UP and Beer 11/18/2009

Eitan: A little two week break and beer night was back, complete with good beers and UP. UP was a little bit sad at some parts, but the beer made it better. The beers were all really good, I miss having really good beers in one night as opposed to a few mediocre beers.

First off was the Southern Tier Oak Aged Unearthly Imperial India Pale Ale. It was a nice and hoppy beer (even Greg liked it, and we know how he usually reacts to hops). It had a very nice dark amber color, a decent amount of head retention, and a fizzy medium body. It had a nice hops smell with a hint of citrus. It was pretty smooth for an IPA, easy to drink. The hops taste was not so overwhelming as you wold expect. There was a nice citrus zing to it. I would like to taste the regular Unearthly, just to be able to compare the difference with it being Oak Aged. Definitely a good beer to have for Hop Heads and for people who may not love Hops so much.

The second beer was much better, it was the Ommegang Adoration. It is always so much fun to try a beer that is not regularly brewed, especially if its from one of your favorite breweries. We already tried the Biere De Mars a while back, so I expected only good things from Adoration. This beer is Ommegang's "first Strong Winter Ale, named Adoration, becoming available from mid-October through December, all across the US." This beer is also "the first in a series of special beers to be released every two months through the end of 2010. Look for Chocolate Indulgence in January-February and then an entirely new group of beers throughout 2010."
It poured a nice dark brown color, unfortunately we were watching the movie in the dark so it may have some other aspects I wont be able to describe. It had a small amount of white head. It had a sweet smell, a kind of caramel/molasses and dark fruits. It also had a sweet taste to it, not an overpowering sweetness. I guess Greg and Stan were in agreement that it had a nice cherry taste; however, I thought it had a slight cherry taste and mixed with raisins and other dark fruit. This beer was well balanced, a nice blend of sweetness of fruits and the always loved taste of spices." I would love to get this beer again before it will be hard to find. I also can't wait for the release of special beer from Ommegang.

The final beer was a Swiss beer, L'Abbaye De Saint Bon-Chien (roughly translated to the Abbey of Saint Good Dog). I don't think I've ever had a Swiss beer, so this was fun to try. It poured a nice dark red/brown color with some white head that receded pretty quickly. It had a very tart and slightly sour smell, it also tasted pretty tart and a bit sour. It was similar to the taste of the Iris, but this beer had more of a tart cherry taste, slightly sweet mixed with the tartness and a little bit of malt flavor. It had a light/medium body, very drinkable and pretty smooth if you can handle the tart and sour flavor. Who knew the Swiss make some pretty good beer?