BEER #114 – #115: ODELL TAP TAKEOVER (CELASTRINA & LOOSE LEAF)

Odell had a tap takeover at one of the local bars in town, and boy was I excited! They had a list of 8 beers that they tapped, but the two that I tried and had never had before were Odell Celastrina Saison and Odell Loose Leaf. To begin, we’ll start with the Celastrina.

This beer was excellent and oh so delicious! Served in a tulip glass, the body is a

beautiful golden. There is a significant amount of lacing. It tastes sweet with a great amount of floral aromatics. It’s a smooth beer that finishes wet. You also taste a sweetness of banana through out and a little bit of spice from some nutmeg or clove. Great beer.

ABV: 7.5%

The second beer is Loose Leaf. First off, I’m a huge fan of the graphic design! But onto the beer. This is supposed to be an American Pale Ale. It pours a very crisp, clear yellow. Think pilsner. In fact, I think it kind of tastes like a skunky pilsner. I’m honestly not a fan of it. Not enough flavor or hops in it. It’s got an earthy taste to it and proves to be drinkable, but I like my beer with some more flavor. However, if you are out in the heat for a long time and wanting to drink a keg of beer, this would probably be a good choice.

ABV: 4.5%

BEER #113: HOP RIOT RED, FREE STATE BREWERY

Beer #113 is Hop Riot Red, another from Lawrence, KS’ local brewery, Free State. Kind of a cool little back story to the name of the beer which you can read in the picture. The color of this beer is a medium brown but with deep, deep red hues. You can especially see the red when there is light shining through the body. There is very little lacing and head. It’s a medium-bodied beer that has a strong presence of malts and a consistent sweetness, kind of like honeydew. It finishes wet and proves to be very drinkable. Not a bad beer but nothing crazy special either.

 

BEER #112: LOVE CHILD #3, BOULEVARD BREWERY

Beer #112 is Love Child #3 from Boulevard Brewery. This is going to be a short one b/c all I have to really say is SOUR. If you are a fan of sour beers, here you go. I don’t have a palate for this type of beer, so I was not a fan of it…and it cost a whopping $20. I can handle some sour, but this is just like a war head with a lot of citrus. SOOOO tart with a lot of brett. I’ve heard those that like sour beers find this one to be excellent, but again, I’m not a good judge of this type of brew.

picture by boulevard brewery

ABV: 9.5%; IBU: 13

BEER #111: WESTSIDE RYE ALE, BOULEVARD BREWERY TESTER

Alright, Beer #111 is Westside Rye Ale. If you saw my post yesterday, you know that Boulevard just released a 12pk sampler, and 2 of the beers they are supplying in it are testers they let people try on brewery tours.

Yesterday, I tried a great IPA, and today I am trying their other tester, Westside Rye Ale.

I’m really congested today, but for some reason this beer smells a little of rye but also a weird skunkiness type aroma (not strong, but subtle.) Not sure if it’s from my nose or what. The beer pours a light amber with tones of red. The head is extremely small and thin; however, you can see a good amount of carbonation flowing throughout the body. The beer tastes nutty and sweet, little undertones of caramel. I’m actually not a big fan of this beer…it tastes watered down to me…which is surprising b/c most of Boulevard’s beers deliver on flavor. I also think it is a little too heavy on the carbonation. Not a fan. Too light, not enough flavor. It tastes like a shitty domestic beer company trying to make a rich pale ale.

BEER #110: MID-COAST IPA & SOME BRATWURSTS, BOULEVARD PARTY

Want to see something delicious in its raw form?

Want to see it in its even more delicious form?

Boulevard paired up with Farmland to make these delicious beer brats using their famous wheat beer and pale ale. I have to say, I thought the pale ale was the winner. You honestly couldn’t taste too much of the wheat beer, but you got a nice darker taste with the pale ale. However, both were DELICIOUS either way, and my friends and I thoroughly enjoyed them!

Boulevard Brewery just released a new sampler 12-pk that has two of its year-rounds,its Wheat and its Hoppy Wheat, or 80-acre (both of which I have blogged about previously and both of which are two of my favorite go-to beers). However, Boulevard decided they also wanted to bottle up some of their test brews they offer to tour guests and share the wealth with others to try. I am so excited to try these as I have actually not had them before, & I think it’s great Boulevard asks for feedback about these testers to see if they are worthy enough to be year-round offers. Boulevard will supposedly be doing this sampler-12 again but with different testers and perhaps year-rounds as well.

The two testers they had are “Mid-Coast IPA” and “Westside Rye Ale.” Today, I am going to blog about the Mid-Coast IPA as this is my favorite type of brew & Boulevard’s HOPPIEST beer!

The color of this brew is a lightly hazy golden.

The first thing I noticed about its body is the reverse waterfall of bubbles everywhere. Lots of carbonation. It leaves a medium-thick head but one that is VERY frothy and light. It smells and tastes strong of pine, bitter (of-course!), orange/tangerine-flavors, and a sweet grapefruit that is very accentuated at the end as it combines with the bitter hops. This IPA is a HUGE amount of flavor and bitter, but yet, it feels like a very light beer. Bottle doesn’t have ABV, and IBU states it’s “over 100.”

This IPA reminds me of Odell’s IPA but with a little more bitter bite. Finishes smooth and delicious. EXCELLENT beer for hop heads.

BEER #109: WHITE RASCAL, AVERY BREWING COMPANY

Beer #109 is White Rascal by Avery Brewing Company. The color of the beer is a foggy hay. There is very little head and it is high in carbonation. The taste is true to a Belgian white with orange, yeast & wheat flavors; however, it tastes a little watered down to me, but it’s a decent beer for a hot summer’s day. Very drinkable.

IBV: 5.6%, IBU: 10

BEER #108: STONE IPA, STONE BREWING COMPANY

This beer company just came to Kansas from good ‘ol California – welcome to Kansas Stone Brewing Comapny.

I’m at one of my favorite bars in Lawrence, Henry’s on 8th, and they happen to have this on tap for me to try. Thanks Calvin for the recommendation!

It’s pretty dark in here but with the little light I have, I can tell the beer is a very crisp, clear golden. The head is small but very smooth and frothy. Little lacing is left along the glass as you drink. The carbonation is medium and smells very floral. There is a beautiful balance of bitter bite but one that also has some pine in it. This beer finishes very wet. If you are a hop head, this is your jam. Gotta be one of the top 10 IPAs I’ve had.

ABV: 6.9%, IBU: 77

ODELL IPA, RE-BLOG

I’ve already blogged about this beer, but as I expand this blog to talk about beer in general, I want to shortly blog about this beer again after just downing it.

This is still one of my all-time favorite IPAs – it has a perfect subtle sweetness that balances the aromatics of the powerful hops in the body. So smooth – this is my go-to IPA. Anyway, I toured Odell brewery a few months ago and I’d like to give you a taste of what it’s all about as I reminisce on my awesome trip to Fort Collins while drinking this wonderful creation. Cheers!

Odell Brewing Company’s sign outside their brewery

My favorite logo of all time beautifully painted in the tasting room

I sat outside of the tasting room/brewery whose wall just opened up into the inside of the tasting room – SO COOL.

They have several flights in the tasting room. I chose the Co-Pilot Tray aka the high alcohol content tray.

NOM

Our awesome tour guide showing us the bottling line. Very small line!

They have a tasting bar INSIDE the actual brewery. Here we go to taste some beer.

Barrels of Beer

BEER #107: TSINGTAO, CHINA IMPORT

So today I decided to try my first Chinese beer (despite being Chinese). Beer #107 is Tsingtao Lager, and holy moly – this beer is awful.

I didn’t even bother pouring it in a glass after taking one whiff and a quick taste. It instantly smells strongly of an unwanted skunkiness and tastes overly sweet, but watery, and skunky/grassy. I imagine if a skunk ate a bunch of pixie sticks and then peed into a bottle, you would have Tsingtao Lager. Some will argue it’s better with food, but I truly don’t believe you should have to eat food to make a beer taste better – a beer should help make your food taste better by enhancing its flavors. Don’t waste your palate, nostril power or money on this bottle.

ABV: 4.8% 

BEER #106: RAYON VERT, GREEN FLASH BREWING COMPANY

Today’s beer is Rayon Vert from Green Flash Brewing out of California. The first thing I noticed about pouring this beer is its great amount of carbonation. I ran out of clean tulip glasses which probably would have helped control the poor but man was this thing heavy.

The brew has now been sitting in a pint glass settling down for a few minutes, revealing heavy lacing and a smooth off-white, creamy head. The color of the beer is a hazy golden orange and the aroma is strong of a farmhouse ale and citrus. The taste is quite the same as the aroma with strong belgian yeasts and a slight bitter bite at the end. I would complain that this beer is over carbonated after tasting it. The carbonation tingles on your tongue and kind of takes away from your palate deciphering all the flavors of the beer. Good beer other than the heavy co2.

ABV: 7%, IBU: 32