Oh Summer Honey. Last time you were lousy, and now you're tasty again. WHAT am I going to do with you.

I think the reason I like this so much today is the food pairing: leftover tomato pizza. Last time I was eating chocolate or bacon or something that really fought the light, upfront sweetness in this beer.

I get the honey, but I can't identify any spices.

Labels: APA, Big Sky Brewing, Summer Honey

Met up with some potential Operation Jess roadtrippers tonight at Sweeney's. I had two glasses of their "beer of the moment," Fatty Boombalatty from Furthermore Beer. It's a Belgian Pale that tastes like orange juice, with hops and alcohol. Yes!

Markie's boyfriend Matt is a bit of a beer snob as I recall, so I offered to pick him up some New Glarus Raspberry Tart when I go to Wisconsin next weekend. In turn, he recommended that I get some Kilkenny Irish Cream Ale if I ever go to Canada, because that beer is very hard to find this side of the border.

At home I needed a beer to eat pizza and watch Be Kind Rewind (it's a comedy), so I cracked open a bottle from my dwindling supply of Big Sky Trout Slayer Ale. There's probably a reason why I'm running out that so fast, when I have plenty of Lakemaid and Summer Honey left. It's good.

Labels: American Pale Wheat Ale, Belgian Pale Ale, Big Sky Brewing, Fatty Boombalatty, Furthermore Beer, Trout Slayer

I had a Trout Slayer this afternoon (after hastily making cheese and crackers so my breakfast wasn't a beer), but the main event was the Jacob's Creek Shiraz I had for my night out with the (former) coworkers: 1/2 price bottles at Sweeney's today. I usually hate red wine, but this was pretty good.

Labels: American Pale Wheat Ale, Big Sky Brewing, Jacob's Creek, Shiraz, Sweeney's, Trout Slayer

Because they were on sale at Big Top, I picked up another six pack of Big Sky Trout Slayer, an American Pale Wheat Ale that was just as good as I remembered, and a six pack of their seasonal Summer Honey APA.

I've only had one Summer Honey so far, but I think I like that one too; I wish I had a Leinie's Honey Weiss around to compare it with.

I tried to get to Town Hall this week to try their Chocolate Milk Porter, but when Graham and I went there yesterday night it was already gone. I tried their Pursuit of Happiness instead and it was decent, which is saying something for a beer that tastes like blueberries — but as with that Longshot Grape Ale, the blueberry flavor was pretty darn subtle, and I feel like if you're adding weird fruit it should do a bit more.

I also had the Liberty, a red American Pale Wheat Ale that was pretty tasty. After that Pursuit of Happiness, it was nice to have something really flavorful.

I think that the 1800 Old English IPA, Eye of the Storm, and pumpkin ale are still my favorite Town Hall beers (is there a dark beer I'm forgetting?), but our server said that the chocolate might return, so I'm keeping an eye out.

Afterwards we went to Pracna, where I had a tiny little glass of Paulaner Hefe-Weizen. Purists take note: they served it with a slice of lemon. I don't care about the lemon, but I wouldn't go there to drink as often as I do if it weren't so conveniently located.

I also went to Stub and Herb's this week for the first time, with Ben and Nora. Great draft selection, great happy hour, terrible BBQ wings. I had a Flying Dog Woody Creek White (this place had a ton of my standbys) and a Two Brothers Domaine DuPaige French Country Ale

I couldn't pull anything out of the Two Brothers, though I had the nagging sense that it was good on a less perceptible level. ("Like hearing a party two apartments over," is how I put it at the time.) Nora seemed to like it, and I'm guessing her sense of taste is better than mine, but as far as Biere de Garde go, I definitely prefer the Flying Dog Garde Dog.

Labels: APA, Biere de Garde, Big Sky Brewing, Domaine DuPage, Flying Dog Brewery, Liberty, Pracna, Pursuit of Happiness, Stub and Herb's, Summer Honey, Town Hall, Trout Slayer, Two Brothers Brewing

Tonight Matt had a cookout, Jucy Lucys as always, and I had a Mothership Wit, then a (good, sweet-tasting) Trout Slayer Ale. I was already a bit buzzed when I had it, but it did seem very good. Continuing the fish theme, one of Matt's friends wore a Lakemaid T-shirt.

I downgraded to (Sierra Nevada) Colaweizen after those beers... but I don't think I'm going to finish this second one now that everyone is gone. These are so much better with Hefeweizen.

I'm definitely a sucker for fruit flavors in beer. The cashier at Spirits of Nisswa pointed out that my preference for Hopslam over HopDevil probably has a lot to do with the grapefruit flavors in the former.

Labels: Big Sky Brewing, Colaweizen, Mothership Wit, New Belgium Brewing, Trout Slayer