Zombie Dust - Three Floyds Brewing Co.

    The American Pale Ale, Zombie Dust, by Three Floyds Brewing Co., located in Munster, Indiana, has experienced a huge rise in popularity in the past year or two. The beer has received extremely high ratings on many beer websites and has won many prestigious awards in the beer makers contest circuit. In addition to these rewards, Zombie Dust holds the coveted position of being my favorite beer that I have ever tried.

    Zombie Dust pours a light, hazy amber with a small off-white head. The beer's scent is amazing. As soon as the lid is popped open, the smell of flowery hops and grapefruit peel surround you. Pouring the beer into a glass just allows more of this seductive scent to waft to your nose. The light scent of sugar and fruits can be perceived once the initial hop bouquet fades. There is also an herbal quality to the smell though I can't place it specifically.

The beer is light bodied with a medium level of carbonation. The bubbles help to foam the beer onto the pallet making the scent and taste into one experience. At 6.4% ABV, the alcohol content is just slightly higher than a typical pale ale.

    Zombie Dust tastes much as it smells. There is an extremely prevalent flavor of citrus thanks to the Citra hops used in the brew by Three Floyds. The main citrus flavor is grapefruit with a bit of a tangerine flavor as well. All the hops in the beer give it a nice bitterness that is balanced by a strong malt backing, keeping the bitterness from becoming overwhelming. In addition to the citrus, mango can be tasted in the brew as well.

    I first tried Zombie Dust before I was a major beer lover. Even then, in my unfamiliarity with beer, I could tell that this beer was a great one. In fact, I would go so far as to say that this beer is responsible for my growing interest in beer tasting and, as such, holds a special place in my beer heart.

    Overall, Zombie Dust makes for a great beer drinking experience. The large amount of hops in the brew might turn off newer beer drinkers due to their bitterness, but it is definitely worth trying. If you ever get a chance to try Zombie Dust I highly recommend it!

Amulets and Ale Rating:

#9 - Magic Hat Brewing Company

    #9 from Magic Hat Brewing Company in South Burlington, Vermont, describes itself as a "not quite pale ale." This description seems to be quite accurate as the beer is hardly a pale ale at all.

    Magic Hat's #9 pours a light amber color with a half-inch white head on top. The beer smells slightly spicy and somewhat like fruit. The bottle offers no ideas as to what type of fruit might be in the beer. The smell is very sweet, but not overly so.

    The beer feels light to medium bodied in the mouth with a small amount of carbonation. At 5.1% ABV, Magic Hat's beer has a standard level of alcohol for a beer. The alcohol flavor is imperceptible against the other flavors in the brew.

    All flavors in the beer come off as very mild. No flavor stands out more than any other, making it quite a balanced experience. The taste is sweet, just as the scent promised, though not sweet to the point of being syrupy and unpleasant. The fruity notes are much more prevalent in the taste than they were in the smell. I can't quite put my finger on what fruit the beer tastes like, but I'm thinking it's along the lines of apricot. There are also notes of spices that go amazingly well with the fruit. It's almost as though #9 were some type of apricot cobbler or crisp in beer form. There is barely any bitterness at all in the beer.


    The name of Magic Hat's beer brings many questions into one's mind, and this air of mystery seems to permeate the brew. Why is it named simply #9? Was it the ninth beer that the company brewed? What spices and fruits go into creating this brew? I can't help but be reminded of the song Love Potion No. 9 by the Clovers when I think of the beer's name. Maybe Magic Hat Brewing Company had this song in mind when mixing up their brew, hoping that we would fall in love with their creation.

    Overall #9 is a mild beer with interesting flavors. Unfortunately I find it to be a bit too mild. There is nothing bad about the beer, but at the same time it is nothing special. The beer is very drinkable but the novelty of the flavors will only be interesting the first time one experiences them. One should look elsewhere for his or her love potion, and not in #9.

Amulets and Ale Rating:

Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light - Xbox 360 Arcade

   A lot of people are familiar with the name Lara Croft, but you might notice that the words tomb and raider are mysteriously missing from the title of this game. The omittance is no mistake, however, as this game shares little in common with the famous Tomb Raider series. Released in 2010 by Squaresoft, Laura Croft and the Guardian of Light sought to be its own game, no longer living under the Tomb Raider series's shadow. Personally, this change of pace comes as a breath of fresh air after the multitude of lack-luster Tomb Raider games released in recent history.

    One major difference in Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light (GoL) is noticeable immediately. The familiar third person view is gone and is replaced by an isometric view of the game world and its inhabitants. This viewpoint works surprisingly well for keeping the player aware of the many traps and enemies surrounding him or her while playing. This viewpoint isn't the most shocking venture away from tradition that GoL takes however.

Norse Legend Sahti - Samuel Adams

    Norse legend speaks of a great beer warrior. A beer that could stand up to his enemies with axe in hand and shield on arm and unfailingly slay all who challenged him. Some say that this beer had fiery red hair with freezing blue eyes, others say that he wore a mask to hide his battle-scarred face. No matter what story you may believe, this is not that legendary beer...

    Norse Legend Sahti is brewed by the people at Boston Beer Company in Boston, Massachusetts as part of their "Small Batch" collection. I received this beer as part of a four pack of the series I was given for Christmas. The label explains that the brew is aged on a bed of Juniper berries that are supposed to add a herbal quality to the beer. At 7% ABV, Norse Legend has a bit higher alcohol content than most beers, though it doesn't come out in the flavor.

    The beer pours a dark amber color with a thin tan head. The Sahti smells of sweet toasty bread as well as a bit of a pine scent from the Juniper berries

An actual pour of Norse Legend Sahti.

    The main flavor in this beer is malty sweetness. This sweetness is present at the front as well as back end of the beer. There is a mild aftertaste of toast in addition to a lingering sweetness. The Juniper adds a slight pine/gin flavor though I would expect more from being aged over the berries. There is definitely a woody, earthy flavor to the beer which does conjure ideas of the old world or a damp woods (in a good way).

    The mouthfeel of the Sahti is almost that of a light syrup. The beer leaves a light, sweet film in your mouth after swallowing. The carbonation level is light which exaggerates the syrupy feel.

    Overall the Norse Legend Sahti is a very sweet, earthy beer. I feel like the juniper flavor is not featured as well as it should be for this style of beer which leaves the brew somewhat one-dimensional. While it may not be a beer of legend, this Sahti is still worth trying for someone new to the style. I will be very interested to try more Sahtis now that I have been exposed to the style.

Amulets and Ale Rating:

Merry Mischief Gingerbread Stout - Samuel Adams

    I hope that everyone is having a happy holiday season! I received this 22oz bomber as part of a four-set of Samuel Adams "Small Batch" series from Santa. I assume that this series of beer releases is Boston Beer Company's response to the general idea held by beer fans that they are no longer a "craft" brewing company. I have had a few beers in the series (reviews to come) and I have to admit that they taste little like Samuel Adams's normal line of beers, which I feel all taste very similar to one another. If you are not familiar with the Samuel Adams lines of beers, they are made by Boston Beer Company which is located in Boston, Massachusetts.

    This stout pours a thick, dark black with a thick tan head. The brew smells pleasantly of spices and molassesy sweetness with a hint of alcohol at the end which strikes me as slightly unpleasant.      

Merry Mischief Gingerbread Stout touts an alcohol content of 9% ABV. This high alcohol percentage is noticeable in the flavor of the beer, though the flavor is more warming than harsh. I feel that this beer would likely fall into the category of winter warmers due to this warmth. The flavors of cinnamon, cloves, and ginger of traditional gingerbread are immediately perceptible, but thankfully not overpowering. A sweet maltyness that one would expect from a stout follows the initial spice. The beer has an overall earthy flavor that is quite nice.

    The mouthfeel of the beer is thick and smooth, exactly what I'd want from a stout. The carbonation level is also very nice at about a medium-low level which adds to the smoothness.

    The label leads me to believe that either A.) The gingerbread flavor found in this beer is due to the need to find a use for all the accidental gingerbread man amputations, or B.) that it is highly dangerous to drink and drive a sled. Either way, that third gingerbread man should have kept his arms and legs inside the car at all times. I think that it may be a wise life choice for him to find a new set of friends as well. Those two in the front there appear to be laughing at his injury. I mean, he has to be yelling, and they'd have to hear him. Having a leg ripped off by a pine tree that you pass at high snow speeds would produce a scream that would likely cause an avalanche. There is only one conclusion, his friends are laughing at his pain! He should find friends that are a bit nicer...Or just let me eat him.

    Overall, Merry Mischief Gingerbread Stout is a very pleasant holiday brew. The alcohol flavor is the biggest detractor from the experience as it could have easily been mellowed by Boston Beer Company's brew-masters. This stout makes me want to curl up under a blanket with the lights off and admire the Christmas tree.

Amulets and Ale Rating

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow

    Castlevania: Lords of Shadow (LoS) on the Xbox360 was a pleasant surprise for me. I have attempted to play past games in the long running series with little to no success. As such, I am kind of immune to the disappointment that many followers of the series have expressed due to the game changing up the formula that Castlevania games have followed since the NES era.

    LoS presents the player with familiar action gameplay, puzzle elements, as well as a cinematic quality thanks to the direction of Hideo Kojima of the Metal Gear series fame. You play as Gabriel, a member of a brotherhood of warrior monks who has recently lost his beloved wife Maria. Gabriel is sent on a quest by his order to investigate a recent schism between earth and God. The brotherhood suspects that the Lords of Shadow have somehow used dark magic to create a barrier between the two. In order to break this spell, Gabriel is to defeat each of the three lords and gain their power as his own. Each lord has his or her own part of the God Mask which was broken into three parts in the early ages which embodies their power. Upon reuniting the three pieces of the mask, Gabriel will gain the power needed to break the barrier and reconnect God with earth. Gabriel has another motive, however. He believes that in addition to breaking the evil spell, that he will be able to bring his wrongly executed wife back from the grave with the power of the mask.

Welcome

    Welcome stranger! Come on in, take a seat, and listen to the tale of a great adventure or a legendary brew! Don't mind the Orc staring at you from across the room, he is grumpy, but mostly harmless. It's the Halfling you must worry about as he has had five pints already and is working on his sixth! You know as well as I do that the little ones feel they have something to prove.

    Ah yes, here it is, Amulets and Ale. My attempt to write semi-creatively about the numerous video games I play and beers that I sample. I of course have the intention to keep things relatively up to date, but that will depend completely on my level of laziness at any given time. I expect that there will be WAY more beer "reviews" (quotes because I use the term loosely) than game "reviews" as I have a huge backlog of beers that need something written for them. The nature of games will also go into how often I write about them as certain games last way longer than others. Hopefully you will find Amulets and Ale to be an enjoyable read, and maybe even an inspiration to try a new brew or game!

    I'm still learning this site, but my intention is to have all beer reviews in a section viewable by name and all game reviews in a separate section by name. These sections will likely be accessible from the main page in some way (more on this when I learn more about the site). All comments, good and bad, are welcomed. Just know that if you're insulting or offensive in your comments that I reserve the right to delete your comment or to reply with an equally grating comeback that will likely make you cry.