Fucken beer reviews, aye.

Man, that was some weekend just now. Most of the folks associated with this here blog attended a certain function on Saturday, all with the intention of enjoying a few refreshing beverages, eating a quesadilla or two and warming the house of some dear friends of ours. Things quickly turned from this:



To this:



Except with heaps more peeing on dudes. I've had about 3 hours sleep in the last two days and just gotten home from one of the roughest days at work I can remember. What to do now? Get stinking drunk on great craft beer and write about it for my own amusement is the only sensible thing that comes to mind. Off we go.

BEER #1: Victory HopDevil

What a treat it is to have Victory's beers available on our shores. I've had everything from their range that we get out here multiple times, and it's pretty much uniformly terrific. Summer, while officially over, shows no sign of relinquishing it's sticky grip on this part of the country, and if I had my druthers I'd have a fridge full of Prima Pils and maybe a couple of Helios saisons with which to ride it out. This beer, also, is really fucking good.

Pours a red-tinted orange with a wispy tan head. Still and maybe a bit flat, but gosh it's a pretty colour. Pretty standard nose of pine needles and caramel.

Big malt presence, more than even the nose lets on. Bread dough, caramel, maybe a bit of honey. At the same time the hops are going to work too. Pine, citrus pith, some earthy/herbal flavors. Not super-complex, but strikes a really good balance. Incrediblly full and silky mouthfeel. After each sip your palate feels properly coated with goodness.

Textbook US IPA. I like it an awful lot.

More to come, probably (not).

But wait:

Beer #2 - Weyerbacher Double Simcoe IPA

Weyebacher Double Simcoe IPA is a widely acclaimed melodramatic 1987 Malayalam film written and directed by P. Padmarajan, which is based on his own novel of the same name.

It pours a hazy amber with a finger of off-white head and on weekends it volunteers at a homeless shelter because it's just that kind of guy. Smells of caramel, pine and a hint of black tea. Boy this has some hops. Resinous. Hints of pine, Fanta and crayons. In a good way. Lots of malt, also. Like a delightful breakfast cereal that makes you drunk. Chewy. I am acutely aware that it is 9% alcohol but it's not it's fault.

Full of goodness and makes me want to listen to Pantera. I think I'll go to bed.