Beer Evangelists

I’ve been holding on to this bottle since May when Myra and I visited San Jose, CA and finally decided to try it tonight while watching the debate (and that is all I’m going to say about politics).

This beer pours cloudy and is a yellowish orange color. It has loads of thick, creamy head with lots of retention. It has a citrusy nose with just a hint of grain. It starts bitter and is not terribly carbonated. It feels light, and has a bitter aftertaste as well. Pretty good, and is a nice IPA. It weighs in at 6.5% ABV.

We had another great tasting at Sycamore. I must like brown ales more than I realized, since I liked every beer we tried. I’m not sure what my favorite was this time, maybe the Rogue Hazelnut Brown Nectar or the Big Sky Moose Drool. Of the homebrews, Jamie’s Maple Amber Ale was my favorite. It would be excellent with some nice thick bacon and a couple of pancakes.

I was at Sycamore today for lunch and was pleasantly surprised to see Bear Republic Racer 5 on tap. Oh, happy day! I bet that keg doesn’t last long.

If you haven’t had it, Racer 5 is an excellent example of the west coast IPA. Very hoppy. Lots of citrus on the nose. Bitter finish. Very drinkable. I’m really excited to have Bear Republic in Missouri.

I’ve had this bottle of Breckenridge 471 IPA waiting in the fridge since May and it sounded good tonight. I have tried this beer it once before when we had a beer tasting at my house. But quite honestly, I don’t really remember much about the beers we had that night. We started off with the Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA and that pretty much toasted me for the evening.

I don’t know if this beer meets the requirements of an imperial or double IPA, but it does come in at 9.2% ABV. The nose is much like other big IPA’s: a hint of citrus, some pine, almost sweet smelling. The head is tan and lingers quite a while, eventually diminishing to a thin layer of foam and lots of lacing on the glass.

The beer tastes great. Nice and hoppy, with a bite that mellows as it lingers. For a beer that is 9.2%, I’m not getting a strong alcohol taste at all, which I like. I do feel just a bit of warming as it goes down.

I really like this beer. The only thing that would keep this from being a session beer in my mind is the alcohol content.

For those of you that don’t check beeradvocate.com, Sanford just posted this:

Lips of Faith at Sycamore

We have added a 5th tap, and will be running the New Belgium Lips of Faith series. Right now we are pouring Le Fleur Misseur.

In bottle we have picked up Mikkeller Stateside IPA, and Southern Tier Creme Brulee; and I pulled 2007 Ommegang 3 Philosophers out of storage (I know I should/could leave it there longer…).

cheers, Sanford

Very good to hear. I wish I wouldn’t have gone home for lunch today!

I have about 3 other things I need to be doing, but I like to procrastinate, and besides, it has been a month since I actually reviewed a beer.

This is the first time I’ve had Rocky Mountain IPA. It pours a translucent reddish brown with lots of head. Head retention is average, but the beer leaves a lot of lacing on the glass. The nose is a strong and floral. I do notice some malty grain flavor. Mouthfeel is nice; not overly carbonated and a pleasant tingling on the tongue. The finish lingers with a hoppy bite. This isn’t a terribly complex beer, but it is good representation of an American IPA. I think I’ll give this beer a try at a slightly warmer temperature, as the one I’m having tonight came straight out of the refrigerator.

So the July tasting event is in the books! We had a great time again this month. The theme was lagers. Here is the list of what we tried. Again, reply to the post to let me know if I have anything wrong or I missed any beers.

Ayinger Celebrator Doppelbock
Barons Lager
Berghoff Original Lager
Boulevard Saison Brett
Butte Creek Organic Pilsner
Cave Creek Chili Beer
Clipper City Balto MärzHon
Dixie Blackened Voodoo Lager
Great Lakes Dortmunder Gold Lager
Great Lakes Eliot Ness
Griesedieck Golden Pilsener
Kona Brewing Longboard
Kronenbourg 1664
Ray Hills American Pilsner
Sam Smiths Organic Lager
Schell Firebrick
Shmaltz Coney Island Albino Python
Shmaltz Coney Island Sword Swallower
Specher Black Bavarian Lager
Steinlager Lager
Tennents Lager
Unibrew 9X Lager

The Coney Island Albino Python was probably my favorite beer of the night, but many of the beers were good. I was most surprised by the Cave Creek Chili Beer. It was the best chili beer I’ve ever had, and I would love to try it with some nachos.

Thanks again to Sanford and Sycamore for hosting!

And, now that lagers are out of the way, on to IPA’s and hefeweizens! Check out the Columbia Beer Enthusiasts site for more info.