Beer 303/365 – Voodoo White Magick of the Sun

Style: Witbier

ABV: 6.75%

Purchased at: I don’t even remember? Giant Eagle Market District probably.

What makes this beer different: One of the spiciest beers I have ever had.

Will I be drinking this again: Maybe? With a pepper steak it would be good.

Grade: B

9/7/2010: Western PA (Pittsburgh area) doesn’t have quite as strong a craft beer presence as Eastern, PA (Philly area), but Voodoo does a great job representing this side of the state. Their Big Black Voodoo Daddy is one of my favorite stouts. They also have a barrel aged stout called Black Magick that is only released every 2 years, and it just so happens this December it is being released. I will be sure to buy out any store I end up seeing them at.

Check out all the sediment in the picture above. I even tried to pour is slowly, but still a ton of gunk came out. The smell is unexpectedly spicy. The taste is as well, a HUGE black peppercorn presence, with a tiny bit of orange zest. But make no mistake, this beer is overwhelmingly peppery, so much so that even 15 minutes after finishing the beer I still tasted pepper. Very carbonated and average mouthfeel. I think if I would have had this beer paired with some strips on the grill, I would have enjoyed it much more.

Picture of the day: And you wonder why you are still single.

Beer 289/365 – Victory Whirlwind Witbier

Style: Witbier

ABV: 5.0%

Purchased at: Vintage Estate – Boardman OH

What makes this beer different: Tons of lemon, even for the style

Will I be drinking this again: Yes! Very refreshing

Grade: B+

8/24/2010: On my last beer run I realized I haven’t had nearly enough Victory beers yet out of my prior 288. I would venture to say they are the biggest craft brewery in Pa, but I’m not 100% sure on that. I usually am not one for watching interviews on the web, but I just recently saw a really good one on winelibrary with co-owner Bill Covaleski. If you are bored go check it out, really good stuff.

Victory Whirlwind is one of the most lemony smelling witbiers I have ever encountered. A little bit of spice peeks out also. The flavor is tart but pleasing lemon, some coriander, and a little bit of pepper. A bit light on the mouthfeel but it makes this beer very drinkable. I could easily down 4-5 of these on a hot summers day.

Picture of the day: I’m pretty sure someone has to have oral cancer to go through enough containers to make a table like this.

Beer 283/365 – Atwater Dirty Blonde

Style: Witbier

ABV: 4.5%

Purchased at: Vintage Estate – Boardman OH

What makes this beer different: Very under malted for a witbier

Will I be drinking this again: Nope

Grade: C+

8/18/2010: Thanks to Brett for suggesting this beer to me. It seems to me Atwater makes either really good beer, or really below average beer. It just seems like there is no middle road with them. I am hoping for the prior with this one. Their Vanilla Java Porter (I’ll try anything with vanilla in the name) used to be one of my favorite beers, but from what I read they have changed that recipe from the original. I haven’t had one in almost 3 years so its hard to say.

All I can smell is orange juice in the nose. The flavor lacks a good malt presence, actually the more I’m drinking this it lacks flavor period. I can appreciate an easy drinking beer, but I want there to be some sort of flavor I can lean on. There is some tartness there, but its not super pleasant. Mouthfeel is a bit watery, and it is under-carbonated. Brett thanks for the suggestion, but next time I’ll take a real life Dirty Blonde over the Fermented beverage version.

Picture of the day: This girl either needs to learn how to use the liquify tool in photoshop correctly, or needs to call a good contractor.

Beer 275/365 – Michigan Brewing Celis White

Style: Witbier

ABV: 3.9%

Purchased at: Vintage Estate – Boardman OH

What makes this beer different: Great summer beer. Very refreshing.

Will I be drinking this again: Yes I should have picked up a couple.

Grade: A-

8/10/2010: Thanks to Rob for recommending this beer to me. I have always seen it on the shelves but never really had a reason to buy it. I also never realized that Michigan Brewing made this beer. Which is good news because I love their screaming pumpkin beer, and had no clue they distributed into Ohio.

The smell is mostly some fresh wheat, and a little bit of citrus. The flavor has a nice bit of clove, some citrus (on the orange end of the scale), lightly bready wheat, and its slightly funky. A lot of flavor for how light this beer is. The more I drink this beer the more flavors I am picking up, now I am getting some white pepper. Celis White is pretty light on mouthfeel and very well carbonated which makes this a great summer beer. Thanks again for the suggestion Rob!

Picture of the day: Irony much?

Beer 255/365 – Great Lakes Holy Moses White Ale

Style: Witbier

ABV: 5.4%

Purchased at: Coworker Tony gave me this.

What makes this beer different: Crisp citrus, coriander and spice flavors.

Will I be drinking this again: Yes this was really refreshing.

Grade: A-

7/21/2010: Anyone notice I’ve been drinking a lot of Great Lakes beer lately? It’s purely coincidental, but I do like their beer a lot. I feel like most of their beer is very well crafted, with no “duds” in the lineup to speak of. On that note they also don’t have anything I would consider spectacular. Overall they are very consistent at making beer that is true to their respective style.

Holy Moses has a very strong yeast character in the nose, with a clean smack of citrus. The flavor is perfectly balanced between citrus, spice, and coriander. Each respective flavor keeps the other in check like a 3 part yin yang. Mouthfeel is a bit on the heavy side for the style, but there is just enough carbonation to make this extremely refreshing. Holy Moses White Ale is one of my go -to brews if I am looking for something from Great Lakes Brewing.

Picture of the day: History of the LOL cat.