October 2016 Darkness has come.

10-23-16:Having recently moved back to Minnesota and had a host of new beers-including a longtime whale-Surly Darkness.  A big bold Stout, rich chocolate, coffee, booze. Perfect beer to warm up with...  

Last week I was able to stop by LTD Brewing in Hopkins MN,  Many of their spread has been so so thus far, However, I was completely surprised and amazed with this Triple IPA, Sleep Walker.  Huge IBUs, big bitterness(obviously), big citrus, tons of grapefruit, pine, sweet malt/sugars.  Definitely one to find if you can, I think I gave it a 4.75 or 5 on Untappd, and it truly deserves is.  Of all the IIIPAs I've had, most are blown out with alcohol, overwhelming bitterness, sugars that you can't get past etc.  This beer was extremely balanced and was simply outstanding.  Bravo LTD.  


Shimano: You Suck, this happened to my first XTR Trail pedals too.  This was really frustrating, and left me with a 4 mile walk/run out.  Looking to replace these things with a set of the HT T1 pedals sometime this winter, I'm still a fan of a semi-platform clipless pedal, and though these were the bees knees, a failure of this nature is total BS.




 I was unaware that riding in Minnesota was pretty much like a bikepark.  Everywhere!  Seriously, Bermed corners, doubles, drop options, one way trails, etc!  I'm amazed, and thankful.  It's amazing, some of the most fun I've had riding in a long long time.  From Piedmont and Brewer trail networks in Duluth to the Theodore Wirth network near Minneapolis. I feel like a kid with all these new trails to explore, could not have more fun on a bike right now.  The Niner is definitely overkill for this area, but it's a fun rig.

Cheers all, I'll get back to biweekly(ish) updates as beers and biking are back to things I am able to do.

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.