Fifth Meeting

Brother Tom hath just returned from yet another pilgrimmage to worship the Patron Saint of Beer, Saint Diego. He managed to locate a couple Russian River wild ales, along with a few others to bring back. Hence, we decided on having a night dedicated to the consumption of wild yeast.


First offering is Russian River Supplication, a 7% ABV that's aged in Pinot Noir barrels. This being wild yeast night, it has some wild yeast and Brett. Colin thinks it's effervescent, and Derek says it gives him a happy ending. Me Ruv You Rong Time! This beer is #13 on BA and it lives up to it's hype. It's easily the top wild ale I've ever had.

BPA: 4.0 (ed. note: shazaaaam!)

Corked and caged, yet again. Next we have Lost Abbey's Red Barn Saison, which is an ale that comes in at 6.7%. Appearance: Golden and hazy like a hef. Nosefeel: Smells like a horse's arse, says Derek. Joe says it's Bretty, but not George Brett-Brett. Not pine-tar-on-the-handle-homerun-taken-away-Brett. Very good Saison. Let's rate this swill:

BPA: 3.38

Batter Up: New Glarus Unplugged Cherry Stout. It's a second-time brew, which makes it all the more valuable to our EXCLUSIVE racist club. Michael Jordan couldn't get in. This stuff smells like cherry syrup. Colin: It smells like a cough drop tastes. Definitely a different beer. It has a sour-ish taste. However, very good, and I think this is the first of the much-lauded New Glarus line I've tasted. Das Noob is reminded of nutmeg and fonder times amongst loved ones 'round the Christmas tree.

BPA: 3.45


Our next pour is one we've had before. It's from New Belgium's Lips of Faith line. The beer is Biere de Mars. Teh style is inspired from the fourth planet LOL!!

This one comes in at 6.200000% and is another wild ale. It appears a little more transparent than the last few, but it smells like good things. Joe says it's hella maltier than the last few, but with a definite wild yeast kick. It smells like a wet barnyard where Joe gets his organic chickens in the springtime.

BPA: 3.37

Mike the Noob presents our next beer, which is another offering from New Belgium's Lips of Faith; La Folie Sour Brown Ale. This one pours a brown color. This is definitely the sourest of the sours so far, and the 6% booze is nowhere to be found. It tastes like a warhead, which makes Colin's tongue shrivel. James Simmons used to eat a lot of warheads, I bet.

BPA: 3.43

Corked! Caged! CorkedCagedcorkedcaged! Russian River Temptation is up next. It's #32 on the Bible list and a mere 7.25% of it is everclear. Let's have a look, smell, and taste. It looks and smells like a saison. "Super dank," and "Oh, that's awesome" from the gallery. It tastes like a sour saison. Unfortunately this beer is so difficult to get otherwise I'd drink this frequently and thoroughly on every nice day.

BPA: 3.85

Lastly, we have Brother Colin's offering; Drie Fonteinen Oude Geuze, which rolls at us at 6% ABV. It's a geuze, which is similar to a lambic or a wild ale. Smells like George Clinton and the P-Funk All-Stars. It's very strong tasting; sour, sweet, and strong. Carbonation bounces off my taste buds. Off The Topic Quote: Mike answers the phone, "Yeah, hi, I'm at beer club, and I'll be back sortly." Yes, sortly. Noob slurs.

BPA: 3.32


All in all, this is the highest rated session we've had. Although the beers are unconventional and taste like anything but the 'American Adjunct Ales' that we all grew up on, they prove to be quite drinkable. Applicant Brother Michael added some input, and Noob Guest-Sampler Kayla offered some insightful female opinions as well. Good beer, good cheer. Johnny Weir.

Pictured: Mike wearing The Moustache of the Pledge

Fourth Meeting

We will now convene this here meetin’. We have our first ever guest taster, and it happens to be a female. She is also required to supply a tasting, which I conjecture to be Ace pear cider or Bartles & James kumquat flirtini. The reason she’s our guest this week is that we’re holding our meeting on Colin’s deck amidst the unseasonable warmth.

This week’s theme is Category 15 of the Great American Beer festival, which includes hefeweizen, dunkelweizen, and weizenbach. And Colin accidentally brought a German lager. So there you have it!

The first taste is Sierra Nevada’s Kellerweis. It pours a really cloudy orange, and chunks of yeast and things are a-floatin’ around the bottle. It’s thick and yeasty, with a lemon kick at the end. It certainly tastes more like lemon than orange. I think we all agree it’s really refreshing, and a good example of what we’re looking for. Colin’s reaction: How about this weather??

BPA: 3.12

To keep in line with the mood, it’s time to grill some brats.

Our next sample is Paulaner Hefeweizen. It’s a classic Bavarian wheat beer that’s one of my favorite in the category. It pours a thick orange color and seems to be darker than the Sierra Nevada. It tastes a little more orange-y than the last one we tasted. Joe feels like it’s less flavorful, but Derek and I feel like it’s more.

BPA: 3.2

The third pour of the evening is Town Hall Brewery’s Hefeweizen. A solid staple from one of our favorite local brews. Sarah and I think that it’s less flavorful, but Derek and Joe think otherwise. There’s more banana in this one and less citrus than the other two.

BPA: 3.54

Our fourth sample is Ayinger Weizenbach. I’ve never tasted it before, but it should be pretty similar to the previous brews. It pours a slightly lighter color; similar to the first one. It has a serious citrus taste, and it elicited a similar positive response.

BPA: 3.48

Number 5 is Aventinus Wheat Doppelbock. It’s a little heavier and darker than the previous beer we’ve tried, plus, this one comes in at 8.2%, which is a good bit boozier, as well. It tastes like caramel and wheat, and it seems we’re all in agreement.

BPA: 3.24

Lastly, and in a different category, we have the Weihenstephaner Pilsner. It’s a lager that you could drink all day, if you had the time and the thirst.

BPA: 2.82

The fourth meeting of beer club turned out to be the most refreshing one. We’re thinking about doing Belgians in the next installment, as well as ways to haze potential members, Belfry and Gabbert.

Lastly, here's a picture of our guest taster:

Third Meeting

Tonight we will be imbibing upon stouts. Joe will not be joining us for this meeting, so that leaves Brothers Tom, Brent, Colin, and Derek. We have been waiting for stout night for many a fortnight; and we'll be sure to leave with at least a buzz and at most a hangover.

We just decided upon a new rudimentary rating system that will be in place for the duration of this fine Club. It's based on the grade point average scale of 1-4, however, we called it the BEER POINT AVERAGE!!! It's based on our personal perceptions of the beer, and not based on the official style guidelines. So deal with it bra, or stop reading teh blog.

We decided on doing the highest-rated beer first, so Founders Kentucky Breakfast Stout is the initial pour. KBS comes in at 11.2% ABV, which is pretty standard for an Imperial Stout. Our first impression is that coffee flavors are noticeable. After letting it sit in your mouth for a bit, the bourbon flavors come out, but not to the extent that a lot of barrel-aged beers are. Overall, we all agreed that it's an excellent beer. And it darn well should be if it's ranked at #8 on BeerAdvocate.

BPA: 3.85

The next sample is Victory Storm King that comes in at 9.1% ABV. I immediately noticed the hops on the nose. Upon my first drink, I spontaneously composed this poem:

When it first hit my tongue
I was immediately in doubt
That Victory Storm King
Is actually a Stout

I feel that there are tons of hops in this bad boy. It certainly tastes like no stout I've tasted. But, there are some malts in there, and it's pretty tasty. Overall, I think it's alright, mostly because of how strange it tasted.

BPA: 2.7

Our third tasting is Bell's Expedition Stout. I'm sure I've sampled this before at the Food and Wine festival, but I'm sure I was far too drunk and full off of cheese to properly enjoy it. It's a Russian Imperial Stout that rocks faces at 10.5%. It smells the booziest of the three we've tried so far, but it doesn't taste that way. It's malty, a little chocolatey, and a small amount of coffee. Pretty good, and it tastes like what a non-coffee based stout should taste like.

BPA: 3.23

Fourth tasting: New Holland Dragon's Milk. It's another barrel-aged ale, but it's actually a strong ale. It comes in around 8.5%, boy. It tastes of vanilla, sugar, and caramel. Quite tasty, says I.

BPA: 3.23

On to da next.... CORKED AND CAGED, CORKED AND CAGED Brau Bros. Rainwater Stout. It's a barrel-aged stout, in which exactly 10% of it is sweet, nourishing booze. Smell = coffee-ey. Holy biscuits, we all agreed on how thin it is. It certainly doesn't feel like a stout, but it tastes a bit like one. We all agreed it tastes like a Belgian, which makes sense because it's brewed with candi sugars.

BPA: 2.25

Now that we've all got a hot buzz rocking, we're going to sample Brent's home-brewed coffee stout. It's thin and tastes of coffee, which hits the spot at a time like this.

Next pour: Great Divide Espresso Oak Aged Yeti. This be a Russian Imperial Stout that comes in at 9.5%. "That's all coffee, and I like her," -Colin. It tastes heavily of coffee, and I taste a bit of hops. However, after the beer we've had tonight, any hint of hops will melt my tongue. A tasty beer that received a solid A on BA.

BPA: 3.6

Finally, we're on our last pour. The RISK competitors are clamoring for this to end. Let's have a taste of Goose Island Night Stalker. Nosefeel: Hop Sandwich. The taste is thick and chewy, like how Sir Mix-a-Lot describes a baby who has back. Brent sez- fruit notes. Larson thinks it tastes like candied yams with some mashed potatoes mixed in. I disagree.

BPA: 3.75

This was a success! I'm boozed up because we tasted tasty RIS brewdaddies. We're all excited to welcome a new potential member, Friar Belfry. Hazing procedures are being brainstormed.

And finally, a picture of Derek asking for forgiveness after showing up late to this most-gentlemanly of clubs.

Second Meeting

Tonight we've got a mix and match set of beers with no discernible theme. As I'm writing this, we're not sure of what we're going to try yet, and the meeting starts right... now. Derek isn't here, so we'll be drinking an extra 20%. Hooray.

First, we have Boulevard's Tank 7 Farmhouse Ale. Corked and caged! First impression: Joe- "It's spritzy." It's carbonated, light, and delicious. The 8% ABV is hidden by the presence of floral hops and carbonation. Shazaam, I could drink a couple bombers of this on a hot day, and end up falling asleep in the inflatable pool I'm sitting in. Overall, good saison.

The second beer we're trying is Victory's Baltic Thunder; a baltic porter. This one comes in at 8.5%. There's a story on the back of the bottle, which adds to the charm. This is quite drinkable, despite the ingredients. Mouthfeel is light, with strong coffee and chocolate flavors. We all agreed it wasn't what we were expecting. A roasted octoberfest? We'll go with that.

Our third sample is Goose Island's Demolition. It's a Belgian Style Golden Ale that features 7.2% ack-ahol. It's not yet listed on BeerAdvocate, and Alvey says they just got it in at the Firkins. Brent's first impression was "Fucking Nummy." I agree. I can taste the hops, as well as the Belgian candied sugars. Overall, a pretty good beer.

The next beer is Town Hall Brewery's Wine Barrel-Aged Wee Heavy Scotch Ale. The style is a strong Scotch Ale, but aged in Pinot Noir barrels. The smell is definitely grape-y. The taste is like nothing we expected. Heavy wine tastes, with some taste of Scotch ale that eventually shows up. Chest-feel: Similar to red wine. Overall, we're in agreement that it's really, really good.

Lastly, we have Town Hall's Wine Barrel-aged Double IPA. I've been looking forward to this since I bought the growler. It pours a dark orange, hazy color. Man-o-man, it's definitely hoppy. Wine and fruit and the beginning, tangerines fo sho, then follows with a dry, hoppy finish. Welcome to flavor country, Golden Valley.

Brother Tom Amongst Beer Geeks

This morning, upon request of the three beer club members in Mexico, I stopped by Town Hall Brewery to pick up a growler of their first release for Big and Barrel Aged Week. Here's a list of what they have to offer



I had no idea that the beers are released at noon each day, and since I got there around 11:45 I found myself in the midst of a large number of beer geeks lined up for the release. They were all males who showed up alone with a few empty growlers. Most of them had knit winter hats, and they all had a lot of questions for the young female bartender. No pretzel necklaces, though.

Anyways, I managed to pick up a growler of their Big Ben Double IPA. It's brewed with 5 different kinds of hops (that I don't remember), and comes in at 8.6% ABV. It's the first time this beer has been released, so I'm excited to review it next week at our next meeting. It will be a challenge not to drink the whole thing on Wednesday after my test is over. (Ed Note: I drank the whole thing after my test was over)

Friday Night Special

Last Friday, Brothers Colin, Tom, and Brent found themselves at Brent's new home on the Golden Valley/St. Louis Park border, along with a few other party-goers and potential beer club members. Since Tom brought along a bottle of Goose Island Bourbon County Stout, we found ourselves having a discussion as to how many Beer Club members need to be present in order for it to be an official review. Clearly it wasn't an official meeting, because it wasn't scheduled, the beer wasn't split evenly, and everybody wasn't present. However, we believe that a post should be in order since there were three of us there and we all sampled it.

As for the beer, it's an imperial stout that comes in at 13% ABV. My first impression was 'bourbon' all the way. The taste is fairly chocolatey, with vanilla, a little coffee, and some booze heat. It's a solid stout, that's for sure, but not one of my favorites. Brent and Colin both seemed to like it quite a bit, though. We may have to get another bottle for further review, because it's readily available and reasonably priced.

First Meeting

The theme of the first meeting was California beers that aren't distributed in MN. I brought back 6 bottles to share from my weekend trip to San Diego, and a 7th one that went to Brent as a special present.

The first beer we tried was the Bear Republic Hop Rod Rye. It's an American IPA brewed with rye. I found it to be pretty good, but it didn't knock my socks off.

The second we tried was Stone Double Bastard. An American Strong Ale that comes in at 10.5% ABV, DB was well received by all the Brothers.

The third sample was Port Brewing Hop 15. Port Brewing is the distribution name for Pizza Port, which is a chain of 3 brewpub/pizza places in the San Diego area. I managed to make a stop at the Solana Beach location and get far too drunk for a Sunday night in public. As for the Hop 15, I thought it was one of the best Double IPAs I've ever had. It was really citrusy, and didn't taste like 10% of it was sweet, sweet booze. Need to get me some more of this, mm hmm.

Our fourth beer was a break from the Cali theme. Brother Brent brought a bottle of Steenbrugge Tripel to "challenge our palettes," as he said. I thought it was a pretty good tripel. I have a special love for tripels, so even a pretty good one is much better than most other beers. It seemed to go over well with the rest of the club members.

The next Cali beer we tried was Firestone Walker's Pale 31. It is a session Pale Ale, which turned out to be pretty good. It featured light hops and a light flavor. We were in agreement that we could drink 15-20 of these in one session, preferably in the summer.

The sixth beer we tried was AleSmith Speedway Stout. It's a highly regarded imperial stout on BA that came in at 12% ABV. We all thought it was a really good IS with a heavy coffee flavor- moreso than Darkness or Dark Lord. High marks from the whole gang.

The last beer is the famous Russian River Pliny the Elder. It's #5 on BA, and is another Double IPA. It's citrusy, hoppy, and needless to say, delicious.

We all agreed we gained some insight on delicious west coast-ian beer and more than a slight buzz. We'll have some more specific reviews on the next meeting report.