TLDR Beer Club

[MrWookie]

Alright, in continuing the series of follow up reviews, I got a bottle of Flying Dog's Double Dog, previously reviewed and enjoyed by RDH. I paid $2.85 for a 12 oz bottle of 10.5% beer, which is a little less expensive than the DFH 90, for a reference. I'm not going to bother w/ pics for this review. The beer pours a cloudy orange color without much head at all. There are actually little chunks of sediment floating around in it. I didn't expect this sort of beer to have sediment in it, so I guess I wasn't careful in pouring. The aroma is very appealing. It smells a little sweeter than the Hop Rod Rye, but the hop smells are perhaps a little more subdued. The flavor lets me down a little, though. There's a somewhat sweet malt up front, but that quickly gives way to a potent bitterness. I'm probably more picky about my strongly hopped beers than about any other variety, but this beer doesn't do it for me. It's missing the floral and citrus flavors I've enjoyed in the Bear Republic, the DFH 90, Stone Ruination, and other great imperial IPAs. I'm going to give this beer [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img][img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img][img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]. Miles might give it a 3.5, but this comes down to a personal preference, I suppose. It's a good beer that I'd expect hop heads to enjoy, but for me, there are others I like better. I prefer the Bear Republic Hop Rod, and it costs me less per oz.

[MrWookie]

One variety of beer that has consistently underwhelmed me since I started taking beer seriously has been the doppelbock. This has always bugged me, because I remeber early in my drinking, I tried a doppelbock from a tiny Seattle microbrewery run by a friend of my dad that I enjoyed greatly, even though I've long forgotten the specifics of its flavor. However, they've been BUSTO for years now, and nothing I've had since has really been all that good. Part of this may be due to only having tried American doppelbocks. Like with hefeweizens, it may be that the Germans are (almost) the only people who can get this style right. So, on my last trip to BotW, I picked up two German doppelbocks, one from Ayinger and one from Weihenstephaner, two of the best German brewers in my experience. Tonight, I'm going to review the doppelbock from Weihenstephaner. I paid $3.35 for a half liter of 7.5% beer, a little on the weaker side of doppelbocks.



The beer pours a dark but translucent (not cloudy) brown. There's almost no head, which is typical for this style.



The aroma for this beer is better than other doppelbocks I've had. It still has the alcohol and cough syrup smells that have put me off from others in this style, but there's a hint of coffee in there that gives me hope. The flavor hits with a heavy malt, followed by a hint of the cough syrup and the coffee. It's that cough syrup that's put me off to this whole style, but since it's competing with the coffee, it doesn't overwhelm as much. It's a sweet beer, and the sweet malt sticks to my mouth long after I've swallowed. This is the best doppelbock I've had outside of the distant memory, but it doesn't exactly floor me, either. I vacillated between 3 and 3.5 for this one, but I settled on an optimistic [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img][img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img][img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] and a half [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]. I felt like giving this a 3 would almost be punitive for letting me down somewhat, and conversely, this is the best doppelbock I've had so far. I'm not sure if I'll be buying this again, but for anyone out there who likes this style, this is definitely one to try.

[daveT]

[image][/image]

Rather expensive, and very very hard to find, but well worth the effort.

I had a six pack of this stuff a few years ago, and still search.

[absoludicrous]

Since a review of Unibroue's La Fin Du Monde has already been done, I won't reiterate anything said about it, except for the fact that it's amazing.

I'm awarding this brou, [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]'s.

[MrWookie]

Dave,

What sort of beer is that, and where is it brewed?

[RunDownHouse]

Wookie,

Have you heard about the Hopfweisen that's being put out as a collaboration between Brooklyn and Schneider Weisse? I have no idea if you can get it yet, but basically the head brewer at Schneider was visiting/talking with Garret Oliver at Brooklyn and discussing how lightly German beers are typically hopped. Nothing like American ales. So they decided to brew two separate "hopfweisens." They brewed one at Schneider in Germany that's basically a Bavarian hefe heavily hopped with American hops. They then brewed (or are going to brew soon) a hefe at Brooklyn heavily hopped with German hops.

I really doubt I'll ever get to try it, but you may want to be on the lookout or do a little googling for it since you're in the NY area.

[MrWookie]

I get most Brooklyn beers at BotW, so I'll keep my eyes open.

[Potvaliant]

North Coast Brewing Co.'s Old No. 38 Stout

I first tried this beer a few months ago, but wanted to try the same brewery's Old Rasputin Imperial Stout before posting, as it had been well reviewed here and I had read elsewhere that it was the better beer.

These are both excellent beers, definitely two of the best stouts I've ever had. I have to say, though, as good as the Imperial is, I'd prefer the Old # 38 if I was planning on having more than one. While the flavor isn't as deep or rich, the balance of the chocolate and coffee and malt flavors is excellent; I rarely drink stouts in the summer, but this one I could drink all day long at the beach.

I'm curious to hear what others think of it.

[daveT]

[ QUOTE ]
Dave,

What sort of beer is that, and where is it brewed?

[/ QUOTE ]

I believe it is German. I Yahoo'ed and Googled this beer, but I can't find any info on it. Just found the image.

It is a lager.

[MaxxDaddy]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Dave,

What sort of beer is that, and where is it brewed?

[/ QUOTE ]

I believe it is German. I Yahoo'ed and Googled this beer, but I can't find any info on it. Just found the image.

It is a lager.

[/ QUOTE ]

Over on ratebeer.com, i was able to find two different Bear Beers made in two different countries (Denamrk and Estonia), yet have almost the same label and come in plastic bottles. Here's the Danish one

And here's the Estonian version

Do either of these fit the bill, Dave?