Beer 346/365 – Great Lakes Nosferatu

Style: American Strong Ale

ABV: 8.0%

Purchased at: On Tap@Vintage Estate – Boardman OH

What makes this beer different: Pretty hoppy for a Strong Ale, but thats a good thing!

Will I be drinking this again: Yup! Would like to see what this tastes like aged.

Grade: A

10/19/2010: One last major beer run for my 365! Made the trek up to Vintage Estate to BS with Phill, and to grab some beer for my last couple dozen updates. As usual I was unable to keep my tab under $100, but that’s okay as I picked up a lot of really good beer.

The nose is much hoppier than a typical Strong Ale, boozy, and caramel malt. The flavor is an amazing 3-way balance between caramel malt, citrus hops, and booze. Strong Ale’s can sometimes be a bit overwhelming for me as far as the booze goes, but this was just the right amount. This is probably due to the fact that it was very well carbonated. Mouthfeel was about average. Nosferatu almost comes across as a boozy DIPA, either way its the best American Strong Ale I have ever tasted.

Picture of the day: CNN seems to have their priorities screwed up.

Beer 250/365 – Bell’s Batch 9000

Style: American Strong Ale

ABV: 12.5%

Purchased at: The Headkeeper – Greensburg PA

What makes this beer different: Super sweet and needs some time to sit for sure.

Will I be drinking this again: Have a few more bottles in the basement

Grade: B

7/16/2010: I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I think Bell’s is a little overrated. Other than Hop Slam they don’t offer much that is very unique. Of course there is a market for above average “staying in the lines” craft beer, so I can’t say I blame them for pretty much staying on the straight and narrow. I love breweries who think outside the box, and try to push the limits. Bell’s is a little more on the conservative end of the brewery scale.

I have been reading reviews on this beer and see that it is still a little hot, but that didnt stop me from trying it. I am also confused how this is categorized as a Strong Ale, it hits me more as a stout. The smells is VERY boozy and sweet. The flavor is all about sweetness, molasses, and dense fugdeyness. The booze are far too prominent for me at this point. I rarely ever thing a beer is too boozy, as I am the type of guy who drinks my whiskey and cokes with only a splash of coke. Very full mouthfeel, with little to no carbonation. I am sure this will be a solid beer in a year or two, but for right now I will avoid drinking another one.

Picture of the day: Keep your kids away from this guy.

Beer 199/365 – Gordash Brewing Holy Mackerel Mack In Black

Style: American Strong Ale

ABV: 8.0%

Purchased at: Parents brought it back from Florida, not sure where they bought it.

What makes this beer different: Almost tastes like a pop with some fruit juice squeezed in.

Will I be drinking this again: no

Grade: C+

5/26/2010: How cool is this glass? Lately my mom has been obsessed with going to estate sales, and she actually has been finding me some pretty bad ass glassware. She and my dad brought me back a handful of beers from FL that I can’t get here in PA. Most of them I suggested to them, but this one was recommended to them by the “beer guy” at the total wine in Ft Myers. Usually the people on staff at these types of places have some pretty good suggestions, but this one was a swing and a miss.

Remember those scratch and sniff stickers you would get when you were a kid? Remember that weird chocolate scented one? Well thats what this beer smells like, scratch and sniff chocolate. It also has a very cola like effervescence to it. I also think this beer is semi-infected as it has a bit of a sour taste, but I do get a little bit of chocolate and fruit flavors. Also how is this considered an American Strong Ale? Doesn’t fit the style at all, actually not really sure what stuff this should be considered. All that being said I guess it does hide the 8.0% very well. Not something I will go out of my way to try again.

Picture of the day: Now this is teamwork.

Beer 176/365 – Victory Yakima Twilight

Style: American Strong Ale

ABV: 8.7%

Purchased at: Vintage Estate – Boardman OH

What makes this beer different: Tastes much stronger than 8.7%

Will I be drinking this again: If I am in the mood for something strong yes

Grade: B+

5/3/2010: I honestly thought Yakima Twilight was an IPA from the golden hop on the label. I pour it out and notice how dark it was… hmm this isn’t normal for an IPA. The smell of Yakima Twilight actually is pretty hop filled, so it still had me going on the IPA trail after smelling it. Then I taste it, and I think okay this is a bit strong for an IPA, so I go to BeerAdvocate and see that its actually an American Strong Ale (Home Simpson D’oh moment).

The smell is very bitter hoppy, with some sweet malt. The taste is very complex, a lot of hops going on, with some toasted/caramel malt. Actually the hops/malt are almost an exact 50/50 split. The mouthfeel and carbonation were both a little under average, which dropped this down into the B level for me. Had it been a bit thicker, and more carbonated, it would have really helped in masking the alcohol.

Picture of the day: This guinea piggets around!

Beer 111/365 – Stone Oaked Arrogant Bastard

Style: American Strong Ale

Purchased at: Vintage Estate – Boardman Ohio

What makes this beer different: Oakey hops

Will I be drinking this again: Probably, but depends what else is in my fridge at the time.

Grade: B+

2/27/2010: I remember my first experience with Arrogant Bastard was not a good one. Granted this was about 5-6 years ago when I thought all beer was supposed to be drank out of a bottle, and they are all supposed to be taken down via big swigs. Also at the time I hated anything hoppy so obviously arrogant bastard was a bad choice. Well thats in the past and I am going to give it another try, except oaked. Oh and how about I found this snifter for 26 cents at a thrift shop, sweet!

Right away you smell the oak from the Arrogant Bastard. A nice hop aroma also. Aggressive hops lead the way for taste, with some caramely sugar taste, then a big hit of alcohol, finished off with a nice oak flavor. The taste is very good and very original, but the alcohol is way to prevalent. Now don’t get me wrong I love a good strong beer, but this one tasted WAY stronger than 7.2%. I do realize ASA’s are supposed to taste strong, but this one taste’s much strong than the average. Mouthfeel is good, silky, very nice carbonation. Overally a pretty solid beer with a great taste, just needs better stealth alcohol ninja skills.

Picture of the day: A few misguided Yahoo Answers.

Beer 80/365 – Lagunitas Imperial Red Ale

Style: American Strong Ale

Purchased at: Vintage Estate – Boardman OH

What makes this beer different: Intense hops/alcohol

Will I be drinking this again: Yes

Grade: B+

1/27/2010: Lagunitas is slowly creeping up pretty close to my top 5 favorite breweries. They have a lot of solid beers. I am also starting to realize I like any kind of beer that has the name “Imperial” in it. Imperial on the label = Drew will drink you.

Imperial Red smells VERY Floral. The taste is about 60/40 hops to malt. The hops are are orangey tasting, and a little too intense for me. The malt has a nice bready taste to it. This tastes like its stronger than 7.5% ABV but it isnt. In an odd way I kind like the alcohol bite. This actually reminds me a lot of their Brown Shugga beer, but without the brown sugar. Very solid but I wish the hops were toned down a tiny tiny bit.

Funny Picture of the day: Check out Mel Blanc’s tombstone.

Beer 48 – Lagunitas Brown Shugga

Style: American Strong Ale

Purchased at: Vintage Estate

What makes this beer different: Sweet but hoppy at the same time

Will I be drinking this again: Yes

Grade: A-

12/26/2009: I totally expected this beer to be sweet to the core when I first tasted it, but boy was I wrong. If you read my blog often you know I am not a fan of hops, but I have to say they are starting to grow on me. This beer is proof of that.

Hops smack you right in the face as soon as you sip this, but as soon as you get about a 1/3 of the way finished with the beer the sweetness takes over. Brown sugar and caramel really start to kick in at this point, but the citrusy hops are still there. If I am going to drink a hoppy beer, it has to have some sweetness as well, and this one fits the bill.

Beer 43 – Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale

Style: American Strong Ale

Purchased at: Vintage Estate

What makes this beer different: Bourbon with Caramel

Will I be drinking this again: If I can find it again

Grade: A-

12/21/2009: This is the first beer on my list I have had from Kentucky so I think its suitable to have the logo for the brewery be the first thing I think of when I think of Kentucky; a horse. The picture of the gift pack above is actually going to be sent off in a trade.

I had this on tap at Vintage Estate, but forgot my camera. Admittedly when I first read the description on the wall I expected this to be a stout, but it came out light so I had to do a double take at the board and then realized it was an Ale. I was ready for the bourbon to kick me in the ass from the get go especially because this is an ale, but it did not at all. Bourbon without a doubt hits you first, but it immediately jumps into a caramel and light vanilla aftertaste. Unlike the Founders Backwoods Bastard, I was able to take this one down without somewhat hating bourbon at the end (Note that I love Whiskey/Bourbon). This beer was very unique and I will be drinking this again for sure.

Have you had a bourbon/whiskey beer you like? Let me know because I am really starting to like this type of beer.