Big Daddy IPA - Speakeasy Ales & Lagers

    Big Daddy IPA is an India Pale Ale created by Speakeasy Ales & lagers which is located in San Francisco, California. I received this beer as part of my second shipment of my craft beer club.

    Big Daddy pours a bright copper color with a finger of off-white head which sticks around for a while and leaves a small amount of lacing.

    The IPA's aroma is mainly made up of malt sweetness with small bits of citrus and grassy/herbal notes.

    Big Daddy IPA is medium bodied with a mid-level of carbonation. The IPA has a bit of an oily mouthfeel, though it finishes dry.

Big Daddy's gon' kick you and take your money!

    The ale features great hop flavors that can be likened to citrus fruits such as grapefruit and lemon. A nice subtle malt sweetness balances out the ale keeping the bitterness from becoming overpowering. With an alcohol content of 6.5% ABV, Big Daddy actually has a slight warmth to it, though the ale has no harsh alcohol flavor whatsoever.

    To be quite honest, I'm a little bit afraid of this beer's mafia undertones. Even the bottle describes the beer as:

"No lightweight, Big Daddy I.P.A tips the scales with a huge hop flavor and a clean, dry finish that leaves the scene without a trace."

I find myself a bit scared that the beer is going to beat me up and take my stuff. Either that or provide me with a pair of concrete shoes and take me swimming. I'm almost afraid to enjoy the beer, as if that would be entering into a contract with Big Daddy (he made me a beer I couldn't refuse?) that would end in me needing to kill someone for him.

     Scary mafia references aside, Big Daddy IPA is a very well balanced and enjoyable India Pale Ale. I find the citrus and herbal flavors to be quite nice and somewhat reminiscent of tea, strangely enough. I could see drinking a few of these on a hot summer day, mafia or no mafia.

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Blues' Golden Ale - 16 Mile Brewing Company

    Blues' Golden Ale is an American Blonde Ale crafted by 16 Mile Brewing Company which is located in Georgetown, Delaware. I received this beer as part of my second shipment of my craft brew club. According to the bottle, Blues' Golden Ale is named after the Delaware Blues, a military unit which fought in early every battle during the Revolutionary War.

    Living up to its name, Blues' pours a nice gold color with great transparency. There is barely any head to the beer and the bubbles fade quickly. A very pretty pour even without any head to speak of.

    There is barely any scent to the beer. What little can be smelled are sweet notes as well as a somewhat grassy scent. I'm actually disappointed in the lack of  a scent to the ale.

    Blues' Golden Ale is light bodied with a medium level of carbonation which seems to quickly fade away leaving the beer somewhat flat.

A true American Blonde Ale hero.

   The Blonde Ale's flavor is quite light and sweet. There is a grainy flavor to the ale which tastes almost bisquity. There is a sweet fruit flavor to the ale as well that is reminiscent of white grapes. Very little bitterness can be perceived in the ale's flavor, and at 5.9% ABV there is no alcohol presence.

    At this time, I'd like to voice an obvious concern I have about a beer soldier. Honestly I'm surprised we won the war with a soldier that fought in nearly every battle having a blood alcohol content of 5.8%. I'm surprised that the ale was able to get up and fight, let alone point his gun in the right direction. Those Red Coats must have been plastered as well. I mean, it would take like, what, a single tap on his glass exterior to kill Mr. Blonde Ale here? I suppose it could be beneficial to the fledgling United States if the English should kill Mr. Blonde Ale and drink of his alcoholic blood, reducing their effectiveness as well. I'm probably thinking too far into this.

    Blue's Golden Ale is an extremely light ale that I can see being good paired with seafood or other lightly flavored foods. Unfortunately I wouldn't recommend the purely for drinking. The light flavors just don't make the beer special enough to warrant drinking when there are so many better ales in the style out there.

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McSorley's Irish Black Lager - Pabst Brewing Company

    McSorley's Irish Black Lager is, unsurprisingly, a Black Lager which is apparently created by the Pabst Brewing Company located in Woodridge, Illinois. I use the word "apparently" because the bottle tells me that it is made by McSorley's Brewery in Utica, New York, while everything else I can find about the beer online tells me that Pabst makes the beer. Also, another fun fact, I have no idea where this beer came from. I found it at the back of my refrigerator and I honestly don't remember ever buying it. How mysterious! (Yeah I know, I'm kind of wondering if it's safe to drink this as well. Ohwell, the bottle was sealed!)

    McSorley's pours a dark coffee color with a nice khaki head. The bubbles seem to dissipate quickly though, unlike those found in Irish Stouts.

     The Black Lager smells very sweet with chocolate and caramel roasted malts. There is also the faintest scent of dark fruits in the aroma.

    McSorley's Irish Black Lager is actually quite light bodied. The beer has a mid-high level of carbonation that comes off as kind of harsh against the thin body. I would definitely prefer the body be a bit thicker to stand up against the carbonation.

Can beer get much more Irish?

    The Lager's flavor is mostly sweet and roasty. Flavors of molasses and slight caramel hit first followed by a slight bitterness from the hops. There is actually a sourness to the beer for some reason which I find unpleasant. The beer finishes dry with an aftertaste that isn't too overbearing and fades quickly. The beer's alcohol content comes in at 5.5% ABV, a pretty standard level for beers at which no flavor nor warmth can be perceived.

    It's a little known fact that old Mr. McSorley was a fine connoisseur of literature as well as watercolors. They say that he would often sit in his pub reading and painting scenes from the book at the same time. People would marvel at his great works of art while enjoying a pint in his ale house. Yeah, I'm totally just making this up. From what I can find online, Mr. McSorley was quite a woman-hating grump.  The bottle states that it took 116 years and a court order for the McSorley Ale House to allow women inside its doors. Maybe the sourness that I taste in the beer is actually Mr. McSorley's bitterness making its way into the beer with his name on it. From now on I think I'll just call him Mr. McSourly, or Mr. McSorely.

    Overall the flavors in McSorley's Irish Black Lager are pretty spot-on for a beer of this style, if a bit milder than I would like. The sourness in the ale definitely detracts from it's desirability as a session beer. In the end, McSorley's is just another beer that suffers the "good, but nothing special" problem.

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Sofie - Goose Island Beer Co.

    Sofie is a Saison (also known as a Farm House Ale) created by Goose Island Beer Co. which is located in Chicago, Illinois. I recently had the beer on tap at a local bar and loved it, so when I saw this bottle on a random trip to the liquor store I had to pick it up.

    The Saison pours a pale yellow color with a bubbly froth on top. There is a definite effervescence in the beer, the bubbles give the beer an appearance similar to champagne.

    Belgian yeast is prominent in the ale's scent as is the aroma of citrus peel. The smell is extremely bright and interesting with a tiny bit of spice backing the lemony aroma.

   Sofie is light bodied with a huge level of carbonation. Long after pouring, bubbles continue to dance around inside of the glass. The ale is very crisp and pleasantly tart. With an alcohol content of 6.5% ABV, Sofie has little in the way of alcohol flavor nor warmth.

Bubbly and sweet, I've never wanted to date a beer so much before!

     Goose Island's Saison has many light flavors which work together to create an invigorating bouquet. Fruit flavors such as lemon and pear mingle with the fruity tasting Belgian yeast to create an interesting sweetness. There is very little bitterness in the ale, and what bitterness there is comes off as the tartness of citrus fruits. As the ale warms up, flavors of wheat and a flavor almost like that of wine begin to come through.

    When I first tasted this beer I remarked to my friends that I thought it tasted like a pretty girl. No, I wasn't admitting to cannibalism. I was merely trying to express what the Saison's aroma and flavor conjured in my mind. The citrusy effervescence and wonderful aroma bring to mind the flowery perfume of a beautiful girl in the springtime. Perhaps this mental image was shared by the beer masters at Goose Island Beer Co., explaining why the ale received a girl's name.

    I was incredibly surprised that I liked this beer as I do not normally care for the flavor that Belgian yeasts lend to beers. I took a chance in trying the ale and I am extremely glad that I did. The crisp flavors and high level of carbonation really make this Saison seem like a true champagne of beers.

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Smitten Golden Rye Ale - Bell's Brewery, Inc.

    Smitten Golden Rye Ale is a take on the American Pale Ale created by Bell's Brewery, Inc which is located in Kalamazoo, Michigan.

    The Pale Ale pours a hazy golden color with a decent amount of sediment floating throughout the glass. A nice inch or so of foamy head tops the beer and leaves a decent amount of lacing on the glass as it fades.

    The ale has a very malty smell with some slight spicy notes from the rye. A strong, flowery hops smell is present at pouring, but quickly gives way to the earthier malt scents.

     Smitten is medium-light bodied with a crisp amount of carbonation which keeps the beer tasting fresh. Luckily the sediment is not noticeable.

Will you be smitten with Smitten?

    The APA is considerably less hoppy than the scent might lead one to believe. While there is definitely a presence of citrusy hops and their resiny oils, the malts are definitely more noticeable in the ale's flavor. The earthiness of the malts together with the light hops flavor creates an almost lemon-grass like flavor which is quite refreshing. A very slight rye spiciness can be tasted, though just barely. The malts have an almost bready quality to them which help to balance out the hops and rye flavors. The ale leaves a slight oily bitterness in the mouth which is somewhat unpleasant. Even with the higher alcohol content of 6% ABV, Smitten presents no alcohol flavor nor warmth.

    Smitten Golden Rye Ale definitely has a floweriness about it. From the "he loves me, he loves me not" label to the hoppy aroma released by popping open the bottle. Personally, when it comes to gifts, I'd much rather receive a beer bouquet than flowers. I wouldn't recommend playing the loves me, loves me not game with a six-pack though or it might end up something like "she lovvesh meh naht."

    Overall Smitten Golden Rye Ale is a very decent tasting beer. The rye flavors are a bit milder than I would expect with rye in the name of the ale, but the overall earthiness and hops balance is quite nice in the ale. The aftertaste and oily mouthfeel can be somewhat off putting, but this APA is definitely a refreshing choice.

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Final Fantasy II - SNES

    Final Fantasy II is a Japanese style Role Playing Game (JRPG) released by Square in 1991. Even with the Roman numeral II following the name, Final Fantasy II is actually the fourth game in the Final Fantasy series. Square apparently wanted to avoid confusion when localizing their latest game to the USA as the actual Final Fantasys II and III had not been released outside of Japan at the time. Now that all of the early Final Fantasy games have seen release in the US, this renumbering by Square is actually responsible for way more confusion than leaving the game entitled Final Fantasy IV when it crossed the Pacific would have created.

Corona Extra - Grupo Modelo S.A. de C.V.

    Corona Extra is an Adjunct Lager brewed by Grupo Modelo S.A. de C.V. located in Mexico City, Mexico. Adjunct Lagers get their name from the adjunct grains used to cut costs in mass-production by replacing higher quality grains with cereal grains such as corn or rice.

    Corona Extra pours a light yellow color with a disappointing white foam which quickly dissipates into nothing.

    The beer itself smells slightly sweet from the malts, with a bit of a sour, corn-like scent. There is a slight hint of hops.

    Corona Extra is very light bodied, but not quite water-thin. The beer has a high level of carbonation which makes the beer seem more like a soda than a beer.

    The Lager tastes mildly of sweet malts. I was surprised to find that the beer actually does have a slight corn flavor. This corn mixed with the malt sweetness give the illusion that the beer contains corn syrup, which is very unpleasant. There is only the faintest hint of hops in the brew. With an alcohol content of 4.6% ABV, Corona Extra has absolutely no alcohol flavor or warmth.

    I find it surprising that all types of Coronas are bottled in clear glass bottles. It is a decently well known fact that sunlight damages beer and causes it to taste "skunky." When UV light hits some of the oils from hops a chemical is formed which is actually present in the defensive spray of skunks. This chemical causes a rotten, disgusting flavor in beers which are exposed to sunlight. This reaction is why most beers are bottled in brown or green glass. It is always a warning sign of a bad beer when it is bottled in clear glass.

    As is well known, the addition of a lime to the beer improves the flavor slightly, though that isn't exactly a plus for the beer itself. This is definitely a beer that should only be consumed when you can't drink the water, or after drinking numerous, better tasting, beers; if at all. To its credit, Corona Extra actually tastes better than a lot of the other mass produced macro brews on the market today, though that's not saying much.

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Hopslam Ale - Bell's Brewing, Inc.

    Hopslam Ale is an American Double IPA created by Bell's Brewery, Inc. which is located in Kalamazoo, Michigan. This special brew is released only once a year and in quite limited quantities. The ale also has the special honor of being my second favorite beer that I have ever tried. Every year in January I start searching the internet to see if Bell's has announced release dates for that year's batch of Hopslam. Once I find the release date, I anxiously await the two to three weeks that Hopslam will be on shelves. When the time finally comes, I book it into stores in order to claim my one six-pack-per-visit limit and rush back home with my prize like a squirrel with a nut.

    Hopslam pours a golden-orange color with an off-white foamy head.

    Upon first opening the bottle, an aroma of citrus fruits (mainly grapefruit) and what can only be described as a flowery scent burst outwards from under the cap. Upon pouring, the slight sweet scent of honey can be detected.

    Bell's Hopslam Ale is medium bodied and features a light carbonation level which causes the beer to feel extremely smooth. There is a pleasant warmth to the beer which causes the mouth to tingle nicely. At 10% ABV, this warmth is not at all surprising.

    Just as you might expect from its name, Hopslam is packed full of hops flavor. A bitter piney flavor starts out the ale's bouquet with a very nice grapefruit flavor following. One would expect an ale that is so full of hops to be overly bitter, but such is not the case with Hopslam. A great malt backbone works to edge out this bitterness allowing the pleasant flowery flavors to come through without the unpleasant bitter flavors. The sweet, smooth flavor of honey holds up the back end of the bouquet leaving a pleasant sweetness as an aftertaste.

Looks like someone wasn't aware of the one six-pack limit, so I stocked up! Lucky me!

    There is a large amount of hype surrounding Hopslam lately as the seasonal release has become quite popular since its release in 2004. As such, the beer can be quite hard to come across unless you plan ahead and look for release dates online. When I first tasted Hopslam, I was able to purchase a pitcher of the ale for normal price. In the years since, having Hopslam on tap has been reduced to an expensive half-pint that leaves you only wanting more. Interestingly, the first time I ever tasted the ale was in a period of time that I very much disliked strong, hoppy beers. The amazing balance presented by Hopslam just blew me away even though I knew little about beer or what different styles of ale could offer. It wasn't until a couple of years later when I found hopslam by chance at a local store and decided to give it another try that the ale was cemented as my favorite beer.

    Whether or not the hype surrounding Bell's Hopslam is warranted, it remains my second favorite brew even after trying many, many others. To this day, I am still amazed by the balance struck between the hops' bitterness and the honey and malts sweetness. The high alcohol content makes this beer a definite sipper, though it also lends an incredibly pleasant warmth to the ale. This is definitely a beer worth tracking down!

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Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and Damned DLC - Xbox 360

    The Lost and Damned is the first of two episodes of downloadable content (DLC) released for Grand Theft Auto IV. This installment follows a new main character, Johnny Klebitz. Johnny is second in command of The Lost Motorcycle Club, a gang of bikers residing within Liberty City. The expansion's story runs parallel to the events experienced by Niko Bellic, further fleshing out the overall narrative of Liberty City and filling in some gaps in Niko's story. In some instances, Johnny actually comes into contact with the protagonist of the main game and works together with him for certain missions. Other important characters from Niko's story make a few cameos in Johnny's tale, bringing some familiar faces to the new cast of friends within The Lost.

Ubu Ale - Lake Placid Craft Brewing Company

    Ubu Ale, supposedly named after a legendary dog in the Lake Placid area, is an English Strong Ale created by the Lake Placid Craft Brewing Company located in Lake Placid, New York. According to the legend (conveniently printed on the beer's label), Ubu was a gigantic chocolate lab who had a special ability of sniffing out great beer. I can see how a dog like that would be large, doggy beer belly and all.

    Ubu Ale pours ruby-tinted brown with a finger or two of white head on top.

    The ale smells very sweet, almost like a Barleywine. There is an almost acidic, sharp smell to the ale as well.

    Ubu is mid to full bodied with a medium level of carbonation. The beer has a pretty significant mouthfeel.



    Ubu Ale hits the mouth first with a bitterness that is somewhat citrusy. Strong malt flavors follow, bringing to mind dark chocolate and coffee. The sweet flavors end with more bitterness. The aftertaste is almost metallic, which is as unpleasant as it sounds. At 7% ABV, the alcohol presence is definitely noticeable, especially in the aftertaste. A slight warmth from the alcohol is present in both the mouth and stomach.

    Personally, I don't really want to meet the dog that inspired this ale. The beer is fine and all, but a dog with these qualities wouldn't exactly be man's best friend. The chocolatey malts definitely could be inspired by a chocolate lab, but the bitterness in the beer makes me think that the dog might be more likely to bite than play. Add to the bitter demeanor of the dog the fact that he likes to drink good beer, and you've got a big, beer stealing monster. Not to mention Ubu would likely be drunk all the time, peeing wherever he wanted.

    Overall, Ubu Ale lives up to its name as a Strong Ale. I find the early and after bitterness in the ale to be offputting, though the sweet malt flavors in the middle are quite nice. I wish that the malts would minimize the bitterness in the aftertaste more than they do though.

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Grand Theft Auto IV - Xbox 360

    Ah, the American dream. For years immigrants have moved to the United States with the hope of starting a new life. A new life where perseverance and  hard work pays off and can eventually allow even the poorest of people to become rich owners of fast cars and gigantic mansions. Where even the ugliest of men can find themselves surrounded by beautiful women, and where money can take care of any problems one might encounter.

    This may not be the exact version of the American dream held by immigrants landing in New York City, but it is certainly some of the main ideas held by Niko Bellic as he makes his way to Liberty City in Rockstar Games's open-world action game Grand Theft Auto IV.

The Lord of the Rings: War in the North - Xbox 360

    The Lord of the Rings: War in the North is an action-RPG developed by Snowblind Studios. Fans of the genre will recognize the developer from such games as Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance as well as the Champions of Norrath series. The game appears on PC and the Playstation 3, though this review was written for the Xbox 360 version of the game.

     The game's story follows three companions; a Human Ranger, an Elven Loremaster, and a Dwarven Champion. This unlikely band of heroes finds itself traveling across the northern areas of Middle Earth combating the dark lord Sauron's army, headed in the north by the evil lieutenant Agandaur.