My Inventory

Thought I would share what I currently have "in stock" at the casa.  Might even be willing to trade some of this stuff away if anyone has any offers.  This is current as of 4/18/15:

21st Amendment Hop Crisis 2015 (12 oz)

Anderson Valley Huge Arker Bourbon Barrel Imperial Stout 2015 (22 oz)

Angry Orchard Iceman (22 oz) 

Angry Orchard The Muse (22 oz) 

Argus Ciderkin 2015 (12 oz)
Argus Ginger Perry 2015 (12 oz)
Ass Kisser Hefeweisen (12 oz) 
Ballast Point Dead Ringer 2015 (12 oz)

Ballast Point Habanero Sculpin IPA 2015 (x2) (12 oz)
Ballast Point Pumpkin Down 2015 (12 oz)
Ballast Point Victory at Sea 2015 (12 oz)
Bells 30th Anniversary 2015 (12 oz)
Bells Consecrator Dopplebock 2015 (12 oz)

Benford Brewing Southern Tater 2015 (22 oz)

Big Boss Belle Wringer (12 oz) 

Big Boss Monkey Bizz-Ness (12 oz) 

Big Boss The Big Operator (12 oz) 

Big Boss The Centaur (12 oz) 

Boulevard Smokestack Series Bourbon Barrel Quad 2014 (22 oz)

Brueprint Brue Scarlet Amber 2014 (12 oz)

Brueprint Midnight Brue Stout 2014 (12 oz)

Brueprint Pale Brue Eyes Pale Ale 2014 (12 oz)

Blue Mountain Barrel House Dark Hollow (12 oz) 

Blue Mountain Full Nelson Virginia Pale Ale (12 oz) 

Crispin Georgia 2013 (12 oz) 

Crispin Venus Reigns 2015 (22 oz)

Coronado Golden Pilsner (12 oz)

Coronado Anniversary 18^th Annual Special Ale 2015 (22 oz)

Dogfish Head Noble Rot (22 oz) 

Dogfish Head Festina Peche (12 oz) 

Dogfish Head Palo Santo Marron (12 oz) 

Duck-Rabbit Marzen (12 oz)

Epic Big Bad Baptist (x2) (22 oz) 
Eviltwin Ashtray Heart 2015 (12 oz)

Finch’s Hardcore Chimera Imperial IPA 2015 (16 oz)
Flying Fish Exit 3 (22 oz)
Foothills IPA of the Month September 2015 (22 oz)
Founders Backwards Bastard 2015 (x4) (12 oz)

Founders Blushing Monk 2015 (22 oz)

Founders Breakfast Stout (12 oz) 
Founders Harvest Ale 2015 (12 oz)

Founders Imperial Stout (12 oz) 

Founders Rubaeus (12 oz) 

Foxbarrel Cidery Reserve Ginger & Blackcurrant Cider (22 oz) 

Foxbarrel Cidery Reserve Orange Peel & Coriander (x2) (22 oz)  

Foxbarrel Cidery Reserve Rhubarb & Elderberry (22 oz) 

Fullsteam Common Good 2014 (22 oz)

Fullsteam Fearrington Winter (22 oz) 

Fullsteam First Frost 2013 (22 oz) 

Great Divide Denver Pale Ale (12 oz) 

Great Divide Oak Aged Yeti (22 oz) 

Great Lakes Blackout Stout (12 oz)

Great Lakes Christmas Ale 2014 (x3) (12 oz)

Green Man Rambler Spring Ale 2015 (12 oz)

Hardywood Barrel Series Rum Pumpkin (22 oz) 
Harpoon Pumpkin Cider 2015 (12 oz)

Haw River #NoHoldsies Holdsie Da Deuce 2014 (500 mL)

Haw River #NoHoldsies Holdsie San 2014 (500 mL)

Haw River #NoHoldsies Holdsie Uno 2014 (500 mL)

Heavy Seas Siren Noire (22 oz) 

Highland Brewing 20th Anniversary American Saison Ale 2014 (22 oz)

Highland Brewing 20^th Anniversary IPA 2014 (22 oz) 

Highland Brewing 20^th Anniversary Weizenbock Ale 2014 (22 oz)

Highland Brewing Imperial Kashmir IPA (22 oz) 

Hi-Wire Contortionist Black IPA (12 oz) 

Hi-Wire Strongman Coffee Milk Stout (x4) (12 oz)

Innis & Gunn Highland Ale 2015 (22 oz)

Lagunitas Sucks Brown Shugga Substitute Ale (x4) (12 oz)  

Leininkugel Big Eddy Uber Oktoberfest (12 oz) 

Lonerider Addie's Revenge IPA 2014 (12 oz) 

Lonerider Cowboy In Black 2013 (22 oz) 

Lonerider Deadeye Jack Porter 2014 (x2) (12 oz) 

Lonerider Hangman 2013 (22 oz) 

Magic Hat Humdinger Series Burnpile (750 mL) 

Mother Earth Silent Night 2012 (22 oz) 

Mother Earth Windowpane Series Fig & Raisin 2013 (22 oz) 

Mother Earth Windowpane Series Peaches 2012 (22 oz) 

Mother Earth Windowpane Series Raspberries 2013 (22 oz) 

Mystery Brewing Jack Thorne London Porter (16 oz)
Mystery Brewing White Tiger (22 oz) 

New Holland Black Tulip Tripel Ale (12 oz) 

New Holland Pilgrim's Dole Wheatwine Ale (12 oz) 

Olde Hickory Irish Walker (22 oz) 

Olde Hickory Seven Devils (22 oz) 

Olde Hickory The Event Horizon (22 oz) 

Ommegang Adoration Dark Winter Ale (12 oz) 

Ommegang Fleur De Houblon (12 oz) 

Ommegang Hop House 2015 (12 oz)

Parkway Bridge Building Blonde (12 oz) 

Pisgah Pale Ale (12 oz) 

Red Brick Beard Envy Barleywine Ale (12 oz) 

Red Brick Brother Leo (12 oz)

Red Brick Sacred Cow (12 oz) 

Red Brick Vanilla Gorilla (12 oz) 
Rogue Mom's Hefeweizen 2015 (22 oz)

Samuel Adams Stony Brook Red (22 oz) 

Samuel Adams Thirteenth Hour (22 oz) 

Samuel Smith's Organic Chocolate Stout 2013 (12 oz) 
Saranac High Peaks Clouded Dream 2015 (12 oz)

Schilling Chaider 2015 (22 oz)

Schilling Spiced Cider 2014 (22 oz)

Shmaltz Reunion Ale '13 (22 oz) 

Sierra Nevada DevESTATEtion Ale (22 oz) 

Sierra Nevada Narwhal Imperial Stout 2012 (12 oz)  

Sierra Nevada Torpedo Extra IPA (12 oz) 

Sonoma Reserve Series Dry Zider 2015 (22 oz)
Sonoma The Anvil Bourbon Cider 2014 (12 oz)

Southern Tier Blackwater Series Creme Brulee (22 oz) 
Steel String Chombers Four 2015 (22 oz)

Stillwater Artisanal Amber Farmhouse Ale (12 oz)

Stone Chai Spiced Imperial Russian Stout 2015 (22 oz)

Stoudts Gold Lager (12 oz)  

Sweetwater Dank Tank Red Hot Mama (22 oz) 

Sweetwater Dank Tank The Gimp (22 oz) 

Sweetwater Dank Tank The Price Is Wrong (22 oz) 

Terrapin Dos Cocoas (22 oz) 

Terrapin Hopzilla (12 oz) 

Terrapin Reunion Ale '13 (22 oz) 

Terrapin Side Project 20 Dr. Krunkles White Farmhouse IPA 2013 (22 oz) 

Terrapin Side Project 22 Chocolate Orange Weizenbock (22 oz) 

Terrapin Side Project 23 Guano Loco (22 oz) 

Terrapin Wake-N-Bake (x3) (12 oz) 

The Bruery Four Calling Birds (22 oz) 

The Bruery Five Golden Rings (22 oz) 

The Bruery Six Geese A Laying (22 oz) 

Thirsty Dog Barrel Aged Siberian Night (12 oz) 

Unibroue La Terrible (22 oz) 
Unknown 1.5 2015 (22 oz)
Victory Festbier 2015 (22 oz)
Victory Moving Parts IPA 2015 (22 oz)

Waterfront Blonde Ale (12 oz) 

Westbrook Orange Bliss (22 oz) 

Weyerbacher 18 Anniversary (12 oz) 

Weyerbacher Autumnfest (12 oz)

Wicked Weed Amorous 2015 (500 mL)
Wicked Weed Black Angel 2015 (500 mL)
Wicked Weed Canvas Series Bombadile 2015 (500 mL)
Wicked Weed La Bonte 2015 (500 mL)
Wicked Weed Medora 2015 (500 mL)

Wicked Weed Oblivion 2015 (500 mL)
Wicked Weed Pearfigt 2015 (500 mL)
Wicked Weed Silencio 2015 (500 mL)
Wicked Weed Terra Locale Hortiglory 2015 (500 mL)
Wicked Weed Tropicmost Passionfruit Gose (16.9 oz)
Wicked Weed Xibalba (16.9 oz)

Widmer Brothers Barrel Aged Brrrrrbon 2013 (22 oz) 

Widmer Brothers Brothers' Reserve SXNW 2012 (22 oz) 

Widmer Brothers Vanilla Barrel Aged Brrrbon 2013 (22 oz) 

Widmer Brothers Ginger Barrel Aged Brrrbon 2013 (22 oz) 

Haul for 10/23

A few days ago, I felt it was time to swing by Taste Beverage after work and pick up some goodies.  I track the new releases they get about once a week, and I felt that there was enough there to warrant a decent shopping trip.  I will vent that I hate the way the depot is set up.  You really need a parking attendant to charge to park over there?  Really?  I personally didn't think there was enough out that way to warrant the need to have someone there at all times.  It's a pain to deal with sometimes, but I guess I'll get over it.  Enough of my rants, here's the haul:

• Sierra Nevada devESTATEtion Ale - What else is there to say except for the fact that it's Sierra Nevada?  According to the bottle, they had different plans but some bad weather changed that.  Instead, here's a black ale or black IPA.  I'm not complaining.  Price paid: $7.99
• Fullsteam Hula Hoop Rye IPA - It's not often that Fullsteam has a 22 oz offering, so I picked it up when I found it.  I had to pick one up that was refrigerated, which means that I drank it soon afterwards (and knowing how I roll, you'll see a review in about 6-8 weeks).  Price paid: $5.49
• Sweetwater Dank Tank Red Hot Mama - Just a couple of weeks ago, I found The Price Is Wrong, and now Red Hot Mama is already out.  Just confirms that I think I was unlucky to have not found The Price Is Wrong until a few weeks ago.  Price paid: $6.99
• Heavy Seas Imperial Greater Pumpkin - Imperial pumpkin beer aged in barrels.  Doesn't that sound interesting to you?  It does to me!  Sign me up.  Price paid: $8.99
• Terrapin So Fresh & So Green Green - I missed out on this one last year and I was glad that there was another iteration of it out this year.  I wasn't going to miss this opportunity.  I probably better drink this one sooner rather than later though.  Price paid: $7.99

Haul for 10/8

Alright, so I totally forgot I made a trip to Total Wine a few weeks back but ran across the receipt and found that I had hid my bottles of beer in the garage.  Now that they are both in my possession, I figure I can talk about what I ended up picking up.  Why did I hide it..?  It wasn't so much a hiding thing as much as it was a need to get it out of my car and I didn't bother to take it upstairs.  I was at Total Wine to pick up some pumpkin cider for my good friend's girlfriend.  She has a gluten allergy and likes pumpkin, so if she can't have pumpkin beer, she can have pumpkin cider.  Out where he lives, he hasn't been able to find that combination of pumpkin and cider, so I offered to pick some up for him.  While I was there, I took a quick glance at their recent releases and found a couple of bottles worth buying.  Here's the haul:

• Sweetwater Dank Tank The Price Is Wrong - Another release from the Dank Tank series, I''m pretty sure this was released a while back but I had a hard time finding it.  Now that it has been found, it is mine!  Price paid: $6.99
• Terrapin Side Project #20 Dr. Krunkles White IPA - And this is one of the "one-shot" releases from Terrapin.  As I've mentioned in the past, I zone in on Sweetwater and Terrapin releases when I get the chance to come across them.  At some point, I'm going to have gone through all their stuff and then I can expand my horizons.  It'll be a while before I can get there though.  Price paid: $8.99

181. Anchor Brewing BigLeaf Maple Autumn Red

"Our fall seasonal, BigLeaf Maple Autumn Red was inspired by a native California tree, its incredible leaves, its delicious syrup, and the colors of fall.  Bigleaf maple thrives along the banks of California's mountain streams.  Native Californians once made rope and baskets from its bark.  Today, artisans handcraft its wood and burl into custom guitars.  In autumn, its huge leaves, up to a foot across, can display a full range of color as they slowly turn from green to gold to red.  Bigleaf maple sugaring in California dates to the 1800s; yet this tree's unusually flavorful syrup remains the product of a small group of hobbyists.  A hint of maple - including bigleaf maple - syrup in every brew perfectly complements the malty complexity, balanced hoppiness, and rich fall hue of BigLeaf Maple Autumn Red, a red ale like no other."

The last beer I brought for the fantasy draft was this one from Anchor Brewing, the BigLeaf Maple Autumn Red.  Anchor Brewing (http://www.anchorbrewing.com) is out of San Francisco, California and is just another big time brewery that comes out of California.  The beer was poured into a pilsner glass.  It has a deep amber, almost copper colored body with a finger of a light tan colored head.  Average retention, leaving a ring of lacing around the glass.  Aromas of caramel and toffee malt, plus some citrusy hops that smell stronger thane expected.  If there's any maple in this, I can't pick it up.

I couldn't pick up the maple in the aroma, I also couldn't pick it up in the taste.  That strong citrus hop?  It's more than evident in this beer, with pine resin mixing in with that citrus to try and counterbalance the sweetness from the caramel and toffee malt.  It has a stronger, bitter aftertaste than expected as well.  If you wanted to call this an American Amber Ale, you could have fooled me.  I think it's closer to an American Red IPA, it really has that much impact with the hops and the finish.  That said, if I was expecting an American Red IPA, I might think differently, but for what it was supposed to be, and the lack of maple, I find this beer to be awfully middling.  If you think I'm crazy, just let me know.

Grade: C-

Price Paid: $1.50 (12 oz bottle)

180. Ace Pumpkin Cider

The third offering at the football draft, I picked a cider for those that may not like beer.  Plus, I really, really like this cider.  Just a precursor for how I'm going to grade this.  The cider was poured into a pilsner glass.  As a cider, there's no head or retention, any of that stuff.  It had some bubbles in it, suggesting some medium to high carbonation.  There were aromas of apple, mulling spices, and pumpkin.

If you're expecting heavy pumpkin, this isn't your cider.  This is more of an apple cider that has a blend of pumpkin flavor in it.  There's also taste of those mulling spices, allspice, clove, nutmeg.  It has a sweet taste to it, but it is also tart and finishes dry.  The sweet blend with the tart gives it a combination I don't always find with ciders, but I'm loving it here.  I do think this could be even better with higher carbonation.  Yes, there were bubbles, but it still felt a little on the light side.  When I'm getting burnt out on pumpkin beer, this would make a great substitute.  

Grade: A-

Price Paid: $1.50 (12 oz bottle)

179. Lonerider Sweet Josie Brown

Another beer I brought to the football draft was Lonerider's Sweet Josie Brown Ale.  You've heard me talk good things about this one before.  Now comes the review!  For this particular review, I poured this beer into a pilsner glass.  It has a nice chocolate brown color with ruby highlights.  I was able to get two fingers of latte colored head.  It had moderate retention, leaving sheets of lacing on the side of the glass.  Primary aromas of roasted malt, caramel, and nuts were present.

The brew has a slightly sweet taste to go with heavy roast flavors.  Roasted malt, roasted toffee, roasted walnut, caramel.  Just a slight hop finish at the end.  It's medium bodied with light to moderate carbonation.  When it comes to American Brown Ales, this is one of the ones I favor, mainly because I haven't consumed many of the type.  Still, even if I've had 100 different types, I can come to this one and know that I'm getting a very, very good brown ale.  If you think I'm crazy or you can identify a better brown ale, let me know and I'll go hunting for it.  

Grade: A-

Price Paid: $1.25 (12 oz bottle)

178. Brooklyn Pennant Ale '55

I'm a big fan of fantasy football.  I've been in a league with some family and friends from college for six years now.  We hold an annual draft party in August to get everyone together and have a live draft.  With folks coming over for the draft, I decided to provide some beers for consumption.  Brooklyn Brewery (http://www.brooklynbrewery.com) is out of, you guessed it, Brooklyn NY.  

While I did have my first Brooklyn Pennant Ale '55 at the draft out of a bottle, this particular review is for a following beer that I enjoyed in a pilsner glass.  It poured a burnt orange color with clear red highlights.  It had a khaki colored head, over three fingers with a vigorous pour.  It had light retention with small splotches of lacing on the glass.  I detected aromas of caramel, malt, bread, metal.  It's a little reminiscent of some amber ales.

The taste starts sweet but finishes dry very quickly.  I can taste caramel, toffee, biscuit and cracker with a light hop finish.  It has a light body with light to average carbonation.  When I first tasted this beer out of the bottle with the gang, I said that this beer is very good.  A couple of my buddies quickly agreed.  There's something very simplistic about this beer, but it has great balance and is easy to drink and is very sessionable.  It's not a very strong beer, but not all great beers need to be.  I'd definitely recommend.

Grade: B+

Price Paid: $1.25 (12 oz bottle)

177. Goose Island 312 Urban Wheat Ale

I ended up trying this particular brew with a random dinner at home.  Goose Island (http://www.gooseisland.com) was recently purchased by InBev, and everyone hopes that the formula for their beers are not tampered with.  Everyone else is hoping that these up and coming microbreweries don't sell out  It was poured into a pilsner glass.  Ended up getting a white one finger head with low retention and not much lacing either.  The brew had a slightly hazy, golden color.  I could detect aromas of cracker and wheat, some light hop presence and lemon.  Not much else I could discern.

The predominant taste is wheat and malt, with the a lemony hop finish at the end.  A little on the weak side.  Thought flavors would be a little more pronounced.  Light bodied with high carbonation, it's very appropriate as a sessionable brew.  Still, I find it to be rather ordinary and would favor Bell's Oberon over this one.  Agree?  Disagree?  Let me know.

Grade: C-

Price Paid: $1.66 (12 oz bottle)

176. Great Lakes Burning River

Early in August, I went on a road trip with family and friends to go see the Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.  Of course, if we were going to drive the 7-8 hours to get up there, we were going to make a weekend of it and cram in some other events.  So including the Football HOF, we decided to go to a Cleveland Indians baseball game and a Pittsburgh Steelers pre-season football game.  While we were watching the Indians lose to the LA Angels, I wandered around to get a craft beer (and it took about 15 minutes and we passed the stand twice), and ended up getting a Great Lakes Burning River APA as a result.

The beer was poured into your standard 20 oz plastic cup.  I was able to get one finger of soapy off-white head and had light retention, and little to no lacing, although I imagine that I would get something different if I was the one doing the pouring.  The beer had a copper color to it, with solid carbonation from the movement in the glass.  I detected aromas of biscuit, caramel, brown sugar, grass, pine, and orange zest. 

The beer starts sweet with the caramel coming through first, then the hops rush in, more pine and grass than citrus.  It finishes dry, with a light lingering bitterness that fades fast and makes you want more.  The malt is a little more forward than I've been used to, but that's not a bad thing at all.  It's absolutely a good thing.  Medium body, with a moderate to high amount of carbonation, confirmed from the beer's initial appearance.  This is a very good representation of the APA.  I guess for my palate, it suits me just great.  For others, it may not be as hop forward or the malt might come on too strong.  Still, if you like APA style beers, you should give this one a shot.  

Grade: A-

Price Paid: $10.50 (20 oz draught) (Gotta love those stadium prices..)

175. Big Boss Bad Penny

A long while back, I had the opportunity to go to a free concert featuring the Silversun Pickups.  While I'm not a huge fan, I've enjoyed the music I've heard from them and convinced my buddy to come with me.  Free is a great motivator.  Since it was free, it made it easier to make the decision to get something to eat and drink.  I only bought one beer because it was so expensive, but this was it, Bad Penny from Big Boss Brewing.  Thank goodness the Red Hat Amphitheater has some craft offerings.  Even though I was drinking at a concert, the concert (or at least the headlining act) didn't start for another 2-3 hours.  I had plenty of time to think this review through.

The beer was poured into a 20 oz plastic cup and poured in such a way that there was little to no head, no lacing.  It does have a nice deep brown color with some ruby highlights; it's easy to tell when you're at an outdoor concert event.  Didn't detect a lot of aroma, some toffee from the malt, maybe a hint of nuttiness, but it seems rather tame in the aroma department.

The taste is rather unremarkable, in my opinion.  Yeah, all the notes are there, but they're all off-key.  The malt taste is evident, but that's about it.  Not a lot of complexity to it..maybe it's not supposed to be, but for a brown ale, I usually have some preconceived notions of what it ought to be, and this isn't it.  Little to no detection of nuttiness.  There's a lightly bitter aftertaste at the end, but it doesn't come off as appealing or refreshing.  It's lighted bodied with moderate carbonation.  I guess I've been spoiled by Shotgun Betty (coming later), but this just doesn't hold a candle to it, and it shows.  Needs to get bolder.  Agree or disagree?  Just let me know.

Grade: D+

Price Paid: $10.00 (20 oz draught)