Revisited! Mojo (growler) - 5.0

Mark and Jon have been spending a bit of time over at the Boulder Beer Company's bar lately, so it's once again time to shower our favorite brew with some love...


Mojo
India Pale Ale
Boulder Beer Company
Boulder, CO
ABV: 6.8%

Jon:
Huge orange flavor, some subtle pine notes, and the most amazing bitterness on the finish. Sweeter on tap than in the bottle, but it adds to the depth of flavor and smells heavenly. $9 for a growler! This is the standard by which all IPAs should be judged.

5.0	Appearance Aroma Palate Flavor Price Buzz Overall 5/5 10/10 5/5 10/10 5/5 5/5 10/10

Mark:
Liquid perfection! Definitely my favorite beer, and it's even better on tap! Crisp, clean... It hits you with a hoppy bitterness reminiscent of white grapefruit with floral hints and a clean mineral effervescence, followed by a bitter alcohol finish. Bravo!

5.0	Appearance Aroma Palate Flavor Price Buzz Overall 5/5 10/10 5/5 10/10 5/5 5/5 10/10

Red Rocket Pale Ale (bottle) - 3.0

Red Rocket Pale Ale
American Pale Ale
Bristol Brewing Company
Colorado Springs, CO
ABV: 5.2%

Jon:
Honey colored, honey nose, honey taste. Strangely metallic finish. Somewhere between complex and easy-drinking, and rather unique.

3.4	Appearance Aroma Palate Flavor Price Buzz Overall 4/5 8/10 3/5 7/10 3/5 2/5 7/10

Mark:
Slightly sweet, watered down, definitely different. Almost tastes like a stout that they somehow morphed into a pale ale. Tricky. Very tricky.

2.9	Appearance Aroma Palate Flavor Price Buzz Overall 3/5 6/10 3/5 6/10 2/5 3/5 6/10

Jere:
Now it's Red Rocket instead of Red Truck--what's next, Red Comet? Works for me, this beer however is not really up my alley.

2.6	Appearance Aroma Palate Flavor Price Buzz Overall 3/5 5/10 2/5 6/10 3/5 2/5 5/10

Red Truck IPA (bottle) - 3.0

Red Truck IPA
India Pale Ale
Palisade Brewery
Palisade, CO
ABV: ?

Jon:
Woah. There are some crazy sorts of bitterness going on here. It's very herbal; reminds me of some of the bitter flavors found in Cynar. Marks for complexity, but it's ultimately an unfortunate comparison because Cynar is one amazingly toxic drink.

3.4	Appearance Aroma Palate Flavor Price Buzz Overall 3/5 8/10 3/5 7/10 3/5 3/5 7/10

Mark:
Fairly balanced for an IPA. Not quite the hops for me, but with an oddly watered-down bitter flavor. Not bad at all, definitely good quality, but the $9 price tag turned me off a little bit.

3.0	Appearance Aroma Palate Flavor Price Buzz Overall 3/5 6/10 3/5 6/10 2/5 3/5 7/10

Jere:
Red Truck stands for bitter--too much for my tastes unfortunately. Not that I won't finish what I've started, mind you, but I can't say I'll enjoy it all that much.

2.5	Appearance Aroma Palate Flavor Price Buzz Overall 4/5 6/10 3/5 4/10 3/5 2/5 3/10

Revisited! Hop Devil IPA (bottle) - 3.8

Hop Devil
India Pale Ale
Victory Brewing Company
Downington, PA
Alcohol Content: 6.7%
Old score: 3.8 (1/18/2008)

Jon:
I think I like this better the second time around, though it's apparently not reflected in the score. The nose reminds me of beer fest, probably because I seek out the hoppiest beers in the country for an entire evening. Solid brew.

3.7	Appearance Aroma Palate Flavor Price Buzz Overall 4/5 8/10 4/5 8/10 3/5 3/5 7/10

Mark:
Bitter and sour! My two favorite flavors. This hits you with a bitter hoppy, lemony flavor, with a slightly sweet alcohol finish. Yum.

3.8	Appearance Aroma Palate Flavor Price Buzz Overall 4/5 8/10 3/5 8/10 3/5 5/5 7/10

Jere:
Still as bitter this year as it was last, but I guess it's grown on me after 10 months and a day. I'm not sure why either, except that the beer reviewing has become synonymous with practicing, and is hence, an acquired taste.

3.7	Appearance Aroma Palate Flavor Price Buzz Overall 4/5 9/10 3/5 8/10 2/5 4/5 7/10

Power Outage IPA (growler) - 3.8

Power Outage IPA
India Pale Ale
Rock Bottom Westminster
Westminster, CO
ABV: 6.5%

Jon:
Piney, very subtle. Interesting flavors if you give it a chance, but not hoppy enough at the first sip.

3.6	Appearance Aroma Palate Flavor Price Buzz Overall 4/5 7/10 4/5 7/10 4/5 3/5 7/10

Mark:
This IPA kind of sneaks on you. At first it's a nice pleasant, mellow pale ale, then the hops hit you - bam! And you realize "it's an IPA!" Hooray! Nice hoppy aftertaste.

3.9	Appearance Aroma Palate Flavor Price Buzz Overall 4/5 8/10 4/5 8/10 4/5 3/5 8/10

Jere:
This one sneaks up on ya, since it's not quite as bold as our usual IPA selection. I think I could get used to it though. Too bad it's not more widely available.

3.9	Appearance Aroma Palate Flavor Price Buzz Overall 5/5 9/10 3/5 8/10 4/5 3/5 7/10

Halloween with Devotchka

Devotchka likes Halloween. Last year at the Fillmore Auditorium in Denver, they dressed up as dead mariachis. This year at the Boulder Theater, they were colonial Americans. I love their music, love their shows, and especially love them on Halloween. And they really make me want to buy a theremin. Haven't heard 'em? Go watch Little Miss Sunshine, buy their CDs, and/or catch a concert. You won't be disappointed. Gypsy rock never sounded so good.

On a mostly unrelated note, I dressed as Waldo this year (of "Where's Waldo" fame). Holy hell, I had no idea that I was jumping on the biggest Halloween bandwagon since sheets with eye-holes. Waldos everywhere. But even worse, every other person that passes you on the street decides to harass you with what he thinks is a hilarious quip. So if you ever find yourself dressed up as Waldo for one reason or another, here's some replies for the passersby that can't help but ask "Where have you been?!?!" and die laughing:

• Looking for someone to buy me a drink.
• Trying to find a friggin' restroom.
• Kicking the ass of the last guy who asked.
• Hanging out with your mom, mostly.

You'll be sure to have an interesting night.

-Jon

Paulaner Oktoberfest-Märzen (bottle) - 3.7

Paulaner Oktoberfest-Märzen
Märzen/Oktoberfestbier
Paulaner Salvator Thomasbraeu AG
München, Germany
ABV: 5.80%

Jon:
This is some mapley, brown sugary goodness right here. Not overly sweet, just exhibiting all the good qualities of an Oktoberfest bier. Nutty and toasty.

4.0	Appearance Aroma Palate Flavor Price Buzz Overall 4/5 8/10 3/5 8/10 5/5 4/5 8/10

Mark:
I don't have a whole lot to say about this beer. A great cool weather beer, hence the "Oktoberfest" I guess. Still crisp, but with layers of spice and cinnamon.

3.5	Appearance Aroma Palate Flavor Price Buzz Overall 3/5 6/10 3/5 7/10 4/5 4/5 8/10

Jere:
Third time's the charm for the Paulaner nuts. Had this first on tap but it did not agree with me. The second time was bottled, and it started to become a tad more palatable. Now I seem to be enjoying it fully.

3.7	Appearance Aroma Palate Flavor Price Buzz Overall 5/5 7/10 3/5 8/10 3/5 4/5 7/10