In beginning, we are going to sample out the first brew from North Peak Brewing. It is their Midwest Wet Hop IPA, which is a double or imperial IPA. North Peak Brewing was founded in 1997. They brew several different beer styles and use the classic beer style bottle. There is not much history on this brewery asides they are in a beer that use to be the old “Big Daylight Candy Factory.” Let us get into the beer.
It has a clear copper color with a constant white head on this India Pale Ale. The smell is a slight malty and citrus notes. The taste is heavy citrus notes. It is kind of drinkable beer.
Hoodoo Midwest Wet Hop IPA is the first of it’s kind. Brewed with fresh from the farm Michigan hops for exceptional flavor. Hoodoo is hops from start to finish with a little malt in the middle, just enough to keep Hoodoo from going Voodoo on you. Not to worry – pretty much nothing but hops.
Closing out, I have to say this is the best brew that North Peak Brewing makes. I love the hops and I am happy to see they are straight from the Michigan Hop Farms. This brew packs a nice little punch in this brew. There is a nice malty backbone to cut through and balance the hops. If you can find a bottle of this brew, you better pick it up since it is not all year-long brew. I recommend this brew. Go get some! Drink it! Enjoy it! Metal it! \m/
In this beer blog, we are going to sample out another brew, which is a limited release, from Speakeasy Brewery. The brew is their Butchertown Black Ale. If you read my earlier beer blog posts, you know the history of this brewery. If you have not, please, read these beer blog posts to get to know this great west coast brewery. Let us get into the beer.
It has a jet black color with a white constant head on this black ale. The smell slight chocolate with a heavy citrus notes. The taste has chocolate citrus notes with bitter hop aftertaste. It is kind of drinkable beer.
Closing out, this beer is something else. I really enjoy drinking this beer. This is a big boy beer for the experienced hop heads in the world. The hops shine nicely through the chocolate notes. They did a great job on the picking of the hops. I love the bitter aftertaste. They found a way to heavy and in your face but not making you run away from the beer. I am hoping they make their way to the Michigan Market, if not I will be making road trips back to Chicago. I am glad I am back in Michigan this is one of the breweries I will miss getting on a regular basis. I highly recommend this beer and their other brews. If you are in San Fran, you need to get by their brewpub. Go get some! Drink it! Enjoy it! Metal it! \m/
In this beer blog, we are going to sample out another brew from New Belgium Brewing. It is their 1554 Black Ale. If you read my earlier beer blog, you know the history of this brewery. If you have not, please, read those beer blog posts to get to know this brewery. Let us get into the beer.
It has a dark black clear with a constant white head on this black ale. The smell is a slightly chocolate with a nice crisp finish. The taste is a milky chocolate notes. It is pretty drinkable.
Born of a flood and centuries-old Belgian text, 1554 Enlightened Black Ale uses a lager yeast strain and dark chocolaty malts to redefine what dark beer can be. In 1997, a Fort Collins flood destroyed the original recipe our researcher, Phil Benstein, found in the library. So Phil and brewmaster, Peter Bouckaert, traveled to Belgium to retrieve this unique style lost to the ages. Their first challenge was deciphering antiquated script and outdated units of measurement, but trial and error (and many months of in-house sampling) culminated in 1554, a highly quaffable dark beer with a moderate body and mouthfeel.
Mouthfeel: Due to the lager yeast ferm at high temps and the chocolate and black malt- this beer starts and finishes dry yet the middle is round and malt rich. session!
Flavor: Starts bitter chocolate with bright acidity, roasty and toasty, sweetness to round it out sweet/spicy, rooty, peppery undertones, lingering fruit acidity,
Ending, I remember the first time I had this beer. I was not really too impressed when it hit the Chicago craft beer market. I guess my taste buds have grown or I found a new way of liking this brew. There is several different things going on in this brew. I love the chocolate, fruit, coffee, and slight toffee notes. There is a nice balance in this brew. I love how it is not overpowering. I love the crisp finish and it is pretty drinkable brew. There is not much to say about this beer. It is really good and I recommend you trying to this brew. Go get some! Drink it! Enjoy it! Metal it! \m/
In the beginning, we will sample out another brew from Blue Point. I am talking about the new beer style in the world of white IPA’s. It is their version of White IPA. If you read my earlier beer blog posts on their beers, you know the history of this brewery. If you have not, please, read those beer blog posts to get to know this great New York brewery. Let us get into the beer.
It has a clear golden color with a constant white head on the beer. The smell is heavy wheat notes. The taste is a slightly lemon with citrus and honey notes. It is pretty drinkable beer.
Remaining at the forefront of experimentation, the brewers at Blue Point have produced a white beer/IPA hybrid that is well on its way to creating a new style for the beer description books. Our White IPA is an unfiltered European-style white ale with a fresh American IPA finish. Brewed with malted and unmalted wheat and just the right amount of west coast hops, it’s fermented with German yeast to give it a perfectly balanced character with less bitterness than traditional IPAs.
Closing, I will have to say I am not a huge fan of this beer style in India Pale Ale world. I do not know who makes a better Wheat IPA or White IPA. I am up in the air between New Belgium Brewery’s new winter seasonal Accumulation White IPA and Blue Point Brewery White IPA, which is featured on this blog. I love the balance between the India Pale Ale style and the wheat ale style. Blue Point did a great job on this brew and I will be adding it to my line up of IPA’s in the future. I recommend you trying this beer. Let me know what you think about it. Go get some! Drink it! Enjoy it! Metal it! \m/
In this beer blog, we are going to get into another brew from Rochester Mills Beer Co. I am talking about their Cornerstone IPA. It is their flagship beer. If you read my earlier beer blog post on their Milkshake Stout, you know the history of this brewery. If you have not, please, read that beer blog post to get to know this brewery. Let us get into the beer.
It has a clear copper color with a semi white head on this India Pale Ale. The smell is mango notes. The taste is mango notes with nice malty backbone to cut through the hops. It is pretty drinkable beer.
This unfiltered amber ale is packed full of hop bitterness, flavor and aroma. IPA is the most bitter beer style and it is enjoyed by people we refer to as “hopheads.” We dry hop this beer with a combination of English and American hop varieties for a wonderfully aromatic finish.
In the end, I love this IPA from Rochester Mills Brewery. I love the hops from aroma and taste it gives off in the beer. It has a nice malty backbone that supports this India Pale Ale. This beer reminds me of something the beer drinker would get from Summit Saga, Maui Brewery IPA, and/or Epic IPA. It has a nice tropical notes. I love this IPA and I will be drinking this brew as much as Frankenmuth Batch 69 IPA. I highly recommend this brew. Go get some! Drink it! Enjoy it! Metal it! \m/
Starting a new tab, we are going to get into the new winter seasonal from New Belgium Brewing. I am talking about Accumulation White India Pale Ale. If you read my earlier beer blog post on their Pumpkick Ale, you know the history of this green and employee owned craft brewery. If you have not, please, read that beer blog post to get to know this brewery. Let us get into the beer.
It has a clear to slight cloudy strew like color with a white head on it. The smell is a citrus notes. The taste is slightly wheat that makes this beer smooth to creamy with citrus notes. It is pretty drinkable beer.
This winter, IBUs start accumulating like snow in Colorado with our new Accumulation White IPA. Brewing a white IPA was not only a way to salute the white beauty falling from the sky, but a direct revolt to the longstanding tradition of brewing dark beers for winter. At least that’s what our rebellious brewer Grady Hull likes to claim as he shovels in plenty of new hop varietals and a bit of wheat for a smooth mouthfeel. Stack up a few cases of Accumulation White IPA to keep your long nights glowing blizzard white.
Birthdate: October, 2013
Body: Medium-light body.
ABV: 6.2%
IBU: 70
Calories: 170
Hops: Target, Centennial, dry hopped with Mosaic and Amarillo
Malts: Pale, Wheat
Yeast: Ale Yeast for bright, fruity notes
Aroma: Strong hop aroma that displays all of our hop varieties: tropical fruits, bright citrus, spicy/herbal from the heavy dry hopping. This beer is a hoppy wonderland!
Mouthfeel: Resinous and slightly cloying from all those hop oils but finishes as clean and crisp as all of our seasonal family does and should.
Flavor: Big and bitter, just what this IPA ordered. Sweetness just barely dents its IBU armor. Nevertheless the addition of wheat really smooths out the rough bitter edge.
Visual: Cloudy haze, pale golden. Billows of white foam and gorgeous foam.
Closing out my tab, I have made it known that I really dislike wheat ales and mix wheat and IPA. I was like what the hell. I tried several white IPAs. I have to say they were really bad. I was really down on this new beer style. New Belgium came out with their new winter seasonal called Accumulation White India Pale Ale. I was a little nervous about this brew. I have to say I have a new thought pattern towards White India Pale Ale. There is a nice balance from the hops and wheat ale itself. It is creamy smooth and the wheat brings out the hops character. I can see this brew bring new beer drinkers into the craft beer world and IPA beer style. Even your normal hophead will like this brew. This is different beer style for the winter time. This beer should and will pop out to craft beer drinkers. I will hunt this beer down and I highly recommend this brew. Go get some! Drink it! Enjoy it! Metal it! \m/
In this Music Monday Blog, we are going to get into the latest studio record from Avenged Sevenfold. “Hail To The King” is their sixth studio record from this band. We are going to get into the history of this band and then the music. Let us get into the history.
History
The band was formed in 1999 at Huntington Beach, California. The founding members of this band are M. Shadows, Zacky Vengeance, The Rev, and Matt Wendt. M. Shadows came up with the band name from the Bible’s story Cain And Adel. Justin Sane replace Matt Wendt before they record their first record. Dameon Ash replace Justin Sane around 2001. Justin was checked into the hospital because of drinking too much cough syrup and try to commit suicide. The band recorded their first record, which was “Sounding The Seventh Trumpet” in 2001. Most of the members were around eighteen and still in high school. Johnny Christ replaced Dameon Ash and release their second record, which was “Walking The Fallen.” In 2004, the band after touring several times on the Vans Warped Tour signed with Warner Bros. Records. In 2005, the band released their third studio record and their first under a major label. The record was called “City Of Evil.” They played on Ozzfest in 2006 and also won Best New Artist at the MTV Music Awards. They returned to the Van’s Warped Tour. “City Of Evil” gave them a few hits on the modern rock charts. In 2007, the band released their fourth studio record, which was self-titled. Two years later, their drummer “The Rev” was found dead. At this time, band members in several interviews thought about disbanding and breaking up. However, Mike Portnoy, who was with Dream Theater at time and now with Winery Dogs, stepped up to record the drum tracks for “Nightmare,” the band and the music community loved the fact the music sounded like The Rev was playing drums. “Nightmare” was released in 2010 and it was their fifth record. Mike was not the replacement of “The Rev” and the band found a new drummer, who was Arin Ilejay. In 2013, the band release “Hail To The King,” which was the first record with Arin Ilejay on drums. Let us get into the music.
Track List:
Shepherd Of Fire
There is some sound effects of rain and a bell to start the song. The guitar comes in with the drums. This is pretty good beginning to the record and this song. The bass playing is pretty good. M Shadows has a nice melody and lyrics. I have to be honest. I kept on hearing how this record is supposed to be different from the rest of their records. To me, it sounds like all their old music. There is a nice guitar solo towards the middle of the song. Their new drummer has about the same drumming style as their old drummer. I love how they ended this song with a nice fade out.
Hail To The King
“Hail To The King” is the first single off this record and is the name of the record. The guitar solo at the beginning is like something off this first few records. The second guitar comes in but it is a little different. I love that guitar riff. The second guitar riff reminds me of something that Metallica would have written. I do not like the fact that the other guitar player is playing a guitar solo throughout this song. That is a little too much. I love the lyrics on this song. M Shadows has melody like something off Metallica’s Load and Re-Load. There is a extended guitar solo towards the back half off the song. I love the back up singing.
Doing Time
I love the music at the beginning of the song. I am really not a fan of M Shadows singing. Hello, you are not Axel Rose and please, stop thinking you are. I love the lyrics. I love the pace of this song. There is a pretty good guitar solo in the last-minute of the song.
This Means War
I love the guitar work at the beginning. I love how the drums and bass are playing at the beginning of the song. I love the sound effect on the nuclear bomb blowing up. The music is really good on this song. M Shadows has pretty good singing and lyrics. I just feel they are listening to way too much 1980’s and early 1990’s metal. They are starting to sound like a cheap version of those bands. There is a nice guitar solo towards the middle of the song. This is a really good song but I just feel this song is way too long.
Requiem
There is worship singing like church singing at the beginning. The music is pretty solid. I just feel lead singer’s singing is a little loss in the music. I just feel they are running apart. This is just a mess of music and white noise. It kind of came together just before the guitar solo. The guitar solo is pretty good in the mid-point of the song.
Crimson Day
There is some nice acoustic guitar work at the beginning of “Crimson Day.” I love the singing from M Shadows. I love the heavy guitar playing on the main part of the song. The acoustic guitar stays in the background. Mr. Shadows has put some thought behind these lyrics. This is a pretty solid song and by far the best one so far on this record. There is some nice guitar solos towards the end of the song.
Heretic
Here is some old school Avenged Sevenfold fade in guitar riffs at the beginning of the song. I am not a fan of the main part of the song from a music stand point. Mr. Shadows’ singing is not up to his standards. I love how they are using the keyboard in the background. I do not like how they shaped the music around his singing or how he is singing with the music. It does bend good. I love how they pushed the keyboard playing to the front in the back half of the song. There is a well placed and written guitar solo towards the end of the song.
Coming Home
The start of this song reminds me of something from Iron Maiden. The singing is something off Iron Maiden’s first two records with their original singer. The main part of the song is like themselves. The lyrics are good, however, I just feel they do not fit well on this song. There is a pretty good guitar solo half way through the song. I love how they build up the ending as it fades out. I love the double bass action at the end from the drummer.
Planets
I love the build up to the start of this song. The drumming and bass playing are insane. The guitar playing I believe are step down to the rest of the record. The singing is pretty solid with some below average lyrics. This song has loss me over the half way point of the song. I love the music but the singing and lyrics are making my mind wander in a bad way. There is an average guitar solo towards the end of the song.
Acid Rain
I love how they started the song with the music. Nice touch on the piano. I love the guitar solo over the top of the music. This is a pretty solid song to end this record. M Shadows has some good singing and nice lyrics. There is a pretty good guitar solo in the first quarter of the song. I love the sound effects of rain falling at the end of the song.
Original Line Up:
M. Shadows – Lead Singer, Acoustic Guitar, and Keyboards
Closing, I am happy for any band that gets back on the iron horse and makes new music after a death of band member or a key member leaving a band. I give them a ton of credit and I know how hard it might be to do that again without a brother. However, the member they loss in this band was a key song writer, they wanted to do something different but keep true their sound. I just feel this band has loss too much and they are living on their past success right now. I hope they find it soon because I do love their style. It took me half way through my radio DJ career to really love what this band was doing in the past. I am not saying this is a bad record because it is not. It is a solid record but for Avenged Sevenfold this is not up to their standards. The band came out before this release saying this record will be different from the rest of their music. I do agree to some point but it still sounds like their old music. I just feel the loss of their old drummer made them change their sound. I still recommend checking out his record and let me know what you think of it. Go get some! Drink it! Enjoy it! Metal it! \m/
In this beer blog, Cranker’s Brewery Professor IPA is the beer and brewery that we will be sampling out. I had a chance to try this beer at Buddy’s Pizza in Livonia, Michigan. I thought I would write my thoughts on this brew. There is not much history or information on this brewery. I know they are young and they are from Big Rapids, Michigan. There is not much history on this brewery. Let us get into the beer.
It is hard to see in this restaurant because of the lighting. It has a clear copper to light amber color with a white constant head. The smell is a citrus notes. The taste is carbonated citrus notes. The aftertaste is dry hop finish. It is kind of drinkable.
A West Coast style IPA, the Professor is golden and sports a large frothy white head. Hops leap out of the glass, citrus, apricot, and herbal notes define this brew. There is enough malty body to keep you coming back for more.
Closing, I saw this brew and I was pretty interested in this beer. I love my India Pale Ales. I have to say I was not really impressed this brew. It is not a bad beer but average brew. I will say this brewery did a better job with their India Pale Ale over a few Michigan craft breweries and around the country. This beer is better than Atwater Brewery Grand Circus IPA, New Holland Mad Hatter IPA, and Motor City IPA to name a few. I would have this beer again but not all the time. It would be once in a blue moon. I will be retrying this beer in the near future. I want to hear your thoughts on this brew. I will be searching out the rest of their beers. Go get some! Drink it! Enjoy it! Metal it! \m/
Starting a new tab, we are going to get into the fall seasonal from Three Floyds Brewing. It is their Munsterfest Lager. The beer is named after the city where their brewery. If you have not read my earlier beer blog posts on this brewery’s beers, you know the history of Three Floyds Brewing. If you have not and want to know about this brewery, please, read those beer blog posts. Let us get into the beer.
It has a hazel cooper color with a constant white head. There is no smell to the beer. The taste is a sweet malty notes with a sweet caramel aftertaste. It is pretty drinkable beer.
This Bavarian style Oktoberfest Bier is brewed with the finest german ingredients in accordance with the Reinheistgebot or German Purity Law. This malty and crisp lager is one of the few that remain true to the Fest Biers of old. “Es ist nicht normal.” September release.
Closing out a tab, as many of you know, I am not a huge fan of this brewery. However, I have been retrying and trying new brews to me from Three Floyds Brewery, I have grown to love this brewery. This brew is one of the few American version of the classic beer style. This brewery did a great job on it. This is a limited release and if you want to try it, I would go hunt it down pretty quickly. It comes out around the fall season. I recommend you trying this beer. Go get some! Drink it! Enjoy it! Metal it! \m/
Starting a new tab, we are going to get into another brew from one of my favorite craft brewery from Portland, Or. I am talking about Gigantic Brewing and their Hellion. If you read my earlier beer blog on this brewery, you know the history of this little brewpub. If you have not, please, read those beer blog posts to get to know this great craft brewery. Let us get into the beer.
It has a clear golden color with a constant white head on this brew. The smell is a sweet Belgian notes. It has a farmhouse smell notes. The taste is citrus notes of spices with a crisp dry hop finish. It is pretty drinkable beer.
Notes: Dry-hopped with Sorachi Ace and Simcoe = lemon, grapefruit and dill aromas. Complex aroma and flavor of ester and spice from a Belgian yeast strain.
Availability: July-October 2013 in Oregon, Washington, California, British Columbia, Alaska, Vermont and Chicago.
Closing out of the tab, this is a great beer and I really enjoyed drinking this brew. This is a well made beer and they brew this beer as close to the classic beer style. It is an American craft version of Duvel. I love Duvel and I found hints of this beer when I was drinking it. I can see many craft beer drinkers thinking this a great version of Duvel. I highly recommend you trying this brew. Go get some! Drink it! Enjoy it! Metal it! \m/
DJ Weiser 