Mike Loves Beer

Name - Sierra Nevada 12th Release Harvest Wet Hop Ale
Country - United States
Type - American IPA

Appearance - Nice amber color with white foamy head that stuck around for almost the entire drink.  Left nice lacing down the glass the entire way.

Smell - Hoppy but with some sweet malt and citrus notes to it.

Taste - A slightly piney taste with the hops but a smooth and sweet finish to it.

I was highly recommended this beer by everyone at the BX Beer Depot and took them up on it.  The hops used in this beer are added to the beer the same day they are picked so that they are the freshest hops you can have.  And the beer itself is amazing.  An extremely smooth and flavorful drink all the way through.  I highly recommend this one.

Overall Grade - A

Posted November 16th, 2008 by Mike | Tags: IPA, sierra nevada, sierra nevada harvest, wet hop ale | Category: IPA |  Email This Post | Leave a comment

Name - Stoudt’s American Pale Ale
Country - United States
Type - Pale Ale

Appearance - Copper color with a foamy white head.

Smell - Earthy hops smell.

Taste - The taste is pretty along the lines of the smell.  Hoppy but not to bitter.

It wasn’t a bad beer but I couldn’t help but feel that it was missing something.  I couldn’t quite put my finger on it but it just wasn’t complete.  I thought it was decent enough though that I would probably have it again.

Overall Grade - C

Posted November 16th, 2008 by Mike | Tags: Pale Ale, stoudts | Category: Pale Ale |  Email This Post | Leave a comment

Name - Avery Hog Heaven Barley Wine
Country - United States
Type - American Barley Wine

Appearance - A clear copper color with a big frothy, white head.

Smell - Very big hoppy and sweet malt smell.

Taste - A sweet malty taste at first turns to a big hoppy hit on your taste buds.  Plus you do taste the alcohol in this one.

I’ve heard so much about barley wines from other people that I felt like I had to try it.  I really had no idea what I was in for.  This one was strong, I mean real strong.  It’s 9.2% ABV will hit you hard if you aren’t expecting it.  This is also a slow drinker.  You want to take your time with this or you might end up to drunk early or maybe even sick.  I look forward to trying an actual Belgian one at some point but this wasn’t bad.

Overall Grade - B-

Posted November 13th, 2008 by Mike | Tags: avery brewing, Barley Wine, hog heaven | Category: Barley Wine |  Email This Post | Leave a comment

You hear about people going to food and wine pairings all the time. Even down here in Florida we have the annual Food and Wine Festival at Disney’s Epcot. Sometimes people forget that food and beer can go well together. Certain foods bring out the flavors in the beer more and visa versa.

I signed up for the IPA and Food pairing at the BX Beer Depot in Lake Worth, Florida when I attended their home brewing class a month ago. They mentioned how their previous pairing was a great success and were looking very forward to this one. I being the IPA fan that I am decided it would be fun. So along with fellow beer blogger Danno we went this past Saturday night at the cost of $25 a head in advance, $30 at the door. This price may seem a little steep to some but I believe it was ultimately worth it as you will find out. More »

Posted November 11th, 2008 by Mike | Tags: avery brewing, beer and food pairing, bx beer depot, dogfish head, IPA, left hand brewing company, stone brewing, stoudts | Category: Event Review |  Email This Post | Comments (2)

Name - He’Brew Genesis Ale
Country - United States
Type - American Pale Ale

Appearance - A nice light copper color with a nice white, foamy head.

Smell - A sweet but faint caramel smell.

Taste - All the tastes seemed very faint to me.  There was a sweet yet hoppy appeal to it but it just was not all there.

I found that the Genesis Ale started out with promise but ultimately didn’t finish properly.  The appearance and smell were there but the taste just lacked overall to me.  I guess you could say it just wasn’t strong enough for me.  If the flavors came out a little more with a punch this would have probably been better.

Overall Grade - C-

Posted November 10th, 2008 by Mike | Tags: genesis ale, he'brew beers, Pale Ale, Shmaltz Brewing | Category: Pale Ale |  Email This Post | Comments (2)

Today is an extremely important day for all of us Americans.  So make sure you get out there and vote.  Have your voice heard no matter who you vote for.  But please vote smartly.

Posted November 4th, 2008 by Mike | Tags: 2008 election | Category: Announcement |  Email This Post | Leave a comment

Have you ever found yourself wondering about a beer that you drank before and just can’t remember it’s name? I know I have before. We there is now a great little databasing program built specifically to help you with that. It is called Idunware Beer and the program allows you to database different beers, breweries and distributors. The break down of each entry that you put in is extremely detail oriented if you like to be that way. Then again you also don’t have to be. You can add a style and what brewery made the beer to the entries as well as a review with a grade. Hell you can even enter how much you paid for it each time you had it.

The people over at Idunware were nice enough to give me a copy of the program to test and I must say that a lot of hard work had to have been put into this and it paid off. I consider myself a very detail oriented person. My record collection list I have broken down into all different little things and this program lets me do this with my beer.

If you are a beer lover and want a great way to organize and database the beers you have drank then Idunware Beer is perfect for this. You can visit Idunware and purchase Idunware Beer at their website by going to www.idunware.com

Posted November 2nd, 2008 by Mike | Tags: idunware beer | Category: Fun |  Email This Post | Leave a comment

Name - Dogfish Head Indian Brown Ale
Country - United States
Type - American Brown Ale

Appearance - Very deep brown color with a nice, thick tan head.

Smell - Roasted malts, toffee and nuts.

Taste - A rich, sweet, roasted taste of toffee and malts.  Slight coffee taste with a hoppy finish.

Not being a fan of coffee I was a little concerned going into this one but figured why not.  The appearance is just amazing but then the smell got me scared again.  The roasted smells usually indicate a coffee taste.  While it did have a slight coffee taste it was not overpowering like some imperial stouts would be.  It was sweeter than I thought which helped me enjoy it more.  Not an amazing beer but an above average one.

Overall Grade - C+

Posted November 1st, 2008 by Mike | Tags: dogfish head, indian brown ale | Category: American Brown Ale |  Email This Post | Leave a comment

Name - Saint Somewhere Lectino Devina
Country - United States
Type -Belgian Strong Pale Ale

Appearance - Beautiful deep amber color with a frothy head similar to foam from the ocean.

Smell - Strong fruity smell of apple.  Slight caramel smell.

Taste - The taste had definite apple to it.  A yeast taste is also there with a slight bite from the alcohol.

I initially tried this at the Treasure Coast Beer Festival a couple months back and they are a Florida brewery out of Tarpon Springs.  I didn’t quite remember the taste from the festival but was pleasantly surprised.  It was absolutely smooth from the first sip all the way down.  The only issue I may have had with it was that it seemed just slightly empty.  Just not strong enough on the flavors.  I did not find the taste overly strong but with 8% ABV it is technically strong by alcohol content stand point.  I enjoyed this one a lot and would definitely recommend it.

Overall Grade - A-

Posted November 1st, 2008 by Mike | Tags: lectio divina, Pale Ale, saint somewhere brewery | Category: Belgian Strong Pale Ale, Pale Ale |  Email This Post | Comments (2)