Grand Teton Bitch Creek

It's been a while since I've had a beer.  So what better excuse to drink one tonight?

I've heard a bit about today's beer.  It's not available here in Manitoba, so props go out to my sister for getting me a bottle for Christmas.  It comes in a 355mL brown bottle with a pry cap.  It has a surprising amount of information on the bottle for beer nerds: 15.0 plato original gravity, 54 IBUs, 6.0% alcohol/vol, and it's bottle conditioned.

When opened, I got a facefull of hops, and maybe a little fruitiness?  Wasn't quite sure what to make of it.  The beer poured a dark brown with some sediment in it, and few bubbles.  The fruity aroma was much more noticeable after the pour and the hoppiness was scaled back.

The first sip was very bitter.  And sour, too.  I wasn't sure if the beer had gone "off" or if this was an intended flavour.  I didn't enjoy this beer very much, but finished it anyway.  I couldn't think of any good qualities to note for this beer other than it had a fairly soft feel in the mouth.  I don't think I would drink this beer again unless somebody convinced me I had a bad bottle.

Big Sky Brewery Moose Drool

My sister and brother-in-law have a sense of humour.  When they bought me the two boxes of beer for Christmas, they mostly chose beers based on their name.  Moose Drool is definitely a funny name.  It comes in a 355mL brown bottle, with a pry-off cap.  It has 5.1% alcohol/vol.  The label is rather scenic:  A drooling moose standing in a river, in a mountain valley.  There's not much else in terms of information on the label, except that it's a "brown ale".

When opened, I immediately smelled malts.  A big of sweetness, and lots of chocolate/coffee aroma.  Not much in the way of hoppiness.  It poured a deep dark brown with a healthy off-white head that disappeared quickly.  It was hard to see if there were any bubbles because the beer was so dark.  The aroma after the pour was rather "meh", just the faintest hint of coffee and nothing else.

The first sip was "meh".  There was absolutely nothing to write home about with this beer.  It really just tasted like a domestic with just a hint of chocolate malts.  There was almost no carbonation, so there was a ridiculously soft feel in the mouth.  Absolutely no bitterness to the beer.  The beer left a lacing as I drank.  There is no reason for me to ever buy this beer (but I'd happily drink it if somebody gave me a free bottle).