6. Jolly Pumpkin – Bam Noire Dark Farmhouse Ale
A nice afternoon treat, I broke open a bottle of Bam Noire Dark Farmhouse Ale from Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales of Dexter, Michigan. It comes in a large bottle like a Belgian (1pt 9.5 fl oz to be exact) except it is sealed with a normal bottle cap. My bottle was labeled as coming from batch 490 of 491. It has a picture of the proprietors’ Jack Russell on the front, and it says, “One of Bam’s brown eyes is, in fact,...
5. Mendocino Brewing – Red Tail Ale
Mendocino Brewing Company’s Red Tail Ale says that, “this rich, inspiring amber ale is replete with refreshingly complex flavors and a delightfully smooth palate. It’s clean, dry finish makes this legendary ale outstanding!” It has an amber color and a fairly thin head upon pouring it. The smell of caramel malts was immediately noticeable and the aroma was exactly what you should expect from an amber ale. I...
4. Goose Island – 312 Urban Wheat Ale
Goose Island 312 Urban Wheat Ale came in a twist off cap (which is fine, except that I like pop top caps which can be reused for homebrewing). I was really surprised when I poured it that it didn’t maintain a big frothy head (as I’ve come to expect from wheat beers) but instead it dissipated quickly and maintain very little head. The first smell that hit me was a sort of an earthy lemongrass smell. The body was very...
3. Mendocino Brewing – Eye of the Hawk
Mendocino Brewing Company’s Eye of the Hawk says that “This full-bodied intense amber ale is enriched with a spirit, intense sensuous flavor and complex taste impressively mellow, with the dry finish, this totally varietal ale is seductively drinkable.” It’s 8% alcohol by volume. It’s obviously amber in color, but a little bit on the darker amber side. It’s got a nice creamy foamy head with tiny...
2. Dogfish Head – Chicory Stout
Dogfish Head’s Chicory Stout says that it’s “a rich dark brew smoothed out out with a touch of roasted chicory and organic Mexican coffee goodness and carries a bone white head.” It says that it is 5.2% alcohol by volume. It looks very very black and has an interesting smell that is hard to describe – slightly like coffee but a bit more of something else I can’t describe. Maybe it’s the...
1. Bell’s – Hop Slam
The journey of a thousand beers begins with a single step and a double IPA. Bell’s Hop Slam says it’s “a biting bitter tongue bruiser of an ale. With a name like Hop Slam what did you expect?” It’s got 10% alcohol by volume and says it’s brewed with honey. It’s a pretty pale yellow color with a very slight hint of orange color. It’s got a fairly thin head and the smell of hops is...
A Journey to try 1000 Beers
I was looking up a beer one day someone had told me about and somehow stumbled across the 999 beers blog by Dave Selden. His quest is to drink 999 beers in 999 days, and he provides excellent tasting notes on each beer. My quest is similar, but it is certainly not an attempt to literally “one-up” Dave. For one, my tasting notes will certainly not be as thorough as his and will lack the fancy tasting graphs he includes....
