Archive for February 20th, 2009

Brewery: Left Hand Brewing
Location: Longmont, CO
Style: Porter

begin rant:
First of all – if anyone from Left Hand reads this – your fricking flash wankfest website is not cool, not helpful and runs like sludge. I do not need some sort of virtual beer experience when I am trying to get info on your brews. I’m sure the design company who built it was able to buy several Herman Miller chairs with the billable from your site, but it really was not worth it.
:end rant

I feel better now. Much like I feel when having a Left Hand Black Jack Porter. (Yes – cheesy segue…) I somehow missed writing about this back in the PorterFest 2008 – 09 week. Not that this should be overlooked. It is a great porter. One of my favorites.

It pours dark, but looks deep reddish brown when held up to the light. A foamy light brown head leaves a bit of lacing. There is a chocolate aroma during the pour.

This is what I would call a lighter porter. Not very dense, it has a smooth but thin taste. Good level of the coffee and chocolate expected in a porter just not as big as some during the PorterFest. This could be a great gateway porter for those intimidated by bigger brews. It also makes a great porter for a night when you want something lighter than the usual porter fare.

Now if only they would do something about that website…

Brewery: Victory Brewing Co.
Location: Downingtown PA
Style: Imperial stout

I love the stouts. Especially big chewy stouts. Victory Storm King Imperial Stout is a chewy stout meal in a glass. I used to reserve that description for my beloved Guinness, but I may have found a new love.

This pours like midnight – black as coal and quite thick. The head is a dense creamy caramel color. There is a big stout aroma – malt, coffee, slight hops undertone and dark chocolate. The taste is a great balance of bitter and sweet. The coffe comes first quickly followed by the chocolate and a bit of hops. It is a chewy drink. Thick and creamy like a great stout should be. It’s a bit of a kicker at 9.1% ABV and that comes through as a bit of alcohol sting – but nothing that mars the drink.

This has climbed to the top of my stout list. I’ve become more and more interested in the Imperials, and to date this is my favorite. Excellent balance of bitter, darkness, sweetness and creaminess. Yet another perfect winter warmer. Thinking of cellaring one to see how it tastes while BBQ-ing this summer.

When Mrs. Ohabeer and I venture our of the Ohabeer HQ and end up in a bar, it is most likely I am ordering beer. Living in upstate NY does not often afford one the opportunity for the fine art of mixology – I haven’t had a decent margarita since leaving NYC – so that the beer gods for the in roads made by craft beers even at local bars. Invariably, I’ll bring along the handy iPod Touch to see if there is WiFi in the bar (thus allowing for twittering while drinking) and to make notes on the beers drank. As I am attempting to be social while out drinking, I do not take any sort of detailled tasting note, but just something quick and simple.

So, here is the first installment of Random Beers in Various Bars wherein I clean out the notes I have on recent nights out.

Fox & Firkin Pub (Colonie, NY)
112 Wolf Road, Colonie, New York 12205 (518) 453-2369
When heading to the Colonie/Albany area for shopping, we used to hit the Old Chicago for some lunch and a great selection of craft beer. Sadly, they went out of business in January 2009. Luckily, this chain pub is located right across the street. It’s the usual ersatz English pub filtered through a marketer’s vision, but that do have an excellent beer menu. With lunch I had a Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA (on tap. lovely hoppy pale ale) and Rogue Dead Guy Ale (in a bottle. nice cloudy copper color. Smooth ale with what tastes like a hint of honey). They also carried the Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA, but as I had more shopping to do, I took a pass.

Andes Hotel (Andes, NY)
110 Main St., Andes, NY 13731 (845) 676-4408
You just have to love a bar with snowmobile parking. We ventured here one Saturday drawn by their local cable ads claiming the most craft beers in the area. Given the area we live in, that could have meant three. Luckily, it was around 30 with several on tap. Started with the Southern Tier Unearthly Imperial IPA on tap served in a goblet. Very hoppy rich gold ale with a thick head. 11% ABV limited me to one of these. Followed with a pint of Southampton Porter on tap. A thinnish head on a nice deep chocolate colored brew. Good balance of maltiness to chocoloate sweetness with a slight coffee back end. Finished the night with a Snapperhead IPA on tap. This might have been a mistake after the Southern Tier IPA. There is a bit of hoppiness, but mostly I am getting nothing. Could have fried the tastebuds? Might have to try this another time. Though the more I drank, the better it got. Also available at Andes Hotel: Weyerbach, Abita, Sierra Nevada, Anchor, Brooklyn, Yuengling, Ommegang, Magic Hat, Leinenkugel and more. They even have a few imported Belgians.

Baba Louie’s Pizza (Hudson, NY)
517 Warren Street, Hudson, NY 12534 518.751.2155
Had lunch here. Very nice artisanal pizzas. Excellent toppings. Had a couple of C.H. Evans Kick-Ass Brown Ales. Solid simple brown ale.

Spotty Dog Books & Ale (Hudson, NY)
440 Warren Street, Hudson, NY 12534 .T 518 671 6006
This was an amazing find. They were having a beer tasting that evening, but we could not stay that late. It is a bookstore with a bar. Nice selection of crafts on tap. The real story is it is located in what was the original C.H. Evans brewery space and so their core beers are from C.H. Evans. I went with a Dogfish Head Raison D’Etre (on tap) as I had not had it in a while. Such a great brew. I love the fact you can taste the raisins without it being too cloy. Mrs. Ohabeer had a Chatham Porter (also on tap). Nice rich color and a decent porter taste.

• @tgob we agree to disagree. For a nut brown I love the Messiah Bold. Will probably make it a cellar regular. in reply to tgob #
• @KPB it’s up now. Loved the San Palo Marron. in reply to KPB #
• Ending the evening with He’Brew Messiah Bold. Review up at ohabeer.com. Brilliant big brown ale. #
• @food140 black bean and brown rice chili in the cooker for 6 hours #
• @dogfishbeer it was wordy and kind of self-indulgent review but it ends well. My Palo Santo Marron review coming to ohabeer.com tonite. in reply to dogfishbeer #
• Updated ohabeer.com WP, wrote articles, tweaked a client design. Relaxing w/@flyingdog Old Scratch Amber Lager. Love the maltiness of this. #
• @BierGear The Bierstick is so wrong it might just be right. Adding a link in the Ohabeer Community links: http://www.bierstick.com/ #

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