"Ruben & The Jets" from Lagunitas

Someone at Lagunitas is a BIG Frank Zappa fan. They've created numerous brews in honor of Frank Zappa's albums. This one is "Ruben & The Jets", a "BoppaDooAyDoo" style ale, according to the label. It's a big rich, sweet ale with an alcohol content of 8.6% abv. It poured a deep brown, with some ruby highlights. The head was small and disapeared very quickly. The flavor had plenty of highlights from dark fruit, brown sugar and caramel. It finished with a strong hoppiness that nicely offset the sweetness. Lagunitas does a good job with these bigger beers. I have a couple of other varieties in the fridge for the future.

Mad River Steelhead Double IPA

I'm a sucker for colorful labels, so this one caught my eye. Since it was also a Double IPA, I figured I couldn't lose. As far as Double IPA's go, this one is relatively mild. It's from Mad River Brewing in Blue Lake, CA, and I've sampled a number of their beers over the past couple of years. The beer poured a cloudy amber color, and had plenty of yeast sediment in the bottom of the bottle. It's definitely maltier and higher alcohol than a standard IPA. The sweetness of the malt was offset by citrusy, piney hops. The finish was decidedly bitter with an alcohol kick. This was very enjoyable.

Lost Coast Winterbraun Ale

While perusing the beer aisle at Whole Foods, I discovered this bottle of Lost Coast Brewery's Winterbraun Ale. I like brown ales, and I like winter beers, so it was a natural. It poured a deep brownish red with a small beige head. The aroma was toffee, and chocolate. This brown is richer, spicier, and more chocolaty than their Downtown Brown, which I also enjoyed. It finishes with a nice lingering bitterness. This was an excellent selection! Once again, Lost Coast has made a great beer.

Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale 2008

What better beer for New Years Day than a Celebration Ale from Sierra Nevada. I've tried numerous Sierra Nevada brews over the years, and they've never let me down. During the past holiday week, I picked up a six-pack of this ale while visiting some family members who don't have a dedicated beer/wine/mead fridge. Sierra Nevada brews this ale every year and it's won numerous awards. It's basically an IPA with a little more horsepower. It poured a clear copper color with an inch-tall head. The head diminished to about 1/4 of its original size, but lasted to the bottom of the glass, leaving plenty of frosty lacing. The first sip lets you know it's an IPA, with plenty of grapefruity "C' hops - Chinooks, Centennials, and Cascades. The 6.8 % alcohol level became apparent as I got closer to the bottom. The big hop presence was neatly offset by plenty of malt sweetness. Sierra Nevada is a talented brewery - Fritz Maytag knew what he was doing when he bought it way back when.

Mad River Brewing Co. Steelhead Extra Stout

My digital camera decided it didn't want to take photos anymore, so I couldn't get a pic of tonight's beer in a glass. At least the bottle has a pretty label. It's Steelhead Extra Stout from Mad River Brewing in Blue Lake, CA. It poured a deep ruby and brown color with one of the darkest colored heads I've ever seen. The nose is mostly roasted malt. This is a richly flavored stout, with lots of the roasted malt you'd expect to find, as well as strong coffee notes and some licorice. Mad River's Steelhead brand of beers is definitely worth checking out. I have their Double IPA in the refrigerator, so stay tuned.

Lost Coast Downtown Brown Ale

It's been a while since I've had any beers from Lost Coast Brewery in Eureka, CA, so tonight I selected their Downtown Brown Ale. I have to confess that the first thing that caught my eye was the crazy artwork on the bottle. In fact, most of their beers have super bright colorful and unique labels. Downtown Brown is a very solid brown ale. It poured a medium-dark brown with a pencil thin head. It tasted of sweet malt, slightly nutty, and with a coffee-like bitterness. It's nothing extraordinary, but it's still very enjoyable. Lost Coast makes a number of other good beers, such as their Indica IPA.

Sierra Nevada Stout

I generally like Sierra Nevada's different brews, and their Stout is no exception. It poured nearly black with a tan colored head. It tasted mostly of roasted malt with some coffee and chocolate as well. It was not real hoppy, and had a dry finish. It went great with my burger. This is another fine ale from Sierra Nevada.

Lagunitas Sirius Hi-Gravity Cream Ale

Lagunitas (say LAH-GOO-KNEE-TUSS) has come out with another interesting ale. This one is a Special Release for spring (I guess I'm drinking it a little late) and it's called Sirius. They refer to it as a hi-gravity Cream Ale, and it is definitely hi-gravity. It has a very full body for a beer of this color. It reminds me of a Heller Bock, only hoppier. It poured a light amber color with a medium sized white head. It is quite sweet and malty, and the body borders on syrupy. The finish is hoppy and warming alcohol. I enjoyed this one, but I bet it would be a little much for some folks. Lagunitas scores another high score in my book.

Mad River Steelhead Scotch Porter

Mad River Brewing Co. is located in Blue Lake, CA and they make a number of beers with the "Steelhead" moniker. This is their Scotch Porter, and it's a tasty one. It poured a deep brown with a small tan head, which left lacing down the entire glass. There was a lot of sediment in the glass, so I think it may be bottle-conditioned. This is a roasty Robust Porter, with lots of chocolate flavor, some vanilla, and even some licorice. I also detected the mild smokiness of the peat-smoked barly they used. This is a great Porter - and isn't that a purty label too?

Lagunitas IPA India Pale Ale

Tonight was pizza night again, so I went to the fridge to find an IPA. Lagunitas has never let me down, so I pulled their IPA out from behind a bunch of other beers, and popped the top. It poured an orange-amber color with a small white head. The brewer describes this beer as "homicidally hoppy", which might be a slight exaggeration. There were plenty of hops to be sure, but I've had hoppier beers. The hops were perfectly balanced by just enough malt sweetness. This is a really solid IPA, although I can't put it in the same class as Dogfish Head's 60-Minute IPA. It went beautifully with my pizza, so I have no complaints.

Sierra Nevada Unfiltered Wheat Beer

Now that Sierra Nevada is one of the 3 largest US owned brewers, I decided to give their Unfiltered Wheat Beer a try. It poured a cloudy golden color, with a big white head. The beer wasn't as cloudy as I was expecting from a wheat beer, so I guess I didn't stir up the yeast very much when I poured it.



One thing I have to say for Sierra Nevada is that they love their West Coast Hops. This was a hoppier wheat than most, for sure. It tasted like Cascades or a similar variety was used. It had the citrus-like flavor of an American Wheat, but the hops definitely added an interesting flair. This is the 3rd Sierra Nevada beer I have tried since starting this blog, and every one of them has been worth the time. Fritz Maytag must know what he's doing out there in California.

Blue Marble Organic Pilsner

I bought this bottle of "earth friendly" beer at the local World Market. I guess it's earth friendly because it's organic. This is my second organic brew in about a month, and this one is vastly superior to the last one. This is a Pilsner style, rather than a pale ale. It poured a golden straw color, with a sizeable white head. It's pretty well-carbonated, but not excessively so. The first thing I noticed was the flavor of lemons, and a distinctly bitter finish. This has a healthy dose of Noble hops, as a Pilsner should. At 3.9%, it's pretty modest in its alcohol level. I enjoyed this brew, and I have a better opinion of organic beers now. Blue Marble Brewing is a subsidiary of Butte Creek Brewing.

North Coast Brewing's Red Seal Ale

North Coast Brewing is located in Fort Bragg, CA. This is the second beer I've tried from them, and it is excellent. Red Seal Ale poured a red-orange color, with a 1-inch tall head. It tasted of sweet malt and caramel, with a piney hop finish. The mouthfeel was smooth and rich. This would be a good session beer, since the alcohol level is reasonable at 5.5%. I don't see a lot of choices from North Coast here in Florida, but I'll be on the lookout for them.

Lagunitas Lucky 13 Mondo Big Red Ale

Here's another brew from Lagunitas - Lucky 13. They bill it as a "Mondo Big Red Ale", and at 8.5% alcohol, I guess that's a fitting description. It poured a beautiful ruby red color, with a frothy white head. There's a lot of malt in this. It was a little sweet, with lots of west coast hop flavor. My only problem with these high gravity beers in 22 oz bottles is that I feel I need to share! I'm too old to enjoy getting drunk. Now I drink 'cause I like the taste of beer - and this is a good one. Lagunitas comes through again.

Sierra Nevada ESB (Early Spring Beer)

When I see "ESB", I normally think of Extra Special Bitter - the "normal" translation of that acronym. So, I was a little reluctant to buy this when I saw "ESB" translated as Early Spring Beer - but at the time, this was the only beer at the supermarket that I hadn't tried yet. My concern was unfounded. This really is an Extra Special Bitter; or at least Sierra Nevada's Americanized version of one. It uses Maris Otter, a British malt, as well as some British and American hops. This is a very tasty brew. It has a nice malt flavor, and a hop finish that I have come to expect from Sierra Nevada. It's labeled with the year 2008, so I don't know if this will become a standard offering. Get some while you can!

Lagunitas Brewing "Censored" Rich Copper Ale

I don't know how to pronounce their name, and I don't "get" the names of their beers, but I really like the Lagunitas Brewing company. Their beer is always flavorful and interesting. And then there's the Frank Zappa thing they have going on some of their labels. Zappa was a musical genius, but I would not expect him to be honored on a beer label. This beer is called "Censored" Rich Copper Ale and copper is the color of the ale when poured. Once again, the head was there, and then almost immediately gone. This is a malty brew with plenty of nice West Coast grapefruity hops. The hops balanced the beer nicely. I have tried a number of beers from this brewery, and have never been disappointed.

Sierra Nevada Pale Ale

This is one of the more popular American Pale Ales, and for good reason. Sierra Nevada Pale Ale poured a nice golden amber color with a decent white head that left some nice lacing on the glass. It had a strong hop profile, noticeably grapefruity Cascade hops were very obvious. In fact, this had more hop presence than the Long Hammer IPA I reviewed a while back. Being somewhat of a hop head, that suited me just fine. I've had this brew before, but I didn't remember it, so it was a pleasant surprise to come back to. I wonder if the other Sierra Nevada selections are as good....

A Robust Porter from Anchor Brewing

I'm familiar with Anchor Steam beer, but this is the first time I have tried their Porter. This is in the robust style, and is very roasty - nearly a Stout. It poured almost black, with a thick, caramel colored head. When viewed in the light, it is a rich mahogany color. I am very impressed with Anchor's Porter - one of the best I have ever had. This might even warrant a six-pack one day! If you're a Porter aficionado, this one is definitely worth trying.