Terrapin Beer Co. Rye Pale Ale

Yes now this is a beer that is following a new small trend in beer styles, rye. Rye is a cousin to wheat, looks and grows like wheat. There are several different style of rye beer, rye IPA, rye ale, rye pale ale just to name a few. This Terrapin brew is 5.3 abv, and pours a nice pale orange color with a white head. There is a definite rye scent present like rye bread, along with a nice hoppiness. It has a slightly similar taste to a weak IPA but not in a bad way. The taste is hoppy but not SO hoppy like an IPA, is smooth kind of crisp until the end. Yes there is a nice rye bead flavor. The aftertaste is a little sour and hoppy but just enough to make it a bit interesting. I think so. Rye beers maybe a fad, but I think they may just be here to stay, and what a good stay it will be. I like this because it has a lot of different characteristics and flavors to it. That to me, along with the rye is interesting to me. I really enjoy interesting beers and that is what beer loving is all about. That is a good Terrapin. Try it!! Cheers! Please drink responsibly!

Les Trois Mousquetaires Grande Cuvee Baltic Porter

It's been a while since my last post, but I have not given up on beer! HA never! Well here is another rare beer club selection. This is a French Canadian brew, a strong one at 10% abv, the a sipping beer level. This Baltic porter pours a thick black with a medium sized tan head. This brew is filled with roasted coffee, nice chocolate, and subtle hints of cherry-smoked malt scents. This smells rather strong and about off, but that is normal for this kind of beer. But don't that stop you from tasting it. On the taste side of things this was a surprise, and nice. It has a lightly sweet flavor with that usual roasted coffee that comes with any porter. This is a good kind of sweet. Not overly done or under done either, balanced sweetness. There is a nice roasted malt flavor there as well that is right behind the sweet. There isn't really any sour aftertaste just that simi-sweet coffee on the after taste with a very little hint of smoked cheery. Over all this Baltic porter is good, but strong so there is a long time from the start, so there is some time for this dark brew to grow on you. It grew on me and I like it. Cheers! Please drink responsibly!

Very Big German Beer, otherwise known as VBGB!

Do you like to go out and have a nice craft beer at a very nice, cool, interesting, and fun place? Well look no further that VBGB in Charlotte, NC, 920 Hamiton St Charlotte, NC 28206. This is not a bar, tavern, pub, freehouse, speakeasy, or cafe, nope it's a beer hall. This place has a normal bar and they have a neat way of keeping your beer cold, they have a long strip of simi dry ice on the bar top. VBGB also has really long, and large tables that allow to sit next to complete strangers, well after a few good beers I am sure they will no longer be a stranger. They have a good beer menu. VBGB has a neat and fun way to have a beer or two, it's called a flight of beer. That is a paddle with four different 8oz beers on it of your choice at $7.50. Yes they do serve a normal sized beer as well. The atmosphere is nice but the place inside is not so big, but they have a nice outside patio. To the right of the front door is the food window where you can get all sorts of sausages, burgers, chicken wings, pretzels, and something I recommend the potato latkes, very good, and I here the beer cheese, yes it is made with real beer (OMB Copper), is really good, I will try it soon and let you know if the staff is right. VBGB's beer menu changes from day to day to keep things fresh and interesting. Now that I have been I can say I want a few beer flight sets myself for home use. I have been wanting to go here forever and now I want to go back again. It's a lot of good fun! You should go and check it out! Cheers! Please drink resposibly!  

New Belgium Abbey

Yet here is another New Belgium beer, this is they're Belgian dubbel, called Abbey. I like a good Belgian dubbel, but this isn't my favorite. This beer is a nice 7% abv, a reasonably abv. Abby pours a medium amber color with a medium tan head. This has that nice hoppy Belgian ale scent and there is a nice malt scent from one of the six different malts brewed in. Nothing really great or surprising on it scent to average for a Belgian. Well the taste is a bit of a let down, it has very malty flavor that is followed by a sour hop taste that is a little to much. I think that each of the flavors in this a too bold and when you mix to many overly bold flavors together the out come isn't that great. Abbey's after taste is all sour hops with a small touch of barley. I don't like that to much and I don't like Abbey to much either. That's a bit of a surprising let down to me. I was really think that this would be better than it was, because New Belgium's other offerings are quite good, some better than others, but over all great. But this was not as great. This just did wow me enough, just wowed me in a bad direction, I really want to like this, but I just couldn't. I put this, Abbey, between back and okay. I've had better Belgian dubbels, REAL ONES! Cheers! Please drink responsibly!

Saint Somewhere Cynthiana

Well it's rare beer club time again, waahoo! Well this is from a brewery down in Tarpon Springs Florida, Saint Somewhere Brewing Comapany. This, Cynthiana, is a Belgium style ale, its 8% abv. This came in a 1 pint 9.4 fl oz bottle, about to glasses worth. This pours a nice dark amber or dark burned gold colo with a very nice white creamy looking head. This beer has very strong scent to it that is of bread, lots of hops, a bit or orange peals, and slight scent of grains and wheat. The scent really tells you that it is a strong beer. Cynthiana has a nice simi sweet, hoppy yet strong sourish taste to it that is slightly good, but I have had some that have a a little better taste. I am not saying that this is bad, it is very slightly above average. Well the after taste is strong hoppy and sour and yet slighly yeasty. I think this brewery is on the right path with this one, but its not great, but if they work at it more and more it could be better, not that it is bad now, just not the best but close. I like a good Belgium ale, and I have come to know that most are made to be more hoppy, a bit on the sour side and have a higher ABV. Some do it better than others. This is in between the middle and the top of the gereat Belgian ale chart. I like this one enough, but I am not madly in love with it. I like the bottle a bit more than the good Belgian beer inside. Cheers! Please drink responsibly!    

Xingu Black beer

This was a surprise to me, it looks really black like a porter but really tasted more along the lines of a lighter brown ale. I had this out at Chima Brazillian Steakhouse. This beer is from Brasil, and the Cervejaria Kalser Brasil. This beer tasted around 6% abv. It poors a dark thick black with a thick tan head. It has a nice almost sweet scent with a bit of that roasted malt with just a hit or a good coffee. It has a taste that is very similar to a Newcastle Brown ale, one of my top favs. It's quite good. I really enjoyed this Xingu. Xingu has a nice sweeter and creamer after taste that is not very heavy as it would appear. This does not sit in your gut like a Guinness would, making it hard to eat alot of great meat and such. This is a good beer to have with a nice dinner, goes well with steaks, pork, chicken, and some veggies, mmm yum! I was nicely pleased with this black beer, it was a quick shot right to the top 10 of my favorite beers. I would certainly have this again and again. I would like to have one with you my blog fans! Cheers! Please drink responsibly!

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Terrapin Moo-Hoo

You have heard of stout style, milk stout, and chocolate stout, but this is all of those in one. This is Terrapin beer company's chocolate milk stout. This, Moo-Hoo is a limited release seasonal beer. This will not be around for long. Terrapin uses cocoa nibs and shells from the Olive and Sinclair Chocolate Company.  It pour a dark black with a brown tan head that is quite nice. On the scent of this, there is a nice robust sweet chocolate and sweet coffee, and a hint of beery malts. The smell is like a nice chocolate bar. When you first sip this Moo-Hoo you get that faint coffeness followed be a shaved chocolate that is very sweet due to the milk lactose and the chocolate mixed together. The after taste is the same and it overly sweet. Moo-Hoo is good but not the best ever, it has overly sweetness to it that makes it good, but not and better than that. I like this, but I really love chocolate and sweets. This Moo-Hoo is an interestingly good Chocolate milk stout. Try and see if ya like it. But it will not be around for long. Cheers! Please drink responsibly!