Lagunitas: Lucky 13 Beer Review

I was walking through the beer section at Wegmans and as I was looking over the bottles one just jumped out at me. Lagunitas Lucky 13 “A Mondo Large Red Ale”. The number 13 is my lucky number, I know most people tend to associate the number 13 with bad luck, nevermind Friday The 13th. With that being said I was born on Friday the 13th, and I have made my own luck, so 13 is my lucky number. But anyway I am starting to ramble so on with the review.

 

The initial appearance was like a light caramel/toffee with very slight hints of red. There was little to no head, but the head that was there stuck through to the end and provided some beautiful lacing down the glass.

The aroma was very citrusy, like walking through an orange grove. I’m guessing that they probably hopped heavy with cascades. The first sip is very hoppy, which I was not expecting in a red ale. It has a nice creamy mouthfeel with a thicker body. The alcohol kicks in and I found a slight hot note from the 8.5% alcohol. The citrus stays through the palate and actually turns to a little more lemon/lime flavor.

Overall, this is  a good beer. It has nice fruit notes that give it a sweet character but not so much that it makes it overpowering and cloying. I would definitely buy this beer again.

Good Times: Age catches us all

Well, last night was an interesting and great night. The Goof Troop came over for a combo birthday/going away party. But this morning as I reflected on last night, my mind wandered to all of the things we have all done in our youth and the lessons we have learned along the way.

But first, a quick recap of last night. We celebrate the Twins birthday, I’ll just say they turned somewhere in their mid 30’s. I don’t want to give it away but you could try counting the candles, but I doubt you could count that blazing inferno.

Then our friends Stickbug and Alley/Kielbasa Charlie (we haven’t settled in on a good nick name for Charlie yet, but we’re close) are moving to Camillus, so we won’t see them as much.

So once everyone was full of snacks, (L Bird loves to entertain) we went on with the usual games. 3 man, Up and Down the River, Asshole, etc.

A few drinks later the Captain is trying to lick my head. Yeah, he’s kind of an odd fellow.

A few more drinks and that led to the “nose off”

Then finally it was last call for the Goof Troop around 1 AM.

I’m really not passed out, I was told my “big fat head was blocking stickbug”, so I laid down on the table and of course the picture was taken so I look like I’m passed out drunk.

So that was the quick version of last night. There were numerous stories told and laughs had. Then this morning came and what a morning it was, L Bird was sleeping in the couch because she a little too much wine and she needed to be close to the bathroom. I was fine, so I got up and got A Bird going with some breakfast and playing around the house.

Once she was set I jumped into the shower and that’s really when it hit me. I’m getting old, I didn’t drink that much last night but I had a headache and my bones were creaking. I remember drinking all night and just jumping right up the next morning to go play golf and starting to drink again on the first hole. Last night the The Goof Troop left at 1 AM, I remember being younger and seeing the Goof Troop out the door as the sun was coming up and blinding me. I remember going out all night in G Town and drinking to 2 AM, then hitting a house party until 4-5 AM, last night the good majority of us were already yawning at 10:30 PM.

Yep, time and age catches up with us all, but its nice to fight it as long as we are breathing.

Custom Brewcrafters: Double Dark Cream Porter

So last weekend my buddy Dinker and his old lady stopped by for a bit and he had in hand a 6 pack of Custom Brewcrafters Double Dark Cream Porter. I am a big fan of dark beer and especially porters. So we had a couple and he left the remnants of the 6 pack for me. I stashed a bottle away and I am just getting to the review now.

Well it lived up to its name as double dark, it poured very dark almost pitch black with no clarity. There was very little head and it lost its retention almost as soon as it was poured. The head that was there was dark tan to a light brown made up of loose/larger bubbles.

The aroma was almost non existent, there were faint traces of coffee and roasted notes, but none of it was overpowering. The flavor followed suit as all of the flavors were very subdued. There were notes of mocha, chocolate and traces of coffee with none of the bitterness. The body was very thin and the carbonation was light and true to style.

Overall, this beer was a very good beer. It was easy to drink and tasted great. It was nothing to write home about and could be easily lost in this style category with the numerous other porter labels. It wasn’t a standout by any means, but I could easily see this as a old standby that I would stock in my fridge when I just wanted a dark easy drinking beer.

It is definitely  worth a shot, I bet you’ll find it a nice easy going beer.