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

I went with another strong beer tonight — North Coast Brewing’s Russian Imperial Stout.  With at least 12 gold medals to its credit, this beer delivers.  If you like that smooth chocolaty taste and the crisp, warm alcohol finish, you’ll enjoy this beer.

I poured it big and the head rose in response … a nice tan color, it settled on top of the beer and lingered — it helped bring out the aroma and I just sniffed it for a while.  Yes, this is a good beer.   Take some money out of your wallet and go buy a couple for yourself.  You wont be disappointed!

Beer Mentor

My friends and I (yes I have friends) …

rolled into the Dogfish Head Alehouse in Falls Church and surveyed the wondrous beer menu.

If you saw this menu it would be hard for you to make a decision too … but I settled on the big beer — the Palo Santo!  This is a wonderful brown ale aged in oak casks at about 12%.  It’s such a big beer it comes in a snifter! LOL!  No matter — I savored it … and it delivered!

If you are in the area — go to this restaurant!  The food is wonderful and I can’t speak highly enough about the beer.  Wow.  Worth a trip.

Beer Mentor

Had a preparatory beer tonight before heading over to the Hair Raid band practice.  These guys are a lot of fun, high energy, and I will be playing with them (one song) on Saturday at the Tortoise & Hare bar in Crystal City.  You’ll have to come out and check it out …

What was my beer?  I went with a Boulder Beer British-style Ale … Cold Hop.  This is a very nice ale brewed with 5 different kinds of hops.  When you open and pour it, you definitely get that interesting hop aroma (from the New Zealand hops) and then the flavor balances well.  This one (in my mind) is more of an East-Coast style Pale Ale … the malt flavor comes through more than you would think after an initial sniff.  The finish is nice and made me want to drink a couple of more … but I couldn’t cause I had to play the bagpipes … yes!

Beer Mentor

In honor of the IPA I brewed today, I had a nice IPA; the Sierra Nevada Torpedo IPA.

This one probably qualifies as an Imperial IPA as well … and it had that flavor.  I was very happy with this as my nightcap beer.  This west coast-style IPA really did an excellent job of balancing the hops and the malt.  As usual, the hops came through strong, but did not overpower this one.  It is nice …

One of my friends came over today for the “brew festival” and brought some of his English Bitters he made … that one was good and will probably be one of my next few “new beers.”

Overall, I had a great Father’s day …

Beer Mentor

I took it easy today, reached into my trusty beer fridge, and pulled out an Abita.  This is a brewing company in Louisiana that has really come on in the last few years and have been making some very drinkable beers.

Their Jockamo IPA is well-balanced and goes down smooth.  It has a very nice aroma, the hops are blended well with the malt.  I’d drink more (if I had them) … unfortunately, I only had this one … darn.  What is it with me and IPAs lately?  I guess I’m still rebounding from my 6-month trip to Germany …

Beer Mentor

I was celebrating with friends today — and spent the evening at Sine’s Irish Pub in DC.  Of course, in honor of the Widmer Brewer who commented on my blog, I decided to drink the Widmer Hefeweizen all night … and it was good (it is a gold medal winner).   Not sure how many I ended up drinking but it wasn’t a new beer for me … so … I went to an emergency stash I had in my beer fridge and slammed down a nice Southern Tier Pale Ale.  It was a good choice — a nice night cap for the evening.  I’m assuming this was an APA … well-balanced — good malt mix with the hops.  Thoroughly enjoyed it … both beers were great.

Beer Mentor

Today my youngest daughter graduated from High School!  Way to go, Adrienne!  She’s awesome…

To celebrate, I turned to the Great Divide Brewing Company and what kind of beer do you think I celebrated with?  You guessed it — an IPA.  Oh, and it’s probably an Imperial IPA too: Titan IPA.  In my mind this one qualifies as a west coast IPA … very nice hop aroma followed by a nice hop taste … yes … I will drink a few more of these, I can tell!

Beer Mentor

Made it home from my trip yesterday and looked in my trusty little beer fridge this evening.  Yes!  A Victory brewing company beer.  I like all the beers from this Pennsylvania brewery.  For some reason, they seem to get a lot of their brews right.  This one is no exception: Yakima Twilight Ale.

This is an Imperial IPA using (obviously) American Hops.  I find it ironic that so many of the East Coast Imperial IPAs have a similar hop characteristic to the West Coast IPAs.  I guess that’s why I like them so well … they just have that little extra hop kick I enjoy.  I’m beginning to think that hops are addictive … and I hop to see some medical studies talking about how overhopping beers is a good antioxidant or something.  At least I’m keeping my fingers crossed while I continue to savor these very nice brews …

Beer Mentor