CS Booze Club.

[Victory Sabre]

The Marzen is the one I need to replace. Maybe tomorrow I'll have time to do so.

Now for the beer of the day

Aecht Doppelbock 8.0% ABV

Dark amber colored, really no head when poured. Nose is nice smelling. Some smoke in it.

Taste : holy smoke!!!!!!! Jester, you weren't kidding. The smoke is very abundant in this beer. It also fits it very well. I love the flavor. I love the smoke.

Before this beer the Schell's Stag Series #3 was the best ever. Well this blows it away. 9 out of 10

[Jester]

The Dopplebock was among my least favorite of the Aechts--not that they have any bad ones. Wait till you try the Weizen, the Marzen, and the Urbock!

[Victory Sabre]

Then there is a chance for me to give some of them a 10. Can't wait to try more.

[Victory Sabre]

Since everyone decided that closing time it the perfect time to come into my restaurant, I think a new beer is in order.

Biscotti from Lift Bridge Brewing 7.0%ABV. It is the 2014 version of it.

Amber colored with minimal head. Not much nose.

Taste: HOLY CRAP! This is amazing. There are hints of vanilla in it. Hint of honey, and other flavors that are competing that I like a lot. A bit of sweetness, but very mild. Damn perfect for a nice hot summer day.

9 out of 10

2 beers in a row get this rating. Can't wait for my next beer.

[Victory Sabre]

Time for a review.

Sitting in the cabin at Angle Inlet, stuffed with fish, now for a new beer.

Horny Goat Watermelon Wheat

Nice golden color. Thick head. The nose smells a bit like watermelon.

Taste : bizarre is a good word to describe it. It does taste somewhat like watermelon. However it does seem a bit off. I honestly don't know if I like it.

3.5 out of 10

[Victory Sabre]

Goose island Honkers Ale 30 IBU 4.3% ABV

Amber colored. minimal head. no nose.

Taste: nice hops. nice malts. nice flavor. perfect after fishing beer.

7 out of 10.

[Jester]

....and in my quest, along with Vic and another friend of mine, to see how many different unique beers one person can drink in the course of a year, last night I had my 500th different beer of the year.

While this still puts me on pace to drink 1,000 different beers in a year, I'm beginning to doubt that I'll hit that lofty number, for several reasons.

1. It's a difficult pace. To do it, I have to try 2.8 new beers a day, every day, which is not nearly as easy as it sounds.
2. One of my main sources for new beers was World of Beer Key Weat, which closed a couple of weeks ago. While we still have several good beer bars here in town, and I have a good amount of beers that I have not yet drank this year in my personal collection, losing WoB KW definitely made things more difficult, especially as I live on a small island 150 miles from the nearest accessible major city, and there are just a lot of beers we don't get.

Still, 500 different beers in 6 months is nothing to sneeze at. And I will continue to press forward, to see how many different beers I can try in a year. My friend Danny, who is the third member of this insane group, lives in London, England, and can out drink most humans before he's even had his breakfast, so he may well have a shot at 1,000. We'll see. When last I checked with him, he had a good pace going towards that.

NOTE: The one good thing that came from WoB KW closing was the amount of free beer I got. A few days after they closed, I got a text from the owners to come get some beer. And they weren't selling it to me, but giving it to me....whatever I wanted. Since I have limited space and roommates who would not appreciate having the apartment buried in beer, I cherry picked what I took, only going for things I either loved or really wanted to try. And that cherry picking "only" netted me about 160 free beers. Knowing full well I had to get a photograph of this haul, I put them all together on my living room coffee table, some stacked on others, and captured the moment for posterity. Right around that time, one of my roommates walked into the living room and said, "Nixe. Where the hell do you plan on putting all of that?" I responded that I didn't know, but that I'd just have to get creative and find space. A few hours later, he came back into a living room empty of beer. Surprised, he asked where I'd put it all. I said, "I told you I'd get creative....I found space!" He didn't ask further.

And I say I "only" got 160 beers, because a friend of mine that worked at the bar till they closed also got to take what he wanted, and he hauled away 250 beers. And while even that seems impressive, both of us were in awe of yet another friend, who also worked there till the last day, who hauled off close to 600 free beers. I saw the picture of his kitchen....either his roommates are cooler with being buried in beer, or he doesn't care about what they think. And all of us only got to choose from what the vendors did not take back from the owners of the bar, who only gave said vendors a day or so to come get what they wanted of their stock, to be resold. (I was bummed with the lack of selection of German and Scottish beers, and I was the first of the three of us to get a run at what was left.)

And if you're wondering what kind of business sense it makes to let three people haul of 1,000 beers for free, I've got no answer, other than to say that the owners clearly weren't that smart as business owners. This they proved time and again in other ways, but that's another story. Me, I have some beer to drink.

[dalesys]

... Surprised, he asked where I'd put it all. I said, "I told you I'd get creative....I found space!" He didn't ask further.

... roomie now has a permanently startled expression and walks funny...

[Victory Sabre]

Congratulations on hitting 500 beers Jester. It will be tougher, without the WOB in Key West, but I think you can make it. Besides you might on occasion get a package from the frozen north to help you out.

I updated my beer list after my birthday fishing beercation and my number is less than half, but a still respectful 229 unique beers for the year. I would like to make it to 500, but it's going to be tough just because I lack free time.

[Victory Sabre]

First full day back at work si ce my birthday fishing beercation, and it's time forma review

La Trappe Quadruple Trappist Ale 10% ABV

Nice dark amber color with a thick head. The nose has caramel hints to it.

Taste : oh nice. Very pleasing taste. There is a slight sweetness to it, but not much. It is strong, and you will know that as you drink this beer. Very good, and even more so after a long day at work.

7.5 out of 10.

[Jester]

I've not been reviewing a lot of new beers I've been trying, because after a while, sometimes it feels like a job, and I'd rather just enjoy the beer. And honestly, a lot of them have not been worth the effort. Don't know if this next one is worth it, but let's find out together!

Thomas Creek Coffee Oatmeal Stout (South Carolina, 8.0%): Dark as my thoughts regarding...okay, now, just a very pleasant dark brown, almost chocolate in color. Definitely pours like a motor oil. (Bonus!) Nose is definitely a bitter maltiness, with strong coffee notes. Tastes quite delicious. Maybe a bit too much coffee for me, but overall, a nice bittersweet dark chocolate and malty taste, with the aforementioned coffee notes. Good, possibly even great, but due to the strength of the coffee flavor, I can't score it as high as some of you may. 6.5.

[Victory Sabre]

Now for something I picked up on my short trip throuh Canada.

Palm Bay Key Lime Cherry - 5% ABV

Almost white in color, with no head. The nose is a nice smell of key lime and cherries, what a shock.

Taste : and so is the taste. Key lime and cherry tasting. I might like a stronger lime and cherry flavor, but it's not half bad. I might have to get another 6 pack next summer when I stop at the duty free shop right before the border. I just wish they had better beer than Molson, or Labatt's.

5.5 out of 10

[Victory Sabre]

Next review

Point White IPA

Light golden color with a fairly thick head. I get hops in the nose.

Taste : fairly bland IPA. Not much in the hops department. There's some hops, but very minimal. Very boring beer.

4 out of 10

[Victory Sabre]

Boulivard Spring Belle saison wih Flowers.

light golden colored, with thick head. The nose is not pleasing. It is very skunky.

Taste : thankfully the taste isn't skunky. Light flavor. Somewhat floral. Nice light flavor for a hot, humid day.

6 out of 10.

[Victory Sabre]

That one went down awfully fast. So one more tonight.

Badger Hill White IPA 5.6% ABV

Light golden, almost white. Moderate head. I like the nose. There's a nice hop smell to it.

Taste : wow. Even though it's only 50 IBU, it's got a nice hop bite. It's also got a citrus flavor to it. Wow, I could drink this all niht long, but I've got to join my friends in GTA V soon, so I will wrap this review up withna 7 out of 10 for this beer.