Even MORE Oktoberfest!

I have a few more Oktoberfest/Fall brews in store for you guys, all of which were pretty good, but above all else, were very different from any other beer I've reviewed so far.

To start off, I poured out a glass of Hofbrau Oktoberfest brew from the Hofbrau Munchen brewery. It's a 6.3% ABV Marzen/Oktoberfest style lager and is pretty damn tasty. I've never had any of this particular brew houses beer, except for the fantastic 5.5% Hofbrau Dunkel. The Dunkel has a sweet caramel-apple taste with a bit of bitterness on the back; just great.

The Oktoberfest is a very light, golden colored beer with a good, strong smell. It has the aroma of grain and sweetness, with is probably from the hops (a hint of cornbeard as well?), and a distinct skunkyness. The second I smelled this, I thought to myself  "St. Paulie Girl" and the taste only confirmed that: this shit tastes just like a St. Paulie Girl. And not that that's a bad thing, I happen to enjoy that beer.

The taste on this beer is kind of a sweet pilsner- certainly nothing like any Oktoberfest I've ever had before (I wouldn't qualify it as an Oktoberfest at all). It's sweet, with some bready notes and a decent amount of hops- just like a St. Paulie Girl but a decent bit less skunky and more... boozy? There's a decent taste of alcohol on the end, which, at 6.3% ABV, isn't necessarily a bad thing.


Moving on, this next beer comes from one of my favorite breweries, the Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Company. From the Sunset Wheat (4.9% ABV and it tastes like fucking Trix cereal) to 1888 Bock (5.1% ABV Bock beer) this is one beer company that knows what they're doing.

Today I'll be trying their Oktoberfest brew, another great Marzen style beverage. The color on this is just like most of the other Oktoberfest brews I've had, medium dark with a nice chestnut color, even slightly red. It has a great aroma, a roasted-nut scent with some sweetness added in. The taste is more of the nuttiness, with some caramel and malt mixed in. It has a mild taste but the malts a nice and strong. This stands out from other autumn/marzen/oktoberfest beers in the nut taste- it reminds me of another great Leinenkugel brew, the Fireside Nut Brown.

Next is the Steven's Point Octoberfest. Steven's Point, a brewery out of, offers up some fantastic beers. From the Horizon Wheat (Excellent wheat brew comparable to Shock Top) to the Belgian White (Think Blue Moon, but better), I would recommend them all... which is pretty convenient because they offer beer drinkers a 12 pack featuring six of their most well known brews.

I first tried this beer on draft at a local bar and didn't much care for it. However, as I've previously discovered, sometimes beer doesn't taste as good on draft as it does in the bottle, and vice-versa- I figured I'd give the bottled kind a shot.

This beer, coming in a 5.15% ABV, is a pale orange/brown in color with a great smell. As soon as I opened the bottle, I was hit with the strong aroma of malt. There's also a bit more to the scent, caramel and some slight hops, but more than anything is the malt. The taste of this beer is similar to the nose, but has a lot more in store. Obviously it's pretty damn malty, but there is some nuttiness to it (two beers in one review that a nutty, but none prior? strange), especially on the back. You also get some decent hops on the end, but the malt is what this beer is all about- caramel malt with roasted malt. The one thing I don't like about this one is the dryness- it's really fucking dry, to the point where I could have drank all six of these and still been thirsty...

The last beer I'll be reviewing today is the Sierra Nevada Southern Hemisphere Harvest Fresh Hop Ale. Whew** that was a long name, huh? I bought this 22 oz bad boy about a week ago and had been saving it- not for a special occasion or anything, but because I wasn't really in the mood for a super hoppy beer. Let me tell ya... "super hoppy" doesn't even begin to describe this ale.

As you may already know by now, Sierra Nevada Brewing Company likes its hops. A LOT. So when I saw this beer, advertised as a "fresh hop ale" all I could think was "oh shit, here we go." The smell on this thing is incredible- just straight hops. American IPA by nature, it has the aroma of floral hops and even more floral hops. The color is very appealing, a cloudy copper with a bit of orange thrown into the mix.

The taste was pretty amazing. It reminded me of some of my favorite beers, Saranac IPA, Great Lakes Burning River and, of course, Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. Floral hops with grapefruit, some sweet caramel (not all that malty but I won't say the taste isn't there) some pine. A lot of reviews on beeradvocate.com say it's not very hoppy and they wish for a more dynamic beer, but in my opinion this is superb.

At 6.7% ABV, this is one beer you must try, hop fan or not.

So there you have it. Some pretty good beers today, none too awesome, but I wouldn't turn a single one of these down. Stay tuned for some more Oktoberfest/Autumn beers, but don't forget... winter is right around the corner.


Hofbrau 6.5/10
Leinenkugel 7/10
Steven's Point 6/10
Sierra Nevada 7.5/10

RED BOOZE!

A recent night out (filled with Mexican food and margaritas), along with a trip to Consumer Beverages, resulted in some glorious adult beverage finds. I stumbled across one beer that I've been dying to try for some time now and another that... all I can say is "WOW"

First, I've got a beer that 1.) I've never heard of before, and 2.) I almost shit myself when I saw the bottle. From the Shmaltz Brewing Company, we've got the Coney Island Freaktoberfest. When I first spied this gem, I thought to myself "Wow, that looks like if the video game CarnEvil was a beer." The bottle label has this ridiculous circus freakshow style gentleman, zombied out and surrounded by strange colors; It was a must buy, especially at 6.66% ABV. The label, among other things, says:

This is not an Oktoberfest... This is Freaktoberfest. Arise and take possession of this bewitching offering of the season. Crafted to lure your spirit's deepest rapture. Conjured to exorcise the grim horrors of the armies of the soulless drafts everywhere.

When I poured this beer out, I nearly lost my fucking mind. It was almost funny- this beer is red? THIS. BEER. IS. RED. What the hell? The last thing I expected from the pour was a different color than the normal deep brown/amber that I'm used to with previous Oktoberfest beers. Amazing. Even the head has a red tinge to it, a reddish/pink foam sits on top of this red- it's red!- beer. It has a mild aroma, nice and fruity with some deep malt mixed with ever so slight hops. It has a nice carbonation to it with a strong lager taste- fruity and dry, nice hops on the back with something... grapefruit with some (eventually) strong wheat flavor on the end? To be totally honest, it kind of has a taste of those red wax lip candies you got at Halloween time, you know the ones I mean.

Extremely freaky, this unique beer is an Oktoberfest at heart and was everything I dreamed it could be and more. I would warn you, though- it's a bit on the boozy side. Simply incredible, but rather gimmicky... which I'm totally fine with!

The next beer, the one I've been interested in since I heard of it a few months back, comes from the Erie Brewing Company and, if you've been following the-booze-blog (doubtful), you'll know just what beer I'm talking about. The Derailed Black Cherry Ale, at 5.5% ABV, is the Sam Adams Cherry Wheat done right.

The look of this beer doesn't really give much a way in terms of taste. A lighter brown/amber color, the aroma and taste are what really make this thing special. The smell is nothing but cherries, really. Not fresh cherries, certainly a cherry extract of some kind (cherry pie filling), but very appealing.

If there is one word to describe this beer, it's this: super fucking good. You immediately taste the cherry, with some slight hops on the back. It's not overly sweet like the Sam's Cherry Wheat- it's the perfect amount of sweet and hoppy. My friend Sean said it best "It's a beer that somehow gets sweeter with each drink."

In my opinion, this is the type of beer that I would give to someone who doesn't like beer- more of a "mixed drink" person, if you will. It's nice and sweet, tastes good, and doesn't really taste much like beer at all. This is one of the best craft beers I've ever tasted, and certainly the best cherry flavored drink (not just beer) I've had to date.

Next I gave the Octoberfest from Harpoon Brewery a try. Harpoon, a nice craft beer brewery that offers beers like the Harpoon IPA (5.9% ABV hoppy India Pale Ale) and delicious Harpoon Belgian Pale Ale (5.8% ABV Pale Ale with notes of fruit). Harpoon is also responsible for the line of UFO Beers, which are gaurnteed to give you a raging boner... really, that good. Harpoon describes the Octoberfest as:

Harpoon Octoberfest features a malty, full-bodied taste and deep garnet-red color. We brew this Marzen-style beer with festivals in mind. Celebrate with us. Prosit!

At 5.5% ABV, I don't really see the "deep garnet-red color," it's really more of a medium brown (maybe some orange?) with good clarity to it. It has a real nice smell, honey with wheat and a decent amount of malt- the taste was just as much. It's a pretty average beer, almost watery and dry on the end. It certainly wasn't my favorite Octoberfest brew to date.

Last but not least, I spied this unique looking autumn beer with on a drunken food run a few nights back and absolutely had to buy it. Shipyard Brewing Company, with one of the coolest label designs I've seen on a beer, brings us the monumentally tasty Pumpkinhead Ale.

Shipyard Brewing Co. offers up some pretty good brews, Export Ale being one of the best.

At 4.5% ABV, this pumpkin ale is extremely good. Medium-golden in color, it has a great sweet, crisp smell with hints of cinnamon and spice. The taste is very similar, but the back-end is full of cinnamon and apple. Wheat is present in both taste and smell, but isn't overpowering- that is where the sweetness comes in. A bit dry on the back, the overall feel of this beer is: cinnamon and pumpkin.

I have to admit, this is one of my favorite Pumpkin flavored beers- top 5 for sure. I like the cinnamon and nutmeg flavors and the nice hint of apple on the back. A bit watery, but otherwise a great beer.


Freaktoberfest 8/10
Derailed Black Cherry Ale 8/10
Harpoon Octoberfest 5/10
Pumpkinhead Ale 7/10

Random Bar Night!

I went out for wings and beer a few nights ago and tried some pretty good brews while I was out and about.

We hit up our usual spot, Dwyer's Irish Pub, for some 25cent wings and any random cheap-ass draft specials they might have had. I went with 15 of the epic Zesty Garlic wings and paired it with an Ithica Beer Company Apricot Wheat- what a terrific combination that was.

Almost a perfect yellow in color, the smell on this brew was amazing. Certainly apricot right up front, you could smell a bit of hops and... well, just great sweetness. Ithica describes the beer as:

Our easy-drinking wheat beer is light in color and body... perfect for those looking for a lighter taste. The combination of wheat and barley gives Apricot What a different malt character than our other ales. The hint of apricot gives this beer a pleasant nose and fruity finish.

The taste on this bad boy was exactly like the smell, extremely sweet with a bit of hops on the back. The apricot was very flavorful, right up front instead of on the tail end like a Magic Hat #9. At 4.9% ABV, this is one beer anyone can enjoy.

Ithica is responsible for a few really great brews, Nut Brown, Pale Ale and Ground Break among the best. I first encountered the Ground Break at a local beer store. I bought a growler of it and it was empty in a few short hours- that good. It's usually a spring seasonal, hoppy and extremely sweet and crisp.

Next on the list, I grabbed a cheapy bottle of the Anchor Summer Ale (with the arrival of the fall season, bars are dropping their summer beer for real cheap... and I'm there to pick it all up!). The Anchor Brewing Company in San Francisco was given us a great line of beers, from the constantly changing Christmas Ale to the Liberty Ale (6% ABV American Pale Ale that is crisp and hoppy).

The 4.6% ABV Summer Ale was pretty tasty, if not a bit on the hoppy side. It had a unique maltyness to it- clearly a light beer but the texture and taste were heavy and deep. It has an almost sour note on the end, maybe something with the wheat- I enjoyed it though, very different. It has a nice hoppy aroma with a bit of lemon to it, which transferred nicely over to the taste. Brewed as an American Pale Wheat Ale, it's truly a beer worthy of a "summer" title- thirst quenching and crisp in taste, I could drink these all day long.

Anchor has kind of a cult following, like hipsters have with Pabst Blue Ribbon, and I can see why. Some people drink this beer not because they like it, but because of the cost and the status factor. That shit is just dumb. Drink beer because it's good, not because you'll look trendy doing it...

Marking the first day of fall on Wednesday, I just had to drink a fall style brew... and what better beer to drink than a Pumking Pumpkin Ale from our friends at the Southern Tier Brewing Company. At a hefty 9% ABV, this is a serious autumn pumpkin ale.

I've only seen this particular beer three ways: on tap at a local pub, in 22oz bottles, or straight from the brewery in a half gallon growler. Light orange in color, this looks like one delicious beer. The smell is pretty much all pumpkin and spice (nutmeg and a bit of sweet cinnamon) with slight notes of hops. The taste is exactly like the smell, hoppy and spicy with sweet pumpkin and cinnamon. Not overly sweet or hoppy, my main problem with it is the strong boozy taste at the end... it is 9% but still.

The way I first had this brew was on tap at a random bar a few years back. It was served in a regular pint glass, but the bartender coated the rim with ground cinnamon and sugar. It was a very neat concept and the same way I drank it last night. The cinnamon rim adds to the sweetness and, in my opinion, makes the beer that much more special (and fun to drink).

Quite a range of beers for a night out, I definitely enjoyed everything that I drank... maybe a little too much. I'm off to nurse this hangover. So long and keep up the good drinking.

Ithica Apricot Wheat 8/10
Anchor Summer Ale 7/10
ST Pumking 8.5/10

Sam Adams!

I'm not a fan of Samuel Adams. They have a few beers that I enjoy (Noble Pils, Cherry Wheat, Imperial Stout), but other than that...

I decided to go against my better judgment and scoop up the Samuel Adams Harvest Collection, the breweries fall variety 12 pack with six, yes SIX, different beers in it. I have to admit, I'm impressed that they would offer a 12 pack of beer with six beers in it- it's a great sampler and a great way to try out what the Boston brew house has to offer.

The two beers that I'm really looking forward to trying side-by-side is the Octoberfest and the Harvest Pumpkin Ale, a Harvest Collection exclusive. That's right, friends... you can only get this bad boy if you by the variety pack. Note: this was a major deciding factor in the purchase of this 12er; I just had to try it, and if I have to buy a ton of beers I don't want, then so be it, dammit!

Ok, so I've already tried the Octoberfest (it rated 2/10 in my book) but I've decided to give it another shot... you know, in case I had a bad batch or something. My real interest is in the Harvest Pumpkin Ale, and right off the bat I'd say it looks pretty good.

Lined up next to each other, you can definitely see the difference in the two brews. The Pumpkin Ale is a very dark amber (ruby almost), while the Octoberfest has a hue leaning to the orange side- still dark, but the ale wins. While each has a great color, the obvious winner in aroma is the Pumpkin Ale- light, sweet pumpkin/spice while Octoberfest has a hard, malty sweetness to it. In taste, the Pumpkin is very sweet and spiced, with a distinct maltyness to it with some slight hops on the end. In my opinion, it's a better version of a Sam's Octoberfest- malty with a large addition of spice to it. I would have to say it's a very drinkable beer, I wouldn't mind bothering my local bartender for a few of these on a given night.

The Pumpkin Ale, at 5.7% ABV, is the clear winner here over the 5.3% Octoberfest. Sweeter and better drink-ability is what makes this Harvest Collection exclusive brew worth buying the fucking Harvest Collection in the first place.

After the two autumn brews, I poured up another good seasonal, the Irish Red. With color similar to the Octoberfest, this 5.5% ABV ale has a clear, deep red color to it- dark but not overly so. It has a roasted malt smell to it, on the sweet side but the sweetness is pretty subtle (molasses?). It tastes very similar to how it smells, but exceptionally better. I have to admit, I was surprised at how good this brew tasted. The carbonation was pretty strong, but the flavors you get from the beer are delicious: sweet with some bitterness, a nice roasted caramel flavor with that brown sugar/molasses, finishing up with some hops.
While the hops are not a prominent part in the taste of this beer, I feel that they really make it in the end, a good cut to the roasted sweetness. This is a beer I would seriously consider buying in bulk, it's that tasty. The only downside is the strange aftertaste, although I have a theory that you get this with ALL Sam's beers... must be the Bean-town water or something?

Next we have a beer that belongs in the "why the fuck is this in here?" category: the Black Lager. Schwarzbier in style, this 4.9% ABV lager is, well, pretty fucking black. Not quite Guinness black, but pretty dark. Holding it up to the light, you can get a nice purple/red/brown hue, but only if you get the light right on the damn glass. It has a great smell to it, roasted coffee and sweet toasted malt- not a bad smell in the least.

The taste is (again) surprisingly great. Very malty, with a nice roasted chocolate sweetness to it. The hops on the end give it a nice finish, but I can't help but think that this is a dry tasting beer- not necessarily a bad thing, but it kind of leaves me wanting more from it. It's a very creamy, smoky, drinkable beer and I must say that I quite enjoyed this Sam's. I'll add it to my list of beers that don't suck.

Up next was the breweries staple, the Boston Lager. I've never been a fan of this particular beer, and today is no different. A 4.75% ABV Vienna style lager (Dos Equis is also a Vienna lager), Boston Lager is light copper in color with the aroma of (noble) hops and a bit of sweetness (caramel?). Good smell and look... but that's where the goodness ends for me. I don't like the taste whatsoever- the bitterness, while not overpowering, is still there and considerably noticeable. The hops are nice, but I just can't get away from the bitterness.

Last but not least, we come to the Dunkelweizen (Dogfish Head Grau Dunkel is one of my favorite dunkelweizen style beers, or overall beers for that matter. Try it!). Dunkelweizen are pretty much just a darker version of a Hefeweizen (high malt, low bitterness), but the smell and taste is drastically different- a lot have aromas of clove and fruit, the main fruit smell being banana! This is a pretty attractive looking beer (can't wait to drink it)- it's a cloudy brown/amber with the aroma of, you guessed it, spice and banana. There's also a little bit of citrus in the smell and something I can only describe as bubblegum- very sweet and sugary smell. The taste is actually pretty incredible- leaning towards the sweet side, the citrus and banana are right up front. It's a bit malty with some caramel on the back, a bit "thin" from other dunkelweizen's I've tried in the past. Still, very good in my book.

So the beers I tried today, while not coming from my favorite brewery, were actually pretty good. My main problem with Sam Adams is the fact that they are a large scale, mass producing brewery... but claim to be a craft brewery. This simply isn't the case. While they do have a couple of beers I enjoy, and, more importantly, would actually buy at a bar, the majority of their stuff just isn't that good. If you're a Sam's fan, I recommend buying this 12 pack. If you're not, I'd still recommend it because you get to try and nice smorgasbord of beers, some of which are actually pretty damn good.

Pumpkin Ale 7/10
Octoberfest 4/10 (changed my mind a bit on this one, it's not a 2, but not a 5 either)
Irish Red 7.5/10
Black Lager 6.5/10
Boston Lager 4/10
Dunkelweizen 7/10

Pennsylvania Invasion!

Today I'll be trying beers from the Erie (PA) Brewing Company, Troegs Brewing Company, Great Lakes Brewing Co., and... well, this last one is a surprise! ...and not a very good surprise.

Starting things off, we've got a brew from the Erie Brewing Company, out of Erie, Pennsylvania. They offer up a great 6.8% ABV malty brew called Railbender Ale, which from the looks of the bottle's label, the beer is brewed on a train. Known for delicious brews like the Derailed Black Cherry Ale (5% ABV cream ale with a cherry back to it) and (I kid you not) the Hard Cock Ale (6.8% ABV American Pale Ale).

This Scottish style ale is has a very sweet taste up front, a nice malt kick in the back and a great dark red/brown color. It has a nice smell to it, kind of sweet and malty- for sure unique to this beer. It's also one of the only brews I've ever seen with virtually no head at all- it was gone seconds after the pour. As for flavors, the malt was a bit strong, but you can manage to taste raisins, toffee and a nice smoky bit of caramel. This is a fantastic beer that I could drink all night long.

Let's move on to the OTHER Pennsylvanian brewery on today's menu, Troegs.

Troegs Brewing Company out of Harrisburg offers a variety of brews, from the Rugged Trail Ale (4.4% ABV nut brown ale with chocolate hints!) to the boner inducing Mad Elf Ale, an 11% ABV winter seasonal that combines chocolate, cherry and honey. In all seriousness, Mad Elf Ale is amazing and I can NOT wait to drink it again.

Today, I'll be trying the HopBack Amber Ale from Troegs. Described as the breweries "flagship" beer, this brew has an interesting story behind it.

HopBack Amber Ale derives its name from a vessel in the brewhouse called a hopback. As the "wort" is being transferred from the brewhouse to fermentation it passes through the hopback vessel. Packed full of fresh whole flower hops, the wort (liquid extracted from the mashing process during brewing) slowly circulates through this vessel extracting the essence of the aromatic hops. This vessel adds more time and more hop character that creates a fresh, spicy taste and rich caramel not that defines this signature ale.

A 6% ABV ale, HopBack has a great cloudy amber/red color to it. It's strange, when I first smelled this beer the one word that came to me was "clean". No idea why. Besides the cool color, HopBack has a nice sweet smell, kind of citrusy/hoppy with pine notes. A great malt/hop combo taste, it has some very floral hops when it all comes down to it. A bit creamy with some spice, but not too much- I've never tasted an ale quite like this before. I did notice that it's pretty dry- after my first sip, I needed another one right away, and this time me being a drunk had little to do with it. A very crisp and refreshing beer, but not as hoppy as I had expected.

Moving on, Great Lakes, as usual, has another great beer to try: Holy Moses White Ale. I can never get enough of this breweries beer, so, seeing as I never tried this one before, I was pretty excited. GL describes the beer as:

A handcrafted White Ale with spices and chamomile. Named after Cleveland's founding father Moses Cleaveland, our with ale has a cloudy appearance and a spicy citrus flavor with hints of coriander, orange peel and chamomile.

Witbier in style, this brew offers up an impressive 5.4% ABV. Cloudy yellow in color, I would compare this to the Franziskaner Hefe-Weisse I had a few weeks back. The aroma on this one is interesting, sweet with scents of citrus (orange more than lemon) and spice (clove? or is that the chamomile?). The taste is just like the smell, citrusy with a nice spice kick to it and a distinct tartness upfront. Of course, being a Great Lakes beer, there is a certain hoppyness to it, but not as intense as other GL brews.

If I had to describe this beer in one word, it would be: refreshing. A nice seasonal Belgian style witbier, I would recommend it to the Belgian brew style fans or anyone looking to cool the fuck down on a hot day. Tasty!

And my surprise beer IS... Brava! The beer of the summer!

Ugh. The story behind this regretful purchase is: my old man and I went to some Canadian casinos for his birthday. I ended up winning at some slots (thank you, Alien Vs Predator interactive video slot machine) and on our way to the border, we drove past a Beer Store. Being a drunk, we had to stop and buy something and Brava Premium Lager caught my eye.

Mini rant: the number one beer in Canada is Coors Light (brewed in the US), which is strange because the number one beer in Buffalo, New York is Labatt Blue Light (brewed in Canada)... odd. A 30 pack of Coors in Canada is $38.50, while it's $22 here in the United States. Remember, the Canadian dollar (the loonie) is stronger than the US dollar is... it's a sad time we live in, friends. I must say, when I checked out the prices at the Beer Store, I was glad to be from America.

Ok so, Brava Premium Lager is brewed by the Lakeport Brewing Company out of New Brunswick, Canada. It has a 5.0% ABV (directly related to my decision to buy this, fyi). This bad boy is yellow in color with a very malty smell and taste. It's refreshing in the sense that if you had nothing else to drink, this would it the spot. The ABV helped because I was drinking this beer for the sole purpose of getting drunk, but I would not drink it over other Canadian brews like Labatt Blue Light or Molson Canadian.

Brava 5/10
Holy Moses 8/10
Railbender Ale 8/10
Troegs 6.5/10

Thursday!

My friend Dave came home from Germany for a few weeks, so Thursday night, being from Buffalo and all, a group of us decided to go out for some chicken wings and (what turned out to be a ton of) beers.

Despite what you may have heard, the Anchor Bar fucking sucks. The hands down best place for chicken wings in Western New York is Dwyer’s Irish Pub, which just so happens to be the staple hangout for my group of friends. You can get a ridiculous variety of wings there, from chili lime to raspberry barbecue to Jameson. You can’t really beat a $2 Pabst Blue Ribbon pint and 25 cent wings, so if you’re in the Buffalo area, make sure you make a stop at Dwyer’s.

Anyways, when I was ordering my first drink, I noticed a sign with the day’s beer specials and one in particular caught my eye. Southern Tier Brewery, located in Lakewood, New York, has a great selection of brews, some of the best being the Raspberry Wheat Beer (4.6% ABV, golden wheat beer brewed with raspberries) and the Unearthly Imperial IPA (9.8% ABV, amazing hop taste). In the other night’s case, I sampled a pint of a ST brew I’ve never even heard of before- Eurotrash Pilz.

An incredibly tasty 5.3% ABV pilsner, this beer was light on color but heavy on taste. Southern Tier describes the beer:

This beer may have a cheeky name, but don’t be fooled; it is modeled after fine European pilsners to be light and crisp. Aromatic Noble hop varieties, 2-row malted barley and European style pilsner malt contribute to this pale beer’s smooth character.

A summer seasonal from ST, I would compare this to the Samuel Adam’s seasonal take, Noble Pils. It has a clear, crisp taste to it, very hoppy upfront but it isn’t overpowering. A great hoppy/floral smell accompanies this beer and all-in-all I was happy I was able to try it out.

Dave got to pick the next beer, and man was it good. Spending time in Europe, particularly Germany, got him hooked on German beers, so naturally he selected one of the only such brews on tap: Franziskaner Hefe-Weisse.

This great beer, brewed by Spaten-Franziskaner-Brau in Germany, is a 5% ABV hefeweizen that has a fantastic cloudy-golden color and amazing smell and taste. A sweet, citrusy aroma with hints of clove, banana and caramel comes with this hefeweizen, which has a creamy texture and sugary taste to it. It’s not bitter, but it certainly has tartness to it that I personally enjoyed. The taste was exactly like the smell, and I can honestly say that this is one wheat beer I would recommend to any booze hound.

I just want to make a point real quick: this was an all out drinking night; these are not the only beers we drank. In between these great beers, we were chugging Pabst Blue Ribbon and Coors Light. They might not taste all that good, but they sure do the trick.

So after the German brew, I decided (in my drunken mind, that is) to go back to Southern Teir and give their summer wheat beer, Hop Sun, a taste.

ST, whose motto for this particular beer is "summer good, summer better" is actually pretty accurate. This is a great summer-style American wheat ale. A great light golden color fills the glass and the smell is fantastic. A bit hoppy, the sweet malt and citrus (lemon) smell is what overpowers this brew. The taste is great, simply what a summer wheat should taste like- a bit bitter due to the hops, but sweet and zesty overall. Give this light bodied, smooth tasting 4.9% ABV ale a shot if given the chance; you won't be disappointed.

The last pint I tried on Thursday is one of my favorites- Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA. While it might have a funny name, this beer is no joke; it very well could be the best tasting IPA I've ever had, although the 90 Minute and 120 Minute are just as good.

Dogfish Head Craft Brewery, located in the fine state of Delaware, has given us some pretty epic beers. From the 60 Minute IPA to the 120 Minute (18% ABV and HOLY SHIT is it hoppy), to the Aprihop (7% ABV with strong citrus and hop tones) seasonal and the rough Indian Brown Ale (7.2% ABV with coffee, ginger and chocolate tones), this is one brewery that knows what it's doing. Dogfish describes the 60 Minute:
 
Our 60 Minute IPA is continuously hopped - more than 60 hop additions over a 60 minutes boil (getting a vibe yet of where the name came from?). 60 Minute is a session India Pale Ale brewed with a slew of great NorthWest hops. A powerful, but balanced East Coast I.P.A. with a lot of citrusy hop character. The session beer for hardcore beer enthusiasts!

This 6% ABV IPA is out of this world. A golden amber color, the floral hop smell is mixed with citrus to make one great aroma. The first taste is very sweet, but the hops kick in almost immediately. You're left with a great hoppy aftertaste, kind of like grapefruit meets a lemon. Of course there is bitterness to it, but this is an IPA for fuck sake! I couldn't say enough good things about this brew.

Wrapping things up, what kind of drinking night could it be without some shots? In our case, we were lucky enough to get some free samples of the new Three Olives Purple, the vodka distilleries newest take on grape booze. The purple colored vodka, I must say, is pretty appealing. I'm a fan of Three Olives Grape, so I was excited to try this one out.

The shot we had was actually pretty good. It came in a bomb-shot glass, with the purple colored vodka in the middle glass and lemonade surrounding it in the outer shot. The vodka wenches also gave us some Pop Rocks to complete the deal. The process was: 1.) Pop Rocks on the tongue, 2) Pound the shot, 3.) Enjoy.

It tasted pretty great, grape vodka with lemonade is a fun combination and was very tasty. The booze itself was pretty smooth and I definitely wouldn't mind picking up a bottle one of these days.

Stay tuned for more beer reviews and drinking stories!

Eurotrash 7/10
Franziskaner Hefe-Weisse 8/10
Hop Sun 7.5/10
60 Minute IPA 10/10
Three-O Grape 7/10

Great Lakes/Red Hook Take Turns

I have two more Octoberfest/Autumn style brews to review for you guys today! To be honest… I’m kind of getting tired of Octoberfest and it’s not even October yet. I might need to change this shit up and start reviewing other types of beer so I don’t lose my fucking mind.

Today I’ve got the Oktoberfest from the Great Lakes Brewing Company and the Late Harvest Autumn Ale from the Red Hook Ale Brewery.

I’m going to crack open the Great Lakes beer first because, quite frankly, it comes from one of my absolute favorite brewery’s. I love disgustingly hoppy, malty beer and that is one thing that Great Lakes is known for. From the Burning River Pale Ale (6% ABV very hoppy American Pale Ale) to the Commodore Perry IPA (7.5% ABV a great fruity tasting IPA), the hops in these brews make a frighteningly good adult beverage.

GL describe the Oktoberfest as:

An amber lager with rich malt flavor balanced by fragrant noble hops and they go on to say Our Oktoberfest is the noble brother of the Vienna lager…As if wearing “lederhosen” and getting your “oompah” on didn’t make you noble enough.

The brew has that great medium coppery color that I’ve been getting used to over these past few weeks and, after the pour, I was greeted with a fantastic aroma of malt and strong hops. This 6.5% ABV Oktoberfest has a sweet-but-not-too-sweet taste to it, with the malt and earthy hops being very dominant, even in the aftertaste. Hints of caramel, honey and spice also show up in the taste (along with a noticeable amount of alcohol), but this is one fall beer that isn’t dominated by spiciness. Like most beers out of the Cleveland brewery, this is a beer that I could drink all day; sip after sip it truly is enjoyable.

The Red Hook brewery, which run with a “Liquid Goodness Since 1982” motto, brings us the 5.9% ABV Late Harvest Autumn Ale. Red Hook, who brew out of Seattle, offer such sought after beers as the Copperhook Copper Ale (5.8%ABV with strong noble hop and caramel flavors) and the Belgian Tripel (10.2% ABV with fruity/spicy flavors throughout). The beer in question today however, is the brewery’s take on autumn ale, and it sure is good.

Red Hook explains that:

As the fall days grow shorter, beer drinkers naturally start their migration toward more robust, full-bodied brews. Late Harvest is an easy-drinking, yet flavorful brew that features a deep chestnut color and unique, roasted malt aroma and flavor. Late Harvest’s rich flavor is the result of using four different malts, yet the robust profile remains balanced and sophisticated, thanks to our two distinctive hop additions.

Brewed with Willamette, Saaz and Chinook hops, this great medium-orange/amber colored ale has a noticeably sweet malt taste with hints of citrus and hops. The first taste is great and it’s accompanied by a strong bite aftertaste. The smell is different than any other fall beer I’ve tried so far- kind of a fruity, roasted smell that was pretty good.

Overall I thought this was a good beer, but it was somehow a bit bland. Despite the fact that it was "liquid goodness" I must admit that I expected a deeper flavor for an autumn ale and it just didn’t do the trick in my book.

Great Lakes 8/10
Red Hook 6/10

The Best American Oktoberfest? I'll Take Three!

Today I'm drinking three beers brewed right here in the good old USA. On deck is the Oktoberfest from the Brooklyn Brewery, Sam Adam's Octoberfest, and the Pumpkin Ale from Buffalo Bill's Brewery. Who's gonna take first place in this American free-for-all?

My money's on the cowboy.

First up, I poured a nice cold glass of the Brooklyn Oktoberfest, and not because I wanted to drink it first; personally, I think it will probably be my least favorite out of the three and I want to get it out of the fucking way.

And to set the record straight, Brooklyn’s website gives us a bit of history on Oktoberfest, explaining that:

When Crown Prince Ludwig of Bavaria wanted to celebrate his wedding engagement in 1810, he did what any good Bavarian price would do… he threw a beer festival. Both the festival and the special beer served there became known as Oktoberfest. Brewed from the finest German malt and hops, Brooklyn Oktoberfest is true to the original style, full-bodied and malty, with a bready aroma and light, brisk hop bitterness.

The first thing I noticed after the pour was the rich color, which was a bit redder than previous fall beers I’ve tried. It was also pretty aromatic, not overpowering like the Saranac Pumpkin Ale, but there was certainly a noticeable heavy hop/malt scent to it.

My first taste was a huge gulp, which was a bad decision because I may have underestimated this brew. The coldness really brought out the hoppyness of the beer, which was the highest-flying of any Oktoberfest I’ve sampled so far. The hops (Hallertauer Perle, Hallertauer Mittelfrueh straight from Bavaria!) are out of this world, giving it a deep, crisp taste. I'd like to see more beer use this variety of hops, but from what I understand from the brew-dudes, they are pretty rare.

My overall judgment on this one is: not one of my favorite autumn beers to date. I do believe that Brooklyn’s 5.5% ABV Oktoberfest is good… but I’ll probably pass on a second round.

Moving on- and I’m really excited about this one since it will be my first taste of it- we come to the Pumpkin Ale brought to the masses from Buffalo Bill’s Brewery. Buffalo Bill, a larger than life cowboy figure from the Old West days, is the namesake of this California brewery, which gives us unique micro-brews like Blueberry Oatmeal Stout and the amazing Orange Blossom Cream Ale. This brew, not the Imperial Pumpkin Ale but the “America’s Original” variety, is a 5.2% ABV seasonal delight that the brewery explains:

Buffalo Bill’s Pumpkin Ale is one of the most sought after seasonal beers. It is believed that George Washington brewed beer using this bright orange squash. In modern times, Buffalo Bill’s Pumpkin Ale is a true original microbrew that uses baked and roasted pumpkins. Cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg are added to create what has been described as, “pumpkin pie in a bottle.”

After I opened the bottle, I instantly smelled the sweet mix of nutmeg and cinnamon, similar to that of the Saranac but not as strong. The color on this beer is incredible, truly a “pumpkin ale” because the fucking beer is orange. The first taste was great, but the next was better. Absurdly sweet, the cinnamon mixes with the cloves and pumpkin to make a one-of-a-kind beer- spicy but not overly so. I don’t know if I like this more than the Saranac version of pumpkin ale, but they’re pretty damn close. I’d say Buffalo Bill’s is lighter (certainly in color, anyway), sweeter and has a smoother drink-ability to it; Just amazing in my book.

Wrapping up today’s drinking venture is another Octoberfest brought to us from Samuel Adams. Samuel Adams, named after one of the Founding Fathers of the United States, has given us a decent line of beers, from the sweet, almost dessert-like Cherry Wheat to the absolutely awful Old Fezziwig Ale.

Before I talk about the brew itself, I want it to say that I’m not a fan of most beer made by Sam Adams. I feel that all Sam’s taste the same, and that one taste isn’t very good. The Boston Lager, its staple beer, tastes too malty and, well, not too fucking good- it certainly doesn't deserve the praise that it receives. Sam’s “prides” itself on the beer it brews, and that’s really too bad because they could probably do a better job at it consider the popularity of the brewery.

Anyhow, on to the tasting.

The color of this beer is good, medium with a rich golden-orange color. I’d like to add that this is one of the best looking, most colorful Sam Adams bottles (maybe even Octoberfest bottles) that I’ve seen. Every other aspect of this beer is, well, frankly it’s pretty bland. The smell isn’t noticeable and the taste is pretty bland, definitely not what I would expect from an Octoberfest style of brew.

Sam’s says “Samuel Adams  Octoberfest masterfully blends together five roasts of malt to create a delicious harmony of sweet flavors including caramel and toffee.” This couldn’t be farther from the truth. Even my girlfriend, who knows next to nothing about beer (she loves Coors), said that “It tastes like flat crappy Keystone…” and I couldn’t agree more. It just isn’t worth paying for, or drinking for that matter. Save your bucks and buy one of the other beers I reviewed today.

With Buffalo Bill’s take on the pumpkin ale, I have to go back to the sweetness of the smell on this beer. I’ve never tasted anything like it- the cinnamon and sweet nutmeg combo is great and the color is almost funny; it really is orange like a pumpkin. Any beer lover, or even non-beer lover, would enjoy this beer.

The Brooklyn Oktoberfest is heavy and hoppy, nice and alcoholic and a whole hell of a lot better than the Sam’s I sampled… although I’ll probably pass up another opportunity to drink it.

The Sam’s Octoberfest is awful, just like most of the beers that come from the Boston staple brewery. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone who values their taste buds.

Buffalo Bill's 9/10
Brooklyn 5/10
Sam's 2/10

Three Saranac Brews: How Will They Do?

This week we have a full-out Saranac attack on my liver.

I'll be honest, I can’t fucking wait to drink these beers. They come to us from the Matt Brewing Company, which is responsible for the line of always delicious Saranac beers. On today’s menu, we have both of Saranac’s fall beers, including the always great Pumpkin Ale and the Octoberfest Lager and, why the fuck not, I’ll throw in Saranac’s India Pale Ale for good measure.

A quick word about Saranac: all Saranac beer is brewed by the F.X. Matt Brewing Company located in Utica, New York. It’s the fourth oldest family-owned brewery in the United States and began with Utica Club beer (known for the “talking beer steins” commercials and ads which feature talking, sort-of-racist-but-still-funny, beer mugs named (among others) Schultz and Dooley). Saranac is a New York staple and, being from Buffalo, one of my favorite breweries. They make a ridiculous amount of different beers, ranging from ale’s to stouts to lagers and everything in between- for a real treat, pick yourself up some of their Summer Brew (a lemonade and beer combo) or the Pale Ale (extremely crisp and refreshing).

So up first, I poured myself a pint of the Pumpkin Ale and... well, first a word from Saranac:

In celebration of the fall harvest, here’s an autumn favorite that’s as enjoyable as pumpkin pie. This hearty ale is brewed with cinnamon, allspice, cloves, ginger and vanilla. Look for a full body and amber color. We’re sure you’ll enjoy this special brew!

As soon as you pour out the Pumpkin Ale, you know Saranac isn’t kidding- it’s going to be a special brew. The color, which is on the medium-dark side (sort of like Anakin Skywalker before he went totally fucking crazy), isn’t as dark as last weeks Tumbler from Sierra Nevada, but what really caught my attention was the smell- not overpowering but prominent nonetheless. You immediately get the allspice and cinnamon smell which mixes into a pleasant sweetness. The first taste brought me right back to last fall when the Pumpkin Ale begin to make its annual rounds (pun intended?), and I loved every second of it.

The ginger gives it a bite, while the allspice and clove (the two most noticeable ingredients) mix to give it a spiciness all its own- there are a lot of “pumpkin ales” out there, but this one has that certain “umph” that makes it stand out from the rest. The sweetness from the vanilla and cinnamon (which only adds to the aforementioned spiciness) makes the ale taste very sweet, but not overpoweringly so. I absolutely hate pumpkin pie, but I could drink this beer all damn day.

This 5.4% ABV ale is a must-have for the fall season and it won’t be around for long- get it while you can! …and even if you’re not a fan of fall seasonal brews, get this bottle for the hilarious label.

Next we have the Octoberfest Lager, which I’m not particularly excited about drinking after the epic Pumpkin Ale I just tried.  It’s just going to be hard to go from something like that to, well, anything else.

The first thing I notice after the pour is how much lighter in color this is compared to the previous beer. The smell isn’t as prominent (obviously) as the Ale, but there’s a great hoppy smell to it as most Octoberfest beers will have. It’s slightly sweet but almost… deep, which might be a result of the hops selection.
Saranac says about the Octoberfest:

In 1878, our grandfather came to America from Germany where he apprenticed at the Duke of Baden’s Brewery. Brewed to the standards established over a century ago, Saranac Octoberfest is a rich, flavorful lager. We use imported Two-row and Crystal malt and balance it with the pleasant bitterness of Sazz and Tettnang hops. We hope you enjoy it. Prosit!

Another 5.4% ABV brew, this beer starts strong and finishes stronger, leaving you with a great hoppy aftertaste that stays on the tongue until your next sip, or gulp, or chug, or however you wish to celebrate with this beer. The hops/malt combo is like no other Octoberfest I’ve ever tried, or any other beer for that matter. It has a distinct bitterness and, I have to admit, I like it better than Magic Hat’s Hex from last week.

Wrapping up this review is the India Pale Ale, one of the best year-round Saranac beers available. Saranac describes the beer as:

A hop lovers delight! In the India Pale Ale Tradition, this brew is very hoppy in both aroma and flavor from the generous amounts of Cascade Hops used in brewing. Look for a medium to full body and golden straw color. Enjoy with seafood, pizza and Mexican dishes.

The description isn’t kidding: this beer is pretty fucking hoppy. Not even close in comparison to any Great Lakes Brewing Co. beer in terms of hops, buy definitely a change of pace from the two previous beers I’ve had tonight.

A fantastic crisp smell that’s sweet and strong all at once. The color is light-medium and this is one IPA that must be served cold- it brings out the crispness all that much more. A very strong hoppy taste greets you on the first sip, but it sweetens up after you let it linger for a bit- a great aftertaste comes along with this beer. I love the smell and taste of this one, which is a must-have in my summer drinking collection.

When all is said and done tonight, the Pumpkin Ale is the clear winner. Absolutely delicious, spicy-sweet taste and it’s amazing cold. If you can find it on draft, don’t leave the bar. Ever.

The Octoberfest is good, one of the best I’ve had this season, and the unique blend of hops gives it a distinct taste. Great smell and color, I would recommend it to any fan of German beers… or beer in general.

The India Pale Ale is great. Very hoppy and crisp, this thing will floor your with its 5.8% ABV. I recommend it chilled on a hot day.

Fred Matt, current President of the Matt Brewing Company, says that “with all of our beers, we try and strive for one thing: making them distinctive and drinkable.” To anyone who has never tasted a Saranac beer before, that’s exactly how I would explain them: you can tell them apart from any other beer and if you have one, you want another one. And with as many beers as Saranac brews, that’s a lot of beer.

Pumpkin Ale 9/10
Octoberfest 7.5/10
India Pale Ale 7/10

Fall Beers Have Arrived!

It’s late August and that can only mean one thing in the beer world- it’s time for fall seasonal brews! Let’s hear it for FALL BEERS… in August...

Anyhow, the two that I’ll be testing out today come from a pair of my favorite breweries: The Vermont based Magic Hat Brewing Company and the Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. out of California.

The latest concoction from Magic Hat, Hex, is supposed to be its autumn seasonal, or what they’re describing as Ourtoberfest (ha-ha clever). An amber lager with an impressive 5.4% ABV, they describe the idea behind Hex and Ourtoberfest as follows:

Ourtoberfest is a celebration of the kindred spirits from seasons past. As they rise from their wooded underworld, a Hex is cast across the land, and song and dance and celebrate the low-slung sun.
To the fallen leaves, barren branches and frosted fields they toast: To the gateway of a new season as it opens. The Hex falls upon us all, a want for warmth within the season’s change.

Ok, so right off the bat, this is NOT an Oktoberfest, it’s an Ourtoberfest? Got it. So I should be expecting an autumn style, dark-but-not-too-dark, warmer beer instead of the heavy and spiced up Oktoberfest brews; sounds good to me.

To cut in real quick, last fall Magic Hat released Roxy Rolles as its autumn brew, a 5.1% ABV amber ale that was pretty damn good. It was a bit on the hoppy side but it will surely be missed, if not because of the taste than because of the awesome motorcycle label design slapped across the bottle. Hex is its replacement and (not surprisingly) it fits in perfectly.

A tasty amber ale, Hex is wicked from the get go. It’s almost sweet at first (these are the guys who brought us #9), but the finish is unmistakably dark. The website describes the brew as “A malty amber ale with hints of toffee and caramel and a slightly smoky finish,” and the description is right on the money. It starts off incredibly sweet and finishes like an autumn-based ale should- a nice, warm feeling. Not much else to say about Hex except go the fuck out and buy some right now! It could go the way of the Roxy Rolles…

Next on the menu is Tumbler from Sierra Nevada. An autumn brown ale, Tumbler boasts a 5.5% ABV and is significantly more bitter than the Magic Hat autumn ale- Hex came in at 25 while Tumbler is up around 37 (all this means is while Hex is a bit on the sweet side, Tumbler has some kick to it).

The Sierra Nevada website describes the beer:

As the nights grow cool, the leaves on the valley oaks begin to turn and fall. In honor of this yearly dance, we bring you Tumbler Autumn Brown Ale and invite you to enjoy the show. We use malt within days of roasting at the peak of its flavor to give Tumbler a gracefully smooth malt character. So pour a glass, and grab a window seat to watch as the leaves come tumbling down.

Another major difference between the two is color. Tumbler has a much darker color, not as dark as a Guinness would be, but not nearly as light as Hex, which almost had a reddish hue to it. This brew is also much more aromatic and has an almost chocolaty/coffee taste to it, similar to Hex but not nearly as sweet and much heavier on the end. While yes, it is more bitter, the bitterness gives it a stronger body than Hex- this is the shit lumberjacks drink... well, besides maple syrup and whiskey (they call it waffler).

My overall opinion of the two beers is positive. I could see myself drinking more Hex than Tumbler simply because Hex has a great start taste and good finish, while Tumbler is a bit on the heavier side. Hex is a sit-at-the-bar-and-pound type of beer, while Tumbler is a sit-by-the-fire-and-sip brew. Despite my favoritism to Hex’s taste, I think Tumbler is the better tasting AUTUMN beer- I could certainly see myself drinking a few as the weather cools down and I feel like it represents the fall season better than the Magic Hat beer does.

Hex 7/10
Tumbler 7.5/10