Josh,
Here’s an image of the Calico from tap when I first tried it back in early September of last year. I remember it being very dry but still enjoying it quite a bit.
I have had the Red Rocket previously; that’s probably the reason behind my lackluster TN – I find it harder to write good TN’s for beers I’ve had many times than for a beer I’m inexperienced with.
I have had Oskar Blues’ “Gordon” - I find that it comes across as a very heavy, but very tasty, DIPA – kinda like Avery’s “Maharaja.”
Very weird. Like a cross between a mellow, aromatic Belgian Golden and a nice, ripe, lush rose wine. Once I got over the oddness I quite liked it. I could see a warm summer day and having frito misto and a glass of this under the sun, life could be worse. However at $5 / 12oz it’s not something that I’ll pursue again anytime soon, 'twasn’t that good.
Here is my note from a few months ago…
A couple days ago…Hitachino Nest Red Rice Ale: I really like rice beers, in my limited experience. THis one is highly unusual. Imagine mixing a bottle of dry rose, a bottle of sake, and a bottle of Hawaiian Punch…but a dry Hawaiian Punch. No sweetness - just a fruity funkiness, tart, highly unusual. Drank most of it before deciding I liked it. Unusual.
The Hitachino Red Rice Sake is definitely more compelling than the beer.
They make one???
It’s actually how I first heard about the brewery…
B. United International Inc. | Asamurasake | Junmaishu Sake" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Yesterday I had the Lagunitas Censored and Red Rocket (the latter on tap). The Censored is even better than I remembered. Really rich but dry and quite balanced and not too overtly cereal charactered. The Red Rocket is still just too big for me and far too hoppy.
I need to try more Lagunitas offerings. I was put off by the IPA and a couple other hoppy beers for years but lately have an appreciation for the Pils and apparently now the Censored.
The Censored is a kick-ass beer and one I hope to clone in the future. Try searching out the Wilco Tango Foxtrot (WTF) for another superb ale. http://wineberserkers.com/viewtopic.php?p=503778#p503778" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Not my image
These are in constant rotation in my fridge so it was easy enough to do notes. I will try to seek out some stuff I haven’t tried this weekend.
North Coast Brew Co. Ruedrich’s Red Seal Ale - Nose is a mix of malt and hops with some fresh fruit and fig characters. Roasted grain bread and caramel malt flavors with strong hops on the finish. The bitterness of the hops is just enough without going too far, hitting near the finish and complimenting the body of the beer. Fresh and tasty.
AVBC Boont Amber Ale - Richer and carries more weight than the Red Seal. Bigger roasted barley character up front with stronger at the finish, possibly more hoppy. Its easy to see similarities of flavor between the two but this is bigger yet still refreshing.
Samuel Smith Organic Best Ale - Not sure if this fits exactly but it seems close enough in style to me. I’ll just repeat it when we do English Pale Ales.
Roasted whole grain bread on the nose with a riper, almost Belgian touch. Much cleaner and more even than the other two. Very light touch on the hops leaving acidity on teh finish more prominent. I love the balance with the roasted grain character this offers. Very easy drinking.
Thanks for the tip on the Lagunitas WTF Jorge, I’ll check it out.
Chris, the Organic Best Ale is the Tadcaster, right? Have you had the Sam Smith’s Pale Ale, I prefer it and the Nut Brown to the Tadcaster ale, but only by a little. The Tadcaster is probably the one that best fits this category.
Yes, I’m pretty sure I’ve tried all that are available to me at this point. I keep the Organic Best Ale in the fridge quite often now so I think its been the one that has stood out the strongest for me from a strong lineup. Don’t know about Tadcaster versus not. I only remember that from the Porter specifically.
Since I’m not really that into Amber/Red Ales I thought I would throw this into the mix.
Buried somewhere under the beautiful sourness there probably is a nice Amber Ale as the label states.
I love the Jolly Pumkpin!
Two for tonight, the Censored is just a rockin beer! Love it. Big, bold and balanced. The Harpoon Leviathan is quite good, but the hops are certainly there.
Trying a Marin Brewing Co Albion Amber Ale from bomber.
For one, wow is this carbonated. Way too much IMHO. It was standing undisturbed in the fridge for a few days. I took it out, set it on the counter and popped the cap, just like any other beer. It foamed over and a gentle pour from the bottle resulted in 1/4 beer, 3/4 head. This smells of citrus and tastes of crystal malt and dry hopping. It’s not necessarily over hopped, but there is very little else there other than some sweet brown malt notes and a lot of citrus / hops overtones. Really boring and quite disappointing. Life’s too short, I’ll try something else…
wrong thread
Next victim…
Hoppy Brewing Co Stony Face Red Ale - Nice roasty but not too dark aromas combined with a hint of slightly skunky hops. Flavor is fair, a bit thin in the middle and a bit of a bitter finish, kind of reminiscent of walnut skins. Very very carbonated as well and seemingly making up for a lack of real body. Not horrible but kind of meh. Drinkable at least!
While the Stony Face was better, life is too short was the ultimate outcome so I’ve moved on to something mo’ betta - freshly bottled 09 Skyline 
Major fail dude, you can’t rub that in our noses. I wondered if you ever drank any Rhys, first time I recall you even mentioning it. 
Of course I drink what I make, I am personally a big fan and wouldn’t be involved if I weren’t… but I generally refrain from posting on the subject, and on CA wines generally.
Those two beers kind of sum up my feeling of so many microbrews - not worth the alcohol intake and not worth the miles on the liver. Lots of good beer out there, but you have to try a lot to find what you like, and I’m way less upset about pouring a $3 bomber down the sink than a disappointing bottle of wine, which typically costs a little more 