Beer!

[MinutemanCO]

So let me see if I have this right... a beer belly is perhaps really men who've drunk too much beer and are now growing female reproductive parts?

[Ryan Ruck]

Was wandering through Jungle Jim's on my lunch break and saw a new Dogfish I had missed... Sixty-One. Figure I'd give it a try tonight since it's only 6.5%.



Pours a surprising ruby red! Head was thick and persistent. Smell was grape and grapefruit. Taste was grape with a bit of hop and a hint of bitterness. A light and crisp beer that while pretty decent, didn't "wow" me in any real way but, is definitely worth the try for the variety.

Saw a couple other beers I'd like to pick up when I was at JJ's but didn't have the time to really check them out. I'll have to make a follow-up visit.

[Ryan Ruck]

Well, I headed back to JJ's on lunch today. As luck would have it I was nearby!

I went back mainly for this...



It is Old Dominion's Double D Double IPA.

The bottle art hooked me and I had to check it out. It came highly recommended by both the beer section manager and a distributor rep that was there at the same time.

Since I ended up with a whole 6 pack (they didn't have it available in singles due to a lack of shelf space) I decided to open one up tonight.

It poured with a big head that stuck around for quite a while. Smell is a little pine but mostly citrus/grapefruit as is typical with a Double IPA. Taste is a lot like the smell, bitter grapefruit, but with some malt. This is one Double IPA that leaves no question it is a Double IPA! At 9% ABV it's a little on the low side for some of the Double IPAs I've tried but it compliments, not dominates, the taste nicely.


Old Dominion also has another pin-up inspired beer, Morning Glory Espresso Stout!



Didn't see that at JJ's when I was there otherwise I surely would have grabbed some (I like stouts a lot more than most IPAs too!). I'll have to talk with the beer department manager to see if they're planning on getting any.

[Ryan Ruck]

It's Friday! Time for beer!

Then again, any day is good for beer.

Tonight is another one I had picked up when I was at JJ's. It is Victory's White Monkey.



What caught my eye was the price. It was $8 for a 750ml bottle, a pretty good deal for something by Victory! So I took a closer look and saw that it was Victory's Golden Monkey (never had it but will look for it) aged in Chardonnay barrels. Interesting! I also noticed it weighs in at 9.5%. A bonus!

On pouring it foamed a bit but the head died off quickly. Aroma is malt, cloves, and Chardonnay. Taste is vanilla (from the oaking) and Chardonnay. The alcohol is pronounced but this brew goes down very smooth! The vanilla taste reminds me a little bit of the bourbon stouts I've had.

This one gets a definite recommendation and is great bang for the buck!

[Ryan Ruck]

Giving another new one from JJ's a try tonight...

This time it is Kona Brewing's Koko Brown Ale.



This one poured with a fairly thin head, unlike the picture. After the head quickly disappeared, the aroma was malt and coconut. Taste was the same with a touch of bitterness. Coconut wasn't at all overwhelming, it was pretty balanced. All in all, this is a tasty beer if you like coconut! This would be a perfect beer to go with grilling some fish and shrimp on a warm summer day!

Pretty sure I saw that a 6er of this runs about $8 at JJ's so not the cheapest but it definitely won't break the bank.

I'm actually kinda wishing I had bought more than one bottle of this...

[Ryan Ruck]

Second and final tonight is another from Kona, Fire Rock Pale Ale.



A thinner head head than the Koko. Smells hoppy and, I think, peach. Taste is hops, malt, some bitterness, and a bit of sweetness. Nothing overly remarkable about this one. Doesn't catch my attention quite like the Koko.

[Ryan Ruck]

Had a chance to pass by JJ's earlier today so I stopped in to ask the beer department manager if they had any plans to get the Dominion Morning Glory I had mentioned earlier. Turns out they already had some in and had it stocked in the regular beer aisles rather than the featured beer "island" where I got the Double D. Obviously I picked some up!



Poured as black as used motor oil with pretty much no head. Smells strongly of chocolate. Taste is definite coffee and sweet chocolate. It is 9% but you really can't tell. Pretty tasty but probably a bit too rich to drink a lot of in one sitting.

I can tell you this, this bottle and the bottle of Double D will look good on my shelves!

[Ryan Ruck]

Bell's, I am disappointed...

http://bellsbeer.com/blog/178-Bell__...debut_new_beer

Can't I just have one thing I can enjoy without a liberal agenda being forced in my face? This has made my Oberon taste a little bit worse.

Needless to say I will not be adding Thparkleberry to my bottle collection.

Hmm, maybe I should put more effort into getting into homebrewing so I can clone Oberon (it has been done successfully).

[Malsua]

Oh, so they're targeting their beer to the gay?

[American Patriot]

Naw, they are just posting rainbows and tell you to love yourselves... lol

[MinutemanCO]

For crying outloud. This is getting out of hand.

[MinutemanCO]

This is a good weekend to finish the IPA in the fridge and visit the local microbrewery. Something about this week makes me really need a cold one. Felt like an elephant's been standing on my head for three days now.

[American Patriot]

Or an ass in the back yard braying constantly....

/grin

(Get it? Dummycraps = asses)

lol

[Ryan Ruck]

Agree 100% on both counts. Thankfully the weather has been absolutely perfect here the last week.

Nothing better than wrapping up a week filled with a couple ballbuster service calls by kicking back and enjoying the cool, 63 degree breeze coming in through the windows with a good beer.

[Ryan Ruck]

Last night I tried out Victory's Red Thunder.



It was priced inexpensively like the White Monkey I had tried previously. The bottle mentioned it too had been aged in wine barrels but in red wine barrels rather than Chardonnay barrels as White Monkey had been. Thinking this would be on par with the White Monkey I figured I'd give it a try.

I was wrong.

Smell was a bit of chocolate with some hint of red wine. Taste was red wine, oak, and fairly tart. Personally, I didn't much care for it. The tartness was just too overbearing and, I felt, threw the taste out of whack. Perhaps if the tartness was mellowed out it would taste better.

[Ryan Ruck]

Tonight I'm having Ommegang's Art of Darkness



Poured black with a big, thick light tan head that thinned out quickly. Smell is malty fruit and some spices. Taste is spices like a typical Belgian style, a bit wine-like, with noticeable alcohol. Very fizzy!

Another fine beer from Ommegang!

[American Patriot]

I'm glad you're posting all these.

I don't have enough time to go shopping for special beers these days. But I know how to get to the thread now and find something I like. lol

[Ryan Ruck]

LOL! That's what I shooting for.

Like I said a few pages back, my palate isn't as refined as some folks that do beer reviews but hopefully I'm able to give a good enough description that someone is able to find it useful enough to make their beer buying decisions. Barring that, they can hit the RateBeer links I'm posting to each one.

[MinutemanCO]

My wife and I decided to crash the local brewery on Friday night. It was a pleasant surprise: unassuming tap room with catered barbecue, nice people, good fun. The beer above was sitting in front of me for a short period of time, until consumed, of course. Although my palate is incapable of a Ryan Ruck review, the IIPA was really good. Despite the name, I didn't expect the dark color or the head. Needless to say, we'll be going back.

[American Patriot]

Was that the brewery we visited MMCO?