December 18 - Roy Pitz - Daddy Fatsacks

 Roy Pitz Brewing Company - Daddy Fat Sacks

Ok...let's be honest for a second.  If you tell me you've never bought something because of either the packaging or the name, you would be a liar.  Now that we're on the same page and being honest with each other, that is EXACTLY why I bought this beer.  I mean, really, Daddy Fat Sacks?  That's like the epitome of a metaphor for Santa Claus, right?

The Original Daddy Fat Sacks

Roy Pitz Brewing Company, which is a new one to me, is just down the road a bit in Chambersburg, PA.  After looking at the bottle and the strange label that accompanied it, I had to visit the website.  Turns out that these guys are all about creating "liquid art".  It looks like their labels are as creative as their beers.  There are the 4 flagship beers, along with 4 seasonal beers, and 18 specialty brews that are listed on the site.  The brew with the most intriguing name is a specialty released in January called Chicken Leg Oatmeal Stout.  It gets me curious enough to think that maybe they use chicken in the beer?  Probably not, but I'd give it a shot anyway!

...I bet Ludacris would too

Tonight's beer is an American IPA according to Roy Pitz's website.  My go-to beer app Untappd listed it as a Double IPA.  Either way, I can't pass up a new IPA to try, so let's get to it!

I decided to use my specialty Dogfish Head IPA glass to taste this beer tonight and gave it a hefty pour as you can see by the photo.  The head was ginormous!  The beer poured a cloudy, golden orange color.  Upon further inspection it looked like someone dropped a yeast bomb in the glass because there was flakes of sediment everywhere in here which turned me off at first, but I decided to keep an open mind.  This wasn't the first time I've seen sediment in a beer glass before.

...or in a carboy...I drink my own yeast when I brew, so why not someone else's?

The aroma was a floral hop bouquet that had earthy notes and grapefruit.  There was also some malt presence here too, which exhibited itself as mostly a bready, yeasty aroma. 

The taste of this brew threw me off since I was initially expecting a DIPA instead of an American IPA.  There was much more sweet malt flavor compared to the overabundance of hops that I expected.  There was definitely a mild citrus hop bite (and I mean mild) that was predominantly grapefruit.  Even for an American IPA, there wasn't much bitterness here whatsoever.  If you followed the link above, most beers in this style category are much hoppier than this was.  I truly expected to be blown away by hops with this IPA.

I would definitely drink this beer as another go-to IPA if it were more readily available in my area.  The ABV is up there at 7.5% but there is virtually no alcohol presence here at all.  I do enjoy my hops, but the balance here between sweet malt and bitter hops is ridiculous.  I don't know that I've ever seen a more balanced beer in this respect.  For the IPA hater (and I know a few) this may be a safe bet to possibly venture into the realm of the hoppy.  As for the IPA lover, you still get your hop fix while appreciating a well-crafted brew from a local craft brewery. 



A solid 3.5 / 5 hops tonight!



December 21

 December 21 - Rogue Santa's Private Reserve

 

Taking things down a notch tonight after a Christmas party last night (Mad Elf last night was enough for me!).  A new beer for me, Rogue's Santa's Private Reserve, is a double-hopped red ale that pours with a nice head to it. 

 

I got very little from the aroma of this beer.  There is a mild amount of spiciness and maybe a biscuit aroma, but other than that, I got nothing.  The mouth feel of this beer is roasted and very malty.  The maltiness stays with you as you drink it while it finishes with a mild hop bitterness at the end.  As I continued to drink this beer, the hop finish got thicker and thicker on my palate.

 

Overall, if this is Santa's Private Reserve that he saves for this time of year, he clearly isn't a connoisseur of beer.  There really isn't anything that stands out here.  At 6% ABV, he must have a few and still manage to get and the work done for all of the good little girls and boys.  I guess he wouldn't want to be stumbling all over the place while managing those elves.  They'd probably run amuck and actually start doing those things that parents stage for the Elf on the Shelf pictures they throw on Facebook (you have way too much time on your hands by the way...).

 

  I'll let Frosty rate this one accordingly (he looks thirsty in the background, doesn't he?) with a Ho Ho Ho! out of a possible Ho Ho Ho Ho Ho! (3 out of 5 if you don't see what I did there).

 

 

Frosty says, "mmmm..."