CS Booze Club.

[Victory Sabre]

Ok, let me see.

13+ hour day at work done. Back FINALLY almost back to normal. Yes it is time for something special.

Wildflower Mead Infused With Watermelon 14% ABV. It is produced by Bootleg Hill LLC from East Moline Illinois

Really light yellow, almost white in color. He nose is somewhat like bread.

Taste: holy Watermelon It is very fruity, very delicious. If I go back to Moline, I will look for this again.

7.5 out of 10

[KiaKat]

I'm in Italy.

Be prepared for notes.

[Victory Sabre]

I can't wait to see your notes, Kia, and also have a good time there.

Now to beer.

Chillwave Double IPA from Great Lakes Brewing Company 9.4% ABV

Amber in color, with a thick head. Nose is very citrusy.

Taste : oh, yeah. Nice hop bite st first that kicks in later. Nice flavor to it, but if you don't like IPAs, you won't like this.

7 out of 10

[Victory Sabre]

O'Hara's Irish Pale Ale

Light golden in color. minimal head. nose reminds me of Killian's.

Taste: ok, nothing special about it. not too much to say good or bad.

4.5 out of 10.

[KiaKat]

Occhipinti 2012 Il Frappato Sicilia

Needed a significant amount of time and a chill to fully show its stuff, but eminently drinkable from opening. Cherry and cinnamon, with a gorgeous mineral finish, showing underpinnings of fresh mint. Light, crisp, clean, and surprisingly rich cherry. In the US, it retails for $45-50, and stores get a limited, allocated amount. My store has already sold out. In Rome, I paid €26 (less than $30). Woo!

Tomorrow: A nearby Chianti winery. Friday... MONTALCINO!!!

[Victory Sabre]

Horny Goat Brownie Flavored Porter.

5.6% ABV & 27 IBU

Dark brown witha thick head. It did not pour as thick as I would have expected from this beer based on the name. Some chocolate notes in the nose.

Taste : well, like a brownie. The name is very apt here. I wish that there were some more chocolate in the flavor, though. 6 out of 10.

[Victory Sabre]

ennuiPA from Oliphant Brewery. 6.3% ABV

Also of note, it is made with warrior hops.

very cloudy golden color with a very thick head. There isa slight hops nose.

Taste: the hop bite doesn't hit right away. It starts out smooth, but the hops kick in after it's down the hatch. I do like that a lot.

7 out of 10.

[Victory Sabre]

MKE Recombobulation Imperial Black Ale from the Milwaukee Brewing Company 8.2% ABV

Pours like motor oil, and is pitch black. Frothy head. The nose is awesome. Smells like some chocolate in it.

Taste: this is good. There's some smoke in it. Get lots of malt flavor in it. It is a very rich and bold beer.

8 out of 10

[Victory Sabre]

Brown Sugar Brown Brown from Oliphant Brewery 7.2% ABV

Fairly brown, but what a shock given the name. The head was fairly frothy, but dissipated fairly quickly. Thre isn't much nose.

Taste : interesting. It's almost got a sweet taste to it. Not a bad beer to end my long workday with. Easy drinking.

7 out of 10.

Can't wait till Sunday to head back to the Oliphant brewery, besides my 4 growlers need some new stuff in them.

[Jester]

You keep mentioning beers that pour like motor oil, but that covers a wide range. I've seen 0W20 and 20W50. Both can legitimately be called "motor oil", but they are VASTLY different in pour characteristics. What do you mean when you say "pours like motor oil"?

Okay, first of all, you should know that I know almost nothing about different kinds of motor oil, so for me to tell you which kind of motor oil a beer pours like is nigh on impossible. I have a lot of talents, but car mechanics is not among them.

That being said, when the average person thinks of motor oil, they think of something relatively thick and viscous, definitely more so than your average beer. So when I say a beer pours like motor oil, I mean it seems thicker and more viscous than the average beer would be. Just as there is a wide variety of motor oils, there is a wide variety of beers, and while some are thinner and more watery, some are thicker and more viscous. And when such beers are dark in color, as they often are, when they pour, it is rather reminiscent of motor oil.

As I tend to like darker, thicker beers, when I see a beer "pouring like motor oil," i.e., it is dark, thick, and viscous, it makes me happy, because it usually is a good indication that I will very much enjoy that beer.

Hope that clears things up for you.

[Victory Sabre]

The beer tonight couldn't be made by just one brewery, no, it had to be created by 3 breweries.

Blakkr Imperial Black Ale, made by Surly, 3 Floyds, and Real Ale Brewing.

Pours like motor oil, and black as my heart after a day from hell at work. Nice black head to it. Nice hops on the nose. Almost a citrus smell, as well.

Taste : is starts mild, then kicks into overdrive. Nice hop bite on the aftertaste. There is also citrus in the taste, as well. Not for the fain of heart, or cheap, at $20 for a 4 pack of cans.

Interesting beer, and 6.5 out of 10 is my rating.

[Jester]

Lagunitas Night Time Ale (California, 7.9% ABV): black with dark tan head. Malty, sweet, slightly hoppy, and perhaps a bit soapy nose. Big malts, some hops. Decent beer. A bit weird. The flavors don't all jibe. Decent, but not great. 6.0. [Drank a few nights ago, but never got around to posting my notes.]

Smuttynose Baltic Porter (New Hampshire, 9.0% ABV): Black and pours like motor oil. Good start. Sweet and malty nose. Sweet and malty taste. The sweet definitely dominates the malty, but they are both present, accounted for, and good. Tasty. A bit on the liquory side, something you expect in beers with higher ABVs than this. Overall, I like it quite a bit. 7.0.

[Jester]

Can it be considered a "morning beer" if it's 10 am, but you've been up since 3 am? No biggie...I have today off, so the point's academic.

From Bell's Brewing in Michigan, it's Jupiter Brown Ale. (Or as it says on the label, "Jupiter, The Bringer of Jollity." Though I don't remember the King of the Gods bringing that much jollity to others, except perhaps a swan or two....) A respectable 8.0% ABV.

When I get a brown, I want it to look like a brown. This one does. Dark brown color, nice beige head. The nose is subtle, with a smooth brown sugar aroma being one of the few I can really identify. Smooth is the operative word for this beer. It is very smooth, very pleasant. A little brown sugar is going a long way on this one. It's hard to describe it more clearly than that, which is a failing on my part, because it makes this beer far more simplistic and one note than it actually is. A very pleasant, smooth sipping brown ale deserves better than that description, so I'll leave it with a respectable score of 7.5. Happy morning!

[Victory Sabre]

Since you've been up since 3, I would consider it an afternoon beer.

[wolfie]

From Bell's Brewing in Michigan, it's Jupiter Brown Ale. (Or as it says on the label, "Jupiter, The Bringer of Jollity." Though I don't remember the King of the Gods bringing that much jollity to others, except perhaps a swan or two....)

Would have been more appropriate to have named it Bacchus Brown Ale - after all, Bacchus (a "rebadged" Dionysus from when Rome took over Greece) was the god whose portfolio included fermented beverages.