It doesn’t happen very often, when you travel across country to drink a beer that’s being brewed with choice hops from your own backyard. Well, that’s what happened with I ventured into the Capitol City Brewing Company in Washington, DC. Located in the heart of the downtown, this is also known as your typical tourist trap of a restaurant/bar.

Highlighted as a seasonal brew, the Amber Waves Ale drew me in thanks to the Northwest connection described on the menu:

An American amber ale with loads of American aroma hops from the famed Yakima Valley on the west coast and a healthy malt bill to support them. Initially bitter and finally sweet. Winner: Bronze Medal 2002, Gold Medal 2005, Silver Medal 2006 Great American Beer Festival.

Now, Washington State is the largest supplier of hops in the United States so I’m thinking the Amber Waves Ale is going to taste like some of the great ambers I get out in Seattle. Unfortunately not. Initially bitter is the biggest understatement on the menu, the bitterness fucks you up! I had to do a double-take and look at the taps to make sure the douchebag bartender didn’t accidentally serve me up the Pale Rider IPA or the E.S.B. I was hoping that “finally sweet” part would finally kick in, but it didn’t…I think the bitter took the sweet out back and kicked its ass, never to be seen from again.

Overall, it was a disappointing experience, it was my one beer I was looking to enjoy on my lunch break from work and it was awful. No wonder the beer hasn’t been able to get back to its 2002 form, and I’m guessing their going to blow it again at the Great American Beer Festival this year too. In fact, the only good thing about the Amber Waves Ale is the t-shirt.

If you read any gadget blog on even a semi-regular basis chances are you watched an unboxing video of some gadget. Generally they are a smooth affair with the box being opened and the gadget inside fondled without any problems or hiccups. It looks like this poor sap should have gone through a couple of dry runs before he committed his unboxing to video. Seeing this guy struggle just to get his Apple remote out of the box makes me laugh just like a guy getting hit in the nuts or a kid getting demolished by a dodge ball.

If you’ve ever had and/or heard of Negra Modelo chances are you were sitting in a Mexican restaurant. Negra Modelo comes in a squat dark brown bottle with gold foil covering the cap. Nothing says class (think champagne) like gold foil on the top of the bottle. Despite the fact that Negra Modelo says “Dark Beer”, both on the bottle and on the box, it is a surprisingly light beer. They might be doing themselves a disservice with the “Dark Beer” label because I think a lot of drinkers immediatly think of Guiness or a stout.

In reality Negra Modelo is a beer that pours with a deep red color and frothy head that quickly dissipates. The beer still definitely falls in the amber category but even within the ambers I would say that it is light on the stomach. If I suck down three Alaskan Ambers I feel like I just ate Thanksgiving dinner, but I can put down three Negra Modelos and still be ready for a full night of boozing. The beer goes down smooth and if you are drinking it with a spicy Mexican meal you can easily put down three without even thinking about it. Everyone I know is leary of Negra Modelo at first, I think it goes back to that “Dark Beer” thing, but once they get a chance to try it everyone likes it.

Next time you are looking for a tasty Mexican brew that if off the beaten Corona path definitely pick up sixer of Negra Modelo.

Last week I wrote about my impending trip to the Oregon Brewer’s Festival, the annual trip I make down I-5 (although I took the train this year, fucking gas prices!) to drink the sweetest brews from across the country. So here’s a short round up of some of the beers I at least remember tasting.

Coffee Bender, Surly Brewing Co. - I wasn’t about to throw down 4 tokens ($4), or even 1 token for a taste, of this beer. I can’t stand black coffee, so my opinion on this one is probably a little biased. It had a very strong bitter coffee taste and I could only handle a couple of sips. This beer is probably great if you like coffee and looking for something to give you a jolt of caffeine late at night.

Zon, Boulevard Brewing Co. - Normally you know what you’re getting into by the title of the beer, but all the sign said was, “Zon,” so I figured why not. It’s actually Belgian Witbier and kind of light in alcohol content (4.4%) - but had a great, smooth summer taste with a hint of orange. They even had great placement at the end of one of the tents, which means I could totally jump into the front of the line and get a refill with the quickness. Yes, I am that asshole, deal with it.

Quilter’s Irish Death, Iron Horse Brewery - I tried this on name and alcohol content alone. At 7.8%, I made sure to try this bad boy out early in the evening, before I turned into Irish Death. Iron Horse represented properly for Ellensburg, WA, as I was fearful of a stout…but it’s classified as an Imperial Sweet Stout, therefore it wasn’t too bitter or strong. But you could definitely tell you were getting your tokens’ worth of alcohol.

Dick’s IPA, Dick’s Brewing Co. - Some people may like Dick’s, nothing against its color, size or aftertaste, but I’m just not a huge fan of Dick’s… Dick’s IPA that is, of course. This year, more than the previous ones, I swear it was overloaded with IPAs, and we all know I love my ambers. They claim Dick’s IPA is “hopped to the extreme”, maybe that was my problem with this beer, but it just didn’t sit right with me. Maybe women will like the Dick’s better, who knows.

20th Anniversary Wit, Deschutes Brewery - We hit up the Deschutes Brewery for dinner one night, so I felt it was necessary to check out what they were pimpin’ at the beer festival. They pulled out all the stops for this Wit (my preferred genre for outdoor summer drinking), it was almost like a tastier version of the Zon. More orange and some other spices give it a bit of kick to go along with the refreshing aftertaste. I’ll be searching for this limited brew around Seattle this weekend, as it’s only available through September.

All in all, another successful Brewfest. Woooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!

I Want to Fuck This Movie

Now that is the kind of movie review headline that is going to get me off my ass and to the movie theater. I have been interested in Wanted ever since I saw the first preview but I was on the fence as to whether or not I would actually see it in the theater. I think this review pretty much sealed the deal that the money is going to have to be spent. I don’t want to spoil the whole review so here is just a small bit.

What do you get when you combine the sultriest pair of hips and lips in Hollywood, seemingly tethered together only by body art; blood splatters that course with viscous glee; enough cold, hard steel to resurrect Heston; bullets that curve; joyous holes in the head; and a hot, slathering mess of McAvoy? You get Wanted, a movie you want to take behind the middle school and impregnate. With twins.

Full Review

This week I decided to go with one of my old favorites Dead Guy Ale from the Rogue brewery located in Newport, Oregon. Shit, two reviews and two ales. Maybe I need to expand my horizons a little.

Dead Guy is a German-style Maibock made with Rogues proprietary “PacMan” ale yeast. It is deep honey in color with a malty aroma, rich hearty flavor and a well balanced finish. Dead Guy is created from Northwest Harrington, Klages, Maier Munich and Carastan malts, along with Perle and Saaz Hops. Dead Guy Ale is available in 22-ounce bottles, 12-ounce 6-pack, and on draft.

There is a lot of fancy beer talk in the above description but the long and the short of it is that DGA is just flat out delicious. The beer pours smoothly with a slightly cloudy amber color and bright white frothy head. Once it hits your lips DGA feels tingly on your tongue and has a creamy texture. The beer is smooth and has slight hints of fruit. You don’t notice it at first but after a few drinks DGA will give you that hoppy bite on the back of your tongue like a good IPA.

My favorite part about DGA other than the 6.5% alcohol by volume is that it is deceptively light on the stomach. Sure it’s got the high alcohol content and the dark color which are classic indications of a heavy, filling beer. However you can knock back a 22oz of DGA and you won’t feel any different than if you had just put back two Bud Heavies. Be careful though because this is both a blessing and a curse. It means you can drink a lot of them easily but it also means you are going to be piss drunk and saying shit you will regret a lot earlier in the evening.

Remember that morning, last summer, when you awoke next to someone you didn’t know, there was a maroon stain on the floor that smelled of vinegar, and your uvula had a new tattoo. That sucked. Southern Tier Raspberry Porter is nothing like that morning. Instead, this porter is an effervescent beer that, unlike common dark and heavy porters, is a smooth and easy beer that doesn’t overwhelm your throat or stomach.

An ale brewed with the finest North American barley. Raspberry Porter is lightly hopped with the choicest Pacific Northwest grown hops. Pleasant roast and chocolate-like notes give this beer a sweet and subtle body while its rich creamy head compliments its character. This delicate and smooth beer is finished with a hint of raspberries and is certain to become your holiday favorite!

Fuck and yes.

After drinking this at a bar beer tasting my stomach got an erection. Oh, and bar beer tastings are awesome if you have a bar with a good happy hour and a kickass staff. Just ask for water glasses, order beers for the table, and tip your waitress generously. Do this during happy hour and you get to taste a ton of beers for not that much, and you don’t have to clean up.

Ok, here’s the bullshit. This porter is technically a winter seasonal. I know, I know, but there is plenty left because people are idiots and they haven’t snapped this beer up fast enough. So stop nerding out on the internet and go get some delicious beer.

Listen, this beer goes well with meat. If you drink this with meat it’s like eating a meat cake in a good way and not the bad way. Enjoy.

Thank God it’s Beer Review Friday. I spent last night drinking Sierra Nevada’s Summerfest Lager and watching The Office. As usual, Michael Scott continues to amaze me. Anyways, on to the beer review. Hopefully you can include Summerfest in your summer getting-fucked-up repertoire.

While I enjoy a big aroma and a tangy hop bite, the best thing about Summerfest is the fact that it’s a pilsner-style lager that doesn’t come in a green bottle. Nothing tastes worse than a beer in a green bottle (i.e. Beck’s, Pilsner Urquell, Heineken, Stella Artois - all pilsners). Summerfest, on the other hand, doesn’t taste like shit. I could easily sit down and kick back a six-pack of these boys ($8.99 at the local mini-mart) without getting that pissy aftertaste in my mouth.

If you’re in to lighter summer beers, Sierra Nevada’s Summerfest is a beer for you. It’s nice and crisp, light and golden. It would be the perfect companion on a hot summer afternoon. Do yourself a favor and try it out. Don’t get me wrong, Sierra Nevada’s Pale Ale is still the king at the Sierra Nevada Berwing Co., but this is a nice seasonal with a generous 5.0% alcohol content.

Welcome to Beer Review Friday. Each week a different Tasty Boozer is going to pick a beer, drink it (obviously) and then write a review about it. Hopefully we can introduce you to some new beers that you can add to your weekend getting-fucked-up repertoire.

Arrogant Bastard is just flat out delicious. This is strong ale with a full body, a medium bitterness, a dark amber color when poured and a good clean taste. If you are fan of strong IPAs then you are going to be a huge fan of Arrogant Bastard. The double bonus, at least for me, is that it is clocking in at 7.2% alcohol by volume.

Arrogant Bastard is brewed by the Stone Brewing Co. located north of San Diego down in sunny California. I don’t think they have huge distribution across the country, I can only find 24 oz bottles here in Seattle, but if you can find this in your local grocery store or specialty beer shop pick it up. You aren’t going to be able to slam them like your usual Bud Light but at 7.2% you won’t have too, unless you want to end up on your lips before the night even starts.