Part B of 12 of The Never Ending Box of CO Beers/#CBECO...

I'm angry. Mostly because of computer issues. I have stock for some other beers saved up, but my laptop is being a straight dick.  So, I reverted to an iPad in hopes that I would at least be able to get through a beer or two. If not I'll be drinking these beers well into April. And no one wants that... No one.  Also, to calm myself down, I opened the cheese and the fancy crackers.  I'd show you a picture of it, but it's on the iPad, and I can't figure out how to get it from the iPad to the blog without creating a Picasso account, whatever the hell that is.  But now, my laptop is being less of a dick, the beer is poured, and the cheese and crackers are ready to go.  I'm glad that's over, and it didn't take more than 45 minutes.  So let's get to it, and make jokes about Office Space...

First up is Fremont Universale Pale.  Three C hops from a fairly solid website, that looked great on a phone.  I found out that the current batch is made with Columbus, Centennial and Cascade hops.  I think it’s pretty cool that on the cans they direct you to the site for the current ingredients, meaning they either change it up to keep it fresh every once in a while, or alternate it based on what they can get that’s good.  Those three hops are great, and the pale was a pretty fantastic juicy pale.  Grapes, clementines, a little bubble gum.  It smelled like a produce aisle.  I’d drink more of it, and would think some of their other beers must be pretty good too.  I also want to see that troll.  I went to Seattle, and all I saw was a gumwall and the Phillies get torched on Ichiro night.  The internet is amazing.  Here's the box score if you don't believe me.  All of those things are actual things.  You can click the links or not.  I don't care.  I'm just here to make it easy for you.

I think we can all agree that you deserve a little something from @pppantalones.  Here's his take on a Pennsylvanian Xmas Classic, Troegs Mad Elf...

Holiday beers get a bad rap, and frankly it's typically well deserved. Nutmeg, spice, clove. Fuck. Just stop. No one likes aunt Ethel's fruitcake, so why brew an ode to her disaster? But what troegs does with cherries and honey is remarkable. It almost makes you want to spend time with your relatives. Almost. And really is there higher praise then that? 

No.  There is not.  Also, RIP Original Mad Elf packaging.  It will never be the same.

Here's a good place to pose a question.  I would put a survey up on the blog, but then it would just sit there for a year with only two responses before I finally figured out how to pull it down.  Also, I might lose all of the work I did tonight, and then there would just be cheese and Le Woof everywhere.  (I'll get to that later.)  So you can feel free to answer aloud, wherever you are.  If I drink a beer, but don't take a picture of it, does it count.  It could with Eddyline Brewing's River Runners Pale Ale.  This one won a GABF and WBC medal for International Style Pale and Australasian Style Pale.  That's not made up, that word is actually on the can, as well as on Wiki.  This Pale is old school.  It’s juicy and fruity up front, but has a much bigger malt profile.  Finishes very minerally, like a mouthful of pebbles.  Maybe not a mouthful, maybe just a few or a pinch.  They have a good website format-wise, but there is not a ton of information on the beers.  Overall, it's not bad, but compared to the other Bangerz from the box this one is more of a Limp Bizkit.  Oh.  And I was just kidding.  When I realized I didn't take a picture of it, I pulled that guy right out of the recycling bin.  Also about Limp Bizkit, I totally own that album in compact disc format.

BONUS COVERAGE BONUS COVERAGE BONUS COVERAGE BONUS COVERAGE

This wasn't included in the box, but you should be made aware of it.  There's a brewery in Chicago called Off Color Brewing.  They brew a beer I heard about called Apex Predator.  I drank it once.  not in Chicago, but in Maine.  I know that's weird, but it happened.  It was a grapefruit laden, peppery, saison-ish, velvety masterpiece, that I was under the impression I was never going to see again.  I don't know why, but they've come to the Philadelphia market.  I think their local distributor is Kunda Bev, and I've seen them in Whole Foods.  Right now, I have a Le Woof.  It's a very fruity, almost apple like Biere de Garde.  For some reason, no one is making a big deal about this except me, so I encourage you to find and drink as much of their stuff as you can.  Because once people find out about them here, you will never see it again, or more likely have to wait in line and talk to people like me for an hour before getting to try it.  /informative rant

BONUS COVERAGE OVER BONUS COVERAGE OVER BONUS COVERAGE OVER   

And finally, the Trinity Swingline.  I'm really out of wit for this, so let's start with the pics that clearly show they are huge Ron Livingston fans.

If you like flair, hoppy session IPAs, that finish tart like vinegar, with a touch of wine notes, and Jennifer Aniston... then I think I found a beer for you.  I'm starting to be really intrigued by sour beers.  I'm still very cautious, because some of them smell like band aids, or are straight vinegar, or are just gross.  But a little sour patch kid here, a yogurt like hint there, a Weyerbacher Tarte Nouveau there, and a Berliner Weisse or two, and all of a sudden, they're a lot more intriguing.  So I'll keep trying them, and hope the majority turn out like this one.  Also, @stavypapa didn't like Victory's Kirsch Gose.  Tasted like feet.  I thought it was pretty good.  Not sure what that says about me.

Thanks again @pppantalones.  Stay tuned for Roman Numeral III.