Mould's Beer Blog

You don't have to void your wallet of hard-earned cash when you want to pick up some good beer.  If you happen to live near a Trader Joe's  that sells beer (sorry Pennsylvania), then I have some suggestions for you to try. First off is the Mission St Anniversary Ales.  They are brewed and bottled in 22 oz. bottles for Trader Joe's by Steinhaus Brewing Co, which is really Firestone Walker Brewing.  They have been releasing a new Mission St. Anniversary each year for the last several years.  From my memory, last year's Anniversary Ale was good, but 2014's release is great.  Sweet caramel and dark fruits up front, with a burst of citrus at the end of each sip, on top of a layer of alcohol makes this beer incredibly tasty.  And it only gets better with each sip as it warms.  Steinhaus/Firestone classify this beer as an Imperial Brown Ale, and it comes in at a warming 8.5% abv.  Oh, and the 22 oz. bottle was $2.99!  Missi...

Hey all, thanks for coming by!  Hope you're all having a great weekend.  I thought I would try and sneak in some beer notes on this Saturday night.  As an after dinner treat, I am opening a bottle of Firestone Walker Brewing Company's Velvet Merlin.  Velvet Merlin is an oatmeal stout, and is released in the winter months as a seasonal beer.  Time for a drink...   Firestone Walker Velvet Merlin     Velvet Merlin Firestone Walker Brewing Company Oatmeal Stout 5.5% ABV 27 IBUs Bottled on January 8, 2013 12 oz. bottle poured into my Ithaca Beer Co. pint glass Firestone Walker Velvet Merlin     Firestone Walker Velvet Merlin pours black with a little bit of red around the sides when held up to the light.  There is a one finger width tan white head which recedes fairly quickly.  The aroma and flavor are both of roasted malt, milk chocolate and coffee beans.  It drinks very easily, and is not too ...

What's up everyone, thanks for coming by!  I've got some more states up over on my Brewery Maps page.  Check them out and let me know how they could be more useful to you!   Tonight I am trying my first beer from Firestone Walker, their Black Rye IPA Wookey Jack.  Wookey Jack won a gold medal in this year's Great American Beer Festival in the American-style black ale category.  This is a pretty highly regarded beer which I found on a local beer shop's shelf for fairly cheap.  Firestone Walker suggests drinking this beer within 120 days of the bottling date.  This beer was bottled on July 19, so it's a little bit past its prime.  It may not be at peak, but I have a feeling it will be just fine! Wookey Jack Firestone Walker Brewing Co. 8.3% ABV 80 IBUs Bottled on 07/19/12 Fun Fact:  Unfiltered.  Anyone know where the name Wookey Jack comes from? Wookey Jack pours a dark, dark brown, almost black color.  I...