Founders Nemesis

There is absolutely nothing that i can really say that describes this beer better then HOLY @#$!@$%!!!!!!????? It blew my mind as well as the minds of the four other experienced beer drinkers that I was with. We were all blown away by the taste. The maple flavor almost made me want to start singing "Oh Canada." That was, until I remembered that Sidney Crosby goal for Canada put the dagger in USA's heart in the gold medal game of the Olympics. Being a Pittsburgh Penguins fan (of which Crosby is the captain), I don't know which was more confusing the game or the beer.

OK, sorry, back to the beer:


The beer was a yellow, orangey color and very translucent. There was a nice two-finger head and decent lace. (Lace is the head that sticks to the sides of the glass after a few sips or the pour.)

The smell was mostly of sugar and bourbon; not surprising from a wheat beer made from maple and aged in bourbon barrels.

The taste... wow! The taste was sweet and very alcoholic, like a straight shot of Kentucky bourbon. Its strong initial flavor quickly begins to blend with a very strong taste of maple syrup that almost seems to roll around the alcohol flavor and consume it, leaving a smooth (but strong and sweet) finish. The combo of maple and alcohol almost creates a wheaty butterscotch flavor that I'm not a huge fan of.


- Nathan

QUICK TASTE

Founders Nemesis
Grand Rapids, MI


ABV% 12.0


Wheatwine

Appearance: Cloudy yellowish brown


Aromatics: Sweet, Bourbon


Taste: Overly Sweet, Bourbon, Maple Syrup, Butter Scotch

Notes: Much too sweet for me but worth the taste and time to locate. One of the most unique and strongest flavored beers I have ever tasted.

Even though the actual flavor of the beer was not my favorite I still have to give this beer a fairly high score based on uniqueness and quality. 85

America and The UK together again...

... OK, at least working together.

Stone (famous for Arrogant Bastard and other big character beers) teamed up with Brew Dog (famous for the former world's strongest beer, Tactical Nuclear Penguin) to create a Belgian Style Double IPA.
If you take everything you know about Stone and everything you expect from a Belgian style black beer you'll end up with Bashah.

When I poured it I initially noticed the dark, dark brown color, and the lighter brown head.

The aroma of the beer is about what I expected from the combination of the dark look and from a Belgian. Its dominated by the fruity sweet smells of a belgian dark, but with definite smokey undertones.

The taste is like no other beer I've ever had... it was good, and I enjoyed it, but I had to wait for it to warm up for a bit before I could dissect the flavors. It has a rich fruit and light chocolate flavors, and smokey undertones that I smelled that are caused by the roasted malt. This very light smokey flavor that is not overpowering or dominating at all and are very pleasant. The combination is very nice and well balanced.

When two of the most progressive and dedicated breweries in the world combine their powers anything could happen. In this case they not only hit the target but they blew it up like a Nuclear Penguin, or a stone hitting Goliath... or something like that... I'd have to but this beer up pretty high on my list of all time favorite beers.



- Nathan

QUICK TASTE

Stone & Brew Dog Bashah
Scotland/California


ABV% 8.6


Belgian Style Double IPA

Appearance: Dark brown, almost black; Lighter brown head


Aromatics: Sweet fruit and smoke


Taste: Light hops, dominating fruity and smokey malt taste

Notes: A Scotland-brewed, combined effort between Stone and Brew Dog is exactly what you'd expect from great breweries like these two. Worth hunting down and paying a little extra for. It also has a pretty sweet label...

One of the top beers on my list I gave this beer a 93.

Nate's Beer Marinade

From Nate:

1 bottle of beer (I used Otto's Slab Cabin IPA)
1/4 cup salt
1/4 Brown Sugar
1/2 tbsp black pepper
1/2 tbsp Thyme
1/4 large onion
1/4 cup minced garlic
1/2 tbsp parsley
1/2 tbsp rosemary

Mix ingredients, marinate, and then cook!

Harrisburg's Seasonal Heavy Weight

Nugget Nectar: the Nectar of the gods or over-hyped hoppiness?

Nugget Nectar on cask at Zeno's... It's been long awaited and there have been whispers of its coming for weeks, the first two casks lasted less then a week. People came in mid day just to make sure they got a pint and I was looking forward to it just as much as everyone else.

Troegs labels it as a Imperial Amber. So what does that actually mean? As many of us at Zeno's like to say when people ask for an amber... Amber is a color... Troegs Nugget Nectar is an Imperial or stronger (to over simplify the term) version of their Hop Back Ale, which is named after a vessel in the brewhouse called a hopback. (if you wanna know what it is http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hopback) The Nugget Nectar is the hoppier and more flavorful older brother of the Hop Back. Both beers are classified as American Ambers or Red Ales.


For a beer with a slogan like: "Squeeze those hops for all they're worth and prepare to pucker up," I expected much more flavor, but the flavor that was there was great for hop lovers. Flowert hops with slight citrus and even some pine hints to it. It was a great balance and flavor if you like hopes, but for the hype id have liked stronger flavor and a little bit of a punch in the face. I expected more from an imperial version of their flagship beer, just like I've always expected a little more from the state capital that it comes from. Lets just say that its now quite up to the Philly or Pittsburgh quality that it could be.

- Nathan

QUICK TASTE

Troegs Nugget Nectar
Harrisburg, PA

ABV% 7.5

Imperial Amber

Appearance: Cloudy yellowish brown

Aromatics: Sweet Hops

Taste: Dry, Mellow, Hints of Citrus, Dominated by Hops

Notes: Made with five types of hops, Although this beer is very good I think it gets a little bit over-hyped because it only comes out once a year. However, it's definitely one of the better beers made by Troegs (and maybe even coming out of PA) and worth hunting down, especially if you like your hops.

And the N

I guess that makes me Nathan, the N of N/A brews. After the Zeno's Passport (which I finished faster then Andrew) I felt like a blind guy in a new hallway; lost and confused. I knew the there were walls, a floor, and a ceiling, but didn't know where it started, ended, where the doors were, and more importantly, where the doors led. I had to figure it out or quit and find a new hallway to explore. But of course, Andrew and I chose to grow and experience the world of beer and this led us to create our own version of the passport (an on-going collective list of beers we have tried) and eventually, this blog. This blog is, for me, a way to collect and document my beer growth and knowledge and allow other people to add input, knowledge, and correct my mistakes and misconceptions... cause I'm sure I have a lot.