Brooklyn Sorachi Ace

Dead Soldier

Where to Dig Up More About This Beer
Brooklyn Sorachi Ace
Brooklyn Brewery
#1 Brewers Row
79 North 11th Street
Brooklyn , NY USA
Est. 1988
www.brooklynbrewery.com

Brain Damage Quotient = 7.6 % ABV
Fluid Oz. = 25.4

Postmortem Brew Review
Clear, dull pale gold color.
Fruity, lemongrass and Belgian yeast funk in aroma.
White foaming head goes to about two fingers high.
Great legs of lacing up and down the glass.
Taste similar to the smell with a twinge of pepper finish.
Bouncy carbonation.
Full flavored but light to drink for the ABV content.

Grim Reaper's Eulogy
Sorachi Ace is a hop derived from and developed in Japan. It is best noted for its lemon fragrance, thus making it extremely suitable for farmhouse style saison ales.  Sessionable, but watch out for the 7.6% alcohol content.  There is no booziness or alcohol taste as it borders on 8%.  I can easily see getting carried away espscially with the bomber sized bottle.

So find a friend to share with, or at least one that will offer to drive you home safely. On second thought, just get a couple of these, a few friends and sit around the pool in lounge chairs, then everyone has fun and no one needs to get behind the wheel.  That way, you are the Ace and not the Joker.

Odell - Mountain Standard Reserve '09

Dead Soldier

Where to Dig Up More About This Beer
Odell Mountain Standard Reserve '09
Odell Brewing Company
800 East Lincoln Avenue
Fort Collins, CO USA
Est. 1989
www.odellbrewing.com 

Brain Damage Quotient = 8.5 % ABV
Fluid Oz. = 25.4

Postmortem Brew Review
Mahogany brown color with subtle hints of ruby tones.
Piney hops and a nutty sweet aroma from the nose. A bit of malt in reserve.
Silky looking, tight foaming, two fingered head.
Great amount of lacing with each sip.
Very active carbonation.
Taste reveals a maltier than expected front with toned down hops finish. Quite the reverse of the smell.
Medium bodied mouth feel and dry finish. Very balanced.

Grim Reaper's Eulogy
Some days my bony fingers ache, leaving me slack to write about the qualities of a current beer.  Other days, I cannot wait to exude the thoughts on to the page fast enough.  Especially when it is a beer that is not oft seen in this crypt's parts.  The excitement to examine and enjoy spilled out of me, as fast as the beer was poured from the bottle.  I make no shame about this beer - - - Odell is one of my guilty pleasures.

Returned home with this stuff in May and was patient enough to wait to try it out.  At the end of a rather stressful week, digging the ditches at work, this was a just reward.  Shared in the company of close family and offered up as a special treat, I got excited to finally open the Mountain Standard, a beer that is lovingly named for the time zone in which it is crafted.  A rather lucky end-of-the-day to an unlucky Friday the 13th.

Immediately, our noses were greeted by that special hop signature that is only Odell's.  We all recognized it the minute we raised our glasses up to our lips and sniffed in that luscious hop aroma; one that is like no other.  An aroma I can tell with my eyes closed.  I don't know how they do it, but I hope they just keep on doing it the same way, over and over.  Until it is ever locally available, I will have to return with regularity across the Mississippi to one of the states that does sell Odell.  And I pray that there may be another Reserve Series in a coming year for Mountain Standard.

Did I mention how lucky this Friday the 13th was?  I am so glad I brought back two bottles.

Fort Collins Brewery - Retro Red

Dead Soldier

Where to Dig Up More About This Beer
Fort Collins Brewery - Retro Red
Fort Collins Brewery
1900 East Lincoln Avenue
Fort Collins, CO USA
Est. ????
www.fortcollinsbrewery.com 

Brain Damage Quotient = 5.2 % ABV
Fluid Oz. = 12.0 

Postmortem Brew Review 
Mahogany with ruby tones on glass edge.
Malt and an earthy smokiness present in the nose, along with some hops.
Foamy off-white head leaving decent amount of lacing.
Medium amount of carbonation.
Carmel malt taste prevails with a nice spicy dry hops finish.
Medium bodied. 

Grim Reaper's Eulogy
Here is a very nice amber style beer that you can enjoy by the wagon load.  It's a simple little bottle of malt and a snap of hops to grab your tongue's attention.  Short and caramel malt sweet, just like this post.

Hitch yourself to this little red wagon.

Great Divide - Titan IPA

Dead Gladiator

Where to Dig Up More About This Beer

Great Divide - Titan IPA
Great Divide Brewing Company
2201 Arapahoe Street
Denver, CO USA
Est. 1994
www.greatdivide.com 

Brain Damage Quotient = 7.1 % ABV
Fluid Oz. = 12.0 

Postmortem Brew Review
Rich amber color.
Mild malt and piney, citrus aroma.
Foamy, two finger tall, tan head with solid draped lacing.
Well balanced malt to hops characteristics.
Medium mouth feel, great hops flavor in each sip.

Grim Reaper's Eulogy
Great beer from Great Divide.  Solid IPA and there is really little else to say.  This is quite a good ale.  The hops are there in the nose.  They invite your senses in where you find a malty sweetness and then a nice hops bitterness on the finish.  Wow.

It may be Great Divide, but there is a tiny little titan gladiator on the label.  Hmm...Gladiator? Naaa - more like glad I drank her.

Coopers - Original Pale Ale

Dead Soldier

Where to Dig Up More About This Beer
Coopers Original Pale Ale
Coopers Brewery
461 South Road
Regency Park, South Australia
Est. 1862
www.coopers.com.au

Brain Damage Quotient = 4.5 % ABV
Fluid Oz. = 12.0

Postmortem Brew Review
Light yellow color; very clear in body.
Grainy nose with light hops aroma.
One finger tightly bubbled white head with fair retention.
Moderately carbonated.
Crisp and dry, refreshingly good.
Light flavor. Any easy to drink ale.

Grim Reaper's Eulogy
A thick fistful of brown glass surrounds this pale ale from down under. The Aussies are a hard chargin', hard fightin' and likely a hard drinkin' bunch. This stump of a bottle rests nicely in my bony paw.

These pale ales are naturally concocted with no preservatives and are also bottle conditioned. They suggest that you gently roll the bottle about three rotations before opening and enjoying, to swirl any yeast sediment caused form upright storage. It's a pale ale like no other that you might be used to drinking. It looks and drinks more like an average American yellow lager. But with a bit more clean clear flavor of grain and hops. All in all it's pretty good turps and goes well with just about any kind of tucker.

These blokes don't only make some good beer, but they can also help you make it. Coopers is a standard for home brewing, selling full kits and after-market supplies to assist the home brewer in their quest to quench a thirst the size of the Aussie Outback. And they have a long tradition of brewing, dating back to 1862.

Check out the bearded gentleman that greets you at their website, then get some, mate!

Pike - Kilt Lifter

Dead Soldier

Where to Dig Up More About This Beer
Pike - Scotch Style Kilt Lifter Ruby Ale
Pike Brewing Company
1415 First Avenue
Seattle, WA USA
Est.1989
www.pikebrewing.com

Brain Damage Quotient = 6.5 % ABV
Fluid Oz. = 22.0

Postmortem Brew Review
Amber to maple brown color.
Smooth malts and a bit smoky in the aroma.
Soft warming feel and fruity, soft spice flavor.
Two finger head with some rings of lacing.
Sweet caramel malts and toasted grain taste. 
Fruity flavored with mild finishing hops.
Medium mouth feel and modest carbonation.

Grim Reaper's Eulogy
Pike - Scotch Style Kilt Lifter Ruby Ale, wow that's a mouth full of description. Let's break it down through the morgue analysis, shall we?

Scotch style by the BJCP implies one of three, 9A-Light, 9B-Heavy or 9C-Export. This is categorized as a Wee Heavy. But wait! There is that nagging end tag of Ruby Ale. Under the Scotch Style there is a separate category of 9D-Irish Red (Ruby) Ale. So what is this schizophrenic brew anyway?

None of the above! Wee Heavy gives it away as a 9E-Strong Scotch Ale. So there it is, all you would-be Quincy M.E.'s. It's a Wee Heavy and not too bad for an ale with a bit of an identity crisis. Pike would like you to know that this is, "...an approachable Scottish Ale."

So off to the morgue with you all.  Lift your kilt and examine one soon!

Unibroue - Don de Dieu

Dead Explorer

Where to Dig Up More About This Beer
Don de Dieu
Unibroue Inc.
80, Des Carrieres
Chambly, Quebec Canada
Est. 1992
unibroue.com/products

Brain Damage Quotient = 9.0 % ABV
Fluid Oz. = 12.0 

Postmortem Brew Review
Light honey yellow-orange color with slight cloudy  haze.
Whiffs of alcohol, some kind of fruit (apple/banana/raisin) and yeast.
One finger fluffy white head with good lacing and retention.
Lots of fizzy carbonation with active surface nucleation strands.
Very slight boozy taste as it warms, sweetness in each sip.
Full flavor, complex aromas, medium body.

Grim Reaper's Eulogy
Don de Dieu literally means "Gift from God". It is indeed a treat for the senses. Full of nose tingling bubbles and sweet apple-like aroma, it is a fitting way to wind down the day.

The label depicts the Don de Dieu; ship of Samuel de Champlain.  In the early 1600's, Champlain sailed from France to settle Quebec where he encountered the St. Lawrence Iroquoians, natives to North America. Sadly, it was the last of the days for the Iroquois as a tribe.  As for Champlain and his crew, their first winter was tough.  It claimed 16 of the crew of 24.

Happily, their stories live on.  Partly due to this wonderful Belgian style ale.  Set sail with this ale.