More Beer Tasting Goodness!

Aloha everybody,

Over the weekend we had our poker and beer tasting night. 
As promised, here's a look at the beers we tasted.  

Comments on any beers that I show or on anything else you may have tasted or made a favorite are encouraged and welcome. 

As Matt (Bob Walk the Plank) has mentioned and I concur, let's keep the beer conversation working...

The first taster of the night comes from the legends of the beer worlds. Pliny the Younger is a beer that has been far too rare for me to get my taste buds on, but luckily we can get our hands on its Elder. 

As one of the boys mentioned when we popped these, Pliny the Elder rates 100 on Beer Advocate. I don't doubt that, as the Elder went down smooth as velvet. This one is a real beer treat. ABV 8%
 

I'm a big fan of Firestone Brewing. As with other brewers I recommend, you can't go wrong with anything coming out of Firestone. They're located here in California, and I can't wait to have the opportunity to finally get up there and tour the brewery. 

Saisons are generally lighter summer beers. That said, Opal was definitely not light on flavors. The note I made on it says "Wakes up your taste buds" - in a crisp and bold way. Opal is highly recommended. ABV 7.5%
 

This Weins beer immediately lets off a note of citrus and fruit when you open it. I think it has more of a red ale flavor than IPA. ABV 6.5%
 

This Rogue was one of the surprises of the night. When I first got into craft beers chocolates and stouts were not to my liking. However, as my beer mind and taste buds have expanded, I now enjoy stouts, chocolate and coffee-flavored beers when done right. 

This Rogue chocolate stout is definitely all that. Smoooooth chocolate flavor. High recommendation. ABV 5.8
 

I don't know if you folks out there in the midwest and on the east can get beer from the Lost Abbey, but this brewer is a big favorite with my poker circle. 

As per the label, this ale was brewed with  honey, raisins and rosemary. The beer snob crowd probably love this on a label, but we don't want beers with good taste - We want beers that taste good! 

You might recall Lobotomy Bock from our last batch of tasters. It was was 12% ABV and you could taste every one of those percentage points. It wasn't executed very well. 

This Lost Abbey brew mixed those funky herbs and honey very  well and produced a brew that delivers a sweet and smooth 12% ABV.  Be careful with this one.
 

 My favorite brew of the night comes from San Diego. A truly big IPA with bold hoppy flavors up front (just like I like 'em), but it tails off with a smooth finish. Highly recommended. ABV 6.8 

Oh yeah, we played poker as well...

One of my biggest pots of the night!

Thanks for reading, and don't forget to comment. I would love to know what you all think out there.

Aloha!