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.

Buffalo Chicken Chili.

Kevin

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.

Gordon Biersch Braumeister Select IPB.

I got to try this at a WF tasting a few weeks ago. GB is not really regarded as a notable brewery, they are actually not that bad. I've had GB on occasion, and I really do think they try to make a good beer. Not that they are anything to write home about, but I think they are much more approachable for the macro beer drinker to get into craft beer.

I'm not typically a fan of pilseners but I've had a few that I've liked in the past, Sam Adams Noble Pils for one. I think I'm actually had one imperial pilsener before as well, though I can't remember where that was. Weighing in at only 6.5%, it's not really the typical imperial strength. In terms of flavor thou

gh, it's definitely a beefier brew. IPB stands for "Imperial Pilsner Brau", by the way.

Nose is a crisp, slightly grassy spring aroma, makes it just that much more refreshing. I like this one. Plus it comes in a swing-top, which is cool.

New Belgium Shift.

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.

PDX.

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.