Monk's Indiscretion

Monk's Indiscretion is the second beer i am recommending from Washington state's Sound Brewery.  A Belgian strong ale, this stuff is delicious.  The aroma is sound (no pun intended) mix of light florals, fruit, citrus, and hints of pepper.  It has an earthy feel to it.  The taste is the same, featuring bits of orange peel, banana, grass, and spice...but not too much spice.  The beer is remarkably smooth, considering the 10% ABV, and it's tasty enough that i'm sure i would enjoy drinking this brew all day long.  I was very sad when i finished the bottle.  This beer alone is worth a trip to the Pacific Northwest.

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Thor's Equinox

First and foremost, the fact that there is a beer called Thor's Equinox from a company called Odin Brewery, it would be damn near impossible for me not to enjoy the hell out of their product.  And it's a great one at that.  A dark Belgian-style ale with a 9% ABV to get you where you need to be.  An elixir of the gods to be more exact.  The beer has an aroma of dark fruit and hops, and a taste to match, though there is an almost oak-like hint in the mix, along with malts and plenty of bitterness to go around.  For a Belgian, this brew is not quite as sweet as you might expect.  In some ways there is almost a stout-like feel in the bitter hops.  But it's damn tasty.  And it's called Thor's Equinox.  And that's awesome.  Unfortunately, this Washington brewer's wears are not available here in Texas, so much appreciation goes to my good friend John for smuggling it down here.

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Port City Brewing Tartan Ale

Lately there has been a trend among my out-of-town friends to bring me beer when they pass through Austin.  This needs to continue.  One of the latest comes from Alexandria, Virginia's Port City Brewing Company.  Tartan Ale, their seasonal springtime effort, is a scotch ale, and a very tasty one to boot.  The beer pours a dark amber with a minimal head and light carbonation.  As for the aroma, it's pretty malty with hints of fruit that translate well to the flavor of the brew, a combination of said malts and accented fruit with a sweet caramel or almost a dark chocolate feel.  It's lovely and very easy to drink.  Thank you Tammy.

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Sound Brewery Triple Entendre

Last weekend i was lucky enough to get to spend some time with an old friend of mine who shares my love of beer.  He had the forethought to smuggle a bunch of Washington state brews into Texas, and for that he is truly an American hero.  Let's begin with his personal favorite, the Triple Entendre from Sound Brewery, a tasty Belgian-style triple ale.  The aroma is fruity and grainy, matching the taste of the beer with some additional bitterness here and there, but i found the fruitiness to be most prevalent.  This is a perfect after-dinner beer, but packs a punch at 9.9% ABV.  So far, the folks at Sound have me most impressed.  Look for more on them in the near future.

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Saint Arnold Winter Stout

It's starting to get a little warmer around here, so this will probably be my last winter tinged brew until later in the year, but it's always good to go out strong.  Houston's Saint Arnold Brewing Co. consistently puts out one great beer after another all season long, and the Winter Stout is no different.  The subtle chocolate and coffee flavors abound in this dark and creamy brew, mixing damn near perfectly with the spicy hops that give it its kick and underlying bitterness.  The aroma the beer gives off is wonderful too, a malty mix of sweet and spice.  It smells like Christmas.  Great stuff.

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