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It’s snowing, I barely made it back to my car after riding the bus into Bellevue. The bus right before the one I caught slid down the road, drifted into both lanes and the car behind it ran into it. So I thought I should reward myself for even attempting to go in to work today with a few bottles.

From left to right:

• Hair of the Dog Doggie Claws Barley Wine Style Ale - Portland, OR, USA
• Russian River Pliny the Elder Indian Pale Ale - Santa Rosa, CA, USA
• Russian River Damnation Golden Ale - Santa Rosa, CA, USA
• Oud Beersel Oude Kriek Vielle - Brij Boon, Lembeek, Belgium
• Altenmunster Winterbier Doppelbock - Kempten, Germany
• Aecht Ochlenferla Rauchbier Marzen Original Schlenkerla Smokebeer - Bamberg, Baveria, Germany

As per usual, I will attempt to review these beers as I consume them. Last time around I found myself in Bellingham unable to write to the blog as I was tasting the brews.

I was inspired to try a few German biers, blindly chosen from the shelf this time. I have not refined my German bier palette, yet hope to do so in the near future. One of the German Biers I have tasted before, however, was not anywhere to write down my experience, my brother and I labeled it ‘Bacon Bier’ as the toasty aromas and tastes have a hickory flavor akin to smoked hams. These were chosen with a few Russian River staples, as well as a Hair of the Dog barley wine which was recommended to me by one of the dudes at Bottleworks.

Cheers!

–

Altenmunster Winterbier Doppelbock - Kempten, Germany

This is a very well balanced beer. My initial impression was that the aroma reminded me of a cheap American lager. I was wrong, either this was a bit of skunk on the bottle, or a preconceived notion. The taste was delightful, yet playful. There is just enough toasted flavor on the finish to compliment the raisin undertones on the initial taste. The hops are not subtle, but they definitly do not steal the stage. There is almost no after taste, ah lagered beers. It is a bit mild, especially for its alcohol content, however, this beer reminds me of the St. Bernardus Abt 12, yet milder and more restrained, obviously, being that it is a lager. I would buy this one again, however, my experience with Doppelbocks is very limited at this point.

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Please deliver me a Terrorist LEGO man …

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Music is Surkin - Radio Fireworks (Riot In Belgium Second Remix), only like the best house/elektro track out there right now!

Speaking of cellar beers, I remembered that I had put a few of my brothers bottles away in the closet nearly a year ago, out of sight out of mind sort of thing. The three bottles are his Contemplation Ale, Double IPA (which I should not of put in the cellar, oops, thought it was a different one!), and the Biere de Noel. As I write I am enjoying maybe the first consumed aged and labeled Dirt Bag brew, it makes me feel all special and fuzzy inside.

The beer in glass is the Contemplation Ale, of which Julie and I have split. This beer has a kick! But before I get too into the flavor, lets step back for a moment. The color is amber brown, mostly opaque as this is an unfiltered Belgian Dark Ale, it expresses itself with aromas of raisins, currents, spices, and well, winter, yes, winter has a smell, and somehow Josh put it in a bottle. The head is velvety, which I find intriguing, as when I had it last, if memory serves me right, and usually it does not, I remember a more relaxed head …? On to taste, the aromas do not let down, they are represented in full effect. The brew does have a level of sweetness, but I am forgiving of this as the alcohol content is at 12% ABV, nearing a barley wine, however, it has managed to maintain mostly pure balance.

Way to brew a beer Dirt Bag, and my compliments to the branding/labeling, matches the personality of the beer perfectly.

Cheers!

Oh yes, strong winter beers are finally here. I love these brews, spiced, smooth, and soul warming down to the last drop! Bottlework’s has put out some treats from the cellar for their customers this year, and I have taken advantage of this. From left to right, here is what I picked up today (not all seasonals, but all goodies!):

•  Russian River Pliny the Elder IPA (x2) – Santa Rosa, CA, USA
  • I have had a few of these now, and I must say, this recipe has rekindled my love for good IPAs.
• Bottleworks Van den Vern Grand Cru (Bottled 2004) – Belgium
  • While Rodenbach import is figured out, I thought an aged Grand Cru couldn’t hurt the palette.
    • Rating: C-
    • Head is lacking, pinkish/orange in hue
    • Aroma is flat and nutty at first, after breathing in a St. Bernardus glass for 5 minutes, mellowed out.
    • Taste is bland and a bit sour, maybe I was expecting too much from this. The bottle produced much sediment, this makes the beers texture not very palatable.
    • I will not buy this one again. Very disappointing.
    • Strangely, Beer Advocate users give high regard to this beer: BeerAdvocate
    • Consumed on 11.21.08
• Troubadour Obscura Mild Stout – Belgium
  • One of the three dudes at bottleworks had this as his weekly recommend, sounds interesting.
• Elysian BiFrost – Seattle, USA
  • These guys are by far the best brewery in my home state of Washington. I cannot wait to experience their BiFrost recipe this year.
• Westmalle Trappist (2004 Vintage!) – Belgium
  • Quickly becoming my favorite beer and finding a vintage bottle, oh my, this is going to be bliss.
• LaChouffe N’Ice Spiced w/ Tyme and Curucao, Limited Edition (2007 Vintage) – Belgium
  • Best spiced ale out there, of which I have had. LaChouffe is an excellent brewery, and never seems to let me down.
• Gulden Draak (2007 Vintage) – Belgium
  • New to me, I have been meaning to try this brewery for some time now, now I can enjoy a vintage bottle as my first experience, woot!
• St. Bernardus Christmas Ale (2007 Vintage) – Belgium
  • Nothing needs to be said here, it’s St. Bernardus people!

I plan on reviewing all of these as I taste them, most of which I have had before, I may pick up fresh bottles of the aged ones for comparison sake. Let me know if any of these intrigue you personally and I can wait until we can enjoy them together, because every good beer geek knows, a beer shared tastes twice as good.

Op uw gezondheid!

– The majority of these will be consumed post Fall Quarter at the UW, and man, will that make them taste all the more better. –

Last night, on my way home from class, I was hit by an oblivious moron of a motorist. I was riding down Ravenna, heading West. For those who know this road, 11th is a one-way heading North, and Roosevelt is a one-way heading South.

I pulled up to a red light at 11th and Ravenna, I stopped, and pulled a little further ahead of the line than a red 4-runner in the lane to my right, to make sure they saw my two bright ass blinking red lights. The light turned green, we both left the line, halfway down the block, the next light, at Roosevelt and Ravenna, the light turned green, so I picked up pace, the 4-runner slowed down, and right as I was about to go through the intersection, without signaling, from the right lane (not a left turn lane!) decided to sporadically turn left and cause me to slam into her driver’s side door! What the fuck is wrong with people! This lady decided to not roll down her window, or jump out to see if i was okay, instead she decided to stare down at her steering wheel like she was the victim here! I should have written down her license plate and given her all hell, but I didn’t, I was in too much shock, thinking that if I was going 1 mph faster, I would have been pavement.

How the hell did this lady not see me!

Glad to be alive today …

HAHAHAHA:

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Ummmm …