New Belguim's Ranger IPA

For this sampling we tried another IPA. Two Guys wrote an excellent history of the IPA for the Red Hook review. Two Guys will pause for a brief moment for our 4 readers to refresh their memory--------. You're back. We don't know about you but George Hodgson is our hero. We will not go into more IPA details for this sampling. Instead, we will take another tack. In our journey of beer exploration, Two Guys have discovered that we truly enjoy the flavor of beer. As mentioned in previous blogs Two Guys are past the drink beer out of a funnel stage---mostly. There is the occasional wedding and beer garden, after all. But what makes up flavor? It's the taste of the beer that comes from the taste buds and the odor of beer that comes from the nose. We have come to realize that the simple act of drinking a beer out of a glass greatly enhances the flavor of the beer. You can't smell the beer when you drink it directly out of a bottle or can. It seems obvious because we all know what it is like to eat food when we have a cold. It is just not the same. It's like this with food. It's like this with beer. A quality beer needs to be consumed from the glass to truly have the full effect. Try drinking your next craft beer from a glass and thank us later. Now onto the beer!

Joe: The beer we sampled was Ranger IPA from the New Belgium Brewery located in the state where the mountains are high and the breathing is hard, Colorado. It is has a light copper color with a 6.5 ABV and moderate carbonation. The odor is of floral hops with a touch of piney spice. The taste sort of mirrors the odor. It starts with a fruity malty caramel flavor on the front end and finishes off with a moderately bitter piney hop flavor. I enjoyed this quite a bit more than the Red Hook we previously tried. I felt it had a much more complex taste. You may have noticed this from all the adjectives I used in the description. I give this beer a 4.

Never Ever!

Justin: Through our journey of beer exploration I’ve come to learn that I tend to favor IPAs. They are full of flavor and have a nice bite of bitterness. Ranger IPA, our second beer to review from New Belgium does not disappoint. This medium body beer uses a blend of cascade, chinook and simcoe hops to add citrusy, floral and fruity flavors that help to give a firm but not overpowering bitterness. A hint of caramel sweetness blends nicely with the piney finish. Four stars!

Breckenridge Oatmeal Stout

Two Guys next review is an Oatmeal Stout. This is our third stout to review so I won’t rehash the history of stout but I often find quick reviews helpful so here’s what you need to know. Stouts are typically a dark beer that is strong in flavor and alcohol content. Now that everyone is up to speed lets delve into the sub-style of the Oatmeal Stout. In the 1800s it was discovered that adding oats to beer made it healthier. This strengthening drink was enjoyed by athletes, nursing mothers(no joke), horses(joke) and was recommended by doctors as a remedy for sickness in general. Oatmeal stouts are sweeter than other stouts and do not usually taste specifically of oats. The oats add to the silky smoothness and cause the body to be fuller than normal. Sadly, the oatmeal stout disappeared for a few decades until the 1980s when it was revived by a curious chap named Charles Finkel who commissioned Samuel Smith to produce a version. This version became the benchmark of the style we enjoy today. Now onto the beer!

Joe: For this sampling we tried a Breckenridge Oatmeal Stout.  Breckenridge Brewery is located in Colorado where I, fittingly enough, once ate oatmeal—peaches and cream if you must know.  The stout  was a very dark beer with a 4.95% ABV and had moderate carbonation.  The front end taste was of roasted coffee with hint of caramel.  The back end taste had moderately bitter, slightly spicy hop taste.  I did not taste peaches and cream oatmeal or any oatmeal for that matter.  I enjoyed this beer but it is not one my favorites.  I give it a 3.

Getting healthier with each bottle!

Justin: When Joe showed up with another stout I was relieved to discover that this one did not contain any mollusks. It was an Oatmeal Stout by Breckenridge.(Check out their website for a Beer-B-Q Sauce recipe that uses this beer.) The beer did not have the strong taste that you would expect from a stout. The mild coffee and chocolate flavors start off sweet and finish slightly bitter. The beer was good but I found it a little forgettable. Two and a half stars.

Widmer Brothers Okto Festival Ale

For this sampling Two Guys dipped their toes back into the seasonal variety of beer; not literally of course as real toe dipping would change the flavor of the beer. We sampled an Octoberfest style of beer. Two Guys always thought that it was called Octoberfest because the Germans loved them some October. It turns out we were right. Oktoberfest was originally a party to celebrate the October wedding of King Ludwig I of Bavaria to Princess Therese of Saxe-Heldburghausen or Saxe-Lady to her friends. We will pause for you to sing Gangman Style and do the dance.  It was a wedding, you know.  The germans were so happy with the wedding that the party lasted for 5 days. The reception was so successful that the Germans decided to do it again the next year and so on and so on….200 years later, it’s now held in September to avoid bad weather and lasts 16 days because---well, why not? What do you need to help celebrate a fall party that commemorates a wedding? Yep, it's beer. The only substance that would actually allow Two Guys to dance Gangman Stye when consumed. The beer used to be a dark lager but is now a pale lager that is called Oktoberfest bier in Germany. It is normally brewed in March and allowed to ferment during the summer months to be ready for the fall. Only beer brewed in Munich can be called Oktoberfest bier. American breweries will brew their own version called Octoberfest or, if they want to be more Germany looking, Oktofest. The American beer is normally an ale instead of a lager since they are not allowed to brew a true Octoberfest beer. Lagers are cold fermented in the middle of the barrel while ales are warm fermented at the top. Now onto the beer.

No spiffy lederhosen but some very impressive t-shirts. 

Joe: For this sampling we tried a Widmer Brothers Okto Festival Ale. Widmer Brothers is located in the land of the beavers: Oregon. The ale is amber colored with a 5.3 ABV. It is low in carbonation. The flavor starts with hoppy bitterness with a slight fruity tinge and has a malty caramel sweetness on the back-end. There is also a mild spicy taste that intermingles throughout. This is a very smooth beer without overpowering flavors. It hit me just right on a late fall night. I give this beer a 4.

Justin: I really enjoy the Octoberfest style beers and Widmer Brothers Okto Festival Ale is no exception. It had a very crisp and smooth flavor. The spices were not overpowering and the caramel and toffee notes left a pleasant aftertaste. I look forward to drinking this beer again in the fall. Widmer Brothers delivered another winner and I rate it 4 solid stars.

Designated driver(DD) versions also available.
(Redhead not included!)

Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale

What comes to mind when you think Kentucky? For Two Guys, it's basketball, bourbon and bees. We wish there were some other animal that Kentucky was internationally known for but bees are all we have. Our extraordinarily smart 4 readers know that none of those three things are related to a journey of beer exploration. Well in this case that would not be correct, a brewery in Kentucky has decided to age ale in barrels that were used to hide Coach Calipari's recruiting violations and boy does that beer taste bitter. Just kidding, they used barrels that were previously used to age Kentucky bourbon. We will not detail to our very alert readers what ale is since we have done so in previous blog posts. We will just go straight to the beer.

Joe: The beer we tried for this sample is a Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale brewed by the Alltech Lexington Brewing and Distilling Company located in the, no way shaped like a basketball, commonwealth of Kentucky. As previously mentioned the ale was aged in barrels that were used to age bourbon. The beer has a hefty 8.19 ABV. It a dark beer with high carbonation. As you can imagine the ale had a strong taste of bourbon with a hint of malty vanilla and caramel. It is advertised as a sipping beer and with the bourbon taste that is best how it is drank. You need to savor this beer. While I am not a bourbon guy—this is not a bourbon blog, after all---I did enjoy this beer. I give it 3 stars.

Joe, Justin, Jim Beam & beer

Justin: I wasn't sure what to expect with this beer and with good reason. It is a very unique sipping beer with strong bourbon flavor and subtle hints of vanilla and oak. The ale is aged for 6 weeks in spent bourbon casks from some of Kentucky’s finest distilleries. The flavor is strong right out of the gate and it doesn't let up. You definitely want to take the advice and 'sip' this one. I enjoyed the beer and I think that it would grow on me. I expect this would be the ideal after dinner beer for bourbon connoisseurs. Three stars!

New Belgium's Red Hoptober

Our next beer to review fits the style of Amber Ale. What’s that you say? Two Guys have already explained what ale is. Our readers are very astute so I’ll jump right into the distinguishing factors. Amber ales are basically pale ales that also use crystal malt. Crystal malts are responsible for the strongly sweet toffee-like flavors and the amber color. They are high-nitrogen malts that are wetted and roasted in a rotating drum before kilning.

Brian survived Two Guys initiation
 of setting the guest blogger on fire.

We are also pleased to introduce our second guest beer blogger. Brian has been a friend of ours for many years now. While he seems to have an endless supply of Busch Light available in his pole barn at all times, I've often noticed that he is no stranger to branching out and enjoying many seasonal and craft beer varieties. Now onto the beer!

Brian: I was lucky enough to be invited to a beer tasting with a couple of good friends. As usual I was ready! Then I saw the beer that we would be tasting and reviewing. The beer was New Belgium’s Red Hoptober. New Belgium’s flag ship beer is not my favorite, but after tasting this brew I was quickly surprised how much I liked it. The beer has a heavy start, but ends with a good flavor. I could see myself enjoying this beer with some thick burgers or around the campfire. If you enjoy a hoppy beer then grab a few of these New Belgium seasonals before the season is over.

Joe: Fall is a wonderful time of year. The heat and humidity and withering brownness of a brutal Indiana summer changes into crisp cool nights and the beauty of the forests as they prepare themselves for their winter hibernation. But what makes Fall truly grand it that it brings seasonal Fall beer. For our first Fall sampling we tried a Red Hoptober Ale brewed by the New Belgium Brewery which is very confusingly located in the extraordinarily rectangular but yet tall state of Colorado. The Hoptober had a dark red color with a 6.0 ABV. The flavor is a malt citrus caramel taste on the front end with a hopps bitter taste on the back end to nicely complement the malt flavor. The hoppy bitter taste made me think that it was an IPA but I cannot find any description that it is one. The beer was perfect to drink on a beautiful fall night. I give it 4 stars.

Justin: The hunt is over! This new seasonal offering from New Belgium Brewery hits on all cylinders. Red Hoptober's flavor is a mixture of light toffee sweetness and crisp citrusy pine. It ends with a bitter hoppiness that is reminiscent of an IPA. It was the perfect complement to sitting around a campfire. I would (and did) buy this beer again. Four and a half stars!