February 20, 2009: Red Stripe

One thing that I've noticed about human nature as I grown up is that every person has their weaknesses. It doesn't matter who you are, we all have certain strange things that somehow become near and dear to our hearts that we can't quite explain. Growing up, my father was like most dads except for his unrivaled collection of campy pig souvenirs and cheesy Elvis memorabilia. My best friend is very much into contemporary/street art and just designed his own vinyl toy which he is in the process of creating. Me, I like to think of myself as an open book of sorts, but there are a few things about me that only the closest of my friends know. For instance, I have an almost embarrasing love of reggae music, particularly the legendary work of Mr. Bob Marley. Not such a bad obsession to have on the face of it, but it's what reggae does to me when I listen to it that's almost humiliating. It doesn't really matter what the circumstance is, if I hear reggae I become entranced. Someone could have just scored with my girlfriend, punched my mother in the face and stolen my car, but if there was a reggae band playing in the room everything would suddenly seem right with the world. I know what you're thinking, and no, it's not because I smoke marijuana everytime I listen to reggae or anything like that. No, the music itself is enough entrance me and make me act like a complete idiot, closing me eyes, bobbing my head in time to the hypnotic rhythm, and retreating to the island paradise in my mind. There's just something about the entire vibe of reggae that I seem to get, which my friends can't seem to understand. My love for reggae music has understandably created a positive bias in my mind for all things Jamaican.

Tonight's beer Red Stripe is just as Jamaican as reggae music, but almost certainly appeals to a wider section of the population. On the sandy shores of Montego bay there are two beers that the locals will drink over any other. The first, rather inexplicably, is the famous Irish stout Guinness. The second is the one and only Red Stripe. I think for a lot of whitebread Americans, it's hard to comprehend the nuances of the island lifestyle. Jamaicans have a very different philosophy about life than your average American Joe, and it very apparent in this sunny lager. There a nice hoppiness to Red Stripe that feels altogether different from it's European couterparts, a lightness that is almost palpable. Is Red Stripe the most innovative and alluring lager I've ever had? I think it would be a big stretch to say so, but the fact that Red Stripe doesn't seem to care all too much about being the best beer in the world almost makes it more appealing. If you're looking for the perfect beer to enjoy while you kick your feet up on the table and enjoy life to the fullest, choose Red Stripe.

Cheers,

Ian

http://www.redstripebeer.com/

February 16, 2009: America's Original Pumpkin Ale

It is written, somewhere in the laws and codes of the universe that fathers are inherently full of invaluable wisdom. For whatever reason, be it experience, knowledge or maybe just dumb luck, once a child is born, a father's knowledge, understanding and intuition mysteriously increase tenfold. When we're kids we'll believe almost anything our dads tell us because in our minds, they're the smartest person in the world. When I was growing up, my dad was full of sagacious advise that I probably should have listened to a lot more. Some of the most important things I remember my dad telling me when I was just a wee lad were; 1. Measure twice, cut once. 2. Get your finger out of there. 3. It's a poor worker that blames his tools and perhaps most importantly.....4. If it ain't broke, don't fix it!

The advice sounds so simplistic that it's almost moronic. I understood what my dad meant when he used to say this, even if I didn't entirely agree with it. I mean, if I were to totally buy into my dad's logic, how would I convince him to buy me that new corvette (sidenote: I never did get a Corvette). If something is fine the way it is, why change it?

The simple answer to this question is that it is human nature to want to improve upon to things of the past. As an ever changing and evolving society, it is natural for us to look for ways to make the things that we love even better. In a field like art, medicine, technology or education, clearly it benefits humanity to embrace the idea of progress. But what about other things like baseball, chocolate cookies, or J.D. Salinger's novel The Catcher in the Rye? Aren't there certain things in life that are so classic that they couldn't possibly be made better?

So what about beer? Where does this ancient quaff fall on the spectrum on improvability? Certainly there have been significant improvements to beer over the last thousand years, but how much more can we tamper with it? In a world saturated with literally hundreds of varieties and brands of beer, how do you create a distinctive brew that sets itself apart from the pack? Many microbrewers have attempted to add unique flavors to their beers to make them more interesting or appealing to the beer drinking public at large. Cherry beer, chocolate beer, beer with a tomato twist; countless breweries have tried their hand at tweaking the flavor of the products with varying degrees of success.

My beer for tonight is America's Original Pumpkin Ale produced by Buffalo Bill's Brewery is the perfect example of how brewers are attempting to create a new twist on a very old beverage. Craft beers like the ones produced by Buffalo Bill's Brewery can be a crapshoot even if you're just tasting a stadard ale or lager, so the odds of being wowed by a pumpkin beer are already looking slim. I had some serious misgivings about this beer from the beginning, but I tried my absolute best to reserve judgement until I actually drank the beer for myself. From the first sip, the taste of pumpkin was omnipresent throughout the entire pint of America's Original Pumpkin Ale. There were many fruity notes in this ale that gave it an interesting taste, but the overpowering aftertaste of pumpkin dominated everything else. At first America's Original Pumpkin Ale wasn't all that bad and I actually didn't mind the overbearing pumpkiness of the beer, but by the end of the pint I was completely sick of it. For me the very idea of creating a pumpkin ale just seems so tired and gimmicky. This one example of a brewers attempt to create a unique and exciting beer, with less than stellar results, so I guess my dad was right after all. As you've probably guessed, America's Original Pumpkin Ale is a seasonal beer so if you're interested in trying this brew and all of it's pumpkinicity, you'd better get a move on before they shut down production for another year.

Cheers,
Ian

http://www.buffalobillsbrewery.com/

P.S. for the second time in the history of the 365brews pic, I failed to get a picture of the beer for some reason. To make up for it, I've posted some embarrassing pictures of myself to atone for my error. Enjoy!

February 15, 2009: Birra Moretti

Birra Moretti is a crisp lager hailing from that strange little boot that juts out into the Mediterranean sea that my ancestors came from; Italy. I'm a bit of a mutt when it comes to family heritage, as my forefathers came from very different parts of Europe but I'm mostly Italian when you break it all down. Italy is a wonderful country full of passionate people and rich traditions with one collosal flaw; their brewing heritage is about as exciting as trying to memorize the periodic table of elements. No one can dispute the extraordinary virtues of Italian wine and cuisine, but Italian beer is not quite as legendary to say the least. There are only two major Italian beers that come to mind when I think really think about it, and Birra Moretti is one of them.

Birra Moretti is a light European style lager that is owned and operated by their giant nieghbors to the north, Heineken International. There is an alarming trend in my opinion sweeping through Europe over the past 20 years of smaller brands being absorbed by the titans of the European beer market. We've even seen some of the heavy hitters of Europe infiltrate the American market, when InBev surprisingly purchased Budweiser in June of 2008. For me, there appears to be a clear danger of these smaller brands losing a bit of their quality and authenticiy once the become a part of these larger coporate machines whose chief concern is generating profit. As it stands, Birra Moretti is one of the most marketable brands operating under the Heineken flagship. For me, Birra Moretti is just sort of an average lager. Before I ever taste a beer, the first that I do is inhale the scent of the beer a few times to get a feel for the aroma. I've come to regard aroma as being almost important to the overall enjoyability of a beer as taste, and Birra Moretti had a rather bland smell about it that wasn't exactly enticing. The deep honey-amber color of this beer belied the taste, which wasn't nearly as exciting as it looked. The bottom line for me is that Birra Moretti is just another one of these beers that has so little to set it apart from any other European style lager. If you want a standard, run of the mill lager with little to no frills, pop one of these bad boys with your next plate of spaghetti.

One thing I will say for this beer however, is that it has a pretty kick ass label. I just recently watched the film "Donny Brasco" starring Johnny Depp and Al Pacino, so I'm kind of enamored with the idea of made men, organized crime, and whacking your enemies at the moment. The label of Birra Moretti has this really shifty looking dude in a green suit and fedora, who looks like he could have been an underboss or hitman for Lucky Luciano. It's a pretty cool image on the label, but something tells me that the when the mafiosos get together in New York, they're drinking dry martinis or vintage red wine, not Birra Moretti.

Salute!
Ian

http://www.morettibeer.com/

February 14, 2009: Great Scot Organic Ale

It's Valentines day today, the worlds worst excuse for a holiday ever. I know what you're probably thinking; this guys the typical single bitter asshole who gets all bent out of shape on Valentines day. Nothing could be further from the truth, I am very happily committed to same woman for three and a half years. No, what really gets my goat when it comes to Valentines day is the unrealistic expectations and insane pressure it puts on every living adult. Valentines day makes every man in a relationship feel like he has something to prove. You're supposed to come up with some sort of grand gesture to show your beloved how much you truly love her. I've never been a fan of forced gestures of romance, so I'm not exactly into the whole Valentines day thing. That being said, I understand why my girlfriend is, so I've decent to make a new meal for her at home tonight and just enjoy each other's company.

My beer for tonight is Great Scot Organic Ale, and I'm excited to try it. It's about medium lightness for an ale, and it tastse really natural. Caledonian breweries was smart to capitalize on the growing trend of "going green" but introducing this eco-friendly ale to the world. One really unique feature of the Great Scot Organic Ale was that the beer had the familiar bitterness you would expect from an ale, but none of the bite in the aftertaste. With each sip I was expecting my tastebuds to become overwhelmed with waves of bitterness that never came. I'm not a huge fan of aftertaste because it often ruins what would have otherwise been a good beer, so I'm really enjoying this Great Scot Organic Ale tonight. This Scottish ale started out strong, but tasted more and more watery toward the end, but it wasn't too bad. All in all, Great Scot Organic Ale is a great choice for the beer lover who is looking for an environmentally sound brew to enjoy.

Cheers,
Ian

http://www.caledonian-brewery.co.uk/home.php

February 13, 2009: Flying Horse

It's a Friday night and since I got the day off of work, I've decided to use my day to run various errands that I have been putting off for a long time. Anybody who has ever been to southern California on a rainy day knows that none of us can drive in any kind of precipitation. The second a drop of water falls from the sky and hits the pavement, people begin to lose their minds and drive into each other uncontrollably. As a result, my errands that would have taken me maybe an hour on a normal day have taken well over 5 hours today. By the time I get home, I'm beyond frustrated and all I really want to do is sit down with a book for a few hours and just chill.

But who am I kidding? It's Friday night I've got some drinking to do. My wanted to go check out a bar called Proof in Santa Ana, so I decided go along with them. This is the part of the story where I admit that I dropped the ball and committed a cardinal sin for the 365brews project. In all the hustle and bustle of getting ready for a night out on the town, I'd forgotten to plan a beer for the night. No problem, I'm going to a hip bar, so they'll sure have a decent selection of beers on tap to choose from. At this point I could have easily turned the car around, and picked a beer from my own fridge and been done with the whole thing. I decided against this option however, which proved to be a big mistake.

When we arrived at Proof Bar, I was immediately taken with the place. It was the kind of place that just seems to radiate cool, so much so that I wasn't sure if it was really the right place for me. They had a pretty good D.J., were projecting the beloved 80's class "Masters of the Universe" high on the walls, and there were throngs of hip, young beautiful people pouring into the bar by the minute. There are many advantages to living in Orange County, but the nightlife is not really one of them. It was refreshing to try out a cool new place for once, and I was in extremely high spirits until I took a good look at the bar. Proof Bar was one of those bars that inexplicably choose not to serve beer on tap. Why any bar would ever choose to serve beer exclusively in bottles doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me, but I had to make dues with my options that were starting to thin out before my very eyes.

I asked the barmaid what beers they served in bottle, to which she replied "Um......... I think Budweiser, Bud Light, Corona, Miller, Miller light, Coors, you know, the usual." Lord, what did I do to deserve this cruel fate? A night that seemed so full of unlimited promise was now reduced to a bland variety of domestic beers that I didn't really feel at all like drinking. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind drinking a Budweiser when the time is right, but when I'm in the middle of an ultra-cool, exotic bar, I want an ultra-cool, exotic beer! I walked away from the bar and pouted to myself in the corner for a few minutes, until I saw this young guy carrying a strangely unfamiliar bottle. "Whoa, whoa, whoa... what is that?" I asked the bartenders, and I was presented with my savior for the evening; Flying Horse Lager.

Hallelujah! I gained favor with the beer Gods once again and they've decided to drop an obscure Indian lager right into my lap! I wasn't too concerned with how this beer was going to taste to be honest. I was just excited that I had something a bit more interesting to write about than a domestic beer that everyone already knows about. This is the point of the night when I made my second mistake. I was so excited to the Flying Horse Lager that I forgot the age old art of pouring a beer, and I rather gracelessly dumped the contents of the bottle into my glass without giving it a moment's though. The predictable outcome was a foamy, white five inch head that sat obstinately on the top of my beer and refused to go away. Seeing as I'm the beer guy among my group of friends, they all had a bit of a laugh at my expense when I was forced to swallow my pride, and the foam, and rescue the beer that I almost ruined.
Flying Horse Lager was only decent at best. If there were any interesting flavors lying just below the surface of this beer, they were certainly to subtle to come out. On top of that, I didn't particularly care for the thin mouth feel of Flying Horse, which seemed pretty blah even for a lager. Flying Horse did have a crisp herby quality to it, but it wasn't anything to write home about. In short, I didn't exactly enjoy this particular beer, but I'm still grateful that I was saved from some of the less appealing alternatives.

A la sature!
Ian

http://www.theubgroup.com/

February 11, 2009: Bruegel

Ok, so it's been a busy week for me and I'm now like five days behind on the blog. Shit....how did this happen? How have I not been able to find fifteen minutes out of the day the write about a beer? I guess it's not that important why I've gotten into this mess, but how I'm going to dig myself out of this five day hole that I've trapped myself in. As much as it pains me to come this conclusion, the only choice I have is to make a few abbreviated posts. To my loyal readers I am truly sorry, but I will make it up to you later I promise!

Today's beer comes from one of my favorite brewing countries in the world, Belgium. Belgium is know for producing both fine ales and lagers, and Bruegel is a nice reddish ale with a ton of flavor. Named after the famous Dutch painter Pieter Bruegel from the 16th century, and just like his classic paintings, Bruegel is a complex work of brewing art. There were so many different tastes jumping out at me in this ale that I'm not quite sure how to describe it other than simply saying that Bruegel is delicious. Even for those of you out there who don't consider yourselves to be beer lover, there is something for you to enjoy in the beer. It's rare for a beer to bridge to gap between different tastes, but Bruegel is one of those special brews that can appeal to a very wide range of people. Plus it comes in a funky little odd shaped bottle. Very Classy!

Op uw gezondheid and A Votre Sante!
Ian

http://www.vansteenberge.com/

February 10, 2009: Mac's Blackwatch

Welcome to Portland, Oregon! Home of stoners, burnt out hippies, countless phish-esque jam bands and.... really great beer? Anyone who knows a thing or two about beer has a special soft spot in their heart for Portland, the brewing Mecca of the pacific northwest. Tonight's brew comes from the hazy holyland to the north, and I'm pretty excited after the lacklustre beer I had last night. Tonight's beer is called Mac's Blackwatch Creamy Porter, and It's hard to contain my excitement. Ales are pretty much the bread and butter of my beer diet, but porters have the distinction of being probably my favorite style of beer. Mac's Blackwatch sounds like it has all of the chops that I expect from a good porter, but I've learned to never judge a book by its cover or a beer by a label.
Mac's Blackwatch uses the word creamy to describe itself, but creamy doesn't even begin to cover it. This beer is so smooth coming out of the bottle that it's like liquid velvet. Mac's Blackwatch has maybe the smoothest mouth feel of any of the beers that I have tried so far. Another very distinct feature of this porter is the color of the head. Most beers have a head that comes out as a foamy white or cream color, but Mac's Blackwatch heads a nutty tan head. This brew isn 't an oatmeal stout, but there are strong flavors of oatmeal in both the aroma and taste. In short, Mac's Blackwatch absolutely lived up to the unrealistic expectations that I had created in my mind. Well done Mac's!

Cheers,
Ian

http://www.macsbeer.com/

February 9, 2009: Tsingtao

When I think about China, certain definitive images come to mind right away. Crazy dragons, delicious food, over a billion people, origami; in my own little bizarre world that exists only in my mind these, are the things that make up China. When I conjure of these images in my mind, beer never enters the equation. Maybe I'm just being small minded by buying into the stereotypes of chinese culture and not really giving them a fair shake. Tonight I've decided to expand my mind a bit and try a Chinese beer called Tsingtao. Beers that come from non-prominent brewing nations present some interesting prospects from me with the 365brews project. I don't have any biases or expectations coming into the drinking of that beer. I'm a blank slate and the beer stands on its own its own merits or falls from its own shortcomings.

I've heard some good things about Tsingtao in the past, but this is my first time actually trying it. In my humble opinion, there's a lot more room for error with lagers than there is with ales. You can miss the mark a bit with a lager and still produce a decent beer, but if your off with an Ale, it's pretty obvious. Tsingtao is a golden pale lager, and it has a nice bright sparkle to it when poured in a proper glass. Other than that, there's not much visually to make this beer stand out from the rest of the pack. As far as taste goes, Tsingtao was just about average for as well. I didn't come into this one with very high hopes, but somehow I was still disappointed. If I hadn't been drinking beer everyday for the past month and a half, the brewers of Tsingtao might have been able to fool me with this blah lager. This brew is good enough in its own right, but when you stack it up against some of the great beers I've had in the last couple of weeks, it simply pales in comparison. That being said, I'm not exactly not endorsing Tsingtao because if you're the average consumer of beer then it will probably be fine for you. If you're okay with settling for something that's not great then this is not a bad beer. I guess I've just become a bit cynical with less than stellar beers lately, but try Tsingtao out for yourself and draw your own conclusions.

Kong Chien!
Ian

www.tsingtaobeer.com

February 8, 2009: Samuel Adams Triple Bock

In my short life, I've had the opportunity to sample dozens of different kinds of beer. If I were to guess a number, I'd say that I have tried at least fifty different kinds of beer(styles, not brands). At this point in my young adulthood, I feel like there are very few areas of uncharted beer country that I have not already explored. I'm longing to take a trip off the beaten path and experience a new kind of beer that I've never experienced before. I have bocks before. I've have double bocks before. But a Triple Bock? What on God's green earth is that? I'm excited to venture into open waters and try Samuel Adams Triple Bock.

Samuel Adams Triple Bock is completely unlike any beer that I've ever tasted before. It comes in a dark blue bottle that looks completely black before the beer is poured out. The neck is wrapped in foil, but underneath that foil you're not going to find a bottle cap; you're going to find a cork. Corked beer? It's the kind of thing that you only find in an ultra-premium beer, and that's exactly what Sam Adams Triple Bock is. Brewed in only three batches in 1994,1995 and 1997, this beer was aged for months in oak whiskey barrels before it was ever bottled. At the time of its first brewing, Sam Adams Triple Bock was considered to be the strongest beer in the world. Several other stronger beers have come around since then, including Sam Adam's own Utopia, but believe you me, the Triple Bock is plenty strong for my liking. This beer is a very deep and dark shade of blackish brown that looks remarkably like motor oil when poured into the glass. It both looks and smells like a port wine when it's poured into the glass, but the complex aromas of coffee, prunes, chocolate and even maple syrup give Sam Adams Triple Bock a very distinctive bouquet.

Ok, So I'm gonna come right out and say this even though some of you out there are going to think I'm crazy, but I HATE maple syrup. I consider myself an extraordinarily adventurous consumer of food and beverage and there are only four things that I refuse to eat. Egg nog, cilantro, pumpkin pie and of course, maple syrup. I know maple syrup is a strange food to have an aversion to, but nevertheless I cannot stand this disgusting tree sap that has somehow found it's way onto America's breakfast table. One of the unique qualities of Sam Adams Triple Bock is that copious amounts of maple syrup are added in the brewing process, giving a strong maple flavor to this brew. Had I been more careful in my selection process, I would have clearly read the bit about the maple syrup on the bottle and respectfully declined on this particular beer. However, I will say that while the aroma of maple is very strong, the maple flavor is much more subtle. In the end I decided to overlook the questionable addition of maple to the Sam Adams Triple Bock and judge it by its overall taste. There's almost no carbonation in this beer, and it feels much more like wine when it's going down your throat. The dark tint of this beer led me to anticipate the bitter shock of a stout like Guiness, but I was shocked by the not totally unpleasant fruity taste of the Triple Bock. It's really hard to describe to complex palate of this beer because there are so many different flavors competing against one another. At 17.5% alcohol, this is an extremely strong beer that is meant to be sipped very slowly. This is definitely not the beer you want to bring along to a party with your buddies for a game of beer pong, but it would be great for a night in with that special someone. Be forewarned, there is a very limited supply of Samuel Adams Triple Bock and it is very much an acquired taste, so keep that in mind if you're going to try and hunt this one down.

Cheers,
Ian

http://www.samueladams.com

February 7, 2009: Bass

Saturday nights have proven to be an interesting dilemma for me every week since I've started the 365brews project. The week is finally over, and all I want to do pretty much every Saturday night is get loaded with my friends. Unfortunately, my appetite to party is a little more voracious than some of my friends, and sometimes I'm stuck with the decision of what to do with myself if alcohol is not a part of the equation. But like the old saying goes, where there's a will, there's a way. Tonight most of my friends are doing different things, and I can't really decide what I want to do but I know that I don't want to sit at home watching project runway reruns all night long. So I drove south to San Diego where a couple of my buddies were celebrating a sister's birthday or something, stood outside in a line for about half an hour in pouring rain, until I gave up and started to head home. On long, lonely walk back to my car, I popped in a local bar called Hennesy's to grab a quick pint, but mostly just to get out of the god forsaken rain. Hennesy's is a chain of half-assed Irish themed bars that are spread out sporadically throughout southern California. Not a great bar by any means, but it will usually take care of business when you're in a bind for a place to go drink. The wooden toucan in my post from yesterday was stolen for the Hennesy's in Dana Point earlier in the evening, which has turned into a kind of inside joke among my friends and I. So now it's Saturday night and I'm in the same bar that I was in last night, but in a different city. I sit alone at the bar and a sudden wave of pathetic desperation washes over me when the bartender asks me what I want. My God, has my Saturday night really turned into this? Drinking alone in an empty bar that I had just been to the night before? Granted it was the Hennesy's an hour north of here last night, but somehow it still seems a little too lame even for me and I leave the bar. As I'm sulking in my car, listening to Morrisey in the driving rain, my phone rings. Thank the lord, a friend of mine has called me up and asked if I want to go grab some drinks. With renewed hope, I make the drive north toward Laguna, wondering where the reborn night will take me. When I finally find a parking spot, my phone goes off again and my heart sinks for the third time this evening. "Meet us at Hennesy's in Laguna". I start to laugh to myself as I make my way the same bar for the third time in two nights in three different cities.

Seeing as I now feel like a bit of a regular at Hennesy's, I'm pretty well acquainted with the selection of beers on tap at this bar and it's not much to choose from. In my mind, I've made a sort of beer calendar and reserved certain beers for certain occasions. For instance, Pyramid Hefeweisen and Franziskaner are both reserved for friends who have, birthdays in Novermber. Standing at the bar my options don't look too promising so I'll have to break the invisible beer calendar in my brain and order a Bass. Bass is one of my absolute favorite beers in the entire world and I was hoping to save this one for a little later in the 365brews project, but for tonight I'll lay aside my principles for the good of the project.

Bass is a classic English beer with a distinguished history. The red triangle that appears on Bass' label was the first officially registered trademark in England. In the late 18th century, Bass became popular as an export, even being adopted by none other than the infamous Napolean Bonaparte as his beer of choice. Bass has grown to become one of the largest brewers in England, and if you've ever had a black and tan, you've had a Bass. I think what I love most about drinking a pint of Bass is that you get the full richness of an Ale, but you don't feel like you're drinking a bitter glass of charcoal. After the wild goose chase that this night has turned into, I'm enjoying this particular pint immensely, and it's easy for me to get lost in the music of the band playing in the corner of the room. As I finish my pint, the band begins performing a cover of "Every rose has its thorn" by Poison and I get a feeling deep in my gut that my entire night has been leading up to this one perfect moment of zen. Although I didn't get to save the Bass for a special occaision, it seems just right in this moment and I don't think I could have chosen a more perfect beer.

Cheers,
Ian

www.bass.com