Saturday Afternoon Brunch

Today's Lakers vs. Nuggets game called for a couple brews. We first started off with a bottle of Stone Cali-Belgique IPA which I've only had once before on tap at Hollingshead's. This is a good beer. I really like the Belgian IPA's that use citrusy American hops (ie this beer and Green Flash Le Freak). The ones from Belgium that use European hops aren't very appetizing to me (ie Houblon Chouffe). The citrus orange character comes out nicely here to combine with the Belgian yeast phenols that wake up your senses a bit and add some strange complexity. I do recommend this beer but I'd go with the Le Freak first.


Today's brunch wasn't consumed between breakfast and lunch, it was at dinner time. This being the Mikkeller Beer Geek Brunch that was so graciously given to me by the fellas at boozereviews.net. I recently tried their Beer Geek Breakfast stout and was mildly impressed but not blown away like so many others have been. From what I remember of the Breakfast, Brunch was pretty similar. Both had a pretty intense dry coffee flavor. Both had a rich dark malt body and each had a subtle berry or fruitiness to it. Other than the type of coffee used (that from the shit of a weasel for the Brunch), I don't know if I can detect much of a difference. Brunch might've been a tad thicker, with an ABV of 10.9% compared to 7.5% for the Breakfast. All in all it was an enjoyable beer and quite the conversation maker when describing it to my friend's wife and mother-in-law.