Quiz Time

This quiz tests your beer smarts.

Twinsburg's December Picks

Twinsburg, OH - Holiday cheer kicked in for the Twinsburg meeting as Lake Front Brewing Company’s Holiday Spice (brewed with cinnamon, orange zest, clove and generous amounts of honey) took home the December 2011 crown. All the judges rated the holiday spice either first or second. The competitors were Guinness Black Lager and Lagunitas Czech Style Pils. The Czech Style Pils represented itself well, scoring first place votes in 1/3 of the ballots. The Guinness Black Lager, however, took a beating with last place votes in 2/3 of the ballots. All voters acknowledged the unimpressive qualities of the Guinness Black Lager.

Thanks to Santa (Laura Obloy) for providing December’s contestants.

Final Results
1st – Lake Front Brewing Company’s Holiday Spice
2nd – Lagunitas Czech Style Pils
3rd - Guinness Black Lager

December Meeting - Lagers!

McLean, VA - These were quite enjoyable. I'm not much for lagers, but these did have an impression on me. The first place brew was a Penn Dark brew from Penn Brewery (left in the photo). The malt was much more subtle than the other beers, which is why I think I enjoyed it. The second place beer was a homemade Octoberfest that was very delightful. Andrew was responsible for this one. I have to say, the homebrews have been pretty doggone good, holding their own against professional brewers. The final two beers were a Tommyknocker Butthead Bock and a Troegenator Dopplebock Lager. Both were just ok for me. They were pretty heavy on the malt, which as I mentioned before, I'm not a huge fan of. Anyway, here's to another successful beer club. Prosit!

St. Louis' December Picks

I had to post this early, but here is what the evening looks like for those of us in St. Louis. All four of the beers in the pic are local. From right to left we've got Ferguson Brewing Co's Vanilla Bourbon Ale (wild card pick), Ferguson's Black Lager, Urban Chestnut Brewing Co's Zwickel (classic German lager), and Schlafly's Pilsner. Should be fun and we'll post the results after the meeting.

Prosit!

***UPDATE***

Here were our results:
1 - UCBC Zwickel
2 - Ferguson's Schwarzbier (Black Lager)
3 - Schlafly's Pilsner
4 - Moylan's Christmas Lager

Happy Thanksgiving!!! Make Your Own Alehouse 75

Like Dogfish Head selections and wish you could get the Alehouse 75 that is only available on draft at their Alehouses? Well, be your own mixologist and make the 75 at home by mixing the 60-Minute IPA and 90-Minute IPA in a 50/50 ratio. It creates a nice blend that mellows the hoppiness and enhances the ale flavor. You can buy the 90 minute in a 4-pack, the 60-minute in 6-pack, and save the extra 2 60-Minutes to blend with any other Ale to create a tasty treat. We mixed it with Star Hill Amber Ale (Charlottesville) and were happy with the results. Prosit and Happy Thanksgiving!

November Twinsburg Results ~ Christmas Ale Theme

1) Thirsty Dog ~ 12 Dogs of Christmas Ale
2) Breckenridge ~ Christmas Ale
3) Great Lakes Brewing Company ~ Christmas Ale

Some notes regarding the results:
1) This is a big blow to the local beer-wonder, Great Lakes Christmas Ale.
2) Thirsty Dog is no longer just a dark horse (or dog)…rather a favorite. It has won each blind beer tasting in which it had an entry (October - Barktoberfest and November - 12 Dogs of Christmas Ale).

St. Louis November Results

1. Boulevard Brewing Collaboration #2 (White IPA)
2. Deschutes Conflux #2 (White IPA)
3. Rogue Voodoo Maple Bacon Ale

Boulevard and Deschutes got together to collaborate on a beer. They decided on what recipe to use, grains, yeast, and hops, but brewed it in their own style. During the tasting, you could see and taste some similar characteristics, but how the hops showed up in the beers was what set them apart.