I don’t know about y’all. But long walks can either be relaxing, a time for reflection, or just down right annoying. Last night, whilst traveling back from the local mecca of craft beer (Austin) the transmission in my truck decided to burn itself out. I don’t know if the 124,000 original miles were too much for it, or the cool fall(ish) air did not adequately cool it off as I was driving back roads, but regardless it began to falter. Now, when I rolled it off the road to a stop I was faced with a dilemma which sparked a thought it in my mind. When faced with a 12mi walk… what do you do? I originally speculated that I was faced with an “eight beer” walk. Now, in hindsight, and with assistance from the odometer on my parents Suburban, I’ve come to realize that it was most certainly at least a “twelve pack” walk. Lucky for me, I did not have to make the trek in my short sleeve pearl snap and ariats. However, had the need arose, I was armed with a six pack of Gravel Road from Rahr and Sons. I would have likely run out of beer before I even arrived at Ranch Road 12 which is still a solid 8mi from my parents home. I also had a bottle of 14 Hands cabernet sauvignon, but no corkscrew on my person. (Memo to me to buy one for my truck for occasions such as this.)

So, the question arises, have you ever made a long walk armed with beer? I know at Chilifest in Snook, Texas. I often will “load up” my koozie belt (See picture at bottom of post) and walk around the thirty thousand drunk rednecks looking for friends and acquaintances. Or how about at the beach? When times get tough, is there really anything better than a walk on the beach armed with a couple of Shiners and good company?

This morning I want to talk about beers that were questionable, but quite pleasing when you began to drink them. Now, I have had a handful of beers that I just kind of looked at… made a weird face (For those of y’all that know me, you know the face) and then drank anyways. I mean, hell, it is beer, it has to be good right? (Correction: It SHOULD be good, it is not always…. *cough* Abita). To be specific, I want to mention Monks Cafe. They have a brew, a “Flemish Sour” that is a red ale and quite tasty. Now, when I originally saw this bottle in Specs, I thought to myself “self, we have not had a Flemish Sour before… BUY IT” (That really is my thought process from time to time). A Flemish Sour… I mean, obviously it has to be sour right? Isn’t it Miller Lite that talks about never being bitter? This “Sour” concept went against the media, and everything I knew. From years of talking to home brewers… and reading about home brew… They all say that you don’t want a sour ale right? I mean honestly, who aims to make a sour brew? Well, I decided to buy it to try it. Let me tell you something… well if if you don’t want to “let me” I am going to tell you anyways. All these doubters were wrong. Sour CAN be good. Now, the beer itself poured red, I do enjoy a good red ale (Lookin’ at Killians, Rahr and Sons, etc [Not Sam Adams!]). Now, this is not a beer that I would constantly keep in my fridge, but to shake things up, it is an EXCELLENT choice. Now, what makes the brew sour? an assortment of differing lactic bacteria are introduced into the brewing process. Now, as with all beers, these bacteria will not make you sick unless you overindulge and bring sickness upon yourself. So, if you are looking for a change in pace, something to balance out those Belgium dubbels and tripels… even a quad if you have those laying around, I would highly recommend the Monks Cafe Flemish Sour Ale. Check it out.

Here is a short list of all of the beer bottles that I own. This collection is the basis for what has become BeerwithBlake. I felt as though that I should give y’all some background on just a couple of the beers that I have drank in the past years. Now, there are countless more that I have drank, or even have sitting here on my waiting list in my room. So without further adieu. THE LIST!

American Beers:

Shiner:
Shiner 100 Commemorator
Shiner 101
Shiner 102 Double Wheat
Shiner Black
Shiner Blonde
Shiner Bock.
Shiner Dortmunder
Shiner Dunkelweisen
Shiner Frost
Shiner Hefeweisen
Shiner Holiday Cheer
Shiner Kosmos
Shiner Light
Shiner Light Blonde
Shiner Oktoberfest
Shiner Oldtime
Shiner Smokehaus
Shiner Spezial Leicht
Shiner Ruby Redbird

Sam Adams:
Black Lager
Blackberry Witbier
Boston Lager
Cherry Wheat
Honey Porter
Imperial Double Bock
Irish Red
Lattitude IPA
Noble Pils
Summer Ale
Octoberfest
Sam Adams Light

St. Arnolds:
Amber Ale
Brown Ale
Christmas Ale
Divine Stout 10
Divine Stout 11
Elissa IPA
Lawnmower
Oktoberfest
Spring Bock
Texas Wheat
Winter Stout
Weedwacker

Real Ale Bewing Co.
15th Anniversary Ale
Alamo Golden Ale
Brewhouse Brown Ale
Coffee Porter
Devils Backbone Tripel
Firemans 4
Full Moon Pale Rye Ale
Lost Gold IPA
Oktoberfest
Phoenixx Double ESB
Rio Blanco Pale Ale
Sisyphus 2010
Sisyphus 2007
Sisyphus 2009

Michelob:
Beach Bum Blonde Ale
Dunkelweisse
Genuine Draft
Honey Lager
Marzen
Original
Shocktop
Ultra
Ultra Lime Cactus
Winters Cask Ale

New Belgium Brewing Co.
2 Below Ale
1554
Abbey Belgian Ale
Blue Paddle Pilsner
Fat Tire
Mighty Arrow Pale Ale
Mothership Wit
Somersault
Trippel

Blue Moon:
Blue Moon
Blue Moon Spring Blonde
Blue Moon Winter Abbey Ale
Grand Cru
Harvest Moon Pumpkin Ale
Honey Moon
Pale Moon
Summer Honey Wheat

Saranac:
Andironack Lager
Black Forest
Black & Tan
Brown Ale
India Pale Ale
Pale Ale

Sierra Nevada:
California Common (Beer Camp ’11)
Double IPA (Beer Camp ’11)
Juniper Black Ale (Beer Camp ’11)
Glissade
Kellerweis
Ovila
Porter
Summerfest
Stout
Torpedo
Weizenbock (Beer Camp ’11)

Budweiser:
American Ale
Budweiser
Bud Light
Bud Light Lime
Budweiser Select

Stone Brewing Co.
Arrogant Bastard Ale
Lukcy Basatrd Ale
Stone IPA
Smoked Porter
Old Guardian

Dogfish Head:
Aprihop
60 Minute IPA
90 Minute IPA
Midas Touch
Raison D’Etre

Avery Brewing Co.
Mephistopholes
Samael
The Beast
The Reverend

Deschuttes Brewery:
Black Butte Porter
The Abyss

Coors:
Coors Original
Coors Light

Abita:
Jockamo IPA
Turbo Dog

Ace Pear Cider
American Honor Declaration Ale

Anchor Brewing:
Anchor Steam Ale
Liberty Ale
Porter

Barbary Coast Gold Rush
Bards Gold Sorghum
Berkshire Springs Stock Ale
Blue Dawg Wild Blue
Big Shot Espresso Stout
Big Sky Brewing Co. Moose Drool
Boner Sun-Kissed Wheat
Boulder Beer. Co. Never Summer Ale
Breckenridge Vanilla Porter
Broken Halo IPA
Choc Beer Co. 1919
Crispin Hard Apple Cider
Dixie Lager
Dominion Oak Barrel Stout
Dundee Honey Brown
Florida Beer Company Key West
Flying Dog Garde Dog

Full Sail #3
Full Sail #5
Full Sail Amber

Gordon Biersch Marzen

Harpoon Celtic Red Ale
Harpoon UFO Hefeweizen

Heavy Seas Pale Ale

He’Brew Messiahs Bold
He’Brew Hop Manna

Hole In The Rock Marzen
Independence Brewing Convict Hill
Ipswich IPA
Karl Strauss Amber Lager
Keystone Light
Kingfisher Lager
Lakefront IPA
Lake Placid Ubu Ale
Landshark Lager
Lazy Magnolia Southern Pecan

Leinenkugel 1888 Bock
Leinenkugel Sunset Wheat
Leinenkugel Summer Shandy

Lone Star Beer
Lone Star Light

Lone Rider Shotgun Betty
Longhammer IPA
Lucky Bucket Brewing IPA
Pabst Blue Ribbon
Michigan Brewing Co. Nut Brown Ale
Natural Light

Pyramid Apricot Ale
Pyramid Haywire Hefeweizen

Magic Hat Brewery:
#9 Pale Ale
Blind Faith IPA
Howl Winter Seasonal
Single Chair
Wacko Summer Seasonal
Humble Patience Irish Red
Hex: Ourtoberfest

Peak Organic Winter Session Ale
Penn. Brewery Marzen
Piedmont Porter Old Colonies
Pinstripe Pale Ale

Kona Brewing Co.
Fire Rock Pale Ale
Longboard Island Lager
Pipeline Porter
Wailua

Rahr. & Sons Bucking Bock
Rahr. & Sons Ugly Pug Black Lager
Rahr. & Sons Amber Lager
Rahr. & Sons Texas Red

R. J. Rockers Bellringer
Rock River Lager Beer
Rolling Rock
Sea Dog Hazelnut Porter
Session Black Lager
Southern Star Bombshell Blonde
Squatters Hop Rising Douple IPA
Tejas Bock

Victory Headwaters Pale Ale
Victory Storm King

Wasatch Polygamy Porter
Woodstock Inn Pemi Pale Ale
Wyld Organic Extra Pale Ale
Yuengling Lager
Ziegenbock

Canadian Beer
Labatt Blue
Moosehead Lager
Unibroue Maudite

European Beer:

English Beers

Guinness:
250th Anniversary Stout
Guinness Draught
Extra Stout
Foreign Extra Stout
Harp Lager
Smithwicks

400 Pound Monkey

Brew Dog Paradox
Brew Dog Storm

Bass Imported Pale Ale
Belhaven Scottish Ale
Fullers London Porter
George Killians Irish Red
Hobgoblin Dark English Ale
New Castle Ale
Samual Smiths Oatmeal Stout
Skull Splitter

Williams Brothers Kelpie Seaweed Ale
Williams Brothers Alba Pine Ale

German Beers:

Paulaner:
Hefe-weizen
Oktoberfest Marzen
Salvator

Spaten:
Oktoberfest
Optimator
Premium

St. Pauli Girl
St. Pauli Girl Dark Lager

Becks
Becks Dark Lager

EKU Pils
EKU 28

Celebrator Double Bock
Czechvar
Fruh Kolsch
Gosser Dark Beer (Austria)
Kostriker
Kronenbourg 1664 (France)
Licher Lager
Lomza Mocne
Pilsner Urquell
Sprecher Special Amber (Austria)
Stawski (Poland)
Stella Artois
Trummer Pils

Weihenstephaner
Weihenstephaner Hefe Weissbier

Warsteiner
Weissenohe Monks Fest
Wurzburger Hofbrau

Hollande Beers:
Amstel Light
Bavaria

Heinenken
Heinenken Dark Lager

Hollande 1620
Grolsch

Belgian Beer:
Blanche De Bruxelles
Delirium Nocturnum
Floreffe
Hoegaarden
Leffe
Monks Café
Westmalle Trappist
Wendelinus Biere D’Abbaye

Spanish Beer:
Estrella Damm

Italian Biere:
Peroni Naustro Azzurro

Greek Beer:
Mythos

Asian Beer:
Chang (Thailand)
Kirin Ichiban
Lucky Budda (China)
Hue Beer (Vietnam)
San Miguel Pale Ale
Sapporo
Tsingtao

Lion Imperial (Sri Lanka)
Lion Stout (Sri Lanka)

Russian Beer:
Baltika Porter

South American / Carribean Beers

Mexican Beers:
Bohemia
Corona Extra
Corona Light
Dos XX
Dos XX Amber
Modelo
Sol
Victoria

Argentinian Beer.
Quilmes

Brazilian Beer.
Palma Loucha
Xingu

Jamaican Beer:
Jamaica Stout
Red Stripe

I have had this sitting in my inbox for a couple of days and finally had time to post it for Mr. Scott.

Scott Plattsmier
Review #1 – Racer 5 IPA

For my first review, I thought it would be fitting to go with one of my favorite styles. This led me to Bear Republic’s Racer 5 IPA. I had heard many great things about Racer 5, so it had serious standards to live up to. It exceeded all expectations.

As I poured Racer 5 into my glass its bold, hoppy aroma hit me almost immediately. It was truly beautiful after running around in the Texas heat all day. Then the color: a clear, honey gold with a nice single finger, snow-white head. This IPA had a fragrant floral and subtle citrus nose. I couldn’t wait to palate this beer. Its simplicity was refreshing. A short grapefruit/orange peel citrus was quickly followed by intense floral notes and a lingering hop bitter, yet amazingly smooth finish. I would not recommend this beer to someone who can’t appreciate a little hops, cause this brew’s got a ton (four types, actually), and at 7% ABV this medium-full bodied IPA was quite drinkable. In fact, I confess, I couldn’t stop at just one.
All in all, Racer 5 was a true palate pleaser. I loved its high drinkability – especially for a bigger beer – and for only $10 a six-pack this new favorite of mine is still reasonably affordable, even on a student’s budget. Cheers to you, Bear Republic!

Feel free to comment and share your opinions on Racer 5, we’d love to hear from you! Also, this is my first ever review, so if you feel I missed something please let me know and I’ll do my best to improve on it next time.
For more information on Bear Republic Brewing Co. and its products, visit www.bearrepublic.com.

Now, I can mirror most of what Scott notes, Bear Republic makes a hella good IPA, and if you are the type of person who has sworn off IPAs due to their bitterness and hops (You may have been influenced by the Miller Lite commercials if you don’t think beer needs to be bitter). then I highly recommend that you try this brew. It will rock your world and show you that IPAs can be just as smooth as a porter. If you enjoy your IPAs, and have not had this one yet, again, I highly recommend that you try it I guarantee that you will love it. If you don’t…. then send the unopened bottles to me and I will enjoy them in your stead.

No, really. Free beer. What do I mean? I mean that citizens of a nation deserve a choice when it comes to the beer that they drink. While a laissez faire market should be determining the price and availability of beer, the choice of brand should not be governed by a single corporation. Here in America we take it for granted. We can buy hundreds of different brands of beer, unfortunately the market shares show that we generally purchase Miller-Coors or Anheuser-Busch. These two companies account for eighty percent of the U.S. market, and forty percent of the world market. Now, the plot thickens when you note that Anheuser-Busch also has forty-nine percent of the Mexican conglomerate, Grupo-Modelo.

What does this mean? Well for the time being, it means that corporate beer, controls the costs of beer to you and me the consumer. It also means, that through millions of lobbying dollars that these companies are bossing around labor unions (which I am okay with) but they also seem to have politicians in their back pocket. These companies are able to threaten the closing of local plants and loss of local jobs to curtail any sort of tax increase on their products. For example, a recently proposed ten cent tax increase, per gallon of beer was proposed in the northeast. The result was a three cent increase after the closure of many plants across the politicians constituents cities was threatened. These companies are in fact bullying our form of government. Corrupt much?

I am all about free market, but where do you draw the line? These companies are no longer even based in America. While they may possess a “headquarters building” in Chicago, or St. Louis, business is conducted from Belgium (in the case of Anheuser-Busch, owned by conglomerate InBev). So, this is where I make my moral plee to buy local beer, keep the money in the American economy… not to mention, the beer is better, the jobs stay here, and we all end up happier.

Just something to keep in mind the next time that you reach for that case of Bud Light or Miller Lite.

When it comes to drinking “cheap beer” I usually grab a case of Lone Star, but not everyone can handle Texan beer.

Marin Report on the Beer Duopoly.

I tend to choose the off the wall beers. I mean really, how can a person, in good consciousness “choose” to drink the horsepiss that is known as Natural and Keystone Light? Bud, Miller, and Coors are not far behind in the race to the bottom. I do not care what the market shares say (Search for my post on Free Beer). I just plain do not care for these “pop-beers”. So, that being the case… If I am to attend a party, or river trip, or an event where my glass bottles of premium brewed nectar of the gods is not allowed… Well I am faced with a pair of choices. The first is to not go. Frankly, I don’t like that option. The second is to find an alternative brew to satisfy the constraints of society. Now, I personally am not one to drop a glass bottle in the river, or shatter one at the beach, or even in a bar. However it seems as though over the years some of my peers have stooped to that level.

So what do I drink in these instances? Well, to be honest, I choose beers that I find not necessarily “unique” but beers that I know not a lot of the general population will drink. If I show up with a couple of boxes of Bocks, I am going to be uber popular, and being the nice guy that I am, I will share my beer. So if I intend to actually drink my own beer, and not pay a small fortune for a large quantity, Shiner is right out. This is where two of my steadfasts come in to play. If I can find it… I will buy Pearl. Now… benefits of Pearl, it is relatively inexpensive, and no one has ever heard of it. This means that it is safe from consumption in a fridge that contains everything from Bud Light to Corona, to Keystone to Milwaukees Best. In other words, I get to drink the beer that I brought and not have to be worried about it all disappearing before I get to grab my second or third brew.

Another beer that I will take to parties is Tecate. Not only is it fun to watch people pronounce it, but it is also generally seen as a .79 cent beer and no one wants to grab it. However, truth be told I would rather have a Tecate than a Corona, or a Dos (Unless it is the Amber Dos). This beer not only brings the prestige (if you can say that about Tecate) of sophistication, but it also packs a different flavor than the usual horsepiss in the half empty cans laying around the house when you show up. It gets people asking questions about that little red can.

Thirdly, but not least, a beer that while is not the most flavorful, not the cheapest, certainly not my first choice in usual drinking… But that will always have a special place in my heart, and liver is Lone Star. Now, my bond with Lone Star is mainly because it is what I dunked my Aggie Ring in on November 25th 2009 (See, it stirs up memories from the soul). But the fact that even after drinking an entire pitcher of it in a matter of seconds, I can still drink it to this day.

So in summary, if you are going to drink cheap beers. Go for something out of the ordinary, shake things up a bit, try something outside of your comfort zone. PBR, Pearl, Lone Star, Tecate, etc. You may just be surprised.

As a means to give to you the reader the most balanced view that I can, from time to time I will be featuring guest bloggers to share their thoughts on particular brews. Scott Plattsmier is one such guest blogger whom I suspect will be contributing a good bit of content for your enjoyment. Scott and I met, in a bar in College Station Texas while we were both on a quest to complete the O’bannons Taphouse Beer Tour. We soon discovered that we had similar passions for drinking great craft beer. So without further adieu, here in his own words is Scott.

Howdy!

I’m not sure where to begin, so a brief background is as good a place to start as any. I’m attending Texas A&M University where I’m majoring in Economics. I grew up in NW Houston and moved to College Station in 2006 for school. Like most other college students I went to my share of parties and such, where Keystone Light was always in healthy supply. When I turned 21 I decided to try a new beer once a week as well as collecting their bottles. Although I haven’t kept to that schedule entirely, 20 bottles led to 50, 50 led to 100, and I haven’t stopped since.
I’ve never said no to a new brew, but some definitely appeal to me more than others. Porters and DIPA’s are at the top of my list; Porters for their malt and richness and DIPA’s because, well, I can be a bit of a hophead. Doppelbocks and Tripels are also pretty high up there. I can appreciate certain characteristics of nearly every style, so I don’t have any dislikes per se. I’m also a fan of trying coffee and fruit-infused beers, although the latter can be extremely hit or miss. Basically I love bold and unique brews. Hopefully this gives some insight into my preferences.
Blake and I have stayed up many nights playing dominoes, enjoying some craft brews, and discussing everything from beer news and trivia to solving global issues (Liberal arts majors – Whoop!). I’d like to thank BeerwithBlake.com for allowing me to be a part of this exciting project.
Thanks and Gig’em!

– Scott

The question has been asked of me many times over the years, “Blake, where do you most enjoy drinking beer?” well, short answer? With friends. Longer answer? Allow me to divulge. There are a couple notable locations in which I feel that the beer is colder, the atmosphere is warmer, and the laughter is more prevalent than anywhere else. Locations like the Dixie Chicken will certainly always have a special place in my heart. I cannot even fathom how many nights that I have spent in the old wooden building that was once a mexican food restaurant, and the original site of Loupots bookstore. The old musty smell, the holes worn in the floor from years of walking, dancing, and spilled beer are covered in license plates. The back porch on which many hand of 42 was won or lost. After receiving my Texas A&M class ring, the first place that I went was to the Dixie Chicken where my friends had saved a table and we drank pitchers of cold Shiner Bock beer. One of the most memorable days of my life. Also, the Chicken is where I went after walking the stage on graduation day. The Dixie Chicken on game day in Aggieland is a sight like no other. Ol’ Ags fill the bar and you can hear stories of how Texas A&M was back in the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s. I still try and venture through the swinging doors every time that I visit College Station. The Chicken is the one bar where if a lapse of time between visits ever occurred, the bartender would question me as to where I had been, and then pour my beer. It is also a bar that was so frequented by my friends every Sunday night, that we would walk in through the front doors, walk past the bar, to the kitchen, order our food and when we returned to the bar, our pitcher of cold Shiner was sitting there, ready. We never had to ask the bartender for it, or even mention what we wanted, she had it there for us. The same would go for the next few rounds, we would merely walk up to the bar, line or no line and she would begin to pour our beer.

Another location where the beer is always cold, is Gruene Hall. One thing these two old bars have in common is that neither of them possess liquor licenses. This means that you can get beer, or if you want to shake things up… beer. Both buildings lack air conditioning, the roofs leak in the rain, the pool tables are old and stained, but the character is unmatched. Gruene is a place like no where else in Texas. The oldest operating dancehall in the state, and home to live music most nights of the week. All of the greats have graced the tiny stage of Gruene, George (Jones, and Strait), Merle, Willie, Stevie, and so on. You can just feel the history embedded into the walls, or chicken wire as is the case in Gruene. If the Texas summer heat is too much with the hundreds of bodies swing dancing to Two Tons of Steel on a Tuesday night you can step out into the “backyard” and relax at a table under a tree while the breezes blow from the Gruene River.

However, anywhere, whether it is on the tailgate of a 4×4 truck parked on a caliche road in Bandera, Texas, around a BBQ pit sitting in the parking lot of Dallas Cowboy stadium tailgating before the Cotton Bowl, a corner booth of a quiet bar down on Lamar, or on the back porch of a high rise apartment in Houston, if the beer is cold, and good company is present, you can’t go wrong.

Honestly, let us get to the point. That IS why you are here right? For my opinion on beer. If it was just your opinion, well, I would be reading your blog. So, what beers do I just absolutely keep stocked in my fridge? Well, the answer is not all that straight forward. I do keep Shiner Bock in stock though. In addition to that, you are liable to find anywhere from ten to thirty different beers in my fridge or warm shelf. These beers vary from new beers (ones that I have not tried yet, or that are new releases) to old faithfuls (beers that I just keep because they are so amazing). I even have some beers that I can’t drink yet, “The Abyss” by Deschuttes for example. I have heard rumors that it is supposed to be one of the top five beers in the world. Why haven’t I drank it you may ask? Because 1. I need a special occasion for it. 2. It has a best AFTER (yes, after, not before) date on it. 3. The best after date is mid-November, so I am going to save it for my birthday this year.

As a general rule, I enjoy my Bocks, and Porters. Albeit not in that order. I love a good Marzen, and frankly am oftentimes surprised at the quality (or lack thereof) from some of my favorite breweries on a year to year basis. I shouldn’t be surprised, every years vintage is slightly different dependent on the malts, hops, yeasts and so forth of that agricultural year. Let us take Shiners Smokehaus for example. Smokehaus, which is made with smoked mesquite is a Helles style lager. These beers are light in color, and tend to be brewed in the Summer for a refreshing, light taste. This beer in 2009 was phenomenal! One of my favorite Shiners. I could drink two or three in a sitting, but any more than that just wouldn’t work. It had a delightful smokey flavor that went well with my countless barbeques and cookouts that summer. It also went well with pizza. Shiner brought it back in 2010, and in 2011. Both were disappointments in my mind. Neither vintage possessed the same pizzazz that made the 2009 so awesome.

So, what is my favorite porter? I couldn’t even tell you that. I have had some really good ones, and some that left me wanting to wash my mouth out with gasoline (Here is looking to you “Wild Blue” and “Purple Haze”). Breckenridge Vanilla Porter is awesome, a very smooth, wonderfully mellow vanilla flavor that finishes very calm. Real Ale puts out a “Coffee Porter” now we are talking, two of my favorite things in the world, coffee, and beer. A very smooth porter, but with the kick of coffee. They use Katz’ coffee in the aging process, and the result is one of my choice porters. Another excellent porter, just so I can round it out is Sea Dog’s “Hazelnut Porter” a very nice culmination of hazelnut, with carmel undertones and a smooth finish.

Allow me to interrupt, who am I kidding, this is my blog I will write what I want, when I want. I am currently drinking a beer from “Kelpie” it is a Microbrewery in Scotland. The brew that I am indulging in is a “Seaweed Ale”. You did in fact read that right, a seaweed beer. Ladies and Gentlemen, this beer, OMG. Phenomenal. I read the label before I popped the crown (proper term for bottle cap). The beer is a throwback to the early 19th century when Scotish brewmasters would fertilize their fields of barley with the fresh Argyllian seaweed. This modern day representation however is slightly simpler, the barley is roasted and the malts added to the beer, and in the “mash” process, the “Bladder Rack” seaweed is added into the batch. The aromas that you have tickling your nose as you walk out onto the porch of a beach house in the early morning and that first salt spray touches your skin under the sunrise… That is what this beer tastes like. Not salty, but the experience. It is refreshing in the sense of freedom, with a taste of the sea, mellow and a slight tingle in the back of your throat. If you can get your hands on this microbrewed Scotish Ale, please do.

I enjoy trying off the wall beers, as you can see from the prior paragraphs, hazelnut porter is not something that you will normally find in the beer section at your local supermercado, and an ale that is made with seaweed doesn’t exactly fly off the shelves at your local Specs. If you have any off the wall beers that you have tried, please let me know! (BeerWithBlake@gmail.com) Rest assured, if I can get my hands on it, then I will certainly try it, at least once.

Welcome to BeerWithBlake.com. This site / blog is designed to share with you my experiences with all things beer. This is where you will be able to find my latest tasting notes, as well as my travels to new breweries, and discussions with other beer lovers such as yourself. So, for starters I will begin with a little bit of background information on who I am, and why I drink the beer that I do.

I went to school at Texas A&M University from 2008-2010, where I graduated with a degree in Political Science. This alloted for a lot of time sitting around drinking beer in the Dixie Chicken and in circles where we would discuss the election, and other boring, liberal arts type topics. In my time at Texas A&M, I also was an attendee of Chilifest. A local music festival that I would compare to a “Redneck Woodstock”, thirty thousand drunk rednecks listening to Texas Country music. Fittingly, I would partake as a member of a Chilifest cookoff team appropriately named “Team I “Heart” Beer. How could one go wrong with that? I write these blogs as a lover of beers, but not an expert. I believe that all beer has its place, some beer should be left on the beer pong table, and some should never leave the state of Louisiana. My very first beer was a Miller Lite, courtesy of my buddy Raymond during the 2008 Superbowl. I did not touch alcohol in High school, or even my first couple of years in College. It was not until that February day that I had my first beer. I was NOT overly impressed. My second beer would come a couple of weeks later at a buddies house while the three of us were washing our Camaros, well except for Cory, he had a little Mustang GT that he was detailing. He offered me a Shiner 97 (A beer many of y’all know as Shiner Black) which I took and enjoyed. Thus began my beer drinking days.

Growing up in Texas, and not drinking beer, I made the decision a long time ago that when I was to drink beer, price was not a large concern. If I was going to poison my body with alcohol, it sure as hell was going to be tasty. I would begin with Shiner, branch into St. Arnolds, and then other “non-Texan” beers. I am a Shiner fanboy so to speak, I do love all things Shiner… well except their Dunkelweissen. It was my first taste of a Dunkel, and frankly, it didn’t mesh real well with my palate at that point in my life. I then branched out into European beers and found a few that I really enjoyed. As a general rule, my favorite beers fluctuate between Marzens and Porters. This is a wonderful time of year for me as everyone is putting out their Oktober fest seasonal brews, and I am in Avery’s “Hog Heaven” (Which I have not had yet, but I will note when I do). Doppelbocks and Dunkelweissens are near the bottom of my favorite types of beer, that is not to say that I do not enjoy them, there are just so many other varieties that I enjoy more. I do enjoy a good IPA from time to time. Stone produces an excellent one, and you cannot go wrong with St. Arnolds when it comes to hops. Hopefully this gives you a basic idea of where I am coming from as I write these blogs and reviews.