Beer Tasting at Bliss

As I mentioned on Friday, we had another phenomenal time at Bliss Wine and Gifts with their beer tasting. Once again Scott prepared a well thought out beer menu for us to enjoy (did I mention that you get 6 beers for $5?). On the tasting:

Original Sin Cider

Original Sin Cider An incredibly light and clear brew, it was really not sweet like you would have imagined from a hard cider. Original Sin uses no artificial flavors or colors in their products which makes the taste unlike any hard cider you have ever had before. 

Victory Summer Love

Victory Summer Love I will be honest, I haven't found a Victory beer that I have liked yet, between the Golden Monkey fiasco and some other abrasive beers Victory was not on my list of beers I was hoping to see. However, Summer Love was a surprisingly good beer with a wave of two different hops, both clearly distinguishable in your mouth then a beautiful lemon end taste. This was far from the abrasive beers that I expect from Victory, which proves that you can't pigeon hole a brewery based on a few less than stellar tastings.

 

Southern Tier Harvest

Southern Tier Harvest This is an English Style Ale that has a gorgeous ruby red color that is the perfect beer color for a Harvest ale. A very zesty beer, like you would expect from an English style ale, it remains well balanced without becoming too hoppy or too malty. This is a great beer for a fall evening.

Bear Republic Red Rocket

 

Bear Republic Red Rocket Ale Another red ale that was a bit more hoppy than the Southern Tier Harvest. Definitively not one I could drink a lot of, it was perfect in the taster sized glasses that it was served in. If you like IPA's you will like this one

 

Magic Hat Hex

Magic Hat Hex Darker than the previous beers, but still a hoppier ale, this one had a very distinct smoky flavor from the malt. Very tasty, but again not one I would call a session beer. As a side note, we just bought Magic Hat's #9 Almost Pale Ale and we really thought that it was a perfect beer. If you are not into something that will kick you in the mouth with the bitterness from hops, but want a decent hops flavor this is the beer for you.

 

Boont Amber Ale

Boont Amber Ale A gorgeous dark ale with a perfect white head, Boont Amber Ale gives you a respite from the hops-fest that the rest of the tasting was and you can really taste the yeast that was used in this beer. I am not saying you can't taste the hops, because there is a clear hops after-taste to this one.

 

Southern Tier Mokah

Southern Tier Mokah Well the beer tasting has become so popular it appears, that they ran out of Boont Amber Ale while we were finishing up our tasting. Scott had to think of his toes and pulled out Southern Tier's Mokah. A very dark stout that was very sweet and very chocolatey. I was reminded of the Creme Brulee Stout that we had not too long ago. Not one I could drink a whole pint of, but a nice "beer dessert" in a small taster glass.

Did you notice the way that the colors of the beers got progressively darker? I was impressed.

On another note, Blake bought me my first copy of "Beer" magazine, which I thought was very nice of him. I was pretty excited to read all sorts of beer info that I was sure would blow my mind and enlighten me to the level of Beer Guru. I was rather disappointed that the articles were few and highly opinionated, there seemed to be more ads and pictures of scantily clad women than actual information on beer. Now I know you guys are thinking, well it's a beer magazine... isn't that what you expected? I guess I was hoping that more women would be represented in an intelligent way, in a positive way, in a not just a model for St Paulie Girl way (not that there is anything wrong with being a beer model). It reinforced to me that women in the beer world are still a minority. Well that is the end of my rant. Beer Magazine, if you hear me, please write and article or two showcasing women in beer.

Jennifer England-St Paulie Girl 2011