st. augustine's sampler

over my last two visits to st. augustine's i tried seven beers in my samplers
i've already blogged about the total eclipse of the hops and pumpkineater by howe sound

the other beers i tried in my samplers are:
- red truck's limited steam beer:  a hybrid beer style brewing using ale yeast fermented at lager temperatures. the result is a full flavoured, yet surprisingly crisp beer.  5%
- driftwood brewery farmhand ale:  southern-belgian farmhouse ale uses a partial sour-mash and the addition of freshly ground black.  a unique strain of yeast from belgium adds further layers of complexity to this rare style. 5%
- rogue ales john john hazelnut: a nutty twist to a traditional european brown ale.  dark brown in color with a hazelnut aroma, a rich nutty flavor and a malty finish. 5.6%
- russell brewing's wee angry scotch:  a malty scotch ale with canadian two-row, crystal, chocolate and a touch of peated malt, and lightly hopped with willamette. 6.5%
- crannog ales gael's blood potato ale:  100% organic.  this rich irish red ale is made with organic potatoes for an exceptionally smooth, rich body.  5.2%

now, please keep in mind that these are social outings focussed more on chat with my friends than on actually reviewing beers
not that i'm a professional reviewer in the first place, of course
but, my notes from nights like these are gonna be brief!

found the wee angry scotch to be wonderfully chocolatey and malty - nice and clear and quite yummy
the gael's blood potato to be well-balanced, cloudy, a nice red ale (and chan who doesn't love the beer even liked this one!)
the farmhand ale is too belgiany for me - its that darned yeast strain, i just don't like it.  cloves were nice... bridget and amanda loved it, so i thought i'd try it, but nope, still don't like the saison / farmhouse style
john john hazelnut was lovely - nutty and malty, rich yet still crisp.  quite enjoyable, and everyone at the table liked this one
steam beer - yes, it is crisp, so crisp!  i love it!  delish!

i hope to get the opportunity to have the limited steam again...
the rest of them, except the saison of course, i'd happily have again as well
you know, if there aren't other beers i NEED to try on the menu!