My Totally Impressive, Unimpressive Life

100 Beers in 100 Days taps out beer number eight with Wells Banana Bread Beer. That’s right. You heard me. Banana Bread Beer. Now I’ll admit, my first thought to putting “banana” and “beer” together is “…really? idk…” and then my mind dissolved into Doctor Who and Arrested Development references. When I snapped to it I realized that I love beer and I love banana bread so this had a great deal of potential either way. And I have to say…

This. Beer. ROCKS! 

This tastes EXACTLY like banana bread beer should. I found it to be perfectly balanced and a gorgeous color that I would paint on my walls if I could (I haven’t ruled out that I won’t honestly.) This was just a treat to enjoy. The worst thing about it is that it made me crave actual banana bread. 

This beer wins the first perfect score of 100 Beers in 100 Days (and I rate harshly so that’s impressive for me) 10 out of 10 for this yummmmmmy brew.

Beer seven of 100 Beers in 100 Days is brought to you by Uinta Brewery. Baba Black Lager is obviously a deep dark brew and literally my first reaction was “Omg bacon!” I felt this reaction in the best of ways. It’s smokiness has that hickory taste that makes bacon even better and it seems to have had the same effect here. It adds to the smooth and rich taste. If you are craving a delicious dark beer then this is an excellent choice. 

Bonus: It’s USDA certified organic. 

This is definitely going on my list of regular purchases for the coming cool weather. I would imagine this would be an awesome choice for cooking with too. Can’t wait to test that theory. 8/10

Beer six of 100 Beers in 100 Days = Shipyard’s Pumpkinhead. Tracked this down after a recommendation from a friend but more importantly, know this; I love pumpkin. LOVE it. It is my favorite flavor of anything ever. I would kill a man in a dark back alley to get my hands on a tub of pumpkin cream cheese (my absolute favorite form of pumpkin). So I guess what I’m saying is, this may be the first pumpkin beer but it won’t be the last. Tis the season and I will take it upon myself to try as many as possible for the benefit of my readers. All three of you. Yeah, that’s it. We’ll go with that. 

Anyway, this particular pumpkin brew was good, fresh tasting, but a tad bit monotone. I suppose I prefer to taste more of the pie spices that usually accompany pumpkin flavors and while the ginger is fairly evident the cinnamon and nutmeg were lacking. That said, being that it’s not an overwhelming beer, this would be an excellent session choice for the fall holidays. I can see buying a case, sitting around a bonfire all night telling scary stories, and eating boatloads ofhalloween candy that I bought the morning after Halloween when it’s all gone on clearance. 7/10.

Beer five of 100 Beers in 100 Days is Highland Gaelic Ale. This is a beautifully colored beer so if you go for it, definitely enjoy it in a pint glass. The label totes it’s even balance but I found it just a tad hop-heavy for that. And while I did like it and find it very drinkable I also found it all-together unremarkable. A decent choice as a session beer. 6/10

Beer number four for 100 Beers in 100 Days would be this little gem by Sea Dog *aptly named Apricot.

Things started out so well between us. I chilled a glass, we made some small talk, and finally I was allowed to round second base and pop the top off. This beer smelled amazing and I was really excited about it right up until I took my first sip.

You know how candy fruit flavors never taste like the real thing? Banana runts don’t really taste like banana and those grape dum dums, while delicious, do not in any way taste like the fruit? That’s how the apricot comes through.

And I do mean through, like a freight train, not really for the reason that it’s potent as much as the actual beer it’s rooted in tastes like tepid tap water that’s been allowed to sit in a plastic bottle for weeks while rolling around under the back seat of your car, thus preventing it from really taking charge of anything going on here. It’s just… bad. I give this little guy a 3/10 and let it be known that two of those points are strictly for its aroma and it automatically gets one point because I am fairly certain that it does, in fact, still contain some amount of alcohol. 

If you’d rather just enjoy smelling your beer then by all means this is a good one, though I think your money would be better spent on an actual apricot.

*If, by aptly named, you mean it tastes just like the little apricot soaps my grandmother used to keep in her guest bath.

Beer three of 100 Beers in 100 Days is brought to you by Fort Collins Brewery in the form of the Rocky Mountain IPA. Now let the record state that I am not an IPA fan. That’s not to say that I can’t appreciate an IPA but usually I’ll pick any other style of beer ever concocted in the history of ever before I’ll choose to drink an IPA. It just so happens that I didn’t make it to Total Wine and More today and it was the only beer left in the fridge I hadn’t tried. Oops. Anyway, the top of this beer is actually pretty good. A lovely malty smooth beer that refreshes until the bitter hoppy aftertaste appears. The kick of bitter is abrupt but moderate. Though I don’t regularly enjoy full servings of IPAs this one was decent. As far they go I’d give it a 7/10.

Beer two in 100 Beers in 100 Days. Saranac Black Forest. This beer was actually surprisingly dark although quite enjoyable. It finished a bit bitter but had strong cherry notes and an underlying smokiness that I really liked. I give it a 7/10 and I would recommend it with steaks or heavy pastas. Very good. 

And so begins my latest endeavor. This is beer number one of 100 Beers in 100 Days. Fort Collins Brewery Major Tom’s Pomegranate Wheat. I have to say that for a fruity wheat beer this was a bit too bitter for my taste and for that matter I couldn’t really taste the pomegranate at all. That being said it wasn’t that bad of a beer, fairly drinkable, and I appreciated the David Bowie reference of the name (whether it was intentional or not). The rich gold color added to it being rated a solid 6 out of 10 in my book. Not amazing but certainly nothing to complain about.

Number of U.S. breweries at 125-year high: “Beer drinkers are responding to quality, diversity created by small American brewing companies”

Thus starts my first fall brewing batch. I have just ordered a base kit of the Irish Draught Ale to start out with. This kit is summed up as follows:

“Like Irish stouts, Irish ales are sociable session beers with a low alcohol content but substantial body. This beer pours with a deep red color and tan head over a caramel-like malt character with roasty and fruity notes. As a bow to Ireland’s meadmaking past, honey lightens the body and boosts the gravity of this recipe, while a small dose of oats adds creaminess to the mouthfeel and a hint of grain to the flavor.”

So now the real fun begins. Aiming to have this beer readily drinkable come October-ish, I’m looking for some good flavor combos to boost this beer up to a delicious autumn ale. Note: I have also ordered a base kit of the Dunkelweizen for a pumpkin brew that I will batch up as soon as I finish with fall beer #1. Ergo, as much as I am obsessed with pumpkin flavor, I’d like to steer away from it for this particular project.

Here’s where you come in. These are some flavor combos I’ve been toying with but by all means feel free to suggest something else.

The possibilities thus far:

Apple Pie - Apple, cinnamon, butter, and pecan, nutmeg?

Fall Harvest - Apple, maple syrup, cinnamon, caramel?

Cinnamon Roll - Cinnamon, butter, vanilla, toffee, hazelnut?

Thoughts?

Soooo I like beer. I like to drink it. I like to brew it. I like to share it. So the next logical step seemed to blog about all of the above.

I’m going to try 100 brand-spanking-new-(to me) beers over 100 days starting as of August 8th and ending with spectacularly understated bang on my birthday, November 16th. 

Now it should be said that by all measures and standards of the word, I am an amateur. I have no formal training in either beer tasting or brewing. In fact I still succumb to choosing bottles based on how “pretty” they are. (Deal with it, I’m a girl sometimes.) I just know what I do and do not like and that’s what I plan to talk about. These are my opinions, not the basis for a new religion. Let’s keep things light shall we?

I will officially blog 100 posts about each of the new beers I’m trying but I will also throw in some extra blogs about my brew batches, beer recipes, and other beer relevant subjects. You’re welcome.

Here’s what you can do for me (besides reading my blog, cause you know, it’s nice to be doing this for reasons beyond exercising my digits); I’m opening this up to suggestions, which beer to try? Should I try it with a certain food? Did I so sorely miscalculate a beer and thus by popular demand need to try it again? What type of beer should I brew next? I want your input (Even though I reserve the right to put your input on a stool in the corner if it’s just plain stupid. My blog my rules.)