Bike Ride Beer

I've had a few good rides lately with either a beer stop, or with cold brew waiting at the end. When you're sweating bullets in the summer heat, even a well-rounded drinker like myself, will grab for the lighter, drinkable beers. Here's a few of the fine ales I've been sipping when I get out of the saddle.


Namaste
Dogfish Head Craft Brewery
Witbier | 5.00% ABV

B+ / 4
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | drink: 4

I split a large bottle at Little Ortino's in Schwencksville, PA. The beer poured a hazy light gold with a soft white head. The mix of subtle spice dominates the flavor (not in a bad way) while there's a smooth Belgian wheat background. The individual spices don't stand out so much as just melt together from the orange peel, to the coriander, then lemongrass. All in all a tasty beer, near the top of the style.


Stegmaier Summer Stock Lager
Lion Brewery, Inc.
American Pale Lager | 5.00% ABV

B / 3.65
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | drink: 4

Picked up a case (under the name Summer Stock Pils) while visiting friends in Scranton. Not a bad beer at all. The label has some nonsense about being a German style pils, but I think the flavor is plainly American. The malt is smoother, bready, and with just a hint of inoffensive corn. This is followed up by a grassy hop kick with a share of orange rind. The lager finishes with a mild, spicy bitterness. All in all, it seems like a tasty and somewhat traditional American take on the pilsner.


Devotion Ale
The Lost Abbey
Belgian Pale Ale | 6.25% ABV

B+ / 4
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | drink: 4.5
rDev: +2.7%

On-tap from a friend's kegerator. I know it's a touch strong, but this comes off like a Belgian session ale. It's light, tasty, and I could drink it all day.

The Tettanger hops had a slightly sharp and interesting herbal flavor in addition to the spicy citrus background. There's a smooth grain and bread flavor with hint of subtle Belgian fruit esters. My only complaint is that the flavor can seem a touch muted at times. I suppose this is on the hoppy side of a Belgian pale ale, but it's still very drinkable. Check this beer out.

Finals Week

All my work is now downhill until Men's Health starts up in June. I'm just finishing my final assignment for Leisure Studies, a senior-level class that's more work than the class title hints at. The assignment is based about Mt. Everest and applies all the concepts that go into leisure, recreation and in this case, mountaineering. It's a little eerie to read about Everest because it has such a powerful draw. Yeah, you and/or your friends might freeze or fall to your death, but you might also reach the top of the world. It's the sort of thing I'd love to do in theory, but not really.

I found this Everest guide site where for $65,000 you can have have a guided summit attempt while receiving the (relatively speaking) royal treatment. But who climbs Everest because they can get served tea while at base camp? Sure, the death ratio is down to only one in twenty dying during a summit attempt, but they call Everest above 26,000 feet the "dead zone" for a reason.

Anyways, finals stuff is almost over and I still have a lot of beer in my apartment. You should stop by and have some. Help a guy out.

New to me:

Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA: The first beer in a horizontal tasting of the Dogfish XX Min IPAs. A nice mix of sweet and tangy hops, worth a try for IPA fans.

Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA: They call it an "imperial IPA." I say it was an imperial amber ale with some decent hops. Just too sweet and not enough bitter for me to call it an IPA, still tasty tho.

Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA: Damn, this beer weighs in at roughly 20% abv. That makes it one of the strongest beers in the world. The overal taste wasn't amazing, but the malt and hops made for a beer liqueur taste that pretty good.

Michelob Light: I was really thirsty after the Daily Orange-Jerk kickball game (we won) and this sure came close to water.

Church Brew IPA: This one's big on the perfume-like hops, they got a little overwhelming.

Stone Smoked Porter: A pretty good porter, and an amazing accompaniment to my spicy sandwich at the Tusk.

Long Trail Blackberry Wheat: An insult to craft beer, blackberries, and wheat. Avoid.