(The girlfriend and I had this on Friday night, but I’ve been away from the internet, and only just not getting around to posting it.)

I like Goose Island. On the whole, they make good beer in a variety of styles, and their regular offerings are great examples of what a brewery of their size and stature should be doing. They also make some more interesting limited brews.

Bourbon County Stout? Awesome.

Pere Jacques? Amazing.

And Sofie? They’re staying consistent here: also fantastic.

This is a Belgian style ale that pours a paler color than the golden color that it ends up once fully decanted. It also has a serious sticky head.

The initial aroma is good, funky and Belgian. Citrus, and plenty of candy sugar here, too.

What is interesting is that there’s something familiar but unexpected right there with the orange flavor. Then it hit me, “Didn’t they age this in Cabernet barrels?”

No, not exactly. My memory was telling me so, but in actuality, they blended it 80% straight, and 20% “aged in wine barrels with orange peel”, as the bottle kindly reminded me.

I suppose that given that, I would have expected a bit darker color, maybe a hint of red? But there’s none of that. Just a hint of the flavor in there with the citrus. So there you go.

This is a great, easy to drink Belgian. At $8/bomber, I won’t buy it a ton, but I will be revisiting this. Probably from my cellar, at some point in the future.

8/10

Blogger/writer Val D’Orazio is giving away her book Memoirs Of An Occasional Superheroine for free.

I can’t believe that the only review I’ve ever given of it was this:

“Val also wrote a great book, Memoirs of an Occasional Superheroine, which you can buy as an ebook from her website. I need to get a proper review of it written up, but I will say that its a worthwhile read if you want an insider’s view of the comics industry, and some of the less-nice things that happen to good people sometimes.”

Wow. I must say that I regret not reviewing it sooner. It really is a great read, and if you check it out while its free, maybe go and click the “donate” link on Val’s site and send a little thank-you her way.

Val used to work for DC. She probably had some great times there, but without a doubt she experienced some really dark ones. I don’t feel like I can adequately describe or do justice to everything she experienced and described in her book, but let’s just say that she’s been handed a lot of shit in her life, and after everything, she’s managed to come through it all with a pretty healthy outlook.

Anyway, her blog and this book have secured her in my mind as a writer and person that I like and respect, and her book is worth your time.

She also has some books coming up with Marvel that I’m excited for:

THIS IS WHERE IT GETS GOOD.

Its all coming to a head, and its all going down, and hitting the fan as all great Punisher stories tend to.
Read more…

Today I got back to running on my own.  I ran a nice 7.25 miles or so.  Felt great.  I’ll be sore tomorrow, but it was time well spent.  As such, I needed to shower more or less immediately.  Now, my favorite thing in the world is drink beer in the shower.  I was running, contemplating drinking a stout.  Then, it hit me: Barleywine.  I should have a barleywine.  Well… turns out it might not be the greatest decision I’ve ever made…  I decided to try something I haven’t had in some years, the North Coast Old Stock Ale.  The vintage I have is the 2007.

It poured a delicious brick red/ruby/brown type color, and left a very weak head.  All of this expected for an 11.5% ABV barleywine.

As for smell, I managed to grab a whiff before I hopped in the shower, and it was very thick with syrup and molasses, and cut with a hefty dose of ethanol.  It smells as a barleywine should, although I’d prefer a bit more hops.  Then again, I prefer all beers over 50 IBUs.

The taste was really upsetting at first.  I was less than thrilled.  It was just alcohol and a teensy sweet.  Not bad, necessarily, but the cost is not worth it.  However, once it warmed up a bit, and I was half way through, it really opened up.  It was quite sweet…  it really balanced out the alcohol well.  I have to admit, it almost leaves you with a vanilla or bourbon finish, but not quite.  My tongue actually begs for it.  Pop this beast in a bourbon barrel for a few months, and this beer would be a 9.  As it stands, it’s only a 6.

-brian

So I think this is a new brew from Sierra Nevada. New to me, anyway.

The photo below doesn’t do the head justice, as it poured with a nice one, but that quickly dissipated.

It smells like a German lager. Malty, but lighter than a standard bock.

The mouthfeel is pretty lightweight, and modestly bitter for the style. Again, lighter than your standard bock, but tastey.

A decent session beer, if you want something a bit different than you standard english pale or ESB.

All in all, 5/10. And a fair price to boot.