Sunday, December 20, 2009

Yasmin's Graduation and Matt's Birthday

Well, I have started a new blog that I have decided will be the focus of my blogging efforts from now on, so this will devolve all the way into a list with pictures I keep for myself.

At 310 Park South for Yasmin's graduation I had a Paulaner Hefe Weizen that they had on tap since I'd loved it so much from a bottle. Well, it wasn't really any better on tap for some reason.



After dinner we went to Eola Wine Company for Matt's Birthday.

Southampton Imperial Porter on Tap (American Porter, 7.2% ABV): weak nose, pretty thick, somewhat acidic, really thick lacing, most flavor happens at the back of the throat, B, picture didn't turn out well

Okay, I started getting pretty lazy and then too tipsy/drunk to give opinions, but I had:

La Fin Du Monde (Tripel, 9.0% ABV)



Samuel Smith's Nut Brown Ale (English Brown Ale, 5.0% ABV), 2nd time having it, mm...


Darn, don't remember the rest.

Saturday, December 12, 2009

Total Wine!

I finally went to a Total Wine to check out their 1000+ beer selection. Oh sweet torture. I allowed myself three purchases. I went to a new friend's house to hang out and drink the beer. First up, was a Wexford Irish Cream Ale (Irish Red ALe, 5.0%).

The creamy head was encouraging, though this beer didn't end up being quite as good as I was hoping. It was pretty good though, silky down the throat. This was a little more malty and fruity than I'd like. B+.


Next I had a sip of Matt's Thomas Hardy Ale (Old Ale, 11.9% ABV).

This was really good. I forgot to take a picture until it was half drunk, but you're not missing much in this picture as there wasn't much head in the first place. I could taste brown sugar and raisins, prunes. It was thick with little carbonation. It's strange to me how much I enjoy the high alcohol taste in beers now, whereas I never really have with liquor. I liked how I could taste bread in the beer. A-.



My next beer was a Red Brick Double Chocolate Oatmeal Porter (American Porter, 7.7% ABV). I thought the color and head were promising, but the taste didn't meet my expectations or at least my hopes. I couldn't really taste much chocolate or oatmeal, it was more burnt malt with an astringent aftertaste. B-.

Finally, I had a jug of Mississippi Mud Black and Tan (Black & Tan, 5.0% ABV).
Not bad for a bottled Black & Tan. It was kind of sweet but didn't have much flavor. B-.

You know, I've gotten away from telling about my night. I'm going to get back to that, though this night I was just hanging out with Matt and Yasmin, so no shennanigans occurred. We did learn about Matt's stroke last year though, which was an awesome story. I wish I could have one without the threat of death or any long term consequences.

I had a beer at Hot Olives Saturday night after a nice neighborhood Christmas festival at which a friend of mine was singing in a quartet, impressing us all with her strong and solid soprano in many songs, including the freaking Hallelujah Chorus. You just don't get that on the street corner every night. Anyway, the beer I ordered was from the Czech Republic, a KruĊĦovice Cerne (Schwarzbier, 3.8% ABV).


It was pretty good, a nice accompaniment to my meal. It was roasty and malty, with maybe a suggestion of coffee. Basically, if I want a stout or porter but don't need 10% ABV at the moment, this will do the trick.

Monday, December 7, 2009

Beer Festival!

On Friday I went to the Orlando Holiday Brewfest! It was fun! There was free food from restaurants around town, and I sampled probably 35 beers. There were many samples I'd already had before, and most of them were unremarkable. Unfortunately for the people giving the samples, my having tried them means they've been crossed off my list so I don't have to buy them in the future. There was this one interesting beer I may buy some time though, called Winter's Bourbon Cask Ale (Winter Warmer, 6.0% ABV). Now, this isn't a beer drinker's beer, but don't we all have some girlfriends who aren't beer drinkers at all but occasionally think seasonal beers are cute and think a beer and pizza night is quaint? This is the beer to buy for them - it tastes just like cream soda. It can be found at Publixes and Total Wine stores.

Afterwards, I met up with some friends and some new people at Red Light, Red Light for some scrumptious beer. The first beer I had was a Terrapin Coffee Oatmeal Imperial Stout, AKA Wake and Bake (American Double/Imperial Stout, 8.1% ABV). Of course it was amazingly delicious. Another A from Red Light, Red Light. This was on tap, and most people aren't so lucky to have the occasion to try this beer on tap, thank you RL, RL! It was black, thick, and creamy. Mmm... Coffee is the predominant taste. Others compared it to black coffee, but I don't really like to drink straight black coffee (as much as I love coffee), and this was different, delicious to drink.

I had agreed to buy someone a beer, so I bought her a Smuttynose Strawberry Shortweisse (Berliner Weissbier, 3.0% ABV?) since that seemed interesting and I wanted to try some. It was okay, but not my cup of tea, if you will. You could definitely taste strawberries, and it was a bit sour. B.

Cami finally figured out the beer I'd had the other night that she really liked because it tasted of butterscotch to her. It's called a 3rd Coast Stout, but I can't find it elsewhere on the internet. Anyway, it was delicious, but I'll have to do more...research! A-.

On Sunday night we had some friends over for game night, and I had some more beers. First up was St. Peter's Cream Stout (Milk/Sweet Stout, 6.5% ABV).


Mmmm... Thick, creamy, and delicious. Cinnamon colored head, not as creamy as I'd like. Flavors are chocolate malt, coffee, and cream. A-.



Next up was the Samuel Adams Cream Stout (Milk/Sweet Stout, 4.69% ABV). Well as always Sam Adams beer is kind of plain. This beer tasted good, but not great.


That being said, this has been my favorite Sam Adams beer so far. The head was decently thick and creamy. Flavors: Roasted malt, some coffee, some chocolate, brown sugar, somewhat bitter. B+.



After that I had the Samuel Adams Winter Lager (Bock, 5.8% ABV). This one surprised me as I liked it better than I'd thought I would.


You can taste hops, some fruit flavors, and some wintery spices like cinnamon. I wouldn't seek any more out, but I wouldn't turn my nose up at 'em either. B.

After that I had a Yuengling and then called it a night.