beer...what else

A week in beer years
from left to right:


Lagunitas 2009 Correction Ale
Lagunitas GnarlyWine
Stone Ruination IPA
New Belgium Ranger IPA
Stone IPA
Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA
Sierra Nevada Pale Ale
New Belgium Fat Tire Amber Ale
Breckenridge Vanilla Porter
Shiner 101 Czech Style Pilsner
Real Ale Fireman's 4 Blonde Ale
Full Sail Pale Ale

I've placed these beers from favorite to least. Here's why:

The 2009 Correction Ale was awesome. Lots of grapefruit and citrus fruit with sharp astringent bitterness, which I love.

The Olde GnarlyWine was another excellent beer from Lagunitas. They are quickly becoming one of my favorite breweries. This beer was supremely sweet AND hoppy. The malt character was rich with caramel, sweet and syrupy. The hops were juicy and resionous. This is one of the best bombers under $5 that I've ever had.

Ranger has become one of my new favorite IPAs. The Simcoe hops really jump out. It's balanced and easily drinkable for an IPA.

This Shiner 101, which had been sitting in Steve's fridge for months, was actually pretty good. I'm no big fan of pilseners, but this Czech style pils was surprisingly good, though not bold. I wouldn't expect boldness from the Spoetzel brewery. It had a strong grainy malt background with spicy saaz hops.

Steve thinks the Fireman's 4 tastes like a Budweiser with more flavor. I would have to agree with that to a degree. It's a great gateway beer.

I was less than impressed with the Full Sail Pale Ale. It seemed a bit off. the hops were dull and stale tasting, and the malt background had a weird stale bread flavor.

Alas, a week's worth of beer. And now I'm working on this week's haul. Stay tuned for Raging Bitch, Deadlift IPA, Storm King Imperial Stout, and GUBNA.