the name alone makes my thirsty

store: stone
type: american double/imperial stout
abv: 9.20%

oatmeal stouts are tasty… and this is no exception… this is over the top flavor in a glass.

you get some beers that say one thing on the label and it tastes nothing like that… but this actually does taste like bitter chocolate (like baking chocolate) and oatmeal. and being a stout, there were flavors of coffee as well.

i would definitely get this again… i wonder if it’s still being sold? only one way to find out — i need to make a trip to my local stone brewery!

beeradvocate: A-
me: A

i'm koo koo for coconut porter!... sorry

store: stone brewing co.
type: american porter
abv: 5.70%

first time i had this was at stone… such a strange idea for a beer — coconut. surprisingly, it’s not overpowering, but you can definitely taste it…

it pours a very dark brown with a dark brown head… it tastes like coconut, some coffee, perhaps some chocolate (as most porters are wont to do)

it’s an awesome beer to drink — seems like a dessert kinda beer to me… i highly suggest this

…and so does zane:

beeradvocate: A-
me: A+

tasted very hwheaty (spelled correctly)

store: gordon biersch
type: kölsch
abv: 4.6%

so this was a consolation beer after waiting roughly an hour for district 9 (and then getting turned away) with geoff.

this is currently the seasonal beer at gordon biersch and it’s definitely worth a shot — i really like wheaty beer… there’s a crisp, refreshing flavor…

it went awesome with my meal: cheeseburger and garlic fries (appetizer of beer cheese soup)… the beer cheese soup is AMAZING… the cheeseburger kicked my ass tho — i dunno what it was. i still maintain that the bun was a bit “tough” (for the lack of a better term)

oh well… it’s still good beer AND they’re on twitter! AAAAND they respond to tweets (cont’d)!

(i’m currently asking them what the abv of this beer is — let’s see how fast they respond)

UPDATE: they responded!

beeradvocate: B+
me: A

no... it's not david the gnome (anyone?)

store: bevmo
type: belgian strong pale ale
abv: 8.00%

i gotta admit — i was gonna get the blue label chimay, but then saw a gnome on a bottle of beer and HAD TO get it… this was the other beer brought to the usa/spain match (maybe i shoulda themed my beer with the game… doh!)

go belgium — another great one! it’s a cloudy witbier-like flavor

the mouthfeel was like a sparkling cider — very bubbly, making it a good one to drink on a warm day

thanks to andy, i found out the meat/cheese that we had: pepper salame (they weren’t fuckin’ around with the pepper), ivernia (ireland), and iberico (the spaniard) — both cheeses were on the dry side, but not crumbly (not saying that’s a bad thing) — but they both finished creamy, if that makes any sense (i do beers, not cheese… get off me)

beeradvocate: A-
me: A

sam smith's brown nut... ha!

store: bevmo
type: english brown ale
abv: 5.00%

so i’m parlaying my success with samuel smith’s brewery with this… it’s a really good brown ale — not the run of the mill brown ale, mind you.

brought this to enjoy at andy’s and adam’s for the usa v spain futbol game (who woulda guessed the outcome of that game?)

it pours and looks like every brown ale you’ve seen — dark brown with little head (like me… what?)

the taste was very sweet — i noted caramel and toffee in the flavor… wasn’t expecting that, but was pleasantly surprised.  matched with some good cheese whose names i can’t remember off the top of my head… hint hint

beeradvocate: A-
me: A

with a pub mix cameo

store: bevmo
type: oatmeal stout
abv: 5.00%

rolled into bevmo and saw my buddy, vg, there… he knows of the whole 50-beer thing and has been pretty good with suggestions (he hasn’t failed me yet).

so he suggested this one — i’ve never tasted an oatmeal stout before… it’s really good

it poured a really dark body with a 2-3 finger frothy head (heh heh)… had hints of chocolate with the taste… and my favorite category, it had a creamy mouthfeel

bought a single big bottle — i think it’s 22 oz maybe? and finished it quickly. definitely a session beer for its smoothness and taste

i wouldn’t really pair it with pub mix in the future, but it’s always a good snack

beeradvocate: A-
me: A

my phone has a flash apparently!

store: adams ave. grill
type: american amber/red ale
abv: 5.20%

i haven’t had this beer in SO long… it was different than i had remembered…

drank this at chaunce’s wedding and i was pleasantly surprised.

it wasn’t harsh with a bad aftertaste. instead, this had a nice wheaty/malty taste — very refreshing, soft… very dependable

i might need to pick a sixer of this again… 

beeradvocate: B
me: A

ya think i shoulda used a flash? not flesh...

store: stone brewery
type: english brown ale
abv: 6.20%

i’m sure you’ve all had another famous english brown ale — i’m going out on a limb to claim that this one is better

i probably enjoyed this a lot because i drink my coffee with hazelnut creamer — so it’s a flavor i’m kinda used to…

good stuff — great beer to start the night off

beeradvocate: A-
me: A

best frosty mugs

store: islands
type: not sure exactly, i’ll say cream ale
abv: 5.50%

i like islands for happy hour… decent food, but their beer is served the right way — cold and in frosty mugs…

one of my favorites of theirs is the standard — the golden ale

it’s strange to look for something on google and not finding any results. not even beer advocate had any results on this — perhaps i’m not putting it’s actual name or something… i dunno.

“how’d you know the abv, joe?” — well, lemme tell ya

i went to the islands web site and filled out their contact form (don’t get me started on their use of “comic sans”). here’s what i typed:

I had the Golden Ale at your restaurant and I really liked it.Do you know what the ABV of that particular beer is? I couldn’t find it anywhere online.

then… a speedy TWO days later, i get this response in my email:

Hi Joey,

Thank you for taking the time to visit our website.  I checked with our Food & Beverage Director, our Golden Ale ABV is 5.5%

I hope this information was helpful!

Sincerely,

Traci Casteel

Islands Restaurants

yes, traci, it was helpful

beeradvocate: n/a
me: A

always a good decision...

store: vons
type: light lager
abv: 4.00%

there’s a lot of light beers out there — but i think this is one of the best ones…

rob actually got me into this beer a while ago — props for that!

sam adams boston lager is a bit too harsh imho. the light variety is a lot easier to drink… it goes down smoother

can’t wait for the summer ale to come out — it’s the bizzle (best)

beeradvocate: B-
me: A