#86 Moonlight Brewing - Old Combine

Old Combine comes from Moonlight Brewing is a little brewery up in Santa Rosa which distributes only locally and only in kegs.  They are probably most well known for their popular black lager, Death and Taxes.  Old Combine is another lager of theirs, which is brewed with barley, wheat, oats and rye.
It might make a good session sipper; only 5% ABV, and a pale golden color.
Appearance:  Pale golden.  Hazy.  Thin white head, good lacing.
Nose:  Grassy and floral hops.
Palate:  Spicy rye bite.  Nice light hop bittering.  Big carbonation.  Slight lager yeast sour notes.
This beer has a medium/high body, the only thing that might keep it out of the session category.  I nice beer, but wasn't exceptional to me.
7 out of 10 

#83 Oakland Brewing Company - Sticky Zipper Imperial IPA

Also at the festival was Oakland Brewing Company, a brewery on the end of the 'established' spectrum exactly opposite Sierra Nevada.  The crest on their website and business card reads 'est. 2009', but in the past two years, this was certainly the first time I'd had the chance to taste OBC.
The notes I took on this beer are scrawled on the back of the business card, so excuse me if these tasting notes are vague or incomplete.  I wanted to include this beer, not to increase my beer count, but to give young Oakland Brewing Company the shout tout they deserve.  (as If my massive readership will help their bottom line.)

Appearance:  Yellow and hazy, head went unrecorded.
Nose: Dusty and dry hop notes, very intriguing.
Palate: The flavors are fresh and herbal hops, with sharp spicy bitterness and a nice malt body balancing.

As I said, vague.  I plan on seeing about trying it again tonight at Beer Revolution.  Maybe an update/second opinion are in order on this one.
I made a point of scratching out notes on this one though because I remember loving it so well.  I give it an 8 out of 10.  Keep up the great work OBC!

Day 78, 3.19.11, Lagunitas - Hairy Eyeball

I think I can say I've loved 88% of the beers I've had from Lagunitas.  The Hairy Eyeball is a seasonal New Year release.  It's a beer that the brewers say 'defies style'.  I'd say it's a big brown, scotch ale-ish, barley wine-ish ale.  Beer Advocate calls it an American strong ale.

It's a copper/red amber ale With a big, thick and creamy off-white head.  It's got a really great nose with a lot of complexity going on.  There's dried plum and honey, as well as the aroma of white flowers.  I think it's a really pretty smelling beer.  In a god way.
As far as palate goes, it's definitely the most malt driven beer I've had from Lagunitas.  Those guys are certainly hop heads.  But this one is big and malty.  There's a hint of alcohol on the palate and just a touch of hop bitterness.
The body offers a butter or velvety texture, and the palate finishes with a little more honey and some sour orange.
So my track record with Lagunitas improves with this beer.  I'd say we're up to 90 or 91%.  Nice.
9% ABV.  8 out of 10.

Day 72, 3.13.11., Uncommon Brewers - Baltic Porter

Here's another micro beer in a can.  Uncommon Brewers are located in Santa Cruz and list three beers on their website's list of brews.  I tried a can of the Baltic Porter.
In the glass it looks a lot like a stout. It's dark black and has a thick, creamy, beige head.
On the nose I picked up on a little smoke, a good amount of coffee beans, and a subtle hint of licorice.  Come to find out, the beer is brewed with licorice root and star anise.  Cool.  I like when my palate is confirmed.
The palate has strong hop character and bitterness.  Backing that is a good amount of brown sugar and some malty bitterness.  It's topped off though with that classic roasty dark malt character.
The body of the beer I found a little too thin.
I originally gave the Baltic Porter a six of ten, but then I realized it was too cold.  Once it warmed up to about 55º, the flavors were much more cohesive.
7 out of 10

Day 69, 3.10.11., 21st Amendment - Monk's Blood

Here's a special release from 21st Amendment.  Monks Blood is a Belgian dark ale brewed with candi sugar, vanilla, figs and cinnamon and aged in oak.  I picked up a can for my ferry ride a while back... Yeah, I've got a backlog of beers to tell you about.  Stay tuned.
Anyway, back to the Monk's Blood.  This is a big old dark Belgian with a full creamy body and a bubbly beige head.  It's a beautiful dark chocolate brown.
On the nose, the fig sure comes through with nice notes of dried dark fruit and some earthy hints.
This beer has a very nice malty sweetness offset by a good hop character.  The oak comes through as well along with more nice earthy notes.  It culminates with a nice lingering mouthwatering finish.
This is really an intriguing beer with a lot of interesting stuff going on.  Solid, interesting beers in cans coming from 21st as usual.  worth a try!
8.3% ABV, 34 IBU
7 out of 10.

Day 67, 3.8.11., Moylan's - IPA

Also over at Moylan's, I tried the IPA.  Sometimes I feel that trying s brewery's plain old IPA is a good way to evaluate the brewery as a whole.  In Moylan's case it was hard to pass up the double IPA and a triple IPA, but the good news is, there are 299 more days to give those a try.

The IPA is crisp golden and clear.  It has a light foamy white head.  The nose is really nice with big floral herbal hops.  It's very fresh and green.
On the palate, there's some mild meyer lemon notes, as well as a fair amount of malt backing.  The malt character creates a nice contrast to the beers sharp peppery bitterness.  It's fairly intense without being too unbalanced.
A nice easy drinking, well bittered IPA.
6.5% ABV
7 out of 10