Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Tuesday Tasting: Thirsty Dog Cerberus

Cerberus is the name of the fierce three-headed watchdog of the Underworld in Greek mythology. It is also the name of a 10-percent ABV Belgian trippel ale by Akron's own Thirsty Dog Brewing.

Were I Heracles, I would have put this beer in a headlock and wrestled Cerberus down to the ground before returning it to the depths of Hades. Were I Orpheus, I would have played my banjo for the beast and serenaded it into a mellow sleep. However, I were neither.

Cerberus pours a light golden color, and I shit you not my first whiff smelled of MGD. However, once the frothy head (nice lacing) settled, the smell seemed to change, more resembling a typical Belgian ale.

Sometime after my first Cerberus and before my last, the Enthusiast informed me that I smelled like cheap beer. This had me worried.

This beer was available at my local grocer in a four-pack, which I teased you with in yesterday's post. I paired this selection with a lamb pita roll from Aladdin's and drank it down during the Cavs playoff win over the Celtics last Friday -- one for each period.

Perhaps my consumption timeline was the culprit. Though the beer first smelled of genuine swill and made me smell like a cheap date at a frat party, the taste was quite pleasant. However, with such a high alcohol content, maybe I shouldn't have been guzzling it so fast.

Beware of hangover.

At a Glance
  • Who: Cerberus (Thirsty Dog Brewing Co.)
  • What: 10 percent ABV, Belgian trippel, four-pack ($12.99)
  • When: May 7, 2010
  • Where: The Viper Lair
  • Why: Think global, drink local
Booze Hounds Beer Rating: 3.8 Hiccups

[Drunkard's note: The Booze Hounds Beer Rating scale (0-5 Hiccups) is based on a complex mathematical formula that would be impossible to explain to such a dunderheaded audience. Let's just say the higher the score, the more likely I am to drink it again. Natty Light would get a zero.]

3 comments:

Sun Runner said...

Thank you.

Seeing as I'm heading to the Land of the Cleves this weekend (half marathon on Sunday!) I will visit the best beer outpost around (that I know of) and see if I can scrounge up some for myself.

And, you drank all four of those? at 10% abv? yikes. I think that would have put even me into a stupor.

Anonymous said...

Isn't it interesting how dubbels are typically darker than trippels... Going to have to make my way to Akron and try some Thirsty Dogs!

Nitmos said...

Do they still make Steel Reserve? Review! Review! Review!