winter beeracle

okay, let me begin by saying that i am not a big fan of winter beers
feel free to write me off right now if you must
but i don’t like them
you know why?
brewers have started to equate vanilla with winter
and i don’t like vanilla in my beer
in my cookies and cakes sure, its wonderful
i can even handle it in a scented candle
but keep it the heck out of my damned beer!
i may be alone in this sentiment
i don’t care!  i don’t like vanilla in my beer

so why am i reviewing dead frog’s winter beeracle?
frankly its because the good folks at dead frog sent me some to sample
yes, every once in a while it does pay off to be a lowly beer blogger
sometimes people send me their beers to try
in the hopes that i’ll write a blog post about them
and convince people to buy their beers
so, thanks for the beer, and here’s my review:

i didn’t hate it

yup, sure, its quite vanilla-y
but there is some balance in there
there are nice rich malts and orange notes
and some hops!
the other folks who i shared my beer fortune with all really enjoyed it
i bet they’ll even go buy some
(so already, mission accomplished!)

oh, and it has a great label!

i like the switch in name (from christmas beeracle)
i like a timmy and tony collaboration
(tony dewald and timmy brown)
i hope this is a sample of things to come from dead frog

i remember having the dead frog nut brown a hundred years ago
i was at chambar and having mussels
oh, the sheer joy of pairing a nutty beer with salty and fragrant mussel broth
it was a turning point for me with craft beer
then came brews like the mandarin orange and the chili lime and the chocolate mint
i’m really not a fan of those brews
it made me less eager to try other dead frog brews…
until the citra ipa last year and the fearless ipa this year
harbingers of things to come??? i hope so!
i’m looking forward to the relaunch of dead frog
and wonderful beers for years to come!

so whose winter ales do i like?
elysian’s bifrost
hopworks’ abominable
ummm… that can’t be all, but those two are the only ones coming to mind right now…
you’ll note the lack of vanilla in them both
and the appearance of a couple more hops
i am a pacific northwest hophead, it can’t be helped
so bear that in mind when you read my beer reviews!

beer tasting

next up on our lost saturday of beer tasting was the dead frog fusion hopped pilsner

weighing in at 5% it was by far the lowest abv we drank that whole day

“Fusion Hopped Pilsner is a fresh, zesty, immaculate German Pilsner that uses a Top Secret brewing technique to fuse European hops with premium malt to give you massive, distinct hop flavours and a smooth finish!”

i think this lovely photo of me taking a sip says exactly how i felt about this brew:

no idea how this got past a brewmaster and out to the unsuspecting public
smells like every generic pilsner on the market
but has the temerity to taste even worse

loved the citra ipa
haven’t liked a single other “brewmaster series” production
dead frog, you disappoint me
insert unhappy face emoticon here

tofino

from the camra vancouver newsletter:

Tofino Brewing Company opened their doors to the public on Saturday April 16th, selling growlers of their first beer, Tuff Session Ale, a west coast style pale ale. Tofino Brewing brewmaster Dave Woodward (formerly of Brew House at Whistler), writes in to say the local response has been overwhelming, with Tofino residents consuming more than 300 growlers over the past week in addition to Tofino draught accounts. Hoppin Cretin IPA, Dave’s next beer, will be on sale at the brewery this week. Dave describes this as a northwest IPA, well hopped with Columbus, Centennial, and Citra. 6.5%, 60 IBUs. Here’s hoping we see some of this on our side of the Strait!

citra ipa

i love the dead frog citra ipa
yes, oh yes i do!
it makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside
just like a good hoppy beer should
and for that i am eternally grateful!

i have had this elixir on tap at places like st. augustine’s
and purchased the big ole bottles from specialty beer stores
and i like it all!

the bottle says:
6.5%
dead frog citra ipa is a high hopped, high alcohol, high bitterness true ipa that is like an invigorating open handed slap of citrus awesomeness!!!
you hold in your hands the pinnacle of brewing innovation.  beermaster series is a harmonious combination of premium quality beer and ingenious flavour design.  we bestow upon you the finest beer in the universe!  cheers!

i’m bummed that it is only a limited release
but i guess they sure did leave me wanting more!
and i hear that maybe, just maybe it will be popular enough to make it into regular rotation
is my love strong enough??

for the brewed awakening story on the citra ipa, click here

Craft Beer Locator

Beer Fact of the Day: The Citra hop is a very new American hop w/parentage from Hallertau Mittelfruh, East Kent Goldings, & others. High alpha & strong tropical fruit aromas & flavors (mango, papaya, & pineapple). Typical alpha: 10-12%. Look for it as a dry hop in Sierra Nevada Torpedo IPA.

tasting notes

tasting notes from february 16th’s beernesday:

you know the notes are gonna be interesting (trying not to insult myself here) when the top of the sheet has a little note that says “its official, i heart ipas, i heart being a little drunkish”

i went with five pints of ipas
no samplers, just jumped right on in there with full pints

pint #1 was the crannog insurrection ipa
st. a’s said:  5.4 %  100% organic.  pale amber body emphasizes munich and caramel malts, with enough sweetness to hold up the rather large volumes of fresh cascade and golding hops
i said:  bitter – goes well with the smell of bbq wings.  i like it, but not my fave.  not super hoppy

pints #2 and 5 were howe sound’s total eclipse of the hops
around which i drew a heart and said:  i love this one.  so happy its back!

pints #3 and 4 were the dead frog citra ipa
i said:  okay, i like this like a whole lot.  so nice i gotta have it twice

and what did others have?
well, i ordered the howe sound rail ale nut brown for my friend ticha, and she liked it
amanda had the dead frog chocolate mint and was not a fan; the lost coast raspberry brown which she said she was getting some soap from; lagunitas brown shugga and was not a fan – she found it too sweet and heavy like a syrup; the eel river acai berry wheat which she loved; lost coast great white which she found to be lovely and crisp with a slight citrusy clean refreshing finish – tastes like a waterfall she says
sarah is a hop head as well and she loved the total eclipse and the dead frog citra, she is not a fan of the central city belgian tripel or esb