Monday, November 29, 2010

Z Lager

Z Lager is brewed by Fort Collins Brewery in Colorado. Z Lager is a rauchbier with smoke flavors from the malt being dried over flame. I first tried Z Lager in 2002 and I used to visit the Fort Collins Brewery tasting room often. I even joined their tap club, though now I can't visit since I live so far away. Sadly their beers are also not available in Washington so I will have to wait until I return to Colorado for a visit to try it again.

Friday, November 26, 2010

Yeungling Lager

I tried Yeungling Lager in 2003 while living in Colorado. While looking through the Yeungling website today I noticed several beers that I hadn't seen before and I will need to stay alert and see if I find them anywhere. Yeungling is the oldest american brewery in operation, having opened in 1829.

Thursday, November 25, 2010

Elephant

Elephant is a beer I first saw in Denmark in 1995, though I didn't have it until 2001 in Colorado. It is brewed by Carlsberg and is widely available.

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Odell Easy Street Wheat

A hometown classic for me simply known as Easy Street in Fort Collins and Colorado in general. Easy Street Wheat is brewed by Odell Brewing Company in Fort Collins, CO.


I first tried Easy Street in 2000 most likely at Old Chicago but more recently I lived within walking distance of the brewery in 2007-2008 and it was a relatively frequent pilgrimage I made to have some of the sampler trays they offered.

Killarney's Red Lager

I am going way way back to January 2002, when I first tried Killarney's Red Lager but it was discontinued by Anheuser-Busch shortly thereafter.


Even though it isn't available any more and probably will never be revived, here is a review from The Opinionated Beer Page.

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Sierra Nevada Bigfoot Barleywine

Sierra Nevada Brewing in Chico, California makes what I think is a great barleywine called Bigfoot! This is one beer that I can't remember exactly when and where I had it, whether it was in Colorado or in Washington but I will definitely have Bigfoot again in the future.
Here is a Beer Advocate review and a RateBeer review.

HUB Abominable Winter Ale

In honor of the blizzard we experienced/are experiencing currently here in the Puget Sound (note: blizzard just means wind blowing the snow, there is only about 2-6 inches of snow, but lots of ice and steep hills!) I am sharing about an appropriately named beer. The Abominable Winter Ale from Hopworks Urban Brewery in Portland, Oregon is a beer I got last week at the PCC. Maybe it was a prophetic purchase, maybe just random, I don't know.


Monday, November 22, 2010

Kona Wailua Wheat

On a snowy, messy day in Seattle, why not think of a fun happy thing (beer) and place (Hawaii)? I just glanced through my beer list and the one that popped out at me was Wailua Wheat from Kona Brewing in Hawaii. Unfortunately this beer is only available from March to September so it won't help me on this snowy day but at least it provided a happy thought.
I first tasted this beer at the 2006 GABF in Denver but I didn't actually try a full serving of it until 2007 while visiting friends in Wyoming.

Billy's Chilies

Billy's Chilies is a chili beer that is brewed by Twisted Pine Brewing in Colorado. I first tasted this beer at the 2007 GABF in Denver but I first had a full serving at Thanksgiving with my family at my sister's house later in 2007. This is my favorite chili beer that I have ever had.

Here is a Beer Advocate review and a Rate Beer review.

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Four Loko Watermelon

Today I am sharing that I tried Four Loko Watermelon during 2009 here in Washington state. Last week the state banned these alcoholic energy drinks, that are flavored malt beverages. You might say, that isn't a beer - but it is brewed the same it just has flavors and other ingredients added to it. Why post about it today? Because today is the day the ban takes effect. Since that happened last week and other states also banned these types of drinks Four Loko has decided to change their formulation and remove the caffeine.



Yes, these types of drinks are included in my grand total but constitute a very minute portion of it.

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Cobra Beer

I tried Cobra, when I was in London for a couple of days in March of 2007.
Cobra beer was brewed to be the perfect beer to drink with curry as you will see is pretty explicit on their website. Here is a Beer Advocate review.

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Karmi

Okacim Karmi is a low alcohol brew, what we would often call a non-alcoholic beer even though it is just about 0.5% alcohol. That is pretty standard for non-alcoholic beers. I found Karmi at the Big Star Beer Market and tried it last spring because it sounded interesting. Okacim is a brewery in Poland and they make other beers as well. Here is a Beer Advocate review, though they note it is no longer brewed but I am not sure about that.

Moose Drool

Moose Drool brown ale is made by Big Sky Brewing in Montana. I first tried Moose Drool while I attended the University of Wyoming in Laramie in 2005.
Here is a Beer Advocate review and a RateBeer review.

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Windhoek Lager

Windhoek Lager is a beer made in Namibia by Namibia Breweries. I recall having a couple of these at Joe's Beer House in Windhoek, the capital of Namibia when I arrived in Feb. 2007. I had just flown into the country, rented a car and driven all the way into town. I stayed at a place called the Cardboard Box, backpacker style, it was great.

Here is a Beer Advocate review.

Friday, November 12, 2010

Lan Kwai Fong Blonde Bomb

While I was in Hong Kong in 2007 I spent a day on the other side of the Pearl River Delta in Macau. I actually tried this beer at the Wynn Macau. That is where I tried Lan Kwai Fong Blonde Bomb, though it may be discontinued in favor of their flagship beer. It seems strange to me that I didn't see this or try it while I was in Hong Kong but it is what it is.
Here is a Beer Advocate review that states the Blonde Bomb has been discontinued.

7 Seas Ballz Deep Double IPA

I first tried Ballz Deep Double IPA in the earlier portion of 2010. Ballz Deep is brewed by 7 Seas Brewing in Gig Harbor, Washington. I am fairly confident that I got this beer from The Beer Authority in the Lake City part of Seattle. This is another beer brewed here in Washington.


Here is a Beer Advocate review.

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Stella

No, this is not Stella Artois that I am posting about today. Stella is a beer found in Egypt, that I tried on my first day in Cairo in the fall of 2006. It is brewed by Al Ahram Beverages, which is part of Heineken. I enjoyed Stella, it was a cold beer in a very hot place so that is always a good combination, though I think there were a couple of others I liked more.
Here is a Beer Advocate review.

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Newcastle Brown Ale

I first tried Newcastle while living in Nebraska in the late 90s. At the time they were the primary jersey sponsor of my favorite Premier League club, Newcastle United. My favorite player also played for the team, Alan Shearer.
Here is a Beer Advocate review of Newcastle.

Monday, November 8, 2010

Victoria Bitter - VB

Victoria Bitter is an Australian brew that I first had on my flight from LA-Sydney in 2007. According to the US VB website, this is only available at one store in San Francisco as far as US availability goes. I will keep an eye out for it here in the stores in Seattle as well though. Here is a great Australian advertisement for VB below.

Here is a Rate Beer review of VB.

Saturday, November 6, 2010

Baltika 3

There is a series of Baltika beers brewed in Russia. I have had several of these and all of them have been ones I have tried while living in Washington. There is a really great eastern European selection of beer at the Big Star Beer Market and that is where I found all of the Baltika beers. For this post I will focus on Baltika No. 3, Classic.


Here is a Beer Advocate review of this beer.

Friday, November 5, 2010

Hop Rod Rye

Bear Republic Brewing makes the Hop Rod Rye, which is relatively easy to find as I have seen it at each of the beer stores I have been to in Seattle and it is at grocery stores too. I first had this beer earlier this fall. The reason I am posting about this today is I found a link in the Craft Beer newsletter I receive in my email. The link was about beers that are good for Thanksgiving. Here is a Beer Advocate review.

Thursday, November 4, 2010

Rolling Rock

Rolling Rock is a beer that I first tried in 2002, while living in Colorado. At that time the beer was brewed by Latrobe Brewing Company in Pennsylvania. Here is a link for those of you who are interested or are wondering about the mysterious 33 on the bottles. Rolling Rock is now brewed in the US by Anheuser-Busch, which is now part of Anheuser-Busch Inbev.

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Old Speckled Hen

Old Speckled Hen is a beer that I first tried in 2006, while living in Colorado. The history of Old Speckled Hen and when it was first brewed got a chuckle out of me so it is worth reading.
This english pale ale is brewed in the UK. Here is a Beer Advocate review and a RateBeer review.

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Doggie Style Classic Pale Ale

This evening I have a few minutes so I will make a second post, which mostly makes up for skipping yesterday. This post is about Doggie Style Classic Pale Ale from Flying Dog.
I first tried Doggie Style in 2002 in Colorado, where Flying Dog was originally from. I haven't seen it here in Seattle, though I haven't been looking for it so I will keep my eyes open at the stores around the area.

Here is a Beer Advocate review and a RateBeer review.

Old Fezziwig Ale

As November has begun I will probably begin to share more than a few winter seasonal brews over the coming weeks and months. Two weeks ago I spotlighted Brrr as a seasonal brew.
Today is about Old Fezziwig Ale from The Boston Beer Company, better known as Samuel Adams. I first tried this beer in either 2002 or 2003 from the seasonal sampler pack that Samuel Adams sells.
Here is a Beer Advocate review of Old Fezziwig. The Winter Warmer style has many of these seasonals that you will see sprinkled in to my blog posts throught the season.