This is not a particularly informative link, but definitely a fun one. Trevor Carmick of Beer Labels in Motion has taken interesting beer label art and created animated gifs. “Neato” is the word that comes to my beer nerd mind. My personal favorites are Grampus, Edmund Fitzgerald, Count Orlok and Heady Topper (porkslap ain’t bad either because, come on, porkslap). Check out Trevor’s work and see if your favorite beer is represented.
Month: April 2014
The Alchemist – Heady Topper Review
Episode 10 of Drew’s Brews Reviews is here! The beer review show you never knew you wanted and no one needs. It’s an IPA time of year I guess as I down yet another bitter-tastic beer, but this is the top hop juice in the world, Heady Topper! At least it was at the time I recorded the review. This is a banked episode that I held onto for a few weeks, which forced me to adjust some information therein, so apologies for that.
I will say that I’m glad to see this review released as beer blog law states that Heady Topper must be reviewed lest I be cast into the malted wastelands and pitted against Lord Humungus in vicious bourbon barrel-aged combat for my crimes against beer blogdom and the blog-o-sphere. Yeah, everyone reviews this.
Saucony Creek – Hop Suplex (OOH YEAH!)
All You Need to Know
Brewery: Saucony Brewing Co.
Style: Imperial IPA/ DIPA
ABV: 10%
Cost: $2.75 (12 oz)
Glassware: Tulip
Serving Temp: 60° (should be colder, 55°)
Availability: Rotating
Purchased@: Hunger n Thirst
Quick Take: If you treasure hop bitterness and alcoholic warmth over malt sweetness, this may be an IPA for you. The citrus fruit aroma does not follow through on the taste where sweetness is pounded down by lemon, booze, and bitterness. This isn’t a subtle or refined IPA, but a clumsy one that hits hard. Not a bad beer for the bitter is better crowd, but I can think of a number of others that I would line up long before this one.
Keeping Beer – The Cellar Way
As an avid cellarer (fun word!) this is an informative article on craftbeer.com that goes over the ins and outs of cellaring. I can say from experience that a properly aged beer can yield spectacular results you won’t soon forget. Ever since I tried a three-year-old Avery Mephistopheles in 2012, I’ve been chasing that dragon and aging 15-20 beers in hopes of getting an experience that is half as good. I know this is paltry compared to the 100’s of beers that others age, but I’m pretty selective and most times I can only get a limited quantity of a beer that I think is worth keeping around.
I probably won’t dip into the fruits of my patience until 2015 when my dad retires (a 2012 Dark Lord and 2012 Parabola), but it’ll be worth the wait. I still need to update the Beer Cellar section of DBR with the full roster, but my collection is comprised of mostly higher ABV barley wines, imperial stouts, and wild/sour beers.
Weyerbacher – Rhumpshaka Review
All You Need to Know
Brewery: Weyerbacher
Style: Belgian Ale? (Rum Barrel-Aged)
ABV: 11.8%
Cost: $15 (22 oz)
Glassware: Belgian Snifter
Serving Temp: 55°
Availability: Limited (Brewed Once)
Purchased@: Weyerbacher Visitor Center
Quick Take: Really impressive beer that is wonderfully blended and benefits from a high ABV without becoming a rum-boozed mess. I think this could pleasantly surprise the ABV chasers and craft beer snobs if they are given the chance to try it. Make no mistake, this is a rum forward beer and the tropical/coconut qualities dominate the base beer elements. That said, it’s a fine example of a barrel-aged beer with a nice emphasis on the rum.
Drews Brews Reviews 