Monday, October 19, 2015

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!

9 comments:

  1. Pliny!!!! I've never had the pleasure of trying that. Guess I need to come to California. I got to try the bourbon county barley wine today. It was tasty. Also I'm working on getting some Founders Harvest Ale and Backwoods Bastard.

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  2. I'm a big fan of barley wines. Guess we'll have to include one of those at next month's tasting.
    Backwoods Bastard - I don't know it, but digging the name. Let me know how that one goes down.

    Matt, there's always a seat at the poker table for you - and that invitation goes to any of my friends from the card collecting community. BTW - we play for pocket change. No need for a bankroll. The emphasis is on good eats, good drinks and lots of laughs.

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  3. I managed to snag a glass of Pliny at a bar right by Coors Field. That was some good stuff! And if I had to pick any other one from that haul to try, it would be the chocolate stout. That is definitely my favorite style, and I'm sure I'll be having more of them now that the weather is cooling off.

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    1. That choco-stout is the bomb! Really smooth flavor.
      The bottle says chocolate truffle flavor - I agree.
      I hear Colorado has a growing craft beer scene. Would love to check it out some time.

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  4. Do you have a collection of all the different bottles

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  5. I don't, Mark - but that's a good idea.
    It would be cool to save some of the more artistic labels. Do you do that?

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    1. Related note: Have you noticed the crazy and elaborate bottle designs for tequilas? My buddy mentioned his cousin started a collection of tequila bottles.

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    2. I don't but my son collects various bottles with the different labels .

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    3. We get some cool ones, but it would be such a hassle to ship glass.
      If your son ever finds an easy way to remove labels, I would be happy to remove some for him.

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