The Kick Box - On Hip!

Last night I stumbled upon a Friday night gig doing security for a reggae music concert on a riverboat. It was a peaceful and mellow crowd with very few security problems which made my job easy. Plus I got paid to go to a really awesome party. And today I ground scored a $50 dollar bill on the sidewalk. I've had amazing luck this weekend.

 

Finally cracked open a bottle of this. Come to find out Elysian's The Great Pumpkin gets a higher score than the Night Owl on BeerAdvocate. But I would have to say that among all the pumpkin beers I have had so far, this beer comes the closest to Southern Tier's Imperial Pumking both in terms of the flavor, as well as my overall ranking of the beer. It's definitely one of the best pumpkin beers I have had to date, though I think I would still rank the aforementioned Pumking higher. Overall I am very impressed. Great balance here of pumpkin and spice, and an ABV (6.7%) that isn't too high, which means you can drink more than 1 or 2. One thing I notice is that despite having a lower ABV than the Pumking, the Night Owl seems to have more of an alcohol bite in the finish.

I am enjoying this as part of my weekly refeed. I will probably have one or two more before the night is over. (EDIT: I have had two, both of which went down very fast.)

The other pumpkin beers I am currently seeking out are Schlafly's Pumpkin Ale, Elysian's The Great Pumpkin, and Cigar City's Good Gourd Imperial Pumpkin Ale. I haven't ventured out to Beers of the World in ages, though I am sure they carry at least one or two of them. Perhaps tomorrow I will try and get my hands on them.

 

I have seen Elysian's The Great Pumpkin at the beer store i go to. Elysian actually has 3 or 4 pumpkin beers that ive seen there. I havent tried it but might pick it up next time I go. possibly tonight on my lunch break at work.

 

Today I took a drive out to the beer store to look for Schlafly Pumpkin Ale to no avail. However, I did see a lot of interesting beers, two of which I picked up while there (seen below).

The first beer is by Stone and is called Points Unknown IPA, which is said to be "a double IPA blended with a barrel-aged Belgian-style tripeI."

The second beer is made by Southern Tier and is called Tripel Cafe, which, according to the label is a "Belgian style ale brewed with green coffee beans and orange peel."

I am loving some of these artisanal, experimental beers coming out these days. I am interested to find out how these will be, and I have not even checked out the reviews on them.

 

This Stone beer is actually a blended ale, which we are starting to see more of these days. It's also a collaboration beer, which we have also been seeing more of. Here Stone brings together Portland, Oregon's Ecliptic Brewing, and Asheville, North Carolina's Wicked Weed Brewing. It is a 9.5% ABV double IPA blended with a barrel-aged Belgian-style tripel. The barrels in which the latter beer was aged in are red wine barrels that were most recently used for aging tequila. I am really loving this beer. It brings together the fruity hoppiness of a West Coast IPA and the yeasty, clove-like characteristics common with Belgian tripels.

 

Now moving on to Southern Tier's Tripel Cafe -- an 8.8% ABV Belgian-style tripel brewed with green coffee beans and orange peel. The unroasted coffee beans combine with the hops to create a rather unique flavor and bitterness, together with the yeasty, floral esters and spiciness common with Belgian tripels. There are subtle orange peel and coriander notes in the beer's finish.

 

Seems like a pretty interesting beer. i dont think ive ever seen it.

i didnt have time to go to the beer store but i did pick up arogant bastard ale from stone brew co on my way home from work just now.

One of my co workers a few years ago used to drink two or 3 of these on his lunch break every day at the bar next door lol

 

I wish I had the luxury of actually stopping by Stone to buy my beer.

Arrogant Bastard is an awesome brew.

 

Points unknown dosnt sound like it would be good. Although I have had enough bad sounding beers that were good to know that means nothing

 

Then again you don't have a BAC of 0.300











Hotwater

 

the thing hasn't worked for me for about a month now, and I use my pc, kindle and galaxy s 3....it dosnt work on any of them

 

drinking the infamous spiced banana wheat from shock top.
I expected nothing from this but I just had to know what it tastes like.
you can definitely taste banana in there and spices too.
it isn't as bad as it sounds.
I would never buy it again but I would definitely drink it again if it was bought for me.

 

https://m.************/BrewStuds/photos/a.362363847262620.1073741829.361343274031344/522864347879235/?type=3&source=48&refid=17&_ft_=top_level_post_id.522864347879235%3Atl_objid.522864347879235&__tn__=E

 

Nothing.
I just meant that my quote button is there and seems to be working fine.

As evidenced by this post.


So weird that you're having those issues.
Maybe someone on the Admin team might have an idea about what's up?

 

Hot damn, that sounds intriguing and possibly awesome!
Definitely sounds like something I'd love to try!

 

Awesome!
Thanks for that link!

I'm gonna pop the link to the article that's linked in the Facebook post you linked to.
This one: http://www.wearebrewstuds.com/features/craft-beer-proper-glassware-how-to-get-the-best-experience/

Just so I know what it is when going back through this thread in the future.

 

So, after reading all the recent reviews from y'all, I just HAD to go out and get myself some beer for tonight!
And not just any beer, but a pumpkin beer I haven't tried yet.

So, tonight's offering is:

(Alc. 9%)

On the nose: Definitely can smell pumpkin and spices in there. The more I sniff at the neck, the more it smells like beautifully spiced pumpkin pie. Possibly strong on... something... in the spices.

On the tongue: It's thicker than I expected, with a stout-like creaminess.The pumpkin is much less pronounced, as well as the spices. But it's still a tasty brew.

Overall (for now): A really pleasant beer that hints at being a pumpkin beer.

Worth noting: I'm letting the second beer sit out to get closer to room temperature by the time I drink it.
I'll also be using a glass instead of straight from the bottle for the second one.
This should tone down the alcohol taste and bring out more of the pumpkin spice flavors.

I'll try to remember to re-review it with the second bottle.

 

Thats a pretty high abv for a pumpkin beer ^^^^ i dont think ive seen that one before.




currently drinknig new belgium punkin ale

 

I always thought dr. Pepper tastes like a root beer.

 

There were a few higher ABVs in the store I went to, but went with the Devious choice.
(I think a couple were around 11% or so... but I wanted more than one beer tonight and have to go to bed at a decent time... babysitting my niece tomorow.)

Anyfuck... I'm just on to my second beer now.
I'm also currently listening to Orion by Metallica (you know, before Metallica started to suck big hairy donkey balls).
(Also, an interesting side note, "Metallica" does not set off the spell check!)

The beer still has a chill to it, but it seems to be less chilly than earlier.
And I have it in a pint glass.

Once again, I can smell the pumpkin and spices pretty well.
But now comes the taste test...
(Oh shit, I'm not gonna... but I just had the idea to slam the whole damn glass. I miss doing bombs... I could down a pint in a couple seconds, maybe less.)

Ok, still not very front and center, but I can definitely taste more of the pumpkin and spice flavors now.

Final assessment - A very enjoyable beer, but both somewhat decent and lacking as a pumpkin offering.
I would buy it again (and still have two left in the fridge) if I wanted a high ABV brew that's fun to drink... and that I'd had previously.
(But I like to attempt to try something new every time I get beer.)

Hmm... I should start a Favorites list... ... .. . . .. . . .. . . .. . . .