Blue Point Toasted Lager

Toasted Lager by Blue Point Brewing Co.

Wow, my first actual review in a very long time. I never really meant for this to be more than a year long endeavor, mainly I wanted to test myself to see if I could actually do it for a full year, I did and then some. But I was in my new favorite store (Forest Hill Wine and Spirits) and was having a hard time remembering if a had tried a few of the craft beers there, then I remembered that was a second reason for this blog, somewhere for me to write my thoughts on certain beers and if I liked them or not, a way to help me remember if you will. I also wanted another excuse to post a beer in one of my new MACON BEER CO. glasses, can you say awesome! Well, on to the beer.

I have no clue what to expect as I have never heard of this beer before. I immediately think of Fat Tire when you say Toasted Lager, because to me, Fat Tire is a drinkable toasted biscuit. The color is a nice orange tan with a thick cream colored head. First impression is a slight toast flavor but more of a robust malt then it gives way very softly to a fine hop finish. Like any good Lager it is very drinkable, very easy going down, unlike a lot of Lagers though it still has plenty of flavors mixing in, really reminds me of a beer that you would want to drink while sitting by a camp fire in the middle of Autumn, but sitting on my back porch waiting for my grill to be ready in the middle of December will have to do. A sure sign of a good and fresh beer is the trace the head leaves behind as you drink it down. This one has enough on the sides of the glass I might want to scrape if off with a spoon as my ‘desert’.

As I drink more and more of this beer, it does start to have that toasty, biscuit flavor so often associated with Fat Tire. Now, in no way is it nearly as strong or prevalent but there is that hint of biscuit there, and Toasted Lager doesn’t seem as heavy either which is a plus for me, means I can drink more than just one. I also must say either I was thirsty or this was a very good beer because I think this may be the first time I have finished the beer before I finished the review. Check out the finished product. So all in all, this one is a two thumbs up beer. I would say see you next week but I don’t want to make any promises I can’t keep.

 

Macon Beer Company

Macon Beer Company

If I can’t have their beer yet at least they let me get a fancy glass. Can’t wait till Spring of 2013 for the real thing. I know it’s been a long time since I posted anything on the blog but I most definitely will be posting about this brew since it will be in my home town of Macon, GA. We tryin’ to get high class and all. Stayed tuned, and drink something different for a change.

Old Fizziwig Ale - Samuel Adams

Ok, now that the flu has left the building, we can get back to our weekly beer drinking, um I mean reviewing. This week is a beer I have seen before but never really thought to try. Well, the cold has returned for a few days and the label on this beer really looks like it is a winter ale, perfect match right? Let’s see?

Old Fezziwig Ale – Samuel Adams

It pours darker than I thought it would, darker than a good brown ale but not quite as dark as a porter or stout, a very dark ruby brown. Has a nice head, sticks around nicely once it settles to a thin cap. It definitely gives you a winter ale smell, lots of spices, hints of cinnamon and nutmeg with an alcohol backbone. Oh, but this isn’t your ordinary winter ale, that gives you a burn in the belly from the alcohol. No, this goes down very smooth, no sign of alcohol at all, nice hints of the cinnamon that you got from the scent finishing with a small dose of bitterness from the hops, nicely balanced and laid out. Now that I have tasted the beer I can look at the bottle, I mistake the ginger scent for nutmeg, so it is really ginger not nutmeg that you get in the scent. And it is actually a Christmas beer, and I must say, this really would be good with some pumpkin pie ala mode.

So be sure to keep some of those winter ales, stouts and porters on hand till spring really has fully arrived cause ole mother nature likes to play tricks on us in March and April. Cheers beer friend.

FourBoysBrewPub!

Best Worst of 2010

Ok, since the flu has had me dragging ass this week and instead of drinking some really good craft beer I find myself pouring Gatorade down my throat, besides, I really don’t feel like I could give a good review anyway, this I figured would be the perfect time for the best/worst list from my little venture. Like I said before I don’t want to simply do a top 5 bottom 5 list but also do more of a most interesting, least interesting. So I will probably do the top 3 in taste, top 3 in complexity, bottom 3 in taste and bottom 3 in interest.


So my top 3 in pure taste would be, in no certain order

1. Java Stout – Bell’s Brewery – This was my first coffee stout and the beer that really opened my mind to enjoying stouts.

2. Sch’Wheat – SweetWater Brewery – This beer could just as easily been in the most surprising. I normally don’t like any of the SweetWater beers but this one is just a really good summer beer.

3. Double Chocolate Stout – Young’s – After my initial dislike of stouts was broken I began to really look for anything and everything stout, and so it didn’t hurt this beer that I also love chocolate.

So now the bottom 3 in taste, again in no real order

1. McSorley’s Black Irish Lager – I really wanted to do St. Patty’s day justice and find something other than Guinness. I guess there is a reason Guinness is the best Irish offering.

2. Wild Blue Lager – Blue Dawg (aka. A-B) – Leave it to Anhesuer-Busch to make a bad craft beer.

3. Ed Hardy Premium – Tecate Brewery – Just like St. Patty’s day, I wanted something special, out of the ordinary for Cinco de Mayo. Well, the normal Tecate is ok but this was just plain bad.

Ok, now that the standard best/worst is out of the way, let’s make room for some other more exciting lists.

Most Surprising

1. Drifter – Widmer Bros. – I have had their normal wheat beer and it is good but I really didn’t expect anything mind blowing from this beer but was treated to a nice surprise in this really good summer/spring brew.

2. Frambozen – New Belgium - Now it really shouldn’t surprise me that New Belgium had a good beer but I really didn’t think a raspberry beer would be to my liking, it was tart without being sour and was pretty easy to drink.

3. Coffee Oatmeal Stout – Terrapin – I probably didn’t know what to expect from this but found a really smooth coffee beer combination that works almost better than Java Stout by Bell’s. I might have put this one in the best 3 had Java not come first and really changed my thinking of stouts.

Most disappointing

1. Celebrator Doppelbock – Ayinger – This is supposed to be one of the really great beers but I found it way to overwhelmed by alcohol. I felt I was drinking a straight up whiskey/bourbon/scotch drink, not something I want from my beers.

2. Vanilla Java Porter – Atwater Brewery – I was really looking forward to this beer, it was the first Java beer I found after Bell’s Java Stout and I thought, wow, vanilla java might actually be even better. So, to be fair, maybe it is a good beer but I had it built up too high in my head.

3. PALM – Belgium’s Amber Beer – I mean really, if you advertise as Belgium’s Amber Beer you better blow my mind. This is Belgium we are talking about, which may possibly be the beer capitol of the world, so it is their fault I had high expectations for this beer that just fell flat.

Most interesting

1. Bitches Brew – Dogfish Head – Even after all the build up from the debut show on Discovery about this beer, and the fact that Macon, GA only got 19 bottles and I ended up with 3, it still ranks as the most interesting beer I tried all year, maybe even in my life. I would still buy more if I could find it and it could just as easily be the number one beer in taste for the last year.

2. Allagash White – Allagash Brewing – I had heard so much about this beer I was almost afraid to try it, I felt there was no way it could live up to my expectations, thankfully I wasn’t disappointed. What a beautiful Belgian white this is, there is simply no need for any orange slice as it gives you plenty of citrus.

3. Punkin Ale – Dogfish Head – Like a good Peach Wheat, I simply can’t pass up a pumpkin flavored beer, maybe it’s because it was one of the first beers I ever tried brewing myself and so I find I must try each one to see what I need to add to my own.

Least interesting or better yet, most like water.

1. La Cross Lager – I mainly tried this cause a buddy brought it back from his annual fishing trip on Lake Erie and it was one of those ‘old beers’ you always heard about. Lest just say, thank you once again to Jim Koch, Fritz Maytag and all the other craft brewers that knew there was more to beer than colored water.

2. Little Kings – Got this from the same friend from the same trip, he said one of the guys they go with used to drink this when he was in high school. Well, I started out on Natural Light and Busch beer so I can’t really fault him but this was just plain and dull. Probably a little like drinking the water after boiling your corn-on-the-cob.

3. Sawtooth Ale – LeftHand – I have heard good things about LeftHand but haven’t really experienced them yet. Not that this was a bad beer but more like a plain, average, ordinary beer, not really something a craft beer should taste like. It didn’t really have an identity or character.

So, there you have it, all kinds of list from my journey of 52 beers in 52 weeks. I think my next journey may be something along the lines of trying one beer from each of these breweries on this map, the only thing cooler than that would be to visit each state while doing it. Hey, who’s up for a road trip or two or three? Cheers!

FourBoysBrewPub!

Bell's Lager Beer - Lager of the Lakes

Good news and bad news, good news is I am NOT reviewing a stout of any kind tonight, bad news is I actually picked up a few more for future reviews. For tonight I thought I would pay homage to this awesome weather we are being treated to, low 70’s and clears skies, feels like baseball is just around the corner. Ok, on to the beer.

Bell’s Lager Beer, “Lager of the Lakes”

Wasn’t real sure if I should get this one or not but it is from Bell’s and it isn’t a stout so I grabbed it anyway. I got a good hoppy scent from the bottle before I poured it but now that it is in the glass I am almost getting the standard ‘American Lager’ smell, let’s hope it doesn’t taste like that. It is also very golden and crystal clear much like the American lager, one difference though is the head, this one is sticking around very nicely. Taste is very crisp and almost harsh and leaves a strong hop/bitterness in the aftertaste. Mouthfeel is very thin but that is a plus if you are wanting a nice cold lager on a hot summer day. All in all, not so sure I would go out of my way for this one, definitely not one of their better beers. This beer comes across as an attempt to brew a beer for the masses, not a good thing if you are a craft brewery.

Oh well, weather is good, 3-day weekend, I guess you can’t have everything. It also looks like my home state Georgia will continue to prohibit alcohol sales on Sunday. Our state legislature squashed the latest bill that would at least let it become a local option, giving the people the power to decide. I found this quote in our local paper today, “Georgia is one of only three states that still forbids stores from selling alcohol on the Sabbath.” I really find it hard to believe in this day and age that some people here in the south still feel this way. Maybe they feel they have lost control of everything else and figure this is the one thing they can hold onto. And don’t give me the ‘we need at least one day a week to stay pure’, cause if that were the case, it wouldn’t be allowed in restaurants or bars on Sunday.

Ok, I’m off my soapbox. Cheers!

FourBoysBrewPub!

Hazelnut Brown Nectar - Rogue

Ok, even though it is still too dang cold to do anything useful outside I made sure I would review a non-stout beer this week. Now, it is a dark beer just not a stout or a porter, but a brown ale. The Hazelnut Brown Nectar from Rogue to be exact. This will only be my third Rogue beer, the first was Dead Guy Ale which I was none too impressed with and the other was their Chocolate Stout that I purchased at the same time as this brown ale. Don’t worry, it will not be in a future review although it was very, very good, so they are batting .500 with me.

Hazelnut Brown Nectar – Rogue 

It pours a little reddish brown, very similar to a glass of sweet tea sans the ice and with a nice white head. I pick up some nutty flavors but not really an overwhelming ‘hazelnut’ scent, more of just a general roasted nuts flavor, maybe I’m expecting too much. Very interesting first taste, I immediately get a sweet flavor that I assume is from the hazelnut that quickly turns bitter and then just as quickly turns to a smooth creamy finish. Not real sure if the bitterness is from the hops or the roasted malts, checking the IBU’s I would have to say it is from the malts. I really can’t say that I have had a beer that goes from sweet to bitter to smooth before, usually the bitterness will be the last thing you get. It has a very nice nutty flavor throughout though that really makes this an interesting beer. For such a smooth creamy taste it’s mouthfeel is a little thin, not that that is a bad thing just something else very interesting about this beer. So I guess now Rogue is a slick .665 with me, I will have to give some of their other beers a try now, I was really staying away from them based on the first experience.

So beer friend, make sure you pick up enough beer tomorrow for the SuperBowl, unless you live in one of the cool states that allow beer to be sold on Sunday, we here in GA aren’t so lucky. And is there anyway both teams could lose? Not really a fan of either team, maybe I should find a drinking game to play along with the game, at least that would keep my attention. Cheers!

FourBoysBrewPub!

Southern Tier Choklat

Chocolate stout has taken over my mind. It is all I think about when trying to find new beers. And as I mentioned last week it isn’t going to stop this week. Although I do admit, I really need to find a new style that I at least want to try. Ok, so moving on, I am a little late in bringing you this review because I got in a deep discussion with my brother-in-law about the difference in ‘draft’ beer and ‘draught’ beer. He didn’t like the answer I gave him, that they are one in the same, just American vs. UK basically. So 20 minutes later I get to try the Southern Tier Choklat that I have been dying to try.

Choklat – Southern Tier Brewing Co

It pours like you would expect, em, black. I was disappointed in the head or rather lack thereof and I always think to myself when a beer doesn’t pour with a good head, is it flat, is the glass not ‘beer’ clean, did I pour it wrong, who knows, I really try my best to do all of those things correctly. But I will admit that pouring a beer from a 64 oz. growler isn’t the easiest thing to do. It doesn’t taste flat so maybe it is the way I had to pour it. The smell is probably the chocolatiest beer I have ever smelled, and yes, this time I do mean chocolate as in a candy bar chocolate. The taste is really smooth at first but then you get just a hint of burnt bittersweet baker’s chocolate coming out. The alcohol flavor doesn’t really hit you in the taste but rather on your stomach, like you just took a small shoot of bourbon but not nearly that heavy. You know you’re not drinking the standard 5% abv but it isn’t like you can taste it like some of the other 10+% abv beers out there. So this beer poses a unique issue, it hides the alcohol so well and taste so good that you want to just really chug it down but after the second or third swallow you know you are dealing with a serious beer and you better be careful.

So, remember if anybody out there has some ideas for how I can get of this chocolate stout kick I’m on, well, I’m all ears. In the mean time, drink up cause there is plenty more where that came from. Cheers beer friend.

FourBoysBrewPub!

Moo-Hoo Chocolate Stout - Terrapin Beer

OK, another week…another stout, especially since my trick last week didn’t do anything to bring spring any closer. So as long as it is cold I will be drinking me some stouts. This week I found my new favorite beer store, too bad it is 3.5 hours away in downtown Greenville, SC. That’s right, it’s right there in the picture, The Greenville Beer Exchange, and yes, that is a 64 oz. jug of draft beer, what…yes you heard me. This beer store can sell you beer straight from the tap into a 64 oz. jug so you can come home and enjoy fresh draft beer at home. They had at least a dozen different beers on draft and hundreds more in the bottle.

So even though I don’t have a nice picture of the beer, trust me, it is Terrapin’s Moo-Hoo Chocolate Milk Stout.

My boys said they thought I was drinking a foamy coke, which is how dark it pours with a nice thick brown head. It gives you a really nice scent of malts, not burnt malts like a lot of other stouts but more of a chocolate malt from say DQ or something, or even some malted milk balls. I know I know, that is a different type of malt but it has a sweet earthy tone to it. The taste is really thick and creamy, smooth and bitter and the same time. You really can taste the sweetness from the lactose and the bitterness from the malts blending together as you finally decide to swallow. Wow, I just might have to drink the entire 64 oz’s tonight.

I also picked up a 64 oz. jug of Southern Tier Choklat. I am just as excited to try that as I was this one. I really don’t think I can wait till next week either so we may be doing a mid-week review for that one, who knows. So kids if you ever find yourself in Greenville, SC, you must stop by The Greenville Beer Exchange and see what they have on draft. It is also just around the corner from Barley’s Tap Room and Pizzeria, yeah, they have a few hundred different beers to choose from also with about 30 or so on draft. Well Cheers beer friend!

FourBoysBrewPub!

Torpedo Extra IPA - Sierra Nevada

Who’s ready for spring? ME! There’s a reason I live in the south, I. Don’t. Like. Cold. Weather. So, now that the 2011 ice age has passed I thought if I reviewed a beer more suited for warm weather, well, I might at least feel warmer and who knows, maybe I’ll be like the ground hog and bring spring here sooner rather than later. And with spring time comes God’s sport, Baseball, well it’s America’s sport anyway which is good enough for me.

Torpedo Extra IPA – Sierra Nevada

Not sure what to expect with this beer, is it an extra IPA as in it has more hops than the normal IPA or is it extra as in a higher alcohol content than a normal IPA, a-la Dogfish Head’s 60-minute, 90-minute, 120-minute IPA’s? I do know that it is one of only a handful of beers I have consumed that I could smell as soon as I opened the beer. And for someone who doesn’t like IPA’s, I sure do love the way they smell though, and this one had such a lovely citrus tone to it. It also pours like a summer wheat beer, very orange and cloudy with a nice frothy head. Ok, after the first taste I think I know what they mean by extra, this is the hoppiest beer I think I have ever had. I was so blown away by the bitterness that I had to take several more taste to try and pick up the other flavors; sadly I’m not able to, other than a slight sweetness, but I really struggle to even find that. I guess this would be a hop-head’s dream beer, well, if it brings me spring time it will be well worth it. A quick look at the label tells me this is also a 7.2% abv beer so the extra could be for both, hops and a high ABV.

A few quick notes about the blog in the upcoming weeks, I really hope to have a list of beers, maybe not the standard top 5 and bottom 5 but more of most interesting to least interesting. I also hope to be able to continue doing at least one beer a week but not sure. I really wanted to see if I could do this thing for a full year, last week’s post made it a year with a few extra’s thrown in. So Cheers!

FourBoysBrewPub!

Honey Porter - Samuel Adams

Wow, week 52 is here, I didn’t even realize it till I was coping the photos to my laptop. I kept each week in a separate folder aptly named week XX, last week was week 51 so if my first grade math is correct, this one is week 52. Seems like I should have a special beer for this occasion, well, sorry to disappoint. Although I have had this beer in the past, it was way long ago before I developed a fondness of stouts and porters so when I show it I felt I should at least give it a second try now that I absolutely love stouts and porters now. Now the glassware has become my favorite beer glass, even if it isn’t the proper style for any of my beers that I like to consume. You see, it was a Christmas gift, not from someone special for who he is but rather what he represents, he himself is a Marine, and anybody who serves our country in any of the armed services is a unique individual, someone who we all should give countless thanks to every time we vote, speak in angst of our government, or simply do whatever we please to do as a FREE person in a this wonderful country. Ok, I’m off my soapbox now, on to the beer shall we.

Honey Porter – Samuel Adams (The Boston Beer Company)

It pours a deep dark ruby red, almost so dark it appears black and produces a nice thick tan head. It has an abundance of fermented fruit smell to it mixed with some roasted malts. The flavors don’t really hit you till the very end, very strange not to have something at the front end but it does provide some sweetness that I’m guessing is a mixture from the honey and the malts but then you get a small hint of hop bitterness at the very tail end. This may be the first porter or stout that I can actually recall tasting the hops in, I know normally they just help balance things out without stepping out on their own. This still isn’t one of my favorites but it is tons better than I remember and very worthy of drinking.

Cheers beer friend, feel free to do whatever you shall please!

FourBoysBrewPub!

Bell's Double Cream Stout

Happy New Year peeps, sorry for the lay off last week, Christmas time is a little crazy when you have 3 boys 8 and under. This week may not be my first milk stout but it is the first time I actually knew I was drinking a milk stout. It is also from one of my favorite breweries, Bell’s.

Bell’s Special Double Cream Stout

It pours very thick but doesn’t create a large head, however it does at least stick around. The scent gives off a lot of chocolate, roasted malts. The taste is very smooth and creamy with just a bit of maltiness and a good bit of sweetness. Even though it is a heavy beer it still comes across as one that I could stand to drink 3 to 4 of in one night, it is just that easy to consume.

I am really starting to love stouts and find it easier and easier to drink them. I find myself going out of my way to search for them. Cheers my beer friend and I hope you favorite team plays their bowl game a lot better than mine did, maybe next year UGA.

FourBoysBrewPub!

Coffee Oatmeal Imperial Stout

My favorite day of the week, beer review day. I can’t lie, I have been looking forward to this beer for two weeks, and I cheated, I have already had a few of these before tonight which is not the norm for me as I usually wait till review night to try the beer. I have grown more and more a fan of anything stout but especially coffee stouts. Well this week is no different.

Coffee Oatmeal Imperial Stout – Terrapin Beer Co.

It pours really dark and thick, just a little thinner than molasses. At first you think there isn’t going to be any type of head but then a small thin brown head appears. The scent is mostly burnt rich chocolate with a slight hint of booze. The taste has a very rich bite of roasted malts with just a few hints of coffee coming through. The mouthfeel is a light, low carbonated one, not heavy at all for this type of beer. It also hides the 8.1% ABV very well, only leaving a tiny bit of an after taste.

Cheers!

FourBoysBrewPub!

Frambozen - New Belgium

Stop the presses! I made it on a Friday for a change. Not sure what to expect with this beer, it has a label that looks festive but not sure a Raspberry Brown Ale is a festive beer. I guess we shall see now won’t we.

Frambozen – New Belgium Brewing. What is Frambozen anyway???

It had a really weird color as I poured in the glass, and it created a purplish head but when the beer was all in the glass, it was almost black. I can definitely smell some tart raspberry but I get some of the famous New Belgium yeast biscuit smell that so many of their beers possess. The first taste is slightly sweet which can be expected from a fruit beer but then you really get the sweetness quickly followed by a sharp tartness of the raspberries. Almost no sign of a malt backbone which I find odd for a brown ale even if it is a fruit infused brown ale. A thin mouthfeel which helps, not sure this beer could handle something heavy as I think that would take away from the fruit that they obviously want you to experience.

Well, I guess I could see this as a festive type beer, not one I would want to drink more than one or two of but might enjoy with some desert after the Christmas dinner. OK, so my curiosity got the better of me before I could even finish this review, I had to know what Frambozen is, well idiot beer geek, it’s right there on the label, it’s Flemish for raspberry. Oh right, so what is Flemish? Oh, it’s a form of Dutch spoken in parts of Belgium, come on man, you gotta get out some more. Now, knowing all of this, I really see what this beer is, a very close ‘relative’ of a lambic. Don’t start with me on what a lambic is, it’s a Belgium Fruit beer made with wild yeast that is often very sour/tart.

Wow, try and drink a beer and make notes about it and you end up learning even more than just what beer you need for the family Christmas dinner, Flemish, a Dutch language, who knew. Cheers! I’m gonna need more beer after this one.

FourBoysBrewPub!

400 Pound Monkey - Left Hand Brewing

Coming to you live and direct on a Saturday night for the second week in a row, sorry ‘bout that. I would really prefer to review these beers on Friday but sometimes life gets in the way, so here we are. I had this beer planned for last week but then I was fortunate enough to get my hands on the very awesome ‘Bitches Brew’ and couldn’t let that pass. The name on this beer is what got my attention but the style is what really got me to get it. ‘400 Pound Monkey’, now who wouldn’t look twice at that right, but it is an English Style India Pale Ale. For those of you not familiar with IPA’s, America is really the only place they are brewed anymore but their origin is England, way back when they occupied India, they would put massive amounts of hop in the beer so it would not go bad before it got to the English soldiers in India, hence the name, India Pale Ale. Now on to the beer!

400 Pound Monkey – Left Hand Brewing Co.

Standard pour for an IPA or a pale ale, light golden in color with a decent head, nothing out of the ordinary. Scent is really in between an IPA and a Pale Ale, you get the scent of hops but not the ‘blow you away’ hops that an IPA gives you. I must say the taste is almost the exact same thing as the scent, either a hoppy Pale Ale or a light IPA. This is probably the best beer I have tried from Left Hand but still nothing I would go out of my way for, if I were in the mood for an IPA and this were available I would take it, but to be fair, and I have said this before, I’m not a fan of IPA’s, sorry hop heads.

So cheers once again beer friend, take it slow tomorrow cause Monday is just around the corner.

FourBoysBrewPub!

Bitches Brew - Dogfish Head

This review is coming a day later than normal because I felt I needed a full days rest, for two reasons, 1) Thanksgiving on Thursday and Friday and 2) There was such a buildup for this beer I needed to make sure I was mentally prepared. I even debated not doing it, just saving this beer for a special occasion, lucky for you I decided to go ahead a give it a review.

Bitches Brew – Dogfish Head Brewery

This is a fusion of 3 parts Imperial Stout and 1 part African honey beer, it pours like a dark chocolate stout with a dark brown head. The scent is all full of roasted and chocolate malts. I usually like to stay away from high gravity beers as I don’t really care to taste the alcohol in my beers, there is now way I would have believed this beer came in at 9% ABV if it wasn’t right there on the label. It’s a very smooth and creamy stout with the sweetness from the honey hitting you so late, you have to take a second sip to make sure it wasn’t your imagination. If anyone saw the Discovery debut of Brewmasters on this beer, it is amazing that they nailed this beer on just the second try and in only about 5 weeks at that. Definitely one of the best beers I had the pleasure of reviewing on my journey. I can only think of 2 or 3 beers that I would rank equal to this one. It would also be in my most interesting category as well.

Not sure if you will have a chance to get one of these beers as it was a special brew, but if you see it, you must get one, or two, I really wish I had bought two. Well, cheers anyway beer friend!

FourBoysBrewPub!

Blackberry Witbier - Samuel Adams

Here we are again; another day another dollar; TGIF; Friday, I’m in love with you. Can’t think of any other cheesy Friday sayings but oh well, this is about beer not Friday right. I don’t think I have ever had a beer with such a strong smell as this week’s review. As soon as I opened the bottle and before I even began to pour it I could smell the explosion of tartness from the blackberries.

Blackberry Witbier – Samuel Adams

I’ve said it several times but I am a sucker for beers with fruit, spices, etc... added to them, add in the fact that this one is from Samuel Adams and you know you have yourself a good beer. Let’s review it anyway shall we. I was a little surprised that it appears like a normal wheat beer, the other berry beers always seem to have a hint of red or blue or purple in them, not this one, typical orange cloudy hue. Nice thin but tight head and the smell is very tart, your jaws almost tingle just smelling it. Unfortunately the taste doesn’t quit live up to the smell, comes across the palate very smooth and bland, no sharp bite from the blackberry that you almost crave just smelling the beer. Don’t get me wrong, it is a very satisfying beer and would go great on a warm spring day but I just expected so much more considering the amount of tartness you get just sniffing the beer.

Cheers fellow brew heads!

FourBoysBrewPub!

Road Dog - Flying Dog Brewery

Before we start with this week’s review, here is a little shout out to a fellow beer blogger who accomplished a pretty cool thing the other day, yep, he did review #365, awesome job Drew.


The brewer of this week’s review was probably my first introduction into the craft brewery world. I was always someone who liked trying different beers but that usually meant imports till I came across this brewer. I remember picking up their 12-pack mixed packs that would have 2-3 different beers included. That was way back before I had any clue about the many different styles of beer. I learned a lot from their beers as they always put a scale on their package that gave you the hoppyness and darkness of the different beers. I think I only liked 2-3 of their beers back then but I have grown to enjoy all of them now.

Road Dog – Flying Dog Brewery

Pours out pretty standard for a porter, very dark basically black. It has a nice thick but loose head that fades quickly but still leaves some lacing on the glass. Unlike a lot of porters that come off as creamy, this porter has a scratchy feel to it, almost dry as if you are actually eating some of the many types of malt they use. That’s not necessarily a bad thing as this is still a very good drinkable beer. No real detection of hops to speak of, but with the IBU at 31 and this being a porter I didn’t really expect any.

Now to the picture, I picked this beer for the name. I looked in my fridge (that is still broken by the way) and as soon as I saw the name, I knew it was the one for this week. Georgia plays Auburn in Auburn, AL tomorrow which makes them the “Road Dawgs”, see what I did there, lame yes I know but amuse me and laugh, and you will also notice a referee shirt wearing creature on the bottle so obviously they had football in mind with this label. So here’s to my Dawg fans out there hoping UGA makes it 5 in a row over the Tigers, or the War Eagles, or do they even know what their mascot is.

So grab yourself some cold ones for tomorrow and sit down at 3:30 PM eastern time and watch the South’s oldest rivalry, this is what Fall in the south is all about people. Cheers!

FourBoysBrewPub!

Sawtooth Ale

Hope everyone enjoyed their Halloween last weekend, I say weekend cause some people did the trick r treating on Saturday and some did it Sunday and others even did it both days (candy hogs). I wish I had this beer last week as I think the name fits in with the Halloween theme, but it was given to me on Saturday night so, oh well, better now than never right.

Sawtooth Ale – Left Hand Brewing Co.

It pours out a nice deep amber color but I must say I am disappointed in the head, almost none to speak of. I always wonder when this happens if the glass is not beer clean or the beer is too cold or if I poured it crappy or if the brewer screwed up and it just doesn’t produce a good head. I get a nice subtle scent of hops with maybe a touch of citrus coming through, nothing overbearing. The first sip is almost boring with the flavors melding almost too well cause nothing jumps out to forefront, but then just as to go to swallow those subtle citrus hops give you a nice flavor. I guess with a name like Sawtooth I was expecting a bit more kick, it’s nice but nothing to get excited about.

So the weekend is here again my beer friend so let’s all slow down and enjoy our favorite adult beverage cause Monday will be back with a vengeance. Cheers!

FourBoysBrewPub!

Yuengling Porter

Happy Halloween peeps, or is that just at Easter, ok, lame I know but I’m tired. And speaking of Halloween seems like everyone is getting offended these days, no more picking on the witches people, although they look to have some good brew. Maybe this week’s review won’t offend anyone out there cause I am very thrilled about this review, any time I find a Yuengling beer I haven’t tried, you can bet your $@% I’m gonna try it. Also, how convenient that it’s also a porter since I seem to be getting into those here lately.

Yuengling Porter - Yeah, they’re America’s oldest brewery and still American owned. Ahem, AB & Miller-Coors can’t say that now can they.

I really didn’t know what to expect with this beer though, I mean, I love Yuengling as an everyday beer but don’t really think of it as a brewer that varies from the mass produced “Premium” lagers that American breweries are known for. This porter however really does fit the bill of a true porter, it pours nice and dark with a thick creamy head. You can smell the roasted/burnt malts bursting through in the first scent, the first impression of the taste is that it is a little thin but that quickly goes away and you are left with a nice thick creamy mouthfeel that leaves a slight bitterness from the roasted, chocolate malts. This is a very good porter that even the “American Lager” crowd just might enjoy but is complex enough for the beer geek to respect. Very nice job Yuengling, glad I got me a sixer.

So, drive safe tomorrow, drive a little slower and make sure to be one the lookout cause there’s gonna be a lot of those little rascals running up and down the street asking for some candies. Just do like I do, sit on the front porch drinking a cold one and you don’t have to worry about driving too fast through the neighborhood. Cheers!

Oh yeah, almost forgot....GO DAWGS, Kick some Gator @$$ tomorrow.
FourBoysBrewPub!

Vanilla Java Porter - Atwater Block

Hello once again. Yep, you read the title correctly, Vanilla + Java + Porter, as you may have noticed; I’ve been bringing out the heavy dark beers lately. I have had this one for awhile, ever since my last java stout actually, which is what really got me interested in the stouts/porters of the coffee/mocha mold.

Vanilla Java Porter – Atwater Block Brewery

Well, as you should know, it is a porter so it is going to be black; it has an interesting head though, a very thick but loose one that dissipates fairly quickly. The smell is mostly of roasted/burnt malts, no sign of vanilla or java. The taste however is a totally different story, I immediately taste the sweetness of the vanilla extract. Very similar to the vanilla syrup Waffle House puts in their vanilla cola and in fact gives you the idea you might be drinking one but then comes the roasted/burnt malts that dominate the scent as it quickly reminds you that this is no cola. A very light mouthfeel for a porter, once again very reminiscent of a cola not a beer. Very drinkable not sure if I would seek this one out again though.

Weekend is here friend so pour yourself a cold one and enjoy the next two days even if you can’t be at one of these cool watering holes, (pun intended). Cheers!

FourBoysBrewPub!