Bell’s Oarsman Ale

I recently bought myself some new shoes on Amazon.com and saved about $70 over buying them in the store here. I had them shipped to Blue Water Shipping in Port Huron, who only charge $5 for the service. When they came in, I decided to take a day off work and drive down there with the wife and 4, and pick up a few things from the land of cheap everything.

Our first stop was Kroger so I could take a look at their beer selection. I didn’t find any mixer packs worth picking up, but I did find enough singles to make 2 6-packs (and apparently pay for them with an expired credit card! That’s a fun story for later).

Part of that pack was this Bell’s beer. I really enjoyed Two Hearted when I was in Florida and I know they are one of the more reputable craft brewers in the States. So, last night, after a hard work out, an easy swim with friends and after going to pick up wings for dinner (at 9:30 pm) I grabbed this beer.  There wasn’t much detail on the label, just that it was made with malts and blah and blah and sour mash…wait, sour mash? What the hell kind of beer is this? Turns out, Berliner Weisse.

I’ve had experience with Berliner Weisse before and was none-too-pleased, so had pretty low expectations for this one. It poured out relatively clear for any kind of weisse and smelled malty sweet but lingered with sour. The first (hesitant) taste was smooth and sweet, but then turned a bit sour on the booty. It wasn’t until I checked in that I realized that it was a 4% beer! A session Berliner, what a novel idea.

It worked! I loved that beer. I’ll be looking for it again the next time I’m down there. Well done.

Country of Origin: United States
Alcohol Content: 4%
Sequence:
Finished: First
Vessel: Glass by way of bottle

 

Russian River Pliny the Elder

So, you know that one thing that you really want and think that you could never have? That same thing that causes jealousy when you see or know someone else who has enjoyed it? That’s Pliny the Elder for me.

Since the early days of posting on here and checking in through Untappd, I have expanded my knowledge of beer (obviously) and for the longest time, whenever I checked in to an IPA (which is about 1/3 of all the beers I have logged) I kept seeing this Pliny beer. I looked it up because I was curious. Turns out, it is one of the most sought after beers in the craft scene and is in the top 25 of at least three beer aggregate sites.

So when I heard that my brother was going to Southern California, I had only one request: Pliny!

While he was there, he kept checking in to different breweries: Lagunitas, Southern Pacific, Anchor Steam and finally, with a shot at me, Russian River. He told me that he and Teri tried a few beers, but Pliny wasn’t one of them. I didn’t ask if he got me any because that would just be rude.

When he got back, he posted a picture on the Facebook with the caption “So this happened”. Do you see what I see? (other than 4 bags of beans)

PLINY!

I was a little giddy.

It just happened that I was going to be in Toronto the week after he came home, so it was the perfect opportunity to get together and pick it up. The getting together part never happened, but I did swing by his office and pick it up. Turns out, he also got me a Pliny glass and a great Lagunitas mug that has quickly become my favourite outdoor beer vessel.

All around the label was printed such phrases as “Sit on eggs, not Pliny. Drink Fresh” and “Age your cheese, not your Pliny”. So I figured that I should probably drink it soon. I was hoping to find a time that Mark could be there to share (a sip) but between his wife away for work and his sick kids and mine possibly having pink eye, it just wasn’t in the cards.

I decided that the best time to enjoy a long-awaited, supposedly hoppy IPA would be our usual after-training-pizza-night Wednesday. The wife and I made some pizzas and I poured Pliny out into his very own glass. It was a light amber IPA colour and it smelled like sweet grapefruit. The wife suggested I taste it before food, so I can get the full, untainted (she said taint) experience. It tasted very citrusy with the grapefruit standing out in flavour as much as it did in smell.

As I ate and drank and drank and drank, I couldn’t believe that this was a DOUBLE IPA, with 8% ABV. It tasted more like a session beer, it was so smooth and had almost zero bitter after taste. Knowing that it was made with 100% Simcoe hops, I didn’t think that I was going to like it as much as I did. You see, I have been under the pretense that I don’t like Simcoe hops because beers like Lord Simcoe’s Revenge and The Princess Wears Girly Pants. I’m glad to report now, that I was wrong. Simcoe Hops are delicious. This kinda tasted like a far better version of Keith Cascade Hops. Like way better.

I have heard from other people out there, who consider themselves hop-heads (like I do), that the build up and anticipation to drinking Pliny kinda made the beer a little underwhelming. I mean, we have all been spoiled as of late with 100’s of different hop-focused beers coming to market.

I really enjoyed my Pliny, but it wasn’t as mind-blowing as I would have expected it to be. I really hope that Heady Topper doesn’t suffer the same fate.

Country of Origin:  United Stated
Alcohol Content:  8%
Sequence:  First
Finished:  Yes
Vessel:  A Pliny Glass

 

Atwater Vanilla Java Porter

Ken:
Late in the party, I was feeling like Halloween all over again so I needed to pace myself a little. I figured a nice, big porter would slow me down a little. That, and it was next in line in the fridge (which was actually the garage…)

It did the trick. It poured out black and smelled like vanilla extract. It tasted so smooth, not a hint of burnt malts or smoke or the weight of a traditional porter.  It, also, tasted like a cold French Vanilla Cappuccino from Timmies. It was great.

That’s two in a row from these guys that are winners. Two more to go.

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Mark:
So I want to be honest and say that this beer had an uphill battle from the start. Fair or not, I will always have Mill St. Vanilla Porter on my mind when I try a new vanilla Porter…and so far nothing has me close, unfortunately this beer included. It was smooth and creamy and had great vanilla flavour, but it’s still not Mill Street. Made me a little sad.

 

Country of Origin:  United States
Alcohol Content: 6%
Sequence:  Sixth
Finished:  Yes
Vessel:  Glass by way of bottle

Atwater Decadent Dark Chocolate Ale

Mark and Julie went to Port Huron a few weeks before Christmas to finish their shopping, and while they were there, of course they stopped by Wal-Mart to grab beer. It just so happened that they had lots of tasters packs. From past experiences with Wal-Mart and their beer, Mark made sure to check the BB date on the pack. This one was good until 2015, so he grabbed it.

He brought it over to the Christmas open house…well, he brought 11. As he was walking out his front door, the bottom of the box gave way and all the bottles fell. Only one broke, but it was enough to anger the giant. He carries beer cases from the bottom now.

This was the first beer from the pack that we all wanted to drink. It poured out black and smelled like brown cow syrup. I know, I’ve said that before for Chocolate Manifesto, I have vivid memories of that stuff.  I love it when beer doesn’t smell like beer.

It tasted different, but in a good way. It wasn’t a stout or a porter, like most chocolate beers seem to be, it’s an ale, so it’s thinner (?) and a lot smoother.  The chocolate flavour was fantastic, you would almost forget that you were drinking a beer if it weren’t for the lingering malt booty.

People started to show up as we were drinking, so I was in mingle mode. By the time I had gotten back to it, it was a lot warmer, but you know what? It was great cold or warm.

Nicely done.

Country of Origin:  United States
Alcohol Content:  5.5%
Sequence:  Third
Finished:  Yes
Vessel:  Glass by way of bottle