Okay, I'll admit this is not the first time I've had this beer. The first time was about 9 years ago and it was awful. Figuring I've had a rash of good beers, and I know some of my readers love it when I drink something that is utter crap, I figured I'd give it a second chance. This week's beer is Dead Guy Ale by Rogue Ales Brewery in Newport, Oregon.

It comes in a 1 pint 6 oz bottle. The painted on label has a picture of a skeleton holding a mug sitting on a barrel with the brewery name on it. In an old English type script it has the name of the beer on a scrolling across the top. On the back there is a brief description of the beer.

This beer pours a slightly cloudy honey color. Light passes through it, but you can't clearly make out objects on the other side of a standard pint glass. When poured there is a 2-inch ivory colored head that quickly dissipates with decent lacing that fades after about 10 minutes.

It smells of both roasted and sweet malt with a slight scent of fruity hops. There is just a hint of alcohol to it. To be honest the smell is not the most enticing, but it doesn't turn one away. The flavor has a strong malt backbone to it with a nice hop finish. As the beer warms up it becomes kind of dry and the hops are more present. It tasted much better when it was cold right out of the fridge, as it warms up it looses it pleasantness. The after taste also gets stronger as the beer warms. When I started drinking it, it wasn't bad, I have about 4 ounces left and I'm not as anxious to take a sip.

It has a medium body that is a little rough in the mouth and sticky in the throat. It leaves a mild coating that can be distracting. It's a decent anytime beer, but nothing I'd go out of my way for. When I first had it, I hated this beer. I thought it was god-awful and it tasted like rubbing alcohol. I'm thinking I had a bad bottle the first time, it may have gone skunky. This is not as horrible of a beer as I had remembered it being.

I'm going to give this beer a rating of 5 out of 10.

Posted by: Contagion at 06:53 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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This week we have another case of me buying a beer due to the name and label. Today I sampled YoungÂ’s Old Nick Barley Wine Style Ale. If you remember last weeks beer was also manufactured by The Ram Brewery. This was on the shelf right next to ol' Dirty Dick's and I couldn't choose, so I bought one of each. I'm starting to really like this brewery.

The bottle appears to be the same 1 pint .9 oz. bottle that the Dirty Dick's Ale came in, in fact I'm pretty sure if I went out and bought another beer from this brewery it'll come in the same brown bottle. The only difference is the label. The label has a picture of Old Nick (AKA Lucifer, Satan, The prince of Darkness, The Devil) surrounded by flames. There is a description of the beer on the back and on the neck the tag line "Devilishly good".

When poured into the glass there was a dark brownish red color. Not so dark that light couldn't pass through it, but dark enough so you couldn't see through the glass. It wasn't cloudy, just dark. There was a good tan head on it that left a thick lacing on the side of the glass that lasts. There is still a hint of the lacing after 15 minutes.

There is a good toasted malt aroma to it with a touch of caramel and a hint of fruit. It's very enticing and welcoming to the nose. Upon the first sip I could taste a malt and nutty flavor with some hops, a touch of toffee and a very mild fruit flavor. This is not a fruit flavored beer; the fruitiness of it is more of an accent that enhances the other flavors. The aftertaste is mild and refreshing, just hint of bitterness that makes you want to take another sip.

It has a smooth medium to full bodied texture to it. It's pleasant with a slight tingle to the tongue. Very velvety that passes the mouth and throat easily. This is another beer I could see myself sitting around with friends and enjoying a good conversation.

This beer earns a rating of 7 out of 10. It's good enough that I could see myself buying more at the store just to spend an evening drinking on.

Posted by: Contagion at 06:08 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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I've received multiple hits on "How to make a Jackarita." I actually know how difficult it can be to find this recipe. To make it worse, there are two different ones. So as a service to all the devout drinkers out there. Here you go.

Jackarita (Official)
Per the Jack Daniel's Distillery

2 Oz. Jack Daniels.
2 Oz Triple Sec.
2 Oz. Lime Juice.
2 Oz Sweet and Sour.

OR

Jackarita (Cheater)

1 OZ Jack Daniels
1/2 OZ Triple Sec.
3 Oz. Margarita mix (your choice)

Rub rim of cocktail glass with lime juice, dip rim in salt. Shake all ingredients with ice, strain into the salt-rimed glass and serve. Viola! Now if you are one of those types that like them blended. See above, but instead of shaking, put in blender.

I'm a huge Jack Daniel's fan. But to be honest, I don't like these. Then again, I don't like any margaritas. Ktreva has developed a taste for them, which is why I know how to make them. I hope you enjoy.

Posted by: Contagion at 07:07 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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I'm not ashamed to admit that I bought this beer mainly because of the name. As I strolled through the liquor department of a local grocery store I spied a bottle labeled, "Young's Dirty Dick's Ale" From the Ram Brewery in London England. I couldn't help but to purchase a bottle to review just because of the name. It was priced at $2.99 for a 1 pint .9 oz bottle. As I was telling a friend at work about my find, they made the observation, "Hopefully the name of the beer doesn't describe the flavor." Not that I would know what a dirty dick tastes like, I'll have to ask her.

It comes in your usual brown bottle with a maroon label on it that has the logo and a picture of a stereotypical British fellow wearing a top hat. On the neck label it gives a little information on the brewery along with the tag line, "The Cheeky Ale." Between my friends comment and that, I was starting to get worried. The most eye-catching thing about the label is the name of the ale itself.

It poured a dark copper color with a nice clear hue, not a touch of cloudiness at all. There was a good head on the beer that faded at a decent rate, not too quick, not too slow. I've been drinking on this beer for 20 minutes and there is still good lacing on the glass all the way to the rim.

I would like to comment on the aroma, but to be honest there really wasn't any. I went into three different rooms of the house with the beer trying to find one, and then went outside. I sat the beer down, walked away for a couple of minutes and came back and finally found a very faint smell of hops and dark malts. The taste is week with a hop and roasted malt flavor that fades quickly. There is a slight bitterness to it, but not bad. There is a mildly bitter aftertaste, but again it also fades rather quickly.

This is a smooth beer that is easy to drink. It has a very light body. This is a beer I could see myself sitting in a bar with some good friends sharing a pint or two early in the evening.

I'd have to give this beer a rating of 5.5 out of 10. It's an above average ale, but nothing to go out of your way for.

Posted by: Contagion at 06:47 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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This week's beer is Dragon's Milk Ale by the New Holland Brewing Company. My wife had seen this at the store a month back and wanted to buy me a bottle of it because of the name and the fact it has a picture of a dragon on it. For those of you that have not met my wife, she has a deep love of Dragons. When she originally was telling me about it, she couldn't remember the name; she just said it had a dragon on it. Dragon's Milk is a term from the 1600's that describes a beer that was mainly for royalty. It's a strong ale that is barrel aged and has similar qualities to whiskey. True to its name, this beer is aged in reclaimed bourbon barrels. When I was looking for this week's beer, I remembered her telling me about this beer and went to the store where she saw it.

It comes in a 1 pint, 6 fluid ounce bottle. That's a total of 22 ounces for those of you that don't want to do the math themselves. It comes in a brown bottle with the name on it and the picture of a dragon over a barrel, very eye catching. There is also some informative writings about the beer on it.

The beer is a dark coffee color that light doesn't pass through. Very much like Guinness or Murphy's Irish Stout. When poured into the glass it forms a nice firm half-inch head tan in color. I've been drinking on this beer for 20 minutes and the residue of the head is still along the edge where the beer and glass meet.

The smell is heavenly. You can smell the oak of the barrel, a hint of bourbon and a hint of vanilla, coffee and malt. The smell itself was enough to make Ktreva want to take a sip, and she doesn't like dark beers. I don't think words can describe the taste, but that won't stop me from trying. The taste is like happiness. Roasted malts with a hint of vanilla and bourbon entice the tongue and mouth. There is a very slight bitterness to it that enhances the flavor. Even Ktreva liked the taste, and she doesn't like many beers. This is a beer to be savored and appreciated, not gulped down to get another. What is even more surprising is that it is High Gravity ale with 9% alcohol by volume. Tasting this beer you would not suspect that at all.

The texture in the mouth is very much like milk. It's extremely smooth and doesn't leave a bad aftertaste. It coats the mouth and throat as it easily passes by in a pleasant way.

I've never had a beer like this before. When I say it's unique, I truly mean it is a one of a kind. This is the type of beer that beer lovers hope to find, and then are disappointed, when after sampling it, they can't find it anymore. It is a bit pricey at $6.99 a bottle, but well worth the price. If you ever get a chance to sample one, you'd be a fool to pass it up. There are only a handful of beers that I've had the pleasure of tasting that goes into my, "Special guest" category, but this is one of them. If I know I'm going to have an avid beer drinker over, I'll make sure to have a couple of bottles of this fine elixir in the house. This would be the 30-year single malt of beers.

So for those of you that have been coming around to read my reviews of vile beers, I hate to disappoint you. This beer gets a 9.5 out of 10. My only regret right now is that I only bought one and it's now gone.

This beer is proof that my wife loves me. If she had not told me about it, I wouldn't have gone looking for it.

Posted by: Contagion at 06:59 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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We had just returned home from vacation and I was doing a little grocery shopping. As I walked through the beer aisle, not looking for anything in particular, a bright yellow sticker caught my attention. "NOW AVAILABLE LEGALLY IN THE U.S. FOR THE FIRST TIME IN ALMOST 100 YEARS" At first glance I thought it was just another new energy drink (Our supermarket mixes energy drinks in with beer in the coolers), but upon closer examination I discovered it was beer. Well to quote the can a "Premium malt beverage with caffeine, wormwood oil, taurine, guarana, natural and artificial flavors and certified color (FD&C red #40)" WHAT?!?!?!??! I thought that nasty Budweiser B to E was the only caffeine and herbal enhanced beer. I guess I was wrong. Then I noticed it was on sale for $1.99; ah hell I know this is going to taste nasty, but I had to buy it.

Four

Plain white 16 oz can with the name of the beer on it sideways. Other then the above mentioned phrase, the surgeon general warning, the only thing on this can that is interesting is the sticker the slapped on it. Oh, and it says it is 6.0% alc/vol.

The beer is pink in color, very reminiscent of Strawberry Crush. There isn't much head on it, and what there is dissipates to a film quickly. Then it leaves a slight ring around the edge of the glass. It looked more like I was drinking Strawberry Crush then a beer.

There is a fruity aroma to it of berries and stale light beer. The smell is very reminiscent of an energy drink that was poured into a glass that had previously held beer. Which, unless you like such things, is not appealing to me at all. The flavor was sweet. The taste of strawberry is most prominent. There is a hint of a beer flavor to it, again as if it was Strawberry Crush mixed with light beer. Way too fruity for my tastes. The strawberry is almost overpowering. I think I would rather just drink a strawberry pop with a beer chaser. The aftertaste is sweet and sugary; it left me wishing I had a Guinness to wash away the taste.

This is just another novelty beer that will only have a following in the club scene or in college towns. I can't see any serious beer drinker ever thinking they might want to buy a case of this for a weekend trip. It's made by the Four Brewing Company in Cold Springs, MN. The funniest thing about this is that after doing some research on their sight I find out that this company has been around since 1999. I'm not sure what then about this beer that has not been allowed in the US for almost 100 years. Except that it has wormwood oil in it, which is the active ingredient in Absinthe. So far, there are no pixies dancing in my house.

I'm going to give this "beer" a 2 out of 10. It's too sweet and fruity. I think I'd rather drink a Zima then one of these again.

Posted by: Contagion at 07:43 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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