Samuel Adams Blackberry Witbier

Tonight's review is from a brewery everyone should be familiar with - Samuel Adams. I haven't reviewed a Sam Adams product on the blog before mainly because they're the "macro"-"micro" brewery. I'm ashamed to admit that, but it is what it is. They're kinda like that first job you get outta college... you have to go through them to learn, and once you move on, that's it. In reality though, they were one of the first big time craft brewers and have grown immensely. Unfortunately, they've paid the price from beer snobs. Well, no more I say! It's time to treat Sam with more respect! Not to mention the Patriots play in the Super Bowl on Sunday, and we're taking a trip to Boston in a couple months, which includes planning a trip to the brewery, I need to polish up on my Sam Adams repertoire.

The beer I'm drinking is from the Brewmasters Collection: Blackberry Witbier. From the bottle: "Only a specific blackberry could bring the subtle flavor that we wanted for this brew. These Marion blackberries from Oregon give a hint of blackberry in the aroma and taste and perfectly complement the refreshing and crisp flavors of the witbier. Cheers!" Basically what we're working with is a wheat beer infused with blackberries. Let's do this.

The BB pours the typical golden hue with a pretty decent head. Yeah, scent wise, you're blasted with blackberries. The first sip was kind of overwhelming, a bit cold medicine-ish. But after a few more sips, the  malt comes through and sort of calms down the berries. Interestingly enough, there is no after taste or bitterness in the end. All flavors end rather abruptly. The scent of blackberries continues throughout the drinking process, which continues to be light and crisp. Overall, this is a very drinkable beer, but one at a time as the blackberry has a solid presence throughout.

This is an alright beer. The overwhelming blackberry drowns out the rest of the drink, but without it I think it would lack any type of profile. I do recommend you try it though. As the originally craft brewery, we should continue to support their products just like we would any other craft brewery. Go America!

Oh by the way, 5.5% ABV. Get to drinkin'!

Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA

We've been on a Dogfish Head kick lately. Last Friday was Dogfish Head Brewery Night at World of Beer Lake Mary, where I very much enjoyed Pearl Jam Twenty Faithfull Ale, and Palo Santo Marron. Then on Saturday night I had Midas Touch. All three were very solid, unique, and tasty. I'd say the most unique was one my wife had, the Sah'tea, which is flavored with black tea, cardamom, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and black pepper. I really don't like tea, but this beer smells like tea and just when you think it would taste like it, it doesn't; which I really enjoyed. So, I wanted to keep this fish afloat through this week, so tonight I'm drinking DFH 90 Minute IPA.

Last year I had 60 Minute, which was really good, but 90 Minute is argued by some/most to be the best Imperial IPA in the world. What makes 90 Min so unique is that it's continually hopped for 90 minutes, then it is dry hopped in the "Me So Hoppy" machine. What does all this mean? Well, it's probably best to hear it from Sam Calagione himself: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0lXC8m3tnA. 

Let's get to it. After pouring a light gold, the 90 fills out a nice burnt orange/red color. Very floral scent, typically of a solid IPA. Off topic for a minute, when I show people some of the stouts I drink, they see how dark in color they are, and automatically ask how thick is tastes. Most of the time though, they're pretty easy drinking (maybe except the Terrapin Wake'n'Bake). Well, this IPA actually tastes thick to me. The combination of strong hops and malt have really created a unique texture and flavor. I wish I would've had 60 Min recently so I could compare the two.

Out of all craft beers and beer styles, I feel like the IPA gives people the most trouble. If you're looking to expand your palate, this is a must. If you're a pro, I'm sure you've already had it. But if you're a beginner, start slower, but put this on your to-do list. Like all Dogfish products are must-have's, this is a must-have IPA. Period. 

Great Divide Brewing Company - Samurai Rice Ale

Tonight I'm drinking Samurai Rice Ale from Great Divide Brewing Company based out of Denver, Colorado. Up until now, I've only reviewed one Great Divide product: Colette, early in 2011. I have, of course, had Great Divide brews that I haven't reviewed: Denver Pale Ale, Oak Aged Yeti, Hades, and Claymore Scotch Ale. Boy, after that list I feel like I owe you all an apology for not providing reviews! Well, I'll make it up to you. Not tonight though, let's stay with the Samurai.

The Samurai is a unique beer as not only is it brewed with rice, but it is also unfiltered. What that means is that during the brewing process, the yeast is left in suspension to add more flavor to the beer. The converse of this, a filtered beer, is one which has been filtered free of yeast. Many wheat beers are unfiltered, which is part of the reason you catch a lot of the fruitiness. One of the things Great Divide sells on this beer is that the rice adds crispy fruitiness. Well, I'm still try to figure that part out because I've never had fruit rice. Perhaps someone can fill me in on that one...

Clicky-Clicky

The Samurai pours a very thin, hazy straw yellow color. The head is decent, but fizzes relatively quickly. The floral scent is extremely light, as is the drink itself. The flavors are also very light, some light floral type flavors, but not much else. It drinks very light, almost a mix of a hefeweizen and a light lager.

This is an award winning beer, taking Best of the Rockies, U.S. Beer Tasting Championship, Summer 2007 and Tap Room Pick Summer 2008. Don't get me wrong, this isn't a bad beer, but it is light and very easy drinking. There is also a decent amount of carbonation. 5.1% ABV, NOT gluten free. Good for the summer, and a good replacement to the macro beers in the fridge. Also has a wicked pissah label.

Terrapin Moo Hoo Chocolate Milk Stout

Hey, hey, it's Wednesday. Tonight's review is from the Terrapin Beer Company out of Athens, Georgia. This is probably the 3rd or 4th beer I've reviewed from Terrapin, and I have yet to have a bad Terrapin beer, so I'm looking forward to it. I should say though, that over the last couple of months, Terrapin made waves in the craft beer world. You can read all of the details here: http://onlineathens.com/local-news/2011-10-17/terrapin-brewery-selling-minority-interest-miller-coors-craft-beer-division. Basically, they sold a minority stake of the company (less than 25%) to Tenth & Blake. T&B is the "craft beer" arm of MillerCoors *cue the boos*. Try not to overreact though, the Terrapin folks have said that just because one of the big boys has invested doesn't meant that they will stop doin' what they do. We should all be happy for Terrapin though because this will get them more capital to expand their company and do more exciting things, which will benefit all of us. We'll save the T&B/MillerCoors bashing for another thread, let's get to this Moo Hoo!

I told you, dark black!

Moo Hoo is one of Terrapin's new seasonal brews. There are two other seasonals: Pumpkin Fest, which I've had and was great, and Hop Karma Brown IPA, which I'd love to try. Anyway, the Moo Hoo uses a mix of hops, malts, chocolate, cocoa nibs, cocoa shells and lacoste. Interestingly, the cocoa nibs and shells come from a company in Nashville, Tennessee known as the Olive & Sinclair Chocolate Company. Sounds good right? Even their website looks delicious (http://www.oliveandsinclair.com/)!

The cow pours an extremely dark black (as opposed to light black), with a fairly thick cocoa head. The scent is a surprising combination of hops, cocoa, and vanilla. After I let the beer warm up a bit, the flavors and sweetness really start to shine. Cocoa, vanilla, and standard roasted malts come through very well. It's also quite thin, which upon first glance, wouldn't seem possible. That said, it's a very drinkable stout. I think if it were a bit thicker, it would emulate a good glass of chocolate milk, but I also think that would make it tougher to drink. So, I won't complain!

This is another really solid offering from Terrapin. I'm hoping to visit their brewery/tasting room in Athens this year, so hopefully I'll be able to pull off a full blown Terrapin Brewery review! That'd be a first. So, to close, Moo Hoo is 6% ABV, which is about normal. I'd say that this would be a great stout for those of you who aren't totally comfortable with darker beers, like stouts and porters. It's not overpowering, and it's thin. So get to gettin people, and "Enjoy It... 'Til The Cows Come Home".

Happy 2012

Greetings all, and happy 2012. This is the first post of gulp! for 2012, and it's a teaser of things to come. Not only that, it's almost the one year anniversary of the blog (t-minus 7 days), so I have some fun additions to the blog to talk about. Before we get there though, here's a quick showcase of some of the beers I'll be reviewing over the next few weeks.

Showcase (Showdown): As you can see, I've made a pretty decent score recently at Total Wine and More (the GO TO place for your craft beer needs). I have an interesting mixture of beers that I'll be writing about over the next few weeks that I think you'll find illuminating.... or maybe just slightly interesting. If you've been a reader since the early beginnings of gulp!, you may remember that I've already done a write up for the Banana Bread beer. That is correct, I did one in February. But, if you remember harder (good linguistics) I was at a bar when I drank it and I didn't really have a good write up. So, I'll be bringin' a 2012 edition of the review to a computer screen near you. You'll also see a Framboise in there... the one with the bright ass pink label. That's for my wife, so, we'll see how that goes. Not a huge fan of the 'boise. Anyway, good mix that I'm sure will illuminate - er - I hope you enjoy the write ups. 

New Additions: We live in a tech age these days folks. Hell, you can read my somewhat subjective reviews of alcoholic beverages from the comfort of your own couch and you don't have to listen to my annoying voice. How great is that? That said, many people have smart phones in which they connect with strangers they've never met via apps or social networks, and even share information about themselves with said nutjobs. So, if you have such a smart phone, there are two apps that I'd really suggest you download to follow another dimension of gulp! 

Instagram: Here's my "app caveat", I don't know if you need an iPhone to use Instagram, but if not, get it! If so, well, sorry. If you have, or can get, Instagram, hit me up. My user name is "gluparama". I typically just take hipster style photos of beer, which may or may not get reviewed. So it's a good combo of two cool things: beer and photography. And you don't have to worry about reading my pointless blather. 

Untappd: Untappd is an awesome social network where you "check in" to the beer you are drinking. They have an app that is available on iPhone and Android, so there should be no excuse on this one! Basically you can search for almost any beer out there, "check in", and share it with your followers. They have silly badges you can earn based on your check ins, and they also keep track of what you drink. It's a lot of fun, and good again for beers that may or may not be reviewed here. You can also see what's trending in your area. 

So, that's what up these days here at gulp! I appreciate you stopping by, and be sure to check out those apps and look me up! You know you want to be better pals anyway, so don't act like you don't want to. Oh, and don't forget to come back for the, you know, reviews. 

Sneak Peek For What's Coming In 2012

COMING IN 2012

Terrapin Pumpkinfest

Happy 11-11-11! I have the day off, so in beer speak, that means we're drinkin early today! I'm actually planning on reviewing two beers today. I'd love to do three, but the second beer is large and I plan on milking it for a while. Until then, I have a fantastic Terrapin product to talk about: Pumpkinfest. I've never had it before today, so I'm really looking forward to it because Terrapin has some solid-solid beers. I think they're slowing becoming my favorite craft brewery. What a love story.

A little about Terrapin. They're based out of Athens, Georgia and have three year-round beers: Hopsecutioner, Rye Pale Ale, and Golden Ale. I've had the first two (I think I wrote about Hopsecutioner), and they were pretty good. They have three seasonal offerings: Pumpkinfest (new to the lineup), Moo Hoo Chocolate Milk Stout (OMG), and Hop Karma Brown IPA. Finally, they have four "Monster Beers": Wake'n'Bake Coffee Oatmeal Imperial Stout (which I had earlier this year and was unbelievable), Big Hoppy Monster, Monk's Revenge (Belgian IPA), and Hopzilla (Imperial IPA). They also have some random side projects and collaborations too - including Hoptaneous Combustion (a SMOKED Double IPA - which was intense). So I'd say that is quite a line up of very, very unique beers; and as I said, I've had several and they've all been amazing.

On to Pumpkinfest. This beer is pretty unique for a couple reasons. One, it's a lager and not an ale. Most pumpkin beers are ales and incorporate different ingredients. Since the main brewer at Terrapin is a bit of a nutcase, they decided to do Pumpkinfest differently. It's actually the combination of a german style oktoberfest beer and a pumpkin ale (aka a 'hybrid'). Therefore, while there was about a pound of pumpkin used in the brewing, the malts are very germanesque. All in all, I am expecting a quality brew here.

As you've probably noticed, I've been on a pumpkin beer kick. However, some of the latest "non-imperial" pumpkin beers have been flat for me. Combine that with my high thoughts of Terrapin, I've got high hopes.  The beer pours the standard golden/copper hue that you normally see with a pumpkin beer. Thankfully, right off the bat, I was hit with nutmeg and clove scents; a good sign of a really good pumpkin beer. The spices are pretty complex for a pumpkin beer, which kinda gives it that tie-in to the oktoberfest/pumpkin beer, which is pretty cool. The back end is a little big hoppy, but certainly big on the spices. It's pretty smooth all around, and is a pleasure to drink.

Overall, this is a solid offering from Terrapin. Of the non-imperial pumpkin beers, this one tops the list for me (yes, above Pumpkinhead from Shipyard - which would be #2). It's 6.1% ABV, so while drinkable, it could have you topsy-turvey after a few. I definitely recommend this beer while we're still in the fall, and before the winter beers start taking over the shelves. Heck, they kind of have already. So, what are you waiting for!? Get out there and buy the latest from the crazy green turtle!!