CS Booze Club.

[Jester]

A new beer! The label says that this is Weyerbacher Althea, a Belgian-Style Dubbel Ale Brewed with Plums (Pennsylvania, 7.7% ABV). What the label doesn't say that the big ole bottle does is that this is a big ole bottle (25.4 oz). So I hope I like it! And yes, I am drinking this big ole bottle of American craft beer (that came with a cork!) out of a Coors Light NFL pint glass. Cause I'm classy like that!

The color is a dark reddish brown with a frothy head. It has a sweet, beery nose. The initial taste is that of sweet wine. Very sweet, very winey. Highly carbonated for such a winelike beer, but that may help cut the sweetness. Upon further drinking, the plum notes are coming through, and as my palate adjusts, the sweetness, while still there, is not nearly as overbearing as it was initially.

[sms001]

Jester, VS - Thanks for scrounging up the 'undrinkables.'

VS - I knew Ponder might struggle, but didn't think the D would collapse like that. Bummer.

Did you hit up Valkyre's web page yet? They seem to be agreeable to you so it'd be great if you had a distributor closer to home. Also, good call on the Stone Arch - my local started carrying them a few months ago and I'm very impressed so far. Their Six-Grain is a fantastic steak beer, and the Vanilla Stout is one of the few sweet beers I've enjoyed unpaired w/ food. They also make (kinda pricey ) soda pop; the Orange Cream is wonderful.

ETA: btw Victory, love the way your spelling falls off as the ratings progress - it's like I'm right there with you.

[Victory Sabre]

Yeah, my spelling suffers, even with spellcheck, as I keep drinking. Oh, my.

As for the radio thing, I'm in a TV reception dead zone, and am not home enough to justify cable TV, so no TV for me.

Also, my memory goes downhill as I keep drinking, hence the peach mistake.

The Valkyre beers are unpasteurized, so it would be hard to get them to Key West. All I know is if I'm going deeper into Wisconsin, I will have to get more of their beers, so far all of them have been amazing, except Rubee, which was just ok.

[deadbody]

Had the Cigar City Cuban espresso last night with a friend. Super over carbonated. Took about 5 minutes to pour 2 glasses without it spilling.

Totally worth it. Super coffee flavor, lots of cocao and vanilla.

Amazeballs.

[strawbabies]

I tried Strongbow Cider a few weeks back. Noticed it had an aftertaste similar to red wine, so I decided to try it with my leftover pot roast. It actually worked!

[Victory Sabre]

No reviews today - I've got to be a good boy, and I don't want to finish all my Valkyre beers tonight. So, I'll leave you all with this interesting beer blog.

http://alcoholbyvolumeblog.wordpress.com/

[Jester]

The cream of the crop!

We've discussed terrible beers. Now here's a list of my must haves, beers that are so awesome that they warrant special attention.

These are beers from my notes over the last year and a half that I may or may not have posted about here, but most of them I probably did not. And as much as I like my 6's and love my 7's, to keep this list manageable, I will make it only the ones I scored 8 or higher. And I'll try not to quote too much from my notes, or this will be bigger than the Manhattan phone book. Just know that if I scored it 8 or higher, it must be awesome. 9 or higher is godly. To quote Men in Black, these are the best of the best of the best.

(Remember, these are my favorites. If you notice a lack of IPAs and hop forward beers, it's because I'm not generally a huge fan of those beers.)

In no particular order....

Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbier, 8. (Germany) A classic example of the style.
Lexington Brewing Co. Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale, 8.5. (Kentucky) This beer never gets old.
Great Divide Yeti Imperial Stout, 8. (Colorado)
Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier Wiezen, 9.5. (Germany) Tons of smoke and flavor make this one of the greatest beers I've ever had, but you have to like smoke. Second highest score I've ever given, and I believe I've only given it once.
Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier Urbock, 9. (Germany)
Aecht Schlenkerla Marzen, 8.5 (Germany)
Orkney Brewing Dark Island Scottish Ale, 8. (Scotland)

Weihenstephaner Korbinian Dopplebock, 10. (Germany) The first time I ever tasted this, I wrote in my notes "proof that Germans perfected beer," and my opinion hasn't changed. It is still the only beer I've ever scored a perfect 10, though the Aecht Weizen was damn close. My favorite beer ever. It will be served at my funeral party.

Southern Tier Oat Imperial Stout, 8.5. (New York) Amusing side note: you can taste a beer two different times and have two different impressions. This beer I tasted twice in three days, according to my notes, the second time forgetting about the first time, apparently. The second time I scored it only a 7.5, but I'm inclined to go with my first impression here. Either way, it's a helluva beer.

Great Divide Claymore Scotch Ale, 8. (Colorado)
Lost Coast 8 Ball Stout, 8. (California) My introduction to Lost Coast Brewing. They make a lot of killer beers, and it's really hard to go wrong with them. They've almost never disappointed me. My favorite California brewery by far.
Hoppin' Frog B.O.R.I.S. The Crusher (Black Oatmeal Russian Imperial Stout), 8. (Ohio)
Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbier Dunkel, 8. (Germany) Weihenstephaner is my favorite brewery, German or otherwise. The worst beer I've had by them I scored a 7.5. Being the oldest brewery in the world, dating back to 1040, they've clearly figured a few things out.

Orkney Skullsplitter Scotch Ale, 8. (Scotland) Amazingly, Orkney is not even my SECOND favorite Scottish brewery. They're third, after Innis & Gunn and Harviestoun. The Scots know what the hell they're doing, obviously. Speaking of which....
Innis & Gunn Irish Whiskey Cask Stout, 8. (Scotland)
Innis & Gunn Original Oak Aged Beer, 8. (Scotland) Both of these are good, but my favorite is still their Rum Cask Aged, which I've reviewed in here before. Two words: beer candy.
Cigar City Invasion Pale Ale, 8. (Florida) Just one of many brilliant offerings from my favorite Florida brewery.
Hopf Helle Weisse, 8. (Germany)

Southern Tier Imperial Choklat Stout, 8. (New York) More beer candy. (See also, Southern Tier Creme Brûlée Stout, not listed here, but as amazing if not more so than the ST creations that are listed.)
Hinterland Saison, 8. (Wisconsin)
Steenbrugge Tripel, 8. (Belgium) I'm not a huge fan of many Belgian beers, but some of them are amazing even to my usually German-inclined palate. While not on this list, and not sure if I've ever reviewed it in here, another standout Belgian is St. Martin's Tripel, which I've always described as "like licking heaven." I don't know that I've ever scored it, but it would be in the 8-9 range, easily. (Amusingly, at another tasting, I apparently didn't care for the Steenbrugge. Apparently one was draft and one was bottle, but sadly, I can't figure out from my notes which was which.)
Samuel Smith's Organic Chocolate Stout, 8.5. (England) Probably my favorite English brewery, and with good reason: this is just one of many amazing beers they make.

Tommyknocker Maple Nut Brown, 8. (Colorado)
Paulaner Hefe-Weizen, 8.5. (Germany) A classic of the style.
Stone Russian Imperial Stout, 8. (California) I was not a huge fan of Stone, as all I had had from them up to this point was their hoppy beers, such as various IPAs and Arrogant Bastard. But once I started trying their dark beers, I realized they were flippin' geniuses. And I fell in love.
Due South Caramel Cream Ale, 8.5. (Florida) I can't say enough about this beer. Let me just say that Due South is quickly becoming my second favorite Florida brewery after only Cigar City, and that is high praise indeed. And it all started when I tasted this for the first time. If a bar has this, I am drinking it, period. It's also really awesome from the nitro (Guinness-style) taps, which not everything is. Due South is so awesome they've got me drinking their IPAs. ME.

Williams Brothers Scottish Midnight Sun Porter, 8. (Scotland) I may have mentioned that the Scots can flat out BREW.
Stone Farking Wheaton W00tstout, 8. (California) For all you nerds, this was named after Wil Wheaton. Seriously.
Stone Espresso Imperial Russian Stout, 8. (California)
Southern Tier Imperial Pumpking, 8.5. (New York) Yes, Southern Tier is a great brewery. Yes, this is a great pumpkin beer. Shockingly, it's only the second best I've ever had. Still high praise, though. Long live the King!
Cigar City Good Gourd Imperial Pumpkin, 9. (Florida) THE best pumpkin beer I've ever had, period. What's that? You don't live in Florida and you can't get your hands on a Good Gourd? Sucks to be you.

Founders Breakfast Stout, 8.5. (Michigan)
Sonoran White Chocolate Ale, 8. (Arizona) It tastes just as advertised. Truly an experience.
Eggenberg Dopplebock Dunkel, 8. (Austria)
Rivertown Roebling Imperial Robust Porter, 8.5. (Ohio)
Great Divide Hibernation English Strong Ale, 8.5. (Colorado)
Founders Backwoods Bastard Scotch Ale, 9. (Michigan) From my notes: "a malt lover's dream beer."
St. Bernardus Christmas Ale, 8.5. (Belgium)
Smuttynose Scotch Ale, 8. (New Hampshire)

Mad River Steelhead Extra Stout, 8. (California)
Gouden Carolus Noel Belgian Strong Dark Ale, 8. (Belgium) "Good, very unique. Unlike anything I've ever had. Um...whoa."
Baltika PA3^NBHOE pale lager, 8. (Russia) That is the closest I could get to the name listed on the big oil can this stuff came in. (In the World of Beer app, it's listed as "Razlivnoe.") But Baltika makes a lot of great beers, and so far, I haven't gone wrong with any of them.
Hinterland Lunatic Imperial Stout, 8.5. (Wisconsin)
Orkney Dragonhead Stout, 8.5. (Scotland)
Funky Buddha Nib Smuggler Chocolate Porter, 9. (Florida) Simply one of the best dessert beers I've ever had. Those guys in Boca Raton hit a home run with this one.

Founders Sweet Repute Barleywine, 8. (Michigan) I'm not a huge barleywine guy, but there are exceptions. This is one of them.
Weyerbacher Heresy Imperial Stout, 8.5. (Pennsylvania)
Left Hand Wake Up Dead Nitro, 9. (Colorado) I love Russian Imperial Stouts. So for me to write in my notes about this beer "Possibly best RIS," that's saying a whole lot. Also from the same notes: "It literally felt as if the heavens opened, the angels sang, and the beer gods smiled down upon me."

Baltika 4 Dark Lager, 8. (Russia)
Stoudt's Fat Dog Imperial Oatmeal Stout, 8. (Pennsylvania)
Cigar City Puppy's Breath Porter, 8. (Florida)
Old Crafty Hen English bitter, 8.5. (England) I like variety and trying new beers. That being said, this is from my notes: "I'll be drinking this till the keg runs dry." I lied. I drank it till BOTH kegs they had ran dry.
Smuttynose Imperial Stout, 8. (New Hampshire)
Scotch de Silly Scotch Ale, 8. (Belgium) A lot of Belgian beers are overly sweet, even for someone like me, who generally likes sweeter beers. With that in mind, consider this from my notes: "A little less sweet and the score would skyrocket." And I had already given it an 8!

Cigar City Oatmeal Raisin Cookie brown ale, 8. (Florida) Truth in advertising.
Cigar City Horchata Nitro, 8. (Florida) If you're familiar with the non-alcoholic Mexican drink horchata, this tastes just like that. If you're not, it's basically a delicious cinnamon rice milk drink. And this is it in beer form.
Funky Buddha Vanilla OP Porter, 8. (Florida)
Founders Curmudgeon Old Ale strong ale, 8. (Michigan)
Anchor Steam Porter, 8. (California)
Stone Belgo Anise Imperial Russian Stout 2011, 8.5. (California)
Crown Valley Imperial Pumpkin Smash Ale, 8.5. (Missouri) Four words: chocolate covered pumpkin pie. 'Nuff said.
Southern Tier Warlock imperial stout brewed with pumpkins and natural flavors, 9. (New York) "It's a fresh-baked slice of heaven in a glass."

[Victory Sabre]

Wow, that is one heck of a list, Jester. I will have to research the ones I can get.

Now tonight, Valkyre Brewing AbBy Normal.

Nice murky brown color, with no head at all. No real nose to speak of.

Taste: Wow is my first impression of it. It's hard for me to describe, since I havent had a Tripel Abbey Style Ale before. I went to the website and read the description

Valkyrie's Abby Normal is a Tripel Abbey-style Ale brewed with Belgian Candi Sugar. Abby's complicated flavors are of sweet caramel malts, honey and molasses, accompanied by intricate notes of spice, and tart green apples with a floral hop garnish.

Yes, that describes it well, and yes, I do taste those things in it, well, the apples are more of an after taste. It's a very well constructed beer, and I'm impressed again with their beer. 8 out of 10.

[Victory Sabre]

Next, and final review tonight.

South Shore Wisconsin Pale Ale.

It came in a 25 oz bottle, so, yeah, final. I hope it's good, because I'm finishing it off tonight.

Nice amber color, with a frothy head. Well, it smells like a standard pale ale.

Taste: It starts kinda smooth, but then the hoppiness kicks in. Sadly, there's not much else to say about it. It's called a Wisconsin Pale Ale, but it's not much different than an IPA. I like IPA's a lot, but I was hoping for more. 5 out of 10, I'm afraid is all I can do.

[Jester]

Wow, that is one heck of a list, Jester. I will have to research the ones I can get.

Well, that's what a year and a half of dedicated research will get you. And it would have been far, far bigger if I had included all the 7's and 7.5's. But you gotta draw the line somewhere, and since it's gotta be one helluva beer to get an 8 or more from me, I felt that was a good cut off.

As for the ones you can get: I'd say it's likely you'd be able to get most if not all of the international ones. The American ones--some are in your area, some aren't, but even a lot of the ones not in your area may have distribution near you. Who knows? In any case, happy hunting!

[sms001]

I went to the website and read the description

Is it 1997 or what?

From your scores, I think you've tapped a gem in Valkyre, VS. I'm going to hunt down the closest distributor and grab a few myself, thanks.

Jester - great list, thanks so much for pulling it together.

[mjr]

The Mrs. and I tried a Pretzel Stout over the weekend. I'm not usually one for dark beers, but this one wasn't bad at all!

It was this one: http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/pro...a=SavvyStudent

http://martinhousebrewing.com/the-beer/pretzel-stout/

[Victory Sabre]

Is it 1997 or what?

From your scores, I think you've tapped a gem in Valkyre, VS. I'm going to hunt down the closest distributor and grab a few myself, thanks.

Jester - great list, thanks so much for pulling it together.

Trust me, you won't regret it. I will be headed to the cities Sunday, now do I go deep to get another 6 pack? I will be trying to get the New Galrus Pumpkin Pie Lust, and see what the Oliphant Brewery has to offer on tap (and, of course a trip to the American Sky Brewery). MMMMMM Pumpkin Pie Lust.

[Victory Sabre]

Horny Goat Oktoberfest

Nice amber color, with a bit of a head when poured. There is no nose to speak of.

Taste: there is a sweetness and a slight bitterness to it. A hint of caramel is also detected. not a bad beer, and 6 out of 10.

[Victory Sabre]

Hofbreau Dunkel

Its dark amber in color with a thick, frothy head. I don't detect a nose.

Taste: wow is the first sip, and so is the second. I may not be the best at describing the finer features of beer (see my mistake calling apricot peach), but I do know something I like. This is a complex beer to be sure and I'll give it a 7 out of 10. I would like to go home and compare this to the Backpocket Slingshot Dunkel to compare them.

Edit

I also won a $25 gift certificate to the local liquor store on the radio for the "whine of the week". I might have fun with that.