Moylan's Kilt Lifter

Hi there faithful reader.  We have Kilt Lifter, a Scottish style ale today.

8% alcohol and the bottle is one pint and six ounces.

I'm not a great fan of the UK/Scottish style of beers and ales as they tend to be drier than I like.

This was no exception.  But it was nicely brownish, tastes pretty good, but lacks the sweetness I would prefer.  And enough alcohol to give it some body.

If you like this style, then it's for you.

Brewed in Novato, CA.

Peanut Butter Milk Stout

This is produced by Belching Beaver Brewery of Oceanside CA.

"Stout with Natural Flavor"  Only one?  Hmm.

It seems they mixed some peanut butter with their milk stout and came up with this per their label.

Only 5.3% alcohol, which was unexpectedly low for me.  It tastes that way too, but not in a bad way.  This is very drinkable and by that I mean it is not a sipping beer, but one you can drink a lot of it and quickly.

It also does not taste thin, which I usually attribute to alcohol content, but there may be more to it than that. 

I liked all the flavors.  The peanut butter comes through and the makers suggest there is coffee and dark chocolate in there as well.

So we have a complex taste with not too much alcohol and has pretty good body.  I think Barb bought this at Trade Joe's.

Worth a try if you like all of that.  Comes in a 1 pint, 6 ounce bottle.  Not cheap, but for the flavors, not over priced.

Shadow Puppet Blonde Ale, Belma

Shadow Puppet is a new brewery to me.  It's in Livermore and I thought I was familiar with all of them.

This is their blonde ale, 4.7% and 20 IBU.

Cindy, bless her heart, brought a tinny over for Thanksgiving and I saved it for Saturday.  Not bad, considering the alcoholic content.

A good beer for a hot day.  A touch of red in the color, so not golden by any means.

The cans are 32 ounces, so I'm not feeling a lot of pain at this point.  I used the last glass full to wash down some Thanksgiving leftovers.  No complaints, but there are a lot of other beers on the Shadow Puppet's menu that I would try before getting this one again.

Here's their web site:

http://shadowpuppetbrewing.com/menu--shadow-puppet-brewing-company.html

Deschutes Black Butte Porter

Alcohol 5.2% and IBU 30.

These are reasonable numbers for a light beer of the porter variety.  I prefer more alcohol which would increase the thickness of the beer.

Not too sweet.  Ok for hot weather, but not a sipping beer.

OK, but I would not seek this out unless it was inexpensive.

Drakes Drakonic Imperial Stout

And we have another winner...  This comes in a larger bottle and Barb bought it! 

Drake's Brewing Company San Leandro, CA, AKA "The Malty Beast"

9% alcohol and 40 IBU (International Bittering Units - I believe)   Nice and dark, even the head is a brunet. 

Lives up to its name; nice and malty, a touch of sweetness.  Goes great with sweat peppers and hummus! 

Highly recommended.

BBQ Wings in the Pressure Cooker

This was dead easy and the results were pretty good, id est, there are no wings left!

Ok,pressure cook on high for 5 minutes 2 lbs of wings.  I trimmed the tips and cut the sections apart.

Do the old NPR (let the pressure release slowly).

Warm the over to 450.

Dry then toss the chicken parts in BBQ sauce and dump onto a pan with some lips to it.

Into the oven for 15 minutes.  I would like to broil them next time and get more of a caramelized coating.

But, all gone and we'll probably do it again.

Session Pilsner

I got this at Trader Joes.  Bought just the one can, as I did with the Anchor Coffee Stout.

When I was in German as a student, we visited a brewery and had lunch with the brewmaster.

The rowdy crowd at the end of the long table asked Professorin Frau Friedlander how to ask the waitress if she was married.  The brew master found this famously humerus and bellowed out a hearty laugh.  He was a big guy.  This 1973 and I can still see the scene.

They fed us pork cutlets and kraut mit Spaetzle and Kartoffelsalat.  Plus, of course beer.

The master/Meister was asked what the difference between bier and pilsner, he replied that pilsner had less alcohol and also went through you faster.

Details, the Sessions Pilsner is 4.0% alcohol.  It has a very crisp, light taste.  Probably great for hot weather.  I could also see this with a slice of orange in it.

Not my usual beer, but I like this. 

It was about $6 per six pack, comes in cans.

Worth a try!

UK Trip Report

Dear readers,

I was hoping to have a number of entries from forays in UK pubs, but that didn't happen.

Yes, we went to a number of pubs, but the only beers they serve there are about 4% alcohol and quite clear and light.  There is Guinness everywhere, but that was no strange treat.

I drank a bunch and it seems to have settled around my stomach!

Basically, I have nothing to report.  Very sad, I know, but there it is.  Maybe I'll have to get back to what's left of Germany to have a proper dark beer.

Anchor Coffee Porter

This is by Anchor Brewing that makes the famous Anchor Steam beer.

Alcohol 6.7%
Supposed to be brewed with coffee!

Nice dark color, thick looking, with a nice head on it.

The first taste impression was that it was a lot like Anchor Steam.  Now, I've not had that in a while, but it brought back that memory.

I found it not too sweet and almost a touch of bitterness.  But I'm not trying to be negative on that, it seems to compliment the flavor pretty well.

It's not very thick, I would prefer more thickness, and I think that is a function of the alcohol.  If this were closer to 9%, it would probably feel thicker.

I don't taste or smell the coffee much, but that may be what's driving the bitter taste.

In summation, I like this.  It's a bit expensive, almost $2 a bottle.  At that, I can get Imperial Stout from the local brewery.

This might be the first beer since we got back from the UK.  It's nice to get back to the darker/thicker and more alcoholic beers.

A Trip to England

I went over to visit a friend and while doing so had the opportunity to drink a few beers, which they call "pints" in that country.

A pint is different over there and comes to a neat 20 ounces.  One might suspect that 20 ounces of the golden nectar would give a person a true case of the "feeling unnecessaries," but the beer there is pretty weak stuff.

The high alcohol level is 4.5 or so, usually found in a bitter.  The normal stuff is less.

The idea is that you can hang out with buddies and drink all night and still pass the driving limit.

All of that is fine, it's kind of a nanny state and they like to make it impossible for someone get drunk.  But what I would object to is the lack of variety.

As my blog readers will note, I'm a fan of heavier and darker brews.  The stuff in the UK is neither.  The darkest you can get is Guinness, but with its low alcohol, it tastes like water.

Maybe, this just occurred to me, that they like their beer like their tea, a bit weak and a bit warm.


I spent some time in the UK in the mid 70s and I remember darker beers and bitters.  I was looking forward to doing some sampling.  But they were just not to be found. 

Thus, no details for the readers to guide them to in a trip across the pond.

An N of One! Ice Cream Sandwich Conundrum

For the first time in my life I've had an ice cream sandwich whose cookie "bread" was actually crunchy!

The whole box seems to be this way.

I'm guessing that the box had never warmed up to the point where the moisture from the ice cream softened the cookie.

This box of bars was IMHO, a whole new taste sensation.  I loved the crisp crunch from cookie.  This provided a nice contrast to the softness of the ice cream.

These were from Walmart, their Neapolitan flavor.

Barb, on the other hand, likes the cookie to be soft.

Sweet baby Java porter

Duclaw Brewery Baltimore, MD

6.7% alcohol

Described as expresso Bean, Chocolate, peanut butter porter.

This was pretty good. Smooth and flavorful with lots of peanut butter scent.

I originally read the name as sweet baby Jesus porter, which seemed to be a bit blasphemous.

Worth a taste but stay away if you don't like peanut butter.

Silva Hot Links!

These are the Louisiana Brand Hot Link, comes in a 4 pack from Walmart grocery store.

It was $4 or $5 for the package.

The package is 13 ounces, so each guy is a bit more than 3 ounces.  Note that the hot dogs at Costco are a full 4 oz. each.

These are supposed to be hickory smoked and are rated by the manufacturer as "Premium." 

Are there really hickory woods involved in the production?  Hard to tell these days.

But since I don't like the smokey taste anyways, it's a bonus that I didn't notice it as I ate it.

I've had 1/2 the package at this point.  The heat is quite good.  Not too hot, but defintely some kick there.  I've had them on Wonderbread hotdog rolls, which define "white and soft" as no other bread company can.

I've used jalapeno mustard to compliment them and had one with some Swiss cheese.

One minute in the microwave oven and it's good to go! 

I like these a lot and would not hesitate to rebuy.

Hell or High Watermelon

This comes to us via 21st Amendment Brewery.

It's a wheat beer with the promise of some watermelon taste.

4.9% alcohol and a seasonal release from San Leandro, CA.

This is a good beer for a hot day.  But sadly, I couldn't taste any of the watermelon.

I'll have to try it again some time when it's warmer.  We've been getting a lot of cool weather in CA these days, no doubt due to a warmer world.  And it's all your fault!  (This last one is from Al Gore, who regularly reads the blog and passes me comments. (ok, I lied about all of that.))

Boatswain Chocolate Stout

This can be found at Trader Joe's for about $6 a six pack.

The flavor is mild with some hints of chocolate.  It's alcohol level is 5.4%, which seems a bit light for this kind of brew

But it does taste pretty good and you can drink a few of them without getting too goofy.  Almost a good stout for a hot day, which is a bit of a contradiction in terms.

Worth a try for the price if you like a darker beer.

Hard Root Beer!

Back in the days of yore, root beer was indeed a beer.  It was brewed and fermented and had some alcohol.  I'm too lazy to look it up.

Today I had the pleasure of trying a Coney Island Brewing Co. Hard Root Beer.

This was nice and creamy and tasted like a very good root beer.  But it has 5.8% alcohol in it too.

I would suggest this is a nice combination and should be encouraged!

If you like root beer, then give this a try.

Mint Chocolate Stout Bootlegger's Brewery

Alcohol at 6.1%

This was a disappointment to me.  I love mint and chocolate is ok too.  Mint chip ice cream should be a sacrament.

But this had mere hints of mint and hints of chocolate - also it didn't come across as very chewy - I like them a bit thicker.

I may have needed to be in a better mode for this one, but I was saddened as it had so much going for it..  :-(

Guest Post by Karen! Robusto Porter - Drake's Brewery San Leandro

Robusto Porter

 

Wanted to try a local brew and since Drake’s is located in San Leandro, this fit the bill. 

 

Alcohol content: 6.3%

 

Nice dark coloring; one of the darkest porters I have tried.  A bit thinner than other porters, probably due to the alcohol content, but relatively smooth and malty with chocolate and coffee notes.

 

Rating: 4/5 (Would drink again)

Kaspar's Cajun Dog

Barb and I go to Kaspar's for lunch on occasion.  I don't go without her as the Polish at Costco is about 1/3 the price and is tasty enough.

I'm a big fan of Louisiana hot links.  I like them hot.

Sadly the Kaspar Cajun doesn't have the heat that I like.  I put some Sriracha sauce on it today and that helped.

I realized this summer that it's the spear of dill pickle that reminds the taste buds of the Chicago hot dog.

So while the Cajun is ok, it could be a lot better with some more heat.

Full Brown Stout

This is by the Tap It brewing company from San Luis Obispo (or SLO as the locals call it).

5.5% alcohol. 

This stout is a bit dry for my taste.  Good color and the taste is reasonably complex, but the dryness doesn't work for me.

Let's call it 3 stars on the "R. Hume Scale of  Beer Love."

Eye of the Hawk Imperial Ale

This is from Mendocino Brewing.  (I'm still working on my Xmas present from the kids.  Well done Jay and Renee!)

Like much in California, we are a careful lot.  On the bottle cap you will find instructions: Use an Opener.

Whom does this serve?  You are supposed to be at least 21, speak English, don't know how to open a bottle of beer?  How many are there of those individuals?  Sure we can protect the hands of California who might think it was a macho top, but how will they ever learn?

I sure hope there is a prop 65 warning!  I might get or not get cancer from this liquid gold.

Ok, on to the contents...

I've found that Imperial ales to generally be dark.  This is almost red in color.

Typical imperial, I would say, but I've a limited experience.

Thickness is good.  Flavor is pertty good.  A bit of an IPAish after taste, but that not too intrusive.

It's 8% alcohol, so stop at three before you operate heavy machinery  -- of course there is a warning for that too.

Pretty good, I can sip this.  Maybe better for winter than a hot summer day.

P.S. No prop 65 warning!

Guest post from Cindy! Saranac Clementine Pale Ale

Hi there…here’s my review for Saranac Clementine Pale Ale. 

On a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being one of the best beers I’ve ever tasted, the Saranac Clementine Pale Ale ranks around a 2. 

It lost most of the points with the bite - powerful and acidic - not something you’d expect from a clementine. 

This beer isn’t shy - I could have handled the bite if it were a bit more subtle and resembled a clementine vs. a more acidic citrus.

Cindy C., guest blogger

Another from Full Sail out of Hood Oregon: Wassail Winter Ale

This was an interesting ale.  It was like an IPA but without all my objections to the I in IPA.

I liked it a lot.  It seemed to have some fruit to it in the first couple of swallows.

I'd prefer a bit more sweetness.

There are spicy notes here and some flavor.  The thickness was above average and satisfying.  I kept looking for more more slug from the bottle.

It also went well with the Sriracha Spicy Peas.

I can't find the alcohol content, but it feels about 6%.

Worth a try if you like the IPAs and even if you don't but prefer some body.

Sriracha Spicy Peas

A bit of a departure from the beers and stouts today.

The spicy peas were also an xmas gift, from Barb, I think.  She got them at Cost Plus.

A product of Thailand!

I was slow to try these as I had some Wasabi Peas from Trader Joe's and didn't like them. 

But these were pretty good.  Quite sweet to start with, then a bit of heat at the end.

Most excellent with beer. 

Barb tried them on a salad one day and reported a positive outcome.

Give 'em a try!

Blackout Stout Ale

Indian Wells Brewing Co.

Alcohol is unknown, but the type on the bottle is pretty small and my cheaters are not at hand.

This was ok, but not the heavy stouts that I like.  There was a touch of sweetness, but not enough for me.

Drinkable, but not, for me, buyable.

Mendicino Brewing Redwood Oatmeal Stout

6% alcohol.

This is ok.  Not very thick or creamy.  It's not very sweet either.  But at this alcohol level one could drink a couple of them and not feel too unnecessary.

I'm damning this with faint praise.

I would drink it if I found it in a party bin, as the darks are more interesting than lagers and lighter stuff.  But I'm not going to put this on the buy list.

There are hints of chocolate and coffee and that kind of thing.  But dryness is the main killer for me.

Session Fest Premium Red Lager

The kids, bless their hearts, got me a 12 beer box of assorted brews for Christmas.

I tried the first one last night.  Please see the title for the name!

This comes to us from Hood, Oregon and from the Full Sail brewing company.

This tasted to me like a mild IPA.  Readers will note that I am not a great fan of the IPA style.  Oh, I'll drink it if there is nothing else, but my tastes run to other styles.

I wish I had poured it into a glass as I am curious as to the color.  I didn't notice that this was a red lager until it was gone.

This tasted pretty good.  There seemed to be hints of citrus and while IPA-ish, not too bad. 

I probably wouldn't buy more of this, but I am happy to have tried it. 

Different and worth a look.