Beer of the Weekend @ 5

It is eight o’clock and I do not have any obligations tonight. April has been a long, tiring month, so I thought I would sit back with a brew (a Mendocino Black IPA), watch the Cubs (via the Fox Sports San Diego feed on MLB Network, oddly), and look back at the fifth year of Beer of the Weekend.

April 19 marked the fifth anniversary of my first Beer of the Weekend post. Five years. Damn. Should I be making a big deal out of it? Other than wondering, “Has it really been that long?” It certainly does not feel like it — probably because the years have been so tasty.

I have drank a lot of beer since that first tasting. (I have often thought about revisiting Red Seal Ale for the hell of it.) Not much has changed since those first, awkward posts. Each new tasting fits in a standard template — perhaps to the point of predictability. Every week I seem to use the term “dissipated” when describing the head of a beer. I have tried not to in the past couple months and need to continue to challenge myself not to rely on tired old words and descriptions.

Speaking of tired old words, I am going to say it again: I need to try shittier beers. Honestly, though, I no longer vet my choices as I once did. But, having spent so much time in the beer aisle, I know what to avoid. I shy away from new, mostly untested breweries (or breweries I know that have bad reviews). I also judge beers by their labels. I need to stop that. (When I think of shitty beer, I always think of the Stevens Point Brewery and its pointy-headed mascot. I have no clue why. (David Lynch had Eraserhead. Stevens Point has Pencil Head.) I did try Nude Beach Summer Wheat, and it did not make a good first impression. If anything screams “Don’t try this,” it is a man with a pointy head.)

Anyway, here are the beers I tried this year.

#348: Madhaus Dunkelweizen (B+)
#349: Cain’s Finest Bitter (C+)
#350: Millstream Cabin Fever Doppelbock (B)
#351: Cain’s Dark Mild (B-)
#352: Curmudgeon Old Ale (B+)
#353: Honker’s Ale (B-)
#354: Black Top (B)
#355: Innstadt Original-Hell (B+)
#356: Innstadt Pilsener (B)
#357: U.S. Pale Ale (C+)
#358: Buffalo Sweat (B)
#359: Ettaler Curator (B)
#360: Summit Dunkel Weizen (B)
#361: Grain Belt Nordeast (C/C+)
#362: Shift Pale Lager (B)
#363: Saphir Hopped Maibock (C+/B-)
#364: Tallgrass IPA (B)
#365: Halcyon Unfiltered Wheat (C+)
#366: Old Milwaukee (C)
#367: Blue Heron Pale Ale (B-)
#368: White Hawk Select IPA (B)
#369: 8-Bit Pale Ale (B)
#370: Nude Beach Summer Wheat (C-)
#371: Old Style (D+)
#372: Adnams Broadside (B)
#373: Hop Head Red (B+)
#374: Schlafly Hefeweizen (C)
#375: Rayon Vert (B+)
#376: Velvet Rooster (B+)
#377: Hinterland Saison (A-)
#378: Ommegang BPA (A-)
#379: Le Freak (A-)
#380: Alaskan Summer Ale (B)
#381: CynicAle (B+/A-)
#382: Hell (B+)
#383: Bitter Brewer (A-)
#384: Zombie Dust (A+)
#385: Sheaf Stout (B-)
#386: Schlafly Pumpkin Ale (A-)
#387: Breakfast Stout (A-)
#388: Furious (A-)
#389: Bender (B+/A-)
#390: Schlafly Oktoberfest (C+)
#391: Black Hawk Stout (B+)
#392: Stone Smoked Porter (B+)
#393: Double Stout (B+)
#394: Innstadt Passauer Weiße (B)
#395: Staghorn Octoberfest (B+)
#396: Founders Porter (B+)
#397: Great Pumpkin Imperial Stout (B+)
#398: Bluebird Premium XB (C)
#399: Sublimely Self-Righteous Ale (A)
#400: This One Goes to 11 Ale (A)
#401: Krušovice Cerne (C+)
#402: Snowstorm 2012 (B+/A-)
#403: Hitachino Nest Extra High (XH) (A-)
#404: Straffe Hendrik Quadruple (A-)
#405: Big Cock IPA (A-)
#406: Nøgne Ø Winter Ale (A)
#407: Nøgne Ø Peculiar Yule (B+)
#408: Mendocino Oatmeal Stout (B)
#409: Abbot Ale (B-)
#410: Yellow Snow IPA (B)
#411: Anchor Christmas Ale 2012 (B)
#412: Shiner Wild Hare Pale Ale (B-)
#413: Leinenkugel’s Creamy Dark (C+)
#414: Samuel Adams White Christmas (C+)
#415: Old Fezziwig Ale (B+)
#416: Hipster Ale (A-)
#417: Mikkeller Saaz (B)
#418: Samuel Adams Chocolate Bock (B)
#419: Samuel Adams Winter Lager (B-)
#420: Samuel Adams Holiday Porter (B+)
#421: Mikkeller Simcoe (A-)
#422: Mikkeller Warrior (A-)
#423: Watch Man IPA (B)
#424: Summit Horizon Red Ale (B+)
#425: Mikkeller Challenger (A-)
#426: Mikkeller Mt. Hood (B)
#427: Monty Python’s Holy Grail Ale (B)
#428: Mikkeller Bravo (B+)
#429: Tetley’s Smoothflow (C+)
#430: Crosscut Pale Ale (B+)
#431: Avec les Bons Voeux de la Brasserie Dupont (B+)
#432: Coffee Bender (B+)
#433: Mankato Original (C+)
#434: Back in Black (B)
#435: Steelhead Extra Pale Ale (B-)
#436: Dethhanger Quadruple Brown Ale (C-)
#437: Roller Dam Red Ale (C+)
#438: Big Sky IPA (B+)
#439: Stone Pale Ale (B)
#440: Two Hearted Ale (B+)
#441: All Day IPA (B)
#442: Long Hammer IPA (C)
#443: Uncommon Stout (B-)
#444: Best Brown Ale (B+)
#445: Aaah Bock (A-)
#446: Sága IPA (B+)
#447: Brew Free! Or Die IPA (B+)
#448: Dig (B)
#449: Kaiserdom Club-Malz (N/A)
#450: Mendocino Black IPA (A)

The Primo Island Lager BotW@5 Worst Beer Award: I would pick Kaiserdom Club-Malz, but it is not beer. Nothing else comes to mind immediately, but looking through the list I see that Old Style holds the distinction of having the lowest grade: D+. It is somewhat fitting since the Cubs are losing, 9-4. (They gave up a solo homer for the Padres’ ninth run just as I was writing that.) Honestly, Old Style deserves it. In the review I wrote, “Instead of being cursed by a goat, I think the Cubs are cursed by Old Style.” Enough said.

BotW@5 Best Beer Award: Zombie Dust. Not only was it the only beer to garner an A+ grade this past year, it is by far the best pale ale I have ever had.

BotW@5 Ultimate Six-pack: Zombie Dust, Hinterland Saison, Bitter Brewer, This One Goes to 11 Ale, Nøgne Ø Winter Ale, and Mendocino Black IPA.