Beer Wednesday: 50 Best Beers in America

Rather than a beer review this week, I am passing along a link from MP (who was not bold enough to post this himself) about the 50 Best Beers in America as named by the American Homebrewers Association. Or maybe as named by readers of Zymurgy, the AHA's magazine. Not quite sure. (Fun etymology fact - Zymurgy is named after zymology, which means the process of fermentation and frequently is used as a fancy term for the study/process of beer-making. Class dismissed.)

Keep in mind that people who brew their own beer about as hardcore as beer aficionados get, so it is not too surprising that the list is dominated by IPAs and Imperial Stouts, the extreme manifestations of their respective styles. Pliny the Elder by Russian River, which we tasted in the FIWK IPA Tasting, came out on top. There are lots of beers on here that I haven't had before, so I'm very excited to try to work through this list.


(pictured: #2 finisher Two Hearted Ale by Bell's)

Anything on here that you would personally rate higher? Any beers listed that you want to go find now?

Beer Wednesday: Damnation by Russian River

I recently tried Damnation by Russian River with our friend Natalie of Meeting Lunch (a sustainable food blog) and enjoyed it. Russian River labels Damnation as a "golden ale" and I see it described by ratebeer as a Belgian Strong Ale and by Beer Advocate as a Belgian Strong Pale Ale. It's 7% ABV so strong is a good descriptor; it's also got yeast in it (it's a cork top) so I can see how it's Belgian. It's also golden. I vote for Belgian Strong Golden Ale.

Beer Wednesday: Prohibition Ale, Big Daddy IPA, and Payback Porter by Speakeasy

Recently I've had three different beers by Speakeasy Ales & Lagers brewing company (by the way, their website is www.goodbeer.com, how cool is that?) and I have enjoyed them all. They were the Prohibition Ale, the Big Daddy IPA, and the Payback Porter.

Beer Wednesday: The FIWK IPA Tasting

Towards the end of April, Aaron came down to LA. We decided to celebrate this occasion by assembling a crew and drinking some beers. Aaron loves IPAs so we focused the tasting mainly around those. Here is the list:

IPAs
- Longhammer IPA by Redhook (6.5% ABV)
- Blind Pig IPA by Russian River (6.1%)
- Pliny the Elder IPA by Russian River (8%)
- Torpedo IPA by Sierra Nevada (7.2%)
- Hop Ottin' IPA (organic) by Anderson Valley (7%)
- Big Daddy IPA by Speakeasy (6.5%)
- Ruination IPA by Stone (7.7%)


Non-IPAs
- Noble Pilsner by Sam Adams (5%?)
- McGarvey's Scottish Ale by Left Coast (5%)
- El Camino (Un)Real Black Ale by Stone, Firestone Walker, and 21st Amendment (9.5%)
- Red & White Ale by Dogfish Head (10%)
- Victory at Sea Vanilla Coffee Imperial Porter by Ballast Point (10%)


Pictures are forthcoming. Feel free to add your comments in the meantime, especially if you've had these beers before.