Very interesting!

We were at a specialty liquor store that - oddly - also sells breakfast burritos when I saw three gaming themed sour ales by 450 North Brewing Co. out of Columbus, IN. The first I'm trying is Starship Shooters, a low ABV slushie inspired sour ale with a Galaga theme. It's got peach, passionfruit and dragon fruit flavors. The label says to drink fresh "due to the large amount of fruit in this beer" and I believe it. It's incredibly fruity. Anyway, a good way for a retro gamer to kick off summer.

As per this article on NPR https://www.npr.org/2022/01/21/1074133992/non-alcoholic-beer-na-guide-best-dry-january?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_term=nprnews&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=npr

I see the resemblance!

I picked up Sierra Nevada Liquid Hoppiness IPA this afternoon. My decision was based on its passing resemblance to Hi-C Ectocooler. From Sierra Nevada: Ride the rapids of Liquid Hoppiness, flowing through canyons of hops and haze where fruity notes of pineapple, grapefruit, orange and fresh berries thrive in this juicy IPA flavorscape. Overall, it's a decent IPA and at 7.0% is worth two lagers. Personally, I prefer Ecotcooler but this isn't half bad!

Here I finally get around to a Beer that's been sitting in the fridge for some time. Please watch my impressions of this interesting looking Beer by WYCHWOOD BREWERY - https://hobgoblinbeer.co.uk/beers/hobgoblin-ruby/ Reviews at UNTAPPD - https://untappd.com/b/wychwood-brewery-hobgoblin-legendary-ruby-beer/5875 NOTE - I am in NO WAY a pro Beer reviewer, everything expressed is MY opinion only and should be taken as such, done for my own personal fun and satisfaction. IE : Don't take it seriously!

I've revised my review to be more specific by adding "if you don't like real Bud, skip this one".

Beer Name: Athletic Brewing Upside Dawn, Athletic Brewing Run Wild Notes: This brand makes (I think) six different NA beers, and I've tried two. I want to try all six. What I think: The Upside Down is a pilsner, and it's pretty good. Not watery and very hoppy. Much more flavor than the Budweiser. However, the aftertaste isn't pleasant. Bitter. Run Wild is an IPA and it's very good. Nice flavor. I like it. Rating: Upside Dawn 🍺🍺 2 out of 5 Run Wild 🍺🍺🍺 3 out of 5

I will add this one to my list to try. Thanks!

This is what I'm having for the Super Bowl. It is not half bad. I like the Heineken 0.0 better but I don't love Budweiser.

I switched to NA beer last month when dining out for a "dry" January as part of a New Year fitness kick. I've just decided to continue for the heck of it. I've been drinking Heineken 0.0. It's actually pretty good.

Next up is this one, which was a huge surprise. Beer Name: Budweiser Zero Notes: I scoffed at buying this, as it only comes in boxes of 12. I just assumed it would be terrible. Of note, I got this whole idea of trying NA beer from "Men's Health" magazine, and they actually rated this one best. What I think: This has been my favorite one so far. It tastes exactly like real Budweiser. Not watery at all. If you like a plain old American pilsner, get this one. My wife concurs with me and grabs one of these when we have pizza. She dislikes all of the others I've tried. If you are new to NA beer, you cannot go wrong with this one. (If you don't like American pilsner beers like Bud, skip this one). Rating: 🍺🍺🍺🍺 out of 5 (4)

I think we have Beck's here too, and I will try it sometime. As far as a soda alternative, I've found the NA beer to be really refreshing and "different". I've even thought about showing up to a work zoom meeting with a tall frosty glass, but it would be hard to convince people it was non-alcoholic!

A good idea. Personally only had a couple NA in my lifetime, I cannot recall the circumstances or the brands but I like the concept, I DO recall at least one of them being pretty passable as in I would not have known it was NA without the branding. I enjoy a good Beer and I could certainly accept a nice NA one in place of soda for sure. I look forward to any entries and follow ups here. Just a quick Googling would indicate THIS might be the option at our local grocery and I bet would not be a bad option.

Beer Name: Clausthaler Original NA Notes: Pale golden lager. Made in Germany What I think: It doesn't taste watered down at all. Very strong flavor, but more bitter than sweet. I'm no expert, but I'd call it "malty" and dry. I don't think I'd buy it again. Cool looking bottle, though. Rating: 🍺🍺 1/2 out of 5 steins. (2.5)

Non-alcoholic beer. What's the point, right? I've been working from home exclusively for the last year now. I've given up soda. And I've gotten tired of plain water or iced tea at lunchtime, so I thought I'd give NA beer a shot. I'll post reviews of what I've tried so far here, and give them a 🍺🍺🍺🍺🍺 stein rating (out of 5). The basic review template: Beer Name: Notes: What I think: Rating:

From what I recall, besides the rebranding to "the Kelowna Beer Institute" here in Kelowna they were much like they still are today including Dinning, Menu selection and even merchandising. The intro on the website - "Located in the heart of Kelowna's Cultural District at The Kelowna Beer Institute we brew in small batch and serve it in it unfiltered from tank-to-tap at it's freshest state. We have built the Kelowna Beer Institute to share our knowledge and passion for craft beer. We hope you enjoy spending time learning about and loving craft beer at the Kelowna Beer Institute as much as we love making it and serving it to you - Cheers." Website - https://kelownabeerinstitute.com/ So fair to say this is pretty much what we experienced on our visits the only difference being of course the selections being different and branded under the Tree Brewing label. FYI here are current captures of the Dining Menu as well as the Craft Beer & Drinks 😎 AND YES, I also hope Melissa and I can reach a point where we are comfortable enough to safely venture out for more leisurely outings, we do tend not to waste repeating things we've done in past (we've never vacationed in the same spot twice) as we like new experiences but I think Melissa has mentioned a few places she is considering across Canada should that time come, the Maritimes I believe has been mentioned once or twice, how cool would that be? Rest assured should this come to pass I will definitely make an effort to do some Beer tastings or at the very least some travel and exploring adventure videos. 😉

@MaximumRD I'm glad they still exist and are brewing. Was Tree Brewing Co. just a brewery or was it like a bar / pub / restaurant? It's cool to know they are still around in some form 😀 Hoping to see new adventures from you and Melissa out enjoying life again soon 🍻

It still exists though not out of Kelowna. I had to do some Googling, there has been a lot of changes since my video, here is what I found - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Founded in Kelowna, BC, now brewing in our expanded facility in Vancouver’s Brewery Creek district. The original Tree Brewing facility was closed in 2018, and a series of negotiations with Big Rock Brewery led to its beers brewing produced at the Big Rock facility in Vancouver, an arrangement that has continued since then. Tree Brewing Beer Institute Officially Rebrands as Kelowna Beer Institute - A Kelowna brewery and taproom that was originally an off-shoot of Tree Brewing but which was subsequently spun-off has announced a name change that makes its independence clearer to the public. Kelowna Beer Institute was opened in 2014 as the Tree Brewing Beer Institute, and offered a more customer-friendly experience than Tree’s production brewery, with a small-batch brewery, restaurant, retail store, and education centre, all in a more convenient downtown location. The Institute was purchased in 2016 by Tree’s general manager Chris Stirling and brewer Dave Gokiert, and changed its legal name to Kelowna Beer Institute at that time, but kept the Tree name and branding for its public-facing identity. An announcement about the name change was posted on social media late last week, and stated the following: We feel that it is time to bring this name to the forefront as it better reflects who we are and what we brew. We are proud to be a Kelowna based brewery that brews on site and has a passion to educate people about the wonderful world of making craft beer. As of today you will notice a few changes around the Beer Institute as we get our new name up and out there but we promise the changes are only cosmetic, the beer is still the same great beer made by Dave and served unfiltered tank to tap, the food is still the same delicious beer inspired items you love, and our fantastic team of beer geeks and kitchen staff are still here to ensure you have a fantastic time when in the Kelowna Beer Institute. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- As for your second question, well I didn't know any of the above as it's been sometime since visiting that or any local brewery, with us being introverts the current world state as it is means we've not ventured out for sometime for pleasure / entertainment and only do so for necessity of buying food / supplies/ appointments etc, sadly our going out for a few or even dinner is something we are not comfortable with at all in the current climate, regardless on others opinions (which we will not all the conversation to sway) we are pretty high risk being both diabetic and with other health concerns. Still, every so often we plan to either pick up some Beers during one of our runs or as was the case recently my dear wife surprises me with a fine selection from the local Beer and liquor store 😮😉 Who knows though, I can say if we do resume traveling and feel confident enough to do so it will remain within Canada but there are many fantastic locations to explore and likely we will sample the local Beers when doing so, I will be sure to film such occasions 😎

@MaximumRD It's been a while since your Captivator Doppelbock video from 2010, is Tree Brewing Company still around and do you still visit there at all?

@MaximumRD Thank you Rob! No contribution required! It's all about a fun discussion among friends 🍻 Hah that's all that matters! Exactly! Just hanging out having a good time talking with friends in the forums. You already have 12 years worth of Beer Tasting videos, I think it would be fun to revisit them in the club. Thanks Rob! I love this stuff and feel fortunate that we get to do this

HAHA! Yikes that video quality, ah well had to start somewhere I guess, my camera was garbage and I was at least 30 pounds heavier 😐good times though and a great Beer ! This surprised me, well not sure how often I can contribute though I STILL have one Beer left from the last haul my wife picked up, I been holding off but I am sure to make a new video with it at some point 😉I am certainly no Beer reviewer, been called out on that one, I do not know all the terms etc, BUT I KNOWS WHAT I LIKES and with that I figure I can give my unprofessional opinion at the very least, it's all in good fun right? I totally agree with everything you mention in your second post, the pioneering days of the Youtube communities and smaller channels sharing and shouting each each other, much more fun before GOOGLE took it over, thanks for the spotlight and nice idea for a club. 😎🍻🤘

Here's a little bonus story for you about Rob's video above, and the inception of Atari I/O: This video was made in what I've come to think of as "The Golden Age of the YouTube Classic Gaming Community". This was a 5-year span between 2006-2011 where people like Rob and I were really some of the first people exploring classic gaming on YouTube - and incidentally as it were - forming a community. In those days, AVGN existed (we only knew him as "The Angry Nintendo Nerd") and some of the larger names like Gamester81 were just starting to make their first videos. But the YouTube Classic Gaming Community was still relatively small back then, and we all seemed to know each others channels, particularly those of us interested in "pre-NES 8-bit gaming". Before "Google+" came along as a challenger to Facebook, and took away our ability to PM eachother within YouTube, it was much more open and much easier for YouTubers to reach out and become friends. I was known as "Devious Television", Rob of course was and still is MaximumRD, and we made friends with and enjoyed the channels of great retrogamers like @LactobacillusPrime and @Atarileaf. It really was like a small community or a local pub "where everybody knows your name. Because we had that "community" feeling, we tended to venture into "off topic" interests and broadcast small bits of our lives with eachother, which is what Rob did here by creating his first beer tasting video. Our experience in that gaming community served as one of the greatest inspirations for me to create Atari I/O, and you can see these "off topic" interests reflected in some of what we do today in the forums, like this new Beer Tasting Club! If you haven't seen @MaximumRD's channel, it focuses primarily on classic gaming and computing - but features a nice blend of beer tasting, arcade walkthroughs, gameplay videos, travel/exploration, "slice of life" and personal vlogs. And of course if you enjoy MaximumRD's content I'm sure he'd appreciate your subscribing to his YouTube channel. And I hope this topic will serve as somewhat of an example or a template for our Beer Tasting posts and other ideas to come 🙂🍺

Hey guys! I thought we'd get things started in our new I/O Beer Tasting Club with Rob aka @MaximumRD's "First Beer Tasting Video" which he made all the way back in the Summer of 2010! As Rob says in the video, "This is a great one to start off with". In Rob's video below, he tastes a limited edition beer called "Captivator Doppelbock" by Tree Brewing Co. which is brewed right in Rob's town of Kelowna, British Columbia. It comes in a huge bottle and contains 8% alcohol. Tree Brewing Co. describes Captivator Doppelbock as "A sweet aroma with hints of toffee, light caramel and hazelnut, a deep brown reddish hue with a clean smooth finish." Rob describes the beer as very bold, rich, and not bad overall with quite an interesting blend of flavors. "Thumbs up, check it out." For you gentlemen and connoisseurs of fine craft beers, I think you'll find much to enjoy in Rob's Beer Tasting Videos. He tends to sample beers that are largely unknown, so you're likely to discover something new and different that you may not have heard of. I think that approach will contribute greatly to the spirit of the I/O Beer Tasting Club. PS - As a side note, I hope you all enjoy this new format and idea for a club. Enjoy! You can read more about Tree Brewing Co. Captivator Doppelbock on these websites: https://eatmagazine.ca/tree-brewing-captivator-doppelbock/ http://www.treebeer.com/captivator-doppelbock Here's more about Tree Brewing Co. Captivator Doppelbock from their website: Style: Bock Body: Full Alcohol: 8% IBU: 37 Hops: Tettnang, Irish Moss Malt: ESB, Crystal, Chocolate, M-90 Notes: Sweet aroma with subtle hints of caramel and nut Food Pairing: Roast Pork, Ham, Duck, Black Forest Cake Experimenting Size(s): 650ml bottles Doppelbock, which literally means “double bock”, is known to be one of Germany’s biggest beers because of its higher alcohol content, ranging between 7-13% and is exceptionally malty with very little bitterness. Our Captivator DoppelBock is 8% alc./vol. Doppelbock emerged in the late eighteenth century as a powerful lager variant of the old monastic strong beer, the monks' "liquid bread," which they traditionally brewed for the Lenten season. The monks would be forced to fast several times a year with the longest being during Lent, 46 days between Ash Wednesday and Easter Sunday. Where did Bock get it's name? The style known now as bock was a dark, malty, lightly hopped ale first brewed in the 14th century by German brewers in the town of Einbeck. The style was later adopted by Munich brewers in the 17th century and adapted to the new lager style of brewing. Due to their Bavarian accent, citizens of Munich pronounced "Einbeck" as "ein Bock" ("a billy goat"), and thus the beer became known as "bock". To this day, as a visual pun, a goat often appears on bock labels.