The Goodjer American Beer Exchange 2

Patience brings such sweet rewards...

Get those babies on it!

So me and my inlaws finished off the last three bottles from our exchange last night. We hade the Rogue double chocolate. the sweet heat and the brute aniversary porter. The Rogue was definitely the favorite. Very smooth and not much of a taste of alcohol.
The second was the sweet heat. It was very interesting. I'm not sure if I'd have it again. You could really taste the peppers but there wasn't much heat.
Last was the Brute anniversary porter. It was probably the least favorite but not disliked. I might just not be a fan of the bourbon barrel flavor that everybody likes to put in their porters.
All in all I was glad to share them with a group as all of them seemed to be a bit much for one person in one sitting.

jonnypolite wrote:

Patience brings such sweet rewards...

Get those babies on it!

Speaking of which, I got shipping confirmation, you got everything, right?

YES! I'm currently reviewing the contents. Awesome:)

I'll post some impressions, really surprised by a couple of them so far. All delicious!

Beer Exchange report!

IMAGE(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8499/8315205952_9912d32942_c.jpg)

Fat Head's Head Hunter IPA

I think I've been in the Pacific Northwest too long. Living in the middle of hops country as i do right now, I have to admit to becoming a little snobby when it comes to IPAs, since we have so many coming from this area. I realize that makes no sense now. I was surprised by how much I liked this one. Sharp, bright, but not heavy, really good clear IPA was this. I'd definitely drink again.

Great Lakes Brewing Company Christmas Ale.

I have a friend who one year, canned his own chutney and sent it out as a Holiday gift, which he prefaced with the words "Tastes like f*cking Christmas." That would be this beer. But in a good way. Not sweet, but earthy and herbal. No overwhelming floral bouquet like some Sam Adams holiday brew i once tried, but really fresh and delicious. A beer I would buy.

Neil House Brewery Cranberry Cider.

This made me go to the computer to see if I could have it delivered to my house. I've started to try ciders lately, and I've found good ones and bad. This had a sharp flavor, not too sweet (the death knell for ciders, for me), crisp, just great. Not something i'd want to drink 2 or 3 of, but with a 4% alcohol content, you're not looking to get buzzed with this one. A1.

Tunguska Imperial Stout

Black as night. Heavy. Chocolate, Coffee, Stout. I haven't had many stouts over the last few years, in this IPA world of the PNW. Holy Hell. I had to go back to the bottle to check the alcohol content on this one. yep, 10.8% Whoah. I really liked it, but next time i'm sharing this one with a friend. Or a steak.

Rooster Fish Brewing Hop Warrior

NIce IPA. Not sure why, the bottle overflowed on me at opening, and it was a little flat. None of the other beers in the bunch were like this, so maybe this bottle got shaken at some point. Liked it. Medium beer, a bit malty. Not complex, a good drinking IPA, probably better with food.

Hoppin Frog Barrel Aged B.O.R.I.S. Oatmeal Imperial Stout

If I had opened this before the Tunguska, I think I would have been overwhelmed. So good. Rich, thick, chocolate, malt, coffee, mmmmmm. Number 1 with a bullet. Exceptional. Had no idea that Stouts were like this now. Liking this bold new world.

Griffin Cider Works Griffin Original

The kind of Cider I like. Not sweet, but nice flavor, clear and sharp, hardly any aftertaste.

In Summary

The Hoppin Frog was amazing. Followed closely by the Cranberry Cider, for completely different reasons. I'd follow that with the Tunguska, the Christmas Ale, and the IPAs. I liked the Griffin Cider as well, i'd have that on hand for my Cider loving friends.

Thanks Oily, you've opened my eyes to some great Midwestern Craft Brewers. And also sad that i don't get to go to Columbus OH anymore (and that I didn't know of these places when I did go there)

The funny thing is, most of those breweries are Cleveland-area, not even close to Columbus and I've actually met most of those brewers are some local functions. I hear there are some fine breweries farther South too but except for that cider, I kept everything close to home.

The Griffin cider? 1 dude makes it at his house and it's being distributed all over NE Ohio now. It's pretty cool.

Glad you liked the haul. It was really hard only including a single Hoppin' Frog brew, I have yet to have something that wasn't fantastic from them but that BORIS is the best of the best. There should be a disclaimer on the label not to even attempt to drink anything else within 24 hours just because the experience would be colored.

And finding that cran cider... sheer luck. I've only bought a single 6 on a whim and you got one of them. I was floored by how much I liked it. That's the only one from Columbus, I think.

Thanks again! Now all i want is a six of that Hoppin Frog to put it in the cellar:)

jonnypolite wrote:

Thanks again! Now all i want is a six of that Hoppin Frog to put it in the cellar:)

That can be arranged if you want to paypal me some $ =)

Will check with wife/beer czar