Beer. Beer. And More Beer.

Friday, January 31, 2014

January 31, 2014

STONE BREWING CO. - DOUBLE BASTARD ALE Ok, at 11.2%% ABV, this is definately a sipper. Smell is of sweet caramel and roasted malts, some dark fruits, and piney hops. Taste follows the nose. Flavor is full of sweet burnt caramel malts and plenty of hops and dark fruit also. Almost seems like a barleywine. You can definately notice the alcohol warmth. Upon the inital sip, you mosly get the malts and alcohol, but as it warms, the other flavors really come out. Maybe a little on the sweet side for some. Great offering from Stone, very complex, i have the feeling every bottle you would notice something different.

PRODUIT ET EMBOUTEILLE PAR BRAUEREI AYING FRANZ INSELKAMMER KG - AYINGER OKTOBER FEST MARZEN Typical Marzen aroma. Sweet caramel malts with a faint fruity hop prescence. Taste replicates the nose, big caramel malt notes, some dark fruits, and a little nuttiness. Very well balanced. Love this style beer, and while nothing really stands out in this one, this is exactly what i want and expect in a Marzen style beer. I could drink these any day, any time.

FRANK ZAPPA - YOU CANT DO THAT ON STAGE ANYMORE VOL. 2 The Frank Zappa YCDTOSA series was 6 part series of various live recordings. Volume 2 was the only one that featured a concert in its entirety. This is a complete live show from September 22, 1974 from Helsinki, Finland. Sounds amazing for a recording that is pretty old.. FZ has some amazing guitar work on this one. Its Zappa, its amazing. This guy never got the critical aclaim he deserved, pretty much a musical genius. I could listen to him any day and never get sick of him(thankfully he has a very extensive catalog, so there is lots to choose from).

3 miles on treaddmill

Thursday, January 30, 2014

January 30, 2014

BLUE MOON BREWING COMPANY - IMPULSE This is a limited brewed once only beer from the Blue Moon vintage collection and the label states it is a wheat ale brewed with the juice of cabernet sauvigon grapes. Aroma is fruity with grape smell and pretty much smells like a wine, if you didnt know what it actually was, you would think you just opened a wine bottle. Taste is grapes, wheat, alcohol and very wine like. It is definately unique, and hard to desribe. I cant really explain it very well, but i actually enjoyed it. It resembles a sparkling wine more than a beer, but strangely enough it works. Not something i would drink often, but worth the try.

STEEL TOE BREWING - DISSENT DARK ALE Not sure i remember pouring a beer this dark. It is black in the glass. Aroma is fairly sweet. Roasted malts with hints of chocolate, coffee and a little caramel. Taste is similar to the smell, sweet roasted malts wih chocolate, coffee, caramel, and some toffee. Very nice, a rich and good taste. Overall, a very nice stout considering the price point, well worth trying. This might rub some people the wrong way, but certain breweries in Minnesota seem to get all the publicity, but in my opinion, there are other local breweries putting out just as good beers without the fanfare and you dont have to pay an arm and a leg to get. Well done Steel Toe.

MOTLEY CRUE - SAINTS OF LOS ANGELES I got the email notice last night for tickets to the "last Motley Crue tour ever", so i pulled out their latest studio release today. From what i remember, this one didnt do that well sales wise, but its a damn fine record. Released in 2008, it was the first record to include all 4 original members in over a decade. Reminds me alot of their early records. I was a huge fan of them in high school, but drifted away over the years, but this record reminds me of why i was a big fan. Incidentally, tickets are on sale now, for a show in November. I barely know what i am doing this weekend, yet alone 10 months from now, but wouldnt mind checking them out if there are still tickets available in 9 months. Crazy.

3 miles on treadmill

Wednesday, January 29, 2014

January 29, 2014

SOUTHERN TIER BREWING COMPANY - OAT Nice imperial stout with a 10.8% ABV. Aroma has some chocolate and roasted malts with hints of coffee. Taste has a sweet and creamy malt character. Chocolate is up front, then a kind of burnt coffee taste and finishes with the oats. Sweet throughout. Not bad, nice balance, the alcohol is pretty well hidden for the high ABV. Well done Southern Tier, not as flavorful as i was hoping, but still a really good beer.

BOSTON BEER COMPANY - SAMUEL ADAMS TASMAN RED IPA Smell has some pine, citrus, and earthy notes with a subtle caramel sweetness. Taste has some pine and grapefruit up front, balanced with the sweetness from the caramel malt. Finish is a little bitter and citrusy. Pretty smooth. It took me awhile to decide, but i think i really liked this beer, it was easy to drink and had a decent mouthfeel, just took me a few sips to decide.

THE POGUES - RUM, SODOMY, AND THE LASH Perhaps the most popular album from this Irish band and i think is just plain brilliant. Great songs with raw emotional lyrics. You need to have a drink in hand while listening (and i did). Musically perfect and interesting lyrics and stories, just a great celebration of quality music.

3 miles on treadmill

Tuesday, January 28, 2014

January 28, 2014

BELLS BREWERY INC. - JAVA STOUT While not a huge fan of the coffee style beers, i had heard good things about this one, and Bells usually does everything pretty well, so i grabbed a bottle the other day. Nice aroma, roasted malts, coffee and a hint of chocolate. Decent taste, fresh coffee up front, some sweetness from the roasted malts, a little chocolate, even some citrusy hops, and then finishes with more coffee. Considering i am not a huge coffee fan, this one was not bad. Very smooth and easy to drink. Overall, a very decent coffee flavored beer, leaned a little too much on the coffee in the flavor, but one i would try again.

PHISH - VENTURA Nice little 6 CD box set featuring 2 shows from Ventura County Fairgrounds in Ventura, California. One from 7-30-97 and the other from 7-20-98. I only listened to the 97 show today, but that one was around 3 hours in length, and i listened to it twice. Love the 97-98 era shows, they tend to be more on the funky rock sound, and less jamming-what they are famous for. Fun show, sounds great, a really nice mix. l liked the cover of Fire from Jimi Hendrix the best.

1 mile on treadmill