Friday, July 23, 2010

Crown Valley Big Bison Ale, bottle, poured into pint glass


Tonight I'm dog-sitting for my friends Kyle and Amanda. The pup's name is Geoffrey, and he's a beagle. He also likes beer, especially High Life. I would have him write a guest review, but at the moment, he seems more interested in lying down and licking himself.


I like watching Geoffrey, not only because it's a low-cost simulation of fatherhood but also because it adds a sense of purpose to lazing on the couch and watching cable TV, two luxuries I won't afford myself in my own home. Cable TV must've known I was coming tonight because it greeted me with high-grade pornography--a 1987 Cubs-Phllies game shown as a tribute to Andre Dawson's Hall of Fame induction. Two things strike me about 1987 baseball: 1) The camera work, by today's standards, is pretty bad. 2) The stiff, mechanical windups that we see today didn't really evolve until the early '90s. Pitchers were still pretty loosey-goosey in 1987.

Crown Valley is new to me. They're from Missourah and just recently stated shipping to the Chicago market. According to the label, Big Bison is a "Belgian style dubbel, full-bodied and rich with notes of raisin and plum." Cool. Well, it does smell a lot like raisins. Musty and a little chocolatey too, I thought. The taste will remind you of other brown ales but probably a bit sweeter. There was also some of the yeasty, bleu cheese-like tang you'll often get in a dark ale. The sip starts well, but booziness takes over after a few swishes. This is a dense and dark enough beer to hold the 7.2% ABV, so I don't understand the problem.

Grade: W, would certainly drink again but probably not buy again.

1 comment:

  1. Ohhhhh Geoffrey should write a post (i.e ruin another keyboard with his paws)

    ReplyDelete