Black Sheep Monty Python's Holy Grail Ale (6/10)

This is one of those beers I had to try simply on the basis of the name.  I've been a fan of the Monty Python comedy troupe since I first saw them on screen at a college movie night.  Monty Python and the Holy Grail remains one of my favorite movies to this day.

Black Sheep Brewery's Monty Python's Holy Grail Ale comes with a Python-esque label (unfortunately not pictured here because my server grabbed the empty bottle before I snapped a photo of it) with the "Gr" in "Grail" crossed out to say "ail" (or "ale").

Poured into the glass, it is a standard amber color with a thin white head.  There is a slightly smoky flavor to it, and a mild hoppiness.  A decent beer, but not what you'd call fantastic.

Beer Advocate rates it a 78/100 or "average".

I tried it at The Winking Lizard Tavern on Bethel Road.  I've seen it for sale at Kenny Road Market and at The Andersons General Store.

ABV: 4.7%
IBU: 28
My rating: 6/10

Innis & Gunn Rum Cask Beer (10/10)

One of my few disappointments about the Columbus Summer Beerfest was that Innis & Gunn's products were a no-show. It wasn't that I wanted the chance to taste them, so much as it was that I wanted to taste them ALL... And maybe go back for seconds... Or thirds.Beers that have been aged in wooden casks have often appealed to me. Whether it was Dogfish Head's Palo Santo Marron, Stone Brewing Company's Oaked Arrogant Bastard, Alltech's Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale, or any of several other wood-aged beers, I tend to love them. There is something about them that seems sophisticated, luxurious, and special.And so it is with Innis & Gunn's Rum Cask aged beer. The flavor is creamy, malty, and smooth... With just a little hard liquor bite from the rum casks.

The aroma carries hints of vanilla and caramel, and an almost imperceptible yeastiness. The color is a reddish deep brown. The head is a pale tan, dissipates quickly, and leaves no lacing behind.

It is a truly great beer. But if you aren't the sort of person who would occasionally sip scotch or bourbon, it may not be for you.

Beer Advocate rates this one a 90/100, and I can't argue with that.

I've found Innis & Gunn products at Kenny Road Market, Giant Eagle Market District in Upper Arlington, and at a few other locations.

ABV: 7.4%
IBU: (unknown)
My Rating: 10/10

Columbus Summer Beerfest 2012

Last night, I attended the Columbus Summer Beerfest with my wife, brother-in-law, and a friend.  In January, I attended the Winter Beerfest, and I'll compare the differences between the two later in this post.

The Beerfest offers three types of admission.

• VIP: This gets you into the event an hour earlier, and provides access to beers that aren't offered later.  There is also a "VIP Lounge" area where the limited samples are available.  This costs about $10 more than the general admission, but the benefits are that the crowds are smaller during the first hour and there are more things available to sample.


• Regular Admission: This gets you in an hour after the VIP admission, and doesn't provide access to the VIP samples. The benefit is that it's cheaper to get in.  The down-side is that this is the most popular admission type, so when you can enter the venue it's a lot more crowded.


• Designated Driver:  This admits you into the facility and provides free soft drinks.  If you're caught drinking while admitted with a Designated Driver band, you'll be escorted out.

My experience at the Winter Beerfest led me to opt for the VIP admission.  At the Winter Beerfest, the VIP-only admission hour was great.  Practically no lines for samples, providing the option to try as many beers as you could during that hour.  Once general admission began, the lines became long, the venue was shoulder-to-shoulder crowded, and the noise level increased significantly.  It wasn't terrible, but was unpleasant.  At the Summer Beerfest, though, this wasn't an issue.  The large, spread-out venue left a lot of room for the crowds, and lines for samples were rarely more than 2-3 people deep – even during general admission.  It was a little harder to find some samples, but the crowds were much less of an issue.

A number of food trucks were setup in the parking lot.  I remember three of them, but there may have been others.  The Cheesywagon was there, offering its gourmet grilled cheese.  Mikey's Late Night Slice was there, delivering their excellent pizza.  A pierogi wagon (whose name escapes me at the moment) was also there.

An impressive list of breweries was represented.  The list included Ohio breweries such as Barley's, Mt. Carmel, Columbus Brewing Company, Neil House, and Rivertown.  It also included some well-known names from outside Ohio, like Breckenridge from Colorado, Jolly Pumpkin from Michigan, Bear Republic from California, Dogfish Head from Delaware, and Harpoon from Boston.  Unfortunately, one brewery whose products we were really looking forward to tasting, Innis & Gunn, was a no-show.  There were also some specific brews listed on the official web site that didn't appear at the event, but not many.

At the Winter Beerfest, several breweries were represented by their actual employees or brewmasters.  Unless I mis-read things, all (or nearly all) of the beer was dispensed by volunteers rather than breweries.  One way that makes things different is that you can't as
k the breweries about their products, and there weren't any "secret samples" around (like the excellent Left Hand Brewing peach beer their brewmaster offered me in January – which isn't sold in Ohio yet).

Because of the crowds, I didn't keep detailed notes on the beers I tried at this event.  I do, however, offer the following lists of beers I liked, thought were "OK", and those I didn't care for:

• Liked:  Tripel Karmeleit from Belgium, Roebling Porter from Rivertown in Cincinnati, Dogfish Head's Tweason'Ale, Smuttynose's Belgian Dubbel, Alltech's Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale, and the Pear Cider from Magner's of Ireland.


• Thought were "OK":  Breckenridge Agave Wheat, Bear Republic Big Bear Stout, Breckenridge Autumn, Dogfish Head Indian Brown, Founder's Dirty Bastard, and Stone 16th Anniversary (even though Stone's products tend to be very hoppy, I have a soft spot for them)


• Didn't care for: Brooklyn Blast, Dark Horse Sapient Triple.  (These were both hoppier than I care for, though I saw plenty of people enjoy them.)

It was, on balance, a great evening of beer and company.  If you enjoy craft beer, you should check out the next Columbus Beerfest (which I believe will be in January 2013).

Dogfish Head Theobroma (5/10)

Dogfish Head Theobroma is an ale based on an ancient recipe which includes Aztec cocoa, cocoa nibs, ancho chili peppers, and annatto.

The color is slightly orange, which you wouldn't expect for a chocolate based beer. The flavor bears little resemblance to chocolate. The first taste that hits you is a honey sweetness, followed almost immediately by a mild heat from the anch chilis. After that, there is a touch of bitterness and alcohol warmth.

I like the beer, but I can't say I love it the way I do Dogfish Head's Chateau Jiahu or Ta Henket.

The head is white, short-lived, and completely vanishes soon after it is poured. There is absolutely no lacing.

I've seen it locally at Kenny Road Market and a few other locations.

ABV: 9.0%
IBUs: 8
My Rating: 5/10

Unibroue Grande Reserve 17 (4/10)

Unibroue's La Fin Du Monde and Trois Pistoles are two of my favorite beers.  That's why it surprises me that I really don't care for Grande Reserve 17.

This is a Dark Ale on Lees beer, brewed in French Oak with spices.  It's everything I like in one beer, and yet, I don't like it.

The color is a deep brown, the color of Coca Cola or Pepsi.  The head is a luxurious light brown, which dissipates fairly quickly.  It leaves behind a thick milkshake-like lace that vanishes to a thin, spotty affair.

The flavor is overwhelmingly sour.  It reminds me of an IPA I once brewed at home that contained a lot of brown sugar and molasses.  The sourness is the dominant flavor, with a malty, spicy flavor behind it. I taste a little of the oak aging, but not that much.

The folks at Beer Advocate strongly disagree with me on this one, rating it a 93 or "exceptional".  Perhaps my bottle wasn't aged long enough, or perhaps it just didn't age as well, I don't know.  Because it's from Unibroue, I may try it again, but I can't recommend it based on this sampling.

I don't recall where this was purchased, but the most likely candidates were The Andersons General Store or Kenny Road Market.



ABV: 10%
IBU:  35
My rating: 5/10

North Coast Red Seal Ale (3/10)

North Coast's Red Seal Ale sounded good from the menu description.  Unfortunately, it's just not a beer that I care for.

Poured into the glass, it was a reddish amber color, with a thick white head that took a little while to dissipate.  There was an immediate floral aroma when I brought the glass to my mouth, which is often the sign that a very hoppy flavor is about to follow.

While it wasn't as hoppy as I expected from the aroma, it was a bit more hoppy than I care for. The fact that it's a pale ale probably accounts for that.  Try as I might, I just don't care for pale ales or India Pale Ales. The hoppiness always seems to drown out the rest of the beer to me.

Those who disagree with me on the whole "pale ale" issue can take heart in the fact that Beer Advocate rates it an 88-98 out of 100, describing it as "good" or "world-class".

Personally, I'd much rather drink their Brother Thelonius or La Merle than Red Seal Ale.  In fact, I've bought growlers and four-packs of Brother Thelonius.  I don't plan to buy another Red Seal.

I tasted this particular beer at The Winking Lizard Tavern on Bethel Road, but have seen it for sale at Whole Foods, Kenny Road Market, and other local retailers.

ABV: 5.5%
IBU: 42
My rating: 3/10

Orval Trappist Pale Ale (4/10)

Generally speaking, I like Belgian style beers.  I also tend to be fond of Trappist and Abbey ales.  And when I looked this one up on Beer Advocate, it earned a 93-100 rating, a "world class" score.  So it puzzles me that I just didn't like Orval.

The beer pours a deep amber color, almost to the point of being brown.  The head is decent, and persists for a while after you pour it.

When it came to the flavor, the typical Belgian fruity, spicy notes felt drowned under a load of hops.  There was also a slight sourness to it.  It tasted like someone took a nice Belgian quadrupel and poured just enough of a 90-minute IPA into it to ruin it.

From what I've read, this is a beer that mellows as it ages.  Perhaps the bottle I had was simply too "fresh" and needed more time to mellow out.  I don't know.  I'll probably try this again, just to see if perhaps I got a bad bottle this time around... or maybe I was just in a bad mood?

I sampled this particular bottle at The Winking Lizard Tavern on Bethel Road, but I've seen it at Weiland's Gourmet Market.

ABV: 6.9%
IBU: 30 (mine felt like a 50)
My rating: 4/10

Magic Hat #9 (9/10)

Magic Hat #9 is a fruit beer, which is evident from the first sip.  That first sip carries with it the flavor of dried apricots, something I occasionally enjoy eating.

Poured into the glass, it's a rich amber color.  Slightly cloudy, it has a thin white head.  The flavor is slightly sweet, with almost no trace of hops to it.  I'd describe it as one of my favorite beers.

Beer Advocate disagrees with me on this one, rating it a 78 and calling it "average".  For me, the apricot flavor and very drinkable nature of this beer take it well above the average.

Magic Hat is available many places around town.  I've seen it in United Dairy Farmers stores, Kroger, and other retailers.


ABV: 5.1%
IBU: 20
My rating: 9/10

Trappistes Rochefort 6 (6/10)

Trappistes Rochefort 6 is a Belgian Strong Dark Ale brewed by Trappist monks in Belgium.

I had this one straight out of the bottle, so I can’t comment on the color, head, or lacing – except to say that there was no lacing inside the bottle as I drank it.

It’s a fairly carbonated beer, as you can probably guess from the small amount of white head showing inside the bottle in the picture at the left.

The initial flavor is a grapefruit sourness, as though it was brewed with brown sugar or molasses.  This is followed fairly quickly by a malty sweetness, which in turn is balanced by some mild hops bitterness.  I didn’t notice the usual spice notes that are typical of Belgian beers.  The flavor balance tends slightly toward the hoppy, but not unpleasantly so.  The finish is a nice balance of malt and hops.

Overall, I like this beer.  I don’t love it, however.  This puts me at odds with the folks at Beer Advocate, who gave it an exceptional rating.  To me, it’s not an exceptional beer.  It’s good, yes.  Even better-than-average.  But for my taste, it’s not “exceptional”.

If you want to try it yourself, I've seen it a Giant Eagle Market District at Kingsdale and Weiland's Gourmet Market.

ABV:  7.5%
IBU:  18
My rating: 6/10

Samuel Smith Organic Strawberry Ale (10/10)

Samuel Smith brewmasters, it seems we have a psychic link.  Every beer you make is a perfect fit for my tastebuds.  I even find your IPA drinkable, and I hate IPAs as a general rule.  How do you do it?

Samuel Smith's Organic Strawberry Ale is another home run hit (or the cricket equivalent) from my friends across the pond.  It pours into the glass a slightly reddish amber, very clear, with a light tan head.  The aroma of fresh strawberries is followed by a sweet strawberry flavor and no trace of hops.  It leaves a lot of lacing in the glass, probably a result of the sugary sweetness of the beer.

If you like strawberries, you should check out this beer.  If you don't like strawberries, avoid it.

The beer can be found locally at Cost Plus World Market at Tuttle Crossing, Kenny Road Market, and Giant Eagle Market District at Kingsdale.

Beer Advocate rates it an 85 out of 100 ("good").

ABV: 5.2%
IBU: 14
My rating: 10/10