My friend Russ and his father-in-law joined me during my brew session a couple of weeks ago.  To celebrate (and because Russ’ wife and in-laws are from England) they brought me a couple of bottles of this Ruddles County.  Not only is Russ’ family from England, they are specifically from  Bury St Edmunds, where Greene King brews all of its beers.

So, while brewing, he had some great stories to tell!  This beer is a premium ale–quite refreshing and definitely in style.  I could drink a few more pints of this beer that’s for sure!  I recommend all of the Greene King beers … except, I haven’t had the IPA … yet!

Beer Mentor

I was over at Sine Irish Pub again today and realized I hadn’t had the Smithwicks since I started this list.  Smithwicks is the Oldest Ale in Ireland (since 1710) … a nice red color.  I guess they have it on draft there at Sine’s.

It came out in its nice pint glass — I took a long pull on it and declared, yes, I like this beer.  I’m not sure what more I can say–flavor was good, aroma was what I expected … it went well with my BLT.   I’ll drink it again!

Beer Mentor

I cracked open a 22 oz’er tonight.  I was out riding my Gary Fisher 2008 hi-fi Pro … it was beautiful weather, the trails were nice, and I rode like I meant it tonight!  I love a great ride!

To celebrate, I decided to crack open one of my favorite brewery’s beers: the Hoppe.

As I’ve said before, these Southern Tier guys are really making fantastic beers — and this one is no exception.  They call it an Extra Pale Ale … but you can’t fool me — this is definitely an East Coast IPA … the nose is straight up malts; I can barely get a hint of hops.  However, the taste is a very nice balance … you get the malt initially and then the hops come through in the finish.  It is subtle, but superb.  I really like this beer.

Beer Mentor

I picked my beautiful wife up at the Airport and we stopped in Osaka for some sushi.  What kind of beer do they have at a sushi bar?  You guessed it … Japanese.  If you remember from an earlier post, I’ve already sampled the Kirin.  So I went with the Sapporo tonight.

Sapporo is a very dry lager that actually goes well with Sushi.  It matches up well with the light style of sushi — and if you get the “Dragon Roll” or “Volcano Roll” like I usually do, the light, crisp flavor helps to tame down the spiciness of they sushi!

When in Japan … they always say.  Or someone does…

Beer Mentor

When I was growing up, my feet were growing faster than my height … so I had that Sasquatch effect… the Bigfoot.  In honor of that memory (since I was hanging out by myself tonight) I broke out the GDBC Yeti.  The Yeti is also a Sasquatch.

The Yeti is also a Chocolate Oak-aged Imperial Stout and yes it was chocolaty!  Again, the aroma was right on … the flavor wonderful, and I savored it for a good 1/2 hour.  This was a sippin’ beer.  When it warmed up, the flavor and aroma got even better.  I could recommend drinking this brew around 55 degrees and it would still be very pleasant.

You should see two things in the picture of me drinking this beer … 1) the chocolate all over the sides of the glass, and 2) the Bigfoot standing behind me … see him?  You can tell by my eyes that he spooked me…

Beer Mentor

I’ve been wanting to try this Duck Rabbit beer — and I did!  Actually, the first time I tried it was yesterday at the Northern Virginia Summer Brewfest.  They had their Milk Stout available, so I sucked down my 4 ounces in my tester.  It was nice to get a full bottle today — this time of the Brown Ale.

This brewery (located in North Carolina) claims to be “the dark beer specialists”–I think they are.  Both of the dark beers I’ve had from them are good.  The brown ale was spot on — flavor profile, color, aroma, mouthfeel.  It was an excellent beer to savor as I was transferring my homebrew between fermentors.   If you get a chance — try some.

Beer Mentor

Stone brewing has that unique quality of producing really good beers AND the ability to make you believe all the beers are related and tell a story.  Their marketing is top notch, but it is backed up with excellent quality and flavor–my hat is off the the Stone Brewing Crew.

Today’s beer? A nice change of pace … The Levitation Ale.  This beer is Stone’s lowest ABV–but that doesn’t distract from the flavor profile at all.  In my mind, it lives up to its reputation; however, I find it funny that it is placed in the “Amber Ale” category.  I don’t think Stone calls it an Amber Ale but both of the more popular rating sites list it as such.  In my mind it was strangely like an East Coast IPA in flavor … which is fine by me.  I also found it funny that some of the ratings on Beer Advocate because everyone expected this beer to also be over the top.  Funny — it’s just a great Sessionable APA in my mind — and quite a decent one at that (someone must agree … it won a gold medal)!

Enjoy,

Beer Mentor