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!