beer, hooray!

A while back I caught a mention of a blog about beer in South Florida over at Rick’s spot and for whatever reason I kept said blog in the backburner and never got around to checking it out… Now I deeply regret it. I missed a weekend of Dogfish Head at Abraxas!!! (Among many other things that took place right around the corner from me.)

It’s not like you have to wait for him to blog about something, he’s got a beer events calendar right on the sidebar that comes in very handy.

No doubt SFBB has been bookmarked, del.icio.us’d, facebook’d, rss’d & twittered.

LINK

cuzqueñas negras

I had my first ever at the Sofa Bar in Chivay, in Arequipa, and it is sweet. Maybe a little too sweet for my tastes. Nothing too complex, but I’ll take the more straight forward lager version of the Cuzqueña any day. 10 soles got us a 610ml bottle, enough for a couple of glassfuls between two people.

As for the locale, yes they had a couple of couches and a few comfy seats, but what caught our attention was the pool table that took up about 1/3rd of the space in this small bar. Luckily for us it was free. Unluckily for us the pockets were ridiculously narrow and it took us about half an hour before we hit our first shot, and about another half hour before the next two. We gave up soon after that being that we had to be up @ 5am for the remainder of the trip.

you’re still not worthy, oaked.

If there’s something to be said about a beer named Arrogant Bastard Ale, it might be that it’s just not for everybody. Brewed by the Stone Brewing Company, the same people behind Stone IPA, drinking an Arrogant Bastard feels like taking Broc Lesnar’s left elbow to the face before he proceeds to ground and pound you to a pulp rather than a plain ol’ smack. As unappetizing as this may sound, you have to understand that there are people out there who would enjoy this, specially if they somehow end up winning the fight. Then again, there’s the chance that these people are just a bunch of masochists. Then again, there’s a chance that most other beer drinkers are too used to cheap, tasteless beer. (An Oaked Arrogant Bastard Ale six pack @ Whole Foods = $18.)

Arrogant Bastard Ale could have easily been named Aggressive Bastard Ale. You’ll get a sense of this as soon as you pop one open because of the strong hoppy, slightly citrusy aroma that emanates from the bottle. It tastes even stronger.  It’s one of those things to which you have to work your way up. Otherwise, like the Wikipedia entry on the back label implies, chances are that “you probably won’t like it.”

stone india pale ale

One of my buddies came down to Miami for the weekend and we decided to hit up Zeke’s on Lincoln for a few beers early in the afternoon. (It’s surprising how many people don’t know about the lovely joint that is Zeke’s Roadhouse -something around two hundred brands of beer available at $4 a piece, in the heart of South Beach, but I digress.) I went in there wanting a mugful of DogFishHead 60 min. IPA and ended up with a cold glass of Stone IPA instead. That’s what happens when you order your favorite beer on tap and you’re told it has been replaced with something that makes your friend’s eyes light up.

If you’re not familiar with India Pale Ale, it’s beer with a kick. The opposite of smooth. Rather bitter, and full of flavor. Something that will put your taste buds to work (and is nothing short of greatness IMO). Take a swig of an IPA and the flavor will linger in your buds and on your mind, whether you want it or not. From what I understand, it’s got to do with overabundance of hops in the brewing process, which is what makes it different from your standard, smoother lager and gives it its distinctive aroma.

As far as IPAs go, drinking a DogFishHead, as my friend would say, is like having someone smack you square in the face with a bunch hops. You’d recognize the hops as something that’s been hiding in the beers you drink but the flavor they bring would probably feel a lot like a sucker punch if you’re not used to it. I love it. Drinking a Stone IPA is more than just that. A Stone IPA has a lot more finesse and not as bitter. You don’t feel like you’re being assaulted, but rather surprised. Where a DogFishHead might have gone a hair or four over in bitterness, a Stone IPA got it just right. Plus a hint of citrus that’s inescapable. Simply crisp and delicious. If you’re not afraid of beer, I highly recommend it.