Beer Rant

A while ago I was asked by a friend to identify where a couple of beers may be found. One of those beers was St. Bernardus Prior 8 Watou. As I was strolling the isles of Tacoma Boys in Puyallup I happened to spy the same particular ale in question. I've had other ales by this Flemish brewery, but never this one specifically I believe (I've tried alot of beer, by the nature of the beast I'm not always remembering everything anymore). The name itself might not give it away to most readers, but this is a Belgian Dubbel ale. These and Grand Cru's are typically my favorites from one of mainland Europe's more spritely nations, the reason being simply they are darker style ales which are right up my alley when it comes to beer sampling. A tripel will tend to have a more golden finish once poured into the glass, and usually a little stronger Belgian yeast taste to it. All Belgian ales seemingly have the flavor of this very distinct yeast, and this Dubbel is no exception. However, what makes it different is a darker flavor that yields a stronger type of sweetness typical of higher alcohol ales that let the natural sugar flavors take a prominent role in the flavor. Though I can't be one hundred percent certain, on the aftertaste I can actually get a hint of nice malty flavor that unfortunately lacks in many Belgian ales, or fortunately I guess from whatever flavor standpoint one is seemingly coming from. The taste is not a sweet one to be sure, but nothing like the intensity of a barleywine, or similar strong type ale. It is a smooth sweetness made to be sweet and pleasureable, but not overwhelming, something I guess hundreds of years of brewing experience may learn to exact into a brewing science. Carbonated? You know it, as per just about every style belgian ale this one is definitely well carbonated. I will say though it was not a suffocating experience where some ales seem to think you would enjoy breathing the damn thing more than drinking it. For people who do not have a reflux problem like myself this will make a very well balanced carbonated brew. It is not as fragrant as many other belgian ales, but it did taste good out of two different style glasses I tried. For an experience with a nice head piece, I would go with a kwak style glass, for a more standard affair just a regular snifter glass will yield just about the same amount of fragrances, though not as extreme as the kwak style glass. Of many of the belgian ales I've tried this is definitely one of the better ones, extemely well-rounded, and an overall sensual drinking experience. Drinking this did let me admire how much the American Dubbel's are catching up, though not as well rounded some, example Pike, are getting very close to this type of finish and fit. Much like the history of our country it gets the job done, but definitely not as pretty. I will say though that the monk on the label looks like it was done in a very rockwellian style, at least one feature they may have stolen from us. In any case this is definitely a beer worth tipping back and having a couple of rounds, so praise the Flemish and drink up this wonderful Dubbel livation.

Beer Rant

Well I found myself unable to sleep this evening, a side effect of an ever changing shift schedule, and a weekend of festivals and celebrations. So I figured why not wittle away some of these sleepless minutes blathering away about some beer huh? For this blog I chose to write about a particular celebration that took place in May, a new operation referred to as Seattle Beer Week. The week was filled with events ranging from simple IPA fests at pubs like Duck Island Ale House, or Brouwers annual Sour Beer Fest (regrettably I missed the second one on opening day). Basically for one week it was good times with beer across many of Seattle's finer beer drinking locations. In honor of this new festival one of my favorite breweries of all time Hale's Ales, brewed a special Seattle Beer Week 2010 ale. For this initial outing the brewery chose to brew a double IPA. For the math challenged, or those of us who simply need a little mind break, a double IPA is alot like a regular IPA only usually near double the alcky percentage than that of a regular IPA. What's the difference between this and an Imperial IPA? Well nothing really their both crafted in the same manner, I will say this for IPAs each brewery, for each different variant, loves to make that hop soup taste a little different. This one while being strong in the alchol department as per usual with this specific type, does not have a smothering hoppiness to it. The overall drinking experience is rather smooth. For anyone looking for death by hop, this is not your beer. This Double IPA also does not have a strong sweetness to it that is typical with a great many stronger IPA types when the alcohol levels start to climb upwards in strength. Actually the best way to describe the taste of this one oddly enough is a smooth tanginess. It had that kind of edgy taste I'd assort with some apples or other kinds of acidic fruit, but not anything really like a normal hop flavor. Nor is it specifically the taste of lemon or lime you may find added quite frequently to these types of ales. It almost tastes like an IPA mixed with some flavoring from a bland can of minute maid orange juice. I know a strange description to say the least, but this Double IPA was not really standing out like the standard in this category in the least. I definitely say it's worth a try, it was not bad at all, just something different in an extremely overfilled category. The smell of the ale follows the taste, no strong hop stench or anything of that nature, just a really subdued tangy kind of smell, with a hint of hop to it. On the bottle there is a nice logo of the Seattle Beer Week image, with the standard Hale's logo naturally. The beer can be picked up at most places Hale's Ales are sold, I've seen it at all the specialty beer stores, and some lingering at a couple Fred Meyers and Top Foods around the area. It's also on tap at a good many pubs around the area, and also made an appearance at the Washington Brewer's Festival (another awesome festival all should attend) this weekend. Well for all you hefty IPA lovers out there, another molding of the hop is now available for you to saturate your mouths to, and taste something a little unique in an area of brewing that seems to have no ceiling, or signs of scarcity.

Beer Rant 120 min IPA

Well given that the Washington Brewers Festival is this weekend, I set myself in fine beer drinking gear weeks ago. Last weekend was my birthday, my friend Brooke, cousin John, and myself sat down to share a very special beer I haven't had in quite a while. To properly illustrate the effects of this beer both phsychologically and physically, I'm going to start off with a wonderful non-fiction story about my first encounter with it. I was in Tacoma Boys beer section when I spied a Dogfish Head 120 min. IPA. As you can read from yet another one of my wonderful photographs, it calls itself, "The Imperial IPA." Now it comes in your standard beer bottle, not a 22oz, or any other kind of mega-bottle. Nope just a plain ordinary size beer bottle, and although I did expect it to be quite a heavy beer I really had no idea what I was in for. So I sat down to a quick dinner then proceeded to drink this ordinary bottle, and oh about 15 minutes later I was stumbling all over my house knocking over bits of furniture here and there, basically acting like the drunken bafoon I had accidentally morphed into. The cause of this? Dogfish Head 120 min. IPA is 21% alcohol per volume!! I'll repeat that 21% alcohol, for all you wine drinkers check your bottle it's pretty rare to find any of that type of alcoholic beverage coming close to that percentage. Yes for all my smarts, all my know how, I was fooled by the mere size of a bottle. The taste of this beer is ultra smooth, with only a small tinge of hop taste to it. This beer is so hopped up, that it has broken through to the realm of barleywine flavor. And a great flavor it is! There are many people who find this beer almost unbearable, there is also a certain percentage who love the sweet smooth taste that a heavy style ale like this presents. It takes one hell of a beer to subdue the extreme hoppiness of the standard IPA, but this does the job handily. Dogfish Head 120 min. IPA is probably the only true balanced IPA you can get, the shere alcohol content enables the sweet flavor to stand toe to toe with the hoppy flavor. The smell is something resembling a mix of honeysuckle, and hop, not bad for a beer lover like myself, and definitely worth a drink from the snifter. Watch out though, the initial wif can knock you down almost as much as drinking the thing. The name, well it certainly does live up to the moniker of, "The Imperial IPA." My brave selective panel received the beverage to much delight, only one other who wanted some missed out, sorry dad maybe next time, be happy in knowing that the three of us were more than enthralled with the entire tasting experience. So if you have some spare time, and preferably some friends to help lift a little of the burden from this beast of a beer, Dogfish Head 120 min. IPA is something that should be done at least once in every good beer drinkers lifetime.

Beer Rant Dogzilla

Time to start out the month right, with a wonderfully brewed northwest IPA. Yes a wonderful dark IPA, ooooo let that burn in a little IPA lovers. Black IPA's are my personal favorite of the whole genre, but before any lovers of the traditional IPA begin to shun this particular drink, this offering from Laughing Dog brewery is pretty damn good, and well worth the taste. Laughing Dog is located in a small town in Norther Idaho called Ponderay, which is next to another slightly larger town called Sandpoint. This region is remote, beautiful, and now a great place to pick up some micro-brews thanks to a couple breweries. Laughing Dog in particular has hit the ground running, and you can pick up alot of their standards at many supermarkets across every state in the northwest. This one is one of their specialty ones that pops up whenever the bottle a batch, I purchased this particular one at Top, but I've seen it at both Bottleworks and 99 Bottles. Okay onward to the flavor, does it taste like your chewing hops straight off of the vine, hell no! There is no real sting, or overwhelming flavor you normally receive when dowsing your tastebuds with an IPA. Is it hoppy? Yes, all the traditional hop flavor is there. The big difference in this beer, is the stinging, citrus flavor is strong, it doesn't bite your taste buds like alot of traditional IPAs do. Instead it is subdued in this regard, so in actuality it almost seems to taste like a purer sense of what the hop truly tastes like. This is achieved in a nice balance in this particular one by a fair amount of roasted malt. I actually do not know this for a fact, except that the flavor strongly hints toward that direction. The roasted malt flavor is what really makes this exceptional, it brings out a raw flavor of all the ingredients including the hop. Smooth is what this beer permeates heavily, it puts down all the best pick-up lines, and seduces your tastebuds into a sensually pleasing ultra-smooth flavor experience. If you happen to have a snifter glass to drink this particular one with, enjoy because there is also a wonderful roasted smell to the beer as well. On their special ales they love to add some goofy little pics, this one is a black-godzillaesque dog attacking some city, cute and campy. For all the true hoppy IPA fans out there don't fret, Laughing Dog has a huge line of all IPAs, there all damn hoppy, and every one is a hop fans wet dream. I not only recommend this beer, but also the brewery, the service, beer, and snacks are all good. Hey if your skiier/snowboarder there is no excuse, the brewery is basically at the bottom of Schweitzer Resort in north Idaho. Tip back, let your inhibitions go, and be seduced by the smooth roasted malt, and hoppiness of Dogzilla.