Uinta Crooked Line Tilted Smile Imperial Pilsner.

Here's another imperial pilsner. I wonder if this is going to be the next trendy style to have. The Gordon Biersch IPB is pretty good. I am also a fan of the Sam Adams Noble Pils. This one comes off as a little too malty and creamy, not enough clean, light hop flavor. Maybe it's a little old. I left in the fridge and forgot about it for at least a month and who knows how long it was sitting on a store shelf before that.

It's pretty easy-going for being a stiff 9%. Oh, the bottle is stamped with a bottled-on date of 5/22/12. So kinda old.

The label is nice, certainly drinkable, but not what I'm looking for in an imperial pilsner.

Brewery de Ranke XX Bitter.

From a bottle trade, though I've since had it at WF tastings. It doesn't have a strong typical Belgian character with all the candi sugar and spices and such. It's much more of a plain golden with a notable pils hop character with some extra white wine astringency on the back.

Firestone Walker Wookey Jack.

Style tweaks are getting ridiculous. This is like two cousins having a baby. Is it a rye ale crossed with a black IPA or is it a rye IPA crossed with a black IPA? It's a pretty hoppy black IPA, regardless. Smells malty, tastes malty, feels malty. And the hops are muddy in a rich way. A little too much residue for my liking though and not terribly spicy.

Anchor Christmas Ale.

Not going to lie, I'm not a big fan of Christmas ales or wee heavies or winter warmer usually. Not a fan of this one either. Too much fruitiness, cherry, prune, a little bit of dark chocolate, too sweet and tart instead of malty and smooth. No more words here.

Devil's Canyon Bourbon-barrel Aged Scotch Ale.

A bottle from a trade. Most bourbon barrel-aged stuff tends to me stouts, so I was pleased to see something different here. Typical looking pour. First taste, my face: >:*

This thing is sour. At first I thought infected, which would be a bummer because this is a limited brew. But after reading some comments on BA, maybe this is just how it was intended. The nose is really pleasant: smoky vanilla and caramel. Which is also what you get in the center of your tongue, but everything around it is pretty tart. A quick swig without too much pontification will save you from most of the funk, but still, pretty weird.

Wow, I don't even have a scotch tag. That seems weird.

Straffe Hendrik Bruges Quadrupel Ale.

From a bottle sale from earlier in the summer. I had a great tripel from Straffe Hendrik last summer so I was stoked to try some more stuff. This is pretty damn good. A bit of chocolate in the nose. Rich, decadent malts; molasses; dense fruit like raisin and prune, with a slightly tannic and hop bitter finish. A late toffee and coffee finish.

BA reviewers are funny sometimes. I read some that gave low marks because it was too boring, to textbook. To be fair, this is a solid quad. No, it's not amazingly unique. Yes, it's pricier than your average 22oz/750ml. What are you expecting? Be appreciated that they can nail the style, at least. That's my beef with the BA scoring, a one-dimensional number to compress a 5/6-dimensional tasting. If a beer nails the style but is nothing special, some people rate it low while others rate high. Sometimes, people like a beer because it's different and rate it high, even if it may not represent the style very well. What do?

Also, I'm not very consistent with the use of my "belgian" tag. Oh well.

Jester King Noble King Hoppy Farmhouse Ale.

Aside from Shiner, I think Jester King is the only other brewery I've had from TX (Austin). I picked this up during a bottle sale at least a month ago, just now getting around to it as I haven't been motivated or cognizant enough to work through some of the bottles I've picked up over the summer. I did get several from Jester King though because they have fairly elaborate labels.

An overly aggressive pour for a very rambunctious beer. The head came up stiff and light. Nice strong pils-y nose. Despite it looking high carb, it's surprisingly mellow. Similarly, it's a saison with a strong pilsner character from the noble hop(s) (East Kent Golding, Czech Saaz, plus others [as available]; Saaz is the only named noble here.). It's fairly dry, light bo

died, and pretty cleansing. And, at only 5.9%, it'd be a nice table beer.

St. Sebastiaan Yeast Hoist.

Not sure if this is a rebottling of something or a totally limited brew. Either way, the jug is cool. The printing is silk-screened.

The beer itself is an easy drinker. Nothing super complex. Tastes more like a young Belgian abbey crossed with a wit to me. Clearly, I am taking this summer super-cas(ual).

New Belgium Dig.

Rogue Double Dead Guy.

Here's a beer I've been putting off for a while. I'm a big fan of Dead Guy, though I've read somewhere that this really has no relation to it. Oh well.

I can't say I'm all that into actually. It's got too much of that squash-y, brown and candi sugar caramel taste which just carries and intensifies the otherwise moderate hop character. meh. It is too hot (car thermometer hit 100 driving down 280) today to really enjoy a beer like this.

Stone Ruination 10th Anniversary.

This is probably one of the few beers to which I've looked forward in recent memory. I picked up two bottles, one for the fridge and one for sitting, even though I know it won't keep well probably. For being an anniversary brew, it was pretty reasonably priced.

DAAAAAAAAAAMN. Watching the pour, thick resiny bubbles cropped up in the fine, dense head. A rich floral, hoppy aroma. And I mean floral. Usually when someone says floral, it means a slightly fragrant, maybe grassy, delicate non-bitter aroma. This is not that kind of floral. It is a bouquet.

This actually tastes somewhat more refined than Stone IPA and, presumably, Ruination. The up-front is relatively gently, but the IBUs kick in hard and fast, super punchy, really aggressive and persistent. The body is nice and light for the wallop, but leaves a bit of residue.

Really, I should have tried this next to a regular Ruination, but, alas, I did not. But this is a kickass, dangerously sippable/drinkable beer. I( will definitely have to pick up some more, if I see it around.

Triple Voodoo Grand Cru.

The other Triple Voodoo offering I picked up on sale. Really watery/thin tasting, not much malt, a bitter spice, and a little hot. Not very pleasant at all. What's up with this?

I didn't rotate some of these. Whatever.

Triple Voodoo Inception.

Saw a couple bottles from this little local brewery on sale so I picked them up. Not a whole lot of ratings for them on BA; in fact, these are the only two beers they have apparently.

I am pleasantly surprised. This is a nice malty, spicy Belgian strong pale. The mild hop bittering plays well with the spices (maybe cardamom, cinnamon, ginger?) and persists with just enough presence on the finish. The mouthfeel is really nice

: full and smooth but cut well with the carb. There's a hint of heat at the end as well. I probably wouldn't have noticed otherwise, but I've done a lot of excessive drinking the last couple days and that tends to make me more sensitive to that feature when it's there.

Overall, I do like this beer, though it could be a bit dangerous at 8%ABV. We'll see how fast it actually ends up going down and whether it's too filling afterward. In other news, I'm going to keep things casual until I finally get caught up on my backlog of drafts. Many are just waiting for a picture, which I do not have with me here, so I don't know if I'll just push them out and edit later or what. So maybe I won't get caught up until the winter. Ho hum.

Knee Deep Brewing Hoptologist DIPA.

Finally getting into some new beer for another summer abroad. I haven't heard of Knee Deep so I picked up a bomber. This was actually a purchase from a few weeks ago, but I've been so busy lately that I haven't had much time to sit with a thoughtful beer. To be honest, I've mostly been drinking Copper Bell, $5 for a 12-pack at WF these days. Pretty hard to beat that.

First impression is a bit hop pellet-y, a typically bit unbalanced DIPA. Not going to be impressed, especially since I just finished a Stone IPA. But it's a funny bottle.

On a related note, WF was having a 20% off 375mL+-sized bottles today so I picked up a half dozen or so new ones, so hopefully I'll have some solid beers coming down the line soon. I should also probably pick up some more Copper Bell. I must say, I'm enjoying my boozing a bit more this summer without the self-imposed pressure of taking myself so seriously. Expect a lot more casual impressions rather than 5-point reviews. Got a hankering to head up to Lagunitas and Russian River soon.

Black Diamond Rampage Imperial IPA.

I never got around to trying any Black Diamond last summer so here we are. It's only ok. It's nice for an IPA but there's something a bit watery behind it. Meh. I wouldn't be interested in buying this again. 'Nuff said.

G. Schneider and Sohn Anventinus Wheat Doppelbock.

First beer review for this summer, but I'll keep it casual. I remember getting pretty burnt out last summer being as strict as I was with my beer purchasing. Granted, I did get through a whole lot of new beers, but this summer, that means I can take it pretty easy and revisit my favorites.

This bottle, however, is from a little gift from the GF to help me get settled in. I also used it as an excuse to pick up a new beer glass. It has a nice malty, dark fruit aroma, something like figs or dates. The actual flavor and body are less doppelbock-like and takes more after the wheat. It's also pretty carbed, not sure why that is. I also feel like there are some tannins because my mouth suddenly feels rather dry, but I also just ate a GD salad for a snack.

Sam Adams Griffin's Bow Oaked Blonde Barleywine.

Hooray for beers with unnecessarily long names. Another unique Sam Adams drop to try while I wait for a fresh pint of Dead Ringer to settle down. I haven't had hardly any barley wines this season and the weather has been unseasonably warm recently with today finally cooling by about 20F. It's almost fitting that this barley wine be so much lighter in color that its typical kin, a light, crystal clear caramel. While the head is quite thin, it manages to leave a lot of lacing. The aroma is spot on: sweet, malty, slightly woody without being bourbon-y, slightly boozy. The taste follows the aroma pretty closely, with the heat being a little over the top. There are plenty of good b-wines out there that pack 10%ABV without letting on. I suppose that's the advantage of getting to use darker malts.

This is a pretty interesting beer. I can tell that it's a barley wine, but it's distinctive as well

Sam Adams Griffin's Bow Oaked Blonde Barleywine.

Hooray for beers with unnecessarily long names. Another unique Sam Adams drop to try while I wait for a fresh pint of Dead Ringer to settle down. I haven't had hardly any barley wines this season and the weather has been unseasonably warm recently with today finally cooling by about 20F. It's almost fitting that this barley wine be so much lighter in color that its typical kin, a light, crystal clear caramel. While the head is quite thin, it manages to leave a lot of lacing. The aroma is spot on: sweet, malty, slightly woody without being bourbon-y, slightly boozy. The taste follows the aroma pretty closely, with the heat being a little over the top. There are plenty of good b-wines out there that pack 10%ABV without letting on. I suppose that's the advantage of getting to use darker malts.

This is a pretty interesting beer. I can tell that it's a barley wine, but it's distinctive as well. I'm still on the fence on whether I really like it or not though. It's good for the moment but the heat is starts to get a bit big.

• Appearance: Clear, light caramel. Thin head with lacing.
• Smell: Sweet, almost cider-y, wood, noticeable heat.
• Taste: A bit vinous, sweet, a little bit of apple tart. Wood and heat.
• Mouthfeel: Smooth, perhap a bit more effervescent than a normal barley wine. Lighter in weight and viscosity.
• Drinkability and Overall: It's no lightweight, but a refreshing take on a traditionally rich beer.

Sam Adams Dark Depths Baltic IPA.

A new Sam Adams I found the other day. I don't much much experience with Baltic porters so I didn't know what to expect. If I had to compare this to a black IPA, it fits the bill better than most. There is a sweetness and creaminess like a milk stout. It's not strongly bitter from the dark malts, and there is a nice, mild grassy hop taste on the back end. The mouthfeel is exceptionally smooth. Overall

• Appearance:
• Smell:
• Taste:
• Mouthfeel:
• Drinkability and Overall:

Sam Adams Third Voyage Double IPA.

I've been seeing these special brews from Sam Adams lately. They look pretty adventurous. I've been sitting on this one and another one lately and since I found a couple new ones the other day, I figured I should start working on one. Third Voyage is brewed with Cascades from UK, NZ and US so that's kind of cool. It's not as hooppy as I'd like for a double but maybe that's because it's mostly malty up front with the bitter showing up late. Not going to lie, there's some serious booziness going on.

Maybe it's because I'm sick, but I'm not really feeling this one. All somewhat unbalanced

• Appearance: Clear, typical dark amber. Fairly creamy, frothy head. Curtains.
• Smell: Rather fruity, tropical aroma, somewhat sugar-y.
• Taste: Very malty up front with only a hop bitter arriving towards the finish which accents the alcohol heat unpleasantly.
• Mouthfeel: Leaves more residue than I'd like, but otherwise typical.
• Drinkability and Overall: It was a nice experience but not one I'd want to repeat again and again.