Beer Score!

Everyone should know that the Ale Jail is hands down the best beer store in St Paul, and probably my favorite of the liquor stores* in the twin cities. I recently picked up this little grab bag.

Among others I picked up Tallgrass Mild Ale, Uerige Sticke Alt, Sam Smith's Stingo, Great Divide DPA, and Batemann's XXXB, most of which are almost impossible to get anywhere in this country.

I also recently came into some free-ish beer from a friend. I traded him a digital TV converter I had no use for, and he gave me some beer. Beer traded for what would have been garbage. Not too bad.

These are all beers that I probably wouldn't buy for myself, being of the super-hoppy variety, but it will be nice to give them a try. Bell's Oracle, and their 25th Anniversary Ale are both pretty limited releases, so I think I clearly cleaned up in our little trade. I think some reviews will be forthcoming.

If you're wondering why my couch in the background looks so crappy, it's because it's a crappy couch that I got for free off the side of the street. I'm just a working schlub, after all. I'm no Ron Pattinson for god's sake; I need to save money for beer.

*The Ale Jail doesn't actually sell liquor, but you know what I mean

Don't Call me a Beer Nerd

Please. Or a beer geek. I'm a snob, not a geek, thank you. Geekery implies a blind devotion to beer and craft beer that I don't have. There are probably more craft beers and breweries that I prefer NOT to drink than to drink. Frankly, I like quality. I don't care about gimmicks and which beer is more eXtreme, or which is made with the most food ingredients instead of beer ingredients. It's boring to me. Can't stand it. Frankly, I'm surprised it works on anyone. The beer with the most alcohol? Really? The best thing you can say about your beer is that it has a lot of alcohol? That's like saying your beer is really really cold. I guess it's something.

Realistically, this blog is some sort of evidence that I am kind of a geek, and probably kind of a nerd, but I don't want to be associated with the dweebs who flock to beer festivals and brewery tours, just for the sake of it. 

That's not me. I'm just a simple hater.
Cheers

Beer Review: Sierra Nevada Tumbler

As promised, my review of Sierra Nevada's seasonal brown ale:

Meh.


Perhaps that's not totally fair. I'll say that this beer did not live up to my expectations. Brown ale is probably my favorite style and one of the least represented beer types, so I had high hopes for this one. Unfortunately, I think some might drink this beer and continue not to be impressed or interested in brown ales. Personally, I love the idea of ales that were brewed before the advent of pale malts and before lager took over. The blanket term "brown ale" can refer to dozens of beers and styles beyond "American brown ale" or "English brown ale" etc. There is such a wide variety of flavors and colors within the range between pale and black that's so ignored, well, why wouldn't you love it? I love it so much, in fact, that I recently brewed one up for an event at which it'll be given away.

Tasting notes:

Aroma is biscuity and malty. Not much hop aroma. The flavor is a bit lacking and one dimensional. No sweetness and very little body. I might have been having an off night, but it even seemed a little fizzy to me. Sierra Nevada's pale ale is sweeter and fuller than their brown ale which is sort of the opposite of what I might have expected. The flavor and the finish is mostly plain, with some hoppiness which is pleasant but stands alone in an otherwise mostly-uninteresting beer.
Grade: I don't give grades to beers, because I'm not a bureaucrat or a bro. It's not a bad beer but not a great beer. I'd order one if there were nothing else around, but I probably won't seek it out. My overall rating is: Crocodile.