The Kick Box - On Hip!

I wasn't going to break a second bottle open, but fuck it. Moving on to the next beer from the same brewery, this is Southern Tier's Creme Brulee, an imperial milk stout brewed with vanilla beans, clocking in at a hefty 10% ABV.

This is an awesome brew. I love the vanilla aroma and flavor, which complements the roasted malts and coffee flavors nicely. It also has a really smooth, creamy body when consumed near cellar temperature.

I just started drinking a half hour ago and I am already very nicely buzzed. I have such a hard time drinking slow.

 

I don't think I've ever tried that Creme Brulee, but I remember raising an eyebrow at it a few times.
With that review, I may have to make sure to pick it up the next time I'm at the booze shop!

That Un*Earthly sounded good too.
I went and checked out some reviews, which all sang the praises just as much as you are PRat.
I'm not a big fan of hops, but I wouldn't be opposed to trying this one.

The past couple nights I drank some wine.
Nothing amazing, just this shiraz:



This was a cheap wine I got as a present.
(Apparently it normally sells in the mid-teen range.)

Not bad, better at room temp than chilled.
But my taste in wine tends to be more expensive than that.

 

Went to a coffee shop/bar with my girlfriend tonight. They had a fairly impressive draft lineup. I got the three beers you see below, plus an Ommegang Nirvana and a Victory Hop Ranch. I especially loved the sour ale.



Founders Imperial Stout


Swiftwater Brewing Dry Hopped Sour Ale


Beau's Lug Tread Lagered Ale

 

Looks like a good time!

I feel I've been sorely lacking in my beer intake lately.
I hope to rectify that as soon as possible.
(Granted, that probably won't be for a few days... maaaaybe Monday, in honor of the Iowa Caucus.)

 

I've usually had bad luck with milk stouts as they've always failed to meet expectation. But that one actually sounds like it might be a winner!

 

I forget... have you tried Left Hand's milk stouts?

 

Not sure that I have. The graphic design on the label looks familiar though. But that could be a memory of looking at it, not tasting it.

 

It's one of my few go-to's when I want to drink, but not looking to try something new.
Both versions are good, but I usually get the regular, non-Nitro version.


Of course, now that I've talked it up... you'll hate it, lol.

 

Turns out I'm drinking tonight.
And this is the brew I've chosen (in honor of Sanders, in light of the Iowa caucus):


(Alc. 5%)


Smell: Smells tangy and dark and can easily smell the coffee notes toasted in there. I believe the vanilla notes are evening out the nose, encouraging thought sof a smooth taste experience.

Taste: Oh... that's nice. The coffee notes are right up front and linger throughout the front, middle and back. A decent thickness to the body, but nowhere near needing a fork and knife (so a good porter body). The vanilla doesn't really shine on it's own, more like the smell experience... it seems to even out the whole thing, rounding off the edges and... wait, I think I just detected it a little bit for a moment.

Overall, I can easily suggest this for a fall or winter session brew. A couple of plus notes are the "Non-GMO" label, along with it apparently being an organic brew. Yay, Vermont!

 

Saw this was only $5 a bomber, so I picked up a bottle at the store after work yesterday morning. I've had many of Lagunitas' beers before, but never this one. I was expecting it to be on the hoppier side of an imperial stout, as many of Lagunitas' beers are extremely hoppy in character. I was surprised to find this beer was mostly true to the style, as it is very malty with a lot of roasted and some chocolate notes. Very nice full body to this beer after letting sit out of the refrigerator for an hour prior to consuming it. 9.9% ABV. Definitely a very good imperial stout.

 

Moving on to Rochester based Three Heads Brewing's Rebel Soul imperial coconut porter. A very smooth, easy drinking 7.6% ABV porter with roasty malts and a toasted coconut finish. I really like the medium, creamy body to this beer.

 

That sounds awesome.
I'm going to try to remember that one too.

(I never remember anything when I'm at the store, lol.)

 

Also...

 

Got some Troegs Nugget Nectar for tonight. It's been years since I've had it and had pretty much forgotten what it tasted like, so I decided to give it another go as this year's batch just arrived at my local Wegmans. It's a very highly rated beer, scoring a 96 on BeerAdvocate, though I am not so sure it lives up to the hype it receives. It's basically a really hoppy amber ale which doubles as an IPA and is 7.5% ABV. To me the hops used in this beer (which the bottle lists as Nugget, Warrior, Tomahawk, Simcoe and Palisade hops) are almost too bitter for my liking, as I prefer the more fruity, citrus type hops such as Cascade, Amarillo and Citra. If you're a hophead who prefers the more bitter, piney side to IPAs, you will probably love this beer as many people seem to. I definitely like it, but I am just not sure it's as great as people are making it out to be. I'd score it in the high 80s, but nothing more than that. I am kind of wishing I had went with the Ballantine IPA instead, which was my second choice. I personally just don't see the hype surrounding these overly hoppy, bitter, and ultimately unbalanced beers. I guess it's a matter of personal taste.

 

Draft menu from one of my favorite bars which I went to last night.

 

:drool:

 

I have a low carb beer.

 

I'll have to check out that imperial stout from lagunitas, PR.

Tonight I am drinking sculpin ipa from ballast point brewery

 

I'm having a S'more stout tonight from Basecamp brewery. It tastes pretty good from the bottle, but at brewery it actually comes topped with a roasted marshmallow.

 

This s'more thing seems to be a new trend. Saranac has recently introduced a s'more porter.