It has been a big long weekend for me and it has involved not just the regular Friday night at the Wheaty but also a Sunday night catch up with an out-of-town teacher friend.
The end result?
1) You are not getting a post till a Monday night.
2) Much excellent beer was drunk and shared.
The first beer of the Friday and one specifically chosen to tick another box from my 1,001 Beers You Must Try Before You Die was the Dead Guy Ale from possibly my favourite brewery, Rogue.
I would recommend that you all join up to the Rogue nation on their website. Not only does it sound cool you also get an awesome looking membership card.
This beer takes on an orangey amber colour. This beer is 6.6% and this results in a 1.8 standard drinks. I got a big dose of sweet malt with just a whiff of citrus.
It is very big upfront and hits you in the face, a little bit of pepper a little bit of clove and combined to create some spiciness that was quite enjoyable. I found this beer to be quite syrupy which I am still a little unsure whether this was deliberate or not but it did make the beer quite memorable. So while not my favourite Rogue it’s still a high quality beer.
On to the next beer, Rogue’s Shakespeare Stout
This dark oatmeal stout is pretty close to pitch black but the pub was pretty dark so maybe that was just my eyesight. It holds a mocha coloured head which was solid and long lasting. Smelling the beer I got … well not a lot, none of that sort of smokey burnt charcoal or chocolate flavours. All I got was some little coffee flavour but this was like a high quality magicians distraction before the big taste reveal. Smooth, creamy some taste of vanilla and dark chocolate with just the tiniest taste of hops. It lingers a little short for my liking but for some it would just go far enough. It is an easy drinking super smooth stout which is exactly what I think you should be getting with an Oatmeal Stout. Certainly get into this beer, at 750 ml it is best shared with good friends and fair weather enemies.
Next time I will be deciding whether Stone Brewing Company is worth the fuss.
O and for everyone who is trying to get through the 1001 beers before you die I came across a place where you can get Thomas Hardy Old Ale http://www.regionalwines.co.nz/beer.aspx/thomas-hardys-ale-250ml-2008 I know I will be treasuring my bottle.
Proust
Justin
The Hit Hop 