Eric Talve's Week in Review: Week 3

Week in beer, Week 3:

Written By: Eric Talve

(Due to the holiday, this is in no particular order!)

Kelso Rhubarb Gose, on draft at Alobar, LIC, served in a snifter: My first go around with a gose. I'm all about trying different styles of beer and this one stood out to me from the tap selection at Alobar. An interesting beer, very bubbly, slightly fruity, slightly sour, not quite as sour as a true sour, and slightly funky and yeasty. A good change of pace beer, especially on a hot, summer afternoon. I'd go back to this beer if I find it again.

Magic Hat Dream Machine IPL, 12oz bottle: Didn't love this one. An India Pale Lager, the IP took away my enjoyment of the Lager. More like a lager trying to be something it's not and it just didn't work for me. Won't be giving this one another shot.

Craig's Celebration Belgian Golden Strong Ale, 22oz bottle, poured into small glasses to share: A home brew by my good buddy Craig that he gave out as wedding favors at his wedding a few weeks back. I've affectionately been referring to it as Strong Belwas, after a Game of Thrones character. A great Belgian golden strong, coming in at a solid 9% ABV. I had this one a few weeks back at Craig's bachelor party, before I started contributing to Scott's blog. Very enjoyable beer, and very drinkable, which for a beer with an ABV this high can be dangerous! Hoping Craig makes this one again. Maybe for Ommegang to add to their GoT line?

Stone Imperial Russian Stout 2014, 22oz bottle, poured into small glasses to share: First time for me finding this one on the east coast. It's one of my favorite imperial stout's out there. Great tasting notes of chocolate and coffee, with just the right amount of bitterness. Would really love to see this more frequently in NYC, along with many other great brews from Stone.

Finback Starchild, Draught 55, NYC, served in a pint glass: A quality sour. Dry, tart and crisp, if not overly flavorful. This is the fourth sour I've tried in recent weeks and I'm discovering I prefer them with more fruit flavor.

Stone RuinTen IPA, Draught 55, NYC, served in a snifter: another high end beer from Stone. This is their special 10th anniversary release that Scott blogged about very recently. This is one of my favorite IPA's yet as the hoppiness didn't taste like I was drinking pine needles. Definitely worth trying when you can find it!