Rating: 6 out of 10

This is our first memorial beer tasting, in the memory of our co-worker and friend Mike White. I found out after his passing that he was a big fan of the Dead Guy Ale, so on the way back from his funeral some fellow co-workers and I decided to stop at World Market and pick up a few 22 oz bottles. It just seemed like the right thing to do. Our HR Director mentioned before that Mike would occasionally joke around and tell her he had 6 Dead Guys in his kitchen. Classic.

It's a relatively new beer in the market and the story goes that in the early 90s it was created as a private tap sticker to celebrate the Mayan Day of the Dead for a restaurant in Portland, Oregon. It stuck and turned into an actual bottled product a few years later. Style-wise it's considered a Maibock, which is in fact a lager known to be a little bit hoppier and contain a little more alcohol than a traditional bock, and is usually served around the springtime (May Bock, the ideal time to start drinking beer outside). It's almost like a light version of a double bock. Rogue makes it their own though and throws in their proprietary "PacMan" ale yeast, giving this lager the word ale in the title and confusing those of us who try to classify styles on our web sites as either a lager or an ale.

We used a standard American pint glass for the test. Beer temperature was 48.6 F and the ABV is a nice 6.6%. The initial pour from our 22 oz friend gave us a large 2 inch foamy off-white head that dissipated slowly and left virtually no head lacing. It was a cloudy, almost murky-like amber/orange color. Looks good!

The initial aromas gave us caramel, honey, roasted and toffee malts. We also got some citrus (mostly orange) and some alcohol to the smell. The initial taste gave us most of the same profile as the aromas but added more depth - we detected a nuttiness, coupled with brown sugar, ginger and sherry. It was a treat to find these taste notes and added complexity we weren't able to pull out of the aroma. The alcohol was not present in the taste like it was the smell. The initial flavor was a moderate sweet with a light bitter and light saltiness to it. The finish duration was average in length and the finish flavor profile changed a little to a light sweet with a moderate bitter and a light to moderate saltiness. There's a lot of malts in here and a good number of hops to balance it out.

The mouthfeel was dry and we got no noticeable body lacing. The malt to hop scale came in ultimately at balanced, but this was an average measurement. Initially the malt profile stood out and it leaned to the malty side, but through the finish we moved more to the hoppy side. Not too far either way, but enough to notice the slide.

Repeatability and drinkability are both there - we would definitely do another. We felt like it had a good balance to it, but not that intangible harmony we find in the upper tier of beers. Though good - it was memorable for sentimental reasons - it didn't have the "wow" factor that some beers do. We would definitely buy it again though and we love the 22 oz size, which should be mandatory for all beers. You really can't go wrong with it - $4.99 for the 22 oz bottle is a little pricier than you may expect, but it's money well spent. The beer evolves as it warms - we suggest you start with it cold and experience it mature as it gets warmer.

The bottle reads: "Gratefully dedicated to the Rogue in each of us" - and to you Mike.

Rating: 7 out of 10

For those who don't know, the story of the India Pale Ale (IPA) is quite interesting. For starters as a category, IPAs are classified as a sparkling pale ale with a little bit more alcohol and hops than a typical Pale Ale. A Pale Ale is called that because it generally uses ale yeast and mostly pale malts. In the IPA the extra alcohol gives it a little kick and the extra hops give it a very distinctive bitterness - this bitterness is almost exclusively the defining characteristic of the style. British brewers invented the IPA in the 1700's to solve the problem of keeping beer fresh on long sea voyages in hot climates, to places like India and Africa. These trips were torture on beer (and the crew no doubt) and beer tended to spoil, becoming sour and flat. You've got to remember that pasteurization wasn't invented until the 1860's and refrigeration wasn't a viable option so alcohol and hops were all you had to fight spoiled beer (they prevent bacteria growth). With the invention of the IPA long travel and hot climates were no longer a problem and the British brewers could ship beer all the way to India and it would still be fresh, 6 months plus later.

Back to our beer, the Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA, which is classified as an Imperial or Double IPA. It's called a 90 minute IPA because the boil time of the wort in which the hops are added (continuously, mind you) is 90 minutes. More boil time on the hops means more bitterness. They also make a 60 minute and 120 minute IPA following this same process that are less bitter and more bitter, respectively. It's brewed in Milton, DE by the Dogfish Head Craft Brewery, and our 12 oz bottle comes in at 9% ABV and 90 IBUs. Our bottled on date was May 2, 2007. I don't think we have to worry about this one going bad.

We poured it into a tulip glass and got a beer temperature of 52 F. The initial pour yielded an average 1 1/4" white fizzy head that gave us a fair amount of lacing. It's got a medium amount of carbonation and the body is fairly clear and a nice amber color. The initial pour gave us a number of aromas - mainly caramel, sherry, earth and spices and of course a lot of hop aromas - citrus, floral, grass, herb and pine.

The initial flavor is a moderate sweet and a heavy bitter and that stayed true through the finish. Hell, it's an IPA, what did you expect? In addition to the aroma notes above we also picked up some honey later in the taste. It's really a beautiful complex mixture of tastes. There was surprisingly no alcohol in the taste, but the alcohol does hit you - it's very strong and potent. The taste became very nice as it warmed - it's definitely a taste bud tickler. There's really no "hop shock" to speak of and though it's hoppy, the balance saves it. It edges just a little, but not too far, towards the hoppy side on the patented Dr Beer Love malt to hop scale. The finish duration is long, the mouthfeel is oily and there was a fair amount of body lacing.

Neither Father nor Son Beer Love are hopheads, but this is a great hop beer. It's not necessarily repeatable, or rather you probably shouldn't have another one though you may want it (high gravity, you see). It was, however, very drinkable, very memorable, had a great wow factor and we would definitely buy it again. We feel the main thing about it this beer is the balance. It's just extremely balanced, especially considering how complex it is, and it becomes so wonderful as it warms into the 60s. We don't have a lot of IPAs in our ratings to compare it to so we've given it a 7 as is. When we have other IPAs to compare it to we may come in and adjust the rating. For now you need to get this beer and try it. If you love hoppy beers (do you like Sam Adams?) then you'll fall in love with this one. And even if you're not a known hophead, there's still something in here for you and you should be able to appreciate this for the wonderfully unique beer it is.

Rating: 9 out of 10

In case you haven't guessed, this Bell's Expedition Stout review is one of our infamous Thursday phone reviews between Father and Son Beer Love.

This 12 oz bottle of Expedition Stout goodness sported a 10.5% ABV and came in right at 50 F when poured into our American pint glass. The pour produced an average 1 1/4" dark brown creamy head that had excellent lacing as it dissipated slowly into the murky depths below. Completely black and opaque in color, we noted very little in the way of carbonation.

The initial aromas gave us chocolate and coffee, earth and black licorice. The initial flavor gave us a moderate sweet and a heavy bitter, which stayed true through the finish with the exception of a light saltiness we started to pick up. The regular chocolate and coffee aromas though turned into dark chocolate and espresso tastes, with some additional smoke flavor coursing through our taste buds. The finish duration is long, the mouthfeel is oily and the body has a good amount of lacing to it.

It's a bold taste and the bitterness we pick up is not in the hops. Though it's as far to the malt side of the malt-to-hop scale as you can get, in your mouth it's actually almost perfectly balanced - between the sweet of the chocolate and the bitterness of the coffee it finds a terrific niche. There is no alcohol in the taste initially, but as it warms you start to pick up some alcohol notes in the finish. The beer overall becomes more refined as it warms into the upper 50's and lower 60's. It's a stick-to-your-ribs kind of beer and a taste bud tingler - it's an almost overwhelming experience in your mouth.

It would be good with cheeses, crackers and fruits and great with a fine steak (Ruth's Chris, maybe?). It's repeatable, drinkable, memorable, has a wow factor to it and we would buy it again. One of the few times we've agreed on all those factors. This would frighten away a beer newbie, but after a year or two of gradually working into the dark stuff they'd be able to appreciate this beer for what it is. Definitely a top beer.

Rating: 4 out of 10

The O'Fallon Brewery is conveniently located in O'Fallon, Missouri, and I'm sure the crew there was pleased with the happenstance of the name/location. This Smoked Porter weighs in at 6% ABV in it's 12 oz bottle, which also tells us it was the 2004 Gold Medal winner for the best smoked beer in America. To celebrate we served it up in an American pint glass and had an initial pour temperature of 47 F. Perfect!

The pour produced a small 3/4" frothy medium brown head and an opaque black body. The head dissipated rather quickly and left a fair amount of lacing in the process. Not much carbonation to speak of. Our initial aromas, using our patented Dr. Beer Love sniffing process, gave us roasted malts, black licorice, soy sauce and smoke. We rated the smoke smell as very comparable to liquid smoke that you use to marinade your meats when you can't actually smoke them outdoors.

Our initial flavor was a moderate bitter, followed by a lightly salty aftertaste. Very interesting. The soy sauce taste is high predominant and the smoke flavor follows thereafter. It's not terribly complex and we were a little surprised there was no coffee or chocolate notes at all to it - being smoked porter newbies we're not sure if that's the style or just the style of this one in particular. The finish had an average to long duration and produced an odd saltiness we really haven't experienced much before in other beers. The mouthfeel was dry and on the malt to hop scale it was closer to the heavy side of malts.

It's definitely worth trying one - it may suit you or someone you love's tastes very well. It definitely won't appeal to the masses and didn't really appeal to us. Try it for its uniqueness though - this thing makes its own statement and we respect that. Plus one point in the rating for it's boldness, brazenness, brashness and bravado. This may work with a hearty meal - think briskets and stews. The heavy bold flavors might jive a bit there. Hell, it may be worth a shot to marinade your steaks right in this. Now that we can get into!

Rating: 4 out of 10

We poured the 6% ABV 12 oz bottle into an American pint glass and pulled a temperature of 45 F. This bottle had a bottled on date of June 26, 2007 (we reviewed on January 31, 2008). We got a large 1 3/4" off-white creamy head that produced a good amount of lacing as it dissipated quickly. There was a medium amount of carbonation and the appearance was a somewhat murky amber color.

The initial aromas were caramel, wheat, citrus (maybe grapefruit), herb, bubble gum and spices. The initial flavor was lightly sweet, lightly sour, and moderately bitter - the taste bud trifecta. The hops are strong, but not bad - it gives it a definite character. The taste gave us some more fruity flavors and the fruitiness increases as it warms. The finish flavor was lightly sweet and harshly bitter, with a long duration. This biting aftertaste may have a touch of that grapefruit we smelled to it. The mouthfeel was oily and the body lacing was fair, not nearly as impressive as the head lacing. On a malt to hop scale this one slides over somewhere in the mid range of the hoppy side.

Overall it's drinkable, but not repeatable, not memorable and we wouldn't want to buy it again. It would probably be better with food. It's a decent ale from Schlafly, but it could be much better.

Rating: 2 out of 10

Beer temp. 47.1F-8.6C. Using my go-to British pint glass I got a large 2.5 inch foamy off white head on top of a hazy amber orange body. Carbonation was soft and the head dissipated slowly with fair head lacing. Aromas were caramel, honey, roasted, toffee, floral, pine and earth. Taste were caramel, pine, resin and spices. The initial flavors light to medium sweetness from the malts and a light bitterness from the hops. Finish flavors were heavy bitterness and light sour. Finish duration was average to long and the mouthfeel was oily. There was almost no body lacing and on the malt to hop scale I gave it a 7 with 5 being balanced and 9 hoppy. I didn't find it repeatable, drinkable, memorable and had no wow factor. I know I won't be keeping this in my rotation.

This kind of reminds me of an IPA but without the malt depth. You might say "Dr. Beer Love this had 7 aromas and 4 tastes - what's up with that?" I may have pushed it on the aromas and could easily have been 3 with pine being one of them, and pine and resin in the taste just doesn't do it for me. I'm glad the finish wasn't any longer than it was. By the way I didn't care for it then and don't care for it now. It was kind of fun though going through the old notes from 2 1/2 years ago.