Hill Country Beer Club

The Great Midwest
July 12, 2013

Lara's House
04:00:00

Selections offered will be gathered by NOSS during his trip to the great Midwest. As he will be providing all of this month's selections, members will need to pay dues ($8) to partake.

Brewer	Beer	Vintage	Score
New Holland Brewing Company	The Poet	2013	89
Odd Side Ales	Citra Pale Ale	2013	89
Three Floyds Brewing Company	Alpha King	2013	91
Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales	Baudelaire Beer iO Saison	2013	86
Dark Horse Brewing Company	Fore Smoked Stout	2013	91
Arcadia Brewing Company	B-Craft Black Double IPA	2013	90
Great Lakes Brewing Company	Lake Erie Monster Double IPA	2013	91
Two Brothers Brewing Company	Red Eye Coffee Porter	2013	92
Greenbush Brewing Company	Brother Benjamin	2013	92
Hoppin Frog Brewery	DORIS The Destroyer Double Imperial Stout	2013	95
New Albanian Brewing Company	Hoptimus Imperial IPA	2013	91
Brau Brothers Brewing Company	Rye Wyne Ale	2011	96

Who Offered: NOSS

Who Drank: BIGWILLIE, FATBOY, KAY JAY, LARA, MOJO, NOSS

Summary

89	New Holland Brewing Company The Poet Sweet Stout \| 5.2% ABV \| Unknown IBU Offered By: NOSS

Club/Brewer Notes:
This stout is sheer beer poetry. Let it warm to about 45 F and pour it into a glass to fully experience its rich, roasty flavors and hints of coffee and chocolate. One glass and you'll agree: The Poet is truly a rich, creamy brew of epic proportions.

Member Notes:
"Very dark brown in color with a light brown head. It looks thin. Its nose is rich and malty, but not heavy. Chocolate and oats dominate the aroma. It's very sessionable, relatively thin-bodied, with an interesting oat and roasted malt finish. Nice, easy, and well-brewed. 7 4 7 3-4 14 B " - noss

89	Odd Side Ales Citra Pale Ale American-Style Pale Ale \| 5.74% ABV \| Unknown IBU Offered By: NOSS

Club/Brewer Notes:
This light and crisp ale is sure to capture your taste buds. Not quite a pale ale not quite an IPA. This is our flagship beer which is brewed exclusively with citra hops. The aroma is an intoxicating bouquet of grapefruit, tropical fruit, lemon, and pine.

Member Notes:
"Hazy orange in color with a bright white head, this has a freaking awesome nose. It smells fresh of candied fruit, very citrusy. I'm thinking lime, grapefruit, and apricot. Very aromatic, with those hops really making this seem like candy. Man, I love this nose. In the mouth it's soft and smooth, with bright, citrusy hops dominating the flavor. Nice finish, with a soft, hoppy finish that's really inviting. Fantastic! It goes down so easy and quickly that it's dangerous. 8 4 8 4 15-16 A/A " - noss

91	Three Floyds Brewing Company Alpha King American-Style Pale Ale \| 6.5% ABV \| 66 IBU Offered By: NOSS

Club/Brewer Notes:
Big American Pale Ale with citrusy aroma- a hop lover's cult beer and Three Floyds' flagship beer Brewed with Cenntennial, Cascade & Warrior Hops. Alpha King is an American Pale Ale with a bold citrus hop character. We brew all our beers for our own demanding tastes. If you're unwilling to compromise on your beer, we urge you to try it.

Member Notes:
"Dark orange, almost red in color with a bright white head. Sweet, sticky, hoppy nose with caramel noticeable, but with hops still dominating. My kind of pale! It's easy and uneventful on the mouth, but the hops really make this an enjoyable beer. It finishes clean, with the hop bitterness fading fast, leaving behind remnants of a piney, stiff hop flavor to linger gently on the palate for a half minute or so. Nice... I wish all pale ales had this much hop flavor, hop aroma, and bitterness. A great pale ale. 7-8 4 7-8 4 15 A-*/A" - noss

86	Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales Baudelaire Beer iO Saison French & Belgian-Style Saison \| 6.8% ABV \| Unknown IBU Offered By: NOSS

Club/Brewer Notes:
Ale brewed with rose hips, rose petals and hibiscus.

Member Notes:
"Reddish orange in color, opaque and bright, with a super bright white head. The aroma is very floral, like fresh flowers. Girly. It's very floral and fruity... very potent. A slight sourness and a little bit of a tartness. After a while it really gets enjoyable, but is very, very acute in its delivery of fruitiness. In fact, it almost reminds me of a Mexican carbonated grapefruit soda. Nice... just know the style. 7 4 7 4 14-15 B /A- " - noss

91	Dark Horse Brewing Company Fore Smoked Stout Smoke Beer \| 8% ABV \| Unknown IBU Offered By: NOSS

Club/Brewer Notes:
Number Fore - Brewed with all malted barley and peat malt (smoked malt). This beer is full bodied with chocolate, roasted barley flavors, and a smokey almost BBQ finish.

Member Notes:
"Very dark brown in color with a light brown head... this is a looker. The aroma is a strong of peat (my kind of smoke), a little chocolate, and roasted malt. It's soft, smoky, and very meaty... god, this is delicious. Roasted malts and smoke smoothly decorate the the tongue, offering a finish that's free of roasted bitterness and over-smokiness. I love this. Love it. 8 4 8 4 16 A " - noss

90	Arcadia Brewing Company B-Craft Black Double IPA Black IPA \| 8.5% ABV \| 85 IBU Offered By: NOSS

Club/Brewer Notes:
This big beer has a beautiful malt character to accompany the intense hop profile. Plus a hint of roast character.

Member Notes:
"Practically black in color with a light brown colored head, this has an almost odd roasted malt character that's a little sweet, a little roasted, and a little hoppy. It's balanced, but there's still something odd about its aroma. In the mouth it seems very much like a dark strong ale. If you convince yourself that it's not a double black, and rather just a straight up dark strong, this is actually a better beer. Now... let's pretend this is a strong ale and get on with our lives. It's nice. Smooth, roasted, strong. You can really pick up the alcohol in this. Nice, and easy drinking for what it is. 6-7 3 7 4 16 A-" - noss

91	Great Lakes Brewing Company Lake Erie Monster Double IPA Imperial or Double India Pale Ale (IPA) \| 9.1% ABV \| 72 IBU Offered By: NOSS

Club/Brewer Notes:
Lake Erie Monster stories are like fish stories. Drink a few of these handcrafted Imperial IPAs and you're bound to start boasting and weaving wild tales of mythic proportions. Drink more and you might even have visions of South Bay Bessie, the freshwater cryptid for which our Lake Erie Monster is named, lifting her scaly head above the surface of Lake Erie. Or the Cuyahoga River. Or a kiddie pool. Actually, if you see Bessie in a kiddie pool, take it easy. You've probably had too many.

Member Notes:
"Bright golden orange in color with a bright white head, this smells piney of hops, with a slight musky stank to it. It's a little bready in the mouth, with a striking, sweet, plant-like hop flavor. Its body is thick and smooth, and it's great for delivering the very nicely brewed hop bouquet. Smooth, bready, and very hoppy, yet very well-balanced. Very cool. 7 4 7-8 4 15 A- " - noss

92	Two Brothers Brewing Company Red Eye Coffee Porter American-Style Imperial Porter \| 9.2% ABV \| 40 IBU Offered By: NOSS

Club/Brewer Notes:
Black Ale Brewed With Coffee Beans. RED EYE Coffee porter is one of a series of special limited run beers in styles that are more EXTREME or unusual. Porter's an elusive dark ale that has been constantly changing during its long 300 year history. We figured it was about RIPE for some REINVENTION.

Member Notes:
"Black in color with brown hues and a light brown head, this has a smooth, rich and chocolaty aroma that has only a touch of coffee. It's very classy, and super awesome. Smooth in the mouth, as well, with a great, easy feel on the palate. Yet, it delivers some really awesome, classy rich, roasted, and homogeneous. Yummers. Super sessionable for the content and ABV. 8 4 8 4 16 A/A " - noss

92	Greenbush Brewing Company Brother Benjamin Imperial or Double India Pale Ale (IPA) \| 10.1% ABV \| 114 IBU Offered By: NOSS

Club/Brewer Notes:
This beer was developed as a collaboration with Mark Richman, the lucky winner of the Taste of the Nation "brewer for a day" silent auction item. This is one monster of an imperial IPA, brewed with a bit of honey and beet sugar.

Member Notes:
"Dark, opaque orange in color with a bright white head. The aroma is thick and malty, sweet with a touch of caramel and earthy, piney hops. It's super delish in the mouth, bold with hops and high in both alcohol and IBUs. Man, I live it when double IPAs are like this. Thick, sticky, and close to what it might taste like when sucking on a mouthful of hop cones, but with some liquor thrown in the mix. Very, very impressive. Love me some of this. 8 4 8 4 16-17 A /A " - noss

95	Hoppin Frog Brewery DORIS The Destroyer Double Imperial Stout American-Style Imperial Stout \| 10.5% ABV \| 70 IBU Offered By: NOSS

Club/Brewer Notes:
Beware! Beware! The Double Oatmeal Russian Imperial Stout will destroy your taste buds like no other. More hops and more malt than BORIS create a super deep roasted and full bodied flavor, making this the great, great grand daddy of all stout styles.

Member Notes:
"Super dark brown in color, black if you could ignore the bright brown hues and bright, medium-brown, almost red head. What a looker! It's very much like a double oatmeal stout, simple, and not obviously alcoholic. The flavor... wazoo! This is where the magic happens. Chocolate, roasted malts, and alcohol, but with a wonderful oaky-like finish. Man, this is good. Hard to describe how good it is, or why. And the alcohol just makes it that much more enjoyable. So awesomely awesome. All beers should have this much alcohol in it. 8 5 8-9 4-5 17-18 A */A " - noss

91	New Albanian Brewing Company Hoptimus Imperial IPA Imperial or Double India Pale Ale (IPA) \| 10.7% ABV \| 100 IBU Offered By: NOSS

Club/Brewer Notes:
Hoptimus is brewed with Simpson's Golden Promise malt; Northern Brewer, Fuggles and Cascades hops; and the house London yeast. Dry hopping with Fuggles and Cascades.

Member Notes:
"Clear-bodied, deep, bold orange in color with a bright white head. The aroma is really wacky. It's sweet and sticky, but not because of the hops. It's residual sugars... and somehow, without crystal sugars. Something about this smells like a vegetable or root of some sort. Beets? No! Radishes! Weird, but good. In the mouth it's incredibly unique. I'm not sure what hops were used, but this is really distinctive. Nice, and I would never guess this has such a high level of IBUs. I'm doubting it's actually that high. Eh... I had more expectations. 7 4 7-8 4 15 B /A-*" - noss

96	Brau Brothers Brewing Company Rye Wyne Ale American-Style Barley Wine Ale \| 11% ABV \| 55 IBU Offered By: NOSS

Club/Brewer Notes:
One of the few small grains still grown in southwestern Minnesota, malted rye is the base for this one of a kind ale brewed and aged in tiny Lucan, Minnesota. Following a long, slow fermentation, the beer is stored away in used rye whiskey barrels brought north from our friends at Templeton, located in the equally tiny town of Templeton, Iowa.

Member Notes:
"Okay... here goes. Dark garnet/ruby in color with an off-white head. The aroma is stiff of alcohol, deep, dark caramel and hops. Lovely. In the mouth, wow. It's really... wow. Did I say wow? Alcohol ultimately wins over everything else, but the best of the rest follows closely behind. It's really an incredible beer. It almost tastes aged. Hops, malts... everything is just so indescribable. The flavor (and especially the finish) really reeks of a whisky barrel. It's not obnoxious, and perfectly balanced in all respects. I'm in love. Please, can I have this every day of the week? Beyond my expectations." - noss