Alcoholic Arrogance

Before I turned 21, I was never interested in drinking. Since my 21st birthday, however, I discovered the complex flavors of craft beer and have become somewhat of a beer snob. Cheers!

[alcoholicarrogance]

Shipyard’s New Beer: Shorter Day IPA

The other day in the store I saw that there was a new release by Shipyard, one of my favorite breweries. Even better, it’s an IPA, which in my opinion Shipyard needs more of in their line up, and of good quality. Sure, they have Finder which is one of my favorite IPA’s of all, they have Island Time Session IPA which is alright, and Monkey Fist IPA that is pretty decent, plus the XXXX Double IPA which is good, but it’s part of the Pugsley’s Signature Series, meaning it’s fairly expensive, being mostly only available in the big pint bottles. Other IPA’s they come out with I either can never find where I am, or they’re limited release. So the possibility that they were adding a new good IPA to the menu was exciting for me.

Well, I was disappointed. Come on, Shipyard, you can do so much better. First off, I know that beer is frequently called “Liquid Bread,” but this beer tasted way too bready. It was like they took a beer, put it in a blender with some stale bread and called it good. There is too much maltiness in it for an IPA, and not much of a hop profile. All of the nuances of an IPA and of hops that are present are buried under this mess of yeasty maltiness. It reminds me of Geary’s IPA, which is also very bready and underwhelming. At least Shorter Day is missing most of the iron-ish taste that is present in the Geary’s IPA.

It really feels like it falls short on every aspect that defines an IPA and isn’t very pleasant to drink. The mouthfeel is even a bit dry. Even if it didn’t claim to be an IPA, this would not be a beer I would drink again. I could only get about a third into the bottle before I poured it down the drain. I hate to do that to a Shipyard beer, but it was out of my hands. I know Shipyard has the means to make a great IPA, it just seems they don’t want to put in the effort. I want the happy marriage of Shipyard craft brewing and intense hops. It seems the closest way to get to that besides Finder IPA is the Steady Pale Ale. But even both of those isn’t quite as hoppy as I feel they could be. There could be a great flavor explosion controlled by Shipyard more so then what they’ve made so far. Oh well, I still love Shipyard though. Hopefully they make my dreams come true some day.

[alcoholicarrogance]

Boatswain American IPA - Disappointment

Made by Minhas Craft Brewery and one of Trader Joe’s exclusive beers, this beer was disappointing. I got it because Trader Joe’s tends to have really good cheap beer and I figured I’d give one of their IPA’s a try. I would not call this an IPA. If I was given a blindfold and had a sip of this, I would guess it was a subpar Belgian wheat beer, like Shock Top or Blue Moon. It has hints of orange peel, maybe blood orange, bread, burnt pine, and something underlying that’s similar to mint. On the nose, there’s an underwhelming aroma. You have to really inhale deep to get much of a scent, and when you do it’s just smoky orange and mint. The color is a hazy copper, a little on the darker side but I’ve seen other, really good IPA’s with a similar color. The can boasts “Our American IPA has a sweet maltiness from the roasted barley and crisp bitterness from the high hop level.” Now this is very malty, it hits that nail on the head. But there is almost no bitterness present, and most importantly it has just about no hop profile. The only way I could think someone would feel this is really hoppy is if it’s someone who exclusively drinks Coors Light and Bud Light.

This isn’t a terrible beer. It’s drinkable. It’s cheap. But it really does just taste like a burnt Shock Top. I would not buy this again, Trader Joe’s itself has plenty of other, better options. If I had to rate this out of ten, I’d probably give it a 3.5 or 4. I was really hoping for a hoppy ale with some long bitterness and maybe even a but of a kick, but instead it’s a dull heavily malty, kind of boring brew.

[alcoholicarrogance]

Quick List of My Go-To Beers

Here’s a list of some of my go-to beers, which some may not be favorites but are ones I know I’ll like when I’m feeling indecisive with what I want. Basically beers I can drink in any mood, no matter how picky I feel at the time. The list is in no particular order:

-Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. So good and neutral at the same time.

-Sea Dog Sunfish. One of the beers that got me more into craft beers. Also I’m a sucker for grapefruit.

-Sam Adams Rebel Grapefruit IPA. There’s the grapefruit again! This is the first IPA that I actually liked. This helped me get the palate for long bitter hop presence.

-Shipyard Pumpkinhead. Another one of the beers that jump started my love for craft beers. It just sucks that it’s Seasonal. Same with Shipyard Melonhead.

-Sam Adams Cherry Wheat. Nice, sweet, and fruity. Drinks smooth. Great for session drinking.

-Sam Adams Rebel IPA and Rebel Rouser Double IPA. Part of the same series the Grapefruit IPA is a part of. I get one of these two options when I’m feeling like I've had too much grapefruit beers for a while. Both of these are smooth drinking as well as hoppy enough to scratch that itch.

-Harpoon IPA. One of the best balanced IPAs in my opinion.

-Founders Dirty Bastard Ale. This is a scotch style ale and it is delicious. It has a taste combo of sweet, malty, kind of strong, and something like smokiness. It’s just fantastic, one of my favorites for sure, and of course no local stores around me sell it so I have to travel like an hour to get it, therefore I only get it when I’m already going on a trip of some sort.

-Sierra Nevada Torpedo Extra IPA. This is a newer addition to my go-to rotation. If I’m getting a build-your-own-six-pack or if I see it in a store that sells singles, I’ll get one or two every time. Just a damn good, flavorful IPA.

-Stone IPA. Also just a damn well crafted IPA. Not too strong of a bitter aftertaste but still hoppy.

-Sam Adams Oktoberfest. Great fall beer.

-Shock Top. I know, it’s a macro brew sold by the same company as Bud Light. But it’s more flavorful than most other macro brews like it in my opinion. I’ll really only buy it if it’s on a good sale, especially if my beer situation is getting low. I still don’t get it as often as I do craft beers, but I get it more than I would like to admit... Another macro brew I actually enjoy is Corona, if I have a lime wedge especially.

-Long Trail Double Bag. A good beer to get when I want something different. It consistently hits the spot. Great with fried food.

That’s basically all of them. I’m doing this list from memory so I could be forgetting one or two essentials. Some beers I didn’t include for some reasons include Shipyard Steady pale ale because it is only available in variety packs so I would get it more often but I can’t unless I also get those other beers I don’t care as much about. The same thing is with Shipyard Coffee Porter and a few others that escape my memory at this time. I also recently tried Rogue’s Dead Guy Ale and lemme tell ya, that will become apart of my regular rotation as well.

[alcoholicarrogance]

Steady by Shipyard Brewing Co. Review

Steady Hoppy Pale Ale

Brewery: Shipyard Brewing Company

Type: American Pale Ale

ABV: 5.1%

My rating: 7.5/10

I poured this beer in a pint glass from a 12 oz. bottle and it had a slightly cloudy golden and amber appearance. On the nose it gave off floral hoppy aromas. The mouthfeel was light and very smooth, going down as easy as water, which makes it a dangerously drinkable ale. Slight lemon notes gave it a crisp, fruity touch combined with it’s hop presence giving it a pleasant finish. It seemed like a great beer for pairing with a variety of meals, but also made a great sipping beer by itself. As a fan of Shipyard’s brews, I am not exaggerating when I say that this may be one of their best beers yet.

[alcoholicarrogance]

Revisiting My First Beer - 8/4/18

The first beer that I bought myself as a fully fledged adult was Rolling Rock. Now, I had had sips of a handful of beers prior, but this was the first beer I had an entire can of. The reason I chose Rolling Rock to be my first was two reasons. The smaller reason being that AVGN drinks it in his videos. AVGN, or the Angry Video Game Nerd, is a one-man web show based on retro games, and it’s been one of my favorite web series since I was in middle school. The bigger reason is that Rolling Rock was my late grandpa’s favorite beer. He had passed away less than a year before I turned 21 when I was attending my third, and last, semester of college. At this time, I wasn’t interested in pursuing drinking any further than my milestone “now I turned 21 I shall use my power to buy booze to show I’m an adult.” I’ve had alcoholics on both sides of my family and I was well aware of my own addictive personality. Add my anxiety and depression I’ve suffered from for years, I wasn’t about to mix all that up. I wanted to honor my grandfather’s memory more than anything. I remember that I stupidly bought the pack of cans instead of bottles, unknowing of what a difference it can make. I drank maybe half of the can. I thought it just tasted like seltzer, which I’m not a fan. I didn’t like it, and for some strange reason it made me want to find a beer I did like. I guess I felt if I was going to have one drink, I at least wanted to enjoy it. It was from that desire I discovered craft beers like Sierra Nevada, Shipyard, Sam Adams, Harpoon, etc. After time, I learned to enjoy the nuances and details in beer and take in the complex flavors and really appreciate them. I am very cautious to consume it in moderation to prevent me from going down a treacherous path.

Now that I have grown the palate for beer, I was interested in trying Rolling Rock again, just to see if I would enjoy it any better. Keep in mind, I don’t tend to like many macro beers, especially adjunct lagers. Budweiser? Ick! Coors Light? Even worse! Well, I grabbed a bottle from a convenience store (this time I actually got it in a glass bottle) and took a generous gulp. I was able to see why I thought it resembled seltzer the last time. It was very carbonated, but also really thin... Just like seltzer! But the taste tasted like actual beer. That is, if you poured half a cup of beer and poured water into the rest of the glass. Though I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s how they stretched out their batches to ship out so many bottles. The taste that was there wasn’t the worst, though. It was easy to guzzle. There was seemingly no presence of hops, just a minimal “lager” taste. I would never buy another bottle or pack, but maybe if I was at a friend’s house and they offered me one I might take it. It would be more likely if I were eating at the time, though. All in all, it’s a cheap macro American adjunct lager, and it tastes just like one. For an easy comparison, Samuel Adams’ Boston Lager is a lot fuller, flavorful, has a bit of a hop profile, and is more medium bodied. That is how a plain lager should be like, and that’s not even the best lager out there.

I was glad I tried it again. It was fascinating to see just how much my palate has evolved and learned the different components of a brew’s flavor profile.

Cheers!