Hi-Res

Name: Hi-Res
Style:Imperial IPA
ABV: 11.1
Brewery: Sixpoint
Locale: Fucking Brooklyn, Baby!
Personal Rating:5/5

Fuck the Silver Bullet.  This can be GOLD, yo! Why the overly macho, ghetto-fab speak?  Because this beer is from Brooklyn and I'm channeling all the fuggedaboudits that ooze from each, freshly popped can!

Pours a hazy orange.  Aroma is not the hop blast I was expecting, assaulting, assailing and withering my nares, but rather something that almost smells barrel-aged.  Make no mistake; the hops are still there, resinous and sticky but a bit more subdued.  Then you take a sip.

POW!

Strong (and The Rock means STRONG) hop presence.  So sticky, you'd think they dry-hopped this with shit they scraped from the inside of your college room-mate's bong.  "Darkly" piney, meaning it's more like a Hansel and Gretel forest and not an Aspen, apres-ski  forest.  Sticky, funky. But still with a strange flavor that reminds one of barrel aging.  Whatever.  If Resin is that tattooed, muscled dude on the block that no one wants to mess with, Hi-Res is his BIG brother.  The big brother that just got out of jail.  The big brother that just got out of jail and is now checking out your girlfriend.  And your flat-screen TV.  And your dog.

Finishes slightly bitter and scrubbing but with a high level of residual schmackability.

This could be my new, favorite, over-the-top IIIIIIIPA.

Well done, Sixpoint.  Check and Mate.

Tasmanian Angel

Name: Tasmanian Angel
Style:  Pale Ale
ABV: 4.1%
Brewery: Blind Bat Brewery
Locale: Centerport, NY
Personal Rating:  4/5





Picked this baby up at Bellport Beer and Soda on our way back from an aborted walk with our dog.(The dog knew it was too cold for a walk but apparently we did not!)

22oz bomber found snugged in the back with some other Blind Bat treasures.

Pours a clear, pale yellow-orange.  "BREWED WITH GALAXY HOPS!" it proudly proclaims.  You can tell right away in the nose.  Dominant scent of passion fruit though, due to my limited exposure to passion fruit, I might have described it as a mellow citrus / honey scent.  But passion fruit it is and it's present in each mouthful. That and what I still consider to be a honey-like taste.  Slightly dry finish.

A very nice beer and, though I hate using this word because it's been bandied about too much of late, "sessionable".  Though, on second thought, it is perhaps a bit sweetish for me.  At 4.1% ABV I could probably drink a barrel of this but I think it would be best served paired with something fitting for a summer picnic:  sticky, sweet ribs, watermelon, or sorbet comes to mind.

Not normally a huge fan of low ABV brews but this one is quite nice. Great job, Paul!

Well, holy crap.  I can't believe I first thought of this in 2009!  WTF? Talk about procrastination!  Hopefully that will all change.  I'll be able to keep up with this thing, stay motivated and keep the thing interesting and current.

What with all the excellent beer blogs there are out there, I think I'm going to use this as a means of beery self-expression: stuff I'm drinking now, local joints for food and beer, general thoughts about what's going on with craft beer, stuff like that.

Special thanks to Jason of Monolith Creative for the kick ass banner.  (I'll be sure to cite you properly in short order.)

Not much else right now as I'm gathering my thoughts. However, as a harbinger to the holiday season and the madness it typically brings me, I am drinking a Midnight Sun Meltdown Double IPA!  It's a little different from the IIPAs I've been drinking but it's pretty nice.

Pours a dark hay color with lots of sticky lacing once the head dissipates.  Earthy, grassy, resinous hop aroma rather than the bright citrus of West Coast IPAs.  It has a nice bitterness balanced by a sweet, malty flavors.  Finishes dry with residual schmackability.  A pretty good offering, if ya ask me!

More to come!