Beer Diary #18 - Loose Ends Edition

So I was looking through my notebook and found a bunch of random notes - the kind of notes perfect for the beer diary format. I highly recommend the keeping of beer notes, as it gives an air of professionalism to the act of working your way toward drunkenness. At least that's my excuse.

And here we go.

18 October 09
Location: The Heorot, Muncie, IN


New Belgium Hoptober - I'd imagine if you look around you can still find this one here and there - it's one of the first New Belgium beers to expand past the initial New Belgium offerings from back in April. Although I'm not a Fat Tire fan, I am a fan of a lot of New Belgium's beers, and seeing one on tap at the Heorot seemed like good enough reason to take notes.


Hoptober as served in a Bell's Glass
Hoptober is a clear golden colored beer, with heavy lacing, and a lightly fruity (maybe strawberry and orange?) hoppy nose. There's a lightly hopped flavor on front and a slightly chewy and malty back to finish the beer out. It's a nice grocery store kind of pale ale - not too offensive, but not exactly great, either.

12 November 09
Location: Brugge Brasserie


Brugge Hibernal Black - It seems odd that as I write this more than a month later, we still haven't roundtabled Brugge's Hibernal Black, especially considering the scores we gave the regular Black way back when. For those of you familiar with the regular Black, Hibernal Black is Black on steroids - an Imperial version of the beer many of us love. There's no hiding from this beer - it's a giant winter Belgian monster - the ass-kicking Arenberg Forest (which, I know, is actually in France) of Brugge beers.

I like cycling references.

16 December 09
Location: Home


Magic Hat Odd Notion Winter 09 - Here's a beer that looks like a ginger ale when poured in the glass - a dark transparent brownish gold color with little head. The nose is fermented apple, and maybe a hint of sourdough bread. The front is bitter like vinegar, and the finish is bready and lingering sour apple - there's not any sort of sweetness, just old apple cider flavor. Despite being only 4.5% ABV, the beer is heavy in mouthfeel.

I'm not sure I like this - it's sort of a sour beer with training wheels - but Gina finished her half in no time.


Magic Hat Howl Winter Seasonal - Another sort of training wheels beer, this one takes on the smoke beer category. A deep dark brown color and a healthy head show up in the glass, and a nose of pretzels, roasted malt, and maybe a hint of root beer await. The beer starts and finishes smokey, but it's not that overpowering smoke that you'd get out of something like a Schlenkerla. If you've ever wanted to try a smoke beer, or found that you didn't it when you did try, you might give this one a shot. It's got that light lager mouthfeel and only gets better the warmer it gets.

The Magic Hat beers in this diary were provided to me for sampling by the Magic Hat Brewery, South Burlington, VT. I received the beer under no obligation to review it.