Wow, life gets in the way of this. ... A lot.

 Rough Draft Southern Triangle IPA: Straight delicious.  I was thoroughly impressed with this one, has a great bitter taste with an awesome nose.  Any brew with Galaxy I'm a fan of, as evidenced by my passion for the Galaxy Pale ale from Flathead...  Definitely one you should find, and drink a bunch of.  A-

My new rig, Niner's WFO9.  Stands for Wide Full Open 9, which I fully embody by yelling Strava as I'm smashing on the pedals on the downhills...

 Black Diamond Carnage Triple IPA: Yes.  Amazingly bitter and smooth for a huge TIPA, was lucky enough to have a couple of these before the keg ran out.  I've always enjoyed big beers, but the flavor in this was awesome, one of the least blown out TIPA's I've had in a long long time.  Bravo.  A.

Rogue 7 Hop IPA: as you may have guessed, there are 7 hops in this DIPA.  All of which were very tasty, smooth, not overly aromatic, but very drinkable.  I'd struggle with this one on a hotter day here in phx, but in the 80's it was tasty as all hell.  B+

 Arizona Wilderness Brewing American Presidential Stout: A++ Because America.  One of the best beers I have ever had, it was subtly spicy from the jalapenos, with an amazing chocolatey finish from the cacao nibs, and just danged interesting.  I love this brewery and all they do, they incorporate local ingredients into all of their beers and always have a great approach to the beer style.  No wonder they won best new brewery in the world.  You won't find it in bottles, and I won't tell you where the brewery is, but if you ever see this(only at the brewery, buy a pour). The Barrel aged versions are a few weeks out, of which I plan to enjoy as much as I can...

 Arizona Wilderness Brewery Wet Beaver Wit:  Yep, that's what it's called.  A nice Wit with Beet juice from a local farm, the soil comes through from the beets in an interesting beer, not a typical approach, but damned interesting.  And it's Pink!

Sorry for the lack of attention to the blog, I'll get back on it.  I'm also much more active on Untappd.  MrIsaacds  Cheers.

That went by fast...

So, I've done a lot of research.  Changed the rig completely, and haven't been on here at all due to an extremely busy semester finishing up my undergrad at ASU.  But I'm proud to say I've earned a B.S. in Biochemistry and a Minor in Biological studies.  Now it's time for tacos.  I'll update shortly, with bunches and bunches of content.

Monster post... Catching up.

Brews are good.  I always enjoy when it's a little cooler outside, and one is actually able to enjoy good beer.   

Tamarack Brewing: Hat trick IPA, Runaround Brown(Lakeside ESB-not pictured.  B-): IPA was nice. I'd drink it again for sure.  It was good to see more brews going to Missoula. IPA=A. Brown=C-.

Flathead Lake Brewing Co: Imperial IPA, Yes. A.

Kettlehouse Brewing Double Haul IPA: Something I've loved for a long long time.  B+ by todays standards though...


Stone anniversary IPA #16.  Delicious.  Lemony deliciousness. A-.

La Fin Du Monde: B+, solid but not exactly delicious...

Lagunitas Brown Shugga:  If this is still out where you are, buy it!  All of it.  It's smooth texture rolls down the gullet, and it's a most excellent mix of hop and sweet... A+.

Mudshark Desert Magic IPA: Eh.  Nice but hard to compete in the IPA scene with this as your only IPA...  C+.

New Black 34t Chainring.  Stealth all the things!!

Odell's IPA: Always welcome... A super consistent and well made IPA.

New tires!! I ran the 2.3 and 2.5 Hillbilly DH tires.  So much fun, and so much moto.  They grab like crazy and are a blast when it's sloppy.  It's a great tire for a winter ride out east(as I hoped) but they roll too slowly for general use and everyday riding.  I'll keep them on the shelf for East Coast riding, but look for Muddy Mary's or another Knobby but more rounded and tightly packed tread pattern.

A few beers, not a lot of biking, but a ton of coffee...

It's been a busy few, and I've had not too much extra time for research... At least this kind of research. I've been busting out 21 credits at ASU this fall, and working for the city a bunch.  So any time I can spare is spent with Emily.  Which I am happy to have my first day off in for-eva.  

Pyramid Outburst DIPA: Kind of a shocker, not gonna lie.  I didn't expect them to make a DIPA.  It's good, not Left Coast, or Alpha Dog, or Knee Deep, but it's pretty good.  C+

Lagunitas Little Sumpin' Wild: Delicious.  I've been impressed with Lagunitas for a while, I like most things they do.  I was happy to drink this one as well.  It was an easy beer, a smooth Belgian IPA, it had fun notes of citrus and pine come through and smooth out the hop character. B.

Landis Glass, Nice thick glass, great for freezing.  Holds temperature well, and keeps my beer the right temperature...

Hair of the Dog Blue Dot DIPA:  I loved this beer.  I realize it must be redundant reading that I love this, or that beer.  But I'm easy to please in terms of hops.  I love most beers.  This is an exceptional lightness and drinkability.  It was a great DIPA, had observably bitter taste, and an smooth sip.  If you see this, I recommend you buy it.  A.

Laughing Dog Brewery Alpha Dog DIPA:  Starts off bold, and then calms down.  It's bark was more intense than it's bite. The taste was very easy to take in, it smelled more bitter and hoppier than it was.  It was an awesome DIPA, I fell in love.  As Will Ferrell said "Once it hits your lips, it's so good."A+.

Deschutes Brewing Chainbreaker White IPA: My ninja senses tell me I've had this before.  I liked it then, and still do now.  Grade may have dropped though, I'd say it's a mixture better left undone at a C+.

Deschutes Twilight Summer Ale: Delish, it's a great go-to drink.  for those busy summer days when you don't want to spend time in the beer aisle.  B.

Helga wants to play.

Caledonian Brewery Company Limited Newcastle Summer Ale: Hops and Glory.  I don't know where the name starts or stops with this beer.  It was a nice brew, hoppy and smooth.  It had a nice bite to it that let you know that it was a beer not to be taken lightly even though it's got different roots than a traditional "good" IPA.  I liked it, I wouldn't search it out.  But I'd certainly like to try it on tap somewhere...  B-.

Here's the quick collection of clips from the Fontucky ride. Song oO0ooO0o by Oberhofer

Note: best viewed in the small format, the wonderful computer magic ruins all of the clarity when expanded...

Hangar 24 Brewery, Fontana ride

Hangar 24 DIPA:  A lighter and easier DIPA, it was nice.  Hoppy, and smooth.  It was very easy to consume.  And had a few notes of Grapefruit, not much else came through the hops. I was totally fine with that, it had a nice bold hop character that I missed.  It's certainly cool, however it was rather unremarkable.  There was nothing that really gave a wow factor, and made me want it again.  B

Hangar 24 Orange Wheat:  I'll bet you can't think of a brewery that made a hef without the use of Orange.  I can only think of three.  Hangar 24 is a nice little brewery located near an airport, hence the name.  I was pretty impressed with the diversity of the beers they produce, and enjoyed this one.  It's not as blatantly citrusy as you would expect with a name as such, but it's nice.  The whole Oranges are added throughout the brewing process, which seems to have tempered the over bearing fruit down a notch.  Granted, the most significant taste you get out of this is the Orange it's just not as bold as I'd expected, it's a nicely unfiltered brew thats an easy sipper and enjoyable. B-.

Fontana is host to a pretty sweet little hill in Southridge Park.  This place has a variety of races in the fall/winter season, from Super-D to DH.  I think I'd have enjoyed it more had I been in a race as there are so many off shoots to choose from that it was difficult to find flow in the trails, and I ended up making many laps down on new terrain-which isn't all bad.

Heretic Brewing Evil Cousin Ale:  You know the beer you're drinking is from California when on the bottle, and on the site describing it the word dank is used.  It's a fact.   This brew was a big bold smack in the face of Hops, it was supposed to be.  The brewery certainly hit the target there.  It was hoppy, but softer on malts which made it an easier drinking beer than some other WIIPA's. As stated on the bottle "this beer is intentionally on the dank side; big, sticky, and aggressive."   And I loved it there were more hops than I care to talk about but it was certainly up there with the Hoptologist, or the Hop Juice in terms of variety of Hop character and initial taste.  "Join us on the dank side."  I'm already there.  A.

Highwater Brewing Retribution DIPA: This beer pours a very nice clear crisp caramel amber, and as soon as the bottle is opened, your nose is alerted to the fact that you were ill prepared for this venture.  The hops come out in true fashion, as do the lemons involved.  It's interesting that the lemon lifts up the drinkability of the beer, and sweetens it differently than other citrus.  I found this to be a very good after meal beer, it had a lot of alcohol that was masked by the flavor fairly well.  It was a new freshness for me with the lemon intensity, I'd yet to see that in a DIPA.  Not bad, but not exceptional.  C+.

I think I'll go for a ride.  

Vacation, 1 Year Anniversary, Beers, Bike ride

Just so you don't forget.  You have to drink this.  At some point in your life.  

D. Carnegie Porter 3.5.  A new breed for me.  A Baltic porter, I'm not convinced that this is the kind if porter I like.  The hops were subtle if there at all.  Pretty sweet, and syrupy, lots of malt that had a unique character.  An interesting find in Grandmas refridgerator for sure.  D.

Fitgers Brewing El Nino IPA:  I like most that I've had from Fitgers, definitely a solid IPA. It had some caramel that came through nicely and grapefruit that you could taste pretty early on.  It had a good bitter feel, but it was very smooth.  It was perfect for the 65 degree dayin which I indulged in it in Duluth.  A, I wish I could get more Fitgers...

Horny Goat Brewing, Baby Got Bock Spring Bock:  Not bad, not spectacular.  It was very drinkable, and smooth, nice slight malt.  Rather unremarkable, simple easy.  I didn't get much from this other than some much needed relaxation after shingling an overly steep roof.  B+

Horny Blonde: What can I say, it was a blonde ale with a great name.  Nothing too great here, it was a blonde ale.  Light refreshing, crisp.  C+

Lake Superior Brewing Special Ale:  It was a nice pale ale with some nice nutty/caramel notes.  It was a decent pairing for the Walleye I had for dinner.  It wasn't spectacular, but It was cool to have another new beer.  B-

I also had the Blackwoods Forest Ale: The restaurant had someone brew a beer for them, it was basically an american amber.  Darker pour with a good smooth head, and a nice mix of malts and hops.  Hard to discern much, as it was a chaser for the most spicy bloody mary I've ever had.  

Schell's Firebrick:  Some of you don't realize just how hard my job is.  It's not easy for me to take time out of my vacation to seek out and find these new beers.  This was a Vienna Lager, nicely roasted malts and a bready taste were there.  It was a great beer for a burger.  It was one I'd like to have again, though it may not be the same in the bottle...  B.

Summit Brewing Summer Ale, Horizon Red: The summer was Emily's choice for dinner drink, and it was delicious!  I had the red, nothing real exceptional.  Both were more on the generic side of what you'd expect.  C+, C.

Summit Saga IPA:  Nice IPA, neat light citrus flavors, and lots of hops.  I loved it.  I thought it was the best IPA I'd had in MN.  A-.

Summit EPA: It's hard to go to MN and not indulge in this old favorite.  It's like that old friend who has been consistent as long as you've known them and will always be there for you...  B+

Some Brown Ale:  It was a brown ale, I'm not a huge Brown fan.  It was pretty good, nicely paired with a burger.  It was a nice desert... C

Lift Bridge Farm Girl Saison:  A nice saison, I like spiced ale's and this was an easy sipper.  It was decent, not great.  But it had good spicing and a smooth texture.  B-.

Point brewing 2012 Black Ale:  Mostly tasted chocolate toasted hints.  It was a very dark brown ale.  I had it on a hotter day than I usually drink a thicker beverage such as this.  But it was nice, and unique. A good find, but not one worth looking for.  C-.

Surly Furious IPA: Worth the drive to Minnesota alone.  I love this beer, I love IPA's in general.  But I loved this.  It's got an amazing dose of hops that show up first thing, and don't let you go.  It's got some citrus as you'd expect, but it's definitely a delicious draft.  I miss this one.  A

Surly Bitter Brewer English Bitter:  

A lighter taste for all the complexity I found from this canned pint.  It had a nice amount of flavor and hops.  It was interestingly smooth and easy for all of the hops in this.  I'd liked to have tried this from a tap to see if there was more hiding in the can than I found. Definitely a cool one...  B.

Emily and I took our 1 year anniversary trip to MN, and were able to relax for a week together.  It was an awesome week in the quiet North.  It was a perfect respite for our hot and busy lives in Phoenix.  It was something I'd looked forward to for a long time, and enjoyed it far more than anticipated.  It was so much fun to have new and old memories with Em.  

And I rode my bike, then my master cylinders failed on my brakes.  Shimano sent some new one's out, so I look forward to trying them out on the Fontana DH course this coming week while I'll be out there for some shadowing of some Doctors for clinical hours so I'll have more experience heading into medical school.