Review: Abita Wrought Iron IPA

Alright, time for a beer review, just me this time, so this isn't our Feature Beer, but Abita Brewing was nice enough to send me a 6-pack of their new IPA to try, so I bring you my thoughts on their latest effort, the Wrought Iron IPA. They claim that the IPA "embodies the resilient, indestructible nature of New Orleans" and I don't know about that, but I do like the name and feel like "wrought iron" is a great reference to the traditional architecture of New Orleans, and the label is nicely done with the details of the lettering.

I've always been a bit of an Abita critic, mostly because I feel like their flagship brews are all getting passed up by the flagship brews from the newer Louisiana breweries. I've also stated many times my dislike for Jockamo, but I also always try to give Abita a fair shake. Their Bourbon Street Stout is one of the better beers brewed in Louisiana, although I wasn't as impressed with the Imperator Black IPA. I thought it needed more hops, but I did think that the Spring IPA and Grapefruit Harvest IPA were steps in the right direction, so hopefully I feel the same about the Wrought Iron IPA.

Wrought Iron comes in at 6.9% abv, and 80 IBU, so of Abita's four main IPAs, this is the strongest and most bitter yet. It's brewed with pale ale malt, and a combination of Apollo, Equinox, and Mosaic hops. Mosaic is a pretty popular hop these days, it's a hybrid of Nugget and Simcoe, and is known for producing a "mosaic" of flavors, including floral, fruity, and earthy notes. Apollo is primarily a bittering hop with notes of grapefruit, and Equinox is another high alpha acid hop known for citrus, floral, and tropical fruit notes.  

The first thing to notice is that the Wrought Iron IPA has the appropriate color going on. It's probably a little darker red than typical, but that doesn't bother me. The head looks great and had lasting retention. The aroma is what you would expect from the hop combination, tropical, pineapple, grapefruit, with a little earthiness / dankness in there as well. 

The first sip isn't quite as pleasant, the hops are all there, but the bitterness is a little harsh at times. This mellows out pretty well throughout the 12 ounces though, until it reaches a very pleasant hop-forward flavor without the awkward bitterness that sometimes comes from an IPA. 

All in all, this definitely is the best IPA produced by Abita. It's not going to rival the best in the country, but it's looking pretty good compared to local competition. Another step forward for Abita.

Feature Beer Friday! - The Alchemist Heady Topper

Alright, time for a real treat, well, for the reviewers at least. The Alchemist is a small brewery in Vermont that specializes in one beer, Heady Topper. They do put out some other releases these days, but for the most part, it's all about the Heady, which has developed a cult-like following and a reputation as one of the best double IPAs in existence. Thanks a bunch to Gabe for bringing a handful back for all of his beer friends!

Heady is only available in the Vermont area, and it used to be only available in short bursts when a batch was ready, but I believe it's more readily available these days, but still limited to Vermont.  The beer checks in at around 8%, with something like 120 IBU. They say to drink from the can, but when sharing with friends, that's just not very hygenic is it?

Reviewers: Eric Ducote (BR Beer Scene), Jay Ducote (Bite And Booze), Brenton Day (The Ale Runner), Chuck Pierce (Me And My Big Mouth), and Buddy Ethridge (Baton Rouge Adventures in Beer).

Serving: Poured from a 16 oz. can.

Appearance: A murky deep gold, very hazy..

Aroma: Hoppy as fuck, lots of grapefruit and Jay picked up some papaya? Tropical fruit hop notes dominate, and it smells insanely fresh.

Taste: Super hoppy, with that grapefruit coming through strong again. Chuck said it was a, "hopsation on the senses" whatever that means! 

Mouthfeel: Perfect, no lingering weird bitterness and extremely easy to drink despite the abv and IBU.

Overall: It lives up to the hype as one of the best DIPAs in the world. If you are ever in the area, grab some, and bring one back for me!

Overall Rating: 93.6
My Rating: 97

Feature Beer Friday! - Goose Island 2013 Bourbon County Coffee Stout

Last week featured the regular Bourbon County Stout in anticipation of today's release of the Goose Island 2014 Bourbon County Stout, so today I'm going to take it up a notch. This is the same basic beer, but with coffee added. With the popularity of the original stout Goose Island took the opportunity to expand the "Bourbon County" portfolio with the Coffee, Barleywine, and Proprietor's versions. They have also done different variations in the past including vanilla, rye, cherry rye, and the rare versions.  

The coffee variant should make it to Baton Rouge, but it will likely be tough to find. Goose Island uses a different local coffee each year to create this brew, and it's usually in the same abv and IBU range as the original version. Which leaves the most important question... does the coffee improve or detract from the regular version? 

Reviewers: Eric Ducote (BR Beer Scene), Brenton Day (The Ale Runner), Chuck Pierce (Me And My Big Mouth), and Buddy Ethridge (Baton Rouge Adventures in Beer).

Serving: Poured from a 12 oz. bottle.

Appearance: Dark, rich, and beautiful.

Aroma: Rich coffee, which dominates the vanilla, oak, and malt flavors expected from a bourbon barrel beer. Brenton said it was like sticking your face in a coffee bag.

Taste: The rich coffee flavor is up front, but then gives way to the malt sweetness and barrel aspects of the beer. It really has a nice complexity that blends all of the flavors together well.  

Mouthfeel: Still rich, and the end of the sip finally gets to some chocolate notes from the roasted malt.

Overall: Phenomenal. The coffee takes this beer up a notch from the original version featured last week. All of us scored this one 2-3 points higher, making it the highest scoring beer featured to date.

If you see some, buy all you can, then call me to share!

Overall Rating: 97.5
My Rating: 96

Feature Beer Friday! - Goose Island 2013 Bourbon County Stout

I've been saving this review until just now, because as a lot of you know may know, next Friday will be the release of the Goose Island 2014 Bourbon County Stout. I still have a few mixed feeling regarding Goose Island being taken over by AB-InBev, but for the most part it seems to have been a positive thing for both the brewery and consumers like me. Before the takeover Goose Island wasn't available in Louisiana and it would have taken some luck or trading to get some Bourbon County Stout. It's still not easy to find (it will likely sell out on black Friday) but at least it's possible. We also see their barrel aged sours and other great beers regularly and the quality doesn't seem to have dropped off at all. 

For the uninitiated, Bourbon County Stout is the grandfather of barrel-aged imperial stouts. It was one of my first tastes of craft beer back with friends at the Wrigleyville Goose Island location years ago, and it stuck with me. All batches tend to vary a bit in the abv, but the 2013 version was a ridiculous 14.9%... and yes you read that right. They age it for 8-10 months in first-use bourbon barrels, so there is nothing between the bourbon and the bourbon county stout. 

Reviewers: Eric Ducote (BR Beer Scene), Brenton Day (The Ale Runner), Chuck Pierce (Me And My Big Mouth), and Buddy Ethridge (Baton Rouge Adventures in Beer).

Serving: Poured from a 12 oz. bottle.

Appearance: Dark black with a tan head. Brenton said that it looked "perfect" and I can't really disagree.

Aroma: Dark, rich, and sexy. There are fantastic notes of bourbon, oak, and vanilla to compliment the roasted malt flavors of the stout.

Taste: Rich vanilla with a slight medicinal note at the front that quickly gives way to the roasted stout and bourbon flavors. That slight off flavor is probably coming from the strong alcohol content of the beer, but it was gone as fast as it was there.  

Mouthfeel: Smooth, and the little tinge of off flavor didn't linger at all. Thick and rich, I could drink more of this than would be safe.

Overall: There's a reason this one is so sought after, it's a great beer. It has everything you would want in a barrel aged stout, and sets the bar high for all other attempts out there.

Try to find some next Friday, it'll be way more fun than fighting the crowds at Wal-Mart or Best Buy! And if you miss out on the bottles, we will almost certainly see a few kegs throughout town.

Overall Rating: 94.75
My Rating: 93

Parish Grand Reserve Day! - Info and Sneak Preview

Alright, we are only one week away from the 2014 Parish Grand Reserve Day! If you already have your tickets (they can be purchased here) then you have made a great decision. If you're still unsure, I'm here to tell you that you don't want to miss this.

The tickets for the day are only $25, which doesn't include any bottles to take home, but it does include all sorts of good beer while you're there. You will get a commemorative snifter glass and 10 pours of all the special beers. They will have 2012, 2013, and 2014 batches of Grand Reserve, the new Imperial Reserve (more about that one later), the Milton Teagle Jr. Jr. sour ale, the new batch of Ghost In The Machine, plus some specialty casks. Just in case that's not enough, you can also have unlimited pours of the three flagship brews, Canebrake, Envie, and South Coast. Bottles of the Grand Reserve and Imperial Reserve will be available for sale as well, so let's get more into those.

First, the latest batch of Grand Reserve. It's packaged the same as before, in 750ml bottles with a wax seal over the cap. The label is the same other than the 2014 marking on the side, but why mess with a nice clean label anyway? 

The beer pours fairly dark as you can see with a large foamy head. The carbonation level is pretty high, but nothing like the Farmhouse IPA. 

The aroma is rich and flavorful, with sweet malty notes combining well with the strong hop presence. The easiest way to describe it is that it smells exactly how a barleywine should smell.

The taste is more of the same, an excellent blend of malt of hops in a robust flavorful package that threatens to overwhelm your taste buds. I think, at its freshest, this 2014 vintage is even better than the 2012 or 2013, and I see no reason why it shouldn't age with the best of them. 

I think Parish nailed it with this one, taking even another step forward. There will be a barrel aged version in the future as well... so that might even be a leap forward.

Also available in 5 oz. pours and for purchase will be the 2014 Imperial Reserve. This is an imperial stout in the 12% abv range, bottle conditioned and cellared in the same manor as the Grand Reserve. 

The labels are very similar, just with a blue tint to them and a star in place of the castle that we all associate with the Grand Reserve. Like the previous one, the Imperial Reserve bottles have a marking for the year of release. 

You can see the pour to the left... rich and dark, similar carbonation to the Grand Reserve above, and a massive bubble tan head. I think it looks like an imperial stout.

The aroma is what you would expect as well, rich malt with a good roasted bitterness and a hint of hops to balance it all out. 

On the taste buds, it's just as good... and excellent balance between sweet and bitter for such a big in your face stout. I had no problem finishing off most of the bottle by myself, so the 12% abv is sneaky and doesn't interrupt the other flavors at all.

You're going to want to bring a few of these home as well, and get excited for the barrel aged version coming in a few months.

Thanks again to Andrew for sending me a few advance bottles. As expected, they didn't disappoint at all. If you're on the fence, click on this link and buy a ticket, they won't be on sale at the door and you will not be sorry you did.

Feature Beer Friday! - Great Raft Southern Drawl

Louisiana brewery time! I get to some of the local guys every now and then in this segment, so today will be the first review featuring Great Raft's Southern Drawl lager. Great Raft Brewing is just about a year old now, hailing from Shreveport. They really found a nice space up there with plenty of room for expansion and were able to build out a nice tap room. I highly recommend you stop by if you're ever in the area. Husband and wife team Andrew and Lindsay, along with head brewer Harvey, have quickly created one of Louisiana's best craft breweries. They aren't available in Baton Rouge yet, but it won't be too long.

Today's offering is their Southern Drawl Pale Lager. It's a 5.2% house lager intended to be a sessionable flavorful beer for the long Louisiana summers and anytime you're looking to drink something easy-going and local. Pale lager isn't a style that gets most people excited, but it can serve as an excellent bridge between drinking mostly BMC and really appreciating the full spectrum of what craft beer can offer. 

Reviewers: Eric Ducote (BR Beer Scene), Jay Ducote (Bite And Booze), Brenton Day (The Ale Runner), Chuck Pierce (Me And My Big Mouth), and Buddy Ethridge (Baton Rouge Adventures in Beer).

Serving: Poured from a 12 oz. can.

Appearance: Slightly hazy golden color, could be described as a "straw" color. Definitely hazier and deeper than the big boys.

Aroma: Bready sweetness, a little funk to it, not a whole lot of hops. Brenton thought it had a little bit of floral hoppiness, and we all agreed on the breadiness of the aroma.

Taste: Same as the aroma with a little more funk to it. And not funk in a bad way, just a good flavor coming from the yeast that makes it more than a boring beer. 

Mouthfeel: Very easy to drink, the funk doesn't linger and each sip leaves you wanting a little more. Jay described it as a "good pizza beer" and I know he meant that as a compliment.

Overall: It's a good beer, very well done and we can tell that it nailed what they were going for, but it's a pale lager. I think even the best pale lager is going to score lower than mid-range IPAs or stouts, that's just the nature of the game. I think it's fantastic that Great Raft is putting out a beer like this one to help increase the footprint of craft beer in Louisiana. I think it's going to convert a lot of BMC drinkers out there.

Overall Rating: 60
My Rating: 60

Feature Beer Friday! - Saint Arnold Amber Dry-Hopped

Time for our first ever Feature Beer Friday! trip to the Saint Arnold Brewery in Houston, TX. I'm sure almost all of you have heard of Saint Arnold and probably tried several of their offerings, but this is one I hadn't seen before. I've had their regular amber ale before, it was their first ever beer and has been around for about 20 years now, but I'd never seen a bomber of the dry-hopped version.

The regular amber is 5.5% abv and only 31 IBU... dry-hopping a beer doesn't actually increase the IBU (or bitterness) but it will impart a lot of the hop flavors, typically more in the aroma than on the taste. This particular batch was dry-hopped with liberty hops, a variety I'm not super familiar with, but I'm willing to learn! There should also be a cascade version of this out there somewhere, and there are plans to release one with mosaic as well. I'll be on the lookout.

Reviewers: Eric Ducote (BR Beer Scene), Jay Ducote (Bite And Booze), Brenton Day (The Ale Runner), Chuck Pierce (Me And My Big Mouth), and Buddy Ethridge (Baton Rouge Adventures in Beer).

Serving: Poured from a 22 oz. bomber.

Appearance: Deep golden, lighter than last week's Radical RyePA which was surprising for an amber ale. All of us felt it was a little light for the style... but that's just the appearance, which is the smallest component of the overall score.

Aroma: A nice blend of malt and hops. Sweet, earthy, and a little funky were the notes from around the bar.

Taste: Earthy and funky come back on the taste big time, and it's not as hoppy as the aroma, which makes sense for a dry-hopped release.

Mouthfeel: This is one of the more drinkable beers I've tried in a while, very pleasant and light bodied.

Overall: We all enjoyed this one and it scored pretty similar to last week's offering from Gnarly Barley. The biggest knock was the light color and the biggest plus was the extreme "drinkability" of the brew. I don't really like that word, but it's true in this case.

I'll definitely be looking for the others in this series, I think this could be a pretty nice amber/pale hybrid, and they're pretty cheap as well.

Overall Rating: 68.2
My Rating: 72

Reviews: Abita Imperator Black IPA and Bourbon Street Stout

Not too long ago a box showed up at my place with a couple of Abita Brewing Company's newest bombers, their Bourbon Street Stout and their Imperator. These are both part of Abita's push to have a larger lineup of 22 oz. bottles, and I'm a huge fan of the idea. Abita has a long history of putting out quality select series beers, so seeing some of them make it to shelves in bottle form is a great thing for them and for the consumers. 

First off, the Imperator, this is the fifth in Abita's lineup of "big beers"  following the Abbey Ale, Andygator, SOS, and Strawgator. Imperator is a black IPA, listed on their site as 8% abv and 90 IBU. I remember enjoying this one when it was on draft as a select option, so hopefully the bottle release is just as good.

My first thought was that the color was spot on, a dark tone but not as rich and thick as a stout would be. The beer poured with a frothy head, more white than tan, and it lingered a good while. 

The aroma was roasty as expected, but lacking the real hop bite I would want in a black IPA. The characteristics to look for in the style are a roasted malt backbone with a hop-forward nose and taste, but this one really has more of a malt-forward presence. I'm not saying the hops didn't exist, but I would have liked them to be more pronounced. 

The taste was more of the same, this beer is a good start but it would really benefit from even more hops. I remember the draft version being a lot hoppier than this bottle, but there was no date listed that I saw, so I guess I might have been sent a bottle that had been sitting for a while. I hope that's the case, because it would explain the lack of hop profile expected out of the style.

Next, the Bourbon Street Stout, Abita's first release in their new Bourbon Street Series. This one was also a select not too long ago, and I loved it on draft. I would go so far as to say that the draft version that I tried was a top 10 Louisiana brewed beer, maybe even top 5. They cold crash it for 6 weeks after fermentation is complete, then transfer 100% to bourbon barrels for 8 weeks. I think that's on the shorter end of barrel aging, but in all honesty it's probably plenty long enough to get the right flavors. The beer clocks in at 10% abv and 20 IBU.

Like the Imperator, this had a great looking pour, dark and rich with more of a tan head. That's what you want a stout to look like, nothing to complain about so far!

While the Imperator lost some luster on the nose, the Bourbon Street Stout is fantastic. The barrel aging really gives a complex array of flavors, oak, vanilla, some roasted tones, and plenty of malty sweetness to balance out the alcohol notes. 

The taste follows through on this one strong, a complex delicious beer and a good example of a bourbon barrel aged stout. I don't know where it would rank in the pantheon of great bourbon barrel imperial stouts, certainly behind Goose Island Bourbon County Stout and Founder's KBS, two others that can be occasionally found locally, but both of those are going to be a lot harder to get your hands on than the Abita Bourbon Street Stout. I think a blind tasting might be in order sometime soon!

For now though, I'd say pass on the Imperator unless you know you're getting a fresh bottle, and if you see the Bourbon Street Stout, grab a few. I plan on finding a few more to add to the cellar myself.

Feature Beer Friday! - Gnarly Barley Radical RyePA

I hope you have all enjoyed the blind session beer tastings, but now it's time for a few known quantities... sort of. I recently got together with some beer blogger friends and recorded a beer review episode of Chuck P's Me And My Big Mouth podcast. None of the beer was reviewed blind, except for this first one.  Brenton brought it in a growler, so he was the only one that knew what he was drinking.  All he would tell us is that it was available locally.

So... by now you've seen the title and know that he brought us a growler of the Gnarly Barley Radical RyePA.  It's a 7% IPA with 75 IBU and a strong presence of rye malt. Gnarly Barley is one of the new Louisiana breweries, located just down I-12 in Hammond, LA. Their beers can be found in several bars around town, but nothing but draft as of yet.

On to the review... keep in mind that all of us but Brenton didn't know which beer we were drinking until after the comments/scores were compiled.

Reviewers: Eric Ducote (BR Beer Scene), Jay Ducote (Bite And Booze), Brenton Day (The Ale Runner), Chuck Pierce (Me And My Big Mouth), and Buddy Ethridge (Baton Rouge Adventures in Beer).

Serving: Poured from a 32 oz. growlito.

Appearance: I described it as a slightly hazy amber, Jay wrote that it was "copper like a shiny penny."

Aroma: Hoppy, but a little faint, I figured this was likely from the growler. Buddy picked up piney and earthy hop notes.

Taste: Hoppy, and far more powerful than the nose, the hops really come through strong on the palate. Jay wrote that it was "like rye sourdough bread" and Buddy picked up a light spice. Turns out Jay should have stuck with his first instinct!

Mouthfeel: A little bitter on the back end, we all thought it had a long lingering finish.

Overall: I thought it was a pretty good IPA, with a little work still to be done. We all scored it relatively high, Jay said "I dig it" and Chuck just wrote "very tasty" as far as the overall impressions. And that was before we knew we had a local brew on our hands.

Once Brenton revealed that this was the Radical RyePA I was thrilled. I can tell that they have been improving on their recipe from batch to batch and this is the best this beer has ever tasted. It's a great local addition to the scene.

Overall Rating: 72.6
My Rating: 71

Blind Tasting Reveal Time!

For the last five Fridays I've been featuring unnamed blind taste tested session beers, and now it's time to reveal which one was which. Did I guess any correct? And more importantly, which one did I and the rest of the group think was the best?

Beer #1 - We all enjoyed this one, it had a good grapefruit note to it and a solid amount of bitterness. I scored it a 71, compared to the group score of 67.25, and I took a guess, based on the grapefruity profile and high IBU level that this was the Stone Go-To IPA... it turns out that beer #1 was... the Founders All Day IPA! I'm 0/1 so far, but I've been drinking a lot of All Day IPA this football season, so I'm glad to know I scored it well even drinking blind.

Beer #2 - Another good one, but we all scored this one a little lower than Beer #1. I had it at a 67, compared to the group score of 64.5. My guess for this one was the Terrapin RecreationAle, being the only "pale ale" in the group of IPAs... and I was right! That makes 1/2 so far, but three more to go.

Beer #3 - This was the first of two that we didn't enjoy much, with a pungent and funky flavor that didn't hold up to the hops in the first two brews.  I scored it a 50, and it had a group average of 53.75.  I guessed at the Southern Tier Farmer's Tan, mostly because it was one that I didn't know much about and hadn't tried before. Beer #3 actually was... the Sierra Nevada Nooner. This was a bit of a surprise, I really expected better from the good people at Sierra Nevada.

Beer #4 - This is the one we all agreed was the best of the 5, with powerful grapefruit hop bitterness throughout. I scored it a 77, and it had a group average of 71.25. My guess was that this was the Founders All Day IPA, but we now know that that beer was #1, so I'm down to 1/4, and Beer #4, the winner of the day, was actually the Stone Go-To IPA. So, congrats to Stone Brewing! 

Beer #5 - And that leaves Beer #5, one that I thought was a little on the sweet side and a little boring.  It scored a 55 on my sheet, and a 57.5 with the group.  Process of elimination leads to the Southern Tier Farmer's Tan, but I had incorrectly guessed that this was the Sierra Nevada, leaving me 1/5 on the day.  

Most important though, our blind taste test ranks:

1. Stone Go-To IPA (71.25)

2. Founders All Day IPA (67.25)

3. Terrapin RecreationAle (64.5) 

4. Southern Tier Farmer's Tan (57.5)

5. Sierra Nevada Nooner (53.75) 

I'm not surprised that we picked Stone #1, but I am a little surprised at Sierra Nevada bringing up the rear. That's why we tasted them blind though, to eliminate that prejudice and judge solely on the beer. 

Feature Beer Friday! - Blind Session Tasting #5

We've made it to the last of the 5-part blind session beer tasting, check back soon for the big reveal and more thoughts on all five beers. As part of the Me & My Big Mouth recording a few months ago, the 4 reviewers listed below decided that we should take on a blind taste test of five session ales.  All were either session IPAs or APAs, but the main point was that we were going to try them all blind, offer up our reviews, and even take a guess as to which beer was which.

The five on the table, arranged so we didn't know which was which by Teresa Day of I Eat BR, were the Stone Go To IPA, Founders All Day IPA, Terrapin RecreationAle, Sierra Nevada Nooner, and Southern Tier Farmer's Tan.

Up now, blind taste test #5...

Reviewers: Eric Ducote (BR Beer Scene), Brenton Day (The Ale Runner), Chuck Pierce (Me And My Big Mouth), and Buddy Ethridge.

Serving: Presented in a Chattanooga Brewing Company pint glass.

Appearance: Clearish, deep amber, probably the darkest of the session beers.

Aroma: Bubblegum fruitiness. 

Taste: Sweet and fruity... where are the hops?

Mouthfeel: Nothing bad, but nothing good either.

Overall: I found this one to be pretty boring overall, and it scored a 55 with me, for the second lowest score of the group. I wasn't certain what this one was, but the only one left was Sierra Nevada... I would expect better things from them, but we ended up with two beers that disappointed (#3 and #5) and none of these breweries should be putting out disappointing beer.

Check back on Tuesday for the blind tasting reveal!

Overall Rating: 57.5
My Rating: 55

Feature Beer Friday! - Blind Session Tasting #4

And now it's time for part 4, the second to last in the Feature Beer Friday! blind session beer tasting. As part of the Me & My Big Mouth recording a few months ago, the 4 reviewers listed below decided that we should take on a blind taste test of five session ales.  All were either session IPAs or APAs, but the main point was that we were going to try them all blind, offer up our reviews, and even take a guess as to which beer was which.

The five on the table, arranged so we didn't know which was which by Teresa Day of I Eat BR, were the Stone Go To IPA, Founders All Day IPA, Terrapin RecreationAle, Sierra Nevada Nooner, and Southern Tier Farmer's Tan.

Up now, blind taste test #4...

Reviewers: Eric Ducote (BR Beer Scene), Brenton Day (The Ale Runner), Chuck Pierce (Me And My Big Mouth), and Buddy Ethridge.

Serving: Presented in a Bulldog pint glass.

Appearance: Light amber color, pretty typical for an IPA.

Aroma: Strong grapefruit aroma, really very nice. 

Taste: Grapefruit rind bitterness. This beer is heavy on the grapefruit flavors for sure!

Mouthfeel: More grapefruit, and that's not a bad thing.

Overall: We all really enjoyed this one, and I ended up scoring it 6 points higher than Session Beer #1 for the highest score yet. My guess was that this was the Founders All Day IPA, but whichever one it ends up being, it's a beer I'll be on the lookout for in the future.

Overall Rating: 71.25
My Rating: 77

Feature Beer Friday! - Blind Session Tasting #3

Welcome to part 3 of this 5-part blind tasting series... as part of the Me & My Big Mouth recording a few months ago, the 4 reviewers listed below decided that we should take on a blind taste test of five session ales.  All were either session IPAs or APAs, but the main point was that we were going to try them all blind, offer up our reviews, and even take a guess as to which beer was which.

The five on the table, arranged so we didn't know which was which by Teresa Day of I Eat BR, were the Stone Go To IPA, Founders All Day IPA, Terrapin RecreationAle, Sierra Nevada Nooner, and Southern Tier Farmer's Tan.

Up now, blind taste test #3...

Reviewers: Eric Ducote (BR Beer Scene), Brenton Day (The Ale Runner), Chuck Pierce (Me And My Big Mouth), and Buddy Ethridge.

Serving: Presented in an Abita Brewing pint glass.

Appearance: Very clear, bubbly, with a bit of an orange hue.

Aroma: Pungent and funky. 

Taste: Weak, not a lot of flavor going on in this one. 

Mouthfeel: Lingering funkiness, not much bitter at all.

Overall: I was not a big fan of this one at all compared to the first two, although it scored above 50 for us.  My initial guess was that this was the Southern Tier Farmer's Tan, but that could certainly be wrong... check back in a few weeks to find out.

Overall Rating: 53.75
My Rating: 50

Feature Beer Friday! - Blind Session Tasting #2

This Feature Beer Friday! and the next 3 following it are going to take on a bit of a different feel... as part of the Me & My Big Mouth recording a few months ago, the 4 reviewers listed below decided that we should take on a blind taste test of five session ales.  All were either session IPAs or APAs, but the main point was that we were going to try them all blind, offer up our reviews, and even take a guess as to which beer was which.

The five on the table, arranged so we didn't know which was which by Teresa Day of I Eat BR, were the Stone Go To IPA, Founders All Day IPA, Terrapin RecreationAle, Sierra Nevada Nooner, and Southern Tier Farmer's Tan.

Up now, blind taste test #2...

Reviewers: Eric Ducote (BR Beer Scene), Brenton Day (The Ale Runner), Chuck Pierce (Me And My Big Mouth), and Buddy Ethridge.

Serving: Presented in a NOLA Brewing pint glass.

Appearance: Slightly hazy, a lighter tone than beer #1.

Aroma: More faint than #1, with the malt coming through a little stronger. Brenton also noted it as less hoppy than the first offering. 

Taste: More bitter than the aroma would indicate, closer to #1 on the taste profile than the aroma, but still a little more on the balanced side. 

Mouthfeel: Lingering bitterness, but more full than the first beer.

Overall: I didn't like this one quite as much as Session Beer #1, and the scores across the board reflected a similar opinion. Still, it was a very respectable offering and one I'd drink again. My guess was that this was the Terrapin RecreationAle, which is why it was a little less hoppy than what I guessed was the Stone Go To IPA in glass #1. We had also recently tried the Terrapin offering in a non-blind taste test, where I scored it a 78.  This one received a little lower marks, so if it is the same beer, it just goes to show how varied scores can be and perception can be, especially tasting blind and comparing to other similar beers.

Overall Rating: 64.5
My Rating: 67

Louisiana Craft Brewers Week Continues...

We are now getting into the real "meat" of Craft Brewers Week. I hope some of you made it out the last few nights to try the Gnarly Barley / Chafunkta collaboration or a few sour beers from Tin Roof, but if not, there is still plenty more craft beer week to go!

Tonight will be one of the biggest events, the Louisiana Craft Brewers Bash at The Irish House in New Orleans.  I'll be there for sure, and also hopefully will be making a stop at Avenue Pub to try some Parish stouts and I'm sure the plenty of other good stuff they'll have on tap. 

If you can't make it to New Orleans tonight, then I'd highly recommend an afternoon trip on Sunday to the "Make Pour Decisions" party at NOLA Brewing where they plan on rolling out 18 (yes, EIGHT-TEEN) beers for the event. If you can't make it to New Orleans at all, there will be a couple of chances to catch Abita's pumpkin and peach SOS in Baton Rouge.

Happy drinking!

Louisiana Craft Brewers Week Is Here!

So, it's here, one of the best beer weeks in the state, Louisiana Craft Brewers Week! I posted last week about a full lineup of events in the BR/Northshore/NOLA area, but here's the link to that again.

For tonight though, you have two opportunities to check out the Gnarly Barley / Chafunkta collaboration brew in Baton Rouge! The beer details have been announced, and it's an 8% Black IPA named "Black Tooth Grin." The beer will be tapped at the Chimes East at 5 PM, and at The Pelican House at 8 PM. These will be the only Baton Rouge events featuring the beer, and it's likely to move fast. 

Also, be sure to get your ticket for the Louisiana Brewers Bash at The Irish House in New Orleans this Wednesday.  Nine breweries from Louisiana will be featured with two special beers each. I'm really looking forward to this one.

(Yes, I know this is last year's logo... but I don't think a new one was put out?)

Feature Beer Friday! - Blind Session Tasting #1

This Feature Beer Friday! and the next 4 following it are going to take on a bit of a different feel... as part of the Me & My Big Mouth recording a few months ago, the 4 reviewers listed below decided that we should take on a blind taste test of five session ales.  All were either session IPAs or APAs, but the main point was that we were going to try them all blind, offer up our reviews, and even take a guess as to which beer was which.

The five on the table, arranged so we didn't know which was which by Teresa Day of I Eat BR, were the Stone Go To IPA, Founders All Day IPA, Terrapin RecreationAle, Sierra Nevada Nooner, and Southern Tier Farmer's Tan.

This week, blind taste test #1...

Reviewers: Eric Ducote (BR Beer Scene), Brenton Day (The Ale Runner), Chuck Pierce (Me And My Big Mouth), and Buddy Ethridge.

Serving: Presented in a Forge Racing pint glass.

Appearance: Clear amber.

Aroma: Big time grapefruit hoppy IPA notes. All of us noted the grapefruit presence of this one.

Taste: More bitter than expected for a session IPA, but it mellow out fast. Just a huge amount of up front hops.

Mouthfeel: That hoppiness from the taste mellows out pleasantly, and then lingers for a while, reminding you of each delicious sip.

Overall: Very bitter, but still tasty, I'd drink more of this one for sure. At this point, we all took a guess as to which beer we were drinking.  My guess, based on the up front hop profile, was the Stone brew... check back to see what we thought about the others, and to see if I was right. 

Overall Rating: 67.25
My Rating: 71

Louisiana Craft Brewers Week Events!

I'm snagging this from the Gambit article, which was written by blogging compatriot, Nora McGunnigle of the NOLA Beer Blog, if you don't follow her blog, you definitely should. She knows the goings-on around New Orleans and has taken up writing for several different publications. I've highlighted the Baton Rouge events, but there is also a lot going on in New Orleans... in fact if you're ever going to make a beer trip to the Big Easy, this might be the week to do it.

Mon. Sept. 22

2 p.m. The Bulldog Mid City (5135 Canal Blvd., (504) 488-4180; bulldog-midcity.draftfreak.com) offers $1 off all Louisiana beers all day.
 
5 p.m. Chafunkta and Gnarly Barley collaboration release at the Chimes East (10870 Coursey Blvd., Baton Rouge, 225-296-4981; www.thechimes.com/the-chimes-east)
 
7 p.m. The Barley Oak (2101 Lakeshore Drive, Mandeville, 985-727-7420; www.thebarleyoak.com) features beers from Arabi's 40 Arpent Brewing Company.
 
8 p.m. Chafunkta and Gnarly Barley collaboration release at the Pelican House (2572 Citiplace Ct., Baton Rouge, 225-456-5200; www.thepelicanbar.com).


Tues. Sept. 23

5 p.m. The Avenue Pub (1732 St. Charles Ave., 504-586-9243; www.theavenuepub.com) hosts Tin Roof Brewing, which presents a series of single-hop beers and an experimental beer, Pucker Up Cherry Sour.
 
5 p.m. NOLA Brewing pint night at the Chimes Baton Rouge (3357 Highland Road, Baton Rouge, 225-383-1754; www.thechimes.com).

5:30 p.m. Chafunkta and Gnarly Barley collaboration release at Capdeville (520 Capdeville St., 504-371-5161; www.capdevillenola.com).

7 p.m. The Barley Oak features beers from Abita Brewing Company.

8 p.m. Chafunkta and Gnarly Barley collaboration release at the Bulldog Mid City.


Wed. Sept. 24

5 p.m. Abita cask Pumpkin & Peach SOS at the Bulldog Mid City.
 
5 p.m. Parish Brewing visits The Avenue Pub and taps Export Stout and a cask of Coffee Vanilla Export Stout, and there will be bottle pours of Grand Reserve Barleywine and Farmhouse IPA. Parish founder Andrew Godley will arrive at the Pub by 7 p.m.

6 p.m. Louisiana Craft Beer Brewers Bash hosted by Jay Ducote at the Irish House (1432 St. Charles Ave., 504-595-6755; www.theirishhouseneworleans.com). The brewery owners, brewmasters and representatives of the nine Louisiana breweries available in New Orleans attend the event, which features two beers from each brewery and food. Tickets and more information are available at www.biteandbooze.com.

7 p.m. The Barley Oak features a NOLA Brewing cask of barrel-aged Hurrican Saison made with dry-hopped Galaxy hops.


Thu. Sept. 25

5 p.m. NOLA Brewing night at The Avenue Pub features two new sour releases: Piety (American sour ale with tart cherry; 100 percent fermented with lactobacillus and brettanomyces) and Lowerline (American sour ale, fermented with lactobacillus and brettanomyces). Also available on tap are barrel-aged Hurricane Saison dry hopped with Galaxy hops, Four Roses bourbon barrel-aged Irish Channel Stout, and double dry-hopped ALS IPA, which is a farmhouse-style IPA made with proprietary hop blend and saison yeast. A portion of the proceeds benefits ALS research.
 
6 p.m. Abita celebrates Louisiana Craft Brewer Week at Deuce McAllister's Ole Saint Kitchen and Tap (132 Royal St., 504-309-4797; www.olesaint.com) with two-for-one on all Abita beers including its new Octoberfest, the new seasonal Pecan Harvest and the new Select series Legendary Gator, a triple helles bock.

6 p.m.: Abita cask Pumpkin & Peach SOS at the Londoner Grill (4215 S. Sherwood Forest Blvd., Baton Rouge, 225-292-9291; www.thelondonerbatonrouge.com).

7 p.m. Chafunkta and Gnarly Barley collaboration release at the Barley Oak.

7 p.m. There's a tapping of ALS IPA at the Chimes Covington (19130 Rogers Lane, Covington, 985-892-5396; www.thechimes.com/the-chimes-covington).

7 p.m. Abita Pumpkin & Peach SOS cask at the Swamp Room (5216 Veterans Memorial Blvd., Metairie, 504-888-5242).


Fri. Sept. 26

2 p.m. Abita Tap Takeover at the Avenue Pub. Draft specialties include: Abita/Birrificio Del Ducato Saison with honey, peppercorns, lemon and French farmhouse yeast; Bourbon Street Biere de Mars; Pappy Van Winkle barrel-aged Biere de Mars, and Pumpkin Peach SOS on cask.
 
3 p.m. Make "Pour Decisions" at the NOLA Brewing Tap Room (3001 Tchoupitoulas St., 504-301-0117; www.nolabrewing.com). NOLA will offer 18 specialty beers brewed specially for this event.

3 p.m. Abita Pumpkin & Peach SOS cask at the Bourbon House (144 Bourbon St., 504-522-0111; www.bourbonhouse.com).

4 p.m. Abita Pumpkin & Peach SOS cask at The Chimes Baton Rouge.

5 p.m. Hammond Brews Arts Fest (Hammond Regional Arts Center, 217 E. Thomas St., Hammond, 985-542-7113 ; www.hammondarts.org/brews-arts-festival) featuring Tin Roof Brewing, Gnarly Barley Brewing, Chafunkta Brewing, Covington Brewhouse, Bayou Teche Biere, Lazy Magnolia Brewing, Saint Arnold Brewing, Rogue Brewing, New Belgium Brewing, SweetWater Brewing and Southern Prohibition Brewing.

5 p.m. Jeremy Labadie hosts Chafunkta Brewing at Squeal BBQ (8400 Oak St., 504-302-7370; www.squeal-nola.com) with Chafunkta beers on draft and pulled pork sandwiches with barbecue sauce made with Chafunkta's Old 504 coffee porter.

5 p.m. The Bulldog Mid City presents Covington Brewery's seasonal Fest Bier.

6 p.m. Abita Pumpkin & Peach SOS cask at Lager's International Ale House (3501 Veterans Memorial Blvd., Metairie, 504-887-9923; www.lagersmetairie.draftfreak.com).

7 p.m. NOLA Brewing visits the Bulldog Mid City with Smoky Mary and Irish Channel Stout.

7 p.m. The Barley Oak features beers from Parish Brewing from Broussard.

7 p.m. Abita Pumpkin & Peach SOS cask at J&J's Sports Lounge (800 France St., 504-942-8877; www.jjssportslounge.com).


Sat. Sept. 27

11 a.m. The Barley Oak holds its annual Louisiana Craft Beer Appreciation Day.
 
11:30 a.m. The Bulldog Mid City offers pitchers of all Louisiana-brewed beers for $2.

1 p.m. The fifth annual New Orleans On Tap charity benefit for LA/SPCA is at the City Park Festival Grounds. New Orleans on Tap is a free family- and pet-friendly beer festival that features live music, more than 200 local and national beers, food, a homebrew competition, games and giveaways. Visit www.neworleansontap.org for tickets and information.

2 p.m. 40 Arpent visits The Avenue Pub. There is keg tapping of Red Beans & Rice ale with chipotle at 2 p.m., and a keg of Bananas Foster Milk Stout at 5 p.m


Sun. Sept. 28

1 p.m. Dorignac's (710 Veterans Memorial Blvd., Metairie, 504-834-8216; www.dorignacs.com) hosts Meet the Brewer with Chafunkta Brewing, which will provide beer samples.
 
3 p.m. Bayou Teche Barrel Beer at The Avenue Pub highlights the brewery's new barrel series beer, Teche Hombres Belgian-style Cerveza, an agave nectar wheat aged in French white oak sauvignon blanc barrels with Spanish orange peel and aji limon peppers. There's a new vintage of Miel Sauvage (Acadian honey beer aged in Jack Daniels barrels), which will be served alongside last year's batch. There also are Coteau Rodaire, the brewery's French farmhouse ale aged in sauvignon blanc barrels and finished with orange peel, and Biere Joi, a Belgian dubbel style aged in whisky barrels with coffee, cacao nibs, and chili arbol. Bayou Teche also will serve Cajun charcuterie and jambalaya.

Feature Beer Friday! - Terrapin RecreationAle

Alright alright alright, Terrapin Brewing is back up on Feature Beer Friday! for the second time. About a month ago we featured the Terrapin Hopsecutioner, their flagship IPA, and it received generally good scores, with a 77 from yours truly. Terrapin has been one of my favorite additions to the Louisiana market in recent years.  I find that their year-round beers are all worth buying and I've for the most part enjoyed their seasonals and special releases.

Up today is their RecreationAle, which they describe as a "Session Ale" without labeling it as an IPA or pale ale.  I guess it's really up to you as to how it fits, but I'd consider it a pale ale personally. Most importantly, it's only 4.7% abv, which is ideal for tailgating season! In fact, I think it's become my tailgating beer of choice, with affordable 12-packs of cans available around Baton Rouge.

Enough blabber, let's review...

Reviewers: Eric Ducote (BR Beer Scene), Brenton Day (The Ale Runner), Chuck Pierce (Me And My Big Mouth), and Buddy Ethridge.

Serving: 12 oz. can.

Appearance: Deep golden, a little more hazy than Hopsecutioner I think. Hopsecutioner probably gains a little clarity through a longer secondary dry-hopping? Just a guess...

Aroma: Hoppy, with grapefruit and citrus dominating.

Taste: More hoppy, with those grapefruit notes still coming through. There is a little malt base sweetness, but at only 4.7% there really shouldn't be too much.

Mouthfeel: Ridiculously easy drinking.

Overall: An excellent session pale ale/IPA. I imagine this being in my tailgating rotation for years to come.

Overall Rating: 72.5
My Rating: 78

Upcoming Beer Events! - Louisiana Brewers Bash, Brew At The Zoo, Beefstock, And More...

Hey everyone, time to start spreading the word about a few upcoming beer events in the area.  

September 22-28th - Louisiana Craft Brewers Week - All Over - It's that time of year again, I'll keep everyone up to date when specific events in Baton Rouge are announced, but I know of one in New Orleans for sure... 

September 24th - Louisiana Brewers Bash - The Irish House in New Orleans - Louisiana Craft Brewers Week is September 22-28, and this might be the only event that will feature 9 commercially producing Louisiana breweries.  For those keeping score at home, that's almost all of them, but unfortunately it appears that Great Raft won't be making the trip down. The event is being hosted by Jay Ducote of Bite And Booze.com, with food from Chef Matt Murphy of The Irish House.  I'll be at this event for sure, I'm excited to see what sort of special releases and casks our local breweries can come up with.

October 10th - Brew At The Zoo - BREC's Baton Rouge Zoo -  Another beer festival, this one at the Baton Rouge Zoo and yes, it will be featuring the local homebrew clubs. The commercial beer list is pretty typical, featuring a lot of local and regional beers plus the bigger craft beers available in the area, but the real standout should be the homebrew stations.  I know I'll be there serving up some beer with Brasseurs A La Maison, and I expect the other local clubs to be there as well.  

October 17th - Great Raft's 1-Year Anniversary Party - Great Raft Brewing Company - I'm unlikely to make it up there, but this should be a great time.  They have been working on several more limited release bombers and draft specialties, and for those who haven't been, the tap room is beautiful. The guys and gals up at Great Raft have been kicking ass, so if you ever find yourself up in Shreveport for this weekend or any other, check them out.

November 2nd - Beefstock - Tin Roof Brewing Company - Alright, so this one is more about the beef, but it is being held at Tin Roof, and everyone that attends gets some complimentary beer, plus the tap room is almost certainly going to be open by then. So, try plenty of beef, drink some beer, and catch some tunes. 

November 22nd - Grand Reserve Day - Parish Brewing Company - I don't know the details yet, but mark your calendars. Last year's event was a great time, and I'll likely be going again.

Feature Beer Friday! - Founders Porter

Founders Brewing is another relatively new arrival to the Louisiana craft beer portfolio, and this will be their first appearance on Feature Beer Friday! They are known for being one of the better craft breweries in the country, and their star is the Kentucky Breakfast Stout, a bourbon-barrel aged version of their regular Breakfast Stout.  We saw a little of this when they first came to Louisiana and likely will again, but in the meantime we have plenty to choose from out of their regular lineup. 


First up is their regular porter, nothing special about this one, no crazy flavors added, no barrel aging, just a straight up porter. In their words, "Pours silky black with a creamy tan head. The nose is sweet with strong chocolate and caramel malt presence. No absence of hops gives Founders’ robust porter the full flavor you deserve and expect. Cozy like velvet. It’s a lover, not a fighter." It's a respectable 45 IBU and 6.5% abv, so it's probably not a session porter, but that doesn't mean you can't have more than one!

Let's review...

Reviewers: Eric Ducote (BR Beer Scene), Brenton Day (The Ale Runner), Chuck Pierce (Me And My Big Mouth), and Buddy Ethridge.

Serving: 12 oz. bottle.

Appearance: Dark, nice head, you can't see through it, so it has some thickness to it.

Aroma: Roasted coffee notes dominate, but Brenton could pick out some hops in there as well.

Taste: Rich, with more coffee and roasted malt notes. We all used those same terms so it was a unanimous approval on the taste of this one.

Mouthfeel: This one lingers with a little bitterness from the hops and roasted barley. The alcohol doesn't show up at all, so it's very well balanced.

Overall: An excellent porter, and just what we would expect from Founders.

Overall Rating: 80.75
My Rating: 83

Feature Beer Friday! - Lazy Magnolia Lazy Saison

This review will mark our second review from the oldest brewery in Mississippi, Lazy Magnolia Brewing. Lazy Magnolia is a brewery out of Kiln, Mississippi, just a short drive down I-12/I-10 from here and an easy day trip. In fact, Mandi and I made the drive not too long ago and I wrote a post about our visits to Lazy Mag, Crooked Letter, and Mississippi Brewing.

The Lazy Saison is one of Lazy Magnolia's four current seasonals, available during the Spring. It's a Belgian-style saison with minimal bitterness and a robust 8.9% abv. You might be able to find it on tap, but you should definitely see some in bottles when the release rolls around.

And on to the review...

Reviewers: Eric Ducote (BR Beer Scene), Brenton Day (The Ale Runner), Chuck Pierce (Me And My Big Mouth), and Buddy Ethridge.

Serving: 12 oz. bottle.

Appearance: Deep golden and a little on the clear side for a saison.

Aroma: Funky with some bubble gum sweetness. Brenton thought it smelled a little boozy and Buddy thought it smelled a little spicy.

Taste: More bubble gum sweetness with some fantastic spice at the end.   

Mouthfeel: A rather unique finish, easy drinking despite the abv, but it disappeared a little after the first hit.

Overall: This isn't a bad beer at all, but it seemed more like a Belgian tripel to us than a saison.  With its strong abv, this could get really sneaky if you bring it out to a crawfish boil next spring, but I also think it would really pair well.

Overall Rating: 66.75
My Rating: 67

Beer University at The Chimes

As some of you might have heard or seen, the Chimes Around The World program is no longer with us. This definitely makes me a little sad as I remember the old days with the beer-stained cards that we would fill out as we tried various beers from all sorts of different countries and always finished it off with a Little Kings Cream Ale. I don't know how that became a tradition, I think it goes back to when my cousin Travis and I finished our first round of Around The World and somehow ended up on that beer as #60, from there on out it was always the clincher.  

I managed it three times on my own, plus twice more as part of my kickball team's celebration and attempt at going Around The World in one night.  We'd bring 12 or more team members and friends, get a big table, and knock out 60 in a night, earning "Pirates Of The Caribballin'" a couple of plaques if you look for them. Great times, great memories, the problem is, not a whole lot of great beer. Unfortunately a lot of those offerings from random countries were quite mediocre. I'm not saying all the foreign beer was bad, because there are plenty of imports that are excellent, but in order to get to 20 countries you had to suck it up a few times and drink some swill.

Tyler, the current beer manager at The Chimes on campus, recognized this problem, and realized that if The Chimes was going to return to glory as a craft beer bar, they were going to have to ditch all the foreign filler. So it was out with Around The World, and in with Beer University.  

Rather than drinking 60 beers from 20 countries, in order to complete your "undergraduate degree," you need to drink 50 different beers from up to 15 "courses" such as Beginner Pale Ale, Intro to Imperial Stouts, or Study Abroad Germany.  In conjunction with their Beer U, the Chimes is now also offering all of their beers in 10 oz. pours as well as their traditional 20 oz. imperial pints.

Once you complete your undergraduate degree, you get a Chimes t-shirt, but then the fun begins and you can go for your Beer U Masters and PhD.  Tyler told me that those "degrees" are going to require some of the specialty beers that come through, the more rare stuff like Parish's Ghost In The Machine or a keg of Bourbon County Stout.  Once those advanced degrees are completed you can get your name up on the wall just like they used to do for Around The World.  

All in all I think it's a good program, and it's a great thing to see the foreign filler depart in place of more American craft and quality foreign beers. I'll be working toward my degree, I'm already 5 beers in!