102. Stone Cali Belgique IPA

Alright, it's time to catch up on some of my misadventures from St. Patty's Day weekend, and I'm starting it off with the first brew I helped myself to as soon as I made it to my friend's place at the beach.  Stone Brewing's Cali-Belgique IPA!  The majority of the brews I had for the weekend were the beers that I just bought, mainly because I didn't want to bring them inside the house and have my wife see that I brought home more beers.  Shhh!  Our little secret!  Stone (http://www.stonebrew.com) has a pretty good reputation around here..I never thought about buying their stuff, mainly because it all looks the same and I can't really tell it apart.  That said, when I first bought this bomber, it stood out from the normal offerings, so I was glad to pick up.

The beer was poured into your standard pint glass.  Since I was visiting, I had a limited selection.  No complaints coming from me though, it was better than drinking out of the bottle.  A hazy, yellow color poured out of the bottle, with about a finger and a half of white head.  Pretty good lacing with this one too.  The aromas wasn't as overpowering as American IPAs.  I'm guessing that had to do with the Belgian yeast, which gave it more of a bready aroma, malt, then the light fruit and grassy notes.  

It tastes more like a Belgian brew on the forefront.  More malt, more sweetness.  Towards the end, the IPA portion comes around, with the citrus.  I'd say IPA, but as mild as it comes through, it's more like a Pale Ale, less like an IPA.  The beer itself is light bodied, with average carbonation.  This beer is just..different.  I don't have a lot of Belgian IPAs, so having one instead of an American IPA makes it stand out.  I'd definitely help myself to another down the road.

Grade: B

Price Paid: $4.49 (22 oz bomber)

Haul for 3/5 and 3/13

Alright, so I'm too sick to sleep (nothing like chronic coughing to keep you up at night!), so I figured I'd do some updating that I had been meaning to do for some time now.  One of the updates involves my various hauls that I've made.  I was too lazy to get the receipts out of my car, but I finally braved the very cold morning to grab them and make this update.  So what did I get, where did I go?  My haul from 3/5 had me at Bottle Revolution and the haul for 3/13 had me at Tasty Beverage, which is the first time that I had purchased anything from that particular store.  What did I get?  Here goes..!

• Luk Cider Apple - Never heard of this cider before, thought I'd give it a try.  Price paid: $3.49
• Sweetwater Happy Ending - One of Sweetwater's seasonals, and I'm trying to keep up with their offerings.  Price paid: $1.79
• Founders Breakfast Stout - They were reduced for quick sale!  I was so thrilled, I picked up 2.  Price paid: $1.59
• Lagunitas Sucks Holiday Ale - Everytime I turn around, Bottle Revolution is selling out of this.  I saw it, so I decided to get one, see what all the fuss is about. Price paid: $1.79
• Sierra Nevada Ovila Quad - Trying to make an effort to try everything Sierra Nevada, this was one I haven't come across yet.  Price paid: $3.29
• Lagunitas WTF - I thought the price point for the bomber was pretty good, and Lagunitas is typically pretty solid.  Price paid: $4.49
• Hoppin' Frog BORIS The Crusher - I know the barrel aged version goes for a lot more, but I heard good things about this brew, so I thought I'd give it a shot.  Price paid: $9.99
• Dogfish Head 75 Minute IPA - I'm guessing that this is pretty popular?  Just saw it, noticed I had several of the other <insert minutes here> IPA, so I'd get this one too.  Price paid: $8.99
• Terrapin Side Project Mosaic - Like Sweetwater, Terrapin is one of those breweries where I'm trying to keep up with their offerings.  Price paid: $7.99
• Fullsteam Chombers One - Fullsteam released this beer for their 1st Anniversary, and I was glad to buy one so I can experience it!  Price paid: $6.99
• Olde Hickory Redeemer - Remember when I went with the Siren Noire over this?  A new shipment came in and I wasn't about to miss out on it a second time around.  Price paid: $9.99
• Stone Cali Belgique - This is Stone's Belgian IPA and it was at a reduced price, notably because it needed to be consumed before the end of the month.  Don't worry, it was consumed before the end of the weekend (reviews coming later).  Price paid: $4.49

Did I make any good choices?  Anything I should definitely look forward to?  Let me know!

101. Widmer Brothers Drifter Pale Ale

Moving on in my journey to #200 (that's my next milestone), I decided to try this beer to go with my dinner.  I thought a pale ale would be a great complement to some pan-grilled cod.  I was right.  I have several beers from Widmer Brothers (http://www.widmerbrothers.com), but this may be the first one that I've actually gotten around to drinking so far.

The beer poured a nice hazy orange color.  I was able to get a finger of head.  Light retention, very light lacing.  Fresh aromas of grapefruit, grass, and bread, with the grapefruit having a surprising about of presence.  Gives the impression that this beer could be very hop forward.

Once you taste it, however, you realize that it's not all that hop forward.  Remarkably balanced is more like it.  The hops are there, but they're mild and don't overpower the malts.  Leaves just enough on the tongue to make you want to keep drinking more.  Light to medium carbonated, the beer is medium bodied but slick and is incredibly easy to drink.  Makes for a great session beer.  I could see myself on the beach this weekend, helping myself to a six pack of this stuff.  It's a very good beer and I can easily recommend it.  Agree with me?  Disagree?  Let me know, I'll be glad to tell you that you're wrong if you don't take my side. *Wink*

Grade: B+

Price Paid: $1.49 (12 oz bottle)

100. Great Lakes Conway's Irish Ale

Number 100!  Woo!  While I know I've actually drank more than 100 a while back, I'm just glad I made it to 100 here on my blog.  It's a milestone moment, and I'll celebrate by drinking scotch.  Or whisky.  Yeah, I'll celebrate by drinking something that's not beer.  When I go long spells without a review or without drinking beer, it's probably me subbing in a liquor or a bottle of wine.  Nice to mix it up sometimes.

Now where was I?  Oh yes, for #100, I wanted to drink something that would be slightly relevant to the times..and since we're so close to St. Patrick's Day, I thought it'd be a great time to bust open Conway's Irish Ale.  The beer was poured into a pilsner glass.  Copper colored with three fingers of off-white head.  Light retention, light lacing.  The aroma is quite neutral, but I could pick out some malts, grains, caramel.  

There's a light sweetness that starts on the tongue, then it opens up into some lighter hop notes.  I also can detect a metallic taste and I'm instantly reminded of Red Oak.  And I love me some Red Oak.  This one, being quite similar, made me a fan.  Light to medium carbonated, the mouthfeel was a little slick.  I think this beer would make for a great session beer, and I'd be glad to have many a session with this one.  Solid beer, this one would be a keeper for me!  Would it be a keeper for you?  Feel free to let me know!

Grade: A-

Price Paid: $1.90 (12 oz bottle)

99. Bell's Java Stout

I had been holding onto this one for a while, and when I had breakfast for dinner, I thought a coffee stout would be a great complement to my bacon, eggs, and grits.  

The beer poured a near black, but in the light, there were some dark brown hues.  A finger and a half of mocha colored head makes this a very attractive beer.  The aroma is coffee, and that's about it.  The coffee was so dominating that it was very difficult to pick out anything else.  Since it advertises itself as a coffee stout, this isn't a complaint.

The taste was a little more complex than the aroma.  The coffee is certainly evident, but there's also some faint hops and something else I couldn't quite put my finger on.  Spice?  Smoke?  Char?  Some combination of the three?  Either way, it gave it an extra layer of depth and complexity that resonated with me.  Medium bodied and creamy, with moderate carbonation, this beer was a delight to drink.  I've had some good coffee stouts and porters, but I think this is my favorite of the bunch so far.  

Grade: A-

Price Paid: $2.79 (12 oz bottle)

98. Red Brick 17th Anniversary

I actually had this beer this week, but realized that I forgot to review it.  The bottle was still in the fridge, but it wasn't until I was cleaning the fridge that the bottle was near empty.  Better late, than never!  That said, I didn't drink the contents within..tried a taste and it was awful.  That's what I get for ignoring the last ounce or two for a few days.

The beer was poured into a snifter glass and was a hazy brown with what I'll call a slight purple hue.  Two fingers of frothy head, capable of leaving a lot of lacing on the sides of the glass.  Good looking beer.  Aromas of bourbon, caramel, malt, and vanilla right off the bat.  When it said bourbon barrel, it wasn't lying.

The tastes of bourbon, caramel, malt, and vanilla come through as well, along with some dark fruits and a light hop taste at the end.  Very sweet tasting, maybe even a little too sweet.  Boozy on the way down and in the finish.  The beer was medium to full bodied, with moderate carbonation.  To be honest, I didn't drink the whole thing because I wasn't a big fan.  I think the excessive booze taste was a little much, and the sweetness was a little offputting.  I'll probably come across some folks who would vehemently disagree (feel free to let me know!), but I'll stand by my decision on this one.  I was glad to have it once, but I probably won't have it again.

Grade: C

Price Paid: $3.90 (12 oz bottle)

97. Krombacher Dark

To go with my dinner for tonight, I decided to go with the Krombacher Dark from Germany (http://www.krombacher.com).  I'm pretty sure I got this beer back in September, and I finally got around to drinking it now.  

The beer poured a very dark brown into a pilsner glass.  Gorgeous four finger head (vigorous pour) with plenty of retention and fluffy goodness.  Plenty of lacing on the sides of the glass.  Aromas of malt and some light chocolate, maybe some metal..?  

It didn't have a heavy flavor profile.  Malt, grain, a little bit of metal makes up the taste.  I know that people like bold, big, flavors, and while you may not get that here, I thought that it was a pretty good beer for the type.  The light flavors and body makes this easy drinking.  Medium carbonation gives a little bit of spiciness.  The metallic taste reminds me of Red Oak, and since I like that taste, I have no problems with Krombacher. I'd have again.

Grade: B

Price Paid: $2.29 (12 oz bottle)