Ommegang Hop House

Very unique.  It was listed as a Belgian Pale Ale on the chalkboard at the growler store so I figured my wife Laura would like it.  She did  not.  When I tasted it I figured out why – must have been dry hopped.  I looked it up and sure enough, “more hops than we have ever put in a beer” and dry-hopped with Cascade.  BUT, it does NOT taste like an IPA.  Much more smooth, with very little bitterness (probably due to the Belgian yeast), and not the dry aftertaste you get from an IPA.  I noticed when I poured the first glass that it had a really cool carbonation – it bubbled from the bottom of the glass like a slow champagne and had a similar, although more dense, white head.  Must-try if you can find it. 6.2% ABV and 21 IBUs. MAB rating 4/5.

Uno's Reprise - 2/2

Man was this flight sweet - a duo of double IPAs. I'd hit these all night (knowing I only had to walk next door to get to my hotel). The beers listed below are left to right in the photo.

Prost.

1. Clown Shoes Unidragon Imperial Stout - smooth, classic stout, little 'burnt' aftertaste, slightly smokey. ABV-12.5 JRC3 rating = 3.5/5

2. Victory Dirty Wolf Double IPA. Classic, smooth DIPA; small bitter bite at the end. ABV-8.7 JRC3 rating = 4/5

3. Sierra Nevada Alt. Nice color; basic alt - smooth, caramel, malty. ABV-6.6 JRC3 rating = 2.5/5

4. Heavy Seas Big Dippa Double IPA. Smooooooth; sweet; slight yeasty hop flavor; nice amber color; slight alcohol overtone; awesome. ABV-10.5 JRC3 rating = 4/5

Uno's Reprise - 1/2

Who would guess that I'd find myself back in Deptfort, NJ for work staying right next to the Uno's I posted about a while back. Accidental or purposeful? Either way it was great to be back in the neighborhood treating myself to a couple of flights superior craft beers. Yes, superior craft beers at Uno's. Below is the first of two messages highlighting my flights (left to right on the photo).

Prost.

1. Stone Go To IPA - a classice hopyy, yet smooth IPA with grapefuirt overtones and a bit malty. ABV-4.5 JRC3 rating = 4/5

2. Troeg's Hopback Amber - smooth, malty, sweet twinge on the the finish. ABV - 6.0 JRC3 = 3.5/5

3. Weyerbacher Big Ern's IPA - smooth, 'flat' (not bitter), little taste, limited to no hop characater. Stay away. ABV - 5.9% JRC3 rating = 2/5

4. Brewer's Art Resurrection Dubbel - 'Belgian' character, smooth, sweet, little carbonation. ABV - 7.0 JRC3 rating = 4/5. This was the full pint I went to after the second flight. Delicious.

August Results

Boulevard Unfiltered Wheat won, Schlafly Summmer Lager got second and Kona Big Wave Golden Ale got the bronze.  The Big Wave was the hoppiest of the the bunch but still wasn't very hoppy.  Not many hop heads in the club, I guess.

4th of July Weekend Breweries Visit

Went to four breweries over the weekend; Starr Hill, Blue Mountain, Champion, and Three Notch’d.  We stopped by Starr Hill's tasting room Friday and I had an IPA, I think it was King of Hop.  It was probably the best thing I’d had from Starr Hill.  We went to Blue Mountain for dinner and I had a Baltic Porter.  It’s pretty solid.  Chocolaty.  Most had Hopwork Orange.  It was good, too.  The next day we went to Champion and Three Notch’d in Charlottesville.  At Champion, I had a Kolsch.  It was fine.  Champion really likes IPAs.  Of the 6 taps they had at the tasting room, 5 were IPAs.  Others got IPAs and they were all good.  Not a loser in the bunch but nothing fantastic either.  At Three Notch’d we all got flights of tasters.  They had ~9 taps and we each chose 6 beers.  All the beers were good and the 40 Mile IPA was probably the best, possibly the best of the weekend.  I also had a Bourbon Barrel Stout from Bluegrass Brewing.  It was good.

Honest Abe - a DrS Beer Club Mentor...

Nice quote attributed to Abraham Lincoln: “I am a firm believer in the people. If given the truth, they can be depended upon to meet any national crisis. The great point is to bring them the real facts, and beer.”

Who knew UNO (2/2)...

And for only $5, who can stop at only 1 flight... Left to right (with a bit more beer induced detail) Port Wipe Out (IPA): malty, smooth, a session if you can consider a 7 percent IPA (3) Maine Zoe Ale (Red Ale): nice strong red, little bitter, easy to drink (4) 7.2 ABV Founders Dirty Bastard (scotch ale, wee heavy): smooooooth, nice head, good mouthfeel, you'd mistake it for a nitro (never go wrong with a Founders) (2) 8.5 ABV Lagunitas Sucks: as good as it gets; smooth, smooth mouth feel, not bitter but you know your drinking an IPA (1) 7.85 ABV