An amber lager crafted with a blend of five specialty malts and the finest Bavarian hops. Rich, robust malt character and a long lingering finish. Reminiscent of beers produced by Munich’s breweries for annual Oktoberfest celebrations.
From my notes:
This is a beautiful dark amber colored beer with a nice amount of head. Feels light in the mouth with medium carbonation. Smells malty with a hint of fruit. Has a nice roasted (not burnt) mellow malt taste, with flavors of nut, spice, and caramel. Has a slightly bitter aftertaste, doesn’t linger.
A perfectly good Märzen great to have around Oktoberfest. Märzen is the official beer of Oktoberfest and this is a fine example of it. Nothing shouts out that this is an amazing beer, but you wouldn’t have nay problems knocking back a couple of glasses. Sudwerk’s is my town’s local microbrewery so you might have a hard time getting a hold of this beer. There is now a Sudwerk’s in Fulsom, CA for those located in southern California. I don’t think this is a beer worth seeking out but if you see it on the shelves it’s worth picking up a six-pack.
Last month I wrote about Fantasy Flight’s new game set in the mythos of H.P. Lovecraft, Elder Sign. If you want to understand what I’m going to be talking about today I recommend you read the linked post first. At the end of last week the company released a trimmed down version of the game for iPhones, iPads, and Android devices called Elder Sign: Omens. Since I enjoy playing the real-world version so much I thought I’d give its virtual twin a try as well. Omens is mostly a trimmed down version of Elder Signs, the only Ancient One you battle against is Azathoth, who when it is summoned immediately ends the game (I imagine this was done to remove the added complication of fighting the Ancient One,) Ally cards are removed from the game, and the random effects that occur as the game progresses (clock strikes midnight) are unknown to the player(s) and there appear to be more negative effects (monsters appear or doom track advances) than not (edit: checking the game’s website over confirms that suspicion and informs me that monsters have been made more difficult too.) Oh, and players are limited to just four investigators and game play is restricted to passing the device around between players.
This game would look better on a larger device
The nicest thing about turning board games into video games is that all the rules are automated and you can be sure you’re playing the game correctly (Fantasy Flight is notorious for having large, poorly organized, vague rule books. Players live for the FAQs to these games!) They’ve done a good job with Omens in making everything clear and understandable to the player without cluttering up the screen. Tap a location, character, enemy, clock, any item, etc. and a screen pops up explaining what this piece means, does, etc. There are tutorial videos as well to guide players through the game as well. Music, sound effects, and simple animations have also been incorporated into the game.
All in all it’s a pretty good little game. It might get a little boring after awhile always having to deal with Azathoth. One of the coolest moments in Arkham Horror or Elder Sign is failing to keep the Ancient One from manifesting and then having to confront it. Yes, you usually die when this happens but the rare occasions when you defeat them are etched in my mind as some of my greatest gaming moments, ever. That and not being able to play with other people through asynchronous wireless are the game’s biggest problems.
This is an aggressive beer. You probably won’t like it. It is quite doubtful that you have the taste or sophistication to be able to appreciate an ale of this quality and depth. We would suggest that you stick to safer and more familiar territory — maybe something with a multi-million dollar ad campaign aimed at convincing you it’s made in a little brewery, or one that implies that their tasteless fizzy yellow beer will give you more sex appeal. Perhaps you think multi-million dollar ad campaigns make a beer taste better. Perhaps you’re mouthing your words as you read this.
Too many strive towards complacency as a goal. We grow up thinking that the ability to become complacent is the equivalence of success in life. True Arrogant Bastards know that this could not be further from the truth. The real beauty, richness and depth in life can only be found if the journey through life itself is looked upon as a constant chance to learn, live and find life’s passion. Passion threatens the complacent, and fills them with fear. Fear of the new, the deep and the different. We, on the other hand, seek it out. Endlessly, joyously…and aggressively. To this end we bring you the “OAKED Arrogant Bastard Ale.” Another reward for those seeking new sources of passion, and another point of dissension for those who are not.
Yes, all of that text is on the back of the bottle, the crammed in everything else to make room for their hipster, “cooler than you” manifesto to bitter beers. I have a problem with people who let products they purchase define them as a person, as if consumption is a viable alternative to living (Privateer Press’ Page five is another example of such.) This is further compounded by the implication that taste is an objective measurement and that the only enjoyable beer is a very hoppy one.
Deep amber body with a quickly dissipating medium head
Okay, maybe that is just an aggressive marketing campaign, and maybe it appeals to someone, I don’t know who, but someone. It doesn’t tell us anything about the beer. Okay, let’s talk about it’s the beer. Right off I’m going to tell you that this is the hoppiest beer I’ve ever had. I don’t know if Stone Brewing knows makes anything other than hop beers… but, if you don’t like them then don’t bother with this week’s beer. The beer smells toasted, almost burnt with hints of wood and citrus. At first taste the hops hit you hard: bitter, bitter, bitter. Letting the beer rest on your tongue you can get hints of the oak and coffee and then the bitterness returns and that is what sticks with you.
I don’t like hoppy beers, so you can guess, I wasn’t too fond of this beer. People told me that my palate wasn’t developed enough to taste all the subtleties in this beer and that might be true. I know what I like though and what I don’t like. I don’t like hoppy beers, it doesn’t get much hoppier than Oaked Arrogant Bastard Ale.
I wish I had a picture of this but I guess I forgot to take one or accidentally deleted it. The beer was a lovely coppery color with a thick head. So, now use your imaginations to picture that in a frosted pint glass.
From the label:
Five hops and four malts make Hoptober Golden Ale a vaeritable cornucopia of the earth. Pale and wheat malt are mashed with rye and oats to create a medium-bodied ale with a creamy mouth feel. Centennial, Cascade, Sterling, Willamette and Glacier hops form a bonfire of citrus notes, fruity cheers and a bold finale.
From my notes:
Not as hoppy as I was expecting, the moniker might be a little misleading. This beer smells good. Citrus, spice, and maybe a hint of stone fruit. I was hoping it’d taste as good. But, it doesn’t. There are still hints of citrus and fruit in the beer but those flavors are overwhelmed by bitterness of the hops. Surprisingly, the finish, while bitter, tastes of grapefruit. Plenty of carbonation here. Smooth.
I’m not the biggest fan of hoppy beers. The bitterness of hops always seem to overwhelm everything else in a beer’s profile. So, I was a little leery picking this beer up, but, I’m a fan of New Belgium and so I gave it a shot. I wasn’t disappointed. New Belgium does a good job of balancing the flavors in this beer. I only wish it tasted as good as it smelled.
