Lately, I seem to be stuck in a rut and only drinking India Pale Ales (IPA). I realized I had not branched out after reading a post from @Detlev about Octoberfest and the celebration of BEER. I have always loved beer and all of it's different styles. About 18 years ago, I applied for a new job that required a psychological test. I took a written test and then reviewed my answers with a psychologist. The psychologist said he had a question about my test. He went on to say, "You drink alcohol and drink beer, but in the question asking if you like beer you marked NO. Why do you drink beer if you do not like it?" I told the psychologist, "The question asked if I liked beer and my answer to that is no, I LOVE IT!" The psychologist told me he had no more questions and I got the job. Beer has always been a journey for me, tasting different styles, brewing different styles, visiting every brewery I can, and entering brewing competitions. So I am thankful to the #Beersaturday postings to make me realize I was not fully enjoying one of my favorite hobbies, BEER.
Lately I see a display in a store like this and I am down the IPA rabbit hole again.
I opened my bar fridge and saw, except for the Guinness at the bottom my fridge is full of IPA's.
My two kegs that are on tap in my home bar are also IPA's. So I went to the local liquor store and bought an Oktobierfest and Stout. The Stout that I bought was a Bourbon barrel aged stout called Dragon's Milk.
Dragon's Milk is a great tasting Stout that is very complex and #alive with flavors. There are traditional chocolate, coffee flavorings which you find in most Stouts but then this one is aged in Bourbon barrels. The barrels add fruity notes and other flavors that are found in bourbons. This makes for a beer unlike anything I have ever had. I really enjoyed this beer, it has creamy texture and is easy to drink even though it comes in at 11% ABV. The beer is brewed by New Holland Brewing in Holland, Michigan. Looking on their website they make about a half dozen varieties of the Dragons Milk to include a white stout, which is something I gotta try. If you come across one of these you will not be disappointed.
The Octoberfest beer I bought and was definitely inspired by @Detlev Octoberfest post and was a Marzen brewed by Altamont Brewing in Livermore, California. The beer was called Oktobierfest and came in at 5.5% ABV. This beer I was honestly wanting a little more from. The beer tasted very similar to a Coors light and other mass produced lagers. Being a Marzen I expected more caramel and grain flavors then it had. It was not a bad beer, just not what I was expecting for a Marzen.
Altamont Brewing is near my home and when this brewery opened they were big on their beers smelling and tasting like marijuana. I was not fond of any of the beer they produced and everything they made tasted similar. The brewery still produces some of the marijuana smelling beer such as their Maui Waui. Brewing beer myself I would not use hops that have a skunk (marijuana) like odor because it means that the hops have been exposed to light and oxygen making them in my opinion stale. Now that this brewery is making different styles then when they first opened I may have to try some of their other beers.
After drinking the Oktobierfest my wife told me I should take a picture of them with her fall decorations, so here it is.
So I am glad to be part of the beer community and be able to branch out to other styles again. My love for beer is still #aliveandtrhiving. Hope everyone enjoys something a little different from their normal as well this week.
