Clearing the inventory by 3 … er 4

• Dog Fish Head Immortal Ale
• Samuel Adams East-West Kolsch
• Blue Moon Summer Honey Wheat
• Butternuts Moo Thunder Stout Farmhouse Ale

O kay. I had just finished cutting the grass. Good time to continue to whittle down the 55 different brews I’ve collected. I’ve been hitting on the list here and there. I was dripping in sweat. It was 95 degrees. When you are that hot any beer tastes good. I grabbed a Blue Moon Summer Seasonal. It tasted pretty good despite being from last Summer. Yes, right season, wrong year. I bought a seasonal 12-pack last year with the intention of doing a review and slowly…. and I mean slowly… drank them. I think this is the last of the Blue Moon pack. I think it has lost a bit of its fizz but the flavors are still good. Nice and refreshing. I think it still has a bit of honey to add some sweetness. In the past the Summer seasonal was called Honey Moon. Their site says “The beer with more name changes than a professional athlete, today Blue Moon® Summer Honey Wheat is crafted with Colorado clover honey and orange peel for a refreshing taste that makes the most of sun-soaked days.”

That was 2 hours ago. Now I’m over at Mark’s. He’s batching it tonight and invited me over to have a beer. He complained that he didn’t have any so I said “I think I can help in that department.” I grabbed a bunch of brews. One was the Dog Fish Head Immortal Ale. Nice baking spice kind of brew. “Maple, vanilla and oak” is on the label. This is a nice relaxing brew. I think this would be a good brew to drink with a nice steak. Kinda like a nice red wine in a way. I would almost call this a session brew. You want to savor it. I think I like their Raison D’Etre a bit better but I got to dance with the one I brought right now.

Mark opened Samuel Adams East-West Kolsch. I bought this in a 12-pack sampler during our vacation to Mickey World. I think I wasn’t impressed with this beer when I had one of the three. Mark wasn’t impressed with the first taste. He sat back and started to think… He started to describe the scene that it brings to his mind… reminds him of “his childhood walking through a corn field. Smells like wet corn.” Rates it as a 5 out of a10. “A great beer for someone who wants to graduate from a big brand commercial beer to something more ‘crafty.’ Not a bad beer but I wouldn’t buy it.”
“It has a slight citrus flavor, basically a hint of lemon. A bitter aftertaste on the tongue. A slight caramel taste. All of the hues are very subtle,” he added.

Hue? Mark spent years color-correcting photos so he thinks in color even when its something you taste. “Not an in-your-face beer.”

The label says “Our version of a traditional German Kolsch style is fragrant and complex. The Alsatian hop we use imparts a subtle citrus note. Jasmine Sambac, a night blooming Southeast Asian flower adds a delicate floral aroma and flavors to this layered and refreshing brew.” Okay, I visited their website and it says “Light and fragrant, Samuel Adams® East West Kölsch has a floral and herbal character that balances the refreshing German Kölsch style. A classic Kölsch is less bitter than a pilsner with a slightly fruity and sweet biscuit note. For our version we wanted to create a bright fresh flavor by using Alsatian Strisselspalt hops for a subtle lemon and grassy hop note. We added another layer of flavor by aging the beer on a bed of Jasmine Sambac, a fragrant night blooming flower from Southeast Asia. The jasmine creates a delicate floral aroma and flavor for a wonderfully complex and refreshing brew.”

I read that to Mark and he said “I guess that means Jasmine Sambac must smell like wet corn.”

So, the good news is 3 brews down in one day. Well… make that 4. Mark decided to have one more… but if we split this one. He picked the Moo Thunder Stout by Butternuts Beer and Ale. He jumped in with “smell coffee with sweet undertones of chocolate.” He took a taste and said “Yep, coffee and chocolate.” We actually had one of these (it was part of a sampler 12-pack) back in March when we bought a crap load of craft brew for Mark’s birthday. I wanted to buy it because it was in cans and I’m always looking for good canned craft brews. I remember it being more creamy. Maybe this beer doesn’t have a great shelf life. The can says it’s all malt but I’m tasting something that reminds me of hops. I’m tasting something citrusy like a citrus hops. Mark and I tend to lean toward bark brews and this one is almost black.

This beer tastes different on second sip. First taste is very malty, chocolatety and coffee-like. Second taste becomes more bitter and citrusy. I like the first taste. Can’t say I like the second taste. This is one of 4 brews from Butternuts I have left (I do have one more can of Moo Thunder so I’m not sure if I lowered by countdown or not). I’ll do a more through review on these brews later.

We’ve been watching the Olympics. Michael Phelps just lost and with that sour note and the sour note from this last brew it’s time to head home.