Had a great weekend!

• Back in action after a hiatus.
•  Got to try the new Davidson Brother's I-87 IPA, which Jason is doing with Cascade and Amarillo hops. Yes, it's 87 IBU, but not soapy or metallic at all like some of the higher end stuff can be. It's up and pouring in Glens Falls, NY, and it's going to be a good one.
•  Spent Saturday afternoon at the newly opened Bier Abbey in Schenectady, NY. It;s a great place with great folks and great beer. Expect a full report in a day or two. I sampled well there.
•  Last night, I had one of the Sierra Nevada Kellerweiss. Good summer beer. I had gotten the Torpedo, which I love, the last couple times and figured I would switch up.

And it's the second week of the year

Thankfully, my beer sampling slowed down a little in the week after New Year's.

I was pleased to discover four bottles of Sierra Nevada Torpedo IPA lurking among my wife's cider. I love this beer. It's a great example of the super-hoppy IPAs, and it doesn't do soapy like some of them do.

Thursday, I stopped by our local good beer store -- Minogue's on Route 234 in Queensbury, NY, to see their new growler-fill line. As an aside, it's excellent. They have some terrific beers up.
When you see one of your favorite styles made by one of you just have to pick it up.
Such was the case while at was at Minogue's and saw the Harpoon Chocolate Stout.

As I would have expected, the folks at Harpoon nailed it. Very chocolaty, though I would say it got better as it warmed up.
Today was a farmer's market run to Saratoga Springs, which of course meant a stop at EBI.

I am not a huge fan of Brown ale. I prefer beers on the extremes of the scale -- high-end IPAs and big porters and stouts.

But when I saw that Bear Republic from California had a Brown out, I figured it was worth a try, and I was right. Very full taste where you get the molasses and the malt. It was quite satisfying and easy to drink.

It's a whole new year

Welcome to the New Year.

One of the things I decided to do for this year is to keep a list of all the beers I have tried.

Since I tend to ask for samples or order samplers, it may seem longer than it really is.

I am also going to start with New Year's Eve because, well that seems appropriate. I stayed in new Year's Eve and watched TV, since we were at my sister's house in Pesnnylvania (and she was out), and we do not have cable or anything at home.

I had two 22-ounce bombers, which IU had bought in Maine the week before. Heavy Seas Yuletide, a Belgian trippel, which was very complex and sweet. The advantage of a beer like that is that you have to drink it very slowly. It was very good.

The second was Rising Tide's Ursa Minor, a dark, thick weizen stout. Again, slow to go down, but it's a style I really like. This is a beer from a new brewery in Maine.

On New Year's Day, I took a quick ride to Union Jack's, which is in the same town my sister lives in and had two beers, but my were they serious beers. I had one of the grails, the Dogfish Head 120-Minute IPA. You may have heard of the 60 or 90 versions, but in this one, the hops are added to the boil for two solid hours. It has a ridiculously high Alcohol By Volume of 18 percent (think Bud at less than foru). But I love it, because I am big into high alcohol beers and the whole hop thing. They pour it in a nine-ounce glass, because of the alcohol.

The first beer of that afternoon was one of my all-time favorites, the Souuthern Tier Imperial Punking, my favorite pumpkin beer out of about 30 I have had. This was the oak-aged version, and I found that made it much more mellow and easier to drink. I actually had to slow myself down, because it was going down so easily.

Somewhere in there, I had a Joshua Chamberlain Ale from Shipyard (Maine). While I am not a huge fan of their English-style beer, I do like the taste of this one.

During the week, partly to get off to a quick start, I had the Coffee Stout, Smoked Porter and Wheat at Davidson Brothers, which is my local here in Glens Falls. I also tried a Southern Tiuer Harvest, because I really like Southern Tier, and it was very good. I had a short taste of the Sly Fox Pikeland Pils, which is excellent for the style, but not something a style I like. I had been within 30 minutes of Sly Fox at my sister's, but I could not make it there.

Finally, I discovered a Brooklyn Winter Ale in fridge. It's a good, tasty, malty beer.