Sunday, April 19, 2009

Beer No#4

Hi again, it's time to tell you about a beer that I really like. This one is made with espresso and is high in alcohol. It's from Southern Tier Brewing company in Lakewood NY. It's the high octane Jah-va Imperial Stout.
Here is what their website had to say about the Jah-Va Imperial Stout..."Three thousand feet above sea level in the misty mountains of Jamaica, some of the world’s finest Arabica beans are hand picked on their way to becoming Blue Mountain Coffee. Halfway around the world, plump spring barley grows to maturity in the loamy soil of North America while aromatic hops are cultivated to exacting standards. Here in our kettles, these three special ingredients are blended to create a heady mixture of sweet sugar, dark roast, and complex flavor. Please enjoy this brew in moderation." Enjoy in moderation because this one packs a punch at 12% alcohol. This Stout has a 2-row pale malt / caramel malt / chocolate malt / black malt / roasted barley / cascade & Columbus hops / Jamaican blue mountain coffee. When you pour this one, it comes out of the bottle and fills the snifter glass with a black color with ruby highlights. The head of the beer is a caramel cream color that looks like it wants to be in my tummy. When you smell this one the coffee been and chocolate really come through. Now the alcohol is pretty high in this one at 12%, but it really was smooth and easy to drink. It was noted that good food pairing would be Cheese (buttery; Brie, Gouda, Havarti, Swiss) General (Chocolate, Digestive) Meat (Beef, Smoked Meat, Game, Grilled Meat). You can really taste the chocolate and roasted coffee in this one. If you are looking for a beer to watch football with this one might not be the one. But if you want a beer to just drink and enjoy every sip, try it.

Now I also had another beer that was written up in Beer magazine (which if you love beer you would like this magazine). I'm sure some of you have tried it too and it was from the Spoetzl Brewing Company in Shiner Texas... Shiner Bock! I wouldn't waste your money on this one unless you like the Bud's and Miller's of the mass produced beers ( which I do). This one was watery and very carbonated and fizzy with not a lot of taste. I thought I was buying a beer that was special... I was wrong.




Now on to other news and that is that I'm starting School tomorrow, Monday April.20th. I decided to go back and take classes at Ross Medical Education for Dental Assistant. I still am looking for full time work but I need to find a new career as there are way too many Announcers out of work right now with limited jobs available. So there ya go... I may have to put a new beer in the fridge for this afternoon as I tried both of the ones above about a week or so ago.

Friday, April 3, 2009

3rd Beer Tasting

This week I decided to have a beer that I also had for the first time last year at the World Expo of beer. This week we head to New Holland Brewery in New Holland Michigan. The beer this week is Dragon's Milk! From the looks of it you would think it was a Stout but it's really an Ale. I liked it when I had it a year ago in a small amount but a big bottle was too much of this one. The flavor's were good with a noticeable vanilla taste with toffee plus a sweet chocolate taste. This beer is aged in oak barrels and that taste comes thru in the alcohol, with a high 9% in this one. The color was very dark, with a slight hint of red. With such a high alcohol content, it's not at all hoppy and the carbonation is there but noticeably lower than other beers, making it very smooth. In a small amount like a half a glass I would like it but the sweet flavor of this one gets old to me after a while. Good thing I was able to only buy a single of this one. If you like a smooth, sweet, high alcohol content ale this one may be for you! Next week I picked up one I'm really looking forward to made with expresso as one of the main flavors.