| Tasting |
| [Crude] Notes by Drew Beechum |
| Ratings by the Falcons |
| Ratings explained |
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| Dougweiser (Budvar Yeast) |
| American Lager |
| Notes : Brewed in July as the second runnings of a Dougfoot brew. Hoppier and more alcoholic than usual, but the extra hop bitterness gave the beer a zippier profile. |
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| Czechvar (aka Budvar aka the REAL Budweiser) |
| Bohemian Pilsner |
| Notes : Now this beer is a treat. Budvar is finally available here in L.A. thanks to Larry at Wine Warehouse. The brew was crisp with a big malt flavor and a crisp hop profile. There were grainy notes in the flavor and possibly some oxidative flavors |
Rates :   4.5 Falcons |
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| Bayern Pilsner |
| Bayern Brewing, Missoula, MT |
| Bohemian Pilsner |
| Notes : A far sweeter beer than the Czechvar with the malt aroma and body having less hop bitterness to cut through. This beer had been treated somewhat roughly in storage so it's possible that a fresher sample would be hoppier. However, everyone still liked this beer a lot.
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| Rates : 3.5 Falcons |
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| Prima Pils |
| Victory Brewing, Downingtown, PA |
| American Pils |
| Notes :
Aroma is hops hops hops! Agressive hop flavor is balanced with a light malt body. While certainly a distinctive beer I found this beer to be too harsh and resinous. However, many of the attending Falcons' loved this beer. (I prefer the Victory Storm King Imperial Stout that we tasted later)
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| Rates : 4.0 Falcons |
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| Bayern Oktoberfest |
| Bayern Brewing, Missoula MT |
| Octoberfest |
| Notes :
A sweet oxidized Octoberfest beer from Missoula. The brew while having a strong malt character carries too much roastiness for style. Again the beer was possibly mistreated during storage. |
| Rates : 3.0 Falcons |
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| Bluebird Bitter |
| Conistan Brewing Co, Cumbria, England |
| Bitter |
| Notes :
A 1998 GBBF Medalist for bitters this was a very traditional hoppy British bitter. These particular bottles were particularly fruity and I got an acectic flavor hiding behind the hops and esters, but certainly not enough to detract from the value of this beer. |
| Rates : 3.5 Falcons |
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| Belhaven Scottish |
| Belhaven Brewing Co Dunbar, Scotland |
| Scottish 60 |
| Notes :
This was the first time I've ever seen the Belhaven products available in the Nitrogen Pub Draft Cans. One big difference in the beer with this treatment is that the beer is smoother and maltier. There's a strongly evident flavor of smoke whose origin is believed to be either the water or yeast and not smoked malt. I really liked the caramel in the finish and found this to be a great quaffing beer. |
| Rates : 3.5 Falcons |
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| Alesmith X |
| Alesmith Brewing, San Diego CA |
| Extra Pale Ale |
| Notes :
This beer is a light crisp pale ale that is brimming with American hops in both the nose and tongue. The overall effect is that of an English bitter with Cascades instead of Goldings or Fuggles. The light body of this beer would make it ideal for those long hot summer nights.
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| Rates : 4.0 Falcons |
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| Sharkbite |
| PizzaPort Brewing Co, Carlsbad CA |
| Red Ale |
| Notes :
Deep rich red hue and sweet malty flavor from crystal malts evident. Has a decent hoppiness to take the edge off. Observations from the crowd indicated that this Carlsbad brew is less hoppier than it's Solana Beach cousin.
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| Rates : 3.5 Falcons |
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| Rogue Brutal Bitter |
| Rogue Brewing, Newport OR |
| Extra Special Bitter |
| Notes :
John Maier's Crystal hop filled bitter brew. I'd give you notes on it, but I enjoyed it too much to take notes.
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| Rates : 4.0 Falcons |
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| Edmund Fitzgerald Porter |
| Great Lakes Brewing, Cleveland, OH |
| Robust Porter |
| Notes :
This beer was a big disappointment. The beer was chalky, over hopped, and overly roasty with a thin body that mostly tasted of drywall, probably from 3M. The one good thing is it made me hear Gordon Lightfoot songs the rest of the night.
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| Rates : 2.0 Falcons |
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| Storm King Stout |
| Victory Brewing, Downingtown PA |
| Imperial Stout |
| Notes :
Chocolate roast aroma mixed with a light scent of currants. Flavor is rich and smooth with warming alcohol and hops in the finish.
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| Rates : 4.5 Falcons |
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| Don de Dieu |
| Unibroue, Chambly CA |
| Belgian Golden Strong Ale |
| Notes :
Don de Dieu is a light and easy drinking 9.1% Golden Ale from the folks at Unibroue (Maudite, La Fin du Monde). While I normally love this relatively new beer (~6 months) we had a bad batch of bottles here. The normally welcome and pleasing citrus tang was accentuated and highlighted making these samples unduly harsh. I heartily recommend the beer to anyone who asks, but based on just these bottles I have to ping the beer.
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| Rates : 2.0 Falcons (4.0 in a Good Bottle) |
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| Doug's Brew #97 - Boysenberry Mint Mead |
| Mead |
| Notes : Brewed - 4/2/96 |
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| Doug's Brew #142 - Date Mead |
| Mead |
| Notes : Brewed - 11/27/97 |
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