Beer Tasting - 22 oz Microbrews, 1/19/08

We're working backwards on comments from our semi-regular Saturday beer tastings, so I'm just going to start listing my thoughts on this one and let my cohorts add their opinions when they so choose. Here's a microbrew tasting from a few weeks back. And as there are 15 beers each time, the thoughts sometimes get less thoughtful by the end of the list. Personally speaking, by beer number 9 my body starts screaming at my brain, "What are you doing!? I want no more beer!" Anyway. These are all American beers.

1. Moylan's White Christmas Ale - This was nothing special, as I recall; apparently not special enough for me to even write anything down.
2. Moylan's Celts Golden Ale - This is what they call an American Blonde Ale, and by they I mean the liquor store who hosts these tastings. I'm sure Moylan's calls it that too. It was unfiltered (I'm going to say that just because it had some solids floating in it) and had a light citrusy taste. I liked it.
3. Marin Hefe Doppel Weizen - This being a hefeweizen, it's not for everybody. But it had a floral aspect to it and I apparently thought it was "alright", because that's what I wrote down.
4. Avery Salvation Belgian-Style Golden Ale - So, all I wrote down for this one was "no". I'll leave it to the boys to elaborate on that, if they remember what they thought.
5. Bayhawk Ales CPA - An American Pale Ale; the general consensus was that it tasted like olives, which wasn't necessarily a bad thing... just interesting.
6. Ballast Point Big Eye India Pale Ale - so all I wrote down was "yucky"; again, one of the boys will have to give you a more thoughtful opinion, if they had one.
7. Bear Republic Hop Rod Rye Specialty Ale - another IPA; I wrote "meh" down. I was not very helpful in my written comments on this day.
8. Bison Organic Barleywine Ale - This is one of the higher alcohol content beers of the day at 9.5%. I liked it, and it definitely tasted strong and alcoholic. I don't think I had ever had a Barleywine Ale before this day, so it was nice to get to taste a few.
9. Avery Hog Heaven Barleywine-Style Ale - Also a high alcohol content at 9.2%; I thought it was good and had that aspect to it that we term among us as "grapefruity", which means it kind of gives you a little sour twinge in the back of your cheeks. There was disagreement among us whether this one had that taste to it, so take that as you will.
10. Moylan's Old Blarney Barleywine-Style Ale - The highest alcohol content of the day at 10%; All I wrote down was "harsh", and at this point in the tasting is when I really start getting less thoughtful (see above).
11. Stone Smoked Porter - I would say we're all generally fans of the Stone beers, maybe some of us more than others. All I wrote down was "fine", so ask the boys for their thoughts.
12. Ballast Point Sea Monster Stout Limited - They consider this an Imperial Stout, which I usually like, and I liked this one too- it was strong and tasty.
13. Marin San Quentin's Breakout Stout - Apparently this is a "Foreign/Export Stout". You know I was getting tipsy by this point because I really thought this said "breakfast stout" and I was very intrigued. So now I'm always going to consider it the breakfast stout. This was my favorite of the day and we got a bonus taste of it at the end. It had that coffee, nutty flavor that some stouts have and that I really enjoy.
14. Bear Republic Big Bear Black Stout - A Russian Imperial Stout; this was good too but I had already been won over by the breakfast stout and just wasn't going to change my mind.
15. Bison Organic Gingerbread Ale - A lovely and strange end to the tasting; I liked it but it may not be something everyone would want a whole glass of.

So that's it from me. Maybe the others will weigh in on what they thought of these as well.