CLOG - Commercial brew LOG. - Log & Rate the beers you drink

[Yuri_Rage]

Old English Porter Unplugged...New Glarus...WI...6.6
Aroma is thin, malty, slightly sour. Flavor is roasty with classic Belgian sour notes. Tasty!

Banana Bread Beer...Wells & Young's...UK...7.4
Excellent fruit beer. Thin head, very subtle aroma, but BIG banana bread flavor...really.

Wisconsin Belgian Red...New Glarus...WI...7.4
Holy CHERRY! I loved it, but only for one glass. The cloying, sweet cherry flavor is very prominent.

Gubna...Oskar Blues...CO...5.8
Hmm. At first blush it was really good. Don't think about onions...it gets weird. Focus on the citrus.

La Folie (Lips of Faith)...New Belgium...CO...7.2
Best beer New Belgium Brews. Very intense, quite sour, really interesting. Want more!

Bashah...Stone/Brew Dog...Scotland/US...6.6
Good beer, but not really a “black Belgian double IPA” - little hop flavor/aroma, balanced bitterness

Censored (The Kronic)...Lagunitas...CA...6.8
Good, clean, crisp amber. Would be good with dinner.

Paradox Isle of Arran...Brew Dog...Scotland...5.8
Decent imperial stout aged in whiskey barrels. Almost like my 888 (including the lack of carbonation)

Theobroma...Dogfish Head...DE...5.2
A letdown. Thin to no head, weak aroma, tastes like a weak Belgian blonde with some honey. Very slight heat from the chile.

Double Bock...Sam Adams...MA...6.6
Would be GREAT without the metallic aftertaste. Malty and delicious otherwise.

Hopus...Lefebvre...Belgium...5.8
Weird. Bitter Belgian blonde ale. Not terrible. Just not great.

Dogma...Brew Dog...Scotland...6.2
Not bad for a strange brew. Reminiscent of Raison de'Etre. Funky aftertaste almost like Asian food with fish sauce.

Hardcore IPA...Brew Dog...Scotland...8
Great IIPA. 8's across the board. What a double IPA should be!

Brother Thelonious...North Coast...CA...7
Good beer. Need more.

Hefe-Weizen...Paulaner...Germany...8.8
Great hefe. Lots of banana as long as it's fresh.

Sublimely Self-Righteous Ale...Stone...OR...7.4
Stone Cascadian Dark Ale??? Good...too expensive. Classic Stone dry biting finish.

Tripel...Westmalle...Belgium...6.6
Found it a bit flavorless. Could be that I drank it too cold. Try it again sometime.

Ranger IPA...New Belgium...CO...6.6
One of New Belgium's better beers

Golden Wheat...Anheuser-Busch...MO...4
Meh.

Broken Halo IPA...Widmer...OR...6.6
Very similar to Ranger IPA. Sessionable

Collaboration not Litigation Ale...Avery / Russian River...CO / CA...7.6
Tasty Belgian style ale. Slightly sour, deep caramel notes, nice copper color. Cool story.

1554...New Belgium...CO...6.2
Belgian style black ale/lager? Not bad, but a bit too much funk – a cleaner flavor would be nice

Shiner Holiday Cheer...Spoetzl...TX...5
Peaches & pecans make this an interesting beer, but in the end, it's only mediocre

Little Sumpin' Sumpin'...Lagunitas...CA...8
Big pale wheat from Lagunitas – really well executed. Lots of grapefruit.

Divine Reserve 11...St Arnold...TX...8
IIPA with a peach character from PNW hops. Tasty but a bit sharp – age for 6 mos to a year?

Namaste...Dogfish Head...DE...7.2
I like this white/wit. It's got just a little funk in the nose and the flavor – old something. But I still like it.

Bigfoot 2011...Sierra Nevada...CA...6.8
Cloudy pour. Malt forward. Hops are bitter but not as bright/citrusy as years past. Cellar it?

Maximus...Lagunitas...CA...6.6
Good, just not great. Falls a bit flat in malt/hop flavor and aroma. Perhaps it's an old six pack?

Espresso Oak Aged Yeti...Great Divide...CO...9
YES. MORE PLEASE!

Chocolate Stout...Rogue...OR...7.2
I like it, but it's just a touch too bitter. The chocolate/vanilla are very well done.

Double Black IPA...Alaskan Brewing...AK...8
Really spicy hops with roasty notes – very flavorful

XS Imperial Red Ale...Rogue...OR...5.8
Meh. I expected more. 2008 brew consumed in 2011. Muddy pour, muted flavor.

 

[djangosullivan]

Mirror Pond Pale Ale.....Deschutes....OR, US....8.5

One of the best commercial Pale Ales out there. Excellent hop aroma and a nice roasty malt finish makes this seem like a fantastic homebrew.

 

[Tubba]

I was at a Czech restaurant and saw a beer I never had tried - Baron Trenck. I order it, and notice that the description says something about how the extra ABV% improves the taste. I expect something around 7-8%. I get the bottle and look at it.

It's 14%! Jesus. Will this even be drinkable? I pour it and taste.

Wow! I would never have guessed it was over say, 6.5%. A crisp, pilsener-esque taste, but with some complexity and depth, and a very firm foam head. It tasted very, very good and was easy enough to drink that I could take 50cl (~18oz) with no problem. However, be wary: You will get REALLY DRUNK from it, because it's much stronger than it tastes. I have no idea why they sell it in 50cl, rather than 33cl (~12oz). I recommend splitting it over 2 or 3 people, preferably with some strong cheese (especially green mold cheese) and crackers, like I had it. I give it 8.5. It's brewed by Starobrno brewery.

EDIT: Turns out that despite saying 14%, not 14 degrees, it was probably expressed in degrees Plato, and was as research will show, in fact 6%. Not terribly surprising, though I must admit I'm a bit disappointed.

Next, I had a more regular, dark lager, 5.1%. Bernard Dark, is its name. One of my favourite Czech beers, tastes like liquid bread. It's got almost a stout-esque character, and is pretty sweet. Very complex taste, excellent with Czech food or cheese. 8.5.

 

[LoneWolfPR]

Schlafly Tasmanian IPA (TIPA) - Solid aroma. Fantastic hop flavor. Just sweet enough to back up the hops. Terrific all around beer. Could use a bit more head retention is about the only complaint I have. 9/10.

 

[ThaBrewFather06]

Midas touch.... Dogfish Head... 9.25

This is a very unique and complicated beer. Drink it cold.

When this beer first touches your tongue, the honey flavor fools you into thinking you're drinking a carbonated meade. As you swallow it, the flavor of the white grape floods you palate, almost but not quite overtaking the honey. The flavor of the barley and hops adds in at the beer hits your stomach, so when you exhale in delight at the honey and grape, the wonderful malt and hops hit your nose.

Each flavor is distinct, but not muddled. Despite the different flavors and smells, it all comes together in a wonderful gestalt, leaving the drinker with the feeling of a transcendent beer experience, and goofy-ass smile on her/his face.

Well worth the gojillion dollars a four-pack costs.

I also like dogfish Midas touch.

Try dogfish head Noble Rot... 9.5

Like Midas touch in a lot of ways. This beer is made with grape must instead of grape juice and has a much more grape-like nose. I love this beer but its 13$ for a bottle 1 pint 9 oz.

 

[inflictor-of-grimness]

Guess I'll just drop a few ratings of beers that I drank while in Belgium a couple weeks ago.

Cantillon Gueuze 100% Lambic 9.5
The very first beer I had when I arrived in Brugges. My very first Cantillon beer did not disappoint. Lots of complex funk and sourness. Refreshing even.

Cantillon Grand Cru Bruoscella 8.5
Flat, unblended lambic. Hmm. It tastes good, but loses that refreshing quality without the carbonation.

Cantillon St. Lamvinus 9.5
Red grapes make a nice addition to Cantillon lambic.

Cantillon Cuvee St. Gilloise 9.5
Dry hopped gueuze. Add's an interesting element to the beer, but not necessarily better or worse.

Cantillon Kriek 9.5
Classic sour cherry flavor added to the base lambic.

Cantillon Iris 9
Very different than the other Cantillons. It tastes almost like someone took an American pale ale and soured it. There is a noticable hop presence and a caramel malt flavor. Different, but I didn't like it as much as most of the other Cantillon lambics.

Cantillon Rose de Gambrinus 9.5
I love raspberries, so I quite enjoyed this one.

Cantillon Vignerrone 9.5
White grapes give this a nice wine like quality.

Cantillon Fou Foune 9.5
The much sought after apricot lambic. Apricots work very well with lambic. More breweries should do this. It is very tasty, and obviously people seem to like it.

Cantillon Lou Pepe Framboise 10
My favorite Cantillon beer that I drank. It has tons of funk and complexity. Wish I tried more of the Lou Pepe beers, but I ran out of time at the brewery. I'll be back some day.

Pannepot 9
For some reason I never see any De Struise beers where I live, which is a shame because this is one of the best quads I had. For some reason I was given a 2012 vintage and my friend was given a 2010. Interestingly, I liked it better fresher (still a year old.) Nice malty profile with a touch of roastiness not normally found in quads. Lots of dark fruit and a balanced spice character.

Black Albert 9
Another one from De Struise. A big imperial stout that can stand up to just about any brewed here in the states.

Kabert 9.5
Blend of Kate the Great and Black Albert. Considering only half of this beer is aged in port barrels, it's amazing how much port flavor comes through. It really blends well with the imperial stouts. I've never tasted Kate the Great, but after drinking Kabert, I can imagine that it is incredible.

St. Amatus 12 9
Another really good quad from De Struise. Pretty similar to a St. Bernardus 12, but I prefer St. Bernardus. This isn't quite as smooth.

Fantome Saison 8
Very complex and funky. Slightly... smokey? From what I hear this is not a part of the normal Fantome. They really need to adress quality control problems. The smokiness doesn't fit too well, but it is still tasty anyway.

Westvleteren 12 10
Maybe it tasted better because of hype, or because I had to pay about $15 for it. But to me this is my ideal quad. Very rich and full bodied. Incredibly smooth. Worth to try once at this price, but I hope I can get it for a more reasonable price some time.

Westvleteren 8 9.5
Like the 12, but a little lighter. Just as good of a beer, but I prefer the boldness of the 12.

Boon Foeder 10 Boon to Be Wild 9.5
I walked into De Kelk in Brugges, and they happened to have this strong 10% ABV 3 year old lambic on draft. The owner warned us that it might run out while he poured our drinks, but we were fortunate and their was enough. Actually, several people came after us and ordered some too. The sourness and funk of the lambic do a great job at hiding its strength. Great beer.

Drie Fonteinen Golden Blend 10
I asked the owner of De Kelk what Drie Fonteinen beers he has besides what was listed in the menu. He says he has this. I ask him the price expecting something outrageous. He says 9 euro. Not bad considering that this bottle goes for $30 if you can even find it in the US. I regret only having one because this may be the single best beer I ever drank. Incredible complexity. Seriously, I liked this even better than all the Cantillon I drank on this trip.

Tripel Van de Garre 9
A highly rated tripel that is only available at Staminee De Garre in Brugges. Incredibly smooth, silky feel. One of the best tripels I have tried.

Girardin Gueuze Black Label 9.5
This one can stand next to the great gueuzes like Cantillon and Drie Fonteinen. It is every bit as good.

Belle Vue Gueuze 3
I just needed to include a note that not everything I drank in Belgium was that great. In fact, this beer was ****ing terrible. After taking a few sips and being disgusted, I noticed that bottle said it was produced by InBev. Beware of the false gueuze, people. Thankfully, the place I was at had Westmalle Dubbel, which I ordered after to wash this filth from my mouth.

 

[TxBrew]

Any new beers tried guys?

 

[planker101]

I just recently (past couple months) started doing this for my own benefit so I can remember whether or not to buy a beer again. Since this thread has not been unstuck to fall into the abyss, I'll revive it.

2016 Velvet Merkin. Firestone Walker. USA. 9.5
-Bourbon and oak flavors are great. Carbonation is perfect. Took off half a point for a slightly thinner body than I personally prefer.

2015 Old Guardian Extra Hoppy. Stone. USA. 8.
-Smooth and well balanced with just the right the right amount of sweetness. Very little hop flavor/ aroma, but I did drink it 20 months after the bottling date so that's on me