Mike Loves Beer

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)

And to wish you all a Happy Halloween the booze drinking, vomiting pumpkin made by MikeLovesBeer contributer Chris’ father Dan.  Thanks Dan!

Posted October 30th, 2008 by Mike | Tags: halloween, mikelovesbeer.com | Category: Fun |  Email This Post | Leave a comment

Name - Weyerbacher Merry Monks’ Ale
Country - United States
Type - Tripel

Appearance - A straw gold color with really no head at all.  Both bottles had a small head that was gone within a couple seconds.

Smell - Fruity malts of banana and cherries.

Taste - Taste of fruits and slightly spicy.  Light in taste but it is quite strong in those tastes with a hint of the alcohol in it.

I haven’t had a Belgian style ale in quite awhile and was sort of smacked in the face at first because I forgot what they were like.  Despite it’s light look and taste it is quite strong with a 9.3% ABV.  A nice beer from northern Pennsylvania.

Overall Grade - C

Posted October 30th, 2008 by Mike | Tags: merry monks' ale, Tripel, weyerbacher | Category: Tripel |  Email This Post | Comments (2)

For the first time in my life I got to experience what it is like to have one of your teams win it all.  Congrats to the 2008 World Champion Philadelphia Phillies!  I never gave up on you guys.

New beer review to come tomorrow from a great Pennsylvania brewery.

Posted October 29th, 2008 by Mike | Tags: philadelphia phillies, world series | Category: Announcement |  Email This Post | Comments (1)

What do the Philadelphia Phillies and the Tampa Bay Rays have in common?  Yuengling!  Take a look at this nice little article on Tampa Bay Online by Natalie Shepherd.

By NATALIE SHEPHERD
nshepherd@wfla.com
Published: October 24, 2008

TAMPA - Baseball. Beer. Rays. Phillies. History.

Oddly enough, there’s common ground locally for all of these.

Yuengling, the beer of choice for many Phillies fans, is the country’s oldest family-owned brewery. It started in Pottsville, Pa., more than 179 years ago.

But Tampa is the only other place in the country where the beer is brewed.

Ralph Maerz of Fort Myers has been a Yuengling fan almost as long as he has been a Phillies fan. He and his wife, Betty, who were heading to Game 2 in St. Petersburg on Thursday, decided to stop in Tampa for a tour of the brewery on North 30th Street.

“We decided to come here first and then go over to the World Series game. So I’ll have a double winner, I hope, tonight,” Maerz said.

Brewmaster John Houseman said the Tampa-Philadelphia matchup is exciting.

“I feel like I died and went to heaven because I just want to enjoy the series,” Houseman said.

He says the game has caused rivalry between the Pottsville and Tampa plants.

“They’re obviously all rooting for the Phillies,” Houseman said. “And everyone in this plant is rooting for the Rays to win.”

No matter who you’re rooting for, he said, the beer is a winner.

Maerz said you don’t have to be a Phillies fan to enjoy Yuengling.

“Philadelphia’s willing to spread - it’s the City Of Brotherly Love - and we’re willing to spread our liquors,” he said.

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Posted October 27th, 2008 by Mike | Tags: philadelphia phillies, tampa bay rays, world series, yuengling | Category: Beer News |  Email This Post | Leave a comment

Being a fan of Rogue Ales’ fine brews I found this discovery to be quite interesting.  Rogue have always made it a point to make specialty brews and this one is very special as they collaborate with Captain Sig Hansen, captain of the Northwestern, from the Discovery Channel show the Deadliest Catch.

Captain Sig thought that an appropriate beer was needed to go along with his catches of crab that the Northwestern is so well known for.  Rogue was happy to obligue the captain with a brew that is a cross between and American IPA and Red Ale.  Born from this idea was Captain Sig’s Deadliest Ale.

The brew is made using 2-Row Pale, Munich, Carastan, and Chocolate Malts; Amarillo and Cascade Hops; Pacman Yeast and Free Range Coastal Water.  And will be bottled in Rogue’s trademark 22 oz serigraphed bottles with pictures of the Captain himself, the Northwestern and an Alaskan King Crab.

The only downside is that the beer will not be available in all areas that typically carry Rogue Ales.  The available locations have been set to Alaska, Oregon, Washington, Northern California, Maine, Massachusetts, the Gulfs of Florida and Texas, Canada, and Norway.  So I might find myself taking a trip over to the west coast some weekend to treat myself to a taste of this one.

It should also be mentioned that a portion of all sales of Captain Sig’s Deadliest Ale will go to the Fisherman’s Fund.  It is a non-profit organization set up by the Captain’s family to donate money to charities of the Northwest of North America.

For more information on Rogue please go to http://www.rogue.com/

For more information on Captain Sig and the Northwestern go to http://www.fvnorthwestern.com/

Posted October 22nd, 2008 by Mike | Tags: captain sig's deadliest ale, deadliest catch, rogue ales | Category: Beer News |  Email This Post | Comments (1)

Name - Heavy Seas - Loose Cannon Hop3 Ale
Country - United States
Type - American IPA

Appearance - Orangish, gold color with really no haziness.  Not much in terms of head really.  Starts off a nice white head but disappears very quickly.

Smell - Hoppy with hints of pine, spices and slight citrus.

Taste - A typical hoppy taste but not to much of a bite to it.  Slight citrus taste to it.

This is definitely one of the longest named beers I have ever had and that doesn’t include the brewery name, Clipper City Brewery.  The bottle boasts it’s 3 different kinds of hops so I was expecting something quite strong.  I didn’t find it over powering at all but not a bad beer.  I relaxed and had 4 of these no problem and found them enjoyable.

Overall Grade - B-

Posted October 21st, 2008 by Mike | Tags: clipper city brewery, heavy seas loose cannon, hop3, IPA | Category: IPA |  Email This Post | Leave a comment

Name - Old Jubilation, Avery Brewing Co.
Country - United States
Type - Winter Warmer

Appearance - Very dark black in color. Similar to a dark roasted color.

Smell - Slightly hoppy and spicy.

Taste - A roasted, hoppy taste with a a bit of spice.

This is a special occasion beer for Avery Brewing. Old Jubilation is a festive beer around fall and winter. Bitter and spicy, is typical to many festive beers. Living in hot Florida drinking this beer is not appetizing, it warms you. Unsure of the alcohol volume, but strong. I would guess in the 7%-8% alcohol volume. Jubilation is best enjoyed in cold weather. Carbonation is good, but overall not a great beer.

Price- $2.00

Overall Grade - D+

Posted October 21st, 2008 by Chris | Tags: avery brewing, old jubilation, Winter Warmer | Category: Winter Warmer |  Email This Post | Leave a comment