Trappist Westvleteren 12 | ZE Beer Review

As a special Christmas episode, I review what has long been considered one of the best --if not the very best-- beer in the world: Trappist Westvleteren 12. I received the bottle in trade from fellow Youtube beer reviewer Chad9976. Thanks Chad!

I reviewed the beer with my girlfriend Shana. Since this is such a renowned beer, I kept my editing to a minimum here, which makes for a slightly overlong video. I figured it was reasonable to go a little long since so many of us have extremely limited access to the beer if we can get it at all, and documenting as much of the experience as possible was likely to be appreciated.



Zymurgical Explorations grade: A+

Weyerbacher Insanity | ZE Beer Review

This was a bottle sent to me by Chris over at BeerGeekNation. BeerAdvocate lists this as an English Barleywine, but given that it's been aged in oak I think it's fairer to consider it a particularly potent old ale. Either way it's an excellent brew, one that I hope to be able to get again soon.



Zymurgical Explorations grade: A-

Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale | ZE Beer Review

I wasn't necessarily planning on reviewing this one, but I've enjoyed this year's batch so much that I decided to give it a quick review.

I also show off the wonderful beery gifts that my girlfriend gave me for the holiday. Have I mentioned that she's awesome?

Towards the end I also comment a bit about the quality of this year's fresh hop ales.

(Sorry about the flickering towards the start of the vid. The lights above me flickered a bit but I didn't realize how prominent it'd be on camera. Damn CFLs!)



Zymurgical Explorations grade: A-

Butternuts Moo Thunder Stout | ZE Beer Review

Another beer sent to me by Chad9976 in our beer trade. A milk stout that seemed fairly substandard to me.



Zymurgical Explorations grade: B-

Bell's Christmas Ale | ZE Beer Review

This is Bell's seasonal Christmas beer, which is unfortunately at the time of this upload out of stock in the area. BeerAdvocate calls this a Scotch Ale, but I review it as an American Amber.

This was a requested beer from Paul, Youtube user vallsack. Thanks for the request, Paul!



Zymurgical Explorations grade: B+

Russian River Pliny the Elder | ZE Beer Review

I got a couple of bottles of the famed Pliny the Elder in a trade with fellow Beer Geek Nation member Ryan (aka StumpyJoeJr). This one absolutely lived up to my expectations.



Zymurgical Explorations grade: A

Dogfish Head Burton Baton | ZE Beer Review

I taste a new-to-the-area Dogfish Head Imperial IPA. It's definitely an interesting experience. I'm not sure if this rating is fair, but I think it's about the best I can do.



Zymurgical Explorations grade: B+

Beer Mail 2010-12-16

Awesome beer mail from Ryan, Youtube user StumpyJoeJr. Check out his channel -- he does great beer reviews!

youtube.com/StumpyJoeJr

Samuel Adams Infinium | ZE Beer Review

I review the much-hyped Sam Adams/Weihenstephan collaboration beer. It ends up being a good beer, but definitely not worth the hype or the price.



Zymurgical Explorations grade: B+

Orkney Skullsplitter Ale | ZE Beer Review

I take a little trip out into the snow to review Skullsplitter ale, one of my favorite Scotch Ales, a huge malty monstrosity from Scotland. A perfect beer for a crazy person drinking in the middle of a minor blizzard.



Zymurgical Explorations grade: A

Rogue Dad's Little Helper Malt Liquor | ZE Beer Review

Time for a malt liquor video! Or is it? I review Rogue Dad's Little Helper, a "craft" malt liquor. What's the point of this beer? Hopefully some of my commenters will help enlighten me.



Zymurgical Explorations grade: C

Zymurgical Explorations Beer Cellar

I've gotten a few requests to show off my beer cellar. Mine isn't too impressive, but I think I've got some cool beers to show off. The vid ran very long, so I split it into two parts.

This is part one, where I show off my 22oz and 750mL bottles.



This is part two, with my 12oz bottles.

Ithaca Flower Power | ZE Beer Review

This was a bottle sent to me by Youtube beer reviewer Chad9976 when he sent me the Westy. I just don't have much to say about this beer other than: watch the review!



Zymurgical Explorations grade: B+

Weyerbacher Quad | ZE Beer Review

This was one of the bottles sent to me by Chris (BeerGeekNation) in a beer trade. He knows I like quads, so this was a good choice.

Ultimately this was quite a good beer, but I think I liked it just a little less since I'd had the St. Bernardus Abt 12 so recently. I'd definitely drink this again, though.



Zymurgical Explorations grade: B+

Stone India Pale Ale | ZE Beer Review

This is a classic IPA, and yet I've never really thought it was a top-notch beer. As move as I love Stone, especially their Ruination DIPA, this one leaves me somewhat cold. Nonetheless, it's a solid IPA and almost the definition of a West-Coast-style IPA.



Zymurgical Explorations rating: B

Fullers ESB | ZE Beer Review

My friend Jake joins me for this review. Thanks Jake!

I love English Special Bitters, and this one is pretty much the classic example of the style, one of the originators as far as I know. Jake wanted to do a beer review with me, and I let him pick the beer -- this was what he picked. Fine by me!



Zymurgical Explorations grade: A-
Jake's grade: A-/B+

St. Bernardus Abt 12 | ZE Beer Review

St. Bernardus is the brewery that at one time had the contract to brew for Westvleteren. My understanding is that this beer is about as close as you can get to Westy 12 without actually drinking Westy 12.

I'd had this before, but not for a couple of years, and I believe this bottle was fresher than the bottles I'd had in the past. In any case, this was a really great experience and I think that shows on camera.



Zymurgical Explorations grade: A+