Re: TLDR Beer Club
Hello all. I thought I might join you in your reviews. The main reason that I haven't done so in the past is that I have no camera and wouldn't know how to include a picture even if I did have one.
Here are the beers that I've had over the last week:
Founder's Blushing Monk. Labeled as a Belgian Ale with Raspberries. I thought this might be like Ommegang's Three Philosopher's which I quite like. It really was more of a fruit beer to me, so that's what I'll compare it to. 12.3% alcohol. A scandalous $17 for the bomber bottle. Pours a dark pink, almost red. Sweet raspberry smell. Surprised me by the taste, which I expected to be much sweeter. This is pretty tart and dry taste. I'll give it a 4/5. New Glarus Raspberry Tart would be a 4.5/5. If you'll let me go to cherry instead of raspberry, then New Glarus Belgian Red is a 5/5.
Bayhawk Chocolate Porter. 5.4% Alcohol. Bomber bottle was 3.99, I think. This beer is foul. Stay away. Vinegary tasting. I thought it was spoiled. I have no idea why they call it a chocolate porter. It didn't taste like chocolate and it didn't taste like a porter. I thought that the bottle might be off. I looked it up on ratebeer afterwards to see how they felt about it. Similar reviews made me think that it wasn't spoiled...it's just a bad beer. 1/5. My 5/5 for porters is Fuller's London Porter. A 4.5/5 would be Great Lakes Edmund Fitzgerald.
Samuel Adams Hallertau Imperial Pilsner. I have no idea why I bought this...7.99 for 4 pack of 12 ounce bottles. Advertised as an intense hop experience. Well, it was intense. No taste other than hops. Ridiculous. I was in a room with 7 other people who all like beer. I passed the glass around trying to get somebody to like it. Everyone declined. I brought the other three home. I did find a friend of mine who liked it and gave her the other bottles. Be warned that you had better really like hops before you buy this. It doesn't feel fair to rate this, since I should have known better than buy it in the first place.
Sierra Nevada Bigfoot Barleywine Style Ale. $10.99 for a six pack of 12 ounce bottles. Alcohol 9.6%. This is a lovely beer. 4.5/5 for me. (Great Divide's Old Ruffian is the 5/5 and my favorite overall beer). This is a seasonal winter beer. This represented the last sixpack at my local good beer store. (I had long ago depleted their supply of Great Divide.) Maybe I should have rated the Sam Adams Imperial Pilsner, since the Bigfoot is a beer with a lot of hops taste to it that I actually like. The malt is also very evident. I like the bitter, intense flavor. The only slight problem is that you can clearly taste the alcohol, which is a touch offputting. Beer-snobby friends have suggested that this is a great beer to cellar...but I never seem to have the self-restraint to leave it.
Avery's The Czar Imperial Stout. Bomber bottle, 11.04% Alcohol. Don't remember my price. I decided to give this brewery another chance. I've got a couple of friends who rave about it, but I've never been overwhelmed. I give this a 3.5/5. This one is too sweet for me. Maybe some anise flavor in it? This one needs to be cellared. Seemed highly carbonated, big head that took a long time to settle. (My 5/5 is Great Divide's Oak Aged Yeti. a 4.5/5 would be Sam Smith's)
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