And onto the beer

Excellent weekend. Went out to see Jujuba last night, a local afrobeat band that have been rocking pdx for a few years now. Very danceable rhythms with bandleader and talking drum player Nojeem, straight from Africa kicking the jams. You can read more about them on their site, http://www.jujuba.org/ but suffice it to say that they're always a good time to see live.

And I am now on to my first beer review. Here we go...

The Beer: Firestone Double Jack
Style: Double/Imperial IPA
ABV: 9.5%

Picked this one up as it is a limited release and it just made it's way to Oregon for the first time. Pours a burnt orange, lighter in color than I would expect for the style and strength. Smell is over the top pungent (but in a good way); makes me think I have fresh crushed hops in the glass. Taste is surprisingly subdued and balanced compared to the nose, although a nice rush of hops hits and lingers. No bitterness build-up. Alcohol is warming but barely noticeable, highly drinkable. Over the last year or so, and in large part due to friend's inspirations, I've been getting more and more into IPAs. This ranks up there with some of the best I've had; don't hesitate to try this one.

Concerning the style, the biggest hurdle I had previously was overcoming the bitterness. With the beers that I had tried, it just kept building up until I basically had cottonmouth, or hopmouth if you will. Several beers and years later, I've found that a high alcohol content is needed along with a bit more malt to balance it all out. When you do find that balance though, it's absolutely brilliant.

Bonus review, guest spot filled by my lovely wife

The Beer: Southern Tier Choklat
Style: Imperial Chocolate Stout
ABV: 11%

"Oh My God!  What can possibly be better than this?  My two favorite things combined: chocolate and beer."

I like chocolate, I like beer, and when honey told me he had gotten chocolate beer I was a bit apprehensive.  I like good beer and good chocolate, to have a beer that has some sort of chocolate added to it and have it be just sort of tasting like chocolate is a real let down. But not so with this. It has the body of a good stout, smells more of stout than of chocolate. But taste it and  instantly  reminded of true sipping chocolate flavors.  This really is the stout version of the very best dark chocolate hot cocoa experience... Like I said before, and I will repeat, truly the  best of my two favorite things.   YUM!