Our Tastes-- BlackStone Liquidity Bock

Bought a growler, never pinted, never tasted, and my tastes seem in line with the others I shared it with, almost BJCP-ish! The color is an awesome doppel, NOT mai nor, helles. The aroma a balanced malt and hop, with low flattening head. The taste, when rolled around the mouth is even and smooth when it comes to body; however, the overall balance when aftertaste is concerned is too hoppy for me (and I consider myself a bit of a hop-head!), Liberty and Mt. Hood are in here. I'm relatively new to the art of subbing different hops for others but I would almost try backing off whatever is first or replace some thing with Hersbrucker (after the shortage is over). Don't get me wrong, the beer itself is solid and I would never go thirsty if God left me only this to drink, but from a magnified expectation is a bit light with respect to the malt backbone. Maybe I've gotten used to maltier beers in the fall/winter and expect it less in spring beers. However, this German lager was put in the tank back in September and apparently has only gotten better. OG- 1.065, IBUs- 24

Our Tastes-- Flying Dog Kerberos Tripel

Kerberos, named for the three-headed hound that prevented a soul from escaping hell once it had crossed the River Styx, (aka Cerberus), is a deceiving cloudy dark straw with yeast still left over in the bottle after the pour. Aroma reminds me of wet hay. The taste is a smite spicy and bitter with a flat non-latticing head (done with many high octane brews). Part of the Canis Major line of beer, this one is made with 2-row pilsner malt and Golding and Saaz hops. 8.5%abv and

Our Tastes-- Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA

60 Minute IPA is the "flagship" of DFH brewery. Made with Warrior, Amarillo, and 'Mystery Hop X' (possibly due to the shortage? this one has a fresh hop lovable pungency, the head alone when poured causes an atomic cloud of foam. BTW, I'm trying all of these beers in their represented glasses to get the full effect of the beer itself as purported on the website. The taste is a wonderful pine explosion that just made me glick on my screen by accident. Clear dark straw much like Shelter and a lattice that clings like magic bubbles (sorry I just channeled Bear Grylls a little). This 209kcal beauty has a floral balance like only one other IPA I've had, give you a hint starts with 42, ends with "A". Having it makes me crave Hungry Howie pizza with cajun crust.

Our Tastes-- Dogfish Head Shelter Pale Ale

Well the Winter Solstice took place this morning at 604am CST to Mark the longest night, on top of that it will soon drop to about 24F in my little part of the world. So now that summer is definitely gone and we're about to have a few "3 dog nights" in a row, I'm going to start tasting all the Dogfish Head that I can get my hands on including some great brew from this weekend, Junk coon-dogged me out. BTW- Australian aborigines used to sleep next to their dogs on cold nights to survive, the coldest ones were termed ---you guessed it 3 Dog Nights. This was DFH's original brew and in my opinion is the type of beer that can be used as a BMC conversion tool. It pours a dark clear straw with wonderful macro and micro bubbles. Lattice is there but not VERY distinguishable. The head is a separated foam that is easily replenished upon swirl. Taste is great, an easy 6er. What gets me with this little 168kcal brew are the hop additions. Either this is proof of the hop shortage substitutions that had to be made to keep beer alive and well or a running change by Sam that wasn't fixed on the website. Shelter Pale Ale is made with "whole leaf Glacier and Warrior hops", but the bottle label I have which for me is an instant collectible says Willamette and Columbus (aka Tomahawk to some). The alphas are comparable and substitutable with Willamette/Glacier but since Warrior is relatively new Hop Union considers it a questionable sub, just fyi. I really like the idea of Delaware grown barley. 5%abv sold only in Mid-Atlantic states, sorry Nebraska:(

TnDC Field Trip #10 (#6 revisited)

This has been by far the best Field Trip to date. We made a little run up to NashVegas and checked in to the Hamppy Inn across from BlackStone Brewery. Around 4 we headed a few short blocks away to Yazoo Brewery to enjoy some of their beers in the Tap Room. After filling 4 growlers, Dos Perros and Hop Project #9 for The Enabler and Wassail and "The Project" for me, Merry and I settled in for a couple of hours to enjoy some TN cheese and spiced pecans, oh and a couple of pints of brew of course (note to self no Hefe for Melonhead). Later that night we stopped in and had dinner and SEVERAL memorable beers with Junk at Bosco's. I started with their Flaming Stone beer. It was alright but left me wanting more. Brewed using a "traditional German technique" stones are heated in the wood oven and placed in the kettle during brewing, great color and overall taste. Next was their seasonal Glacier Pale Ale and this was a definite improvement! A basic pale ale using Glacier hops gave it a slightly minty hint, nice. 90 shilling into the gullet! I first tried this beer in February at BlackStone and though this was an excellent beer, I still think the BS version may have been better. Bombay IPA in Junk's 2008 stein which btw is a gnarly idea. I love the idea of mug clubs with great ceramic steins to clutter your life forever. Then to culminate the night a 2008 bottle conditioned Export Stout (to wake to stout mouth within) sponsored by the new Memphis chapter of TnDC. This beer came in a great brown fliptop and had a taste unlike any other stout I have drank. Some snooze then the best part of the trip. I personally guided tour of BlackStone Brewery by the assistant brewer, Red, (will not denote him in pink for this serious entry) . I once sat in on a lecture given by Ian Wilmut, clone biologist of Dollie, who btw had shortened telomers from birth, I'll let you look that one up! And I equate this tour with that lecture. To listen to the significant jump in knowledge of brewing from Red was awe inspiring. I compare twig and titanium. He has gone from licking caps of extract to filtering beer at 80 hectoliters/min and amazing amounts of pressure in Pa (or bars, no not the kind you drink in). You never know who's life you'll touch. The Brewmaster there, Travis Hixon, hooked me up with some sweet door prizes for C.A.B.S (Central AL Brewers Society, website coming soon), and I'll be honest, I'm going to brew something orgasmic to hold onto one of them! I came home fired up about brewing again and on Christmas I plan on brewing my first batch of mead. Oh and yes I snagged a few growlers, Maris Otter, Oatmeal Stout, St. Charles porter (at this rate this thing will catch up with Alaskan's Smoked Porter if it keeps winning) and Liquidity Bock. The grub at both places was pound packing and supreme. Even posed for a few photos for the paparazzi, ok it was just Merry, but still a great pic! Not sure how I'll top this one but my thanks go out to everyone involved. PS- Get to bottling again guys at BS and thanks Junk for the "Eli 164" bathroom souvvy;)

Our Tastes-- SweetWater Motor Boat

As soon as I saw this brew I thought about the ESB they had with a red label that they retired due to low demand around 2000. It smells of a noseful of malt, medium brown color and light head. The taste of bread overwhelms you. 5.6%abv is what the old one used to run. I think I actually have an old bottle around here somewhere! This is yet another great market idea by the guys at SW. Retire a great yet worn out recipe, wait for people's tastes to change, make it a seasonal and keep the sweet water flowing. This used to be one of my absolute favs before it went out, this was around the time when their porter had a solid purple label instead of the Jamaican flag-esque look.

Our Tastes-- Bam Biere Farmhouse Ale

Dipping into a sixer I picked up a few months ago, we try Jolly Pumpkin's Bam Biere. Named after the brewer's Jack Russell that was hit by a car and "bounced back", this beer is for all of us who have been knocked down, picked up, dusted off and carried on. Pouring a frothy head (remember to swirl since it is bottle conditioned) and having an aroma of bubble gum, the bitter, tart apricots jump onto your palate! Pouring an extremely pale golden yellow this beer is not too shabby. What throws me off is that the brewery is in Michigan but has a Hawaiian underlying laid back theme. Plus the label looks a lot like my dog Indiana. No info on the brewing specs but it's 4.5% and available in 12s and 750s.