Samuel Smith’s Organic Strawberry Fruit Ale (0/6)
Don’t drink this. Its terrible in a way that only bad fruit ale can be. Rancid sharp strawberry flavor, in otherwise fine ale. Admittedly, I didn’t expect it to be any good, but even I was surprised just how little I was able to drink before I had to pour it out.

Red Hook 8-4-1 Expedition Ale (1/6)
Your mileage may vary on this one, but I just didn’t like it. There was something about it that didn’t jive with my taste buds, and I was generally unhappy with the results. It’s not terrible, rather just the epitome of “That boy ain’t right”.

Full Sail LTD 02 (4/6)
Yay LTD! I just love this stuff. It’s on the maltier end of the Easy Drinkin’ spectrum, but it definitely qualifies as a cooler filler if the occasion arises.

Bridgeport Blue Heron Pale Ale (4/6)
Up to this point, Bridgeport’s Haymaker was holding the crown as one of my favorite Easy Drinkin’ beers. But now that I have had this, I think Bridgeport may have unseated itself. It’ll be perfect for the July 4th BBQ, when you force those family members who drink Budweiser products (…sorry I just threw up a little in my mouth…) to drink quality beer. Easy, non-offensive, tasty.

Great Divide Collette Farmhouse Ale (5/6)
I like Farmhouse Ales, but usually just for tasting. They tend to be a bit strong for a six pack or even a full 22. Collette, however, is an exception. This ale is great. And, although being farmhouse tasty (mmm…farm taste), its mellow enough to be had regularly. Or in large quantities *drunken stumble*

Widmer Sunburn Ale (2/6)
The blogosphere gave this beer a lot of happy thoughts recently, but I just didn’t see why. Widmer has decided to use some new “Citra-hop” variety of hops, which although novel, is super distracting to the taste. Its like beer flavored orange juice. Not a fan.

Dick’s Pale Ale (2/6)
Despite promising to do a huge run of Dick’s posts, I purposefully didn’t mention this one. Not because it’s bad, but just because it practically non-existent. It takes Pale to a new level by being the taste equivalent to translucence (see I know big words!).

Jonathan Edwards “Lost Finale” Lager (4/6)
I round out this blast of posts with a nod to our favorite local homebrewer Jonathan Edwards. Recently, he dropped this German Lager down on my desk, and I can happily say it was yet another notch in his impressive homebrew collection. Its crisp yummy taste helped drown out the sorrows of watching the Lost Finale. And made me buzzed enough to not care about the cheesy cork in the island scene. Prost!

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!

The view from our table at Harborside

Amy and I headed down to Harborside’s McKormick & Schmick’s. The city was unbelievable and the weather was spectacular. We each had the Dungeoness Crab Stuffed Alaskan Salmon with Brie. To drink, I had a Harborside exclusive Full Sail Grand Son of Spot Cask Conditioned IPA. Perfect with the salmon an amazing evening. Just the right amount of hoppiness , a complex first sip and a crisp finish.

I mixed it up with a Fish Tail Organic Cask Conditioned IPA (kind of a theme here). The waitress seemed to give me a “he’s not going to like this” look  when I ordered it. After the first sip I knew why. It was probably a good IPA, but not after the Full Sail. Somehow it just didn’t measure up. Maybe the lack of fertilizer or genetic engineering in the hops? Whatever it was, it just seemed to fall flat. The waitress must have read my mind, or seen the same thing before, because she asked me what I thought and immediately offered to take it back and exchange it for another Grand Son. I gratefully accepted the offer.

A little New York Cheesecake with raspberry and a nice stroll on the boardwalk finished things off… well, the night is still young.

Ninkasi Radiant Summer Ale

I have decided that the Ninkasi Brewery is one that I just don’t “get”. The thing is, they seem to have this unhealthy obsession with hops. With the exception of their respectable Oatmeal Stout, every beer I’ve tasted of theirs has been a cheek smashing hop fandango. Without much effort you can imagine what their Summer seasonal was like then. First sip. Decent, if a little hoppy. The problem was those other sips. I started by thinking to myself, eh, 4 rating maybe 3. But with every sip, the score went down. Until finally the rest was undrinkable. Not to mention the face that SwillJockeys wife made when she tried it. Remember those “bitter beer face” commercials? Yeah that.

Full Sail Session Black Lager

I have decided that I just have an affection for “Black” beers. Note the distinction from Porters, Browns and Stouts. Those are awesome too, but there is something special about a 1554, Lompoc Strong Draft or Session Black that just makes them awesome. Perhaps its the manliness of having your beer be more daunting than the wiener with the IPA next to you. Maybe it’s the fact that even though you can’t see through it, its still got that easy drinking feel. Whatever it is, I dig, and Full Sail’s new Session Black is full of it. Its a crisp dark lager, that balances machismo with easy drinking for a nice summer pick. Although I didn’t get to drink it from one of those impy little bottles (a big mention in the Full Sail marketing material), I can report that the draft didn’t disappoint. To use the vernacular of the cool kids, with LTD03 and Session Black, Full Sail is “the hotness” this summer.(do people still say that?)

Chris McGowen Wheat White Wit

We like Chris McGowen. Why? Well apart from him being a nice guy, he’s one of the stable of local Favorite Amatuer Brewmasters that routinely supply me with tasty concoctions. His latest edition is one I affectionately call Wheat White Wit. Cause although to beer snobs there’s a distinction, when I asked Chris what he made, those three words all made it into the descriptive response. But hey, whose counting? Its free beer! Super duper cloudy (Chris spilled grain in the beer..doh!), it was a nice easy drinking wheat/white/wit beer. Perfect for a summer BBQ. If you can get your hands on some, I highly recommend taking his advice and mowing the lawn while chugging it down. There’s something about controlling a 3ooo rpm spinning blade of death and alcohol that just go together.

With their third offering in the LTD series, Full Sail has done their best to rescue me from years of therapy required from my previous pilsner experiences. I feel like a giant weight has been lifted off my liver, and I can once again drink a pilsner and not have to wear a wifebeater or listen to Larry the Cable Guy.

This stuff is great. Super light, super smooth. Its crisp on the first sip, and knows to back off just in time for you to say “ahhh”.

And what’s more, it has earned a coveted spot alongside Bridgeport Haymaker in the official Frosty Goodness July 4th Beer Cooler. A true honor. Congratulations, and thank you Full Sail. May nary a cigarette butt ever cross your bottle.

Smaller (WAY) smaller, but still fun, the B&Bs (I shortened it cause I’m lazy) was a fun little excursion with the combined brood of Mister Q and our own Frosties.  Despite not getting to drink too much (what do you mean kids don’t like to wait around while daddy gets drunk?), there were a few memorable sips worth noting.

Block 15 – Aboriginale

I’d never heard of these guys, but they made some of the really good beer at the B&Bs. Aboriginale, seemed to be one of the more popular ones (as the pourer made sure to tell me), but in truth was a bit too hoppy for my taste. It actually reminded me of the HUB review a ways back. Despite not getting any more than the obligatory one token sip, Mister Q went back for a full glass, so I’ll give this the “not for me, but what the heck” – 3.

Block 15 – Honey Wit

It’s summer! (I’m ignoring the fact it just rained on us). All you people who like IPA’s are just wrong. A tasty, sweet wheat ale is what summer is all about. For the Missus, this even deserved a mug and a half (Love ya hon!). Bottle worthy.

Cascade Brewing Razzberry Wheat

Everybody knows of that one grandma or mom who has that guest bathroom full of those funny smelling shaped soaps. Have you ever wondered what those taste like? How about what they taste like as a beer? I don’t wonder anymore. Raspberry, with a glycerin chaser.

Full Sail Keelhauler

Winner!! I have been hesitating to buy this at the local beer pusher for fear that “Scottish Ale” meant headbutting you and kicking you while you’re down. But now I just feel ashamed for doubting my kilt wearing brethren. This stuff was great. Light on painful hoppy-ness, balanced and worthy malts, and a pinch of greased Scotsman. If its not Scottish, its crap!

Light-bodied with a somewhat burnt-chocolate finish seems like an oxymoron, but I swear its there. The “Dude” says it is an import-style lager but I’m not buying it. I guess if you’re talking about some lambic, or tripel, this might qualify as a distant cousin but its definitely not your typical “euro-bud” trash (Becks, Heineken, etc).

So, long story short: I dig it… um, dude. I think I’m going to set out to see if good packaging equals good beer. Sounds like a good combo of my two favorite things: good beer and good design. In the end, we’ll see which one deserves the top spot.