CS Booze Club.

[Victory Sabre]

Back to drinking.

Cane and Able from Two Brothers.

Nice amber color, with a bit of head. I do detect hops in the nose.

Taste - nice hop bite. with 68 IBU, I'm not surprised. there isn't too much else to it, though. not bad, but nothing that hits it out of the park. 5.5 out of 10.

[sms001]

normally reliable sources of ratebeer.com and beeradvocate.com both

Speaking of whom, Ba finally does a state-by-state listings; quite handy.

http://www.beeradvocate.com/communit...-state.221573/

[Victory Sabre]

Back home from vacation, and you all know where I'm at: the bar.

Blue Moon Harvest Pumpkin Ale.

It's in my stein, so no color report. nice thick head. very light hint of pumpkin spices.

Taste: I do taste those spices I love so, but not as much as I like. it's a pumpkin beer, but on the bland side. it's drinkable, but bland. 5 out of 10.

[deadbody]

Punk IPA Made by BrewDog in Scotland

Darker golden in color, with little head when poured. nice hoppy nose to it.

Taste - it has a strange flavor. not very hoppy. It is somewhat bland on the taste, but has a bit of a kick on the aftertaste. I think I'll give it a 4 out of 10. not a very good IPA.

Very possible it is older. Hops fade and IPA's are best drunk fresh.

[Victory Sabre]

New Glarus Black Top IPA

Pitch black in color, with moderate head. Nice hoppy nose to it, it makes me want to drink it.

Taste : nice smooth flavor with a very hoppy aftertaste, that lingers. I must admit the combination works very well. They really did a good job with this beer, and I was very happy to find it in Madison on my way to Chicago last Thursday. 7 out of 10

[Victory Sabre]

Next, and final beer review for tonight, from a company I hadn't heard of before Thursday.

Furthermore Brewing Company Three Feet Deep from Black River Falls, Wisconsin.

Well, the color is as dark as my heart after dealing with annoying people all day. Really frothy, thick head. The nose smells a little caramel and a little smoke.

Taste : Well, I do like the smoky aftertaste, it is amazing, however to get to the smoke, there's a weird flavor, and I'm not too sure about it. I think this beer had a lot of potential, but, it failed to live up to it. I will give it a 5 out of 10 because I think they could have done a lot better with this beer.

[Jester]

Notes from last night....

Watching the World Series and drinking some more beer from Vic's package to me. Beer and baseball....how can you go wrong?

First up, some more of the lovely Jack'd Up. Thanks for sending two of these, Vic!

Another from the Vic collection: from American Sky Brewing's Bomber Series, it's a Red Tail Marzen Style Oktoberfest (xx % abv). The color is a stunning dark red amber, and it's one of the prettiest beers as far as color that I've seen. ExtremeLy subtle nose....can't get much of anything off of it. The nose belies the taste, as it is delicious. Somewhat sweet, but appropriately so. Tastes like a sweet red met a Marzen. Nice. And a nice complement to the Castello Hirten cheese that I'm snacking on, which is vaguely similar to a hard Parmesan. The World Series continues to be awesome, and these two are just making it better. The dry cheese and the sweet beer? Yes, please. And it's the kind of refreshing sweetness you get from fresh squeezed fruit juice. Score? Another solid 7.0. This is the kind of beer that would go well in any season.

More from Brother Vic! From 4 Brothers Blended Beer Co., it's Relative Madness, which is apparently a blend of a porter and a blonde. I've seen wines that are blends, and I've had draft mixes, but other than the occasional bottle of Black & Tan (which never really work), I've not heard of bottled beer blends before. This could be brilliant. It could also be tragic. Myself, the idea of a blonde and a porter together might work as a draft mix, but I am skeptical of it working in a bottle. The color is very dark brown, with the only hint of blonde being in the pour, where it flowed very fluidly. The nose is all porter, with mocha and brown sugar aromas. The taste is sort of a lighter version of the nose, with the flavors of mocha and brown sugar there, but lightened. It's good, and refreshing, and a porter you could drink on a hot day, but I'd really love to taste porter part of this beer on its own. I think it would be a superstar. But for a odd blend, this was still quite good, clocking in at a respectable 6.5.

[Victory Sabre]

I must admit that the 4 Brothers Blended beer shocked me on how good it was. When I did my review I noted that it'll, eventually be sold in MN, and I can't wait to someday try their other blends.

Now to the first review of the night, and, honestly, it was a tough choice. It's a Jester beer.

Four Peaks Kilt lifter Scottish Style Ale - 6% ABV
'
Nice brown color when poured into the glass, with a little bit of head. I like the nose, I'd guess it's the malts in the beer. Really smells good.

Taste - The first sip was very pleasing. It tastes a bit lighter than other Scottish Ales I've had before, but the flavor is still there. It's a very well balanced and easy drinking beer, and if I travel to Arizona, I'd look for this beer to bring home. 6.5 out of 10.

Before I go to my next review, a side note for Jester - I've found, finally, a local place to get Xingu beer. I'll be headed there in the near future.

After reading the label, this will be the final review of the night, probably. A Beer Camp Beer.

Maillard's Odyssey Imperial Dark Ale brewed with Bell's Brewery - 40IBU and 8.5% ABV.

The beer is pitch black and almost no head to it. The nose is strong with caramel, chocolate, and a hint of coffee - a very good sign for me.

Taste - Oh, MY! the first sip was strong with the hints I mentioned in the nose, plus it has a bit of a hop bite also. If you know me I love a hop bite. Wow, it just keeps giving me flavor with each sip, and I'm on my third sip. If this was a regular release, I'd buy it in a heartbeat, and I think it's the best Beer Camp Beer I've had so far. 8 out of 10 is a good rating for this beer. I'll enjoy each sip of it, and be sad when it's gone.

[Victory Sabre]

Probably a mistake, but one more review tonight

3 Floyds Brewing Robert The Bruce

Very dark brown, and minimal head. No nose detected.

Taste. Hmmmmm, is a good way to describe the first sip. It was was hard to describe, almost bland. Sadly, the second sip isn't much different. It is a Scotch ale, but a very mild one. It's easy to drink, but very lacking in the flavor department. It's not bad, but not really good either. 5 out of 10 is a good rating for this beer.

This brewery was recommended to me by a friend who tried their Zombie Dust beer, I hope the Zombie Dust is a lot better, if I can find it, and it is hard to find.

[sms001]

Four Peaks Kilt lifter Scottish Style Ale - 6% ABV

Maillard's Odyssey Imperial Dark Ale brewed with Bell's Brewery - 40IBU and 8.5% ABV.

Had several Kilt Lifters (on tap) on Jester's recommendation at Four Peaks a few years ago, and they are damn tasty off the tap.

Bell's has been on fire lately. Their Two Hearted Ale (IPA) is one of my mainstays, but some of their specialty beers are truly outstanding. One of the few things to look forward to winter-wise is their Special Double Cream Stout and Winter White Ale. I absolutely love both.

[Jester]

The Double Cream Stout is absolutely freaking amazing!

The Kilt Lifter from Four Peaks is great on draft, and while I do like having it in bottles here in Florida (thanks to a special delivery from Accounting Drone and her hubster), it's not quite as good out of a bottle.

[Victory Sabre]

With that recommendation for the Kilt Lifter on tap, I really would like to go to Arizona sometime. Damn, just looked up a trip, and I could get there, and a hotel for under $500 right now. Not going to happen at the moment, but down the road for sure.

[Jester]

Vic, if you decide to go out to Arizona after I move back out there (hopefully August), you can always crash at my place. And if things go according to plan, I'll even have a guest room for you!

It won't be free, though. I do have a very specific rate: one Kilt Lifter on draft. And it must be at the original Eighth Street location. Some things are just not negotiable.

[Victory Sabre]

I'd say that's very possible. The only problem is I'd also have to check my bag - it would have some nummy stuff in it that couldn't be carried on.

[Victory Sabre]

A good night for a review, I think.

Indeed Brewing LSD. 7.2% ABV 20 IBU

This is a 25 oz bottle, so I hope it's good. Also, there's wax covering the cap of the bottle, very fancy, but a pain in the ass to get off. I've got a nice cut on my hand trying to get it off.

Ok, finally got the cap off.

Nice thick head when poured. Nice lighter browncolor to it. The nose is very strong, but pleasing. I do get the floral hints in the nose that are described on the bottle.

Taste : well, it is interesting. It's flavor is hard to describe. It tastes like I'd think lavender and sunflower would taste, and there's a hint of dates. Heck this it the most dates I've had in a while. I must admit it is an unusual combination, but it works out to be a tasty beer. 6.5 out of 10. I might put on a vacuum cap to save the rest for another day, because it seems a shame to finish it off in one sitting.