is rated higher than this one, so I will speak more about the style after having that.

335) Hair of the Dog Fred - I am actually having this as I write this. I left all the sediment in the bottle. This is listed as a barley wine on rate beer, but it is very hoppy, more like a double IPA. Batch #63 by the way.

Well I only have 30 to go, with 335 in the bag. I need to buy about 15 bottles of stuff I have never had to have enough of a supply to reach my goal. Not sure how many I'll have Thanksgiving weekend, but I'll be back again soon with another update! Enjoy the holiday!

35 to go!

noreply@blogger.com (Nick) — Fri, 17 Nov 2006 19:42:00 +0000

Here's the latest beers I have had...

327) Heavyweight Biere d´Art - A Biere de Garde from the now defunct Heavyweight Brewing Company. Only the 2nd of this style I have had, the other one being Gavroche. I think I like the Gavroche better. This is brewed with French malt and German hops, so in the aroma, you definitely can smell the hops coming through. Interesting contrast... and the bottle displays a nice piece of artwork as well.

328) Rogue Brutal Bitter - Another beer that combines unique malt and hop profiles. The malt here used is English malt, while the hops come from Oregon. A little more aromatic than the usual bitter. Perfectly done.

329) Allagash Musette - Labeled as a scotch ale, aged 3 months in oak bourbon barrels, this actually was fermented with a Belgian yeast strain. Thus, it takes on more of a Belgian quality, which is Allagash's specialty.

330) Westmalle Dubbel - If you recall, I had the Tripel earlier this year. I enjoyed this much more. This was malty and sweet and I really found myself nearly chewing the beer as I drank it, to bring out more of the flavors. Excellent stuff...

I had another one last night, but didn't upload the pic yet... so expect that in the next update.

330 down and only 35 to go!

A few awesome additions

noreply@blogger.com (Nick) — Mon, 13 Nov 2006 21:31:00 +0000

It's been a very up and down week for me in my life. I've been all over the place emotionally and acting crazy, like a total moron in some cases, and saying things I don't mean to all kinds of people, and walking around in a daze. The lows have been very low but the highs have been very high. I know you're all wondering what the hell I am talking about but I promise I will reveal this by the end of the year and all will be understood.

Times like this call for good beer!

322) Stoudts Triple - Lots of flavors of pears in this one. Pretty sweet and full bodied. A good version of an abbey style ale.

323) Michigan Brewing High Seas India Pale Ale - A very good IPA. I haven't had one in a while... I noticed lately I've had lots of Belgian style ales and ambers. I needed to get punched in the face with some hops and this did the trick. From the Beer of the Month Club. I hope I don't miss out on the next shipment, because I nearly maxed out that credit card they use. If they are reading, please call me! And... maybe I should apply to be the member of the month. If I tell them about the 365 beer quest and how they have been helping me, I should be able to win, especially considering there hasn't seemed to be a winner lately, no?

324) Dogfish Head Golden Shower - First off, one of the most disgusting names for a beer... ever. This is an imperial pilsner. Now, I love everything DH does... but this was maybe a little much for me. I associated a lighter body and crisp refreshment with pilsners, but the additional alcohol in this one made it feel heavy to me. Don't get me wrong... it was good, and the flavors complex, but I don't need a 9% alc. pilsner.

325) Westvleteren Blond - From one of the most sought after breweries in the world comes this gem of a Belgian ale. As my good friend and home brewer Kaval puts it, the best beers are those brewed in small batches. I forget how much I paid to have this shipped to me, and I apologize for violating the monk's wishes regarding the sale of their beer, but I needed to try it. Most Belgian ales are known for having a fuller body but this was light as a feather yet maintained all the depth of flavor you want to see. Just spectacular...

326) Unibroue 15 - A Belgian style strong ale made by our friends up north in Chambly, Canada. Of all the beers in this post, this is my favorite. The aroma was like a great chardonnay and the flavor was likewise. Tastes like apples. I found myself almost chewing the beer in my teeth instead of just drinking it down, because it was very delicious. Tres bien!!

That's where I stand now... I have tried 326 new beers this year and need only 39 more to reach my goal. Part of me honestly thought I might quit at some point during the year, but at this point there is no turning back and no doubting that I will reach my goal. After a year of great ups and downs in my life I at least have this goal to look forward to accomplishing. See you next time...

4 more to add

noreply@blogger.com (Nick) — Mon, 06 Nov 2006 20:46:00 +0000

Here are the beers I had over the weekend. I've got a nice 11 day buffer once again.

318) Rogue Saint Rogue Red - We start out with a couple of amber ales. This one I didn't enjoy as much as the next one.

319) Rogue Sea Otter Amber Ale - This I think was probably the best amber ale I have had to date. Just delicious stuff, malty and good hoppy aromas.

320) J.W. Lees Harvest Ale - This was a 1998 bottle. Thick, syrupy barley wine. It has aged so there is not much hop aroma or flavor left. Tastes just like maple syrup.

321) Heavyweight Saison de la Soeur Spicy - From the now defunct Heavyweight Brewing Co. This is a saison from their series of different style saisons, this one having a bit of a spiciness to it.

I stand now at 321 beers down and only 44 to go for my goal.

Less than 50 to go!

noreply@blogger.com (Nick) — Fri, 03 Nov 2006 16:48:00 +0000

Here are the latest beers I've had this week. I had some days where I had more than 1, so my buffer is back up there a little.

311) Julius Echter Hefe-Weiss (Premium) - This is a very good German hefeweizen. Lots of banana aromas are prevalent.

312) Slaapmutske Tripel (Triple Nightcap) - From the Beer of the Month club. Awesome looking foamy head, as you can see below. Pretty average for the style.

313) Schneider Weisse Edel-Weisse - This was frickin spectacular. Banana and citrus aromas and lots of peppery spice on the nose. Get a bottle if you can.

314) t IJ Columbus - Another bottle I got in Whole Foods recently. This is a Belgian style strong ale, but from the Netherlands. Unfortunately, its not very exciting and was probably the worst I have had of this style so far.

315) Chimay White - I had this bottle for a while, maybe I held it too long? It seemed like it had generated some acidity.. but my palate could have also been messed up. It got better as I drank it, but its my least favorite of the Chimay beers.

Last night I went with Big Daddy Cal to see Alice in Chains, which was awesome.

But before that I stopped at Collins Bar to have a quick one.

316) Rogue Hop Heaven - Didn't get a pic, but this was pretty good. Collins Bar is smelling kinda rank lately, by the way. Anyways, this was a nice IPA that is hard to come by.

After that, I got hungry so I went around the corner to the House of Brews for a quick bite and another beer.

317) "Green Valley Brewing" Stone Mill Pale Ale - Don't be fooled. Green Valley Brewing is actually Anheuser-Busch. This is their entry into the microbrew market, which I think is just a big scam of theirs to try and give craft brewing a bad name. This beer sucks and they know this beer sucks. As I said months ago, I believe what they are doing is trying to get the curious beer drinker to drink this flavorless shit in the hopes they will be turned off by craft brewing and go back to the ol' reliable macro crap. Another thing about this... Look at the name. "Stone Mill". What if you tell someone... "hey, you gotta try something by Stone brewing, everything they make is awesome." Then they see this and think its by Stone and are forever put off by it, never to enjoy the Arrogant Bastard or IPA. FUCK YOU AB and your city of St. Louis. You deserve each other.

Rot in hell.

So that's where I'm at... 317 down and 48 to go. Tonight I have a bomber in the fridge but as usual.. no details before the next post!

Latest Beers

noreply@blogger.com (Nick) — Mon, 30 Oct 2006 22:40:00 +0000

Again, not being in much of mood to blog anymore than the bare minimum, here is a rundown of the latest beers I've tried.

307) Left Hand Deep Cover Brown Ale - From the Beer of the Month club. Not a good brown ale. Kind of thin and wimpy body.

308) Rogue Shark Tooth Ale - This is otherwise known as the Rogue Oregon Golden Ale. I found this to be hoppy and fabulous. Crisp and refreshing, I will go back to this one in the summer.

309) De Koninck - Weaker than most Belgian ales, I didn't really like this. Lacks the depth of flavor and complexity of its peers.

310) Hair of the Dog Adam - A traditional ale brewed in a style originating in Dortmunder, Germany. This was rich and malty, with many coffee like flavors.

310 down and only 55 to go. Coming up next is another Belgian, a couple abbey tripels, and a couple of hefeweizens. Stay tuned.

Brewtopia!

noreply@blogger.com (Nick) — Wed, 25 Oct 2006 15:29:00 +0000

On Saturday, I had the opportunity to attend this year's Brewtopia, held at the Javits Center.

Though the prices were higher this year, the event space was much bigger and more spread out. The tasting session was very relaxed and never once did I even bump into another person accidentally.

Some of the downsides were some of the advertised breweries did not show up, and the food was terrible, though that is the fault of the Javits center.

This year the guidebook was really well done, and the tasting glasses were plastic, so you didn't have to walk on any broken glass.

Here's a rundown of the beers I was able to sample... Of course, none of these will count toward my goal of the 365 for the year, but I will put them on my overall list.

These are in no particular order.

* Rodenbach Grand Cru - A Flemish sour, which is not a style I really like yet.
* Southampton Saison - A very good version of the style. Southampton rarely disappoints.
* Southampton Pumpkin Ale - Pretty much the best pumpkin ale. Ever. Think liquid pumpkin pie.
* Victory Moonglow Weizenbock - An old favorite, I had to have a sip of this.
* North Coast Brother Thelonious - Good version of a Belgian ale. I need to try more from this brewery... I'm looking in your direction Sammy.
* Lagunitas India Pale Ale - The main reason I'm not counting these is because at a certain point in the tasting, my taste buds just got overwhelmed and died.
* Olde Burnside Ten Penny Ale - A scottish ale. Good but not my favorite style.
* Lagunitas Sirius Ale - A hoppy cream ale, definitely something I want to try again.
* Smuttynose Old Brown Dog - Another older one I wanted to try again.
* Great Lakes Holy Moses White Ale - Tried this one on the way out.. will have to look for it again.
* Erdinger Weissbier Dunkel - A dark wheat beer. I prefer the classic style.
* Brooklyn Oktoberfest - Haven't had this all autumn, so I needed to get down.
* Paper City Blonde Hop Monster- This was all out of whack. Wayyy too hoppy and no malt backbone to balance it out.
* Avery Karma Ale - A Belgian ale. I think this was the very last beer I tried, and by then... I couldn't tell anything apart.
* Jacobsen Saaz Blonde - A Belgian ale brewed by Carlsberg, but not yet available in the states.
* Ithaca Finger Lakes Apricot Wheat - I think I had this at last year's festival too. Decent fruit beer. I think apricot is one of the better fruits to use in beer.

Man... I can't remember any of the others I had and the list is not with me at the moment. I'll update again if I forgot any.

If you missed Brewtopia, definitely get down with it next year.

Now, here are the latest 5 beers that count toward my goal:

301) Victory Whirlwind Witbier - Victory can do no wrong. This is a good witbier with orange flavors and some spice. Speaking of Victory, they are bringing some good stuff in tonight at Collins Bar.

302) Hair of the Dog Ruth - An excellent golden and hoppy ale.

303) Lagunitas Censored - Malty strong ale with a nice copper color to it. But it was not anything special. I was a little disappointed.

304) Hop Back Entire Stout - A rich stout with some bitterness. Not something I'd rush to have again but not entirely bad.

305) Dogfish Head World Wide Stout - A 2003 bottle. Simply amazing. Alcohol is hidden pretty well and this is like drinking port wine. Is it the best beer I have ever had? I have to say no, but for a moment it did challenge my existing favorite.

The other Brewtopia beers I forgot to list above are as follows:

* Dogfish Head 90 Minute Imperial IPA - Still a top 10 beer.
* Allagash White - Always a treat to have this witbier.
* Saranac Pumpkin Ale - Not bad but nowhere in the same league as the Southampton.
* Singha - Don't know why I had it. I was just standing at their booth. I took a sticker from them, so I felt I should have a sip of their beer. Usually I only have this with Thai food.
* Cerveza Aguila - Standard lager from Columbia. Tastes like corn.
* Stone India Pale Ale - Ate some nachos at the food court, which was horrendous. I got a couple glasses of this to go with my meal.
* Ayinger Brau Weisse - A Hef I always have love for.
* Lemongrass Wheat - From the homebrewer's guild. I don't know who made it but give yourself a pat on the back.

Just got back from the Victory event at Collins so let me throw this one up.

306) Victory Dr. Decibels Brown Ale - No pic... sorry. This was available on cask. I have to say for the first time I was a little disappointed in Victory. This felt thin and there was a lack of complexity. Come on Victory, you can do better than this!

306 for the year leaves just 59 to go! Having 33 new bottles waiting in the fridge, I think I just need to buy 18 more bottles, assuming the Beer of the Month club doesn't send me anything I've already had in the final 2 months of the year.

300 Hitter!

noreply@blogger.com (Nick) — Tue, 17 Oct 2006 13:56:00 +0000

My plan for the rest of the year is to write up an entry about every 5 beers. Because of events in my life, I really don't have the time to post every day, so expect 1 post a week, 2 at most.

296) Wolavers Brown Ale - Got this from Whole Foods the other day. Not a bad brown ale, but nothing special. Kind of light bodied, perhaps because it is organic?

297) Wolavers Wit Bier - Another one picked up from Whole Foods. This is also organic, and has aromas of orange peel, but I didn't get much spice.

298) Hitachino Nest Real Ginger Ale - This was just strange. I couldn't take it. Maybe for someone who doesn't eat a lot of Asian food, it will be ok, but because I eat tons of Asian food the first thing I thought was that I was drinking some soy sauce with ginger.

299) Weyerbacher Merry Monks Ale - A Belgian tripel. Lots of candy like aromas and flavors. 9.3% alc. but you can hardly tell.

300) North Coast Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout - Had this earmarked as #300 a while ago, so this bottle has had some time to rest. Probably a top 10 beer for me. This is probably my favorite style of beer. An excellent beer to have as a nightcap.

With that, I have hit the 300 plateau for the year. Only 65 to go. In my next update, look for another witbier, some stouts, and a review of BREWTOPIA!!!

Tripel Threat

noreply@blogger.com (Nick) — Thu, 12 Oct 2006 02:10:00 +0000

First off... condolences to the family of Cory Lidle. What a shock...

Now... yet again I'm not really in the mood to blog too much. Half of my life is completely messed up, the other half is unbelievably great.

291) Samuel Smiths Nut Brown Ale - Good brown ale... has some notes of hazelnuts in it. I think that's the key to a good brown ale... some kind of nuttiness.

292) Baltika 6 Porter - Baltic porter... not bad at all. Still such a rare style that I wish was more readily available around here.

293) Herold Cerny Lezák (Bohemian Black Lager) 13° - This is a schwarzbier... and it was fantastic. Great roasted malt flavors abound.

294) Maredsous 10 - A very good abbey tripel. Foamy head... spicy with many subtle flavors.

295) Westmalle Tripel - Even better than the Maredsous. Spicy, powerful flavors. Just a spectacular beer.

295 down and only 70 to go. I'm thinking for the time being I will stick with updating every 5 beers.

I replenished my supply of bottles via Whole Foods tonight. Stay tuned.

And I should mention, don't forget your tickets for Brewtopia. I will attend the Sat. afternoon session.

And although the beers I try at Brewtopia will count towards my overall list... they will not count to this year's total.

75 to go!

noreply@blogger.com (Nick) — Fri, 06 Oct 2006 05:10:00 +0000

The Mets just beat the Dodgers behind strong pitching by Tom Glavine. Up 2-0, they just need to win 1 more of the next 3 games to get to the NLCS. I think Trachsel will get them there.

Here are the latest two beers!

289) Wychwood Hobgoblin - An ESB from England. I don't know if I was just not in the mood for something malty or if this just wasn't good. Hmm... I think this wasn't so great.

290) Goose Island Imperial IPA - For #290, I decided to have something I had been saving for a while. AWESOME! This thing has hops exploding out of it. Great aroma and bitterness. A serious contender for the best in the style!

290 down and only 75 to go!!!!

Latest Progress

noreply@blogger.com (Nick) — Wed, 04 Oct 2006 01:04:00 +0000

Due to some personal issues, I've not been in the mood to blog lately nor write much about each beer.

But anyways, here is the latest update, with brief comments on each...

283) Penn Pilsner - From the Beer of the Month club. This is actually a Vienna. Not bad but not anywhere close to the depth or complexity of a Brooklyn Lager.

284) Otter Creek Oktoberfest - Also from the club. Not one of the better Oktoberfests I have had.. but this is one of my favorite styles, so its hard to say anything bad about this.

285) Stoudts Fat Dog Stout - An Imperial Stout that is stronger than the original version of this beer. Good stuff... very enjoyable. I had the bottle for several months and it seemed to benefit.

286) Blue Tongue Traditional Pilsener - From Australia. Decent and crisp... Sorry no pic.

287) Boags Premium Lager - Another Australian beer that I had at the Outback. A very good lager... If you can track it down or you go eat at Outback, give it a try. Again, sorry no pic.

288) Herold Granat - We begin and end this post with a Vienna. This was better than the Penn but still not as good as the Brooklyn.

That's 288 down and 77 left to go. Expect some English ales to appear on the list next.

Recent Rundown

noreply@blogger.com (Nick) — Wed, 27 Sep 2006 01:06:00 +0000

WHAT Y'ALL THOUGHT Y'ALL WASN'T GON' SEE ME?!!

I'M THE OSIRIS OF THIS ****!

Yeah...

Here is recent rundown of the latest beers I have had. Before that... check out my Flickr photos of the Flaming Lips show from last night. AWESOME!

278) Samuel Smiths Organic Ale - This is an English bitter and it was pretty good. Pale orange color and a nice foamy head. The aroma is fruity with hints of toffee. Bitter finish.

Went to David Copperfield's with Anthony last week... and they had tons of Oktoberfest beer on tap!

279) Hacker-Pschorr Oktoberfest Märzen - This is a spectacular Oktoberfest. Very malty and toasty. Perfect beer for the fall.

280) Legacy Heavy Handed Hops (Triple H) - Amazing IPA. After sampling another IPA at the bar, I definitely had to go with a pint of this one. I didn't get a photo... I was way to into this one from the get-go. Floral hop aroma... very vibrant. Bitter flavors and incredibly drinkable.

Picked up a few more European bottles from the supermarket this weekend.

281) Nikšićko Pivo - A pilsner from Montenegro. Absolutely horrendous. There is no balance to this one.. Its all over the place. Highly undrinkable with a nasty aroma.

282) Birra Tirana - Not a bad lager from Albania. Nothing special but its drinkable and has a little flavor to it, better than a lot of popular lagers.

282 down and 83 to go. I just got another shipment from the beer of the month club, so expect me to pick a beer from there for my next one.

Southampton Publick House

noreply@blogger.com (Nick) — Tue, 19 Sep 2006 12:14:00 +0000

Let me begin first by saying how thrilled I am that the NY Mets have clinched the NL East for the first time since 1988.

I was at the game with Jeff and Chris, and I posted a video of the final out here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QI8XYqnXa28

Anyway... this past weekend I went with Jeff to the Southampton Publick House to enjoy some beer. I knocked a ton off my list.

It was the first time I had actually been to the brewpub. While the food wasn't all that great, they did give the tasty dinner rolls.

And the beer is awesome. It's reason enough to visit out here.

However, before visiting here we stopped at a couple local wineries. First was Channing Daughters, where Jeff is a wine club member. It was my first time there and the wines were not bad at all. They were closing early due to a wedding, so we were lucky to arrive for the last 15 minutes.

Then we stopped at the ultra-pretentious Wolffer Estate. They charge $25 for a "tasting" of their best wine, supposedly rated a 96 by some nutcase. On top of that, they charge a ton just for the regular tasting alone. A tiny artisanal cheese plate also costs a pretty penny.

The wines were so bad the whole time I was trying to convince Jeff that we should just up and leave without paying.

They had us taste a 100% oak barrel fermented butter bomb Chardonnay which had vomity aromas and a sulfurous rotten egg finish. I couldn't quite tell if it was scrambled or sunny side up. I know I had another word to describe the aroma while we were tasting it, but its probably better that I don't remember it. Jeff said he couldn't get the aftertaste out of his mouth for almost an hour, until we got to the Southampton Publick House.

When we arrived, it was too early to eat and the dining room wasn't open, so we sat in the bar area listening to the dreary music and ordered up some brew.

272) Southampton Montauk Light - I came with the mindset that I was going to try a lot of beer today, so I started light. Not much of an aroma but this is probably brewed for the "summer weekends in the Hamptons" crowd that must stroll in looking for a Bud Light. Better than any of the macros.

I then ordered up the sampler. You can get either the 4 house brews or the 4 plus any seasonals they have. So I went with the full 8.

The Beer Menu

Top Row (L-R): Golden Lager, Montauk Light, IPA, Secret Ale
Bottom Row (L-R): 80 Shilling Scottish Ale, Espresso Stout, Belgian Amber, Burton Ale

273) Southampton Golden Lager - Lager brewed in the Munich style. Pretty crisp with a bit of a hop bite on the finish.

274) Southampton Burton Ale - A bitter. Pretty drinkable but the taste is different. In doing some research I found they add minerals into the beer, like they do in Britain, and I'm guessing that's where it came from.

275) Southampton 80 Shilling Scottish Ale - First time I've had a Scottish ale. Mostly you taste the malt in this but there is some floral aspects as well.

276) Southampton Belgian Amber - Couldn't find much info on this, so maybe it must be a new release. Excellent take on the classic Belgian style ale.

277) Southampton Grand Cru - For dinner I ordered up a bottle. Jeff got the tripel while I went with the Grand Cru. This is a Belgian strong ale with aromas of spice and orange. Flavor is rich and fruity. 9.5% alc. so be careful. Lucky I was not the driver.

277 down leaves only 88 to go. We still have 103 days left in the year so no rush. This week I've got tons of Mets games to go to so I don't anticipate doing more than a new bottle or two before Friday.

Tonight's the night!

noreply@blogger.com (Nick) — Fri, 15 Sep 2006 15:38:00 +0000

Not for #365 of course but for the NEW YORK METS to clinch the NL East!

I'll be in the city watching that go down for sure!

Here is a recap of some of the recent goings-down on the beer front!

Wednesday night was the NYC premiere of Sly Fox at the Collins Bar! I met up after work with Chris and Kaval and we got ourselves a little bread and cheese, popcorn, and a table in the back.

266) Sly Fox Pikeland Pilsner - Right out of the gate with this awesome pils. No wonder its won so many awards. Perfectly crisp with bitter finish. It stands up to the best of the German pils.

267) Sly Fox Simcoe IPA - This is part of Sly Fox's IPA Project, the 7th in a series where each beer focuses on a different hop variety, in this case, Simcoe hops. Simcoe is a bittering hop with a piney aroma, and those characteristics come out in this very good IPA.

268) Sly Fox OReillys Stout - Pretty good dry stout. Good coffee/chocolate flavors from this. Nice creamy head up top as well.

At this point, I should mention a little story from this night, courtesy of Kaval himself:

"The funniest fucking thing happened tonight at Collins Bar. Chris, Nick and I met up for a few EXCELLENT pints.

Well, there was complimentary popcorn, bread and cheese. We had a round of popcorn and it was pure salty goodness. Then, Nick and I decided to make Chris go to the popcorn machine and get more. He stood his ground and wouldn't do it. He went so far as to place our popcorn basket on the next table and take a firm swig of his beer to solidify his defiance.

Well, the conversation switched to baseball and Jeter and captains, yada yada yada. Suddenly Nick went DEAD SILENT for a good 2 minutes.

Out of nowhere his thoughts become audible in mid-thought: "FUCKING POPCORN!" and looks Chris dead in the eye.

Chris sprung up like a wrestler fighting off a pin, fetched the popcorn and came back to the table faster than a Reggie Bush sprint.

Good shit..."

Last night I also met up with Kaval but this time at David Copperfield's. We bought our tickets to Brewtopia, and will be attending the Saturday afternoon session on 10/20, to be followed by game 1 of the World Series. If you haven't, be sure to get your tickets.

Had the mindset of just going in for a couple and having a southwest chicken sandwich with onion rings instead of fries, but wound up sticking around for a while and had 4 beers in total. While waiting for Kaval, I patiently sipped on a Unibroue Blanche de Chambly, which I hadn't had in a long while.

I left my camera home so there are no pics of the beers, but I wound up having 3 new ones.

269) Kelso Nut Brown Lager - This is a dunkel brewed by Greenpoint Beer Works, same folks who brew everything for Heartland Brewery. The quality is overall about the same. Some nutty flavors but overall nothing special.

270) Legacy Hoptimus Prime - Legacy just had an event at DC's. This is one of the best names for a beer I have seen in a while. A decent double IPA with citrus aromas and piney hops. Bitter but with decent malt backbone to balance it.

271) Rogue Imperial Porter - Bitter chocolate flavors dominate this Baltic style porter. A big and robust brew with a smooth finish to it.

Currently that's where I stand. I considered having another new one just now for lunch but I'll pass. I've got a good lead once again. 271 down leaves 94 to go!