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: 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.