Knee Deep Brewing Hop Shortage

So to open this, the news story that was just on was about a woman in Texas who saw the Virgin Mary on a tortilla. Soak that in for a moment. She claimed that she also saw Jesus on the other side of the tortilla, and "Thought it was a sign from the holy family that everything is alright." No, it's a sign from the tortilla company that you should eat the tortilla instead of trying to find meaning in it. It's a fucking flour tortilla. This story was followed up by budget cuts and financial woes. Do you want to retract your statement that a tortilla told you everything is alright?

So this beer, by Knee Deep, is apparently a year round brew. After reading up on Knee Deep (since our Simtra review), they have a bizarre availability. California, Arizona, Nevada, Ohio and Idaho. 5 states and Ohio is the only one not near their brewery (based in California). Interesting, but I will NOT complain about this.

So, a quick run down of this. This is labeled as the cousin of Simtra, but with Centennial and Chinook hops. 11.3% ABV, no idea on the IBUs, as the label says 'no shortage here'. This pours a coppery amber color, with some white head that doesn't stick around. The aroma is holy family of hops (AH! See how I tied in the opening paragraph in with.... never mind). Citrus and honey aroma. The taste. Oh how I've longed for the taste while spewing my nonsensical whimsy all over this page, with the pint glass sitting in front of me, staring at me, taunting, making me long for the hop onslaught that was Simtra. Some sweetness up front, less sweeter in the middle, nothing but sheer bitterness on the back. The hop characteristics build toward that back and come out in a pineapple, grapefruit, pine concoction that lingers on your tongue, while your mouth puckers a bit from resiny bitterness left behind. Hints of the alcohol make a slight presence known in the flavor, but not noticed until about halfway through the pint, where you start to feel that nice, warm, happy buzz, that I previously compared to a wine buzz. You're warm, happy, and love everything. Everything is right in the world because you found a tortilla with the Virgin Mary on it. Then the harsh reality hits you that the lady in Texas who 'found' this 10th Wonder of the World, is just bat shit fucking crazy, because this isn't distributed there, so she can't be feeling the same happiness.

Not quite as good as the Simtra, but this is damn good. Thanks again to Rin at Savor Market for bring Knee Deep into our lives, and we will continue searching for their brews, to bring the awesomeness to you, our loyal viewer/reader/online stalker/beer geek.

4.85/5 caps

-Nathan

OK, Knee Deep. Welcome to Ohio, you lovely bastards. I've fallen rapidly in love with you and your seeming similar addiction to hops that I have. Simtra ranks with the best beers I've had the pleasure of ingesting. I took one sip of this and said, "Whoa." I don't get the 11.3% ABV except in the way it gives me that wonderful champagne-style buzz halfway through.

My partner in blogging, life, and crime described it perfectly. I don't have anything to add or complement his summation of this wonderful brew. Ohioans (and residents of the other four states where this may be obtained), go grovel knee-deep should Rin point you in the right direction with this brew or anything else they make. As for me, I'm going to fall prostrate to the ground in reverence of a kindred hop-loving spirit. Or is that too knee-deep in bullshit?

4.9/5 caps

-Jennie

Great Lakes Rye of the Tiger

Great Lakes Brewery has added two IPA's to their seasonal releases this year: Alchemy Hour and Rye of the Tiger. And Lake Erie Monster comes out next month, which is my favorite Great Lakes brew. I'm sad that this seems to be replacing Holy Moses, which was a fantastic white ale, but I'm excited about the IPA's. We picked up a six-pack of this when we couldn't find KBS last night, so it's something of a consolation prize... but with the hype over it, I'm pretty sure I won't be too disappointed.

Add to that whenever I opened the fridge today, I had Survivor stuck in my head. Right now I'm at that epic buildup at the very end. I've even come up with alternate lyrics in an ode to this brew: It's the Rye of the Tiger/It's the thrill of the hop/Rising up to the challenge of our rhizomes... Somebody help me, I've finally gone over the edge. Hunter S. Thompson would be proud. Gonzo beer blogging. Right.

Let's move on to the beer, so that you can all end that scary ride inside my head. It pours a medium orange color with a smallish white head. The aroma is citrus and some spiciness from the rye, with just a hint of biscuity malts coming through. Let's take a sip. This is really good! It opens with the citrus notes, has a lovely bite from the rye, and finishes super dry. The mouthfeel is moderately carbonated and medium-bodied. If you're new to rye in your beer, especially in your IPA, it doesn't taste like rye bread (thank goodness; I have a strong aversion to caraway seeds). It has the bite of a rich pumpernickel bread that combines perfectly well with the hops.

Great Lakes has been impressing me lately with their new additions to their lineup. This certainly does not disappoint. Well done from our brewing brethren to the north.

4.75/5 caps

-Jennie

After a day of sheer insanity, I figured it was a brilliant idea to add to the insanity... Jennie's version of Survivor is the main reason I let her take the lead, that and I was eating dinner with some Ghost Chili sauce. Spicy awesomeness. Before I start reviewing, I must applaud Jennie on her photography skills, as this resembles, to me, the label. Take a moment and notice the pint glasses hiding behind the bottle, resembling the tiger hiding behind the leaves. Now that your mind has been opened, let me take you on a little journey, I like to call...

The Beer Review

 Medium orange pour, little amount of white head that sticks around. It's clear, but not crystal clear. Wow my feet have some funk from sweating in a warehouse, and the cat's in heat. Okay, back to focusing, which is hard to do at times as you unwind from a long, tedious day of scanning boxes and putting them on a skid, but I finally digress. The aroma is citrusy, biscuity, and spicy. Huh, C.B.S., almost like KBS, which I'm still bitter over missing the release of. Maybe I should quit my job in order to chase these rare beers, following them like a hippie followed the Grateful Dead, wandering aimlessly across country, seeking the ultimate prize- happiness. Happiness from a mind enchancing experience, which would happen with this rare brew chase. But this, apparently, is not a rare brew. So, more readily available, where Great Lakes is distributed, this is a good find thus far. But now onto my favorite part of the review...

...The taste. Note that this has warmed up by sitting while I was enjoying my dinner (and a Burger beer). The flavor is light citrus up front, the rye following heavy right behind, but fading quick to give way to the light citrus, finishing dry and slightly bitter. Medium carbonation, medium body, leaving a slight resiny feeling around the cheek and gum area. Not quite as good as the Alchemy Hour, but one of the best RIPA (Rye I.P.A) styles that I've had. The cat in heat is also a klutz.

4.7/5 caps

-Nathan

Fat Head's Oompa Loompa

So, to continue the mocking of ourselves and our inability to obtain KBS, we move on to the other stout in the fridge, Fat Head's Oompa Loompa Chocolate Cream Stout. It sounds deelish. It's brewed with Belgian chocolate and Madagascar vanilla beans. I'm in. After Michigan's loss to Louisville, I'm going to need to assuage my sorrows. And my conscience for not watching the game.

It's a lovely deep brownish-black color with a pale khaki head. It smells heavenly... the chocolate and vanilla really come through. It reminds me of a 90% cacao Ghirardelli square in aroma. Wow, is this good. Indescribably smooth, it glides over my tongue like a really dark chocolate fondue. The Belgian dark chocolate is really noticeable in the taste, whereas the vanilla beans take a back seat, coming out later in the taste. It's a little thinner-bodied than I expected, but I'm okay with that, as I usually have to be in the mood for a heavy-bodied stout. Besides, cream stouts tend to be a little lighter-bodied.

Fat Head's has done another fantastic job in producing this beer. I'd be happy to keep it in my fridge to satisfy my chocolate cravings during a rousing bout of PMS. Or whenever I feel like a dark beer.

4.8/5 caps

-Jennie

Dislike on the name. You see, I had this ongoing story, nay, epic adventure back in middle school about how Ed McMahon hired Oompa Loompas to try and kill me. Great action, always ending with Ed McMahon escaping and yelling in the distance 'Yessir!' That opens you up into a little of my twisted creativity that begs to be released in one form or another. Maybe this beer is twisted creativity in a bottle. So with that, onto this brew.

This is a dark, opaque color, about as dark as my Ed McMahon/ Oompa Loompa anthology (I really have no idea what happened to those papers, but in nomadic times, you tend to lose items). The aroma is chocolate with hints of vanilla. The taste is... fuck me running. That's good. There are some dark roasted malts that add to the pleasantness of the chocolate. There are hints of vanilla toward the back. Smooth, lighter bodied, creamy mouthfeel.

Now I'm off to revisit memories of assassination attempts on my life by Ed McMahon as I watch Top Gear's Jeremy Clarkson's perpetual rolling of a Reliant Robin (youtube it, it's hilarious).

4.75/5 caps

-Nathan

Full Pint Night of the Living Stout

We purchased this to accompany the season finale of "Walking Dead." Eight days later, we're actually going to drink it. And because tonight has been the night of the elusive stout, I'm going to torture Nathan by starting off with this one. We have been trying to obtain -- legally, of course -- a bottle of Founders KBS. We had to miss an event last week where we could have purchased one, and we were an hour late to Palmer's tonight for it, by which time they were sold out. Actual conversation:

Nathan: I shed a manly tear (when he found out that both our names were called in the raffle last week).
Me: It's ok, dear. It's ok to cry over beer. It's manly, even, to cry over beer.

Side note, I hate Nathan's work schedule. It was the reason we missed the KBS tonight. Don't worry, we'll keep trying, but in the meantime, we have another delicious stout to drink and share with you. Without further ado:

We've previously shared our enthusiasm for Full Pint, and our appreciation that we can legally obtain it in Ohio now without having to bootleg it across state lines. This is their occasionally available stout. I've not had a dark beer from them yet, so I'm intrigued. It pours black as black coffee, with a minute khaki head. It smells lovely... lovely coffee and roasted notes and some stone fruit coming through in the nose. It tastes... man, I wish I had this for breakfast. It tastes like coffee. Coffee and coffee grounds, and somehow, some bonfire flavor coming out of nowhere. I love the smell of a bonfire. And it finishes very bitter, like black coffee. The mouthfeel is very smooth, velvety, with moderate carbonation.

Ooooh, I like this. I'm looking forward to trying more of Full Pint's beers, now that we can get them more easily. If you'll excuse me, I'm going to go throttle Nathan, or at least tackle him and take the remote. He's watching the national championship basketball game, over which I am very superstitious. While I really want to watch it, I'm convinced that Michigan won't win if I do. Go Blue!!!!!!

4.6/5 caps

-Jennie


I hate my work schedule too and it saddened me when Rin, at Savor, told me that both our names were drawn for last week's event. And to top things off, my Sundays are shot for a while, as Walking Dead is done for the season. And to top it off even more, Jennie's a team-up-north fan...

So to help chase away this self-burden, there's good beer. Good beer and reading Hunter S Thompson later.  This beer smells fantastic; coffee, roasted and some light darker fruit notes. The taste is coffee, coffee, roasted, coffee and bitter finish. Smooth, but thick, mouthfeel. I can't really add anything to what Jennie said, aside from This doesn't taste bad with a salty tear or two in it (joking, of course).

4.6/5 caps

-Nathan-

Magic Hat Elder Betty

Kitties on the keyboard make it hard to type: lesson learned tonight. Miss Jasmine decided to help review the beer, although in the end, she had nothing to say about it... I think maybe she was just going for easy access to the desk and some Mom love. So, this is the last beer in the sampler pack from Magic Hat to review. Elder Betty, which was first released last summer. A hefeweizen flavored with elderberries, which are something of a new obsession of mine. They're mild but tart... I love them in cocktails. Seriously, try a splash of St. Germain (elderberry liqueur) in your next greyhound.... it smooths out the bitterness of the grapefruit juice. And I love love love the label artwork, so this was something of a no-brainer for me.

This pours a cloudy peach color with a white head that doesn't stick around long. The nose is all hefeweizen esters -- banana, orange, coriander -- with a touch of elderberry sneaking in. The taste is pure hefeweizen -- orange and banana, predominantly -- rounded and smoothed by a tinge of elderberries. I love that the elderberries complement instead of overwhelm this beer. They hit the palate late, and have the same effect they have in the greyhound. The mouthfeel is a little more bubbly than most hefeweizens, but that's ok in this, I think.

Jasmine came back to supervise blog progress. She's now prowling around the desk, threatening to tip over Nathan's bottle collection. Here is my view right now:

Yeah, she looks innocent. She's actually the sweetest cat. Even when she's eating the sprouting herbs or scratching her declawed paws on any and all closet doors.

Back to the beer... yeah, it's good. I'd suggest obtaining a six-pack once it warms up a bit more.

4.3/5 caps

-Jennie

Ok, so to explain the things you see on the desk, Alpha Collection box from Flying Dog (2 years ago they released that, with the AWESOME Imperial Simcoe IPA) and Hell's Angels from Hunter S. Thompson.  And of course the kitty who's getting some junk in her trunk. But onto the beer.

The label surely attracts us: just sheer beauty. The pour of this is hazy yellow orange (or as Jennie said 'peach') color, white head. Interesting banana and berry aroma. The taste is like an awesome banana and elderberry smoothie. few notes of orange and coriander, but adding to instead of overpowering or taking away from this fruity concoction of awe. lighter mouthfeel with some decent carbonation to make this more of a unique brew.

Good beer, better, once again, for warmer times, but we can't blame the brewery for Ohio's potential for some snow tomorrow and starting off in the 20's (note, a couple days ago, it was sunny and 60).

4.25/5 caps

-Nathan

Neil House Cranberry Cider

If you've had anything by Neil House, you've probably had this. This apparently won blue ribbons at the Jackson County Fair and the Microbrew in Oregon (according the bottle). Unfortunately, this is going to be unobtainable, as Neil House decided to close down production. A sad loss of a newer brewery.

This is 4% ABV and is the first cider we've reviewed.

The pour is almost like cranberry cocktail mixer that you'd find at a bar, a pinkish red color. The carbonation is ridiculous and almost overflowed the pint glasses a couple times, but dissipates quickly. The head is a soft pink. The aroma is cranberries and sweeter hints of almost an apple like scent.  The taste is sweet and tart with cranberry and apple-like flavors. Real fruit taste (unlike artificial flavored beverages). Finishes dry , yet slightly sweet like a Gran Spumante on New Years Eve.

What else can be said aside from this is tasty, and will missed. Everyone that we introduced it to (both male and female) loved this. We still have no idea why at the beginning of March, Neil House decided to close shop. Consider this our send off to an awesome local brewery. I raise my pint to you and wish you the best in both your future and legacy.

4.9/5 caps

-Nathan-

What a beautiful tribute... I don't think I have anything to add to this, other than it's a perfect combination of sweet and tart, with a lovely dry finish. This will be dearly missed in the Columbus market. I'm really sad that this may be the lat time I'll have this.

5/5 caps

-Jennie

Magic Hat Hicu

This is part of the 2013 summer sampler from Magic Hat, the sampler that prompted me to prohibit Nathan from buying any more craft beer until we reviewed what we had in the fridge. It worked... this is still lurking in there. It's a cucumber and hibiscus ale, 4.2% in ABV, putting it firmly in the session category. Let's see if it's worth drinking in a session. With the name, of course, the crafty geniuses at Magic Hat have a haiku-writing contest for this beer. See if you can beat Nathan's entry here: http://www.magichat.net/elixirs/hicu/. 

It pours a pale straw color with a fluffy off-white head. The aroma is a little overwhelming... and it smells like cucumber-watermelon soap from Bath & Body Works. I can't stand the smell of that lotion/soap, so my heart drops a little. Hopefully it tastes better than it smells. OK, it tastes like it has fresh cucumber squeezed or mashed into it. It's like an earthy cucumber beer smoothie, with a light hint of the hibiscus coming in around the middle, and a bit of a vegetal finish. I love cucumbers (insert sophomoric joke here), but I don't know that I love this beer.The mouthfeel is highly carbonated and a little like soil.

I like the premise of this beer, so I had high hopes for it.We brew some kooky beers, after all. I mean, our most requested brew thus far is our lavender and chamomile IPA. And it's fantastic. It's part of why I'm attempting to grow some lavender this year (so far, I have two sproutlets, but it's still early days).

Overall, I think Magic Hat achieved what they strove for. Unfortunately, it's just not to my taste. I could see it being moderately refreshing on a hot day... but for days like that, I'd rather drink Left Hand's Good Juju (brewed with ginger).

3.67/5 caps

-Jennie

Apparently, we're the first to review this. There are no reviews on Ratebeer or Beer Advocate. Google search only found a press release. We're pioneers. But since it's beer, would it be piobeers? Never mind, that's a terrible pun. I need to drink more to get the wit going.

Jennie nailed it with the pail straw color and the fluffy head. The aroma to me reminds me of 21st Amendment's watermelon wheat with a bit of fresh cucumber. The flavor is ... huh... That's interesting. Cucumber front, hibiscus middle, cucumber toward the back, and ending with a faint hibiscus flavor. No real malt or hop tones here. Now, for those who haven't tasted hibiscus, it's almost like some lemon blended with some sort of berry flavor, slightly tart. The mouthfeel on this is medium feeling (due to carbonation), and leaves a faint earthiness after it slides down into your now happy belly.

I rather enjoy this. This is very unlike any brew I've had before, so points for the creativity, the flavor combinations, and the use of poetry for your marketing campaign to keep it extra unique. The only quarrel I have has nothing to do with the actual brew (coming back to the cold and unpredictable Ohio weather). Yes, I know, 'If you don't like Ohio's weather, why don't you move?" Well, my fine friend, I like the selection of beer we can obtain here, I like the local collegiate sporting events, and, well... No? Huh, I though I had a third point, apparently not. But also apparently, I reiterate, we're the first to review this. This makes me happy.

4.3/5 caps

-Nathan-