Beer Bums Meeting – January 2017

Our meeting can run from 100 degrees and sunny to snow.  January was freezing, with no snow, but one of our coldest meetings nonetheless. We always kick off the year with our favorite beers of the previous year.  Mine was the Saint Arnold Art Car IPA, but all the offerings were great.  The Elysian Space Dust was a favorite from our Holiday Party and nice to try it again with a fresh palate.

Real Ale Devil's Backbone

Saint Arnold Art Car IPA

Big Bend Brewing La Frontera IPA

Elysian Space Dust IPA

Stone Americano Stout

Next Month, February - February themed beers??

Beer Bums Meeting – September 2016

Tallboys!  What a perfect container of beer!  16 oz of pure beer bliss. 12 oz never seems like enough and the tallboy is the perfect solution.

Tallgrass Brewing Flyin Hawaiin Pineapple Double IPA

Wittekerke Wild

Arrogant Bastard Who You Callin Wussie

Stone Go To IPA

Breckenridge Nitro Vanilla Porter

South Austin Brewery Texas Pale Ale

Lone Star

Next Month, October - October inspired beers

Beer Bums Meeting – December 2015 - Beer Bums Christmas Spectacular

The Bums Annual Holiday party!  Once again great beers, great food and great people.  A long list of excellent beers and then some.  I left early so missed out on a few big ones, but as you can see below I didn’t miss much.  There were a lot of big beers and variety this year and the (512) Brewing Wild Bear was a treat for me.  The Indra Kunindra and 24 Carrot Golden Ale taking the titles for most unique.

Lagunitas Sucks

Delirium Tremens

Bastogne Belgian Wheat

Lagunitas Equinox

Stone 24 Carrot Golden Ale

(512) Brewing Wild Bear

Alaskan Double Black IPA

Boulevard Quintaceratops

Uinta Labyrinth

Ballast Point Indra Kunindra

Next Month, January – Best of 2015

The Brü Revü - Stone Brewing Points Unknown IPA

The Stone Points Unknown IPA collaboration with Ecliptic and Wicked Weed had my name written all over it.  Double IPA, check.  Barrel-Aged Belgian Style Tripel, check.  Two of my favorite styles a Double IPA and a Belgian Style Tripel all rolled into one bountiful beer.  The beer poured a deep golden amber with a huge fluffy head with great retention.  The aroma was more in the double IPA territory with citrus and tropical fruit hop tones like a fresh orange with some slight tinges of Belgian yeast and spices.  Not a dynamic aroma but still a nice citrusy IPA aroma.  The taste was where the Points Unknown really took off. There was a plethora of dank and citrus hop notes with a hint of pine that were intertwined with the Belgian tripel yeast and spice tones and a hint of barrel to round it all out.  There was a lot going on in this one.  As soon as one flavor exerted itself another came behind it and pushed itself to the forefront.  It was a dynamic and delightful drinking experience that never became overly bitter or overly boozy. There seemed to be a slight tannic finish as it warmed but in the end the Points Unknown IPA was a unique and exciting beer to drink.  Stone seems to never fail on these collaborations and this was another home run in my book.

Stone Brewing Points Unknown IPA

The Brü Revü - Stone Ruination Double IPA 2.0

When Stone announced they were retiring the original Ruination Double IPA it left many a hop head hanging. The Ruination for many was their introduction to heavy handed hop Heaven with its palate blistering hop overload that defined the style for years. With the ongoing development in the use of hops and the introduction of newer hop varieties Stone felt it was time to update its classic Double IPA to take advantage of new techniques such as hop bursting. The beer poured a deep golden amber with a full white head that left great lacing in its wake.  It was a great smelling beer with an aroma full of juicy tropical fruits and citrus with a little bit of dank thrown in that easily lean to the more modern takes on the style. The taste followed suit with loads of dank tropical fruits and citrus and a bit of pine that followed with the trademark aggressive hop punch that quickly took over my palate. It was great that the familiar mouth pummeling bitter hop overload was still present as that was what got all us hop heads hooked on the Ruination. The Ruination 2.0 definitely has a more updated hop profile while maintaining its trademark bracingly bitter and aggressive attitude.  A perfect update by Stone to classic beer. Having it in 6 packs is a huge plus as well as I will be picking this up on a regular basis.

Stone Ruination Double IPA 2.0

The Brü Revü - Stone Old Guardian Extra Hoppy

I always look forward to Stone’s Odd Year releases which is when they experiment with their traditional seasonal beers and take them in entirely new directions. While I have not always been partial to them, they have had some home runs like the Espresso Imperial Russian Stout.  This years Odd Year take on their Old Guardian Barley Wine being “Extra Hoppy” which was a dry hopped version of their already hoppy Barley Wine recipe using Azacca hops.  Count me in!  This beer poured a deep golden amber with a full and fluffy off-white head. I got a hint of the aroma as I poured and even when I left it on the table about 6 feet away as it was oozing with an abundance of hops and sweet malts.  The first sip was a tastebud overload of sweet fruity malts along with a fruity hop bitterness that left my mouth spinning.  The Old Guardian is an excessive ode to the Barley Wine and the added dry hopped “Extra Hoppy” takes the excess to a new and pleasingly bitter level. Akin to a Triple IPA the sweet malts were aggressively battling the citrus rind bitter hops and in my mouth and I was the ultimate winner.  This thick and syrupy brew was big and bitter with while being sweet enough to not allow either flavor to dominate.  Pick one up before they are gone and you will thank me.

Stone Old Guardian Extra Hoppy

The Brü Revü – Stone Sublimely Self-Righteous

Since Stone decided to retire this beer it seemed only right to give it a proper review.  The Sublimely Self-Righteous is a Black IPA as only Stone could do it.  Heavy on the hops with a solid dark and roasty background this was a truly Self-Righteous drinking experience.  The beer poured a deep brown with ruby highlights and a very large and robust tan head.  The hops hit me immediately with a very citrusy and floral aroma along with a bit of pine resin.  The dark malty backbone was lingering beneath the hops, but not as present in the nose.  The taste was a full on bitter hop assault with the citrus and pine hop notes that faded into a malty and burnt roasty porter that ended with a burnt and piney bitterness on my palate.  The beer was full and creamy which matched well to its appearance and left a pleasant bitter coating on my tongue between quaffs.  A really outstanding Black IPA and a shame it will be discontinued.  I am sure Stone has great plans up their sleeves and I hope another outstanding Black IPA is in their future.  Either way, grab a Sublimely Self-Righteous while you can and enjoy!

Stone Sublimely Self-Righteous

The Brü Revü – Stone Bourbon Barrel-Aged Arrogant Bastard

It took me a while to get around to the Bourbon Barrel-Aged Arrogant Bastard out of my Bastard Box, but the wait was worth it.  The beer poured a deep dark ruby-amber color with a significant off-white head with great retention and lacing.  The Bourbon Barrel aging was prominent in the aroma with hints of vanilla and coconut that overtook the base Arrogant aromas. The Bourbon notes were not overwhelming as in some barrel-aged beers but more subtle.  The base Arrogant Bastard shined through upon the first taste where the bitter Bastard hops poked through and that signature flavor emerged.  The Bourbon qualities were still present with the vanilla and coconut but adding a nuanced profile to the Arrogant Bastard rather than overwhelming it. There was an almost fruity floral quality lingering on my palate between sips that I attribute to the hops fighting through the barrel-aging.  In the end the Barrel-aging took that Bastard and gave it even more palate pummeling power.  Stone showed nice restraint as well as I could see more Bourbon may have been too much. I hear this is coming to six packs of 12 oz bottles this year so be sure to grab some if you missed on the Bastard Box.  These Bastards get me every time!

Stone Bourbon Barrel-Aged Arrogant Bastard

Beer Bums Meeting – December 2014 – Beer Bums Christmas Spectacular

Our annual Christmas party is always a great time and this year was no exception.  There are always great beers, fantastic food, and an even better time.  The lineup of beers was as exceptional as ever and we never miss an opportunity to bring out the big boys.  It’s difficult to single out a beer as they were all great.  The Cockeye Cooper, 2013 Stone IRS and Samuel Adams were all standouts for me, but again they were all great.

Southern Star Walloon

Prairie Artisan Ales Birra

Uinta Cockeyed Cooper

Odell Brewing 180 Shilling Ale

Dogfish Head 75 Minute IPA

Stone Imperial Russian Stout

Samuel Adams Thirteenth Hour Stout

Karbach Yule Shoot Your Eye Out

Great Divide Oak Aged Yeti

Twisted X Senor Viejo

Next Month, January – Best of 2014