CS Booze Club.

[Victory Sabre]

Well, I acquired a beer in a trade, so time for a review.
South Shore Inland Sea Pilsner

Decent head on it. The color is somewhere inbetween amber and golden. There is a slight nose to it, and I like the smell.

taste. Pretty good pilsner. It's got a nice powerful flavor that is very pleasing. A lot of pilsners don't have that.

6.5 out of 10. I've had their Nut Brown ale and wasn't too impressed. This beer does impress me, and I will search out more of their products.

[Victory Sabre]

And now on to the rum review. I am not a big rum drinker, so please, be understanding with this review.

Lamb's Navy Rum. Since it was made in Canada, everything on the bottle is in English and French,.

it's got a nice red color to it. The nose is not pleasing to me, unlike tbe NWD Heath rum.

Now taste. I poured myself a shot of it. Oh boy, I do not like it much. It is very harsh goingdown, and leaves a burning after taste. Not good at all. Sorry, Canada, I will have to give it a 2 out of 10. Not a liquor to drink to enjoy. It might be a good liquor to get drunk on, though, if you are a bit buzzed to start with.I would have been better off getting the molson, or labatt's, and I strongly dislike those beers.

[Jester]

Never had the rum in question, but with a lot of harsher or more robust rums, sometimes it helps to add an ice cube or two, as it not only chills the rum, but opens it up.

And then there's the fact that some rums are just meant to be mixing rums, not sipping rums.

[wolfie]

Note that it's Lamb's NAVY Rum. Traditionally, navy rum was bought by beancounters and drunk by sailors - and sailors of the time (REAL sailors, none of this wimpy steam-powered ship stuff) would drink anything with alcohol in it. I wouldn't expect much quality from any rum with "navy" in its name.

[NecessaryCatharsis]

Yeah Lambs Navy is not a rum to sit and enjoy in a glass of, nor is it good (in my opinion) in most mixed rum drinks. I usually only buy it in the winter, to my mind it is a good rum in hot drinks - try it with coffee or tea and brandy, hot apple cider and cinnamon, or even a hot butter rum (I find those too sweet, but others seem to like them) before you give up on it completely.

[KiaKat]

Navy strength liquors aren't necessarily bad, just strong. Try using them as high-quality mixers or throw some ice in that sucker and watch it mellow. There's a reason so many high-quality bourbons are 100 proof or higher.

Re: Canada. Vic, remember that Canada has a Liquor Control Board. I'm not sure how it applies to beer, but in terms of wine and booze, the average Canadian is screwed for quality artisanal product.

[Victory Sabre]

I'm not a rum drinker, for the most part. When I had the NWD Heath rum, I was like Homer with doughnuts MMMMMMMMMM. The Navy rum I was like Sam Kinison talking about the women who hurt him. AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!

I might give the bottle to a friend who has a brother who is very hard on his liquor supply. It might slow him down a bit.

[Victory Sabre]

I've reviewed it before on here, and am enjoying my growler of it tonight.

Backpocket Raygun IPA.

Even after over a month in my fridge, it's still really good. I know Jester isn't the biggest fan of IPA's, but this is similar to the Kona IPA, and I can see why, again, it won the craft beer contest in Iowa. It's very good, and way too easy to drink. 8 out of 10.

I should, check to see what I rated it before,. I'd wager about the same. It makes me want to go back to Coralville Iowa.

Edit: I could so easily finish off this growler tonight. (UK people, not THAT growler, a 64 ounce bottle of beer). I'll have to restrain myself.

[Jester]

Just because I don't generally care for IPAs doesn't mean they're bad or anything. They're just not usually for me. Everyone's different. I love wheat beers and dark beers, and I know plenty of people who don't care for those. C'est la vie.

A couple quick reviews--not my usual novels.

Leinenkugel Hoppin' Helles: very smooth, tasty beer. I'd drink it daily with just about anything. Slightly sweet, very drinkable. I got it in a mixed six pack to try some new beers, so my only regret about it is that I don't have any more in the fridge. A solid and tasty 7.

Magic Hat Ticket to Rye: this is a rye IPA I figured I'd try for the hell of that, which is amusing, because not only don't I usually care for IPAs, I'm not really all that big on rye beers. (Which is in itself a bit odd, since I love rye bread.) The hoppiness isn't too much, and so from the IPA side, this isn't too bad. But as often happens, the rye part of the beer just kills it for me. It's not as unpleasant as a lot of other rye beers I've had, many of which are just strangely harsh, but I can't say I'm a fan of this. Better than I expected, worse than what I'd hoped for, if that makes sense. I'll finish this one, but probably not have another. That being said, I'd say it's worth it to try, especially if you are to of as anti rye beer as I seem to be. This one has promise for those who enjoy such flavors. But for me, I have to score this one a 5.

So much for the "quick, no novels" reviews, huh?

[sms001]

Leinenkugel Hoppin' Helles... I'd drink it daily with just about anything.

I do. What's very odd is that is very steeply discounted around here, often less than a dollar a bottle.

I thought at first that Leinies was just dumping 'near expireds' on the local market, but a little poking and asking confirms this just ain't so. I'm trying to catch the vendor at my local to see what he has to say about it, but until then, I'll enjoy.

[Victory Sabre]

No reviews today, but I found something from Sierra Nevada Brewing that will be coming out soon that sounds very interesting - Beer Camp.

http://beercamp.sierranevada.com/

I'm looking forward to them, especially the collaboration beers with New Glarus and Cigar City, but they all sound delicious. It should be out next week, and I will get one if I can find it.

[Jester]

Could not figure out if that variety 12 pack would be available nationwide from that site. So if they have it available in your area and not mine, can you send me a 12 pack and I'll reimburse you? (PayPal, check, whatever.)

[Victory Sabre]

Yes, of course. I do think it is nationwide, though, a news article I read about it makes it seem very limited. So you might want to ask your local liquor store about it asap.

EDIT: I've made a decision today: I'm going to push hard to finsh my 10th WBT 2 weeks from tomorrow (Sunday). I have 35 beers to go, but I think I can do it

Edit again: 34 to go.

[Jester]

34 beers in 14 days. That's 2.5 beers a day, approximately. Certainly doable.

[Victory Sabre]

Well, I've busted out on getting my tour finished by the 27th. I just don't have enough free time, and also, my body told me that I can't push so hard. Oh, well.

Also, update on the Sierra Nevada Beer Camp - it will be stocked here, so it must be a nation wide thing. It will cost about $25 for a 12 pack, but It will be worth it. It should be here in the next week, or so, so start looking everyone for it soon.