Gluttony: the Fifth Cardinal Sin

Ah, gluttony. When the Church came up with this one, they certainly didn't mean beer.

What's in the fridge this week?

1) Young's Double Chocolate Stout. Amazing; like drinking chocolate milk. Smells of chocolate and roasted nuts. Huge chocolate on the taste, followed by a nice sweet toasted malt, mild hops throughout. Heavy stout, fantastic overall. 8/10.

2) Michigan Brewing Company Superior Stout. This stout is exactly what a stout should taste like. That means that it's good, but unremarkable, since it is exactly right. Smelled of roasted coffee and bakers chocolate. Same roasted taste, but about half way through the beer it took on a buttery aftertaste, which is really nice. 7/10.

3) Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA. I've reviewed the 60-,inute before. Now the 90-minute. SMACK! go the hops. Wow. Pine, citrus, herbs, overall bitter and oily hops, which is exactly perfect. This is a HUGE Double IPA. Definitely for "hop heads." 8/10.

4) Dogfish Head Chicory Stout. It was ok. Chicory is a root that is added to coffee in New Orleans to give it an extra bitter-kick. It just doesn't work for this stout. Good overall stout, but the chicory sort of got in the way for me, as did an astringent quality. 6/10.

5) Hacker-Pschorr Weissbier. This is an old stand-by for me, and one of my favs. Posted reviews before. Love it to death. 8/10.

6) Fuller's ESB. This is the ESB that created and defines the style. Medium body, smooth, a little fruity, followed immediately by a coarse, earthy, almost woody hops. Just a touch of roasted malt, but the hops character last all the way through. It's a celebration, bitches. 8/10.

7) Anchor Steam Beer. This is an original. Back in the late 1800s, refrigeration was unheard of, but Californians wanted to brew lagers (which ferment at low temperature). So, they created shallow fermenters and used yeast that fermented faster at higher temps. Immediate bitter, salty, citrusy taste moving to well-toasted malts, with a dry, citrus finish. This is truly one-of-a-kind, and its immitators pale in comparison. 9.5/10.

8) A can of Miller Lite. My sister in law can be so boring. Meh. 4/10.

9) Crazy Ed's Cave Creek Chili Beer. Barf. Take a Corona, and instead of a lime, cram a jalapeno in it. WTF?!? The pepper that sits in thebeer made it spicy. I don't drink my beer like I eat my salsa. The pepper further killed a mediocre beer. 4/10.

10) Harvey's Tom Paine Original Brown Ale. This is not bad. Smells a little like caramel and cinnamon. Creamy mouthfeel, buttery-sweet caramel taste, low carbonation, with nary a hint of hops. Highly drinkable, if not a bit boring. 7/10.

Hmmmm....6.95 this week. All those good beers RUINED by Miller and Crazy Ed. Ed, you bastard. Crazy Ed's that guy who shows up to your house party at 3 a.m. in a coon-skin cap. He's still there asleep on your couch in red Union Soldier pajamas 2 days later.