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  • Walt Liquor 9:53 pm on March 19, 2010 Permalink | Reply  

    Baltika — In Russia, Beer Drinks You! 

    You’d think I’d learn after trying an import from Poland (“cool!”) that turned out to be their Malt Liquor (“dag nabbit!”) that trying odd Eastern European imports with labels in foreign languages is a wild gamble.  But if you’ve been reading my posts so far, you now know that I never learn.  Those brain cells died in a puddle of Schlitz long ago.  This time, it’s from Mother Russia — Baltika Number 6, which is something called a “Baltic Porter”.  In keeping with my policy of never learning, I have also not done my homework to figure out exactly what that is, but I drink on, nonetheless.

    Baltika Numero Six is not bad, just off a bit.  Not skunky, despite the intercontinental trip to Socal.  None of the flavors are bad, though there are a LOT of them.  Not too astringent, though I was expecting the first sip to dissolve my front teeth, as so often happens with extra-strong imports.  But it’s just… different — an odd mismash of flavors that don’t quite all work together.  Something’s just not quite right — maybe something’s lost in the translation, maybe this is what Baltic Porters are supposed to be, but I’m not buyin’ it.  Why not?  Check out their website – you can look up the Baltika’s official homepage for all their beers (they run from 1 through 9).  For Number 6, you’ll see a strange juxtaposition of hip, modern Russian youngster spinnin’ trax on the DJ set on the left, next to this description of Baltika No. 6 on the right:

    “Baltika’s porter is one of the most eminent varieties of Russian beer with a long heritage.  Energy value: 60 kilocalories per 100 g of beer.  Nutritional value: not more than 6.0 g of carbohydrates per 100 g of beer.”

    Wow — that has to be the most arid, scientific beer slogan I’ve ever seen.  Keep in mind, this is on their official website, where you’re supposed to sing the praises of your product, not post half of an AP Chemistry word problem.  And it about sums it up for Baltika No. 6 — like the emergence of Russian glam rock bands after glastnost, Baltika No. 6 is just a little too alien for my taste.

     

  • Frosty 10:24 am on March 13, 2010 Permalink | Reply  

    Holy Bourbon Batman! Full Sail Top Sail Porter 

    I’ve had a few bourbon barrel beers in my time. Usually, the brewer has the courtesy to pour out the bourbon before making the beer in it. That doesn’t appear to be the case here, cause one sip of this and you’ll be “WOW, Bourbon!”. Whether that produces a smile or a cringe is up to your particular tastes. For me, it was an instant ‘alcohol shiver’. This bourbon flavor in this stuff is strong. Real strong.

    Now don’t get the wrong impression here. I’m not saying its bad, because it certainly isn’t. I had two bottles of the stuff myself. This may even be the beer that you can get your “I only drink real alcohol” snob buddies to drink. I just wanted to make sure and give you all a heads up about what to expect, and to give you an idea of how much your breath will smell like a boozy hobo when you’re done. Salud!

     

  • Walt Liquor 10:57 pm on March 1, 2010 Permalink | Reply  

    Smithwick’s Ale — When You Want To Look Cool 

    Seeing the Irish beer setups for St. Patrick’s day at the supermarket (during a trip to buy Cadbury eggs, if you must ask) reminded me of Smithwick’s Ale, a beer that’s apparently the true day-to-day beer of choice of the Irish.  Most people here in America know Guinness, a few know Harp’s and Murphy’s, but those in the know call Smithwick’s the real best beer in Ireland.  By “folks in the know”, I mean our fellow American folks who are just a smidge annoying about how much they know and love Ireland.  Thinking of this reminded me that I am a seriously obnoxious Ireland-loving Celtic groupie, and I haven’t inflicted my annoying Irish knowledge on all of you yet.  So to correct that deficit, and in honor of upcoming St. Paddy’s day, here’s one of my favorite pictures from my trip to Ireland a few years ago.  The view is from a bell tower in Kilkenny, the town where Smithwick’s is brewed, looking into the back storage lots behind a brewery.  Those gray things you see stacked in rows behind the houses, the things that look like big gray storage sheds or tractor trailers, are KEGS — hundreds of them, stacked up five or six high, and hundreds deep.  Yes, the stereotypes are true — the Irish are not messing around when it comes to drinking.  There must have been a good 10 thousand of them here, and this is just the domestic output of one brewery in one relatively small town.  Now that’s sightseeing. 

    And the beer?  Well, I like my Smithwick’s as much as anyone else, but the beer in the kegs in the above photo is the actual best beer in Ireland:  Guinness.   Slainte!

     

    • Frosty 8:33 am on March 2, 2010 Permalink

      Everyone knows Mickey’s is the official Irish beer. House of Pain said so. And it comes in a green bottle! That makes it Irish right? ;)

    • Randy 7:23 pm on March 2, 2010 Permalink

      THE IRISH TRILOGY – PART 2 – SMITHWICK’S

      ‘Tis sure I’ll be wearing the green,

      When the calendar says March seventeen,

      To help me to think,

      It Smithwick’s I drink,

      Just try some, you’ll know what I mean.

  • SwillJockey 4:02 pm on February 21, 2010 Permalink | Reply  

    Kona Brewing – Fire Rock Pale Ale – Soapy to the last drop 

    Ok, I bought this stuff because I was excited to see another new pale ale hit the market that didn’t hype itself as being the the long lost solution to the Northwest’s shortage of hoppy beers. I was hopeful, but….

    One taste was all it took to fill my mouth with the essence of soap-bubble badness. Whatever hop they loaded this taste-bud assault with just wasn’t working for me. I quickly dumped this thing down the drain after giving Frosty a taste just to make sure I wasn’t being the picky bastard I’m normally known as.

    He concurred and this “brew” was relegated to the wonders of the TVWD’s sewer system. Sorry Kona, try again…..less soap next time.

     

    • Robin 10:17 pm on February 21, 2010 Permalink

      Oof. Soap/Perfume tasting beer is one of the worst parts of the nasty beer spectrum. On a similar note, I once forgot my ID at the Lucky Lab and had their home-made cream soda – tastes exactly like pinesol cleaning solution. Bad stuff.

    • SwillJockey 9:20 am on February 22, 2010 Permalink

      It even got good reviews on sites elsewhere, but those were beer-snobby sites, so you have to take that info with a grain of organic sea salt. ;)

    • Frosty 7:55 pm on February 22, 2010 Permalink

      Excellent photo. Bad Beer Choreography. Like one of those old timey synchronized swim movies.

  • Walt Liquor 9:33 pm on February 19, 2010 Permalink | Reply  

    Maharaja Pilsner — the king of subcontinental beers 

    Maharaja’s Premium Indian Pilsner is a pretty straightforward and tasty imported brew with a somewhat-uncomfortably on-the-nose-stereotype picture of 19th-century Indian royalty on the front. I’d place it in the realm of Beers That Are Really Ethnic Stereotype Jokes From The Simpsons (or, BTARESJFTS’s), almost as though the creators were 1950’s ad men trying to paint their product’s marketing image in very broad strokes for the rubes in Ohio who couldn’t identify India on a map. Also included in this category is Skullsplitter (with the prototype viking on the front), Moretti’s (with the middle-aged handlebar-mustachioed Italian man recursively drinking Moretti’s) and Punchy McCatholic’s (the Irish beer that I just made up, because I can make fun of my own ethnicity, right?).

    Naturally, I had to pick up a bottle — just weird enough for me to drink. After popping off the cap, a dense wad of beer foam oozed up to say hello, at roughly the pace and shape of one of those black snake firecrackers that never fail to disappoint on the 4th of July. “That’s odd”, I thought, making a mental note not to make a “happy to see me?” joke about it in my beer review, since that would be unoriginal and lame.  Nearly as unoriginal and lame as naming an Indian beer “maharaja”…

    At first, it seemed strikingly sour, but it turned out this was because I had just consumed the World’s Sweetest Drink In The World (in case you’re interested, the “creamsicle”: amaretto, triple sec, OJ, sour mix, tonic, and some dental fillings, because you’re going to need them), without adequately rebooting my palate. After a sip or two, it turned out to be surprisingly good. I was almost shocked — I saw a beer imported from India, picked it up expecting (even looking forward to) some serious skunkiness, but it tasted as fresh as an MGD. Compared to some of the skunky disappointments I’ve gotten from other parts of the world (like half the stuff from Ireland), this was a definite pleasant surprise. I guess there must be a lot more demand for Indian beers than Irish beers in my neighborhood.  Which I can live with.  Because this Irish dude is multiculturally sensitive, hyper-aware of the un-PC leanings of beer labels, but most importantly, much happier to live in a neighborhood with Indian food (“mmm, buttery garlic nan”) than Irish food (“huh — did they have to boil everything, even the check?”).

     

  • Frosty 10:42 am on February 15, 2010 Permalink | Reply  

    New Belgium Frambozen – Fruit. Beer. Actually Yummy. 

    I will go on record as saying my mind is open to fruity beer. On that day I had the first Stumptown Tart, a whole new world of fruit brewed beer opened up to me. I was amazed and ready to experience beer life anew in this new world of taste. And then it all came crashing down as I tried horrible attempt after horrible attempt at getting anything even drinkable. Hey guys, juice poured into beer tastes like … juice poured into beer.

    So it was with some trepidation that I sat down with my on again off again lover, New Belgium, to try their latest fruit beer concoction. The first thing I noticed was the audaciousness of it. This wasn’t your standard “gonna try it but not commit” 22 oz, but rather a full on 6 pack of bottles. Buying a six pack of something like this is a real commitment of trust between the brewer and the buyer. As in, this better be good, or there will be 5 unused bottled flying through the air toward Fort Collins.

    Thankfully, due to a sale at the beer swiller, I took that leap of faith, and brought home a 6 pack. Now, home, I popped one open and braced myself. I was ready for tang, I was ready for yuck, but what I wasn’t ready for was….what the hey, this is good! It was a nice mellow brown ale, with a raspberry flavor that complimented it, without punching your tastebuds with a “HEY IM RASPBERRY, TASTE ME!”. In the summer time, sipping a beer in the shade by the grill, this Ale would be a perfect easy drinker; an ideal fruity escape from the cheap boxed wine your neighbor brings to the 4th of July party.

    It is a bit sweet, so one a day certainly was enough (still not quite sure about the 6 pack thing), but I must tip my hat to old NB for making something that did the fruit beer world proud.

     

  • Frosty 10:17 am on February 13, 2010 Permalink | Reply  

    Hitachino Nest Espresso Stout. Coffee + Beer = Sink. 

    Run away!Have you ever wondered what it would be like if you poured cold coffee in beer? Well wonder no longer. Hitachino Nest has answered that question by brewing up their Espresso Stout. A “Japanese dark beer brewed with coffee beans”. A beer, best described as tasting like rancidity and sadness. Now, I’m no fan of coffee in general, but everyone else who tried this also gave it a resounding “yuck”.

    In an effort to brew something that satisfied both the night before and the morning after, they instead created what is officially the worst beer I’ve ever tasted.

     

  • Guest Drinker 9:51 pm on February 8, 2010 Permalink | Reply  

    Guest Pint: Rogue Mogul Madness 

    Welcome to a new feature on Frosty Goodness, “Guest Pint”. It’s a chance for folks we know who drink a lot to post their inebriated opinions on our site. Today’s Guest’ Pint is brought to us by Brad McDonald, intrepid finder of proper talent.

    If you celebrate the heartiness of the winter beers then Rogue Mogul Madness is a beer worth celebrating. Rogue Mogul Madness is one of my new favorite cold weather beers, period.  It is as comforting as a mug of post-sledding hot chocolate; Rogue Moguls pours a deep brown like a cup of hot coffee, and is as inviting as a bubbling hot tub beckoning your sore muscles.  After an initial hoppy bite, toasted malt takes over along with a faint nuttiness and the caramelized goodness of a toffee barits like chomping into dark chocolate candy. When you first release this aroma from the bottle do not be intimidated.  Instead in hail deeply the aroma that comes forth.  It will transport you to a place of comfort and relaxation.   So sit back and enjoy a beer you will remember as much as the double diamond you conquered earlier in the day.

     

  • Frosty 11:36 pm on February 4, 2010 Permalink | Reply  

    OMG Chocolate! Southern Tier Imperial Choklat Stout 

    Do you follow the twitter stream? If you do, you may have heard about this bottle of chocolate-y wonder. I’m not one to wax poetic about beers that claim to be brewed with chocolate, since often the flavor is so burnt beyond belief that only my sink could tell you how it really tastes.

    But one evening, a dear friend of mine brought over this giant bottle, claiming in terribly misspelled letters that it was brewed with chocolate. I poured. I cringed. I braced myself. I sipped. And I said… ‘OMG Chocolate!’.

    This stuff is just straight amazing. Its almost like drinking a chocolate liqueur (11% alchohol – woot!). Its still a stout mind you, with all the subtle stout thickness you would expect, but man can you taste the cocoa goodness. And it’s fantastic.

    The only downside to this stuff is because it is so sweet and rich, you really can’t drink a whole one yourself. Call this a “party” drink. Fun for everyone to have a taste, but too wickedly alcoholic to drink solo. Although the potential that they attempted such a feat when trying to spell the title would certainly explain things.

     

  • Frosty 9:07 pm on January 31, 2010 Permalink | Reply  

    Todd Stadelhofer brews beer. 

    Wow, where did the month go? I assure you, that while the site has been quiet as a ghost, there has been no such respite for the livers of the Frosty crew. I myself have a backlog of over 12 reviews to add. So without further ado, I will begin the 2010 review season with that celebrated Frosty Goodness tradition: getting free beer from my co-workers.

    This time around, we welcome a new face into the stable of home-brew heroes: Todd Stadelhofer. When not battling the ravages of bad software code, Todd takes the time to make some ridiculously meticulous beer varieties. Todd has the current distinction of being the only guy in cubicle land who posts his recipe outside his cubicle. Beer geeks are awesome!

    Todd’s inaugural beer was a tasty dry hopped Pale Ale title “Springboard”. I couldn’t tell you more about the varieties of hops or anything, cause that’s not the sort of thing I do. I can tell you however, that despite not generally liking overly hoppy beer, I found Springboard to be wonderful for an all night design session. I was hesitant at first, but man, nothing makes a crap-tastic project go by quickly quite like a 22oz. of refreshing Pale Ale.

    So here’s to you Todd. May your brewing skills live on, and your beer geekery reach new heights. My liver salutes you.

     

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