Day 227 - Red Frog Ale

Blue Frog Grog & Grill - Red Frog Ale
Fairfield, CA (USA)
ABV 6.5% Calories 170*

Another yummy beer from this microbrew up in the Bay Area. Nice and hoppy with plenty of subtle sweetness. Smells good, looks good. I like the frogs on both the Red and the Blonde. Definitely get your hands on one of these beers.

The ant wars have not ended. The floor steamer arrived and I did a bit of cleaning to get rid of any possible sweet trails, but now they are oozing out of the walls along the cupboards and onto our counter tops where even the slightest bread crumbs draw them out. I would gladly kill all the ants in this world if I could.

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Day 226 - Blonde Frog Ale

Blue Frog Grog & Grill - Blonde Frog Ale
Fairfield, CA (USA)
ABV 6.75% Calories 180*

When you go to the movies without any expectations and come out like 'wow, that was Oscar worthy' - that is how I feel about this beer. Blue Frog? Who's ever heard of Blue Frog? Sadly, other than Stone Brewery (an hour from where I live) a lot of these magnificent micro-brews are in Northern California. How come I never knew about these breweries during my Cal days. It was always MDG's and Corona's (or whatever was on sale at Safeway). This Blonde Flog Ale is very hoppy and has intense flavors; almost like an IPA (maybe that is why I like it so much) as opposed to a regular blonde. If you can find one of these, you should definitely try one.

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Day 225 - Sol

Cuauhtémoc Moctezuma Brewery - Sol
Monterrey, Nuevo León (MEXICO)
ABV 4.5% Calories 143

Its great that I'm keeping all my beer information on a spread sheet, it is so easy to look up all the Mexican beer's I've had so far and even find out when the last time it was that I had a Mexican beer. Sol was my drink of choice when wife and I were vacationing in Puerto Vallarta. I counted 44 drinks in 3 nights (4 days) at our all inclusive resort; I'd say a good 1/3 of them were Sol. Eat breakfast. Drink Sol. Lay at pool. Drink Sol. Sit in Jacuzzi. Drink Sol. Make babies. Drink Sol. Lunch. Sol. Dinner. Sol. It was great. Here in the US, in the comforts of my home, Sol is not so good - just another pissy cerveza; but I will never forget what you did for me in Mexico.

Day 224 - Fireman's Brew Brewnette Beer

Fireman's Brew - Fireman's Brew Brewnette Beer
Woodland Hills, CA (USA)
ABV 10.8% Calories 200*

Its kind of funny, Fireman's Brew brews 3 different beers - this Brewnette is the only one that shows the alcohol content on the label. I wonder if it is the righteous thing to do, to warn would be drinkers of a 10.8% beer. Actually out of the 3, I like the Redhead Ale the most - but even that is mediocre compared to Bear Republic. Go Bears. The ant war continues.

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Day 222 - Fireman's Brew Redhead Ale

Fireman's Brew - Fireman's Brew Redhead Ale
Woodland Hills, CA (USA)
ABV 5.5% Calories 160*

Much better than yesterday's blonde; go firefighters. I feel like I'm a firefighter in my kitchen these days - we've been having ant wars for the better part of two weeks. We've used two different sprays (Hot Shots being the better one), baits, mass stompings, and vacuuming, etc. but the ants keep finding a way in. Our vacuum is just one big mass grave. I was actually waiting for the Eureka Steamer I ordered from Amazon to give the kitchen floor a good cleaning but it looks like it won't be here until tomorrow.

Back to the beer. Since this is similar to the Red Rocket and Genesis Ale, I would give this Redhead the bronze. Gold medal goes to the Red Rocket.

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Day 222 - Fireman's Brew Blonde Beer

Fireman's Brew - Fireman's Brew Blonde Beer
Woodland Hills, CA (USA)
ABV 5.0% Calories 140*

What a great story; this beer was started in 2000 by two fire figthers trying to brew the best beer for their fire fighting bretheren. It has grown to include coffee and other 'on-duty' drinks. The beer itself is 'ok'; not a big fan of blonde but it was smooth and easy to drink. They actually have a 'Brewnette' and 'Redhead' which I'll be trying tomorrow.

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Day 221 - He'Brew Messiah Bold

Schmaltz Brewing Company - He'Brew Genesis Ale
Saratoga Springs, NY (USA)
ABV 5.6% Calories 160*

I ate an an Asian Buffet earlier this evening and am still up to the throat in fullness. Almost wanted to skip my beer but decided to pound one down and head to bed; should have chosen something lighter. This Messiah Bold has 'bold' flavors, it says it is a dark brown ale but it almost tastes like Red Rocket Ale from a few days earlier; a little less hoppy but similar tastes. Now I'm super bloated, no wonder I'm gaining the pounds... buffet and beer doesn't spell weight loss.

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Day 220 - Stiegl Weizen Gold (Hefeweizen)

Stiegl Brewery - Stiegl Weizen Gold (Hefeweizen)
Salzburg, Austria (AUSTRIA)
ABV 5.0* Calories 150*

220; only 145 more to go :). This is a decent hefe; a fairly solid taste an an interesting smokey after tone. Great for a hot summer evening. I'm excited that it is Friday and that I don't have to do anything all weekend long. Will be nice to relax and have some more beers.

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Day 219 - Beck's

Brauerei Beck & Co. - Beck's
Bremen, Germany (GERMANY)
ABV 4.9% Calories 143

Beck's is a very common beer here in the US, one of the more marketed German beers. Don't have anything good to say so I'll talk about the weather. It has been blazing here in SoCal, Corona is hot - doesn't seem to have much airflow in this region during the summer, just a conventional oven baking. And commuting on the motorcycle has been straight up nasty. It's like sitting in a sauna for an hour, I come home and need to change out of my clothes, but life goes on and hopefully I can get my hands on better beers to make me happy.

Day 218 - Red Rocket Ale

Bear Republic Brewing - Red Rocket Ale
Healdsburg, CA (USA)
ABV 6.8% Calories 180*

Go Bears! Go Bears! This Red Rocket rocks. 3 for 3. Winner winner chicken dinner. Bear Republic rises in stature and blows other breweries behind. I would rather drink the 3 Bear Republic beers I've had so far over the top 3 best beers of any other brewery (outside of Chimay...). Beat it.

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Day 217 - Hop Rod Rye

Bear Republic Brewing - Hop Rod Rye
Healdsburg, CA (USA)
ABV 8.0% Calories 200*

Wow, this is a good beer. Why haven't I drank any Bear Republic beers until this week? On the website they call this 'essentially a bold American IPA made with 20% rye malt.' I don't care what they call it, its great. This is 2 for 2 for Bear Republic, I have one more lined up for tomorrow, if BR goes 3 for 3, this brewery will catapult itself into my top 5. I know there are more BR beers at the local BevMo and I will be sure to stock up on others next time I visit.

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Day 216 - Racer 5 IPA

Bear Republic Brewing - Racer 5 IPA
Healdsburg, CA (USA)
ABV 7.0% Calories 200*

I wonder if the owner/brewer of Bear Repbulic is a Cal alum; the brewery is north of San Francisco, almost near Mendocino County were all the pot heads are - sounds like a Cal grad to me. This Racer 5 is pretty darn good; one of the better beers I've had in a long time. Very hoppy with strong, bold flavors that tingle your taste buds. I've had beers from almost every part of the world but it all comes back to the West Coast IPA's; something about these new age brews that make me smile and want more. Can't wait until these 365 days are over; so I can just go out and buy the beers that I like. This will definitely be on my list.

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Day 215 - Żywiec Porter

Żywiec Brewery - Żywiec
Żywiec, Poland (POLAND)
ABV 9.5% Calories 220*

This is eerily similar to the Baltika Porter I had a few days ago and just as bad. Not sure why anybody would like a beer like this - like drinking concentrated sugar water with alchol mixed in - in a formula gone bad. Polish beer really sucks.

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Day 214 - Erdinger HefeWeizen Dark

Erdinger Weissbrau - Erdinger HefeWeizen Dark
Erding, Germany (GERMANY)
ABV 5.6% Calories 170

A German dark hefe; malty, rich, with the 'German' twinge, which I not a big fan of - drinking all these beers I realized that a lot of these older European brewers (German brewers to be exact) brew beers that may have been well liked 300-400 years ago but it just doesn't mesh with my Taiwanese American taste buds. I'm enjoying it only because its Saturday night but wish I had popped opened another Unibroue.

Day 213 - Éphémère

Unibroue - Éphémère
Chambly, Québec (CANADA)
ABV 5.5% Calories 150*

Chalk up another one for one of my favorite breweries from up north beyond our borders. The Éphémère is a very light sweet beer with apple cider-ish taste - essentially a spiked apple-cider. Beer was easy to drink, bubbly but really not one of my favorites from Unibroue and with so many good beers, I probably wouldn't buy this again unless it was for guests who like sweet beer.

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Day 212 - Stone 13th Anniversary Ale

Stone Brewing - Stone 13th Anniversary Ale
Escondido, CA (USA)
ABV 9.5% Calories 300*

Strong, super bitter, and a slight sweetness to this beer. This is the 13th Anniversary Ale from Stone; you should get one and try it out. Here is what they have to say on Stone's website:

“Big, red, and a hop monster!”
1. This is the first time we’ve ever released the Imperial/Double Red style.
2. We used more pounds of hops per barrel than any beer we’ve ever made.
3. We used Chinook hops in the brewhouse for bittering and flavor, then dry-hopped this beer with a 50/50 blend of Simcoe and Centennial.
4. As an added bonus, we then dry-hopped it again, just prior to filtering and packaging. That’s right, our popular double dry-hopped process, for the first time ever in one of our bottled beers!

Really this beer is hopped-out. Had two sips and I'm buzzing.

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Day 211 - Red Nectar Ale

Nectar Ales - Red Nectar Ale
Paso Robles, CA (USA)
ABV 5.4% Calories 150*

A very nice brew. An American Amber with as much bitterness as most IPA's - this Red Nectar definitely surprised me - I had no expectations since I just picked this right off the shelf at my local Albertsons. A solid beer, this brewery actually only brews 3 beers, one of them is an IPA the other a Hemp Ale - I will hopefully get my hands on their IPA for a taste.

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Day 210 - Cerveza Caguama

Cerveceria La Constancia S.A. - Cerveza Caguama
San Salvador, El Salvador (EL SALVADOR)
ABV 3.2% Calories 100*

This sucks pretty bad. El Salvador sucks hard when it comes to beer making.

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Day 209 - Chang Beer

ThaiBev - Chang Beer
Bangkok, Thailand (Thailand)
ABV 5.0% Calories 150*

I had quite a good time drinking this and other Thai beers in Phuket many years ago. I remember meeting a couple from Holland and had a night to remember... or forget. What is interesting is that Chang Beer is 5% ABV here in the US but is brewed with rice in Thailand at 6.4%; maybe that is why I had such a good time wandering the streets of Patong. Actually, this is a great 'Asian' beer - in my book it ranks up there with Taiwan Beer as best beers to drink 'till you drop.

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Day 208 - Mississippi Mud Black and Tan

Mississippi Brewing - Mississippi Mud Black and Tan
Utica, NY (USA)
ABV 5.0% Calories 160*

The first time I had this beer it was at a Claim Jumpers and I thought I was so cool drinking out of a big pint jug. It is hard for me to judge how good this black and tan is since its been so long since I've had a Guinness/Bass black and tan. The beer is a little dark, a little heavy for 5%, and doesn't go far with any bitter tastes or any other flavors for that matter. Maybe it is cool to just drink from a jug but it won't be on my shopping list for a long time. Plus how do you call yourself 'Mississippi' when you're brewed and bottled in Utica, NY? Lame.

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Day 207 - Cusquena

Cervesur - Cusquena
Lima, Peru (PERU)
ABV 5.0% Calories 140*

I had a Peruvian beer on Saturday at a friends house watching UFC 100. I don't remember exactly which Peruvian beer I had but I think this is the one. I forgot the bottle and forgot the name. Hopefully I'll figure it and and edit this post if necessary. I group it with all the other Mexican cervazas; the aliens may have came down to Earth and built them a city in the clouds but they definitely did not teach them to brew beer.

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Day 206 - Anderson Valley Poleeko Gold Pale Ale

Anderson Valley Brewing Company - Anderson Valley Poleeko Gold Pale Ale
Boonville, CA (USA)
ABV 5.5% Calories 160*

My fifth installment of these fine beers from Boonville, CA. This is a relatively bitter beer; not upon the entry but the aftertaste and it lingers for some time. The official description says the beer has an 'arousing abundance of hops, adds both a floral bouquet and a lively, citrusy finish'; I just taste mainly the hops - the citrus finish is almost non-existent in my books. Still a quality beer but lacks the star power of some of the better pale ale's & IPA's.

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Day 205 - Baltika 6 Porter

Baltika Brewery - Baltika 6 Porter
Saint Petersburg, Russia (RUSSIA)
ABV 7.0% Calories 180*

This is the sweetest porter I've ever had - I've just had a few sips and I'm not sure I can go any further. It is almost like a sugary cough syrup. Not sure why I keep subjecting myself to these Baltika beers (this is my 6th); maybe I'm just a little anal and want to have all 1-9 and maybe because the beer is cheap and I need some fillers - its going to be a tough road to 365.

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Day 204 - Taj Mahal Premium Lager Beer

United Breweries - Taj Mahal Premium Lager Beer
Bangalore, India (INDIA)
ABV 4.5% Calories 140*

Unless I was in India, sitting at an open air restaurant, dipping naan bread into some spicy authentic curry, overlooking the Taj Mahal at sunset - I'd probably never have this beer again. And if that is the case, I hope to meet this beer again soon.

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Day 203 - Asahi Super Dry

Asahi Breweries - Asahi Super Dry
Tokyo, Japan (JAPAN)
ABV 5.0% Calories 130*

The last Asahi beer I had was on Christmas day last year; day 14 of this 365-days of beer. It's been a long road and I'm almost getting sick of beers - sometimes it is just too hot to drink a beer or I'm just too full to want to chuck one back. But I'm almost to my goal - I probably have 5 more pounds to gain and several hundred more dollars to invest. Asahi Super Dry is actually more malty than most Asian beers; probably not as easy to drink lots in one sitting. Its interesting, I've had beer from Taiwan, China, Japan, Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand, and even New Zealand and Australian (if you count those as 'Asian') but I'm still missing my Korean beers - I'll have to remind myself to get some next time I'm at H-Mart.

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Day 202 - Kirin Light

Kirin Brewery - Kirin Light
Tokyo, Japan (JAPAN)
ABV 4.0%* Calories 95

I haven't had an Asian beer in quite some time - today it was perfect; I was shooting some hoops and it was burning up here in the Inland. The Kirin Light was exactly what I needed, a light, thirst quenching beer. No taste, but definitely easy and enjoyable to drink - much better than a Sam Adams Light. I think I could easily drink a few 22's in one evening.

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Day 201 - Young's Double Chocolate Stout

Wells & Young's - Young's Double Chocolate Stout
Bedford, England (ENGLAND)
ABV 5.2% Calories 160*

One day removed from 4th of July, I take in another Chocolate beer; this one from an English brewery. I'd have to say I'm not usually a big fan of English beers and that is why I chose to drink an American beer on the 4th of July, but I think I made a mistake - I should have drank this one yesterday, it would have been much more festive and it would have brought me more joy. This is a very interesting beer, it tastes like a spiked chocolate milk. I've only had 10-beers from England so far and this is probably my favorite. Good job with the chocolate. Yeah for Young's - Boo for Bayhawk.

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Day 200 - Bayhawk Chocolate Porter

Bayhawk Ales - Bayhawk Chocolate Porter
Irvine, CA (USA)
ABV 5.4% Calories 180*

Happy anniversary America; thank goodness for income tax, property tax, and California's increased sales tax. Feels great to be an American sharing our wealth together. To celebrate I'm drinking a local beer from right around the corner - Bayhawk Ales in Irvine, CA. Too bad this beer stinks just as bad as our economy. It tastes like sour chocolate gone bad. Interesting flavor if you like sucking on feet. Try one just for the shits and giggles. Hopefully by this time next year, the economy will be better and Bayhawk will be out of business.

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Day 199 - Köstritzer Schwarzbier

Köstritzer Schwarzbierbrauerei - Köstritzer Schwarzbier
Köstritz, Germany (GERMANY)
ABV 4.8% Calories 160*

Another beer von Deutschland - this one a dark beer. It's interesting that all of these German beers have such long histories and also brew under the 'Puritan Law'; but my palette simply yearns for a more modern, American flavor - I love the American micro-brews and they simply beat out all these old timers in my mind. Sorry, my taste buds are just not flattered by these fancy old school beers; maybe it is an acquired taste.

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Day 198 - Warsteiner Premium Verum

Warsteiner Brewery - Warsteiner Premium Verum
Warstein, Germany (GERMANY)
ABV 4.8% Calories 160*

Since coming back from my little East Coast trip I've been a little lackadaisical about my postings. I'm not sure if it is the heat or just pure laziness that I haven't been updating on a daily basis - but rest assure, I am drinking my beers. This one out of Germany is a regular ole' pilsner, not my favorite type of beer but it is clean, crisp, and easy to drink. The logo on the bottle stands for "A Queen among the beers", which is a first - never thought any brewery would want themselves to be known as the 'Queen' of beers...

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Day 197 - Chambly Noire

Unibroue - Chambly Noire
Chambly, Québec (CANADA)
ABV 6.2% Calories 172

Probably the only thing that I am jealous of Canadians (or rather Quebecans) is their ease of obtaining Unibroue beers. While in Montreal, you can go into a grocery store and pick up a slew of Unibroue's at 1/2 the price; many of them are very rare or probably not even exported to the states. This Noire is a decent beer; flavorful, malty, with tastes of coffee. Not sure if I could sit and have a few of these but one was definitely good.