I cannot drink IPAs, they are just to bitter for me. Some of them do smell really good though but I can't drink more than a couple sips. The only one I could actually enjoy is Firestone Union Jack.
There's a place in Tustin called Habuya. It is a tiny Japanese joint that makes only Okinawan food. They also have excellent ramen. I always order a "lime beer", which is so delish. I think it's actually the yuzu fruit that tastes like a tangerine+lime. The beer pairs ridiculously well with a spicy miso ramen.
I had a Palm Belgian last night. It's crisp, pretty good, but it's not as good as many others in the style. Then, because I was hanging out with a colleague whose husband is from Pennsylvania (my homeland), I picked up some Weyerbacher Merry Monks. It's pleasantly surprising. 9.3% ABV, Belgian Tripel. It pours cloudier than in this pic below, and it's fruity yet potent, and still totally drinkable.
Those guys and gals over there at The Bruery sure are clever and creative. This beer is brewed with spices to mimic a cola flavor. They succeeded. It's a beer, so it's obviously quite bitter, but the undertones are very cola-esque. It's a novelty thing and not a high quality go-to beer. Try it at least once just for gits and shiggles. Now this, on the other hand, is one of their high end anniversary beers. It's good, but there's too much fruitiness for such a high abv for me. High abv barrel-aged beers are usually very rich and syrupy, with vanilla and caramel sweetness. This had that, but also a lot off fruity tartness that didn't go well with the vanilla and caramel. Toasty or nutty flavors go better with the rich sweetness.
This is a really nice beer, but most sours are just soooooo acidic and taste the same. I don't get any stout characteristics at all. The Paradox Skully sours and Rodenbach Grand Cru are more up my alley.
You MUST try this beer! It calls itself an imperial sour, which is accurate, as it's sour and 10.5% abv (insane for a sour). Here's what blew me away: -It's very smooth and refreshing for 10.5%. It tastes no different than 6% sour beers. -It's plenty sour, but not too sour, masking the other flavors that are supposed to be present. It tastes of lychee fruit and fruit punch. -It's also very hoppy which is crazy. It's like a tropical imperial IPA, but also very sour. This is a crazy-weird beer...in the best way!
What's it called? There are several things on that bottle that could be it's name...Director's Cut, Uncensored, Explicit could all kind of mean the same thing.
This is an excellent sour. There is a definite watermelon flavor there. Not like artificial watermelon candy or sorbet, but a fresh, subtle watermelonness. This was excellent as well. there's just wasn't much tamarind flavor that i could pick up on. My next home brew is going to be a tamarind belgian dubbel or saison (not soured). I really loved this one. There is a lot of sweet chocolate covered cherries to balance with the sour backbone. I hated this one. It's a nice beer, but there's just not much sourness at all. The hops were much too overpowering. The director's cut imperial sour a few posts up is a much better representation of a sour ale with some hop presence, at 1/2 the price!
I've been sampling a lot of different beer(s) in the Netherlands since I moved here a few years back.. man it's definitely beer heaven here I've been drooling the entire time. The German stuff is amazing but I'm telling you.. the stuff from Belgium is freakin' fantastic I've never ever had beer this good before :
Impulse buy because it was on sale. Honestly not that bad. A little cinnamon taste but it's sweet and smooth.
Bottling my homebrew tonight. It's a Belgian saison with added tamarind. it smells so good. I bottled a peanut butter chocolate imperial stout about a month ago that hasn't carbonated yet. so bummed to drink flat beer, but it tasted phenomenal! it should be fine in another month.
This is an excellent sour. It's a wild blend of tart, spice, and sweet. The nose is a ton of vanilla and cinnamon and the flavor is lime zest and juniper berries with some vanilla at the end. Highly recommended.
This is a really top notch beer. The apricot and pomegranate really comes through with some fruity sweetness, quite a lot. It's well-balanced with the bitter roast and cocoa and bourbon vanilla and alcohol heat.
My latest homebrew, a tamarind saison, is awesome! It is earthy, belgian spicy, and a tad tart and sweet from the tamarind.
I had a Dancing Pierre - decent Belgian. Funky Buddha On Top Blonde - so-so. Funky Buddha does some decent beers. I like their Floridian. But the best beer of the night was Coppertail Unholy Ale. Nice trippel.
