What's new

What you sippin on?

Okay, now I'm just flat out confused. After my positive experience with the customer service at Elysian Brewing I decided I'd pick up another bottle of Superfuzz and give it another shot. Plus I haven't been to the new LQ on 6200S 5600W, so I headed over there.

I find the Superfuzz and pick up a bottle, there is a "fuzz" at the bottom of the bottle. I pick up another one, same. I looked at more than a dozen, all had the same amount of fuzz.

So all I did was ask the question if that was normal (aka intentional). They never said it was. They are sending me free "murch" to make up for my experience.

WTF? This is a feature of this beer. It now makes perfect sense in relation to the name. I suppose the best way to enjoy is to rouse the "fuzz," pour into a glass and drink promptly before the fuzz falls back out of suspension.

I'll take pictures tonight and report back.
 
Okay, another weekend, another assortment of beers from the LQ.

DSC_0226.jpg


also, this is the best pic I could take of the stuff in Superfuzz

DSC_0230.jpg
 
First up Perrin Brewing Company's "Black"

5.8%abv

beer_361413.jpg


The can says: "A light bodied, crisp flavorful ale with hints of semi-sweet chocolate and soft nuances of fresh coffee. This beer is counterintuitive in the way that it pours dark as night but tastes like a lighter beer encompassing a range of full flavors."

So as far as their description, they pretty much nail it. If you drank this beer with a blindfold on you'd not be likely to say that it was a dark beer. I really like what this beer is doing and that it's saying what it's doing right on the can. I have had people say "I don't like dark beers." It's one of my biggest beer related pet peeves. "Dark" is not a flavor in beer. All dark beers DO NOT share a common taste, at all.

Anyway, this is a pretty delicious beer. Light, somewhat sweet, rich flavors, exceptionally clean tasting.

I highly recommend giving it a try.
 
Ninkasi "Maiden the Shade" Summer IPA

6.8%abv

image_thumb%25255B2%25255D.png


This is a seasonal release from Ninkasi Brewing. I really like this brewery, they have an awesome lineup of very well made IPAs. Others I've tried and really liked are "Tricerahops" and "Total Domination." Ninkasi is the Sumerian Goddess of beer.

So anyway, the aroma is very piney indicating the use of late addition American hops such as Simcoe, Warrior or Chinook (it could be a dozen other hops, but those are common ones). A little past the aroma and the beer actually tastes a little watery although does have a firm bitterness to it. As light as the color is and the absence of malt, caramel, or toasted flavors I'd bet this is either a SMaSH (Single malt and single hop) beer or pretty close. Very light and clean.

As a summer IPA they really did a good job in my opinion. They laid down a very basic malt backbone to let the hops stand out and didn't go overboard with the bitterness. I'm not the biggest fan of piney hops, generally. I also prefer malty beers, even in IPAs (a bit of a contradiction) so I can't say this is a beer I'd gravitate towards. But I think they made the beer they wanted to make and did it well.
 
Last edited:
Ninkasi "Maiden the Shade" Summer IPA

6.8%abv

image_thumb%25255B2%25255D.png


This is a season release from Ninkasi Brewing. I really like this brewery, they have an awesome lineup of very well made IPAs. Others I've tried and really liked are "Tricerahops" and "Total Domination." Ninkasi is the Sumerian Goddess of beer.

So anyway, the aroma is very piney indicating the use of late addition American hops such as Simcoe, Warrior or Chinook (it could be a dozen other hops, but those are common ones). A little past the aroma and the beer actually tastes a little watery although does have a firm bitterness to it. As light as the color is and the absence of malt, caramel, or toasted flavors I'd bet this is either a SMaSH (Single malt and single hop) beer or pretty close. Very light and clean.

As a summer IPA they really did a good job in my opinion. They laid down a very basic malt backbone to let the hops stand out and didn't go overboard with the bitterness. I'm not the biggest fan of piney hops, generally. I also prefer malty beers, even in IPAs (a bit of a contradiction) so I can't say this is a beer I'd gravitate towards. But I think they made the beer they wanted to make and did it well.

So after writing this I looked it up. Ninkasi actually lists the malts and hops used for their beers. Big plus to them for doing that for us beer nerds.

So it is NOT a SMaSH. They used 2-row, flaked barley and vienna malts. I'm surprised by the vienna most of all, I'd guess they don't use much. But then they list 8 different hops! Summit, Centennial, Simcoe, Columbus, Crystal, Palisade, Amarillo and Magnum. I'm surprised I don't get more citrus and or soft earthiness, but maybe pine just overpowers those other flavors a bit, and/or they use significantly more of the pine hops than the citrus ones.
 
12 Miller Lites (maybe more?), a half handle of Captain. One shot of something. Don't even remember what. All yesterday.

Never drinking again.
Ever.
 
Cigar City "Jai Alai" IPA

7.5%abv

Contemporary-Resort-Outer-Rim-Lounge-Cigar-City-Jai-Alai-IPA-beer-drinks-monorail-crawl-1.jpg


The pics in these last three reviews have not been ones I've taken. Just full disclosure.

Okay, another story on the can: "Jai Alai, the 'merry game,' is a game native to the Basque region of Spain. Tampa was once home to this high speed game, but sadly all that remains here is this Pale Ale that we brewed in tribute to the merry game. Pair Jai Alai with Empanadas, Deviled Crabs, and other spicy dishes."

So they don't talk about flavors at all...

I bought this beer because of the can art. Was looking for a little filler and this one caught my attention.

Very surprising! A nice malty, kind of sweet, IPA. Floral hops. Less bitter than any of the last 10 IPAs I've had, but still firmly bitter. I think it might be as much about the variety as amount used. I would describe this as a somewhat fruity IPA vs the citrus stuff that is prominent right now.

I enjoyed it.
 
2-Row "Accelerator" IPA

7%

Accelerator.jpg


The beer has a bit of syrupiness that I would normally associate with a Double IPA. At 7% I'd say it is solidly in IPA territory. It is very drinkable for an IPA. No harsh edges on this one. The aroma is more sweet than hoppy. I'd also say this one has more of a fruity and floral hop profile. Absolutely worth a try!

This is a brewery started by a local home brewer who was(is) active in the local home brewing community.
 
Superfuzz

DSC_0234.jpg


This is how this beer is supposed to look. All I did was ask them the question of if this is how it's supposed to look or not and I got the impression from them that it WAS NOT supposed to look this way. They are sending me like a free T-Shirt and some other stuff to make it up to me that I got a perfectly good beer. Weird.

Anyway, now that I'm drinking it without wondering if I got a messed up one, it's really good! A nice easy drinking pale ale. I'm gonna guess it's Cascade hops and maybe some Northern Brewer or Magnum along with some other stuff. I like the color a lot, it's what I go for on my YES. I think of it as sort of an orange marmalade color.
 
I did pretty good guessing the hops, they use Cascade and Northern Brewer as their bittering hops and finish with Citra and Amarillo. Those are all hops I use regularly.
 
Back
Top