Propeller Skies

After eating a delicious sandwich at Feast, recurring Propeller Skies character The Professor and I strolled through Decatur. We stopped at Java Monkey to sample a good* keg of beer from Old Savannah Brewing Company**. Unfortunately, Java Monkey’s keg cooler was dead. Fortunately, Java Monkey has an extensive bottled beer selection put together by someone with a brain.

As Saltation recommended***, I tried an actual imported from Belgium saison ale. I selected Dupont Saison Ale from the menu, as it is from Belgium and has the requisite champagne style cork. Dupont Saison Ale is mighty tasty and loaded with carbonation. The bright and hoppy flavor of Dupont Saison Ale made it great for quaffing on a scorching fall day in the Dirty South.

Dupont Saison Ale is premium as fuck. Additionally, Java Monkey is mighty smoove.

notes:

* On a recent visit by The Professor, Java Monkey staff informed him they had a good keg from Old Savannah, which should be sampled early and often, as kegs from this new micro brewery are extremely inconsistent.
** Alert Propeller Skies readers will recall I was less than impressed with Old Savannah’s efforts at the 2006 East Atlanta Beer Festival.
*** Saltation originally commented on Red Sky at Night Saison Ale.

Normally, tree hugging hippies anger me. I do agree with them on some things, like free love, but non-stop peace, love, and happiness makes me want to rip the heads off live kittens, microwave cute puppies, and take a gas powered weed whacker to fields of picturesque flowers.

The people at Buckeye Brewing may be a bunch of no good tree hugging stoners, but they manufacture a damn tasty IPA, mitigating their shortcomings. The Frequent Updater introduced me to Buckeye Brewing’s exquisite Hippie India Pale Ale (IPA) when I met her in Columbus. So when news hit that Hunter would be visiting Atlanta - strip city, I requested he bring some premium Hippie IPA. Despite only one store in Columbus carrying Hippie IPA, Hunter tracked it down and came through in a big way.

Like all good IPAs, this one is astringent and hoppy but not overwhelming. Citrus is the main flavor of Hippie IPA. Some grapefruit notes exist, but very faintly. Pine flavors are minimal, which I like. The finish is drier than the Mojave Desert, with a slight alcohol burn. Carbonation is excessive for my taste, but handy if one wants to belch the alphabet as a parlor trick.

Hippie IPA is a premium brew. All five Propeller Skies readers are strongly advised to try Buckeye Brewing’s Hippie IPA if ever coterminous with the Ohizzy.

Surprisingly, Propeller Skies has far more influence than I suspected. I dropped into Green’s to pick up Loose Cannon India Pale Ale (IPA) along with Red Sky at Night Saison Ale and discovered they were fresh out of the IPA. So, I purchased Titan IPA from the Great Divide Brewing Company in Colorado.

Titan IPA lacks a powerful hops punch and has less flavor than IPAs like Loose Cannon, Saranac, and Southern Tier. While the requisite grapefruit notes and bitterness do exist, pine flavors are overwhelming. Titan IPA is a good second string brew when nothing else is available. I prefer it to Sweetwater IPA.

While at Green’s purchasing Loose Cannon India Pale Ale, I picked up Red Sky at Night Saison Ale, also part of Clipper City Brewing Company’s Heavy Seas line.

Red Sky at Night is a Belgian country style ale. I am not fond of Belgian beers, as they have a nasty habit of making them out of wheat. However, Red Sky at Night is a supremely zesty brew. It blows away other Belgian style beers I have sampled, like the utterly disgusting Blue Moon, or actual Belgian beers such as Hoegaarden. All five Propeller Skies readers are strongly encouraged to try Red Sky at Night.

Both The Sandy Springs Baller and The Arkansas Player agree Red Sky at Night is mighty tasty.

Last week, I found myself eating dinner at Rock Bottom Brewery in the Buckhead Shooting Gallery™. As an appetizer, I ordered a Rock Bottom India Pale Ale (IPA). Although tasty, I was disappointed because none of the trademark grapefruit notes were present and the beer was not at all bitter. This beer would be a decent American Pale Ale, but is certainly not an IPA.

Alert Propeller Skies readers will recall I imbibed some Loose Cannon India Pale Ale (IPA), served by a smokin’ hot blonde Taco Mac bartender named Elizabeth, about a month ago on a debaucherous Virginia Highlands Pub Crawl. To my eternal delight, while on the way to Mizzo and Deezy’s crib with The Beaver last week, I found some Loose Cannon at Green’s on Ponce DeLeon. So I bought a six pack.

Loose Cannon is one zesty IPA. I enjoyed the powerful hops flavor with distinct grapefruit overtones. In contrast to the previously reviewed Sweetwater IPA, Loose Cannon has a delicious bitterness. All five Prizzo Skeezy readers should roll up on Green’s and get you some Loose Cannon.

Last Saturday, I picked up a six pack of Sweetwater India Pale Ale (IPA). Forget finding details of how the beer pours, the mouth feel, and all that shit on Propeller Skies. A Good Beer Blog already does that better. I found this beer too sweet. There is some grapefruit in the hops, but no bitter payoff that makes IPAs so excellent.

Smoove D is standing in front of the beer cooler at Wegmans, looking to purchase some tasty Saranac when the following conversation takes place:

“Why don’t you try some Phin and Matt’s Pale Ale?”

“Never heard of it. Besides, it’s brewed in Lakewood, how good can it be?”

“It says best beer in the galaxy right on the side.”

“That’s likely. Besides, $7.49 a six pack is a little pricey when the Saranac is only $5.49 and I know it’s good.”

I get home and ask the internet what it thinks of Southern Tier Brewing. Results are favorable and the brewery hosts tours on Saturdays at four, so I add it to my Palm.

Later in the week, after Saranac supplies are exhausted, I pick up some of Phin and Matt’s Extraordinary Ale. At home, I crack open a bottle with low expectations. Much to my surprise, it was extremely zesty and might replace Sierra Nevada Pale Ale as my favorite beer. In the interest of scientific inquiry, a head to head taste test will take place.

Saturday, we arrive for the tour, slap down five ducats each, and begin tasting. We start off with a Triple, Belgian style, which is all right. Next, an India Pale Ale is served - very tasty and a bit brighter than the Saranac IPA I drank earlier in the week. Phin and Matt’s Extraordinary Ale follows the IPA. Hops Sun - a summer brew - comes next. I like it, but the IPA is a better warm weather beer. Finally, Porter is served and is very good.

The bartender fills our glasses one last time and we set off on the tour, led by Phin. He offers us a sample of something new called Big Red. The beer is all right, but the others are tastier. Next, Phin provides samples of an Imperial IPA. I found it good, but overly strong. I would have loved this beer in college.

I highly recommend Southern Tier Brewing.

Reading Esquire’s article on the best bars in America put me in the mood to have a drink. Specifically a Rob Roy. Unfortunately, according to the rules a Rob Roy can only be imbibed during winter. Rules are for suckers.

I was also feeling some regional pride and decided to modify the recipe and introduce some Dirty South Flavor. No city in the Dirty South is filthier than New Orleans, so I looked there for inspiration. I came up with the following and had three for quality control purposes:

• 2 ounces of blended scotch;
• 1/2 ounce of sweet vermouth; and
• a dash of Peychaud bitters.

Combine ingredients over cracked ice in a mixing glass and stir. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Drink.

Satan’s Whiskers is a long forgotten semi-sweet digestif made with gin, Italian and French vermouth, Grand Marnier, and orange bitters. Good luck finding orange bitters. However, I will provide a hint for aspiring mixologists - Fee Brothers.

Satan’s Whiskers is an excellent smooth cocktail ideal for sipping after a large meal. For example, this drink provides a nice counterpoint to all the tomato and cheese goodness of Nancy’s zesty deep dish pizza.