A to Z Blog Challenge Beer Review - Chicory Stout by Dogfish Head

Image from here. 

Brew: Chicory Stout
Brewer: Dogfish Head
ABV: 5.2%
Opinion: Good Beer!

Chicory. Chicory. Chicory... Fun to say. What is Chicory anyway, you ask? It's a plant. Glad you asked?

Sorry, this is a beer review, not a botany class.

So I cracked this puppy open, found it's scent maltier than anything else, with sweet raisin-like tones.

The pour was smooth, almost no head. It had a little more carbonation than I'd expected. Perhaps had I poured a little quicker there'd have been more head / less carbonation? Eh.

It tasted smooth, tones of coffee and chocolate, odd after taste, slightly bitter, but not hoppy. (Likely from the chicory, which is known for it's bitterness... There, you got a little info outta me...)

This wasn't my favorite ever, but still pretty good. It's hard to go wrong with chocolate and coffee in a stout.

Ok, fine. This is a chicory flower (with an insect):

Pete's Wicked Ale - A to Z Blog Challenge

Boy, I've fallen behind here agian... Two days in a row! Sorry about that. I guess it's still today, so I'm not "late" per se... Though by that logic, when it's tomorrow, it will also be "Today"...

As you can see, I don't have any beer, cause I'm over thinking everything... I'm broke at the moment. I was hoping to have something to sample here, because I haven't had a Pete's Wicked Ale in many years, and I was really looking forward to trying them...

An even bigger downer, I haven't had a beer that starts with P in as long as I can remember. (Though they do ALL END with PEE! HAR!)

I DID however find this rough cut commercial for them that never aired... Enjoy!

Opa - Opa (And Octoberfest by Sam Adams) A to Z Blog Challenge

Yikes! I missed a day again... Could have sworn I had this post written already, but here it is "O" day, and N is still up. SO here goes a double-header. (That means lots of extra foam at the top... "head" you know.)

Opa - Opa is a Steakhouse / Brewery up in Southampton MA. Gotta be one of the best combinations right there, steak and beer. If only they were a pig farm / laundromat, I'd move in.

Like the Berkshire Brewing stuff I've blogged about, this stuff comes in GRRROWLERS. I don't think I mentioned this before, but you get probably four to six glasses of beer out of a growler, and when it's done, the deposit on THESE growlers is TWO BUCKS. I can't tell you how awesome it was to bring a few of these back and have enough to get another growler.

They've got a whole bunch of different brews, but the Raspberry wheat is interesting to me, cause the package store I go to up the street actually had that brew created. I went in one day, and the owner looked at my friend and I and said "You guys have been here before right?" Heh, does the pope sh*t in the woods?? He gave us a growler of it for free to sample. It definitely was NOT my cup of tea, but on it's own merits, it was a good beer... Very flowery, like a strong jasmine tea. I'm not big on wheat beers either, but hell a free grrrrrowler of beer can taste like liver and farts for all I care, I'll drink it.

Not to mention the fact that I felt like a freakin champ for walking into a liquor store and getting free beer. I DO feel silly when I say the name though... Not fair to make people say things as silly as "opa-opa". I bet it's easy to order when you're drunk though. Especially if you have a New England accent.

Second "o" beer is Sam Adams Octoberfest. I loved this beer last year. I didn't get to have too much of it cause it's a seasonal, and wasn't around much longer after I'd found it. I checked over at beeradvocate.com where beer snobs like to condescend on another that isn't really weird or amazing, but it's not on there, and for the life of me I don't remember what it was I liked about it, but I do remember marveling at it for about a month. Unfortunately, that's the best I can do for you. I don't remember what it tastes like or why I liked it... but it was great. Trust me.

New Castle Brown Ale - A to Z Blog Challenge

I like a beer with a little more flavor than most folks, so brown ales caught my attention quickly, when I started exploring the not-bud beers. I found it interesting that it really sort of tasted brown, if that makes any sense.

This beer is like a normal ale, but it's got flavors like a brown bread, and some caramel, some nuttiness too. It's not overly carbonated, slightly watery, and not too... anything. I think the best part about this beer is it's not too much in any way... not too bitter, not too sweet, not too carbonated, etc... It's very well balanced. I think it's just a decent drinking beer if you're looking for a different, richer taste. 

Their website is pretty awesome too. 

This stuff is imported from England and manufactured by Heineken International. It comes in at 4.7% alcohol, so you get to enjoy the flavors a little longer, because that point where it doesn't matter what it tastes like takes longer to occur.

I had a teacher for one of my Microsoft certification classes who loved this beer. He was one of those guys who would quickly go over what was in the book, as if you had questions, and if you didn't he'd just say "OK, practice your labs" and we'd goof off on the computers. If you got him talking about beer, he'd go on all night long and it was usually about New Castle Brown ale. I owe him my thanks, cause had he never told me about it, I probably wouldn't have had it for a lot longer. 

Molson XXX - A to Z Blog Challenge

The Molson brewery is one of the most popular in Canada, a country known for hockey and beer. I personally don't care too much for Canadian beer, but it's mostly not terrible. Molson XXX however is disgusting. (Remember, it's my opinion, feel free to disagree). 

The whole point of XXX is that it's higher than usual in alcohol, and it seems like that was the only goal they had in mind when brewing. Taste was never a consideration. The conversation probably went something like "Let's make something with a lot of alcohol, and we'll put "XXX" on the label and people will buy it regardless of the taste." 

As a kid I watched Tom and Jerry drink from bottles that had XXX on them countless times, and they were always hammered right away, remember? The thing about Molson XXX is it's not ALL THAT high in Alcohol, only 7.3%. I can understand, even if I don't necessarily agree with, sacrificing a little taste for extra alcohol if you're goal is to get drunk. You see people doing shots all the time that don't really taste good, but it's just a shot, it's over in a second... Molson XXX is 12oz and tastes bad, so for the alcohol content, I'd rather drink one and a half of something else. 

The taste is somewhat metallic and bitter. Some say it tastes a little fishy. Lots of bready / corny flavors. Do not let this warm up at all, it'll start tasting like rubbing alcohol. This stuff pours nicely, looks like a normal pale ale with a thick foamy head, but you can smell the alcohol right away. 

Probably the best thing said about it over at BeerAdvocate was "If flavor isn't your think, but drunk is, here's your poison."

Lost Sailor IPA - A to Z Blog Challenge

SO. Here I am again. I JUST finished up a few other posts, such as the J post here...  So why did I skip K? Cause I've had enough Killian's that I could post about it with my eyes closed, both hands tied behind my back, using the force. I wrote the Killian's post a week ago.

OK, so I've told you before, IPA is currently my favorite brew, so again, a biased post... Keep in mind, I just did the J post, while working on this one AND doing my H post for my usual blog... so at this point, anything that I write that's even coherent, is a bonus.

So the Lost Sailor IPA... I can't say enough good things about this stuff... When you crack this growler, the first thing you notice is that it pours and looks like a normal pale ale... But you smell Christmas trees! The bitterness of the hops used for an IPA (like Harpoon for those of you who are familiar" always reminds me of Christmas trees... I don't know why, perhaps it tastes like Christmas trees... and yes, I've tasted Christmas tress... It was sort of a tradition for my cousin and I. More him than me, but when he was over, and sampled a sprig if my tree, I felt like it would be rude if I didn't join him. Anyway, that's what the bitterness of an IPA reminds me of. Call me crazy if you like.

SO, the Lost Sailor IPA, like I was saying is awesome if you like IPA. It's about 5.5%. According to that website that I linked, you can get it in single bottles, but I only have access to the growlers. ...boy, poor me. Why "lost sailor"? I don't know. Perhaps cause it's a MA brew, and there was a lot of sailors here? Could be!

To learn more, don't look to me, cause right now, my field research has me drunk and I still need to cook dinner for myself and the kids. It's looking like hot dogs for tonight.

Killians - A to Z Blog Challenge

Killian's Irish Red is actually not very Irish, and hasn't been since it left Ireland in 1956. It was sold at that time to a French brewery, and then later sold again to Coors which is based in Colorado. 

Regardless of where it's brewed though, it is based on an Irish recipe, so we'll give it a pass. 

I like Killian's, and it's one of my baseline beers. It's good enough that I enjoy it, but not usually the first thing that I'd reach for. It's light, fairly clear, kinda watery, but still has a decent amount of flavor. The interesting thing to a beer geek like me, it's a lager like Bud, but it's got a taste similar to an ale. 

Another interesting thing about Killian's, it goes very well with pepperoni. Dunno why. Just does. It also makes me crave peanut butter sandwiches. 

Killian's rings in at 4.9%. 

Sorry I don't have much to say about Killian's. If this were a Video Log, it'd be even sorter, cause I'd probably just give it a thumbs up, and make a face that says "Sure!" I write a lot more at my other blog, to which there's a link to the right. ...just sayin.

Ipswich Ale Brewery - A to Z Blog Challenge

When I realized that I loved beer, I would get myself a twelve pack of something I loved, a six of something different that I'd had before, and a six of something I've never tried. I wasn't developed a pallet yet like I have now, or perhaps I just hasn't numbed my taste buds or brain cells enough, but I seem to recall Ipswich Ale being too bitter for me.

Like I say, I was still new to beer drinking, and favored the watery stuff, so it deserves a second chance. I'll gladly give it another whirl, but I'm broke right now, so you'll just have to read whatever factoids about it that I can dig up.

Ipswich is a little town in northern MA, which according to their visitor's center, is loaded with history like farms and attractions like Crane beach.

Right, big deal, I know. I'm trying here, it's tough to do a beer review without said beer...

My friends over at BeerAdvocate.com gave Ipswich Ale's Oatmeal Stout an A-... People who like Oatmeal Stouts find this to be terrific, those who just like stouts find it less creamy than they like, but still pretty good.

The Oatmeal stout is 7%.

OK, so I had a hard time coming up with a beer for I, but I have had this before, and even though I didn't like it at the time, I'm willing to bet I would now, cause there've been a lot of beers that I didn't like at one time or another... Heck, when I started drinking, I stuck with "Bud" cause I thought "Bud Light" was too bitter... so...

But something else that's cool about these guys, is they also make soda, or "pup" for you mid-landers. My mother calls it "tonic"... not sure where that comes from, but I always thought that was what you put on your head to grow hair.

In addition to these beverages, they also make a mustard, and shared some outstanding-sounding recipes on their sight.

If you've had their stuff recently, and would like to let me know your thoughts, please do! I'll let you know if I get some sometime soon too.

Honey Dew by Fullers - A to Z Blog Challenge

This beer is a very pale yellow, like 3 parts water, 1 part pineapple juice. It's crystal clear, no haze at all. Very little carbonation, and I'm wondering if they used any hops at all...

It's smooth and has a sweet taste of honey in the finish, but it's not the sweetness of honey, it's sort of a tart honey flavor, if that makes any sense... Says it's 5% on the bottle.

Perhaps the most interesting thing about this beer is the fact that after having half the bottle, when I burp, it's like I just ate a bowl of honey nut cheerios. A very different feel for having a belly full of beer (which I have cause I just finished the posts for E, F, and now H... G is Guinness, which I'm familiar with, so I don't have to sample. ... Sorta wish I could right now though... )

At the end of the day, it's not a bad beer, but I'd need to be in the mood for it. Cool bottle though. Can't wait to blog on a beer I actually love... Bound to happen sooner or later.

I guess I'm a little jaded here. A friend of mine makes a honey stout that he calls "Honey... I need a ride home". It's a Guinness clone but has a bunch of honey in it, and is like, 15%, but still very smooth. I was expecting something like that.

Guinness - A to Z Blog Challenge

Guinness is one of my favorites, so I'm rather biased here. I find it's smooth thick froth, and full bodied flavor to be absolutely wonderful, and on this blog, my opinion is law. Guinness is great.

I like to think that Guinness is to beer what espresso is to coffee. Just better, thicker, richer... The picture here is of the classic clover (or more specifically a shamrock) that us New Englanders like to put in the froth of a draught Guinness to help us pretend we're more Irish than we really are. We like to grill bartenders who can't do it, cause there is a bit of a trick to it. Those who can do it well pretend that it makes them a little closer to godliness, and those of us who like Guinness let them believe it, cause in reality, we believe it too.

I don't know where the clover in the foam came from originally, but I'm willing to bet it's more of an American thing than authentic Irish. If you know one way or the other, please let me know. Another cool part is that once poured, you can watch the nitrogen bubbles flow down the sides of the glass, which you'll see in the video blow.

Interesting fact about Guinness, the folks from Ireland who I know over here don't like it here. They say it's gross after shipping, calling it muck. ...or more accurately "Mook", the oo's sounding like they do in "foot", and not in "food"... They've also been known to call it "pess", which if said with an Irish brogue, you should be able to interpret.

There are folks who go around to bars, and I don't know if they work for Guinness or what, but they give out awards to bars who pour the "Perfect Pint." Those who do, get a nice award to hang on their wall.

The perfect pint pour:

Guinness is a little lower in alcohol, ringing in at only just 4%.

There is also an urban legend that once upon a time, Guinness didn't taste good... Which I find hard to believe, so I think this myth is already busted, but, all of a sudden, supposedly it tasted great. When they emptied the barrel, there were dead bloated rats in the barrel... So because they thought their drinkers wouldn't go for rat bones in the brew, they use fish bones. So the legend goes anyway. I think it's a crock, but you know, if it's true, it's working... so I'm good.

Flemish Sour by Monk's Cafe - A to Z Blog Challenge

I'd never heard of a "Flemish Sour" before, but I saw it on the shelf while I scoured for an E beer, and grabbed it. I didn't realize there'd be many other "Flemish Sours" otherwise I probably would have kept looking.

Anyway, what a weird beer. I cracked it open, and I swear it smelled more like a red wine than a beer. I poured it in a glass, as is my way, and it was a dark redish brown, and still smelled very much like a sweet red wine. Well, hell if it doesn't taste like a sweet red wine, only sweeter. It's almost like a raspberry ginger ale, it's so fruity and sweet.

It's 5.5%, so it's not overly strong. If you have one of "those" friends who doesn't like beer and is unwilling to try anything that remotely tastes like beer, and you're trying to get him or her to develop a taste for beer, this might be a good one to start with. It's practically a wine cooler.

All in all, not a bad drink, but if I'm looking for a beer, it's definitely not going to cut it... It's like turkey bacon. Not bad, but not bacon.

The best part about this beer, if you zoom in, you'll see the price tag... It was $2.95 for this bottle. So far, the cheapest "single" beer I've bought for this challenge.

ESB by RedHook - A to Z Blog Challenge

I had a really difficult time finding a beer that started with E. I found a few online, but the packy up the street didn't have anything EXCEPT this one. It was an Ale, so I figured "how bad could it be?"

Honestly, it's not horrible. It's better than Bud, so...

It's a very hazy yellowish orange. It's citrusy. Almost no carbonation, even for an ale. Very little hops, so it's not very bitter, but a little tart. Very bready. It's 5.77%

The best thing I can say about this beer is that it's drinkable, and better than bud. I'm a little let down considering ESB stands for Extra Special Bitter, and it's hardly bitter at all.

I'm a little disappointed, I was hoping it sucked. Posts about beer that's "meh" aren't very amusing, I think. But all in all, I'd go for this at a cookout if it was there. It does taste like something that wouldn't be bad while standing outside in the hot sun after mowing the lawn or something. A burger in your hand and a pile of potato salad on your plate. ...can you tell I'm ready for the grilling weather??

I have no stories about Redhook, nor do I think I ever will if this is the kind of beer they make... But at least you got a nice little picture of it and you can admire my back-splash. My wife does wonderful work with interior design.  ...I think I'll put in a new light-switch, that one's looking a little dingy.

Preparing for the A to Z

I have joined the A to Z challenge, as is displayed proudly on the right -->

My A to Z is going to be about beers and brewers, and I thought I'd give you some idea of what to expect as we plunge forward with this. I love beer. I love a full bodied, heavy, bitter beer. I like to still be able to taste it after I've swallowed it. I like it to burn my pallet a little when I burp. And yes, like a male beer drinker, I like to burp. :) 

This isn't to say I won't drink a bud light, I definitely will if that's all that's available, or if my goal is to drink as much as possible in a small amount of time. As I get older, I find that being less and less appealing though. 

For this challenge, I'm going to stick to the lesser known beers, and as far away from the mainstream as possible. Anyone who is still reading this post is either interested in beers enough to be able to write his or her own review of Bud Light or Coors, or Michelob, and maybe Heineken, OR he or she doesn't care what they read, so it might as well be about something I like. 

Naturally, anything I post is going to be my own personal opinion, or simple fact, such as nutrition information. Feel free to agree, or disagree, and please don't take any of my opinions personally if you happen to love or brew something that I find unpleasant. 

I'm looking forward to this challenge, and I'm hoping I can keep things as entertaining as possible in doing it. Thanks for reading!

The A to Z Challenge

In an effort to help me keep writing, I have decided to join the A to Z Challenge! Starting in April, I will be posting an A to Z about beer, and what better place to do it than here??

To check out more about the A to Z challenge, click here, or on the badge to the right.