Finish Your Beer

100 YEARS OF AGGRESSIVE BREWING NEAR THE MEANEST LITTLE TOWN IN THE REPUBLIC

let's get one thing straight here: i am no fan of the shiner brewing company. they make fine beers. okay beers. run-of-the-mill beers. shiner beers serve like turkey franks at a german sausage oktoberfest: third-tier at best. if shiner brews anything worth a fancy goshdarn, in my opinion, it's the HEFEWEIZEN. the gratuitous amount of lemon rind river-bottom sediment, curled on the bottom of the bottle like crusty sands of pure citrus onslaught, are irresistible in the late republic summer. i do like a shiner hefe; in fact, it might be my favorite hefe on the mainstream market. therefore, i might be a shiner fan of the most sour degrees.

i toured the shiner brewery back in june with my dear friends timothy and marcus douglass. they are brothers. it was mark's birthday. ask the man what he wants to celebrate 32 years of living, he says a trip to shiner, texas and a tour of the brewery. great trip. overly impressive brewery. the town of shiner, texas probably holds 27 residents, 1 gas station, 1 baptist church, and a billion angry ghosts. on the edge of town they have the busiest brewery i have ever seen with my own nearsighted eyeballs. they crank enough beer in that one tiny brewery, in that one tiny town, to get the whole state of connecticut buzzing for an entire afternoon. the set up is wicked cool, even if you're not a beer geek. 

plus, they give you nearly all the beer you can drink for free. i can toss my preferences aside for a price like that, especially in these times of a great depression. 

mark and i worked our way through a sixer of SHINER 100 tonight, chatting up old christian metal bands, the glory of guns-n-roses' hey-day, and the violent acquisition of God's Kingdom. for those of you who do not know, because you are not from the republic, shiner releases a new anniversary ale every year to commemorate their reign. 2009 marks the 100 year anniversary of this small town brewery. thus, we here in the republic jointly toast the shiner centennial by trying the new celebration ale.

browned to a deep purple, this ale looks every bit as dark and dry as a classic nutbrown ale; however, the aroma indicates smooth sugary-sweet malts. the first sip screams belhaven scottish ale. settling flavors reveal something five notches less sophisticated than belhaven, something more republic and less scottish, something more testicles-on-a-pick-up-truck-trailer-hitch than secure-in-a-kilt-and-rolling-green-bagpipes. as i drink more SHINER 100, i like it more. mark takes to it naturally. (he lived in gonzales, tejas for several years, what can you expect?) for me, the sweetness mellowed out over time, showcasing a fine nutty malt sensation. the bottle claims that the 100 commemorator "is brewed in the robust classic German 'stark' style." i don't know what the hell that means, but it tastes very much like an attempt at a low alcohol old english style ale rounded out by the likes of a scottish ale wannabe, or something. this 1oo commemorator has identity issues: is it german or texan, english or gonzales, scottish or shittish? who knows? by the end of the night i found myself liking it somewhat. mark took a bottle home. i took a bottle to bed. that says something.

i give SHINER 100 COMMEMORATOR 6 "come and take it" flags out of 10. this is finer than shiner bock, but still not worth the seven bones they demand of me.

New Poll

check it.

HAVE YOU EVER HEARD OF NEW BELGIUM? NO, NOT THE FAT TIRE GUYS, THE MIGHTY ARROW GUYS. YESSIR, THEY'VE BEEN REDEEMED.

dude, here's my gig with new belgium brewing company. thus far, in all my experience with new belgium, they have never made a bad beer. everything they make is good on some level. this means that new belgium is a "safe brewery": your money and your tongue are always safe in their hands. however, new belgium has never made a beer that knocked me over. sure, the 2 BELOW fits like warm caramel mittens in the deep nights of winter. sure, MOTHERSHIP WIT explodes with bananas and coriander and lemon drops and orange peels a la bottle swirl. and, sure, while we're at it, a 1554 tucks in neatly with cardigan sweaters and long brainy reads. still, none of these beers bowl me over in a post-orgasmic afterglow. new belgium is a safe brewery. they make good beer. yet, their products remain second tier at best. new belgium beers are like rice krispy treats served at a southern banquet of yellow bodied rum cake and coconut creme pies: they're what you go to when every other tray is empty.

until now.

i found MIGHTY ARROW at the one grocery store in bryan, texas with the nappiest beer selection in town. the HEB in bryan might run more boulevard products than anyone else, but you can't get a single bomber of stone or miller high life to save your life. that stinks. and then, suddenly, they have this MIGHTY ARROW. i saw it last week. purchased it on sunday. it was all gone in my fridge by monday afternoon. i simply could not keep this stuff off my gullet.

MIGHTY ARROW is a pale ale, you see. not an IPA. it does not claim to be an IPA, nor does it function like an IPA. instead, MIGHTY ARROW redefines the goals and purposes of the pale ale. MIGHTY ARROW is the new mission statement for pale ales, the revived potency in the neutered tom cat.

at first glance, the beer looks solid. shards of blazing yellow light fracture through the ale's brightly rusted orange hue, allowing a small illuminated white cap to simmer on top of the glass. the aroma speaks citrus fruit, bitter and tart, perhaps a tinge of copper but not too much. this is a fruity beer. a puckering beer. a kiss the boys and make them cry beer. (i'm not gay. not that there's anything wrong with that.) the initial sip screamed copper, roasted pennies and thick biscuity breadlike aftertaste; however, second and third sips flushed out the fruit, the citrus, the floral patterns in the front of the beer, washed on the edges and back of the tongue by the coppery acidic slip. this ale might be a bit more british than some folks (sir scott) would prefer. there was that dull accent of heavy yeast weighing down the back half of the flavors here, but my palate has changed in the past few years: i might be taking quite fondly to the british ales from time to time. not too much - all things in moderation, particularly malts and yeast. the one thing i most fancied in this beer was the way the flavor heightened with subsequent draws, which is precisely why i went through three on sunday and three on monday and tuesday left me pining. bullocks.

new belgium has completely outdone themselves with MIGHTY ARROW. this is an ale to savor, to enjoy, to sip slowly and repeatedly and to not regret when the pack is empty. such a sign means only one thing: buy more!

overall: 9 pinball wizards out of 10.

ITAP, or I-CRAP

I think all of us were in agreement here. ITAP was a bad choice. They do not have what they advertise, the place has no character, it is one half of a bar and the other half a cooler from Liquor World. The beer was too expensive, the waitresses were unknowledgable, unapologetic, and seemed to be annoyed that we were talking about the beer we were drinking.

Here's what i had:

Southern Tier Hoppe
Chimay Trippel
Trois Pistoles
O'Fallon Cocoa Cream Stout
O'Fallon 5-day IPA
New Belgium Mighty Arrow

I'm gonna keep this short and sweet. Southern Tier Hoppe, Chimay Trippel, and Trois Pistoles were the trois deboires. (three disappointments)

New Belgium Mighty Arrow:
I really liked this guy. It tasted light and like it was filtered through rice krispy treats. I will enjoy drinking this outside as the weather begins to warm up. I can't wait for that.

O'Fallon IPA: I think Church key said about all of it, this thing is good. It is well balanced and is just what i want in an ipa.

Cocoa Cream Stout: I agree with Hops Prescription. this was not very creamy but very good. it was very rich, and we were both happy that we saved it for last.

FYI:
there is going to be an 80's dance party at my place on friday. There will be approximately 20 female grad students and 5 guys. I am looking forward to what is left in my fridge. Last time it was 15 michelob ultra and 3 bacardi silver's.

i'm hoping something better is left this time.

Growler's

Beer Club's new headquarters?

Hey Club,
Last night I visited Growler's on S. Lindbergh. It was my first time. I felt at home. It was beautiful. Nothing fancy. A great respect for beer at that establishment. Great selection on draught (at least 30) and in bottle (# unknown). Any draught can be served in a taster, regular, large, and growler. 6 tasters for $9.50 (all tasters individually are $2). Monday-Friday Large draughts are $1.00 off (until 7p). Buy One Get One free appetizers. The food was good.

I joined Growler's Royal Taster's Club. Along the way of tasting all 131 beers, I get a t-shirt, hat, gift cards, name on the wall, and personalized mug that Growler's will fill for a reduced cost.

While eating my turkey medallions, taking in the atmosphere, reading the antique beer signs, it hit me. My head entered a fog. I could see the wife talking but heard only silence. A tear slowly traveled down my cheek. I have a job to do. It's going to take a lot of work.

I WILL CLIMB TO THE TOP. I WILL GET MY NAME ON THE WALL. I WILL GET $15 OF MY $650 BACK (130 beers x approx. $5 a beer = $650; Growlers gives $15 in gift cards after so many beers). GROWLERS WILL KNOW MY NAME! and MY MUG!

I need your support as I embark on my vision quest.



I had the O'Fallon 5 day IPA. A great beer. I'm proud of this beer. From now on when people ask "What's great about St. Louis?" I'll respond, "The O'Fallon 5 day IPA".

Beer Club Meeting Minutes

BOULEVARD SINGLE-WIDE IPA

Not bad. Not awesome.

This was the first beer of the night at Beer Club. One of the few IPAs served at iTAP that night.

Not much to say other than it was a decent IPA. A mild IPA. A standard, decent, mild IPA. Nothing special. Nothing bad. I would equate this to a softer version of Founders Centennial IPA.

Anyone care to comment on this or the Double-Wide IPA?

SAMICHLAUS - or Santa Claus, pronounced Sommy-Claus

An old beer. One of the worlds strongest lagers at 14% ABV. Guiness book of world records flat out says, strongest lagers in the world.

There's a lot of history to this beer. Sought after by beer lovers from across the globe. I have respect for it NOW. After researching for this post.

I had this at iTAP. I had no idea what I was ordering. I wish I knew then what I know now. I wish I had read Michael Jackson's beer hunter review of this. I wish someone at iTAP could have given me a little more info about the beer. Maybe a heads up that it was going to cost me $9!

It's been around since the 1600s, great. I respect beer. All beer. Beer is great. BUT regardless of the culture that surrounds Samichlaus I hated the beer. Hated it. I thought I was drinking a glass of real cheap sweet wine. This was my second beer of the night at Beer Clubs last meeting. I don't know how long it took me to finish this but the Baker and Dr. Hops were working on their sample paddle enjoying themselves while I was working hard to get the job done. Some say this beer is smooth and warm - a great beer for the cold temps or getting away from the fam at Christmas. SO! Smooth is not always a good thing. Yeah it was smooth but so is SH*T sometimes. And getting away from the fam? If the former situation is hell, why slave to get away to another hell? Maybe I'm being a little to hard here. The bottom line is that I really didn't like the beer. Sweet beer is not my bag.

Beer Club visits iTAP

The Beer Club held its February meeting at the International Tap House (iTAP). Prior to the meeting I had hyped this place up big time thinking that with 40 nectars on tap, 500+ in bottles, no AB products, 20 different countries this would be a dream come true. I checked out the menu online before heading to iTAP. I knew exactly what I wanted, St. Bernardus Abt 12, Ft. Collins IPA, and I can't remember the 3rd. Baker and Rx of Hops already had a list in mind too.

Walking up, I felt our club owned the place. Walking in, I sensed trouble in the air.
Very few IPAs on tap. 40 beers were not ready to be served. Those that I wanted to try were gone. The online menu was not in sync with what was posted on the menu board. iTAPs store menu/description page was not accurate with what was on tap.

The price of beer varied, there was not a flat draft rate. Minimum of $5.25 a draft. I found this out the hard way, one beer cost $5.25, the other $9. The cheapest bottled beer was $4. C'mon, seriously? Really? $4 for a bottle of Guinness?

No food. nuff said

ATMOSPHERE - what atmosphere? There was no anchor. What is iTAP going for? A cool place to hang out or a place for beer geeks to gather for beertalk?
Plus, the place was like 40 min from my house. No thanks.

The barmaids at a place like this should be knowledgeable about what BEER is first off. Second they should know what they are serving. Third they should be able to give descriptions and make recommendations.

That's my review of iTAP. Next I'll review the beers I had at iTAP.

A few reviews...

Here's my take on some beers that The Baker reviewed a while back

In no particular order...

Steelhead Extra Stout
Mad River Brewing Co

I smelled molasses. Super black (omitting jokes...you know, "how I like my women..."). Very viscous - it really coated the glass. Smokey flavor at first but in the end, just burnt. Not as sweet as I thought it would be.
Ok taste, I would probably enjoy it at a bar but it wouldn't last to round 2. Not memorable.

Tsjeeses
W-vleteren at DeStruise Brouwers

A while back I commented that I didn't like holiday beers...I do like this one. I was scared - yes scared of what this nooky would bring. Heaps of nutmeg and cinnamon maybe? How I hate beers with all spice.

What I found: in between a wheat & amber ale...a blonde amber
Whiskey was present and guiding the ship. A little spice but it was coated over in the mid-taste.

I wish I had the bottle to myself - damn Baker.

Dogfish Head 90 min Imperial IPA

10 x smoother than the 60min IPA - well, 1.5 x smoother (60x1.5=90)
good hops and flowers
caramel/rich/thick
Cleaner than 60 min, Clean in appearance, Very Clean...CLEAN
but not as clean as Alpha King
I really liked it. I'm wondering where Best Beer in America came from - I don't know if I would say THE best but it would make my list of best beerSZ-uh

3 Floyds Pride & Joy Mild Ale
an intimidating aroma from the get go- MILD? I thought. But once I tasted this philly, the brain was firing and misfiring until I could figure it out...Alpha King. That's all it is...Alpha King. One of the Floyds must have messed up the brew and tried to salvage the lot. Heck, why not, it's a good business decision. AB does it all the time.
I did notice a stronger wheat presence here in the Pride & Joy. Not a fan.
Not my Pride & Joy

Great Divide Hibernation Ale
Smells like Fireside Nut Brown Ale (see earlier review)
Tastes similar to Fireside Nut Brown Ale
Thick caramel, rich
a little bitter, smokey

As I got further into the beer I became confused. Is it a porter? ale? stout? it's darker than the nut brown ale. Do I taste scotch?

an ok beer. I would drink it again in sub-zero temps.

3 Floyds Robert the Bruce Scottish Style Ale
I do like me some Scottish Style Ale. It filled my glass like a DARK glass of iced tea. Robby Bruce crossed the tongue and was at the back end wielding his big whiskey sword before I noticed. smooth.

Founders Centennial IPA
Tan like my wife's legs...before we were married.
Smell was mild yet still had the fruity/citrusy/floral aroma.
It's aggressive, quick, and clean. Similar to Founders APA but not as clean.
It's a good IPA. Right in the middle.

Belgian?...All I Tasted Was Fruit!

I like grapes, apples, kiwi, and many other fruits. They provide healthy energy, and plenty of vitamins. I like beer. Good, strong, hoppy beer. Apparently in Belgium, they like to drink beer, but ruin it with their daily dose of fruits. I tried the following beers at the iTap Room on Sunday evening: Lindemans Framboise, Delirium Tremens, La Chouffe, and I think Gouden Carolus Gran Cru...after a while, they all tasted like V8 Splash and beer. They all sound "fruity" and believe me, they were.

Luckily, to save the sample paddle from complete doom, I saved the O'Fallon Cocoa Creme Stout for last. It was tasty! It tasted more like a Coffee Stout than cocoa or creme, so maybe the title is a bit misleading. However, it went down smooth, and gave me reason to love the American micro-brews even more...I have to admit, the Cocoa Creme Stout could be mediocre if tasted on its own, but after the hell my taste buds had trudged through for the previous 20 minutes, it was like Jesus turned water into Cocoa Creme Stout just for me!

BELL'S BE THE BOMB

i found the following review of bell's oberon in my little pocket notebook today while disposed in the men's room with no other reading material to bide my time. before the review, let me just say that this beer, this ridiculously bright and cheery liquid springtime poetic splash, is one of my favorites by this company. swirl this bottle, pour it slow and watch the sift of a citrusy onslaught gush river-rapid into the sea-bottom of your awaiting pint glass. thank You, Lord, for oberon even out of season.

* * * 

October 25, 2008

Seth Haines' porch / Matt Brock officiating / children in exclamation / women awesome

OBERON - bright orange color. slanted fractions of yellows and reds pierce through the beer unexpected and strobelike. sediment heavy bottom - call me "bottom-dweller."citrus and banana aromas. summertime in a glass. pure wispy tall grass and fresh laundry flavor. roadtrip windows down and prolonging the destination aftertaste. big. as always. 

hop up and down if you like hops (the long trip to india war)

i am compiling a group of ipa's to shower my taste buds in. i am choosing ipa's that i have indulged in before, and some that i haven't, but need to try. the plan is to go on a drinking plan of 1 ipa a day, for as many days as i have variations of the hoppy goodness. i am looking for suggestions from my peers to add to my list. so far, this is what i have:

*Fort Collins IPA (i tried this for the first time last week. it is one of my favorite ipa's to date, and i want to see how it stands up to the others).

*Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA (tried this one a couple of weeks ago...if i remember right, it had too much malt flavor and not enough hops flavor...kinda like a regular pale ale)

*Dogfish Head 90 Minute Imperial IPA (haven't tried this one, but the reviews from Church Key have me interested...so does the "best beer in america" claim on the 4 pack)

*Bell's 2 Hearted Ale (just had one last night...hoppy, yes, but less citrus flavors than Fort Collins...i like the citrus after taste better than the malty after taste)

*O'Fallon 5 Day IPA (another beer with citrus hints...haven't had it in a couple of months, but i have fond memories)

*Goose Island IPA (haven't had this one since last summer. i remember enjoying it. smooth hop flavor, and not a lot of malt flavor...which makes me smile)

*Mendocino IPA (and hopefully the winter imperial ipa...if i can still get it...another one of my favorites, the imperial ipa)

*O'Dells IPA (high alcohol level, very happy...or hoppy...or happy!)

it would be nice to have another sampling of Alpha King to add to the mix, but i can't get it in missouri...maybe my father-in-law can supply me.

i am not skilled in writing reviews of the various unique flavors in the beers i drink. i discussed this with my wife over a nicely cooked filet and green beans last night. the flavors in beer are so unique, that i often cannot equate them to other tastes...and i came to the conclusion that i am fine with my reviews of "it's awesome," "it's good," "it's bad," etc. all i want to do is find the liquids i like the most, and return to them often.

your suggestions...

TODAY'S WORD, KIDS, IS "COMING OUT OF THE CLOSET"

i'm just not even gonna lie about it: i keep a little miller high life around the fridgedaire as a homework lubricant. high life is light, clean, refreshing, low in alcohol and attention stealing flavor profiles. it's like drinking soda, but without all that sugar and caffeine. or, more precisely, it's like drinking water, but without all that hydration. i love me some miller high life. and at $5 a sixer, grad students can strap a couple to their book bag e'erday the week. here's to getting smarter the funner way. cheers!

A New Round

Church Key and i sampled some junk recently, i'm not in a terribly clever mood, so here is a little something:

Three Floyds Pride and Joy

A decent Ale. Smells very similar to Alpha King. Strong hints of bitterness and honestly tastes to me like a milder version of Alpha King. It tastes like the same recipe, just cooked for less time. Hops are present but hit first and then fade into citris notes. Not as good as others by this brewery that i have had, but still very good.

Tsjeeses No. 11 X-mas Brew

Creamy soft-white head. Somewhat sweet and sour. It smells sugary and tastes like is has a mild whiskey in it. Scents of honey-suckle. minimal hops. I'd equate to a port but a beer. It would be good for dessert. All in all, not worth the money.

Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA

Large hops smell, bitter aroma, and hints of a bear in the bottle. Very rich with caramel and malts. I do think that it is fairly smooth even though the hops taste the strongest at the end. It makes the 60 minute seem so much worse. Not harsh or brutal. Very clean finish and a bready aftertaste. Hops are noticable but it is less of an ipa than i would have anticipated. Like i said, the hops come last and goes from sweet to hop. Full-bodied. It is dry-hopped according to the bottle. Hamster, i couldn't disagree with you any more about this beer. i thought it was amazing. I can't wait to have it on tap. It seems strange to me that it was not consistent for you. hmm.

Mad River Steelhead Extra Stout

Dark Brown head, thick black in the bottle and looks/smells very similar to Old Rasputin. Somewhat smoky. Not terribly sweet but not bitter either. Lack of strong flavor and smells better than it tastes. Not bad, but i won't look for it again. It's just not memorable other than a bit woody tasting. I spent the entire time straining to try to get the flavor.

Great Divide Hibernation Ale

Smells like uncooked brownie mix and it tastes exactly like i anticipated. Very even and singular. Thick and unrelenting. Either you like it or you don't. There is no middle ground with this beer. It is the same all the way through. Needs more of a cream flavor. Viscous. Looks like a dark amber ale--not as dark as a porter and darker than a nut brown ale. this would be nice for winter or fall and the name hints at this. I wouldn't mind holing up and waiting it out with this one. I do want to give it another try though before i am set on my opinion.

Dogfish Head Raison D'Etre

This beer was light brown and smelled very green if that makes sense. Very malty beer and tasted like the malts were overcooked. I almost didn't finish this one. It is my least favorite of the ones i've tried so far and i even rank the 60 minute higher even though that thing had the smoothness of a rusty barbed wire fense.

Dogfish Head Indian Brown Ale

This beer tasted more like a stout than an ale. I honestly don't know what the difference is. Anyways, this beer smelled rich and was very good. It was quite malty and the hops were muttled and not the showcase here. I would feel very comfortable recommending this to others. It tastes similar to something else i have had, but i can't figure it out. Sorry.

New Poll

Check out the new poll at the bottom.

Also, coming today or tomorrow will be more beer reviews from Church Key and The Baker.

CONFESSION

yesterday i visited my family in austin, texas. there was a six pack of coors light in the fridge. i drank several. and i felt refreshed after each one. i just felt like i should bring this into the light of our brotherhood. secret sins have a way of creeping up and forming nasty habits. thanks for making this a safe place.

sunday, feb. 15th???

I have a meeting with our Parents as Teachers girl on Monday night at 7:00. What does everyone think about changing our swigging at the ITAP house to Sunday night instead? They are open until midnight on Sunday, so we could stay later, and not have to work the next day. Let me know what you think.

Whatever happens, I know they have Fort Collins IPA on tap...so someone will have to enjoy one of those with me. http://www.fortcollinsbrewery.com/ipa.html

www.ratebeer.com

WHAT HATH ALED THE HAMSTER: A BEERISTIC AUTOBIOGRAPHY - pt. 1

hello. i am new here. the out of towner. i know most of you, but, still, this is my first time here at beer club. actually, i'm at work right now, sipping coffee and still feeling the burn from a mcdonald's hot and spicy chicken sandwich. my first beer of the day is still a few hours away. anyway, i thought i might get started here by introducing myself. none of that boring who i am and what i do kinda shite. rather, i thought i might begin a batch of small posts talking you guys through my journey with beer. that seems like a good starting place. feel free to put off the reading of these until you have a cold one. i rather wish i had put off the writing until the same.

honestly, i do not count those cans of hot busch light in the workshed behind my childhood home, nor that bottle of night-train wesley and i snuck under my mother's nose, both in the ninth grade, as among my first drinks. and i conveinantly slide right over that bottle of cisco jeremy harrison and i split, that ended up splitting us, that same year as well. instead, i choose to fast-forward much further into my life when considering my first impressions of beer. i like to start in arkadelphia, arkansas smack in the middle of the dry county treeline where i attended a southern baptist university. i had every religious reason in the world not to start drinking. in fact, that's exactly why i did.

i had stopped by neil sullivan's house to chat with his roommate who, i learned, was not home. neil was sitting on the porch when i arrived. brooding. he had recently broken up with a girl. i also had recently broken up with a girl. we had both recently broken up with girls. we were not a good combination for one another. neil said, "kevin, i like you. have you ever drank a beer?" i said, "i've grown up southern baptist." he said, "then i'd like to introduce you to some friends of mine."

that night, i lost my beerginity to a six pack of heineken.

i branched out a little in the following weeks. though i still drank plenty of heineken, i found a small love for the coors light, the budweiser, the MGD, and the miller lite. i fell for a girl not long after that who liked beer. we would sit on evening swings in her backyard, working our way through all manner of embarrasing tales and sixers of long neck budweisers. she never wore shoes. this was the prime of my collegiate adolescence.

that summer at camp barnabas, i snuck a few bottles of coors light into the flamingo building out back. all the men of camp were gone that night, and i knew all those booze had to be sunk before the break ended. on a search for camp dudes, i bumped into chelsea reed robertson coming back from journaling at the laundrymat in downtown monett, missouri. i asked her if she liked beer. she said she was from texas. i said, "i'd like to introduce you to some friends of mine." chelsea and i sat on the backporch of the flamingo and sipped coors light from camp barnabas coffeemugs. we wore open toed sandals and talked about books. it was a highlight of that summer.

I'm callin you out.

this is a shout to The Wilderness to get his butt on here and tell us about his recent home-brewing experience.

Tell us what you made, about the process, pitfalls, problems, surprises, things you will change, how it ended up, and what you plan to cook up next.

We are waiting.

an idea

I have an idea for future gatherings. To reduce the workload on our tastebuds, every member could bring one gem of a beer to share with the group. (A bottle for each of us, or share a couple big bottles) Then we can wash it all down with 3 Frosty Mugs of PBR a piece.

www.geostan.ca

Poll

Don't forget to check out the ongoing polls at the bottom of the page.....

...and I thought I liked beer.

I'll admit it, after being away from Noah all day, he is the only thing I want to think about when I get home...so I may not be a very devoted contributor. I mostly just love IPA and an occasional stout (winters only). Then I simply bide my time through the other beers waiting for another ale. So, now I will rate the beers we tried in my basement...before we have another sampling session, and I forget.

Three Floyds Alpha King
Mendocino IPA
Goose Island Bourbon County Stout
Schlafly coffee stout

Dog Fish Head 60 minute IPA
Founders Dry hopped Ale
Augusta Brewing Co IPA

Samuel Smith Organic Ale
Goose Island Reserve Matilda
Belhaven Wee Heavy

Bear Republic Hop Rod Rye

As you can see I'm not a huge fan of Rye...

Just had Fort Collins IPA...it's worth a gulp next time we congregate.

www.trueamericanpatriots.com

Upcoming Beer tasting

Here's what Church Key and i recently picked up at Corral Liquors in Illinois last week.

Mad River Steelhead Extra Stout
Dogfish Head World Wide Stout
Anderson Valley Booneville Pale Ale
Dogfish Head Raison D'Etre
Dogfish Head Indian Brown Ale
Three Floyds Pride and Joy Mild Ale
Founders Centennial IPA
Three Floyds Robert The Bruce Irish Ale
Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA
Great Divide Hibernation Ale
Avery 14'er ESB
De Stuise Tsjeeses (TSJ No.11 X-mas brew)

I'd love to hear from anyone who has had one or more of these to get a picture of what i can
expect.

Baker

Dogfish Head 60 minute/Founders Dry Hopped Ale/Schlafly Dry Hopped APA

Dogfish Head 60min
I had another go at the Dogfish Head 60 minute - now it wasn't the full 12 oz., more like a 6 oz. To me what sets this IPA apart from others is its rusty jagged edge. It's rough. Loaded with hops, this guy can make the trip. Aftertaste left me with a grapefruit rind in my mouth.
I do like the Dogfish Head 60 minute. I appreciate the science that went into the creation of this brew. However, I'm probably not going to spend much more time on this one because there are other I/APAs out there that have quality taste and cost less.

Founders Dry Hopped Ale
Another go at this one, I really enjoyed this guy. It must have its own cleaning crew because it finishes cleaner than when it started. Decent head, nice color. Compared to the DFH 60 min, he's a domesticated dog - he can get a little rowdy but most of the time he's tame. It has less of a grapefruit aftertaste.

Schlafly Dry Hopped APA
Lastly, I do like this one the best of the three. For a couple of reasons: 1) price 2)since I live in STL - availability 3) much smoother and more refined without losing the hop sense 4) minimal grapefruit aftertaste.
I had several of these with a friend, pizza, and a great football game.

Club pride

It was pointed out to me by the Baker that on the St. Louis Hops website (see link at right) our review of Schlafly's Coffee Stout is referenced under "Stuff from around the Web". Yep, that's right. Our little ol club got recognized. Wear it as a badge of honor. The best part is that we've been kickin for not even a month...
There are several clubs and websites from the local STL area and in fact there appears to be a Beer Club St. Louis twitter. WE ARE: Beer Club! Soon everyone will know us from the rest.
But seriously, kudos to the reviewers of Coffee Stout.

Also, the page has a few things in development that could help with the flow of Beer Club meetings. WHAT?? That's all I can say. Well, actually I can say more - after the additions have been made it will be our duty to promote the crap out of this site.

Okay, that's it for now. I have to get ready for the big bowl game. Tonight I'll be drinking Schlafly's Dry Hopped APA.
Later I'll post a review of Dogfish Head 60 min and Founder's Dry Hopped APA...and I might as well as review the Schlafly's D.H. APA while I'm at it.