As noted earlier, we decided to do our own beer get-together, rather than dealing with the overpriced lines of Brew at the Zoo, or the overpriced unavailable tickets of the Great American Beer Festival.
In attendance were Margie and I (of course), Mary and Stan, Bruce, Doyce for a bit, and Amanda later on.
Margie and I did some sampler packs from Davidson, plus some interesting tall singles. Bruce brought over a Ska sampler pack. Stan and Mary brought a case of random interesting beers.
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The following are my rankings, only, of the beers. Everyone had different opinions (and mine were a few sigmas off):
- Ska – Buster Nut Brown Ale: An alcohol edge, but not too nutty. B-
- Lakefront – Fuel Cafe Coffee-Flavored Stout. Good coffee taste. Not very creamy or stouty, but a reasonable beer equivalent of a dark Starbucks drink. B
- Left Hand – Oxymoron Teutonic IPA: very hoppy, but not bitter. Floral end. Should be drunk cold. Not my cuppa, but well done for that. C
- Lakefront – Wheat Monkey Ale: Refreshingly light – almost too much so. Slightly sweet, but much flavor there. Needs a wedge of orange. A-
- Lakefront – Eastside Dark Lager: Slight molasses flavor. Dark. Nutty. C
- Ska – Tenpin Porder: Cool and clean. Smoky finish. Best with food. B
- Boulevard – Zon Belgian White. Spicy white, but really needs an orange; doesn’t stand alone well. B-
- Viru: Light lager from Estonia. Lightly hopped. Fun bottle. Distinctly flavored. Surprisingly nice. A-
- Lakefront – Klisch Pilsner: A little bitter. B
- Odell – De Construction: A beer trying to be a wine. A biodynamic wine. A pretentious biodynamic wine. So distinctive, nobody liked it, and it was poured out. D-
- Lakefront – White: It’s … totall non-descript. Closest thing to water. Not bad, because there’s not enough there to comment on. B-
- Grand Lake – Wooly Bugger Nut Brown. Caramel flavors, turning to stronger notes. Very malty. C+
- Cuvee Renee – Belgian Lambic: Beer that actually tastes like wine. Citrusy, with a bit of sour fruit. C
- Grand Lake – Whitecap: Unfiltered. Stands well on its own. A-
- Golden Draak Ale: Maltyy nose. Does not taste good. Bitter, but not complex in its bitterness. D+
- Sherwood Forest – Archer’s English Pale Ale. Malty nose and flavor. Serve cold. B-
- Boulevard – Bully Porter. Very dark porter. Not my cuppa. D+
- Grand Lake – Shadow Mountain Oatmeal Stout. Very dark and, um, stouty. C-
- Chima – Pere Trappistes Ale. Fruity, smooth. B+
Again, those reviews were all to my taste, not anyone else’s. And everyone knows about my taste.
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Amanda brought over very nummy beer-flavored ice cream from Sweet Action.
Sunday morning was the typical post-Margie Gras Three B’s — bundt cake, bacon, bubbly – plus some yummy apple crisp Margie made.
A good time had by all. At least that’s how it seemed to me. I had a good time, at least.
So, I note that the three ‘lightest’ beers all got your A- ratings. 😀
As I said, they’re all my ratings, and I tend toward light beers, hefes, whites, etc. Margie’s much more appreciative of porters and stouts and all. The others tended to like more of the darker beers, though there were some we all agreed were not our collective cuppa.
Shouldn’t it be: MargieOktoBierFest? Just sayin’. ;P
Heh. Was going more for the “Oktoberfest” morphemes mash, but that would work, too.
Of course, it’s also only September, so …
Side note on this year’s Brew at the Zoo: pours were done into 4 oz sample glasses, which (according to one site) kept booths from running out. Full-size (well, 12 oz.) glasses were handed out at the exits.