Canned Beer Bonanza

Oskar Blues Brewery Old Chub Scottish Style- Ale

Specs:

• Price: $8.49 six-pack
• ABV: 8.0%
• Ingredients: malted barley and beechwood smoked malt
• Process: can conditioned! stays fresh and grows stronger as it's distributed. smoked malt gives a roasted touch to the flavor.

Oskar Blues Brewery has found their niche: awesome brews in understated packaging, and beer names that take after your Uncle's nickname for his junk. Google search 'Old Chub'-- the images that come up include this great beer, and some scattered pictures of Joe Biden. Old Chub has that dark, malty flavor to it that resembles the Founders 'dirty bastard' scotch ale. Dark and smooth, rich not bitter, this beer is one of the best canned beers that gives you brew for your buck.

No Matter How You Divide It Up...

Great Divide Brewing Company: Colette Farmhouse Ale

Specs:

• Price: $9.89 six-pack
• ABV: 7.3% +
• Ingredients: Barley, Wheat, Rice, FOUR strains of yeast
• Process: Brewed at higher temperatures to give the brew a tangy, crisp taste.

So Great Divide Brewing Company (Brian Dunn's brainchild based in Denver, Colorado) has taken the Belgian-style beer in a new direction- four kinds of yeast (represented by the four pictures on the right) really make this brew complex. Local beer experts have told me Great Divide used four strains of yeast to pay hommage to the 4-slice belgian waffle iron. I think that's horse shit- those waffle irons always sucked, and this beer is great.  And this isn't the only brew they do that's well crafted. Great Divide has a slew of elaborately crafted brews (although the Colette is the best brew for your buck) that might tempt your palette. No homo. http://www.greatdivide.com/#/beer

A Most Extreme Beer Situation

Beer enhancing mystery tube

Thomas Creek Brewery: Up The Creek Extreme IPA

Specs:

• Price: $10.49 4-pack
• ABV: 12.5%
• Ingredients: 4 pounds of hops per barrel
•  Process: a sweet, brown sugar malt compliments the ridiculously high ABV

I attended the "High Country Beer Fest" in Boone, NC. Holy Shit. 143 IBU's-- fresh hopped through some sort of intense, hop-cannon/ austin-powers penis pump sort of machine. Can we talk about the IBU scale? International bitterness units. I don't really understand the point of having a scale when there is no relative scaling. How bitter is 143? 23? Why isn't it from 0-100? The only other thing I can think of that has no relative scaling is the national debt. But I digress. Thomas Creek Brewery brought the only beer strong enough to get you buzzed by just having one sample-glass' worth of brew with their Extreme IPA. And for that, I commend them.

Torpedo vs. Hopsecutioner

Head to Head Post!!!!!

 Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. Torpedo Extra IPA  

VS  

Terrapin Beer Co. Hopsecutioner

         
Specs:                                                                     

• Price: $7.99                                                                       

• ABV: 7.2%                                                              
• Ingredients: Magnum and crystal hops                  
• Process: all dry hopped, about 50 IBU's                                    

                                                                                                                                                                               

Sierra Nevada is a long standing company with a famous pale ale that has helped rank them number 2 overall in total distribution among craft breweries. In January 2009, Sierra Nevada released the Torpedo extra IPA, a more bitter and intensely flavored version of the classic pale ale. For those of us who keep an eye peeled for beer deals, this is the one to 'hop' on from Sierra Nevada (pun absolutely intentional).

 Terrapin Beer Co. Hopsecutioner













Specs:

• Price: $7.99
• ABV: 7.2%
• Ingredients: Centennial,Amarillo, Cascade, warrior hops
• Process: different hops added at different
•                stages, dry hopped w/ cascades

Terrapin Beer Co. is a smaller craft brewery based in Athens, Georgia. There are over 60 bars in the town center. Hot damn. Anyway, Terrapin started as a microbrewery with only their Rye Pale Ale on draft around Athens. You know these guys have their heart in the right place when they aren't trying to dish another light lager on the market, but rather a novel complex brew. Just this year Terrapin Beer Co. opened a larger facility and released a few new ales, including the Hopsecutioner. The hopsecutioner is a slightly dryer tasting pale ale with a good bite that lives up to it's mortifying name. 

It's good to see smaller craft breweries on the rise and getting better distribution. The consumer is asking for it- and it's a pleasure to be able to pick up both of these bitter IPA's at my local grocery store. Competition is good, and it's great to see a smaller craft brewery that's able to put out an IPA similar to a larger brewery's product and it be a legitimate competitor in its Specs, value and taste. I can see a future where craft breweries of all sizes are getting distribution everywhere, and competing for the best Brew for your Buck.

"Eye" gotta go with Mendocino

Mendocino Brewing Co. Eye of the Hawk Select Ale

Specs:

• Price: $7.07 (six-pack)
• ABV: 8.0%
• Ingredients: Caramel malt (believed to be crystal malt) and whole leaf pale ale hops
• Process: Bottle conditioned! so the yeast thrown in at bottling gives the ale a natural smooth carbonation.

Mendocino is another one of those pot-smoking locations in California that also seems to be able to brew beer with substantial value for your dollar (the other being Humboldt county with Mad River Brewing Co.). The Eye of the Hawk Select Ale is a heartier amber ale with a caramel taste, and because of the low IBU's, very smooth taste and doesn't leave you with that dry-mouth feeling some ales give you. This ale is one of the more drinkable brews at an 8.0% ABV that you will ever kick back with and enjoy. http://www.mendobrew.com/brews/eye_hawk.html