CS Booze Club.

[Jester]

Continuing in Bell's Brewing's Planet Series, I have Neptune, "The Mystic," which is (ready for this?) An "ale brewed with black pepper, hickory bark, dandelion root, spices, molasses, and maple syrup, with cayenne peppers, star anise, raisins and dates added. I think I got a cramp typing all that! As might my liver by drinking it, as it weighs in at a health 9.0% ABV.

Upon pouring, it immediately reminds me of a motor oil, albeit a slightly thin one. Still, a good first impression with me, as such things usually are. It is as black as you'd expect from the previous sentence.

The nose bears out the description, with all those ingredients blending harmoniously, though the black pepper seems to come to the forefront of the aromas.

Wow. What a punch of flavor. A lot going on here, all of it good. Again, a harmonious blend of all those ingredients, with a healthy dose of maltiness, and yet it is all very mellow and casual. Like a guy who walks into a bar full of quiet confidence, knowing he has it all, and yet he never comes off as arrogant. This is a quietly confident and delicious beer, that not everyone will appreciate, but connoisseurs should. Possibly the best of the Planet Series so far. Neptune the Mystic, the 8th planet, gets a solid 8.0.

[Victory Sabre]

John's Grocery Inc. Generations White Ale from Millstream Brewing

Very light golden colored, almost white. Moderate head. Nose is kinda skunky.

Taste - Not bad at all. The nose lied. Some sweetness to it. Some other flavors I can't pin down, but not bad at all.

7 out of 10

[Victory Sabre]

That went down way too fast. Next beer
Rye Porter from Peace Tree

Dark, very dark. almost no head. No nose.

Taste - Nice. A very delicious rye porter. Fun to drink.

6.5 out of 10

[Victory Sabre]

Next choice

Paddle Wheel Pale Aler from Bent River - 5.99% ABV and 26.6 IBU

Nice golden color. Some head. The nose is pleasing.

Taste - Fairly standard pale ale. It's just a bit jacked up, that's all. Ok, but nothing impressive

5 out of 10

[Victory Sabre]

Raygun IPA. I've reviewed this before

Raygun IPA.
Golden in color. Hoppy nose, almost sweet. The taste is a very light tasting IPA. So delicious. I will be buying them when I get to the liquor store.

And I still agree with this. I just wish I wold have gotten more than a 4 pack of it.

[Jester]

Some quickies on some beers I've had the last few days....

Furst Wallerstein Hefe-Weizen: good, solid, traditional German hefe.

Chang: tasty Thai beer, with more flavor to it than most Asian beers. Good stuff.

While in Orlando, we had dinner with my niece and her boyfriend for their birthdays at an awesome Indian restaurant, where I got to try two Indian Vera, Haywards 5000 and Taj Mahal, both of which were light (as many Asian beers are) but still very tasty, and went very well with the excellent Indian food we had. Both recommended.

Also while in Orlando, I split a bomber with my girlfriend of Highwater Campfire Stout, which bills itself as a S'mores stout. While neither one of us got the full array of all three s'mores ingredients (I got mostly marshmallow, Diane tasted a lot of graham cracker), it was still a fun beer to drink.

Finally, Cigar City's Blueberry Muffin, which is a brown ale, and tastes quite like you would hope a beer version of blueberry muffins might taste like. As a huge fan of both beer and blueberry muffins, this was a nice surprise from the kings of Florida craft brewing.

Last bit of fluff, which is not a beer review, but simply a bit about my new girlfriend. We share a love of beer, and that became evident in Orlando, where we often had the following exchange: "Do you want to get a beer?" "Duh!" Notice I didn't say who said which, because it went both ways.

Also, one morning, after having had a morning beer, we had this convo:
ME: "Do you want another beer?"
HER: "That would be irresponsible."
ME: "Right. So....do you want another beer?"
HER: "Of course!"

[Victory Sabre]

Mississippi Blonde Ale from Bent River Brewing - 4.2% ABV & 14.2 IBU

Light golden color with a moderate head. The nose isn't there.

Taste: It seems to taste like a weaker version of the Spotted Cow from New Glarus. There really isn't much here with this beer.

4 out of 10

[Victory Sabre]

Hinterland Packer Pilsner.

Ok, the name annoys me. Golden color. Minimal head, and no nose.

Taste: like the Packers, not very good. Skunky in a way, again, just like the Packers. I've had amazing beers from Wisconsin, this isn't one of them.

3 out of 10.

[Victory Sabre]

Great Divide Titan IPA.

Murky golden color. Citrusy nose. Minimal head.

Taste : well, this isn't what I was expecting. Generally, with IPAs, you get a hop bite. There isn't one here, or not much of one. You do get a lot of citrus flavor in this beer. It is an unusual IPA, but it's not bad, at all.

6.5 out of 10

[Victory Sabre]

There is a special promo where you drink Miller Light, you get an entry to win tickets to the Vikings/Packers game on January 3rd, and the travle there and back. I just watched one person down 3 of them, to get the chance to bring his father there. He looked really disgusted drinking them. Miller Light is too high a price to watch that game, in my opinion.

[Jester]

There is a special promo where you drink Miller Light, you get an entry to win tickets to the Vikings/Packers game on January 3rd, and the travle there and back. I just watched one person down 3 of them, to get the chance to bring his father there. He looked really disgusted drinking them. Miller Light is too high a price to watch that game, in my opinion.

For a game with two teams I don't care about, I'd have a Miller Lite or two.

For a Raiders game or the Super Bowl, I'd drink Miller Lite all night.

For front row VIP seats to the Super Bowl in which the Raiders were playing....I'd struggle to drink a single Heineken. But I'd drink Miller Lite for a month!

[Jester]

I've had an interesting history with Hoppin' Frog. Their B.O.R.I.S. The Crusher is one of the bomb diggiest Russian Imperial Stouts I've had, and actually kinda opened me up to the style, but the other two beers I've had by them have been anywhere between mediocre and downright disappointing. But I have high hopes for this, Hoppin' Frog's Silk Porter (6.2% ABV).

Pours black and thin, like a virgin motor oil. (Mechanics feel free to correct me if that's wrong, but that's my impression, so whatever.) Malty but restrained nose. Body is thin, but the taste is there. Malty and sweet, silky and yummy. They named it accurately. I'd call this a light porter by taste, but still quite delicious. Not on the level of their B.O.R.I.S., to be sure, but still a worthy beer. Very good, but doesn't quite crack the great threshold. 6.5.

[Victory Sabre]

Tonight it is feeling Oktoberfest, so a Oktoberfest beer is in order

Oktoberfest Marzen Bier from Confluence brewery

Nice amber color, with a thick head. Not much of a nose to it.

Taste - Not bad. It isn't extremely strong, but does taste like a Marzen. Fairly easy drinking, but nothing extraordinary.

5.5 out of 10.

[catcul]

For a game with two teams I don't care about, I'd have a Miller Lite or two.

For a Raiders game or the Super Bowl, I'd drink Miller Lite all night.

For front row VIP seats to the Super Bowl in which the Raiders were playing....I'd struggle to drink a single Heineken. But I'd drink Miller Lite for a month!

I don't know. You might need something much stronger to be able to enjoy a Raiders game.

[Victory Sabre]

At the Kinney Creek Brewery in Rochester, and drinking their Vixen German Red Pumpkin Spice Firkin 4.8% ABV

Amber colored. minimal head. pumpkin spice nose.

Taste. this is very weird. there is the pumpkin spices, but they clash with the red. I think it's a bad combination.probably a good thing they only made a firkin of it.

3 out of 10

Hopefully, their Darca-Doo Oatmeal Imperial Stout 9.1% ABV and 89.2 IBU that I'm taking home in a can is better.