Saturday Night Beer Fights!!!

Last night, my neighbor Kerry (and previous guest taster) brought over a couple of bottles of beer to sample. Thanks for the unexpected gift Kerry. Always a pleasure watching a Cards game (heartbreaking loss for Wainwright by the way- two blown calls in one inning on two consecutive plays- way to go Umps!). After that we took in the first hour of Saturday Night Live which had some funny stuff but we were both disappointed that there were no more Women's Sports on ESPN skits. If you haven't seen any of them, here are the links:

http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/espn-classic-womens-curling/1205311/

http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/espn-classic-ladies-darts/1194032/

http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/espn-classic-womens-weightlifting/1219732/

Anyways, on to the beer:

BEER #1

Brewer: North Coast Brewing Co. Fort Bragg, CA
Beer Name: Brothers Thelonius Belgian Style Abbey Ale
Beer Style: Belgian Style Abbey
Price: ?

Appearance: Dark, Very Clear Red. Looks like a cabernet wine.

Smell: Not overpowering but you can definitely smell the dark fruit that the beer tastes like.

Mouthfeel: A full bodied beer with plenty of substance. A good feel. Nice foam on the glass and lacing that remained.

Taste: A very typical Abbey Ale; almost a wine flavor to it. Tastes like a beer that has been mixed with a shot of Cabernet. I did notice a caramel hint as I got closer to the bottom. Overall, fairly smooth, easy to drink, after the first few drinks, I settled in and enjoyed the rest of the glass. And I did enjoy it at 9.4% alcohol. Kerry said that he enjoyed it as well after the first few drinks.

Overall score: 3.5. Not bad at all but you definitely have to be in the mood for this type of beer. Probably a fall or winter beer for most people.

BEER #2
Brewer: Schlafly's Brewery St. Louis, MO
Beer Name: Quadrupel Ale
Beer Style: Belgiun Ale (4th in a series of four that Schlafly's has made)
Price: $7.99

Appearance: Medium Brown, semi cloudy; looks much more like beer then the Abbey Ale which looked like wine with foam.

Smell: Definitely the traditional fruity aroma of a Belgiun ale. Not nearly as overpowering as the Tripel that Kerry and I sampled earlier in the winter. (see this post:

http://thebigwallabowski.blogspot.com/2010/02/friday-night-beer-fights-episode-two.html

for the ratings on the Tripel.

Mouthfeel: Good also; this is a heavyweight and there is no doubt about it. It has more alcohol in one 12 ounce drink then 3 Bud Lights. 12% overall and it packs a punch. Heavy and thick.

Taste: Not as fruity as the Tripel by any means but it is much heavier. Definitely a noticeable difference between the two. This leaves a much more nor=ticeable skunkyish taste in your mouth at the end that seems to have about three phases; none of which are extremely enjoyable. Overall, the taste is not as overpowering during the drink but it makes up for that in the aftertaste.

Overall Score: I think I like the Tripel better overall. I'm saying 3.0 on this but only as a one glass drink at dinner. As a stand-alone beer on the patio, it's probably not going to happen at all with me.

And the winner is: The Thelonius Monks from Califoria!!! Who said Church was bad? If they served this, I might actually go.

THANKS TO KERRY FOR THE BEER!!!!

Footnote: After we finished these, we each wanted one more beer before bed so I went to the fridge and grabbed the only thing in there: two Natural Lights. They tasted like watered-down rain water after the other two beers. It was like drinking purified air.