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June 18, 2013
1 note
Goose Island Fleur 2011 - Bottled on date says 2009, label says 2011, confusing. Went in with pretty low expectations knowing this had been discontinued and this was still on the shelves in 2013. Was pleasantly surprised. Smell and the initial taste are quite similar to Grassroots Convivial Suarez thanks to the hibiscus, but lacking the tart/sour punch that would take it over the top.

Goose Island Fleur 2011 - Bottled on date says 2009, label says 2011, confusing. Went in with pretty low expectations knowing this had been discontinued and this was still on the shelves in 2013. Was pleasantly surprised. Smell and the initial taste are quite similar to Grassroots Convivial Suarez thanks to the hibiscus, but lacking the tart/sour punch that would take it over the top.

Tags: Beer Craft Beer Goose Island Fleur IL Beer hibiscus

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June 16, 2013
Brasserie Dupont Biere de Miel - Saison Sunday. Still have yet to have a miss from Dupont saisons. Still have Avril and Avec Les Bons Voeux in the fridge to go. Would absolutely buy this again. Think I’m going to have to seek out the cuvee dry hopped Saison Dupont and plan a future homebrew using this yeast.

Brasserie Dupont Biere de Miel - Saison Sunday. Still have yet to have a miss from Dupont saisons. Still have Avril and Avec Les Bons Voeux in the fridge to go. Would absolutely buy this again. Think I’m going to have to seek out the cuvee dry hopped Saison Dupont and plan a future homebrew using this yeast.

Tags: Beer Craft Beer Saison Saison Sunday Biere de Miel Brassiere Dupont Dupont Honey Honey Saison

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June 15, 2013
1 note
Hill Farmstead Twilight of the Idols - Very good. Tempted to try to make the HF bottle release in a couple weeks.

Hill Farmstead Twilight of the Idols - Very good. Tempted to try to make the HF bottle release in a couple weeks.

Tags: Hill Farmstead Beer Craft Beer Vermont Vermont Beer VT VT Beer twilight of the idols Porter

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June 09, 2013
1 note
Southampton Saison Deluxe - Saison Sunday. This was a strange one. Went in with pretty high expectations based on the love for Southampton in the 2007 saison article by Shaun Hill that made the rounds a few weeks ago. I struggled to find many classic saison characteristics in this beer - if tasting it blind I’d certainly put it closer to a tripel.

Southampton Saison Deluxe - Saison Sunday. This was a strange one. Went in with pretty high expectations based on the love for Southampton in the 2007 saison article by Shaun Hill that made the rounds a few weeks ago. I struggled to find many classic saison characteristics in this beer - if tasting it blind I’d certainly put it closer to a tripel.

Tags: Beer Craft Beer Southampton Saison Deluxe Saison Saison Sunday NY Beer

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June 08, 2013
3 notes
Ithaca Old Habit - Painted the deck today. This beer was overpoweringly sweet. Just a small hint of the whiskey barrel. Couldn’t pick up much rye surprisingly. This was one of the few Excelsior beers I hadn’t tried before and unfortunately was a big miss for me.

Ithaca Old Habit - Painted the deck today. This beer was overpoweringly sweet. Just a small hint of the whiskey barrel. Couldn’t pick up much rye surprisingly. This was one of the few Excelsior beers I hadn’t tried before and unfortunately was a big miss for me.

Tags: Beer Craft Beer Ithaca Ithaca Beer Ithaca Beer Company Old Habit Rye Beer Barrel Aged

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June 08, 2013
3 notes
Founders Breakfast Stout and Chocolate Cake - nice pairing.

Founders Breakfast Stout and Chocolate Cake - nice pairing.

Tags: Founders Breakfast Stout Beer Craft Beer Chocolate Cake Beer and Food MI Beer Stout

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June 07, 2013
1 note
Ithaca Fifteen - An interesting beer. Let’s see if I can get these descriptors in the right order - a hoppy imperial rye brown ale? Worth trying at least once, not sure it will age very well.

Ithaca Fifteen - An interesting beer. Let’s see if I can get these descriptors in the right order - a hoppy imperial rye brown ale? Worth trying at least once, not sure it will age very well.

Tags: Beer Craft Beer Ithaca Ithaca Beer Ithaca Beer Company Fifteen Rye Beer

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June 07, 2013
2 notes
Homebrew Batch #4 Hoppy French Saison (Ahtanum Single Hop) - Tasting from my first all grain batch. Classic saison smell - a little spicy, a little citrus. Taste is similar. Finishes nice and clean which had been my main issue with my first three extract batches. Best batch by far and makes me really happy I made the jump to all grain.

Homebrew Batch #4 Hoppy French Saison (Ahtanum Single Hop) - Tasting from my first all grain batch. Classic saison smell - a little spicy, a little citrus. Taste is similar. Finishes nice and clean which had been my main issue with my first three extract batches. Best batch by far and makes me really happy I made the jump to all grain.

Tags: Beer Craft Beer Homebrew Home Brew home brewing Homebrewing Saison Batch 4 All grain Ahtanum

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June 06, 2013
2 notes

Ithaca Beer Napoleon Complex, Perennial Wheat, and Schatzi - Finally made it to a cask night at the Ithaca Beer Taproom just in time for the release of their session IPA. Was surprised to see a ton of Old Habit left, probably 20 cases on the floor alone, considering it was released almost a month ago. It wasn’t clear if they still had the original 3 bottle limit.

Napoleon Complex (cask) - a really good session IPA. Great hop character, but still nice and light. The cask worked well with this. Wasn’t surprised at all when the hop bill posted today included favorites like Centennial, Galaxy, Columbus, and Simcoe. I’d buy this often if it was bottled.

Perennial Wheat Ale - another really good session beer. Good hop character. Liked this about as much as I can like a 4.5% wheat beer.

Schatzi - this was billed as a German spring beer. It’s was alright, but bland compared to the other two.

Tags: Ithaca Beer Ithaca Beer Company Ithaca Beer Craft Beer Session IPA Napoleon Complex Perennial Wheat Ale Schatzi Old Habit Fifteen Rye Beer

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June 05, 2013
1 note
Smuttynose Noonan Black IPA - I didn’t care for the beers at Vermont Pub & Brewery when we visited last year, but I can certainly appreciate what Greg Noonan did to pave the way for so many of the Vermont breweries that I love. This was a fitting tribute, just a good all around black IPA.

Smuttynose Noonan Black IPA - I didn’t care for the beers at Vermont Pub & Brewery when we visited last year, but I can certainly appreciate what Greg Noonan did to pave the way for so many of the Vermont breweries that I love. This was a fitting tribute, just a good all around black IPA.

Tags: Smuttynose Noonan Black IPA Black IPA Greg Noonan Beer Craft Beer Vermont Pub and Brewery NH Beer VT Beer