Beer Review Double Feature: Boulder Beer's Flashback & Great Divide's Nomad

Greetings.

Time to do an update since I have been dragging my feet, so here is a double feature review!  I will be reviewing Boulder Beer's Flashback and Great Divide's Nomad.

Let's begin, shall we?

I will start with Boulder Beer's Flashback Brown-IPA Ale.  Previously this was known as their "anniversary ale", but I guess they have decided to do something new for their anniversary and they are re-branding this beer as a brown ale/IPA.  

This was a 12 ounce bottle that I acquired from Total Wine & More in Huntersville, NC.  The brown beer bottle is marked in yellow ink "best by 24 Nov 2011".  Oops.  I hope this doesn't affect the beer taste.


The beer pours a cloudy brown color with a super thin head.  Aroma is hops with light malt and nutty aroma.  The taste is all IPA hops with no trace of the brown ale and the aftertaste is all hops as well.  


Very easy to drink but it seems to me that this beer is better when fresher.  I cannot give this high marks until I get a fresh beer.  I rate this beer a 3.4 out of 5.

Okay, beer two:  Great Divide's Nomad Pilsner.

This was a 12 ounce bottle that I acquired from Total Wine & More in Huntersville, NC. The beer label is marked "bottled on 12/12/11", so I know this beer is fresh.


This beer pours a golden color with virtually no head.  Aroma is corn and wheat, a little grassy.  Taste is all corn and hops with a mild hops aftertaste and a small amount of bitterness.


This was a typical pilsner that had been given a little bit of extra care.  I rate this beer a 2.7 out of 5.


And just like that, my double feature is complete.  I will return with a rating of Saranac's White IPA and maybe one more, if I'm feeling 'frisky'.


Thanks for reading.





 

First Post for 2012...Two Weeks Late.

Yeah. That's me, a slacker. 

I've had a few beer reviews to post to the site, and I just have not gotten around to it.

Totally my fault.

So, I will be posting all of my overdue beer reviews tomorrow (Sunday).

I have not played any poker lately, so nothing new to report there.  I have dabbled a little on Carbon Poker with play money, but that's it.  Donkeys galore on that site.

Tomorrow morning:  I finally post my review for this great beer (Spoiler!) Anderson Valley's Winter Solstice Seasonal Ale:

See y'all tomorrow!

Beer Review: Anchor Brewing's Our Special Ale (2011 Version)

Greetings.

Today's beer review is for Anchor Brewing Company's annual Christmas Ale, which they call "Our Special Ale".

Each year that they brew it, they make subtle changes to the spices that are used in this ale, but the basis for the brew remains the same.  This year's version beckons, so let's rate it.

The beer pours a dark ruby brown color with a lingering tan head.  Aroma is all spices, I believe this year they are using cloves, nutmeg and maybe a little cinnamon.

The taste is overwhelmed by the spices.  In fact, this beer tastes a little like a clove cigarette.  I am utterly disappointed with this beer this year.  In year's past this beer has been awesome, whereas this year's version is an insult.

I'm halfway tempted to send my review to Anchor to voice my displeasure with this year's version.

I am not a beer expert, but I AM a beer snob.  In my opinion, there is NEVER a time to use cloves in beer.  It's like putting turds in a punchbowl, you ruin it for everyone.

In conclusion, I rate this year's version of the beer only 2 out of 5 stars.  What a disappointment.

With the holiday weekend fast approaching, I will not be posting a beer review tomorrow since I will be on the road.  I will attempt to post a beer review on Saturday when I have access to a computer.

Thanks for reading and I will see you again soon!

I went to the Beer Store, but...

Greetings again.

Two posts in one day after not posting a thing in over a month.  Go figure.


Well, I took it upon myself to go to the beer store (Total Wine & More) down the road and picked up a nice six pack: two new Shiner beers (Ruby Red, 101), a new Newcastle Summer beer (WOW!), Samuel Adams Latitude IPA, Shock Top Raspberry (had to round out the six pack) and Sweetwater Road Trip.


One big but...when I got out of my truck, I dropped the six pack on the driveway, breaking the Samuel Adams IPA (not a big loss) and the Shiner Ruby Red (F**k me!).  So, when I get around to doing my beer updates, I only get to update you on four new (to me) beers.


The lost beers: