Is anybody else confused? - KOTBRs #24, #25, #26

As has become tradition at Hoosier Beer Geek, we like to wrap up our roundtables with a summary review to make things easier to sort out later. We've been so busy recently that the roundtables have run into each other, but I'm about to tie them all together in a nice little bow in hope that the confusion is behind us.

Roundtable #24 - Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA - All six knights made it to Deano's Vino for our one year anniversary - we were all lucky to make it back out Deano's door alive. + Vomit.

Chris - 5 Mugs, Jason - 5 Mugs, Jim - 5 Mugs, Kelly - 5 Mugs, Mike - 5 Mugs, Gina - 5 Mugs. Our first ever perfect score. 5.00 Mugs average.

Roundtable #25 - The Good Beer Show - Chris, Gina, and Mike take a trip up to Muncie to visit the Good Beer Show folks at the Fickle Peach and the Heorot. Chris sits out the mug ratings, which probably explains why they're so low. + Vomit.

Two Brother's Hop Juice: Gina - 3 Mugs, Mike - Mugs. 3.00 Mugs average.
Stone Oaked Arrogant Bastard: Gina - 3 Mugs, Mike - 3.04 Mugs. 3.02 average.
Three Floyd's Fantabulous Resplendence: Gina - 2.5 Mugs, Mike - 1.0 Mugs. 1.75 average. Sorry Floyds. I'm going to try to make it up to you.

Roundtable #26 - The Retro Beer Challenge - Jim, Kelly, Mike, and Gina visit the Melody Inn to begin a series of beer tastings to find the best of the worst. Scores are then weighted in a method unlike anything we've done before because this is a tournament. Surprisingly enough, this review was minus vomit.

Budweiser: Jim - 2 points, Kelly - 2 points, Gina - 3 points, Mike - 3 points. 10 points total.
Rolling Rock: Jim - 3 points, Kelly - 3 points, Gina - 2 points, Mike - 2 points. 10 points total.
Pabst Blue Ribbon: Jim - 1 point, Kelly - 1 point, Gina - 1 point, Mike - 1 point. 4 points total.

Budweiser and Rolling Rock advance in the tournament.

There! I've done it. A complete summary of our last three roundtables. It's a miracle. Hopefully we'll never be this disorganized again.

Having finally sobered up, our hero Jason finally writes his review

Ninety minutes: how long it took me to notice that Mike was gone...how long it took Chris to get drunk enough to tell everybody how much he loves them...how long it took Kelly to regret not getting a later flight the next day...how long it took Jim to get drunk enough to agree that The Breakfast Club is a chick flick (okay, that's a lie; no amount of alcohol could make Jim say that)...how long Gina was cutting a rug to the 80's music, until a Phil Collins cut let all the air out of her balloon...how long it took me to undue the little bit of weight loss I had accomplished this summer (294 calories per 12 oz. serving)...the recommended time between servings of Dogfish Head 90 Minute Double IPA.

For our one year anniversary, we wanted to pull out all the stops. And that involved selecting a beer that would be enjoyed by all and be worthy of such an event. We decided on 90 Minute. It was definitely the right choice.

As mentioned before, the crowd was big and happy. Deano's was hopping. And some of the best beer buddies in Indiana showed up. Believe me, no one year old has ever had a 1st birthday party like this!

I will be honest in saying that this is not my favorite beer in the world, but it is certainly in my top ten. I will concur with my fellow knights and give it a 5 mug rating as well. It has the hops scent and mouth kick that I like, but is balanced out with a malty sweet goodness, leaving this double IPA approachable to most everyone. From the beautiful amber color with the foamy head, to the floral aromas given by the hops, to the notes of caramelized fruits in the taste, to the extreme drinkability, this beer is a near perfect all around beer. A perfect beer geek's beer for non-beer geek gatherings.

There is a reason why birthdays only come around once a year: you need that long to recover. I still ain't right from last Thursday night.

Thanks to all who read, to all who came, and to all who helped in making our first bash and our first year a big success.

Hangovers hurt more than they used to . . .

Just a late follow-up from last Thursday, now that I finally seem to have recovered. It was a hell of a time, and has made me eagerly anticipate our 2nd birthday!

Thanks to all the people who came out (unofficial estimates between 50-60) and joined us for the party. It blew my mind to see that many folks show up for some good beer. I hope you all will continue to join us in the future.

And a special thanks to Deano and the crew for their generosity and hospitality! I think Deano was trying to get me drunk, and he took me home, but I don't think he took advantage of me! Though the later part of the night / early morning is all kinda fuzzy and not sure I remember all of it.

Thanks to Dogfish Head 90 Minute for being one kick-ass (and kick my ass) beer! Wow! I know I was drinking from a stein and all, but it's been a real long time since a beer got me in the "I love you, man" State. Without a doubt, 5 mugs!

And thanks to the guys at Peppy's Grill for serving me around 3:30 or 4 Friday morning.

Looking forward to the next year . . .

Dogfish Head 90 - So good it'll make you dance. To 80's music.

Except Phil Collins - he's a buzzkill. Right, Chris?

I was really going to try and take some concise notes for this tasting, but I didn't get much farther than "Oh My God. This beer is trouble." After that it's incoherent scrawl. I had no trouble remembering that Deano was a fantastic host. His generosity and hospitality were greatly appreciated.

As always, thanks to all of our beer geek friends - new and old. I cannot seem to put into words just how much fun I had meeting and talking with everyone. All of the camaraderie made up for the difficulty of going to work bright and early Friday morning. Fortunately, I faired better than Mike; all I lost was a little bit of dignity (from dancing like an idiot) and a couple hours of sleep.

Not having the opportunity to have the 90 Minute before, my expectations were for a much stronger version of a 60 Minute. I was pleasantly met with something exponentially better (and I'm a fan of 60 Minute). It was absolutely perfect from the first taste. The temperature was right, the nose wasn't overwhelming and it didn't taste overly hoppy. This beer is positively 5 mugs.

Again, thanks to all who came. I really would like to do it again soon...when I'm off work the next day.

The One-Year Anniversary Party to End All One-Year Anniversary Parties

Here is what we learned last night at our one-year anniversary party:

- Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA, while a phenomenal beer, should never be served in pitchers or in pint glasses.
- DJ's who spin '80's new wave music rule (thanks, DJ Brian Jones).
- Jason and Gina can cut a mean rug, especially when DJ Brian Jones is manning the turntables.
- When Chris has had enough to drink, he likes to channel a Bud Light commercial from the mid-1990's.
- Mike spent more time in the Deano's Vino parking lot than he did inside the restaurant.
- Don't leave for vacation at 6:00 a.m. on the day after a 90 Minute IPA drinking frenzy (JFK is fun, isn't it, Matt and Kelly?).
- And finally, we have lots and lots of company in this town when it comes to drinking quality beer.

Thanks to all who came out to Deano's to celebrate one year of beer geekhood with us. We enjoyed seeing old friends and making new ones. And thanks to Deano for the new drinking vessels and for hosting our little shindig.

As for the 90 Minute IPA - a perfect 5 mugs. No other beer balances hops and malt like this one. Who knew that a taste/nose combination that simultaneously evokes grapefruit and caramel could result in such an unbelievably good beer?

KOTBR #24 - First Anniversary Roundtable at Deano's - Dogfish Head 90 Minute

That was overwhelming in every way.

The people

When we started to put together our first anniversary party we joked that we were going to be bringing Deano a huge crowd - as it turns out we didn't need to joke. I met a ton of great people again last night; further proof that beer people are good people.

The beer

Dogfish 90 Minute - My notes from last night aren't as specific as usual because 90 Minute is a hard beer to write about. A sweet nose followed by an over the top smoothness (if there is such a thing). Smoother than the 60 Minute, which was previously one of my top beers. 90 Minute is better than that - carmelly, surprisingly not that hoppy, and worth the price of admission. My notes say "JESUS CHRIST". It's a 5 mug beer.

My filter

Those folks I talked to last night caught me in rare form - talkative.

My digestive system

My consumption, in a three hour window, went something like this: Dark Horse Crooked Tree, Dogfish 90, another 90, another 90, Bell's Two Hearted, another 90... and then out to the car where I waited for Gina to drive me home. I left about half of what I drank splattered in the parking lot, along with the sandwich I had eaten for supper.

We normally don't drink to get drunk at Hoosier Beer Geek, so this was a rare occasion.

Thank You.

It was great to see so many folks out last night, and I'd like to thank you all for making the evening such a success. Sometimes writing a blog feels like you're working in a bubble, so I was great to see that's not the case.

We hope to see you all again soon.

Hoosier Beer Geek First Anniversary Roundtable

Just like the flier says, you are invited. And we really hope to see everyone that's ever read the blog. So don't be shy - after one Dogfish 90 minute you'll be fine, and perhaps even more sociable than you've ever been before. Or at least I will.

At the meetups we just drink and talk about beer or football or soccer or anything else that comes up. It's not a very formal thing. It's like if you showed up at a bar and we were there drinking, except we'll go out of our way to introduce ourselves.

In this case we'll probably have a drawing for some t-shirts and stuff as well... we play it by ear.

We're pretty sure this is the only place in town you can get 90 minute on tap - that was by design.

Admission is free (food/drink are not included).