Shannon has a couple of pointers to online sources for beer: John's Grocery and Internet Wines and Spirits. She's jonesing for her Boulevard Wheat and is looking for a source. The problem? Exorbitant shipping prices.

So, anyone know of decent sources for beer online, that don't charge outrageously for shipping? I'll start a list.

This past Saturday my ultra-good-friend Kina brought me a super-special limited edition bottle of Deschutes Brewery's Jubel 2000 Millenium.* I don't know where she found this, or if she'd been saving it since the year 2000 or whenever... but Kina: thank you! This was awesome.

And it's a very good beer, too. It aged well (it was stored properly, I assume) and was wonderfully complex and tasty and warming. Let's go to the review...

Appearance: Murky, thick, brown... reminds me of a very dark raw apple cider. Very little head, low carbonation.

Smell: Spicy, smokey, like a strong liqueur or even a whiskey or scotch. Some vanilla? Licorice? Complex. Very barleywine-ish.

Taste: Malty, rich, strong! Alcohol heat at the back of the throat. Complex. Sweet and dark and spicy, like a fruitcake without the molasses. Very, very good. Very much like a barleywine, though the RateBeer site only lists it at 7% alcohol by volume... perhaps this rose a bit as it aged in the bottle? It's oaky, aged, and mellow on the bite. Hops are very mild here, almost undetectable.

Mouthfeel: Thick (though not as thick as a good stout), smokey/oily in a good way. Mellow on the palate though you can tell there's alcohol strength there.

On BeerAdvocate, there's only one review—not enough to get a good score. That review rated it at an overall 3.95 out of 5, though, not bad. RateBeer has 34 ratings pegging it at 3.97 out of 5, solidly in their 98th percentile. Definitely deserves the high score.

*Needless to say, Kina gets the "ultra-good-friend" label because she thoughtfully brought me beer with the understanding—nay, the responsibility—of blogging about it. Shannon's in the club too. Wanna be an ultra-good-friend (UGF)? Give me specialty beer! :)

For Father's Day I got a bottle of Big Daddy IPA from Speakeasy Brewing in San Francisco. It's got a great bottle (picture at right is so-so, but you get the idea). Straight to my notes!

Appearance: Not-quite-clear and orange in color. Fluffy white head started out promising but fell quickly.

Smell: Hops—slightly citrus-fruity, remniscent of Cascade (or Simcoe these days...). Clean, not as fruity as I'd expect though.

Taste: Malty and hoppy—strong Simcoe? like hop without the fruitiness. Mt. Hood hops? Tasty, but bitter in the back, which lingers. Malt is rather neutral, but it's there. Definitely hops.

Mouthfeel: It's a little on the thin side of medium-bodied. I think I'd like to see it a little thicker for an IPA.

Overall, a good beer, actually. I think the hop bitterness could have balanced the malt a bit more... but I won't quibble. It was tasty!

On BeerAdvocate it racks up a score of 84, with 92% approval. RateBeer ranks it at 3.5 out of 5, in their 83rd percentile.

Somewhere along the line I acquired a bottle Eastside Dark, a lager from Lakefront Brewery in Wisconsin. I'm not exactly sure where it came from, as I found it near the back of the pantry in a six-pack container with some of my homebrew... No matter, found beer is found beer, so here's my review.

Appearance: Brown, and murky. Nice (though short) tan, creamy, foamy head.

Smell: Malty, bready. Very understated, and clean. Darkish—tough to quantify, I know; perhaps a little roasted grain and chocolate.

Taste: Dark malt, a bit astringent but light. I think the astringency comes from roasted malts (like coffee). No real hops. Maltiness is there but it has that astringent off-bite... not bad, but not a preferred profile for me.

Mouthfeel: Light-bodied but a little prickly, or puckery.

On BeerAdvocate it has netted a decent score of 84, with 93% of Advocates in approval. On RateBeer, it scored 3.39 out of 5, putting it into their 75th percentile.

Overall, it didn't impress me terribly, but it wasn't the worst beer I've had, either. And I can't speak for the quality of this particular bottle, since it may have been lost in my pantry for awhile...

Sadly, these homegrown hops aren't at my house (not for lack of trying), but at my mom's. That's good though, because I can pick all I want. Check out how insane these are growing:

This hop is crazy big, and summer hasn't even started. It's growing up a trellis right off of the back deck.

This is the original hop plant that appeared in my mom's garden. It's been there for years. It's growing over the fence (right) and up into a juniper tree (left). This picture looks like you're looking into some wild hop labrynth.

This hop leaf is bigger than my hand!

What's amazing to me is these are growing so well in Alfalfa... not a place known for its lush greenery.

There's an interesting article on the Philadelphia Daily News site about Simcoe hops. Simcoe is a relatively new hybrid variety similar to Cascade but higher in bitterness...

What attracts brewers - and drinkers - to the variety is a distinctive citrus aroma combined with a high alpha-acid content that imparts a strong but pleasurable bitterness.

Because of those qualities, it's an especially popular ingredient in the new wave of extra-hoppy ales known as Imperial India Pale Ales. It provides a nice kick without a harsh slap to the palate.

Research into the hybrid was initially a financially-motivated enterprise (big surprise)... megabreweries trying to get more hop bang for their buck. What interested me in the article however was the fact that I'd heard mention of Simcoe hops recently: a couple of weeks ago at Thirsty Thursday a Big Sky Brewing rep was showcasing their beer and mentioned that their new IPA is made with Simcoe (which I hadn't heard about before).

So it all comes full circle... :)

Here's an article on MSNBC highlighting the growing movement of pairing beer with fine foods, bringing more culinary respect to beer, a là wine.

Part of the way to win over wine lovers is by showcasing just how well beer can pair with food. [Jim] Koch [founder and brewer of the Boston Beer Company/Sam Adams] worked with Jason Miller, executive chef of David Burke's Primehouse in downtown Chicago, to create a special menu for BusinessWeek in which each of the four courses was highlighted by an American craft beer, or microbeer as they're also known. We agreed that Koch, who can do a dead-on impression of Julia Child, could select one of his own beers, but had to choose other brews for the other courses. With each course, we had a 6 oz. tasting of a different beer.

The rules for pairing beer with food are common sense. You should try to complement or contrast the flavors and intensity of the beer — be it the alcohol, malt, hops, or other traits — with the food. Lighter fare like salads or fish work well with lighter beers such as an ale. Richer or spicier foods need something bolder, like a dark, malty Oktoberfest-style brew. To sample the delights along with Koch, we gathered a group of beer aficionados and neophytes at Primehouse.

It's full of mouth-watering descriptions of the meal courses, and does a fair job of describing the beer accompanying each one. Though I have to object a bit to the beer chosen to accompany the main course, which was one of three dishes: "With such a range of dishes, the beer has to be versatile enough to match foods with so many flavors. Koch's pick: his own, Samuel Adams Boston Lager."

Boston Lager? Really? I have to say when I think of Boston Lager, "versatility" is the furthest thing from my mind... if you're looking to pick a beer that can work with a blue cheese steak, or spicy pork shank, or an Asian-flavored Chilean sea bass, I'd pick something like an IPA. Not one of the "extreme" varieties, but something very respectable like Stone IPA or AleSmith IPA.

There's a couple of (Oregon) beer events coming up this month that I wanted to mention:

• The North American Organic Brewers Festival: Being put on by Roots Organic Brewing in Portland, this sounds pretty cool.
  

  The North American Organic Brewers Festival will feature over 30 organic beers from the Pacific Northwest and as far a field as Germany, England, Vermont, Wisconsin, and Texas. From pale ales and pilsners to imperial stouts and dopplebocks, organic brewers are taking the craft beer revolution to the next level.

  That's going on tomorrow(!), Saturday, June 10th, from 12 until 9pm. Admission price is $4 (mug included), and $1 for a taster of beer.
• Saturday, June 24th, is the 2006 Brewers Summer Games held at the Pelican Pub & Brewery in Pacific City. I remember seeing something about this when we were at the Pelican a couple weekends ago, and it sounds like a great time (plus, you're on the beach!).
  

  Watch as brewer teams from around the state meet on the beach to battle it out for the ultimate prize in Brewing Athletics, the Grand Champion Altitude Cup. Each participating brewery brings a team to compete in a series of nine events involving skill, cunning, and brute force. Teams are judged on time and most importantly, Style...

  Admission is free. I would totally go to this... I mean, it sounds like a lot of fun to watch, it's the Pelican Pub, and it's on the beach—what's not to like?

The interesting thing about Original Flag Porter from Darwin Brewery in England is a blurb on the label: "Brewed with 1825 yeast salvaged from a sunken vessel in the English Channel using an original 19th century recipe." Wow, that's cool if it's true... but I have my doubts. I can believe it was brewed according to an old recipe, but the yeast? Sounds a bit like a marketing ploy...

However, it's a very good, drinkable porter, quite like I imagine an historic English porter should be like. Pity I can't find more details about it on the Darwin website...

Appearance: Dark brown/black with red tones when viewed through light. Barely any head; what little there was dissolved into a white slightly sudsy-looking ring.

Smell: Blackstrap maltiness, sweet syrup in the background. No hops...

Taste: Classic porter; smooth, sweet, low bitterness but with a bit of black malt astringency. There's a little lactic sourness, maybe. Very low hops, if I can even taste them at all. Very drinkable!

Mouthfeel: Light-medium. Nice body, lighter than I would've expected, but not thin or watery at all, very smooth.

On BeerAdvocate: 85 out of 100 with 100% approval. On RateBeer: 3.57 out of 5, in the 87th percentile. Very respectable scores on both sites. And a very respectable beer. Like I said, I imagine this is pretty close to a classic, historic porter style. Definitely worth another look.

Last month I'd written a small bit about the Oregon Brewers Festival and a possible blogger meetup. Since then, everyone ran with the ball (follow the general threads here, here, and here), and it's a done deal: there will be a beer blogger meetup on Friday, July 28th, at and after 5pm, at the Rogue Ales Public House.

And, at this point I think I've got it pretty well locked in that I'm going to the Brewfest this year... so I'm all excited! Nothing's written in stone yet, but here are my general plans, I think:

• Leave Friday morning for Portland, and get to the Brewfest roughly by noon
• Meet the bloggers at the Rogue around 5 (til whenever)
• Hit the Brewfest Saturday
• Leave Sunday

Of course, there's a bit of leeway with that schedule. I'm thinking I'd like to stay downtown somewhere within walking distance of everything... but we'll see. I need to call my best friend in Portland too, to see if he can go (and perhaps end up with a less costly lodging option!).

More details as we go. I'll also take the camera and laptop and try to blog everything in a timely manner...

With a name like Undercover Investigation Shut-Down Ale, you can't help but respect what Lagunitas Brewing Company is doing... namely, having fun with their beer. The text on the label reads, "We brewed this especially bitter ale in remembrance of the 2005 St. Patrick's Day Massacre and in celebration of our 20-day suspension back in January of this year." Huh? It goes on... I don't have the patience to type it all in, but someone else did.

(It kind of reminds me of the labelling on Arrogant Bastard... and that's not the only similarity I thought of.)

This is a strong, "double IPA" style of ale... 9.9% alcohol by volume. Pretty good, not as hoppy as one would expect for the extreme IPA style.

Appearance: Clear, mahogany brown in color. Half-inch of tan head, very clean looking.

Smell: Hoppy, grassy, twiggy. Knowing Lagunitas penchant for the whole 420 thing, I want to say hempy...

Taste: Rich and malty and hoppy... reminds me of a strong ale a là Arrogant Bastard (there it is again). Not a fruity malt character, but licorice-y and a little syrupy without being overly sweet. Hops aren't ultra extreme, but strong and a nice counterpoint to the strong ale character. A bit of heat from the alcohol.

Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied with a nice chewy factor... there's a little hop astringency here, which seems just right.

A nice beer... a couple of these bombers and you'll be shut down, too. Over on BeerAdvocate, they score it 85, with 100% approval all around. On RateBeer it has garnered a very respectable 3.82 out of 5, in the 95th percentile.

Being a one-off seasonal, it won't last long... I'd pick one up for the label as well as the beer itself...

...because that beer may prevent prostate cancer!

I know, this is basically a repeat of this story I already blogged back in October. But it had such a good tabloid-ish ring to it that I figured, what the hey.