Mikey: February 2008 Archives

47/1000 Caldera Dry Hop Orange of Ashland, OR

JB: Ahh... Refreshing. Maybe that's due to the hike we just went on.
MM: I chugged it, I think it's the hike. It has a bite to it, a sharp aftertaste.
SS: It sits on my tongue a lot.
JB: I think a lot of more bitter beers do that.
MM: As opposed to the sticky or sweeter ones that go to the roof of your mouth? We had that with some stouts.
SS: I like the smell.
MM: I don't love this beer, but I like it.
JB: This beer is hard not to love. What would you want to be different about it?
SS: It's definitely one of the best-looking beers I've ever seen. It's a beautiful color.
MM: You would get a keg of this?
JB: In a second. Again: What would you change?
SS: To me, there's something that's slightly missing. It's kind of middle-of-the-road in that it's not bitter enough, or...
JB: I wouldn't mind if it had a note of citrus to it.
SS: I'm not getting the "Orange."
JB: I think that's just the color they're referring to.

Just 953 to go!

42/1000 Duchesse de Bourgogne
43/1000 Double Mountian Pale Ale
44/1000 Amnesia ESB
45/1000 Ninkasi Believer Double Red
46/1000 Caldera Old Growth Imperial Stout

Just 954 to go!

32/1000 Bison Brewing Farmhouse Ale

JB: Farmhouse is a Belgian style, I think. There's a beer tasting coming up that goes over the different Belgian styles.
KM [tasting]: You're right! I think it's a sign of progress that I can taste that and say, "That's Belgian Style!" And I like it more now that I've tasted a bunch of beers that I don't like. Do you get a sense of the Lambic from that?
JB: It has a touch of sourness, but nowhere near. But yeah, you're placing it on the spectrum.
KM: And now that I've learned that it progresses so far... Would you say this is a particularly good Farmhouse?
JB: I think it's delicious! It has a clear identity but it's not smacking you around.
KM: I'm interested to know what other beers they make. They did this very well!

33/1000 Weed Pale Ale

JB: Well, doesn't taste like weed. Was that too obvious? I have no idea what the story behind the name is.
KM: It's really mild.
JB: I wouldn't say it's mild. I think it's on the bitter and hoppy side. It's sticking to the roof of my mouth.
KM: [hesitates]
JB: We don't have to agree.
KM: Yeah, more on the aftertaste though, more than drinking it.
JB: I don't know. This beer?
KM: I find it underwhelming.
JB: That is what I was trying to express. I don't need to be whelmed by every beer, to like it.
KM: And I'm not disappointed by it...
JB: I would certainly try another beer from the brewery.

34/1000 Stone Brewing 11th Anniversary

JB: It's a "dark IPA?" What is that! I have never heard of that and I'm very excited.
KM: It's like it's an evil IPA.
JB: Chewy. Sort of sweet. IPA, though?
KM: It's more like some of those porters that we were drinking.
JB: What makes them call this an IPA?
KM: Maybe it's got that IPA bitterness and hoppiness, but the darkness is masking it. What makes a beer dark?
JB: I really don't know. This is something we should learn. Is it malt-related?
KM: Is it process-related? Belgians are always kind of the same color, that murky golden color.
JB: All that aside, I think this tastes great.
KM: I like this more than most IPAs, but it's not much like an IPA. And I don't generally like IPAs.
JB: You shouldn't admit that.
KM: I don't like them, "yet." I'm learning to like them.
JB: Man, I want to know more about this beer.
KM: Mmm. It burps like an IPA. You don't see that on the beer web sites, how they burp.
JB: Way easier to rate than color!
KM: And it's a natural part of beer drinking!

35/1000 Alameda IPA

JB: I pronounce this, a lovely and mild IPA. Almost delicate. For an IPA.
KM: It doesn't seem like an especially remarkable IPA. But it's good. What's the deal with Alameda?
JB: They're local.
KM: What's the McMenamin's IPA? This reminds me of that. It's like a less sticky Hammerhead. There are IPAs that are very interesting but maybe hard to drink, and those that are more like a session beer, but it's weird to find one that's right in the middle. "Yeah, that's an IPA." This project really makes you question beer creation. Why create a middle-ground IPA?
JB: We should email them. "Uh, what's the deal with your IPA?"
KM: I can't really determine how to judge it if I don't know what they were aiming for.

Just 965 more to go!

Date: Sunday, January 27, 2008
Time: 8:00 PM
Location: Cabel and Nicole's House

In attendance:
Mike Merrill
Josh Berezin (paying)
Jessica Roberts
Willow McCormick
Alison Halter
Cabel Sasser
Nicole Buswell

25/1000: OK Beer Okocim Full Pale Piwo Jasne Pelne of Poland

CS: Should we get coasters? Nah, we don't need them. Ah, why not?!
JB: That beer smells bad! We kind of knew this would be bad. Oh, but it tastes way better than it smells. Simple and sweet.
CS: I think it smells good!
JB: It was skunky-smelling when you opened it.
JR: This is definitely a cheap European beer.
NB: Oh my gosh, it's good! It's flowery. It tastes like flowers. It's perfumey.
JB: Maybe we're drinking crazy beers in our quest to have 1000, but I'm not getting a lot of taste off it.
JR: It's watery.
NB: I don't like a hoppy beer.
JB: What do you think, Willow?
WM: Last time I read my comments, I sounded stupid. I'm not participating in the comment section today. [To Jessica:] Stop pushing those tato skins at me!
JR: I would never drink this beer again.
JB: I like the packaging, and I like the taste of it. I would drink it here at Cabel and Nicole's.

26/1000: Dick's Lava Rock Porter of Centralia, WA

JB: Now we begin the porter tasting segment of our evening. We have four porters.
CS: That is terrible packaging. "Dick's!"
JR: The dull gray...
CS: Was this printed on a laserjet?
JB: This is a weird-tasting beer.
JR: It's sharp and tangy. It doesn't have that mellow, round, dark flavor of porters.
CS: I got some smoke, there.
JB: Tangy is definitely the word!
MM: It tastes like there's dirt in it.
JR: Am I allowed to dislike two beers in a row?
MM: I don't like this at all. It's really dirty!
JB: I was trying to like it even though it didn't taste like a porter -- to try to like it in a different context. But I couldn't do it. I'm going to keep trying. [Everyone pours their dregs into Josh's glass.]
JR: Chug a dirt! Chug a dirt! Chug a dirt!

27/1000: Planet Porter, by Boulder Beer of Boulder, CO

MM: Colorado's first microbrewery!
WM: What's that called?
MM: Boulder Beer...
JR: Okay, this tastes like a porter.
WM: It's chocolatey.
NB: I don't like this kind of beer.
CS: You don't like a dark beer.
NB: I'm racist.
JR: This is no Black Butte Porter, but it's along the same lines. It's not as harmonious.
MM: It's more watery.
JB: It's got a nice chewiness. And it's sticking to my mouth. I mean, this is not likely to be my go-to beer.
MM: For people in Colorado, this is going to be fine.

28/1000: Flying Dog Gonzo Imperial Porter of Denver, CO

JB: That is an aggro label. What's he saying, "OK, let's party?" But he's a skeleton or something.
MM: It's got a Hunter S Thompson quote on it.
CS: Whoa, fruit-town! That's not just me, right? Is there supposed to be fruit up in there?
JB: In the aftertaste, I really get that.
NB: It's raisiny. Pruney. I like the flavors, but the bitterness goes too far.
MM: This is the best one we've had so far.
JB: I think it's too sweet. Well, it doesn't finish sweet, but it starts sweet.
JR: I get a harsh chemical impression from it.
MM: Does it have a high alcohol content? This label is so schizophrenic, I can't figure it out.
JB: This beer is more of an adventure than the others.

29/1000: Anchor Porter of San Francisco, CA

MM: I think this is going to be our favorite. They make beers designed for people to like, and to not be weird.
JB: Yeah, it's chalky and smooth and not too sweet.
NB: It smells like a chocolate coffee candy.
JR: We ended with the right one.
CS: That is tasty.
NB: It's not bitter in the back of your mouth.
CS: Nicole is our bitter expert.

Just 971 to go!