Month: March 2019

Sunday Beer Blog: Outta Line

Published on by TraciLeave a comment

Rogue has provided us with a very cute can and that was all this girl needed. Seriously, a penguin in a jet pack?

Beer Can

Outta Line is a West Coast IPA. It poured a beautiful gold and displayed ample head. The initial scent was hop forward as expected.

“Wow. That’s delicious.”

Frothy Head

I audibly liked this beer from first sip. It was a sweet hop flavor finished with a tart balance. Second sip smoothed out even more and the effervescence showed through.

I may have purchased for the can, but I’ll repurchase for the beer.

Rogue

Brewer: Rogue Ales

ABV: 6.9%

Style: West Coast IPA

Purchased: La Bodega

Sunday Beer Blog: Must Kuld Porter

Published on by TraciLeave a comment

La Bodega gifted us with a beer from Estonia this month. Estonia! If you’re like me, here’s a map to paint a clear picture.

Map
Estonia

What I found more interesting was Chris Pilkington of Scotland’s Brewdog joined the Põhjala team. The creative collaborations are going to be endless.

Black Gold
“Black Gold”

The beer itself was dark brown and opaque. The scent was fruit and molasses. The mouthfeel was surprisingly light and the first taste was also surprisingly syrupy. The second tasting gave me a more complete picture. The malt comes in and balances the sweet. Cocoa and coffee flavors abound, but lean toward a bitter finish.

Black Gold

I think this was a beer which would have been better after a sturdy meal. Even the bottle says to enjoy “as a dessert at the end of a decadent meal”. I feel that if given enough food flavor, this porter would cut through and finish the evening quite nicely.

Brewer: Põhjala

Style: Porter

ABV: 7.8%

Purchase Location: La Bodega

Sunday Beer Blog: Tastes Like Space

Published on by TraciLeave a comment

Belching Beaver has been impressing me for a while now so I was excited to try Tastes Like Space when Derek brought it home. (Gifts like this keep a marriage happy.)

Tastes Like Space

TLS is a stout with caramel flavor and cocoa nibs added. The pour provided a rich dark color and decent head that dissipated quickly, and it had a delicious chocolate scent. The first sip was sweet at the front and a bit bitter at the finish. Not bitter in a bad way, just in a well-rounded way. I’d venture to say the initial taste is caramel and the finish is nib.

Tastes Like Space

The can reads “store cold drink fresh”, but we enjoyed this brew at room temperature. I think it really let the caramel and chocolate notes shine through.

We are big fans of Sam Smith’s Organic Chocolate Stout. This one is very similar. I can’t wait to try mixing it with a Cherry Lambic. (If you haven’t tried this, do so now. Thank me later.)

Sláinte!

Brewer: Belching Beaver Brewery

Style: Stout

ABV: 5.3%

Purchase Location: La Bodega

Sunday Beer Blog: Arcadium Gruit

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Arcadium Gruit

This beer is out of Tennessee. It’s by VonSeitz TheoreticAles. It’s a gruit with rosemary, savory, and marjoram. It’s actually a very complicated beer. I recommend you check out the brewers website. (See below.)

According to our friends at La Bodega, this was supposedly not too sour. After the first pour, the smell said sour patch kids had an accidental baby with those cheap sour rings you get at gas stations. I persevered.

Yellow Brown Ale

Syrup-yellow brown color, not auburn, is how I’d describe it. It was very distinctive. The mouthfeel was really nice and effervescent. I prepared for the worst, but the initial sip was not bad. It was actually pleasantly lambic in nature.

I grew braver on the second sip and let things swish. Tart but sweet. Maybe sour patch kids were in a committed relationship with gummy bears.

Thank goodness for the bubbles. They really took the flavors and rushed them around. It gave this brew the lightness it needed. Otherwise I think this would be close to barley wine. I don’t think I’ll repurchase, but I recommend this highly, especially to those sour beer lovers out there.

Brewer: VonSeitz TheoreticAles

Beer Type: Gruit

AVB: 6.1%

Purchase Location: La Bodega