today's beer of the day. @sierranevada @bpbrewing #electricray #indiapalelager

As has been the case so far with the Sierra Nevada Beer Camp 12 pack, this is another good beer. This time they collaborated with Ballast Point Brewing Company. "As ever, San Diego’s Ballast Point looked to the sea for the inspiration behind Electric Ray. A play on the fish’s scientific name—Torpedo californica—this beer pays homage to our mutual home state, as well as to our Hop Torpedo, the source of much of the big flavor in this high voltage, hop-forward Imperial Pale Lager."

"Electric Ray is an IPL—Imperial Pale Lager—combining intense citrusy and floral American hop aroma with the clean, crisp, classic malt body of a robust blonde lager. It is both traditionally dry-hopped AND torpedoed with whole-cone American hops for an intense grapefruit and rose-like nose."

My impressions are: Electric Ray IPL has a pale amber color and a good head when initially poured out of the bottle. The head dissipates fairly quickly and there is moderate carbonation noted while it is resting. I also really enjoyed the color scheme on the bottle, very fitting with the name in my opinion. The aroma is that of floral hoppy-ness. I feel that this beer has a very interesting flavor too, kind of a citrusy grapefruit flavor with some torpedo in there as well. You can definitely taste the citrus but it is not overpowering to the hops however. It has a smooth feel in the mouth and it finishes with a mild bitterness and a hint of sweet. I really like this beer, it is a good mix of flavor and kick. It is a super solid edition to this 12 pack and I definitely would enjoy drinking it again! The cost of the 12 pack was $30, but if you average that out it is $2.50 per beer so it is still cheaper than the local pub. My only question to both Sierra Nevada and Ballast Point is: What does the I stand for in IPL, India or Imperial? Either way thanks again for another good beer guys!

Referenced from Sierra Nevada.

Beer purchased at Lewisburg Spirits and Wine in Lewisburg, WV.

today's beer of the day. @sierranevada @oskarblues #canfusion #ryebock

"Our friends at Oskar Blues pioneered great beer in a can and, as mutual members of the canned craft club, this partnership was a perfect fit. CANfusion is a coming together—a fusion, if you will—of flavors from across the spectrum of brewing: spicy rye, tangy wheat and a bright citrusy hop aroma."

Picture taken on my counter top.

"Oskar Blues is the granddaddy of canned craft beer. Like us, they have a fun-loving passion for the outdoors and bikes. It was a natural fit for them to adopt cans as a portable, durable way to tote their favorite beer on the trail, and in the process they  paved the way for all other craft brewers to follow."

"CANfusion is a dry-hop rye bock with a complex malt body that launches a peppery blast from the rye, balanced by a fruity hop aroma. As the style suggests, it was dry-hopped for an added aroma punch from the unique citrusy and spice-like Australian Ella hop varietal."

Upon first impression of this beer the color is dark amber, it has a good head at the initial pour but it dissipates quickly. There is carbonation noted and you can smell the citrus. There is a fruity taste with a sharp aftertaste that disappears quickly. The feel in the mouth is kind of dry actually but still thick as well and it sticks to the tongue as it goes down. This is a good drinking beer and you will enjoy the fruity and spicy combination as you drink it. It is another solid beer in this 12 pack. The only drawback is the price, however if you consider that a beer at your local Irish Pub is $5 per glass you will get over that pretty quickly. Oh and at 7.2 ABV it will remind you that you aren't drinking your average beer. Another solid beer from the Sierra Nevada Beer Camp 12 pack! Great work guys!

Referenced from Sierra Nevada.

Beer purchased from Lewisburg Spirits and Wine in Lewisburg, WV. The coolest small town in 2011.

today's beer of the day. @sierranevada @AllagashBrewing #myronswalk #belgianstylepaleale

"We named this beer in honor of Myron Avery, a founder of the Appalachian Trail, or the A.T., which starts near Sierra Nevada’s North Carolina brewery and ends near Allagash’s home in Maine. Both breweries have a tremendous love of the outdoors, and Avery and the A.T. are great reminders of the wild spirit of exploration that connects us both."

"Myron’s Walk is a Belgian-style pale ale combining the best of our two breweries. It features intense citrusy flavor and a complex aroma from the use of fruity and resinous whole-cone Citra and Mosaic hops offset by the complex spicy character of Allagash’s house Belgian yeast strain."

In honor of the thru hikers on the A.T., Sierra Designs Light Year 1 (which survived the 2012 derecho in the Cranberry backcountry and was a staple for thru hikers),  Sierra Designs new Backcountry Quilt, and Asolo hiking boots.

The color of this beer is a yellow/orange, it didn't seem to have much of a head with my initial pour but it did have a fair amount of carbonation visible while resting. The aroma of the beer was distinctive to a Belgian style pale ale, fruity notes with a hint of hops. The first sip felt smooth with a notable aftertaste, common to Belgian pale ales, and a bite on the tongue just before you swallow. It had a good flavor, slightly bitter just the way I like it. This was another good beer in this series that I really enjoyed from start to finish. The only problem was that I didn't have another one, come on Sierra Nevada hook a guy up! On the ABV scale it was 5.3%, which is not quite what I am used to, but it has enough kick and it was an enjoyable beer to drink either way. I also really love that they named it after Myron Avery. I am planning on hiking a little bit of the A.T. around Mount Rogers in the next few months, maybe I'll take a bottle of Myron's Walk with me to celebrate the trip. Cheers America.

Referenced from Sierra Nevada.

This 12 pack was purchased from Lewisburg Spirits and Wine, 3272 Jefferson St. North, Lewisburg, WV 24901.

today's beer of the day. @SierraNevada @avlbrewers #taterridge #scottishale

"The Asheville area is a brewing hotspot nestled in the mountains of North Carolina. Tater Ridge was brewed by something of a craft beer super group made up of members of the Asheville Brewers Alliance. We’re fortunate to call these passionate and talented brewers our neighbors, and we hope this unique ale will be the first of many collaborations to come."

"Tater Ridge pays homage to our area’s Scottish Highland history, and its craft brew pioneers. With a hint of down home Southern flair, this Scottish ale is rich and malty, using special floor-malted six-row barley from Asheville’s Riverbend Malting, and has a smooth kick from the use of sweet potatoes, a tasty Southern staple."

This picture was taken out by my fire pit.

Ok, so I have to admit I am not a huge fan of sweet potatoes unless you mash them and put in some chipotle peppers with adobo sauce (personal preference). So my review of the Tater Ridge Scottish Ale is bitter sweet, if you'll pardon the pun. It is a transparent Scottish Ale with a dark red/amber appearance and a good head when initially poured without a lot of carbonation that is noticeable as it is resting. The smell is actually sort of thick and rich with a hint of sweet potato, I swore I could smell it in there. It feels clean and refreshing in the mouth with a good malty finish, and not too thick going down. Overall I have to say that I really enjoyed this beer even with my less than enthusiastic feelings about sweet potatoes. This is another solid beer in this 12 pack that I would happily drink again. Oh, and it has 7.0% ABV as well so it is not lacking in the kick department. Note: drinking it by the fire on a cool evening makes it that much more enjoyable.

Referenced from Sierra Nevada.

Beer purchased at Lewisburg Spirits and Wine, located in Lewisburg, WV.

today's beer of the day. @SierraNevada @CigarCityBeer #beercamp #yonderbock

Ok guys, beer #2 in the Beer Camp line up is the Yonder Bock. It is a Tropical Maibock and Sierra Nevada partnered with Cigar City Brewing to produce this light fruity delight.

Photo taken on my antique bakers hutch.

"Yonder Bock is a summery twist on the robust blonde bock. Its silky, semi-sweet malt body is bolstered by a blend of new and experimental hops that impart bright, fruity hop aromas of guava, mango and passion fruit."

My impression of this beer is as follows: It is a dark amber beer, with a good head and lightly carbonated. It has a light fruity aroma and you can taste the mango and the fruity notes as you take your first sip. This is a smooth beer with a tingle on the tip of your tongue just before you swallow. It is slightly thicker feeling in the mouth but has a good finish. In my opinion this was a great beer and I am thus far impressed with this 12 pack. Oh, and with 7.7% ABV it is no slouch. On a side note, I noticed that this 12 pack is selling for $60 on Craigslist, so the $30 I paid seems pretty reasonable about now. I really love the can's appearance too. I purchased the Beer Camp 12 pack at Lewisburg Spirits and Wine which is just north of Interstate 64 on Jefferson Street (Route 219 North) in Lewisburg, WV.

One last note, I really loved the shirt that Joey Redner of Cigar City Brewing was wearing in this video and wondered where I can get my hands on one. Enjoy the brews America, and see you next TBD!

Referenced from Sierra Nevada.