This Is What I Drink : 30

Brew Crew:

Here's a quick trio of beers for you until we get to an even bigger beer post next.


Laughing Dog's "The Dogfather" Imperial Stout

For a while I hated the name of this beer. I thought it was pretty stupid. Then I imagined an entire epic 8 hour dog mafia trilogy film and all the work it would take for a terrible movie and then I thought it was funny again. As for the beer, I can never turn down an imperial stout. I'd had some stuff from Ponderay Idaho's Laughing Dog, and I figured their imperial stout was worth a shot. Well, I'm not sure I'll be fetching or retrieving this one again any soon. Despite the impressive tan head that you see above (I was pouring this at an angle, but the head just kept exploding, kind of to an annoyance level), the rest of the beer disappointed. The flavor had a super hit of alcohol and it didn't quite have the taste I come to expect from a strong stout. I understand it's 11%, but I've had much better stouts at around that range with much more compelling and nice flavors. I wanted to like this one but I had to have it put down (LIKE YOU WOULD A DOG YOU HATED, GET IT?!)

Philadelphia Brewing Company's Kensinger Ale:

I believe this is the cheapest beer on the tap, possibly because it really doesn't have to travel very far from Philadelphia to Philadelphia (no doy). I feel like I'd hardly call this a "cheap" beer though, as it's really not so bad. It's crisp, smooth, and easy to drink at 4.5% alcohol, but it's got some pretty good flavor, certainly more so than you'd get out of Bud/Coors/Millers. It's strange though, I'm entirely certain they sell this stuff outside of Philadelphia, as I'm pretty sure I haven't seen it in beer stores around here. A shame because it's a pretty decent and inexpensive option.



Stoudt's Scarlet Lady (Draft)

I had these next two beers on tap at Philadelphia bar Johnny Brenda's. I first have to commend JB's (as cool people call it) on only having local beers on their taps. I'm pretty sure all of their beers come from less than 100 miles away, and most probably closer than that. Anyway, Stoudt's from Adamstown, PA obviously falls into that category. This beer falls into the category of an ESB or "extra special bitter." I didn't really know much of this category until I just looked it up, but to me it kind of tasted like a brown ale. What is supposed to make this style is its bitterness (obviously) and its balance. This beer didn't really stand out to me, but I wouldn't turn it away either. I suppose that is balance.