Beer 143/365 – Central City Red Racer IPA

Style: American IPA

ABV: 6.5%

Purchased at: Sent in a trade from Jared @beeradvocate

What makes this beer different: Is that pineapple I taste?!

Will I be drinking this again: Doubtful that I can find it in Pennsylvania

Grade: A-

3/31/2010: Thanks to Jared for sending this to me. I was excited to see this as an extra throw in because I love canned beers for some reason, they have that “underdog” feel to them. This beer also is apparently the #1 rated IPA brewed in Canada (A on Beeradvocate).

I crack open the can, pour it, and instantly get the smell of fruity hops. I usually take my pictures from about 5-6 feet away from the actual beer (higher zoom makes a more interesting depth of field), and I could smell it from there. The taste was not quite as hoppy as the smell would make you think. An even balance of pine/citrus hops. The citrus end of it is almost tropical.. Mango/Pineapple type flavors are what I am getting. That makes this beer very unique. Overall a very solid beer, only knock on it was the mouthfeel was a bit watery for my liking.

Picture of the day: The evolutions of worship. How true.

Beer 142/365 – Three Floyds Gumballhead

Style: American Pale Wheat Ale

ABV: 4.8%

Purchased at: Won via superbowl block poll on Beeradvocate

What makes this beer different: Might be the most sessionable beer ever.

Will I be drinking this again: I hope I will be soon since they are supposed to be licensed to tell in Ohio soon.

Grade: A+

3/30/2010: Wow, if anyone ever tells you updating a blog daily is easy, they were lying to you. Sorry for the delay in updates but I am still going strong, just busy with the holidays and whatnot. Onto the beer. Is this not one of the coolest looking labels ever? Not sure what the cracked out cat is supposed to symbolize, but if anyone knows please fill me in.

I have been wanting to try this beer for a very long time now, and finally had it sent to me when I won the block poll on Beer Advocate. PERFECT three way balance of wheat, hops, and malt in the aroma and taste. Not one of the three aforementioned flavors dominated, like a three headed yin-yang. The hop flavor is mostly lemony citrus, and some grapfruit. The wheat gives this beer a near perfect mouthfeel for a lighter style beer. Wheat and hops are a perfect mix in this one, and I am going to try my damnedest to find a case of this for opening day of fishing in a couple weeks. Gumballhead has no doubt found a place on my top ten list

Picture of the day: Haha this happens to me all the time at work .

Beer 141/365 – Tyranena Down ‘N Dirty Chocolate Oatmeal Stout

Style: Oatmeal Stout

ABV: 6.3%

Purchased at: A Pint w/Chris

What makes this beer different: Heavy for an Oatmeal stout

Will I be drinking this again: Yes, Chris brought me back a 4 pack

Grade: A-

3/29/2010: Longest beer name ever? It is the longest of my 141 beers so far thats for sure. Thanks to Chris for bringing this with him to AC Beerfest. He lives in what I would say is the best beer purchasing state in the country; Wisconsin. They get pretty much every good brewery there, Three Floyds, Goose Island, West Coast beers, all the good Michigan beer… etc etc.

The smell has a ton of chocolate in it, but the taste does not. The taste is a lot of roast, some coffee, and a tiny hint of chocolate. To be honest if I didn’t know this was an Oatmeal stout I would have thought it was a regular American Stout, but it did still have a nice amount of smoothness to it. Reason being is the mouthfeel was a lot thicker than an average oatmeal stout, but it was still “airy”. The best comparison I can draw is the mouthfeel was kind of like a marshmallow, big but still light. That made this beer very unique.

Picture of the day: Social Media explained to people from the past .

Beer 140/365 – Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbier Dunkel

Style: Dunkleweizen

ABV: 5.3%

Purchased at: Vintage Estate – Boardman Ohio

What makes this beer different: Banana bread in a bottle.

Will I be drinking this again: Yes when i am in the mood for bananas!

Grade: A-

3/28/2010: This was one of the few times I just grabbed a beer on a whim, without knowing anything about it. To be quite honest I don’t know a whole lot about Eastern European beer really. A lot of that has to do with its sparsity in my area, and when places do have it their labels aren’t instantly recognizable. Luckily on this random grab I picked a winner.

My taste buds must be getting trained pretty well because my take on this beer was very similar to many of the reviews on BA. Smell and taste really are like banana nut bread. Starts with some bready wheat flavor, A lot of banana, a little bit of nuts. Sweeter than your average wheat beer. Nicely carbonated. My only complaint with this one is the mouthfeel is a bit light. A little bit on the watery side. Other than that its a very solid beer.

Picture of the day: The hamburglar has been spotted.

Beer 139/365 – Hitachino Nest Classic Ale

Style: English IPA

ABV: 7.0%

Purchased at: Vintage Estate – Boardman Ohio

What makes this beer different: So complex and unlike anything I have ever tasted.

Will I be drinking this again: If Phill still has more in stock I am buying him out of them

Grade: A

3/27/2010: Finishing up my Japanese Craft Beer week with a beer that I purchased back in 2009, and I actually forgot I even had it until I unearthed it when moving beers around the other day. I am literally running out of room to put all the beer I have. Hi my name is Drew and… I’m… someone who really likes craft beer.

Wasn’t sure what to expect with this one since it is a 2002 vintage, and it is not recommended to age this type of beer. But wow I popped this open and it smelled like no beer I have ever smelled before. Very oakey and citrus smelling. The taste is super complex. I am by no means a super taster but this beer has so many pronounced flavors that its very easy to pick them out. Yeasty Belgian like quality, citrus is the first taste you get, some black pepper spice, and it finishes with honey, a bit of hops, and a wood flavor I have never tasted before (must be the cedar barrels its aged in). Mouthfeel is creamy, almost like a nice Belgian dark. This beer is very very very unique. If you have access to it near you, grab a couple you will not be disappointed. It was worth every penny of the $5 I spent on it.

Thanks again to Dan for sending me my first 5 beers for this week. I am very thankful for getting to sample some of the best beer that Japan as to offer. There’s no way I would have been able to purchase these in the states.

Picture of the day: I want to be a dinosaur when I grow up.

Beer 138/365 – Fujizakura St Valentine’s Chocolate Wheat

Style: Dunkleweizen maybe?

ABV: 6.0%

Purchased at: Daniel @howtojaponese.com

What makes this beer different: Goopy and sour

Will I be drinking this again: Sorry Dan but this one was pretty bad.

Grade: C

3/26/2010: Mmmmm chocolate wheat, sounds like it would be good right? This one must be REAL rare even in Japan as I cannot find any information on it. In fact when you google the name of the beer, one of the top results is my site from the beginning of the week. Hmmm, so I have no idea what to expect here haha.

The chocolate definitely comes through in the smell, it actually smells a little sour? The taste is very similar, typical wheat beer taste with a dose of chocolate, roasted flavor, but I just can’t ignore the sour. Not sure if its the way it was brewed or if it was a little bit infected? The mouthfeel was actually very very goopy and thick for a wheat beer. I think I would have enjoyed this much more if the sour wasn’t there. The chocolate itself is a very good taste, but I am just having trouble appreciating it.

I actually have one last Japanese beer to drink tomorrow! I am pulling one out of my stash to add to Japanese Craft Beer week.

Picture of the day: This is how you clean a ferarri.

Beer 137/365 – Baird Beer Dark Sky Imperial Stout

Style: Russian Imperial Stout

ABV: 8.0%

Purchased at: Daniel @howtojaponese.com

What makes this beer different: Lets just say this beer is very mysterious

Will I be drinking this again: Yes if I can find it in the states!

Grade: A-

3/25/2010: The artwork on Baird Beer labels is very cool. Very starry nightish. After seeing the bottle I realized that Vintage Estate actually carries a couple of their beers, but not this one! So thanks again to Dan for sending over another hard to find in the US beer.

Wow this beer is not anything like I expected, smells very hoppy for an RIS. The taste is what I would call sneaky, they pack in a lot of hops for a stout, but its works VERY well. A lot of roasted coffee flavor, and I am getting this cola type kick also. I get a molasses type flavor but its not overwhelming. Full of flavor but a super smooth drink. An above average carbonation is a nice touch to this. Alcohol is hidden nicely we well. Upon further research this beer is somewhat accessible in the states so if you see it, give it a try.

Picture of the day: This is actually a commercial for beer. click here.

Beer 136/365 – Sapporo Royce Chocolat Brewery

Style: Not really sure ??

ABV: 5.0%

Purchased at: Daniel @howtojaponese.com

What makes this beer different: Tons of chocolate, its almost not even beer

Will I be drinking this again: negative

Grade: B-

3/24/2010: So I am a bit nervous to try this one as Chuwy and Dan are both telling its not at that great. I do love a good chocolate beer so I have a feeling I might like this a bit more than they do but who knows.

The smell is TONS of chocolate.. You can tell they didnt hold back the cocoa on this. The first sip was REALLY ashy/metallic. Not sure if the can had anything to do with this but it didn’t sit right with me. That taste faded and after that it was almost all chocolate. I should say I LOVE chocolate but even for me it was a little much. I get some maltyness but its hard to find it behind all the chocolate. Overall it wasn’t put together terribly bad, but if they just toned down the chocolate about 50% it would be much better. I am sure this is a beer that casual chocolate lovers might like, but it was just too much for me.

Picture of the day: Who ever said WWE wrestling isn’t real was a liar.

Beer 135/365 – Takashi Imperial Stout

Style: Russian Imperial Stout

ABV: 9.0%

Purchased at: Daniel @howtojaponese.com

What makes this beer different: Not much just a pretty solid RIS

Will I be drinking this again: I would if it were in the US

Grade: B+

3/23/2010: Beer #2 for Japanese craft beer week. Another one that seems pretty rare in the states as I cannot find much info on it at all. Thanks again Dan! Should be interesting to drink a Russian Stout in USA that was brewed in Japan. Hooray for multi-culturalism!

The smell is dark malts with some booziness. Taste is actually pretty nice, even amounts of coffee and chocolate flavor, with that nice alcohol bite that you get with a russian imperial stout. A good bit of roast flavor and the malts are integrated very nicely. Mouthfeel is a bit lighter than I expected, but it works well. Overall not much very different about this beer, but I think thats what makes it so drinkable. Very solid. I would for sure drink it again if it were available here!

Picture of the day: Wasps are only around to wreak havok.

Beer 134/365 – Yona Yona Ao-oni IPA

Style: American IPA

ABV: 7.0%

Purchased at: Daniel @howtojaponese.com

What makes this beer different: More Pale Ale than IPA

Will I be drinking this again: Considering that I am pretty sure this is not sold in the US… no

Grade: B

3/22/2010: Ahh time for the first beer in my week of Japanese Craft Beer. Why did I pick this one? Honestly because it was the coolest looking one of the bunch haha. This beer on BA rates as a C+, which is kind of surprising to me. I think US beer drinkers have become jaded in their idea of what an IPA should be. IPA’s should be heavy on hops and light on the malt. Now if we were talking Imperial IPA that would be a different story.

All that being said Yona Yona Aooni does have a good hop to malt ratio when it comes to the “guidelines” of an IPA, the problem is there isn’t quite enough hops overall. The flavor is good but it seems a little bit watered down. Again I think thats because over the past couple months my taste buds have been bombarded with hoppy beers that my idea of IPA has been jaded a bit. For instance, the FFF Alpha King Pale Ale I just drank had much more hop action going on than this beer. I do also think this gets a low rating because as I just stated, it doesn’t quite fit the mold for an IPA. If this were classified as a Pale Ale on BA, I bet it would rank higher.

Overall this beer is very drinkable, just not a ton of flavor going on. Not a bad start to my Japanese beer week!

Picture of the day: Gotta love a Walmart Wedding.