First off, a big shout-out to Yandex (a Russian search engine/page spider), the Number One Reader of Beer and Loathing! One day maybe this blog will be read by humans, and maybe they will find it through Yandex.
O'Connor Norfolk Canyon Pale Ale
It's bright, crisp, and clean, but not too hoppy. Refreshing and approachable; doesn't smell like much of anything. Taste has a sort of biscuity malt too, I guess. Basically the kind of beer I don't ordinarily drink because my palate has been addled by alderwood smoke, mission figs, vanilla beans, whole-cone hops, yuzus, and other inexplicable adjuncts. But it's good. Totally unobjectionable except for the picture of the fish on the bottle. Fish scare me.
Devil's Backbone Azrael
This smells kind of 'off' to me, but it tastes fine. Belgian yeast is the star player here, with that special bubblegum character you may or may not care for yourself. Sweet, honeyish malt, and while I think it's been lightly hopped, I would guess that this beer has been balanced with coriander, but definitely not overdone. Cool label too, featuring Azrael, the archangel of death. The beer itself does not make me wish I were dead, so I am confused of its etymological origin. I'll ask Jason the next time I see him...
