November 6, 2013

TYRANENA BREWING CO. - PAINTED LADIES PUMPKIN SPICE ALE  Great smell, smells like a pumpkin pie. Lots of spices, cinnamon, nutmeg and lots of pumpkin. One of the better pumpkin smelling beers. Taste is more of the same, smooth pumpkin, roasted malts, and a bit of spicyness, mostly cinnamon. A pleasant surprise, first beer from Tyranena i have tried. If you like the pumpkin beers this is one worth finding and trying.

LEFT HAND BREWING COMPANY - OKTOBERFEST  I know i have said it before, and i will say it again, i really enjoy these Oktoberfest Marzen style beers, and this one is no exception. Sweet  caramel malt smell with a little bit of nuttiness. Taste had a great balance of everything in the style. Malty, toasty, bready with a little hop finish. Another nice Oktoberfest.

PARLIAMENT - UP FOR THE DOWN STROKE  A little funk for a Wednesday. Classic record from a groundbreaking group. Originally released in 1974, these guys were well ahead of the times. Top of their game musically and creatively, just good stuff. If you dont get it, your not ready. Favorites:  Testify, The Goose, I Can Move You (If You Let Me), and Prescence Of A Brain.

2.5 miles on treadmill, 30 minutes on bike

November 5, 2013

LAKEFRONT BREWERY INC. - CREAM CITY PALE ALE  The aroma has some floral notes with some grass, and orange hints too. Taste is more citrus and piney hops flavors.  Decent pale ale, nothing special, but something easily drinkable.

BOULDER BEER CO. - KINDA BLUE BLUEBERRY WHEAT BEER  Found this one buried in the back of the fridge, 2 months past best by date. Nose is kind of weak, some faint blueberry, wheats and malts.  Taste is very similar to the nose, just dont notice much for the blueberries, they are very understated which leads it to not being a sweet as i expected.  Kind of average, just not much there for me. Didnt taste old at all, so dont think it being old had any effect in it. Still have yet to find a decent blueberry beer.

AYINGER BREWERY - AYINGER CELEBRATOR DOPPELBOCK  A German import, not sure where i picked this one up or when, but sure wish i had bought more. Smell has a lot going on. Rich sweet malts, molasses, caramel, chocolate, and some fruits. Tastes just as good as it smells and pretty much follows the nose. Dark and very malty. Smooth and not too sweet. This is just amazing, reminds me of visiting Germany and all the unbelievable beers i was able to sample while there. I need to get back someday. In the meantime, i need to find some more of these.

JIMMY BUFFETT - ENCORES  This album was from 2010 and features 22 songs that were featured as the final songs or encores of concerts on the 2008-2009 "Year Of Still Here" tour. About half of them are Jimmy solo and the rest feature the band and some special guests. If you love Jimmy, this is a great album, lots of good stories and great songs. Lots of songs that are a little on the rare side, a few covers, and some Buffett classics. Its nice to hear the songs mostly stripped down and let the story and his voice take over. A must have for any Parrothead.

2 miles on treadmill, 30 minutes on bike

October Success

Well, month 8 is in the books. This months charity is The Wonded Warrior Project.  This is a great organization doing great things. If you would like to donate, please visit www.woundedwarriorproject.org.

For the next couple of weeks, i will continue to be trying multiple beers on some days. I've never been a wise shopper and have wound up with quite a few beers that have expiration dates near. While not a big believer in expiration dates on alot of products, i figured it wouldnt hurt to try multiples some nights to clean the fridge out. Also, i can clear some room out for the winter seasonals. So, heres to November. Four months to go!

November 4, 2013

SUMMIT BREWING COMPANY - SAGA INDIA PALE ALE Smells of piney and citrus hops, very nice. Flavor had some nice bitterness with floral and citrus flavors, lots of grapefruit. Nicely balanced. This is a very good beer. Nothing out of the ordinary, but just what an American IPA should be. For the price, there might not be a better IPA out there. Great value beer, this should be a staple in the fridge.

ROGUE ALES - MOCHA PORTER  This has a nice coffee smell with hints of chocolate and roasted malts. Strong coffee flavor with a nice mix of chocolate. The hops are definitely noticeable too. I can taste the coffee, but its not overpowering which is good since i am not a big coffee drinker. Not bad, but nothing exceptional, kind of like most Rogue beers i have tried. 

NEW BELGIUM BREWING - SHIFT LAGER  Light aroma of toasted malts along with some citrus hops. Upfront there is some toasted and pale malts with a little sweetness. Then follows some light floral and citrus hops which have just a little bitterness. This beer is very flavorful for the style and easy to drink. A little more interesting than most American lagers due to the hop prescence. Nice beer. Another solid offering from New Belgium.

JAKE TROUT AND THE FLOUNDERS - I LOVE TO PLAY  First off, the band was PGA golfers Peter Jacobsen, Mark Lye and the late Payne Stewart.  Think of Weird Al Yankovic doing an album of golf themed music. This is what you have here. These guys did a great job and this one is a fun listen, especially if you are a golf fan. Songs: I Love To Play, Strugglers Blues, Love The One You Whiff, Play The Senior Tour, I Just Wanna Cry, It'd Be Good (To Just Make Par), I'm On 18, Get Better, Get It To The Hole, Metal Wood, and Time To Let It Fly.

1 mile on treadmill

November 3, 2013

THIRD STREET BREWHOUSE - JACK'D UP AUTUMN ALE  Malt and spices on the nose, mostly cinnamon and nutmeg. Taste has more spices and some malt flavor, but for a pumpkin beer it really seems to be missing any notes of pumpkin. Overall, the smell is decent, but the flavor is a little underwhelming. Easy drinking, just not memorable.

GREAT LAKES BREWING CO. - OKTOBERFEST  Nice caramel malt provides most of the aroma, some toffee and breads.  Medium sweet caramel malts in the taste balanced with some earthy bitterness. A great beer, very drinkable and smooth. One of the better Oktoberfest beers i have tried. Seems Great Lakes does an exceptional job on every beer.

STEVENS POINT BREWERY - POINT OKTOBERFEST  Typical Oktoberfest smell, caramel and toasted malts. Taste is the same, but more muted. Accurate protayal of the style, just kind of boring. As a Oktoberfest Marzen its not anywhere near the best in the category, but as a drinkable beer, its ok.

PRINCE - DIRTY MIND  Classic early Prince. This was his third album and is brilliant. This one really established his name and style. Still sounds fresh today. My only complaint is its barely 30 minutes long. Favorites: Dirty Mind, When You Were Mine, Gotta Broken Heart Again, Uptown, Head, Sister, and Party Up.

3 miles on treadmill, 1 hour on bike

November 2, 2013

MAGIC HAT BREWING COMPANY -
HI.P.A.  Aroma and taste are nice and hoppy, some floral and citrus notes and grass. Some mild bitterness and is a little on the sweet side. Okay IPA, worth a taste, nothing bad to say about, just lacks anyhing to make it "pop" and stand out versus all the other IPAs out there.

MAGIC HAT BREWING COMPANY - BLIND FAITH  Smells of citrus, pine and grass, but the citrus seems very faint for an IPA. The taste has floral hops with a little caramel malts. Balance seems a little off, more malts than hops, doesnt seem like you are even drinking an IPA.  Drinks easy enough, but the flavor and aroma just aernt there for me.

BROOKLYN BREWERY - POST ROAD PUMPKIN ALE  Nose has some pumpkin, and some spices, mainly cinnamon and nutmeg, and a has a little sweetness, not bad. Taste doesnt quite live up to the smell though, seems more muted and a little thin. Its good, but just a little dull. Overall, its a good easy to drink beer, just know you will be underwhelmed in the flavor.

FISHBONE - IN YOUR FACE  I really loved these guys when they first came out. Kind of hard to describe. Ska/funk/punk/rock/reggae/metal should about cover it. Very unique sound. This was their first full length album, released in 1991. They are still rocking today. Favorites: When Problems Arise, Cholly, I Wish I Had A Date, and Knock It. These guys really have to be heard, they are really good and certainly underappreciated. I have not had the chance to see them live, but everyone says their live shows dwarf their records. Some day...

3 miles on treadmill, 1 hour in bike

November 1, 2013

LUCID BREWING - DYNO PALE ALE  Very intense floral and citrus aroma, pretty typical for a pale ale. Taste is citrus and floral, it has a lot of citrus up front, the hops have a nice bitterness and level of flavor, but i dont notice much in the malt department. Not much there behind the hops for balance. Not bad, just not very complex; a solid effort, but there is nothing about it that stands out.

LUCID BREWING - SILO SAISON  Very malty with Belgian yeast. Spicy fruity aroma. Flavor matches the nose with hints of lemon, banana and cloves, a little on the sweet side. Almost reminds me of a Hefeweizen. A decent beer, nicely balanced, just a little confused on what its trying to be, but thats probably just me.

LUCID BREWING - DUO DOUBLE IPA  Nice 9% ABV on this one. Aroma is citrus right away and then some pine notes. Taste matches the nose, seems a little more muted than the aroma though. More citrus and grapefruit, a little pine and a slight sweetness from the malts to balance it out. Alcohol is hidden really well, no notice of it in the smell, just a little in the flavor, finishes with some warmth. Excellent beer. My favorite from Lucid so far and a added bonus that they are a Minnesota brewery.

WEIRD AL YANKOVIC - POLKA PARTY  This is probably my least favorite of his albums, but its still Weird Al, so its still fun to listen to. Decent songs, just none that are too memorable. My favorite on this one is Christmas At Ground Zero, not even a parody, but an original song. Still, all of his albums are worth lidtening to.

3 miles on treadmill, 30 minutes in bike