Hayes Bomberpalooza, Part 4

By now, the blurry pics, sunsets and darkness have set in on the event.  But no one is deterred and we will finish sampling all the beers brought to the party.  Plus, the ribs are done and we need something to wash down the delicious ribs and clean our mouth after we lick all our fingers...

Beer #10:  Chipotle Ale (5.5% ABV) from Rogue Ales Brewery in Newport, Oregon

Just for reference, the brewer describes the beer as "roasted chipotle peppers produce an eye opening chile flavor in this deep golden ale with a malty, smoky aroma and smooth, crisp flavor."

More chipotle flavor please...

I picked this one out of our beer closet to bring because I was a little scared of having to drink the whole thing with just me and The Husband.  But I figured it would be a great beer share and would get people talking.  I was correct. 

There was nothing chile flavored, chipotle flavored or even somewhat spicy about this beer.  One of the Budlighters said to "put my Bud Light over by the smoker (at this point in the evening the mega racks of home smoked ribs were just emerging from the smoker) for an hour or so and it will be more smokey than this beer!"  The overwhelming consensus was that this is an unremarkable beer ("it is what it is") which is severely lacking in the Chipotle flavor.

Beer #11:  High Tide Fresh Hop IPA (6.5% ABV) from Port Brewing Company in San Diego, California

The group assessed this as less drinkable than the Ponderosa IPA (previously sampled) with the typical bite of an IPA hop.  It was not given an A++ by the group, but it was certainly not given a thumbs down (that will come later).  When the person who brought this revealed that it was a $5.99 bomber, some people changed their tune and said they'd buy something else instead.

Beer #11 and a typical Arizona sunset

Beer #12:  Mongo Double IPA (8.5% ABV) from Port Brewing Company in San Diego, California

RIP Mongo

I'm not sure who brought this one, but this is definitely a good beer to share with a group.   After the first taste, it was CLEAR that this was a double IPA.  It had a very strong flavor profile and was a bit complex to determine what flavors were present.

"It's a sipper.  You can't pound this one!"

According to the brewer, the Mongo IPA is "a tribute beer brewed to honor the memory of our fallen solider, Columbus (a brewery kitten we knicknamed Mongo), who used each of his 9 lives in a short – but brazen – 10 months on this planet. Let’s just say the little dude lived a hard life. Only, he wasn’t so little. In fact, he was the largest of five kittens born at the brewery in 2009. Mongo was so large in fact that his brothers and sisters kicked him out of the litter. I told you dude had it rough."

"While this is a very good beer, it was most certainly not a session beer."



Two more and a bomber wrap-up still to come....