Category Archives: Drinks

Beer, soda, and other fun fluids you put in your mouth.

January 9, 2014 · 9:59 am

New Dogtown Pale Ale

New Dogtown is a pale ale from Petaluma’s Lagunitas Brewing Company. It’s a pretty standard American pale ale. It’s hoppy, it’s malty, and it’s delicious. It has a floral and citric nose with prevalent hops. It has a bready malt taste, it’s kind of sweet, but it’s balanced by bitter pine and citric hops. There’s a slight hint of caramel, resin, and flowers. It’s 6.2% alcohol, pretty standard for a craft brewed pale ale. Overall New Dogtown is a very satisfying pale ale. It’s not too complex but it’s not boring either. This is what you should expect from a pale ale. It’s a great template/standard and you should compare other pale ales to this one. It’s hard for Lagunitas to do any wrong.

Critically Rated at 14/17

Written, Rated, and Reviewed by Brendan H. Young

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January 2, 2014 · 9:38 am

Arizona Rx Energy Herbal Tonic

Arizona Rx Energy Herbal Tonic is an Invigorating Blend of Green Tea, Tropical & Citrus Fruits, Panax Ginseng, Eleuthero Root, Guarana, Schisandra, and Vitamins A, C, & E. It’s not really healthy for you, so don’t be fooled by that “Herbal Tonic” nonsense. It’s got all kinds of additives and preservatives and it’s loaded with sugar. I’m not sure how energizing it is, but it’s very drinkable and refreshing and gives you a little caffeine buzz. It has a sweet, fruity taste with just a little tartness thrown in for balance. There are a lot of better energy drinks on the market, but the price is what sets this one apart. It’s only 99¢ for a 23-ounce can, which is a good deal. An 8-ounce can of Red Bull costs more than two bucks for comparison. Red Bull is a lot better, but cheap is cheap. And sometimes cheap is good. Try it, you might like it. Even if you don’t, you only wasted a dollar.

Critically Rated at 11/17

Written, Rated, and Reviewed by Brendan H. Young

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December 31, 2013 · 8:48 am

Before-After Triple Bock

Before-After Triple Bock is an impressive bock from Rinkuškiai Aluas Darykla in Lithuania. Don’t ask me what that means or how to pronounce it, but I’m pretty sure that it’s a brewery and Rinkuškiai is the name of the brand. It has a rich, sweet malt aroma with hints of floral, cinnamon, and ginger. It tastes even sweeter than I was expecting. I get brown sugar, ginger, orange peel, spice, caramel, and a little oak. The sweet flavor masks the high 12% ABV. This beer is practically a wine. It also has a really cool label with an optical illusion. There’s a picture of a pretty girl’s face, and she turns into an old lady when you turn it upside down. It’s fitting because this triple bock will definitely give you beer goggles if you have more than one. Hopefully you’re not drinking it at your family reunion.

Critically Rated at 14/17

Written, Rated, and Reviewed by Brendan H. Young

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December 30, 2013 · 8:50 am

Santa’s Little Helper (beer)

Santa’s Little Helper is a Russian Imperial Stout from the Port Brewing Company. It has a coffee malt aroma like you would expect from a good stout. I also get whiffs of chocolate and dark fruits. It tastes of roasted malts, chocolate, wood, coffee, espresso, and bitter hops. It is very rich and flavorful, a very robust malty beverage. It’s also pretty strong with an alcohol content of 10%. This is the kind of beer that you go out of your way to get. Hell, it’s the kind of beer that you Instagram before you drink. Plus it has a cool name that doubles as a reference to The Simpsons. You know who likes this beer? People with good taste.

Critically Rated at 15/17

Written, Rated, and Reviewed by Brendan H. Young

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December 28, 2013 · 8:44 am

Sublimely Self-Righteous Ale

Sublimely Self-Righteous Ale is another exciting craft beer from Stone Brewing Co. It’s an American black ale with a hearty 8.7% alcohol content. It has a nice aroma of piney hops and roasted malts, with hints of caramel and chocolate. It has a great taste with a strong malty backbone with bitter earthy hops. This beer doesn’t know what it wants to be. It’s somewhere in between a porter and an IPA. I can taste chocolate, espresso, pine, and citrus zest. It’s a unique flavor profile, but it works. It’s better than a lot of other beers on the marker, but Stone has better brews in their lineup.

Critically Rated at 13/17

Written, Rated, and Reviewed by Brendan H. Young

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December 25, 2013 · 11:07 am

Vanilla Oatis

            Vanilla Oatis is an oatmeal stout made with vanilla. It’s made by the good people at the Ninkasi Brewing Company in Eugene, Oregon. It has a great aroma of chocolate, roasted coffee, and caramel malts, with a touch of vanilla and a hint of smoke. It tastes like it smells. It’s very malty, and I can taste bittersweet chocolate, vanilla, coffee, smoke, and maybe some toffee. It’s a solid stout, and that hint of vanilla brings a kind of smoothness to it. The alcohol content is 7.2%, which is average, but this beer is not. It’s pretty damn good and I would recommend it for any fan of craft beers.

            Critically Rated at 14/17

Written, Rated, and Reviewed by Brendan H. Young

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December 24, 2013 · 9:01 am

Dang! That’s Good Butterscotch Root Beer

Dang! That’s Good is a soda company and Butterscotch Root Beer is one of their flavored sodas. You can’t help but say “Dang! That’s good!” when you take a sip. It’s a rich, creamy, old-fashioned root beer with butterscotch flavor added to it. I’m not a big fan of butterscotch. I think it’s too sweet. But it perfectly compliments the root beer, and the end result is delicious. This is a soda pop. It pops in your mouth, and I can’t wait to finish it so I can pop open another one. It’s caffeine free like most root beers, but they use real sugar so you still get a temporary energy boost. It might be hard to find it, so you should buy a few bottles if you ever come across it. You will thank me for your stockpile after your first sip.

Critically Rated at 14/17

Written, Rated, and Reviewed by Brendan H. Young

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December 22, 2013 · 1:29 pm

Route 66 Cream Soda

Route 66 Sodas are a brand of gourmet sodas made with real cane sugar. They have a few different flavors available: Root Beer, Orange Soda, Lime Soda, Black Cherry, and Cream Soda. I’ve never heard of Route 66 Sodas before, but it caught my eye at my local corner store so I decided to give it a try. I went with Cream Soda, because why not? It has a rich vanilla aroma, which makes you excited for the first sip. It tastes amazing. They use real cane sugar and you can tell. It’s sweet, creamy, and delicious, with the perfect amount of carbonation. The little carbonated bubbles burst on your tongue, bombarding your buds with blasts of vanilla and caramel flavors. This is the type of soda that your grandpa would drink when he was a kid. It’s what soda used to be. It’s nostalgia in a bottle.

Critically Rated at 15/17

Written, Rated, and Reviewed by Brendan H. Young

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December 20, 2013 · 11:10 am

Betrayal Imperial Red Ale

Betrayal Imperial Red Ale is a limited series beer brewed by San Francisco’s Speakeasy Ales & Lagers. It has a nice balance of toasty and caramel malts with piney and citrus hops in the nose. It has a very sweet flavor, mostly of chocolate and caramel malts with a little bitter pine hops to even it out. It’s not too carbonated, making it very drinkable and smooth. The 8.2% alcohol content makes it a well-rounded red ale, and worth trying for anybody who enjoys quality craft beers. The artwork on the label is cool too. There’s a seductive young flapper gazing over her shoulder and it seems as though she’s looking right at you. It seems innocent enough, until you notice the silhouette of fedora-wearing man in her hand mirror. There’s something scandalous going on, and you’re going to have to buy the beer to see what the betrayal is all about.

Critically Rated at 13/17

Written, Rated, and Reviewed by Brendan H. Young

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December 16, 2013 · 8:28 am

Corona Familiar

Did you know that Corona Extra has a more sophisticated older brother called Corona Familiar? Because I didn’t until about ten minutes ago when I discovered it at the corner store. It comes in 32 ounce brown bottles and apparently it tastes more like the Corona that they make in Mexico. There’s a lot of internet debate about whether or not it’s the same beer as Corona Extra, and I can’t tell because I don’t have a Corona Extra to compare it to. I think it tastes better than a Corona Extra, but that might just be because the brown bottle keeps the light out so it doesn’t get skunky. It has a 4.5% ABV, which is pretty standard for a crisp lager. It’s extremely drinkable and smooth, and perfect for a hot day at the beach. Too bad it’s a cold day in the city. If you like Corona Extra, you’ll like this beer.

Critically Rated at 10/17

Written, Rated, and Reviewed by Brendan H. Young

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December 15, 2013 · 6:18 pm

Oaktown Brown Ale

Oaktown Brown Ale is a bold & soulful American brown ale from San Jose, California’s Calicraft Brewing Co. It has a rich malty aroma with hints of roast coffee, nuts, chocolate, caramel, and oak. It smells like it has a lot of flavor, but the first sip is disappointing. I can taste coffee, nuts, wood, roasted malts, chocolate, caramel, and toffee but it’s too thin and feels watered down. It’s not exciting. It’s bland. And you don’t want your craft beer to be bland. It has a 6.7% alcohol content, which is decent but not good. There’s not anything special about this beer. There’s nothing terrible about it, but I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone and I definitely wouldn’t expect to be hailed as a hero for bringing it to a party. It’s a boring and forgettable beer. Even the label is boring. The only reason to try it is to say that you tried it. And that’s not a good enough reason.

Critically Rated at 9/17

Written, Rated, and Reviewed by Brendan H. Young

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December 11, 2013 · 3:29 pm

Drake’s Denogginizer

Drake’s Denogginizer is an Imperial IPA from Drake’s Brewing Company in San Leandro, CA. It’s a well rounded India Pale Ale with a nice citrus hop aroma. I get whiffs of lemon, grapefruit, and orange peel, as well as rich caramel malts and pine resin. It explodes on your tongue with pine and citrus hops with a nice bready malt backbone. I can taste a little caramel and fruity sweetness as well, but it’s a primarily a bitter, hoppy beer. It has a relatively hefty alcohol content of 9.75%, so you only need a few bottles to feel good enough to take on the world. It’s a good beer, but the label is kind of frustrating because it’s so chaotic. It’s jumbled and convoluted and an eyesore. Your label should be simple and easy to read because you want people to know the name of your product. You lose points for making me think. I don’t want to think. I just want a fucking beer.

Critically Rated at 12/17

Written, Rated, and Reviewed by Brendan H. Young

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December 8, 2013 · 11:30 am

Heroine India Pale Ale

Heroine India Pale Ale is an IPA from Petaluma, California’s 101 North Brewing Company. This is a pretty standard IPA with a nice malty aroma with resin, pine, floral, and citrus hops. It has a nice bitter taste. It has a good balance between toasted and caramel malts and pine and citrus hops. It vaguely reminds me of a red ale. It’s very drinkable and goes down creamy and smooth. The 7.2% ABV isn’t too impressive, but it will sneak up on you. All in all, it’s a typical IPA but the label art makes it stand out. There’s a picture of a sexy, athletic chick that has a little bit of a Jean Grey/Dark Phoenix thing going on. It’s eye-catching. People will notice it in your hand and ask you what you are drinking. I’ve already had a few people approach me out of curiosity to see what I’m sipping on and I just cracked it a few minutes ago. It’s not the best IPA, but it’s solid and satisfying and makes you look cool. What more do you need?

Critically Rated at 13/17

Written, Rated, and Reviewed by Brendan H. Young

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December 7, 2013 · 8:43 am

Weihenstephaner Vitus

Weihenstephaner Vitus is a weizenbock from Germany’s Bayerische Staatsbrauerei Weihenstephan. Weihenstephan was founded in 1040, and they claim to be the World’s Oldest Brewery. Weihenstephaner Vitus is one of their flagship beers, and for good reason. This is one of the best wheat beers I’ve ever had. It has a rich banana aroma complimented by citric, coriander, and spice notes that tantalize your nose. It tastes like it smells. I get hints of banana, cloves, citrus, wheat, coriander, and sweetness. It has a 7.7% ABV, which is higher than I expected. You can’t even taste the alcohol. This is a very satisfying beer, perfect for cold December nights like this one. I would get it again, but I need to learn how to pronounce it first.

Critically Rated at 14/17

Written, Rated, and Reviewed by Brendan H. Young

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December 5, 2013 · 10:02 am

Iced Tea With No Ice

I once had a customer order an iced tea with no ice. It was no big deal, but it got me thinking… is it still iced tea if it has no ice in it? At my restaurant we brew iced tea with a machine. We take the teabag, we put it in the filter, we press a button, hot water runs through the teabag, cold water is added to cool it down, and the end result is a big container filled with room temperature tea. Then you serve the tea in a glass filled with ice cubes and garnished with a slice of lemon. But no ice ever makes contact with the tea until it is in the glass. Iced tea literally means tea that has been iced. It’s not iced if you haven’t used any ice. So iced tea with no ice doesn’t really exist and it’s definitely not on our menu.

Critically Rated at 9/17

Written, Rated, and Reviewed by Brendan H. Young

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December 4, 2013 · 11:17 am

Dogfish Head 90 Minute Imperial IPA

Dogfish Head was one of the first craft brewers to really explode and kick off the current beer renaissance that we are enjoying today. Their 90 Minute Imperial IPA has won them awards and recognition from beer drinkers from all over the world. A lot of people say it is a perfect IPA. You can’t consider yourself a beer buff if you’ve never tried it. It has a well balanced aroma of hops and malt, flowers and honey. The flavor is pine and citrus hops, bready malt, and hints of coffee and caramel. It goes down clean, creamy, and smooth. It’s very well-rounded and you can’t even notice the 9.0% alcohol content. This is a gateway beer. Once you try a premium craft beer like this, you can’t go back to that mass-produced lager bullshit.

Critically Rated at 16/17

Written, Rated, and Reviewed by Brendan H. Young

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December 2, 2013 · 11:00 am

Double Bastard Ale

Double Bastard Ale is the older brother to Stone Brewing’s Arrogant Bastard Ale. It’s an American Strong Ale with a hearty 11.2% ABV. Long story short, it gets you drunk. It smells of coffee, chocolate, pine, bourbon, and toasted malt. It’s very bitter on the tongue. Like shockingly bitter. You should take a deep breath and mentally prepare yourself before you take your first swig. It’s almost like biting into a lemon. You can taste pine and citrus hops, caramel and coffee malts, and dark fruits. My one complaint is that it’s almost too boozy. It tastes too much like alcohol on the first couple of sips. It settles down eventually though, and each sip seems to get better. This is a genuine craft beer, full of flavor and personality. But I still think Arrogant Bastard is a little better.

Critically Rated at 14/17

Written, Rated, and Reviewed by Brendan H. Young

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