You know that recent time period of about four weeks where Hedonist Jive was too busy to post anything here? Well, we sure weren’t too busy to keep up with the newest and latest in beer-fueled bacchanalia. I’ve built up something of an albatross of beer reviews and photos, so I’m going to spew them loose right here to get caught up. Let’s keep each review to a single pithy line and a score, and if you need any further elaboration while you make your evening drinking or beer-shopping plans, feel free to send me an email or ask for more critical thinking in the comments section.
THE TRULY OUTSTANDING
BROUWERIJ CONTRERAS – “VALHEIR DIVERS”: Amazing – fantastic fizzy, hoppy Belgian tripel that was light, zesty, aromatic and fantastically crisp & delicious. 9.5/10.MIKELLER – “RIS A LA M’ALE”: Superb almond/cherry ale that wasn’t tart in the least but brought the juicy sweet funk like Bootsy Collins and The Brides of Dr. Funkenstein. 9/10.
BROUWERIJ DE MOLEN – “HEL & VERDOEMENIS”: Smoky, amazingly sweet Belgo-Russian Imperial Stout with a little coffee and a lot, lot, lot of booze. 9/10.
RODENBACH – “GRAND CRU”: The world-class masterpiece Flanders Red Ale that everyone else loves and that I had for the, uh, first time a month ago – I am now a raging full-on believer. 9/10.
BEAR REPUBLIC – “APEX”: A casked double IPA that tasted of salted, bitter melon and all things bright and wonderful – loved it. 8.5/10.
BEAR REPUBLIC – “APEX”: A casked double IPA that tasted of salted, bitter melon and all things bright and wonderful – loved it. 8.5/10.
THE VERY GOOD
MOYLANS – “WET HOP SESSION”: Delicious, straightforward, draft-only low-ABV pale ale that packed a mountain of wet and fresh Marin County flavor. 8/10.DESCHUTES – “JUBEL 2010”: I cellared this “once a decade ale” for as long as I could stand – 10 months – and was happy with the delicious toffee, caramel brown sugar, milky latte taste of this bold strong dark ale. 8/10.
ALLAGASH – “HUGH MALONE ALE”: A chewy Belgian-style IPA that smells a bit funky and tastes thick and luscious. 7.5/10.
ANDERSON VALLEY BREWING – “IMPERIAL BOONT”: The “big” version of the world-famous Boont Amber was a weird and rare beast that played up the malts and the flavor, like a big-ABV scotch ale without the peatmoss. 7.5/10.
HOPWORKS – “HUB ORGANIC IPA”: An English-style IPA that finished quite dry and successfully overcame its organic designation. 7/10.
UPRIGHT BREWING – “SEVEN”: Tangy, super-yeasty dry saison in a big fat bottle from surprise Oregon brewer. 7/10.BRASSERIE CARACOLE – “SAXO BLONDE”: Very Belgian, very fruity, very fresh-tasting blonde ale. 7/10.
THE MIDDLING
OMMEGANG – “CUP O’ KYNDNES”: Smoky peat, chestnut-driven scotch ale that was basic but very drinkable. 6.5/10.
TELEGRAPH BREWING – “ROBUST ALE”: A foamy, bottle-conditioned imperial version of their California Ale that tasted like pear and caramel malts and really just missed my hitting my expectation level by a couple of points. 6/10.
21ST AMENDMENT BREWERY – “HOP CRISIS”: 8% imperial but supposedly (in their description) "malt-driven" IPA that tasted bitter, chalky and way overhopped – this is supposed to be enjoyable? 5/10.
THE LAME
MT. SHASTA BREWING – “ABNER WEED AMBER”: Very basic, thin and uninteresting amber ale that tastes like it was made from a bagged beer kit. 4/10.ALE INDUSTRIES – “ORANGE SHUSH”: Gross fruity witbier that had to change its name from “Orange Kush”, and now needs to de-market itself entirely. 4/10.
ISLAND BREWING – “IPA”: Thin, chalky and nearly hop-less IPA from the quote-unquote pride of Carpenteria, CA. 3.5/10.
BREWER’S ART – “LA PETROLEUSE”: It’s not you, Brewers’ Art, it’s me, as I'm totally and very obviously missing something here (A- rating on Beer Advocate); a well-crafted bier de garde that came off like a well-crafted garbage macro lager. 2/10.
