Victory Summer Love Ale

20140523:
Today my family and I went to El Vez, a Mexican restaurant. To drink I had a Victory Summer Love.

Victory Summer Love Ale

I wrote: "Today I ordered Victory Summer Love. 5. It has a dark pale ale smell. Hmm, it's not bad. I was, however, expecting a more citrus taste, because of the word 'summer' in the beer's name." 9:59PM ET

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Victory Summer Love Ale

Relevant Links:
Summer Love Ale (Victory Website)
Summer Love (BeerAdvocate.com)
Victory Summer Love (RateBeer.com)

Victory Summer Love Ale

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Website Information:

Summer Love Ale
Golden Ale
There are plenty of reasons to love summer, and here is one great one! German hops and pale malt blend beautifully to create this refreshing taste of summer. This light-bodied ale casts a golden hue reminiscent of the summer sun shining high above the City of Philadelphia. It was commissioned of us by Visit Philadelphia in order to capture the essence of a city that is rich in history and in flavor. Share and feel the ‘Love this summer as tourists and locals alike flock to your restaurant or bar!

Composition
Malt: Imported 2 row German malts

Hops: Whole flower Tettnang Tettnang, Simcoe and Citra hops

ABV: 5.2%

Flavor
With the sublime, earthy familiarity of noble European hops backed up by fresh, clean German malts, Summer Love Ale ends with a surprising burst of lemony refreshment from fistfuls of American whole flower hops. Love Summer, now.

Food Pairings
Pizza, chicken and salads

Availability
Summer seasonal in 12 oz. bottles and on draft.

Brewer's Art Zeke's Coffee Porter

20140522:
Unfortunately, my phone only holds a limited number of texts in a conversation and my original notes on Zeke's Coffee Porter have been lost.

I recall Brewer's Art Zeke's Coffee Porter had a good, clear coffee taste. While over a month has passed (20140625), I remember the beer being delicious enough that I would both recommend it to others and have it again in the future.

Perhaps the only reason you shouldn't try the beer is if you hate the taste of chocolate/coffee/porters.

[20140625]

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Brewer's Art Zeke's Coffee Porter

Relevant Links:
Brewer's Art Website
Brewer's Art Zeke's Coffee Porter (BeerAdvocate.com)
Brewer's Art Zeke's Coffee Porter (RateBeer.com)

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Website Information:

Zeke's Coffee Porter

Rich, Chocolate-y Belgian Porter brewed with Aromatic and Coffee Malts, steeped 24 hours with Mexican Chiapas in partnership with Thomas Rhodes of Zeke’s Coffee! 5.7%abv

Leinenkugel's Lemon Berry Shandy

20140619:
I could really smell a lemon scent as I was pouring the beer. This was particularly surprising since I had only noticed the word "berry" in the beer's name and was expecting a fruity smell. After smelling the lemon, I looked at the bottle to see that the beer was called Lemon Berry Shandy.

Leinenkugel's Lemon Berry Shandy - bottle and glass

Corresponding with the lemon scent is a nice, strong lemon taste. The beer is very easy to drink and I don't detect any bitterness.

Unfortunately, I'm on the fence as to whether or not I like the beer. There are moments when I think the amount of citrus flavor is overwhelming and moments when I think it's tasty and appealing.

After a couple more sips, I think the experience is a strange one. The beer has a great initial taste on every sip, but somehow transitions and finishes into an unsatisfying flavor.

Ah! I know what this beer reminds me of now, it tastes either like Mike's Hard Lemonade or Jeremiah Weed Lightning Lemonade.

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Leinenkugel's Lemon Berry Shandy

Relevant Links:
Lemon Berry Shandy (Leinenkugel Website)
Leinenkugel's Lemon Berry Shandy (BeerAdvocate.com)
Leinenkugels Lemon Berry Shandy (RateBeer.com)

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Website Information:

Lemon Berry Shandy

A tasty spin on a classic shandy, Leinenkugel's® Lemon Berry Shandy is a traditional wheat beer with a refreshing blend of blackberry juice and natural lemonade flavor. It's crisp and delicious, and available all year long.

Ingredients
(Specified by Brewmasters)
Malts: Pale and Wheat
Hops: Cluster
Other: Blackberry juice and natural lemonade flavor

Food Pairings
Notes of berries and lemonade pair perfectly with pistachio crusted whitefish with berry salsa, spinach and arugula salads with tart dressings and sea salted milk chocolate with blackberries.

GREAT WITH
BELLAVITANO® GOLD

Beer Stats
ABV 4.2%
IBU 11

Availability
Year Round

Flying Dog Dead Rise

20140517:
Unfortunately, the original notes for this drink were deleted due to a limited number of text messages (along with notes for several other events).

Flying Dog Dead Rise - bottle

I do, however, recall being able to taste the Old Bay flavor and moreover enjoying the taste of the beer as a whole.

Afterwards I had a Shiner Ruby Redbird.

[20140624]

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Flying Dog Dead Rise

Flying Dog Dead Rise - bottle

Relevant Links:
Dead Rise (Flying Dog Website)
Dead Rise Old Bay Summer Ale (BeerAdvocate.com)
Flying Dog Dead Rise (RateBeer.com)

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Website Information:

DEAD RISE
OLD BAY SUMMER ALE

BREWER BREAKDOWN:
ALCOHOL BY VOLUME: 5.6%
AVAILABILITY: May-September in the mid-Atlantic
HOP BITTERNESS: 25 IBU
SPECIALTY MALTS: Proprietary
HOPS: Proprietary
YEAST: Proprietary

FOOD PAIRINGS:
Dead Rise was brewed to highlight the indelible, bold character of OLD BAY with citrus hop notes and a crisp, tart finish. Pair it with tables piled high with shrimp, corn, and Maryland Blue Crab.

NOTABLE NOTES FOR $1000
Dead Rise was brewed to celebrate OLD BAY's 75th anniversary and proceeds benefit True Blue, a program that advocates on behalf if the Chesapeake Bay's 5,500 watermen.

New Belgium Summer Helles

20140515:
New Belgium Summer Helles is clear and has a light yellow color. Moreover, it almost looked like water while I was pouring it.

As for on the nose, Summer Helles smells like grapefruit. Actually, it kind of smells like a lager.In fact, it tastes like a light lager.

Well, it all makes sense, because the Summer Helles is in fact a lager! Its quite light and easier to drink than most other lagers I've had.

While I've never really been a fan of lagers, I would recommend the Summer Helles to anyone looking for a good, solid lager.

Note, this beer tastes awful when warm.

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New Belgium Summer Helles

Relevant Links:
Summer Helles (New Belgium Website)
Summer Helles (BeerAdvocate.com)
New Belgium Summer Helles (RateBeer.com)

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Website Information:

Summer Helles

Helles

Light, bright and easy drinking, now is your chance to drink in the festival season. First brewed to celebrate 40 years of the Telluride Bluegrass Festival, it has since become Planet Bluegrass’ signature New Belgium offering (under the name Summer Bliss). This Summer Helles pours a brilliant gold, with soft, white foam. The aroma is fresh grains and honey with a spicy-herbal twang. This danceable lager carries the pleasant sweetness of pale and German Pils malts, and levels off with the light and noble bitterness of Hallertau and Tettnang hops. Summer Helles finishes crisp and dry, and is sure to refresh even the thirstiest reveler. Grab your banjo, crack a bottle and let the pickin’ shine.

Planet Bluegrass (located in Lyons, Colorado) was decimated by September 2013's record flooding. New Belgium is donating $10,000 this year to Planet Bluegrass for rebuilding. You can help by volunteering or donating. Visit lyonsfightsback.com for more information.

SENSORY

VISUAL Bright gold color with a slight sheen and a nice white foam.
AROMA Fresh grains, herbaceous and spicy noble hops, sweet corn & honey (think honeycomb cereal), flinty lager sulfurs.
FLAVOR Grassy sweet cereals upfront, evened out with a mild spicy hop bitterness.
MOUTHFEEL Crisp with a subtle dryness, lingering pleasant lager finish.
BODY Light body yet substantial, very sessionable.

BEER FACTS

ABV 5.0
IBU 31
YEAST Lager yeast
CALORIES 155
HOPS Target, Tettnang, Hallertau
MALTS Pale, Schill Pils

Flying Dog Mint Chocolate Stout

20140504:
Here at Golden West for brunch after yoga, I just have to take advantage of the decent beer selection and get a beer, even though its not even three o'clock in the afternoon yet.

Flying Dog Mint Chocolate Stout

I wrote: "Flying Dog Mint Chocolate Stout. At first I only detect chocolate on the nose. After a bit, I smell an alcohol/mint smell. With some thought, I'm not sure I'd know the difference between them, unless I'm thinking of vanilla, which is nothing like mint. In any case, this beer tastes mostly like a regular stout. Letting the beer sit on my tongue, I could slightly detect a minty flavor. Some moments later, I had burped, and to be frank the minty flavor in it was more noticeable." 2:55PM ET

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Flying Dog Mint Chocolate Stout

Relevant Links:
Mint Chocolate Stout (Flying Dog Website)
Mint Chocolate Stout (BeerAdvocate.com)
Flying Dog Mint Chocolate Stout (RateBeer.com)

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Website Information:

BREWHOUSE RARITIES
MINT CHOCOLATE STOUT

BREWER BREAKDOWN:
ALCOHOL BY VOLUME: 5.7%
AVAILABILITY: End of March release
HOP BITTERNESS: 30 IBU
SPECIALTY MALTS: Caramel, Chocolate, Black, Roasted Barley, Flaked Oats, Midnight Wheat
HOPS: Perle
YEAST: Whitbread

FOOD PAIRINGS:
Inspired by the chocolate mint herb grown in our staff garden, Mint Chocolate Stout is a dessert beer you can have more than one of. Both cocoa and peppermint are added post-fermentation for subtle sweetness and a refreshing minty finish.