Whale Hunting

The Hunt...

I've been thinking about this subject for a while and think I've finally figured out what drives me to search for rare and interesting beers...baseball cards.

This brings me back to when I was a kid hunting for baseball cards.  As a young Jersey boy, my favorite player was Gary Carter of the NY Mets.  Here's the thing though, I wasn't satisfied with having just the Gary Carter baseball cards I found in packs - I needed more, I had to have more.  I hunted down over 100 Gary Carter cards, pins, postcards, promotional inserts...you name it, I wanted it if it had good 'ole Carter on it. The whole process of finding a card I didn't have and couldn't just happen upon was a huge rush for me.  Over the years, this manifested in different ways - baseball cards as kid, CDs as a teen, and then rare beers as an adult.

In an age of having everything at your fingertips, there is something deeply satisfying for me in the hunt for a whale of a beer.  It's super easy to walk into a decent beer store and find good beer to drink, typically even something I haven't had before.  But, for me, the big payoff is in the hunt.  I've walked into many a good bottle shop and saw many unknown beers I'd never tried...but then left empty handed.  Why?  Because what I was looking for was more rare...something really special.

For me, finding and then enjoying a hard to find beer is simply awesome.  I still have my Gary Carter cards and I hope to build a great collection of rare beers - not too big though, what's the point of finding a beer and not drinking it?  I love the look on friends faces when I pop open something they've never heard of or even better, have heard of and know how tough it was to find!

So to all of you wondering why beer geeks like me try so hard to hook a whale, maybe they're like me and just can't help it!

Cheers & happy fishing :)

Top Beers of 2012

Happy New Year and Cheers to you all!  I've had a very eventful last few weeks as my first child was born on Christmas day. Max is wonderful but has flipped my world upside down.   I will do all I can to post on a more frequent basis now that he's arrived.  Also, I hope to get my Beer of the Week back up & running soon. 

Here is a quick rundown of the most memorable beers I had for the first time in 2012 (alphabetical order):

Alchemist Heady Topper
Avery Uncle Jacob’s Stout
Avery Hog Heaven 
Bootlegger’s Knuckle Sandwich 
Boulevard Bourbon Barrel Quad 
The Bruery Fruet  
The Bruery Melange No 3
Cigar City Marshal Zhukov's Imperial Stout
Dark Horse Plead the 5th Imperial Stout
Firestone Walker Double Jack
Firestone Walker Sucaba
Founders Bolt Cutter
Great Divide Barrel Aged Yeti
Hair of the Dog Blue Dot
Hair of the Dog Fred 
Hoppin Frog Barrel Aged Naked Evil
La Trappe Quad
Les Trois Mosquettaires Grande Cuvee Porter     
Mayflower Imperial Stout
Mikkeller Beer Geek Brunch Weasel
North Coast Old Rasputin XII
Port Older Viscosity
Sierra Nevada 30th Anniversary Fritz & Ken's Ale
Stone Enjoy by 12.21.12
Smuttynose Ry(e)an
Three Floyds Arctic Panzer Wolf
Westvleteren 12
 
Cheers and I look forward to some great new beers in 2013!

New material coming soon..

Just to let my loyal followers know, new material will be coming soon.  I've had lots of good beer lately and will be sure to share some of my thoughts on them.

Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving!

Cheers & I leave you with a quick shot of my beer haul from our recent California trip:

Kev's Beers of the Week - The Bruery!

I recently took a trip to Southern California for a wedding and flew out a day early to visit The Bruery down in Placentia (near Anaheim).  Here are my notes on the beers I had:

The Bruery A Stein's Throw

Kev Rating: B+
Style: American Strong Ale
ABV: 8.50%
IBUs: ?

Availability: Part of the Provisions Series
Had: On Tap at The Bruery
Region: Placentia, CA

Malty, maple sweetness, a bit acidic.  Nose was super sweet and had mild hops throughout.
 

The Bruery Humulus Lager

Kev Rating: B
Style: Imperial Pilsner
ABV: 7.20%
IBUs: 70

Availability: Year Round
Had: On Tap at The Bruery
Region: Placentia, CA

Dank, hoppy nose, strong lager malts and then a really nice lingering piney hop.

The Bruery Loakal Red

Kev Rating: C+
Style: American Red / Amber Ale
ABV: 6.90%
IBUs: 35

Availability: Year Round
Had: On Tap at The Bruery
Region: Placentia, CA

Earthy, nice balance of malt and hops - smooth red.

The Bruery Old Richland

Flight of great beer!

Kev Rating: B
Style: American Barleywine
ABV: 9.00%
IBUs: 80

Availability: Part of the Provisions Series
Had: On Tap at The Bruery
Region: Placentia, CA

Big boozey nose, a bit tinny, sweet malts into a nice citrus hop.

The Bruery Smoking Wood Rye Barrel Aged with Espresso

Kev Rating: A-
Style: Smoked Rye Ale
ABV: 10.00%
IBUs: ?

Availability: Special limited brew
Had: On Tap at The Bruery
Region: Placentia, CA

Big chocolate, licorice, smokey nose.  Rye malts again with heavy smokey malt. Strong rye barrel presence...reminded me of Georgia Moonshine Whiskey. 

The Bruery Sour Rugbrod

Sour Rugbrod

Kev Rating: B
Style: Sour Rye
ABV: 8.70%
IBUs: ?

Availability: Special limited brew
Had: On Tap at The Bruery
Region: Placentia, CA

Dark cherry, funk, nice underlying rye malt presence.  One of the better Sours I've had (yet).

Kev's Beer of the Week(s) - Beer Camp Series

Kev's Beer of the Week ending 8/10/12

 

Sierra Nevada Beer Camp #53 Floral IPA

Kev Rating: B-
Style: English IPA
ABV: 5.90%
IBUs: ?

Availability: Limited
Had: Purchased a mix pack from a store in Vermont
Region: Chico, CA

I saw these Beer Camp beers at a nice beer store in Vermont and decided to purchase a few of them as I've always enjoyed Sierra's beers.  

The Floral IPA was the first that I tried.  It started out grassy and floral (shocking I know).  Some malt came through to balance it out a bit (still a hoppy IPA) and then finished pretty well - crisp.  While I enjoyed this IPA, I definitely expected more as Sierra Nevada does hops so well.  

Kev's Beer of the Week ending 8/17/12

 

Sierra Nevada Beer Camp #65 Red-oric Imperial Red Ale

Kev Rating: C+
Style: Amber/Red
ABV: 8.00%
IBUs: ?

Availability: Limited
Had: Purchased a mix pack from a store in Vermont
Region: Chico, CA

I saw these Beer Camp beers at a nice beer store in Vermont and decided to purchase a few of them as I've always enjoyed Sierra's beers.  

Next up, I tried the Imperial Red.  It was a bit bitter with some lemon or grapefruit coming through.  Then it had a bit of a caramel or candied aspect to the middle.  Red/Amber ales are not my favorite style, but this one was definitely tasty and packed a punch at 8% abv.

Kev's Beer of the Week ending 8/24/12

 

Sierra Nevada Beer Camp #43 Sticke Pilsner

Kev Rating: B
Style: German Pilsener
ABV: 5.60%
IBUs: ?

Availability: Limited
Had: Purchased a mix pack from a store in Vermont
Region: Chico, CA

I saw these Beer Camp beers at a nice beer store in Vermont and decided to purchase a few of them as I've always enjoyed Sierra's beers.  

Beer Camp's third entry for me was the Imperial Pilsener.  Recently I've been expanding my foray into Pilsener's as they're typically not my favorite style.  However, this one was crisp, clean, and refreshing without that typical Pilsener aftertaste.  It had some really nice citrus hops up front and then was crisp throughout - really nicely done!

Kev's Beer of the Week ending 8/31/12

 

Sierra Nevada Beer Camp #45 Snowed-In Stout

Kev Rating: B
Style: Oatmeal Stout
ABV: 9.00%
IBUs: ?

Availability: Limited
Had: Purchased a mix pack from a store in Vermont
Region: Chico, CA

I saw these Beer Camp beers at a nice beer store in Vermont and decided to purchase a few of them as I've always enjoyed Sierra's beers.  

The last of my Beer Camp beers was the Oatmeal Stout.  I saved this one for last and opened with a clean palate as I really enjoy a good stout.  The Snowed-In stout was strong up front with rich dark roasted malts.  Then it mellowed a bit with some nice chocolate notes.  I really enjoyed this small batch Oatmeal Stout and would definitely seek this one out again!