Grand Teton Brewing Bitch Creek ESB

One of the first brews of our trip, Grand Teton Brewing Bitch Creek ESB comes to you from Victor, ID… not more than 60 miles from where I grew up.  Such fond memories… although I have never been to the creek the beer is named for… Anyhow, the description on their page is pretty good… this is a pretty big brew from a little Idaho brewery and one that I will be coming back to for sure.  It pours very heady and dark amber in color.  A tad bit yeasty with definite malt on the nose… the malt and hops mix to almost give a dark hop flavor on the body with the malt sitting just under the surface of a roiling hop surface.  Overall a really solid beer that started the trip off right!

JBB6 Rating: Will Buy Again

Brownstone Brewing Pale Ale

Close to my home of Parker, ID, Brownstone Brewing Inc. just happens to be within 100 yds of the Best Western Driftwood Inn, where we are staying on our Idaho leg of the trip.  We noticed it last time we were here but didn’t get a chance to visit, so I made a point of walking down after the kids were in bed tonight.  Pretty darn glad I did, to be honest.  While I wouldn’t say this is the best in the west, it isn’t bad for being the only brewery I can find in the city.  I arrived just as they were doing last call and was able to get a taste of their five that they had available on tap from their brewery: pilsner, pale ale, amber bock, nut brown, and winter.  The pilsner was pretty damn good… different but good… the pale like no other pale I have ever had, the amber bock was like a smokey dark lager… really pretty good, the nut brown had no nose or taste, and the winter smelled like ass (seriously… not even joking) and I couldn’t bring myself to tasting enough to know what it would taste like.  For the novelty, I chose the pale ale in a 1/2 gallon growler ($12 this time, $10.50 to refill), bought a beer glass to enjoy it in ($3), and headed back to the hotel.

So… here I sit on the free wifi after polishing off my first glass, feeling very relaxed after a good day of chilling with the family.  I guess I need to get to the review…

The color is darker than normal… I wouldn’t usually expect a pale to be more of a copper/amber color, but this one is.  The nose is sweet… almost like they used brown sugar in it a bit hoppy but not much… the body is ever so slightly hoppy but really taste the malt in there.  I don’t know if folks out here could handle real hoppy beer, to be honest, so maybe this is a good call… the finish is short and compact, refreshing and clean.  Really quite easy to drink, this isn’t your typical pale ale but I like it… it is different and tasty and that is about all I need.

JBB6 Rating: Will Buy Again

Rogue St. Rogue Red Ale

You may think this is a shameless plug for Garlic Jim’s, but it isn’t… they deserve a little recognition since our family can once again have pizza delivered to the house.  Their Garlic Jim’s Gluten Free Menu has allowed the rest of my family (all 4 of them) to enjoy really good GF pizza for the first time in over a year (I have no such restrictions, obviously, with a beer blog…).  So… we had beer and pizza the other night and it was a wonderful experience and so you get a little of Garlic Jim’s in the background for the pic… enjoy!

On to the beer… one of several tasters for the night, Rogue St. Rogue Red Ale had mixed reviews.  The peanut gallery thought this was like drinking generic soda… I, on the other hand, really didn’t mind it… not a big beer by any means, but this light red brew has a nice little head, a dusty/hoppy nose, a mild but satisfactory body, and a simple finish.  It went down super easy with the pizza and just made me happy.  A good all around mild beer for easy drinking pleasure.  Thanks Rogue!

JBB6 Rating: Will Buy Again

Stone Vertical Epic 08

Mr. Dave wasn’t very happy about this one… Stone Vertical Epic 08… of course we opened it before we read the bottle and it noted that this was meant to be stored until 12/12/12… but what can I say… we all really enjoyed it now and I am sure that we can get more…   He thinks he can keep a bottle in his fridge for 3 years… I would like to see it, sir… I would like to see it.

Like I said, though, we liked this one… the Belgian influence was subtle but profound, leading from nose to body.  The light brew was downed in no time as the clean and refreshing beer went down so very easy.  A good one now and we all would love to see it in 3 years…

JBB6 Rating: Will Buy Again

Shiner 100 Commemorator

From the web site, this brew was created in honor of Shiner’s centenial year.  Shiner 100 Commemorator takes the doppelbock style and sends it on an interesting spin.  At 6.7%, it isn’t super powerful but it comes to you pretty solid anyhow.  The nose is light and malty with a taste that is similar but definitely portrays a sweetness to it.  It is dark and reminds me of some of the dark lagers that I have had.  All agreed that it isn’t a bad brew but maybe not 100 years worthy… but hey, we all were able to drink easy and figure this is just a good non-commital brew.

JBB6 Rating: Will Buy Again

“The Belly” and Mr. Dave came up with some creative photography for this one in honor of the event…

Silver City Fat Woody Scotch Ale

HELLO MR. DAVE! 

While this picture makes me laugh, it also disturbs me a little… that crazed look in the eyes… you just never know if/when he is going to touch you.  Ah well… be gentle Mr. Dave.

Silver City Fat Woody Scotch Ale – Straight out of Silverdale, WA, this fine brew was tasted the other night and I have been thinking about how I liked it so much more than their Fat Scotch Ale that we had tasted before…. I should have know… age anything in oak barrels for 6 months and it is bound to get about 10x better.   Aging treated this little beauty quite well and graceful with everyone agreeing that we had a winner.  Not over the top holy crap great, but really a nice, nice beer.  Pours dark like cola and smells sweet and malty… the nose carries right through to the body with sugar, caramel, and malt leading the way.  The finish left a little to be desired but overall this was a great beer.

JBB6 Rating: Will Buy Again

New Belgium Lips of Faith Dark Kriek

One of the members of the New Belgium Lips of Faith program, New Belgium Lips of Faith Dark Kriek was highly anticipated by the neighborhood tasting panel.  Just look at the smile on Mrs. Heather’s face in the pic below…

So, for their Dark Kriek, we opened her up and dug right in… on the pour, you can see the redish brown tinge to the brew and on the nose, cherry for sure but not over the top on the tangy vinegar smell that some sours exude.  As we head into the body, you get a semi-sour, tart hit, somewhat “bingy”, noted Ms. Katrina, and overall it comes in like a lite version of our favorite New Belgium La Folie.  It is a tip of the tongue tingler at 8% but not over the top and as “The Belly” notes, it might be a good introduction to the sour cherry beer genre for those that are new to the game. 

JBB6 Rating: For the Win

Abita Turbodog

Coming straight from the south, Abita Turbodog graced Mr. Dave’s fridge the other night and he was kind enough to share it with me.  This Louisiana brew comes from Abita Brewing Company, who has been around since 1986.  They have some good info on their site and I was pleased to see that they use Pacific Northwest hops.  Thanks Abita!

As far as the beer goes, it is a good one.  It is a dark brown ale but I swear it is more like a dark lager in taste and texture.  Either way, though, it is a tasty little beer with an earthy/dusty nose, a clean and light body, and a dark roasted finish that sticks around just long enough.  Overall this and the sound of some of the other beers on their site make me very anxious to try more from them. 

JBB6 Rating: Will Buy Again

Fish Brewing Old Woody

Man o’ man am I glad I took the trip to Malt & Vine the other day to get this sweet new release.  Every once in a while a beer just takes you by surprise and this is the one.  It has probably been a month or two since I have had one hit me like this… so thanks Fish Brewing for your wonderful Old Woody!

This beer kicked off a heck of a night of tasting with the glasses all lined up and ready to try some brews.  For the most part it was a great night with all Will Buy Again ratings or better.  Of course I should have figured starting off so well.

So… how was the tasting on this one?  The pour was a ruddy red in color, leading to small white and bubbly heads in the four tasting mugs.  The nose smelled of sweet malt and caramel, giving me a dilemma on whether I should just keep smelling it or should actually take a drink.  My tastes buds finally took over and I had my first swallow of this wonderful malt juice and oh was I rewarded!  The nose was right on as the body held sweetness, malts, and a wonderful caramel flavor that made several folks ponder on whether this would be good in a milkshake or over icecream… if I were a betting man, I would bet on it.  The oak aging was there but definitely mild, which I think fit this one well as it gave it more of the background character than front end flavor.  The cloudy body led to sweetness again in the finish with mild complexity but nice succinctness.  Not too much, not too little, especially for 10% ABV. 

JBB6 Rating: For The Win

Big Sky Brewing Ivan the Terrible

As I pulled up to the house the other night, there were the neighbors and my family enjoying a rare bit of warm spring sunshine, drinking brews and relaxing… I love coming home to that and thought it a special enough occassion to break out what I hear is a special brew… Big Sky Brewing Ivan the Terrible Imperial Stout (number 625 of 1152).

I have heard a lot about this beer and Beeradvocate gives it an averaged A-, so it has to be outstanding, right?  Um… right?  Don’t dismiss me and call me a charlatan, but I just don’t see it.  This time I actually wasn’t alone, either.  “The Belly”, Mr. Dave, and Miss Katrina all agreed and helped me feel a bit more validated (vs. violated like normal).   The beer pours an impressive dark sludge, looking like molasses with little caramel bubbles floating lazily near the top as everything settles.  A small little tan head forms and it all looks nice and dandy.  So we sit and sniff to see what we can find… and we sniff… and, well, not much… relatively underwhelming.  But hey… not all beers are super fragrant, so can’t hold that against it yet.  On to the taste!  First taste has to be dismissed after not having anything for a couple of hours… so that one is shrugged off and into the meat of it… and… well… just… ok… really just ok.  You can taste the roasted malt and a bit of the hard stuff… but that is it.  As you drink, it doesn’t liven up, it just stays flat and relatively uninteresting, teasing you, giving you googly eyes, but then sneaking out after you think it just went to powder its nose… you know it will never be the one to satisfy you.  Oh Ivan… I wanted you to be the one… I really did, but alas… you have failed me…

JBB6 Rating: Middle of the Road