Hair of the Dog Blue Dot IPA

Hailing from my home state, I get far fewer great Oregon beers down here in SoCal than I would like. While new to me and to Southern California, Hair of the Dog has been around since the early 90's, and takes pride in having switched over to organic grains a few years ago. I've never been a huge fan of organic beers in taste, although I'm not at all against the principle. Blue Dot, while offering a decent aroma and a very enjoyable light body, doesn't seem to have much character beyond a light hop flavor, blended well with what my guess is some lighter crystal malt. It does linger a little in your mouth leaving the most miniscule traces of bitterness on your tongue, but doesn't sway me too much in either direction. The light body, however, makes this beer quite enjoyable for an easy summer drink.


Blue Dot IPA: ***

Stone Thirteenth Anniversary Ale

Perhaps thirteen is an unlucky number for some. But for Stone it is just another chance to break from the norm as their ever creative and tireless mission of challenging our taste buds and palettes to aspire to new craft brew heights is furthered with this latest celebratory creation.

Pouring surprisingly dark with a moderate head, number 13 has an unexpectedly bright and rich aroma that one would expect to see with a much lighter or amber colored beer. The taste brings a level of complexity and creativity that leaves you feeling inspired and in awe. The front end tingles with bright juicy hops that act like a quick sting before settling into the darker tannins of a more cascade like hop that is rich with hop flavor. A lifetime seems to pass as the hops evolve into a roasted, toasted grain, which asks like that beautiful librarian, who in your dreams is far more reckless and much less concerned with silence: "chocolate?" Finally, that sweetness turns bittersweet to give one last arrogant kiss before parting adieu.

What can I say? Stone is all growns up. Not only have they entered into their teenage years, they have become a force to be reckoned with in the craft beer world. Perhaps most impressive is their unfaltering dedication to the quality and consistency of their beer while recognizing the transforming world that we live in. Even their trademark novela, which adorns all of their bottles – and yes, I read every one – references the fact that they respect beer-o-philes' decisions to drink locally in a troubled economy such as this one. Bravo and mazeltov, hats off to you for this one Stone.


Thirteenth Anniversary Ale: *****

Stone Sublimely Self-Righteous Black IPA

I was a little dubious of this beer having been relatively unimpressed by it's potency on tap at the LA CABAL craft brew fest a few months ago. Perhaps I went in with expectations too high, or I had too many beers that day to truly distinguish and savor this brew. But I walked away that day uncertain about this strange creation. So imagine my surprise when I popped the top on this beastlyness and found that Stone had knocked another wall down in the quest to reinvent beer. As you approach the body you prepare your palette for some crazy intense stout that will dominate your stomach and tastebuds. Instead, your tongue does flips when the weight of the stout is replaced by malt and the finish is replenished by fresh hop flavor. On second consideration, this beer offers a beautiful and unique hop flavor, that is half built on surprise and sustained on fresh, citrus beauty. An absolutely unique creation from the ever inventive Stone.


To be fair to the brewers, when Chris and I tried this we were about 4 deep, which explains the rather short review and drunken pictures. Writing drunk is tough!


Sublimely Self- Righteous Black IPA: ****1/2

Anderson Valley 20th Anniversary Imperial IPA

Crazy apples run abound in this 20th anniversary Imperial from Anderson Valley. A small headed, orange bodied Imperial, this beer impresses with its fine tuned taste and sweetness. The front end is like biting a sweet apple carried on crystal malt. The hops seem to hitch a ride on that malt train and raise their head as the beer settles and swallows into the palette. They are of the darker variety that settle underneath the tongue and mix bitter and spice to leave a lingering sensation of the sweet apple that started the journey. All that spice and sweetness lends itself to a good fall brew, but I wonder if the balance could have been more even. A well constructed beer, but I would expect a better name from this long standing giant among craft brewers.

Chris demonstrates a perfect pour.


20th Anniversary Imperial IPA: ***1/2

Team photo

Just made a trip to beverage warehouse, here's the loot.

Beer floats

So first off, I feel it necessary to at least mention the fact that it has been a very long time since I last blogged. For those of you that know me, I've had a fairly hectic couple months and what with the relocation, I fell a little out of the habit of brewing, blogging, but never drinking. So after a long hiatus, here's a couple reviews to enjoy.

After reading a post by @ChipperDave (http://www.fermentedlychallenged.com/2008/12/who-is-chipperdave.html) about making beer floats, I was motivated to try making my own.

I used that devil Rasputin mixed with Chocolate ice cream, thinking that would be a nice combo.

Here's my brother prepping the floats.

At first we used only a little beer with about a scoop and a half of ice cream and it was mixing enough, so we used more beer.

Overall, no one was too enthusiastic about the combo. Maybe too much beer, maybe just the wrong type. The hops and the bite seemed to take away from the creamy sweet side of the ice cream. However, the malts mixed well. So I was left wondering if another beer wouldn't be better. Maybe Rogue's Chocolate Stout??

That being said, my mom still enjoyed it.

As did my brother.

The man, the myth, the legend...

Green Flash Le Freak

The aroma is as advertised, west coast style hops blended with Belgian Trippel and the seam between the two is invisible to my big nose. Another addition to the popular fusion that is taking over the beer scene: IPA meets Belgian. Not being as much of a Belgian fan, I'm not as skilled at describing the flavors and knowing what I should be tasting for. However, what I will say is this: the front end has a characteristic sweetness that I've known from Trippels; that sort of pungent overripe plum. But just as the fruit begins to unleash its most pungent, viscious tannons, it evens out, and ever so slightly melds into a recognizable mix of hops and barley. The hops are bright, although subdued by the fruit immersion and subsequently the bitter kick follows similarly like a muffled instrument. Interestingly, the sweeter part of the brew has it's own kick that sort of spirals up right into the nose and back down again rather than into the throat and back up under the tongue. I have to admit when I think about the visual that description creates via "taste-o-graph," I like the balanced flow. Given my general disinterest in Belgians, this seems like a fine compromise.



Le Freak: ****