793-799. Deep Ellum

After eating dinner at Cafe Polonia David, Win and I went to Deep Ellum for more beer. Deep Ellum was a planned stop about a year ago when David and Dave came up to visit on St. Patrick's Day, but we never made it then because of numerous detours to bars of lesser quality, and serious inebriation. We were in much better shape when we set out for Deep Ellum this year, and were in comparatively better shape when we finished up our night this year, though not by much. These beers were again split three ways, so therefore no ratings.

I need to start making notes about the bars that I go to, because I remember being impressed by the atmosphere at Deep Ellum, but I don't remember much of it now.

793. Two-Headed Beast

Beer Stats:
Brewery: High and Mighty Brewing Co.
Alcohol: 6.00%
Serving: Tap
Style: Foreign / Export Stout, BJCP Style Guide

Pours a deep black with a thick, dark brown head that leaves sheets of lace. The aroma is all roasted malts with nice hints of chocolate and a slight metallic note. Sweet malts, with notes of chocolate and dart fruit that move through to a sharp finish with a light roasted bitterness and a bit of coffee. Thick feeling on the palate, high carbonation. I was a fan of this one.

794. Sixpoint Diesel


Beer Stats:
Brewery: Sixpoint Craft Ales
Alcohol: 6.60%
Serving: Tap
Style: American Stout, BJCP Style Guide

Pours a dark brownish-ruby. Topped by a beige head that fades to a thin film. The aroma was surprisingly fruity, almost a grape soda-like aroma, though there was some good roastiness as well. The flavors were lightly fruity and sweet through the center with a sharp finish with not much bitterness. I thought this one was a tad sweet.

795. Gritty's Black Fly Stout


Beer Stats:
Brewery: Gritty McDuff's Brewing Company
Alcohol: 4.10%
Serving: Tap
Style: Irish Dry Stout, BJCP Style Guide

Dark black in color, with amber edges. A dense, creamy, beige head sits atop the beer leaving plentiful lace. The aroma is a nice mix of coffee and fruit with a faint buttery character. The sweetness is held in check by a nice roasty character throughout. There are hints of coffee, but it's not overwhelming or obvious. Smooth, medium-bodied, lightly carbonated.

796
. Grey Lady


Beer Stats:
Brewery: Cisco Brewers Inc.
Alcohol: ?
Serving: Tap
Style: Witbier, BJCP Style Guide

Pours a hazy golden with a merengue-like, white head that leaves nice lace. Lots of coriander in the nose, with additional notes of citrus and yeast. Lightly sweet malts, nice notes of citrus and coriander, lightly grainy in the finish with hints of pepper and a lingering sweetness. Light-bodied with moderate carbonation.

797. Aecht Schlenkerla Helles Laberbier


Beer Stats:
Brewery: Brauerei Heller-Trum
Alcohol: 4.30%
Serving: Bottle
Style: Munich Helles Lager, BJCP Style Guide

Pours a clear, golden with a white, film of a head that leaves thick lace. The aroma is predominantly smoky, but notes of graininess appear upon swirling. There are sweet and grainy malts throughout. The finish is smoy with a moderate, leafy, hop bitterness.

798. Thomas Hooker American Pale Ale

Beer Stats:
Brewery: Thomas Hooker Ales & Lagers
Alcohol: 5.40%
Serving: Bottle
Style: American Pale Ale, BJCP Style Guide

Pours a clear copper. The head thins to a white film, leaving plentiful lace. The aroma is citric and leafy hops with some bready and sweet malts underneath. The flavor is overly sweet, lots of malt with a citric hop bitterness. Pretty bland overall.

799. Saison d'Epeautre


Beer Stats:
Brewery: Brasserie de Blaugies
Alcohol: 6.00%
Serving: Bottle
Style: Saison, BJCP Style Guide

Pours a hazy straw-golden with lts of yeast particles floating around. The thick white head retains well. Grainy, citrus, fruit in the aroma. Not too sweet. Neutral maltiness upfront with notes of citrus and banana in the center. There isn't a lot of bitterness, but the beer isn't so sweet that it needs it. Light-bodied, highly carbonated with a dryish finish.

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787-792. Cafe Polonia.

The activation energies for these multi-beer posts is pretty high, but I'm really behind in the blog, so I'll really try to get some of them done. This post is from mid-February.

After brunch at Gaslight and an afternoon at an arcade, David, Win and I went to Cafe Polonia, a Polish Restaurant in South Boston. We shared potato pancakes, Win got the Polish Plate, David had the goulash, and I had pierogis. The beer selection was small, but consisted almost entirely of Polish beers. We had two rounds, trading off partway through each beer. I originally gave ratings, but looking back I don't think that I had enough to justify them, so I've cut them. We had some nice Baltic Porters that were smooth and flavorful, though perhaps not as rich as some other examples I've had. We also had some decent European Lagers.

787. Okocim Porter

Beer Stats:
Brewery: Browar Okocim
Alcohol: 8.10%
Serving: Bottle, 500 mL
Style: Baltic Porter, BJCP Style Guide

Pours a clear, ruby, brown with a thin head on top. The aroma is malty with lots of dark fruit, cherries, and a boozy quality. The flavors are malty all the way. Sweet molasses gives way to a raisiny fruitiness and a light roasty finish. Medium-bodied on the palate with moderate to low carbonation. Tasty, but the sweetness could get in the way were you to have a few.

788. Okocim Palone

Beer Stats:
Brewery: Browar Okocim
Alcohol: 5.50%
Serving: Bottle, 500 mL
Style: Baltic Porter, BJCP Style Guide

Pours a clear, dark amber with a thin beige head. This is another malty one, with aromas of dark fruit and molasses with a touch of roasty malts. The flavors are sweet and malty, with caramel, breadiness, toastiness and fruitiness. Lightly bitter in the finish. Light-bodied with moderate carbonation. Not overly sweet, balanced.

789. Lomza Petne

Beer Stats:
Brewery: Browar Łomża
Alcohol: 6.20%
Serving: Bottle, 500 mL
Style: Euro Pale Lager, BJCP Style Guide

Golden in color and lightly hazed with a wispy film of a head. The aroma is very light. There are notes of graininess, a light sweetness, and a hint of bitterness in the finish. Light-bodied with moderate carbonation.

790. Zywiec Porter

Beer Stats:
Brewery: Zywiec Breweries
Alcohol: 9.50%
Serving: Bottle, 500 mL
Style: Baltic Porter, BJCP Style Guide

Pours a lightly hazed brown-ruby. Topped by a thick, brown, fluffy head. The aroma is lightly malty with notes of dark fruit. Starts with sweet maltiness, some molasses and dark fruit. The finish is lightly spice with a nice roasty bitterness. Medium-bodied with low carbonation.

791. Okocim OK

Beer Stats:
Brewery: Browar Okocim
Alcohol: 6.20%
Serving: Bottle, 500 mL
Style: Euro Pale Lager, BJCP Style Guide

Pours a clear, pale straw-golden that's topped by a fluffy, white head that leaves nice lace as it fades. There's a light graininess in the aroma with a hint of sweetness. Lightly sweet with a nice clean malty flavor with a mild bitterness in the finish. Light-bodied, very drinkable.

792. Lezajsk 1525 Legendary Premium Lager

Beer Stats:
Brewery: Zakłady Piwowarskie w Leżajsku
Alcohol: 5.50%
Serving: Bottle, 500 mL
Style: Style, BJCP Style Guide

Pours a pale golden with a fluffy white head that leaves moderate lace. The aroma is a little peppery. Grainy malts, light sweetness with a peppery finish. Moderate carbonation.

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Science not Beer

This post is off topic, but my paper was published in Cell today.

775-786. The Extreme Beer Fest, Part II

Here's post number two for the 5th Annual Beer Advocate Extreme Beer Fest. Find the first post here.

775. Smoke

Beer Stats:
Brewery: Surly Brewing Company
Alcohol: 9.50%
Style: Baltic Porter, BJCP Style Guide

Pours a clear, dark brown/red. Topped by a thick beige head. The aroma is smoky with a bit of maltiness and fruitiness. The flavors are malty and fruity with some light roast and a nice smokiness throughout.

From the website: "A smoked Baltic Porter that's aged in oak barrels. 9.5%"

776. Coffee Bender

Beer Stats:
Brewery: Surly Brewing Company
Alcohol: 5.10%
Style: American Brown Ale, BJCP Style Guide

Surprisingly this is a beer and not coffee, despite resembling coffee in most ways. It's clear and coffee colored, though it is carbonated whereas coffee is not. It smells like coffee, that's about all I smelled, and it tastes like a lightly sweetened cup.

From the website: "Cold Press Style-Aromatic coffee nose, creamy chocolate. Coarse ground cold steeped in Bender for 24hrs. Beans are from the Vinca Vista Hermosa plantation in Guatemala. Full City roast by Coffee & Tea Ltd., Linden Hills, Minneapolis, MN. 5.0%"

777. Kuhnhenn Fourth Dementia


Beer Stats:
Brewery: Kuhnhenn Brewing Company
Year: 2007
Alcohol: 14.50%
Style: Old Ale, BJCP Style Guide

Pours a hazy amber with a frothy, beige ring of a head. The aroma is sweet, lots of caramel. Sweet caramel notes on the palate with a pleasing, though light, tartness. The finish is lightly hoppy.

Fro the website: "Ruby red in color. Intense malt and caramel flavor, full of rich sweet melanoidins Bold hop characters abound in the fresh version, yet when aged the hops melt together with the malts. 14.5%"

778. Kuhnhenn Framboise

Beer Stats:
Brewery: Kuhnhenn Brewing Company
Alcohol: 11.50%
Style: Fruit Beer, BJCP Style Guide

Pours a raspberry tinged brownish-red. The aroma is tart raspberries, and the flavor is much the same. Dominated by raspberries, but nice enough.

From the website: "Deep red in color, raspberries dominate in this tart treat. Malt flavor and aromas are subdued. Aged in an American oak barrel. 11.5%"

779. Kuhnhenn Tenacious Cassis

Beer Stats:
Brewery: Kuhnhenn Brewing Company
Year: 2007
Alcohol: 14.50%
Style: Fruit Beer, BJCP Style Guide

Pours a hazed amber. Currants on the nose. The fruitiness of the currants is also evident on the first sip. The finish is a pulpy (what did I mean when I wrote this?), hop bitterness.

From the website: "Deep purple, black currents and red currents flavor this luscious malty beverage. Sweet fruit up front with complex malt characters in the finish. 14.5%"

780. Southern Tier Choklat

Beer Stats:
Brewery: Southern Tier Brewing Company
Alcohol: 10.00%
Style: Russian Imperial Stout, BJCP Style Guide

To say that this beer is chocolatey is an understatement. It pours an opaque black. The aroma is sweet chocolate, and the palate is dominated by sweet chocolate and complementing malts.

From the website: "Imperial Stout made using dark and bittersweet chocolate. Limited release and probably the chocolatiest beer on planet Earth. 10.0%"

781. Heudegoop

Beer Stats:
Brewery: Three Floyds Brewing Co.
Alcohol: 11.00%
Style: Wheat Wine

I had at least two samples of this one. Pours a clear copper. Aromas are a nice blend of fruit and citric hops. The malts are clean and biscuity upfront, move into a sweet fruitiness in the center before ceding to hops in the finish.

From the website: "Collaborative Wheatwine venture between Three Floyds and Danish brewer Mikkeller. 11.0%"

782. Spruce Willis

Beer Stats:
Brewery: Dogfish Head Craft Brewery
Alcohol: 7.00%
Style: Herbed/Spiced Beer, BJCP Style Guide

I believe that I've seen this one around at fests before, but I'd never tried it. My notes on this one are minimal. It was a hazy amber with a malty aroma and palate. The finish was crisp with a lightly bitter finish.

From the website: "Malty, hoppy, dark amber ale with a hint of spruce, brewed with English Pale, Munich, and Crystal malts. Hopped exclusively with Amarillo and spruced up in the serving tank to produce a woodsy, winter warmer. 7.0%"

783. Olde School Barleywine

Beer Stats:
Brewery: Dogfish Head Craft Brewery
Alcohol: 15.00%
Style: Style, BJCP Style Guide

The aroma and flavors are fruity. I noticed some tropical hints, though that could have been the intoxication. The finish is spicy and tart with not a huge bitterness.

From the website: "Bold, yet smooth! Fermented with dates and figs, this bone-crusher has a completely unique flavor. 15.0%"

784. Smuttynose Sour Brune

Beer Stats:
Brewery: Smuttynose Brewing Company
Alcohol: ?
Style: American Wild Ale

This beer is a bit frustrating, it's not on the fest website, and my handwriting for the name is pretty bad. It could be "Soure Brue" (best guess), it could be "Soure Brue" or even "Sour Brie" (not likely). I do know this is a real beer that's not listed on the fest website. A quick search on Rate Beer reveals that it's actually "Sour Brune." People actually give numerical ratings to beers they have at beer fests?

At any rate the notes are minimal. Sour in both aroma and flavor. I wish I had had this earlier in the fest or that I'd had less to drink at this point.

785. The Woodmaster

Beer Stats:
Brewery: Short's Brewing Company
Alcohol: 9.50%
Style: American Brown Ale, BJCP Style Guide

Pours a hazy brown with a hint of amber. The aroma is light, a hint of maple syrup. The flavor is maple syrup and definite pecans.

From the website: "Imperial Brown Ale brewed with late season maple syrup and fermented with pureed pecans. 9.5%"


After leaving the beer fest we ended up at Christopher's in Porter Square for dinner. We stopped at Liquor world afterwards and picked up a few beers. Though we were pretty much done with the bulk of our drinking for the night.

786. Moinette Brune

Beer Stats:
Brewery: Brasserie Dupont
Alcohol: 8.50%
Style: Belgian Strong Dark Ale, BJCP Style Guide

I thought I'd had both of the Moinettes before, but I'd only had the Blonde at Boulevard in Kortrijk, Belgium. As a consequence there are no notes for this beer.

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763-774. The Extreme Beer Fest, Part I

On Saturday the 16th of February David, Win, Jadyn and I went to the afternoon session of the Extreme Beer Fest. The setup was pretty similar to the last fest I went to at the Cyclorama. There was a nice selection of beers. Three Floyd's had a booth, as well as Surly. As usual the notes are abbreviated and more general. This beer fest will be split into two posts.

763-765. Harpoon Parti-Gyle

Harpoon brewed a series of three beers for the beer fest. The beers were all brewed from the same mash. A Stock Ale was brewed from the first runnings, a Pub Ale was brewed from the second runnings, and a Table Beer was brewed from the third runnings. We started with the weakest beer of the three and worked our way up. Harpoon's description from the fest website:
Parti-gyle: An antiquated method of producing more than one beer from the same mash. Achieved by running off a high gravity brew, then rehydrating the mash and repeating the process, which yields a brew of lesser strength. We put our spin on the traditional method to produce a high strength Stock Ale, a medium strength Pub Ale, and a low strength Table beer. Try all three!
763. Harpoon Table Beer Parti-Gyle #3

Beer Stats:
Brewery: Harpoon Brewery
Alcohol: 2.70%
Style: English Pale Mild Ale, BJCP Style Guide

I'm guessing on the style, but I think English Pale Mild is pretty close. Light copper in color. Malty caramel in the aroma with a touch of resiny hops. The flavors are light biscuity malts and a light hop finish. This was my favorite of the three, perhaps it's because I have a soft spot for the under-appreciated Mild. Flavorful and drinkable!

The website says, "Nice fruity, bready aroma with notes of honey. Super hoppy, while maintaining light bitterness and body. Down right refreshing! OG: 7.3, FG: 2.0, ABV: 2.7%"

764. Harpoon Pub Ale Parti-Gyle #2

Beer Stats:
Brewery: Harpoon Brewery
Alcohol: 6.00%
Style: English Brown Ale, BJCP Style Guide

I'm guessing this is an English Brown Ale. The color is a hazed brownish. The aroma is fruity and maltier than the table beer. Sweet and malty throughout with a light hop bitterness, some notes of toffee.

The website says, "Spicy aroma with note of Licorice, Anise, Fennel and slight alcohol. Some hop bitterness for balance, but this beer is focused on a nutty, caramel malt profile with some roasty notes. Firm body and mouthfeel. OG: 15.5, FG: 4.2, ABV: 6.0% "

765. Harpoon Stock Ale Parti-Gyle #1

Beer Stats:
Brewery: Harpoon Brewery
Alcohol: 8.30%
Style: English Strong Ale

Again, they style is a guess. Pours a hazy amber with a sudsy head. The aroma is predominantly citrusy and resiny hops with some malt and spice. The beer itself is sweet and malty with a resiny hop finish.

The website says, "Spicy, piney and citrusy hop aroma with some alcohol and oaky notes. Beautiful, deep Auburn color. Intense sweet malt flavor balanced by explosive hop character finished with balanced bitterness and hop flavor. A warming brew. OG: 21.9, FG: 6.8, 8.3% "

766. Dreadnaught IPA

Beer Stats:
Brewery: Three Floyds Brewing Co.
Alcohol: 9.50%
Style: American Double IPA, BJCP Style Guide

Pours a clear copper. The aroma is hoppy, predominantly citrus and resiny. Opens up with malty sweetness: raw sugar, caramel, biscuity. The hops are there, but I think the malts are a bit much.

768. Ham on Rye

Beer Stats:
Brewery: Three Floyds Brewing Co.
Alcohol: 6.00%
Style: Rye Beer, BJCP Style Guide

Pours a clear copper. The aroma is smoky with an undercurrent of sweet malts. The flavor is dominated by the smokiness, but also has a bit of malty sweetness and some rye spiciness. The name says it all, it really does evoke a ham sandwich.

768. Saison de Gewurz

Beer Stats:
Brewery: Brewery Ommegang
Alcohol: 10.00%
Style: Saison, BJCP Style Guide

Pours a pale, hazed, straw color. The aroma is sweet and fruity, the grapes are noticeable. On swirling the aroma becomes a tad grainy and musty. Grape fruitiness is predominant in the flavor, sweet with a light spiciness.

From the website: "Belgian-style saison ale made with real Gewürztraminer grapes. A touch of spiciness complements the delectable blend of a Belgian dry-style saison with a German dry-style wine. 10.0%"

769. Matty O'Connor's Irish Stout

Beer Stats:
Brewery: Magic Hat Brewing Company
Alcohol: 3.40%
Style: Irish Dry Stout, BJCP Style Guide

Pours a dark black with a brown sudsy ring for a head. Chocolate with maybe a hint of Brettanomyces in the aroma. Not too sweet. Light roastiness and chocolate.

From the website: "An old-world Irish Dry Stout aged with Brettanomyces claussenii. 3.4%"

770. American Sour Ale

Beer Stats:
Brewery: Magic Hat Brewing Company
Alcohol: 5.30 %
Style: Fruit Beer, BJCP Style Guide

Pours a cloudy straw color. The aroma is definitely actual grapefruit rather than hops, almost pithy. There's a sour grapefruit character throughout with underlying supporting malts. Nice and sour. The finish is the characteristic grapefruit bitterness.

From the website: "100% sour mash beer. Fermented with fresh Florida grapefruits. A mouth puckering drinking experience! 5.1%"

771. The Lost Abbey Red Poppy Ale

Beer Stats:
Brewery: Port Brewing Company/The Lost Abbey
Alcohol: 5.00%
Style: Flanders Red Ale, BJCP Style Guide

Pours a hazy, brownish red. The aroma is a nice sour and medicinal blend. The taste is predominantly sour with a nice fruity undercurrent. Based on my small sample I thought this was a nice interpretation of the style.

From the website: "Our version of the classic Flanders Red. Aged for one in year in French Oak on Sour Cherries with Creepy Crawlers. 5.0%"

772. The Lost Abbey The Angel's Share


Beer Stats:
Brewery: Port Brewing Company/The Lost Abbey
Alcohol: 11.00%
Style: American Strong Ale

Pours a hazy, dark brown. The aroma is strong and malty with molasses and a hint of roastiness. Thick with port-like flavors, prunes, molasses. Very sweet.

773. Two

Beer Stats:
Brewery: Surly Brewing Company
Alcohol: 9.50%
Style: Fruit Beer, BJCP Style Guide

Pours a dark brown. The aroma us malty with a little bit of tart cranberry. Sour cranberries on the palate with well attenuated sweetness.

From the website: "Surly's 2nd anniversary beer, a strong dark ale with over 40lbs of cranberries per/bbl; oak-aged. 9.5%"


Beer Stats:
Brewery: Surly Brewing Company
Alcohol: 10.30%
Style: Russian Imperial Stout, BJCP Style Guide

Pours a dark black with a huge brown head. Chocolate and fruit in the aroma. Chocolate, coffee and hints of fruit on the palate. Very thick.

From the website: "This Russian Imperial Stout is a sipper. Brewed with a blend of 8 different malts, oats and candi sugar. This huge stout reflects Surly's commitment to brewing intensely flavored beers in small batches. Only 25 barrels of this beer were brewed. 10.3%"

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