i was super excited for the brew swap beforehand, and it definitely lived up to my expectations! i got some great brews, including the oatmeal coffee stout (yup, definitely orgasmic, as i had suspected ), the purple haze (thanks matt!), and the amazingly delicious cherry chocolate and pumpkin brews!

thanks so much to all of the organizers. now i just have to start hunting for more fun beers to bring next year!

 

Ok, more beer sampling by me -- I had el crappo day at work and tomorrow/Saturday are going to suck even harder, so I may get through a few tonight...

Cameron's Brewing Co. Auburn Ale -- quite tasty, hoppy amber. Went down quickly, so there was very little savoring involved, however I take the "went down quickly" to be a testament to its drinkability.

Highland Brewing Company Gaelic Ale -- a little more... um... astringent... than the Cameron's Auburn. Still tasty, though I'm not over the moon about it.

Please note that I am by no means a beer connoisseur -- Though I do like good beer, I also pretty much like all beer, all the time; just to varying degrees

 

i need to post all my thank you's to everyone that was at the swap and everyone that put it on.

i feel the need to give some feed back on beers..i thought i would drink one a night and post how i liked it, but then there was a few nights where i had to go beerless.....so here it is so far.

1: started with goose Island 312 urban wheat. a nice light in color beer, but not the full taste i was hoping for. it was o.k.

2:Yuengling Black & Tan was a dark porter. very dark and a bit of an after taste. not horrible, just o.k.

3: Sea Dog Raspberry Wheat Ale. i was excited to open this one up tonight when i rummaged through my shelf of beers. nice and smooth, with a great after taste. a good hint of raspberry. two thumbs up. I'll have another please.

 

Nice to see you're getting some time to sample the goods.

Tonight I tried the Leinenkugel's Apple Cider Beer. I was all excited about it but it let me down big time. It tasted like...well, cider. Don't know why I expected different.

I moved on to the Traditional Yuengling Lager. Boy does this bring back college memories. My favorite lager of all time.

MINI RAG, the Out Motoring Beer was very bitter. Not bad mind you, but I had a hard time trying to describe it.

I have another 12 or so chilling in the fridge and many more in my cool dark pantry. Should last me a few weeks.

But hey, putting on the swap apparantly gave me good beer karma. I spent my first night in Phoenix last night and decided to go catch a movie. While waiting for the start time I grabbed a bite to eat at the Yard House. Little did I know they have the world's largest selection of draft beer. Over 100 on tap. Saw quite a few of the ones from the brew swap including dogfish head.

Happy hour = $3 pints. MI:3 was very good after 2 pints.

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/1054983...7594133323324/

Here are the photos my wife took. If anyone else has pics I'd love for you to send them to me or send me links to them.

I tried to add clever notes. Feel free to identify yourselves if I haven't done that for you.

 

Matt - that would be me (Ran48) in pic #1, with the "Good God - Look at all the beer....." caption.

You need to give your wife a big hug from me. What a photographer! Some how she made it look like I have a full head of hair.

 

Heh, hope you enjoyed the caption. I often think I'm more clever than I am.

I'll be sure to give Heidi a hug for you. But it'll have to wait till I get all my hugs in. I'm here in Phoenix and she won't be joining me till the 25th.

 

Hey guys, the first beer I sampled when I got back to Canada was the Wisonsin Amber...YUMMMMEEEEE! Great to meet you. Hope you enjoy your Canuck samples!!

Don

 

Matt,

Thanks for the quotes! And I want to clarify for the record, IN NO WAY was I making comments on someone being actual size....

Matt- you tried to get me killed at next year's swap? She gave me some beer and I hope to get more next year (of the non-poisened variety).

chris

 

I assure you Susan has a sense of humor. What's funny to me is that while she is short in person (sorry susan) the pics make her look even smaller due to the folks around her. You just happened to be in the pics with her so you became the voice. Heh.

Just tried the Yard's Philadelphia Pale Ale and it is pretty darn tasty.

Matt

 

Hi Don. Great meeting you too! I think we are on the same wavelength because the first beer we sampled was your tasty Creemore Creek Lager. Excellent!

Thanks again for stopping to warn us about the trailor mishap at the end of the skyway. Some nice fast sweepers on that road.

Edit: Your Lager didn't even make it home with us Don , we drank it just before the farewell dinner!

 

Word on the street is the Coffee Oatmeal Imperial Stout is orgasmic, so of course, it was the second brew we tried. We found it just a smidgeon short of orgasmic but that ain't bad.

Actually, we found it a rich, flavorful, syrupy surprise! Marsha and I both liked it a lot, but I for one found a half bottle to be just about the right amount at one sitting. A bit too rich for major quaffing.

 

I tried the Weyerbacher Black Hole last night....didn't like it. Tasted like coffee beer which isn't my bag baby.

To whomever gave me the Ithaca Apricot Wheat, THANK YOU! That was absolutely delicious!

 

Beeer!

 

Note to self: Chris is okay.

Note to self: Matt persona non grata.

Just kidding -- photos and comments were fun and the camera does seem to be taking inches off! Thanks for sharing! Here's one of me from a different day. I'm taller than the car anyway...

 

Dammit! I missed the Ithaca brews! The Apricot's one of my favorites, and it's brewed in my home town! *pout*

 

that was me! so glad you liked it!

 

I cracked open the first bottle tonight... A Philidelphia pale ale from Yards Brewery.

The Rarh's Red Ale was mine, though I haven't tried it myself yet. I'm in love with their 'Ugly Pug', which even though you don't like darker beers, it might just suit you.

 

You need a pic of you next to an original MINI. You'll look bigger then. OOH! Even better...a Lotus Elise. You'll be the jolly green giant next to that one.

Erin, thanks again, definitely one of the favs I have tried so far.

Aaron, the red ale was good and I recommend you try it if you haven't.

Susan, I tried the Yuengling Light & Lord Chesterfield. Both were excellent. The Porter is next. My brother says the Porter is a great winter beer. Something tells me it won't make it till winter....or next week.

Brian, sorry you missed the Ithaca beers. I attempted to keep everyone informed with the Master Beer List I printed but less than half were taken which means most people didn't take it. And that was a lot of work! Oh well, no master list next year.

 

Tried it last night and enjoyed it!

 

I've been out of the beer drinking realm for a few days, picked up some sort of bug and spent the weekend in bed. I did have the Yuengling Black and Tan a few nights back and REALLY enjoyed it. I knew after the Yuengling Porter I couldn't go wrong. Mike had a Mahogany something that he really liked alot and wished we'd gotten another. I'll check the label to find out exactly what it was.
Annette

 

Last night's tally:

New Glarus Spotted Cow -- holy yeast!!! Anyone thinking of enjoying this one, it requires a glass so the yeast gets mixed. It was very tasty, kind of fruity and a bit sweet. Would have been the perfect beer for a hot summer BBQ/post beach quaff (as opposed to rainy, cold New England evening while watching "Munich") Big thanks to whoever gave me this yumminess!

Stone IPA -- was technically Leif's beer, so I only had a sip. Very tasty, but I have to be in the mood for an IPA and I wasn't last night. He seemed to enjoy it, though.

Am I the only person who stares in wonder at the contents of their fridge while debating the appearance of alcoholism should they sample as many as they really want to on any given evening? I want to try them all... NOW!

 

Actually I find staring into the fridge somewhat depresseing knowing that soon I'll be outof new beers to try and will have to have locals only in the fridge.

 

Had an IPA fest for Mother's Day. I still think Founders Centennial IPA is the best. My sister loved the 312 wheat but I thought it was a bit light.

 

The entire left side of my fridge is loaded with Brew Swap beer. I try to sample one every couple of nights. It's funny, I get excited when I go to the fridge for that nights beer. Then I find myself standing there with the door open trying to decide.