February 28, 2014

Well, this is the last day. Hard to believe its been a full year.

SURLY BREWING COMPANY - 2013 DARKNESS  The Darkness series from Surly is ranked as one of the best beers of the year every year its been released. Each year it seems it scores perfect on most beer ranking websites. This year i was lucky enough to score 6 bottles. After tonight, 3 left.
I'll be honest, well it is near perfect in most rankings, and it is very good, it is not my favorite in the style. Its probably as good as some of the others i prefer, but i probably rank it a little lower as i am just sick of all the Surly hype here in Minnesota. Dont get me wrong, they are one of the better all around brewers out there, but unless you have some connections or happen to be in the metro the day most of their beers are released, they are near impossible to get and that drives me crazy. Good for them, bad for the consumer.
Aroma is heavy with roasted malts, a little vanilla, dark chocolate, coffee and some dark fruits. Alot going on. Huge flavor. Lots of chocolate, roasted malts, coffee , vanilla, and a little alcohol warmess. Excellent, a great balance of flavors. Full, smooth, and pleasantly easy drinking. What you should expect from a Russian Imperial Stout. One of the best, now if it wasnt such a battle to obtain.

BEASTIE BOYS - PAULS BOUTIQUE  Perhaps my favorite hip hop/rap album of all time. Everytime i listen to it, it feels like i discover something new. Just incredible.

1 mile on treadmill

February 27, 2014

ODELL BREWING COMPANY - CELASTRINA Very light aroma to me. Floral with a little bit of spiciness and some fruit notes. A little funky like a good saison should be. Same nice fruit and floral notes from the aroma in the flavor, but a little stronger. A little banana, pear, apple, and some pepper in the finish. Nice, fairly smooth. Overall, not bad, not my favorite from Odell, but a nice sweet easy drinking saison. If i found it again, i would probably buy another bottle.

BRANDI CARLILE - BEAR CREEK  Brandi is probably one of my favorite female vocalists, she has such a unique voice. This is her newest release and is as good as anything else she has done. Puts on a great live show, i have seen her multiple times and would highly reccomend. Favorites: Hard Way Home, Raise Hell, Keep Your Heart Young, and 100.

1 mile on treadmill

February 26, 2014

BLUE MOON BREWING COMPANY - PROXIMITY  "Wheat ale brewed with the juice of sauvignon blanc grapes."  Smells alot like a mild white wine, a little fruity, and a bit of wheat malt. Not bad. Taste is sweet, with a little wheat, small hints of hops, but not much. Pretty faint overall. Actually crisp, clean, smooth and easy drinking. A fair attempt at pairing wine and beer, but just not something i would buy again. I will stick with the regular Blue Moon offerings.

G LOVE AND SPECIAL SAUCE - G LOVE AND SPECIAL SAUCE  G Love has an interesting style, a white guy mixing hip hop, blues, rap, and rock. Very eclectic. I always find his albums kind of middle of the road, but he really shines live. This one isnt bad though, still fresh. Favorites: Cold Beverage, Babys Got Sauce, Rhyme For The Summertime, and Shooting Hoops.

1 mile on treadmill

February 25, 2014

INDEED BREWING COMPANY - LSD HONEY ALE  Wow, this has a huge floral aroma, very perfumey (if thats a word). Huge amounts of lavender and some light fruitiness. Not much honey as the name suggests, but as it warmed it was more noticeable. Very aromatic, interesting. Taste is no different. Lavender sticks out the most, some dark fruits. Again, they honey is hardly noticeable for most of the drink, but gives it a little sweetness in the finish. Very interesting, but the lavender is just a little too overpowering to me. Worth the try, and if they dialed down the lavender some it could be very good.

PEARL JAM - BACKSPACER  Decent effort from PJ, but not my favorite album of theirs. Love the song The End, so that is why i pulled this one out today, as i just had a craving to hear that one. You can never go wrong with a little Pearl Jam though.

1 mile on treadmill

February 24, 2017

BROOKLYN BREWERY -  BROOKLYN,SILVER ANNIVERSARY LAGER  Wound up with a couple of bottles of this one. They had different labels, so i thought they were different beers, turns out they had 4 different labels for this beer. For a big annivesary beer, i was expecting more, but not bad. Lots of malt in the aroma with floral and caramel hops and a little grapefruit. Taste follows the nose. Pretty underwhelming overall. Not quite what i would expect from a lager, but was not bad to drink. More maltiness than anything. Not bad, but was expecting more, worth a taste but nothing special. I maybe should have saved the 2nd bottle and let it age a little bit. Oh well.

SAMMY HAGAR - RED VOODOO  Sammys voice is incredible, love this album. Was a fan of his earlier solo work, then a fan when he was in Van Halen, but i think his solo work after that was even better. This was his first album with the Waboritas after his Van Halen stint.  Great band, Vic Johnson is one of the best underappreciated guitar players out there. Fun album and Sammys voice still dominates. Favorites: Mas Tequila and High And Dry Again. Just a straight up fun rock album.

3 miles on treadmill

February 23, 2014

LUCID BREWING -  GOSLAR  "Traditional gose style brewed with coriander and sea salt."  The aroma is pretty bland to me, mostly wheat. The coriander is very faint. Flavor is all wheat, what coriander is there is barely noticeable. Some sweet malt and mildy sour with a malty finish. Not real familiar with the style, but it was refreshing and easy to drink. Not sure i would look for it again though.

WEIRD AL YANKOVIC - OFF THE DEEP END  Smells Like Nirvana is awesome.  Might be his funniest album. For me, you can never go wrong with a little Weird Al.

3.5 miles on treadmill, 30 minutes on bike

February 22, 2014 bonus

I went out for lunch today and had a Blue Moon, which is one of my go to beers depending on the selection at the bar. I picked up all their mixed 12 packs in the last year so i could sample all of them. The Blue Moon Brewing Co line of beers is actually brewed by Coors, so, like Shock Top who is made by Anhueser Busch, they seem to discounted by many of the craft beer snobs. As i stated before, I dont care who makes it, a good beer is a good beer. Some of these are decent and some are not real good, but that is the same with most breweries. I think this is most of their offerings, maybe missing 1-2 as some of their seasonals are hard to find here. Tonight seems like a good night to throw these up here, as there is only a couple weeks to go. I lost my notes i took on these as i drank them, so i am just going by memory.

BLUE MOON BELGIAN WHITE - excellant, a go to beer for me

BLUE MOON BELGIAN STYLE PALE ALE - average at best

BLUE MOON HARVEST PUMPKIN ALE - nice take on a pumpkin style, not overdone, better than alot out there

BLUE MOON AGAVE NECTAR ALE - wheat with agave, nice summer beer, but nothing special

BLUE MOON GINGERBREAD SPICED ALE - nice mix of holiday spices. Cinnamon, gingerbread, and caramel; nice winter beer

BLUE MOON VALENCIA GROVE AMBER - sweet, with an odd artificial orange flavor, could be better

BLUE MOON BLACKBERRY TART ALE  - happy i found this one, was really looking forward to it, but it didnt pan out. Blackberry and raspberry flavors were too muted for me, decent but could be alot better

BLUE MOON CARAMEL APPLE SPICED ALE - nice flavor, but just a little too sweet for me, nice dessert beer

BLUE MOON IMPRESSIONIST COLLECTION ROUNDER BELGIAN STYLE PALE - nice representation of the style, nothing exciting though

BLUE MOON IMPRESSIONIST COLLECTION SHORT STRAW FARMHOUSE RED ALE - seeing this one around alot lately. A little fruitier than a standard red ale, but i think thats its appeal. I see alot of women drinking this one. Really nice summer beer with a decent kick to it.

Overall i think Blue Moon does a good job on most of their beers.

February 22, 2014

DOGFISH HEAD CRAFT BREWERY INC - DOGFISH HEAD 75 MINUTE IPA  "A bottle conditoned India Pale Ale with maple syrup" is the description on the label. Aroma has some citrusy hops, caramel malt, and a little sweetness from the maple syrup, very nice. Taste mirrors the nose. Starts with strong hops but never gets overpowering. Seems the maple syrup balances the bite of the hops. Nice take on a IPA, its definately a little different from most IPAs out there. I have not had many beers from Dogfish as they dont distribute in MN (i smuggled this one back from Colorado) but being different seems like something they do very well.

STEVE MILLER BAND - YOUNG HEARTS COMPLETE GREATEST HITS  Not a huge Steve Miller fan, but a music collection would not be complete without at least their greatest hits collection as they definately had some great songs. For a greatest hits, there sure seem to be some clunkers on here, but it is a great representation of their career i guess. Still fun to listen to every now and then as some of their big hits are classics.

2 miles on treadmill, 30 minutes on bike

February 21, 2014

ODELL BREWING COMPANY - FRIEK  A little mini vertical tonight as i had a 2014/2013 and 2013/2012 bottle of Friek from Odell. "Ale with cherries and raspberries added and aged in oak barrels."  My palate is not sophisticated enough to notice any differences between the 2 bottles, both seemed close to the same for me and as the labels have the exact same wording, im guessing the same formula was used each year. Anyway you look at it though, its a great beer. Aroma is full of sweet cherries, a little apple cider and a little barrel wood.  There is a little raspberry, but not as much as i hoped.  Taste starts with the tart cherries and a little sweetness. Also get a little apple, grapes and raspberries. A little more sour than i expected, but almost perfect. I liked this one alot, its very fruit forward, but not too sweet and is balanced nicely with its sourness. Great beer, but at this stage, i expect no less from Odell, the only downside to me is the price point, but considering how good it is, i guess i can live with that.

AC/DC - FLICK OF THE SWITCH  This has always been one of my favorite AC/DC albums. They had just come off 2 classic albums after the death of Bon Scott (Back in Black and For Those About To Rock) and they kind of went "back to basics" on this one and produced it themselves. Has almost a live feel to it. Great record, no stand out songs to me, just solid all the way through. Definately an underappreciated record in my opinion. When you have heard Back In Black so many times (not that it is bad by any stretch, one of their best albums for sure) throw this one on and turn it up.

2 miles on treadmill, 1 hour on bike

February 20, 2014

OMMEGANG BREWERY - GAME OF THRONES TAKE THE BLACK STOUT  I was looking forward to giving this one a try, huge fan of the show, first beer i have tried from this brewery.  Smell has some dark fruits, roasted malts, a little bit of chocolate and some spicy yeast. Not as good as i was expecting, but not bad. Taste pretty much matches the nose. Strong yeast mixed with dark fruit, coffee and chocolate. Maybe a hint of licorice as the label states, but pretty faint. Not a bad beer by any means, but just a little unremarkable. You'd think taking the name of a huge hit TV show they would want to make it something to remember. They tried, but it just didnt do it for me. Unless you are a big fan of the show and want it for the novelty, not worth seeking out.

BIG HEAD TODD AND THE MONSTERS - LIVE MONSTERS OUTTAKES  A nice little EP of 6 live songs they didnt have room to put on their 2008 live release Live Monsters. Everything BHTM does is good and this is no exception, just too short. Interesting take on Everyday People, fun listen, and if you can see them live, do it, they put on a great show.

2 miles on treadmill

February 19, 2014

LUCID BREWING CO. - AKILTER RED ALE Aroma is pretty malty with some slight fruit hints. Not very inviting. Taste is sweet with caramel malts and not much else. Could use some more hops. Pretty simple beer, but enjoyable, just dont expect to be "wowed."

AVRIL LAVIGNE - AVRIL LAVIGNE I've always had a soft spot for Avril. Cant really explain it, but i really enjoy her music. This is her newest release and i enjoy it as much as the previous ones. Really like Bad Girl featuring Marilyn Manson, who would have thought.

1 mile on treadmill

February 18, 2014

BAD WEATHER BREWING COMPANY - SCHOKO-WEIZEN  Big scent of banana and spices, clove stands out the most. Hints of chocolate, but not as much as i was expecting. Taste is yeast driven with lots of banana and chocolate. Almost reminds me of a hefeweizen with chocolate added in. Also has some coffee hints and spices. Flavor is actually pretty mild overall though. Interesting mix of aromas and flavors, but nothing really stands out. It just doesnt deliver enough. Not bad, theres nothing really wrong with it, but just not good enough to make me want more.

KISS - KISS  Hard to believe that this, their debut album, was released 40 years ago today. It took me a few records to get on the band wagon, but i was a huge fan soon enough. Amazing debut, just pure rock and roll. Contains the classics: Stutter, Cold Gin, Black Diamond, Nothin' To Lose, Deuce, and Firehouse. These are pretty much all still in rotation today in their live shows. Still sounds fresh all these years later.

2 miles on treadmill, 1 hour on bike

February 17, 2014

GRAND TETON BREWING CO. - BONE WARMER IMPERIAL AMBER ALE  This has a 8.2% ABV.  Aroma is thick caramel and toffee malts. Hints of fruitiness, but they are kind of lost in the malts. Taste has a ton of malts, but its not as sweet as you would think. Again, some slight fruit notes, but kind of hard to pick up. Just big and malty, could use a little more hop bitterness for balance. Seems a little on the thin side and flavor is also a little weak. Not bad, but i was a little dissapointed as the last beer i tried from Grand Teton was really good.

PHISH - VENTURA  A little 6 CD box set featuring 2 shows from Ventura County Fairgounds in Ventura, California. One from 7-30-97 and the other from 7-20-98. Today i listened to the 98 show. Nice show, just under 3 hours.  Starts out with a killer 22 minute Bathtub Gin. Also has a very interesting cover of Sexual Healing. Great sound, great era for the band.

3 miles on treadmill

February 16, 2014

NEW HOLLAND BREWING CO. - EL MOLE OCHO  Was looking forward to giving this beer a try. High ABV of 10.5%. Label says "our exploration into the flavors of the mole, the legendary sauce of central Mexico."  Aroma is mostly dark chocolate with slight coffee notes, i dont pick up much of the spices at all, their there, but very faint. Taste is a chocolatly up front, with hints of coffee, and you get a little chili heat in the finish. The chile heat seems about the right level without being overbearing. The chocolate just seems a little off. Seems a little on the thin side for how high the ABV is too. Nice idea for a beer, but just seems a little off to me, but i will give it a try again next year to see if they have it more dialed in.

ATMOSPHERE - SAD CLOWN BAD FALL  Another nice little ep they released to keep the fans happy before they released their next full album. Only 5 songs, love the live guitar base on this ep. Not as good as the last one, but a fun little record.

2 miles on treadmill, 30 minutes on bike

February 15, 2014 - bonus

The Shock Top line of beers are actually brewed by Anheuser Busch. They are pretty much disregarded in the craft beer circles because of this, but i am not a beer snob, and a good beer is a good beer, no matter who makes it. Some are hit or miss, but their main offering is one of my go to beers if i am out and about. Nothing fancy, but just a good solid beer and i know what i am getting. I didnt have all of these today, but i did have the regular, but have been drinking them all year as they were released.

BELGIAN WHITE - nice solid offering

RASPERRY WHEAT - OK take on a raspberry beer, not as good as Founders Rubaeus, but solid

WHEAT IPA - nothing memorable

LEMON SHANDY - OK, but give me a Leinenkugels first

END OF THE WORLD MIDNIGHT WHEAT - brewed with chocolate, chili, and spice, but flavor is kind of meh, dissapointing.

PUMPKIN WHEAT - average, but drinkable

HONEYCRISP APPLE WHEAT - nice flavor, but way too sweet, i had a tough time finishing

CHOCOLATE WHEAT - the chocolate dominates, but i enjoyed it

February 15, 2014

BADGER HILL BREWING COMPANY - CHERRY DOUBLE DUNKEL  First beer i have tried from this Minnesota company.  From what i remember, sold out pretty quick at most retailers. Aroma is cherries, wheat, and banana. Taste is sour cherry  with notes of banana, kind of odd. Based on the name on the bottle, i was expecting more cherry, but it wa pretty muted. Seemed a lot like a Hefe with some cherry notes. Pretty dissapointing, not sure what all the excitement was upon its release, not sure i will be picking it up next year unless i hear they change it up some.

THE STATESBORO REVUE - RAMBLE ON PRIVILEGE CREEK   First heard these guys opening for The Departed a few years ago at the Cabooze. Short show, but boy did they impress me. Bought their self released debut cd after the show and have been following them sense. This is their 2nd release and it doesnt dissapoint. Nice Americana, blues, rock sound.  Great songs and great musicianship, i think they can only get better. Highlights:  Fade My Shade Of Black, Huck Finn, Isabella,  and Hands In The Sun.

3 miles on treadmill, 1 hour on bike

February 14, 2014

ALESMITH BREWING COMPANY - MY BLOODY VALENTINE ALE  Nice holdiday themed beer. It pours a nice crimson red and has a 6.66% ABV. Nicely done. Aroma is mostly pine and floral hops. Also has a little hint of chocolate. Taste follows the nose for the most part, hoppy with pine, orange, and grapefruit; nice malt balance, caramel and chocolate. Not real complex, but a nice red ale. Sweet and easy drinking, this is the first Alesmith i have tried and was fairly impressed. Wish they distributed in MN, sure glad i grabbed this last week while in Colorado.

Q-TIP - AMPLIFIED  First solo album from Q-Tip after A Tribe Called Quest broke up. Loved ATCQ, but this wa a little dissapointing. A few really good songs (Vivrant Thing, Breath And Stop, Wait Up, and Do It Be It See It), but the rest is pretty average. Some good rhymes, but alot of songs sound the same. Still, love his voice, but would pick any of the first ATCQ albums before this one.

February 13, 2014

BLUE MOON BREWING CO. - TONGUE THAI-ED  Aroma was a little weird, kind of hard to describe. Very spicy. Label states lemongrass and basil. I notice pepper and light citrus the most. Odd. A little sweet from the lemon and strong basil. There is a little bit of malt and pepper, but not much. Just a weird combination of flavors for me. Not my favorite, would not try again.

'OL DIRTY BASTARD - N***A PLEASE  Fun record. ODB is crazy, the guy is definately a few beers short of a 6 pack, but that is probably what makes this entertaining as he pretty much offends everyone. Big hit was Got Your Money. That song made me buy this record, and i still love this song today. Great beats.

2 miles on treadmill

February 12, 2014

BROOKLYN BREWERY - BROOKLYN LOCAL 2   Really nice fruit and honey scent, also has a little spiciness. Taste follows the nose, typical Belgian style beer with a nice 9.0% ABV. Caramel malts, some dark fruits, and a little sweetness from the honey. Has a little alcohol in the finish. Good beer, well balanced, but i liked their Local 1 a little better.

ERIC CHURCH - THE OUTSIDERS  New album just released yesterday. Listened to it 3 times today. First listen i was a little dissapointed, but the more i listened, the more i liked it. A little different than his last record, it covers a lot of styles and takes a little while to get accustomed to, but its a very good follow up to Chief. Great mix of country and rock. Highlights: The Outsiders, Cold One, Talladega, Thats Damn Rock & Roll, and Devil Devil.

3 miles on treadmill, 1 hour on bike

February 11, 2014

ROGUE ALES - BEARD BEER  This is one unique beer and reading the label might scare a few people off. "Beard Beer is brewed with a yeast created from Brewmaster John Maier's beard."  OK. Looks like a wheat beer when poured, aroma is pretty neutral. Malty with some slight citrus hints. Taste is the same, sweet malts, lemon, apples, and grapefruit. Ok, standard ale, nothing stands out, but interesting due to the yeast source. For me another underwhelming beer from Rogue. A fun beer to talk about and try once, but no need to buy any more.

EPIC BREWING COMPANY - BIG BAD BAPTIST IMPERIAL STOUT  Listed as batch #20. A stout brewed with cocoa nibs, coffee and aged in whiskey barrels. These are pretty limited, says one of only a few thousand bottles produced. This is a big boy beer with a 10.5% ABV. Smell is all about the coffee with hints of vanilla and chocolate. Taste is dominated by  dark roast coffee notes and you really need to look for the chocolate, but its there. Really cant tell it was aged in whiskey barrels. Great balance, really no notice of the alcohol at all. Full bodied and goes down nice and smooth. I am not a huge coffee fan, but still really enjoyed this one. This is a really well made beer, if you can find it, buy it.

JUNKYARD - SIXES, SEVENS & NINES  Their 2nd album, and while not as good as their debut, still a very good solid album. Another straight up good time bar room rock record with a little blues influence. As i stated yesterday, one of the best late 80s early 90s rock bands. Love these guys. Perfect music to enjoy a few cold beers to. I can't reccomend them enough.

2 miles on treadmill and 30 minutes on bike

February 10, 2014

LIFT BRIDGE BREWING CO. - BISCOTTI BELGIAN STYLE ALE  Aroma was fairly boring, not what i was expecting.   Faint malts, a little spice and some vanilla, but you need to search for it. At first, the taste seems pretty plain, but as it warmed it got more interesting. The spices come at as it warms. It does say to drink at 50 degrees, so maybe i just need to follow directions! Sweet, honey like, with a nice malt character. The more it warms, the more the vanilla comes out. Unique beer, some room for improvement, but i would have it again as it is too.

STEEL TOE BREWING CO. - DOUGLAS CASCADIAN DARK ALE  Aroma consists of roasted malts, a little chocolate, some pine and citrus. A little on the mild side though, i was expecting it to be more robust. Tastes just like it smells. Has a little bitter bite at first, but not too bad. Pine sticks out the most for me. Would like the citrus to come through a little more, but thats just personal preference, i think its another nice effort from Steel Toe.

JUNKYARD - JUNKYARD  One of my favorites 80s rockers. They never got the critical aclaim they deserved. They were so much better than some of the bigger bands from their era. Straight up blue jeans beer drinking rock and roll, not anything glam rock like they unfortunately got grouped into. Every song rocks, i can listen to this anytime, anyplace.

2 miles on treadmill

February 9, 2014

FOUNDERS BREWING COMPANY - ALL DAY IPA

BOB & DOUG MCKENZIE - GREAT WHITE NORTH  Still funny all these years later eh.

1 mile on treadmill

February 8, 2014

ODELL BREWING CO. - NITRO LUGENE  i have tried the regular Lugene, and it is in my top 5 beers in the last year i have tried, but this one is on tap at the brewery and as the name suggests, infused with nitrogen. Way too technical for me, but it somehow made it even better!

FABOLOUS - SOUL TAPE 3

2 mile run outside,  little cold for my taste, but there was a path right by the hotel and a ton of people on it

February 7, 2014

ODELL BREWING CO. -  SWEET ELEVATION CREME BRULEE STOUT   This is a tap only release from their pilot sytem i was able to try today at the Odell Brewery. As with all things Odell, very good.

JUNKYARD - TRIED AND TRUE  One of my favorite 80s rock bands.

2 miles in treadmill

February 6, 2014

NEW GLARUS BREWING COMPANY - STONE SOUP  Aroma reminds me a lot of a Hefewissen style beer even though the label states its a Belgian Pale Ale. I get some spices, bananas, bready malts and some floral hops. Flavor is a little spicy  and much more Belgian like than the smell.  Big banana taste. I liked it, it was very drinkable and goes down easy, but seems more like a Hefe/Belgian mix yo me. I like the change up, but it seems that i like everything i have tried from New Glarus, so i'm not too surprised.

STEVE VAI - FLEXABLE  I have been a big Vai fan since he was playing with Frank Zappa. What he can do with a guitar is just insane. This is technically his first solo effort from 1984 and I'll be honest, its not the easiest record to listen to. Not so much songs as a lot of guitar improvisation and experimentation. I swear every time i listen to it i pick up something different, just amazing if you are a guitar fan. I was lucky enough to see him live a few years ago, and the show was unbelievable. The sounds that he can get out of a guitar will astound you. If you are knew to him, i would start with one of his later records though, but i think you will be surprised by all of them.

1 mile on treadmill

February 5, 2014

STONE BREWING CO. - SMOKED PORTER WITH VANILLA BEAN  Aroma is straight up vanilla with some roasted malts and a little chocolate as well, but the vanilla really dominates. Very nice. Taste is strong vanilla up front with a little roasted coffee and chocolate malts. Just a slight hint of smoke, but the vanilla hides that pretty well. I tried the straight version of this a few months ago (Smoked Porter) and really liked it other than the excessive smoke flavor. This version sure took care of that! Very good. Drinks easily and has a great mouthfeel, i could drink  few of these in one sitting no problem, although if you dont like vanilla you will probably be turned off.

AC/DC - HIGHWAY TO HELL  One word: Classic.

1 mile on treadmill

January

Month 11 is in the books, and there is now just one month to go!

There will be no $50 donation this month though. Instead i will be doing one final big donation combining January and February (as at this point, there is no doubt i will be able to finish this off) to one of my favorite local organizations. So, those of you also doing some donations, stay tuned. (and thanks for your support!)

Again, thanks for following along on this stupid little journey, i know its winding down, but its sure been fun! (most days anyways)

Fun day yesterday, visited the home ship for work, saw the Wild win last night and even found some time to find some new beers to stock the fridge with. I have way more than enough beers to finish out February, but i am guessing i wont ever stop trying new stuff.

PS - despite Bob Dylan telling us to “let Germany brew your beer" (and they do make some damn good beers) in a car commecial during the Super Bowl, there are many really good beers brewed domestically and locally, get out there are try some!

February 4, 2014

GOOSE ISLAND BEER CO. - NUT BROWN ALE  Nice malty aroma; toasted malts, nuts and a little sweetness. Taste is malty right away and then nutty with a light sweetness. Also has a small hint of chocolate. This is a very nice and easily drinkable brown ale. This would be a great dessert beer or even a go to if you want something easy to drink, full of flavor, but not too heavy.

KISS - CRAZY NIGHTS  Not one of their best albums, but very listenable. Has a lot of catchy pop rock songs. One of their least heavy albums, but i really enjoy it. Highlights: Crazy Crazy Nights, I'll Fight Hell To Hold You, and Reason To Live.

1 mile on treadmill

February ,3, 2014

STONE BREWING CO. - ENJOY BY 02-14-14 IPA   I love the Enjoy By series from Stone, i beleive this is the 3rd i have been able to find in the last year. Great fresh smell, pine and grapefruit stick out the most. Taste is very nice, sweet, hoppy, and nice malt notes too, alot of tropical fruit and a little bitterness. Great balance, no idea it is a 9.4% ABV. From memory, it seems like this one was a little better than the previous Enjoy By i had. For all i know, its the exact same formula, but for some reason this one just seemed better. Enjoy By is a must if you like IPAs and see these on the shelf anywhere.

ANTHRAX - AMONG THE LIVING  Perhaps the best Anthrax album. I saw a list this weekend of the top 5 Anthrax songs of all time and 3 of the 5 songs were from this album. I probably wouldnt have the same, but its still a damn fine record. Of course i love every album they have done, so i'm probably not the one to ask. Turn it up!

3 miles on treadmill

February 2, 2014

LAGUNITAS BREWING CO. - IMPERIAL STOUT  Nice stout from Lagunitas with a 9.9% ABV. Aroma of caramel, coffee, and chocolate with some hints of dark fruits. Smooth taste, a little sweet, nice balance, no notice of the alcohol. Sweet roasted malts with hints of coffee and bitter chocolate. I like the hints of dark fruit, kind of unique. A pleasant easy drinking imperial stout, with such a high ABV, that is nicely done. I liked this one alot.

BOSTON BEER CO. - SAMUEL ADAMS DARK DEPTHS BALTIC IPA  Interesting beer, labeled a baltic porter, but has a lot of hops like a IPA. Smells of floral and citrus hops, with some maltiness. Taste has some roasted malts, chocolate and fruits, cherry stands out the most. Full flavored, but a little odd. More hops in the aroma than in the taste. Overall, a good beer, i like that Sam Adams puts out some of these experimental small batch beers, some are hit or miss, but i really enjoy trying what they come up with.

STEVIE WONDER - FUNKAFIED RAINBOW  I dont own any of his official releases (which is an unexplainable on my part), but i listen to this bootleg quite often. This was a live show recorded in London in January of 1974. Sound is unbelievable considering it is 40 years old. Great jams and great versions of Higher Ground, Signed Sealed And Delivered, You Are The Sunshine Of My Life and Superstition. Might fnally be time to pick up an official release.

2 miles on treadmill, 1 hour on bike

February 1, 2014

ROGUE ALES - ROGUE FARMS HONEY KOLSCH  The Rogue Farms line of beers are ones where they grow all the ingredients themselves.  Nice smell, malty, light fruits, a touch of honey and a little sweetness. Taste has some light grainy malts, some fruitiness, grassy hops, and a touch of floral honey. Very subtle, but interesting. This is very easy to drink and pretty true to the style. I was expecting more honey, but i think they got it right in what they did. Nice, i could see myself drinking a few of these on the patio in the summer. Might be my favorite i have tried from Rogue.

GRAND TETON BREWING CO. - DOUBLE VISION DOPPELBOCK  This is the 2013 version. Rich malt aroma, some roasted nuts, toffee, and a hint of chocolate. Flavor is nice and toasty, rich, malty with some dark fruit hints, and a little chocolate/cocoa on the finish. Nice balance, no indication of the 8% ABV. A very well done doppelbock, i could drink this anytime. First beer i have tried from Grand Teton and i am very impressed, i have a few others in the beer fridge that i am now excited to try.

GREEN DAY - DOOKIE As i woke up today, i heard on the radio that this was released 20 years ago today, so it made sense to listen to it i guess. This was their 3rd overall release, but their first on a major label and the record that made them huge. Still sounds as fresh today as when it was released. Classic album, everyone needs this one in their collection.

3 miles on treadmill, 30 minutes on bike