Magic Hat - Odd Notion Summer '10

Dead Soldier

Where to Dig Up More About This Beer
Magic Hat - Odd Notion Summer '10
Magic Hat Brewing Company
5 Bartlett Bay Road
Burlington, VT USA
Est. 1994
www.magichat.net

Brain Damage Quotient = 6.2 % ABV
Fluid Oz. = 12.0 

Postmortem Brew Review
Clouded golden color.
One and a half finger off-white foaming head that leaves slight lacing.
Sweet fruity esters and ginger smell.
Fruit and spice taste.
Active amount of carbonation.
A light bodied smooth beer.

Grim Reaper's Eulogy
When is a gingerale not a gingerale? When it's a Ginger Ale; that is an ale made with ginger!

Light and refreshing with that sumptin' special ginger added to the batch.  A very light and refreshing ale that will cure your summertime blues. Magic Hat brews the Odd Notion series each season.  So I guess that's four times a year you will see a different 'odd' style headed your way.

I found nothing odd at all with this Summer '10 release.  The ginger was refreshingly good and quite snappy in flavor.  There is a note on the bottle that says you can rate it at oddnotion.magichat.net and as soon as this review is over, I will be reaching for another while casting my ballot.

Vote for yourself.

Pike - India Pale Ale

Dead Soldier

Where to Dig Up More About This Beer
Pike - India Pale Ale
The Pike Brewing Company
1415 1st Avenue
Seattle, WA USA
Est. 1989
www.pikebrewing.com

Brain Damage Quotient = 6.3 % ABV
Fluid Oz. = 22.0

Postmortem Brew Review
Copper to bronze in color.
Floral smell of hops; piney with a bit of malt.
Caramel tan, two and a half finger head that lasts.
Light carbonation.
Medium malt taste and citrus pine smack of hops Good balance.
Medium bodied.  Will not weigh you down. 

Grim Reaper's Eulogy
From the rain of Seattle to the Sunshine State, the latest beer to "come down the pike", is now here in Florida.  Okay, that was an excruciatingly droll pun, but if you are a regular reader, you know what to expect from me by now.

Pike is here, all the way from the state of Washington. A real humdinger of an IPA at first blush.  It has 60 IBU's of hops heat and yet, it doesn't cause tongue burnout.  I could see myself sessioning this easily.  As a matter of fact, the bottle is 22 ounces, so that is going to be pretty much of a given.

My good buddy Gerard 'Tweeted' about the appearance of Pike in Florida.  Knowing that I had obtained some, he couldn't wait to see the written eulogy.  Well, I wasn't about to let him down.  In fact, it is as good an excuse as any, on a midweek night, to pop open a bomber of this IPA.

The ale's hoppiness stands up all the way to the bottom of the bottle.  The flavors open as it warms a bit and that is where you get the rich undertones of the malt characteristics.  It surely hit the spot at the end of a long grueling day at the mortuary.  It sort of "livened up" the evening at the crypt...if you catch my drift. Muahhahaahaahahaa!

Pike has quite a few beers and ales introduced to the Sunshine State and I plan to sample them all.  There was a double IPA if I'm not mistaken. I'm surely looking forward to the rest of their stuff making an appearance in my cooler for future obduction.

Welcome to Florida, Pike!  We're sure glad you're making it rain beer, here.

Shiner Bohemian Black Lager

Dead Soldier

Where to Dig Up More About This Beer
Shiner Bohemian Black Lager
Spoetzl Brewery
603 East Brewery Street
Shiner, TX USA
Est. 1909
www.shiner.com

Brain Damage Quotient = 4.9 % ABV
Fluid Oz. = 12.0

Postmortem Brew Review
Deep black color with some ruby tones at edge of glass.
Malt and some fruit aromas.
Thick and creamy, caramel tan, two finger head that lasts and lasts.
Light  to medium carbonation.
Medium malt taste and a bit of bitterness from hops at the end.
Light to medium bodied. Surprising for a dark beer.

Grim Reaper's Eulogy
Sinister from the pour, this dark and lovely Schwarzbier makes a bold statement in your glass.  I was expecting a bit more pruney/coffee flavor, but none of that came through.  Not bad though.  In the end, I found it to be an overall easy to drink dark beer.

The blackness of the label and the blackness of the brew were the darkest parts.  The flavor, while tasty, didn't live up to the visual expectations.

Honey Moon - Summer Ale

Dead Soldier

Where to Dig Up More About This Beer
Honey Moon - Summer Ale
Blue Moon Brewing Company
Coors Brewing Company
13th and Ford Street
Golden, CO USA
Est.1995
www.bluemoonbrewingcompany.com

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

Postmortem Brew Review
Slightly cloudy, yellow in color.
Wheat, honey and grain in aroma.
Modest carbonation.
Wheat, orange and honey taste.
One finger, white fluffy head that leaves fair lacing.
Light body with lots of flavor.

Grim Reaper's Eulogy
A summer ale for the good old summer time.  The Mrs. picked this one out on our latest excursion to the mega-beverage house as something she would like to try.  Of course, I sampled it too for this obit.

It is light and has clover honet and orange peel in it, according to the neckband label.  Two different wheat malts finish the bill, making this a good reach for the cooler.  It would especially be good on a day by the pool or at the beach, bleaching one's bones, so to speak.

Odell - Red Ale

Dead Soldier

Where to Dig Up More About This Beer
Odell Red Ale
Odell Brewing Company
800 East Lincoln Avenue
Fort Collins, CO USA
Est. 1989
www.odellbrewing.com 

Brain Damage Quotient = 6.5 % ABV
Fluid Oz. = 12.0 

Postmortem Brew Review
Amber ruddy red color.
Hops, hops and more hops smell. Wonderful.
Nice tight foaming two fingered head.
Superb rings of lacing with each sip.
Total immersion of hops with each sip. Malt does show a bit.
Light to medium bodied mouth feel. 

Grim Reaper's Eulogy
Fresh hops aroma and a hops kick - just right at 50 IBU's.  This was one that eluded me on previous trips to the mountains of Colorado.  I regret only bringing a sixer of this back, but there is hope for me yet.  GABF looms large in September when I will be back...with more.

Time to correct that mistake. Get some, before I bring it all back to the crypt.

Val Dieu - Triple Abbey Ale

Dead Soldier

Where to Dig Up More About This Beer
Val Dieu Triple
Brasserie de L'Abbaye du Val~Dieu
Val Dieu, 225
Aubel, Belgium
Est. 1997
www.val-dieu.com

Brain Damage Quotient = 9.0 % ABV
Fluid Oz. = 11.2

Postmortem Brew Review
Turbid golden color.
Yeasty smell.
White bright soapy tight bubbled head.
Lots of sparkling nucleation.
Amazing hanging lacing on glass.
Crisp taste with slight apple notes.
Light golden body. 

Grim Reaper's Eulogy 
From their website, "The abbey of Val-Dieu was built 1216 by Cistercian monks. They were looking for a lone valley with a stream for agricultural and brewing activities, a haven of peace full of nature. Cistercian orders are well-known abroad for their brewing skills. The monks of this abbey made no exception to this rule." It seems that over the centuries, the Abbey fell into different states of disrepair. Thankfully, it was re-established in 1997.

As for the ale, it has the characteristics of any fine tripel.  It has an apple taste along with the yeast component.  There was also a hint of wine flavor, mmm, that's what seemed to come through.  I bought this as my third Father's Day ale, this time to honor my own dad. It may not have been what he would have drunk back in the 50's and 60's, but I would have liked to introduce him to this style.  I'm certain he would have enjoyed it a lot.

Too bad Val~Dieu didn't learn how to spell Tripel correctly. Ahh, who cares what's on the bottle as long as it's good in the bottle.

Birra Moretti - La Rossa

Dead Soldier

Where to Dig Up More About This Beer
Birra Moretti - La Rossa
Heineken Italia SpA.
Udine, Italy
Est. 1859
www.birramoretti.com

Brain Damage Quotient = 7.2 % ABV
Fluid Oz. = 11.2

Postmortem Brew Review
The color of root beer.
Caramel tan head that quickly disappears.
Raw malty smell with slight hops.
Medium carbonation.
Medium malt taste and dry finish.
Mild sweet and slightly dry tasting.

Grim Reaper's Eulogy
Though now part of the Heineken family of beers, Birra Moretti has been around a long time. Older than my grim self by nearly 100 years, in fact.  Nevertheless, I can recall trips to the Italian food markets as a wee little reaper, and seeing this beer stocked alongside the Pabst and Bud. Way, way, back in the day, my friends.

On an odd note: Hand me a fedora and I could be the unpleasant old man with the mustache in their advertising.

So to pay respect to my mom's side of the family on this Father's Day, I tried the darker of the two Moretti's, the La Rossa. Grandpa 'nonno' Giovanni would have exclaimed, "...sono buoni!"

Look we all know that good food comes from Italy.  We all know that good wine comes from Italy.  So it should stand to reason that you will find good beer coming from Italy as well. 

Ciao bella!