Loose off that 4Loko
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Drank a Saison de Lente from The Bruery tonight. Damn good. Its pretty much a ripoff/clone of Boulevard's Saison-Brett (same generous hopping, same use of Brettonamyces yeast, same appearance even. I wouldn't be able to tell the difference in a test of appearance). My review:
750mL bottle served into a tulip glass

This beer is gorgeous. It looks like a carbon copy of Boulevard's Saison-Brett. It pours a straw yellow body, very style appropriate, that has just enough clarity through the haze to make out streams of carbonation jetting upwards. The white head is fantastic in scope. It pours out like four fingers if you aren't careful. The foam produces a towering hill in the middle of the glass with the consistency of meringue. The edges of the foam is full of large bubbles that leave behind sinews of lacing all around the glass. You'd be hard-pressed to find a saison that looks better than what I am looking at right now.

Lemon and crackers and candy sugar hit me first; very Belgian nose upon first whiff. Dried-out hay and a considerable hop presence make for a large amount of earthiness. The Brettonamyces is certainly noticeable. Dog hair and musty old barn funk and, like, radishes (yes, radishes. I am quite sure now. Maybe some mustard greens) come out of the yeast. There is a lot going on and the highlights will fluctuate with temperature. Great stuff.

This is a good tasting saison but the complexity of the nose doesn't quite pan out on the palate. It comes close though. The taste is strongly vegetal, actually. It tastes like mustard greens and plant roots and earthy soil; some of this is from the bittering hops and some of it is from the yeast. There is just a hint of lemon rind on the back sides of the tongue, masked by all of the earthiness. The aftertaste presents hop bitterness and hay; it is drying like good saison should be.

The carbonation is, surprisingly, not all that active. The beer can get watery at the tail end of a glass. It is on the lighter end of the medium-bodied spectrum. I'm scoring drinkability a 4.0 because all the earthiness (while quite tasty) can get to be a chore after a while. You might share this 750mL bottle for best results. If not, you will still enjoy drinking the entire thing.

This is my first beer from The Bruery. I can tell that this brewery knows what they are doing. This is a lovely American Saison, one of the best that I've had. It is clearly an attempt at a Saison-Brett clone - everything about it from the generous hopping to the appearance to the amount of Brettonamyces present is eerily similar to a bottle of Saison-Brett, only not quite as good - and it succeeds. Buy this beer if it is available to you. It is plenty funky right now and it will only develop with some cellar time.

Now drinking: another saison from The Bruery: Saison Rue, a saison w/ Brettanomyces and rye malt. Rye in a saison!

Bud Light

Brasserie Dupont's Avec les Bons Voeux. A huge, 9.5% ABV "imperial" saison brewed for the holiday season. This is a good beer - a bigger, brasher version of Saison Dupont - but proof that bigger does not necessarily equal better.

Tonight? I drank the one, the only, Fantome Saison from Brassiere Fantome. Danny Prignon brews the numerous, very different farmhouse ales of his Fantome brewery by himself. It is a one-man operation in the tiny village of Soy, Belgium. He is a true artisan; he moves past the label "craft beer" and coaxes out of his natural ingredients a true artistic expression.

Having a little Mighty Arrow right now. I had intended to get something different but the sale price was too good to pass up.

Crown and coke, that is about all I will drink. :thumb:

Fat Tire, first time. I'm officially meh about it.

It is very much a meh beer.

Cool and gloomy weather - I think I'll make a Rusty Nail or two. Don't much care for 'em in hot weather so might as well enjoy 'em while I can.

It surprised me because I've liked every one of the beers I've had from NB. I guess I built my expectations up for them. I've had the LaFolie, Trippel, IPA, and the Dunkelweiss.

Guinness Extra Stout

A couple Templeton's

Fat Tire is more of their mass appeal amber. It is perfectly fine when the draft choices are limited but yeah it's meh.

I was at a bar earlier that had Lagunitas as the same price as every other domestic premium so had a few of their IPA's and Copper ale's.

I had 2 margaritas and 4 jagerbombs. It turned out to be a pretty good night.:thumb:

Whew! I got VERY drunk yesterday afternoon, and I drunk texted some friends last night. I thought for sure I'd get on here to find I'd embarrassed myself again. So far, I haven't seen where I've done anything.

We had a Preakness party yesterday and started drinking Black Eyed Susans at about 4. Those things are awesome.

last night: Fantome D'Erezee' - Hiver

tonight: Stone Cali-Belgique IPA

Finished the last of SA's Homebrew contest winners. Had the 2nd Barleywine tonight. Great beer. The Lemon Pepper Saison was nearly undrinkable, the barleywine was excellent, and the Old Ale was pretty good.

I had two boulevard wheat drafts with dinner because the in-laws took me and the kids out.

Split a pitcher of Bell's Oberon after golf today. Great summer beer...

Beefeater on the rocks & a Macanudo Ascot on the back porch. Nice Spring night in Wichita.

It's our 9th anniversary, and the wife bought me a Tank 9 and bought us a bottle of Lake Sonoma Zin. Drank the Tank 9 while cooking and now I'm starting on the Zin.

Good stuff.

By Tank 9 do you mean Boulevard's Tank 7 Farmhouse Ale?

I'm thinking a sour beer will do for tonight. Howabout the world's best framboise (raspberry lambic)? Cantillon Rose de Gambrinus it is, then.

Err. duh. Yeah. Tank 7. The 9 got carried over from the 9th anniversary.

Shmaltz Brewing Companies Coney Island Albino Python. (beer of the month club offering, it was a gift)

Not bad.

Aperol and soda.

Coca cola & Absolut Vodka

Crown and Coke :toast:

:(

...Ice Water.

Alas, I'm gonna get "fit" this summer, even if it kills me.

:deevee:

started with a couple of ceasars complete with olive and celery.
finished with a straight rye on the rocks

40 and Hot Wings.

Thank you.

Oxycodone and Diazepam, with a chaser of Fuji water.

Diazepam? That's usually prescribed for anxiety and for alcohol withdrawal.

Blind Tiger raw wheat. Maibock (forgot brand). Fullers ESB.

As well as muscle spasms.

Had a buddy over and we split a Dogfish Head Fort - an ale brewed with lots of raspberry puree... that happens to be a gigantic beer. 18% ABV! It was boozy!

Later I had a 12oz bottle of delicious Tripel Karmeleit.

Boozy is good. I like boozy.

Yesterday:
Boulevard Single-Wide IPA at Blanc Burgers + Bottles
later that night, a Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout and a New Holland Black Tulip Tripel

The Czar RIS from Avery.

Red Hook
http://www.google.com/url?source=img...9yxWsT6wJmXqrg


along with a Cuban Montecristo Torpedo. ;)

http://www.google.com/url?source=img...NHeOY6hXBzd8mA

Oh yeah, and a little of my homemade Belizean Rum coffee drink, out in the man cave, at the bottom of the shop fridge. :thumb: It goes great with cigars.

Good beer is hard to come by where I live. So a couple times a year, I go to LR blow my load. The hidden bottle is the aforementioned RIS. The Lambic will be my first.
http://img686.imageshack.us/img686/5987/gedc0133z.jpg

FWIW - Lindemans "lambics" aren't really lambic beer. They have artificial sweeteners in them. They are tasty, though, in a fruit soda pop kind of way. Real lambic beer is so much more complex and way more sour.

Duly noted. That brand is about the extent that I see here.

Have you had any of the Demons' series? Those will most certainly be the biggest beers I've had. What am I to expect?

It usually will be outside of a beer store that knows what they are doing. Whereabouts are you located?

Reaper:

Please provide a layman's review and definition of Boulevard's Single Wide IPA. Thanks.

I've only had a 2007 Mephistopheles Stout. Lots of sweetness and a big alcohol bite. Great mouthfeel. I would expect a large amount of alcohol in the taste and smell of that series and perhaps a too-much amount of malt sweetness.

Some really good beers in there - I like all of those Avery brews. The Collaboration Not Litigation beer is great, IMHO, and a cool story to go with the name...

Layman's? Here's some tasting notes I took from an on-tap pint of Single-Wide from December 2008:

Pours a golden yellow, sort of the same color as Bell's Two Hearted Ale, with a nice two-finger head. The head on this pour was so creamy looking that I thought it came from a nitro-tap. Decent lacing notches lines in the glass as you drink.

Hops hit you front and center in the aroma dept. Lots of pine resin and flowers in the nose. A hint of caramel type malt, but mostly just piney hops. Its not balanced, but its darn enticing.

On the tongue, Single Wide is not nearly as one-sided as the aromas would suggest (kind of like Double Wide in this respect). Hop bitterness hits first along with grapefruit and maybe green tea, then the malt sweetness washes over your mouth. In the malt's wake, however, is a bitter aftertaste, slightly drying, leaving you desirous of another drink. Not complex, but balanced and delicious.

This is an easy to drink IPA. I feels perhaps a tad thin in the mouth, but nothing that would be unpleasant or distracting in any way. The alcohol plays no role positively or negatively, making this a great session choice. Its balanced, refreshing and tasty, which is more than I can say about a lot of beers.

This is a very very good beer.

Had the Samael's the other night. Good beer. However just seemed like a hot Old Ale to me.

Good beer day today while warching the world cup. Cracked some great brews with a couple buddies:

Stone Ruination IPA, Unibroue Maudite, Great Lakes Dortmunder Gold, Odell IPA, home brew DIPA.

Great Lakes Edmund Fitzgerald Porter, and Central Waters Mudpuppy Porter tonight. Both are excellent...

Killed a sixer of PBR. About to drink a Dewars on the rocks once I get ready to settle down for the night.

Gonna sit out front and watch the storm roll in with some good ol Natty Light tallboys.

Prolly shoot some pool with my ol' man later on and drink whatever he's got.

Have a good one folks.

Finished a handful of New Belgium's Blue Paddle.

Tasty.

Brassiere Dupont Foret Organic Saison

http://img52.imageshack.us/img52/9254/drinkofchoice.jpg

This and a few tournaments of UFC undisputed. Rashad Evans when I'm sober, Jon "Bones" Jones when I'm tipsy, and GSP when I'm hammered. Should be a good night.

HOORAY BEER!

The light Red Stripe is actually really good. It's hard for me to find though, since it usually sells out so quickly. I saw it tonight at the store and knew it was fate.

LMAO no it isn't.

I love a high quality craft ale as much as anyone, but I've never understood why that should keep someone from enjoying a cheaper beer with less flavor if it's what they're in the mood for.

Just cause I love a good filet doesn't mean I can't chow down on a greasy burger from time to time.

Tyson Farms and St. Ides, BITCH!

But greasy burgers are good. They taste good. I can't find any value in Red Stripe Light and I'm a person that doesn't hate Red Stripe.

I'm heading out to a White Trash Bash here in a bit.

Got a couple PBR kegs and plenty of Jim Beam. I'll be drunk from about 5ish this afternoon until I pass out sometime tomorrow morning.

Now you're CAKIN' PATNA!

I'm going to a non-alcoholic wedding tonight, which is one of the worst inventions in the history of mankind. Booze is necessary to make any wedding reception tolerable.

Hey guys, can you take a look here: http://belmont-station.com/bottles.html
My local buying spot. Can you recommend any of the boulevard stuff I need to try. How about any of the other stuff listed. I have tried some/a lot of the stuff listed but anything there that is a must try? Give me some suggestions.

Flask.

Really, you have no choice.

Dark Truth

If I were to list all the beers worth trying from that list it would take a long, long time. So I'm only going to list the mind-blowing ones: Alaskan Smoked Porter, Alesmith Speedway Stout, Ayinger Celebrator, Bear Republic Hop Rod Rye, Boulevard Saison-Brett, BLVD Bourbon Barrel Quad, BLVD Collaboration #1, BLVD Dark Truth Stout, BLVD Harvest Dance Wheatwine, The Bruery Saison Rue, The Bruery Saison de Lente, Chimay Blue, De Ranke XX Bitter, Deschutes Jubel 2010, anything Dogfish Head is worth trying for the adventureousness of it, Saison Dupont, Dupont Foret, Dupont Avec Les Bons Voeux, EKU 28, Firestone Walker Union JAck IPA, Great Divide Espresso Oak-Aged Yeti, Goose Island Bourbon County Stout, Goose Island Matilda, Goose Island Sofie, Green FLash West Coast IPA, anything Hair of the Dog, any JW Lee's Harvest Ale vintage, Okocim Porter, Pelican Cream Ale (seriously), anything Russian River, Rochefort 10, Schnierder Aventinus, Sierra Nevada Bigfoot, most everything Stone (if you like hops), Unibroue La Fin du Monde. That's a long list of GREAT (or if not great then unique) beers.

Thanks Reaper, was hoping you would respond!

My haul today. Thanks Reaper for the suggestions.

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4032/...998d69eb_b.jpg

6 pack Deschutes Twilight Summer Ale, Alaskan Brewing Co. 2009 Smoked Porter, Alesmith Speedway Stout, Pelican Kiwanda Cream Ale, Boulevard Bourbon Barrel Quad, Blvd Saison Brett, Blvd, Collaboration Imperial Pilsner, Blvd Dark Truth Stout, Blvd Harvest Dance, THe Bruery Saison Rue, Saison De Len, Rugbrod, and Autumn Maple

:toast: