CS Booze Club.

[Victory Sabre]

Jester, if you don't like either, then you'd be out of luck with that beer.

[Jester]

Vic, I don't like either, and I am out of luck with that beer. I know, as it is currently on draft at the KW World of Beer, where I tried a small sampling of it. Not my cup of green beer tea, clearly.

But on to other things!

From Funky Buddha in Boca Raton, Florida, it's Last Snow, a coconut and coffee porter (6.4% ABV). Not an easy beer to get a hold of; the Beer Monger got some in and put them aside for his regulars, such as myself.

Flat black color with virtually no head. Coconut and coffee fight for dominance in the nose, and oddly, this is not unpleasant. Malty taste with coffee hints and strong coconut presence. And it all works well together. Sort of like the beer version of a Caribbean cocktail with both Malibu and Kahlua in it. An odd pairing, but it works. I give it a relaxed, tropical island score of 7.0. Yeah, mon. 'Tis good.

[KiaKat]

Three days.
Four tastings.
Three hundred+ wines (and a few spirits).
Four 1ere Cru Bordeaux.
Nine 2eme Cru.
Five 3eme Cru.
Five 4eme Cru.
Eight 5eme Cru.
FOURTEEN new grapes.

My tongue is fried.

WORTH IT.

[Jester]

From Boulevard Brewing's Smokestack Series, it's The Sixth Glass Quadruple Ale (Missouri, 10.5% ABV). Deep brick brown in color, light fluffy head. Subtle, slightly sweet nose. Can't get much more than that. Deep, rich, and sweet, but pleasantly and appropriately so, not cloying or sugary. Hint of dark exotic fruits. Overall, it's complex and tasty, and will make you think it came from Brussels, not Kansas City. 7.0.

[Jester]

From Mendocino Brewing in New York, it's Talon Extra Select Smoked Double Porter. Coming in a big 22 oz. bomber bottle and weighing in at 10.0% ABV, this is not for the cowardly.

Pours like a watered down motor oil, so not necessarily a guarantee for my approval. Flat black in color. Virtually no head to speak of. Hugely malty nose, but not getting any smokiness in the aroma. Majorly malty, rich taste. Smoky? No. Not that I can find. But the maltiness and the richness create a rich taste that I enjoy. It's balanced, though not too complex. Dark beer and malt lover's kind of thing, though not really all that bitter, which many malty beers are, but which porters are not known for. Overall, it's nice. I'd drink it again....though I'd debate the whole "smoked" thing. Still, a solid 7.0. I'd definitely drink it again.

[Victory Sabre]

Home from the gym, and time for a review.

Julius Echter Hefe-Weiss

Before I start the review, I was looking at the label, and it said it was best by June of 2014. Hopefully it is still good, but if the review is bad, that might be a factor.

Nice golden color, with an extremely thick head, like about to overflow the glass. Minimal nose to it.

Taste : even this far past it's best by date, itnhas a nice smooth flavor. It is a very sold beer, and very drinkable, especially during this March heatwave here in Minnesota.

7 out of 10

[Jester]

Unless a beer is really old, I wouldn't pay much attention to the "best by” dates. And heck, quick often a beer that has been properly stored may get better as time goes on. And even if it doesn't, most beers are just fine for a long time, as long as they are properly stored, i.e., away from heat and light.

There are exceptions to this, of course.

Most American swill, such as Bud Light and Coors Light, etc, do not deal with age well. But then, it's swill, so screw it.

Some craft beers are designed to be drank by a certain date, as that style may start deteriorating after a certain amount of time. (Hefeweizens are not one of those styles.)

Also, some beers, even if stored right, may sometimes go bad. Had this happen with a couple of bottles of Four Peaks Kiltlifter recently. Stored out of heat and light, they still turned, though the rest of the batch, stored in the same way in the same place, were just fine. Shit happens.

[deadbody]

Unless a beer is really old, I wouldn't pay much attention to the "best by” dates. And heck, quick often a beer that has been properly stored may get better as time goes on. And even if it doesn't, most beers are just fine for a long time, as long as they are properly stored, i.e., away from heat and light.

There are exceptions to this, of course.

Most American swill, such as Bud Light and Coors Light, etc, do not deal with age well. But then, it's swill, so screw it.

Some craft beers are designed to be drank by a certain date, as that style may start deteriorating after a certain amount of time. (Hefeweizens are not one of those styles.)

Also, some beers, even if stored right, may sometimes go bad. Had this happen with a couple of bottles of Four Peaks Kiltlifter recently. Stored out of heat and light, they still turned, though the rest of the batch, stored in the same way in the same place, were just fine. Shit happens.

If memory serves Kiltlifter had a batch that was infected. So it wasn't the beer going bad, it was the bacteria that was left in the bottle making it taste terrible.

Beer will change over time, sometimes good (like on super high alcohol bombs that smooth out) sometimes bad (see aforementioned coors). It can be fun to age beers and then try them side by side with fresh. I have a 5 year vertical of Surly Darkness that I need to get some friends over for poker and drinking of.

[Victory Sabre]

I've got a bottle of Berliner Weiss aging in my closet, just waiting for summer to hit to enjoy.
The Schell's Noble Star beers are also designed to be aged in the bottle.

[sms001]

Three days. Four tastings. My tongue is fried. WORTH IT.

Good lord. Hope you took good notes.

Would you mind terribly giving a precis of that cru and eru nomenclature? I have a vague idea of how they relate to various classifications, but it stops there.

a beer that has been properly stored may get better as time goes on.

I suspect the ad department has more to do w/ 'Best By' dates than the brew crew. But you and deadbody have reminded me to try and track down the old article I have suggesting some good beers to age. Again.

[Victory Sabre]

New Glarus Enigma

Dark red colired, with a moderate head. Cherries on the nose.

Taste: it has a complex taste. There's cherries, a hint of smoke, also a bit of vanilla, combined into a sour beer. I am new to sour beers, but this is damn good, and I hope they brew this again.

7 out of 10

[Jester]

I suspect the ad department has more to do w/ 'Best By' dates than the brew crew. But you and deadbody have reminded me to try and track down the old article I have suggesting some good beers to age. Again.

I would say that the answer to that is probably yes and no. With craft beers and microbrewers, I suspect that most of the beers with "drink by" dates do have some basis in reality, though of course I could be wrong.

With macrobrews like Bud, etc., I'm thinking it's more PR than anything inspiring their "born on" dates, but to be honest, a lot of times those beers really do go to shit after a certain period of time. Yeah, I know....they're already shit. But believe it or not, they CAN get worse. And often do.

[Victory Sabre]

Back from the bar, helping to try to cheer up one of my best friends, whose dad passed away. Time for a review, and, no Jester, the review isn't Stella.

Excelsior Brewing Company Big Island Blond - 5.5ABV

Light golden with a moderately frothy head. The nose isn't the best. Somewhat skunky.

Taste : well, not the best is a good way to describe it. It might be a step up from the Buds, Millers and Coors, but a small one. This is the second beer I've had fro this brewery, and the second not so good one 3.5 out of 10.

on second thought, 3.5 is too high, as I keep drinking it. 3 out of 10 works better for this beer.

[Jester]

If memory serves Kiltlifter had a batch that was infected. So it wasn't the beer going bad, it was the bacteria that was left in the bottle making it taste terrible.

Not that many people on here are familiar with Four Peaks Brewing. Have you been to Arizona? Or are you talking about a different Kiltlifter? (I know that there is at least one other beer by that name, made by some Midwestern brewery.)

As for what happened to my Kiltlifters, there was some ugly looking sediment in the bottom, the nose was sour, and the taste was even more sour. As in bad sour. Not good, especially when the style is a Scotch ale.

Time for a review, and, no Jester, the review isn't Stella.

Maybe I missed something, or maybe it's just too early in the morning for me....why would I think you'd be reviewing a Stella?

[Victory Sabre]

Maybe I missed something, or maybe it's just too early in the morning for me....why would I think you'd be reviewing a Stella?

I texted you about being surprised that the Stella I had last night was the first of the year. It was also better than the beer reviewed.