Ithaca Beer Company's Flower Power IPA

Today was a lousy day. I went to fix my laptop fan and well... Let's just say I'm drafting my first post from my phone... Yeah.

Anyways, tonight I'm enjoying Flower Power IPA, brought home from Ithaca, NY. Once more turning to my IPA glass, this beer pours with a medium sized white head and is a nice light gold in color. This beer earns its name with its heavy floral and citrus odors. This beer is about average in the hop department, and would probably be good for those who can't handle monster IPA's or who must want something a little less intense. That is not to say that this beer is lacking flavor, however. Flower Power has a fantastic balance of floral hops and citrus notes. It is beyond refreshing.

Having tried two beers from Ithaca Beer Company, it is apparent they brew some serous quality. I wish it were closer, but I will be back up North soon so I will be bringing more home to enjoy.

Ithaca Beer Company's Cascazilla

As some of you have grasped from either knowing me personally or my previous post, I spent this weekend in NY, away from the beach. We were there to witness the marriage of two of our good friends yesterday evening (beautiful wedding, by the way!) in the small town of Groton, NY. At this wedding, other attendees and I were happy to find an open bar. Now, I know what you are thinking, as any lover of craft beer would: Open bar= cheap beer. As would be expected, all of the typical light culprits were present, but I was surprised to find they were accompanied by an array of brews from the local craft brewery: Ithaca Beer Company. I had heard of their beers, and was delighted. I decided to go with just one for the evening:

Cascazilla, named for both the Cascadilla gorge in Ithaca as well as the intense usage of Cascade hops, is a a Red IPA. Admittedly the first of its kind that I have tried, I was a bit skeptical. I was not disappointed, however. I drank this bad boy straight from the bottle, and was immediately hit with the strong hop bitterness I love in any IPA. What came next, however, was something new. In the aftershock of the hoppiness came forward the taste of an Irish red ale. This, and perhaps the color (I would not know as I did not have the opportunity to pour this gem) is why it is a Red IPA, and because of my naivety of the beer type, this came as quite the pleasant surprise. Though odor and head quality could not be fully appreciated from the bottle, I still would recommend this to any lover of either beer genre.

Unfortunately, the one store I had time to stop into before returning home did not have any Cascazilla available. They did, however, have Ithaca Beer Company's Flower Power IPA, which I bought a 6-pack of and intend to try very shortly. I will of course let you, anonymous readers from the world wide web, know what I think. In the meantime, however, it is time for me to recover from the long ride home. So in closing, if you are in the Ithaca, NY area, hit up Ithaca Beer Company, I am confident their other brews will prove to be just as delicious. Feel free to tell me if you've had any others!

Cheers!

Wheeeeatoooon! AKA The night I enjoyed Stone Farking Wheaton W00t Stout

"Well, well, well, if it isn't Wil Wheaton. The Green Goblin to my Spider-Man, the Pope Paul V to my Galileo, the Internet Explorer to my Firefox!"

Ok ok, I couldn't resist. I am not a Star Trek fan, but I am a Big Bang Theory fan. So for me, Wil Wheaton means Sheldon's arch nemisis, not a Star Trek character. Anyways, back to the beer.

First, some background: From what I gather, Stone Brewery had intended to honor the 10,000th person to sign up for their messaging service in some way. As it turns out, that someone did not end up being your average Joe. It was Stand By Me/ Star Trek star Wil Wheaton. Coincidentally, in addition to being semi-famous, Mr. Wheaton also enjoyed home brewing. Stone Brewery's Greg Koch took advantage of this, and proposed a collaboration beer. They also brought in Drew Curtis of fark.com, and together they created W00t. But who cares? Is it any good?!

The answer is: Of course it is. I am currently in NY for a wedding, and I brought this bottle along with some homebrews to take this time to relax. I wasn't sure what to expect from this monster stout, but being from Stone I had high hopes. My initial pour revealed very little head (due to a bad pour, I'm afraid) however the second glass had a thin head that faded quickly. On the nose, this beer smells of chocolate and coffee. Since coffee is my second favorite beverage, I am always happy to find I stout with coffee-like features. The mocha follows through on the taste, accompanied by a slight bourbon taste; courtesy of 1/4 of the volume of this beer being soaked in bourbon barrels. This is followed up by a considerably strong nutty taste, which I found out after some quick research comes from the pecans which were added. Despite it incredible flavor, the biggest surprise of this beer was its lack of bite. This beer had about as much kick as your average stout, weighing in at about 5-6% ABV. This bad boy is 13% though, and as hinted upon earlier, I had a couple glasses of it. In closing, I recommend you get a hold of a bottle of this limited release if you can, call a buddy, and split it between the two of you.

And now, my first negative review. Before enjoying all that was W00t, I went out to dinner at an Italian restaurant in the small town of Owego, NY (Original's) and I got myself a beer. Admittedly, the selection was limited, so I grabbed an unknown IPA: Henry Weinhard's Woodland IPA. Let's just say I should have gone with a Boston Lager. Perhaps I am spoiled by the likes of Dogfish Head and Stone, but to me, this was no IPA. In fact, I question whether this was an ale at all. It had a distinct lager taste, and moreover it had a distinct CHEAP lager taste. For all it's claims of hops on the bottle, they were nowhere to be found. I had assumed when I was able to twist the cap that I wasn't getting anything special, but this was a true let down.

Sixpoint Brewery's Resin

Sorry for the delay in posting, but I have not had any beers for the past few days due to needing to finish some homework. Naturally, I did not finish I single thing anyways, so tonight I cracked open a Sixpoint Resin and voila! I made some progress. Anyways, about the beer...

I had promised myself that I would do something other than an IPA for my third post, but alas, the heart wants what the heart wants. And as I opened the refrigerator in search of tonight's inspiration, this one called out to me.

Poured into my trusty IPA glass, Resin at a glance and on the nose, would never stand out in the IPA crowd. The floral smell of hops is surprisingly mild compared to some smaller beers. Nevertheless, this one packs a punch in the taste department! The bitter hops kicked me square in the teeth and had me second glancing at the can. Oh, will you take a look at that. 103 IBUs. And they mean it! It is followed up with a hint of alcohol, reminding you that this bad boy in a little can is 9.1%. Sure, that's not for everyone, but for me these are the traits of a perfect slow sipper. There is gorgeous, heavy lacing for you to appreciate as you sip. All in all, this is a big win for Sixpoint in my eyes.

Dogfish Head- Robert Johnson's Hellhound On My Ale

Today was a big day for me: We got to have an ultrasound and see my first child for the first time! It was the most exciting moment I have ever experienced. So I figured tonight, I would crack open something special to celebrate: Dogfish Head's Hellhound On My Ale.

Sometimes it is hard for me to take the plunge on a 750mL bottle that I have never had before. Especially with a high ABV, it can be a lot to tackle if you decide you don't care for it. Plus, they usually run over $10 (This particular bottle ran me $12.99). That's why, if I am not going to split it, I tend to lean toward a Dogfish Head. I have tried many of their beers, and tend to consider them a very safe bet as they consistently put a smile on my face and more than occasionally blow my mind. Combine this with the promise of a big IPA, and I'm in.


Poured into my trusty Dogfish Head IPA glass, this light gold IPA started with a thick, off white head that slowly faded into a nice thin layer. On the nose, lemony goodness and sweet malts are more forward than the heavy hopping I expected. The bitter hop goodness is at the forefront in taste, however, with a tinge of lemon. As far as I know this is the first IPA I've had with lemons, and its fantastic. The follow up is a flood of sweet, malty goodness. The alcohol bite is definitely there (I mean come on, its 10%), but as always Dogfish Head balances it out pretty perfectly. Though a lot of the floral notes I usually enjoy from this style are a bit overwhelmed by the alcohol and sweetness, I am once again very glad I went with Dogfish Head.

Double-Wide I.P.A. - Boulevard Brewing Co.

As you will notice more in the future, I am a sucker for interesting packaging. The image of the old trailer with a tornado caught my eye as I browsed around in my Navy Exchange package store. This imagery and the humorous claim of this beer being "twister-proof" had me at hello.

Poured into a Dogfish Head IPA glass, this beer has a huge, slow fading head. This clear, dark gold brew is attractive as the bottle that contains it. Taking a moment to waft this new beverage, notes of citrus and piney hops hit the nose strong. I have to admit, I had to contain myself at this point as a strong, hop forward beer is my Achilles's heel. The tangy, bitter grapefruit odors follow through in the taste. It is not as overwhelmingly bitter as many big IPA's, but it still has that fresh hop taste that makes me love this style. The head leaves a nice, light lacing on the glass. Am I the only one who is a complete sucker for that? I am not sure why exactly, but I really appreciate the beauty in that. After taste has a hint of sweetness that masks the relatively big 8.5% alcohol content. This is not a beer for your average college student, but if you like IPA's, you absolutely won't be disappointed.

I had never had anything from Boulevard Brewing Company before, but if this is the quality level they produce in all of the beers, I will be trying more in the near future.

Cheers!

The Beginning of... Well, Something.

Alright, time for an awkward introductory post! My name is Corey, and as can be assumed about most people that would take the time to set up a blog about beer, I enjoy the occasional sudsy beverage. But so do a lot of people, so why start a blog? To be honest, one of the two people I discuss new beers with has left the country, and my wife is not at all interested in how hoppy the latest Dogfish Head brew is. So I will spew my thoughts and opinions into the fine medium that is the Interwebs, whether it be to thousands of people or just myself.

Cool, now that that's out of the way, a little about me, and what we'll be doing here.I am 26 years old and currently reside in Virginia Beach, VA where I live with my lovely wife and two canine children. The core of this blog will be about trying new beers and revisiting some favorites. I will "review" these beers from an average guys perspective. I am hoping to provide something a little less intimidating then your average "beer snob" reviews, and really want to you to be able to decide if the beer is something you would enjoy. In addition to trying a plethora of new beverages, I will be sharing brewery visits, local pub/restaurant experiences, as well as the occasional homebrew adventure. All in all, I have a great time with beer, and I'd like to share that.

I appreciate your current (and hopefully future) patience with my ramblings. I will leave you for now with a quote from a man who will remain nameless because, quite honestly, I did not ask him his name:

"Don't be a beer snob. Be a beer Jedi! Help them turn away from the Dark Side of beer..."