Michigan Brewing Company's High Seas India Pale Ale

Pours a nice amber with a great thick, tan head. Looks like Rogue's Northwestern Ale, so I'm hoping it's going to be a good one.

Smells grassy, malty, not too sweet like many IPA's can be.

Nice. Solidly bitter, sharo and crisp like a pale with a big punch. Fades to a sweet-ish malt aftertaste.

Nice beer. Nothing too sexy, but very drinkable and clean.

Harpoon Brewery's Session 28: Glacier Harvest '09 Wet Hop

I find Harpoon to be a solid brewery, but nothing terribly sexy. Something like St. Arnold's. Good, but no real standouts when compared to the likes of Rogue, Great Divide, North Coast, and similar breweries. Hopefully one of their bigger beers will change that impression.

Pours clear and a bit weak compared to the Sierra Nevada wet hop series.

Smells about the same. Just a bit hollow.

And I guess paying more for a bomber isn't a guarantee that a beer is going to be better. Their regular offerings are far better than this one, which tastes like it looks and smells--weak for a wet hop in a limited and supposedly bolder series.

Brauerei Beck and Co.'s Beck's Dark

Well, I'm not sure why I bought this. I had never seen it before, and the notion of "Beck" and "dark" seemed so contrary that I was just plain intrigued.

Pours a deep coppery brown with a decent tan head that is small celled and goes quickly.

Smells like a German pilsner to me. It has that in-your-face skunk smell that I like about pilsners, with a hint of nut brown thrown in.

Smooth enough, certainly has more body that the standard Beck's, Carlson, or the like. Tastes like an adulturated pilsner. Not terrible, but oddly twangy and tastes like it's almost exclusively made of adjuncts.

Meh.

Weihenstephan and Doemens's 1809, Berliner Weisse

I've pretty much decided to only have one beer tonight, so this better be good. I'm iffy on Weihenstephan beers, but had never seen this in Texas so I grabbed it as a single bottle.

Pours a clear deep yellow with a huge fizzy white head and strong carbonation. Despite the light color, the bubbles rise fairly slowly, which is encouraging.

Smells like pure malt. Light, slightly sweet, with a hint of what seems to be a usual sharpness for German beers. Crisp.

Wow, that was unexpected. I was expecting something between a pilsner and a golden. But this is like sparkling apple cider, almost. Light and dry like a beer with quite a bit of wheat, without the off flavors of a Belgian style wheat. Tart, with a green apple sweetness and a slight alcohol taste very similar to champagne. After reading about it it seems that it's known for that, and was called the "champagne of the north" by Napoleon in 1809.

Interesting. Kind of like a lambic, or frambose, in a way. Glad I had it, but will probably not look for the style again.

Indian Wells Brewing Company's Mojave Red

Admittedly, I bought this because I like trying different stuff, and because I love this brewery. I have not been out searching for the elusive red lager, but this is one of few breweries that I'd buy one from. My guess: that it is exactly what it says it is. Nothing more, nothing less, and certainly nothing sexy.

Pours red enough, with moderate carbonation and a small, fizzy tan head that fades quickly.

Smells like a tart pale. Kind of on type, but also with a hint of rice.

Yep. Nothing sexy. Moderate bitterness with less malt than an ale, it's light and drinkable but that's about it. Better than a macro, nothing close to their other beers. Gets a bit card-boardy as it warms.

Nothing mysterious, just a red lager.

Goose Island Beer Company's 2009 Christmas Ale

Brown Ale? For a Christmas Seasonal? Admittedly, I have no idea if they brew this on a regular basis as a brown, but I'm all for a switch from the regular Christmas/winter warmer beers.

Pours coppery, shaded brown, with a huge tan head that sticks forever. Looks good, but not like a brown so far.

Wow. Hoppiest brown I've smelled since Palo Santo (which is not a %%$*&%*&*ing brown). Grassy hops are prevalent, with a malt backing that isn't too sweet.

Smooth. Goes down very nicely, but the first thing that grabs you is the grassy hops again. This feels and tastes like an IPA, and a good one at that. In fact, it's the best Goose Island beer I've had. It's just not a brown. It also gets very sweet as it warms, like an IPA. No nutty flavor, and it doesn't dry quickly like many browns either.

Don't let that stop you from buying it if you run across it though. It's a damn good beer.

Buzzards Bay Brewing Company's Black Lager

Well, these have been sitting around for a while and when I looked up the brewery online I discovered that the brewery has changed hands and all Buzzards Bay labels/beers have been discontinued. I guess the schwartz wasn't with them.

Pours a deep copper brown, almost opaque. Nice tan head for a lager.

Good malt smell, with no apparent hops. I hate to use "dark fruit" as a description, but that fits here. Kind of like a yeasty raisin. Slightly roasted flavor as well.

The fruit/sweetness is mostly gone in the taste. Slightly roasted, moderately bitter and roasted, with a clean feel.

I'm not a huge fan of this style, and of the ones that I've had I think I like this one the least.

Brazos Bend State Park

This place is kind of unique for me, but is still one dimensional. You can see gators in many places in SE Texas, but there are a ton of them here. And if you're a bird watcher (I'm not) this is also a hot spot for you.

But, like I mention, that's all it is. A series of trails around several ponds and a channel connecting them, fairly full of alligators.

You should probably go, especially if you have kids, but take bikes so you can get around and see the whole place easily. Walking would be fairly boring, and even the kids will get tired of alligator after alligator. And don't take the dogs. Several alligators wait at the edge of the water, facing land, and would most likely pounce on them. Yes, I'm serious.

There is an observatory here as well, but I'd say your time was better spent driving all the way out to the Davis Mountains to see the McDonald Observatory. Go here for a fairly close day of something different. Its main benefit is that it's close to home for me, so I don't watse too much time on the road. But again, take the kids and bikes and it's at least something different to do for half a day.

Ridgeway Brewing's Lump of Coal Dark Holiday Stout

Dark? We'll see about that. I'm hoping for a stout that's maybe somewhere close to an RIS, or at least bigger than most straight-up stouts (I'm looking at you, Guinness).

Nope. During the pour is looks like little more than a rauchbier. It's dark, but you can see right through it. It's opaque in the glass though. Thin light tan head that thins further to a collar even faster. Low carbonation is visible at the edges, helping the head evaporate.

Alcohol. That's the first thing I smell here. Once the head is completely gone that fades to a very vinous deep fruit smell, much like a porter.

Wow, it's like a merlot, without all of the vinegar. The alcohol bite, odd for a beer with only 8% ABV, makes up some of that difference though. So, maybe a strong burgundy? I'm a closeted wine drinker (hell, I can't even tell my friends I drink so many different beers), so I can stand to drink this, but it's a weird beer. It also has a strange feel to it like a flat Coke and has more of a twang than any bitterness. Roasted grain comes out next, mostly in the aftertaste after the wine and twang are gone.

I was thinking about buying Ridgeway's Bad Elf series of beers, but not any more. I'll also skip this one in the future.

Patillo's BBQ

So, a white man walks into a BBQ place in Beaumont...

Alright, admittedly I'm just checking to see if the Beer Brotha is reading. But, I was the only white guy around and to me that says I'm in for some good food. I circled past a couple of local BBQ places while in Beaumont today, and passed them up because they look a little too much like a chain or like Luther's. This place looked promising, so I'm glad I found it.

If you have to be in Beaumont, which I don't recommend, you should stop in here, which I do. Shoot yourself in the head for being in this God-forsaken town after you've eaten here, so at least you go out somewhat happy.

Also, if you're near a chemical plant, and smell something funny (I mean strong funny, not the usually funny smell of Beaumont), then the sirens all go off about a tenth of a second before every flare tower on the property starts shooting out 50' flames, get the the Hell out of Dodge.



Anyway, the beans are ranch style, but less than the usual in-your-face-ness that many have, which is a good thing. They're stewed for plenty of time and with plenty of pork--not fatty salt pork--which is nice. Slaw is better than some, but isn't much more than cabbage and mayo. It has something else in it, but not much. It's also got quite a bit of the thinner cabbage leaves in it, which makes it feel a bit mushy, but it's still fresh and good. The two-meat plate had a third side option, so I tried the rice jambalaya, which has a nice zip to it. So far, so good.

Interesting sauce. Heavily peppered, it also has a bit of a chili pepper zip to it. Clear cajun influence that is a nice take on a sauce. And that's a good thing, because the meat came smothered in it. It's neither molasses nor vinegar based, seeming instead to be a base of some sort since it had quite a bit of rendered fat in it. In hindsight, this seems to be te flavor for the beans as well.

The brisket was good. The smoke had to fight its way through the sauce, but it did. It was tender, but sliced a little too thinly for me. The pork ribs were less smoky, but for some reason also less affected by the sauce. I wish they had been left in the smoker a little longer so as to reduce the amount of fat on them. The rub is primarily finely ground pepper, but appears to be otherwise similar to the sauce. The chicken was very good. Because it had the skin on, you could take it off and have chicken with little or no sauce. It was well smoked and tender, just right.

The pecan pie was most likely commercial, and was just OK.

The only issue is that I thought maybe the ribs should have been smoked longer. They were just a little too fatty, although they were good. That and the thinly sliced brisket are really not terribly substantive criticisms, and although I do intend to try different Beaumont BBQ places, I definitely want to come back. I'd recommend this place to anyone, it's a slight spin toward the cajun, I guess because Beaumont is just a little too close to Louisiana for my taste. Maybe that's what the funny smell is...




Patillo's BBQ
610 N 11th St,
Beaumont, TX 77702
(409) 832-2572
Monday 10am-4pm
Tuesday-Friday 10am-8pm
Saturday 10am-6pm

Odell Brewing Company's 90 Shilling Ale

I lighter scotch ale billed as an amber? Should be interesting.

Pours rubyish amber with a nice light tan head and good carbonation.

Smells like an amber. Slightly sharp hoppy smell backed by malt, but nothing out of whack or overpowering.

Tastes a bit like a Scottish Ale. I guess I'm having a hard time describing why, but it tastes a bit more peaty, or oaky, than a standard amber. It has about the right amount of bitterness and malt, both of which are balanced and kind of indistinct, it just has a bit more complexity to it that I like.

Good beer. Bodes well for this brewery and the several others from it that are waiting for their turn in the fridge.

Samuel Smith's Winter Welcome Ale 2008-2009

Ran across last year's vintage of Winter Welcome, and couldn't resist seeing how it held up. It went well with my winter warmer binge anyway, and was an excuse to buy another Sam Smith beer. I have to go through the others, and look for more Stingo...

Pours almost a straight amber that's lighter than many warmers. Great light tan head that's as big as you want it to be, which gets pillowy before slowly receding. Fairly strong carbonation.

Despite not truly being a beer to be cellared, it seems to have held up well. Good carbonation is a good first sign, and a fairly floral smell is another. Very slightly bitter and malty, with a good balance. No obvious spicy smells though.

I like this beer, but it's more like a light pale than a warmer. That may be the first sign of how it's mellowed over the year. It's mildly bitter with a good malt backbone, neither or which is truly significant in flavor. But it's solid, and like most every Sam Smith beer is very good. It just has no winter warmer spice to it, is all, but like I said that's as likely to be because of the extra year it spent in the bottle as anything else.

Guess I'll have to go out and get this year's to see.

Sprecher Brewing Company's Winter Brew

Continuing with the winter warmer binge with this fire brewed (can you brew any other way?) lager. Lager? We'll see.

Nice. Darker than most warmers, it pours brown like a bock with reddish amber highlights and a nice tan head.

Smells bigger than many lagers too, it's got a solid malt smell while keeping the spicy smell that warmers need.

Huh. Bigger in body than many lagers. Smooth and slow in the feel, with not a lot of carbonation to help pick it up. That's okay, but different for the type is all. It's not as light as the usual ales, which is an interesting twist. Light bitterness and slightly peppery in the aftertaste, the taste is dominated by a nut-brown flavor.

Good beer, just different for a warmer that is an admittedly vague class of beers. This would be almost indistinguishable from some browns.

Boulevard Brewing Company's Nut Cracker Ale

I'm not too wild about another Boulevard beer, but it's one of many winter warmers I picked up on my latest beer haul, and I was able to buy it by the single, so no harm no foul if it isn't the best.

An unfiltered warmer. Interesting. Pours the appropriate reddish amber, with a nice tan head that gets pillowy before receding. The unfiltered appearance is nice.

Initially, the pour threw off a bit of a sharp hoppy smell, but it's much more tame once it's all in the glass. After the smell settles it's just straight=up malty. You have to really get in the glass to smell any specifics, and it is a bit bready when you do, but otherwise it just smells like many beers of the type. Nothing fancy, just beer.

Pretty zippy feel to it. The body is bigger than usual because it's unfiltered, but it has pretty good carbonation that makes it feel a little faster. It's also on the slightly high side of bitter for the style. Not overpowering, and not really unbalanced, but just tipping toward bitter. Not sure at what stage they stopped filtering, but it almost tastes wet hopped.

Pretty good beer, and one of the best, if not the best, Boulevard beer I've had.

Odell Brewing Company's Isolation Ale

I'm going to make the rounds of several winter seasonals over the next few days. I'll start here, and move up to the ones that I expect to be much better. Still, I have high hopes for this one, since it's one of my recent beer haul from out of state.

I'm going to call this one a winter warmer, although it says nothing as to style on the label or the website. If you're listening Odell, you should put that on there. Just because.

Pours a coppery amber, almost like a red. Nice but not impressive tan head and good carbonation.

Smells right for a warmer. Slightly spicy hops smell, with a hint of malt. Light overall, and instead of bitter the hops are more peppery than anything, like a warmer should be.

Nice. Still a little peppery, which gives it a good zip. No alcohol bite or hops flavor, which appear to be just bittering hops that linger just a bit in the aftertaste. Warmers are never really sexy, but when done well, like this one, they're light and drinkable but have good flavor to them. Nothing extreme, just a good beer.

Rogue Brewing Company's Chocolate Stout

If you have someone you're trying to introduce to good beer, but aren't quite sure which way to go, try this one.

Pours deep, opaque black with a big brown head that stays well with good carbonation.

Obvious chocolate smell. This is not the chocolate you get from roasting the barley a certain way, like Brooklyn's Black Chocolate Stout (which is also a very good beer). It tastes like sweeter chocolate, and has an obvious cocoa taste. It's not over the top though, like Young's Double Chocolate Stout (which is not a good beer), and strikes a good balance between the desire for a chocolate taste but still having some semblance of beer flavor to it. Young's is like drinking a chocolate cake. Brooklyn's is like drinking beer with deep, unsweetened, dark chocolate. This is more like beer with a sweeter chocolate, but still beer. No discernible hops flavor, but the bitterness comes out a bit in the aftertaste. Great, smooth feel to it, because the cocoa gives the feel of lactose, without that cold lactose taste.

It makes a great dessert beer. It was the first of many I had, because I was starting someone off slowly on about a dozen beers that were strong ales or heavier, but I'll have to keep some around just in case I ever get to have more than beer for dessert.

Rogue Brewing Company's Double Dead Guy

I went on a beer sampling bender yesterday, at a friend's impromptu Christmas-Is-Later-This-Month party, and had about ten different beers. Most have been reviewed fairly recently, so I'm limiting this post to one of the two that wasn't.

Pours a hazy, deep amber with strong carbonation and a big (huge if you're not careful) light tan head that never fully fades.

Great hoppy smell. Grassy. But not too crazy, it's also backed up by a solid malt smell so it's very balanced.

Tastes as expected. Smooth, fairly big body to it. Not just higher in alcohol, which seems to be the sole aim of many strong ales, it has a bigger body and great feel to it. It's not overly hoppy or one dimensional, either, although it's not exactly the sexiest beer out there. But, if you want a fairly large beer without going to a stout or barleywine, or the slightly one-dimensional IPA, this is a good pick. Lots of taste in every category, without any one getting out of hand. The 9% ABV is a bonus, and you can't detect it at all in the taste.

Sierra Nevada Brewing Company's 13th Release Harvest Wet Hop Ale

I love it when the SN seasonals roll around at the end of the year, and had to grab this one. The douchebags at BeerAdvocate are calling this one a pale ale, but I guess they just haven't tried it yet or something. Not even Stone or Victory would try to pass this one off as one of their craptastic pales, as over-hopped as all of their beers are. It's every bit an IPA.

Pours a clear, bright copper color with decent carbonation and a huge head with tiny cells that never goes away.

Crisp, but still malty, smell. Lots of aromatics are thrown off by the huge head, adn you can smell the sharp grassy hops almost from across the room.

Great taste. Better (and much cheaper) than their Estate series, it has a big grassy hops punch right up front with a great feel and body. Smooth going down, with the carbonation keeping the big malt lighter than it would otherwise be. Not sweet or bready, the malt just lends to the feel more than anything else so as not to interfere with the hops, which keeps it crisp.

Boulevard Brewing Company's Boulevard Pilsner

Uhhhhhh, the label says "genuine American lager," but it's a pilsner. Clearly not an American beer. It doesn't say what style pils it is, but by smell alone I'm going with Czech. And the label is clearly a rip off of Budvar and Czechvar, with the Boulevard being a match of the low hanging fruit variety.

I haven't been terribly impressed by Boulevard beers to date, but like stouts, I have to buy every pils I see.

Pours a deep yellow with an amber tinge, and strong carbonation that keeps the fizzy white head alive.

Skunky smell, like a pils should have, and a Czech pils especially. That's a good thing, the way it's supposed to be.

Fairly malty for a Czech, but only in the feel. Still has that light, bitter, and skunky taste to it that this style needs. Like all pilsners, it's best cold. It gets a little oily as it warms, and the sharpness dulls a bit.

Best Boulevard beer I've ever had. Still not an American style though, and not near as good as Urquell, Czechvar or Budvar. I even like Czech Rebel better. But still, it's a decent one. I'm sure the BS label affected me more than it should have.

Yard's Brewing Company's Brawler Pugilist Style Ale

This is the second time I've had this beer. The first time I saw the label and I thought it was pretty cheezy. Pugilist ale? For when you want to go a few rounds? Ehh.

I'll tell you what though, this is a damn good beer.

Pours a deep copper color, much like some bocks. Great light tan head that slowly recedes.

Nice, complex and floral smell, backed by a neutral malt.

Feels like a bock too. Great flavor in a 4.2% beer. If a session beer can have this much taste, maybe even Oklahomans could brew good beer if they put their minds to it--probably not though, cow turds brewed by hayseeds won't taste good no matter how much alcohol is in it.

Slightly tart and malty both, this really does taste like many bocks. Fairly neutral hops profile, and malty but not sweet or bready. Still, although neutral in many ways that should not be mistaken for flavorless. Like many bocks it's not really sexy, but it's solid. Just more feel and flavor than most lighter beers.

Samuel Smith's Yorkshire Stingo

Probably the beer I'm most looking forward to in my last out-of-state beer haul is this one. Samuel Smith is my favorite all around brewery. Solid, straight-forward beers with great taste and feel. Never trying to be more, or push an envelope, or to claim that someone's not worthy, all of their beers are solidly in the middle of the style guidelines and conservative. Perfect outlook on brewing beer. I have no idea what a Stingo is, but I can't wait to find out.

Pours hazy amber, with a moderate head, but it almost never goes down. Moderate carbonation in tiny bubbles. Obviously bottle conditioned.

Definite oak barrel aged smell. Not as scotchy as most American oak aged beers that try to be bigger than they should, but it smells solid. Malty, slightly scotchy, but no real bitterness and no alcohol.

Damn. This is exactly what a barrel aged beer should be like. Smooth and oaky, with a rich feel and taste. Slightly sweet malt, moderate bitterness that has no independent flavor.

This is better than any Belgian to me. No weird off flavors, but every bit of the complexity that you would expect in one of those beers. Fantastic beer. Worth every penny of the $11.50 I paid for the bottle, and I will have to find more.

The Saint Louis Brewing Company's Schlafly Brand Coffee Stout

I've seen a few Schlafly beers pop up in Houston, but not this one or I think I would have bought it. Always up for a new stout.

Pours a brownish black. Fairly opaque, but as it pours it appears to have the average stout body to it. Nice head, even if it is a little on the light side color-wise.

No real coffee smell to it, instead it smells more like a milk stout. It has that sweetness that lactose can impart. If you try hard, you may be able to pick up a deep roasted bitterness that may come from coffee. It's faint though, at least while the beer is cold.

Nice. Surprising, even. It has a good solid body to it and a smoothness that again feels like a milk stout, but the lactose smell isn't present in the taste. The coffee really isn't either, but it's there a little bit. Fairly high level of bitterness for a stout. Nowhere close to Storm King, but quite a bit more than your average stout.

Very good beer. Hint of coffee. Just a hint. But nice feel and taste, even if it could do more in the coffee department.

Rogue Brewing Company's Yellow Snow IPA

I'm guessing that the TABC doesn't like the Yellow Snow part of this label, which is why we don't have it in Texas. Bastards. I showed them though, I flew all the way to California and found it. It's part of my beer haul that includes 52 beers that I've never had, or haven't had in Texas.

This one pours a hazy amber with a huge pillowy off white head.

Grassy smell. Somewhat malty, but the hops get you more than anything.

Big grassy bitterness that finishes clean and doesn't get off or cardboard-ish in the aftertaste. Malt in the feel, but not really in the taste. Not a whole lot to write about here. Reminds me a lot of Dead Guy Ale in that I love the brewery, and it's within the style guidelines, but it's just not terribly exciting.

Ballast Point Brewing Company's Wahoo Wheat Beer

Damn. Every time I see a beer I haven't had I buy it. I have to learn to read first. I saw 'wheat' and jumped on this one, then got it home and saw that it's a Belgian style wit. Damn.

Pours like an American wheat. Clear golden yellow with a fizzy white head that disappears quickly. Pours fast, looks zippy.

Smells zippier than most Belgians too. Less yeasty, plastic-y, chemical-y. So far so good. I'm hoping the folks at Ballast Point just don't know what a Belgian wit tastes like, and the label is wrong. It also says a wit is characterized by its cloudy appearance due to the yeast and unmalted oats, and this one is clear as a bell. So even if they know what a wit is, it's not one so far.

Huh. Tastes like apple juice. There's a hit of Belgian, but it's very subdued. The body feels like apple juice--like heavy water. Very low carbonation lends to that feel. It hazes up slightly as it warms, and the carbonation picks up in the feel. But that just makes it feel zippy, like an American wheat.

Eh. Okay beer, I guess. This one may not be too fresh, but that probably played to my particular taste. A newer one may be more Belgian-y.

Ceylon Brewery's Lion Stout

I took down my list of countries from which I've had beers because it seemed kind of whorish. I'm not trying to tick off a list, I just want to try a bunch of different beer from different places. But if I had the list up, I'd love to check off this beer from Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka? What the hell do they know about beer, you ask?

Well, they make a damn good stout.

Pours deep brown with reddish highlights. Dark. Closer to an RIS than a straight up stout, by appearance. Has a great brown head that gets rocky and develops large cells. Looks great, all around.

Subtle roasted smell, with equal parts but also subtle chocolate. Interesting.

Wow. Substantially heavier in body than I expected. Complex roasted grain and stronger chocolate. Slight alcohol bite, but it doesn't get in the way. Almost a lactose taste and feel, but primarily chocolate with moderate bitterness.

This is probably one of the most pleasant surprises I've ever had in a beer. I fully expected it to be just another crap beer from a crap country (don't tell the Tamil Tigers I said that), but this is one of the best stouts I've ever had. I kid you not. I will buy it every time I see it, and may well include it in my internet orders from now on.

Yard's Brewing Company's Philadelphia Pale Ale

Pours a clear yellow, with a great light tan head and strong carbonation.

Throws off a great smell. Equal parts malt, yeast, and slightly sharp hops, combine for a nice floral bread smell.

The hops aren't as clean in the taste as the smell, and they're nice and mild like a pale should be. Strong grainy malt that isn't bready, but more raw grain--like a strong Coors. In a good way. Finishes with a touch of grassy hops that fades quickly to a cardboardish (again, in a good way) bitterness.

Good beer. Highly drinkable and light, with good flavor in a light body. It would be good to have these folks available in Texas.

Sierra Nevada Brewing Company's 2009 Estate Brewer's Harvest Ale

Sweet, a new round of seasonals from Sierra Nevada. Always a must-buy.

This one pours amber with a copper tint, and as always a great tan head that sticks forever. Decent carbonation.

Malty. You can also smell the hops, but the malt is the most apparent.

Solid, bitter punch to it. The body is a little lighter than I expected, but it's still fairly big. It's an IPA, after all, not a barleywine. A little twangy to go with the bitterness, and fairly sweet malt. The hops are somewhere between grassy and piney. Bitterness lasts, and gets less sweet quickly.

I like it, but it's not their best seasonal. It's within the style but I wish it had more body.

Brooklyn Brewery's Black Chocolate Stout

Another stout? Sold. Always glad to see more pop up here and there, and of all the styles out there this one is one that I will buy no matter who makes it. It just so happens that Brooklyn puts out some pretty good beer, so this is a low risk one for me.

Pours a completely opaque black with brown highlights and a great, almost cascading, brown head that very slowly recedes.

Solid roasted, raw grain smell. Not bready, just grainy. No chocolate so far, which is good to me because if I want to drink a chocolate cake I'll go for a Young's Double Chocolate. And I don't want to drink a chocolate cake, so subtlety is key to me in a chocolate stout. I also prefer the ones that get the chocolate from the grain as opposed to actual chocolate. I don't know which type this is, but so far it's leaning toward the former.

Yep, strong roasted flavor and a surprising level of bitterness. Very little malt is apparent in anything but the feel. The chocolate definitely comes from the grain, or seems to, anyway, but there seems to be a milk stout feel, but not taste. It just has a bit of a silky feel to it that lactose can give. There's also a bit of an alcohol bite, which is surprising given how strong the other flavors are.

You know, I like this and would choose it if I was out and there was a fairly limited selection of beers, but I much prefer a straight up stout or a non-chocolate variety. Well, I don't know about 'much,' but I do prefer them. The roasted flavor is just a tad twangy and too roasted for the type, to me. But, it is better than Young's, which I will forsake forever.

Very good beer. Any criticism above is just relative to my favorites, not other beer as a whole and shouldn't really be taken as a criticism, just a comparison with my favorites. Think of it like a hot soccer mom next door. You want her, but not as much as the hot coworker who wears the tight skirts and has big ol' fake boobs.

Indian Wells Brewing Company's Blackout Stout

Sweet. I have loved everything by Indian Wells so far. A Bock with over 10% ABV that's so smooth you can barely taste the alcohol? Who wouldn't love that? Every other beer of their that I've had since the first bock has been almost as good, so I'm looking forward to this one.

Pours inky black with a smallish dark tan head that fades pretty quickly. Admittedly, I wanted to try this one as soon as possible so I quick-chilled it by sticking it in the ice maker, so I bet the head would normally be bigger.

Moves slower than a standard stout, and is darker. not as substantial as an RIS, but more than the usual. Smells deep and smooth, a tad grainy and roasted. Not strong like an RIS, just steady.

Excellent taste. Straight stouts aren't too sexy, but this one is more substantial in every category without getting overly roasted like Ted Fidy, or overly hoppy like Storm King. Solid and even roasted malt, with decent bitterness without going overboard. The bitterness is indistinct--it's not grassy or piney or floral, it just is.

One of my favorite stouts. Substantial, without all the crazy that others try to introduce in an attempt to stand out. Like every Indian Wells beer so far, it's one of the best in the style. Although their IPA didn't age too well, their bock did and I bet this one will too. If they last that long, anyway.

Cape Ann Brewing Company's Kolsch Style Ale

This one should be interesting. I love this style, but remember not being too excited about this one. I remember it being a bit oily, too hoppy, and maybe a little heavy for the style. Let's see how the months have treated it.

Pours a deeper yellow than most kolschs, with decent carbonation that rises slowly. Good off white head that fades fast.

Smells sweet. Too malty for a kolsch, if you ask me. The time has attenuated the bitterness, but it's still a bit heavy and oily for me. Almost like a German pilsner that is too warm. Not really hoppy as much as it is twangy, it just seems a bit weird. Combined with the sweetness, it seems a bit like the sweet side of a citrus sweet tart.

Meh. Glad it's gone.

Florida Beer Company's Hurricane Reef Pale Ale

I hate cleaning out the cellar and seeing a beer that I just know I don't want to drink.

Pours a very clear light amber, with a nice tan head and decent, if slow, carbonation. Maybe the slowness means it has a decent body to it. We'll see.

Smells sweet and light, with a hint of yeast. Tastes light as well, and sweet, until the bitterness turns a bit cardboard-ish. Very mildly bitter, for a pale. After a couple of larger sips (to try to get rid of it), it tastes a bit like a stronger Budweiser, but sweeter.

I remember setting this one aside and not remembering of it was one that I should give away. I have several friends that I give mixed sixers made of beers that I wasn't terribly impressed by, and this should have been one of them.

Lancaster Brewing Company's Milk Stout

Milk stout is one of the weirdest beer categories out there, if you ask me. I can almost understand how smoked beers came about, in an accident while roasting the grain. I can see fruit beers, since people have been shoving fruit in things for centuries (no Richard Geere jokes please). And other styles like IPA or RIS, or old ales, were all borne of necessity or traditions--some intentionally, some not. But who in the hell puts milk in beer? and nowadays it's lactose, not straight up milk, but still. And because this is one that has been cellared (kitchen cabineted just doesn't sound right) for about a year that I'm cleaning out, it should be that much more interesting.

Pours inky and black. Not as slow as an RIS, but every bit as dark. Great dark tan head as well, that fades but not too quickly.

Smells grainier than it used to. Still has that residual sweetness from the lactose, but not as strong.

Tastes just like it smells. Still grainier than it used to be, although you can still taste the lactose. I actually like this one better now. It never was as sweet as a Young's Double Chocolate, thank God, but over time the sweetness has subsided a bit and the other stout flavors have stayed. Because the lactose adds to the body, it actually feels like a heavy stout, leaning closer to an RIS than some plain stouts. It doesn't have near the grain bill, but it is bigger than most stouts.

It's not intended to cellar, but it handles it very well.

Indian Wells Brewing Company's Amnesia IPA

I'm cleaning out the beer cellar from all of the random leftovers from Spring and Summer, and ran across this one way in the back. It's been sitting for almost a year, and while not a barleywine or otherwise intended for cellaring, I remember this one as big enough to take it.

Pours an orangish amber with a neon-like glow. Huge tan head that gets pillowy, then rocky, and never really goes away.

You can smell this one without getting near the glass. I hope the head isn't throwing off all the taste, but from what I know of this beer it isn't. It is, however, throwing off a huge crisp, hoppy smell that has a hint of orange citrus to it in addition to the sweet malt and bitter hops.

It has certainly mellowed a bit over the last year, but it still packs a great bitter punch. It's not as crisp as I remember it being, but it's still well within the type for an IPA. It finishes fairly dull, probably because it's a bit older than it's supposed to be.

It's one of my all-time favorite IPA's, and I'll get it again, I just won't leave any soldiers behind like this one.

Shipyard Brewing Company's Tremont Mr. Oktoberfest Seasonal Ale

Pours a nice, coppery amber with a great light tan head and decent carbonation. Nice malty, slightly spicy and zippy smell.

It has a decent, sharp bitterness that is on the more bitter end of Oktoberfests, but still very good. Medium to light body that is very smooth and keeps it very drinkable.

Not a bad beer, but in general just kind of there. It's more because the style is kind of mediocre in general, I guess. It's on type, and nice, but unremarkable.

Ridgeway Brewing's IPA

My first Ridgeway beer that I know of. We'll see. I generally like British beers, so I'm hoping for the best.

Pours a clear yellowish amber with a neon-like glow that is usually indicative of a hollow taste. In a hoppy beer like an IPA, it can be more twangy than bitter.

Smells more yeasty than an IPA should. Plenty of sweet malt and a very floral hops smell, but it has a yeasty smell that a bottle conditioned beer can have when it doesn't have enough of its own flavor to stand up to the yeast.

Yeah, kind of hollow. Smooth body but kind of a soft drink feel and taste to it, like a bitter coke. It has the right amount of bitterness for an IPA, but finishes fast and disappears.

I'll probably try one or two more Ridgeway beers, but I'm guessing they're going to fall far short of Sam Smith.

Otter Creek Brewing Company's Stovepipe Porter

Well, it pours more like a starkbier than a porter. It's fairly brown, and you can see all the way through the glass, although not too easily. Nice light tan head, but it just looks kind of weak.

Surprisingly substantial smell though. Not very vinous, but instead more like a raw, grainy stout.

Much more of a stout than a porter, although it gets a bit more vinous and a touch peppery in the taste. Very smooth feel to it, almost soft. Moderate bitterness as well, and despite the tannins it seems as much like a stout because the raw grain taste persists.

Good beer. I love stouts, which I guess is why porters always fall short. I try to avoid the direct comparisons, but this one just seems closer to a stout, as opposed to Sierra Nevada's porter, which to me is dead center in the porter category.

Shipyard Brewing Company's Tremont Freedom Trail India Pale Ale

My first Shipyard beer. Heard a bit about the brewery, but just never ran across them.

Pours a clear, coppery amber with a very nice light tan head that gets pillowy before thinning. You can smell the hops from a couple of feet away. That may signal a loss of taste if it throws off everything it has, but we'll see. Good, grassy hops smell, but not really enough malt for an IPA.

Well, this one is hard to nail down. Big alcohol bite for some reason. Fair amount of bitterness, but again the malt seems lower than it should be. It's there in the body, but not the taste, for some reason. It should be a little sweeter, but instead it's more like a bitter. Not bitter as in hops, but bitter as in the style. The finish is hollow and a bit harsh.

Not a great start for my Shipyard experience. Not a bad beer, but a tad off type.

Otter Creek Brewing Company's Pale Ale

Alright, I'm evenly split on Otter Creek beers, so I'm equal parts looking forward to this and meh about it.

Pours a light amber, very clear, with an orange tint. Excellent light tan head. Pours very nicely and then gets pillowy before receding. Smells nice and grassy, with a strong floral scent as well. Fair amount of malt to it as well, not really bready but sweet in a way that can only be explained by a decent grain bill.

Nice. Solid bitterness gets you up front. Not heavy enough for an IPA, but definitely there. It's still grassy, but fades to just plain bitter (in a good way) as it warms. Malt is present, but weaker than the smell would indicate, but that's also a good thing. Any maltier and it would approach an IPA. Clean break in the aftertaste, and fairly light in body. Very good beer. I won't be giving the rest of these away.

Mythos Brewing's Mythos Hellenic Lager

When at a Greek restaurant, do as the Greeks do, right? Not anymore I won't.

No idea how this one pours, since I had it straight from the bottle. And I'm not sure what I was expecting, but I classify this one as a pilsner. But it may be within the type for a Euro Golden as well, it was difficult to pin it down. It had the moderate bitterness and sweet malt that both types have, but I got alternating hits of cardboard bitterness from a Golden and funk from a pilsner. More Czech than German, I think, because the malt wasn't as sweet as a German pils.

All in all a weird one. To be expected from a company that owns Carlsberg, I guess. I still say pilsner, but honestly, who knows.

Kreuz Market Update

Well, if you remember my last post on Kreuz Market, you know that I was there so early that they had no ribs for me. It was a let-down, but gave me an excuse to go back, as if I needed one.

So I made the trek back and had plenty of just about everything. And to my surprise, and disappointment, the rims were the least of their offerings. The brisket was better than I remembered, the pork chops were the same, and the beef shoulder was better. The ribs, though, were probably the least favorite ribs from anywhere in that area. Yes, even Black's BBQ beats them. They were too big, and far too fatty. Flavor was OK, but it was just a chore to eat them at times.

I'll go back most likely to give them a third shot at it, but all in all City Market is still the best of the bunch. I have yet to have them tell me they were out of anything, and everything was perfect. I wish they offered pork chops and beef shoulder, I'd never go anywhere else.

Rahr & Sons Brewing Company's Oktoberfest

I know it's fashionable to have beers as early in the season as possible, but it's still October, so I don't feel like I'm terribly late in having my first Oktoberfest. Even if we are three weeks deep in October and Saint Arnold's Christmas Ale is coming out any day now, which is entirely too early.

Wow, great copper color with a nice tan head that stays better than most lagers. Looks loosely filtered, with decent carbonation.

Nice malty but zippy smell. The noble hops give it a slightly spicy smell as well.

Good body for a lager. Caramel malts overpower any hops, which stay in the background. Tastes like a very strong Coors, but I don't mean that in a bad way. Fades to a hollow maltiness, but the aftertaste stays malty for quite a while. The hops are more twangy than bitter, which I think they could improve upon.

Good beer. On type, but could use a little more oomph in the body if you ask me. I like the mild hops and strong aftertaste. Probably my favorite Texas Oktoberfest. It drinks very well, and before you know it the glass is empty.

Real Ale Brewing Company's Coffee Porter

I'm always up for a porter, or something with coffee in it, or a Texas beer, so this one stopped me in my tracks. I've also often wished Real Ale made a few more than their standard beers, and I'm glad to see it's a big one.

Pours a viscous brownish black with a good tan head. Excellent pour for the type.

Great smell. Heavily vinous and obvious coffee flavors hit you. Solid roasted malt smell as well. So far, it's looking great.

Good initial feel to it, and the vinous taste follows the smell and is good for a porter. But the carbonation is a little too fast, I think, and it lightens the body too much. I like porters with a long, slow feel, and the carbonation makes this one too zippy. The coffee taste is subdued, but the roasted malt is still there.

All in all a very good beer, I just wish the body was a bit more consistent. The carbonation is the only thing that seems just a tad off to me. I don't know, I think I'll have to try a couple more to make sure.

Tallgrass Brewing Company's IPA

I have six mixed sixers in the beer cellar made up of beers that I didn't like that are ready to give away. It looks like I may be adding to that with this beer. And yes, I know I shouldn't be washing down these chocolate chip cookies with it, but my experience with this brewery is that it can't hurt.

Pours a clear amber with a tan head that's as big as you want it to be and decent carbonation.

Surprisingly, this one is throwing off a lot of hops in the smell. It's about two feet away from me on the end table (although upwind with the windows open), and I can clearly smell the sweet malt and grassy hops. It has a twangy smell to it that I hope goes away when I get closer. The twang seems like a bit of orange, but it's drowned out by a crisp grassy smell.

Well, the hops are within type, but the malt disappears. It leaves this feeling much more like a twangy pale than an IPA. The feel is just hollow, like Gatorade with a punch.

This one's kind of like a red head. Looks great. Tastes funny.

Sierra Nevada Brewing Company's Kellerweis Hefeweizen

I don’t want to dislike a Sierra Nevada beer, but this may be the first. I’m hating the European type wheats lately, but feel compelled to buy every beer from my favorite breweries. This complete lack of discretion is a bad combination at times, and I’m hoping this isn’t one of them.

Pours an unfiltered and cloudy golden. Great light tan head, decent carbonation. Huge pile of yeast on the bottom of the bottle.

Wow, I think only one other time in hundreds of beers have I ever said that a beer smelled like bananas. In fact, I fairly ridicule other reviewers who use it at the drop of a hat. But this one smells like a fruit basket. It’s a bit floral, but the banana smell was huge. Like the cheap cologne a gorilla would wear. As it warms it fades to the standard chemical smell that European wheats often have.

Cleaner than I thought. Most beers that other describe as having banana and cloves (it always seems to be both banana and cloves, never just bananas or cloves, for some reason) I describe as have a chemical, plastic, or burned plastic taste. The banana smell mellows in the taste. Still no cloves though. It doesn’t really have a chemical or plastic taste, but I’m just not wild about the style. Good bready aftertaste, but it’s still tinged with that odd European wheat taste.

Well, I won’t go so far as to say I don’t like it, or so far to say I do. It’s definitely my least favorite Sierra Nevada offering and will be giving away the other five, but I don’t regret having bought it. Too badly, anyway.

Tallgrass Brewing Company's Tallgrass Ale

Well, after about three weeks of vacation, to places where there is little or no beer, I'm back and for some reason decided to celebrate in style by reviewing a beer from.... Kansas. One named after grass.

I don't get it either. But it's cold, so here goes. I also haven't had a beer in a month, so it should be interesting to see if my taste buds have reset.

This one pours a loosely filtered coppery brown, with a decent tan head for a brown. It fades to a sheet, but even that's more than many browns, including some of my favorites.

The label says something about a toffee aroma, but I don't smell it. I do smell the standard slightly nutty smell, but also a yeasty sweet bread that leans slightly to the Belgian side.

Ooof. Much nuttier in the taste. It almost punches you, in fact. It fades to a weak yeasty bread similar to the smell, but I still don't taste any toffee. Slight wet tobacco taste to it.

It's big for a brown, especially an English brown. There's something a tad off about it though, like it's been filtered by that red tallgrass that grows in the Flint Hills or something. Leans further toward a Belgian (which I dislike) in both smell and taste as it gets warmer.

Eh, it's Kansas.

Schneider Weiss's Hefe-Weizen

An 8.2% ABV hefe? Interesting.

I'm sure I've had this one before, but don't remember it fully. I'm iffy on some of their beers, really like others, and I'm hoping for the best out of this one.

Pours a hazy, slightly amber yellow, with a great light tan head that gets pillowy and stays.

Man, quite an odd and sharp chemical smell being thrown off. It seemed hoppy at first, but as the head settled it changed more to a sharp alcohol and plastic smell. I know I'm going to regret saying this, but I get a hint of banana under it all, especially right after the pour. Damnit I hate admitting that. Although I use that descriptor sparingly (this makes the second beer ever that I've used it with), instead of with every other beer like some do.

Ugh. What an horrible band aid and chemical taste. The malty is under tehre, but I'm not taking another sip.

From now on, I just have to remember:

American wheat beers: Good.
European hefes: Bad.

Avery Brewing Company's The Kaiser Imperial Oktoberfest

Interesting. An Imperial Oktoberfest... lager. I'm intrigued by this one, actually. Most "imperials" piss me off.

Pours orangish and coppery like an Oktoberfest should, but heavier, with slower bubbles like an imperial would indicate. Good light tan head for a lager, it sticks for a while with decent (but relatively slowly rising) bubbles. Hope that's a good sign of a bigger grain bill.

Nice. Smells hoppy and spicy, but more peppery from the hops than spicy from any additions. Good malt backbone as well. Not bready or sweet, but there.

Damn, that's the heaviest lager I've ever felt. Great Oktoberfest flavor, malty, slightly hoppy, and peppery, with a body that for once earns the Imperial designation. The 9.73% ABV, almost unheard of for a lager, starts to bite as it warms, so drink it as cold as possible.

One of my favorite Avery beers, if not the best altogether.

Boulder Beer Company's Mojo India Pale Ale

I don't like anything that looks tie-dyed. Or the word 'mojo.' But, I'll try to be nice anyway.

Pours a strange yellowish orange, heavy on the yellow, with a soft drink level of carbonation that just ain't right. Very light tan head that is supported by the heavy carbonation.

Pretty good grassy smell though. Crisp, and slightly sweet.

Well, the initial bitter zap is decent, and the head has a great flavor, but the beer itself quickly hollows out and tastes like an orange soft drink.

Not real wild about this one, or this brewery.

You Sons of Bitches

You took all the DR8.

Left Hand Brewing Company's Warrior IPA

I'm not sure why I come back to Left Hand beers. I keep hoping for the best, I guess.

Pours an orangish=amber with a decent enough light tan head. Low, slow, carbonation.

Smells decent enough as well. Grassy hops with a sweet malty backbone. It's light for an IPA, but good.

Solid bitter hops hit, but it gets dull awful fast. The aftertaste then turns to a grainy, dark bread flavor. Kind of like a heavier Coors in the aftertaste.

I always associate bombers with big beers that are going to knock you out with hops, or a huge grain bill, or something. This one gives none of that. It has a pop, but it fades instantly and just feels, flat.

Boulder Beer Company's Flashback Anniversary Ale

I'm not going to go back and look, but I think I remember being miffed at this "India-style" brown ale bullshit.

Pours more coppery than a brown should. Good light tan head and decent carbonation.

The head throws off an alcohol bite as well as a hoppy bitterness, both of which settle into a more malty pale smell as it warms.

It's obvious why they chose the India-style crap, but it's way too bitter for a brown. Honestly, it reminds me of a weaker Bigfoot--an IPA strength version of it. And that's good enough to make this a decent beer, but the misnomer really pisses me off.

Decent beer, but I'm not really impressed by this brewery.

Cape Ann Brewing Company's Fisherman's Ale

Man, Kolsch is one of my favorite styles, I can't believe I let one get by me and sit for this long.

Pours a bit hazy for a Kolsch, and a smidge on the amber side of yellow. We'll see what that has to do with anything in a bit. Fizzy white head that goes away quickly, almost like a macro, which is just fine in this light style of beer.

Nice, slightly sweet malt smell, a bit like a white grape instead of bread, which is right on type. The tiniest twinge of hops is noticeable. Just barely grassy.

Huh. I'm trying to place the twang that it has. It's light with a fast body that is just right, but it's twangier than I think a Kolsch should be. I can't quite place it, but it's like a zingy white grape juice almost. The hops, which are a little higher than most Kolschs, provide the zing I guess, and the malt doesn't settle down to any noticeable grain taste until the aftertaste.

Not sure about this one. Kolsch is one style where less is more, and this one seems to go in several different directions that I don't really like.

Real Ale Brewing Company's Brewhouse Brown Ale

Alright, time to finish off this Real Ale sixer and resume cleaning out the spring and summer beers I've hoarded in my cellar. Well, my cabinet where I have to hide my beer so the wife's buddies don't think I'm an alcoholic.

Pours decently enough. I don't ever think I'll find an honest brown with a good head on it though. This one is almost non-existent, although the color is right on.

Bready, a little grainy, and a hint of nutty. All good qualities in a brown, as long as they're balanced, and so far they seem to be. No hops of note, also a good thing.

Well, I thik the body would be right on but it seems a little over carbonated. That makes it a little zippier than it should be. And makes me wonder why the head disappeared so fast if there's this much carbonation. Slight hops, but just a hint. Still nutty and grainy, all of which are appropriate. As it warms the body gets hollow, and the carbonation makes it feel almost like a Perrier, with that carbonated bite that an overly-carbonated drink has.

Smacks of their past carbonation issues, but is decent enough. Not the best of their beers by far.

Sierra Nevada Brewing Company's 2008 Celebration Ale

Alright, with all of the Sn beers lately, I decided to drag out last season's Celebration. Another AIPA sounded like a good thing.

Pours deeper than Anniversary, but still a deep amber. The color difference is probably due to the dry hopping, and it seems to be unfiltered, or at least loosely filtered. The head is a little smaller than it probably used to be because it's aging a little bit.

Good grassy smell. Not sweet this time, this one seems to lean more toward the hoppy side.

Yep, it's a little older and the hops has lost some of its initial pop. Solid bitterness despite that though, good body and decent malt backbone that isn't really grainy or bready, but keeps the body fairly solid. Many holiday ales are spiced in some way, but this one accomplishes what it wants with dry hopping. Slightly peppery and zippy, without anything added that shouldn't be there.

Great beer. Can't wait for this year's.

Real Ale Brewing Company's Rio Blanco Pale Ale

Nice. Pours a light amber with a very light, almost white, head. Pours nicely, looks right. No more consistency/distribution issues? Let's hope.

Grassy hops backed by a bready, slightly sweet malt. Still on track.

A little light in the body, but the hops have the right amount of punch. Well within the type, and a good beer. Not their best, but enough to keep me coming back to a Texas brewery.

Sierra Nevada Brewing Company's 2009 Anniversary Ale

At first glance, this one seems indistinguishable from their Harvest Ale from yesterday's post. I guess it's not quite as coppery, and maybe the head is a hair lighter. Still, it's a solid amber and the head, like the Harvest Ale, is as big as you want to pour it.

Also similar in the smell to Harvest, except if you stay with it you get a nice piney hops smell. Very sweet malt as well. Right on style for an AIPA, a specialty of this brewery.

Strong bitterness that has pine overtones, with a slight citrus zing that makes it crisp, but also has a substantial and more dull bitterness underneath. The malt is very subdued in the taste compared to the smell. The body is there, but the sweetness is taken over by the hops. I wouldn't say overpowered, but it's clearly a hop-forward IPA.

Very good beer. One of the best IPA's out there, it's plenty hoppy but knows its place below barley wines. Always glad to see this one roll through Houston.

Sierra Nevada Brewing Company's 2009 Southern Hemisphere Harvest Fresh Hop Ale

Sweet. One of the best things about being serious about the beers you buy is paying attention over the course of months or years and knowing that when certain new ones pop up you should be pretty damn excited about it. This one is no exception, and this is one of the ones that got me to try SN again years after having tried SNPA and not being impressed with it. Those were my unwashed days of drinking almost exclusively Jack Daniels though, and Shiner was the only "different" beer I knew. And SN is now one of my favorite breweries.

Pours a deep, almost coppery amber with a great pillowy light tan head that's as big as you want it to be when you pour. Bubbles rise fairly slowly, telling me it's got some body to it.

Crisp, zingy hops smell. Not too much though. The hops are a big part of why they brewed this beer, but they're not over the top. Good bready and sweet malt smell as well.

Great beer. Solid hops that are well balanced bt prominent. It's not the usual grassy bitterness that hits and fades. It's deeper, more substantial, than that. The bitterness hits you across the back of the tongue and stays there. It's a deeper bitterness, more dull but at the same time still very crisp. Has to be the fact that the hops are so newly picked.

At under 7% ABV, this is a perfect example of how a good brewery can make a great beer without pumping up the ABV so high that you can only drink one. They focus on the taste, without sacrificing or trying to artificially hide anything. Again, great beer. Just like I remember the '07 and '08 being.

Real Ale Brewing Company's Full Moon Pale Rye Ale

I'm always looking for an excuse to buy Texas beers, and the only regularly offered mixed sixer in the state gives me just that. More bang for the buck, and it's been a while since I bought this one. I'm hoping their past infection/carbonation issues (or whatever it was that was causing them to foam or be funky) are handled.

So far so good. Pours a hazy amber with a light tan head that fades faster than I'd like, but that's something else that Real Ale beer have always done.

Smells crisp and grassy. All the good characteristics that a pale and a rye should have. Decent bready malt backbone as well.

Nice. Solid bitterness grabs you up front, with a smooth body. It's light bodied, which is OK for a pale but expected in a rye. The bitterness has a particular twang that's good for a rye as well. Bitterness lingers in the aftertaste for just a bit before finishing clean.

Very good beer. Hope the consistency and QC is improved, and I'll come back to it more often.

Rahr and Sons Brewing Company's Rahr's Red

I wanted to do an update on this beer because this bottle is so much different from the one I reviewed about a month ago. Even though it came from the same six pack, and went into the same glass...

This one poured the way it should. It didn't foam, and didn't have large floaties in it. Medium amount of reddishness, it looks like a straight amber, but has a good tan head that gets pillowy and fades slowly with good carbonation.

Smells like a solid, hoppy amber. Slight malt to it, but a crisp bitterness that comes from the hops. More of a raw grain smell than bread in the malt.

Good bitterness up front, slightly less body than an amber which is what I have come to see as the characteristic that sets reds apart from ambers. Yes, I know they're different colors too, but I'm talking about substantive issues. Part of having a little less body means having a little less follow through in the taste. The malt doesn't help it stick around for long, and it fades quickly to a zippy, slightly bitter aftertaste.

I like you Rahr and Sons Brewery, but so help me God if your consistency doesn't pick up I will quit you.

Brock Wagner on PBS

I know nobody reads this, but in case you do and they recycle today's episode of Profile With Greg Scheinman, you should give it a look.

If you try to DRV it, it's episode 8 and is incorrectly listed as featuring Patrick Henry.

Dundee Brewing Company's Porter

Alright, porter is a simple style that shouldn't bee too hard to make. Please be a good beer. Please.

Looks light as it pours, but in the glass is opaque enough. Nice tan head, but it gets a little fizzy for a porter as it dissipates.

Roasted grain smell, with a hint of vinous tannins that is right for the style, even if it is a little light.

Probably the best Dundee beer I've had, it tastes stronger than I expected after searching for the smells that should be there. Good and malty, with fairly strong roasted flavor and a nice tannin taste that should be there. It's not the most robust porter, but it's fairly solid and a nice surprise after the series of beers that were in this mixed twelve pack.

Dundee Brewing Company's India Pale Ale

One of the last from my Dundee variety pack, and I'm hoping this one redeems the rest.

Pours a good amber color with a decent light tan head. Despite good carbonation, the head is gone pretty quickly, but stays at a sheet.

Smells very good. Solid sweet malt and grassy hops are fairly equal.

The bitterness hits you right up front, but then... nothing. It's very hollow in the taste, and the body is weaker than the malty smell would indicate. It fades quickly to taste like a more bitter Budweiser--and I mean that literally. It doesn't fade to a macro in general, this one tastes like a hoppy Bud.

I like Budweiser, but an IPA that finishes like one is just too weak.

Great Divide Brewing Company's Saint Bridget's Porter

One of my favorite breweries. Not one of my favorite porters.

Pours fairly light. Opaque once in the glass, it pours almost like a schwarzbier or a doppel bock. A little too transparent for a porter, if you ask me. Reddish highlights straight through the glass, instead of at the edges. Decent tan head for a porter, it stays a little longer than most.

Grainy, slightly vinous smell.

Roasted grain taste, with more grain and more tannins. Tastes very good, but it has a lackluster body that a porter shouldn't have an is unbelievably weak out of this brewery.

With a bigger grain bill this could be a much better beer. Great taste, but dragged down by the feel.

Diamond Bear Brewing Company's Paradise Porter

Alright, here goes with the fourth beer in what is probably the most disappointing BOTM club shipment since the one with three wits in it. It's a porter, so I'm hoping for the best. I don't get the baby blue and yellow label though. It's a porter, not bottled water. Well, I hope not, anyway.

Huh. Pours well. Opague and black with brown highlights, but not as opaque as a stout. Great tan to brown cascading head. That's a surprise. Decent carbonation that you can see up to about 1/4 inch into the glass.

Roasted and slightly sweet malt. I know it has no lactose in it, but it smells like that kind of sweetness.

Same roasted grain taste and a decent bitter pop. It's indistinct, with any particular characteristics drowned out by the roasted flavor. It still has that hint of sweetness too, and it still seems a bit like a milk stout.

Surprisingly good beer. I'll keep the other two of these, and give the six remaining beers from this run to someone else.

Florida Beer Company's Hurricane Reef Pale Ale

We'll see if this one is better than their Golden, which I drank all of but was non-plussed by.

Pours nicely. Good yellowish amber in color with a nice small-celled light tan head that stays nicely enough with fairly strong carbonation.

Good sweet bready malt smell with a slight hint of raw grain. No real hops to speak of.

Like the golden, it's too zippy in the body because it's too carbonated. Decent hops grassiness that's appropriate for a pale. It would have more body if it didn't feel so much like a soft drink. And that's my only complaint. It's appropriately hoppy, but lacks and real substance because it feels like a bitter ginger ale going down.

Too bad. The taste is right on, but rarely is a beer dragged down so clearly by the carbonation.

Diamond Bear Brewing Company's Presidential IPA

My first beer from Arkansas, and I'm guessing that it has something to do with Clinton since it's "presidential" and all. The American flag makes me want to send it back. I'm surprised there's not an eagle shedding a tear on there somewhere.

I'd rather hang up the flag and be done with it.

Pours a decent, coppery amber even if it does have a hollow neon clarity to it. Pretty good tan head that thins but never goes away.

Smells a bit musty. That's the first thought that came to mind. As the head dies the malt comes out and it smells like bread under a crisp floral smell.

Good pop to it. It's muddled a bit by what seems to be adjuncts, and for some reason it feels hugely carbonated and so it's a bit sharp in the feel. The bitterness is crisp though, and lingers well in the aftertaste. It mellows a bit and the taste clears up as it warms, and is much better after the carbonation dies down.

Pretty good beer from a no-name brewery. Too carbonated, but otherwise no real complaints.

Florida Beer Company's Key West Golden Lager

Another questionable delivery from one of my beer of the month clubs. I'm less than impressed with the label, and chose this one before the IPA from the same brewery because I'm usually less than impressed with this style and I'm hoping that if it's not very good I can wash the taste out with their IPA. I find myself already hoping their IPA is good.

It's also my first beer from Florida, and I'm not sure of that's a good or a bad thing.

Decent head for any lager, especially one this light. It pours the standard clear, oily looking yellow that the style should have, and the large head sticks pretty well. I expected it to be much fizzier. Moderate to low carbonation.

Smells sickly-sweet, with a bit of cardboard bitterness that like a pilsner comes more from the grain than any degree of hops. Except unlike a good pilsner, these are adjunct grains. So far, it smells like a sweeter macro. Maybe it because there's more malt, we'll see.

Yep. Like a Euro Golden, it's sweet and cheap tasting. A European version of an American Macro. There's a bit more malt than a rice-fueled macro, but it's not right, except for the style. The style isn't right, so that's not truly redeeming.

It's not awful, it's just a weak style. I wouldn't drink it even in Florida by choice, and much prefer Budweiser except I'd rather support a smaller brewery. So, if in Florida, I'll probably pick Yeungling, which I can't get here.

Saint Arnold Brewing Company's Brown Ale

This one always looks like an amber to me. It pours a coppery amber with a light tan head that stays fairly well and moderate carbonation.

Smells like it should though. Bready and slightly nutty, it's straightforward and simple.

Light bodied but smooth, this is a very good beer for times when you want something bigger than a macro but not hoppy or heavy. Light to moderate bitterness that isn't really distinctive and doesn't weigh it down, with a good malt backbone that stays bready but also manages to stay light in feel.

For a long time this was my favorite Saint Arnold offering, but I think it now regularly rotates between this, the amber and the wheat, depending on which one I'm drinking at the time. Today, this one is it.

Spoetzel Brewery's Shiner Bock

Almost a shame to review such an every day beer, but way back in high school this was "different." As with most Texas teenagers, I'm sure, it was the first non-macro beer I ever had, and I swear like most who had it back then that it's different now.

Pours a deep coppery brown with a fizzy tan head that's the hallmark of a fairly light bodied lager.

Shiner smell. You have to smell it to know it. It's like smelling a cold, fresh loaf of bread with a slight zing that's not really hops, but just the way a Shiner (and many of its variants) smells.

Same solid, bready malt in the taste. It's a maltier, heavier (but only slightly) version of an American macro. I swear to all that is holy that it used to be bigger and have more of that Shiner zing to it. It was just... more.

Still, a gas station favorite for summer time, and something that should be around at all times.

Samuel Smith's Oatmeal Stout

I'm tired of hit and miss beers, so I went for a twofer with a second Samuel Smith.

This one pours opaque and black, but not as thick or slow as their RIS. Amber highlights at the edges with a big tan head that looks like tan cotton.

Vinous smell like all Sam Smith stouts, but not as vinous as their porter. This one is more grainy than the rest though, and you can smell that the malt has oats in it.

Good, smooth body for a stout, aided by the oatmeal. Still a little vinous, but less than in the smell. Solid roasted malt with the bready oats still coming out fairly strong.

This is another beer that isn't in your face, isn't extreme, and isn't over the top in ABV. It's just a good, solid, representation of the style that I'll buy over and over again because it's just flat-out good. Sam Smith's does it right, and American brewers would do well to follow suit. No more pissing matches that make stouts that taste like a Starbucks with alcohol, just stouts that taste like stouts.

Samuel Smith's Russian Imperial Stout

When it comes to solid beers from a solid brewery, Sam Smith is damn near unbeatable. Some of my favorites like Great Divide, Anchor, and others are good, but none really have such an impressive line up of beers that are just the way they should be.

This one pours slow and black with a deep reddish-tan cascading head that stays.

Substantial bready smell. Not overly-roasted, or overly hoppy. It's not a beer that is intended to be in your face like many American RIS's, and that's OK for them because I like many of them. It's just solid. It doesn't have an enormous ABV, because it focuses on taste more than alcohol. I wish more "extreme" beers in the US took that stance.

Smooth body that goes down evenly and slowly, with a great roasted coffee flavor that's fairly vinous. There are a lot of similarities between this and their Taddy Porter, another of their solid beers. Moderate bitterness that is quickly covered by the vinous coffee flavor.

This was the first RIS I ever had, and I still judge all others by it. Great beer. I used to keep it around at all times, and have no idea why I got out of the habit.

Lagunitas Brewing Company's Ruben And The Jets

I bought this because many seasonals and one-time offerings are better than the standards from a brewery, and although Lagunitas is decent, their seasonals are the best of their offerings, in my opinion.

And then, holy crap I had to look it up to see what style it was. The bottle was silent on the style, and I picked it because the next beer in my line up is a Sam Smith's RIS so I figured I'd start light, but it doesn't look like that's going to happen. It pours a deep, clouded, opaque brown tinted toward black. It is virtually identical to how Dogfish Head's Palo Santo Maron pours (which is not a goddamn brown). So, imperial stout based on what I could find, which matches well with what I'm looking at. I just had no idea what to expect, so I had to make sure. Good tan head that stays, and decent carbonation based on what I can see at the edges. It has what looks to be the remnants of being wet-hopped, and as the carbonation dies down you can see the hops particulates just suspended. The heavier ones fall, but it's full of pieces from about 1/16th to 1/8th across. I don't think it's the yeast, because there's no residue at the bottom of the bottle. If you like crystal clear filtered beers, this one isn't for you.

Roasted grain seems to supply the apparent bitterness, with a shot of coffee and grain. Smells deep and slow.

Yep, it's an RIS, just a little more brown than usual. Big, slow, smooth body. The roasted grain is still hits first, followed closely by a solid bitterness and although it's a big beer and only 8.6% ABV, the alcohol stings a bit. That's a little less sophisticated than I'd expect for such a big beer, but nobody's perfect. A bit of raisin in the aftertaste, and although I hate raisins, this doesn't detract from it.

Very good beer. Glad I had it, and it was a pleasant surprise.

Lagunitas Brewwing Company's Lucky 13 Mondo Large Red Ale

Well, I get the horseshoe on the label, but why isn't the chick a red head? It would make a better pin up, too.

Pours a beautiful coppery red with a small-celled light tan head that stays and has decent carbonation.

Strong hops for a red, which is a bit odd. Very grassy and crisp.

Big body. Combined with the hops this would be at least an IPA from many breweries. Sure, it's red, but it's bigger than a red should probably be.

It's a good beer, don't get me wrong, it's just not a red.

Boston Brewing Company's Long Shot Cranberry Wit

Oh, man. Sweetheart, whoever you are, I am so sorry for what the artist did to your picture.

Other than that, this is the third in this year's Long Shot mixed pack. Hope it picks up.

Pours a hazy orangish yellow like a wit should, with a light tan head that is too big, telling me that it's probably throwing off a lot of the taste that should have stayed in the beer.

Smells like a maltier than normal wit. Slight yeasty but more bready that usual. No real cranberry smell to it, which may be a good thing because it is an indicator that they didn't go overboard in the fruit flavor, a mistake that most fruit beers make.

Well, it tastes more like a coors than anything. It has that hevaily adulturated malt flavor. The tartness of what may be the cranberry flavor seems to be what gives this beer the bitterness that it has. If it's from any degree of hops, it's way out of style for a wit. As it is, I guess it's not too bad because the tartness drowns out the plastic taste that most wits have.

Eh. Like most Sam Adams beers, it's just off. But that's OK with me in a wit, because it's just not my favorite style from the start. I felt compelled to try the Long Shot series, but I'm glad it's over until next year.

Otter Creek Brewing Company's Imperial India Pale Ale

I'm always suspicious of this style. Imperial IPA? Why not Barleywine? Is it just hoppier, but not maltier? We'll see.

Pours a deep, loosely filtered amber with a huge light tan head. It immediately throws off piney hops that you don't have to be anywhere near the glass to smell. So far so good.

An immediate bitterness hits across the back of the tongue, with a great body and smoothness due to the increased malt. Sweet, with a surprisingly clean finish.

Very good beer. Much improved over their RIS, so I have hope for this brewery. Other folks hype it up quite a bit, but until now I've been less than impressed. Hopefully they'll offer more of their beers in Houston in the future.

Rogue Brewing Company's Somer Oramge Honey Ale

Not sure who Somer is, but I'm guessing the label doesn't do her justice. Looking forward to a wheat from Rogue though, even if it does have the other junk in it. Hopefully it won't be as heavy as the hazelnut in their Hazelnut Brown.

Pours an unfiltered dark yellow with a huge white head. Stays longer than any head on a wheat beer I've seen.

Smells like a wheat, with that musty smell malted wheat can have. Slight citrus zing to it, but it's not identifiable as orange right now, probably because it's muted by the honey.

I like it. Immediately zippy like a wheat should be, probably aided by the orange. Good smoothness to it as well, with a clean finish that isn't as dry as most beers with honey in them. No real bitterness to speak of, but a twang that hits right up front and quickly fades.

Good beer. Another one I hope they keep around, at least on a seasonal basis. They did the additions just right, and you aren't swamped by orange and honey like other breweries might have done.

Rogue Brewing Company's Captain Sig's Northwestern Ale

Alright Captain Sig, save me from my Unibroue horror. Please, please, please be the first good beer I have today, even if you are a shameless marketing ploy. Glad they didn't pick one of the hillbilly captains from the show though.

Pours an unfiltered brown with red edges. Great tan head that develops large cells and stays. Great small as well. Hoppier than a straight pale, and more malty as well. Grassy hops come across as very clean.

This would be an IPA in any other bottle. Big body that matches the bitterness, which is still grassy and clean. Probably a little less malty than the IPA's with this level of hops though.

Like most of the Rogue offerings, this is a very good beer. Glad to see them roll out a new one, and I hope it stays.

Unibroue's Raftman

Alright, I saved what I hoped would be the best of the Unibroue variety pack for last. Let's see if they can screw up an amber.

Pours an unfiltered amber with a tan head. So far so good, although the head is probably too big.

Damnit. It has that Belgian yeast smell. Goddamnit. Smells more yeasty and like old fruit than malty and slightly hoppy, like an amber should.

I guess Unibroue doesn't understand that amber is a style, not just a color. Tastes like a weak trippel. With the same odd twangy aftertaste that the Noire had.

Lesson learned. No more Unibroue, ever.

Unibroue's Chambly Noire

A beer in honor of a French regiment? I hope it puts up a better fight than they do. Or at least isn't known for massacring a bunch of indians.

Head's too big. Yes, too big. Pours opaque black with amber edges and a big tan head that gets in the way. I pour into a glass that's twice as big as I need for a regular 12 oz. bottle, and I had to stop pouring. It fades, but it shouldn't have been that big from the start.

Smells decent, but I hope the head isn't throwing off all the flavor. Malty and a bit sweet, it smells like the schwarzbier I had yesterday but with that Belgian overly ripe fruit smell.

Yeah, it actually feels like a lager because of the over-carbonation, but tastes like a Belgian double. And as you know if you've read any of this blog, I'm not a Belgian fan. Nor am I a Unibroue fanboy. On top of that it has an odd twangy aftertaste that can't go away fast enough.

Glad it was a part of a mixed pack, so I didn't have to spend too much for it.

Ayinger's Ur-Weisse

Pours a cloudy and unfiltered deep orangish amber with an almost white head tat damn near cascades on a heavy pour. It gets rocky and sticks well.

Zippy smell. Almost like orange, but that ain't exactly in the purity law so it's a combination of the wheat malt and hops. It stays slightly citrusy and spicy as the head dies down.

Meh. I hate the funky, chemical, over-ripe smell that comes out as it warms and the head fades, and the taste is the same. Flat. Dull.

Damnit why can't Europeans do a straight-up wheat.

Kostrizer Schwarzbier

Great cascading head, really unusual for a lager. It settles to a huge, pillowy light tan head and stays for ever.

Good malty smell. Not much deeper than most Euro lagers, since it's supposed to be light in body despite the color. The head throws off some heavily floral scents.

Smooth body, but still light. Light lager taste, but a little more bold than most. Similar to something else I've had, I'm trying to place it. Slightly sweet, clean finish.

This beer easily lays waste to beers like Shiner 100 and other American schwarzbiers I've had, and gives me hope that the style is something to keep on trying.

Dundee Brewing Company's Pale Bock

Alright, it says "Pale Bock Lager," but duh, bocks are lagers. What the heck though, it was another one of the Dundee mixed 12-pack so we'll see how it goes.

Sure enough, it pours pretty pale. It's a deep yellow with an orange tinge and a pretty good light tan head. The head and the moderately slow rise of the good carbonation seems to belie the odd clarity of this beer.

Smells fairly malty, and slightly sweet. No hops.

Eh. It's like a bock was mixed with a cheap Euro golden lager. Lighter in feel and taste than any bock should be, with more adjuncts than anything by the taste. Odd bitterness that shouldn't be there, and then it's gone except for the wet cardboard bitterness.

The pale doesn't excuse the lack of just about everything a bock should be.

Dundee Brewing Company's Honey Brown

Another Dundee beer from a mixed 12-pack, a great way to try several beers without buying entire six packs. And so far, I've been pleasantly surprised by the beers from Dundee.

I'd expect a honey brown in a yellow label to be lighter than most browns, but not this much. It's a deep yellow-amber, and it's super clear. It has a crisp white head and strong carbonation as well, and so far looks nothing like a brown. It's a lager, but so is a bock, so it's not really an excuse for how light it is.

It has a crisp lager smell as well, like a heavier American macro than it should be.

Well, the brown sneaks out a bit in the taste, but barely. Still has the lager taste more than anything, and the honey isn't drying like in most beers but instead is probably what softens the lager feel a bit. A low bitterness fades quickly and everything but the honey is quickly gone.

Not bad, and kind of a decent beer. I'm just not real sure about brown lagers.

Spoetzel Brewery's Shiner Blonde

I've had a couple of these over the years, but largely don't remember much about it so I was glad to see it in the family pack.

It pours a clear, light yellow with a crisp white head and good carbonation. Smells more like a lighter pilsner than a blonde, since it has that slight funk to it. I envision a blonde as a light lager with fairly muted characteristics. Malty, but not distinctive in any serious category. This is closer to a pils.

Yep. Taste is very close to a pilsner. A German maltier one, I think. If not for having read the label, I would have put it in that category in a blind test. Good, crisp, and zippy, it has low bitterness and the pilsner taste that really shouldn't be in any other style. It fades to a malty bitterness when the light and sweet malt fades to what seems more like a grainy bitterness than a hoppy one. It doesn't have the Shiner taste that many of their variants have, which is a good thing.

I like it. But it's a pilsner.

Spoetzel Brewery's Shiner Blonde

I've had a couple of these over the years, but largely don't remember much about it so I was glad to see it in the family pack along with Kosmos Reserve.

It pours a clear, light yellow with a crisp white head and good carbonation. Smells more like a lighter pilsner than a blonde, since it has that slight funk to it. I envision a blonde as a light lager with fairly muted characteristics. Malty, but not distinctive in any serious category. This is closer to a pils.

Yep. Taste is very close to a pilsner. A German maltier one, I think. If not for having read the label, I would have put it in that category in a blind test. Good, crisp, and zippy, it has low bitterness and the pilsner taste that really shouldn't be in any other style. It fades to a malty bitterness when the light and sweet malt fades to what seems more like a grainy bitterness than a hoppy one. It doesn't have the Shiner taste that many of their variants have, which is a good thing.

I like it. But it's a pilsner.

Brew Dog Brewery's Paradox Whisky Cask Aged Stout

I am incapable of learning. I buy every new beer that comes across my face, but always regret buying the various types that I don't like very much. Still, I feel compelled.

In this case it's another oak aged stout. And true to form it pours well, but I already can't stand the smell. It's an opaque black with brown highlights and a decent tan head. Smells like whisky (no 'e') though, not beer. Smells smoother than some American variants though, so maybe Scottish whisky really is better than American whiskey. I know a few Scots who proclaim this, but I hope they're not readers. (Of course they're not.)

You know, the more you smell it the smoother and more complex than American beers it becomes. It's fairly obvious, in fact. Also unlike many of the brash American versions, the malt retains some of its characteristics and there's a good roasted malt flavor that comes out a few seconds after each sip. The whisky hits first, of course, but it fades to the roasted flavor, which lingers a bit and then it finished pretty clean for an oak aged stout.

I won't buy it again, but if I was asked to name my favorite oak aged beer, this would be it. Right after Oak Aged Yeti. Suck it, Scots.

A Note About Southern Star Brewery

Alright, I know I've been a little rough on Southern Star. I'm not too wild about Pine Belt (never was, but I liked their first batch better than any subsequent batch, no matter how much they claim there's no difference), and the blonde isn't my style. I have yet to try any other offering, and I'm hoping for the best.

But regardless of any of that, I wanted to point out to the one other person who may ever read this that they're a damn good group of folks.

This weekend they participated in a charity softball tournament for a five year old girl with an inoperable brain tumor. I don't know anything about the girl, but decided to play when the e-mail came across. The owners were there, as well as the usual suspects for the brewery, a couple of their chicks, some dude and his teenage son, and one or two other folks.

They suck ass at softball, but had a good time for a good cause and seemed to be a good group of people. You should make an effort to support them, and I know I will buy more of their beer as well.

Flying Dog Brewery's Kerberog Tripel

A Belgian tripel by Flying Dog. I'm expecting this to be a perfect storm of meh. You know I don't like Belgians too much, but I'm not sure if I've mentioned my lack of respect for Flying Dog, since I tried their beers before I began this blog but haven't had once since. That should tell you something, I guess. It was the Steadman art that got me to bite (pardon the pun), but it wasn't enough to keep me around. This came in one of my beer of the month club packages, so although I'm not wild about the brewery I have to admit I've never seen it and I'm glad to have a shot at it.

Pours deep yellow with a huge pillowy tan head, with good carbonation that's some of the slowest I've ever seen in a beer. The slow rise of the bubbles belies the clarity of this beer, and indicates that it may actually have some body despite what looks like more filtration than I've ever seen in a tripel.

Huh. Good, malty smell. Not the usual plastic or chemical smell that I'm used to in a tripel. It's malty, a bit floral. Difficult to tell if the floral smell comes from any amoutn of hops, or if it's a byproduct of the higher than average malt. Looks and smells like a heavier, maltier, golden ale.

It has an odd, hollow, cardboard bitterness that I notice more than anything right up front, which makes it taste like a stronger golden ale. Like adjuncts. Cheap. It fades quickly to an alcohol bite, and all of that malt disappears quickly. The bitter harshness just isn't right for the type.

I get three of each type of beer with my BOTM package from this club, and I will definitely be giving the other two of these away.

Avery Brewing Company's Mephistopheles Stout

Well, the Avery Fanboys (a group to which I do not belong), talk this beer up big time. We'll see, I hope it's as good as they say it is.

Someone over at Avery has religion issues. But if they were going to name this one something with their constant, if trying, religious theme, this would be a good one. The art is cheesy, the description dumb, but it looks great coming out of the bottle. This is Batch 4, brewed in Nov. 2008, and it has to be an RIS the way it pours. Black. Huge, cascading deep brown head that settles to a deep tan. A great start.

Great, raw, grainy smell. Not bready, more basic than that. I mean that in a good way. A hint of hops bitterness, maybe, but mostly just grainy. One of the best smelling stouts out there.

Heavily smooth body. Almost like milk. Not as in a milk stout, but in feel alone. The alcohol comes out for the first time, since it was almost completely masked in the smell. Hard to believe it's 15.92% ABV, it doesn't feel like it although there is a little alcohol bite. Still has the solid grain taste, but much more roasted in the taste than the smell.

This would be a phenomenal beer. Would be. If not for the high alcohol content. Not only does it mute the malt, but it plays with it in an odd way. Muddles it. As the beer warms it becomes much more scotch-like, like many oak aged beers, and I hate that. The alcohol muddles the flavor and quite honestly, ruins it after a while. And on top of everything else, you can't enjoy too many beers at this high ABV, whereas you could have several beers with just as much flavor with a reasonable ABV.

Another beer that presents itself as an extreme beer, but would be much better if it wasn't.

You're on the right track guys, just stop the pissing match and make a good beer.

Spaten-Franziskaner-Brau's Oktoberfest

Kinda old, I guess, to be had in August, but let's see how it does anyway.

Pours a clear copper with strong carbonation and a small-celled tan head that stays. Looks almost like a bock, but a bit shy of it.

Smells malty, and a bit spicy. Very slightly peppery. Almost a bit of pilsner in it.

Tastes follows the smell closely, but more of the pils funk than before. Very clean, yet lots of malt. Light hops, almost like the bitterness comes from the malt more than anything.

Good beer. Probably my favorite Spaten.

Boulder Beer Company's Flashback Anniversary Ale (30th)

This brewery has been OK for me in the past, but this "India-Style Brown Ale" bullshit is ridiculous.

It's an amber.

Pours a deep coppery amber with a small-celled off whit head that slowly fades and with good carbonation. Looks like an amber.

Good grassy hops smell, with plenty of sweet malt backbone. Smells like an amber.

For the first time, one single characteristic of a brown emerges. It has a slight nutty taste. But it almost seems like it's a product of the hops, not from any singularly distinct nut flavor or addition. It is also solidly hoppy with more malt backbone, again, it's more of an amber than anything. Maybe a mild IPA, but brown is the least of its characteristics.

I can see what they meant, but I despise the false style categories. Decent beer, not a brown.

Dundee Brewing Company's Pale Ale

I've had a Dundee beer before (Octoberfest, I think), and was less than impressed. This one came in a mixed pack though, and I prefer to buy what may be a middle of the road beer in mixed packs because it's cheaper than buying them a sixer at a time. This was a twelve pack of six different beers, so it's perfect for that.

Pours a good orange-ish amber with a good light tan, almost off white head that stays well due to good carbonation.

Good smell for an amber. Lots of grassy to floral hops and a nice malt underneath it. Smells like it has substance.

Pretty good. Same grassy to floral hops taste that follows from the smell. Average body for a pale, with a bit of a hollow twang that I wish wasn't there. It gets sweeter as it warms, but loses the twang.

It's about what I'd expect from Dundee. Not bad, but not anything to look for again.

Harpoon Brewery's Leviathan Imperial IPA

I've heard a lot about this beer, but couldn't find it in Texas. Finding any Harpoon beer was difficult, but this one was pretty much nowhere for me. So, I was glad to see it at Spec's today.

Pours a light amber with a large-celled tan head that sticks. The color and clarity are disappointing for an imperial IPA, but the big head that doesn't thin tells me there may be more to it than the rest of the appearance would indicate. Almost no carbonation, and what there is is very slow so there might be more body than the looks show.

Great grassy hops smell. definitely bigger than a standard pale or IPA, and it's clean. Not muddled, it's a crisp, bitter grassiness that fades a bit to reveal a slightly sweet malt.

Surprising. Aside from the head, it looks wimpy. But uber-filtration aside, this beer is a great example of the style and lives up to its hype. One of few beers that I can say that about. You get a solid bitter zap that is slightly grassy, a heavy feel to the body, and a sweet malt backbone to finish it off. Probably the most surprising part is that even as it warms, which brings out the sweetness in the malt a bit more, there is almost no hint of the 9.3% ABV that many beers would be absolutely unable to hide. Many imperial stouts with a huge roasted or coffee flavor can't hide the alcohol this well.

Great beer. I had one or two set aside to give to a buddy, but no more. I'm keeping them.

Harpoon Brewery's UFO Hefeweizen

Always look forward to a new wheat, even with the cheesy UnFiltered Offering half-ass acronym.

Pours hazy and yellow, with a huge white head that isn't too crisp because it's unfiltered. It develops huge cells before fading to a collar, with slow carbonation.

Light and zippy smell like a wheat should have. More yeasty than malty, due to the lack of filtration. So far, I'm looking forward to it.

A bit sweet, and it's not as zippy as I'd like because it's not filtered, but that adds to the body. Although I prefer zippy to body in a wheat, this is very good for an unfiltered, which would be expected to add to the body and slow the feel a bit. Very light bitterness that fades fast. Clean aftertaste, without being too dry.

Great summer beer. Probably my favorite Harpoon so far.

Unibroue's Blanche de Chambly

This is kind of the worst of both worlds for me--French-Canadian Unibroue, and a Belgian wit. But like the other recent Unibroue beers, it was part of a mixed pack that was cheaper to buy and try like that than to buy four packs or bombers of each separate beer.

Poured like Duvel, although I'm not sure it was supposed to. Good cloudy light yellow appearance with a huge off white head and strong carbonation. Looks right on type.

Smells on type too, with that odd plastic smell. I think this is like cilantro. A person is predisposed to hate it, and to me cilantro tastes like freezer burn. And wits smell like plastic.

You know, it's better than most wits. It has that light, airy, white grape flavor but a decent amount of malt as well. Almost no hops at all. I'll never reach for a wit when out, but I wouldn't mind of someone handed me one of these.

Jim's Krispy Fried Chicken

This is one of those non-BBQ institutions that you have to go to. Period.

I have a great story from when Anna Nicole Smith used to work here. Yes, I do. No, I'm not telling you. Think of it like Vegas. What happens in Anna Nicole, stays in Anna Nicole. Or something.

Anyway, this is one of two fried chicken places I'll go well out of my way for. They have huge pieces and you can get a box full for cheap, unlike the chains. Because there are always customers, the food rotates out fast, and they have great sides. I stay away from the corn, and the mashed potatoes are instant, but I kind of miss middle school and it reminds me of back then. The fried okra is perfect. Order a large, and tell them "yes, I know how big the large is," when they ask, even though you don't. You'll wish you had more of it if you didn't, it's their best side. Great rolls too. The chicken tenders are big, adn they have a spicy version that is nice and zippy. I like to stand at the window outside, but going inside is faster.

Say hi to everyone you see and hold the door open, even though most won't say anything back and generally won't thank you for opening the door. Mexia (pronounced "Muh-hay-uh, but "Muh-hay-er," by the locals, or if you're really country "Muh-hair"), is just that way. Small town without the small town charm, and they even tore out the traffic circle that was the only other good thing about the place. Come for the fried chicken, then get the hell out at the posted speed, because the place is also a notorious speed trap.




312 E Milam St
Mexia, TX 76667
(254) 562-5035

Rahr and Sons Brewing Company's Rahr's Red

I always try to buy a Texas beer when at the store, so I was glad to see this one come back. Rahr has solid beers, and I've liked every one of them except for their Summertime Wheat, which is too Belgian for me but otherwise I bet pretty good.

This one pours a moderate, coppery red. Too foamy. Unusual for one of their beers, and I hope it doesn't throw off all of the taste as the head recedes. Took several slow pours to empty the bottle. The pillowy tan head would have been just right otherwise.

Lots of large floaties, including one or two stuck to the side of the bottle. Combined with the heavy foam, it looks like this one is infected. I don't think this beer is bottle conditioned, and even if it is these are fairly large chunks. Damnit.

Good smell. Slightly spicier and more peppery than a straight up amber. Malt is lighter than I think it should be though.

This one is soapy (no, it's not my glass, which was clean), and I think I'm gonna' stop there. I've had this beer in the past and enjoyed it. Something's wrong with it, I think.

MO's BBQ

Too bad. I remember this place being much better than I'm about to describe, and I'll haev to go back to double check it.

MO's is a popular place locally, and for good reason. There's a dearth of good BBQ in a city the size of Houston. Unfortunately my visit started off with the slowest order taker on the planet, who just could not get my order right, which was no surprise by the time I got to place my order because I'd seen her butcher four or five others before I got there. she also told me they didn't do beef ribs, and never had, although I've had them there before. It's been a few years, but I remember them being the best beef ribs I'd ever had. Whatever, I'm here for food, not service.

I ordered two two-meat plates to go. I was hungry. I ordered ribs, brisket, chicken, pork loin, slaw, baked beans, and a huge baked potato. Alright, my eyes may have been bigger than my stomach.

MO's has always had the leanest brisket I have ever seen. That makes it drier, but if you've read my other posts you know I'm ok with that. It is also smoked for a shorter period of time, but for some reason always has a good smoke flavor to it compared to the light crust on the meat. The brisket was a little tougher than what I remembered, but still very good.

The chicken was an outright disappointment. Well cooked and tender but firm, it tased more like an overcooked turkey than a chicken and had little to no smopke flavor.

The ribs were tender, but also had little smoke flavor. They were also fairly lean, but hadn't been cooked long enough so the fat that was there was still fairly white and gelatinous. Meh. Longer in the smoker would have fixed every problem they had.

The pork loin was very lean and well done, but a bit tasteless. Again, more time in the cooker...

The sauce was too smoky, almost in an effort to cover up the lack of smoke in the meat. If you're used to better places where sauce is almost never even wanted, you see through that real quick.

Their slaw was very good. Light sauce (or whatever you call it on slaw), it's shredded with carrots and tastes almost nutty--probably due to what looks like poppy seeds. I'll have to remember not to take a drug test for a few days. Anyway, it's very good, not the soupy, glumpy, mayonnaise covered goo that many are.

The baked beans are some of my favorites anywhere. Slightly zingy with a ketchupy hint that doesn't detract a bit. They feel slowly cooked, and I can't think of a thing wrong with them.

Like I said, I know they can do better. Hell, I've had better there.