The Empty Glass

Well, this is the end of The Beer Year. I have drunk 366 beers in 366 days (remember it was a leap year), and then reviewed them for all to see. My glass is now empty. I have to be honest, at this point I feel no different. I don't feel that I accomplished anything spectacular. However, in a week or two (after I give my liver a break) I will be sitting at a bar, and there will be a beer on tap that I had months ago and haven't been able to have since. And I will order that beer and enjoy it with having to go home and review it. While I am enjoying that beer I am sure that I will reflect upon this moment and be able to feel pride in my accomplishment.

I had a few goals coming into this thing:

1. I wanted to learn as much about beer as I could. I can honestly say that I know a shit-ton more about beer than I did 12 months ago. I have learned how it is brewed and even brewed some myself. I have learned about the numerous classifications of beer as well as the great number of breweries. I have even learned to like more beers than I did before I started.

2. I wanted to be a better writer. I do it for fun as a hobby and I think I suck at it. Actually I still think I do, but I have gotten better at describing things. So that's good...

3. I wanted to see if I could commit myself to something and stick with it. I think that one speaks for itself. 

So, I guess one question some people may have is, "What am I going to do after The Beer Year is over?" A couple of choice answers could be, " Go sober for a year" "Keep going for a second year" "Start a new blog in which I actually do something productive for a year". Well those are all wrong. Well, sort of. I don't know what I am going to. But wish me luck, I'm going to need it. 

I would also like to say a couple of special thanks, because while this whole thing may not have been a big deal, it was really fucking hard to do sometimes. So let me thank all the bars, the friends that went and drank with me, the bartenders that served me, the brewers, the bottlers, the stores who sold me beer, the people who sent me beer or bought me beer, the people who have read my blog, and of course, my wife for letting me do this ridiculous adventure. I truly thank you!

Cheers,

Kyle R. Abrams

Day 366: Pabst Blue Ribbon

Name: Pabst Blue Ribbon

Brewer: Pabst Brewing Co. (Woodridge, IL)

Classification: American Adjunct Lager

Alcohol: 4.74%

Thoughts: If ever there was a Nectar of the Gods this is it. Pabst Select won the Blue Ribbon at the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago for "America's Best Beer" and became Pabst Blue Ribbon. It's like when that man won the Super Award at the Krypton County Fair and became Superman. Since then it has not only remained America's Best Beer, it is the Universe's Best Beer, including Krypton. PBR is my life blood. I shit you not. I drink whenever I can and it brings me joy every freakin' time! It's the Santa Claus' of beer! I know that there are some skeptics out there who may think I am being sarcastic or that it is in fact a crap beer, but I don't joke about PBR (check out the rating below). PBR is more than look, smell or taste. It is more than its iconic label or can. It is the cerebral, surreal feeling I get when I drink it. Some of my greatest memories involve PBR ... among other things. I purposely saved it for the last and final day of The Beer Year because I  honestly love this beer more than any other beer I have had over the past year. I wanted to make sure it stood up to the test before I proclaimed my undying love and admiration for it. Some may see this as rambling, but I see it as my "Ode de la PBR". 

Rating: 100/100

Day 365: Hop Stoopid Ale

Name: Hop Stoopid Ale

Brewer: Lagunitas Brewing Co. (Petaluma, CA)

Classification: Imperial IPA

Alcohol: 8%

Thoughts: With only a couple of beers left on the beer year I wanted to bit an "American Legend" on the stand before I have my grand finale tomorrow. I had a lot of options but when it came to having some bang for your buck I went with Lagunitas' Hop Stoopid Ale. And the reason, I assume, that Stoopid is misspelled is because there are so many fucking hops in this thing that it throws off all of your senses. I honesty cannot remember the last time hops took over my whole spectrum of senses like this beer has. It pours a crisp, clear gold with a white, frothy head resting on top of it. There is a nice, full hop bouquet with mango, pineapple, grapefruit, and pine notes. There is also a very noticeable and solid caramel malt backbone that adds a lot of balance to the aroma. However, I swear my taste buds have been melted off by the Godzilla/King Kong/Mothra sized hop annihilation. I get a big wallop of citrus fruits, and some spicy and floral hops right off the bat. The malt tries to balance everything out with some light caramel and buttery biscuit, but those damn dirty hops just keep holding on to your palate. Despite the huge hop profile the beer not overly bitter, but it does finish rather dry. I happen to think this is a good thing, because you need to wet your whistle right after you take a sip, and what better way then what you already have in your glass. This is terrific stuff! If you are the type of insane maniac that can drink something hoppier than bunnies on Easter, then this is the drink for you. 

Rating: 90/100

Day 364: Lucifer

Name: Lucifer

Brewer: Brouwerij Het Anker (Mechelen, Belgium)

Classification: Belgian Strong Pale Ale

Alcohol: 8%

Thoughts: It's the Final Countdown! Three more beers, three more days and this year long journey comes to a close. But first, 3 special beers. The first of which is Lucifer. Lucifer is a Belgian Strong Pale Ale that is brewed by the same company that brews Golden Carolus beers and spirits. These are some of the best beers in the world and a little out of my price range. However, it is not their creation. They bought the rights to it from Liefmans' decided to make only fruit beers. May I just say that was a stupid decision on Liefmans' part. Lucifer pours a highly carbonated, pale copper color with a thick brimming head. The aroma was of a funky barnyard Belgian yeast and a light grain malt with notes of honey, citrus, toffee, a mild fruitiness and a slight alcohol scent. Taste is very appley, balanced by carbonation and a hint of hops for a clean, dry finish. The spice seems to get right to the edge of being overbearing without going over. It is actually a really interesting feeling to experience. Very balanced for something that on the surface would seem very sweet. Heaven rarely comes in a bottle labeled Lucifer, but in this case it does. The excitement is big as hell because this is a devilishly good beer. Is that enough puns for you?

Rating: 89/100

Day 363: Jaipur IPA

Name: Jaipur IPA

Brewer: Thornbridge Brewery (Bakewell, England)

Classification: English IPA

Alcohol: 5.9%

Thoughts: Not many of the beers over the past year have been recommended by a television show, this is probably the first, but that is exactly what happened with this beer. I love BBC America. Between, The Inbetweeners, Top Gear and Friday Night Dinner it is an amazing channel. However, one program stands out for my purpose. It is James and Oz Drinks to Britain. James May from Top Gear and Oz Clarke , who is a wine expert, travel around the British Isles finding the perfect drink for Britain. During the show they both talked about how great Thornbridge's Jaipur IPA was. So I got myself a bottle of it. It pours a glorious orange/copper/gold with a minimal, highly carbonated head. The aroma is mulled a bit bit, but you can sense melon, and citrus and a genuine balance of malts and hops. When it comes to the great and complex taste there is really only a couple of notes that stand out above the usually IPA. The first is that this is not the usual IPA. Jaipur is exploding with ingenuity.  There is an assload of sweetness at the front, which is followed by a tender hoppy bitterness. It's like sweetness is a nymph being chased by a viking of bitterness down your gullet! In between the nymph and the viking is a profound melon and citrus taste that rests on the tongue liking a sitting Buddha. Since I only have 3 more beers after this I am confident in saying this in the most unique, independent IPA I have ever had. This is a tremendously accomplished and exciting beer. I would have been extremely happy to end this amazing year with Jaipur IPA, but I have a few more to go. Nonetheless, this is a beer to remember. I would dare say that it would be the beer I would have at my final supper. Fucking Incredible!

Rating: 94/100

Day 362: Young's Double Chocolate Stout

Name: Young's Double Chocolate Stout

Brewer: Wells & Young's LTD. (Bedford, England) 

Classification: Sweet Stout

Alcohol: 5.2%

Thoughts: Next to Guinness, Young's Double Chocolate Stout is probably one of the most well known stouts. I could be totally bullshitting you though. It pours an opaque jet black with a cascading, cream-tan head. The lacing this beer leaves is significantly apparent and thick.  This beer has a mild aroma overall but there is a nice amount of complexity to it. I can detect some dark roasted malts, light elements of coffee, lots of milk chocolate, and just a hint of charred wood. The flavor really follows the smell with a really wonderful milk chocolate sweetness upfront There is a nice amount of complexity and the flavor is well balanced. There is a really nice balance between the milk chocolate sweetness and the dark roasted malts. There is a very light bitterness in the finish.  I would recommend this beer to anyone wanting to try a good "stout" beer for a first one.  It was sweet, not overpowering on the ABV %, and could be enjoyed by sipping, or gulping it down. I would happily buy this beer again for a nice after dinner beer, or pair it with a good thick bacon burger, or a steak. 

Rating: 86/100

Day 361: Chimay White

Name: Chimay White

Brewer: Bieres de Chimay (Chimay, Belgium)

Classification: Tripel

Alcohol: 8%

Thoughts: Finally! Chimay is on the blog! I have had the Chimay Blue and Red, but I have yet to have White. So that's what I went for since I couldn't really afford to get all three. If you don't know anything about Chimay let me give you a few facts. The brewery is located in the Scourmont Abbey, a Trappist monastery, and is one of the seven breweries worldwide that produce Trappist Beer and is the biggest in Belgium. This Tripel pours a murky orange/brown with plenty of sediment and a gigantic, bubbly head. The aroma is as Belgian as statues of little kids peeing. It is full of that great spicy Belgian yeast that gives Belgian beers its special something. The clove and pepper are out in full force and the citrus balances out the spice just enough so that it doesn't overwhelm you. The taste is like a rainbow of flavors! The Belgian yeast, spicy cloves and pepper are up front, and is followed by a bready taste of caramel malts. There is a big mix of fruits with notes of lemons, apricot, grapefruit, passion fruit, orange, banana, and pear. There is also some hints of candied sugar and honey. It finishes with a lightly bitter and drying presence of earthy hops. Chimay is worth every penny they charge, and it takes plenty of pennies to pay for these Belgian Bad Mamma Jammas. 

Rating: 91/100

Day 360: Hobgoblin

Name: Hobgolin

Brewer: Wychwood Brewery (Whitney, England)

Classification: Extra Special Bitter

Alcohol: 5.2% 

Thoughts: I haven't featured many Extra Special Bitter beers on the blog because I haven't found many that I like or want to try. The ones that I have had are either too bitter or have a staleness in the flavor. However, I have heard of one ESB that does not have either of these problems. Hobgoblin pours a dark near black carmel with an ever so slight reddish tinge. The head is fat and frothy with a light maple coloring. This is a very bready beer, with nice malty sweetness alongside a fruit bread wafting. This beer is definitely a trickster though, as its name might suggest, with some nice subtleties hidden in the smell. The first impression this beer leaves on you is with a strong, malty backbone, quite similar to the smell. There’s a nice side taste of tingly rich fruits. The after taste is slightly bitter, with a sweet lingering note. As you drink down further a slightly watery taste seems to get to the beer though. Like I said I haven't had many ESBs on the blog, but this is one I would drink over and over. It would be something that if I was in England I would have as my beer of choice. It is that good!

Rating: 88/100

Day 359: Three Philosophers

Name: Three Philosophers

Brewer: Brewery Ommegang (Cooperstown, NY)

Classification: Quadrupel 

Alcohol: 9.8%

Thoughts: I got one week left! Seriously? I am so happy to stop reviewing these beers and just drink them. But before I do that I am gonna get so good beers in. Here I have Ommegang's Three Philosophers. It is one of the most legendary beers in the American Craft Brew world. I here stuff about it all the time and it is always extremely positive. I thought it was about time I tried this big mother humper. It pours a purplish amber color with a full, broad head. It just looks thick and full. The aroma is full, rich and very complex. I got notes of vanilla, cherries, oak, sugar and a bit of yeast. The malts are a bit distant for my taste. Usually a quad has full flavored malts, but this one has muted malts. The taste is pure and solid though, an there is a richness to the malts that is not apparent in the smell. The notes are exactly the same as the aroma with the addition of the malts so I won't make another list of crap for you to sift through. The body is in the medium range and lifted up by the active carbonation. It's super-sweet but balanced a bit by the yeast's phenols. Overall, this is an above-average Quad. A damn fine American attempt at the style, but not comparative to the revered Belgian inspirations.

Rating: 86/100

Day 358: Green Gold

Name: Green Gold

Brewer: Mikkeller (Copenhagen, Denmark)

Classification: American IPA

Alcohol: 7%

Thoughts: Have you heard of Mikkeller? If you haven't then you need to recheck your thinking on beer. Mikkeller was founded in 2006 by home brewers Mikkel Borg Bjergsø and Kristian Klarup Keller with the intention of "challenging the Danes’ taste buds with intense taste adventures." These guys don't have their own brewery. They travel around the world using other people's breweries, such as BrewDog, Three Floyd's, Stone and a number of other prestigious breweries around the world. A year or two ago Keller left the business because Mikkel wanted to get crazy with beer and Keller wanted to stay with the same stuff they had been doing. It was a sad moment in beer, but it has worked out just fine. Here we have their Green Gold! Probably their flagship brew. Despite being called gold, it pours a  cloudy deep copper, almost amber color with an outrageously fluffy tan head. It is a different look for an IPA. The nose was uniquely intense.  A pungent, spicy hop aroma with notes of pine, grapefruit are present as well as dark caramel and bready malts. A lot is happening in the nostril area and the palate gets similar tribute. There are hops all over the tongue and throat. Like the nose suggested, this one is bitter and there is also a leafy hop presence providing a "green" flavor in the beer. After the hops a brief caramel sweetness provides just a little bit of balance. The finish is big and bold and a load to handle. This was my first experience with Mikkeller and it is only the fringe of what they have already accomplished. I cannot wait to try even more of their brew. 

Rating: 87/100

Day 357: Heavy Seas Brewery Tour

I was up in Baltimore this weekend for a wedding and had some free time Saturday morning. My first thought was Brewery Tour. And since we were in Baltimore it seemed that Heavy Seas was the best choice. I invited along my brother-in-law and his girlfriend. My wife was part of the wedding party and was unavailable to go. The three of us drove down to the Southern part of Baltimore at 10:30 for the 11:00 tour. The tour is free, but you can pay $5 for a the glass you see above and 5 samples. They had 7 different beers on tap, but I have had most of them, so I started with something I was dying to try. They had the oak-casked version of Dubbel Cannon. It was simply amazing. Next I tried their Gold Ale, which was very nice. At this time they called for the tour to begin so I filled my glass with Peg Leg, their sweet stout. Man was it good! As you know I don't drink stouts often, but this one was so drinkable and smooth I could have had a six-pack. I took this on the tour with me which lasted about a half hour and was really interesting to see how a bigger craft brewery operates.

Most brewery tours I have been on have 3-6 Fermenting Vessels. Heavy Seas has 17! Freaking 17! They also showed us all the casks they have fermenting which was another 30-40 in number. This place was what I would love to eventually have. It would take a lot and business is not my strong suit, but it would incredible to achieve one day. We had a great time and I will put up more pictures once I get them from my future sister-in-law. I say this because she caught the bouquet later that night. Good luck guys! 

Day 356: Levitation Ale

Name: Levitation Ale

Brewer: Stone Brewing Co. (Escondido, CA)

Classification: Amber Ale 

Alcohol: 4.4%

Thoughts: I know, I know! Another Stone Brewing Co. Brew? Well, they make so many great beers. I envy their talent for brewing. And one quick note about Levitation Ale. While it says Amber Ale in the Classification section, I truly feel that this is an English IPA. It looks like one, it tastes like one and I honestly think it is one. Pours an amber to walnut colored body with reddish hues beneath the dense, tan head that slowly disappears to leave a thick, tacky lacing. Earthy hop aromas float from the glass, consisting of wood, pine, and citrus with secondary aromas of caramel malt. The flavor is a bit sweeter, focusing more on the caramel malt and citrus hops with the pine and woodnotes taking a back seat. It is an excellent beer. After 356 days I may have run out of things to say about beer. But this is simply excellent. 

Rating: 87/100

Day 355: Dirty Bastard

Name: Dirty Bastard

Brewer: Founder's Brewing Co. (Grand Rapids, MI)

Classification: Scotch Ale

Alcohol: 8.5%

Thoughts: Founders is out and out one of the best breweries in the world and while they have some amazing beers I would love to feature on the blog I can't get my hands on them. But I could get my hands on Dirty Bastard. I've had it before, but on draft, and knew what to expect. It didn't disappoint. It pours like a wine - thick, fluid and creamy. It is a nice cloudy mahogany color with a small, but dense tan head. If you have ever had a glass of Macallan 12 then you know how smooth and sweet and earthy that scotch smells. Well this is a less potent version of that. The taste started out on the bready side with some caramel added in. The hop flavors quickly come to the tongue and mellow some of the sweetness. First a more citrus hop flavor comes on the scene, shortly followed by the pine and more earthy hop flavors. In the end a somewhat piney and spicy hop flavor mixed with a smooth bread flavor are left to linger on the tongue. If you didn't know scotch starts off as beer, it is then distilled and turned into scotch. Well if Dirty Bastard was distilled it would be one of the finest scotches in the world, no doubt. 

Rating: 88/100

Day 354: Presidente

Name: Presidente

Brewer: Cerveceria Nacional Dominicana (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic)

Classification: American Adjunct Lager

Alcohol: 5%

Thoughts: As The Beer Year is coming to a close I wanted to get some beers that either have important meaning to me or ones I just really want to try. Presidente is of the former. I went on a mission trip to the Dominican Republic when I was in college. I was in a tiny village in the mountains south of Puerto Plata building walls and what not during the day, and drinking this beer and playing dominoes at night. It was amazing to say the least. Up until that point in my life I was a bit of a fuck up, but it was during the consumption of this beer on that trip, looking out over a valley at sundown that I wanted to get my shit together. So in all honestly this beer isn't a great beer, probably mediocre at best. But sometimes it is the experience you have while drinking the beer that makes the memories, not the taste or the smell of the look of it. I'm sure every real beer drinker has a beer that they use to drink before they knew what they know now that gives them those feelings as I do with this one. What's yours?

Rating: 71/100

Day 353: Hoptimum

Name: Hoptimum

Brewer: Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. (Chico, CA)

Classification: Imperial IPA

Alcohol: 10.4%

Thoughts: This is a break away from Sierra Nevada's usual foray into beer. For example, the usual Sierra Nevada landscape is absent from the bottle and is replaced by a label that is specific to the beer. The other thing that this beer does is to use whole cone hops instead of the traditional dried hops. This makes the hops smell and taste more earthy than citrusy. And that is exactly what this beer is, an extremely hoppy, piney, earth-moving Imperial IPA. Instead of just giving you the description like I normally do you can look at the picture above to see how it looks, buy one to see how it smells and drink one to see how it tastes. I know, kind of a dickish thing to say on my part. But I really just want to make an analogy or two to tell how freaking pungent Hoptimum is. If IPAs were Imperial powerhouses  a regular IPA would be as powerful as Portugal and Hoptimum would be as powerful as Britain. They are both immensely grand, but Hoptimum has the Opium Trade on lock-down. 

Rating: 90/100

Day 352: Porkslap Pale Ale

Name: Porkslap Pale Ale

Brewer: Butternuts Beer & Ale (Garrattsville, NY)

Classification: American Pale Ale

Alcohol: 4.3%

Thoughts: I know this is the thoughts section so I am going to give you some thoughts. I am just too damn tired of writing these freaking reviews night in and night out. I am! There, I said it! However, I need to soldier on through these next two weeks and complete this Bad Mamma Jamma. I drank this Porkslap out of the can, so I am unsure of the pour or head or lacing qualities it may provide. But I'm sure they are adequate. The smell was all malts. Light, crisp malts, but the hops were completely non-existent from the aroma. The first couple of sips were a bit metallic so I let it sit for a couple of minutes hoping it would warm up a bit and that taste would go away. It did. See there's one thing I learned over the year. The flavor is about the same as the aroma. It's on the sweet side with fairly feeble hop flavors. Heavy on the bread with some toasted malt notes and some ginger ones as well. Then a few citrus notes lead into a very faint hop bitterness. This is a good beer to drink when you are looking for something cheap, but interesting. It isn't great, but it gets the job done. 

Rating: 78/100

Day 351: Dad's Little Helper

Name: Dad's Little Helper

Brewer: Rogue Ales (Newport, OR)

Classification: American Black Ale

Alcohol: 7%

Thoughts: Throughout this year Tyler's has been of great importance to my quest. They have been there with a great selection of beers, good food and at times good suggestions. This was another one. I was looking for something a little different and this is what the bartender suggested. It pours a very dark brown, that borders on black color, and shows the brown when held up to light. It has a huge creamy 2-finger tan head that faded slowly, leaving a layer of lacing on top. It smells of chocolate malt, roasted grains, caramel, cocoa powder, floral hops, herbs and piney hops/ I know thats a lot, but it really is in there. The taste has a nice hop bite mixed with some cocoa and chocolate malty notes. Added sugars balance this out a little, but this is about the only major flaw I could find. There's a big piney hop bite at the finish. The malts give this a porter-like flavor actually thats hopped up. I haven't had a lot of Black Ales or Black IPAs but this is a must have if you like this style. A tremendously good brew from Rogue here. 

Rating: 84/100

Day 350: Farmer's Tan

Name: Farmer's Tan

Brewer: Southern Tier Brewing Co. (Lakewood, NY)

Classification: Imperial Pilsner

Alcohol: 9%

Thoughts: If you've been following the blog you know I have had issues with Southern Tier, but I decided to give them a chance hoping the third time would be a charm. And to tell you the honest truth, it was. Actually, it REALLY was! Farmer's Tan is an amazing Imperial Pilsner that pours a delicious gold with a wispy, white head. The smell was bursting with grassy hops and light malts. It is certainly crisp and refreshing. There is a stronger hop presence than I expected. Sweet and fruity, the apple juice from the smell is definitely there. The finish is bitter from the hops. It is like a really good pilsner, just imperialistic. 

Rating: 87/100

Day 349: Freedom American IPA

Name: Freedom American IPA

Brewer: Natty Greene's Brewery (Greensboro, NC)

Classification: American IPA

Alcohol: 6.2%

Thoughts: FFFFFRRRRRREEEEEEEEDDDDDDOOOOOOOOMMMMMM!!!!!!!!
 I can imagine William Wallace screaming this right now as his intestines are being removed. However, this Amurika! Where Patriots don't get treaded upon and the President is a Freedom-Hating Muslim! Maybe Sarah Palin would receive the same fate for her country as Wallace if it meant showing how much she loves Freedom. I'd like to ask her that. Regardless of how much I hate the Tea Party I must not judge this beer for naming itself Freedom. By the way, dumb fucking name. This fairly new brew was drunk from the bottle as there was no glass available at the time, but I could probably make an educated guess as to what it looks like. The smell was moderately hoppy with very little citrus or grassy notes. The malts had more of an impact on the smell than I am use to with an IPA. The taste has a bit of grapefruit and grassy hops, but for the most part it was dry and bitter. And not in a good way. While this is a pretty decent beer I wish I could have it on tap. I think that would cure some of the issues I had with it. 

Rating: 77/100

Day 348: HogWild

Name: HogWild

Brewer: Aviator Brewing Co. (Fuquay-Varina, NC)

Classification: American IPA

Alcohol: 6.7%

Thoughts: Gluttony is defined as the act or practice of eating or drinking to excess. Every once and a while I like to be a glutton. Downtown Durham has a bunch of places to do this, but we in the mood for a special dish we had only heard whispers of. It is called "The Pile" and it is served at Geer St. Garden, which is an awesome restaurant in itself on self. Not to mention, they have a pretty good beer list. "The Pile" is a bunch of french fries, bacon, fried chicken, and jalapenos smothered in melted cheese and served with creamy, melted cheddar cheese and gravy on the side (Picture Below). It is the greatest thing on Earth! I needed a solid beer to get through this behemoth of a dish. So I chose Aviator's HogWild IPA. It pours a amber/copper color with slightly reddish hues. The smell had a very sweet citrus contingent as well as an herbal tea note. The hops were more subdued in the aroma then in the taste. Speaking of which, smooth pale malt flavors kick things off before being joined quickly by herbal and slightly floral hop flavors. Midway through the sip the hops fade a bit, segueing into mild vanilla flavors. The vanilla carries through to a moderately bitter ending.  Overall this is an IPA that's slightly better than middle-of-the-road. Not worth writing home about but certainly worth a shot.

Rating: 83/100

Day 347: Existent

Name: Existent

Brewer: Stillwater Artisanal Ales (Baltimore, MD)

Classification: Saison

Alcohol: 7.4%

Thoughts: Sometimes when I am shopping for beer I get a little tingling in my bollocks and I reach for something really good. I want a challenge because it really does give me a whizzing feeling that I really enjoy. It is something I get when I listen to an artsy album or watch an artsy film. It is an very introspective feeling. I am going to call it the "Artsy Whiz" from now on. Stillwater Artisanal Ales is one of these breweries that give me the Artsy Whiz by just looking at it. I chose Existent, which is labeled on the bottle as an American Farmhouse Ale. Farmhouse Ales are another word for a Saison, but as you can tell by the picture it looks like no Saison you've ever seen. This dark Saison pours a dark brown color that is murky especially when the light catches it. The head is beige, bubbly and thinly dispersed with some decent trails of lace. The initial aroma smells roasted like coffee and chocolate as expected based on the looks of this brew. It carries a very dry and earthy aspect to it. Through the middle are peppery accents from the yeast along with a lemony citrus aspect that is quite interesting. This brew has a rustic feel and taste to it. The flavor is long and fades to mostly chocolate bready malts with some herbal, lightly funky Belgian yeast. A masterful brew! It drinks very complexly but flows lightly over the palate. I will admit it doesn't taste like many other Saisons I have tried, but I am going to give far more dark Saisons a try. The other piece of trivia is the man on the bottle is non other than Fredrich Nietzsche. He once famously said, "...and if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you." Well, this is definitely an abyss worth staring into. 

Rating: 92/100

Day 346: Longboard Island Lager

Name: Longboard Island Lager

Brewer: Kona Brewing Co. (Kailua Kona, HI)

Classification: American Pale Lager

Alcohol: 4.6%

Thoughts: At the restaurant this evening, as we were being seated, we realized that Tyler Hansborough himself was sitting at the table next to us. If you don't know who that is then that's probably a good thing, but he played basketball for UNC and now plays for the Indiana Pacers. He's what I would call an "Uber-Douche". I even started a Facebook group in college called "Hansborough Haters". Do I regret it? A little. But do I agree with the 100s of people that joined? Yes. The feelings I have toward him aren't as bad as when he played for UNC, but nonetheless I had to resist the urge to Gerald Henderson his ass. What does this have to do with beer? Not a damn thing. Why am I asking so many questions to myself and then answering them? I'm a bit clueless too. Anyways, this Kona Longboard Island Lager wasn't half bad. A bit dry, but still good enough for my palate. 

Rating: 79/100

Day 345: HopDevil

Name: HopDevil

Brewer: Victory Brewing Co. (Downingtown, PA)

Classification: American IPA

Alcohol: 6.7%

Thoughts: There is a Devil in all of us. Some more then others. However, there should be a lot of HopDevil in everybody! Because this beer is just damn good. It pours a dark golden amber color with a massive tan head. The smell is dynamic! Big citrus! Big Malts! Big Hops! An extremely enticing, enthralling aroma for any style of beer. I expected an over the top hop-monster of a beer. I mean this bad mother is called HopDevil. So you expect it to be devilishly hoppy. But it wasn't. Usually I would say that would be a bad thing, but not on this occasion. HopDevil is super well balanced. Don't get me wrong the hops are still a bigger presence then the malts, but the taste seems to be evened out enough to not make this overly fruity, overly malty, or overly bitter. This is another BeerAdvocate beer that has been rated 100. I don't quite think it is that good, but the craft in this beer is damn near perfect. 

Rating: 89/100

Day 344: Spring IPA

Name: Spring IPA

Brewer: Fullsteam Brewery (Durham, NC)

Classification: American IPA

Alcohol: 7%

Thoughts: The wife and I went to Fullsteam last night for some beer and board games. I ordered the new Spring IPA and then we sat down to play some Scrabble. It is my game of choice, I think I'm the greatest, despite the wife proving me wrong on multiple occasions. However, on this night ... I  REIGN SUPREME! It was just an awesome evening in an awesome hang out spot and to exclaim my happiness I did what most self respecting human would do these days, I tweeted about it. And I got a response from Sean Lily Wilson, the owner of Fullsteam. Not to sound too cool for school, but this isn't the first time we have had a twitter conversation. Anyways, the point is that he went and read some of my blog posts and read the one I had a week or so ago about Chatham County Paw Paw. He certainly agreed it wasn't Paw Paw, and even said he thought it might have been someone else's beer. But it lead me to believe that the beer I had that night was not Rocket Science IPA, but in fact this very Spring IPA. It poured a fantastic clear amber color with a wispy, ghost-like head that managed to linger around the glass quite nicely. Something I did not realize until Sean pointed it to me is that this IPA is brewed with kumquats. I have eaten a few in my life time, but not enough to tell the taste distinctly or the smell for that matter. However I assume it was in both. The other thing that was in both the aroma and taste was a really fine citrusy hop note. The malts were subtle, but the best part was how balanced everything was. The bitterness was subdued, which worked out well in my opinion. I really like this beer. They have, I believe, 3 IPAs now. Rocket Science, One Hop and this Spring IPA. All are totally different, and all are totally awesome! 

Rating: 87/100

Day 343: Duck-Rabbit Brown Ale

Name: Brown Ale

Brewer: Duck-Rabbit Craft Brewery (Farmville, NC)

Classification: American Brown Ale

Alcohol: 5.6%

Thoughts: Duck-Rabbit claim to be the "Dark Beer Specialists" and so far every beer I have had from them is dark and it is special. I am really hoping that this American Brown Ale is no different. It pours a deep, murky chocolate brown with a thick, bubbly crown of a head. In the picture this looks like a Schwarzbier because of deep the brown is. The aroma is mainly toasted malts and toffee, but their is a real hoppy undertone that you don't usually get with brown ales. Usually a brown ale consists of malts, malts and more malts. The hops continue into the taste as they surprised me with how noticeable they are. To me they were in both the forefront of this beer and the follow through. In between I sensed the traditional heavy, sweet malts and toffee flavors. This beer is just like the other ones that Duck-Rabbit brew. Dark, quality, classic and really tasty. I know Duck-Rabbit is probably limited to the Southeast, maybe not even that far out, but if you have a chance to grab one of their beers I recommend it. In the words of Omar from The Wire, "I surely do."

Rating: 86/100

Day 342: Stiegl Pils

Name: Stiegl Pils

Brewer: Stiefelbrauerei zu Salzberg (Salzberg, Austria)

Classification: German Pilsner

Alcohol: 4.9%

Thoughts: Wow, twist off... for a European beer that's sad! At least there's a somewhat bottle code on it, reading 03121 so not sure if that means drink by march 2012, or something else. I hope not, its freaking June! And green bottle... come on! I'm not expecting much from this with all that jazz! Pours a bright, clear golden-yellow color, topped with just over a finger of foamy pearl-white head. Smell is a bit floral, I can detect malt and yeast, and some floral notes, and a touch of grass. The taste is much sweeter than I expected, almost like apple juice. That's a huge distance from a traditional pilsner. Green apples, honey and some floral notes. It finishes malty, like a honey wheat bread. Overall a rather delectable, very European style of beer. I rather liked it. It has my recommendation. 

Rating: 82/100

Day 341: High Roller IPA

Name: High Roller IPA

Brewer: Big Boss Brewing Co. (Raleigh, NC)

Classification: American IPA

Alcohol: 6.75%

Thoughts: This is probably the last Big Boss brew I will have on The Beer Year. It is the last of the mainstay beers that they produce that hasn't been on the blog. High Roller pours a dark, hazy copper color with a beige cloud-like head. Smells deeply of hops. A fresh, resinous, juicy mix of citrus and pine. In the taste there is a healthy dose of hop oils that coat the tongue. It is a little heavier on the bitter pine notes, but the sweetness balances the bitterness very nicely. The carbonation is well done, not too much and not too little. It seems to work well with the amount of bitterness in the beer. All in all, its a pretty damn good beer. A real classic IPA. 

Rating: 86/100

Day 340: Dark Horse Amber Ale

Name: Amber Ale

Brewer: Dark Horse Brewing Co. (Marshall, MI)

Classification: Amber Ale

Alcohol: 5.5%

Thoughts: This American Amber Ale reminds me more of a Belgian ale. It pours a dark orange tinted amber color with a moderate off-white head. It smells of peach and Belgian yeast. It is not one that I would have recognized as an Amber Ale smell. Taste-wise it keeps me coming back. There is a taste of spicy pepper, clean citrus, and fruity banana. There is a light hoppiness and sweetness to this as well. There is a moderate to fine carbonation that lasts. Overall this is a great beer at a reasonable price. Dark Horse is a new brewery to me but I really would like to try more of theirs. I would really like to try these beers fresh from the brewery if I'm ever in Marshall, Michigan. 

Rating: 82/100