Pennichuck Engine #5 Firehouse Red Ale

Engine #5 - Firehouse Red Ale
Pennichuck Brewing Company, Inc.
Milford, NH
5.00% ABV

C: Clear
H: Dark Amber Red
N: Sweet Malt, Candy Sugar, Slight Cinnamon and Caramel

The Ferm; Happy Memorial Day! Let me begin by saying THANK YOU to all of the service men and women that help protect our country on a daily basis. You are real life super heroes!

As for the beer, today I tried to stick to the theme for memorial day and decided to go with Pennichuk Engine #5. This was a gift from Mr. and Mrs. El Nadador, and came with a high recommendation. Upon further research about this beer, I came to find out that the brewery actually shut their doors not soon after The Nadador's came to visit me in Florida. Honestly, it is never good to see a Micro Company go out of business. Regardless, I guess I am drinking a gem of a beer since it isn't in production any more.

The Beer poured with a light carbonation to it, and very small head. It was strong on sweeter characteristics on the nose and followed through to the taste. Hop presence is not here at all. It is straight malt. The 1st taste didn't go down the easiest but it is growing on me as I am drinking the beer. If I had to say it was like the first time I listened to Tool, I was like woah, whats going on here, listened to the CD (yep...good old cd's) again and it was better, and by the third time around it was pretty good....then great. Well we can stop at pretty good for this beer, I dont think it will ever be GREAT, but hey its pretty damn session-able for a 5% beer.

Long Live Pennichuck Brewing Company!

Score: 3.612

This week you get..

This week you my loyal readers get a heavy dose of me, the Ferm.



I have been wanting to do a week solo for a while, I have a few surprises up my sleeve for the week and promise not to let you, my loyal readers, down.

While I am personally a big fan of the multi-reviews I would like to hear your feed back throughout the week.  While I do not plan on having too many solo weeks, I would like to know how you like them.

Enjoy the long weekend to those of you that have it and I will be back tomorrow with an extra long review (or atleast extra long in my opinion).

Be Safe and Cheers!

Beer Valley Black Flag Imperial Stout (Hop Harvest Edition)

Black Flag Imperial Stout (Hop Harvest Edition)
Beer Valley Brewing Company
Ontario, Oregon
11% ABV

C: To Dark to Tell
H: Dark
N: Burnt Grain, Hoppy Floral, Sweet Fruit

Beer Drinker; We're ending with Black Flag Imperial Stout. The label said this is the 2009 Fresh Hop Edition. Before this beer, I always associated Black Flag with the band and the wannabe anarchist skaters from my home town that listened to them. So it was a bit negative. We called one of the kids Ollie, mockingly, as none of them could ever come close to pulling off that trick!

But this beer has provided a new memory. Very hoppy with harsh alcohol, which I guess you might expect considering it's 11%. There are solid chocolate flavors with a touch of vanilla, too. Good beer, and since it's always tough to be #30 in a lineup, I'd drink it again for sure. Final score... 3.4567

The Ferm; Well we end the week on a good note. A hopped up Imperial Stout, sounds like Heaven to me. This Imperial Stout is brewed once a year and then slammed with 200 lbs of fresh hops. I expected a Hop bomb followed by coffee. Well I was sort-a right. This beer was sort of a Cluster F*%! of flavors. The beer itself was very good but the hops took away from the stout or maybe the stout took away from the hops. Well personally I would prefer you to take 200 lbs of hops and slam it into an IPA or something. Overall a great idea just not what I expected.
Score; 3.425

Overall: 3.44085 (once again we don't discuss scores till after both are done with their reviews!)

Goose Island Pere Jacques

Pere Jacques - **2007 Vintage**
Goose Island
Chicago, IL
8.00% ABV

C. Slightly Cloudy
H. Amber in Color
N. Fruity, Cherry, Carmel, Banana

Beer Drinker; Wow, Ferm. This week sure is going by fast! How about we review Goose Island Pere Jacques 2007 today? You don't speak French? Don't worry, it's not a requirement. This beer is very smooth with quite lovely fruit flavors, some pears intertwined with a little raisin. Nibbling on my half ounce, I found this beer to be on the sweet side, with some honey flavors. The alcohol and high level of carbonation really work well with the fruits and sweetness, providing a tingly sensation. I liked it and wish I had a little more to sample. Let's call this a 4.101

The Ferm; If Sierra Nevada Southern Hemisphere was Lemon this is the Fruit basket. Upon being served my thimble of a sample, Beer Drinker told me I had to speak French to understand this beer. Well par le vous francais....(Shhhhh...I had to Google that!)
This beer was very fruity and had a good balance to it. Seeing that it is a 2007 vintage, the aging probably made alcohol calm down a bit. While 8.00% really isnt that high, with a beer that is a fruity as this it would stand out. I personally got a lot of dark cherry, raisins, and caramel from the flavor of the beer. I personally would like to try a current bottle and compare a vintage bottle to see how they mature. Good Beer.
Score:3.899

Overall: 4 (dead even, no rounding!)

Half Acre Baume

Baumé
Half Acre Beer Company
Chicago, IL
7.00% ABV

C: Slight light shining through the edge of my plastic tasting cup
H: Dark, almost black in color
N: Burnt Roasted Malt, Smoke, Coffee

Beer Drinker: This was one of the beers that I brought to the tasting. My friend brought it back for me from a Chicago business trip a few months ago. The label is pretty cool--an electric blue of sorts. Chocolate right out of the gate, with a fairly high level of bitterness. A little nutty with some roasted malts tell the middle of the story. Now, some might say listening to what other people say is cheating, so when I overheard "grapefruit hops at the end", well, I wrote it down. For me, though, a little orange citrus may have crept in, but nothing major. The end. I wish I remember drinking my ounce more, so this might not be fair but...
Score: 3.5544

The Ferm: I have heard a lot about Half Acre as a brewery mainly since the Chicago Beer scene seems to be doing pretty good for itself right now. This was my first Half Acre Brew and I was very excited to try it. Sadly it fell sort-a flat. I got a crazy amount of carbonation off the pour and the flavor was strong smoke and coffee. Now I like both flavors, but when they are combined in a combination like this it reminds me of that old lady that drink black coffee and chain smokes an entire pack of ciggs. In fact, that same lady might have slipped some ash into my beer because the smoke was on full attack with burnt roasted coffee coming up quick to kick you while you were left defenseless from the 1st attack. Yep, I bet you think I hated it....well I'm not a real gluten for punishment, but it was ok....JUST OK.
Score: 2.845

Overall: 3.199

Sierra Nevada Southern Hemisphere Harvest 2010

Southern Hemisphere Harvest 2010
Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.
Chico, Ca
6.70% ABV

C: Appeared to be clear
H: Poured a Nice Amber Color
N: Mainly Hops, Hint of Mint

Beer Drinker; Another beer we sampled on Saturday was Sierra Nevada Southern Hemisphere Harvest. (BTW, if you all weren't paying attention, the Flyers took a 3-1 series lead against the Canadiens that day, too.) I don't remember smelling it as I only had one ounce to work with, but the flavors were certainly distinct. Very bitter with plenty of lemon and orange peel. Wow what a hoppy, fruity, citrus burst! This beer was very refreshing, palate cleansing, and I'm pretty sure that Ferm has a surprise to demonstrate a word we both agreed on for this beer: puckering! My grade: OU812. Very cheesy, but that's just to say it rocks.
Score; 4.2981




The Ferm; Step one, find a lemon and some hops. Step two, cut the lemon. Step three, place the hops on the lemon. Step four, eat the lemon. That should help you figure out how this beer tasted. It was straight up citrusy sour with a solid hop backing, while still having a very drinkable quality to it. I was honestly shocked at how this beer turned out. I don't think I could kill a bomber of this on my own, but to share with a friend on a hop summer day this would be pretty damn good. I did get some pepper out of it around the end of the tasting, maybe that had to do with the mint that I got in the nose. Overall a pretty good beer. Ohh and by the way that picture above...yep it was pretty funny when we go to take it and Beer Drinker is licking his lips before...lol. Pucker Up!
Score; 3.81

Overall: 4.05405


At least this time I had a buffer from the lip licker...lol (guest appearance by Mrs. Bon Beer)

New Belgium Lips Of Faith Transatlantique Kriek

Lips Of Faith Transatlantique Kriek
New Belgium Brewing Inc.
Fort Collins, Co
8.00% ABV

C. Clear
H. Pink Beer!
N. Tart Cranberry, Cherry, Slight Apple

Beer Drinker; Lips of Faith was one of the beers we sampled at our tasting last Saturday. I had heard this beer name before, but had to ask who brewed it and what style to expect (mainly because I was too lazy to read the bottle). Someone said it was brewed by New Belgium, at which point I asked the famous Ed Roberts when we are going to get our Fat Tire, just to keep a long-running, annoying joke on the table.

This is a Kriek beer. The first time I had this style of beer, I was in a "classroom" full of 300 "students" at Cornell's Hotel School, with Michael Jackson talking about the diversity of beers. He was serving this style beer to us! Yes, THE Michael Jackson! That awesome cherry aroma reminds me of that day every time. Anyway, this beer was pink and bubbly and could easily be confused with a rose champagne. The flavors are sour and tart all the way through, accentuating the cherries in every way. It really is an incredible flavor sensation! There are some people that don't like the style or the sourness. Those people are wimps!
Score: 3.9999

The Ferm; This was one of the many beers that were tried at the second meeting of the minds. It was one of the huge surprises for me, I have wanted to try some of the Lips of Faith line for quite some time. Having heard some good stuff about the beers in this line from New Belgium my expectations grew. I was given the task of working the rotation of bottles, and when I opened this bottle I was VERY surprised that it poured PINK! Yep, not knowing much about the bottle that I was about to dig in to, I began to think...ahh man this is going to kill everything, its a Lambic! So I took a further look at the bottle and realized it was a Kriek, well thats a bit better, but not much. The beer came across as strong sour cherries, and thats about it. For someone that is not a big fan of Lambics or Fruit Beers, this was sort-a a surprise treat. Yep, it was a Pink Roller-coaster; I was excited, saw pink and not excited, then tasted and did a small loop of excitement. Worth finding another bottle to try it again!
Score: 3.812

Overall: 3.90595

Goose Island Bourbon County Brand Coffee Stout

Bourbon County Brand Coffee Stout
Goose Island
Chicago, IL
13% ABV

C. Clairty…whats that
H. Black like Oil
N. Bourbony, Roasty, Vanilla, Dark/Bitter Chocolate, Espresso

El Guapo; So I was made aware by The Ferm that this beer has been climbing up the BA Top 100 and is now at number 3, above Vanilla Bean Aged Dark Lord and just below Westy 12... uhhhh what???
Anyways, I love the regular Bourbon County and was excited to try this one since coffee stouts are my jam... as well as bourbon aged stouts. Now, I have only had the regular version once a long time ago so I don't have it fresh in my head to compare, but I didn't seem to get much more coffee out of this one. Definite boozy bourbon notes on the nose with some dark fruity esters and some sweet roasty and chocolatey malts. I think the bourbon seems to drown out most of the coffee that could have been present in both aroma and flavor. Anyways, the body and mouthfeel on this beer are just what I want. Nice and thick and creamy, with a warming noticeable alcohol that is not a turn off. A bit on the sweet side, but that's not shocking considering the ABV. Just a delicious impy stout with big bourbon notes and some smooth sweet and roasty malts. My only complaint is that I wish the coffee was a little more prominant. Do I think it deserves a number 3 spot on BA? Mehhh maybe not, but it should be up there for sure. I just wish I had more of this beer. Thanks again to Phil for sharing and for letting me guest blog again this week. Cheers!
Score: 4.61

The Ferm; Beer Hype!? Not Here! I received this beer from a trade, and didn't know much about it. I watched it climb on the top 100 for about 3-4 weeks before I even realized I had it sitting in my cellar. Needless to say I was excited to try it. I love the regular Bourbon County so this has to be better right?! Yep, it sure was. This was a true pleasure to drink. The mouth feel was on point, the taste were all distinct in their own. Strong Chocolate, Espresso, Bourbon, and hints of Vanilla. I would drink this beer again and buy this beer again. While I am not sure it is worthy of #3 in the world or higher. It's Pretty Damn Good!
Score:4.798

Overall: 4.704

Great Divide Oak Aged Yeti

Yep, I know it is late, and you my loyal readers have been itching for a beer review today like a crack addict look for their next fix. I am sorry that I made you wait. See the reason I was late was because of this guy;


Yep, thats Steve McKenna, him, Marc Ryan, and Zane Lamprey were in town last night for their comedy tour "Drinking Made Easy". Yep and I attempted to make it look easy with my bill that I passed through legislation last night. As many of you know Florida has "No Child Left Behind", well I created the "No Beer Left Behind" yep...bad idea. Well it wasn't really bad till I decided I was going to being to chug Trappistes Rochefort 10. Regardless...here is your review today! Enjoy!


Great Divide Oak Aged Yeti
Great Divide Brewing Company
Denver, CO
9.50% ABV

C. Clairty…whats that
H. Black, duahh
N. Alcohol, Light Smoke, Hints of Oak, Vanilla

El Guapo; So this was my favorite imperial stout when I first had it a long time ago. Now that I've had a ton of other awesome imperial stouts, this one has fallen down the list a bit. The nose has blatant oak with its vanilla notes that I love so much. This makes me happy as some other oak aged beers are so subtle that they might as well not be oaked at all *cough*oak aged unearthly*cough*. There is also some dark bitter chocolate in the nose that gets sweeter as the beer warms. The taste follows the nose and starts with a definite oak presence and some dark bitter chocolate. It is also pretty hoppy and very roasty, leaving you with a bitter finish that could be sweeter for my tastes. The body is also a bit on the thin side for an imperial stout, but I love my stouts like I love my women... THICK!!! Anyways, this is still a very nice beer but I prefer impy stouts with a bit more sweetness, less intense roastiness, and a nice full body. I will still never forget that this was my first favorite imperial stout and I will always have a special place in my heart for it... <3 xoxo
score: 3.98

The Ferm; Yep El Guapo looked at me like I had three eyes, this is my 1st time drinking this beer. He found that shocking, since I have had several of the other Yeti's already. Needless to say I had high expectations for this beer. It pours just like all the other Yeti's but the taste is so much cleaner then the rest. Strong hints of Dark Chocolate and actual Oak-y Flavoring! This is a real "Oak Aged" beer, or at least one that allows the oak to shine! I very much so enjoyed this beer. As a experiment El Guapo and I gave a sip to a young female (over 21) that does not drink beer...her response "Wow thats a lot of flavors, no thank you!"
Score: 4.10369

Overall: 4.041845

Smuttynose Big A IPA

Big A IPA
Smuttynose Brewing Co.
Portsmouth, NH (USA)
9.60% ABV

C. Slightly Hazy
H. Dark Orange/Light Amber in Color
N. Hops, Hops and More Hops. Citus, Floral, Piney, and Some Honey Notes

El Guapo; Damn, I have a hard time reviewing some IPA's... unless they stand out like my favorites (Maharaja, Hopslam, CCB Humidor, Pliny, Gubna, etc), they tend to be hard for me to really describe... sure they are hop forward, but what else?
anyways, I don't remember much about this beer, but according to my notes I thought the nose was a bit boozy and a little sweet. Of course hops dominated with some citrusy and lemony notes to it... maybe a little grassy. The beer was hoppy but still balanced by some sweetness. It wasn't anything special... It did not stand out and I have no clue what else to say about this beer. I think I am kind of picky with my IPA's and double IPA's. I know what I want and many don't impress me anymore. Oh well, I've been spoiled by some amazing IPA's I guess...
Score: 3

The Ferm; First I will ask the question, what is the deal with the guy wearing underwear on this bottle? Anyone else get mildly turned off by this? Like when your shopping for beer and looking for something new, you would be like "ohh hey look a man in underwear on a bottle...lets buy this one!" I have talked about Smuttynose's labels before and how I thought they all looked like Stone Temple Pilot Album Covers. This one is just odd.
The beer inside was good, but not great. It seemed like a straight forward IPA, there was a nice hop presence with a solid malt backing. The 9.6% ABV was hidden well in this one though....maybe that's what the guy is smuggling in his underwear...(sorry that was bad, and I will even admit it). Thing is with IPA's its really show up big or go home. Average just won't cut it. I think it is time for Big A to go home and put some pants on.
Score: 2.60

Overall: 2.8

Harpoon Leviathan Saison Royale

Leviathan Saison Royale

Harpoon Brewery
Boston, Ma.

9.00% ABV



C. A Little Cloudy

H. Yellow
N. Spicey Nose…Similar to a St. Somewhere, Slight Apple, Cinnamon

Well in honor of Harpoon Night at the Coffee District tonight we decided to review the Leviathan Saison Royale. This beer was only brewed one time, it is still unknown if it will be re-released. Come out tonight (05-18-2010) and meet the Founder/CEO of Harpoon Brewing Company at the Coffee District. They will be having a wide variety of Harpoon beers on tap as well as on bottle. This is a perfect opportunity to experience some great beers before they hit the local market. Event is from 6pm till 10pm.

El Guapo;Ok so this is actually my first beer from the Leviathan series. I wasn't sure what to expect from a 9% saison. On the nose was just huge amounts of spice. I couldn't really pick out specific spices but I suck at that. I should probably buy a bunch of different spices and herbs used in brewing and become familiar with how they smell and taste. Anyways, after smelling it for a while I started thinking that it smelled a little bit like apple pie with hints of cinnamon... It could have been all in my head but whatever. In the taste, I immediately got a little alcohol. That 9% made its presence and although I might think this acceptable in a Tripel or Belgian Strong Golden, it seems a little odd in a saison. I am not used to "imperial saisons"... Anyways it tasted spicy and fruity with some of those apple pie flavors coming through a little bit. It was a little boozy and sweet at first, but seemed to dry out a bit on the finish with the spices. I almost got a bit of a minty note to it at times. It was an interesting and heavily spiced saison that was a bit too big for my taste. I seem to prefer more traditional saisons.
Score: 3.33 (repeating)

The Ferm; Ahh the Leviathan line is one of my favorite lines in the entire beer world. The entire line is based on BIG beers that have a large ABV. This is the first time I have had the Saison Royale. I would not say that the Saison is my favorite style of beer but I appreciate a good one. This beer poured slightly cloudy with a nice golden hue to it. I got some pepper on the attack then sort-a mellowed out to a medicine-y taste, almost like cough syrup. While the medicine-y taste didn’t linger too long, it was a bit odd. I also was able to get a slight amount of apple pie/spice out of the beer. Hey a 9% Saison is pretty damn impressive so I will give them that. This is not a beer I personally would go out of my way to find, but would drink it again if someone offered me one. I would say this is the weakest (flavor wise) Leviathan that I have had so far.
Score: 3.112

Overall: 3.221

Troegs Scratch 28 - Troggen Roggen

Tröegs Scratch 28 - Troggen Roggen
Tröegs Brewing Company
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
6.10% ABV

C. Cloudy
H. Gold in color
N. Spicey, Clovey, Somewhat Bready, basically like a Hefeweizen

El Guapo; So I had no idea what this beer was going to be as there was no description on the bottle. Once I smelled and tasted it, I figured it was a hefeweizen with maybe a slightly higher abv than your average hefe. I got the typical bananas and spicy clove off the nose and the flavor followed that. I thought it tasted particularly spicy and also a bit tangy and tart. Now that I looked up the beer on Beeradvocate, it turns out that it's a Roggenbier which is a German Rye Beer. I didn't pick up on rye as I was drinking it but I guess that explains some of the more spicy and kind of tart flavors I was getting out of it. I have never had a beer in this style but I guess it did a good job nailing it from what I could tell. Tasted like a hefe with a bit more spice and a hint of tang... If I drank it again, I wonder if I'd notice the rye now that I know there is rye in it...
Score: Solid 4

The Ferm; Alright WTF is a Roggenbier????? I have never seen one before...well this beer and honestly I thought this beer was a pretty standard Hefeweizen. Well at least we were able to get the country of origin down. I guess that would be the downside to the Scratch Bottles, they don't tell you shit, but to come visit the brewery at 2pm on Saturdays. By the way, what goes on at 2pm at Tröegs? Do funny little men in orange overall's come out and sing and dance while they make the beer? Something for you to think about I guess....anyways to the beer. The flavor was spot on in my opinion for a Hef. but seemed more spicey and yeasty. When the beer warmed a bit the bready qualities really came out. Their was a hint of citrus in the beer that was pleasant surprise.
Score: 3.124 (I'll raise it .5 if Umpa-Lumpa's make the beer every Saturday at 2pm though)

Overall: Solid 3.562 (possible raise for the little men in over-alls)

Yep this upcoming week is American Craft Beer Week!

What is that? Well here is some history from American Craft Beer Week.
"Look for American Craft Beer Week promotions featuring craft brewers in breweries, restaurants, and better beer stores (There were more than 500 events in 2009.), become a fan of American Craft Beer Week on Facebook for more information on events around the country and toast the week with a delicious beer brewed by one of the over 1400 craft brewers in the US.

Small brewers are small businesses; they provide so much to their local communities and have reshaped American beer culture. On April 22, 2010, U.S. Congress began discussing House Resolution 1297 (PDF file) supporting the goals and ideals of American Craft Beer Week.
For the Homebrewers

Homebrewers, American Craft Beer Week has not forgotten about your role in helping us get 10,000 fans of American Craft Beer Week 2009. This year we have a homebrew recipe from the American Homebrewers Association's Big Brew celebration. American Craft Beer Wheat can be brewed in early May, and then you can tap it May 17-23!."

So what are you doing for Craft Beer Week? Well there is no reason why you should not celebrate this week, and no reading my blog (while appreciated) is not celebrating actively.

Here are some of the events in the local area this upcoming week!

Monday 05-17-2010
The Coffee District: Delray Beach; Weekly craft beer meetup. Bring a bottle of something rare to the area to share and enjoy good beer company.
Vine and Barley: Ft. Pierce; Terrapin Keg Tapping Party, 6pm, Come to the tapping of a few special Terrapin kegs; Oak-aged Wake-N-Bake Coffee Oatmeal Imperial Stout and Terrapin 'Side Project 'Monk's Revenge Double IPA/Belgian Tripel

Tuesday 05-18-2010
Boca Beer Lovers: TBA; This is a monthly meetup group that shares good beer (Google Boca Beer Lovers for more info)
BX Depot: Lake Worth; Avery Brewing - We will feature Maharaja and offer a tasting of some of their other beers.
The Coffee District: Delray Beach; Come meet the Founder & CEO of Harpoon, Rich Doyle. Specials and win some SWAG!

Wednesday 05-19-2010
Abraxus: Miami Beach; from 10-12 for their American Craft Beer Week edition of their Beers of Abraxas tasting. 12 - 3 oz. pours of their finest American Craft Beers for $15.
BX Depot: Lake Worth; Dogfish Head- Until we run out, we will compare "08 and '09 Worldwide Stout and feature Aprihop on tap
Drinking Made Easy w/ Zane Lamprey; Ft. Lauderdale: Come witness the EPIC miracle himself Zane Lamprey from Three Sheets live on stage at the Culture Room

Thursday 05-20-2010
BX Depot: Lake Worth; Southern Tier- We will feature Oak Aged Unearthly and who knows what else will be poured
Whole Foods: Boca Raton; Join Matt "Can a brother get some samples?" Villei from Shipyard for a tasting at Whole Foods in Boca from 3-5pm. FREE!

Friday 05-21-2010
BX Depot: Lake Worth; Cigar City- We had to include this brewery in the mix as it is a Florida brewery- Can anyone Say Hunahpu Imperial Stout, we will have some pours of this delicious brew and maybe some glassware, and we are not done.
Total Wine: Boca Raton; If you missed him at Whole Foods you can catch Matt from Shipyard at Total Wine in Boca for a tasting of Shipyard and Sea Dog from 5-7pm

Saturday 05-22-2010
Abraxus: Miami Beach: HUGE Beer Tasting for only $20.00 which includes Food, Water and a sampling on beers. Also bring what you have and share with everyone!
BX Depot: Lake Worth; Amazing Beer Dinner; showcasing some great food and brews.

Remember that there are tons of bars carrying a great selection of Craft Beer. So check out The Lodge, The Funky Buddha, Charm City Burgers, Brother Tuckers, Trist, Bar Louie, Grease, Havana Hideout, and more!

So there you have it, if you can't find something to do this upcoming week....well then I'm sorry...I tried! Have a Craft Beer and enjoy a week long celebration!

Slainte!

This blog has gone to the dogs! Bowser Beer

Yep, just as you were thinking, "Damn Ferm have you lost your mind?!?" I am turning my blog over to someone else again. This time it is a bit more crazy. The Guest Blogger for today is T.K. (Tinkle King) the Dog. Well not just any dog, he is my dog and best friend.

Yep, my four-legged buddy is often left out of the beer tastings and is usually not too happy about that. He has missed some EPIC beers, but it is for the better because BEER IS NOT GOOD TO GIVE TO A DOG!!!!!!

This is all changing thanks to Jenny Brown of 3 Busy Dogs. Jenny has formulated and made a beer that is 100% natural, non-alcoholic, non-carbonated, and non-hop'd for our furry friends. Check it out over at http://3busydogs.com/.



Since T.K. is a trooper he is doing two reviews in one blog....yep even without his balls he is a man!!!



Beefy Brown Ale
Bowser Beer
Phoenix, AZ
0.00% ABV

C: Clear
H: Golden Amber / Light Brown
N: Beeffyyyy

T.K.; He seemed to like this one, but took him some time to get use to it. While he is typically not a fan of Beef Flavored things I think he enjoyed this one. When mixed with his food he attacked it like a killer Chihuahua. In his words "woof.....grrrrr....woof....woof", allow me to translate; "This is pretty good dad thanks for hookin' it up!"
Score: 40 wags a minute (based off the 60 wags a minute rating scale)

The Ferm; Yep....I bet you were wondering if I was going to taste these....of course I was silly, I never turn down a beer. Now I didn't have a massive amount but I took a sip. This one was beefy....not very good for me...glad he likes it!

Overall: 40 wags a minute



Cock-A-Doodle Brew
Bowser Beer
Phoenix, AZ
0.00% ABV

C: Cloudy
H: Golden Yellow
N: Sort-a Sour-Beer Like, Light Chicken

T.K.; This was the first Bowser Beer that T.K. ever had. It was chilled to a perfect 55 degree temperature and served in a Snifter for his drinking pleasure. After being hesitant on what I was offering, T.K. devoured the entire glass of golden goodness. In his words "woof...woof....woof...woof...grrrrrr...woof..woof...woof"; once again I'll translate; "HOLY CRAP THAT TASTE LIKE HEAVEN!!!!, Give me more...NOW!, Please....Look into my eyes......PLEASE!"
Score: 60 wags a minute

The Ferm; This one wasn't that bad actually....It had a semi-sour taste to it. The chicken didnt come across so much on this one. I got a bit of sour-ness and malty on the palate. Pretty good for dog food! I can see how my dog would appreciate this beer!

Overall: 60 wags a minute

If you are looking to pick some of this beer up for your furry friends/family members contact Jenny directly or check out Petco Bowser Beer.

Brewdog Sink The Bismarck

Sink The Bismarck!
Brewdog Ltd.
Fraserburgh, United Kingdom (Scotland)
41% ABV (REALLY!!!!)

C. Clear
H. Prefect shade of Amber
N. Take two hop cones and shove them up your nose. Yep thats what it smells like.

KirkDiggler;
A: Note: I recommend you smell the cap. You can get the same experience by sticking your head into a bag of hops or shoving two hop cones up your nose. The beer itself reeks of hops and warms to boozy overtones.
A: Pours a caramel brown, no head, no lacing.
F: Hop Assault w/ soy and umami. I believe if distillers were using hops, this would be it. I think this might be what drinking hop oil is like? Smokey and Oak finish.
M: Slick and warms all the way down.
O: It’s the hoppiest beer I’ve ever had in my life, it’s the strongest beer I’ve ever had, and literally the best beer I’ve ever had the privilege of trying. It’s more than a beer, it’s an experience that needs to be had.
Score: 4.750



The Ferm; Hats off to KirkDiggler again for allowing me to be part of this tasting. Upon first smell the beer is straight hops, not what I would have expected to get off a nose of a 41% ABV beer. Taking a small sip as I have to watch myself now chasing the Penguin with Sink, I allowed the flavor to warm my mouth. This is a real Quad-IPA! This is a Hop Heads Heaven! Could this be? Did I find the pinnacle of all beers? Well I stop myself there, it is AMAZING though. The alcohol burn of this beer is calmed by the bitterness of the hops. I have never given a beer a 5.0 ever before, because I believe that once you find what you think is the best something else will surprise you. Well this time I don't think anything will surprise me the way this beer did today.
Score: 5.0 (Yep thats right a 5 out of 5)

Overall: 4.875

Brewdog Tactical Nuclear Penguin

Tactical Nuclear Penguin
Brewdog Ltd
Fraserburgh, United Kingdom (Scotland)
32% ABV (HECK YAH!)

C: Clear
H: Rum in color - perfect caramel in color
N: Fruity, Boozy, Alcohol Burn, Toffee Hints

KirkDiggler;
A: Fruity and boozy, warm, alcohol burn, warms to toffee
A: Pours dark carmel / Rum colored. No head, no lacing.
F: Umami and soy, toffee and caramel, smoky, no hop presence.
M: Slick and alcohol burn. You don’t feel it in your mouth, you feel it in your gut.
O: I’m very amazed that beer could ever be like this. I wont compare apples and oranges, but in the realm of high gravity beers, I will agree that TNP has less flavor profile than a Utopias. I still believe that this is a beer. It’s not a scotch or a spirit, but I will drink it as such and would treat it with as much reverence. Long live the Penguin!!
Score: 4.250



The Ferm; Ohh yahhh TNP, ohh how I have waited for the day that I got the honor to try this beer. 1st of all THANK YOU to KirkDiggler for hooking it up with this amazing beer! The legs on this thing are amazing, they line the glass like a fine spirit. HOLY CRAP talk about alcohol burn, yep I feel that go all the way down..to the tummy. This is straight malt, and taste more like a spirit than a beer. The only thing that I have ever had that compares to this is Sam Adam's Utopias. I would take this over Utopia's any day. This was a treat.
Score: 4.255

Overall: 4.2525 (keep in mind that we do not talk about our scores while discussing the beer)

Three Floyds Dark Lord 2010

Dark Lord 2010
Three Floyds Brewing Co.
Munster, IN
15.00% ABV

C. Black
H. Clear on the corners
N. Boozie (Rum and Bourbon), Sweetness, and a hint of Espresso

KirkDiggler;
A: Smells of booze, but don’t know what kind. I got Notes of Rum and bourbon, sweetness, and finally warms to espresso.
A: Pours black w/ chocolate colored head. Quickly dissipates, leaves no lacing.
F: Sweet and fruity up front w/ slight umami and soy sauce notes. I believe that cantaloupe was also used to describe at this point. If it wasn’t cantaloupe, it was some kind of melon on the back end.
M: Oily and slick, goes down smooth w/ a slight alcohol burn. Finishes boozy
O: I’m now a believer that the hype is real. #DLD2011, here I come!! Definitely buy enough to drink through the ages. 25 year Dark Lord? Yes!!
Score: 4.625

The Ferm; Well the only other time I have had Dark Lord was at the release party for Hunahpu's. I was pretty intoxicated but was able to remember how good I thought it was. Well 2010 stood up to the hype, slapped the hype, then defecated all over it. This is a perfect Russian Imperial Stout, that is anything but hype. Everyone that sampled this bottle with me was amazed by the complexity of the beer, just as I was. The mouth feel was oily and creamy on the tongue. The flavors progressively changed with warmth, though one flavor of Cantaloupe stuck with me for a bit. Simply put; Darklord is Complex as HELL!!!
Score: 4.99

Overall: 4.8075

Alesmith Speedway Stout 2009

Speedway Stout 2009
Alesmith Brewing Company
San Diego, Ca.
12.00% ABV

C: Pitch black hard to tell how clear it is, but nice chocolate head
H: Black
N: At cold temp. nose is not there at all, warms to a coffee, roasty malt, slight boozie

KirkDiggler;
A: At fridge temp = nothing really stands out, warms to coffee, and subtle roasted malt aroma
A: Pours black w/ a thin cocoa/tan colored head, no lacing.
F: I really, really, love the fact that I get chocolate milk upfront when drinking this beer and has a creamy espresso finish.
M: Creamy and smooth with light carbonation
O: I believe that Speedway Stout is a great breakfast /brunch/dessert stout. Delicate in aroma, smooth in taste and mouthfeel, and at 12% abv, it can creep on you if not careful. Be sure and share with friends. Good for any occasion.
Rating: 4.000

The Ferm; The attack of the Speedway Stout is light on chocolate and heavy on coffee, it doesn't seem overly complex. Though pretty straight forward, the body feel of the beer is dead on, it is smooth and creamy. The carbonation is spot-on for a stout, and helps with the consistency of the body. I was impressed with this beer because of the hype it gets online, well it followed through just fine. Dare I say that it almost taste like chocolate milk (if you add a lot of chocolate syrup to your cup)???? I heard the availability of this beer is insane in San Diego, like you can go to 711 and pick up a bottle. If thats the case, do you think that The Cerveza Chica would be down to relocate?
Score: 4.0111

Overall; 4.00556

Ballast Point Sea Monster Imperial Stout

Sea Monster Imperial Stout - 2009
Ballast Point Brewing Company
San Diego, CA
7.00% ABV

C: Appears clear from the corners
H: Black
N: Chocolate, toffee and bourbon notes that warmed to espresso

KirkDiggler;
A: Chocolate, toffee and bourbon notes that warmed to espresso
A: Pours black with a ¼ “ tan head which quickly dissipated, no lacing.
F: Espresso and coffee upfront, burnt roasted malt and chocolate make up the rest of the flavor which is wonderful. I didn’t get any Hop Bitterness in the taste. The Espresso and Chocolate are in complete domination of the flavor profile.
M: The mouthfeel is thick, full bodied, and little carbonation.
O: This is a should have/must have in my book. If you are a fan of dark and sweet stouts, this is your money. Highly suggested if you find it: buy it, age it, drink it. Be sure to first sip cool, and let it warm so you can experience the full flavor profile.
Rating: 4.25

The Ferm; This is my first ever Ballast Point Beer, and it lives up to the hype that is talked about on the internet. This beer is smooth to drink and pleasant on the palate. The beer is just smacked full of flavor; coffee, chocolate, roasty malts, and some toffee flavors round this "monster of the sea" out. This is really the only beer I have had that smells similar to Choklat from Southern Tier. Wonderful tasting beer.
Score: 4.732

Overall: 4.491

Alaskan Smoked Porter

Alaskan Smoked Porter - 2008
Alaskan Brewing Co.
Juneau, Alaska
6.50% ABV

C: Pitch black but appears to be clear
H: Black with dark brown on the outer edges
N: Smoke with bacon, campfire smells

La Cocinera;I was excited to try this beer because I really like smokiness. And the aroma did not disappoint-- it smelled deliciously smokey and bacony. The flavor, however, was a bit more subtle. It was a good tasting and balanced beer, but I just would have preferred a bit more smoke and a richer flavor. For example, I think I preferred Left Hand Smoke Jumper because the smoke in the flavor was a lot more intense. And I'm sure I could experiment with some interesting recipes with this one. Hmm.. I wonder what smoked ice cream would taste like.. Well, I think I said the word smoke like 1600 times in this review so I'm done.
P.S. More smoke please!!
Score: 3.987

The Cerveza Chica: I was not thrilled about trying this beer because it consists of many of the things and characteristics that I hate about a beer, but I figured it was okay to end our review session with it since it was the darkest and heaviest beer. The smell is a lot of smoke and it reminds me of a campfire, but when you taste it I get more bacon taste than smoke. It was fairly light for a dark beer. I guess for a porter it is fairly session-able although I could and would never drink more than a few ounces of this beer. I was not blown away by this beer but also not utterly disgusted either.
Score: 3.07

Overall: 3.52

Fantome Saison

Fantôme Saison
Brasserie Fantôme
Soy, Belgium
8.00% ABV

C: Semi cloudy
H: Yellow
N: Tart and slight caramel

La Cocinera; Well, I'm a big fan of saisons. I just love spice and funkiness and tartness. Yum. But sometimes it's hard to know what to expect out of them because there is a lot of variability in the style. I think this is a great example of a saison and a good choice for someone to try who isn't sure if they like them or not. It's tart and fruity with some spicy yeast. It's definitely complex enough to keep you interested in going in for another sip. And you would never imagine that it's an 8% abv. Very drinkable and tasty.
Score: 4.15

The Cerveza Chica: I had no idea what to expect from this beer because I have never heard from it and I am not that familiar with the saison category. I was really surprised and impressed by this one. It was sweet enough and not overly sour or tart or funky. I really enjoyed drinking this one and at 8% ABV it was just perfect. It is hard to categorize what I really got from this beer but I definitely got fruitiness. I would recommend this to someone that likes beers that are a bit off the norm and easy enough to drink. I would like to try other saisons now.
Score: 4.17

Overall: 4.16

Short's Brew - Good Humans

Short's Brew Good Humans
Short's Brewing Company
Bellaire, MI
8.20% ABV

C: Quite clear
H: Brownish red
N: Hops and a strong sweetness

La Cocinera; This one was interesting. The label says it's a dry hopped double brown ale. You definitely get the hops and the brown ale characteristics, but it is not really what you would expect. The aroma was sweet, roasty, and fruity with some citrusy hops. The flavor is pretty similar to the smell-- Sweet and fruity with some caramel and chocolate. I'm not sure what makes it taste unique, maybe the roastiness or fruitiness? It's something I can't quite put my finger on. I can't say I've ever had a brown ale, or really any beer, that tastes like this one so I'd definitely say it is worth trying, at least for it's unique characteristics.
Score: 3.604

The Cerveza Chica; I was interested in trying this beer although I am not familiar with the brewery at all. I do tend to like brown ales and this was a dry hopped double brown ale. I was not impressed by this beer. I thought it was not easy to drink and it didn’t keep me coming back for more at all. I was quite disappointed in this beer. I do not know the ABV but I do feel like I get some of the alcohol in it, and I don’t think it is just simply die to the dry hopping. I would not recommend this beer to someone who likes brown ales.
Score: 2.77

Overall: 3.187

Ithaca - Flower Power IPA

Ithaca - Flower Power IPA
Ithaca Beer Company
Ithaca, NY
7.50% ABV

C: Very clear
H: Orangey amber
N: Citrus and piney hops and light malt

La Cocinera;I don't really have a whole lot to say about this one. It's a solid IPA, but nothing that is really memorable. I got a bunch of citrusy and earthy hops in the aroma and a bit of malt. The smell was promising but the flavor didn't really live up to the it. It was hoppy with some caramel, but a little too subtle for my taste and not too bitter at all. Would have liked more hops in the flavor. IPAs used to be my favorite style but I've become a little bored by them. This one is very drinkable though and well balanced.
Score: 3.1

The Cerveza Chica; The smell of this beer made me believe that it would be very bitter due to the strong smell of hops, but upon tasting it I was pleasantly surprised. It is a pretty straight forward IPA. Nothing truly special or abnormal about it. This is my first beer that I have had from Ithaca and I wasn’t turned off by it so would be open to trying some of their other varieties of beer. In my opinion I could drink a decent amount of this beer, but I definitely have IPAs that are bigger favorites of mine. The Ferm got this in a trade so I don’t know how much a bottle goes for but I would recommend this to anyone that enjoys citrusy hops.
Score: 3.77

Overall: 3.435

Dogfish Head - Festina Peche

Dogfish Head Festina Peche
Dogfish Head Craft Brewery
Milton, DE
4.50% ABV

C: Clear with a hint of cloudiness
H: Golden yellow with a slight hue of orange
N: Sour with a hint of citrus

Cerveza Chica: I have to start by saying that I get very upset because so many of the beers that I am in love with are seasonal and this is undoubtedly one of them. I was excited when a friend gave us some older bottles of this that he had laying around. I found that it was a little bit more bitter and tart than it was originally when I tasted it. I feel like I can’t go wrong by drinking this beer. It is light enough, but the tartness will get to you after a while and your palette will just be so over stimulated that it will be tough to drink other beers after this one. This I feel is a must try when it comes out in spring time. It only comes in 4 packs though which is kind of annoying. They should sell them in 6 packs. This could be a good introduction to someone for sour beers in my opinion. I am already missing this beer and can’t wait for it to come out again next year. I really wish they distributed it year round.
Score: 4.27

La Cocinera: Well, I absolutely love sour beers so this one makes me happy. I had it for the first time almost a year ago at a Dogfish Head beer dinner. The first course was a salad with peaches, goat cheese, and a raspberry vinaigrette. It was paired with Festina Peche and to this day I still think that was one of my favorite pairings ever. So since that was the last time I had it, I was excited to be tasting it again. Well the first thing you get from the smell is sourness, which is a good thing. The taste is very similar to the smell. It's sour, citrusy, peachy, and a little bready. I think it's very pleasant and easy to drink. I'm curious to try pairing it with some different cheeses, and I'd definitely recommend a salad or maybe a fish dish with it.
Score: 4.344

Overall: 4.307