Happy birthday Queen City Drinks!

Last night, Queen City Drinks had a birthday party (for their 1 year anniversary) at Fifty West. It was a great night. I finally got to put some faces with names, and drink some excellent beer!

Among the guests were @brewprof, (www.brewprof.com) @beerquestABV, (www.beerquestabv.com) @tom_aguero of Queen City Drinks, (www.queencitydrinks.com)

@loosescrebeers,  and a few others. If you don't already follow these folks on twitter or you haven't visited their sites, you should. These guys have much better things to say than I do.

At the heart of it, last night's event was a bottle share, my first one... I was psyched to try some beers I've never had. In chatting with some folks on twitter etc. I know that there are some pretty decent beer cellars out there. So expected some good stuff, I was not disappointed!

On to the beer!

First pour was The Bruery's Black Tuesday (2012). This was my first beer from The Bruery and holy crap this thing is a beast, 19.2%!! @beerquestABV said it best "how do you even get a beer to do that!?" If I'm being honest, it was a little hard to drink. If you run across a bottle share generously with friends. And be careful. Thanks @tom_aguero for graciously donating this gem!

Up next was Cigar City's Hunaphu's Imperial Stout. Another first for me I'd heard nothing but great things about Cigar City and I was more than excited for a taste of this one. I must say it was delicious. I daresay one of the best stouts I've had. I'll be on the lookout for this one again! Thanks @brewprof for sharing!

Next was a pour of Three Floyds' Dark Lord (2010). I've made no effort to keep secret the fact that I'm a FFF fan. I truly love their beers so, I was ecstatic to see this bottle show up. Kenny from Cincinnati's own Madtree Brewing Company brought the bottle, thanks Kenny! This is a solid russian imperial stout, very drinkable. At 15%, this is another behemoth (get it?). Now if I could only get my hands on some of the barrel aged versions...

Up next was Odell Brewing Co. Saboteur  kindly provided by @beerquestABV. A Brett brown ale, this one was interesting the Brett yeast adds something of a mild sourness and the flavor was very bready. Admittedly  I'm a novice when it comes to brett beers so I didn't really know what to make of it... Interesting.

Finally, I poured Three Floyds' In The Name Of Suffering. A 7% black IPA brewed with Cascade hops. I believe I've mentioned this beer before so I'll move on...

I also had a quick taste of Triple Digit's barrel aged Chicow! Awesome! Get to Listerman's and get a bottle if you can. 

There were plenty of other beers being poured, these are the few that I was able to get my glass under. 

After the crowd thinned out, we were allowed a tour the brewery. Where we got to nerd out and chat beer with a pro. We also had a taste of a new DIPA poured directly from the brite tank! Delicious! Keep an eye out for that one soon at Fifty West, definitely a hop bomb.

So, I want to thank Josh from Queen City Drinks for putting together an awesome night. And the folks at Fifty west for allowing us to use their place  to geek

out on beer. It was a great night guys, thanks a lot! 

Cheers!

Oh, and I made a huge mess dropping all those names... Lemme just get those picked up. BOOM!

Founder's KBS. Worth the hype?

So, I missed the KBS train last year... Ill admit it was due to a little bit of ignorance on my part. I just wasn't aware of the excitement the release of this beer generates. Don't get me wrong, I knew it existed but I just wasn't "hip to the hype". So, now that I have finally tasted the beer itself , I'll do a review and tell you whether or not you should go on the hunt for any remaining bottles this year, OR advise whether or not you should prepare yourself for the onslaught of panic that Founder's generates with this yearly release.

Brewery: Founder's

Beer: KBS (Kentucky Breakfast Stout)

Style: flavored stout brewed with chocolate and coffee aged in bourbon 

ABV: 11.2%


This thing pours jet black with about a half inch of khaki head that quickly dissipated. Minimal lacing down the glass, and I was drinking it slow.

On the nose, the bourbon aroma was not overpowering at all (Which, if im being honest I was a bit worried about as im not a HUGE fan of bourbon barrel aged ales... Im sorry, JEEZ!). The coffee stands out first, then I got the chocolate and finally the bourbon to really round it off. In that order. Seriously the aromas don't blend they just kind of manifest themselves from the inky depths (nice, right?) of deliciousness that is this beer.

I was surprised at first taste because again, I expected the bourbon to really outshine the coffee and the chocolate. I am such a huge fun of Founders' Breakfast Stout that, I didn't want the bourbon to take away from that beer too much. Not the case with KBS, the bourbon really enhances it. As with the aromas, I noticed the coffee flavor first. Then, the chocolate really "melts" across the palate (I'm a nerd but that was a nice chocolatey description right?). And, finally the bourbon sneaks in and adds a nice sweetness to the overall beer. Very nice, not overpowering at all it really ties everything together ("That rug really tied the room together Dude.") Over all, this is perfectly blended. I really liked this beer.

So, is it worth the hype?

In my opinion? Yes. Yes it is... Now do you need to bend over backwards trying to find it when its released? Thats a tough call, I think that if you've never had it then yes do what you can to find it. You most likely wont be disappointed. I got lucky, and contacted my local bottle shop (DEP'S in Fort Thomas) via email a couple weeks before the release date and made sure I got my name on a 4 pack. I was contacted when it was available. This is most likely your best bet, do the legwork first, don't go hunting from shop to shop. Call, tweet, email, Facebook... Contact the places you shop at regularly, and find out if they are getting any. If they are, find out if you can reserve some. Even if its only a bottle or 2... You'll be happy you did. People really go crazy for this beer, I get it. It's super good ("super good"being a technical term). I promise you'll have difficulty finding it otherwise. Unless you know where to look and what you're looking for I guess... I haven't seen any more KBS around so, it might be gone until 2014. My point is: Plan, research, and attack.

On the other hand, if you're a serious beer nerd perhaps the hunt is part of the game. In that case, this is the beer to hunt for. Don't waste your time and energy on Hopslam at the beginning of the year. You wont have any trouble finding that... And, honestly there are better beers to get excited about. Don't get me wrong Hopslam is a FINE beer. I really like it. But don't stress about it.... The amount of hype and panic that beer generates should seriously be reserved for beers like KBS... I'm stepping down off my soapbox now.

Anyway, I've got 2 bottles left that are screaming at me from the fridge. It's going to take a lot of effort not to open them. My goal is to have one next year to compare the aged version to the 2014 release... Fingers crossed...

Cheers!

Suds Anonymous

That one time I achieved beer nerd nirvana...

Two weeks ago, the wife surprised me with an early birthday/anniversary present. A mini "beercation" to my favorite brewery, Three floyds!

Before making the trek which I was extremely excited about, I did some research (which was basically just reading reviews of the brewpub on Yelp) and I got a bit nervous. I found that most of the reviewers experienced a terribly long wait at the brewpub and awful service... 

Here is how our experience went:

We arrived in Munster, IN at 10:30 Cincinnati time and quickly realized it was only 9:30 in Munster. Great! An extree hour of drankin! I was still nervous however because I was fully expecting a 2 hour wait. So we grabbed a taxi and headed to Three Floyds. To my great surprise we walked in and were seated immediately! To say I was pleasantly surprised is the ultimate understatement. There are T.V.'s in the brewpub but they arent showing sports (which, to be honest i was a little disappointed about as it was March Madness...) instead, they show old movies. Sometimes its cult classics, sometimes its Kung Fu. When we got there it was Ghostbusters... Right, count me in lets do this. The music is loud. Not too loud, but loud. I was okay with it as they were playing "Stranger Than Fiction" by Bad Religion in its entirety...

The service was great. I suppose its possible the level of service differs greatly between an extremely busy visit and a laid back visit such as ours. We had no complaints, both beer and food arrived timely and our server was both polite (which, my wife and i were both nervous about as those "hipster" types can be a little condescending at times.. You say you haven't noticed that? Just me? Thats weird.. anyway) and nice. Great service. Zero stress... ONWARD!

I had already checked to see what was on draft at the brewpub as it was my goal to try the beers I know I can't have anywhere else. I ordered the "Toxic Revolution" a hoppy stout brewed with the creative help of the band Municipal Waste. FANTASTIC! (I'm not reviewing these beers with this post perhaps another time?) This is about our trip/experience.

From there I had "In The Name Of Suffering" a black IPA brewed with the gents from The band Eyehategod. This beer takes its name from the band's record of the same name. Again, an awesome brew.

Among the other fine beers I tasted was a pale ale called "Space Station Middle Finger". My wife liked this one more than I did I found it to be a little "plain Jane". Great name though... We also tried a brown ale called "Sand Pebbles", a saison called "Tonnere Neige". If i'm not mistaken we also tried the "Permanent Funeral" which i'm sure i enjoyed but things were a bit hazy at point.

We each ordered the burger, which we both enjoyed. The fries were good but we weren't there for the food. We finished our drinks, grabbed a 6 pack of Alpha King to go and took a cab to the hotel feeling very satisfied. 

The next morning we took our time with breakfast (which may have been a mistake) and arrived at the brewery around noon. The plan was to stock up on beer and take a tour of the brewery. Our time would have been better served skipping these missions all together for a trip into nearby Chicago. But, we were there for Three floyds...

We waited in line for the to go window for about 90 mins. While in line I snuck to the front of the line for the brew pub which was equally as long if not longer than ours. And put or name on the list for the 2pm brewery tour. Which worked out nicely I guess because just as we finished loading the 4 cases we were bringing home, it was time for the tour to start... 

The tour was short and sweet, I enjoyed it because I'm a huge nerd but, if I'm being honest it can be skipped... Overall in my opinion daytime visits to the brewery are ill advised.

And here's why...

We returned to the brewpub that night AFTER dinner, waited 30 minutes and got seated again. No wait at the to go window either..

In short, Three Floyds brewery and brewpub is definitely worth a visit. Go after the dinner rush for a shorter wait and avoid at all costs during the day on weekends. Get the burger...

Three Floyds Brewpub

9750 Indiana Pkwy

Munster, IN 46321

Brew River Gastropub

Recently, the wife and I had a nice surprise... We found a babysitter! What do we do with our new found freedom? Check out Cincinnati's newest Gastropub of course!

I had been really excited about checking out BrewRiver Gastropub for quite a while but, with a new baby it has been difficult to find time to get out of the house. We considered bringing her a couple of times but, we figured it would be irresponsible of us to sample beers and food with a 7 month old in tow...

Anyway, when we arrived at BrewRiver I was a bit worried that there would be a long wait (after seeing a list of what they had on tap I wasn't worried quite as much). I was pleasantly surprised to find a VERY helpful staff. They took our names quickly and promised to get us seated as soon as possible. I squeezed into a seat at the bar and ordered my wife and I a beer. I was curious about the "house beer" as they have a few "BrewRiver house beers".  I asked where they brewed the beer because there isn't a brewhouse located in the restaurant (because that would make it a brewpub right @QueenCityDrinks ?). Anyway I was informed that the beers are brewed in Aurora, IN. which means that the house beer is actually Great Crescent Brewery which, is fantastic because their brews are top notch. I cant remember what my sister ordered but, I can assume it was a heffeweizen because thats her favorite.

I ordered the coconut porter and my wife had the same. My buddy tried the DIPA by The Brew Kettle in Strongsville, OH upon my recommendation. He's not a beer nerd like the rest of us you see, and hoppy beers tend to frighten him a bit. But, you really can't go wrong with that brew and he loved it.

By the time our beers were poured we had a table, I paid the tab and we were shown to our table. I was surprised when we were lead upstairs (the bar area downstairs is rather small and I assumed that was why we were waiting). There is a second dining area upstairs where the kitchen is located. There is also an outside seating area upstairs with a deck and below outside the front entrance but, it was raining and a bit chilly. We were seated at a table near the kitchen which was actually pretty neat, as you can hear all of the ruckus that comes from a good kitchen.

Our server greeted us quickly and was VERY knowledgeable, almost TOO knowledgeable. A professional server/foodie was a bit intimidating and overwhelming. He described the specials in detail and gave us a bit of a history on the chef who, by the way was trained under the tutelage of Emril Lagasse BAM! It took him a while to get through the specials and he was a bit pushy with his recommendations which is my only complaint (and I guess really isnt a complaint at all. The guy REALLY knew his food).

We ordered drinks and my wife and I decided we wanted to try a beer flight. The server asked us what we liked and we were both feeling like we were in a stout/porter mood and he informed us he had made a flight of his favorite "darks" that BrewRiver has on tap and we agreed. I wish I could tell you what each of the beers were but, I didn't have the foresight to take notes. Anyway, he did a fine job the flight went from lowest ABV to highest as far as I could tell and it was delightful.

When it was time to place our order's my wife and I both chose the BLT, my buddy and my sister both ordered the Mac and cheese. I realize that at a Gastropub the idea is to sample the best they have to offer as the food and the beer will be top notch but, I love me some BLT's. Anyway, the food was absolutely excellent! Next time I promise Ill try something fancier than a BLT.

If you live in the area, I can't recommend BrewRiver Gastropub enough. I promise if you're a beer lover or a foodie, BrewRiver will not disappoint. Ill definitely be back.

CHEERS!!

BrewRiver Gastropub
2062 Riverside Drive
Cincinnati, OH 45202

UPDATE: The house beers at BrewRiver are now brewed locally by Listerman/Triple Digit!

Supprt your local bottle shop!

Okay, okay... I havent posted in a long time... And I'm sorry about that.... Having a 6 month old is hard work... JEEZ! I forgive you for being mad, you understand right? Good..

I want to tell you about Everything's D'vine downtown... They literally just opened their doors yesterday. If you follow me on the Twitter, you might remember me tweeting about this place a couple of months back. Well, I had been waiting for this place to open because I work downtown but, I couldnt remember what the open day was. So, out of boredumb (yes, I spelled it that way on purpose) on my lunch break today I went looking for it...

I knew from the blog posts that I had seen that it was on West 4th St. Downtown. I work on East 4th St. downtown so naturally I was excited when I heard about it. So, today on my lunch I thought I'd take a walk to the other side of town... Not that bad a walk actually, downtown isnt that big. Anyway, it was worth it!

As I made my trek, I kept my eyes peeled because even though I might have been one of they first to break the news on this place via twitter, I couldnt for the life of me remember what the name of the place was supposed to be. So, as I approached the end of 4th street I spotted a wine barrel in the window of what appeared to be a newly decorated store front. I was about to lose hope but, I figured I'd check it out...

I opened the door, and was happily greeted "What can I help you with?" I said "Whats your beer selection look like?" I was a bit discouraged upon first glance because I saw walls of wine. Dont get me wrong I'm a fan of a nice red but, not very often... I was very gladly directed around the corner to the beer area.

I wasn't dissappointed with the selection because they literally just opened yesterday but, the wine area looked much better than the beer area. I perused for a moment and suddenly I was asked "What's your favorite style?" I of course replied with the standard "Well, I like beer..." I quickly offered a very brief explanation of my beer knowledge and said "I guess I'm a bit of a craft beer hobbyist.." That sounds kind of cool right!?

Anyway, the gentlemen introduced himself, his name is Travis and he described the order in which he had the beer set up. "I dont have it set up by region or anything, Ive basically set it up by style..." I appreciated the fact that he appreciated that I was on the hunt for some good beer. Anyway, he described what he had, which were a lot of things I've had before. But, he also pointed out a few things I'd never had before. Of these brews he described them "This DIPA, has an IBV of blah blah and it will just hit you with hops..." Travis is a beer lover and, I appreciated that. I only left with a one bomber bottle but, Its a beer I've never tried...

Needless to say, I will definitely be back. Travis said his selection will increase as his customer base increases. He said he was expecting more brews literally as I shopped. He was expecting a delivery of Great Lakes Christmas ale...

So basically what I'm saying is, DRINK LOCAL BEER! But also, support your local beer provider! Everything's D'vine is downtown on West 4th St. Stop in and talk to Travis. He knows is beer...

CHEERS!

#fridaytryday Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale

I have to apologize, things have been very busy around headquarters lately. Lots of beer tasting/brewing going on. Anyway, lets get on with it.

This weeks #fridaytryday beer was something special. I've had this beer in my cellar (by cellar, I mean the shelves in my basement where i keep my tools and random crap) for the better part of a year. My basement maintains a pretty steady temperature year round, low 70's high 60's depending on the season. I really should consider aging more beers... ANYWAY.

The story here is this: my wife loves seasonal beers ALMOST as much as me, one of her favorites happens to be Sierra Nevada's Celebration Ale. That being said, this past April we were blessed with the arrival of our daughter Maggie. Which is just a beautiful thing. But, I'd be a liar if my wife wasn't just a little bit bummed when she wasn't able to enjoy her favorite seasonal brew last winter. So, being the awesome husband that I am, I grabbed a 12 pack last year and shelved it. intending not to drink any until the baby was born(only 6 made it this long but, thats pretty good right?).  On Friday night we decided it was time to crack them open.

On to the beer!!

Brewed by: Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.

Beer: Celebration Ale

Style: American IPA

alcohol by volume: 6.8%

This brew is just a a fine example of an american IPA. Poured into and english style pint glass it revealed a great amber/orange color. Not much head after a semi vigorous pour. Decent lacing as I drank my way down.

The nose is good with notes of lemon, and flowers and of course hops. The flavor is a bit piny because if I'm correct this beer is hopped rather vigorously during the brewing process. But, any hop lover will tell you that there is just nothing wrong with that! A bit of a bitter kind of mouthfeel but, some of the best IPA's have a bit of a bitter characteristic as a result of the massive amounts of hops in the beer.

Over all despite of the strong mouthfeel of this beer, its a shining example of an American IPA. This brew has me waiting on it each year which is pretty impressive.

Ill be picking more of this up when the 2012 batch is released. Ill hold on to at least one bottle of the 2011 batch for a comparison. Until then, cheers!!

Beer Review: Dogfish Head Immort Ale (aged)

So, Im going to preface this review by saying that I do not by any means have a beer cellar. I'm a complete novice when it comes to aging beers. This beer got aged on accident. An extremely HAPPY accident. To be perfectly honest, about a year or so ago I bought a "mix pack" of craft beers, as I so often do and Dogfish Head's Immort Ale happened to be one of those lucky six. Believe it or not, I just never got around to drinking it. It sat in my fridge (I know what you're thinking, "Thats not how you cellar a beer dummy!") and after a few months I just decided to let it go. WHAT A GREAT DECISION!!

So here it is, my review of Dogfish Head's Immort Ale aged 11 months (bottled 10/26/2010)

Brewery: Dogfish Head

Beer: Immort Ale

Style: English Strong Ale

Alcohol By Volume: 11%

Dogfish Head's Immort Ale is brewed with maple syrup from Sam Calagione's family farm in massachusetts. It's also brewed with vanilla and aged in oak tanks at the brewery.

This is a serious beer. 11% is serious... Seriously. I poured this brew into an english style pint glass. I poured it pretty hard as I was curious about what kind of head I would get on a beer that has been in my fridge for nearly a year. I was a bit disappointed with the amount of head I got which was pretty much zero. Of course this could have everything to do with the fact that its been aged for a year and NOT the beer if it had been poured fresh. I guess Ill just have to seek out a fresh one and see what happens. Anyway, despite the lack of significant head, this beer had some other serious offers...

Aroma. This brew is just fantastic in your nose holes. Don't snort it or anything, that would probably sting a bit. But, when you pour this beer take a good moment to enjoy the aroma. Very sweet (to be honest, it smells a bit like a good bourbon), you can definitely smell the maple and the vanilla working together. Harmoniously I must say. There was quite a "boozey" sent as well but, again that could be the aging. Let me stress that the "boozeyness" does NOT detract from the aroma of this beer.

Immort Ale's flavor upon first taste, seems very complex. However, as I continued it simplified. Very sweet, very earthy, very pleasant. As I slowly drank this brew and allowed it to warm up a little in my glass. It became very simple. The Maple is there, as is the vanillia and I could really taste the oak which, was very pleasant.

I REALLY enjoyed this beer. My only complaint is that the 11% ABV might have taken away from the flavors a bit but, thats just Dogfish Head. They brew strong beers.

If you can find this brew right now, grab a six pack and set one aside for a few months. You won't regret it. If anybody has a fresh one nearby that they might want to compare notes on, let me know. I'd love to know how different an experience a fresh one is to my aged version.

Drink craft beer!