Tag Archives: beer

November 6, 2014 · 9:19 pm

Fireside Chat (beer)

Fireside Chat is a winter spiced ale from 21^st Amendment Brewery. 21^st Amendment Brewery (also called 21A) is one of San Francisco’s best microbreweries and Fireside Chat is one of my favorite seasonals. The beer is named after Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s famous radio addresses. They even put a cheerful cartoon image of FDR sitting in front of a comfy fire. It’s an English-style brown ale brewed with spices. The aroma is of spice, cinnamon, raisin, coffee, cloves, and maybe a little vanilla. It tastes of sweet malt with allspice, cloves, cinnamon, figs, nutmeg, cocoa, vanilla, and coffee. It’s categorized as a Winter Warmer and that’s a great way to describe it. It’s perfect for those long, dark, cold winter nights that are soon to be in abundance. It also has a 7.9% alcohol content so you can stretch out a six pack with a friend. Get it, sip it, enjoy it.

Critically Rated at 14/17

Written, Rated, and Reviewed by Brendan H. Young

Leave a comment

Filed under Drinks

Tagged as 21A, 21st amendment brewery, beer, craft beer, Fireside Chat, india pale ale, microbrewery, spices, winter, winter warmer

October 5, 2014 · 8:17 pm

Falling Asleep and Wasting a Good Beer

Yesterday I went to the bar after work to watch the San Francisco Giants take on the Washington Nationals for Game 2 of the 2014 NLDS. I only got a beer every other inning, but the game ended up going 18 innings and lasting six hours and twenty-three minutes before the Giants finally eked out a victory. Naturally, I celebrated with another beer. Then it was time to go home because I was pretty hammered. I skated to the subway and caught a train home. I cracked open another beer and made a sandwich when I got back. I kind of blacked out at that point because I don’t remember much after that, other than watching Harry Potter and getting crumbs all over the floor. I know that I passed out because I woke up for work this morning and saw a half-full bottle of beer on the table. And it was a good beer too. Lagunitas Little Sumpin’ Sumpin’ Ale is practically precious. I hate falling asleep and wasting a good beer. But I’ve found a decent solution for my after work beers: I’ll drink one quality craft brew and one inferior domestic like a Budweiser or Coor’s. I have no problems with falling asleep and wasting a shitty beer.

Critically Rated at 7/17

Written, Rated, and Reviewed by Brendan H. Young

Leave a comment

Filed under Drinks

Tagged as asleep, beer, falling asleep, falling asleep and wasting a good beer

October 2, 2014 · 11:23 am

Guinness

Guinness is an Irish Dry Stout from Ireland. It’s one of the most popular beers in the world, and I don’t know why. It’s extremely overrated and not that enjoyable. It’s rich and creamy with hints of caramel, coffee, and roasted barley. It looks dark and tastes heavy, but it’s deceiving because it’s only 4.2% alcohol. That’s less booze than Budweiser. It’s more filling than Budweiser so you can’t drink more of them to make up for the lack of booze. Guinness drinkers take Guinness way too seriously. They will only drink it on draft, and only if it’s poured correctly. Yes, there’s a specific way to pour Guinness. I won’t go into details because I don’t care about pouring a shitty beer a specific way. Look up instructional videos on YouTube if you really care that much. The best thing about Guinness is the brand recognition. Guinness is a beer that even non-beer drinkers know, mostly because of the Guinness Book of World Records. The Guinness Book of World Records lists a bunch of random records like the fastest bird, highest-selling musical artists, heaviest human being, etc. it sounds educational, but it was created to settle bar bets. Now we use iPhones and Google to win arguments. Guinness is a decent beer, but it doesn’t deserve the acclamations it gets. It’s a boring beer.
Critically Rated at 10/17
Written, Rated, and Reviewed by Brendan H. Young

Leave a comment

Filed under Drinks

Tagged as beer, guinness, guinness book of world records, Ireland, irish dry stout, stout

September 27, 2014 · 6:55 pm

Chilled Pint Glass

I have an awesome roommate. She’s clean, respectful, she likes to cook and she makes extra for me to eat, and she always keeps a couple of pint glasses in the freezer. Nothing brings out the flavor of a beer like a chilled pint glass or a nice frosty mug after a long day at work. It’s hard to improve a quality craft brew, but pouring a bottle into a chilled pint glass is always a good start. You don’t want to drink from the bottle or a can anyway. Start keeping a few glasses in the freezer and experience beer the way you should. Be be forewarned, you can’t go back once you’ve start using chilled pint glasses. You wouldn’t want to anyway, but you are going to lose valuable freezer space.
Critically Rated at 14/17
Written, Rated, and Reviewed by Brendan H. Young

Leave a comment

Filed under Drinks

Tagged as beer, chilled pint glass, cold, freezer, frosty mug

August 13, 2014 · 5:37 pm

Bud Light Lime Raz-Ber-Rita

Bud Light Lime Raz-Ber-Rita is a raspberry flavored malt beverage that isn’t sure if it wants to be a beer or a margarita. It has the sweet and tangy raspberry flavor combined with the mellow zing of a Bud Light Lime. It’s a weird concoction. They suggest that you pour it over ice. You should never pour beer over ice. I don’t know why they want you to pour it over ice. Just sip it from the can like a normal person. It’s still a Bud Light no matter what artificial flavors and syrups they add to it. The can says that it’s a Margarita with a Twist. I’m guessing the twist is that it doesn’t have any tequila in it. That’s pretty unusual for a margarita. The most redeeming feature of this mediocre drink is the fact that it’s 8% alcohol by volume so you’ll get more buzzed drinking one of these than a regular Budweiser. I really wouldn’t recommend either.

Critically Rated at 8/17

Written, Rated, and Reviewed by Brendan H. Young

Leave a comment

Filed under Drinks

Tagged as beer, bud light lime, Bud Light Lime Raz-Ber-Rita, Budweiser, margarita, raspberry, Raz-Ber-Rita

August 7, 2014 · 1:09 pm

National IPA Day

August 7, 2014 is National IPA Day, a day to celebrate any beer fortunate enough to be labeled an India Pale Ale. IPAs are known for their bitter and hoppy taste and date back to the early 1800s when the British had to send beer that wouldn’t spoil to India. IPAs have a lot more flavor than domestic lagers and have an acquired taste. Nobody truly enjoys their first IPA. You have to keep drinking them before you start appreciating them. I started drinking them a few years ago and now consider craft brewed IPAs to be my go-to beer. Bold taste, high alcohol percentage, filling… all hallmarks of a delicious beer to me. You don’t need a real reason to drink good beer, but National IPA Day is a good excuse to do so. I’m commemorating the holiday with a nice stout because I’m a rebel like that.

Critically Rated at 13/17

Written, Rated, and Reviewed by Brendan H. Young

Leave a comment

Filed under Drinks

Tagged as beer, holiday, india pale ale, IPA, IPAs, national ipa day

July 30, 2014 · 9:40 pm

Buying Cans of Beer at the Bar

I was at the bar the other day and couldn’t help but notice when a bunch of bros walked in and ordered six cans of Pabst Blue Ribbon. I’m not a big fan of PBR but I don’t shit on it, but I still couldn’t figure out why you would go to a bar and essentially order a six pack of a cheap domestic that you can get at the store for a quarter of the cost. In fact I don’t know why anybody would buy cans of beer at a bar. Get something on tap or at least get a bottle of something decent. Live a little. Canned domestics have no place in a decent bar. I can’t respect you if you order a can of Budweiser from a bartender. The bartender won’t respect you either.

Critically Rated at 4/17

Written, Rated, and Reviewed by Brendan H. Young

Leave a comment

Filed under Drinks

Tagged as bar, bartender, beer, bottle, Budweiser, buying cans of beer at the bar, cans of beer, domestics, Pabst Blue Ribbon, PBR

July 22, 2014 · 2:03 pm

Beer Goggles

I met a hot bartender the other night. At least I thought that I did. Beer goggles can really fuck with a person’s judgment. Beer goggles are a very real phenomenon. The more you drink, the more symmetrical a person’s face appears, and they become more attractive. It’s science, it’s a fact, and the results can be devastating. So anyway, about that supposedly hot bartender… she was blonde, she had a nice body, she was laughing at my lame jokes and giving me enough attention that I felt compelled to tip her twenty bucks and give her my number. I waited a few days and went back to see if she was working. She was, but she definitely didn’t look like I remembered. I wouldn’t say that she was ugly, but she wasn’t the stunner I thought she was when I was a few drinks in. It was disappointing to say the least. I had to drink a couple until she got hot again. It’s a vicious cycle.

Critically Rated at 5/17

Written, Rated, and Reviewed by Brendan H. Young

Leave a comment

Filed under Drinks

Tagged as beer, beer goggles, drinks, hot bartender

July 13, 2014 · 9:46 pm

Stone Stochasticity Project Quadrotriticale

California’s Stone Brewing Co. presents Quadrotriticale, another beer from their Stochasticity Project lineup. It’s a limited batch brewed only once, so once it’s gone, it’s gone. If you’re lucky enough to come across it, you should buy a couple of bottles. That’s what I did, and I’m glad I did because it’s a delicious Belgian style quadruple ale brewed with triticale grain. It pours a dark copper color with a thick head that slowly dissipates. It smells great. You definitely notice the Belgian yeast, as well as caramel, toasted bread, toffee, dark fruit, brown sugar, and a little banana. It tastes similar to how it smells. I get caramel, dark fruit, Belgian yeast, cloves, and grainy malts. It has a 9.3% ABV, but you can’t taste the booze. It’s a great dessert beer. Very enjoyable, although it makes me sad that this beer is only in existence for a short while.

Critically Rated at 14/17

Written, Rated, and Reviewed by Brendan H. Young

Leave a comment

Filed under Drinks

Tagged as beer, limited batch, Quadrotriticale, Stochasticity Project, stone brewing co, Stone Stochasticity Project Quadrotriticale

June 20, 2014 · 9:32 pm

Local Brew

One of the perks about traveling is trying new things, like a local brew that you’ve never heard of before. I was flying to Anchorage, Alaska the other day and I had a layover in Seattle. I went to the first airport bar I could find and asked for the best local brew on tap. The bartender poured me a Pike IPA. It’s wasn’t the the best beer in the world, but it was certainly enjoyable. And there’s no way that I would have ever tried it if I never asked about it. Asking for a local brew is a good way to sample the culture of the area you’re visiting. It’s a way to experience new things. And experiencing new things is what life is all about. It’s why we travel. It’s why we ask for a local brew. It’s how you win at life.
Critically Rated at 14/17
Written, Rated, and Reviewed by Brendan H. Young

Leave a comment

Filed under Drinks

Tagged as beer, craft beer, local brew, micro brew

June 16, 2014 · 10:02 am

Slanted Cup Holders

I went to a baseball game the other day. I saw the Yankees take on the A’s at Oakland Coliseum. I’m not a fan of either team, but I am a fan of baseball and it was my last chance to see Derek Jeter play so I had to go. And I had to buy a beer of course. It’s not a ballgame without a beer. So I bought a ten-dollar pint of Bud Light, made my way to my seat, sat down, and put my beer in the cup holder on the back of the seat in front of me. The cup holder was installed at an angle. It was tilted enough to cause a couple of ounces of liquid gold to slosh down the side of the cup onto the ground. I couldn’t help but scowl. Beer is always precious, but ballpark beer is even more of a commodity. Each drop you spill hurts. You see dollar signs flash in front of your eyes. It’s bad enough to bump into someone and spill a little, but it really sucks when you make it safely back to your seat and the cup holder is the thing responsible for losing your beer. A cup holder is supposed to prevent your drink from spilling. A slanted cup holder defeats the whole point of drink protection. It’s like wearing sunglasses without any lenses. It’s a product that fails at the one thing it’s designed to do. But I’d rather lose my eyesight than lose any beer. Slanted cup holders must be stopped.

Critically Rated at 5/17

Written, Rated, and Reviewed by Brendan H. Young

Leave a comment

Filed under Drinks

Tagged as ballpark, baseball, beer, cup holder, cup holders, slanted cup holders

May 26, 2014 · 10:02 am

Telescoping Your Beer

You’re chilling at a barbeque, sipping on a beer, and you notice that the bottle feels a little bit light. That’s when you have to telescope it. Telescoping your beer is when you pick up a beer bottle, tilt it, and look down the neck to see how much precious booze you have left. It looks like you’re looking into a telescope, when all you’re really trying to do is figure out if you have to get another beer or not. Here’s a tip for you: if you’re wondering if you need to get another beer, you probably do. Or maybe you should just quit drinking. But it’s easier to get another beer.

Critically Rated at 9/17

Written, Rated, and Reviewed by Brendan H. Young

Leave a comment

Filed under Drinks

Tagged as beer, beer bottle, bottle, telescope, telescoping your beer

May 14, 2014 · 12:41 pm

Beer on the Rocks

One time I was hanging out with my friend at his mom’s house and he offered me a drink. I never turn down free booze so I gladly accepted his offer. He handed me a warm bottle of Heineken and a glass filled with ice. I had no choice but to crack the brew and pour it into the glass. He got his own beer and glass with ice, we clinked our drinks together, and took a sip. It was crisp, cold, and refreshing. It was beer. Beer on the rocks. I didn’t mind the ice as much as I thought I would. If anything, the ice gave me more incentive to drink faster so it wouldn’t melt and water it down. I don’t think I’ll try it again though. I love cold beer, but ice in the glass isn’t the way to go. The next time I’ll take wrap a wet paper towel around the warm beer and stick it in the freezer for fifteen minutes. That’s the ideal life hack for this situation.

Critically Rated at 10/17

Written, Rated, and Reviewed by Brendan H. Young

Leave a comment

Filed under Drinks

Tagged as beer, beer on the rocks, heineken, ice

April 1, 2014 · 12:25 pm

Brewers Association’s Top 50 U.S. Craft Brewing Companies

The Brewers Associationjust came out with its list of the Top 50 U.S. Craft Brewing Companies. This isn’t my list but it’s worth sharing.

1 Boston Beer Co. Boston MA

2 Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. Chico CA

3 New Belgium Brewing Co. Fort Collins CO

4 Gambrinus San Antonio TX

5 Lagunitas Brewing Co. Petaluma CA

6 Deschutes Brewery Bend OR

7 Bell’s Brewery, Inc. Galesburg MI

8 Duvel Moortgat USA Kansas City MO &

Cooperstown NY

9 Brooklyn Brewery Brooklyn NY

10 Stone Brewing Co. Escondido CA

11 Matt Brewing Co. Utica NY

12 Harpoon Brewery Boston MA

13 Dogfish Head Craft Brewery Milton DE

14 Shipyard Brewing Co. Portland ME

15 Abita Brewing Co. Abita Springs LA

16 Firestone Walker Brewing Co. Paso Robles CA

17 Alaskan Brewing Co. Juneau AK

18 New Glarus Brewing Co. New Glarus WI

19 SweetWater Brewing Co. Atlanta GA

20 Great Lakes Brewing Co. Cleveland OH

21 Anchor Brewing Co. San Francisco CA

22 Long Trail Brewing Co. Bridgewater Corners VT

23 Summit Brewing Co. St. Paul MN

24 Oskar Blues Brewery Longmont CO

25 Full Sail Brewing Co. Hood River OR

26 Founders Brewing Co. Grand Rapids MI

27 Rogue Ales Newport OR

28 Victory Brewing Co. Downingtown PA

29 Ballast Point Brewing Co. San Diego CA

30 Ninkasi Brewing Co. Eugene OR

31 Southern Tier Brewing Co. Lakewood NY

32 Cold Spring Brewing Co./Third Street Brewhouse Cold Spring MN

33 Flying Dog Brewery Frederick MD

34 Odell Brewing Co. Fort Collins CO

35 Stevens Point Brewery Co. Stevens Point WI

36 Bear Republic Brewing Co. Cloverdale CA

37 Lost Coast Brewery and Cafe Eureka CA

38 Left Hand Brewing Co. Longmont CO

39 CraftWorks Restaurants & Breweries, Inc. Chattanooga & Louisville TN/CO

40 Breckenridge Brewery Denver CO

41 Karl Strauss Brewing Co. San Diego CA

42 Blue Point Brewing Co. Patchogue NY

43 Sixpoint Brewery Brooklyn NY

44 BJ’s Chicago Pizza & Brewery, Inc. Huntington Beach CA

45 North Coast Brewing Co. Inc. Fort Bragg CA

46 Uinta Brewing Co. Salt Lake City UT

47 Allagash Brewing Co. Portland ME

48 Saint Arnold Brewing Co. Houston TX

49 Gordon Biersch Brewing Co. San Jose CA

50 21st Amendment Brewery San Francisco CA

I’ve tried beers from twenty-two of these breweries, and that’s not bad. It’s not impressive, but it’s definitely not bad. I’m pretty happy that a few of my favorite breweries made the list. I’ve been going to 21^st Amendment for years, and I’m pleased that they were able to crack the list and gain a little more exposure. I’m a big fan of Bear Republic, Stone Brewing, Ninkasi, Anchor Brewing, and Lagunitas, so seeing these breweries make the cut just reaffirms my taste in craft brews. I like Sierra Nevada, but I’m really surprised to see them so high on the list. Stone and Lagunitas make much better beers with a lot more variety. There are a few breweries that are decidedly overrated and undeserving of a place so high up on this list (Rogue Ales and New Belgium, I’m looking at you). There are a lot of breweries that I can’t wait to experience and Critically Rate. This isn’t just a list of top U.S. craft breweries, this is a bucket list. And really, no Russian River brews? No Pliny the Elder? No Pliny the Younger? Seems like a pretty incomplete list to me.

Critically Rated at 12/17

Written, Rated, and Reviewed by Brendan H. Young

Leave a comment

Filed under Drinks

Tagged as Anchor Brewing Co. San Francisco CA, Bear Republic Brewing Co. Cloverdale CA 37 Lost Coast Brewery, beer, Brewers Association, craft beer, lagunitas brewing co, Matt Brewing Co., Sierra Nevada Brewing Co., top fifty U.S. craft breweries, U.S. Craft Brewing Companies

March 22, 2014 · 10:03 am

San Andreas Malt Club

I like craft beers. My friends like craft beers. And we enjoy talking about the cool craft beers that we’ve found and tasted. One of my friend (let’s call him Joey) likes craft beers and discussing craft beers so much that he decided to start a craft beer club. The basic idea behind it was that a few of us would meet up once a month to share and drink some microbrews. We would sip a couple of beers to compare, talk about, and rate. It’s a way to get drunk and not feel like an alcoholic. We had our first meeting the other night. We all bought and brought some 22-ounce bottles and most of them were IPAs. We learned that we need to communicate some more, but it was a pretty awesome first meeting for the group. We came up with a pretty satisfactory name… we call ourselves the San Andreas Malt Club, and our slogan is that you can “Hop On It.” I like the name. It’s a pun about California and beer, and our slogan is another pun about beer. It seems to work for a beer club with people from California. It was a pretty awesome first meeting. I recommend that you start your own beer club. Just remember that the San Andreas Malt Club is already taken.

Critically Rated at 15/17

Written, Rated, and Reviewed by Brendan H. Young

Leave a comment

Filed under Drinks

Tagged as beer, beer club, craft beer, Hop on It, San Andreas Malt Club

February 26, 2014 · 12:40 pm

Dubbel Fisted (beer)

Vista, California’s Iron Fist Brewing Company presents Dubbel Fisted, a Belgian Style Dubbel. This is a pretty hefty craft beer, rich in flavor and aroma, and with a relatively high 8.10% alcohol content. It pours a cloudy, dark amber with a thin tan head. It smells of plums, chocolate, caramel, nuts, and malt, maybe a little spice as well. It tastes great, malty and rich with brown sugar. I also get hints of plum, caramel, chocolate, molasses, and spice. It’s the first beer I’ve tried from Iron Fist, and it made a great first impression. I can’t wait to try their other offerings. It’s always awesome discovering a new brewery making amazing libations. Try Dubbel Fisted if you get the chance.
Critically Rated at 14/17
Written, Rated, and Reviewed by Brendan H. Young

Leave a comment

Filed under Drinks

Tagged as beer, belgian style dubbel, craft beer, dubbel fisted, iron fist brewing company

February 16, 2014 · 12:04 pm

Board Meeting (beer)

Board Meeting is an American Brown Ale from Port Brewing Company in San Marcos, California. It’s a Malt Beverage With Coffee And Cocoa Nibs. If there’s one thing that every beer needs more of, it’s cocoa nibs. And this beer has cocoa nibs. It’s very dark for a brown ale, it’s pours almost like a porter. It has a great aroma of roasted coffee, chocolate, and toasted malts. It tastes like you would expect. It’s malty with chocolate and coffee flavors, and there’s a little hazelnut and caramel, maybe some vanilla. It’s delicious and has a much better flavor profile than a Newcastle. It’s 8.5% so I would suggest drinking it after work and not before work.

Critically Rated at 14/17

Written, Rated, and Reviewed by Brendan H. Young

Leave a comment

Filed under Drinks

Tagged as American brown ale, beer, board meeting, brown ale, california, Cocoa Nibs, coffee flavors, port brewing company, roasted coffee, San Marcos