Heavy Seas: Loose Cannon triple IPA (?)

ClipperCity's Heavy Seas site
I would call this a triple IPA by taste, but it's called an American IPA by Beer Advocate: http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/898/25755. I'm running out of things to say about these kind of IPAs. Great, flowery aroma and of course lots of dry hops. Comparable to Dogfish Head 90 minute IPA, but somehow different.
I don't feel like writing about this, but it's damned tasty and certainly worth buying a six pack. This is another great cold one in the American tradition of extremely hoppy beers. It's not painfully hoppy, but it tastes like hops with some warm maltiness.
Thumbs up. Drink it.

>> addendum: 2007-03-28 <<
>> On second pass, Loose Cannon hop^3 has a not-too-sweet, organically hoppy nose. As expected, little foam or foaminess. I didn't notice that this is apparently bottle conditioned. I can't see the yeast, but then again it did just come out of my backpack which just came off my bike which drove through pot-hol-y Boston streets, so it's pretty shook up. Mouthfeel is (sorry for the ambiguous term, but I like it) bright with little spare bubbles here and there. Not very fizzy, but still feels a little like fizzy table water or something and makes me burp. This is not an accurate description, but hopefully gets the impression across. It's definitely not unpleasantly fizzy. I feel like, in terms of flavor, good strong IPAs like this have very similar flavors at different intensities. The (weedy) basil-y hop character comes through strongly, making this cold-one taste very green. The weed smell also comes across strongly on the nose, as the beer sits for a while. Warming, the bitterness comes out more up front with much more malt. Overall, a pretty unique and definitely very tasty cold one. <<

Unibroue "La Terrible"

From BEER_webalbum

From BEER_webalbum

Unibroue's Terrible: a moderately cheap (being Canadian) but mighty tasty Belgian Dark Strong Ale. The brewery (http://www.unibroue.com/products/terrible.cfm) not only claims that it is a "pleasant alternative to coffee" (great way to wake up!), but also that its shelf life is 10+ years, and I believe them given the 10.5% ABV. I'm gonna have to put one of this on the shelf for a year or so and see what comes of it. I think this would age amazingly. Nose is candyish. Head is good, and retains the whole way on the edges of the glass. Not particularly thick, but I don't think that's expected of this style. The alcohol is felt but not tasted. A bit bubbly in a champagne-y way, but not unpleasantly so - the carbonation doesn't affect the taste negatively. I never really know what to say about the actual taste of Belgian styles... background sweetness, feels bubbly, roasted malty character, nice subtle yeastiness maybe... As it warms, it gains more fruitiness, but also some very slightly unpleasant sourness (?) - this is to say I think it should be drunk at that liminal moment when it starts tasting fruity but hasn't started tasting warm. Anyway, the point is this is as good as many classic Belgians of the same style, and it's cheaper and easier to find. All in all, I vote an enthusiastic, "Yes."
This cold one will satisfy your palate, your raging alcoholism, and your budget all at once!

I think the Beer Advocate reviewers always do an infinitely better job than I:
http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/22/3635/?sort=topr&start=0

BTW there's something wrong with this world when Google's spellcheck knows "laminae" but not "liminal".

Emily Haines & Soft Skeleton + Damien Rice

Emily Haines:
Singer of Metric finds an outlet for her more mellow, introspective, slow music.
I like the album "Knives Don't Have your Back." it's an interesting foil to Metric's driving rock sound. The song "Our Hell" is particularly nice, showcasing Emily's voice exquisitely on interesting lyrics.
Honestly, I think Emily belongs in Metric. Metric's albums are full of energy balanced with beautiful contrasts on mellower songs like the poignant "The Police and the Private" from Live It Out. I think Emily has a talent for the slower, softer, maybe more minimal sound, but the Soft Skeleton is not the means for this end.
I finally came to this decision at the concert. Usually shows push my opinion decidedly in one direction, and this is one of the few times the direction was negative.
The singing was on point as always, but uncharacteristically detached and awkward. The band was fine and all, and they played everything right on, but it seemed like they were on another stage from Emily.
This is not to say it was a bad show. The music is great and the performance was well-done, but it just didn't meet my expectations.
At the same time, I definitely would recommend checking out "Knives Don't Have Your Back," and I think that in time the band may mesh and the group could turn into something amazing. Who knows?
The Tall Firs, who opened, were a talented guitar + drum trio. The guitar writing reminded me of my Atlanta band, The Belljar, which is of course a compliment. The songs are quite slow, so it made for a little bit of an awkward audience, but they were entertaining. Both guitarists sang, and the one who sang the least probably had the most appealing voice. That's really my only complaint. The drummer was great, and added a bit of a novel element in his aggressive drumming behind very slow moving chord changes and floating melodies. I think if I knew the music better, I might have really loved the concert, but that is a big if.



Damien Rice:
This is my second time seeing Damien. The first time, at some stupid Bank of America venue, he was opening for Fiona Apple. At the first show, he did an amazing short set. I am very impressed by his cellist and the band as a whole. He is quite a talent, and he's created his own genre with the heavy, distorted acoustic guitar and the loop pedal. The second concert, where he was headlining, was at the Orpheum, which I think is my favorite genre in Boston. It was a great place to see someone like Damien, and most of the concert was just as moving and entertaining as the previous concert. However, in the full-length show, he got way too carried away with looping his voice and his guitar, creating strange percussive noises, and leaving his band behind. That trick is cool for interludes, bridges, and some times postludes, but when they get to be 5, 10 minutes, they are just annoying. Besides that, great concert. Although the recent album, 9, has not yet caught up in my opinion to his breakthrough album, "O," I'm hoping it will continue to grow on me. I also hope that he will grab back some of the intensity he found in songs like "I Remember" (O) and the lilting, lonely, and unmistakably British style of "Cheers Darlin'" (O). He did not perform the former, (I Remember), at his second concert, which did upset me some and bias my opinion. But the loop solos were definitely too long.

I'll tell you about the Camera Obscura concert after this weekend!

And for the "Beer" section, I'd like to note once more that I love Trader Joe's. I also love The Other Side, which is my new favorite bar, and I want to reiterate that I officially don't love Linwood Grill, which used to be a favorite for its inclusion of multiple Stone taps.

brewery visit: fuechschen duesseldorf

over the weekend i took a day trip to duesseldorf and stopped off at the brewery for dinner and, um, brew. their


flagship is an "alt" which just means "old." the style is a native of the rheinland and is a shade darker than the usual export, pils, or koelsch. you can think of it as an inferior dunkeles since, in keeping with the rest of the beer in this bundesstaat, it sucks. it has the taste of beerish assiness typical of other brews in the region with just a bit more malt and toastiness. well, the fuechschen wasn't so bad since i was at the brewery, and their food was good. i also tried their


weizen, called "silberfuechschen" (diminutive silver fox). it was on the low end of weizens, vague bananas but no other traits to speak of. that said, the atmosphere at the brewery was excellent with swarthy german men serving robust portions of various animals paired with diverse forms of cabbage and potatoes. i can only recommend it.

Victory Golden Monkey Tripel. also: a new 2nd or 3rd favorite mixed drink!

From BEER_webalbum

In the company of the various Belgian Tripels that have made their way across the Alantic, this beer seems average, but for an American go at the classic Belgian style, Golden Monkey is definitely one of the better, if not best.
I'm automatically wary of any Belgian style beer that comes in a six pack at "Huntington Wine & Spirits," a liquor/wine/beer store that feigns sophistication in order to rip off all the NEC students. That's not to say there are any better deals anywhere else in this city. Anyway, this was such a cold-one: six packed, domestic and cheesily labeled and titled. It was something like 10 or $11, but Laura owed me a beer anyway, so the price is less than relevant to me.
The nose is modest, but refreshing. It smells like white grapes and wheat and yeast, with a subtle citrus if you sniff hard enough. The alcohol is entirely covered, as it should be in a proper Tripel. They're obviously using many of the same ingredients as the 'trappist' and 'abbey' brewers. The flavor is somehow very weisse-y. This would be a good transition beer for those who haven't yet embraced Belgian beer - anyone who likes Hoegaarden, Blue Moon, even wheat beers in general (Harpoon UFO, Sweetwater Summer Hummer, etc.), should be able to appreciate this cold-one. The aftertaste is great, in that it leaves just the best aspects of the yeast.
Overall, the smooth, even and balanced nature of this beer, its year-round production, its only moderately outrageous price, and its close approximation of Belgian style make it quite a nice cold-one to add to your refrigerator.

The brewer's site:
http://www.victorybeer.com/golden_monkey.html

Beer Advocate:
http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/345/1003

RateBeer
http://ratebeer.com/Beer/victory-golden-monkey/630/

Lastly, I would like to make tribute to Dark and Stormy - the official drink of Bermuda. Gosling is amazing, and the combination with a good strong ginger beer is amazing and highly drunkifying. Almost meltphacing. Pictures.

From BEER_webalbum

From BEER_webalbum

notes. neologism part 2. also, Boston Beer Works: finally, success!

First and foremost, I've made a decision:
From now on, instead of face-melting, things will be described as "meltphace-ing."
Additionally, I'd like to apologize for being lazy. I have lots of things I should write about, but I've been lazy. Also I've been having problems with Picasa. It wants to do things its own way, and I'm not strong enough to defy it... yet.

To come: playlist of holiday/new years mixes (that I will try to send a copy of to all); short review of Emily Haines & the Soft Skeleton concert; short complaint about and praise for recent Damien Rice concert; bragging because I'm going to see Ratatat, Camera Obscura, Bloc Party, and Of Montreal this year; Berkshire Brewing Company seasonal beer tried at Parish Cafe; Victory Golden Monkey tripel-style ale; and more.

Now this is happening:
There's something wrong with this country when a BBQ/Southern-influenced restaurant is sold out to some bitch-ass manager who decides that having Stone on tap (they regularly had IPA and Bastard on tap, not to mention Oaked and Double Bastard etc. at the bar) is a bad business decision. I went there two nights ago for some dinner and a Bastard, ignoring the rumors that the mill had been feeding me. To my chagrin, the best beers on the menu were in bottles, and there was no Stone in sight. But wait! The Stone rep I had met at a tasting last year came in to talk to the manager! However, he did not seem pleased and I doubt I'll be seeing Stone on tap again for a long time. Fuck you Linwood.
You wanna know what else really grinds my gears? Seasonal beers. Even the best liquor stores are choc full of them, and they pretty much all suck. If I wanted mulled apple cider or mulled wine or egg nog or weird spicy tea tasting substance in my beer, I would mull the cider or wine or make egg nog or find weird spicy tea substance to put in my beer.

Boston Beer Works: finally came out with a good beer. in the midst of every brewery trying to stamp christmas on their backwash dark ales, Beer Works went balls out and made a strong ale "Hercules," a GABF awarded barley wine at 11.5%ABV that tastes not dissimilar to a normal barley wine with everclear (but definitely drinkable anyway), an imperial IPA that was quite tasty without being too extreme, and a 'russian' imperial stout with the alcohol, heaviness, and hops to help you through the bleak Boston winter. All of these beers were enjoyable, worth the price ($5 for a 20 or 22oz glass), and alcoholy enough to buzz anybody.
Now, it must be noted that the Accelerator Double Bock sucks, despite its high alcohol, and most of their beers taste like fair-to-middlin home brews. On top of that, they made a peanut butter porter. Looking at their menu, it seems they've realized their mistake and taken it off the menu. But before they took it off, it had resulted in such blasphemous orders as "PBJ" (peanut butter porter plus blueberry beer). It's a really hit or miss brewery, but they come out with new cold-ones in small batches all the time, and I have to give them credit for bravado and limited success.
The buckeye oatmeal stout is always good, and the Back Bay IPA is comparable to Harpoon's (though certainly not to Dogfish).
It must also be noted that one of their waiters overcharged my co-worker's credit card to give himself a 50% tip and another bartender there is a well-known bag-o-douche in our neighborhood. Damn them and I hope they both drown in a vat. No that's mean. I hope they lose their jobs and have to work at Game On across the street.

Old Monk 10,000

Moderately sketchy beer available at favorite Indian restaurant. Not very good overall. Reminds me of the old favorite high-gravity malt liquor, St. Ides, which goes for ~$2.20 at any sketchy and non-sketchy liquor store or gas station. It's not a bad deal for the purpose of getting a buzz and cooling down before and after an Indian dinner, but it's a little too bubbly and harsh to have with the spicy food. It had a flavor character that I don't recognize. Someone at ratebeer mentioned 'smoked lager,' which may be the target flavor. Anyway, I wouldn't buy it for any purpose other than a cheap buzz, but it's drinkable, if not 'good.'
On a more humorous note, the menu described it not as 'lager' or 'malt liquor,' but as 'super beer.' I thought they had just made a mistake, but that's what's on the bottle!


beeradvocate:
http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/2650/30784
ratebeer:
http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/old-monk-10000/63575/9106/

Stone: Double Bastard

From BEER_webalbum

So, I don't have anything enlightening to say about this beer. It certainly has high status in my pantheon of amazing beers, and I would do almost anything for a case of these babies, but describing the yumminess is beyond me. It's kind of like eating a hop with a bunch of bittersweet malt on the side, and then an alcoholy malt chaser... If that makes any sense at all. Maybe at the "Extreme Beer Fest" I'll learn how to describe this beer. Anyway, it fuckin rocks. I don't remember last year's double bastard very well, but I'm confident that the 2006 batch turned out better. It smells great, it's bitter approaching on painful, it's alcoholy yet smooth, and it's dark and malty: all of my favorite tastes in one cold-one!