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Thursday, December 02, 2010

Holiday Ale Fest in 312 words

I made a blitzkrieg stop at the Holiday Ale Fest. Sort of a preview before tomorrow's more serious visit when Sally can join me. These are my comments, in lightning-round fashion:
  • Lompoc Franc'ly Brewdolph. A nice beer, and a nice demonstration of what the Ardennes yeast can do if you give it some time. I'd have liked some more depth, and maybe a sour twist at the end, but life is full of small disappointments. B+
  • Deschutes Jubel 2000. In my review, I confused this with 2000 Jubelale. No. This is their special millennial beer. Sadly, I found it murky, metalic, and dissipated. The flavors had drained out of it. I heard praise here and there, but I stand by my tongue on this one. C+
  • Boneyard Femme Fatale. I had the sense that this beer was soured mainly by the cranberries. It was overly sweet and one-dimensional, but with a bit of lactobacillus, it might have sung. C+
  • Gilgamesh Cranberry Saison. A strange beer. It had an odd, metallic aroma and a sharp, tinny note backed up by thin wheatiness. And yet I sort of liked it. I felt like it could be a beta version of a wonderful beer--perhaps with a bit more oomph. B-
  • Lucky Lab Pavlov's Stout. Ah, here we go. A massive, burly, tasty, rich, boozy, lovely imperial stout. Right in the old Alworth wheelhouse. B+
  • Columbia River Paddler's Porter. Wow. I have rarely tasted a beer so un-beerlike. Toss in a few marshmallows, pop it in the microwave, and the kiddies would call it Nestle. I see why it's wildly popular, and it was beguiling, but even as I enjoyed it, I felt compromised. B
I still haven't had my Spalding Gray-esque perfect beer moment, which is good (though Pavlov would serve in a pinch). Gives me reason to return.

1 comment:

  1. Your tongue is absolutely correct about the Jubel 2000 -- the flavor was all gone.

    But you had posted earlier this year about having two bottles of it in the basement. Did you ever open them, and were they similarly limp?

    ReplyDelete