Redback "Original Wheat"

This beer gets its name from the infamous and deadly redback spider in Australia. These are little creatures that are much smaller than daddy long legs and they love to hide in little crevasses. Most people get bit without even knowing it because the spider was hiding under the couch or in their shoes. They start getting unbelievably sick and don't know why until after a trip to the hospital. Why they named such a delight after such a poisonous thing I don't know but it's a cool name.

After some research I still can't exactly pinpoint where the brewery is or how it started but evidence seems to point towards WA. I'll also assume this is true because people from WA take credit for it but there clearly is some rooting in Victoria and in the Melbourne region. It seems to mostly be with the Matilda Bay brewing company having a big standing out there. I looked at their beer list and actually some of the best Aussie beers I've noticed appear to be coming from this brewery. God stuff man.

Anywhom, Redback is delicious. I had a nice pint of it the other day for an impromptu afternoon beer cause I was feeling good. It's described as Australia's original wheat beer brewed from malted wheat and malted barley and a blend of saaz and ringwood hops (which I am very unfamiliar with).

This beer is meant to be refreshing on a hot day and let me tell you, it is refreshing on a cool autumn day as well. It has a rich creamy mouth to it. It has a lot of spice to it as well but the spice is balanced well with some woody undertones. There's definitely some bitterness on the finish but it compliments everything well. This is a relaxing, flavorful and refreshing beer for sure. But I will say, at the end when the beer became a little warmer, it was not nearly as refreshing or flavorful.

Beermigos Rating: In-Laws/ Girlfriend or Boyfriend - This beer is an impressive beer that will suit most tastes. The well balanced aspect of it with all the different flavors that aren't overwhelming shows sophistication and the unique international aspect of it shows worldliness which is a big bonus with Mrs' parents.

Brass Monkey Stout

Well I've been in Australia for over 2 months now so I figure an Australian brew should be reviewed. I actually had a couple of notes on some beers that I had but somehow...I lost them. But not Brass Monkey Stout however. First let me say, Australian beer generally sucks a hairy nutsack. They don't like to have any beer over 5.0% because they have too many problems with the drunk public. I've only found 2 Aussie beers that were over 5.0% and this was one of them. They also just aren't flavorful like the beers that we usually review. Now this can be attributed to many factors. One people are going to buy them no matter what. A typical pint at a bar out here is $10 and everyone goes out and buys it, even backpackers. Two people want something cold and refreshing on a hot ass day not heavy and weighing them down. Three, like I mentioned before apparently they have a real problem with binge drinking and alcohol related problems here. Four is that I may just be accustomed to the typical west coast, particularly Northwest microbrews and their styles and may not be very open minded to the Aussie styles but I still think they're crap.

Anywhom, this is about Brass Monkey Stout. This is actually one of the better beers out here and one of the only two I've been able to find that's more than 5%. It's 6% ABV which is more than any other by a long shot. And it's the same price as all the watered down ones. It's sold solely at a bar called Brass Monkey in Northbridge, Perth, WA. It's their only homegrown microbrew. Straight up, this is a good stout.

You get roasted nuts, chocolate and coffee on the nose and then in the taste as well. It's got a very flavorful and smooth but lasting finish. It's the same Guiness style that needs time to accumulate foam head properly but it's even darker than that. Even though it's a Stout, my goodness it's refreshing. When I first arrived in Perth and had time to kill I stumbled onto this place and 2 of these. I felt pretty welcome after this for sure. It's interesting to have such a dark and rich beer that is refreshing at the same time. I can only assume that this was the idea with the brewers when they wanted to make a stout for WA people.

Honestly I would just put this at a good stout. It's interesting how refreshing it is rather than heavy but I don' think this would even pass in many bars in Oregon compared to the flavorful stouts there. I've had this again a couple of times and it doesn't have much re-drink value. I'm not even counting on beer to be good here. If I want some alcohol that tastes good I go for the wine because that's the best bet here. Now that's not to say there are absolutely no good brewers out here. Check out Burleigh Heads Brewing in Queensland. They've got good stuff. But the fact is the beer culture and appreciation is just not as complex as it is back in the States.

Beermigos Rating: Onesy Brew. Look it's good and all but it's not something to make a habit out of. It's enjoyable but nothing special.

Samuel Adam's Thirteenth Hour Stout

Good day and good evening wherever you are. Doug the Thug is back. I finally am posting after losing my password so I'll be posting with a new name...D dub. I'll also be posting on another blog as well regarding my upcoming travels. But let's get to the task at hand here, this 100 cask barrel brand Sam Adam's ale which they describe as a...Belgian Strong Dark Ale!?!?!? Sounds bewitching. First I think it's worth noting, for as commercialized as Sam Adam's has become they were very big on developing the American craft brew "movement". I bought this when I was at their brewery right outside of Boston in Jamaica Bay, MA. It was a $2 suggested donation but tons of beer and the money all went to a charity for underprivileged youth in the Boston area. I'm always down with that. So I don't care what people say about them, they're a good company and they make some damn good brews. I wish I could say that about this one but I can't unfortunately.

They tricked me at several points here. 1. This is part of a 100 cask barrel brand that basically you can only get at the brewery or at a few select Jamaica Bay liquor shops. 2. 9.0% ABV 3. Seems like a worthwhile try because it is actually a combination of a rich dark stout and a well balanced and aged Belgian ale. 4. $10 for a 22oz. bottle with a cork. (I know but considering how much some nice 22oz. bottles go for sometimes in Chicago that's a deal)

Here's where I would say they went wrong. An aged Belgian Ale and a rich heavy stout don't mix well, or at least they couldn't find a way to do it. As far as having flavor they didn't miss that. There are some coffee, milk chocolate and dare I say caramel notes but they're not very potent. What's most potent are the spices and dark fruit flavors which are almost citrusy. It has the maltiness of a stout definitely but then it was also aged in oak barrels so there is a very noticeable oak taste. The mouth feel of it is almost watery which is not what you would expect from such a flavorful beer at all and I was supremely unimpressed with that. And you definitely feel the 9.0% overwhelmingly on the finish. I think the main problem is your expecting a rich stout (which I was on a rainy Chicago night on my deck) and you don't get that. It's not exactly an ale either because there are too many stout notes. Plus the watery mouth feel was a big downer. That's what pilsner's and Olympia are for.

Rating: I hate to do it...but I have to. Debating the Meaning of Life with Your Fellow Beermigos Brew. I think I'm pretty clear that I am not a fan of this beer. However, this is a complex one. This is one that promotes a solid discussion with your beermigos. It may have a watery mouth taste but it's no skunk beer. Like it or hate it, you're gonna drink it. It's not horrible, it's 9.0% and you just spent 10 bucks on it. It's going down the gullet. The main thing I would say that makes this beer get this rating is the discussion. You are gonna be talking about all the idiosyncratic details of the weird little tastes you get and trying to figure it out. This will inevitably lead to deep discussions about beer, which leads to deep discussions about life.

Ninkasi Renewale Porter

Now that was a defining day. My steadfast flagship of Oregon beer, the brewery I have praised with the greatest praise all my legal drinking years as the finest, most consistently satisfying and rejuvenating, not to mention intoxicatingly addictive this side of Mars, did, indeed, disappoint.

I do not use the term "disappointment" lightly. Especially because, as a promotional deal, the six-pack was significantly discounted, making it the cheapest six-pack in its weight class. I never thought, especially with a label that said Ninkasi, that they were cheaper because they were of lesser quality. It was an obviously amateur mistake that I take full credit for: always beware the outward appearance of a deal (read: Yoav): take it with a grain of barley. That being said, I still drank four of the six, having pawned off the others in the name of objective scientific research. And its not a bad beer...for a Porter.

I should have known.

See, the Stout, a style of beer made for rich complexity and body can withstand the sheer quantity of hops the Ninkasi brewers attack with. A Porter, although dark in color, lacks the depth of character that a Stout can provide. While the Ninkasi Imperial Stout, for example, boasts an impressive 9.2% ABV and a healthy dose of hops (and on whose reputation I approached the Porter), the Renewale's relative translucency made it crumple under the intensity of production. It tasted like a half-hearted attempt at a NorthWest Black IPA and whimpered in with a 5.4% ABV. It was a sad day indeed.

I realize that my standard are high, spoiled as I am, and I realize that perhaps my demands of Ninkasi were unattainable. Their production and expansion have been growing steadily and no doubt creating pressure to diversify and release new special brews, but when you work under pressure one of two things can happen: you can make a mistake (case in point) or you can start the Revo-Fucking-Lution (see every other example of Ninkasi).

Status: Onesy Brew. You really only want to drink one of these, just to get the curious itch out of your system.

Boneyard IRA

Recently, perhaps I've spent a bit too much effort on my palate of vinafera--this being a direct result of outrageous quanties (read:free) of fermented grape juice. Despite this, I've struggled against the grain (pun intended) and have made the extra effort for fellow beermigos. Availability and consistency may be in flux, but my preferences remain the same; as we all know, in beer, wine and women, my tastebuds favor reds.

And the Boneyard is a whippersnapper! I mistook it at first glance--and indeed glanced no further--for I believed it to be a Boneyard IPA, which in it's own right it a magnificent brew, but when informed otherwise, that the on-tap offering was the India Red Ale instead, I could not help but congratulate my good fortune.

As with most Red Ales, Boneyard's was sufficiently well-hopped and malted with complexity. The unique part was the bitterness, more like a dried-out old elk skull than the heavy floral heartiness of the West Cascade beers. And that sere, unforgiving dryness on that finish, that's the rodeo. Definitely from the other side of the mountains.

Status: Burger and Brew: Alongside a Hellion Jalepeno Burger from Cornucopia, the compliment of food helped keep me calm despite the natural nationalism inspired by the IRA.