CS Booze Club.

[Victory Sabre]

Good Gourd! Today at work there was extreme stupidity I had to deal with. What better way to get over it than with a beer. In fact it is called

Good Gourd from Cigar City Brewing - Thanks to Jester for getting it to me.

Beautiful amber colored, with little head to it. I get a lovely nose of pumpkin spices. So nummy.

Taste - ooooooooooooooooooo! So smooth going down. The spices are very well balanced, and really right. This is a very, very good pumpkin beer. Oh, man! They really know what they're doing making this beer, and I'll give it a 8.5 out of 10. Very good beer, and if you're in Florida - DRINK THIS BEER!

EDIT - I am working on a Horny Goat HornyCopia, and it's a good pumpkin beer, and I rated it as such. It's not even in the same class as the Good Gourd. I'll revise my rating of the Good Gourd to a 9 out of 10.

[Jester]

Regarding traffic on the way to the Lauderdale airport: generally it's not that bad, as I usually take a straight shot up the Turnpike and down I-595, and bam!, I'm there, no muss, no fuss. Not so much this time. First, since we had dinner in Miami, we were coming up I-95. Secondly, it was rush hour. Thirdly, there was a lot of construction and resulting bottlenecks. So yeah, it was a mess. Add to that the fact that my friend was stressing beyond belief, as she's one of those people that firmly subscribes to the "get there two hours before your flight" guideline. Which is perfectly appropriate in bad airports like Miami and Newark. But at FLL, it's not as huge a deal. Which I told her. She didn't believe me. So....her flight was at 7:58 pm.
5:35: we leave Miami....and CRAWLED up I-95.
6:57: I dropped her at FLL.
7:10: text from her telling me she is through security and at her gate.


As for the Stone Arch, I don't think it went bad, Vic. It wasn't skunky or tasting off or anything. I think you and I just disagree on its taste. Nothing more than that, really.

Taste - ooooooooooooooooooo! So smooth going down. The spices are very well balanced, and really right. This is a very, very good pumpkin beer. Oh, man! They really know what they're doing making this beer, and I'll give it a 8.5 out of 10. Very good beer, and if you're in Florida - DRINK THIS BEER!

EDIT - I am working on a Horny Goat HornyCopia, and it's a good pumpkin beer, and I rated it as such. It's not even in the same class as the Good Gourd. I'll revise my rating of the Good Gourd to a 9 out of 10.

Best pumpkin beer I've ever had. It will spoil you for almost any other pumpkin beer. The only one that's ever come close for me is Southern Tier's Pumpking. Although, to be perfectly fair, Crown Valley's pumpkin beer and Shipyard's Pumpkinhead are definitely elite.

[Victory Sabre]

Just got home after a lomg drive today, and time for a quick beer before bed.

Geneva Lake No Wake IPA.

Open up the can and get a foam bath. As you can imagine, the head is very thick. There's almost an amber c8lor to it, and the nose is fairly standard for an IPA.

Taste: there is the standard hop bite, but also a slight sweetness going down, with a hoppy aftertaste. If you're not a fan of IPAs, you wouldn't like ths beer, probably.

6.5 out of 10.

lots of new beers to revew over the next few days/weeks. Can't wait to do so.

[Victory Sabre]

Here's a list of the rest of the beers I picked up yesterday.
Bull Falls Marathon Lager
Milwaukee Brewing co. Recombobulation Imperial Black Ale -8.2% ABV
Not a Wisconsin beer, but I also got Ridgeway Brewing (UK) Lump Of Coal Dark Holiday Stout
I also picked up a 6 pack of the Stone Arch Vanilla, Keweenaw Widow Maker Black Ale, and a bottle of Northwoods Distillery Heath Rum, I've reviewed these 3 before, and they were good.

Enough beer fun for now, off to work.

[Victory Sabre]

At the bar, and a new beer there.

Squatters Hop Rising Double IPA.

Nice light amber colored, minimal head. The nose isn't too strong.

Taste: it's ok. There is a slight hop bite, but for a double IPA, I expected a lot more. It's not a bad beer, but I expected a bit more from it. 6 out of 10.

[Victory Sabre]

Great Lakes Brewing Christmas Ale.

Almost amber colored. minimal head. The nose is interesting. I really don't know how to describe it.

Taste: as the nose, the taste is interesting, and complex. The problem with this beer is I really don't know how to describe it best. I do like it a bit. There is a sweetness to it that I'm not too sure of. I think I'll rate it a 5 out of 10, since I really don't know what to think of it.

[Victory Sabre]

Bull Falls Marathon Lager - 5.1 ABV and 23 IBU.

Golden color with a nice thick head when poured from the can. The nose is pretty standard for a lager.

Taste: It isn't a bad lager at all. In fact, it's a pretty damn good lager. It's easy to drink. I normally prefer a darker beer, or one that has more hops, but this isn't a bad beer at all. It would be a perfect beer for a nice hot day on the lake fishing. Sadly, it isn't hot right now.

6 out of 10.

[Victory Sabre]

I did something I've never done before today: I made my own 6 pack at the liquor store. You all know what that means, new beers for me to review, further making me look like a lush on here.

Saugatuck Brewing Company Bonfire Brown Ale - 5.5% ABV & 20 IBU.

It's got a nice brown color to it, with minimal head, that faded quickly. The nose smells good. There's a hint of smoke to it.

Taste : it's good. It's fairly standard for a brown ale. It's got a nice rich flavor, with a smoky aftertaste. The aftertaste isn't too strong, but just right for this beer. I do like this beer, and would buy more of it if I see it. 7 out of 10.

[Victory Sabre]

Shock Top Shockolate Wheat - 4.3% ABV

A really dark black beer with a thick head. Hints of chocolate are in the nose.

Taste : oh, my! Chocolate! The chocolate flavor is overwhelming, and so good. Holy cow is all I can say about it.

If you like chocolate I highly recommend this beer.

8 out of 10.

[Victory Sabre]

Bank Hop Bandit.

The head is nice and thick. the color is light golden. the nose is hoppy.

Taste: for a hoppy beer it doesn't have the bite. you do get hops. I don't know how they got it hoppy yet not a strong hoppy bite. not a bad beer, and 6 out of 10 is good for it.

[Victory Sabre]

Bank Smokebomb

It is black as Gravekeeper's heart after a 12 hour shift dealing with people from Nunavut. minimal head to it. Nose, slight smoky to it. I love smoky in beer.

Taste: Holy smoke Batman! It reminds me of a BBQ. Just an awesome flavor going down. not as good as the Schell's Stag Series #3, but damn close, very damn close. 8 out of 10 for this beer, for me. it might not be for the faint of heart, but I gave up my heart for lent, so I'm good.

Edit.

This beer, on reflection, reminds me a lot of the Valkyre Brewing Whispering Embers beer, which I rated highly. I am very tempted to make the trip to the Bank Brewing Company next Saturday after work. it's a 3 hour drive, but very tempting.

[Jester]

Taste : oh, my! Chocolate! The chocolate flavor is overwhelming, and so good. Holy cow is all I can say about it.

If you like chocolate I highly recommend this beer.

If you like super chocolatey beers, I'd highly recommend Samuel Smith's Organic Chocolate Stout from England. A classic.

I love smoky in beer.

Taste: Holy smoke Batman! It reminds me of a BBQ. Just an awesome flavor going down.

Likewise, if you like smoky beer, find just about anything by Aecht, a German brewery that specializes in rauchbiers, aka smoke beers. Super, super smoky and delicious.

[Victory Sabre]

I do have a bottle of the Samuel Smith in my fridge. Sadly, I don't think I've seen Aecht around here. Also I'm sampling chocolate beers to decide which ones to give to a friend, who loves chocolate, and chocolate beers, for Christmas. The Shockolate is a for sure one. I'd wager the Samuel Smith will also work. I've given her the Shake Chocolate Porter in the past.

[Victory Sabre]

Another day, another new beer.

Bank Swamp Buck

This is after my stein (25oz) of the Smoke Bomb, which is still an 8.

This one is also very black, with minimal head. There is not much nose to it.

Taste: hard to describe, but after the Smokebomb my tastebuds are burnt out. I'm having a hard time putting to words the taste of this beer. I do like it, but it's hard to describe. Maybe I should have had this first to better describe it, but the Smokebomb was so good from last night.
7 out of 10. I will be looking for their products in stores, because I want more from them. I would wager they are Minnesota only, and maybe South Dakota, since they are on the border.

[sms001]

I do have a bottle of the Samuel Smith

If they do it up anywhere near as well (And I certainly trust J's taste) as their organic Pale Ale, it'll be superb.