Tyranena Scurvy @ Small Bar

This WI brewery has a shitty website, an annoying "balsy" attitude, and flaunts your inability to find its products. Unfortunately, they make a good IPA. Their website (see link in title) claims that Scurvy is brewed with orange peel, and that it's nearly impossible to find. I discount those claims. I tasted no such orange peel, and I found it to be quite available. It's somewhat light at 6.5% ABV given the level of hoppiness (no IBU available), but the gritty mouthfeel worked nicely with the bitter aftertaste, in vein with what I look for in a IPA. It's somewhat unique, though, in a not-quite smoky, but definitely earthy flavor. I don't think I've encountered that with an IPA before. I'll definitely try it again. Sometimes, though, it's just better to enjoy the beer and never look at the brewer's website.

A-

Beer Advocate sez:

BA OVERALL  A- excellent w/ 162 Reviews THE BROS  N/A no reviews; yet! send 'em beer » rAvg: 4.06 High: A+ / 5 Low: C / 2.9 pDev: 7.64%

Dogfish Head Shelter Pale Ale @ Long Room

Shelter Pale Ale was Dogfish Head's first brew, and they refer to it as their "most approachable." Adding to the allure, although this beer is brewed and available year-round, it is only sold in the mid-Atlantic coast. Well, that's no longer true, at least for the moment, as I had this in a regular-old Chicago tavern just the other day. Dogfish Head makes my all-time-favorite beer, the 90-minute IPA, so I'm usually game for trying every other variety that I can find. Unfortunately, I rarely like anything even half as much as 90-minute. This Shelter Pale Ale probably is among the better non-90-minute Dogfish beers (with 60-minute a close 3rd, but I'm anxious to try the 75-minute I saw on cask in Boston this past weekend (sold out, unfortunately)). It's not nearly as hoppy as the 60 or 90-minutes, but still has a good PA flavor. The aftertaste associated with the 90-minute is largely absent, which disappoints me, but pleases those who aren't huge IPA fans. It also has much less ABV, which can be nice at times. Overall, a solid effort, and pleasant were it more available. I wouldn't go out of my way for it, though, especially if 90-minute is around.

B+

ABV: 5%; IBU: 30

Beer Advocate sez:

BA OVERALL  B- worthy w/ 397 Reviews THE BROS  C mediocre read more » rAvg: 3.36 High: A+ / 4.8 Low: D / 2.2 pDev: 12.8%

Homebrew #2- Dunkelweiss 8/5/9

So this is the result of 3 months of work and waiting. And, much like home brew batch #1, I'm shocked that this one turned out great! Like my initial IPA batch, this first bottle of Dunkelweiss lacks good head. This had much better foam on the initial pour than any of my IPA bottles had, but it quickly disappeared. I need to figure out why that is (anybody have any suggestions?). I'm wondering if my capper isn't making a tight enough seal, or if I'm letting the fermentation sugars sit too long in the bottles, or if it's something else entirely. Time to dig out the book.

Anyway, this initially tasted heavily malted and caramel, but on subsequent tastes, it has settled to a nicely malted Dunkel. It's dark for a dunkelweiss, both in color and taste. Mouthfeel is somewhat heavy for a weiss, but again, I believe it's a result of the maltiness. It's not the best Dunkelweiss I've ever tasted, but it's very interesting. It's more of a hybrid between a dunkel and an ale, and as both are favorites, I rather like this a lot. I might say that it's unique even. Maybe I should market it! First, though, I'll need to solve the lack of head. Overall, I'm impressed with myself. I look forward to my next beer party.

A-

Weihenstephaner Hefe Weissbier (Dunkel) @ home

I've enjoyed Weihenstephaner many times, and drank a few of them while in Bavaria recently. However, this particular bottle was courtesy of a guest at my local beer party. I guess he or she felt Germany was local enough. Which means that unlike a lot of the beers I tried while over there, this one can easily be found here in the States.

Dunkel Weiss is the girlfriend's favorite style, and I rather enjoy it too (in the winter), so my second batch of home brew is an attempt at making my own (it'll be reviewed soon). Weihenstephaner is one of the best to emulate as it's neither too wheaty or sweet. It's got just the right bit of smokiness and gritiness. I can't think of any finer Dunkel, and so this gets my BEST IN CLASS award.

10/10

Beer Advocate says:

BA OVERALL A outstanding w/ 1,202 Reviews

THE BROS A+ world class read more »

rAvg: 4.37 High: A+ / 5 Low: D / 2.25 pDev: 8.47%

Brewed by:
Brauerei Weihenstephan
Germany

Style | ABV
Hefeweizen | 5.40% ABV

Notes:
Year-round.

Lagunitas Little Sumpin' Sumpin' Ale @ Small Bar

This summer-only American-style Pale Ale packs a whollop in terms of flavor and ABV (7.7%), but it's not ultra hoppy like many IPA's. In fact, it manages to combine what I would call the best parts of a good IPA (immediate full mouthfeel and high ABV warming, coupled with slightly-sour/bitter notes) without the sometimes overwhelming hoppy bitterness. In fact, this is one of the few American-style PA's that the girlfriend actually enjoys. Lagunitas tends to be hit and miss with their seasonal and limited edition brews, but this is one of its stars.

9/10

Beer Advocate says:

BA OVERALL A- excellent w/ 196 Reviews

THE BROS N/A no reviews; yet! send 'em beer »

rAvg: 4.16 High: A+ / 5 Low: B- / 3.3 pDev: 6.73%

Brewed by:
Lagunitas Brewing Company
California, United States

Style | ABV
American Pale Wheat Ale | 7.30% ABV

Notes:
Summer.