Blithering Idiot - Weyerbacher Brewing Co.

    Blithering Idiot is an English style Barleywine brewed by Weyerbacher Brewing Co. which is located in Easton, Pennsylvania. I find this label interesting, as I normally think that clowns are somewhat freaky. However, it seems that if you make a clown into a dark/evil clown, suddenly it's not nearly as frightening. This change must have something to do with the trust children put in normal clowns, only to have them mangle the child into a macabre balloon animal. At least if the clown looks evil, we might expect something like that to happen!

    This beer was donated to Amulets and Ale by Emily Hohman.

    Blithering Idiot pours a cloudy, brown-amber color with a finger of thick, tan head. The head persists for a short while, before fading down into a thick foam over the top of the beer.

    The Barleywine's scent is mainly sweet English style malts such as toffee and caramel. There is a sweet, dark fruit scent to the ale as well that makes me think of figs. There is also a strong ethanol smell to the ale, which makes me worry about the alcohol/flavor balance in the ale.

    This ale isn't "clowning around" when it comes to body. A thick mouthfeel with only a slight bit of carbonation makes the ale feel smooth as it crosses your tongue. This is definitely a hearty ale! I'm surprised that there isn't much of an alcohol warmth to the ale, as I really expected it after smelling the ethanol, not to mention that the ale has an alcohol content of 11.1% ABV! Drink too many of these and you'll be the one cracking terrible jokes!

    Blithering Idiot's flavor is made up of most of the same things that were present in its aroma. The beer first hits with its dark, sweet malts, followed by the sugary sweetness of dried dark fruits. The toffee malts are most pronounced, though a mellow caramel flavor is definitely present as well. There is only the slightest bit of hops bitterness right at the front end of the beer, and it is quickly overtaken by the sweet flavors. At the very back end of the beer I can taste a bit of strong alcohol. It's almost as though you feel it more than you taste it.

Now here's a clown you'd expect to kill you.

    I can't help but be reminded of Kefka from Final Fantasy VI when I look at this beer's label. In case you aren't familiar with this entry in the Final Fantasy series, Kefka is the "big bad guy" of the game. He is also likely the most insane and evil of all the Final Fantasy villains, and surprisingly, also the most successful. Kefka definitely falls into the category of clowns that you know to stay the heck away from! I'd have to guess that this would likely be his favorite beer as well, seeing as its deceptively sweet flavor hides a huge, sinister alcohol content that could turn even the smartest of his enemies into, well, blithering idiots! Who knows, with this beer on his side, Kefka might actually succeed in destroying the entire world! (wink, wink)

    Blithering Idiot is a great example of the English Barleywine with only one flaw, its failure to better hide, or balance, the unpleasant alcohol character. It's not an easy thing to do, especially in an ale with such a high alcohol content, and Blithering Idiot does better than many other Barleywines that I have tried. If you can forgive the alcohol astringency on the back end, I'd definitely recommend this ale!

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Amulets and Ale Giveaway!

    Hello everybody! When I started this blog last December, it was just as a test, to see if I enjoyed it and if anyone would be even slightly interested in reading my reviews. Since then, I've posted over 110 reviews and have gotten way more page views from all over the world than I ever expected I could. I recently received an offer from Customonit.com/ to have two custom Amulets and Ale bottle openers made to promote their site. I'm a huge fan of neat bottle openers, but I couldn't think of a better use for these than to host a giveaway in thanks to all of you for making Amulets and Ale so much bigger than I ever thought it would be!

The Prizes!

    I will be giving away two customized Amulets and Ale, surfer-style bottle openers.

The goods!

    The openers measure 7" x 1 1/2" and are made of steel. I had no idea why these were called surfer-style bottle openers, but after some quick research I learned that the round end of the opener is used to pull bottles out of ice without having to freeze your hand off. This use explains the sturdy construction and size of the openers, as they really surprised me when I received them. For a while I was starting to think that they were called surfer-style bottle openers because they were so big that you could use one as a surfboard! I suppose that they got their name from surfers at beach parties!

Ha-, no, OPEN ten bro!

    I'm really impressed how good these openers look! I've done some browsing around Customonit.com, and I have to say that there are some pretty cool options there. You can get customized shirts, cups, coasters, key chains, basically anything you can think of over there. I wish I would have known about the site before my wedding, as customized bottle openers or cups would have been a great party gift for guests!

How to Enter!

    It's easy! Just use the widget below to see what tasks get you an entry! Any questions about the giveaway can be posted here in the comments section and I will reply as quickly as possible! I have never used this widget before, so I will be testing it on my own to be sure that things go smoothly! The giveaway has now started, and will run until 11/2/2013 at 12AM!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thanks!  

    And finally, thank you all so much for following the blog. It means a lot to me! With your help, Amulets and Ale has come this far, and with your help it can grow even more! Any sharing of the blog that you do is extremely appreciated! You all rock! 

Grand Theft Auto V - Xbox 360

    Grand Theft Auto V is an open-world action game developed by Rockstar North and produced by Rockstar games. GTA V is actually the fifteenth entry in the popular Grand Theft Auto series. The game was released  in September 2013, and broke records with the amount of money it made in its first days on the market (over $1 billion in three days!). After playing the game, I can attest to the fact that it truly does live up to the hype!

Tenchu Z - Xbox 360

    Tenchu Z is a Stealth/Action game developed by K2 LLC and published by both From Software and Microsoft Game Studios. The game saw release in 2006, one year after the Xbox 360's launch. Z is the seventh entry in the Tenchu series. I have no idea why the game ended up with the "Z" at the end. You'd really think that it would be an "X" for Xbox or something. All I can figure is that K2 LLC chose the final letter in the alphabet as they realized that their lackluster game would possibly spell an end for the Tenchu series on the Xbox 360.

Mound Builder IPA - People's Brewing Company

    Mound Builder IPA is an India Pale Ale brewed by People's Brewing Company in Lafayette, Indiana. The beer is named after a few groups of Native Americans located in the Illinois, Indiana, Ohio area who in Pre-Columbian times would build gigantic mounds of earth for religious and other important purposes.

    The beer pours a clear, dark amber color with a nice two-finger, off-white head. The foam slowly subsides and forms a thin ring around the inside of the glass.

    Mound Builder smells mainly of hops. The expected grapefruit bitter scent as well as a nice, earthy pine resin scent are both highly featured by the beer. There is also a nice caramel-sweet scent backing up the hops.

    People's IPA is medium bodied and features a high level of carbonation. There is a slight slickness to the beer that sticks around after swallowing. There is also a bit of a warming feeling from the beer as you hold it in your mouth. The beer has an alcohol content of 6.5% ABV.

It is said that the great serpent mound will not rest
until it finds a good Midwest IPA.

    Mound Builder IPA hits hard with hoppy bitterness. The caramel sweetness keeps the bitterness at bay for a short time, but it comes back with a vengeance in the form of an extremely acrid aftertaste. This bitterness is so strong that it actually causes your mouth to burn slightly. If People's could have kept the balance found in the first few seconds of Mound Builder's flavor, this would have been a much more enjoyable beer experience.

    People's Brewing Company is located just a few miles from where I live. As such, I have visited the brewery a few times. On one visit to the brewery I noticed that they had Mound Builder IPA on their Nitrogen tap. I had tried Mound Builder from bottles and normal taps a few times and didn't like it much due to its extreme bitterness. I knew I needed to try it on Nitro just to say I had. Honestly, this beer changes completely when it is poured on Nitro. Nitrogen taps are known to reduce bitterness and to pour a smoother, less bubbly beer. Once the extreme bitterness is gone, Mound Builder is much more enjoyable.

    I generally only choose to drink Mound Builder when there aren't other, better, local IPAs wherever I am drinking. When on Nitro however, I can actually recommend that you give the beer a try. Just know that you'll likely only find the Nitro version of the beer within a small radius of Lafayette, Indiana.

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Derailed Black Cherry Ale - Erie Brewing Co.

    Derailed Black Cherry Ale is a Fruit Beer made by Erie Brewing Co. which is located in Erie, Pennsylvania. I find the beer's name interesting, as a train derailing seems like something that people would like to avoid, rather than enjoy...

    Derailed pours a semi-hazy, brown-orange with little to no head at all. There are a huge number of bubbles present in the ale, so I expect a high level of carbonation.

    The ale smells unsurprisingly like cherry juice. There is also the presence of bready malts. The beer also has a strange metallic scent to it.

    Derailed has a medium body with a medium-high level of carbonation. The beer leaves a slick film in the mouth after swallowing. An alcohol content 5% ABV is present in the ale.

Drink Derailed! The only beer responsible for multiple horrible deaths!

    The Fruit Beer tastes mainly of sweet cherry juice. There is a light flavor of the same bready malts that were present in the ale's aroma. There is a slight metallic aftertaste to the beer which is in stark contrast to the sweet fruit flavors.

    I can't get over that the beer is called Derailed. The word "derailed" brings nothing but negative connotations to mind. I don't see why anyone would name their product after a disaster, especially something with such sweet flavors.

    Derailed Black Cherry Ale has good fruit flavor blended with mild malt character. I'm put off a bit by the beer's metallic aftertaste and smell, though. There is a slight sourness to the beer that fans of Sour Ales might enjoy, though this is by no means a Sour Ale. If you've never had a Fruit Beer before, this would be a decent one to start with!

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Blue Moon Agave Nectar Ale - Coors Brewing Company

    Blue Moon Agave Nectar Ale is a spin on an American Pale Wheat Ale brewed by Coors Brewing Company in Golden, Colorado. This is Blue Moon's summer seasonal release. I'll have to admit that I'm already somewhat biased against Blue Moon beers, but I promise to give this one a fair chance!

    The ale pours a clear, pale straw color with lots of effervescent bubbles. A large, off-white head forms after pouring, but very quickly subsides to a thin film over the beer.

    The Pale Wheat smells of sweet wheat, almost like cereal. There is a slight earthy zing in the aroma as well that could either be from hops or the agave nectar. Overall though, the smell is pretty light.

    Blue Moon Agave Nectar Ale is medium bodied, and nearly syrupy in texture. There is a low level of carbonation, which I find surprising after seeing so many bubbles in the glass at pouring. For once I wish that there was a higher level of carbonation in a beer. The Ale has an alcohol content of 5.6% ABV.

Agave Nectar Ale growing in nature.

    The Pale Wheat Ale's malt flavors are extremely light and nearly not there at all. Cereal wheat flavor is present, as well as some corn sourness. These malt flavors are soon overtaken by an extreme sweetness from the agave nectar. This sweetness persists even after the ale is swallowed, and is almost overpowering.

    Agave nectar is an interesting flavor to try to describe. If you want to know just how sweet this ale is, imagine honey. Now add a little bit more of a vegetable/"green" flavor to honey and you have agave nectar. I'm guessing that the nectar was added after fermentation, as there would be much less sweetness to the ale and a much higher alcohol content.

    When I smelled the beer at first I was hopeful that I had found a Blue Moon variety that I would like, but was soon disappointed. What I mistook for earthy hops turned out to be the agave nectar which adds an almost unbearable sweetness to the beer. I would suggest that Blue Moon lightly hop this ale so that the sweetness is tamed down a bit by some bitterness. Otherwise, this beer is much too sweet for me to enjoy.

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Giddy Up! - New Belgium Brewing

    Giddy Up! is an Amber Ale that is infused with espresso. New Belgium Brewing in Fort Collins, Colorado brewed a limited amount of this ale, and at this point the beer is no longer being made. Unlike Fruit/Vegetable Beers, where the fruit is added before fermentation or in secondary, this espresso infusion is achieved by adding actual brewed coffee to the finished beer. Now that's two different kinds of brewing in the same bottle!

    The infused ale pours a dark, chocolate color with an amber tint. A thin white head forms upon pouring, but subsides to a thin white ring around the glass that leaves light lacing on the edges.

    The beer smells like sweet roasted malts and strong coffee. The sweetness and coffee scent really reminds me of coffee flavored jelly beans. The coffee scent kind of turns me off as it makes me think of how old, spent coffee grounds smell.

    The beer's body is on the low to medium side with a similar level of carbonation. There is an alcohol content of 6% ABV.

What do you mean it's a bad idea to mix uppers and downers?

    Giddy Up! hits the pallete with the same, old coffee flavor that is present in the aroma. Sweet cocoa and caramel malts back the coffee, bringing to mind sweet espresso drinks. There is some bitter lemon peel flavor in the beer as well which seems to be at odds with the other flavors.

    Everything about this beer makes me wish that it were a porter or a stout. I wish it had a thicker body, that the coffee flavor was better accompanied by roasted malts, and that the lighter Amber Ale flavors were better suited to accompany such a strong coffee flavor.

    I honestly cannot drink this beer wtihout thinking of old, gross coffee grounds that have sat in a machine overnight. I wonder about the quality of espresso used in the infusion, and if it were better, if the beer would taste better overall. Though the flavors are interesting, I can't recommend this beer to anyone that would be looking for anything but a novel, strange flavor to try.

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