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.