CS Booze Club.

[Victory Sabre]

Next review.

Gray's Brewing Co. Busted Knuckle

Beautiful amber color to it. Not much head. No nose that I can tell.

Taste: Well, not the best, sadly. There's just not too much flavor in it. Almost like a watered down Killian's. I'll drink it, but won't get it again 3.5 out of 10.

[Victory Sabre]

Magic Hat #9 Not Quite Pale Ale

Nice golden color, with minimal head. There is a nose to it, but hard to describe.

Taste - Very interesting. Very hard to describe. It's crisp, and refreshing. I really don't know what to say about it, but I do like it.

7 out of 10.

[Jester]

Vic, that slightly fruity taste you were getting with the Magic Hat #9 is apricot, if you were wondering. That's the "not quite" part, though the brewery tries to be a bit more "mysterious" about it.

[sms001]

I'll drink it, but....

Literally lol. I think after 1200+ posts, we know each other well enough that this goes w/o saying.
Heck, I use to feel some remorse for purging beer lines at the start of a day.
I'm waiting for that "couldn't even finish it" review; I'll definitely steer clear of that one.

[Victory Sabre]

Vic, that slightly fruity taste you were getting with the Magic Hat #9 is apricot, if you were wondering. That's the "not quite" part, though the brewery tries to be a bit more "mysterious" about it.

Thank you. I've never had a beer with apricot in it, no wonder I was confused. At least it was good.

And I did give a 2 once on a rum called Navy Rum. I was probably being generous with it.

[Jester]

I'm waiting for that "couldn't even finish it" reviews; I'll definitely steer clear of that one.

I have scored some beers very low, and have had beers I could not finish. Most of those probably only ended up as notes in my phone, which I have not reposted here. However, I'm relatively sure one of the more notorious of those did end up in a review on this board. Maybe someone with better search skills than me can determine that.

Ironically, the beer I'm referring to comes from my favorite Florida brewery, and one of my favorite breweries of all, Cigar City. Their Christmas beer, Sugar Plum, is so wretchedly bad and overly sweet that, after having consumed half of the big Bomber of it I had purchased, when I went to pour the other half into my glass with the idea of just powering through it, my stomach informed my brain that that just was NOT gonna happen, and I smartly poured the second half down the drain.

Another horrible beer I've had came, ironically enough, from another one of my favorite breweries, in this case Rogue out of Oregon. They had a juniper pale ale that I gave either a two or a three to. Keep in mind, I don't like gin at all, so it should not come as a surprise that a juniper beer didn't go over all that well with me.

I will look through my phone notes to see if I can find some other "winners" that I would say y'all should avoid like the plagues that they are.

[dalesys]

I'm waiting for that "couldn't even finish it" review; I'll definitely steer clear of that one.

"To improve your experience with THIS beer... Wait for someone else to puke it up and drink that."

[Victory Sabre]

"To improve your experience with THIS beer... Wait for someone else to puke it up and drink that."

I like that.

I can think of 3 beers that I refuse to drink, they are so bad to me.

Bud Light Clamato - One smell of it wants to make me hurl. The #1 worst beer EVER in my book -10 out of 10 - It's that bad.
Cave Creek Chili beer - It took me 4 hours to finish off a bottle of it, it was so bad. I threw the rest of the 6 pack away. .5 out of 10 and the #2 worst
Amigos - So sickingly sweet, no way I'd drink it again. 1 out of 10 #3 worst.

[Victory Sabre]

Border battle 2014. I was hoping to go to the bar and watch it. Sadly the bar was packed. I am home, have a frozen pizza in the oven, and, ah crap, Ponder threw an interception. Damn it, beer time.

American Sky American Velvet

Dang it, I'm drinking a cheesehead beer, but it will be good, I'm sure.

It pours like motor oil, and looks like it too. Akkkk another interception. Damn I'd better start drinking.

Nose: slight coffee smell.

Taste: I am not the biggest coffee stout fan, but this is, by far the best I've ever had. It's not too coffee tasting, but just enough to add a bit of a kick to the stout. Damn good, and a lot better than the game. 7 out of 10.

[Victory Sabre]

Oh, crap, it still sucks, so another beer.

Valkyre Brewing Lime Twist

Another cheesehead beer. I really need some Minnesota beers, but the only ones I have I've already reviewed.

Nice golden color, though a slight murkeyness to it. Nose - holy lime Batman. I love that nose. I hope it translates to the taste.

Taste: Wow! So much lime flavor, and I love limes. It is so good. So easy drinking. This might be a better beer on a hot day, which today was not, but still very good and I'll give it an 8 out of 10. Now can I get drunk enough to ignore this bad game? We'll see.

[Victory Sabre]

This game isn't getting any better, so another beer is in order.

Magic Hat Hi #9 IPA

Hey, a non cheeseland beer.

Amber colored with a nice frothy head. There is a slight nose to it.

Taste: this is the strangest IPA I've ever had. It's got the peach that the other magic hat had combined with an IPA. I must admit, not bad at all, but unusual. I'll give it a 6 out of 10. Ok, last beer tonight. I might have to turn off the radio, or else I might have to have another. In a way, it's a good thing the bar was packed, or else I'd have to walk home.

[Victory Sabre]

Dang it, I went to Espn 42-0 time for another.

Valkyre Whispering Embers Oktoberfest.

Golden in color. Modest head. No real head.

Taste: wow, holy smoke. Holy smoke. Tons of smoke flavor. I love smoke flavor. It's really good beer. One of the best Oktoberfest beer, and most unusual I've ever had. 8 out of 10.

[Victory Sabre]

Ok game over, though it was over before it started. Time for another beer.

Valkyre Rubee Red Lager

Dark amber color. Some head when poured. No nose detected.

Taste: Ok, though nothing that knocks it out of the park. It's a fairly standard red lager. I was hoping for something better based on their other beers. 5 out of 10.

The nightmare game is over, and with it the final beer of the night. I must admit, some really gokd beers tadted for the first time, and I am glad the bar was packed so I could be at home tomtry them. For all you in Wisconsin, you've got some great beers in your neck of the woods. I wS talking to my friend on the phone, and I left him some Wisconsin microbrews, and he was totally enjoying them. New Glarus Spotted Cow, Stone Arch Scottish Ale, and the American Sky American Velvet. So time to sign out, finish up the Rubee, and sleep off a horrible game.

[Jester]

I am home, have a frozen pizza in the oven...

Frozen pizza? With craft beer? Well, at least you're not microwaving it!

...ah crap, Ponder threw an interception. Damn it, beer time.

Something many Vikings fans said tonight.

Akkkk another interception. Damn I'd better start drinking.

That too.

Taste: I am not the biggest coffee stout fan, but this is, by far the best I've ever had.

There are some great coffee stouts out there. And this is coming from a guy who does not drink coffee, as he finds it gross.

Taste: this is the strangest IPA I've ever had. It's got the peach that the other magic hat had combined with an IPA.

You mean apricot....right?

I might have to turn off the radio, or else I might have to have another.

1. Why are you following the game on the radio, when it is on readily accessible TV?

2. You say you might have to have another like it's a bad thing!

Valkyre Whispering Embers Oktoberfest.

Taste: wow, holy smoke. Holy smoke. Tons of smoke flavor. I love smoke flavor. It's really good beer. One of the best Oktoberfest beer, and most unusual I've ever had. 8 out of 10.

Want!!!

[Jester]

Vic, you and I are just gonna have to disagree on Cave Creek Chili Beer. Because honestly, I rather like it. I'd drink it any time. I actually slightly prefer Billy's Chilies from Twisted Pine, but either one are tasty. What is not tasty in that same genre is Ghost Face Killah, which is a beer infused with ghost peppers. Shit is fucking undrinkable. It's not just spicy, it's ridiculous. My first bottle, I managed two sips in an hour. There has not been a second bottle.

As for other nasty beers, my revulsion with Heineken is well known and documented. Bud Light Platinum was pretty nasty also. And when I say it was nasty, it wasn't because of who made it. Compared to Platinum, I'd drink regular Bud Light any day, all day. Yuck.

I won't include IPAs or other beers where I just don't care for the style. Just because I don't like it doesn't automatically mean it sucks, after all. But if it's a beer from a style I like, and I find it gross, that is not a good sign. Why hello there, Carib Caribbean Lager! (dry heaves)

Another great example is Dogfish Head's Midas Touch. Now I admit I'm not generally a fan of DH products, though I respect their innovative and creative spirit and experimentational approach to various beers. That being said, I love honey beers. I love honey. I love beers. My love of honey beers is almost universal. And then there's Midas Touch. I hoped that this would be the DH beer that made me smile. Sadly, I wanted to throw it against the wall.

Then there's Seadog's blueberry wheat ale. There are a lot of good fruit beers out there, a few great ones, and a lot of mediocre ones. Seadog falls into none of these categories, as it is downright awful. A reviewer at ratebeer.com summed it up nicely: "Big aroma of fake blueberry. Taste is perfume and fake blueberry. Sweet. Too sweet." It's pure sugar. And I LIKE sweet beers, but this is just terrible. It's the kind of beer people who don't like beer drink. For those of you who remember it, it is the beer equivalent of Boo Berry cereal. Which, don't get me wrong, I have fond memories of. But I don't want it in my beer!

And pouring back through my phone's notes, I found what I believe is the only beer I've ever intentionally not finished there. He'Brew Brewing has a lot of amusingly names beers, and most of them are tasty enough, but none of them have ever really blown me away. Basically, they seem stuck in the "good, not great" area, at least for me. But not with this beer. Oh, hell no. It was a draft of He'Brew's Death of a Contract Brewer, which was an American black ale. Remember, I am a dark beer fan. Quoting from my notes: "Weird hoppy taste with hint of malt, but they don't work well together. Actively unpleasant to me. Struggling to drink it. Only thing worse than the taste is the aftertaste. Did not finish it. 3.0."

From my notes on my only beer from Sri Lanka, a can of Lion Stout (remember, I'm a dark beer guy!): "Odd sweet root beer/licorice taste. Overly sweet. Not very good. Fuck Sri Lanka. 3.5."

Moving right along, we have a terrible pumpkin beer from Southampton, normally a good brewery: "the taste...is strange, with pumpkin flavor, but also a pronounced sourness to it that makes it unpleasant. Not a fan. 3.5."

And then there's the odd bad German beer, Jever Pilsner, where you can see the progression as I drank more of it: "Not tasty. A bit sour. Terrible. 3.0."

The weird Christmas beer from The Bruery in California, 5 Golden Rings, a Christmas beer brewed with pineapple juice and spices, and about as bad as that sounds. 3.5.

And my nemeses at Widmer Brewing in Oregon had yet another bad brew, their Kill Devil Ale, which as an imperial brown aged in rum barrels should have been at least somewhat tasty to me: "Overly sweet. Actually rather unpleasant. I had hoped that Widmer would rise above my rather dismal expectations of them, but they sank even lower than I expected. Not good at all. Clumsy and overwrought. It takes serious lack of talent to make a rum and beer lover not enjoy a beer aged in rum casks, but those Widiots have done it. Widmer fails again. Damn shame. 3.5." Note: Innis & Gunn makes a most amazing rum cask aged beer. Try it if you can find it. Clearly the Widmer folks couldn't.

And so it goes. I've been threatening to post my beer notes here for a while, but while I've got tons of them, it may be a while before I get them all up. These were the worst of the worst from the last two years, which is how long I've had this phone. Sometime soon, I hope to post the best of the best here, giving you something to seek out, rather than something you'd seek to avoid.