Great Lakes Lake Erie Monster

I tried this bad boy out last night. Recommended trying at least once in your lifetime. Quite strong if I may say so myself. All of the flavors managed to peek throught he bite of the high alcohol content. Quite interesting beer with a citrusey twang at the end.

http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/73/18421

Yards-- "Saison"

Sierra Nevada Torpedo extra IPA

This Sierra Nevada beer was given to me by a guy on a bicycle. He pulled it out of one of the back pockets of his cycling jersey and gave it to me. He had sunglasses on, his feet were unclipped from the pedals, and his legs were straddling the bike as he handed me the beer. This happened tonight. I was about halfway through an Ommegang while grilling. There was a knock on the door. I had a feeling the knock was coming from the guy on the bike. He had just texted me moments earlier, asking me if I wanted to ride. I told him I couldn't, as I was in the middle of cooking and about to eat. Last night he told me he landed a case of the Torpedo, said it was really good, said it was one of his favorites. Of course, he's really into IPAs. If you give him a beer that says "extra IPA", he's like a pig in slop. I like IPAs and Pale Ales. The double IPAs and extra IPAs, however, are usually a little too much bitter for my sweet tooth. This one, the Torpedo, had a bitter bite. Actually, it was more than a bite. It was more like a chomp. The label on the bottle says, "...aromas highlighting the complex citrus, pine, and herbal characteristics of whole-cone American hops". The citrus was evident, as it is in most hoppy beers. The pine? Tried as I might after a couple of sips, I couldn't detect it. Pine? There was no pine. Not that I've actually tasted a pine cone or anything. I mean, I've smelled pine before. I've had the pine air-freshener thing in my car that dangles from the volume knob on the radio, like everyone else. Taste and smell are two senses that are linked closely together, or so say the human perception psychologists. I get all that. It makes sense. But i couldn't even smell the pine. I don't know the pine taste. The smell of pine? I know it well. So, I'm reading the label, logging on the blog, watching game 4 of the Flyers-Devils playoff series. I'm getting settled in the easy chair, sipping and tasting, waiting for my beer thoughts to come...and then, BAM, I taste the pine! I can only imagine what pine tastes like as I've only smelled it before. If your olfactory nerves are linked with the taste buds, then by holy ham on a sandwich I can taste the pine. Suddenly this beer is magical. It's like one of those 3-D halograms that you stare at, and stare at, and stare some more until you have to go shave again. Out of nowhere the image appears, a slap in the face from a ghost. The Sierra Nevada Torpedo advertises pine, and it subtly creeps into your palate. I wasn't digging this beer at first sip. The hops were a little overwhelming. Grow on me, though, it did. I was liking this beer more as it went down. I don't know that I'd buy a case of this stuff, don't know if I'd turn one down, either. This is a great springtime beer. It fits with the season. I've always liked the smell of pine. Now, I guess, I like the taste of pine too. Tomorrow, I'm going out to the yard to collect some pine cones. I will marinate them and grill them, eat a whole plate of pine. With a side of Torpedo.

Back To Belgians: Leffe Blonde Ale

When you get home from work and crave a beer, nothing tastes better than the first few sips. In fact, Leffe has just filled today's void. The past few months I have been on a bit of a beer drought, drinking only several beers here and there - even on St. Patrick's Day. Can you believe that?

Sure, my normal fare out at the bar would disgust you all - Bud Light is frequented, Blue Moon is a common pleaser, and random Dirty Hoe's (Hoegaarten & frambois) are sometimes visited. But when a long drought of not only beer has occured, but Belgian beer particularly, my taste buds get excited.

Leffe could staunch your thirst for that home-from-work beer; It really does it so well. A murky complexion is she and hardly any bitter taste can be found in this blonde beer. If you're not sure why its called "Leffe", well that due in part to the Abbey it is named after: Notre Dame de Leffe. Sure, if you Wikipedia Leffe beer, you may have actually realized you've stepped on a monster of a beer dating back to 1152. Through floods, The French Revolution and many other instances, the brewery has been destroyed, rebuilt, then destroyed again only to have the faithful come back. For what reason? Beer is my only likely answer here.

Let's get down to the beer itself. I could easily see this one going well with some thick cheese and heavy roast beef since the beer itself lends quite a bit of flavor. Your mouth will be watering for some more before you've realized you blew through a bottle in no time flat. There's a sudsy feeling after each sip. At the end of the bottle, you might trick yourself into thinking there in fact is some bitterness to this one, but alas a friendly bitterness; not one to drive you out of town looking for another beer.

I would highly recommend this beer to anyone I know, particularly those dedicated to Belgian beers. Although if you've been a fan of Belgians, you most likely know about this. So let this be a reminder to you - go out and buy some Leffe. You haven't had it for a while and your taste buds will thank you for it. 8.4 / 10!

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Where is everyone??

Long Hammer IPA

This India Pale Ale comes out of Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Red Hook is the brewery.

It pours a cloudy orange. On the scale, it weighs in at 6.5% ABV and 44 IBUs. Both of those numbers are pretty much middleweights, relatively speaking. If you compare this beer to, say, Dogfish Head's 90 minute IPA and its 90 IBUs, the hop bite on the tongue isn't that sharp. This Long Hammer is dry-hopped, meaning the hops are added last. Dogfish continually hops their beers, which I guess is why their beers tip the scales in terms of IBUs. This beer was pretty good. The hoppiness was pretty evident, however, not overwhelming. The thing that caught my senses immediately after opening this beer, and while pouring it, was the hop aroma. It smelled great. Overall, a decent beer from a decent brewer. I've had Red Hook's ESB and their Winterhook a while ago. From what I can recall, the ESB was good, the Winterhook not so much. Red Hook has two others I'd like to try: a Belgian Tripel and an Autumn Ale.

If you are a fan of IPAs, I say give this one a try if you haven't already.

Mad Anthony's American Pale Ale

This Mad Anthony's is an Erie Brewing Co. creation. A glance at the label shows a picture of Brigadier General Anthony Wayne looking a little, well, mad. This isn't the heaviest of hitters in terms of alcohol content, but then again, I'm not sure APAs are supposed to be "big beers". It weighed in at 5.5%. A first taste revealed some sweetness. After the swallow, some bitter kicks in. I thought it tasted nicely balanced. I went onto the website and they have a Mad Anthony's bottle on a meter. One side they have "malty" and the other side of the meter says "hoppy". This beer fell dead center on the meter. So, I was right, I knew what I was tasting. My beer tasting connoisser rating just went up. Previously, I might have considered myself a 1/10. Pretty sure I've catapulted to level 2. Anyway, it you haven't been on their website, check it out. The meter on each beer is pretty cool. It makes shopping for your style pretty easy. The beer itself wasn't bad. I'd do it again. Wouldn't mind trying a bunch of their brews, actually. This beer certainly isn't at the top of my list. Doesn't come close to cracking top 10. Not even close to the bottom, either. Like I said, not bad.

My Mad Antony's APA beer pairing recommendations:

-would go nicely with a springtime game of horseshoes

-would blend perfectly with the atmosphere in your buddy's basement playing a few rounds of biliards

also try this beer with:

a football tailgate or a nice game of poker