WTF? Wilco Tango Foxtrot isn’t the proper way to spell WTF in the military alphabet. Well, according to Lagunitas the word “whiskey” isn’t allowed on a beer label; therefore, the name of this beer had to use something other than whiskey. Lag started brewing this one in 2010 and calls it “a malty, robusty jobless recovery ale”. It was named this because in 2010 the economy was supposed to be recovering, but it wasn’t really recovering. Jobs weren’t being created  [ Read More ]

Jenn and Estelle aren’t surprised by this article (let’s be honest, who is?); it’s time to taste the 2012 edition of Abita’s Christmas Ale. The recipe changes annually (here are 2010 and 2011), so I’m never quite sure what to expect when tasting this one. This year’s is a dark brownish beer with reddish highlights. The head is thin and quickly dissipates. Lighter scents of spices and caramel. Spices, caramel, lemon, pine are the flavors that come to me. A  [ Read More ]

Can you feel it in the air? It’s almost my favorite time of year. Christmas. Chilly nights, hustle and bustle, twinkling lights, egg nog, and shit show family gatherings filled with alcohol. Oh, just my family? In the spirit of the season all your favorite breweries will soon be releasing their holiday ales. It’s as if December should actually be called eat until you throw up and drink like the local neighborhood lush month. And I’m here to review the  [ Read More ]

Jason reviewed Rogue Voodoo Doughnut a number of weeks ago, and it’s a pretty popular beer because it’s taken me this long to find a bottle of my own. It’s a unique beer: a bacon maple ale that comes in a pink bottle covered with pigs and maple leaves. This is a beer made in collaboration with Voodoo Doughnut, a specialty doughnut shop in Portland and Eugene, Oregon. One of their most popular wares is their bacon maple bar; the  [ Read More ]

You may have been expecting the next installment of my visit to The Avenue in New Orleans, but I’ll get back to that soon. On Saturday I visited Saint Arnold Brewing Company for my birthday; it’s just north of downtown Houston and is located at 2000 Lyons Ave. Saint Arnold hosts tours every day except Sunday. On weekdays they open at 3:00 pm until about 4:15 pm, but on Saturdays they are open from 11:00 am until 2:00 pm. During  [ Read More ]

Bell’s brewery has a stable full of all-star quality beers such as Two-hearted, Oberon and for you Hop-heads Hop Slam! This Brown ale may not be one of the first beers that you think of when you are considering beers from Bell’s but this beer has the right to stand on its own and be a viable beer in any beer fridge line up. The Appearance of this beer is a medium brown with a slight hint of amber. This  [ Read More ]

The other beer I drank at Chimes East was Lazy Magnolia Southern Pecan. Lazy Magnolia is a brewery in Kiln, Mississippi whose brews have started appearing more frequently in Louisiana. Described as a nut brown ale, Lazy Magnolia claims this is the only beer in the world made with whole roasted pecans. Southern Pecan was enjoyable but I found it to be fairly standard without a whole lot of flavor. After the person next to me at the bar ordered  [ Read More ]

No Irish beer tonight unfortunately but I am drinking from an Irish glass (my parents got a pair of them for me when they visited Ireland). Instead I present Brewhouse Brown Ale, the first of three Real Ale brews from the sampler pack I mentioned in the Sisyphus article. I sometimes use Abita beers as a reference point for what I’m drinking. This is very much similar to Turbodog, but perhaps a little thinner. It has that same smoky flavor  [ Read More ]

The second beer I picked up this week to try is Samuel Smith’s Nut Brown Ale.  It’s a British beer that certainly lives up to its name.  Just over a pint of a very nutty brown ale with a nice bitterness that stays on the palate long after the sip has passed.  I would definitely drink Samuel Smith’s Nut Brown Ale again.