Hair of the Dog Fred

10 different hops! 10 Percent ABV! Wow! This is just a giant beer that you'll have to try for yourself. It's listed as a Special Golden Ale, but it's a barleywine. Though lighter bodied than most barleywines I've tried, it is enjoyable.

From Hair of the Dog: Fred was created to honor beer writer and historian Fred Eckhardt. Fred is a big inspiration for me and many other brewers. Fred's work in all-grain brewing and beer styles helped me become a better brewer. Fred the beer is a deep golden color. It is made with aromatic and rye malts and includes 10 different hop varieties in an effort to incorporate the whole world into this beer. It has 10% alcohol by volume and 65 IBUs. We hope that Fred will inspire you to share your knowledge with others as Fred has with us.

Oskar Blues Gordon

What they say(oskarblues.com): Gordon is a hybrid version of strong ale, somewhere between an Imperial Red and a Double IPA. We make it with six different malts and three types of hops, then dry-hop it with a mutha lode of Amarillo hops. It is 8.7% alcohol by volume, and has 85 International Bittering Units.

It features a gooey, resiny aroma and a luscious mouthfeel. Gordon is brewed with dash of chocolate malt in it, to round out its load of hops and balance the beer. The result is an assertive yet exceptionally smooth version of strong beer.

We brew Gordon in tribute to the late Gordon Knight. In addition to opening some of Colorado’s first microbreweries, Knight was a Vietnam vet, grade-A citizen, and huge promoter of craft beer. He lost his life in 2002 while fighting a wild fire outside of Lyons, Colorado.

Originally our winter seasonal beer, it has become a cult favorite of extreme-beer lovers, so we now brew occasional batches of Gordon throughout the year. Released in bottles in 2003 and 2004, Gordon is now sold in four packs of hand-labeled cans and on draft in select markets.

What I say: It has a deep copper color, yet moderately light in body. The taste has a strong malt presence upfront, with almost no finish. I could tell this was a big beer; my notes say it's strong and warm. There is a definite warming in the finish. As you can see from their notes Oskar Blues uses a lot of hops, yet I noted the beer could probably use more hops. I can explain why this sounds crazy and why it makes sense like this: Most times I'll go into a tasting not knowing the history or style of the beer. Therefore the notes I make may not always be appropriate to the style, but I have no problem correcting myself. Now knowing that this is a DIPA/Imperial Red hybrid I understand why the hops are somewhat muted and proper. The balance of the taste does lean a bit toward the malt. This slight imbalance makes for a great tasting brew. And know that I know that this beer has named in honor of a hero, it'll definitely be one of my favorite brews. In any case, try it yourself and let me know.

Lagunitas Sirius

This beer is described as a "Special High Gravity Cream Ale in serious celebration of the return of the salubrious Spring". It is usually available as a summer release from June to August. It is deep gold to orange/rust in color and somewhat light in body. This is was makes this beer so deceptive since it does carry a 7.6% ABV vintage. The hops up front when taste will give you a quick bite and then hop aftertaste is pleasant yet lingering. Overall not overly-hopped, as just mentioned the hop taste is quite lingering throughout. There is a definite sweet malt presence and the hops are strong enough to add to the sweetness. The overall balance of taste leans towars the hops. Overall, it's a pleasure to drink, just watch out, it's a big beverage.

Beer Tasting Event Announced

Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is coming on the third Wednesday of every Month! Our Grand opening will be a combination of exiting brews and tasty appetizers to match them.

Since there will be a Beer event in San Diego Ca, on the Month of April, we decided to hold our first beer tasting event for May 14th.

It is your event! So save the date, spread the word and forward me the e-mail address of any one interested on been on the list for coming attractions to the ONLY beer hotel near you :)

so let's taste it drink it and enjoy it, in the company of good old & new friends.

Yours truly,

The Sultan of Suds/Brewdude

Carlos Solis
Director of Food & Beverage
Radisson Los Angeles Airport Hotel
6225 West Century Blvd
Los Angeles, Ca. 90045
Direct (310) 337- 6461
Cell (310) 877- 8478
csolis@radissonlax.com

Orange Blossom Amber

Orange Blossom Amber is brewed by Indian Wells Brewing Company in Inyokern, California. This brew is a lager that has fresh orange peels added to the boil. It was originally made as a test batch.
The first thing you notice is that it definitely has an orange color to it. There is also a distinctive orange nose and light in body as is expected from a lager. The flavor is surprisingly clean and crisp with, surprise, some orange hints. Although some tasters have reported tasting a small bitterness from the orange peel, it is extrememly minor and should not turn off anyone from sampling this enjoyable beer. Overall, it's a great refreshing session beer for a hot day. Enjoy!

Ready for Tomato Beer?

Tomato-based beer now on shelves
The Yomiuri Shimbun
Yearlong efforts by a Niigata brewery and a Tokyo izakaya pub owner have finally borne fruit: Their tomato-based, low-malt beer is now on the shelves.
Called Tomato Bibere, the reddish brew has a characteristic taste, combining the sweet flavor of a tomato with the bitter taste of hops. One tomato is used in the production of each 330-milliliter bottle.
In July last year, Hirofumi Koda, president of Echigo Beer Co., got a call from Isamu Waki, who runs an izakaya pub in Nakano Ward, Tokyo, asking him to produce a beer made from tomatoes.
The 63-year-old Waki loves to guzzle beer mixed with tomatoes, and for the past 10 years he has been asking breweries around the country to make a tomato-based beer. None of the breweries showed any interest, however.
Waki pinned his last hope on Echigo Beer, which has produced beer from rice, pears and even green tea. "I was overwhelmed by Waki's enthusiasm for the project, so I decided to go for it," said Koda, who himself does not care for tomatoes.
The master brewer aimed at making a healthy drink, so all of the ingredients are organic. Since tomatoes are very fibrous and have a low-sugar content, filtration and fermentation were especially difficult. The first trial product, which took five months to make, was watery and barely tasted of tomatoes. It was vile, Koda admitted.
Koda and Waki tasted various trial versions of the beer by altering the amount of tomatoes and by increasing the sugar content to boost fermentation.
After much trial and error, Koda and Waki were satisifed with the taste of the fifth version of the beer, which was produced in June.
Tomato Bibere is available at some co-op stores, retailers and online shops. A 330-ml bottle retails for 420 yen. For more information, call Echigo Beer at (0120) 72-0640.
(Dec. 11, 2005)

Warsteiner Premium Verum

Warsteiner Premium Verum is the world's best selling German beer. It is brewed in the tradition following the strict guidelines of the German Purity Law of 1516. Let me tell you we've been drinking this stuff for about three days now (ok, make it four now) and all we can say is, it's smooth, smooth, smooth. If you are a light beer drinker, you should be ashamed, you could have been drinking Warsteiner all along. Don't get us wrong, this definitely is not a light beer, but with this kind of taste and alcohol content (4.8% by volume) it could be the true great tasting and less filling beer.

San Miguel Premium Lager

A product of the Philippines and brewed since 1890, it is considered one of the top beers in the world. This lager is mildly heavy in body, but it is surprisingly smooth. You can definitely taste the sweet malt and there is no real bitterness. I can best describe this beer as a lager beer with a somewhat confounding ale taste. We were pleasantly surprised. Definitely worth a try for both lager and ale fans. Though we were a little ticked about the bottles having only 11 ounces, the 5% alcohol content, the price and the the taste made up for it. (0002)

Sierra Nevada Pale Ale

I had to kick off this feature, and I had to do it right, so I decided, "What the hell!" Sierra Nevada Pale Ale is one of many varieties that Sierra Nevada now carries. This is definitely one of my personal favorites. It's a smooth beer, but watch out, it's got a little kick to it. At 5.6% alcohol by volume, this brew is definitely not for beginners. Grab a schooner and take it slow.....alright I'm thirsty! (0001)

Beers

	Hair of the Dog Fred	Lagunitas Sirius	Orange Blossom Amber
Oskar Blues Gordon	San Miguel Premium Lager	Sierra Nevada Pale Ale	Warsteiner Premium Verum