The Brew Basement

Name: Brown Shugga’
Brewer: Lagunitas Brewing Company
Style: American Strong Ale
Vintage: 2007
Bottled On: N/A
Cellared On: March 1st, 2008
Original Tasting: March 7th, 2008
I hope you’re all bearing with me as I work through a bit of backlog of reviews. This one happens to be my first brew from Lagunitas Brewing Company, the very awesomely named Brown Shugga’. Lagunitas [...]

And now for the bad news.
Two of my precious brews just aren’t doing well. Such a shame, since I had such high hopes. I’m sure the folks over at Dogfish had high hopes too, because both of the beers crashing and burning right now in my cellar are from them.
Dogfish Head Black and Blue - [...]

Name: Grand Cru
Brewer: Southampton Publick House
Style: Belgian Strong Pale Ale
Vintage: 2007
Cellared On: January 11th, 2008
Original Tasting: February 8th, 2008
With a couple of good (and beer-loving) friends visiting over the weekend, I knew I needed to break out something good. Luckily I had an ace in the hole - Southampton’s fantastic Grand Cru.
Pouring a slightly murky [...]

Name: Scotch Ale
Brewer: Smuttynose Brewing Company
Style: Scotch Ale
Vintage: 2007
Cellared On: January 4th, 2008
Original Tasting: January 18th, 2008
After recently reviewing (and enjoying) Middle Age Brewing’s Scotch Ale, I knew it wouldn’t be long before I tried a different one. In fact it was only about a hour later before I popped the cap on my next [...]

Name: Imperial Stout
Brewer: Saranac/Matt Brewing Company
Style: Russian Imperial Stout
Vintage: 2006
Cellared On: November 23rd, 2007
Original Tasting: January 9th, 2008
A lot of us who’ve grown up here in upstate NY have fond memories of Saranac beers. Back in the day if my buddies and I decided to go for quality over quantity on any given evening, [...]

Name: La Roja
Brewer: Jolly Pumpkin
Style: Belgian Flanders/Oud Bruin Ale or American Wild Ale (take your pick)
Vintage: 2007
Cellared On: October 19th, 2007
Original Tasting: November 17th, 2007
I decided to break this bottle out on the night of my wife’s birthday party (happy birthday honey!) to share it with a group of my beer-loving buddies. It’s always more [...]

Name: Imperial Extra Double Stout
Brewer: LeCoq
Style: Russian Imperial Stout
Vintage: 2003
Cellared On: October 30th, 2007
Original Tasting: November 20th, 2007
LeCoq is a somewhat polarizing beer in cellaring circles. A recent thread in the beer cellaring and aging forum on beeradvocate.com shows exactly why. Some people praise this beer for it’s uniquely slightly sour taste, while others point it [...]

Name: Sunrise Weissbier
Brewer: Victory
Style: Hefeweizen
Vintage: 2007
Cellared On: October 12, 2007
Original Tasting: November 9, 2007
You may ask why I’m doing a tasting of a summer seasonal release in the fall. Well why the hell wouldn’t I? I was enjoying stouts and porters during summer heat waves, so why not enjoy a light summer brew in the [...]

Name: Imperial Pumpkin Ale
Brewer: Weyerbacher
Style: Pumpkin Ale
Vintage: 2007
Cellared On: September 29th, 2007
Original Tasting: October 19th, 2007
I have to admit I haven’t much cared for any of the pumpkin beers I’ve tried in the past. They all have came off tasting like one of those nasty flavored malt beverages instead of an actual brew. But hey, [...]

Name: Abbey Brown Ale
Brewer: Brouwerij Corsendonk
Style: Belgian Dubbel
Vintage: 2007
Cellared On: September 12th, 2007
Original Tasting: October 10th, 2007
Corsendonk’s Abbey Brown Ale is the first true Belgian Dubbel that I’ve sampled. Rumor has it that this exact beer is actually sold under multiple different brand names in Belgium, Corsendonk just being one of them.
This Abbey Ale pours [...]