Day 59-Beer 59 Sawtooth Nitro All-American Ale, Left Hand Brewing Co. Longmont Co.

Another Left Hand Brewing Co. Beer, but this one was a disappointment. The Label states brewed on the banks of the mighty St. Vrain, Super smooth nutty malt flavours balanced by herbal hops. Well I don't know if I just got a bad bottle but none of the above seemed to be true. It poured a cloudy amber/copper colour with very little of white head. The aroma was somewhat sour with a hint of hops. It was very flat tasting with no real hops or malt flavours that stood out. Although the beer itself is almost tasteless it did have a slightly sour aftertaste as well. It is certainly the first really bad Left Hand Brewing Co. Beer that I have had, in fact only the second beer in my sojourn so far that I have dumped have of it down the sink. 2.9 out of 5

Day 58-Beer 58 Hop Devil, Victory Brewing Co., Downingtown, Pennslyvania

"The Mythical Hop Devil resides in the lore of farmers Arising from the heady wilds of our hop back and gently tamed this Devil makes a great companion." Hop Devil poured a clear copper colour with ok head and very good sticky lacing. It had very typical aromas of IPA, citrus and hoppy spice. The flavor is citrus hops with a slightly bitter finish. A really good IPA clean crisp refreshing even at 6.7% ABV. I'd give it 4 out of 5

Day 57-Beer 57 New Dog Town Pale Ale, Lagunitas Brewing Co., Petaluma, California

Tried my luck today playing cribbage at the Polk County Senior Games. There were some 200 or so contestants ranging in age from 96 years young to 60. Prizes were awarded for each age group, needless to say I didn't make the cut to win a medal but we play euchre on Sunday, maybe the luck will run better. Tonight's beer was New Dog town Pale Ale an APA with 6.2%alcohol. It poured a slightly cloudy golden orange colour with good fluffy white off white head that retains very well and leaves a lot of sticky lacing on the side of the glass. The aroma is made of spicy hops with a citrus background and a hint of caramel from the malts. the taste is very hoppy with some sweetness upfront and strong grapefruit aftertaste. Overall very drinkable, a nice APA, crisp, refreshing with nice hop bitterness balanced with just enough malt sweetness. 3.8 out of 5

Day 56-Beer 56 O.K.Beer Okocim Full Pale Ale, Okocim Brewery, Brzesko, Poland

A great game of Shoot the Moon/Up the river with Malcolm,Pam, Doug, Judy and Rochelle and as it should be the guys cleaned up. Tonight's beer a full pale ale was more like a lite pale ale even though it was 5.6%. It poured a very clear light golden colour, adequate head with very little lacing. very little aroma, a hint of malt but not much else. The taste was clean, light, with no after taste. Malcolm's comment was "it's just a beer, nothing special" and I agree. 3.5 out of 5

Day 55-Beer 55 Kaiserdom Pilsener, Kaiserdom Brewery, Bamberg Germany

Off to Bok Tower today with Pam, Malcolm and Rochelle. Bok Tower Gardens in Lake Wales is a national historic landmark and is located on one of the highest points in all of Florida at 295 ft above sea level. Apparently they have discovered a point near Claremont that is higher as 303 ft above sea level. It made for a very interesting walk through the gardens and to the carillon tower. Todays brew Kaiserdom Pilsener was not named after my good friends the Kaysers. The brewery was established in 1718, that's even older than most of the golfers here at ILE, but not by much. Sorry Joe, Bob and others. Malcolm's first comments were the beer would be great on a warm day. It's light and refreshing and he would definitely try another. It poured a slightly cloudy golden colour. It produced okay head which dissipated quickly leaving just a little head. Malcolm also said that although it lost its head quickly its not a flat tasting beer. It tasted like a typical pilsener from Germany. Light citrus flavours , a touch of bitterness from the hops , smooth on the palate. Overall a good beer 3.8 out of 5

Friday Afternoon Drinking Buddies

Some of the boys from our Friday afternoon gatherings sent this picture from back in Canada a while ago with a comment about the weather, it was a mere -17. So Sad, cold here in Florida is a day with a high of 60 and by the way today was sunny and 81.

Day 54-Beer 54 Dunkles Hefe Weizen,Tucher, Aus Bayern, Germany

Malcolm and Pam arrived today to stay for a few days between cruises. They stopped and bought me a couple of beers for me to try my blog. So a few card games and a few warm-up beers and here goes. Malcolm also helped me sample tonight's beer, Dunkles (which means dark) Hefe Weizen (wheat beer). It lived up to its name as far as appearance goes, it was dunkles, dark reddish brown, and quite cloudy, as most wheat beers are from the yeast, with a good off white head , nice retention and good sticky lacing. It had a fruity, citrus and banana smell with a hint of a spice which I couldn't put my finger on so I checked what others thought and some hit it on the nose so to speak, it has a hint of cloves.It's taste included a hints of caramel, banana and cloves. Overall not very good even for a wheat beer which I already am not overly partial to. Malcolm also gave it a thumbs down and dumped most of his down the drain. I'd give it a 3.2 out of 5. If you like wheat beer there are much better ones to try, even Krystal Wiezen made by the same company although not great is much better.

Day 53-Beer 53 Black Mocha Stout, Highland Brewing Co., Ashville North Carolina

A great day today,helped out in the 19th hole pouring my favourite beverage, beer. It was fun working the taps. Then we topped it of with a poker run on the golf course, some great entertainment and dancing, all the while enjoying a few barley pops so to speak. As for tonight's brew, if you are a stout lover you'll love this one. It poured a solid black that alowed almost no light through it, with a nice creamy tan head that left a full covering of lace as the head dissapated. The aroma was made up a dark chocolate, latte coffee and just a hint of hops. The flavours consisted of dark chocolate, coffee, smoked hickory and roasted malts. It got a nice sweetness up front finishing with just a touch of hop bitterness. This one although much sweeter with more coffee flavour is right up there with a Guiness Stout on Tap. I'd give it 4.1 out of 5 ( one of my higher ratings so far on my beer journey). A great stout that I am shure to drink again.

Day 52-Beer 52 Florida Avenue Ale, Cold Storage Craft Brewery, Tampa, Florida

Another great Friday night at Camp Tiger, Good food, good fish, good music. Tonight's beer is a wheat ale something that I normally shy away from. This was not your typical wheat ale as it poured a clear golden yellow similar to most light beers that you would buy from the big brewers. It produced a nice bubbly head that dissipated quickly leaving almost no lacing but it did have a continuous trail of carbonation bubbles. It had a weak wheat and citrus aroma. The flavour was very mild with a sweet toffee and orange taste. Overall okay, but not one I run out to buy again. 3.3 out of 5

Day 51-Beer 51 Ruedrich's Red Seal Ale, North Coast Brewing Co., Fort Bragg, California

Today's beer poured a cloudy dark amber with copper tones. It produced a white head that dissipated fairly quickly leaving a good layer of lacing and some adhering foam on the sides of the glass. A nice balance of malt and citrus aromas with a hint of hops. The taste was similar with some hops bitterness upfront followed by some citrus flavours and caramel from the malts. A nice crisp refreshing ale with more than expected hops bitterness for a amber/red ale. I'd give it a 3.7 out of 5.

Day 50- Beer 50 Stranger APA, Left Hand Brewing Co., Longmont Colorado

Day 50, a half century of beer so to speak. I wanted to buy a Labatts 50 but they don't sell them anywhere that I know of in Florida. So I had to settle for a new "Stranger" to meet my palate. It poured a golden amber color with a fluffy white head with some good lacing that sticks to the glass. It has a strong citrus aromas of grapefruit and orange with hints of fresh grass and spicy rye.It has a citrus flavour with some mild hops spice and bitterness. Certainly not as strong on the hops as most APA's but very well balanced. Overall a little light but nice clean crisp easy drinking flavours. 3.6 out of 5

Day 49-Beer 49 Messiah Nut Brown Ale, Shmaltz Brewing Co., Clifton Park New York

Norm and Pat headed back to Canada today, I guess they miss the cold and the snow as they said they found it very hot yesterday as the temperature got up to 80, to me it was pretty nice. Took them to an outback, hillbilly restaurant yesterday called Cherry Pockets. Good food and 2 for 1 Beer, life is great. As for today's beer no I haven't gone religious, but it is my second "HeBrew Ale" the last was Genesis, this one Messiah Nut Brown. It pours a dark walnut colour with a reddish tint, with nice cream coloured head and lots of sticky lacing. The label lists an interesting list of malt that includes a chocolate malt. As expected with a nut brown ale, there is a sweet nutty aroma with the addition of the smell of dark chocolate. The taste is also very malty with a nice nut flavour as well a lots of chocolate malt flavour tantalizing the taste buds. It's a very good nut brown ale, I'd give it a 3.8 out of 5

Day 48-Beer 48 Modelo Cerveza Especial, Cerveceria Modelo,Mexico City, Mexico

The beer pours clear golden with a nice white head. There are lots of visible tiny bubbles in the glass. The beer smells of corn, malt and a hint of something sweet. It has the classic American lager aroma. What you get in the flavor is a very typical pale lager, clean crisp and refreshing with just a hint of hops. You get the flavors of the barley malts with almost no hop bitterness. Certainly one of the better Mexican Beers I have tasted. 3.8 out of 5.

Day 47 - Beer 47 Devil's Britches India Pale Ale, Highland Brewing Co. ,Ashville N.C.

Happy Birthday Doug, 78 years and very young. Great day today sort of. It started with a good game of golf with my friends Pat, Norm and Tom. Shot a pretty good score but Tom beat me by two strokes. The a boat ride, the battery was dead, got it going but had fuel problems, got it going and had a good ride but only spotted a couple of gators. Then off to the lounge for supper and back home, well almost, ran out of gas, had to walk home, then go and get gas, the first gas station is closed so and extra 10 miles to the next station so finally way too late we arrive at Doug's to celebrate his birthday. The truly great people they are( especially Judy) invite us in to have a few to celebrate Doug's birthday. Happy Birthday and many more. Well tonight's brew Devils Britches apparently was named after the Devil's Britches Trail in the Smoky Mountains because of its red colour. It pours a dark reddish copper colour with little head but very good sticky lacing. Aroma is floral, some light tropical fruit, pine hints. Overall its not bad but not very strong hop aroma. Hops are on a biscuit malt base. Not a bad smelling beer just not as hop forward as an IPA should be. Not much aroma but a hint of orange citrus and fresh grasses. The taste is better then the nose at least as far as hops go. Nice hoppy bitterness with a little sweetness from the malts. It is well balanced with a nice finish. Overall not bad but not great as far as IPA's go, but it is a drinkable IPA, 3.7 out of 5.

Day 46-Beer46 Shiner Bock, Spoetzl Brewery, Shiner, Texas

Had a great day but a really lousy golf score. Introduced Norm and Pat to the Nineteenth Hole where we had a few warn up Yeunglings. Sat around tonight and watched a movie on his laptop, when you don,t have a TV movie watching can be an experience. Tonight's beer poured a clear copper colour with a white head that dissipated in seconds, way to fast, leaving a flat looking beer. There was no real distinct aroma other than a faint hint of malt. The taste was similar with nothing outstanding, a little hops, a little sweetness of malt, very mild, almost bland. Not what you would expect from a good bock beer. 3 out of 5

Day 45- Beer 45 Valentines day , Mad Anthony APA, Erie Brewing Co., Erie Pennsylvania

Company from Canada today, Norm and Pat. They had a rough journey here while we basked in the sun. Off to a Valentines dance tonight so I hope this all makes sense when I write it. Mad Anthony, I think I worked with him, poured a golden colour with adequate head and lacing. It had a nice fresh grassy aroma, however as an APA it needed more of a hoppy aroma and taste. It was more like drinking a light German Pils or a pale ale rather than an APA. A good drinking beer but not what the label implies, no outstanding hops, no hop bitterness, no citrus punch but an okay beer, 3.6 out of 5

Day 44-Beer 44 Dead Guy Ale, Rogue Ales, Oregon Brewing Co.,Newport, Oregon

"Who cares how time advances? I am drinking ale today." Edgar Alan PoeTodays beer is styled after German Maibock Ale. The label was created to celebrate the mayan day of the dead and apparently grateful dead fans loved it so they kept it. The beer poured a cloudy amber/orange colour, with a creamy white head, very little lacing with a fresh malty aroma. A sweet caramel/toffee taste up front with a hint of hops bitterness but it has a very different aftertaste as the bitterness subsides to a syrupy/honey flavour. Overall not bad, certainly not a typical ale, 3.7 out of 5

Day 43-Beer 43 Iron City Beer, Pittsburgh Brewing Co., Latrobe, PA

It is what it is, a premium lager. It pours a nice clear golden yellow with white effervescent head full of bubbles and has a little lacing after the head subsides. It smells like a lager, a little sweetness from the malt with some graininess. It is very mellow and very drinkable, just like most good lagers, with no hop bitterness or after tastes. It would make a great beer to have on ice beside the BBQ on a hot summer day , very refreshing. Overall a good lager, 3.8 out of 5

Day 42-Beer 42 Boont Amber Ale,Anderson Valley Brewing Co., Boonville,CA

The label just about sums it up "Deep copper with a light creamy tan head" ( it's actually quite hazy) "Rich aroma of caramel and sun-toasted grain meshed with a mellow noble hop aroma. A full bodied malt flavour is supported by mild hop bitterness with herbal hoppy aromas-lending itself to a long clean finish" Overall a little sweeter than I expected and it could have used a little more hop bitterness, on the plus it did have nice sticky lacing and was very refreshing to drink. 4 out of 5

Day 41-Beer 41 He'Brew Genesis Dry Hopped Session Ale, Smaltz Brewing Co., Clifton Park NY

Had to endure a beautiful day today in the high 70's and a golf game in the high 80's so overall a good day. Tonight's beer is " a gourmet Kosher Micro Brew" ... " with the chutzpah to keep calling itself the chosen beer" I guess it could be because I did chose it from a shelf with a lot of other beers?? It poured a slightly hazy amber/copper colour with ample cream coloured head a nice lacing. Smells of malts and citrus. Very easy to drink with some hints of caramel from the malts and only touch of hop spice/bitterness. I would have expected a little more up front hops, but then again that might not be kosher,in this ale but overall pretty good 3.8 out of 5.

Day 40-Beer 40 Prima Pils,Victory Brewing Co. Downingtown, Pennsylvania

Great day, a game of pickle ball, a game of golf and off to an icecream social at a neighbouring community, Lakeshore, then tonight's beer. Prima Pils, it poured a nice clear golden colour with ample clean white head and nice lacing. Nice aroma of citrus and grass emanate from this beer. The taste was clean and crisp with a little hoppy spice, with some tangy citrus and a hint of sweet malts. A very good Pilsner. 4.1 out of 5, 40 days down, 325 days to go and I'm loving it.

Day 39-Beer 39 Toasted Lager, Blue Point Brewing Co., Patchogue,NY

Tonight's beer Toasted Lager poured an amber colour with lots of head. Lots of carbonation. It had a slightly sweet smell, a bit of caramel and toasted bread. Up front it had a little hoppy spice but then it mellowed out with nice nut toasted malt flavours. A nice easy drinking lager. Overall 3.7 out of 8

Day 38-Beer 38 Ephemere Flavoured Ale, Unibroue, Chambly, Quebec

It's Friday night and Camp Tiger for another fish fry and some country music by Richard Robins and crew. It's great entertainment. Tonight's beer is very different Ephemere Ale is brewed with apple juice, coriander and curacao peels. My friends know me and I have always said it you have to add fruit to a beer to make it taste could it shouldn't be made or drank but we'll see. When you pour it looks like apple cider, slightly hazy and golden yellow with very little head and not a lot of carbonation. You could definitely smell and it tastes like bad apple juice. A little tang of green apple mixed with a bit of sweetness from the malt. Not very good, it seemed stale and flat so I checked the bottle. It had a best before of 3/10/13, so it was past its prime. Maybe if it was fresh I might score it a little higher but not much, 2.8 out of 5

Day 37-Beer 37 Kalamazoo Stout, Bell's Brewery, Comstock, Michigan

Feeling pretty normal tonight, went way past capacity yesterday. Worked all day on scaffolding helping a fellow golfer erect a steel building. It was great to see how many members of the ILE MGA came out to help. It is a great community. Tonight's brew, Kalamazoo Stout, was brewed with licorice. It poured almost black, with a tiny bit of cream coloured head. The smells were roasted malts, a hint of licorice and dark roasted coffee. The flavour was a little creamier than I expected. Tastes of chocolate, coffee and a little hint of licorice.Overall an okay stout 3.7 out of 5

Day 36-Beer 36 Warstiener Verum, Warstiener Brauerei, Germany

I am too drunk to do a write up but I think it was good 3.6 out of 5. Had to go back and edit this one the next day. Had a great day on the golf course then spent way too long in the 19th hold but that wasn't enough. Doug left without saying so long, so we all trotted off to Doug and Judy's for some more beer. I definitely needed the ride home, Thanks Judy for putting up with us and the ride home. As for the beer and what I remember it was a very typical German pilsner, blonde colour, very little head. The beer was very easy drinking. 3.6 out of 5

Day 35-Beer 35 Old Brown Dog Ale, Smuttynose Brewing Co., Portsmouth,New Hampshire

35 days and counting. Old Brown Dog was more like Old copper dog. It pour a redish brown colour with very little head that dissapeared quickly and no lacing. It had a smell of citrus combined with roasted malts caramel and chocolate. The taste was like it smelt, a bit of citrus, a lot of sweet malts and chocolate. It did not have the nutty flavours I expect in a brown ale and it was far to sweet and creamy for the style and my tastes. I'd give old brown dog a biscuit for trying but thats about it, 3.3 out of 5

Day 34 - Beer 34 Mack In Black, Imperial Black Ale, Holy Mackeral Brewing, Fort Lauderdale FLorida

a great day here in Florida, over 80, a round of golf, warm up exercises in the 19th hole and good cards with good friends tonight. Learned to play Up the River or Shoot em Up with our Merkin Friends Doug, Judy, Carol and Dick and of course Rochelle. My team won one and lost one. Oh Well, as Doug would say. Did some more warm-up exercises while we played cards on several Warstiners. Tonight's beer an Imperial Black Ale fermented with pomegranate juice poured black withe ample brown head that dissipated quickly, but there was a continuous flow of bubbles around the edge of the glass. The aroma consisted of smokey malts with hints of citrus. The tastes up front were a heavy smokey malt with citrus and a little sweetness, possibly from the pomegranate, a bit of hoppy spice, dark chocolate and roasted hazelnuts. It was very well balanced for a heavy black ale with 8% alcohol. Overall very good 3.9 out of 5

Day 33- Beer 33 Laughing Skull Amber Ale, Atlanta Brewing Co., Atlanta Ga.

Its Superbowl night so this is going to be a quick review. They claim it's back from the dead and better than ever, like a zombie that just won't go away. It poured a dark amber colour with a bit of haze but it produced great off white creamy head. Nice malt and caramel aromas. Nice flavour of caramel up front with a bit of hoppy spice uncommon to amber ales. It's a beer that most beer drinkers would enjoy. A pretty good beer but not exceptional. I'd give it 3.6 0ut 0f 5.

My New Truck

got me a new southern truck to haul me some beer!

Day 32-Beer 32 Terrapin Rye Pale Ale, Terrapin Beer Co., Athens Georgia

The bottle looked great with a great caricature of a southern hillbilly turtle playing a banjo. Nice touch. The beer poured a very cloudy amber/copper colour. The head dissipated quickly leaving some nice lacing. It was well carbonated for its style. Not a lot of strong aromas but you could smell the hops and some hints of rye. The taste was citrusy(orange like) with some nice yet mild hops spiciness and a little hint of caramel from the malts. It certainly didn't have the punch of a strong IPA, but well balanced, very drinkable, I'd give it a 3.8 out of 5