Nice surpise of the night

Max's yesterday had some great beers on tap, but I decided to not drink at 10%+. It was hard, so after my Flying Dog (Pint Night) Snake Dog IPA, which is a good basic IPA- nothing great, nothing wrong- I had a Duvel Green, which is a nice Golden (wouldn't expect anything less from Duvel).

For my final beer, I took a stab at a brewery called Het Alternatief. Their sour, Piet-Agoras, was extremely delightful. I need to get at this beer again with a clean mouth, but I thought it was a complex beer, with some sourness pushing through a bit of bitterness. The flavors exploded in my mouth, lemon/citrus/caramel and others. I need to get it again to see what I can find.

What have you had lately?

Good Article

Here is a good article on Fresh Hops that was in the New York Times. Enjoy.

Vermonster Debate

Monster Energy drink's parent company is suing Rock Art Brewery for trademark infringement due to their Vermonster beer. I am not an attorney, but I cannot see where they feel they can win, except for the big money factor (which is how the owner of Rock Art feels).

Blue Hill Tavern and base beers

We travelled around the block to the Blue Hill Tavern on Friday to grab a bite to eat. While they do not have a lot going for them beer wise (a good selection of micros, macros and imports, but nothing special), the food we had was delicious. I chose to drink a Pilsner Urquell to go with my pork tenderloin meal.

Many times I have commented on other people's blogs my feelings toward beers like Pilsner Urquell, DFH 60 min, Stone IPA, Sierra Nevada Pale Ale and a few others. These beers I consider base beers. There is nothing wrong with them, and they are quite good. But for me, they set a standard for their respective styles. Pilsner Urquell is what a pilsner should taste like. Yes, there are many beers that taste better, have more hops, etc. But when I think pilsner, PU is the base line. Any other pilsner beer should resemble it somehow, and find a way to improve upon it.

That is the same with the other beers above. 60 min. is my classic example of an East Coast IPA, Stone IPA is a great West Coast IPA. When I see 60 min, I know what I am going to get. I like 60 min and hit helped me get into IPAs, but there are much better IPAs from the east coast. (Weyerbacher Hop Infusion-and Double Simcoe, Victory Hop Devil, and Brooklyn IPA) Stone IPA is a classic West Coast IPA, but I think Green Flash WC IPA, Bear Republic Racer 5 and Avery Maharaja sky above Stone's offering.

I have found a base beer in almost every style that I have tried. Have you felt this way toward your beer? What is your base beer?

Beer Article in the "b"

Brad over at BeerinBaltimore.com helped the b magazine produce a Baltimore Beer Week article. look it up, it gives a good overview of replacing macro beers as well as a quick overview of BBW events.

Check it out

Brad at BeerinBaltimore.com found an awesome time lapse video of GABF '09:

The Great American Beer Festival from Brewers Association on Vimeo.

Going Vertical

Max's description of Stones Vertical Epic 09/09/09 was just "Dark Belgian Ale". I wasn't too sure what to think before it came to me. But I was not thinking Porter. And then I saw it. Dark as night, creamy tan head. Porter overcame my mind. Chocolate came through on the nose, with not much else. Then the taste. Definitely some chocolate, vanilla and little spice. Could use more spice to break up the chocolate. I would expect a little more hoppy bitterness from Stone (but not too much to over power everything, just enough to pull everything together). The beer was not too heavy or too light.

I would not call it a Belgian. Maybe when sitting in a cellar it will round out better, but for now it is a Porter. With that note, I normally do not like porters. Usually a porter has the burnt taste to it. The VE090909 did not. It was sweet and delicious. Although, one was enough. Not something to have a night of. (Especially at 8.5%.) I think I will try to go and grab a couple of bottles, this is a beer that should be really good on a cold night in the winter. I am thinking Christmas time.