Turbodog

So I went out with some friends last night and we picked up some brews early in the night. I decided to save a few for my day off today. Straight from Abita Springs, Louisiana, I give you

Turbodog

It's an English brown style ale, much like a Newcastle. This is the along the darker side of Newcastle with it's dark brown color and reddish accents. I'd take it over Newcastle any day. It has the scent of chocolate, nuts, and toffee but the taste doesn't exactly convey the smell. It has a nice bitterness to it and goes down smooth with a medium finish. If you like a light flavor in a dark beer, I highly recommend this brew. Some people don't like how much lighter it is than other beers of its flavor. Some people do. 

I've had stronger coffee flavors in beers and loved it, but this just shows that an opposite will always exist to something. 

*On that note, If you're ever near Holyoke, Massachusetts go to to the Paper City Brewery on a Friday night. I'm not sure if they still do this or not, but they usually have a live band and it's like $6 to get in and all you can drink. They have a coffee influenced brew called the Denogginator. I bold this because this stuff kept me awake like no other drink I've ever had. It's a very heavy, dark brew. It wasn't everyones cup of tea, but I loved it. 

Abita hasn't failed to impress me yet. It's one of the few southern breweries that I have tried a variety of brews from and still thoroughly enjoy. It's probably the only thing from Louisiana that I enjoy. I have plenty of stories and reasons to back up saying that. No offense if you're a Louisianian, but somethings not right. I can't say that something's in the water, because then this beer wouldn't be good. Turbodog hails a consistant... 

out of ten

Chamberlain Pale Ale

After today, I need to go back to the store. I'll be out of new beer again. It's like Christmas. 

Today's tasty beverage: Shipyard Brewing Company's Chamberlain Pale Ale... Yummy

 

First off, I have to say that I believe Shipyard to be my favorite overall brewing company. I love pretty much everything I've ever tried that has come out of this Portland, Maine warehouse brewing company. As for this beer, I enjoy it very much. This is an American style pale ale, as opposed to the India Pale Ale that I so normally long for. It has a great golden color to it with a small creamy head that doesn't stick around. It's less hoppy than it's Indian relative. It was very balanced with a medium finish. I have a feeling it will gain regular status in my normal purchasing habits. My only concern is the less than stellar abv being a puny 4.9%. Isn't that the abv for the beer they sell in Utah? Fucking Mormons and their below percentage alcohol laws. 

The subject for this beer is none other than Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain. He was a civil war hero, winner of the medal of honor, Alpha Delta Phi brother, Maine governor, Bowdoin College President, and all around good guy. This beer was made to commemorate the life of this man. Random Fact = If you ever see the movie Gettysbury, this guy was played by Jeff Daniels. Nice.

Well Done Mr. Chamberlain. You get an...

out of ten

Mojo Risin

Tonight, after a long night at work, I take on the second beer I bought yesterday. Thank god. This is one of those beers that you just REALLY need at the end of work. As I take the first sip, I begin to melt into the couch. Airplane is on the television and that in no way makes me angry. 

Tonight's Beer of note will be: Boulder Beer Company's Mojo Risin' Double IPA

Yes. an ipa. You know I'm excited. I must say that I'm ashamed to admit that I've never tried a double ipa. At least, not that I remember trying. You know how us Massachusetts residents are. We're drunks and beer hippies. Well, a lot of us are just hippies. But you catch my drift. 

With twice the grain and hops as Boulder's regular ipa, (which I haven't tried yet. I shot for the moon and went for the double first. It's like eating dessert first. Life is short.) it boasts a very complex flavor. According to an article on beeradvocate.com, they only made around  120 barrels of this stuff and it shows. It was also only shipped to 15 markets. It's giving my favorite ipa a run for it's money at this moment. But my bet is that's only because I haven't had my favorite ipa in god knows how long. That will soon change though. The whole foods market I mentioned in my previous post stocks my favorite. Schwing. 

Plus its 10% abv is enough to keep any man happy. If you see it, grab it while it lasts. Boulder Beer's 6th release to its Looking Glass series of specialty beers uses its mojo well and rises up to an 

out of ten

(if you didn't guess, that last image was meant to be cut in half. I have no added a half measurement to my ratings. So the above rating is an 8.5.)

Left Hand Oktoberfest

My haven has been found!!!! At least until I run out of beers in the place to try and review. They recently opened a whole foods market down here and I've been meaning to go, but I finally got a chance today when I was just driving by with nothing to do. There was plenty there that I hadn't tried. I bought three singles just so I would have something to write for the next couple days. 

Today's selection: Left Hand Brewing Company's Oktoberfest

I have to say, upon first tasting this, I think this is on my list of favorite beers to ever be designated an "Oktoberfest." It's got a clean finish and is smoother than the typical marzen style lager that comes out around this time of year. There's a great balance of the hop aroma and the bitterness. For a known hop head, like myself, it's a great change to have a softer, enjoyable beer with less bite to it every once in awhile. Cheers to the guys up in Longmont, CO for this one. Because I love it; I added Left Hand to the marzen page on wikipedia. 

Part of the label (which is very ascetically pleasing in my opinion) made me laugh. It reads, "Brewed on the banks of the mighty St. Vrain." It must not be that mighty because I had never heard of the river before in my life. It turns out that it's actually a creek that is officially known as a river located in north central Colorado near Boulder. Mighty or not, I give this beer

out of ten

Wild Blue

Seriously, I've been having beer issues lately. I can't find a decent micro to save my life. I went to the Walgreens Liquor store near where I work today to grab a six pack, because the only true way to rate a bottled beer is to drink a whole sixer of it and really try to grasp the taste. You gotta eat too, just to cleanse the palate. 

The main issue I have been having is that every time I think I've found a beer I haven't tried or rated that isn't made by one of the big ones, their geurilla marketing strikes again. By the big ones, I mean companies I don't typically enjoy like Miller, Coors, and Anheuser-Busch. Hell, I still consider some of my favorite brewing companies to be big ones. I include companies like Stone, Magic Hat, Sierra Nevada, and Harpoon, etc.. etc.. But they are a different story than the big three I mentioned above. I digress. 

The last beer I rated is a prime example. Nowhere on Landshark's label or box do you find that it is made by the Anheuser-Busch Brewing Company. It says it is made by the "Margaritaville Brewing Company" in Jacksonville, FL. This is just another one of A-B's brewing complexes and they open up a concept brewing company out of it. They trick you in the worst way too. You know that cooler they always have at the end of the isle? Yea, the one that has all the millers, coors, buds, and other cheap beers? That's where the typical Anheuser and big name beers are placed. Landshark finally made its way over to that cooler. But the beer I purchased today was places in the locally produced and microbrew section of the store. Was it the grocer who was fooled, or was it the brewer that grew smarter? They're both bastards either way. 

Today I purchased Wild Blue by the Blue Dawg Brewing Company out of Baldwinsville, NY. It's another one of A-B's fake breweries. I looked up some info on the web when I got home and was a little upset. I was pleasantly surprised, however, to find that I actually somewhat enjoyed the brew. 

Wild Blue is a blueberry lager that from what the label says is made with natural flavors and color from fruit juices. That part scared me. I see fruit juice on a beer label, and I immediately think it's girly. Call me sexist, but it's the damn truth. Anyways, upon tasting the brew I'm surprised at how intense the flavor really is. I'm used to lambic style blueberry wheats and ales with much more complexity in the flavor. But this, well this, is a new experience. I must admit that it slightly resembles a wine cooler, but I can still taste the slight beer aspects of it. The 8% ABV doesn't make me mad either. Drink a couple of these and you'll feel what I'm saying. I also enjoyed the color to the lager. When held up to a light after pouring the brew into a glass, you immediately notice how the blueberry color pops. Even the head of the brew has a pinkish glint to it. 

So, would I drink it on a normal basis? No, I wouldn't. I still enjoy Wachusett Blueberry and SeaDog Blueberry more than I enjoy this. I also try not to hugely support the major brewing companies. I'm a beer hippy. Sue me. It also doesn't help that I'm a hophead and pale ale is my game. But, It's not bad and it goes great with a robust, meaty dinner. Also, if you ever need a good theme party for the summer. Go with a red, white, and blue theme beer party. You could easily take a Killian's, a Blue Moon, and a Wild Blue to make your 4th of July notable. 

I'll tell you what Anheuser Busch, it's better than Landshark. 

out of ten

Oh Jimmy

"Some people never find it, some only pretend, but I just want to live happily ever after every now and then."

Saw that quote a minute ago, and it made me think. I love Jimmy Buffett. His beer kinda blows. But I love him. 

Go Red Sox. I love Soxtober.

The dude is back, and he's got a review!

A thousand apologies. I have not posted here for far too long. I really had ambition for this blog, but as usual my ambitions are never achieved. Now I'm just writing because I am really bored and I've been having fun just typing away on other forums. I figured I might as well give  another shot. 

I moved to Florida and I must say, the dudeguyman has not flourished. The women are lovely but the beer isn't quite as bountiful as it is in New England. There's plenty of light beer. There's enough light beer down here to sink the titanic. Red dog, Milwaukee's, PBR. If it's light, you name it, and it's here. But as far as micro-brews go in the south, there isn't much that compares to up north. There's some great stuff from Louisiana that comes down here and Shipyard Brewing has a lot of representation here, but not much else. I'll go over them later.

On the other hand, there is Landshark. Landshark Lager is "Jimmy Buffett's micro brew" from the Margaritaville Brewing Co. Now Margaritaville boasts some great flavored tequilas, food, and gear; but they did not catch the sunrise on this one. The most loyal parrotheads would probably disagree. Don't get me wrong, I love the great American storyteller that is Mr. Jimmy Buffett and this probably could have and would have been a great thing. That all changed the second Anheuser Busch purchased this lovely little venture and now it's just like the rest of the light beers I previously mentioned. The bottle is aesthetically pleasing. But would I drink it? Sure, if somebody brought it over or there wasn't anything better around. But even the light beer I don't necessarily enjoy is better than this most of the time. I give this one a whopping.... Drum roll please....

 

    out of ten