Victory Old Horizontal Barley Wine Review

by Logan on August 30, 2010

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Two weeks ago I reviewed a barley wine from Dick’s Brewing Company here in Washington state. Since I don’t generally drink barley wine’s very often, I figured I’d review another one to compare it with and decided to try out Victory Brewing Companies Old Horizontal Barley Wine.

Old Horizontal is one of Victory’s seasonal beers that they put out December-January. I know, the summer is ending, why am I reviewing this now? Well, my local bottle shop had it in and had great reviews on it, so I figure why not try it now.

Pouring the bottle I was pretty impressed with how thick the beer looked. I could see some sediment floating around the bottom and some nice carbonation. The head was fairly small and left very little lacing on the glass.

Right when I started pouring, I could smell the beauty of this beer. Nice caramel and fruit flavors filled the air with a fairly strong alcohol smell following. I knew I was in for a big beer.

The first drink was a lot sweeter then I was expecting. As I was drinking it some more however, the overly sweet flavor died down and the malt and hops taste came through. It definitely had a warm finish with some complex flavors, that’s for sure.

Old Horizontal is definitely a sipper beer with 11% ABV. I think if I would have this again, it would definitely be a night cap type of beer. One of these and I’m ready to get horizontal and go to sleep.

Overall I give Victory Old Horizontal a B+.

This is a very complex beer with some great flavors. I’d definitely get it again. The more I drank it, the better it got (maybe that was just the high alcohol content though). I preferred this barley wine over Dick’s.

ABV: 11%

What’s your thoughts on Old Horizontal?

Note: If you represent a brewery and are reading this and would like your beer reviewed on BlogAboutBeer.com, please contact me for more info. Thanks!

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Gluten Free Beer Exists (Sort Of)

by Logan on August 26, 2010

Last night I went to a new cafe with a friend of mine who recently went on a gluten free diet as prescribed by his doctor. I was pretty excited when we walked in and saw a fairly good sized craft beer selection (probably over 40 different beers). While I was looking over the list deciding what I was going to drink, he was telling me about eating gluten free.

As I sat looking over the list of beers, he was excited that they carried 1 gluten free beer (Redbridge). Basically if he wanted to drink beer, he had 1 choice. That sucks. Apparently finding gluten free beers at most restaurants is pretty difficult.

To make it worse, I tried the Redbridge he had (which is brewed by Anheuser-Busch), and it wasn’t very good. At that point I was pretty thankful I can have gluten, but felt for those out there that are bound by very few beverage choices.

I did a little research and found a few interesting things about gluten free beer. It seemed that the UK had a lot bigger selection of gluten free beers. However their laws are a bit different as beers can be labeled gluten free as long as the beer has less than 20 parts per million gluten.

Most gluten free beers are brewed with sorghum or rice instead of grains which gives gluten free beer a fairly sweet taste.

Promote Gluten Free Beer

There are a few things you can do to promote gluten free beers and to make them more accessible. The main way is to request it at your local restaurants. Talk to owners and write letters asking them to carry a variety of gluten free beers. Also speak with your wallet.  Most bottle shops have a few gluten free beers so go try them. The higher the demand, the more that will be produced.

Gluten Free Beer List

Here are a few gluten free beers to check out. I haven’t tried any of them other than Redbridge, so let me know what you think.

What’s your favorite gluten free beer?

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Flying Dog’s Raging Bitch Review

by Logan on August 24, 2010

One of the downfalls to living in the Northwest (if you can really call it that since we are spoiled here), is that we don’t get many east coast beers at restaurants and supermarkets.  I’ve been wanting to try some Flying Dog Brewery beers for awhile, but have had other beers on my list when visiting my local bottle shop.

Today I finally got the chance to try a bottle of Flying Dog’s 20th Anniversary Raging Bitch, which is a Belgian-style IPA. Cracking open the bottle, the beer poured a nice amber/copper color, reminiscent of most IPA’s out there.

I immediately got excited when smelling as I could strongly smell the Belgian style yeast as well as Amarillo hops, which it was dry hopped with.  For those of you that know me, I have an obsession with Amarillo hops that flat out puts a smile on my face and makes me want to dance around the room.

This is a fairly hoppy beer, but not over hopped. I’d call it a hop nirvana, as it’s just right. Raging Bitch is not too bitter, but the bitterness is definitely there. It has an amazing IPA flavor that has been married to a distinctively Belgian flavor, producing a beer that I might have to say is near perfect.

I seriously am sitting here trying to think of what is wrong or could be improved in this beer and nothing comes to mind.  Well done Flying Dog.  You put a smile on my face today and make me wish this beer was more accessible where I live.

My Flying Dog’s Raging Bitch Grade: A

Here are the details:

ABV: 8.3%
IBU’s: 60
Plato: 18

What’s your thoughts on Flying Dog and Raging Bitch?

Note: If you represent a brewery and are reading this and would like your beer reviewed on BlogAboutBeer.com, please contact me for more info. Thanks!

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Bacon S’mores – Making A Classic Even Better

by Logan on August 23, 2010

Last week my wife had a brilliant idea. When I say a brilliant idea, you could almost say it was a life changing idea. For years one of America’s favorite camping treats, the s’more, has consisted of a graham cracker, chocolate, and a roasted marshmallow or two.

Well my friends, the time has come to add a 4th ingredient to make the classic s’more so much better.  You may have already guessed what it is.  What makes everything better? BACON!!!

So Friday night after my wife came up with the idea (I’m sure others have came up with idea before, but it was a first for us), we decided to try it out.  Let me tell you it was simply amazing. The first one we tried had 1 strip of bacon which was good. We decided to add 2 strips of bacon to the second one and it was as good as the first time you crack open a bottle of a new homebrew and realize that it is the best you’ve ever brewed.

To me, s’mores will never be the same.  Without the layer or two of bacon, it’s like going back to drinking mediocre beer once you’ve tasted the best.  It just isn’t the same.

I know this isn’t really a beer related post, but it was so good that it would have been a crime not to post about them. Plus my brewing buddy Sean and his wife came over to try them out with us while we drank for the first time the amber we brewed (way over carbonated, but that’s a whole different story).

Before you say gross to the bacon s’mores, try it out.  Once you’ve tried it, you may never go back.

What are your thoughts?

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Get Started Brewing At Home With A Beer Brewing Kit

by Logan on August 19, 2010

Brewing beer is by far the best and most satisfying hobby that I’ve run across. How great is it to spend a few hours brewing beer while drinking a few beers, then a week or two later bottle your brew while drinking a few beers, and then a few weeks later get to taste the beer you created?

When I tell people I brew beer, they always have questions. How much does it cost to start?  Wouldn’t it just be cheaper to buy beer already made?  Honestly, it can be an expensive hobby, but it doesn’t have to be.

If you’re serious and can afford to spend a few hundred to get good equipment, I suggest you go down to your local brew shop and let them help you.

If you are interested in home brewing, but don’t have a lot to spend, or are not sure if you will enjoy it enough to spend a few hundred dollars getting setup, I’d suggest getting a home beer brewing kit.

I’ve had beer made from two kits, and each had completely different results.  The first I’ve tried was from Mr. Beer, and honestly it tasted like crap.  It could have been the way that batch was made, but I would probably stear clear of it.

Last August I was in New York and tried two beers from a Coopers brewing kit. I was pretty impressed with the quality for how cheap the kit and the ingredients where to get started.  I had the IPA and the wheat beer.  While not the best beers I’ve ever had, it sure beat the taste of most micro beers out there.

Once you get the kit for $99, you can make 6 gallons of beer for about $20 (includes malts, hops, and yeast), which is a pretty good deal if you are toying around with the idea to get started home brewing.  Plus if you realize that you enjoy the brewing process, you will already have some of the key pieces of equipment so it won’t cost to much to upgrade.

Here is a video on their website that shows what is included.

The Coopers kit includes:

  • 1 Plastic 30 liter fermenter with lid (and o ring), makes 23 liters (6 Gallons)
  • 1 Hydrometer
  • 1 Sediment Reducer
  • 1 Plastic Spoon
  • 1 “Little Bottler” tube and bottling valve
  • 1 Tap
  • 1 Airlock
  • 1 Airlock grommet
  • 1 Thermometer
  • 30 740ml PET bottles and caps
  • 1 Instruction booklet
  • 1 Instructional DVD
  • 1 Cooper’s Lager Beer Kit Package – which includes:
    • 1 1.7kg Coopers Lager Beer Kit Concentrate with yeast
    • 1 1 kg Coopers Brewing Sugar
    • 1 Bag of Carbonation drops

Check out Coopers beer kits here.

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