Pete Giovinco Socktoberfest

The other bottle Pete gave me was his Socktoberfest. While I didn't feel yesterday's beer suffered from the age, I'm thinking this one faded quite a bit since it was fresh way back when. Not sure when he brewed it either so it might even be a bit older than August.

Sweet caramel nose though a little milder than I expect it used to be. Caramel and apple started things off, which were nice, but then a little bit of oxidation and cardboard flavors came out. The latter flavors are almost definitely from the age of the bottle which is totally my fault. If it tasted only like the initial caramel flavor when it was fresh, then this was probably pretty decent then. As it is, it was totally fine and still enjoyable but not as good as his Holy Smoked Rye Lager.

Pete Giovinco Holy Smoked Rye Lager

Pete gave me this near the end of August and I sort of misplaced it in a box with some other beer. I was a little worried it wouldn't be as good now since it's a few months older, but turns out it was still pretty tasty. I'm assuming it's a smoked rye lager as otherwise the name would just be confusing.

Chocolate, caramel, roast, and slightly smoky in the nose. Pretty complex. Smoky rye body followed with chocolate and caramel finishing things up. Nice creaminess to it all as well. The rye adds a little spice, keeping it from being too sweet which is good. Really enjoyed this one. Nice job by Pete and his friends.

Pete Giovinco Thyme Machine

Another of Pete's homebrews crossed my doorstep and this one was a pale ale brewed with thyme. Originally Pete was going to name this Thyme Bomb but they changed it at some point and decided on Thyme Machine instead. Let me say, thyme bomb may not be the name, but that's certainly still the theme.

Big thyme nose. Shocking description, I know, but man, it smelled like thyme. Crazy. Basically like drinking a glass of thyme. There's a nice mild pale ale underneath but every sip started and ended with thyme. Was it good? Was it bad? I'm honestly not sure. Actually, no, I don't think it was bad. Bizarre as all hell but not bad. It did go decently with my pizza I'll say that. But, heck, if homebrewing isn't about experimenting then I don't know what the point is so kudos to them for trying something even if I don't think I ever want to have another taste of this one again.

Also, don't forget I'm in Belgium now. Look for some quick write ups over the next few days.

Pete Giovinco 60 (Min)otaur IPA

My buddy Pete gave me a bottle of his homebrew IPA and I finally opened it last night. They named it 60 (Min)otaur IPA. Get it? Pretty sure they didn't hop it for sixty continuous minutes though.

Nice bright citrusy nose. No hint of bitterness. Really impressive nose for an IPA, forget a homebrew. Decent body. Not thick, but nice. Started with mild flavors of orange juice and some sweetness. No hint of bitterness in the finish. I don't know if it was lightly hopped in the beginning of the boil and then more heavily near the end or what but however they made it, they did a real good job. We'll see if the thyme beer they gave me is as good.

Jabroni En Garde

En Garde is one of the homebrews that my buddy Pete brought to the beer tasting the other night. It's a Biere de Garde according to him.

Peppery nose with some breadiness to it. Not as much spiciness in the first sip though. Some bitterness followed but very mild. Decently clean finish. As it warmed up, I started getting more notes of clove which was really interesting. I'm guessing it's a result of the yeast but regardless it makes the beer much better.

Pete G Mr. Bawk Ba Gawk Weizenbawk

After our last beer tasting, my friend left me an extra bottle of his homebrew weizenbock. Mr. Bawk Ba Gawk, and I got around to drinking it last week.

Smelled of bananas and caramel. Pretty decent nose. Thick mouthfeel. Some spiciness, some breadiness, and a bit of alcohol in the first sip. The flavors stayed pretty much consistent throughout the glass. Flavors weren't quite as strong as the nose would have you expect. Some of the banana and caramel flavors just didn't come through. I'm not sure if it was overly sweet which killed some of the more subtle flavors or what. Still, decent homebrew weizenbock as it's a difficult style to pin down and I've definitely had worse commercial versions.

Unmarked Bottle of homebrew from Pete G

Sorry about the hiatus, but I'm finally back after moving to my new house and getting internet installed.  For my triumphant return, I'm just doing something simple, an unmarked homebrew from my buddy Pete.

He gave me this bottle a while ago and I quickly forgot what style it was supposed to be.  Instead of just texting him to find out, I decided to see if I could guess.  At least it was well carbonated as you can see in the picture.  Slightly perfumy hop nose, mildly pine.  Some hop notes, a little malt, a little caramel, and maybe a little banana (but that may have just been my imagination).  My basic guess is that this is an Amber / Red Ale.  Not as hoppy as an IPA, but too hoppy for a scotch ale.  Just like Troegs Hopback, this is a nice mix of the two without either overpowering.  Tasty homebrew.

Nyuk Nyuk Nyut Nut Brown Ale

The brown ale was the third of the original bottles my friend Pete gave me a while back.  The Black Double IPA was quite good while the Dark Sour Wheat was, well, slightly bizarre (and probably a result of infection.)

Pretty great nose on this actually.  Malty with a decent amount of caramel.  Unfortunately, the smell was a bit more impressive than the flavors.  A little bready, a small bit of tanginess and a few raisin and plum notes initially.  Very little caramel flavor compared to the nose.  The other slight oddity was that Pete called it a nut brown and, well, it really wasn't. Sorry Pete!  Still, it was way better than the Abita I drank the other day so Pete's better than some production breweries at least.

Why I Oughta IPA

I realized I still had a bottle of my buddy's Black Double IPA (his words) in the beer refrigerator and figured I should drink it while it's still sort of fresh.  I had it once before during the second beer tasting and thought it was pretty tasty.  This time I haven't had like six beers before it and thought it was still really good.

Inviting aroma of pine and orange peel.  Lots of citrus and pine notes up front with a pleasant roasty finish.  Some sweetness balances a slight lingering bitterness.  The best part, at least for me, is that the bitterness from the hops never overwhelms the palate and just kind of lives on the edge.  I'm a big fan of balanced IPAs and found the roasted finish to be one of the better ones I've found in black IPAs that I've had.  Nice job Pete.

Wise Guy Weizen

I opened up my buddy Pete's homebrew the other day.  He recently gave me three and this one was a dark sour wheat and named Wise Guy Weizen.  And, yes, all have a Three Stooges theme.

Fluffy head that dissipated quickly.  I smelled bananas, some caramel and a tiny bit of tanginess.  First sip and my thought was, "Wow that's unique."  Bananas and an odd fruity edge followed by a musty wheatiness.  As it warmed, it had a pleasant sweetness mixed with a little sourness.  Kind of goes back and forth.  Not bad and certainly unique.  Nice Pete.