95-Fuego Del Otono (Autumn Fire)

NLT- Well, when you drink 99 beers you can't expect them all to be winners. This was not a winner. Now, this blog is about, as John put it, "The Devil and the Details". The brewer, Jolly Pumpkin is good and we have had their beers before and enjoyed them, the idea of this beer, also good. The timing of the beer was bad- in fact out of date. We didn't notice until we got home that the beer was bottled over a year ago, add in the fermentation at the bottom, the over flowing of beer upon opening and you get a huge disappointment. Especially when you just spent $15 on it. :-( Now, to be fair this could have been a great beer--in season. We may never know, will John ever convince me to spend $15 on it again?? Doubtful. We did have a few sips, but it tasted like cider water. I really have nothing exciting to share about beer #95.

JFT-I am so annoyed at myself right now. I picked out this beer with my heart, not with my head. A tip to all you "would be beer geeks" out there: Discount Liquor in Milwaukee has the best selection in town (Sorry Ottos) but BEWARE THE OLD BEER! A wonderful seasonal that seemed so promising; chestnuts and spice, an autumn citrusy gem...but, it was bottled in October of last year. Very few beers can handle aging and this was not one of them. The beer was wild (when it start fizzing over just from opening it) and far to foamy. The nose was of yeast, nothing more. The flavor was a sweet-sour cidery flavor that just wasn't appealing. If you ever taste a flavor like that in a non cider beer, something went wrong. But I beg and plead to you, do not abandon this great boutique-y brewery. When it's fresh and in season, they make some of the best stuff around.

http://www.jollypumpkin.com/annarbor/index3.htm