So, where was I?  Oh yes,  St. Peter’s cream stout.  Another beer bought on the basis of appearance.  The bottle, with the dark nearly-opaque beer in it, looks like old-timey motor oil that was poured into a Model T.  I had already tried their Sorgham Beer, which was blander than those little white plastic-coated pieces of paper that you peel off a band-aid before applying to your shaving accident.  And this stout?  Let’s just say that St. Peter was an understated, subtle beer brewer, and while his stout is a taste explosion compared to the Sorgham Beer, it’s about the most mellow bland stout I’ve ever tasted.  That’s not necessarily a bad thing, if you’re into a more subtle taste experience.  Let’s just say that this beer is a refined classical sonata for a string quartet in three movements, and this reviewer is stumbling back out of the auditorium to go blast some Styx on his eight-track.

Ok, these are all of the beers that I remember either coughing up a token to taste or stealing a sip of something Frosty grabbed.

Anderson Valley Brewing Co
Summer Solstice Cerveza Crema – I don’t recall liking this one, but for the life of my I can’t remember why.   I think it had a great punch on the first sip, then it just disappeared leaving nothing behind.
Boulder Beer Co
Kinda Blue – For a blueberry beer, this was pretty good.   Much better than the Bluebeery one that Frosty got.   This one is made from real berries rather than the other one’s “extract”   Ick.    I’d drink more of this one if it showed up in my beer fridge.
BridgePort Brewery
Stumptown Tart – This was actually my first taste of this year’s Tart.   I’ve had one sitting in the beer fridge for a couple of months and never got around to having an occasional special enough to crack it open.   It was good, but I think I like some of the previous ones better.
Golden Valley Brewery
Festival Kölsch – Yup, it was a Kolsch.  Snoooze.  Next beer please.
Laht Neppur Brewing Co
Strawberry Cream Ale – This one was faintly strawberry-ee, and after hearing from Frosty that other folks thought it was horrible, I had to try it.   I was pleasantly surprised by it.   It tasted good, but I don’t think I’ll stock it in the beer fridge.
Moylan’s Brewing Co
Pomegranate Wheat – By far my favorite beer of the fest.    I even sprang for a whole mug of this stuff after my first taste.   The wheat malt and pomegranate work very well together and I was really, really surprised by how well they pulled this tasty beer off.   Bravo!
Santa Cruz Mountain Brewing
Olallieberry Cream Ale – This one tasted exactly like a Shasta Soda from my youth.   Very fizzy, very berry, and not very beery.
Three Creeks Brewing Co
Creekside Kölsch – Yup, it was another Kolsch.  Snoooze.    I like Kolsch beer, but these two didn’t do anything special for me.
I’m looking forward to next year already, if only to get some more of the freshly roasted nuts from the vendor I can’t remember the name of.   Sigh.

Happy 4th 4th fellow swillers.

Samuel Smith’s Organic Strawberry Fruit Ale (0/6)
Don’t drink this. Its terrible in a way that only bad fruit ale can be. Rancid sharp strawberry flavor, in otherwise fine ale. Admittedly, I didn’t expect it to be any good, but even I was surprised just how little I was able to drink before I had to pour it out.

Red Hook 8-4-1 Expedition Ale (1/6)
Your mileage may vary on this one, but I just didn’t like it. There was something about it that didn’t jive with my taste buds, and I was generally unhappy with the results. It’s not terrible, rather just the epitome of “That boy ain’t right”.

Full Sail LTD 02 (4/6)
Yay LTD! I just love this stuff. It’s on the maltier end of the Easy Drinkin’ spectrum, but it definitely qualifies as a cooler filler if the occasion arises.

Bridgeport Blue Heron Pale Ale (4/6)
Up to this point, Bridgeport’s Haymaker was holding the crown as one of my favorite Easy Drinkin’ beers. But now that I have had this, I think Bridgeport may have unseated itself. It’ll be perfect for the July 4th BBQ, when you force those family members who drink Budweiser products (…sorry I just threw up a little in my mouth…) to drink quality beer. Easy, non-offensive, tasty.

Great Divide Collette Farmhouse Ale (5/6)
I like Farmhouse Ales, but usually just for tasting. They tend to be a bit strong for a six pack or even a full 22. Collette, however, is an exception. This ale is great. And, although being farmhouse tasty (mmm…farm taste), its mellow enough to be had regularly. Or in large quantities *drunken stumble*

Widmer Sunburn Ale (2/6)
The blogosphere gave this beer a lot of happy thoughts recently, but I just didn’t see why. Widmer has decided to use some new “Citra-hop” variety of hops, which although novel, is super distracting to the taste. Its like beer flavored orange juice. Not a fan.

Dick’s Pale Ale (2/6)
Despite promising to do a huge run of Dick’s posts, I purposefully didn’t mention this one. Not because it’s bad, but just because it practically non-existent. It takes Pale to a new level by being the taste equivalent to translucence (see I know big words!).

Jonathan Edwards “Lost Finale” Lager (4/6)
I round out this blast of posts with a nod to our favorite local homebrewer Jonathan Edwards. Recently, he dropped this German Lager down on my desk, and I can happily say it was yet another notch in his impressive homebrew collection. Its crisp yummy taste helped drown out the sorrows of watching the Lost Finale. And made me buzzed enough to not care about the cheesy cork in the island scene. Prost!