American Beer Review LIVE!
Welcome to the American Beer Review podcast. Good times with good friends requires good beer, lucky for us we know how to pick all three. We’re a group of friends who grew up in the Pacific Northwest, giving us a jump start on our craft beer journey. Join Alec, Chad, and Brian while we review some beer, talk about beer topics, and whatever else comes up. We invite you to pour yourself a drink and hang out with us.
American Beer Review LIVE!
American Beer Review LIVE! Review #26 - Black Raven Brewing Co.'s Festivus Pale Ale
On today's American Beer Review LIVE! review, we finally completed the questline "Hey, we should totally review next year's version!" with Black Raven Brewing Co.'s Festivus Infused Pale Ale.
Black Raven Brewing Co.
Festivus Infused Pale Ale
16oz 4-Pack
7.3% ABV
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Oh, is it just, I don't know. Solar review.
Speaker 2:Yep. This is the this year's Festivus.
Speaker 1:Okay, what's going on here? Um, I took the time To go Ish to look at the Discord to see what was going on. Okay, I don't remember why or where it was bored Maybe it was Chet's text messages yesterday, I'm good, um. And so I was looking through it and I was like the reviews of all the things, like, okay, that's cool, alright, why didn't we already do Festivus? Hmm, like, didn't we?
Speaker 2:already review that.
Speaker 1:Welcome to another episode of the American Beer Review Podcast.
Speaker 2:Good times, but good friends requires good beer. Lucky for us, we know how to pick all three.
Speaker 3:We're a group of friends who grew up in the Pacific Northwest, giving us a jump start on our craft beer journey.
Speaker 1:Join us today. While Brian that prides myself on not getting to know other people, so do not put that on me.
Speaker 3:Alec. So the bananas up until like the 60s weren't entirely different species of banana.
Speaker 2:And Chet Hit me like a bacon bar.
Speaker 1:Review some beer, talk about beer topics and whatever else comes up. We invite you to pour yourself a drink and hang out with us. And then I actually read the like stuff on it and I was like there you go.
Speaker 2:Ooh, which one's that the seasonal IPA? Hmm, there's one in the beer fridge.
Speaker 1:There's still this one in my sister's that I haven't finished because it's an IPA. Keep that on the list of.
Speaker 3:I'll send it there and whatever you just flag me for just taking. That's fine. I like it way up there. I can't see it at all.
Speaker 2:I don't want to deal with it.
Speaker 1:All right, so this is a repeat.
Speaker 2:So this is like the Like I wrote in the Discord. We finally are going to follow up on a. Hey, let's try this beer next year. I don't think we actively looked for the Trader Joe's this year. I sure should. I sure should did it. But as we did last year with last year's- artwork.
Speaker 1:I'd say the artwork's different right yeah?
Speaker 2:Yes, so it's more in line with, like that new refresh they did.
Speaker 1:Oh, that's right, I forgot about that.
Speaker 2:But they change it every year because this is a seasonal and this one called a pale ale.
Speaker 3:It's a Black Raven Brewing's Festivus Infused Pale Ale this year, so it wasn't infused. I mean nothing, it wasn't.
Speaker 2:but they didn't follow it out.
Speaker 3:It's not on the artwork from last year, so I'll pass these around. These are In order. Yours, brian's fine. So I cleaned the glasses. But in case there's well, look late in Corona. Well, live on them, yeah.
Speaker 2:I am. I am fully enough vaccinated.
Speaker 1:I have a cove it.
Speaker 3:No, no, no, no, that's yours, chad. He literally just pointed gave you instruction the same it was the same order you were handing them out last time I told yeah, 30 seconds, my brain was off, sorry I am a little worried, uh, that I got to start doing like a tracker of, like my brain and some of the things that I like forget and don't do.
Speaker 2:I started doing some of those brain games, yeah.
Speaker 1:Get myself on some of that crossword puzzle praying for some dementia Easiest way to go. Okay so.
Speaker 3:Festivus, pale ale Festivus, it's the same one as last time.
Speaker 1:Yes, but there's a 2023 version to check in on untapped there you go, so there we go.
Speaker 3:Read it almost a year ago when we did our black raven. Yeah, review. Festivus easy drinking or easy to drink. Brilliant copper holiday pale ale brewed with orange peels, northwest cranberries, galengal root and the melange of festive spices that should wrap you in warmth of a snow in winter heart.
Speaker 1:I think similar, so we have to hear galengal root.
Speaker 3:So I did listen to last year's podcast, because that's what Chad called out like. We talked about reviewing this and what did we actually say about it, and we spent probably five minutes on Galengal root and I'm like I don't know what this word is, and Brian's like spice.
Speaker 3:You don't know how. It's no melange melange. You know what that word is. I'm like, I know that one. What's this? Galangal, oh, galangal root all of us rated as Excellent season, will be your last year. Something that we would search for and Potentially grab and take to a party was, I think, our collective consensus spice.
Speaker 1:Like it's, the spice is there. It's definitely Putting itself into a season, a time of year and we missed it again Because a little bit festivus is oh yeah, december 23rd. So we're, but we're. It's Christmas, adam, that's festive us. I'm sorry about this before Eve is Adam, so the day before Christmas Eve, oh boy howdy.
Speaker 2:I'm out of my depth here, it's just untrend water.
Speaker 1:It's a joke that my family used to do because we would We'd have so much family stuff that we'd have to push stuff into a different day.
Speaker 2:So you just start making a Paul days.
Speaker 1:So you. So, if going in reverse order, you have Christmas, christmas Eve, christmas Adam. Oh, okay, got it now, yeah, so it is, but I didn't know it's so.
Speaker 3:It was on the podcast last year. Probably Is the only reason. Yeah, we had this exact same discussion. As soon as you just set the angle, root.
Speaker 2:It just popped in my head. Oh yeah, because I was gonna do the same thing and listen to it. But then I Started photoshopping.
Speaker 3:No, it's way more productive doing that and it's not one of our better. It was, it was, it was fine, it was episode 14.
Speaker 1:So it was only like our second or third one back.
Speaker 3:Wouldn't matter.
Speaker 2:Sixth that's like our fourth or fifth session back.
Speaker 1:I was looking to see what I. I gave it a 4.0 last year too. January 8th.
Speaker 3:That's what we say.
Speaker 2:We're almost a month exactly that's why, when I was over, when I was in Costco last weekend and I saw this, I pulled up the website and I was like when did we review this? I was like, oh, it's so damn close.
Speaker 1:I've been a little disappointed with the Costco beer selection lately. They just have less. The only upside I've said it, I at least know this Alec. I know I've said it on the podcast before, but just about any time I go to Costco and there is a four pack of Irish Death Tallboys for like 640, I'm gonna buy them.
Speaker 3:Throw them right there next to your Kirkland light, like I didn't even have it anymore. I know it lasted for like a year.
Speaker 2:I can't remember the price on this, but when I saw the price I went oh, yes, oh, because it was on the grocery store shelf too and I saw the price and I was like Black Raven is competitive. They're not an overpriced. That was in whatever it was in Costco.
Speaker 1:You might be able to say a little more.
Speaker 2:I wanna say we're like a two or three bucks a pint, oh that's, I mean probably three at least.
Speaker 1:Yeah, there's probably state taxes on the receipt, but all I care about is what the labels, what the little three by five says I'm always intrigued by when I go to the grocery store and some, like I don't pay enough attention to see, like if consistently there's always the six pack beer prices or the four pack beer prices are always 10.99, but mostly like 11.99, 12.99.
Speaker 2:Or they're 14.99, but then two or four bucks off if you have your card.
Speaker 1:14.99 are usually the four pack of tall boys. Those are 13 or 14, but there's always one or two that are like the dollar off. And I am the sucker that the dollar difference sways by purchasing If one is 12.99 and the other's 11.99.
Speaker 2:They paid the tax, like that's what I'm wondering.
Speaker 1:It's like are they just? Am I getting suffered in? Is this like an old?
Speaker 2:like hey, this has been on the shelf for like you, would be shocked at how effective it is. Six weeks, let's make sure we Entirely like entirely, how effective it is.
Speaker 1:This is delightful. Yes, it just like I forget, I forgot, I forget I didn't listen to the podcast. But like this is a perfect time and place, beer, this is a great one that I wish I would have paid attention to. We really need to look and see when we don't need to. I'm gonna say this, don't make me follow up on it. I would have loved to have had some packs of this in December. That would have been great for going to certain parties and things and like we had bonfire yesterday.
Speaker 3:last night, this would have been a perfect four pack.
Speaker 1:while we're burning old furniture, Hannah is that the only time you guys do bonfires?
Speaker 3:I feel like that's what we did last time, yep.
Speaker 2:This would be perfect. Get some utility out of it. Send it to the Bajala.
Speaker 1:In your Stanley cup, your insulated cup outside. Oh yeah, this would be a great.
Speaker 3:It was cold enough, you wouldn't need it to be insulated.
Speaker 1:I meant for your hand.
Speaker 3:Oh, a koozie would have sufficed.
Speaker 2:I think this is it.
Speaker 3:Sorry, I'm gonna take some more.
Speaker 2:Whoa finishing it off already.
Speaker 1:Or whatever, top off.
Speaker 2:I think this would I'll talk in the microphone. I think this would even warm up Appreciate this, oh yeah. I wanna say last year's had more. The volume knob on the spice was turned up a little more. Maybe this year a little more subdued, but I'm getting the angle root and a little bit of that orange peel kind of in the very back.
Speaker 3:It also could have been the fact that it was our fourth or fifth episode back and so the spices were hitting. Maybe the two of us made it a little bit harder versus now. We've had a year of drinking, Of drinking current beer.
Speaker 1:Is this also when we were drinking entire like cups or cans by ourselves?
Speaker 3:No, no, no no, no, no, we figured that out by then Cause we did four beers for this episode, but that's what we Tasters. I think this was the switch to Tasters.
Speaker 1:Did you say Buddha hand earlier? No, ale brewed with Galingal root and Buddha hand.
Speaker 3:Oh.
Speaker 1:I read off their website, not off the can.
Speaker 3:So maybe old, although it says infused on their website. So it's part of their black feather series, which I don't know if we mentioned last year.
Speaker 1:It says last year.
Speaker 3:And so the black feather. It looks like they're seasonal-ish. Cause, you know it's not called seasonal, but Festivus. A fruit wizard, grapefruit wit Sounds good, so we're gonna go to the tropical IPA and then feather weather coffee stout, which sounds delightful, I want some of that.
Speaker 2:And it's outside of the other seasonal.
Speaker 3:Which is the IPA one. Yeah, yeah, cause they have a best of the nest seasonal. So I don't know what the black feather is versus, cause I feel like this was best of the nest last time around, so maybe the black feather.
Speaker 2:What's in the best of the nest? Now, while we're at it, we have some yeah, sure why not Grandfather Raven Imperial Stout.
Speaker 3:Cryo Fresh Hop IPA. Flocktoberfest Fresh Hop. West Coast IPA. Splinter Scotch Ale, the Flat Stick Players. Club Pills that we had last year in a Wisdom Seeker double IPA Interesting.
Speaker 1:It's just different series that obviously I know they did a refresh of the branding. Yes.
Speaker 2:This one. It's still the stock can with a sticker on it. Yes, it is.
Speaker 1:They went a little more cartoony with this one, but I kind of like it. Yes, yes, with like Kept the fun and the best. The bird holding the ornament, like the little snowflakes floating around. So the old one I keep looking at it is a very more traditional stately aspect to it, but I kind of dig this one as well, yeah, and that was what they used on those when we did the blueberry essence of beers. They had the hops, the water, the malt.
Speaker 2:They used that same art style on that the kitty cat blues. No, there was a different one, that was the one where they did the celebration of the four parts of beer.
Speaker 3:We didn't try those. We just talked about them, didn't we? I?
Speaker 2:think we ripped the blueberry, which was the celebration of water, I think. I think that was around a point of time Is correct.
Speaker 3:I want some of their alternate dimensions.
Speaker 1:Oh, that series, yeah, oh, I've seen it in the-.
Speaker 2:The watermelon mint sour.
Speaker 1:Yes, that one I've seen in the store. Oh, oh, oh.
Speaker 3:Oh man, we just turned this into a double.
Speaker 1:Yeah, we might have. I was just trying to look and see, because kitty cat blues is different than the one that Chad was talking about for that elements thing, but I can't remember.
Speaker 3:Oh yeah, he was drinking a frickin' block rave in the other night too, if there was only some program that I could use to track when I was drinking beers so I could go back and see if I've had it before or when I've had it.
Speaker 1:It would be super handy, and if you already had an account created that you just had to figure out how to reactivate.
Speaker 3:No, I use it to lurk. I can see what you're drinking and I'll use it as cross-reference when I do my research.
Speaker 1:I can't remember the name of that beer, so I can't find it. And they have two intros. Oh, this might be a fail, oh, nope gone May have been consumed unwittingly it seems, in my rage I consumed it all there, you go.
Speaker 3:So this, okay, we're not moving on, but my son caught me lying Uh-oh, and this beer reminded me of it. Okay, the last time I had to bring him not had to, but brought him here. Oh yeah, I usually listen to our last podcast on the way here just to get in a headspace and be able to.
Speaker 3:You can get the juices flowing Well, and just see what segue and carry over like the conversation. So I'm listening to it. Show prep Great, I know just how it works. So I'm listening to it in the car with him and he's like Dad, you keep saying you're gonna put this in your beer fridge or the main fridge, but I don't see any of these beers ever show up in our fridge. Well, it's more of a rating scale.
Speaker 1:It's kind of a thing, it's a bit it's a gimmick If we did do that one chat, I never checked it in.
Speaker 3:I know we talked about it, but I don't know if it ever showed up it might have been a backup beer, it could be, I don't know.
Speaker 2:Oh well, well, hey, guess what Next time it shows up? Maybe we grab all four and do all four in a little special.
Speaker 1:Maybe We'll see.
Speaker 2:The year is young.
Speaker 1:The year is.
Speaker 3:It's very young at this point, barely weekend. No excuse everyone. The national championship yet Tomorrow.
Speaker 2:As we record, put it on tape. Rip the parley, baby.
Speaker 3:I take it back. I take it back because I said the Mariners were definitely making the playoffs last year.
Speaker 1:Don't do it to me. Don't do it to me, Guys.
Speaker 2:I hey, we're.
Speaker 1:I don't know.
Speaker 2:We're under $135 million in payroll baby.
Speaker 1:Come on, but a smile on your face. Hey baby, here's a question. We're profitable. Who makes more money? The Mariners players, the University of Washington football players.
Speaker 3:Oh this, who's made the playoffs for in the last? What do we have? 20 years, oh no. I mean the playoffs haven't been around for 20 years, but Mariners Football but they still made it more.
Speaker 2:Yeah, they've been twice in eight years.
Speaker 1:Now I'm sad again, I mean because they went in 2016 and now 20. I don't never know how to like categorize it.
Speaker 2:I'm just gonna stare into this light until I go blind Talking about the Mariners.
Speaker 1:If the because this is really the 22 football season.
Speaker 3:What no? 23 football season 23. Yeah, so are you.
Speaker 1:Are you the 2024 national champions or are?
Speaker 2:you the 2023?
Speaker 1:No, it's the 2023 season. It's 2023.
Speaker 3:National champions? I don't know, because the NFL is the same way.
Speaker 2:We're crossing here. The season started in 2023.
Speaker 3:But.
Speaker 1:I think it's about when the game was played, but then it makes me wonder.
Speaker 2:No, it's their reason Was there a year, because it doesn't matter when there was shorter seasons, it's Super Bowl, whatever Stick with college, just to streamline.
Speaker 1:Was there a year ever that there were two national champions from that same year? But it is that one happened. Oh no, I guess it would have been a year where it doesn't matter.
Speaker 2:The New Year six is always New Year six but they weren't always.
Speaker 1:No, no, you're right, they were they have always yeah, it's always been.
Speaker 2:There's always a game on that one because it's whatever and it's whatever, the only.
Speaker 1:Was there ever when there weren't ball games and it was just the regular season? Declared a national champion? I wasn't alive. No, none of us were so. Well and that's like I have friends who are going to this game Flying to Houston. A bunch of them left. A couple of them left last night, the rest of them left today. By this time they are hopefully at a bar. They found maybe some fans and are watching the Seahawks play, but they I forgot where I was going with that.
Speaker 1:They're down there for the Once in a lifetime thing because literally the last time you'd have played theoretically for a national championship 97, 91, 91. No, that's when we won our last national championship.
Speaker 3:I thought there were co-nationals in 91.
Speaker 1:Both of ours are co-nationals, because that's how it got done, because it was before pitting the top teams together. It was just yeah, you won your conference, you play the big 10 and you still won. So you are the same as that guy.
Speaker 2:You're as good as that other guy. So it's only when the bull so what you're telling me is even though it is Gross and gritty and nobody hates it or at least have progress in this current iteration of the college football.
Speaker 1:A little bit in that, like People can argue it less like this. This, the two top teams actually are going to play each other, so literally, this becomes the first. If the UW wins, this becomes their first, undisputed national championship, because that makes more sense to me.
Speaker 2:So you should get a belt.
Speaker 1:Yeah, we'll see.
Speaker 2:I think these, the big, stuffy NFL what not? Should learn from everyone's making like the turn over. I get it, it's jump the shark. No, no way, I love it. I want you stepping up on like a throne of helmets. I watched and put on your turnover chain.
Speaker 1:I love it. I watched the game where, whenever the defense got a turnover, they had to get the football.
Speaker 2:And oh yeah, the Trident.
Speaker 1:No, just on their sword. So they had a football stabbed into a sword. Who was that? Was it?
Speaker 2:I don't know Some air.
Speaker 1:They ended up with seven turnovers or something. Yeah, it was one point. I don't think they can fit more footballs on the sword for the gimmick if this keeps going.
Speaker 2:I liked more the person who there was, a dedicated person who had to hold the sword. Oh yeah, so the turnover happened and I saw the trepidation in their eyes every time they had to get it to the player. It's like you are too jazzed up right now.
Speaker 1:Do not hurt yourself.
Speaker 2:You might murder somebody doing it, but I'm going to do this and hand you the football anyways, and I'm running the fuck away. Anyways, I'm putting this wonderful seasonal beer from Black Raven Brewing Seasonal beer fridge, obviously duh.
Speaker 3:But here's the problem we did it. When I see it, but metaphorically, you did, though he did.
Speaker 2:I think it's still in season now and he bought it. He saw it. I think it's still in season now. Yes.
Speaker 1:Would it be?
Speaker 2:great to grab it between November Thanksgiving and Christmas. Yes, it'd be great.
Speaker 1:I haven't seen it so I can feel better about it, and I think he wasted so much time on his jam's trial or Alex Child's defense. I did not put it in a seasonal beer fridge, which I probably said I would do last year, because the season came and went. I don't have the beer.
Speaker 3:What I did do over this last year is I did have several more black ravens than I had in years previous. Oh you, 100%. So it put them back on my radar. So, Zestivis, I did not necessarily grab this year like I said I would, but I did go after like a second site.
Speaker 1:We did. Second, I got the like IPA series. I had one before we even reviewed it.
Speaker 3:So I didn't walk past it in the grocery aisle like I had been.
Speaker 1:And then it's one of those that I talked about, where it's like it became the one that I just kind of like okay, you're around, but like I actually did, yes, I give them more and it's not my style, but I saw those alternate dimensions many times and it never fit what I wanted at the time. So yeah, but I at least gave them a lot more of a look and then bought a few more that I would have Well yeah, I got freaked out when I was doing the research for this because they have like a 50th anniversary right.
Speaker 3:Same reaction I had and I'm going that's not correct. Your Lord, I must spit my water out. They made the 50th anniversary, for I think it was some concert hall or cinema switch switch uh cinema, which I didn't do any more research.
Speaker 1:I thought you were also then saying it was Taylor Swift.
Speaker 3:No, no, no, no, like SWIFF, I think, or SWFF. I think, SIF, SIF, there you go.
Speaker 1:Seattle International Film Festival.
Speaker 3:There you go, so 50th anniversary they made a beer for this, but they're like 50th anniversary and I'm like what happened? Have I been in a coma and nobody told me?
Speaker 1:No.
Speaker 3:I have something to tell you. All right, yeah, we'll try to track it down earlier next year, but our glasses are. Did you guys fridge this? I think we were all on the same page.
Speaker 2:Okay cool, we're looking forward to earlier next year.
Speaker 1:30 seconds baby God, we gotta get that looked at.
Speaker 3:All right, our glasses are empty. Hopefully yours are too. We'll catch you next time.
Speaker 1:If you've enjoyed what you just heard, make sure you subscribe to get new episodes when they drop, and don't forget to leave us a review. If you want to see what we're drinking and we're not on the pod, you can follow us on social media at abeerreview. Feel free to send us any beer suggestions that we can make Chad go buy. Office of War.