This beer has the same flavors of the saison du buff which I reviewed this and last year but with added aged in red wine. WTF does this do to the taste you may ask?…welll..It gives it a nice wine, oak, rosemary, sage, thyme, rosemary, parsley, apples, apricots, toast bread, and Gouda cheese in the after taste. This complexity of herbs, spices and wine is like no other. I almost want to say, it is a wine, cheese and crackers in a bottle. I’m getting some toast bread or cracker spread with Velveeta, seasoning, spices and drinking a lump of wine. Quite PURO PINCHE FANCY as my friend Sal would say and BOUGIE as my Alex would say. The flavors are quite complex…they are messing with my mind. Like all that that I explained but in drink format. This is crazy!!!!!!..WOW..Eschatological Ale+ Judgement Day Ale = It’s over!!!….SAISON LOVERS….THIS IS SPARTA!!!!!!…and by that I mean… if you find this….this could be the best Saison ever O.O!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So how fresh is this beer? Well I was skeptic. Being a fan of super strong bitter, sweet and tropical IPAs I had to try this. The smell of this beers is very hoppy and plant like. They were not kidding. Smells of oregano or MJ with onions dipped in orange and lemon. The flavors?? Well the flavors are of Apricot, peaches, strong honey dew, melon, tangerine, grapefruit, lemon, orange, pine, oregano, basil and minor note of sweet garlic. Seems like the hops just glue themselves in the aftertaste. Getting a lot of sweet hoppy goodness here. My GOD…this would be perfect for a Carne Azada…Oh well… I already opened it ._. …Anyways, the flavors are actually not as bitter. The hop grass and pine flow way more. The sweetness of this beer is higher. Also, I noticed that it is unfiltered too so it is not as complex. I would honestly say, this is and maybe Heady Topper, would be the best IPA ever for people that usually hate bitter IPAs. You will love this one. It is also as refreshing as some nice summer lagers. The crazy part, oh yeah, I almost forgot…THE ALCOHOL is still a 9.4%!!! Meaning you will not find it and drinking this beers is very smooth and crisp. Quite the different little beer here and I guess if this is what a newly born fresh IPA is supposed to taste like then, my applause. Go get this before time runs out

#EnjoyBy #SoCal

Rating: 2/5

King Cobra 40oz Malt Liquor by Anheuser-Bush is a 6%ABV American Malt Liquor. Why am I doing a review on this? LOL…well…here is the story. 

One day when I was hanging out with my friend Hugo and Oscar we went to a bar and got wasted….the next morning we wanted to keep drinking so we stopped by the liquor store before we went to buy some menudo for the hangover. I was in charge of buying a beer for each so I got Oscar a Tallboy can of budlight and I got a Hop Stoopid. David a.k.a Hugo was joking around and was like get a King Cobra. To his surprise he was like WTF…you actually got this?? We were laughing our asses off. So as a favor to Hugo, he asked me to review this beer. Here it is….LOL

Rating: 5/5

La Fin Du Monde by Unibroue is a 9%ABV Triple Golden Ale on Lees. By Triple, it means it is a triple fermented Belgian ale. This Triple tops all other Triples over the world. Even the Trappist Triples don’t come close. No wonder Trois Pistoles to me is number one :P. Anyway, this is the second time I get a chance to review this beer. The beers is very common to find. Even the local Albertson’s has it in stock. There are several layers to this beer in terms of flavor,texture and drinkability. It is creamy, crisp, and refreshing. Flavors of Champagne, apricot, pears, apples, oranges, alittle bit of sweet banana nut bread, honey, spices like coriander, . As strong as the beer is, there is hardly a sense of the alcohol. This is kinda interesting because that means you can probably drink more and after a while it will creep up :). So yes, highly recommended, easy to drink, but just be careful :P. This beer takes on that barrier that divides wine and beer into something special. It may truly be The End of the World, or maybe just the empty glass…another round please!!

This year our brewing team was inspired by some exotic-ish additions of the lemony persuasion. Yes, it’s a Double IPA (can you really say you’re surprised?), but as we strive to do with all our Stone Anniversary Ales of the let’s-take-this-IPA-in-a-new-direction variety, we’ve brewed up a Stone-worthy divergence from tradition. The amount of rye malt we used isn’t quite enough to warrant the appellation “Rye IPA,” but it still adds hints of spiciness that contrast deliciously with the tropical fruit flavors and aromas of the Amarillo and Calypso hops. Add a few European specialty malts, some lemon verbena, and three more hop varieties to the mix, and you have a highly complex brew melding both bitter and fruity hop notes with rich toasted malt character punctuated by nuances of spicy rye and subtle lemon. 

The bastards at Stone bring forth an awesome addition this year. With a more fruity and lemon IPA. The beer has the basics of best enjoyed DIPAs with the flavors of grapefruit, pine and grassy hops along with caramel and honey. This time they added rye to it gives it a toasted bread flavor. Adding the herbal and spices of the lemon verbena and lemon oil is like dipping that toasty bread into massive amounts of lemon drops with orange and pineapple juice. There is some floral aspects as well. Like the way a flower smells is what is in the aftertaste. Not the same type of bitterness of hops but a bitterness of sweet like plants or flowers. There is no hint of the alcohol as the great flavors seem to hide it well. Overall not as mango tropical but a good combo none the less. Awesome IPA worth the pick up.

Rating: 4.99/5

Serafijn Christmas Angel by Microbrouwerij Achilles of Itegem Belgium is a 8%ABV Spice Belgian Pale Ale. Not a big town making this beer but damn…Fucken Ridiculous….Upon opening the bottle, the carbonation was very intense. Had to pour it over the sink as to not lose some good beer. Even though this is this a Belgian Pale ale, it does surprise me big time.. Flavors of a Belgian quad here. I was able to get this as it was on clearance. LOL meaning it must have been sitting there since Christmas. Oh well, Christmas in the summer is not too bad sometimes. This beer reminds me of the St Bernardus Christmas Ale. Wow….just a lot of dulce de leche caramel, honey, vanilla, butterscotch, bread, minor flavors of raisins, grapes, nutmeg, cinnamon and other Christmas spices as well as minor coconut, pineapple, rum and grassy notes. Surely the one to find, thanks to my friend Richard Avila for the recommendation :). A BPA worth trying especially if you are able to find it later this year.

Simply remarkable. If the liquid that is lost by those brandy barrels is extracted into a delicious beer such as this, then this is nothing quite short of a drink they serve at mass. Masking its brandy properties only to the very end, this beer explodes with rich flavors of vanilla, caramel, raisins, sour cherry, chocolate, grape, buttery toast, minor hazelnut and ofcourse brandy booze only in the after taste. Every brewery I’ve tried has it’s signature notes. For the lost abbey, its their raisin puree :P. Does a good job not to overwhelm in terms of alcohol. Just wait though…you will be blessed with bliss in moments away…LOL

2011 Review:
Was looking for this one for a while. Saved it for my 28th birthday. This is unlike many beers I have had. More like a wine since it is mixed well with the aged bourbon. Definitely worth trying

This beer is more like a bitter mixed drink. While flavorful and nice, it is pretty strong and the alcohol can be detected. It also has some woodsy fragrance. The flavors are of toffee, caramel, orange peels and orange juice, lemon, honey and pineapple. While the flavors are good, the alcohol does dominate here which is decent at best. It is almost like this beer is trying to go in the direction of a barley wine and an IPA at the same time but ends up somewhere in the middle. I would only recommend this if you like strong alcoholic beers.

Flavors of coffee and dark chocolate with some caramel sweetness and possibly vanilla. Has a minor chocolate chip cookie dough sweetness. I’m pretty impressed with this one. First had it at my friend Oscar’s birthday party when we did a beer run. Surprising enough, some 7-11s are carrying more craft beer now a days. This is awesome because more people should “dig up” some treasures of their own. If you like sweeter porters then this is very good. Give it a try … somewhat easy to drink and flows well :P.

Rating: 5/5

Trappistes Rochefort 10 by Brasserie de Rocheffort in the Abbaye de Notre-Dame de Saint-Remy is a 11.3% ABV Belgian Quadrupple fermented world class quad ale. An Authentic Trappist ale along with the other 7 Authentic breweries such as Achel, Westvleteren, Orval, La Trappe, Chimay, and Westmalle. This is the second time I try this beer and was a trade in with my friend Richard Stan Avila for the Ruination 10th Anniversary. Been meaning to review this again since my last review in 2011. The beer is extraordinary. Seems like each trappist brewery likes to brew beer in their own fashion for the similar style. Rochefort 10 is alcohol heavy, with some raisin, plum, fig and caramel bread. The carbonation reminds me of another fruitier pilsner beer. That might just actually be something else. Although it might seem like an apricot and pear type of sweetness. Not as sweet as St. Bernardus 12 in the sense of caramel sweet but the sweetness is is more in the fruits. Some of the bitterness is slight but that is possibly some earthy hops. As of today, this rates second best quad while St. Bernardus is third and Westy 12 is the best in the world. Nuff said…delicious, complex trappist, worth getting… 

Unbelievably Chocolatey with coconut flavors. Maybe at some point in time this beer was alittle bitter and maybe more coffee flavored. As soon as I opened it I was very very impressed. As a fan of sweet beers, this was amazing. The taste was just very powerful. Not alcohol wise but sweet. Think about it this way. If you have ever enjoyed an AlmondJoy with its almond, chocolate and coconut crème filling, then this is what this taste like in liquid form. There is some nice coffee mocha flavor in there as well. Vanilla, Bourbon, Raisins, toffee and licorice. There is hardly any sense in it’s alcohol strength. A world class stout and up there with the many many fine beers of the world. If you ever find it, doesn’t have to be from 2008, but even from now…buy 2…one for now and the other for several years from now :P…WOW…just ..WOW

So how is this beer anyway? Well Let me start off with the basic quad elements that I get from this beer. Dulce de leche and Leche Nestle (Sweetened condensed Milk) on a toasted bread. Now we add raisins, cherries, plums and figs. It also has some licorice, oak and cinnamon too. There are some minor sweet hoppy grassy flavors in the back but not bitter. Just earthy hop tasting. Now it goes into the tropical flavors. Those I can definitely pickup are pineapple, peaches, mangos, papaya and strawberry. The alcohol is somewhat hidden but its more of a Bourbon or cognac flavor. It is well balanced. Cognac Barrel Aged quad with tropical flavors, a definite success for Belgian lovers out there. Recommended Dessert beer to pick up.

So what is this delicious dessert beer like? Chocolate, vanilla, caramel, coffee, Port wine, raisins, cherries, bourbon and barley. The sweetness flows through and through and even in the after taste lingers with a minor sweet, smokey and alcohol heat feel. It is creamy yet syrupy. Hardly any bitterness of any sort. Top notch one of the best stouts out there and one of the strongest in alcohol…LOL cept Tactical Nuclear Penguin….but that’s a completely way different story altogether…LOL…Anyways…highly recommended for all stout and high ABV, barrel aged, sweet beer lovers.

2011 review:
A stout among kings. One with a hazard cap…lol. The Dogfish World Wide Stout is an amazingly strong and delicious beer. Strong by it’s 18%ABV and delicious by its ingredients. If stout was ever a wine, this would be it. The flavors of coffee/chocolate, dark fruit, barley are pretty overwhelming and linger on. The strongest beer I have had and also one that packs a massive punch even if in a little bottle. Dogfish head some of the best beers in the world and this one is and awesome one that should not be missed if you find it…LOL just follow the hazard triangle cap 😉

2011 Review:
A complex fancy Ale. A nice yeasty emphasis in flavor with sour wine like after taste. Truly an ale best enjoyed for especial occasions…But any day can be a special occasion for trying a new beer 😉

Rating: 4.25/5

Chocosaurus Rye collaboration by The Bruery and Bootleggers is a 7% ABV Black Rye Lager with Cocoa Nibs and Vanilla Beans. This beer is no longer brewed but may potentially be released in the future again. It was a trade in for me. So this beer is not an ale, it is a lager meaning fermented in cold instead of warm temperatures. The beer was created in collaboration between the neighboring breweries (Bruery and Botleggers) here in California. Smells very delicious with fragrances of raisins, chocolate, caramel and bread. So how does this beer taste? The beer taste more like a chocolate German bock. Flavors are of bitter sweet dark chocolate, vanilla, caramel, with dark fruits like raisins and plums and alittle bit of toasted bread. It is not smokey but more sweet and spicy. There is some pilsner malts in there that give off these honey notes to the beer. I wouldn’t say it is like drinking chocolate milk but it feels alittle bit that way. A bitter chocolate milk with spices. Overall a delicious desert lager. Possibly the highest score I have given to a lager 😛

Rating: 4.25/5

V-Twelve by Victory Brewing is a 12% ABV Belgian Style Quadruple. This beer surprised me as it is a clearer, copper looking beer. Hell even the taste was not like other Quadruples I have had before. The very noticeable thing about this beer is that it masks the alcohol WAY TO WELL. The Flavors are of lighter dark fruits but more of a caramel, orange marmalade on toast. Some raisin, cherries cough drops, pineapple, tangerine, orange, sangria, and pepper spices. It is also somewhat easy drinking. While Rich in flavor, it is passes lightly. LOL which is very scary as you can easily drink the entire bottle not even notice until it is gone. Such a crazy beer…wow. Aging this beer is probably a must as it is too young of a beer to drink. But very very delicious and quite the different little quadruple. If I took the Tangerine Orange beer and added Belgian yeast, I would probably have this. Refermenting to quad state for this beer is quite impressive as it it didn’t get too complex and thick but took another complex direction of flavors. Also I have never had a 12% ABV quad before so this is quite the treat :P. I am sure as time goes on it will release even more complex flavors.

LOL good thing Santa divides his beers with the reindeer, otherwise we would be see Santa get busted for a FUI (Flying Under the Influence). So I reviewed the beer last year and I definitely had a lot to say about this one. So let me start with the basics before I am consumed by Santa’s other helper, Krampus. The beer has NO CARBONATION. Pure Oil, Dark Gold, Texas Tea. The beer cleary brings out the bourbon fragrance with a flavor straight of pure bourbon that is reminiscent of Angel Share. The flavors to follow are the awesome chocolate, Vanilla, Port Wine and coffee cake served with Cherry, Raisin and plum syrup. Back end finishes with a dry smokey yet lingering whiskey and bourbon sugars. You can tell right away that the flavors are all over the place. Sometimes I like that about beers…unbalanced and always leave you wondering. Keep Drinking it!! Now I understand Port Brewing and Santa’s conspiracy. Knock people out with this beer and then Santa raids your fridge or worse…LOL click on the link below about Santa :P…. Anyways, this beer is supreme!!!! not doubt it is one of the most defining stouts out there. It is not like Ketchup Syrupy Dark Lord Sweet (Althought that beer is supreme above all Stouts)…but it is delicious. Sweetness comes and goes and then you are left with a balanced after taste. Whether you are naughty or nice…it don’t matter, good beer doesn’t discriminate and neither doe Santa’s Oak Bourbon Barrel Aged Little Helper

2011 Review: 
Bourbon aged and delicious Christmas in July Santa’s little helper Barrel Aged Imperial Stout is an amazing beer. Take the original Santa’s Little Helper and age it for 9 months in Bourbon Barrels and you get this magnificent master piece of a Christmas beer. Bottle says 10%…trust me, this is not 10%…LMAO….The guys at Port Brewing took it to the lost abbey sinners level..LOL something Santa
would drop hot coals, which is probably in this beer too. Anyways, on to the taste. Simply remarkable!!!…Taste of strong bourbon but very sweet as it is masked by roasted malts which give it that traditional chocolate and coffee flavor. However, since it is a christmasy kind of beer, there is definitely some cherry, earthy, cinnamony, nutmeg and vanilla flavors as well. Very thick and strong in taste, and surprisingly…no fizz. In alcohol world, no fizz means high alcohol. So yeah the label says 10%…It is not….Port Brewing just being evil. But this is truly a magnificent Christmas present for sure.

The bat (or “el murcielago”) had a very important role in the making of this beer. Our winged furry friends were responsible for the pollination of blue agave plants, which of course leads to tequila. That tequila was aged in barrels,and those barrels were eventually emptied and found their way to our brewery. We then Filled those barrels with a high gravity double cream ale. And to give it even more of a southwestern kick, we added some cumin and lime peel as well. El murcielago, we tip our hat to you. 2011-2012 has been designated by the United Nations as the Year of the Bat. Go to www.batcon.org for more information about supporting these awesome flying guys. 

To start off, this beer was completely different from what I was expecting. Let me put it this way…the way this beer and smell taste is like the Fiesta Lime Chicken at the apple bees. I for one happen to like that selection. When they say double cream in this beer, I really thing they mean sour cream and tequila. The flavors are of salt and with lime, , agave, caramel, coconut, honey, chile pepper spices without the heat, cumin, cinnamon and bread. Finishes with wood/oak and lechera Flan sweetness in the aftertaste. Taste grows as it warms up too. Good luck finding this one…not an easy find at all 

I chose this piece of artwork as the bat and the bees do pollination. One in terms of Agave and the other in terms of Flowers. So this was just the perfect pairing.