Gordon Biersch Czech Style Pilsner

Happy 4th of July! Yeah, I know I’m a little late, but that’s when I drank this beer. At a great party hosted by my great friends (Hi Jim and Lina!), there were two coolers FULL of beer. I have such good taste in friends. Anyway, I reached into one of the cooler almost blindly, AND..realized I had had this beer before. The one after that as well……OK. On the THIRD try I pulled out this beer. Let’s pour it into a glass and try it out!

The Verdict:

Well the smell is very grainy and a little hoppy. The flavor is light and smooth. Malty, slightly hoppy. Very Refreshing, and perfect for a hot day. It’s not super flavorful, but that was fine with me, due to the heat, and the flavor that was there was pretty good.

What Have We Learned?

I’ve had a couple Gordon Biersch beers, and while none of them have blown me away, they haven’t been awful either. Kind of run of the mill, average beer, but drinkable. Which is, of course, the point of beer. So while I don’t actively seek out these beers, I definitely don’t mind finding one in my hand. Deliciously average. We will see about the other varieties they have. There’s quite a few of them…..

-Dex

Young’s Double Chocolate Stout

Being the chocoholic that I am, I’ve run into this beer before. You put the words “chocolate” and “stout” together and you KNOW I’m there. Today, however, I’m going to try this beer with a new perspective. Maybe I’ll determine what KIND of chocolate is in the beer. I hope it’s Ghiradelli….

The Verdict:

Well I open the beer, and right away I get a whiff of coffee. No chocolate. Then I put the glass to my lips and get some nice dark chocolate at the beginning. That’s what I was hoping for. Very nice. It then morphs into a dark roasted malt flavor, and smoothly sliding into a coffee finish. It starts a little bit sweet, and ends a little bit bitter. Nice balance, for an interesting and flavorful beer.

What Have We Learned?

Well, this is the first beer of the blog that I have had before, and now that I’ve really tasted it, and analyzed it, I like it even more. I hope that happens with all the beers I try for the first time for the second time. I love beers that change throughout the mouthful. It really helps keeps me interested more than a one dimensional beer does. I don’t know, maybe that’s my ADD kicking in. Yeah, that’s probably it.

-Dex

Speakeasy Big Daddy IPA

This is the first beer I tried at the Hop n Barley Beer Festival in Scott’s Valley. Man, that was a good time. Can’t wait for next year. They must have had about 25-30 breweries there, with free tastings after you paid the entrance fee. With so many options, how could I choose just one beer to review? Well my classmate in culinary school (Hi Joe!) who told me about the festival, suggested this beer, which is the lesser relative of the Double Daddy he had a while ago. Yes I know what you’re thinking. “ANOTHER IPA?!?!” Well, this is California….half the beers are IPAs.

The Verdict:

Well, it smells hoppy and malty, but not overly so. The flavor is nice and a lot smoother than I was anticipating. Not terribly bitter. Nice flavorful hops, while still leaving room for the grain and malt. Great balance. Not too over the top, not too in-your-face with the hops. Delicious. One more IPA I actually enjoyed. Sweet!

What Have We Learned?

I was expecting a typical West Coast IPA, a bitter hop-bomb that I would be glad to only have 6 fl. oz of. Luckily, I was wrong. This makes me tempted to try the Double Daddy, Double IPA. Hopefully it will have double the flavor as well as double the hops, and maintain that balance.

Tomorrow, a double. Not a double IPA, it’s a…..well, you’ll see.

-Dex

Lindeman’s Kriek Lambic

Yay! It’s time for another delicious lambic! At least, I hope it will be delicious. I admit, the fact that it says SOUR cherry frightens me slightly. I’m not sure what the Belgian’s definition of sour is. Or if I can handle it. Hold me….

The Verdict:

Wow, the color is a beautiful red…like a….candy apple. Aw man, it smells like cough syrup. Not a good start. Hm, the flavor has all the good qualities of cough syrup, bit with none of that ” good for you” taste. Just some nice fruity cherry flavor. It’s called SOUR cherry, but it’s only a little sour. It’s not super sweet either though, nice balance. It’s a little thick, but full of flavor. That color, though is really great. Red like….a……fire engine or something.

What Have We Learned?

Hmmm not sure how I felt about this one. On one hand, it was fruity. On the other hand, it was……fruity. Not bad to try once, but I don’t think I’m going to make it a regular thing. On the third hand (what, you don’t have three hands?), maybe I’ll drink this instead of cough syrup next time I’m sick. It tastes better, AND will get me drunk. No codeine in the lambic though. Hmmmm, maybe I could put codeine INTO the……..nononono. That would be silly. And probably kill me. I’m not going to do that. YOU try it.*

-Dex

*My inner lawyer is telling me to tell you NOT to do that. What’s that, inner lawyer? ::whisperwhisper:: Okok, I’ll tell them.

EVER.

Stone 10.10.10 Vertical Epic Ale

I’m not going to lie. I’ve been holding on to this beer for almost a full year, not wanting to drink it. Just waiting for a special occasion (like a blog), to come along. I have resisted an incredible siren’s song every time I open my fridge and it’s the first thing I see. It has been sitting there, tempting me, BEGGING me to drink it, and be without that bottle forevermore……Good thing I’ve got two! Let’s crack this bad boy OPEN!

The Verdict:

So the bottle says it is a Belgian style tripel brewed with chamomile flowers and the juice from 3 different wine grapes (Muscat, Gewurztawhoosits, and Sauv Blanc). and some other goodness. I have a feeling that there’s going to be a few wine characteristics in this beer. I open the bottle, and angels sing  I smell some citrus and malt; smells kinda like a tripel. Off to a good start. I can also smell the grape juice a little bit. The flavor is malty, citrusy and dry. Also alcohol-y. Woah. Hold everything. If I keep the beer on the front of my tongue, it tastes like a nice Belgian tripel. Malty, bright. When I knock it to the back of my tongue, it transforms into a Fruity Sauvignon Blanc (no, spellcheck, that one’s right). Wow, that’s crazy. In a good way. A bit more of the tripel came out later, probably when I got closer to the bottom, the yeast adding some nuttiness.

What Have We Learned?

I’m still trying to wrap my head around this beer. I’ve picked up wine notes in a beer before, but this just flat out turned into wine. I think that wine taste helped me not notice the alcohol, which is substantial at 9.5%. Looks like Stone is really going outside the box for these Epic Ales. Shifting their paradigm. Thinking outside the bun. I’m now kinda sad I didn’t get to try the 1.1.1 through 9.9.9, but you can bet I’ll be there for the 11.11.11 and 12.12.12. releases. You’ll hear about it. Can’t wait for it? Think how I feel.

-Dex

Ommegang Hennepin Belgian Blonde

I went out once again, with my culinary school peeps, to the restaurant that has over 100 beers on tap, to celebrate the fact that we are officially over half way to graduation! I look at the overwhelming beer menu and the server suggests this beer, as it was their beer of the week. I attempted to pronounce it, then just pointed to this beer on the menu. Just kidding. I didn’t even bother trying to pronounce it.

The Verdict:

The smell was a little citrusy. It doesn’t smell as strong as most Belgians I’ve had. Hm. Doesn’t taste as strong either. Flavor is pretty grainy with a little hops. A little citrus as well. A thin mouthfeel and a thin flavor. I liked the flavor, and wish there was a bit more. There was also a slight dryness to it (there’s those wine descriptors coming out in Belgians again). It did start to become a little more flavorful about half way through the glass. In the wine world, that would probably be called “opening up“. Or something.

What Have We Learned?

I wonder what it is about Belgians that makes me think “wine”? Hmmmm… My mindset? Maybe I’ll try to pick up wine descriptor in a stout. See if it’s all in my head. Or maybe there’s more to this wine/beer thing. Ill keep you updated as the story develops. For that, I’ll have to drink more beer. Sweet. Life’s good.

-Dex

Hermitage Hoptopia Double IPA

Time for the last of Hermitage’s “topia” beers. Kind of wistful, I know. I’ve enjoyed these beers. Waitaminit. This is an IPA! Not just an IPA at that, but a DOUBLE IPA (dun dun DUNNNNN!) Will there be a non-Stone IPA that I will actually completely enjoy? Story at 11. Just kidding. I won’t make you wait that long.

The Verdict:

Short answer: Yes. Long answer: I got a whiff of some enticing hops, some caramel and even some apple. Nice mix. Good start. OK. Wow. It took me three mouthfuls to figure out exactly what was going on in my mouth. It starts strong with alot of florality. Floralness. Flowers. (I really am just waging war against my spellchecker at this point.) Then I taste fruit, a little citrus, and some alcohol before some gentle hops come in to finish. A thick, rich mouthfeel. An extremely complex and flavorful beer.

What Have We Learned?

THIS is what more IPAs should strive to be like, I think. Not just bitter, palate killing hop-bombs, but use the hops as another layer of flavor, in addition to the ones that are already there. I didn’t mind the alcohol on this one actually. In fact, it barely came out at all. One of the things more beers should have is balance, no matter your main target flavor. Wow, starting to see a lot of similarities between cooking and beering. Hmmmm. Gonna keep an eye on that.

-Dex

Telegraph Stock Porter

Woah. BIG bottle. 750ml big. If I get it, it will be the biggest beer I’ve ever done on the blog! No mention of the alcohol content on the bottle. Crap, it’s probably like 600%. Oh well, sacrifices must be made for the greater good of beerkind. And the lesser good of my liver….

The Verdict:

Well the smell is that of coffee…and something else I can’t describe. Or want to. It doesn’t smell great, whatever it is. Unfortunately that smell shows up in the mouth as well. There isn’t much flavor to speak of, but what flavor did show up, was just bad. It only got worse the more I drank too. Ugh, I can’t get past four mouthfuls. This is going down the drain.

What Have We Learned?

I sincerely hope I got a bad bottle. It was a bottle from Batch 71. So if any of you guys got a bottle of this and had a similar experience, let me know. I’m tempted to call the company and ask if they had a bad batch that they know of. In all my years of beering (take that, spell check), I’ve never dumped a beer out before. That’s not exactly true. I DID dump one out before, but I opened the bottle and the beer was flat. Ew. However I’ve never dumped out a beer just because I didn’t like it. MAYBE I’ll try it again to see if it was a fluke. But it won’t be any time soon.

On a more positive note, I was at the Hop n Barley Beer Festival in Scott’s Valley yesterday, and man, it was a blast! Great food, great music, and of course, a TON of great beer. I cant wait to go next year. Also I’m planning on making a pilgrimage to the Portland Brewers Festival Up in Oregon later this month. I hope it’s as good as it was last year! (And that I don’t lose my car like I did last year) If there’s any other big beer festivals happening on the west coast that you think I need to know about/attend, drop me a line at beerdaily@gmail.com and let me know all about it! Or tweet me (man that sounds dirty), @beerdailyblog.

-Dex

Kostritzer Dark Lager

Another trip to the delicious Spanish restaurant, another new beer! This is the beer April got last time we were there, and I remember it wasn’t bad, so I decided to give it a try. Usually I find lagers that are light, in both color and flavor, but this one is….dark. My world has been turned upside down. Again. So now it’s right side up? Eh I’ve lost track.

The Verdict:

Well it certainly is dark. Actually it’s kind of a nice brown color. Not much smell to speak of. Weird. The flavor is dark and creamy, with a little coffee and a little chocolate. I say a little, because because this wasn’t exactly a complex and incredibly flavorful beer. It was nice and smooth, and it went pretty well with what we were eating, but next time we’re there, I’ll prolly order something else.

What Have We Learned?

Kinda wish the beer had more flavor, because what flavor it DID have was pretty good. On the other hand, I’m kinda glad it didn’t blow my palate away so I could still taste my food. Which will bring me to Beer/Food Pairing Guide Number 2: The beer should enhance the food, not over power it. So intense, super hoppy beers are usually out. SORRY STONE. Don’t worry though, I still love you.

-Dex

Bear Republic Hot Rod Rye

Well Bear Republic’s first beer didn’t impress me terribly, so I figured I’d give them another shot. I’ve also never had a rye beer before, so that was new. It is called HOP rod, so I’m expecting a bit of that. Other than that, no idea what is about to happen. Flying zebras could come out when I open it, who knows?

The Verdict:

Well, no flying zebras. Damn. Some hops and chocolate flew out and into my nose however. Just in aroma, not actual chocolate in my nose. I got some grain flavor. Roasted grain to be specific. Not sure which grain, but if you had to twist my arm, I’d say rye. I did get some hops as well. Not too much though. There was some floralness and a hint of pine from the hops for a good balance. Nice, smooth, flavorful and delicious.

What Have We Learned?

Well we’re one for two on Bear Republic beers. Guess Ill have to check out more Bear Republic beers, and certainly more rye beers. quite interesting…. Still disappointed about those flying zebras though.

Well, friends this is a momentous occasion, as I have worked my way through an entire notebook. Filled with notes and wisdom (well notes anyway), I will file it away, just awaiting someone to say, “So what kind of beers have you tried?” Then I will pull out the book, and smile as I read them each and every entry, as if it were a scrapbook of my children’s pictures. That’ll teach em to ask anymore….

-Dex