Young Veterans Brewing Company's Big Red Rye

Okay, so in case you haven't noticed, these guys are kind of my home town heroes. Sure, there are quite a few breweries in this area, but I have followed these guys since I first heard about them when I got home from my deployment. I was at the grand opening, and I've been hooked on their brews ever since. Okay, and admittedly the fact that they were just a couple of military guys who liked to homebrew (like me) and now have accomplished so much has a bit of pull for me too. But when it comes down to it, they brew great beer, and hopefully their success will continue so someday the rest of the country can try their brews!

Big Red Rye is a Rye IPA and before anyone says anything, yes, I poured it into a wheat beer glass. Haha I don't care, it is the only glass I had big enough to hold the whole bottle, and I wanted it all! It pours a hazy, reddish-brown with an off white head. A quick sniff reveals some light hops on the nose as well as a little hint of the rye. The taste follows the nose to the T, light citrus hops lead off followed up with tangy rye aftertaste. It has some fruity notes to it that I am beginning to assume come from the rye as well (For those who don't read regularly, I am new to the Rye IPA category, and I am always trying to figure out where certain flavors come from). All in all, this beer is incredibly smooth and balanced, as I have come to expect from YVBC. Keep up the good work guys, every beer thus far has been a winner in my book!

PS Only one I haven't had is New Recruit. Anyone else try it yet? Let me know what you thought in the comments below!

Rogue Farms Pumpkin Patch Ale

I found out the other day that we weren't getting any Warlock in this area. I was pretty bummed, obviously. I have been looking for that bottle of goodness since I first heard of it. But, unless someone decides to mail me some or my parents happen by some, its just not happening this year. So I got this news in Grape and Gourmet and with pumpkin on the mind, I knew I had to satisfy my craving. So I checked out the seasonal brews they had up front, and decided to grab Rogue's Pumpkin Patch.

I decided to enjoy this beer while carving one of the three pumpkins that I purchased (1 for me, one for my wife, and a tiny one for the baby on the way!). It was a cool, fall day; leaves were falling and it just screamed pumpkin beer day. Poured into a tulip glass, Pumpkin Patch is a translucent brown with a thick off white head. The nose only reveals a nice, light pumpkin odor. Now, if you take a moment to read the bottle you will see that Rogue prides themselves on how quickly they get the pumpkins from the field to the beer. Take a sip, and you will see they have every right to be proud. Fresh pumpkin taste is forward in this brew followed by some semi sweet malts. The true greatness of this beer is that it really showcases the pumpkin. A lot of pumpkin beers are heavy on the spice, and taste more like pumpkin pie. Don't get me wrong, I love some of those beers too, but this is something special. Because it doesn't rely on heavy spicing, it is actually a very fresh and light beer, and it is incredibly refreshing. This ranks up with my favorite pumpkin beers, and if anyone has had any similar styled pumpkin brews, please let me know in the comments. Cheers Rogue, that was a fantastic offering. Oh, and this is the baby pumpkin!

Sierra Nevada's Southern Hemisphere Harvest Ale and Laughing Dog's Sneaky Pete

Hey folks! It sure has been a while, hasn't it? I am a little behind on my blogging; sorry about that! I'm afraid I've been a little busy with school work and such, so it is what it is. Anyways, last weekend my friend and neighbor retired after 24 years in the Navy (Daaaaang, right?) and we celebrated down at the beach. I brought two IPA's, Laughing Dog's Sneaky Pete and Sierra Nevada's Southern Hemisphere Harvest Ale. Let's start with Sneaky Pete.

Sneaky Pete poured a dark, hazy gold with a yellow-white head. A whiff of this big beer reveals huge, sweet malts on the nose. I took a moment to recheck the bottle for ABV, and saw the expected big 10% that the malty nose suggested. Take it slow with this one folks! Very sweet malts follow through on the taste with just a little bitter tinge. Citrus hops follow, and then a bit of a bite from the alcohol wrapped it up. I always expect that bite out of most beers over 9%, but Sneaky Pete masks it fairly well. All in all, this beer is a great, big IPA that should be savored and sipped.

Next up was the Southern Hemisphere Harvest Ale. Pouring a clear gold with a one finger off white head, this IPA has fresh, grassy hops on the nose. Its also worth noting that this beer left lots of nice, delicate lacing. Some people don't care about that but hey, I enjoy it. The taste reveals nice, piney hops followed up with by just little bit of sweet malts. This is a very smooth, balanced beer, and it is not very bitter. It is too bad this doesn't come in 12 ounce bottles, it would make a great beer in six packs! It isn't real light on the alcohol (6.7%ABV), but it is still very drinkable. In closing, I have a bottle of the Northern Hemisphere Harvest Ale too, and I will be enjoying that soon, so stay tuned for that review! Cheers!

Founder's Breakfast Stout

Beer blogging is a hobby for me. I have the Navy and college that take priority (or are supposed to, anyways). Because of that, sometimes I post a blog a few days after I enjoy a beer. This one, however, is pushing a week, and I feel a bit bad about that because this is one of the best beers I have tried in a long time. I had heard about Founder's incredible stouts, but I had yet to try any of them. So when Grape and Gourmet posted that they got some Breakfast Stout in stock, I seized the day!

Poured into my porter/stout glass, Breakfast Stout is as dark black as they come with a mocha head that quickly faded to a small cap. Big coffee nose on this one, not much else makes it through. Now, for the taste. Let me start by saying this. If you gave this to me blindly and offered it to me as a chilled coffee, I would probably not question you. Someone who doesn't drink beer but likes good coffee would definitely not question you, other than perhaps to ask why you chilled this coffee. If I haven't made myself clear, this beer tastes like a high quality, dark roast coffee with a hint of mocha in the follow up. It is unbelievably delicious. I see why they call this a breakfast stout, because if it weren't for social taboos and the risk of being called an alcoholic, I could have this with my eggs and pancakes. Who knows, perhaps I'll stash one away and do just that on my birthday. After all, nobody judges you for drinking at the crack of dawn on your birthday, St Patrick's Day, or apparently at sporting events. Anyone who knows me that in my case, my birthday will be my first opportunity. In closing, I think this is my new favorite stout. You should go get some! Now! Hurry before its gone! Ha ha, and enjoy! Cheers!

Epic's Brainless on Cherries!

I know it is not at all helpful now, but do any of you know what last Friday was? If your answer was anything other than the first National Barrel Aged Beer Day, then your not necessarily wrong... Just less right than the rest of us and potentially way off topic. Anyways, I found this out haphazardly while browsing Instagram (Follow me at @Brewsatthebeach!) and figured that I should celebrate like any beer loving American would! So I dug deep into my stash, and carefully selected a something I had never had before: Epic's Brainless on Cherries.

Content on this brew seems to vary by batch, so just for comparison purposes I will share that my bottle was from batch #19 (which is not yet up on Epic's website but boasts a big 11% ABV!). Now that the technical stuff is out of the way, lets get down to the nitty gritty. Brainless on Cherries is a Belgian style ale brewed with cherries and aged in French Oak Barrels. What is the difference between French Oak barrels and American Oak barrels? Beats me, but I'm sure its relevant to someone. Poured into a tulip glass, this big brew poured a clear ruby red and had a matching head that dissolved almost instantly. The nose is heavy with tart cherries and Belgian yeasts. Cherries start our palette off, followed my that delicious banana flavor I love so much about Belgians.There is a small booze bite at the end, but considering this is a monstrous 11% beer, its pretty minimal. I have had more bite out of beers that were less than 8%. So be careful, its stronger than it tastes! After swallowing a dry tartness is left behind, reminding me of a good, dry wine. These wine characteristics seem to strengthen as the beer warms, and I love it! All in all, this is a great slow sipper to share with a friend, and I will probably add another bottle to my stash soon! Cheers!

Russian River's Blind Pig and Lazy Magnolia's Timber Beast

Before we get started on yet another "catch up" posting, let me tell you about how great of a beer day I am having. First, I get a text from a friend saying Young Veteran Brewing Company is selling extremely limited bottles of their Jet Noise Double IPA and their Big Red Rye! They are a very new brewery and have to hand bottle everything, and this is only the second time they've released bottles. So I dashed over and got one of each! While I was waiting in line for the Jet noise, my favorite craft beer store, Grape and Gourmet, posts on Facebook that Founders Breakfast Stout is in! So that was my next stop, and I got a four pack of that too! So yeah, I'm in a great mood! Now, on to the beer!

First up is Russian River's Blind Pig IPA. I had big hopes since these are the same guys that brought us Pliny the Elder, and I was not disappointed. Blind Pig pours a clear gold with a white head. Fresh, citrus hops are the bulk of the nose. The taste has light, smooth citrus flavors throughout. It has some really great grapefruit notes without being too bitter. The real joy in this is the same as I found in Pliny: balance. This beer is so incredibly fresh and smooth, I think this should be just as actively sought out as Pliny. Sure, I liked Pliny more, but just a little more. What a great brew!

Next up was Lazy Magnolia's Timber Beast Rye IPA. Timber Beast pours a hazy gold with a thick off white head. Sweet malts and bread odors on the nose, I realized with a whiff I didn't really know what to expect from this brew. The bread notes from the Rye were really unfamiliar to me. These unfamiliar notes followed through in the taste. There was an herbal/ citrus hop blend on the forefront. The bready flavors follow it up along with a little bite from the alcohol (9% ABV). I suppose I have not had enough Rye IPAs yet to be accustomed to their unique flavor notes, but I enjoy them! I am always down for something new, and I got that with Timber Beast.

Well that's all folks, your caught up on my latest craft beer ventures. Now, I am going to cook up some dinner and crack open that Jet Noise. Sure, I'd like to save it, but its just too good to not drink fresh!