Red Grapes X White Beer

Dogfish Head - Red & White [Ale brewed with coriander & orange peel with pinot noir juice added with 11% aged in pinot noir barrels and 89% aged on oak barrel staves] (750ml ---> Dogfish Head Curved Pint Glass : 10% ABV : 35 IBU)

Obviously, I'm a fan of good beer, and I'm also a fan of good wine... So when wine grapes are utilized as an addition to beer, I see the potential for extremely great things!! This particular brew is one I'd been longing to indulge in for quite some time, and after having the exceptional evening at work I had encountered, popping the top of this beauty is much easier and far more rewarding than the scenarios of arson that have continually plagued my thoughts since I clocked out… So to end my rant about my employer, let us move onto this brew calling my name from the fridge… With a fairly aggressive pour, a rocky, two inch, off-white head sat atop an extremely cloudy blood orange hued brew… The head faded moderately quickly and left behind hardly any lacing, but a decent retentive cap decided to linger… On the nose is the immediate presence of pinot noir, as well as a fair amount of soft citrus, and some tamer dark berry traces… Upon tasting, a fair amount of spice was immediately picked up, which could be either the yeast strain or the coriander, but that faded quickly as the mellow citrusy sweetness made it's appearance…

Love Crxmes: Lady Killers

Image borrowed from Penguin

   It's hard to decide on a good place to begin when writing on the interactions of men and women… Thus I'll try to keep this strictly discussing the first steps of the natural pursuit of a man after a woman, and the most efficient way to receive a desirable outcome… Since the beginning of man, we have chased females to plant our seeds and leave our legacy via bloodline… With each cultures' ancestry often abiding much of its' lineages to forms of "royalty" and other such hierarchies… Though cultural norms have changed, as well as chivalric standards, one element that hasn't changed is that (most) men want a woman in their life!! I mention "most" men as it'd be naive of me not to recognize that homosexuality is a NATURAL part of our world… I'd assume that in the homosexual scene, whether men or women, the pursuit of a significant other is still part of any single's day-to-day life, and that many of these points stretch across both homo and heterosexual playing fields…

  A few years back, discussing women amongst peers, I was introduced to what my friend referred to as "The Man Bible," which turned out to be Neil Strauss' The Game… This revelation that other men had developed somewhat of a "science" to picking up women, was groundbreaking to me, and these men referred to themselves as "Pick-Up Artists" or "PUA's…" When going to buy a copy of that book, it led to me bringing home the sequel/companion book, Rules Of The Game… Diving headfirst into the world of Pick-Up, against the books' own instructions I finished the book that night… "Invigorated" would still be quite an understatement for describing the way I felt after taking in this publication… The next day I hit the scene and tried to be the Casanova that the previous nights' reading had convinced me I was capable of being!! That night, and MANY after, I went out solo, and subsequently went to bed solo…

Yeti Stouts - "I believe..."

Image borrowed from www.knoxbeercrew.com

     Anyone who's spent a decent amount of time in the Denver area has more than likely seen Great Divide's sticker with the words "I believe" accompanying a "yeti" like figure floating around somewhere... Any craft beer head in the area has also more than likely tried this somewhat "staple" of a beer... Great Divide is a brewery I never made it to while I was in the area, but I enjoyed their beers, and of course made sure that a Yeti was indeed on the list... In fact, I enjoyed quite a few of those before being exposed to an Oak Aged Yeti, and consuming that was pure delight... This all occurring before I had begun doing any sort of lengthy write-ups, but hindsight tells me it would have been beneficial to have taken the time to simply jot some notes during their consumption... Regardless, Great Divide has continued to do small batches of their Yeti, with each batch brewed a touch differently, as to influence the flavor profile to adjust slightly, all while maintaining the backbone that makes this beer so prolific in CO's craft community...

     In this write-up I'll highlight two small batch representations of the Yeti, the "Chocolate Oak Aged Yeti," as well as the "Oatmeal Yeti..." I won't be enjoying them simultaneously, as I believe comparing two tangent brews of the same original could very well overlap each other's flavor profiles, thus making the review less "true..." Not to say I'd never indulge in two similar beers at the same time, but for the sake of the Yeti, I believe it deserves a fresh palate for each brew... So if you're ever looking for a nice winter warmer to enjoy this coming season, and a Yeti is available to you, pour one of those and enjoy one of the better stouts brewed in America!!

Black Magic - Warlock

     October is arguably the best month of the year, and no not just because of the Walking Dead beginning once again... It could be the beautiful changing of the leaves, Halloween, the NHL season beginning, or MLB ending, all great attributes indeed, but for craft beer enthusiasts, October typically equates to pumpkin beer!! Just about every brewery out there will undoubtedly release a pumpkin influenced brew of some form during this month, and just about every microbrewery out there will also be depleted of those brews in quick fashion...

     Pumpkin beers having never been a favorite of mine, well, pumpkin flavored anything for that matter, but last fall I definitely acquired a taste for them after indulging in quite a few of Upslope and Dry Dock's pumpkin offerings... This years first acquisition is Souther Tier's "Warlock," as it was recommended to me recently, and I just so happened to come across it... I've seen plenty of folks enjoying their "Pumking" on social media, but was unaware they brewed both beers until I saw the Warlock's label... I'd assume the Warlock is believed to be the better of the two offerings, as it's part of the "Blackwater Series..."

XII's - The Perfect Crime X Hop Burn Lo

     Most often, I'd assume due to generally higher ABV's and extra brewing costs, small batch brews that brewers decide to bottled for individual sale are bottled in 16oz, 22oz, and 750ml sizes… Not to say specialty brews can't ever come in packs or 12oz containers, it's just more common to see the truly small batch brews sold individually in larger bottles… These things also lead me to assume that any small batches put in smaller containers could often become overlooked by craft drinkers, which is a sad thought… Thus I've decided to post reviews of beers in containers 12oz or less, each month on the 12th… I truly believe it'd be a shame to let any sort of pretension stand in the way of potentially discovering any brews that just so happen to be divided into smaller containers… I will be attending a wedding this upcoming 12th, thus I'm releasing this overview early, but "XII's" will become a regular posting, so please enjoy the read and stay tuned for more!!

Out Cold X Grainstorm: Black Rye IPA

     By now, just about everybody recognizes Zach Galifianakis, or for those less familiar with the comedian turned actor/pop-culture icon - The goofy guy from The Hangover Trilogy... And with the changing of the seasons, I reach to my DVD collection and retrieve "Out Cold," EASILY my favorite movie that he's cast in, as well as a topic for debate as my favorite comedy of All-Time!! In 2011 he also played roles in "Bubble Boy," "Corky Romano," as well as "Heartbreakers," whatever the fuck that is... Aside from being a favorite from the collection, it holds a fair amount of nostalgic value as well, as I enjoyed many joyous nights with old hockey pals watching this movie!!

     Along with the changing of seasons, the beers get darker and movies such as "Out Cold" help one get mentally prepared for the cool weather in our future... The opposite being true for y'all Southern Hemispherians(?)... But with the cooler weather approaching, winter activities are also on the horizon as well!! I was lucky enough to have once spent a winter south of Denver, and it was a delight having the Rocky Mountains available to ski and snowboard whenever the snow began!! Granted half the time I went, I was trying to keep up with an Olympic rated skier, which forced me to ski outside of my level to keep up, but my snowboarding skills developed at an accelerated rate because of it... Not without a little collateral damage of course, but no bones were officially declared broken, so all's well that ends well...

Hop Kitchen #7 - Hop The Pond

New Belgium - Hop The Pond | Hop Kitchen #7 [Double India Pale Ale] (22oz ---> Dogfish Head Curved Pint Glass : 8% ABV : 80 IBU)

     Whilst browsing the bombers, I was in the mood for something fuller and darker, as to welcome the fall... But with my recent affinity for drawing cartoon characters from my childhood, I couldn't pass up this DIPA simply due to the bearded-rabbit-hop-armadillo-pirate on the label!! Shortly after this write-up is completed, I plan on indulging in an art session to "funk out" my own version of this charismatic lil' creature... It's title "Hop The Pond" comes from it's recipe being composed of ingredients from North and South America, Europe and Australia as well!! Not yet having had a chance to travel to anywhere outside of North America, I figured that enjoying a beer composed of ingredients from outside this vicinity was a good start!!

Riot Fest 2014 - Chicago, IL

   It's a difficult thing, deciding where to begin when describing the hedonistic debaucheries that occur during the three day epic event that was Chicago's leg of the 10th Anniversary Edition of Riot Fest... A multitude of bands to appease the pallets of many a rocker, carnival rides, an extensive amount of different styles of food, plenty of beer, the occasional zombie, and of course the mini-golf course!! As every Patti Smith fan needs to keep their short game sharp, making sure not miss a sunday afternoon on the city links...

  Though there were an excessive amount of great sets to see, I can only recount the highlights from each day... This is mainly a writeup, but  a more extensive photographic diary of event is available, so please check out our Facebook Album and like us there, as well as follow us in Instagram!!

  It all began quite sketchy, with the cloudy morning's ominous weather coming to fruition at varying levels throughout the day... Which initially was no big deal, as the rainfall itself never got too horrifically bad, but the consistency paired with the attendance of thousands of treading feet led to extremely muddy and wet conditions on the ground... Once one came to terms that their footwear and any long leg-wear were essentially collateral damage for attending this fantastic event (Aside from the potentially hundreds of dollars spent just to attend,) the joy began to flow heavily all around...

Saison du Buff - Do you even lift, bro?!

Dogfish Head X Stone Brewing X Victory Brewing - Saison du Buff [Ale brewed with parsley, sage, rosemary & thyme] (12oz ---> Dogfish Head Curved Pint Glass : 6.8% ABV)

  Always when searching for the next beer to try, I look for some sort of spark, that little something that engages me, and beer brewed with "parsley, sage, rosemary & thyme" did exactly that!! Secondly comes the fact that it's a collaboration brew between three excellent breweries, Stone recently celebrating their 18th Anniversary (Congratulations to them!!) Although, I note Stone's anniversary, I obviously picked up the Dogfish Head release, stating this because each brewery brews the beer with the same recipe and ingredients, but releases them individually... Fittingly, Riot Fest begins tomorrow and there I will get to see the subject of a previous article, Anthony Green, perform with his previous band Saosin; thus I chose to enjoy a saison on the eve of the event…

  For anybody who doesn't recognize the significance of "parsley, sage, rosemary & thyme," I'll leave that ambiguously in the air… BUT - For any who do recognize it, just know it was a nostalgic thing for me, as it brought me back to road-tripping with my mother at a young age, so needless to say passing up this beer would feel like I'm dishonoring my mother in a sense!!

Thumbs Up!! "Elder Brett"

Image borrowed from www.letspour.com

Epic Brewing - Exponential Series: Crooked Stave Brewing X Epic "Elder Brett" [Saison-Brett Golden Ale | Malt  Beverage Aged In Wine Barrels] (22oz ---> Dogfish Head Curved Pint Glass : 9.1% ABV)

  I'm proud to say that I DEFINITELY overuse the "thumbs up" accompanied by an awkward "forced smile" in my day to day life… So when I saw the graphic of a gentleman in a shirt, tie and bicycle helmet giving that same motion, I had to give it a try… THEN, upon further inspection I realized it's a portrayal of a Mormon, and the (original) brewery is located in Utah - And THAT shit is fuckin' funny… I note that the "original" brewery is from Utah as they somewhat recently expanded into Denver, where Crooked Stave is also located... Now to the beer…