Random Party 11.21.09

I went with a new friend to a house party with 20-25 people I'd never met before. I'm really loving walking into new groups of people and shaking things up. Before leaving for that party, I had a pre-beer. I tried this expensive gluten free beer I'd acquired from a Whole Foods, Toleration (English Pale Ale, 4.4% ABV).

I think the people who named it were laughing at the people who were going to drink it. The best you could do is tolerate this wretched tragedy of a beer. Thank the merciful heavens I don't have a gluten allergy. It was the most sour beer I've ever had, with what tasted like spoiled brown sugar. Avoid! Your gluten allergy is all in your mind anyway! F. I thought it deserved a second picture.

At the party I had this Oktoberfest beer. I don't know the company, so I'm not sure much about it. It was very so so, muted spices, just plain stuff. I give it a B-.

Next up was a Left Hand Milk Stout (Milk/Sweet Stout, 5.2% ABV).
Unfortunately, the Toleration beer had left such a sour taste in my mouth about sour beers, that this wasn't a very pleasant experience. And maybe I'm just not a huge fan of milky stouts in general. B- again.

Before switching to generic beer for the evening, I had one last interesting one that night, the Post Road Pumpkin Ale (Pumpkin Ale, 5.0% ABV).

This was better than the Oktoberfest, more flavor, still with all the usual spices you'd expect of course. Not going to be numbered among my favorite pumpkin ales, but not bad, a B.

I was also invited to participate in a threesome, hit on by the guy friend I came with who totally knows I'm a lesbian, and had two different kinds of fast food on the way home.

Monday night I decided to fit a beer into my 1800 calories, so I had a Ruedrich's Red Seal Ale (American Amber/Red Ale, 5.5% ABV, 177 calories). This was a great beer!

Really one of my top 10 beers so far. Sorry about the bad pouring job. I think this beer had a good malty thing going on, I'm really still trying to figure out all these flavors, and I was focusing more on the conversation I was having than on all the flavors and qualities of this, but I enjoyed it immensely. If you want a sure thing, this is one. A-.