Our Tastes-- Beach Bum Blonde Ale

We had enough of these last weekend to commemorate the end of summer, enough to float a john boat but not enough coordination to blog about it. Continuing with their 2nd year of microbrews A-B added this draught to the line up this year. A golden straw in color from the pale and caramel roasted barley malts. It has a clean refreshing taste from the Hallertau and Alsace hops (they come from France) much like the "Coneheads" probably from the German-loving Strisselspalt or Herbrucker family strand...enough French rant...I digress. Must be why this isn't my favorite beer out of the seasonal lineup! Still a good brew with the addition of Cascade and Pacific Northwest somewhere in the dryhop process. 5.4%abv, go have one;)

End of The Best Era to Date!!

In celebration of me being licensed as a PharmD and knocking out my 1st 16 hour shift; dad, Merry, The Enabler and I finished out the 2005 Samuel Adams Utopia. It had deepened in color somewhat and even changed a little in flavor profile. But the 25.4% abv was still there, fo sho!! Even had a Cuban Cohiba cigar that Big D gave me to go along with it. Afterwards I got the sweet decanter and all I have to do is decide whether I want to let the residue stay in there so I can smell it or ..... just buy a couple of the 07s due out soon;)

Our Tastes-- Harpoon Hibernian Irish Style Red Ale

On to the next pack we're trying and this one is from Harpoon. A great throw back to March, this one has a great malty true Irish aroma and taste. The color is a wonderful deep red copper. Hibernian, Latin for winter "hibernia", given to the land by the Romans upon their conquest. It started out as a St. Patty's tribute in Boston and has become the spring seasonal. I'm new to Harpoon and looking forward to the next one.. this one is 5.4%

Our Tastes-- Spring Heat Spiced Wheat

Spring Heat Spiced Wheat is a limited edition brew from A-B of a belgian-style wheat ale. Pours a cloudy stir needing the "wheat swirl" at the last few ounces. Of the microbrews put out by A-B this may be the most complicated brewing process by the addition of orange, lime and lemon peels as well as coriander to the brewkettle. Throw in a little Cascade, Williamette and Hallertau hops and you've got a annual favorite added to the microbrew lineup for the 2nd year in a row. Serve in a tall, wide-mouthed glass and watch the magic happen as the citrus aroma is funneled straight to the nose. The 5.2%abv goes well with fresh salads, chicken and Asian cuisine. Probst!!

Our Tastes-- Abita TurboDog

And finally TurboDog is the last out of the Party Pack. Surprisingly enough this isn't as heavy as I remember from '96. This is a dark brown ale brewed with Willamette hops and a combination of British pale, crystal and chocolate malts. The site says it's a little stronger than the usual brew so "beware of the dog". Oddly enough this is a dark brown ale. Oh, and about the brew, it poured a frothy head that reminded me of the "monster" that will rear its head in a few months. The aroma and taste are that of good chocolate and toffee with little resemblance to a stout considering it poured a DARK brown/black. Cheers to the Party Pack!!

Our Tastes-- Abita Christmas Ale

Christmas Ale in September!! This one pours a slightly sweet malt with spice and or nutmeg in a medium brown color. This dark ale comes with no recipe or ingredients listed on the site, just says it is an interesting offering every year. I like it, nuf' said. Oh and the new label is all silver with red writing.

End of an Era

Brew Batch #5 IRA bit the bullet tonight and that Irish malty goodness never tasted so good.

Our Tastes-- Abita Amber

Let's go Abita Amber. Pouring a frothy light brown head with a nice light/medium brown color. It smells of a malty bevvy ripe for the drinking. This was the flagship brew of Abita and continues to be a fav of the N.O. area. Made with crystal malt and Perle hops. The head clears quickly leading me to believe that maybe the artesian water has something to do with it. A nice brew again that Indiana still begs for after a sample herself.

Our Tastes-- Abita 20th Anniversary Pilsner

Going from the light side to the dark, next up is the 20th Anniversary Pilsner (no listing on the site to link to). This one pours a color much like the Golden with a quickly dissipating head. The hop aroma is nice but the taste is truly a break away from the usual Abita beer. Artist James Michalopoulos captures the original brewery on canvas for this six pack and bottle label. Made with America hops this one is a must.

Our Tastes-- Abita Purple Haze

Next up is the Purple Haze. See the IVAN Hurricane Special edition post for this one.

First time I've been able to cite myself!!

Our Tastes-- Abita Golden

I told you another sample pack tasting was coming and this time it is the Abita Party Pack. This past year it came packed with 2 Golden, 2 TurboDogs, 2 Amber, 2 PurpleHaze, 2 Christmas Ale and 2 20th Annivery Pilsners. The Golden is our 1st of the pack. It pours a nice golden straw as the name implies made with only pilsner malt, german lager yeast, Hallertauer hops and of course the artesian waters of Abita Springs. The head dissipates quickly and so does the aftertaste. This is a great summer brew, reminiscent of Sam Adams Summer Ale. It has a clean, crisp taste that even Indiana approves of and sports a great green crown. Something to be said for having an eye-catching crown....

Beer and Ice Cream?

What a strange combination. That is something I would not think of going together.

While down at the beach last month as I lie baking in the sun, I was asked by the brew master if I could make some home made ice cream. So I quickly agreed without knowing what kind he wanted-- because I love Ice Cream!! So here it is Labor Day weekend and I am making Wake N Bake flavored Ice Cream. He found the recipe in the Southern Brew News. If you are not familiar with the Wake n Bake Oatmeal Imperial Stout it is a combination of the two "breweries" Terrapin and Jittery Joes (coffee). This special blend includes premium coffee beans from Costa Rica, Guatemala, and Zimbabwe. It is dark in color having a rich coffee smell with an abv of 8.5%.

This was a very simple recipe. Heavy cream, a 120z bottle of Wake N Bake Coffee Oatmeal Imperial Stout, Sugar, Cocoa Powder, and Egg Yolks. Heat it up and pour it in the ice cream container. Unfortunately the alcohol is burned out. Then the magic happens.

The ice cream smells just like the beer! It looks like chocolate ice cream but looks can be deceiving-- it does not taste like chocolate! I think that you have to be a fan of the Coffee Oatmeal Imperial Stout to like this ice cream. So grab a spoon because the ice cream is done!

Our Tastes-- Dominion Ale

This beer is quite a bit more hoppy than it's predecessor a few gulps ago. It pours a light brown (just a shade under Milo's tea) with light foamy head. This brew has a slight malt flavor to it as well and when looking into its profile is actually an EPA not an "American" ale per se. This is Old Dominion's largest volume brew using Perle, Williamette, & Mt. Hood hops from the Pacific Northwest and English Kent Goldings. It's fermented with American ale yeast (probably like Wyeast 1056) in the German Kolsch-style-- warm, fast fermentation with slow maturation (sounds like me at 19;) 4.7% abv and not my favorite but well worth trying.

Our Tastes-- Dominion Lager

This beer pours a nice lager color of light straw and was the perfect start to some Labor Day BBQ and brew enjoyment. Shortly after pouring, the head dissipated leaving simply a light foam on top. The aroma was awesome. Not to delve a blow to Old Dominion but it has the perfect "lager" aroma, like when you pour a Budweiser. We all know the TRUE smell I'm talking about, it makes your mouth water (like cookies when you were 5). Oddly enough it also had some weird sediment to it but it didn't look like yeast, may have been malt since thye use German pilsner, Munich, Carapils, & Caramel. GOld in 97' at GABF and 5.4%abv.