Warpath11

Yeah I thought it was great for that purpose as well a great session beer for those hot summer days/evenings. I know its a lager but I'd love to see the malt bill/yeast strain used since there is a bit of wheat (hefeweisen-like) finish. Overall I thought it was pretty tasty and my wife enjoyed it as well. ---------- Post added August-17th-2012 at 10:46 AM ---------- Last night I had a SixPoint Righteous Ale (Rye) Lightly roasted malt, rye, bread, caramel and light citrus hops all come together nicely on the nose. While some of my favorite rye-based beers tend to focus on the hops Sixpoint opted to go for a more balanced approach and the malts steal the show. It’s a deceptively easy drinking beer with a full and layered flavor profile. This might be one of the few rye beers that try to mesh the rye with malts rather than hops. I thought Sixpoint did a good job in that regard. So if you are looking at a different approach to handling rye malt this one is worth a try.

I'm still stuck in the summer mode as well those Octoberfests/Pumpkin ales don't look too appealing just yet... Ive been working on a 6-pack of Arcadia Ales Sky High Rye: Good IPA with that peppery rye kick on the finish. Also for those really hot days when floating around the pool is a must I've been enjoying this oldie but a goodie

Found this in a store near me so I had to get it since its hard to find San Diego stuff on the east coast: Ballast Point Big Eye IPA Hazy amber in color with a good amount of carbonation adding to a big mouthfeel. Columbus and Centennial hops are ever present adding a slight citrusy (grapefruit) nose/taste. Strong bitterness from those hops but a decent malt bill as well since they play nicely with the hops. Overall a great IPA true to the West Coast style (maybe not as hoppy as some but still very good).

I had a post about this earlier in the thread and while I think it is kind of neat, in terms of how it is made, I was not that big of a fan. I think it actually would be more appropriate in the fall since it is so complex (almost too complex, IMO). I like my beers simple but flavorful with flavor that are easy to identify and speak on (leave the complexity to whiskey ). Overall I thought it was pretty good just not as great as I expected it to be.

When you cellar your beers at what temps do you try to maintain them at? Do you sample at cellar temps (whatever they might be) or do you chill the beer a bit before sampling?

Unless my taste buds are failing me I would say there is some Simcoe and Chinook hops in that Hoptimum. Im sure SP is adding some of their own proprietary variety in there but I would bet there is quite a bit of Simcoe in that beer. I use Simcoe in many of my homebrews so I know I can pick it out of beers that have it.

Not sure where to go with this but saying that Schweinsteiger is overrated is silly. Sure this year he was slowed down by a nagging injury but WHEN he is in form he is one of the best box-to-box midfielders in the world. The question now is his health and fitness. Again if he is in full form he will likely be one of the best midfielders in the tourney, IMO. Not sure why Klose has to offer anything in defense when he is an out and out striker. I think he does a good job of applying pressure when the Germans loose possession. Regardless, Klose will be coming off the bench when a goal/spark is needed. The number 1 striker will clearly be Mario Gomez. Also, I've been sensing a little Hellas bias in your posts but saying that papadopulous is the best defender in the bundesliga is a bit shortsighted to say the least. While he is a good young player and certainly on his way to becoming a very good defender, he is not quite the best in the bundesliga at the moment.

As someone else mentioned I like Russia as a darkhorse as well (though they made it to the semis of Euro 2008). Of the perennial favorites I like Germany to finally break through, though their defense (or lack-there-of) kind of scares me.

The level of class between the US and Brazil is just light years apart. Sorry to say it but technically Brazil is way way ahead of the US at this time (obviously most other countries as well). Considering this was Brazil's Olympic squad (most players are U-23) the US came out of this game pretty good. The level of class was most evident in the mid-field where Brazil had a huge advantage (save for Bradley who played a pretty good game). Not sure how the US would have fared against Brazil's A-team where the difference in mid-field would have been even more magnified.

Goose Island IPA: Hard to get the well received Goose Island around my part so when my local store got a case of this stuff I had to get a 6er to try. It is a very good IPA more to the English style rather than the American (hop bombs). The hops are good but subtle if I had to guess this beer is somewhere around 50-60 IBUs with the classic English hops doing the bittering and the in your face American hops adding to the flavor (Id guess Cenetennial and/or Cascade perhaps). There is enough pale malt to make this easy drinking ale for the summer months. Overall not a bad beer but I had higher hopes for this one.

I was enjoying some of my own homebrew this weekend...this is the house IPA with a bit of a tweak (Mothers IPA). It is dry-hopped, for a week, with an ounce of Centennial and a half ounce of US Brewers Gold (both with alpha acids over 9%). The nose on this one is spectacular with alot of floral/citrus notes. It is also a bit darker since I added some English dark crystal and pale chocolate malts to the bill but the added malts really blend well with the hops. I used Palisade for the bittering additions and finished with Columbus. Overall I really like how this one turned out, next time I may add some more Columbus at flame out for some more hop kick.

Ok so I was bemoaning the loss of Sierra Nevada Glissade this spring but man I tried their spring release this year, Ruthless Rye IPA and I gotta say its fantastic: The rye malt adds a bit of spice and then the hops add that citrusy flavor pretty complex and a great beer to have in the Spring. The hops are smooth and pleasing really mesh well together with the rye and malts. A must try.

Not that similar the hops are the real show in the Deviant Dale's. I think there is a bit more balance in Dale's Pale Ale since I dont think its as aggressively dry hopped as DD. Also the hop variety in the DD is slightly different in that it uses more aromatic hops (grapefruit/apricot/pine notes) but the dry hopping does lend some bitterness to the finish. Give it a shot!

Had these guys over the holiday weekend: Deviant Dales Indian Pale Ale (Oskar Blues) Another IPA for the hop lovers little more in-yourface hops but nice grapefruit/apricot notes with an impressive malt bill that kicks in some sweetness. Might be a touch too high on the hops (dont remember the IBUs but way more than regular Dales Pale Ale), IMO but still a very good brew. Dogfish Head Burton Baton Imperial India Pale Ale (really hard to find) Google to look up how its made the beer itself is very good though almost too complex with the aging. Ucommon Brewers Bacon Brown Ale: Kind of gimmicky but actually ended up being pretty decent. The bacon adds a bit of smoke flavor not so much a whallop of bacon which, IMO, is pretty good. Id recommend to try it but not the best.

Agreed those fonts have got to go...hopefully they did not force that on all teams

Heady Topper from The Alchemist (Vermont brewery) This double-IPA is an excellent beer for any hop-head, if you can get your hands on this I'd recommend it. Aroma is amazing, floral with strong citrus fruits (lots of grapefruit). Does have a nice malt backbone to balance out the 120 IBUs.

Im not a big fan of changing much of anything but I will say IF they choose to do it this is the time. New franchise QB and a new look it would do wonders on the marketing front, and we all know how much Danny likes his marketing.

Good choice one of my faves...Anyone tried the Sam Adams Whitewater IPA? Some apricot in there but done well (unlike Magic Hat #9). Not sure I could have too many but a decent spring beer. Also Otter Creek Spring Bock is really good this year for the spring season (not quite as good as Sierra Nevada Glissade) but in the same vein. Speaking of Glissade Im going to miss it this spring wish they did not do away with it for this year.

Horrible beer IMO. Too much artificial flavors for my liking much like many of the other Leinies.

I never get how they get beers over 20% alcohol (unless they distill the beer after fermentation, but that would make the product liquor)...I wonder what yeast they use for fermentation because as soon as a beer reaches ~20% most of the standard brewing yeast will die. They must have strains that can tolerate high alcohol that are not available to us homebrewers.

For me, in no particular order (pends on the season, I suppose) Stout (Winter) Porter (Fall/Winter) Glissade (Spring) '11 Summerfest and PA (Summer) Celebration (appropirate all the time

I had one last night and man is it hoppy...not for the feint of heart coming in at a whopping 64 IBUs it is a hop monster but balanced out pretty well with an OG of 1.076 (thats alot of sugar from a huge malt bill).

Spent the weekend in the pool and the beers of choice were: 1. Oskar Blues Mammas Little Yella Pils 2. Sierra Nevada Summerfest 2011 Very similar with the Summerfest being a bit more hoppy and the Mammas a bit more malty. Outstanding summer session beers IMO. Cant beat floating aroudn in a pool with one of those beers.

First off good move on sending your man some brew. As far as the beer goes there are alot of choices but to help we need a bit more of a narrowed focus. I presonally like dark brews myself but on a hot summer day some of those big dark brews go down like syrup. I would suggest getting him a mix pack with several IPAs (not huge ones), lagers/pilsners, and even a wheat beer. There are many too choose from, you can start by looking at this thread and some of the reviews people have done on many of the beers your boyfriend may enjoy.

I love their stuff it is way hard to find here on the East coast but whenever I visit my brother (in Portland, Ore) I drink my weight in Black Butte Porter. That is by far and away my favorite porter.