New beers I had in 2013

Below are my recent additions to the QRG page of some of the new beers I tried in 2013 -- 2014 update coming soon (sad, right?!): 

Allagash Bourbon Barrel Black - 9.20%: B
Allagash Curieux (Bourbon Barrel-Aged Tripel) - 11.00%: A-
Allagash White - 5.00%: C+
Alesmith Evil Dead Red - 6.66%: B+
Ballast Point Fathom India Pale Lager - 6.80%: B
Bear Republic Cafe Racer 15 - 9.75%: B+
Big Elm 413 Farmhouse Ale - 6.00%: C+
Big Elm Gerry Dog Stout - 6.50%: C+
Big Elm IPA - 7.00%: C+
Blue Point Summer Ale - 4.40%: C
Boulevard / Sierra Nevada Terra Incognita - 8.00%: B-
Brash Smoglifter - 10.00%: B+
Brauerei Aying Ayinger Celebrator Doppelbock - 6.70%: B+
The Bruery Bois - 15.00%: A-
The Bruery Five Golden Rings - 11.50%: B
Brouwerij Duvel Duvel - 8.50%: B
Cigar City Florida Cracker Belgian-style White Ale - 5.00%: B- 
Cigar City Good Gourd Imperial Pumpkin Ale - 8.50%: C
Cigar City Hotter Than Helles Lager - 5.00%: B-
Cigar City Hunahpu's Imperial Stout - 11.00%: A-
Cigar City Patio Pils - 5.50%: B+
Cigar City Tocobaga Red Ale - 7.40%: B+
Cisco Island Reserve: Rumple Drumkin - 6.00%: D
Clown Shoes Porcine Unidragon - 12.50%: B+
Clown Shoes Very Angry Beast - 11.50%: B
Coors Third Shift Amber Lager - 5.30%: C
Cricket Hill American Ale - 5.00%: C
Cricket Hill East Coast Lager - 4.00%: C+
Dark Horse Artic Dekoorc Eert - 6.50%: A-
Dark Horse Edacsac Dekoorc Eert - 6.50%: B
Dark Horse FF Dekoorc Eert - 6.50%: B-
Deschutes Black Butte XXIV - 11.00%: B+
Elysian Dragonstooth Oatmeal Stout - 7.50%: B
Evil Twin Imperial Biscotti Break Bourbon Barrel Aged - 11.50%: A-
Evil Twin Yang - 10.00%: B
Evil Twin Yin - 10.00%: B+
FiftyFifty Imperial Eclipse Stout - Heaven Hill Rittenhouse Rye - 9.50%: B+
Firestone Walker Firestone 17 - 13.30%: A+
Firestone Walker Velvet Merkin - 8.50%: B+
Florida Beer Co Swamp Ape IPA - 10.00%: C+
Flying Fish HopFish IPA - 6.20%: B-
Flying Fish Farmhouse Summer Ale - 4.60%: C+
Foolproof Backyahd India Pale Ale - 6.00%: C+
Founders Mango Magnifico - 10.00%: C+
Founders Rubaeus - 5.70%: C+
Founders Sweet Repute - 12.60%: A-
Goose Island Bourbon County Brand Barleywine - 12.10%: A
Goose Island Gillian - 9.50%: B+
Great Divide Espresso Oak Aged Yeti - 9.50%: A-
Great Lakes Commodore Perry IPA - 7.50%: B+
Great Lakes Edmund Fitzgerald Porter - 5.80%: B+
Heavy Seas Bourbon Barrel Aged Below Decks - 10.00%: B+
Hill Farmstead Everett Porter - 7.50%: A-
Hill Farmstead Susan - 6.20%: A
Hoppin' Frog B.O.R.I.S. The Crusher Oatmeal-Imperial Stout - 9.40%: B+
Ithaca Flower Power IPA - 7.50%: B
Jack's Abby 2nd Anniversary Lager - 8.00%: A
Jack's Abby Baby Maker - 14.00%: B+
Jack's Abby Framinghammer - 10.00%: A-
Jack's Abby Framinghammer Coffee - 10.00%: A-
Jack's Abby Framinghammer Vanilla - 10.00%: A-
Jack's Abby Mass Rising - 8.00%: A-
Jack's Abby Pro-Am Pilsner - 5.50%: B-
Jack's Abby / Lawson's Smoked Maple Lager - 6.00%: B
Lexington Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Stout - 8.00%: D
Long Trail Limbo - 7.50%: B
Lost Coast 8 Ball Stout - 6.30%: B
Maine Beer Co 2013 - 5.50%: B+
Maine Beer Co Another One - 7.00%: B+
Maine Beer Co Red Wheelbarrow - 7.00%: B+
Maine Beer Co Weez - 7.20%: B+
Maine Beer Co / Nogne O Collaboration Time III - 5.60%: B-
New Holland Oak Aged Mad Hatter IPA - 7.12%: B-
New Holland The Poet - 5.20%: B-
Newburyport Green Head IPA - 7.20%: B+
Newburyport Pale Ale - 5.50%: B-
Omnipollo Agamemnon - 12.50%: B+
Otter Creek / Lawson's Double Dose IPA - 8.50%: B+
Pretty Things Barbapapa Imperial Russian Stout - 12.00%: B+
Rogue Chocolate Stout - 6.00%: C+
Sierra Nevada Bigfoot Barleywine-Whiskey Barrel-Aged - 12.20%: A-
Sierra Nevada DevESTATEtion - 6.70%: B+
Sierra Nevada Flipside Red IPA - 6.20%: B-
Sierra Nevada Northern Hemisphere Harvest Wet Hop Ale - 6.70%: B+
Sierra Nevada Torpedo Extra IPA - 7.20%: B
Speakeasy Prohibition Ale - 6.10%: B
Spencer Trappist Ale - 6.50%: B-
Stone 17th Anniversary Gotterdammerung IPA - 9.50%: B
Stone Crime - 9.60%: D
Stone Go To IPA - 4.50%: B+
Stone Saison Du BUFF - 7.70%: C+
Stone Spotlight Series: Sprocketbier Black Rye Kolsch - 5.40%: B
Stone Stochasticity Project Grapefruit Slam IPA - 8.20%: A-
Stone / 10 Barrel / Blue Jacket Suede Imperial Porter - 9.60%: B
Stone / Farking / Wheaton W00tstout - 13.00%: C+
Stone / Green Flash / Pizza Port Highway 78 Scotch Ale - 8.80%: B 
Stone / Robert & Ryan / Rip Current R&R Coconut IPA - 7.70%: B 
Terrapin Hop Karma - 6.00%: C+
Terrapin Hopsecutioner - 7.30%: B-
Terrapin Hopzilla - 10.70%: B
Terrapin Oaked Big Hoppy Monster - 10.30%: C+
Unibroue Maudite - 8.00%: B+
Victory DirtWolf - 8.70%: B
Victory White Monkey - 9.50%: B+

Recent sips of greatness

Below are my recent additions to the QRG page of some new beers I've tried over the last few months:

21st Amendment Lower De Boom - 11.50%: B
Allagash FV 13 - 8.90%: A-
Boulevard Grainstorm Black Rye IPA - 7.70%: B+
Brooklyn Silver Anniversary Lager - 9.00%: B- 
Dark Horse Thirsty Trout Porter - 7.00%: B 
Dogfish Head/Sierra Nevada Rhizing Bines - 8.00%: B- 
Evil Twin Even More Jesus - 12.00%: A-
Evil Twin Imperial Biscotti Break - 11.50%: A-  
Firestone Walker 16 - 13.00%: A+
Firestone Walker Pale 31 - 4.80%: B- 
Founders All Day IPA - 4.70%: B+
Founders Doom (Bourbon Barrel Aged) - 10.00%: A 
Jack's Abby The ABCS - 7.50%: B+ 
Jack's Abby Framinghammer Bourbon Barrel Aged Baltic Porter - 10.00: A+
Magic Hat Pistil - 4.50%: C
Mikkeller Invasion Farmhouse IPA - 8.00%: B-  
Mystic Lord Falconer - 5.40%: B
Night Shift Snow - 4.50%: C+
North Coast/Descutes/Rogue Class of 88' - 10.00%: B     
North Coast Old Rasputin XV (aged in Bourbon Barrels) - 11.90%: A
Ommegang Iron Throne - 6.50%: B- 
Otter Creek Russian Imperial Stout - 10.00%: B 
Smuttynose Noonan Black IPA - 5.70%: B
Stone/Aleman/Two Brothers Dayman Coffee IPA - 8.70%: B 
Stone Espresso Imperial Russian Stout - 11.00%: A   

Cheers!

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!

Birthday Beer?

As some of you know, my birthday is coming up this week and I've been wondering what I should drink for my special day this year.  Below are some of the choices, let me know what you think I should pop open for my 34th year on this big blue rock:

Avery Uncle Jacob's Stout
Boulevard Bourbon Barrel Quad
Brooklyn Black Ops
Firestone Walker 15th Anniversary Ale
Firestone Walker Parabola (*edit 9/30 - the Winner - opened a 2011 bottle!)
Firestone Walker Sucaba
Goose Island Bourbon County Stout
Goose Island Bramble Rye Bourbon County Stout
Goose Island Bourbon County Brand Coffee Stout
or Other....something new & exciting that I don't have in the beer fridge yet?!

*not on the list is the Portsmouth Kate The Great Russian Imperial Stout as I've decided to save that til December/January when we're expecting our first child to be born!

This is how I like to picture myself drinking all of my beers...if you can't be in Aruba, stare at your pictures from Aruba long enough and well...nah, it still sucks not to be there.

Cheers!

Kev's Beer of the Week - Indie Pale Ale

Kev's Beer of the Week ending 8/3/12

 

Cisco Indie Pale Ale

Kev Rating: B+
Style: American IPA
ABV: 6.50%
IBUs: ?

Availability: Rotating during Summer Months
Had: Most recently purchased from Liquor Locker in Southwest Harbor, ME (a great spot, btw)
Region: Nantucket, MA

A great canned beer for the Summer, while the ABV is a bit high for a truly session-able beer, it's still an easy drink.   I picked up a few 12 packs of the Indie Pale this Summer to enjoy with friends and all were pleased.

The Indie Pale Ale is a pretty balanced IPA, resiny hops up front with a bit of grapefruit, then some malt coming through in the middle, and finally to a nice crisp dry finish.  

You can't go wrong with this one at a BBQ, party, Beach Day, or just backyard gathering.  It wont knock your socks off, but it will be a solid crowd pleaser!  CHEERS!

Quick updates

I've updated the Kev's QRG, Beer Fridge, and Kev's Places pages with some recent additions!  More updates to come...CHEERS!

Updates coming soon!

All - I apologize for the general lack of updates lately, there will be posts soon.  

I will be visiting a few breweries in the coming week and hope to share as much information as possible upon my return.  

Until then, some beers I've been enjoying recently:

• Troegs Perpetual IPA
• Lagunitas IPA
• New England Brewing Co 668
• Oskar Blues Deviant Dale's
• Great Divide Hoss
• Alesmith Nut Brown
• St. Bernardus Tokyo

And I recently was able to purchase these three big boys:

• Firestone Walker Wookey Jack
• Firestone Walker Parabola
• Firestone Walker Double DBA

Cheers, may good beers flow for all of you! Also, if you haven't seen the Dark Knight Rises, I highly suggest you do so soon!

Kev's Beer of the Week - Stone IPA

Kev's Beer of the Week ending 7/27/12

 

Stone IPA

Kev Rating: A
Style: American IPA
ABV: 6.90%
IBUs: 77

Availability: Year round
Had: Most recently purchased from Gordon's in Waltham
Region: Escondido, CA

One of my favorite year-round IPAs is from Stone Brewing Company.  There are a few go-to beers I rely on when going to a friend's place or when I'm really just not into the selection of untried craft beer, Stone IPA is one of them.  George turned me on to Stone Pale and Stone IPA a while back and I can't thank him enough.  

This IPA pours a crisp orange/amber color with a nice foamy head - beautiful.  Taking a whiff off the top you can get big notes of citrus hops and a bit of earthiness.  First sip is always a bit of a shock, bitter and clean from all the aggressive hops.  Then it mellows (or your palate simply defends itself) into a fantastic full bodied IPA - more citrus, pineapple, and pine touched so slightly by some malt just for a bit of balance...so good.

I highly recommend this IPA for any IPA lover out there, it WILL become part of your normal rotation!

Kev's Beer of the Week Smoked Porter w/ Vanilla Bean

Kev's Beer of the Week ending 7/20/12

 

Stone Smoked Porter with Vanilla Bean

Kev Rating: B+
Style: American Porter
ABV: 5.90%
IBUs: 53

Availability: Limited
Had: Most recently purchased at Gordon's in Watertown
Region: Escondido, CA

The Stone Smoked Porter has always been a delicious offering from Stone - good in the bottle, great on tap!  It's a nice bridge between a Porter with smokey notes and a German style Rauchbier.  If you have been on the fence about trying something with "smoked" in the name, don't be, it's worth it.  

That brings us to the two variations Stone recently released in the bottle - Smoked Porter with Chipotle and Smoked Porter with Vanilla Bean.  Because I'm a week behind in my Beer's of the Week I'm doing a rapid fire - Chipotle for 7/13 week and Vanilla for 7/20 week.

Second up is the Smoked Porter made with Vanilla Bean.  I enjoyed this one a bit more than the Chipotle, but that shouldn't surprise too many of you.  It hit me more with the sweetness of the vanilla bean with some coconut which really enhanced the coffee and chocolate notes of the original porter. 

If you were slightly disappointed with the Maine Beer Co Mean Old Tom - less and less vanilla with each batch, then this one may remind you that you can put a bit more vanilla and not lose the original malt & chocolate notes you're looking for.  I even picked up another bottle to age for a bit to see if it matures.

Kev's Beer of the Week Smoked Porter w/ Chipotle Peppers

Kev's Beer of the Week ending 7/13/12

 

Stone Smoked Porter with Chipotle Peppers

Kev Rating: B
Style: American Porter
ABV: 5.90%
IBUs: 53

Availability: Limited
Had: Most recently purchased at Gordon's in Watertown
Region: Escondido, CA

The Stone Smoked Porter has always been a delicious offering from Stone - good in the bottle, great on tap!  It's a nice bridge between a Porter with smokey notes and a German style Rauchbier.  If you have been on the fence about trying something with "smoked" in the name, don't be, it's worth it.  

That brings us to the two variations Stone recently released in the bottle - Smoked Porter with Chipotle and Smoked Porter with Vanilla Bean.  Because I'm a week behind in my Beer's of the Week I'm doing a rapid fire - Chipotle for 7/13 week and Vanilla for 7/20 week.

First off is the Smoked Porter made with Chipotle Peppers.  Now, most of you that know me know I will eat anything...except for spicy food.  I've had a few pepper beers before and some have been way too spicy for me (looking at you Throwback Brewery) and some have been great (Left Hand).  However, the Chipotle is there yet not the highlight of the show.  The always tasty Smoked Porter is still the main attraction but is balanced nicely with a bit of heat on the back wave of the sip.  You can still taste the chocolate and coffee notes from the Smoked Porter and as it warms get a bit more of the heat from the Chipotle peppers - really nice variation on the original. 

For those of you out there that want big bad pepper notes (looking at you JP & Nick), this one may disappoint, but for the rest of you that just want a hint of the Chipotle, this one hits the mark!