A variety pack

I am currently enjoying a twelve-pack from Red Hook out of Portsmouth, NH.

I'm going to start with something they call Slim Chance. It's their light beer, as noted by the 125 calories on the label. Of course, that's more than a bottle each of MGD64 and the Bud Select 55. Well, I've had the MGD64, and I'll take the extra calories any day.

Slim Chance is what I'd call a well balanced flavor profile. In other words, not too malty, not too hoppy. And when you drink it, you notice the malt first and the hops at the end of the sip. It's a little thin, but yeah, it's a light beer. It's probably easier to make a light beer on the malty side, if only because you can roast the malt and stretch the flavor. Use a strong amount of malt, and you can dilute it a bit more with water, end up with reasonably fewer calories, but still taste the beer well.

So anyways, it's well balanced, but not exactly KILLER....My grade for Slim Chance: B-

Beers in Chicago

Okay, I was just in Chicago for a couple of days, one of which involved beer drinking. Here's a recap.

Fat Tire Ale: I've actually tried cloning this beer as a homebrew, based on a kit pre-measured by Maltose Express in Monroe, CT. It worked well as a homebrew, but this was the first time I'd ever actually had a chance to try the original. It's quite good. Nice deep amber color, and swings very much on the malt side, rather than the hops side. Probably more than I'd like, but that's not a reason not to respect it! Grade: B

Goose Island 312: The waitress said this was a wheat beer, but it at least seemed filtered. (I worried about the gasiferous effects of unfiltered beers.) Crisp, but otherwise forgettable, really. Grade: C

The Poet: This was an oatmeal stout from Michigan. And after drinking lighter-colored beers, I was like, oh geez, I didn't notice the style when I ordered it. You know, stout....dark, almost syrupy in your mouth. You can actually taste the brownness, and this was definitely brown. Had a strange fruity essence amid the darkness, though. Grade: C+

My friend Mega had an IPA I believe. He poured me a little from his, and that was far superior to the stout. If I can find out who made it again, I'll have to try it another time. Possible A- potential, which would be the highest grade I've given anything so far....

Long Trail Pale Ale

So I saw some Long Trail IPA in the store the other day. Their IPA is pretty good, not as good as Harpoon, though. So I noticed next to it was a regular Pale Ale. That's what I bought, instead. Green label, instead of the yellow for the IPA.

This beer is solid. It's got the floral hoppy flavor one would expect. Not thin-tasting, either. The bitterness of the hops is balanced very well....if you've ever had a serious IPA that just feels like beating the crap out of your tongue, then you know what I mean. The color is a traditional orange-brown with slight yellow around the edges.

So, being a thick beer, you can't just knock 4 or 5 down in one sitting. 2-3, though, are a treat. Doesn't have to be icy cold, but the next level up is good.

My grade: B+

Beers of Florida

Just a couple different beers while I was in Jacksonville, and nothing local (River City Brewing Company existed there years ago, not sure now)

Land Shark Lager -- I guess the story on this is that Jimmy Buffett owns at least part of it. Anyways, it was very yellow. And a little fizzier than beer really should be. But not hideous. Still, what's the market really? It's just regular old beer. Like another dairy putting out vanilla ice cream. Really? Like yours is any more special than the 20 other brands in the store already? Grade: C

Blue Moon -- I used to like this beer more than I do now. Probably because I had it before it became "cute" to serve it with an orange slice. It's a Belgian white, which is an excuse (a good one, though) to brew extra spices like coriander into the beer. Anyway, I had this one on tap, and it was served warmer than it should have been. I like a sweet beer like this to be pretty chilled, which this was not. Grade: B

Free beer

So I'm at a software seminar this week....They will provide free beverages. The beer offerings are pretty thin. All "major" brands....

I have two to report on.

Sam Adams -- this is what I like to refer to as "good beer, for people who don't know any better...."

And that's what it is. It's good beer. It wins prizes because it's good. Still, it's annoying that it's become a sort of stereotype for people who think they're buying upscale beer. "Hey, I bought some good beer!!!" Anyways, there's nothing special about Sam. It's got the flavor profile that's like, mass-produced beer reduced to 75% or original beer. Like, it's 33% better than your average beer -- the taste is stronger, but it's not like they incorporating something special -- just less water!

The other beer, as I worried about getting filled up, was Bud Light. Neither Bud, or Bud Light, is the worst beer in the world. It's by no means, however, as good as IT thinks it is. And that's the thing -- overexposure. And if it's going to be fewer calories than normal, well then no complaints. But really. A thin flavor profile, but something you don't taste in most beers, and that's NOT a slam. It's actually pretty good, for one or two bottles. But you have to know you're not getting anything "out" of it.

Grades:
Sam Adams: B
Bud Light: C

That funky monkey...

So, to go with the FORT, I bought some Golden Monkey.

This is made by Victory Brewing, a brewery I toured with a buddy about five years ago.

Everything these guys do is great. They have a Pils that's really good, and they make my all-time favorite, Hop Devil.

Golden Monkey is a warm beer. It's 9.5% ABV (not a great step down from the 18% of FORT, to be honest)....but it's really good. Think of a belgian white, only without the spices in it. Warm is the best description -- you drink it and it warms you, and it's never as cold as you may have refrigerated it.

The alcohol presence warms you without making you shudder. (Drink something stronger than normal and you'll understand what that means....) It's lightr than you'd expect, if you heard how strong it is.

So basically, be careful with it, and enjoy...

Grade: B

And away we go...

The first beer on this blog is Dogfish Head's FORT.

It's an "ale brewed with pureed raspberries".

What the label didn't say is that it's like 18% alcohol. So pouring it into a mug wasn't the smartest move. I suppose the $15.99 price tag for a pint bottle should have given me some clue. Actually, I did kind of expect higher than usual ABV, but Beer Advocate mentioned the 18%.

So anyway, yeah, you brew it with that much potency, it's not going to taste like regular ol' beer. I definitely detect the raspberry flavor, but there's a lot of earthiness underneath that. The color is kinda like the old Indian Red Crayola color. And there's a good dose of sediment at the bottom.

The label mentions it was "made to age with the best of them." And as I notice now, it was bottled in November of 2006. It's pretty thick, too. So we've got the combination of the raspberries, the thickness, and the high alcohol.

I'm not sure this qualifies as a "dessert beer". You definitely want to sip it rather than chug. There's no bitterness, but the alcohol sort of takes over that role.

So let's see....

I give it a C+. I won't be buying it again, but it was worth taking a flyer.

Until next time....

Here's how this'll work

I'll drink beer and then describe it. You can then try to buy the same beer yourself to enjoy it, if applicable.