This Is What I Drink : 31

Rochester Beer Explosion!

First of all, a shout out to all the brodies and brodettes in Rochester, NY for a great weekend recently. They are the reason I was able to check out the epic shop, Beers of the World. The place is what it says, (like my blog) beers divided into region/countries and they claim to have over 1,100 of them. It's incredibly overwhelming and unless you had all the money and time to in the world to become an alcoholic, you probably couldn't get through them. Luckily you can buy singles of beer in NY so you're able to get a nice variety every time in. I'll try to run through these quickly. My memory of them may not be perfect. I suppose I should start taking notes, but that's not very fun.

The IPAs:

Lagunitas Maximus DIPA:

This was pretty good. Very citrusy and surprisingly sweet for a 7.5% alcohol beer. Not quite as hoppy as many in this style, but another enjoyable one from Lagunitas.

Smuttynose Big A IPA:

Another Imperial IPA, clocking in at 9.6%. Possibly my favorite part about this beer is the bottle art of the old school fisticuffs man boxing it out. My other favorite part of this beer is how good, sweet, and hoppy it is. It's also incredibly drinkable despite the high alcohol. Another really great one from one of my favorite brewers, Smuttynose.

BrewDog's Punk IPA:

This is the "baby" of the group only being 6.1%, but it was also in the biggest bottle. BrewDog has become infamous for their attempt at creating the world's strongest beer, so I felt like I had to give them a chance. Maybe it was all the hype, but I didn't think the Punk IPA was all that special. It was one of my first experiences with a European microbrew, so I wanted to like it more, but it lost to the more powerful Americans above.

The Stouts:

Oskar Blues Ten Fidy Imperial Stout

Like the Gubna imperial IPA, this imperial stout from Oskar Blues is 10.5% and in a can. It's the only and imperial stout I've had in a can. Seriously, it's pretty great. Another strong one, making me realize why the night was kind of foggy.

Great Lakes Blackout Stout

I think this was the best beer of the night. A friend was just talking about this brewery so I figured I had to give it a shot. Another strong boy at 9%, this night of beers (editors note: I didn't drink ALL of them in one night, just MOST...) is starting to get pretty crazy. This was great and flavorful and robust, everything a stout should be.

The Wild Cards:

Kona Brewing's Pipeline Coffee Porter

I believe this is the first Hawaiian microbrew that I have tried. The coffee flavor hit nice and strong as I was hoping and expecting. It was had a pretty traditional porter taste. Almost tastes like an alcoholic iced espresso beer or something.

.83 cent Russian Beer

Most of us bought one of these because of the big "SALE" sticker on the bottle. We knew this was probably a bad sign, but good for our wallets. At only 4%, it was certainly a change of pace from the rest, but unfortunately in a bad way. This was non-alcoholic tasting, alcoholic beer. Not so good. Probably worth the price for a pint though.

Finally, The (Genesee) Cream of the Crop

Genesee is a must drink in the Rochester area. Just because. While a local told the story of his first time trying it ("The cashier said 'it'll make you piss out your asshole", pardon the vulgarity), it really isn't that bad. It's a great locally produced session beer and there's something beautiful about that can. It also helped us beat Maniac Mansion that night (Meteor Police ending, we used Bernard and Michael, BTW). Also a big bonus.