Wagons West for Pope Crisco

When I was in college I had an art professor that spent one day joking about his time in Chicago, and about how people who would leave the Dallas/Fort Worth area where always destined to return. At the time, I remember thinking that if I ever left Texas, it would be a one way trip.

If you’ve read my blog over the previous month or so, you would be aware that right now I am eating proverbial crow, for Monday morning I will beginning a trip West, back to the North Texas suburbs that I called home for the first 26 years of my life.  

What does that mean for this blog?

Well, the first thing it means is that there will be a slight hiatus from posting, due to a trip to my in-laws in Lafayette, LA that will keep me away from my blog until the beginning of August. Now, that hiatus will likely not be too extended, in fact I have new beers to drink, and cigars to smoke, waiting for me in Texas. Preceding this move, I brought a case of new beers from Georgia to sample and my two dogs down to my mother’s house a few weeks ago, and I have some cigars as well waiting to be enjoyed. If you find you need more Pope Crisco content though, I will be using my Twitter account (@theintoxico) to do informal beer impressions, and general drunken silliness.  By following me, as well, will get you good karma, and make me a happier drinker.

The other thing it means for this blog, and I do see it as a good thing, a move will make a new host of local beers available to me. Right now I have more than enough Texas beers on my “try list” to anticipate that it seems I will have an endless amount of fodder on the beer scene in the lone star state.  I will try to balance the local beers with those available nationally though, reading about beer you can’t try would be kind of boring, and possibly frustrating.

Between now and my exodus, I do plan a couple more reviews, including Great Divide’s 2X IPA, and Highland Brewing Company’s Gaelic Ale, likely to be done tonight, assuming I can make the time before my internet is shut off.  Even without internet access, they will be written and posted when able to do so.

As always, thanks for keeping up with my blog. Please keep commenting, subscribing, and being an awesome audience.

Pope Crisco

(PS, I promise to do my best to not become the guy described in the Bud Light radio spot, posted in the video below.)

Ommegang’s Chocolate Indulgence

Today was a busy day.  As my time in Atlanta winds down, the day was filled with yet more packing, and the bottling of my previously mentioned chocolate coffee oatmeal stout, tentatively named Chocolate Goat after the beers use of chocolate and dark malts, and the coffee which is called Dancing Goats, a local favorite here in the city (I had a sample of the green, uncarbonated beer, and am looking forward to drinking it when bottle conditioned a little more.)

Also, thanks to a local beer market, Ale Yeah, and their twitter account, I learned that today, July 21^st, is the day that Belgium celebrates its independence. As well, thanks to their twitter feed, my wife was aware, and intrigued, to learn about Ommegang’s Chocolate Indulgence, a chocolate stout brewed with Belgian Yeast.

I joked with Haley that if Cathy, the comic strip character,was a craft beer drinker, the name alone would make this her favorite.

Haley, who has also never proclaimed a love for Mondays, however is a craft beer drinker, and loves Chocolate stouts as a special treat. Wanting an excuse to purchase a beer that I would usually avoid based on its price tag, I found it easier than usual to put 26 bucks on a growler when done as a gift to my wife.

Pouring into a chalice that I got free with the purchase of a growler, the elixir came out a wondrously opaque black and was topped with a cumulous like, toffee colored head (the picture I took was not indicative of the pours taken afterward, I am a bit over cautious when initial decant from a growler.)  

The nose was warm, with the predominant notes of coffee and chocolate attacking the olfactory glands , with a slight yeast or bready tone on the backend.

The first sip was heavy on the palate, with a thick, rich, velvety and somewhat dry mouthfeel. Flavors of dark, rich chocolate and coffee take hold of my attention on the first sip. As my tongue became accustomed to the stronger flavors, notes of fruit, mostly of banana, round out the backend, and bring an unusual and distinct flavor combination. A very slight alcohol hotness was also present, but did not detract from overall enjoyment of the beer.

If not for the price tag (although I can taste an argument for the outlay of its price tag,) I would recommend this beer to every beer drinker. The stout in question was everything a great chocolate stout should be, with a little something more to keep it interesting.

Prost!

Ranger India Pale Ale by New Belgium Brewing Co.

Well after a long day that included changing a flat for the spare on my wife’s Honda, Transferring my stout to a secondary fermentation for a short sit, and packing a fair amount of my earthly possessions, I think I have earned a good beer or two, and luckily I have four or five at my disposal.

Tonight I am enjoy a favorite of Haley’s and mine, New Belgium’s Ranger IPA.

Pouring a couple out into a 20 oz glass, taking the additional 4 oz of volume as a primer to the night’s libation, the beverage pours clear and copper with a really wondrous white head that is fluffy and unwilling to die down significantly throughout its consumption.

The nose is floral, with a nice mellowing sweet matiness around the aroma’s edges.

As the beverage is consumed, there is a flowery hop forward flavor with a medium full flavor and bitterness. 

On the backend, this beer turns a little citrus with a warm, slight grapefruit tone, with a quick finish on the palate. The mouthfeel is full and wet, making it very refreshing when needing to quench a thirst.

I find it also works well before and after meals, for both priming and cleansing ones palate.   

This beer is simply one of the best balanced and welcoming IPAs on the national market, and is easily in my top 5 India Pale Ales.

Prost!

Yuengling Traditional Lager

Well, the wife is out, enjoying some last minute quality time with a good friend, and I am heating up meat lasagna from a local farmers market. With a good 45 solid minutes of baking time, I have yet another opportunity to pop a top, and share the impression with you fine folk.

The remnants of a 12 pack from the fourth of July, I have a  couple cans of Yuengling’s Traditional Lager that I have been meaning to write a review on, and I guess tonight is as good as any other.

Pouring the beer into a pint glass there is oodles of active carbonation, resulting in a massive crown of head atop the light amber colored beer. This carbonation isn’t to last though, before the first sip the head is about as strong as a piece of wet tissue, and by the last sip the beer has a light, flat mouthfeel.  

The lager has a odor that is very comparable to that of an adjunct beer, being only slightly malty and hoppy, without much depth of aroma.

Likewise, the body, only slighty more full than a typical adjunct, is on the lighter side. While the flavor has a bit more caramel flavor than corn based macro lagers, it leaves a lot to be desired.

If you need a cheap, cold beer on a summer day, and you need the portability of a can, this lager is slightly better than the fair of Inbev, Miller, and Coors.  If you’re looking for more of a drinking experience, though, pass this one by.  

Atlanta, M’Amour #4 King of Pops

While I, at best, have a mild like of the very occasional dessert, Haley, my wife, has the same love I have that I bring to beer for ice cream, baked goods, and other sweet treats. Because of her keen eye for new and interesting novelties, and thanks to a location across the street from Manuel’s Tavern, a year ago or so we found King Of Pops, one of a handful of street food vendors that have emerged in the city recently. 

More than just handmade, well crafted popsicles bursting with as much fresh ingredients as bright and vibrant flavor, King of Pops brings an interesting and diverse palate to the treat that filled our childhoods, making a selection to interest the imaginations and taste buds of the young and old alike.   Examples range from the sweet, like Fresh Georgia Peach, Chocolate with Sea Salt, and Pineapple Ginger to the slightly spicy Mango 

Habanero.   

Now King of Pops can also be found in Asheville and Charleston, per their/his website.  

One can find out his rotating menu and locations via Kingofpops.net or via Facebook

Pope Crisco