I can’t draw women all the time. Here’s a little male pinup…

022810 The Rose

SPLAT!

022710 splat

Ooops. I missed day #13. Ironic, isn’t it…

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022510 Stippled Delerium

“I put a spell on you. Because you’re mine. And if that doesn’t work, I’ll just kill you with my infinite cuteness.”

022410 Chibi Witchi

With a wry smile, the master of deception, lures in his prey.

022310 Lucifer

Here is the original sketch for a Helios’ Forsaken session redo that I am working on…

022210 Helios' Forsaken original sketch

A little sketch of a Valentine’s Day box of chocolates…

022110 Valentine's chocolates

Old Engine Oil Black Ale

If there’s one thing that can be said about Harviestoun’s Black Ale, Old Engine Oil, it’s that it’s it doesn’t mince words on the bottle. I can’t think of any other beer that labels itself “viscous.” That right there was enough to sell me on the bottle and when paired with the made-up words “chocolatey and roasty” you would think you are talking about a mocha or some other beverage other than a beer. Can’t go wrong there…or can you?

There are a lot of over-the-top alcoholic beverage names. And to be honest, the actual drinks usually suck. A good gimmick will often sell the first bottle, but most “witty” beers just don’t live up to the hype. So despite my hope that this “thick, gloopy” beer would be something unique, I wasn’t really expecting it to be good.

From pour to first sip, the beer really lives up to the packaging. The beer truly is almost opaque and looks more like a really dark coffee than a beer, though the foamy head tells you otherwise. And while it’s not really “viscous” the beer drinks like a thick dark ale should. The surprising thing comes after the first sip; the beer is actually quite good. It has a great smokey flavor that you don’t often get in a dark beer. Many dark beers are just strong and bitter and don’t have much flavor beyond that. This one actually has a flavor to go along with the bitterness.

The verdict: It may not be Guinness, but Old Engine Oil lives up to and exceeds it’s witty marketing with a nice smokey and strong flavor.

So…I love to try new types of different quality beers. By quality, I don’t mean that piss-water junk that American’s mass market and mistakenly call beer, I mean the good stuff. And I figure, why not start reviewing these beers on my blog as I try them out (at least until I can convince my bartender wife to start her own review blog . So I’m going to take a similar approach to my movie reviews and use a 1-6 bubble scheme for the beers and give a brief description. Just a disclaimer, I am in no way a beer connoisseur so don’t expect all the correct terminology and stuff. I’m just a regular guy who appreciates a good beer. So without further adieu, my first beer review…

Sapporo Imported Premium Beer

Sapporo’s import beer turned out to be a little different from what I expected. It claims to be an imported premium beer from Japan. On further inspection of the label though, it is “brewed and canned in Ontario, Canada.” The deceptive labeling is a little frustrating, but otherwise, it’s not a bad brew.

Overall it has a nice mild flavor and is a smooth beer with very little bitterness. It reminds me a little of some other Canadian beers I have had before. I haven’t had too many Japanese beers, so I have no real basis to compare it to there. And since it’s really only a Japanese-style beer, comparing it to real Japanese beers wouldn’t be fair anyway.

One last thing that is worth mentioning is the can. The can is a large and ridged and made of thick aluminum which really gives a premium feel to the beer. It’s a very simple yet elegant packaging which is something that is not often seen in the throwaway packaging for beers.

The verdict: A good mellow drinking beer in a well-designed package that goes down easy, but won’t knock your socks off.