Ahoy

This is what happens when you drink too much.
Or is it when you don't write enough?

Probably the latter.

Yeah, that's it.

22 September 08
Beer: Anchor Liberty Ale
Location: PR Bodega E 9th St
Price: $10/6pk
Grade: 6.9

Frothy, yeasty, medium body with golden honey taste mixed with chewy pine. Rich orange-brown hue, slight cloudiness with a healthy 1.5” head. Bitter bite with notes of roasted oranges. Some apricot but also florals and grassiness. Sweet at first, slightly, yet what really comes through is the bitter bite. It can be sipped or gulped – each produces a different mouthfeel (tingly versus hearty bitter gulp). Good, crisp carbonation – would be a wonderful beer to consume with meats, breads and cheeses. Straws and yeasts, very fitting for a barn or farmer setting for some reason. Would be great with a “country” meal of the sort. In a way, it’s like a punchy little biscuit of a beer… if that makes sense.

26 September 08
Beer: Sierra Nevada Southern Hemisphere Harvest Fresh Hop Ale
Location: Ben’s Deli
Price: $4.50/
Grade: 7.3

Crisp, grainy and very refreshing. Wonderful bite with a taste of truly fresh hops. Simply wonderful.

29 September 08
Beer: LongTrail Blackbeary Wheat
Location: Whole Foods Bowery, NYC
Price: $8.99/6pk
Grade: 5.1

A sad, sad excuse for a beer. A prickly little fizzle that’s more like a diluted, lackluster apple cider than a beer. Sweet, light-light notes of honey and floral notes. Pallid yellow similar to a color of white-gold with minimal carbonation. Soft, white berries and really not that much blackberry. Like a riesling or champagne even. Pale mouthfeel with shallow depth and thin body, has a somewhat ‘muddled’ crisp – if that’s even possbile. I suppose this would be cute if it were going for a baby beer – or something you’d consume with tender, bite-sized pieces of oysters rockefeller – but otherwise, it’s really not something you grab for from the store. Indeed I was tricked by the grand scheme of Whole Foods marketing – a rarity, at least in regards to my own record. Nonetheless, on a positive note, a beer like this is something all good beers can learn from – basically, what not to do in microbrewing. I think a term that would describe this guy is “weaksauce.”

2 October 08
Beer: Stoudt’s Oktoberfest
Location: Whole Foods Bowery, NYC
Price: $10.99/6pk
Grade: 6.6

Was expecting more but didn’t really get it in return. Still manages to create an enjoyable beer but not necessarily the Oktoberfest beer to consume. Some floral, some spice in an overall light colored amber. Pal grains with tingly bitters throughout, minimal carbonation – very ‘washy’ in its gulps. Therefore, it’s a ‘refreshing’ beer with good flavor distribution.

2 October 08
Beer: Hacker-Pschorr Oktoberfest
Location: Whole Foods Bowery, NYC
Price: $9.99/6pk
Grade: 6.5

Rather light, not too much ‘oompf’ to the body or flavor. I’d definitely choose Paulaner Oktoberfest instead. Reddish-Amber with medium body, good head and subtle flavors. Grains, toasted bread and light caramel notes. Has a breadier taste overall, but if only the flavors had more bite. Not bad though, surely.

23 October 08
Beer: Grimberger
Location: Whole Foods Bowery, NYC
Price: $12/6pk
Grade: 7.2

Red-ruby color with tastes of a cedary-redwood like bark. Sweet cherry, good spritz with hints of prunes and raisins.

1 November 08
Beer: Elysian Night Owl Pumpkin Ale
Location: Whole Foods Union Sq, NYC
Price: $6/650mL
Grade: 7.4

Slightly spicy, slightly creamy, ample amount of pumpkin. Like a nice slice of pumpkin pie.

3 November 08
Beer: Avery Brewing Co., The Kaiser Imperial Oktoberfest Lager
Location: Whole Foods Union Sq, NYC
Price: $7.99/650mL
Grade: 8.2

Has a weird, fresh-from-the-brewery water smell on the nose – sort of mineraly and coppery. But the body is magnificently medium-heavy with a good, robust bite/mouthfeel and terrific carbonation. Quite the effervescent beer with muddled bits of apple, squash, honey, acorn and cloves. Spicy, floral, meaty and quite a good plop of malt mixed together. A solid beer for sure, definitely one that is enjoyable with every gulp, sip or swig. But what seems to become all too noticeable is the taste of over-ripened fruit mixed with a light brown sugar or sweet molasses flavor. There’s a coating of caramel that licks each swivel and swallow. Real sweet. Real good. Yeah mmm.