Juice Cruz by Alvarado Street Brewery (Monterey, CA) - DIPA Milkshake
Good mixture of peach and apricot flavors from the fruits but also melon, citrus snd some berries from the hops. Moderately sour which muted by the inclusion of vanilla and lactose. Dry, medium bitter finish with a creamy mouthfeel.
Last Friday we visited the tiny tap room in the capital. They have 4 taps, 2 from their core range (IPA and pale ale) which they always have. The beers tasted a bit better than the bottles I had tried.
DIPA. Even thought expired by 6 months it’s still quite a bit better than the expired IPA.
Secret Machine Mango, Strawberry, Lemon Ice by Dewey Beer Company (Dewey Beach, DE) - Fruited Sour
Strawberry and Mango is a great combination in any smoothie. Now add some lemon to enhance the flavors and balance everything with the tartness of a sour beer and you have an excellent beer to sip.
Screamsickle from Sixpoint Brewery (Brooklyn, NY) - Hazy DIPA
Classical hazy IPA flavors with some juiciness upfront which gets a little bit more pronounced from the orange but the vanilla really smoothes out the hoppiness and also brings a nice creamy mouthfeel to the beer.
Double Dry Hop King Sue by Toppling Goliath Brewing Company (Decorah, IA) - Hazy DIPA
Fruit, fruit and more fruit upfront (orange, mango, pineapple) but than bold hops with a lot of piney and dank flavors take over with some interesting malts in the background. Medium, long lasting bitterness at the finish. Bold, boozy DIPA.
Laughing Monk Fall Into Summer Saison
Light and wheaty with a slight malt flavor. I like sasions because no two seem to ever taste exactly the same.
Secret Machine - Electric Orange by Dewey Beer Company (Dewey Beach, DE) - Fruited Sour
Very close to a mimosa with mix of orange, mango and tangerine flavors for the fruity component and moderate tartness from the sour (not unlike sparkling wine) - might be a very good brunch beer.
Vaulted Blue by Burlington Beer Company (Burlington, VT) -Hazy IPA
Relatively light but well balanced hazy IPA with orange zest and peach notes followed by some moderate pines. Dry finish with low bitterness. Easily drinkable IPA when sitting at the beach
Bitburger Festbier by Bitburger Brauerei (Bitburg, Germany) - Festbier
Festbier as a variation on a German lager with a more pronounced malt backbone with notes of caramel, bread, even some light coffee. In addition, some floral tastes with some light sweetness like raisins and a medium bitter finish to balance it out.
Georg by Schilling Beer Company (Littleton, NH) - Dark Lager
Dark lager which is strong on the malts with flavors ranging from rye bread, roasted malts, toffee, cocoa to raisin. Otherwise quite (too) light and very smooth to drink with low bitterness finish with very slight hints of sweetness. Reminds me on a Malzbier (popular drink for kids in Germany)
This is a good little brewery. They mainly make German and Czech style beers. I drink their Czech styles when ever i can get them It’s real hard to find Czech beers these days (besides Urquell, which I love).
I stopped by a local brewer in Livingston Montana yesterday. Only had a flight but all 4 were new to me and 2 were pretty good.
Dirty Bird American IPA was good, not great, nice crisp nose and a moderately hoppy finish but not great overall.
OctoberFest unfortunately was so forfettable i can not remember what it was like.
Watermelon Sour was the star. Aroma of fruit then a mild sour tang followed by a hint of watermelon. I like the fact that the watermelon was in the background.
Wee Heavy Scottish Ale was strong at 8% ABBand really packed a punch. Not my favorite but it a memorable ale.
Neptunes also does pretty good sushi but i did not have time for a bite. It is cool how small town Montana has really come into its own with tons of microbreweries and much better cafes than when i left in the 1980’s.
Some more beer in Lanzarote:
NAO employee tells me their beers are softer/milder than typical American made beer of the same styles. I immediately noticed that when I first drank a few of their beers in bottles. Last Friday I visited their tap room again and had fresh IPA and it was really good.
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Re “everybody loves to hate IPA”.
I love it (IPA that is). Just call it hoppy pale ale. What I love to hate is badly made traditional styles from established brewing countries. I have had many, many good made-in-America (NE)IPAs. The Europeans are getting good at making them and they are catching up.
I had a pretty good “IPA” in Namibia from a tiny craft brewery almost nobody has ever heard of. Was at the brewery where I talked with the brewer, mentioning the beer was full blown IPA (he put pale ale on the label). He confirmed it was IPA and pale ale on the label was intentional. Anyway, it was the best beer I had in Namibia. I first drank it in a bar where an employee told me about the brewery and gave me their address. I ended up getting 8 bottles at the brewery for the rest of the trip.
Konkey Dong 4Up by Hoof Hearted Brewing (Marengo, OH) - Triple Hazy IPA
Quad-hopped hop bomb with tons of citrus flavors and some lighter tropical aromas before some sweeter malts come through. Some herbal, piney flavors follow with a peppery bit from the alcohol and a medium bitter finish. Nearly creamy mouthfeel and overall great, intense triple IPA.
Moonlight Brewing Co. Boney Fingers - a stronger version of their “Death & Taxes” black lager that they apparently release around Halloween time. Very good.
I had beers and dinner at the Katabatic Brewing Company in Livingston Montana yesterday. Well worth a visit if you are in the area! I had my usual, a flight that was half IPAs. I ordered the Broadhead Stout, which was a chocolatey treat, the Katabatic IPA which was ok but kind of musty, the Strip Set New England IPA which was a nice beer and the Yeller Dog New Zealand hazy Pilsner, which tasted like a slightly malty version of Staropramen, which turned out to be a good thing.
Montana brewing is doing pretty well! And my smothered Pork Verde Burrito w guacamole on the side was a Tex Mex treat.
Hello friends I have heard lot of about beer I have heard health benefits and issues but from I have heard more than that
Secret Machine - Watermelon, Cherry, Blackberry by Dewey Beer Company (Dewey Beach, DE) - Fruited Sour
Nice different tartness from the cherries as well as the sour but well balanced from the slight sweetness of the watermelon and blackberry. Very refreshing.
Mango Passion Fruit Mochi Donut Sour Ale by Seven Stills Brewery & Distillery (San Francisco, CA) - Fruited Sour
Good tropical flavor from mango and passionfruit upfront coupled with some bready doughiness and some sweetness from the doughnuts. Not overly tart but nearly chewy mouthfeel. Sad to see Seven Stills closing.
