Beer of the Week: Guilford Golden Lager

Beer score: 4.1

Company: Natty Green's Brewing Co.

ABV: 3.8
IBU: NA

I was looking forward to this one because it's from a regional brewery in Greensboro, North Carolina, and I always like to try something new. Plus, I was in the mood for a brew that wasn't real heavy, and I had hoped this beer would suffice.

It didn't.

Sorry, but the smell assaulted me right off the bat with a skunkiness not unlike Old Milwaukee. The flavor has a light, bready quality, but that's all. Nothing special here, and the carbonation was a bit too much thought not overpowering.

Still, this was just one brew. Maybe I simply got a bad one. I'll give this brewery another shot at some point.

Helping out the creators of heroes

This week over at The Rogue Blades site, I write about The Hero Initiative, a non-profit organization that helps out those who are creators of comic books.

Beer of the Week Blast from the Past: Spanish Peaks Beers

Man, the Spanish Peaks brewery of Montana put out some excellent beers, so I was disappointed to find out that they are no longer in business. Still, there's always change in the beer business with brewers occasionally moving around, so perhaps these quality beers are still out there somewhere under different names or will return someday. Until then, I'll have to rely on some fond memories and my old notes on these beers.

Spanish Peaks Black Dog Ale
Beer score: 7.7

An amber lager with some kick. Wet and soothing going down the throat with a strong bitterness as it glides over the tongue. The first sip had a touch of sweet way in the back, but that disappeared quickly. This was a darn good beer.

Spanish Peaks Black Dog Sweetwater Wheat Ale
Beer score: 7.0

Had a clean, sturdy bitterness and some carbonation. A good cigar beer with hints of sweetness.

Spanish Peaks Honey Raspberry Ale
Beer score: 6.6

This one had too much carbonation for me, but it also had a nice berry taste that was not overly sweet with a touch of bitter.

Spanish Peaks Porter
Beer score: 7.1

Strong and bitter, almost to the level of a weaker stout. The burnt maple taste was there but not overpowering as it is in some porters. Went down fairly easy. One of the better porters I've had the please to try over the years.

Spanish Peaks White Ale
Beer score: 8.8

A light, slightly sweet beer with some texture and flavor reminiscent of a Belgian lambic. In other words, it felt and tasted something like a cider. The bottle said this fine ale was made with "orange peel, coriander, and black pepper."

Quotes about heroes

This week my Rogue Blades article takes a look back at some famous quotations about heroes and heroism.

Beer of the Week Blast from the Past: Latrobe Beers

A decade or so ago, the same folks who brought us Rolling Rock decided to try their hand at a few different beers. These didn't last, but they were pretty good. Here are my old notes about a few of them.

Latrobe American Pale Ale
Beer score: 6.8

Very smooth and wet with a strong bitterness on the way down. Tasted a little like an India pale ale with a hint of fruity sourness.

Latrobe Bavarian Black
Beer score: 6.0

The bottle said this was a "black" lager, but it had the texture and taste of a maple porter. This one wasn't for beginners, but there was nothing extremely exciting about this beer. Still, it was worth a taste or two.

Latrobe Bohemian Pilsner
Beer score: 7.4

It had a strong bitterness for a pilsner, definitely stronger than the typical pilsner. It was wet with a flat texture faintly similar to a bitter, though somewhat stronger. Not a bad brew, so I'm sorry it's not still around.

Jerk those guns, pardner, for ... Gunslinger

My Black Gate article this week looks back at an old Avalon Hill game, Gunslinger.

Review of Flame and Crimson

I review the book Flame and Crimson: A History of Sword-and-Sorcery this week over at Rogue Blades.