Tuesday Beer Social

The fiance is in Reno this week (hopefully I can get her to pick me us some beer), so I was able to head down to Max's for the Tuesday night beer social.  This was one social that I was looking forward to.  If you follow the blog at all, you might notice that I do not feature stouts very often.  It isn't that I do not like stouts, but I prefer lighter ales, especially Belgians.  Well, this week has been for stouts.

Sunday night, I cracked open my bottle of delicious Southern Tier Mokah.  A mix of the Chokat (chocolate) and the Java (coffee).  This beer gives a great mixture of both of the beers, smooth and delicious.

Tonight, the beer of choice was Heavy Seas Siren Noire.  I preceded that beer with Oliver's Bishop Breakfast.  Both of the beers were delicious, but I would have to give the Siren Noire the edge, due to it being from a firkin and the lack of carbination really developed the beer into something that was extremely drinkable.  Both were beers that I would drink in a heartbeat.

The other beer that I sampled tonight was the BrewDog Tokyo, an 18% stout that doesn't show its strength.  I could taste the raisons and other dark fruits, but the high abv was well masked.  This is a beer that would get me in trouble if I didn't know what I was getting into.  Try it, you will like it.

What did you have tonight?

Playing Catch Up

,A little review of the beers that I have had in the past little bit.

A while back, I was finally able to break open my bottle of The Bruery Autumn Maple. We were having steak and a sweet potato to eat that night for dinner. I didn't know what the Autumn Maple would taste like, and was surprised that the most prevalent taste to come would be yams (or sweet potato). I would call it luck, except yams aren't my favorite thing to eat. So if you like yams, find a bottle and see what you think.

A few days later, I broke open a bottle of the Brewer's Art Coup de Boule, a Belgian Strong Ale. It was a good beer, but nothing special. Spices abound in this beer, and trying to figure it out could have been an all night job. Nicely done, smooth drinking beer.

One of my fiance's favorite restaurants in our hometown serves Tex-Mex and is called Terrapin Cantina. The started serving Terrapin ales, which was a nice surprise when we went there with her family a few weeks back. I was served a Terrapin Rye Pale Ale. It was an ok pale ale, with that nice rye bite to it. It was by far the best beer they serve (normally I order a Dos Equis).

Also mixed in there was a trip to Elliotts Pour House. A great beer bar that not many know about. They have a tower with about 20 taps on in (although some are repeat taps). While there I sampled the Clipper City Holy Sheet 2010. I was fortune enough to have a pint of 2009 the week before, and I could notice that they made this abbey not as sweet as its predecessor. Other beers that I had at EPH include the Mendencino Imperial IPA (ok, typical Imperial IPA) and the Old Dominion Oak Barrell Stout (very good stout).

Other beers of note from the past couple of weeks include Tuppers Hop Pocket IPA, North Coast Brother Thelonious abbey and Max's had Stoudt's beers for a Pint Night, and I was pleasantly surprised with their hellesbock.

What have you had lately?

Jack's... again (no complaints)

I was able to go to Jack's Bistro tonight, but this time the food was on the works tab. I was excited to get another Witkap, but when I got there, it wasnt on the list (asking for it anyways didnt work either). I settled for a Clipper City Red Sky at Night. It is another good beer. I think I gave my thoughts on this beer earlier, so I will spare you, if I didn't I will post them in another post.

Best part of the night was the hostess approaching me after I requested the Witkap, which wasnt on tap. She told me the chef (as well as owner) overheard my request, and would like to suggest another beer. He was spot on. La Trape Dubbel- Koningshoeven- was a delicious brew. This belgian style double is brewed in The Netherlands- who would have thought it. It is a nice complex. crisp beer that works its way through the malt. As it gets a little warmer, you can taste the different malt levels. I took in some caramel before the clove and spices finished off the beer. Nice stuff, thank you Jacks!

The Start of Last Weekend

Thursday, we ate at Jack's Bistro. Great food. (steak frites and fries, she had the crabcake. You can't go wrong with either.) But to top it off, I still am in love with their beer list. I stayed calm and local this time and order the Clipper City Red Sky at Night. It is a Saison/Farmhouse style ale.