Category: beer

I’m really sleepy tonight so I’m not going to write much about these beers, except to say that I liked each and every one. The Pils was particularly great, as I don’t get to have a proper Pils very often and Mama’s Little Yella from Oskar Blues Brewery definitely was one. Oh, and that Ranger IPA? Quite nice… Very hoppy, almost pine-ish, but quite pleasant to sip.

So, here’s just a few quick photos of new (to me) beers that I’ve had recently:

· New Holland’s Golden Cap Saison Ale.
· Oskar Blues Brewery’s Mama’s Little Yella Pils.
· New Belgium’s Ranger India Pale Ale.

The beer I’m sipping tonight is New Belgium’s Skinny Dip, another one of the beers from Erik and Kristi. I like this. It’s a nice lightly hopped beer with (just barely noticeable) Kaffir lime leaf in it. As suggested by the brewery this would definitely make a nice summer beer. It’s too bad that the mercury is sitting at the 50°F mark with tonight’s forecast threatening frost tonight. Were it a hot summer night I’d sit on the porch with Roxie and this glass.

After a long (but good) day I’m enjoying a can of Silverton Brewing Company‘s Ice Pick Ale, a 6.8% (ABV) IPA that’s fairly mildly hopped. It’s quite nice, and I appreciate the bottle-label-on-can marking technique, showing that they are probably just getting started with canning operations.

This is one of the beers that Erik and Kristi got for me, and is something that I’d definitely buy in the future if given the chance.

While out west on a recent trip Kristi and Erik brought me back some really nifty beers for my birthday. Here they all are: New Belgium‘s 1554, Ranger, and Skinny Dip, Oskar Blues Brewery‘s Mama’s Little Yella Pils and Old Chub Scotch Ale, and Silverton Brewing‘s Ice Pick Ale.

Tonight I am having the eight percent Oskar Blues Old Chub Scotch Ale along with a plate of hastily assembled nachos for a late-night dinner, as most of my evening was spent doing a walk-through of the neighborhood with Dave, one of the other people with whom I sit on the homeowner association for my condo complex.

This beer is quite tasty, and once again reminds me that cans are an outstanding way to package beer, as its lightproof, more airtight, and more compact than a similar volume bottle. They aren’t good to drink out of, but just like a good beer in a bottle it’ll be poured into a glass. Here’s the Old Chub poured into one of the nifty glasses acquired for the New Year’s Eve party.

Here’s a second take on a jacket potato, much larger than the previous go 14 months back. This was consumed with a bottle of North Peak Brewing Company’s Majestic Wheat Ale, a not-that-wheaty-but-still-decent almost-pale ale. While eating this Danielle had her own baked potato, with a steak and a small pile of the same mushrooms.

The mushrooms were washed and quartered, then sauteed in olive oil and butter along with garlic, onion, salt, black pepper, and a bit of white wine. It was quite good, but probably would have been better with more butter and less cheese.

New Holland’s Charkoota Rye Smoked Doppelbock Lager is quite interesting. It’s very smokey, somewhat malty, and has an interesting dry taste that I figure comes from the rye. The beer’s website claims that it is an homage to all things pig, including their just-happened Porkapalooza cookout. I’m almost tempted to cook up some bacon to eat with it, just because.