Adventures in Beer - a new series

Beer is the new wine. That is, as complex and fun and different as wines tastes, and sophisticated, so does beer, nowadays.

So, here's a running list of my adventures in beer:

right now: Brooklyn Brewery Black Chocolate Stout - even though "chocolate" is in the description, it's not sweet at all. It has the same mouth feel as very dark semi sweet chocolate. http://www.brooklynbrewery.com/beer/ Click on the Black Chocolate Stout

last week: Arrogant Bastard Ale - hard, hoppy, tangy and fun. Their label reads like Dr Bronner's soap label, all manifest-y and whatnot, and it's an arrogant manifesto, too, with a little dig, I believe, at my beloved Sam Adams. It reminds me of the poetry in-fighing, to be honest. And I just want to say, Stone Brewing Company, that there's plenty of room under the beer umbrella for us all. I know. I see the consumers almost daily.
http://www.arrogantbastard.com/faq/index.html

before that: Harpoon Leviathan IPA - definitely has that strong hoppy jowl-spot hit but then also a sweetness that some may or may not like

before that: Bear Republic Racer 5 IPA - yup, good. And goes down easy. And then you're like, "Whoo!" and you didn't realize it was as potent as it was. http://www.bearrepublic.com/ourbeers.php

before that: Samuel Smith Oatmeal Stout - it being colder and all, stouts are selling like crazy. This is hearty hearty hearty. http://www.merchantduvin.com/pages/5_breweries/samsmith_oatmeal_stout.html

There's more, but we'll stop here. Look for more updates.