Sunday, May 8, 2011

Winter and then some

Hey everyone! Ok, enough of that, let's get drunk!

Saranac Season's Best Nut Brown Lager
5.30% ABV
The Matt Brewing Company
Vienna Lager

The name alone is a mouthful, but what about the beer? This is a nice dark brown/amber beer from one of my favorite lines, Saranac, brought to us by the Matt Brewing Company. The clean and crisp aroma on this bad boy is joined by some darker smells, mostly coffee and maybe a bit of sweetness (caramel?). The taste is a bit deceiving though... when I think of "nut brown" beers, I think of Leinenkugel's Nut Brown (probably my favorite winter beer...) and this beer, while a good try on Saranac's part, just doesn't cut it. It's a little bit nutty, but overall the malts do it in- far too malty for my taste which is a problem Saranac brand beers often have. The sweetness (caramel) and toastiness (coffee) are there, but the "nut" flavor is not.

While I'm a bit disappointed with this one, don't get me wrong- it's an excellent winter beer. Nice and dark in color with great carbonation, head, roasted flavor and aroma, this is an all around good brew.

Alpine Black IPA
6.00% ABV
Otter Creek Brewing Company/Wolaver's
American Black Ale

This is advertised (at least in name) as an Indian Pale Ale, but from the dark brown to boarder-line black color, this beer is anything but pale (and the asshole that works in the Title Department should get fired). The aroma (if you can make it through the head, anyways- tons of head on this one with good carbonation to boot) is a great mix between roasted malts and citrusy (grapefruit) hops, with a little bit of sweetness mixed in. The roasted smell transfers over to the taste, which is joined with some chocolate and coffee. The hops add to the sweetness of this all around good, creamy beer.

This one took me by surprise. I didn't know what to expect when I saw "Black" and "IPA" but now that I've given it a taste, I think it's a great combination. Drinking this brew is like drinking a chocolatey IPA- an excellent winter beer in my book.

Lagunitas IPA

6.20% ABV
Lagunitas Brewing Company
American IPA

For the life of me, I can't remember the name of the first Lagunitas beer I had, but ever since that first sip I've been hooked. I want to say it was raspberry or honey or something strange like that (I know it had a purple label - help me out in the comments if you know what I'm talking about), but I thought the beer, let alone the label, was unique and, more importantly, really fucking good.

Today I got my hands on the IPA- I've had the amazing Pale Ale, so I'm pretty excited for this beer. Light copper in color, this beer comes with a lot of head and even more hops. It has a sweet grapefruit/citrus/caramel smell with a strong malt aroma, stronger than most IPAs I've tried- the maltyness gives it a heavy, but sugary smell. Honestly, when I first got a whiff of this beer, my first thought was "Oh, it smells like Pop Rocks." The sweet taste is almost all hops/grapefruit with a very bitter back to it. This beer has a sweet smell and a sweet-to-bitter taste that I really enjoyed.

Old Scratch Amber Lager
5.50% ABV
Flying Dog Brewery
American Red/Amber Lager

This is the first beer I've tried from a brewery that I've heard a lot about. Located in Maryland, the Flying Dog Brewery is kind of like the hipster in the beer world (well, maybe that title goes to PBR, but FDB is a close second). From labels that grab your attention to funky names, this is a beer that everyone sees and goes "what the fuck? What is that?" I had to try it.

Being an American Amber Lager, the color on this brew is just what you would expect- neon green. The head doesn't stick around long, but the carbonation and flavor do. I couldn't get much of a smell out of this thing, some malt with maybe a bit of a metallic-nuttiness thrown in- bitter but also nutty, I guess. It has a strange bitterness to it, almost like the hops and malt work against each other. Not too sure how I feel about this one- it was good, but nothing really stood out for me. The after-taste is bready, which is different and I really enjoy the color. I'd have to say the best part of this beer (besides the 5.05% ABV) is the label...

I'm looking forward to trying more of these because this did not live up to the sweet label. Lame...

Winter Beers Galore

I'm not completely sure what my favorite part of drinking winter beer is, but the bump in the alcohol content probably has something to do with it. Today, I'll be reviewing four brews with a higher than usual alcohol content. I know, I live a hard life...

Blueberry Oatmeal Stout
7.5% ABV
Buffalo Bill's Brewery
American Double/Imperial Stout

This seems like one of the most appealing beers of all time. Of ALL. TIME. BLUEBERRY OATMEAL STOUT!? And it's 7.5% alcohol? Good Lord, who would make such a beer?

That's where Buffalo Bill's Brewery steps in.

BBB made one of, if not the best Pumpkin Ales that has ever been made (and not just that I've tasted... the beer was that good) and I couldn't wait to get my hands on another one of its craft beers. I saw this brew and couldn't resist- it just sounded too good. Unfortunately, I was a bit let down :(

It pours a really dark brown to almost black color, while the nose of this beer is almost all blueberry- it's funny really, there's not much else to the aroma but fruit and maybe a bit of malty roasted chocolate on the end. The taste, however, is pretty different from what I expected. Yes, this is an Imperial Stout and No, I didn't think it was going to taste like blueberry a whole bunch, but there was almost no blueberry taste at all. What a mindfuck, huh? It has an excellent maltyness to it and the chocolate from the nose is still there, but the blueberry is so timid it's almost not detectable.

Good carbonation, great smell (artificial but still appealing), great look, but average taste that was maybe even a bit flat. I thought for an Imperial it would be a bit heavier, and even more so because it's an OATMEAL STOUT. I wasn't completely let down with the beer in general, but after drinking something as good as BBB's Pumpkin Ale, I might think twice before buying another of their brews.

Christmas Ale
7.5% ABV
Great Lakes Brewing Company
Winter Warmer

I go by the belief that Great Lakes can do no wrong. They've never let me down with a beer... EVER, and I honestly mean that. From Lake Erie Monster to Nosferatu to Burning River Pale Ale, GL does beer right. It's one of my favorite breweries, if not my favorite, and its Christmas Ale is something I look forward to each winter. I'll explain why...

Firstly, like most of Great Lake's seasonals, this is a limited beer. It's available from the middle of November until the end of December and that's it. Not quite as limited as the Nosferatu (which is like two weeks at the most), but this is a brew that is tough to get your hands on. Next, this beer is full of flavor. The taste is an insane combination between chocolate (that's what I get, at least), honey, cinnamon, allspice and ginger. You can taste all of those ingredients in each sip, along with some great roasted malts and some hops (it's GL after all). Don't get me wrong though- this isn't necessarily a sweet beer. It has just enough sweetness and malt to it to be a successful winter warmer.

There's a lot of the honey and brown sugar along with some chocolatey malt in the nose, with a little bit more sweetness added in. The color of this brew is a clear brownish amber with a white head that doesn't stick around very long. This is a beer that I could drink over and over, which is why I got two six-packs instead of just one. If you have the chance, get this beer. If not, you're really missing out- get out there and find it you asshole!

Anchor Christmas Ale (2010)
5.50% ABV
Anchor Brewing Company
Winter Warmer


Anchor Brewing Company does a pretty neat thing every winter. Instead of coming out with the same old beer, they revamp their recipe and create an entire new festive brew. This years was great, definitely better than last years which I remember dumping down the drain for the most part... yuck.

At first, this beer is dark brown in color, but if held to the light, you can see that this beer has a reddish hue to it- pretty festive, eh? It's almost like if someone put a bit of red food coloring in a glass of Coca-cola. The smell and taste are neck and neck- heavy malt, cloves, nutmeg, borderline fruit (berries?) and cinnamon greet you with every sip- a great combination in my book. It has a bit of a bitter finish, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. After the sweet smell and initial taste, the bitterness is almost wanted. This is a very drinkable beer.

Would I buy this beer again? Yes. Do I have hope for a great 2011 edition of the Christmas Ale? Absolutely.

Dundee Festive Ale
6.20% ABV
Genesee Brewing Company
Winter Warmer

I love Dundee beers (Irish Red Lager is their best by far), so I was pretty excited to grab a six pack of this and go to town

This beer pours kind of a murky orange with not much head to it. The aroma is pretty good, caramel with toffee, but there's none of the spice from the other Winter Warmers I've tried- kind of strange. The flavor is just like the aroma; this is a sweet beer with a bumped up alcohol content and you can really taste that on the back end. Some spice shows up, but it's not very much.



Over all, I wasn't very impressed with this beer. I did try it on tap at a local bar, and I must say it was much better than the bottle (it always is, isn't it?). This is a beer I would suggest to people who are trying to get into drinking Winter Warmers, as it's pretty mild for the style.

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

All I Got for Christmas is Beer

Instead of milk and cookies, I left a few of these beers out for Santa and I'm sure I'll be on the "Nice" list for the rest of my life.

Winter Witte
5.8% ABV

Ellicottville Brewing Company
Witbier w/ Coriander & Orange


EBC is one of my favorite breweries because they make some good (and sometimes weird) beers. The Blueberry Wheat and Nut Brown are fine and dandy, but the Black Jack Oatmeal Stout and the cleverly named Pantius Droppus (Imperial Pale Ale) are incredible. Don't get me started on the Chocolate Cherry Bomb...

This particular beer, the Winter Witte, I've never tried before so as you can imagine, I'm pretty excited. Here we go!

An almost headless, hazy golden beer when poured out, this baby is brewed with coriander and orange peel, and LORD can you tell. The aroma is full of hops and orange peel, but the taste is like no other beer I've ever tried before- winter or otherwise. The hops and orange are still present in the first sip, but the coriander completely takes over. I don't know if it's a mix between the orange/hops/coriander, but this beer takes on almost a vanilla flavor, creamy and smooth and out-of-this-world. I was a bit taken aback when I first drank it (the taste wasn't overpowering, but it was very unexpected), but now I love it and it's a the top of my holiday favorites list.

It has a good balance of wheat malts and citrusy hops, but the way the beer feels in your mouth is pretty strange. It has a kick to it, almost like some of that zestiness from the orange and coriander came over into the carbonation. It's another interesting aspect to an extraordinary brew.


Old Man Winter Ale
7.2% ABV
Southern Tier Brewing Company
Old Ale

Southern Tier is in the same boat as EBC in my opinion. Great beers that never disappoint, ST has brought us gems like Hop Sun (Summer Wheat), Raspberry Wheat a great IPA and, my personal favorite, Phin and Matt's.

But today, we have the breweries take on a winter ale, and it sounds promising. Southern Tier describes this beer as a "Liquid Winter Wonderland" and they're right on the mark. They go on to say:

With the onset of winter, the brewer’s mind turns to providing warmth. For our winter seasonal, we offer a rich and complex amalgam of hops and barley that will put the feeling back in your toes and lift your spirits above the snow. OMW throws a deep and inviting hue with a thickness that clings to the glass and the warmth of an open flame. Because of its high alcohol content, Old Man is a heady brew that encourages sipping and pondering its essential richness. Drink it fresh now, or cellar a few bottles to see how this old man becomes wiser with age.

A light brown/amber/gold in color, this 7.2% ABV (Yeah, I can't believe it either) old ale is perfect for winter. It has a nice toasted malt aroma with a little bit of sweetness (toffee/caramel). The toasty malts jump over into the taste, making this a pretty heavy, dark beer. I like the hops that show up at the end, mixing with the sweetness of the malt- the flavor really sticks around in your mouth. It has a little bit of fruitiness to it (the hop/malt mix would be my guess), kind of like a raisin meeting an orange(?). I'm not sure exactly what spices went into this brew, but it's got a bit of that as well- cinnamon for sure. If you're snowed in like I am right now, it's a great beer to have on hand.

You might be asking, where is that 7.2% alcohol I've been hearing so much about. The answer: all on the back end. Wow. I almost need a chaser for this bad boy. If there were only two words to describe this beer, they would be "malt" and "alcohol".

Prima Pils
5.3% ABV
Victory Brewing Company
German Pilsener


Victory and I have a long running history with each other- and not a good one. When I first turned 21 and could drink legally, a local bar had a contest of sorts. They gave out punch-cards with 20 different beers on them- if you get all the holes punched, you get a free shirt and a $20 bar tab. Naturally, my friends and I wanted to be in on this. So the weeks passed and the holes started adding up until we only had three beers left to drink. Two were Samuel Smiths and one was Victory. All were horrible (this was when I first started drinking actual beers, not just Keystone). The last one I drank was the Victory ESB which, if you haven't had it, is an extremely intense and bitter brew (ESB- Extra Special/Strong Bitter). It was horrible... but I got that fuckin shirt.

I've grown to like Victory beers though, and this one I was excited to try because I really like V's HopDevil Ale and I figured this one would be pretty similar.

A light-golden in color (it's a pilsener) with a quickly vanishing head, this brew has the aroma of mild hops and malt, which is maybe just a bit too strong (again, it's a pilsener). The smell transfers over to the taste just like I expected it to, nice and malty with strong hops on the back end. It's a perfect example of a pilsener: clean and refreshing hops with malt cut into it. Not much else to say about this guy, other than I'd drink it again.

Fire Rock
5.80% ABV
Kona Brewing Company
American Pale Ale

In my last post, I drank a beer from the Kona Brewing Company that had passion fruit in it, and while it wasn't that great, I wanted to see what else this brewery has to offer. Well son of a bitch, I found another one and from what I hear, it's fucking awesome.

A nice amber/copper color with a pretty minimal head, this beer smells like straight up citrus hops and caramel malt. The taste is pretty unique, and I can see why people rave about this particular beer. It's sweet, hoppy, a little bitter (maybe even metallic) from the malts, but there's something on the backend that I can't really describe- kind of like caramel and toasted malt but that's not it and I still can't quite figure out what it is (I could drink 100 of these and not figure it out, I imagine). A great beer, I would drink this again and again.

I think the name of this beer had me a bit confused. I understand that the brewery is in Hawaii and fire rock/lava/hawaii ha-ha, but where does the fire come in on this beer? It has a bit of fire in the roasted malt flavor I guess, but I was expecting something different I suppose. I'm not saying this is a bad beer, but the name is nothing like the taste. I need to try more beers from this brewery.

5.8% seems pretty high for a pale ale, maybe that's the fire?

Friday, January 28, 2011

Winter Beers: A Look So Far

I took a bit of a hiatus from this blog to focus on other stuff (namely, finding a fucking decent job and putting in some work with the movie blog I write), but now I'm back and promise to update at least once a week.

I want to make something perfectly clear: I DIDN'T STOP DRINKING. I just stopped WRITING ABOUT DRINKING. A new season is upon us, with a ton of excellent beers, and I'll be sure to share as many as I can with you. I'm also trying a new format so I can write less. Writing less = drinking more. Let's begin!

Wailau Wheat
5.40% ABV
Kona Brewing Co.
Passion Fruit Wheat Ale

Passion fruit would be a good idea for a fruit smoothie or flavored vodka, but is it really something you want to add to a beer? Let's find out!

This is a limited release wheat ale, brewed by the Kona Brewing Company, and it's described as:

Wailua is Hawaiian for two fresh water streams mingling. This was just the inspiration we needed for our limited release wheat ale brewed with tropical passion fruit. A refreshing, citrusy, sun-colored ale with the cool taste of Hawaii.

First of all, when I think of the "taste of Hawaii" the first thing that comes to mind is lava, quickly followed by pineapple. But passion fruit? This brew, while not quite "sun-colored" is a clear, light gold in color (it legit looks just like apple juice to be honest with you). The smell is just what you would think a beer with passion fruit brewed into it would smell like: passion fruit. The initial smell is also joined by some hops, but the fruitiness is what holds most of the aroma- I think the hop/passion fruit mix gave it a nice grapefruit smell as well... pretty pleasant. The taste is extremely fruity and sweet, maybe too much for my liking, although I did find that the more I drank the less "fruity" tasting it became.

The two main things I found wrong with this beer was the intense fruit taste right up front, and the almost complete lack of carbonation- this was a very watery beer. It was an enjoyable brew and a nice change of pace, but I'm not sure I would drink it again as I'm not really looking for a sweet, fruit taste when I drink a brew.

I would recommend this beer to anyone looking to try something really different, or someone who wants a beer but isn't a huge beer drinker- a mixed drink person, if you will. I'd really like to try other beers from this particular brewery, so I'll keep my eyes peeled.

Hardcore
5.5% ABV

Hardcore Cider Company (Boston Beer Company - Sam Adams)
Hard Cider

This is basically Sam Adams' take on the alcoholic beverage that we all know and love: hard cider. I'm a big hard cider fan- from Woodchuck to Hornsby's to Strongbow, I love boozy ciders!

Light-pale to golden in color, it looks like carbonated apple juice. The smell is fantastic, apples with a little bit of malt added in. The taste is just what I expected from the smell- very sweet, like apple juice, with a malt kick to it. Great carbonation in this cider, it's not very watery like other hard cider's I've had in the past. There's a slight alcohol kick to it, but it's pretty much undetectable after the first drink- at 5.5%, this could be a very dangerous drink.

Alta Gracia Coffee Porter
Otter Creek Brewing Co/Wolaver's
American Porter with Coffee (!!?)

First off, I don't like to drink straight coffee. I have no idea why I drank this beer- it was probably because I wanted to see what the hell a coffee beer tasted like. Turns out... not bad, actually.


Wolaver's is a branch of the Otter Creek Brewing Company (the Copper Ale and Pale Ale are great), except instead of normal beer, Wolaver's is usually certified organic. I've had quite a few organic/gluten free (Red Bridge) beers, and to me there really isn't much of a difference in taste. Wolaver's has a great Oatmeal Stout and an even better Pale Ale- definitely worth trying if you ever get the chance.

Anyways, on to the Coffee Porter.

The color on this thing makes Guinness look like a pale ale; this is one dark beer. Black in color with maybe a bit of chocolate dark brown and red thrown into the mix when held to the light, it has brownish head to it. The smell is amazing- pure roasted coffee with not much else, maybe a bit of hops and mocha to it. I'm not sure if the roasted aroma is from malt or the coffee beans, but it is heavy. The taste is... wow. This is beer? Almost no alcohol taste to it, just pure, sweet coffee. Nice toastiness to it with the rich taste of coffee, just like the aroma. I taste a bit of toffee in it as well

Besides the whole coffee flavor gimmick, I really enjoyed what Wolaver's did with this brew. Great carbonation, great color and smell, even better taste... this is hands down one of the best beers I've had this winter. The coffee, while a bit overpowering, is great and makes this beer stand out. I don't think I would want to have many of these in one sitting, as the flavor would get a bit stale- this is one of those beers to have over dinner or in front of the fire. A great winter porter.

Dundee Festive Ale
6.20% ABV
Dundee Brewing Company
Winter Warmer

Dundee Brewing Company is pretty awesome. The Stout and Irish Red Lager are probably its best two beers, but the Summer Wheat and India Pale Ale are right up there with them. I feel like Dundee is one of those breweries that isn't given credit for making a great product and people maybe tend to pass over it, which is a shame.

Anyways, on to the beer!

The color on this is how a winter beer should be- a brownish, dark copper with a white head to it. It has a malty smell, but is surprisingly sweet. A little bit of cinnamon adds to the aroma and caramel blends in as well. The taste is similar to the smell, but a lot more malty and full of carbonation. A blend of spices mix with a slight hint of orange and maybe some clove. A roasted... I don't know, maybe wood (?) flavor is on the back end along with some bread and dark fruit hints (this has to be the hops). In the end, this beer is dominated by the hops, but the spice makes a nice cut to that.

This beer is all over the place with flavor, which is in no way a bad thing. A nice winter beer for sure, I would drink more than a few of these if given the opportunity.