Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Doppel-Hirsch


Doppel-Hirsch
Doppelbock

Ratebeer 3.33 76th percentile
Beer Advocate B

Taste +4

Now this is a beer! The syrupy nose carried balanced amounts of toffee, vanilla, bourbon and wood. Every sip was the same as the nose, creamy and malty. Think of every dark flavour you can and it was there; cherries, vanilla syrup, roasted chocolate. There is barely enough hops to hold the sweetness in check.
Aftertaste +1

It doesn't last long enough. The alcohol burns and leaves a lingering bourbon and wood.

Alcohol Content +1 7.2%

This is a sharing beer for sure.
Value +1

I love a strong, sweet doppelbock and so should you.

Ingame Enhancement +1

This was tasted at a beer sampling party. Many, many beers were raided from the ARC beer fridge.

Overall 8/10

This is good, strong beer. That is all I have to say.

Hermannator Ice Bock
Amber Bock
Kozlak Amber and re-branding

Cru D'or Organic - North Coast

Cru D'or Organic
Belgian Strong Ale

Ratebeer 3.37 80th percentile
Beer Advocate B

Taste +2

No surprises here; nose emitting aromas of sour cherries, sherry, dark sugar and alcohol. The only thing you could taste was alcohol. Very sour flavours of plum, raisin, caramel and chocolate. Overall it was a little intense. As the beer warmed up things just got worse. Organic is not always better.

Aftertaste +1

There were mostly memories of alcohol, watered down dark fruits and earth.

Alcohol Content +1 8%

No hiding this flavour anywhere.
Value 0

For a Belgian it was a little unbalanced. It was more like a Lucky force 8 with added sherry.

Ingame Enhancement 0

Sorry, I got nothing.
Overall 4/10

There are better big Belgians out there, see links below.

Monks Mistress
Local 1
Chimay Blue

Dunkel Weiss Great Divide Brewing

Dunkel Weiss - Great Divide Brewing
Dark Wheat Ale/Dunkelweizen

This a different take on the wheat beer. The addition of darker malts adds flavours of roast and chocolate.

Ratebeer 3.28 70th percentile
Beer Advocate B+

Taste +3

Your nose is tickled with a sweet aroma of sherry, cherries and toffee. The mouthfeel is very full with rich toffee, a little roast and yeasty biscuits. Bananas and cloves are still there, just a little hard to find.

Aftertaste +2

The finish is very resiny-like with a long coating of glycerin, yeast and tart wheat.

Alcohol Content +1 6.2%

Value 0

This was a nice beer, but it was $7.50US. It was a little above average price for the quality of beer.

Ingame Enhancement 0

Rumor has it that Meterman will be back soon in the L4D world. He needs to stop getting things done and spend more time in a dark room alone.

Overall 5/10

If you are particular to the wheat beers, this might provide a richer experience.

Baron Bohemian
Warsteiner Dunkel
Schneider Weisse

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Rip Tide Stout and Binge Drinking and Driving

I love science; it is even better when paired with binge drinking. Perhaps I should explain.. This study caught my eye the other day, "Acute alcohol tolerance on subjective intoxication and simulated driving performance in binge drinkers". It sounds like an ARC drinking and driving party (aka. PS3 and beers). In the June 2009 issue of Psychology or Addictive Behaviors, researchers gave college kids enough ethanol to mimic binge drinking and tested their performance on a simulated drive game. You can guess the results, they did poorly. Big shocker. But this was the shocking finding, regular binge drinkers felt less intoxicated and reported a greater willingness to drive than social drinkers. This is something the researchers labeled as acute alcohol tolerance. Here is how it works; when you drink your blood alcohol concentration (BAC) rises. This makes you feel intoxicated. When you stop drinking your BAC declines. Binge drinkers felt less intoxicated when their BAC was declining, even though their actual BAC was identical to a point when their BAC was increasing. In other words, they felt less drunk when they were sobering up even though they still had the same amount of alcohol floating through their veins. This is the kicker, binge drinkers drove worse when their BAC were declining compared to when it was increasing.
This is one the reasons why more binge drinkers tend to drive home. They perceived themselves to be OK to drive, but in fact their BAC may be above the legal limit. BTW each subject got $75 as compensation for getting loaded for free.

Rip Tide Stout - BrewDog

Ratebeer 3.59 91st percentile
Beer Advocate B

Taste +4

For such a strong stout, the nose was oddly faint with roasted coffee and alcohol. But the taste made up for it; the brew was think and oily. A big moughtfeel revealed a bittersweet stout with burnt toast, roasted coffee and cocoa nibs. Upfront there was a slight taste of dark cherries.
Aftertaste +2

The long oily coating left burnt (not roasted) cocoa everywhere.

Alcohol Content +1 8%

It only left a little warmth.
Value +1

If you like a big stout, as I do, this will make your taste buds happy.
Ingame Enhancement +1

Death Aboard v7.0 is now available for L4D. It is the first map to challenge a player, without frustrating due to missing textures or unfinished parts. This is now the current map on Nightware4Dead.

Overall 9/10

This is one great Imperial Stout. It is big, thick and oily with burnt sweetness all around.

Drake Imperial Stout and Executive class guilt
Old Rasputin Imperial Stout
The Great Irish Stout Taste-off

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Pelican IPA


Pelican IPA

Ratebeer 3.91 98th percentile
Beer Advocate A-

Taste +3

For a brew this big, the hop aroma is oddly faint. You can barely pick up citrus and pine; I don't even have a cold. The taste is all hops, pine, resin and astringent. There is a bit of sweetness there, but it is over shadowed by the hop bitterness.

Aftertaste +2

The finish is quite dry with a full astringent, pine mouth coating.

Alcohol Content +1 7.5%

Value 0

I don't get it. There were great reviews at ratebeer and BA, it just didn't move me.

Ingame Enhancement 0

Nothing happened, went to bed early.

Overall 5/10

This was a solid IPA, just not stellar. I think it is because we have Phillips brewery in town and you have to be good to beat their stuff.

Phillips Crazy 8's


Phillips Crazy 8's (8th Anniversary brew)

Rate beer 3.83
Beer Advocate B

Has it been 8 years, since Matt launched the brewery on maxed out credit cards and a dream? It makes a great story anyways.

Taste +4

This is a hoppy one right from the removal of the cap. As soon as you open the cap, the wafts of alcohol and hops let you know this beer means biznas! The fresh hop nose caries scents of pine oil and floral. The best part is the colour; it is almost an iridescent amber with an amble fluffy head that sadly faded fast. It is the taste that we are all after and it does not disappoint. The hops are huge, smooth, not astringent with all the shades of hops (pine, floral and citrus). There is just enough malt to hold it all together.

Aftertaste +2

Once the citrus and alcohol warmth fades, the mouth is fully coated with cooling hops. The finish is dry and begs you to add more sweet liquor.

Alcohol Content +1 8%

Does this mean that when Phillips brewery turn 16 they will start making a 16% beer?

Value +1

If you like a double IPA, pick this one up before they are all gone. I plan to.
Ingame Enhancement +1

The Night Terror Campaign for L4D is well done and epic. Mr. Boo and Nipper recreated the Disneyland Haunted Mansion ride, a scene from Harry Potter and LOTR as maps. Well done!

Overall 9/10

Phillips Brewery had done it again. Their big hoppy beers are the best.

Instigator Dopplebock and a New Hope
Hammer Imperial Stout and get rich quick
Propeller IPA

Monday, September 21, 2009

Taddy Porter


Taddy Porter (Samuel Smith's)

Ratebeer 3.72 96th percentile
Beer Advocate A-

Taste +4

We never see enough of this style in BC. The aroma calls to you with a siren-like voice. It haunts you with roasted coffee beans and chocolate; yet sweet like milk. As you sail closer, your palate crashes upon a light rock of carbonation, but it is the taste that pulls you under. The roasted cocoa and burnt toast scares you at first, but it is creaminess and smoothness that washes over as you stare into the darkness.

Aftertaste +1

The lingering is not as poetic; just a slight roasted chocolate than ends clean.

Alcohol Content 0 5%

This is not meant to be a heavy hitter, but a nice easy drinking beer.

Value +1

This should be the definitive porter style.

Ingame Enhancement +1

With more L4D maps everyday, it just like my beer fridge; never the same taste twice.

Overall 7/10

I love a good porter. They are light and easy drinking, yet flavourful.

Swan's Coconut Porter and Heart and Soul

Black Boss Porter
Granville Island Porter and Real life

Thursday, September 17, 2009

Belk's ESB Anderson Valley


Belk's (Boont) ESB

Ratebeer 3.44 84th percentile
Beer Advocate B+

Taste +4

The nose is very IPA-like with citrus and floral hops. It is halfway between a hoppy IPA and a true English style bitter. This creamy brew still has the caramel malt sweetness with a little roast of a bitter but is enhanced with a strong citrus and floral hop ending of an IPA. Well done.

Aftertaste +2

The hops leave a very dry and astringent finish with a subdued grapefruit accent.

Alcohol Content +1 6.8%
Value +1

This was a new style to me and thought it was well done.

Ingame Enhancement +1

NFS-Shift is the newest driving game for PS3. I'm a sucker for a good driving game and this one does not disappoint. Who needs sunshine? Just take a vitamin D tablet.
Overall 9/10

This one has a bigger hop profile than your standard bitter. Like I said above, it is sort of a mix between and bitter and an IPA.

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Negra Modelo


Negra Modelo
Munich Style Dunkle

Ratebeer 2.72 23rd percentile
Beer Advocate B-

This brew must be purchased in a Mexican restaurant for authenticity purposes.

Taste +3

The nose is very faint of caramel and floral with slight roast. It has a medium mouthfeel with above average malt roast sweetness roast and faint vanilla. The hops are understated with ample carbonation.

Aftertaste +1

The sweet caramel fades off clean.

Alcohol Content 0 5.4%

Value +1

Say what you want I like this beer. The flavour is simple, delicious and goes great with Mexican food.

Ingame Enhancement +1

Nope, didn't play but I still wanted to bump the score up.

Overall 6/10

This is a nice, sweeter dark lager. Keep your light stuff with lime.

Jacobsen Dark Lager
Ok Springs Black Lager and fast cars
Chambly Noir and video game help

Unearthly Imperial IPA


Unearthly Double/Imperial IPA

Ratebeer 3.86 98th percentile
Beer Advocate A-
Taste +5

The aroma is an enchanting pine, rose water, fresh grass and medicinal earth. With a creamy mouthfeel, your palate was graced with smooth grapefruit, bubble gum and simple syrup. There was a little effervescence at the end. As the beer warmed up you get more pine and astringent hop tastes.
Aftertaste +2

The warming leaves slowly depositing a piney resin hop that waxed and wanes with each breath.

Alcohol Content +1 11%

Oddly there was no alcohol taste, other than the warmth.

Value +1

This is a stellar double IPA.

Ingame Enhancement +1

With Nightware away, Aqua and I had fun shooting gas cans out of each others hands.

Overall 10/10 BOOM GAS CAN SHOT

If you are a fan of the ultra bold IPAs, this one is a must. It is sweet yet possessing big hop flavours of pine and grapefruit. Well Done.

Dogfish Head 90min IPA
Stone IPA
Green Flash Imperial IPA

Sunday, September 13, 2009

Tree Hefeweizen and I get by...

Meterman: Finally science that proves that I will live longer than you.
Flavius: I doubt it; every morning I have a healthy coffee enema!
M: Up yours for sharing that info! In the June 2009 edition of
Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research , it was shown than Japanese men with light to moderate alcohol consumption had a reduced risk of heart disease.
F: Heard it before..Those with heavy alcohol consumption (more than 300 gm ethanol per week) had a higher risk; this is nothing new. To get this much ethanol, you must drink over 22 regular 5%ABV beer a week. So about a flat of Blue.
M: But this reduced risk was enhanced when they had high amounts of social support. I have more friends than you do. What was also interesting was that women were excluded from this study. There were to few moderate to heavy drinkers (only 197 out of 25044 people surveyed or less than 1%.)

Tree Brewing Hefeweizen


Ratebeer 3.45 79th percentile
Beer Advocate B+

Taste +4

The aroma is very light, yet spicy. In the air you can notice grass, grains, cloves and banana. Up front was the most pleasant lemony grain which was followed closely by a creamy mouthfeel of banana bread. This was all transmitted with a good dose of carbonation.

Aftertaste +1

A slight banana and lemon crispness fades away dry and quick.

Alcohol Content 0 5.0%
Value +1

This is perhaps the best six pack Hefe I have tasted. Pick one up at your local BCLS.

Ingame Enhancement +1

I'm sure I played and it was good. Yes this was done to bump the score up.

Overall 7/10

If you are looking for something light and refreshing, but down the Corona and pick up on of these.

Pyramid Hefeweizen

Granville Island Hefeweizen
Schneider Weisse

Believer Double Red Ale


Believer Double Red Ale

Ratebeer 3.58 90th percentile
Beer Advocate B+

Taste +1

From all the great ratings, I was expecting a great beer. The nose is a little musty with a half arsed attempt at grapefruit hops. You can pick out a little caramel malt and brown sugar before the hops scatter everything.

Aftertaste +2

After all this you are left with a long astringent bitter grapefruit from the hops. It almost got a -2.

Alcohol Content +1 6.9% Value 0

Ingame Enhancement 0

I might have left the console to get another beer to cleanse my palate.

Overall 3/10

I was very disappointed by this beer. It needed more sweetness and less astringent hops. Maybe it was just the bottle I got, because others really liked it.

Phillips Double Dragon

Saturday, September 12, 2009

Boss Kozlak Bock


Boss Kozlak Bock
Bock

Ratebeer 3.23 64th percentile
Beer Advocate B

This is a bottom fermenting lager that generally undergoes longer cold conditioning to round out the flavours. They are usually stronger, maltier beers with subdued hops.
Taste +3

This dark ruby brew pours with no head and leaves no lacing worth mentioning. Although the nose is primarily vinegar, you can pick out slight smoke, caramel and nail polish remover. There is no carbonation, but there certainly is a very assertive cherry/caramel malt and smoke flavours. The hop bitterness is absent and a hickory vapour coats your palate at the end. Despite the complex tastes, it is a very quaffable beer.

Aftertaste 0

Sadly very clean and moist ending.

Alcohol Content 0 6%

Almost tipped the scales for a +1.
Value +1

It was a very interesting beer for a good price ($2.50US).

Ingame Enhancement +1

I don't care that I bought a $400 PS3 to play Ms Pacman; it is still fun.

Overall 5/10

I liked it; it was a sweet and slightly complicated bock.

Hermannator Ice Bock and Zombie Wedgies
Amber Bock
Aventinus Weizen-Eisbock

Bornem Dubbel Double


Bornem Dubbel
Dubbel Abbey style

Ratebeer 3.32 76th percentile
Beer Advocate B

Taste +2

It is rather light tasting for a Belgian, but then it is only a double. The head is huge, long lasting and disperses a slightly acidic nose of digested fruits. The taste is rather subdued only the slightest of plum, raisins and sour cherry flavours peek though the malty fog.

Aftertaste +1

The lingering is rather short-lived but slightly sweet in a balsamic vinegary way.

Alcohol Content +1 8%

Oddly you can't really pick it out.

Value 0

There are better Belgians out there.

Ingame Enhancement 0

After downloading some old-school Bandai games like Ms Pac-man and Galaxian, I realized that I was using the most powerful gaming system to play 8-bit video game from the 80's.
Overall 4/10

This beer was alright, but it just lacked the super flavours of an abbey style Belgian

Petrus Dubbel

Jolly Abbot
Surly Blonde Phillips

Uerige Doppel-Sticke


Uerige Doppel-Sticke
Strong Altbier

Ratebeer 3.75 96th percentile
Beer Advocate A-

Altbier is style originating from Düsseldorf. It is an old style of German beer, similar to the old British ales. They were both cold conditioned for longer periods of time to help mellow some of the flavours. Apparently Holsten Festbock is also an altbier.

Taste +4
If nothing else this beer has one of the coolest bottles I have seen. One cannot mistake the nose for a weak beer, heavy on the caramel, raisins and alcohol. Straight away the first sip tingles your tongue with caramel sweetness and alcohol. After the tingle fades the second line of plum, dark fruits and a little earth reveal themselves. Very similar to a barley wine.
Aftertaste +2

There is a long mouth and throat coating, mostly burning and earthly fruits with undertones of sourness.
Alcohol Content +1 8.5%

No hiding the ethanol anywhere, it is upfront with every taste.

Value +1

If nothing else just for the bottle.

Ingame Enhancement +1

Tried the demo for UFC on the PS3 tonight. It was nice and pretty, but $70 is a little much for a fingermasher.
Overall 9/10

It is different than any other beer I have tried; rather like a big Belgian and a barley wine mixed. Did I mention the cool bottle?

Duckstein

Thursday, September 10, 2009

Augustijn


Augustijn
Belgian Triple

Ratebeer 3.38 80th percentile
Beer Advocate B+

Taste +3

A normal pour produced a huge frothy head that never left. The smell is slightly spicy, phenolic with light fruits (apricots and oranges). The taste is oddly smooth and easy drinking for a strong beer. While heavy on the carbonation, the spices, yeast, bread and apricots flavours do not get overpowered. If I could compare it to something it would be apricot jam.

Aftertaste +1

At the end there is a slight cooling sensation with a lingering of fireweed honey. It was like sucking on a peach cream popsicle.

Alcohol Content +1 8%

Beware of the smooth taste.

Value 0

It was a very nice beer and I appreciate the style. The brew just didn't move me.

Ingame Enhancement 0

No game, just rest.

Overall 5/10

This really is a nice beer, especially if you like a Belgian triple. For some reason it just didn't grab me. The taste was a little mellow for a strong Belgian.

St. Bernardus
Orval
Karmeliet

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Slipknot IPA


Slipknot IPA (Full Sail Brewing)

Ratebeer 3.49 86th percentile
Beer Advocate B

Taste +3

Yet another IPA in my fridge. Well the nose is right with puffs of sweet cotton candy and citrus. It is upfront bitter hop assertive, rather astringent like ruby red grapefruit. There is still the strong malt backbone, but somehow it seems a bit below average.

Aftertaste +2

The nice resiny coating that would not go away. I felt like a dog that was just given peanut butter. It didn't feel right, almost got a -2.

Alcohol Content +1 7.8%

Value +1
This was slightly stronger than Brockton on the IPA scale.

Ingame Enhancement +1

It looks like critical mass for L4D is building in the shire, just in time for L4D2 to come out.
Overall 8/10

If you like a strong IPA, but not too strong then this is the one.

Racer 5 IPA and the bailout

Paddywack IPA (Nelson Brewing)
Dogfish Head 90min IPA

Belgian Wit - Granville Island

Belgian Wit (Granville Island)

Ratebeer 3.18 47th percentile
Beer Advocate B

This is a Belgian Wit (white) style and nicely done too. These beers are unfiltered and contain wheat or oats which provides a cloudy appearance in the glass. They also are spiced, usually with coriander, orange peel or other ingredients. The classic example of this style is Hoegaarden and every big brewery seems to be getting into brewing this style.

Taste +4

The nose provides nice aromas of wheat, yeast and slightly spicy. Overall it is very crisp and refreshing with lively carbonation. Flavours of lemon, biscuits and coriander seep out of every sip. Oddly I am not picking up the orange.

Aftertaste 0

The finish is dry, crisp and vanishes straight away.

Alcohol Content 0 5%

This style is not meant to be a heavyweight, but a light refreshing beer.

Value +1

This beer is excellent. I wish it was available all the time.

Ingame Enhancement +1

With new L4D maps coming out all the time, life is good.
Overall 6/10

For anyone who thinks Rickard's White is a good wit beer, this one shatters that myth.

Swan's Witbier
White Bark - Driftwood
Widmer Hefeweizen

Monday, September 7, 2009

Dark Star Oatmeal Stout (R&B Brewing)


Dark Star Oatmeal Stout

Ratebeer 3.27 63rd percentile
Beer Advocate B+

For those who might be noticing, I know the chalice is not the correct glass for a stout. It is just a cool glass I found at a thrift store. My new hobby will be to search thrift store for cool beer glasses.

Taste +2

The nose is as you would desire from an oatmeal stout; roasted grains, burnt toast, cereal and coffee. Oddly you can smell the alcohol; it was slightly bourbon-like. The taste was a little light, with a below average mouthfeel for an oatmeal stout. Everything about this stout was below average. The slight roasted cereal mixed with weak coffee, cocoa and vanilla. It was very smooth drinking, but for a below expected oatmeal stout this was not surprising.

Aftertaste +1

There was a brief coating of burnt toast and oatmeal, but then it was gone leaving a feeling of slightly watered down coffee.

Alcohol Content -1 4.6%

Value 0

This was nice, but I would not get it again. It just seemed below average.

Ingame Enhancement 0

Played a little L4D tonight. It too felt average; some people just do not understand the concept of Co-op gaming. Co-op means sticking together, not running around by yourself

Overall 2/10 meh

This is a good choice for someone who does not desire a strong, knock-down, roasted mouthfeel stout. To be fair, I expect a lot from a stout and this did not deliver.

Hop Goblin IPA
Stone Bitter Oatmeal Stout
Swan's Oatmeal Stout
Drake Imperial Stout and Executive class guilt