No, the label is the one that I gave you. Who drinks beer out of plastic?

BTW, I know a lot of Europeans are surprised to know that Budweiser taste like crap. There is a version made (Poland?) that is supposed to be the best beer over there.

Budvar, from Czech, is loosely translated into "Budweiser," and is imported in the US under the name Czechvar. Not sure if its been reviewed here, but its a standard (good) Czech Pils style.

Though I'm not much of a reviewer and have no camera - I have to recommend Heather Ale's Ltd's Ebulum Elderberry Black Ale



-What a great discovery at my Philadelphia center city killer beer store.
Absolutely delicious black ale with a smooth finish and rather strong fruity flavor. This ale is based on a 16th century recipe and uses elderberries in the fermentation process. 6.5 ABV. I will be buying plenty of this as the weather turns colder. My new favorite "dark" beer. I suppose on the scale a solid 3.5 to 4 - Can't wait to try their Heather Ale.

Brewers website....

http://www.fraoch.com/historicales.htm

For my review tonight, I decided to try a regular Bock, having not had much success with the doppels. I haven't had many beers of this style before. I picked up a bottle of Einbecker's offering, mostly because they seem to be the guys who invented the style. I was underwhelmed with their Maibock, but it might be that the original bock is better. It ran me $2.29 for an 11.2 oz bottle of this 6.5% ABV beer. No pics. It pours a clear amber color w/o much head. The smell is malty and slightly grassy. The flavor is similar, and pretty good. It's a fairly malty beer with a grassy hop backing, or at least I presume that the flavor is due to hops. It's not like most American hop flavors, but it's likely that German varieties taste different. I like this better than the Maibock. It's not quite as rich as the Weihenstephaner doppelbock (understandably), but to its credit, it doesn't have the syrupy flavor, either. I'll award this . It doesn't blow me away, but it's solid. It's a good style for fall drinking, too.

OK, continuing to follow up on things in here, BotW finally started stocking Ommegang's Ommegeddon, originally pointed out by RDH. He hadn't tried or reviewed it, but brought it to my attention as a new release. I'm not exactly sure what style this beer fits into. Ratebeer.com calls it a saison, and beeradvocate calls it a wild ale. It packs a respectable 8% ABV, but it cost me a hefty $12.69 for a 750 mL bottle. That's about twice as expensive as their regular offerings.



The beer pours a light hazy yellow. It's not as cloudy as I'd expect from a bottle conditioned beer, even after swirling the yeast into the glass. It also doesn't have as much head as I'd expect.



The smell of this beer is nice and complex. I smell fruit, notably lemon, orange, apple, and maybe peach, along with an herbal character. I actually enjoy the smell a little more than the flavor of this beer. It's on the sour side, somewhat reminiscent of the Jolly Pumpkin wild ale, although not quite as sour. The fruit character doesn't come through the sourness as strongly as I had hoped based on the smell. The herbal character, presumably from the dry hopping advertised on the bottle, hits mostly in the finish. It's not like typical American hopping that I often describe as citrusy (grapefruit, usually), or floral. This is more grassy and, uhh, something. I can definitely see how the confusion arose as to how to classify this beer. It does remind me both of a saison, of which I've had a number, and of the Jolly Pumpkin wild ale, which is the only wild ale I've tried. I think the combination works well and adds depth. I like this better than the Jolly Pumpkin, and just a hair better than the Southampton Saison, my current favorite in that category. Correspondingly, I'm going to give this . On the downside, this is a pretty steep price to pay for a beer that doesn't floor me. Looking at just some other beers I've give ratings of 4 or better, I could get a 750 of the La Fin Du Monde or any Unibroue beer, Southampton's Grand Cru or Double White, two half liters of Weihenstephaner's hefeweizen, a four pack of Old Rasputin, or two 22's of Middle Ages' Kilt tilter for less, and Allagash's Curieux, which I gave a perfect score and may be my favorite beer ever, I can get for $1 more, I'm not going to be buying this again. This is a great beer for people who love saisons or who are looking for something different, but it's too expensive for me to want to buy again.

You're close Maxx. It's This one. The one you linked to is the "Extra Strong" version of 10%.

It's brewed by the Danish discount brewery Harboe. It's not expensive at all and it's videly available in Denmark. I can imagine that it's hard to find abroad bacause it tastes like piss.

Wookie,

To be fair, aren't you supposed to cellar that one for a while?

Did I not review this too? I meant to if I didn't. I agree with your assessment. Bear Republic is up near the top of my list for CA breweries.

I'm really regretting not taking pictures of this next one. Last night I headed to BevMo. Even though it's still warm, the fall season has begun hear in Sac, which basically just means clouds and the nights cool down a bit. I have been on such an IPA kick, I decided I wanted something on the darker side, like a porter or stout.

I see some bottles of Stone's XI Anniversary brew, released just a couple weeks ago.

I read the long winded description on the back of the 22oz'er, and it has no real details. Just a mention of IPA. So I figure, 'ahh what the heck', and pick up two bottles of that and a four pack of North Coast's Old Rasputin to go to if I get the stout bug.

So you can understand my surprise that when, later that night, I begin to pour this beer, I'm met not with the signature golden orange of an IPA, but with the dark blackness of a porter! It was maybe just a shade lighter than a good porter. A huge frothy tan head is present and it holds up nicely.

The odd thing is, even before getting in close to smell this thing, the aroma of hops and grapefruit are very present. "WTF?", I'm thinking, "I guess I did pick up an IPA." I inspect the smell closer. Definitely an IPA. Hoppy, with a fruity sweetness to it, and as I mentioned before, the grapefruit was obvious in this.

On to the taste: wow! It's the best of both worlds! It's got that bitter, crisp hops bite that we've come to expect from Stone, but with the roasted malts of a porter. It's balanced exceptionally well. It almost comes in stages. First you think you're drinking a porter, with the smoked malts and coffee flavor present, but it's a little tangier. Then, on the finish you get that signature dry hoppy finish, but the roasted coffee flavor still lingers.

I was really blown away by this. After I finished my first glass, I went to the website, turns out they're calling it a Black IPA. Color me impressed. and 1/2 . I'm tempted to give this 5, but my only knock on it is it's not too drinkable. It clocks in at 8.7% ABV, but more importantly, it's a bit on the heavy side. I was full for a while after finishing the 22oz'er, and the the last 6 ounces or so went down reallll slow. Of course, this could have something to do with the gigantic burrito and Boont Amber Ale I had about 30 minutes previous to this. I'm glad I bought two. I'll have a better assessment after the second bottle once as I could be overrating just due to its uniqueness.

kc,

Wow, that sounds awesome. No beer on Sundays for me but I'll try to find that one around town for sure.

RDH,

The bottle said to age for at least 6 months. I wasn't sure how long it'd been since you first noticed this beers existence and when I tried it, and I'm not sure how big a difference it would make. If I'm feeling saucy, I might pick up a bottle of this, and Stone's Vertical Epic, which they also say should be aged, and hide them away for a while to see if I notice a difference.

kc,

You may have reviewed the Hop Rod, but if you did, I missed it when I made the index of this thread. I'll have to look again. That 11th anniversary ale sound awesome, though. I'll definitely pick up a bottle next time I see it. How much did it cost you, esp. relative to other Stone 22's you can get?

Wookie,

Tons of info on cellaring beers around, but what's always made the most sense to me is to buy multiple bottles of one beer at different times and drink them all on the same day. ie buy a beer on Jan 1, cellar it, buy the same beer on June 1, cellar it, buy the same bottle on the next Jan 1, and drink all three on Jan 2. You really have to know both the brewery and your beer store to nail that down, though.

I see a lot of changes in my homebrew depending on how long it sits, so I think its really a neat thing to try.

Last week I was back in Madison, Wisconsin and decided to pick up some beer that I can't get around here (Austin, TX). I had limited suitcase space, so here's what I chose.


From left to right:
New Glarus Belgian Red At $9/bottle this is probably overpriced, but it's a big crowd pleaser. With over a pound of Door County cherries and Wisconsin farmed wheat this is a good choice for a piece of Wisconsin to bring home.
New Glarus Spotted Cow This farmhouse ale is a huge Wisconsin favorite that I couldn't resist bringing home with me.
Bell's Two Hearted Ale I'm thinking I could find this in Austin, but I don't recall seeing it off hand, so I picked one up as it's one of my favorite IPAs (Along with Racer 5 and Maharaja)
Lake Louie Tommy's Porter Lake Louie is not an actual lake, but a pond at the Arena, WI brewery. I have loved everything that I've tried from these guys and this traditional Porter is no exception.
Bell's Oberon Ale With Summer fleeting I decided to snag another of Bell's great beers.
Capital Brewery Wisconsin Amber Another local favorite and the number one seller from an excellent brewery. Read Why they still claim the title of America's #1 Brewery
Ale Asylum Hopalicious I have high expectations for this American Pale Ale. The word on the street is that this is a new brewery created by brewer's from Madison's own Angelic Brew Pub. After hearing this new brewery mentioned a couple times I decided it's time I try some.
Lake Louie **** Rock Cream Ale I don't recall trying this particular brew, so hopefully it lives up to the Lake Louie name. An interesting antic from the brewery- Lake Louie (it's a pond remember) hosts hockey games held by the brewers and friends. After every goal the game stops for a drink. Scores are reported to be in the 30's and above.
Capital Brewery Autumnal Fire I can't remeber anything about this seasonal other than people like it. I hope it's a winner because I got two of them.
Avery Maharaja Imperial India Pale Ale Widely available, but it's been out of season for a couple months now. I found a couple bottles tucked away in the bottom shelf of the fridges collecting mold. So I bought one for my host and one to bring back. At $7/bottle it must not be a popular choice on the UW campus.

So what'd I miss out on? I'm pretty happy with my selection. Chime in on what you do or don't like about these beers/breweries.

I've only had 3 of the beers on the list. All the rest, I'm not even familiar w/ the breweries. I don't think they've ever been reviewed in here. Generally, I wasn't a big fan of Avery's brews, but the Maharaja was one of their better ones. I the Two Hearted ale, although the Oberon didn't live up to the standard IMHO, but it's mostly just the style. I don't go for American wheat beers, although I love the German ones.

In general I like your selection, particularly Belgian Red (definitely worth $9 IMO) and Two Hearted...both are awesome. Personally, I'm a bigger fan of New Glarus Raspberry Tart than Belgian Red, thought they're both spectacular fruit beers. Wisconsin is in a pretty sweet area for beer, not only for the breweries in state, but also what's around them, particularly the entire state of Michigan. One brewery from Wisconsin that I don't think many people know about is Tyranena. I've only had beers from their "Brewers Gone Wild" series, but the ones I've had have all been very good. Can't say I've had or even heard of some of those beers, so I can't really chime in on those. Nothing wrong with doing some experimenting...let us know how they are.

Well, I just got back from my friend's house where I cracked open the Belgian Red. It's hard to characterize because it's so fruity. I'm not one who is much into fruit beers, but this is one I will purchase from time to time.

It's light read in color and fairly opaque. I have a hard time pickiung up aromas, but this is one beer which stands out. It smells just like a bowl of sweet, fresh cherries. It's got a very thin head, which makes for a very smooth beer when combined with the sweet cherry flavor. It's a little tangy on the front end and finishes almost being sharp because it's so sweet, but not in a bad way. It's mouthfeel is a little syrupy/sugary, but very clean. It leaves a very pleasant cherry aftertaste. Although this is a far cry from the bitter beers I usually drink it is one I enjoy, and it's definitely something the kids will love. Four out of five cherries.

Can't remember, but I'm swinging by BevMo tonight to pick up beer for Office viewing and I plan on grabbing a couple more of those. I thoroughly enjoy that beer. Oh.. I had my second bottle with less food and booze in me for a more accurate assessment. I'm sticking by my 4.5 s ranking. The drinkability is a little lacking.

Also, PSA for any of those in Boston or happen to be in the area at the time: BeerAdvocate is hosting a Belgian Beer festival Oct 26th-27th in Boston. I might be in town visiting family that weekend so there's a chance I'll go, but it'll likely be sold out by the time I finalize my travel.

I'll be there both days, though I'm waiting on my cousin to buy the tickets...hopefully they don't sell out soon.

I think I'm going to run a blind taste test between Avery's Maharaja, Bell's Two Hearted, Bear Republic's Racer 5, and the IPA I am currently brewing. Unfortunately that means I have to wait 3.5 weeks to dig into the IPA's I bought. Not sure if I can make it.

Check out these other breweries if you get a chance. I can't speak for Ale Asylum yet.

So I got to two of these tonight after having a Widmer Broken Halo IPA, which was alright. I split them with my girlfriend so I only had a half a 12 oz bottle of each.

Capital Brewery: Autumnal Fire
Pours reddish amber with a light head (although my gf poured it a minute before I walked into the room)
Very malty aroma with a little bit of hoppiness.
Very mild front end with a sweet finish with a little bit of spice. Has a warm feel and almost a little bite.

I don't fall for spicy beers, but this was pretty damn good. +1/2 / .
I think this would easily be a 4 if I liked spicy beers.

Lake Louie's Tommy's Porter
This beer pours dark black with a medium tan head.
Has a dark roasted coffee aroma, almost burnt.
Very smooth mouthfeel with low carbonation. Left a something to be desired for mouthfeel.
Light and malty/chocolatey with good coffee flavors. Somewhat of a dry finish.

Well, needless to say I was a little disappointed by this beer as I had very high expectations. I had it on tap last week and thought it was a lot better than this. It falls pretty short of Fuller's London Porter, which is sort of my gold standard for porters. /

Isn't the Maharaja technically an imperial/double IPA? That's not exactly an apples-to-apples comparison with the others, which are all single IPAs.

Yeah, it should be easy to pick out. However, my IPA is on the border of an imperial (was supposed to be imperial, but will fall short). The Racer 5 also is a very hoppy IPA and measures 7.0% ABV. Looks like Two Hearted comes in at 7% as well. Either way - it is sure to be a success.

I was back at BotW to pick up a bottle of beer as a gift for a friend (Southampton Grand Cru), and I checked to see if they had the Stone XI in stock. I was in luck! I bought a bottle based on KC's recommendation. It ran me just under $9 for a 22 oz, which is about as much as the Ruination and the Vertical Epic, but a fair bit more than, say, Arrogant Bastard, which is in the $6-$7 range IIRC. As he indicated, this beer is 8.7% ABV.



This beer pours a very dark brown with a thick tan brown head. It as much more head than the average porter, it's more persistent, and it laces my glass nicely as I drink it.



Taking a whiff, I smell the mix of hops that Stone does so well. They've largely perfected the art of citrusy, grapefruit hops, and this beer is no exception. There's some of the flowery smell in there, too, that I like. The hops are the first thing I notice in the flavor, too. The hops are flavorful without being overpoweringly bitter. Unlike KC, though, I'm not noticing as much of the dark malt. I really have to let this beer sit on my tongue for a bit before swallowing before I could tell you that this was something other than an imperial IPA. I'm not getting the typical porter coffee flavor as much, either, and I kind of miss it. The finish is all hops. I like this beer, but I'm not going to be as enthusiastic in my rating. I'll give it . For about the same price, I could get a four-pack of Flying Dog's Gonzo Imperial Porter, more than double the amount of a beer I like slightly better than this. This has a better hop profile, but the Gonzo has more of the porter malt that I enjoy.

Alright, I had another beer I decided to give another look was Unibroue's Don De Dieu. I've actually already given this beer a 3 heart rating, but RDH was so enthusiastic about it, and giving a review describing things about it I didn't notice. I figured I'd give it another go. I'm not going to do pics again.

When I took the first sip of this beer for the second time, it was pretty clear I'd sold it short in my first review. I think that I'd been so impressed with the La Fin Du Monde from the same brewery that I was overly hard on anything less. My original impression was that it was just a weaker version of the LFDM, but it's its own beer. Now, the first thing I tasted I couldn't even place. It wasn't something I've ever tasted in beer before, at least not that distinctly. It's pineapple. This beer isn't as spicy or yeasty as the LFDM, but the pineapple is growing on me. I don't so much get the Sauvignon Blanc character that RDH described. This beer is too sweet and fruity for me to want to make that comparison. Still, I'm going to revise my rating of this beer to .

I'm surprised there are no reviews of St Bernardus triple and St Bernardus witbeer. Both are excellent examples of their respective kinds. Highly recommended.