three flyods

New Blog Boston Beer Company Samuel Adams Weihenstephan Infinium Ale

In this blog, we are going to dig into my first review on a joint journey between Samuel Adams (Boston Beer Company) and Weihenstephan Brewery. Both breweries have done this brew, which Infinium Ale, together for the last few years. If you read my earlier blog on Sam Adams beer then you know about this brewery, Sam Adams is a well known brewery so you might already know about them. Weihenstephan Brewery is new to me so let us get into the history of this brewery. There are documents saying this brewery was brewing beer back in 768, however, most people feel they were founded in 1040. To this day, they claim to be the oldest working brewery in the world. This beer that they did with the Boston Beer Company better be a really good beer with the rich history of this brewery. Speaking of which, let us sampling out this beer.

The carbonation is very heavy extreme as like all Belgian Style beers but it is controlled unlike most beers in this style. The beer color is light copper.  The smell is a slightly citrus with a spicy kick going on in the beer. The taste is very strong citrus with a ton of spices checking you in the boards throughout the beer drinking experience.  It is a very drinkable beer and next to nothing as far as the aftertaste.

Here is a description from the bottle and website (www.samueladams.com):

Our brewers worked for two years with the world’s oldest brewery, Germany’s Weihenstaphan to create this unique new beer style. A ground breaking brew, made with only the four traditional ingredients, malted barley, hops, water, and yeast, Infinium™ is a crisp champagne-like beer with fine bubbles and a fruity, spicy aroma. The crisp clean malt character and delicate fruit notes in this beer are complemented by a slight citrus flavor from dry hopping with Bavarian Noble Hops. Bottle conditioning adds another layer of complexity and light spice notes.

Here is their website and twitter addresses:

Website:

http://www.samueladams.com

http://www.weihenstephaner.de/

Twitter:

@samueladamsbeer

@weihenstephanfs

In closing, I really enjoyed drinking this beer. With the rich history from both breweries, this beer did not disappoint me one bit. The complex taste of the beer did not take away anything from the drinkablity of the beer. I would love to pick up another bottle to see how this beer will ages in a year. Go get some! Drink it! Enjoy it! Metal it! \m/

Cheers!

Bill DJ Weiser

Email: djweiser13@comcast.net

Twitter: @djweiser

New Blog Maui Brewery Coconut Porter

In this blog, we are going to talk about one of my favorite breweries and favorite porter.  Maui Brewery Coconut Porter is going to be feature in this blog.  Here is a little history from this brewery.  Maui Brewery was founded in 2005 by Garrett Marrero and Melanie Oxley.  All of their beers are packaged in cans to make it easy to take to the beaches of Hawaii.  They are one of the fastest growing companies and the only mirco-brewery on Hawaii Islands.  Yes Kona Brewery is on the island but that is own by Craft Beer Alliance and Budweiser has part ownership of it.  Let us get into this awesome beer.

This beer is black in the glass with no head. It has a very strong coconut smell to this beer from Hawaii.  This beer has a roasted chocolate to toffee taste with a nice refreshing coconut aftertaste to it. Shocking for the beer style, this beer is very drinkable.   This beer has a won Gold Award in 2006 Herb and Spice Beer at the World beer Cup and has won several other awards around the world.

Here is a description from the can:

Welcome to the microcanning revolution…. Cans eliminate light damage and reduce the risk of oxidation, keeping this craft brew fresher than in bottles!

Cans are lighter, chill quicker, and can be enjoyed on beaches and in sensitive environments, aluminum is the most recycled and most eco-friendly material.

Coconut porter is a fresh handcrafted robust porter brewed with six varieties of malted barley, hops and hand-toasted coconut

Here is their website and twitter addresses:

Website:  www.mauibreweryco.com

Twitter:  @mauibreweryco

In the end, I loved this beer when I visit this awesome brewery on the islands.  I brought back a case of their porter and IPA in my bag back to Chicago.  I am very happy to see I can order this awesome beer and rest of their beers online.  The shipping cost is as much as my beer order but it is worth it.  This is a very good beer and drinkable for the style.  This brewery is doing newer things everyday.  If you follow my blog, you know I wrote about their sour that they did with Jolly Pumpkin Brewery Company.  I am hoping to see this brewery in my local liquor store when they come to Chicago.  I hope that is really soon.  Thank you Maui Brewery Company for making some good beers.  Go get some! Drink it! Enjoy it! Metal it! \m/

Cheers!

Bill DJ Weiser

Email: djweiser13@comcast.net

Twitter: @djweiser

New Blog Flying Dog Cherry Sour Ale

While in DC for Savor, this is my last beer I had outside of Savor.  It was in basement of this bar where I had DC Brau Hell’s Bottom Stout.  I cannot remember the bar name.  Flying Dog had tap take over which is where a brewery switches all tap handles to their own beers.  The brewery puts some special beers on tap.  I had two beers at Savor from this brewery and I am a huge fan of this brewery.  Let us get to know the back story of this brewery.  Flying Dog Brewery was founded in 1990 by George Stranahan and Lydia McIntyre in Aspen, Colorado but they later moved to Denver, Colorado.  They moved to Maryland after they brought the Wild Goose beers and then sold it to the Logan Shaw Brewing Company.

This beer is a cloudy reddish color to it.  It does not really have a smell to the beer.  The taste is sweet carbonation cherry going on in it.  It was not drinkable and really bad. The marriage between the cherry and the sour was not happening in this beer.

Here is a website and twitter addresses:

Website:  www.flyingdogales.com

Twitter:  @flyingdog

Closing out my trip to DC for Savor, I really hate to say this about this brewery.  I have to say this beer was a huge disappointed from this brewery.  I love this brewery and I follow them for everything they do in the craft beer world.  I have to call it the way it is on this beer.  However, with that all said, I know there will be a group of beer drinkers out there that will love this beer.  Just because I said I do not like it that does not mean you will not like it.  I am really looking forward to seeing Cholocate IPA to hit the market and I trying their Oyster Stout.  This brewery is not afraid to push the limits in the beer world and I respect them for what they are doing in the craft beer world. Slayer the person wanted to see my thoughts on this beer. Go get some! Drink it! Enjoy it! Metal it! \m/

Cheers!

Bill DJ Weiser

Email: djweiser13@comcast.net

Twitter: @djweiser

New Blog DC Brau Brewery Hell’s Bottom Stout Ale

While in DC for Savor, I had this at the after party for Savor.  The owner was clearly a huge motorcycle fan because he had some classics throughout the bar.  This bar had a special beer menu for Savor and I saw this beer from DC Brau Brewery called Hell’s Bottom Stout Ale.  Here is a little back story of this brewery.  DC Brau Brewery was founded in 2011 and was the first brewery to package in DC city since 1956.  The founded is Brandon Skall and the Brewmaster is Jeff Hancock.  All their beers are packaged in cans which is a huge trend in Craft Beer World now.

This beer is black in the glass with not head to it. It has a nice chocolate smell. It has a chocolate to dry taste to the beer.  The aftertaste is dry chocolate going on in it.   This beer is kind of drinkable for being a stout.  This beer is perfect for any seasons of the year.  There are not too many stouts a beer drinker can say that about it.

Here is a description from their website (www.dcbrau.com):

Named after one of DC’s most notorious neighborhoods, Hell’s Bottom. Where in the late 1800’s there was little money, whiskey was cheap and virtually no police force. Enter Hell’s Bottom Oatmeal Stout. Brewed with a healthy amount of flaked oats, roasted barley and both chocolate and black malts. Hell’s Bottom starts with a heavy roast character that will definitely wake up the pallet. Followed by a small kick of bitterness contributed by Northern Brewer hops. Lastly, the flaked oats contribute a smooth, cream-like mouthfeel that must be tasted to be understood. With a medium to light body this oatmeal stout is one that drinks easy in the upcoming spring/ summer season.

Here is their website and twitter addresses:

Website:  www.dcbrau.com

Twitter: @dcbrau

Coming to the end of the beer, I really enjoyed this beer.  I wish I had time to stop by their brewery to see it and try some more of their beers.  This is a very newer brewery and the future is bright by trying this beer and doing more research on them.  I hope to try some more of their beers in the near future.  I might just have to go back to DC just to visit this brewery.  I love how they put their beers in cans then the same boring ass brown bottle.  Cans protect the beer better then anything else that is out in the market.  Go get some! Drink it! Enjoy it! Metal it! \m/

Cheers!

Bill DJ Weiser

Email: djweiser13@comcast.net

Twitter: @djweiser

New Blog Savor 2012 Part Two (Beer Event)

Sury Brewery Smoked Lager

This beer is black in color with no head. It has a nice smoky chocolate smell. It has a nice smoky chocolate taste with a burn smoky aftertaste. It is not bad and pretty drinkable. I would say to try this beer.  Cheers!

Flying Dog Chocolate IPA

Shocking this beer is not dark in color which is refreshing to see any brewery do with the trend of black IPAs out there. It is yellow with a slight cloudy look to it in the glass.  It is very well balance for IPA. It is sweet then a slam of carbonation and a slight coco aftertaste. I really enjoy this beer. Very well done!  Cheers!

Flying Dog Wildeman Farmhouse IPA

This beer has the Belgian Farmhouse Saison look to it but this dog bites pretty hard in and out of the glass. It has a nice cloudy yellow look in the glass. You can smell the earthy farm smell from the beer. It is very drinkable which this style is suppose to be and keeping to the tradition. The aftertaste is ok but I could live for the beginning of this great beer. Go get some! Cheers!

Devil’s Backbone Brewery

Any brewery has the word Devil or Slayer better live up to the name. That old bastard will do some crazy on you.  This brewery does not disappoint. This BPA is light cloudy yellow with a sweet carbonation piney taste. The aftertaste is very interesting.  It comes with almost a chili punch to the beer. I love this brewery. Cheers!

Flying Fish Chestnut Brown Ale

It has a nice brown color to the beer. It has a marriage of nutty and ginger kicking around in the beer. The taste is something out of Belgian. It is very sweet and a ginger hunting in it this beer. It is a very well done beer. Cheers!

New Blog Savor Part One (Beer Event)

Swamp Head Black IPA

It is black in color in the glass. Chocolate smell is going on in the beer. Not over hopped and a ton of porter chocolate roasted taste going on. This beer is very drinkable.  I am disappointed with it. It is nothing like other black ipas. Cheers!

Surly Brewery Coffee Blender Ale

The beer in the glass is a light brown with a white head.  It has a nutty and that coffee smell going on. It is very smooth and taste. It has a nice slam of coffee aftertaste.  This is a very good beer. I love it!  Cheers!

Maui and Jolly Pumpkin Sobrehumano Palena’ole

This beer I am really excited to try. It is a cloudy yellow in the glass. It is really hard to see in the room. It doesn’t have a smell to it. It has a nice sweet sour cherry taste. The aftertaste is a longing dry sweet kick to the beer.  I really love sours and everything this brewery had done in the past.  This is an excite beer for the style. Cheers!

Green Flash West Coast IPA

Just like most IPAs, it had s nice copper tune to the beer. It has a nice circus smell to it but very light. It is very smooth and drinkable for a west coast IPA.  I have been wanting to try this beer and it did not disappoint me. Good IPA. Cheers!

Epic Brewing (Utah)

I was disappointed it was not the brewery down under but whatever I can not be mad.  This is free beer.  This beer is cloudy yellow in color.  It has s heavy peach smell for this fruity beer. It is very sweet peachy and sour in taste with a very peachy aftertaste. It is very drinkable for what it is for the style. It is not my beer in my pint glasses but I could see this sell in the market. Well done. Cheers!

New Blog Starr Hill Amber Ale

While in DC for Savor, I had this beer at the Big Board in DC.  I saw this beer at the bottom of their list and it jumped out at me.  I did not know the brewery nor the beer.  Starr Hill Brewery was founded in 1999 by Mark Thompson in the state of Virginia.  I love their tag line they use for their brewery, which is “The Gift of Great Beer.”  They brew several different beer styles and they all sounds really good.  They are award-winning brewery.  There are several beers that are retired and they even sounds good.  I found this quarto on their website and then I will get into the beer.

Here is a quarto that I love from Mark Thompson on their website (www.starrhill.com):

“It is no secret that our mission is The Gift of Great Beer.  Every culture in the world has a fermented, cereal grain beverage that people use to sit around and talk.  I’m a steward of the product that enhances this things we call life.” ~ Mark Thompson

This beer is amber in color. Smells like sweet sweating socks in the beer. The taste of the beer is carbonation malty going on in it. It is a little water but this beer is very drinkable.  Starr Hill Amber is a great beer drinking experience throughout the drinking experience.

Here is a description from their website (www.starrhill.com):

Irish Red Ale

Starr Hill Amber Ale is an award-winning Irish Red Ale. Brewed in the tradition of the great English ales, its rich honey color hints at its smooth, caramel flavoring. With a medium body and slightly sweet finish, this is an extremely drinkable brew that is characterized by rich malt taste and low bitterness.

This beer has won several awards and are the awards:

2001 Bronze Medal at Great American Beer Festival

2002 Bronze Medal at World Beer Cup

2005 Silver Medal at Great American Beer Festival

Here is their website and twitter address:

Website:  www.starrhill.com

Twitter:  @starrhill

Sad to look at an empty glass,  I really enjoyed this beer and it went awesome with my burger at the Big Board.  I love the drinkablity of this beer.  I really do not get into Amber Ales nor Irish Amber Ales but this is my first favorite Irish Amber Ale and Amber Ale.  Since I live in Chicago, I will be looking online to buy some to be shipped to my house.  Thank you Starr Hill Brewery for making a great Amber Ale that I really enjoyed.  Go get some! Drink it! Enjoy it! Metal it! \m/

Cheers!

Bill DJ Weiser

Email: djweiser13@comcast.net

Twitter: @djweiser

New Blog Savor in DC 2012 Day Two (Story)

We are heading for lunch at Big Board. This place has wallstreet board for beer. The more beer is sold the cheaper the beer is throughout the day. This place has really bad services but food sounds good. The food was really good. The burgers and fries were off the chart. I was really hoping Slayer would have ate all the fries.

See Starr Hill Amber Ale for the beer blog.

We went to a brewpub that I wanted to try after lunch. The brewpub was called Old Dominion. I will have have a serparete blog for this brewpub.

See Old Dominion for about the brewpub and their beers.

For dinner, we went to Rosa Mexicano. It was an upscale restaurant in the city. I believe Kevin and Lolia picked this place. had the red snapper. Wow it was awesome just of a ton of favor. It was a nice time. After dinner, we were off to Savor. Of course, you know that story and dance.

New Blog Brooklyn Brewery Sorachi Ace

While in DC for Savor, this beer is one of my favorite beers from Brooklyn Brewery, which is Sorachi Ace Ale.  I know for a fact that Kevin that was next to me when I order this beer is really looking forward to reading this blog.  I will not bore you with the history of this brewery since I already did it in my earlier blog called Brooklyn Brown Ale.  Let us get into the beer that I had in DC in a soulful restaurant.

This is really bright yellow in color.  There is really no smell to this beer maybe a slight circus to it. The taste of the beer is very sweet carbonation in it. This beer is very hard to describe it. It has a nice aftertaste to the beer and it keeps coming after you are done drinking the beer in a good way.  This beer is very drinkable for being in a 750ml bottle. However, I had this beer on draught this time around, it is worth the money in the bottle and draught.

Here is a description from their website (www.brooklynbrewery.com):

Most Brooklyn beers are made with a blend of hop varietals. As a chef does with spices, we look to get the best qualities of each hop and create a harmony of flavors and aromas. However, a few years ago, our brewmaster ran into a hop unique enough to deserve its own moment in the sun. A large Japanese brewery first developed the hop variety “Sorachi Ace” in 1988. A cross between the British “Brewer’s Gold” and the Czech “Saaz” varieties, it exhibited a quality that was unexpected – it smelled really lemony.

The unique flavor of Sorachi Ace was bypassed by the big brewers, but we thought it was pretty cool. So we made a special beer with it, and added the beer to our Brewmaster’s Reserve special draft beer program last year. Most Brewmaster’s Reserve beers are only available for a short time, and then they’re gone. But we liked this one so much, we decided to bring it back and give it the star treatment. Brooklyn Sorachi Ace is a classic saison, a cracklingly dry, hoppy unfiltered golden farmhouse ale, but made entirely with now-rare Sorachi Ace hops grown by a single farm in Washington. We ferment it with our special Belgian ale strain, and then add more Sorachi Ace hops post-fermentation. After the dry-hopping, the beer emerges with a bright spicy lemongrass / lemon zest aroma backed by a wonderfully clean malt flavor.

It tastes like sunshine in a glass, and that suits us just fine, especially with seafood dishes and fresh cheeses. It’s just the thing on nice summer days and beyond.

Here is their website and twitter addresses:

Website:  www.brooklynbrewery.com

Twitter:  @brooklynbrewery

Out of beer, the hop makes this beer what it is in the glass.  Brooklyn Brewery has a solid beer lineup and Sorachi Ace pushes them close to the top of all the craft breweries around the country.  This is a very well made beer and drinkable.  I am never really a fan of Belgian and Belgian style beers but I have really grown to love this style.  Sorachi Ace is one of my favorite beer from this style.  Get it before it is gone!  Drink it! Enjoy it! Metal it! \m/

Cheers!

Bill DJ Weiser

Email: djweiser13@comcast.net

Twitter: @djweiser

New Blog Upland Dragonfly India Pale Ale

While in DC for Savor, this beer I had at Church Key Bar and Grill in DC.  Lolita had this beer first and I wished I order this beer as my first one.  It does not matter because I had the chance to have this great beer.  The beer I am talking about is Upland Dragonfly Ale.  Upland Brewery was founded in 1997 by Marc Sattinger, Russ Levitt and Dean LaPlante in Bloomington, Indiana.

This beer is a copper in color with a little head on it. It is piney to earthy in smell. It is a smooth sweet circus carbonation in taste. This beer is very drinkable brew.

Here is a description from their website (www.uplandbeer.com):

India Pale Ale originated when the British Empire was at its height. British soldiers and civil servants were stationed all over the globe (including India), and regular ales could not survive the long journey by sea to reach them. The British solved this terrible dilemma by adding excessive amounts of hops to their beer–using the preservative properties of hops to increase the life of their beers.

Our Dragonfly India Pale Ale is true to this tradition, featuring seven hop additions to create a powerful hop profile. A solid malt base, however, tempers the bitter American hops, giving Dragonfly a balance not often found in this style. The end product is a well-balanced, malty beer with the crisp taste of hops and an exceptionally floral nose.

Here is their website and twitter address:

Website: www.uplandbeer.com

Twitter: @uplandbrewco

Empty beer glass, this is a very good beer.  I love drinking this beer.  It is very well made and balance for being an IPA.  This beer is very drinkable and sessional.  I just wished the Church Key Bar where I was at in DC had more beers from this brewery.  I will be hunting down more of their beers.  I will also be making a road trips to Indiana to visit the brewery, since, I live in the Chicago area.  If you live in the states where they sell their beers, I am jealous and you should try their beers.  Please let me know what you think about the beers.  Drink it! Enjoy it! Metal it! \m/

Cheers!

Bill DJ Weiser

Email: djweiser13@comcast.net

Twitter: @djweiser