Recently in 12 Beers Category
Coppery red color with good head retention and lacing. I actually get a good amount of malt sweetness along with the predominant hop aroma.
Very well-balanced flavor, though tending toward the hop side of things. Pine mostly, a bit of citrus, countered with a caramel undertone. Left a sort of butter coating on the tongue, and I felt the crisp drying hop finish was a nice touch.
Sometimes I think we give too much credit to the extreme alcohol beers and not enough credit to these "low" alcohol brews. This is a good example of packing a lot of flavor and nuance into what many would think is a "simple" beer category.
Overall rating: 4.45
I had been a little disappointed with my first foray into Magic Hat beers a couple of years ago, but I decided to jump back in with their fall and winter offerings. This time, I was more pleased with the results.
Jinx pours a scant head with no lacing, but is a fine ruby red color.
The aroma is strong, smoky and malty at the same time. Perhaps even a bit of a whiskey or bourbon in there?
The first time I drank this I thought it tasted almost chocolatey. There's more to it than that. There is a good hop bite to it, peppery really. Underlying it all is a solid malt sweetness. And finishing it off is that lovely warm alcohol ester.
Smooth drinker, and a damn fine beer.
Overall rating: 4.55
Lovely sticky lacing on a good frothy head.
Not much aroma detected, and the initial feel is watery. But the beer comes back strong, with a nice hoppy bitterness. It is balanced a bit by a bit of malt sweetness, but still is mainly the hops that dominate, and not much else. Still pretty good for all that.
Overall rating: 3.95
Pale orange color, with a nice head filling to the top of the glass, and retaining well throughout.
Aroma is of pine and very floral hops. Perhaps a touch of lemon too.
The flavor is a mouth full of flowery goodness, grapefruit, and bitter hops. The sharp hop bitterness lingers at the back of the mouth, but is just pleasant enough, though perhaps not so for non-hop heads.
Really nice beer, I could just sit and sniff it for hours.
Overall rating: 4.8 (new record!)
Big substantial head. Nice reddish-brown color. The head gives the illusion of murkiness underneath.
Mostly malty aroma. Full-flavored with raisins and maybe even a tinge of dark chocolate in the back of the mouth.
Thin layer of alcohol coats the tongue and there is a nice bite from the carbonation as well.
Tremendous beer, the only disappointment was the aroma, but it doesn't distract too much.
Overall rating: 4.3
Not quite a deep orange color to this one, very little head or lacing present either.
Familiar toasty malt aroma.
A good balance between the malt and the hops, I think. The malt is less sweet, more bready than anything. Good hop bite but it leaves a bit more of an aftertaste than I'd expect from the style.
Even so, it's pretty good, regardless of how well it fits a style.
Overall rating:3.6
A stunningly average beer, not exactly what I expected from this one. I guess I got spoiled from the Oro de Calabazo, the last one of this style I tried.
Fairly pale yellow color, almost golden. Not a lot on the nose: a bit of malt, a tinge of hops.
It's on the light side of taste as well. There is some malt to be appreciated, lingering on the palette, and just a bite of hop bite, but not much else to speak of here.
Overall rating: 3.05
He Said Beer She Said Wine by Marnie Old and Sam Calagione
My review
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Many people don't think much about which beer they are going to drink with their meal. That's because most people drink the ubiquitous light lager, rather than one of the multitude of styles which could be more appropriate as a pairing. The good news is that brewers like Sam Calagione are out to change that. After running beer vs. wine dinners with Marnie Old over the years, the pair got around to writing a book summarizing the finer points of their arguments for pairing their fine beverages with food.
The book is a fun read, with the playful banter coming through quite well for printed text (it isn't always like that, as anyone who's used the internet can testify). They each begin with an introduction to the different styles of wine and beer, and then get right into the thick of it: picking foods and the beverage to go with it. This part of the book is quite comprehensive, with each section devoted to a specific main course (poultry, pork, pasta and pizza, etc), and then pairing 6 individual dishes with the appropriate beer or wine. They encourage readers to take an active role in the argument, and even give recipes and planning pointers for running your own beer vs. wine contest.
I definitely enjoyed reading this one, as I'm always trying to learn more about beer. Maybe someday I'll even host my own beer vs. wine dinner. It seems like a lot of fun, and I'm sure Marnie and Sam would agree on that point.
I'm still waiting for my books to come into the library. I'm sure that once they do, I'll end up with 3 books to read at the same time. Until then, I'll make do with some books I have on the shelf at home.
Nasty looking crash spilled a whole ton of beer. Luckily, no one was hurt, and the beer didn't land on the road. Thankfully, the beer in question was only Budweiser.
No, not made in St. Louis, but in Belgium. Interesting choice, given the Anheuser-Busch/InBev goings on of late.
Deep garnet color with light pink head. Fairly decent lacing on my tulip glass.
Obviously, I get a good deal of cherry in the aroma, on the sweet side. The taste smacked me in the face with nostalgia: Luden's cherry cough drops. It's not necessarily a bad thing, I loved those cough drops. It's just not what I'd expect in my beer. There's a bit of tartness in the aftertaste too.
Not all that great, I don't think. Too syrupy and sweet for me, even if that's what I was in the mood for.
Overall rating: 2.9
Nice rust color. Big full head on this one, leaving a lot of lacing on the glass.
I really didn't get a lot of aroma from here. Really, with the hops it seems like it should have been stronger.
Thankfully, the taste more than make up for it. The best way I could describe it is "green." The hops are foremost of course, but they are just balanced by a nice malty sweetness. It is strange to feel like a beer with such a prominent hop flavor can be so smooth, but it really is.
The nice thing is that even in a 24 ounce bottle, one can easily put down the whole thing in a sitting.
Definitely recommended.
Overall rating: 4.5
Hazy, deep orange-light red color. Nice foamy head too.
Smells like sour cherry, a bit earthy too.
Taste is mainly sour again, but also provides just a hint of depth in the maltiness. Disappointing in that the alcohol is so high but doesn't contribute anything. It could be a great lighter session beer with a lower ABV, instead it's tough to make it through the big bottle in one sitting.
Still, I did enjoy it, as I liked the sour bite. I just can't quite love it as much as I should.
Overall rating: 3.7
My wife reminded me that I had this one sitting around waiting to be imbibed. I had to oblige, of course.
Orange color, just a tinge of pink creeping in, good off-white head that really disappears quickly. Fruity aroma, light malt maybe. Not much there.
I kept expecting the taste to reflect the berries (blue and rasp), but didn't really get there. I get the sweet and bitter flavors of some berry in there, but most prominently malt with decent hop bitterness.
It's not that it's a bad beer per se, it's just that I was expecting it to be fruitier. In its defense, the fruitiness did increase somewhat as it warmed, but it's still just not quite what I was looking for.
Overall rating: 3.35
Poured into a goblet, ended up with no head to speak of. Still, a nice dark brown color, slight bit of yeasty haze in there too. Definite yeasty aroma quite present too.
I'm tasting raisin/prune of course foremost, quite sweeter than I expected, with a very slight hoppiness. Fairly clean finish, though a bit thin, if that's a criticism. That does make it more drinkable though, as I don't get hit with a heavy dose of alcohol.
Overall rating: 3.85
I think I just peed my pants a little. Bill Madden, locally famous brewer formerly of Capital City, Founder's, and most recently Vintage 50, is looking to open a new brewpub in Northern Virginia. Norm, from Norm's Beer and Wine, gamely suggested the former site of That's Amore, right around the corner from him. Investor Rick Garvin thanked him, and said they would seriously look into it. I am seriously stoked. Hopefully it works out to be a good spot for them. I can't imagine having my draft beer place right around the corner from my bottled beer store. Yum.
The official winner of the Washington Post Beer Madness was the Hook & Ladder Backdraft Brown. On Saturday night, after two days of drinking good beers in Chicago, my buddy John and I ran through the Final Four in a "blind" taste test. I say "blind" because it was fairly obvious which beers were which when you knew the names and styles of the four. We both picked the Troegs Hopback as our winner. We definitely both liked the Backdraft Brown, but neither of us would have picked the Raven Lager over any of the four, so it surprised me that it was a finalist. I had actually narrowly picked the Ommegang over the Backdraft Brown, but it was a close one. Still, we both liked the hoppy Troegs over the other three finalists.
Pale orange color with an effervescent head. Slightly spicy aroma.
Decent flavor. Some peppery spiciness mixing with a sweeter orange, good combination.
Slightly bitter and peppery aftertaste, but nothing too crazy.
Pretty solid beer, but nothing too fascinating as far as the style goes; maybe I've seen it before and I'm spoiled.
Overall rating: 3.6
The Washington Post's Beer Madness competition is down to the Final Four: Raven Special Lager, Troegs Hopback Amber Ale, Ommegang Hennepin, and Hook and Ladder Backdraft Brown. I plan on making a trip to the beer store this week to get each of the four and rendering my verdict. Whatever it is, it is sure to be tasty.
oured into a pilsner glass; in retrospect, I might have chosen a tulip, as that's as close as I have to the glass on the label.
As poured, the color is a deep orange, though I imagine it would be closer to red in a wider glass. There's some definite particulate in there (on my second glass at any rate), which you would think would settle but instead remains suspended throughout. Yeasty aroma mixed with grape. The taste reminds me of some other orange influenced brews I have had, though the 10% is far less evident than those other higher alcohol varieties. This is probably because the coriander and spiciness are not as foremost, but instead is balanced by a grapey sweetness. Finishes very dry, with just a touch of oak lingering on the palate.
Overall rating: 4.2
This year's Guinness replacement (though I had some Guinness with lunch today too).
Pitch black color, with only the slightest bit of foam, but I didn't pour it, so there's the caveat. Aroma is a malty caramel, but a bit burnt coffee throws me off. Good sweetness in the flavor, with a fairly dry finish, a bit of lingering bitterness there. I also feel the slight bite of alcohol, though nowhere near the imperial stout range. Good creamy feel as the drinking continues.
Just a tad bit too much of a burnt aroma and flavor for me, keeps it from being a more perfect beer.
Overall rating: 3.95
As predicted, the structure of this year's Beer Madness tournament enabled the superior beers to avoid upsets in the first round. In particular, all the macro-brews and crappy beers (Natty Bo, Michelob, Schlitz, Miller Chill) were eliminated since they were matched up against beers of similar "style," but superior flavor.
Sadly, my winner from last year, Ellie's Brown Ale fell to Abita Turbodog. Also surprising was last year's official runner-up, Saranac Pale Ale lost in the first round to Harpoon IPA. Still, 16 worthy beers have advanced, and I'm looking forward to drinking the Final Four. I may have to do the Elite Eight though, this is making me thirsty!
No Guinness on hand? You can substitute Murphy's Stout, Beamish Stout or O'Hara's Celtic Stout (the latter a roastier, more aggressive version of the style from a microbrewery in Carlow, Ireland). Anheuser-Busch's draft-only Bare Knuckle Stout is similar to Guinness in taste and strength. Ask your bartender to top off the pale, citrusy Widmer Hefeweizen with some Bare Knuckle to make a lava lamp, so named because the stout tends to bob up and down like the globules in the lamp.I can also recommend almost any of the Bell's stouts (not the cherry though). But whatever you choose, just make sure it's not green!
If you'd prefer a sharper contrast of flavor, layer the sweeter, mochalike Milk Stout from Lancaster Brewing Co. in Pennsylvania atop the brewery's bitter Hop Hog, an India pale ale. Brewer Bill Moore calls the drink hog's milk.
Be warned: Many American microbrewery stouts are much heavier than Guinness Draught, particularly if they're prefaced by the adjective "imperial." But you can sometimes reverse the order of the layers. Try topping off a Shakespeare Stout from Rogue Ales in Newport, Ore., with that brewery's Kells Irish Lager. (An O'Shakespeare?)
Batch 229 in a 1 pt, 9.4 oz bottle, and hell yeah, I drank the whole thing.
Depending on how I look at it, this is either a golden yellow, or a pale orange color, and I'm fairly sure that's not the 8% alcohol talking.. The yeasty looking head fell quickly, but leaves a good lacing as I drink.
A bit of a funky aroma, but mainly citrus and banana. The taste is quite nice, as the lemony tartness hits the tongue early, followed strongly by a load of peppery spiciness. There's even a bit of a sweeter fruit, I'm thinking just underripe mango.
The spiciness does linger, but I was fooled again by the ABV into drinking more quickly than I should have. A good balance of earthiness with crisp tartness makes it go down easy. Very nice. Also a good way to get out of a rut, at least for one night.
Overall rating: 4.25
The Washington Post's Beer Madness competition returns for a second year. They've tweaked the format slightly this year, lumping 8 lagers into one bracket, ales into another, specialty and fruit into another, and dark beers into the last. This is an improvement over last year's format, which pitted Budweiser against Abita Purple Haze. This year's format ensures that similar beers are matched up until the Final Four, giving less likelihood of a Michelob beating Flying Dog (but not ruling it out entirely).
As with last year, once they reach the Final Four, I will do my own taste test. Yum!
My first Jolly Pumpkin review. We visited the brewery while visiting relatives in nearby Ann Arbor, and picked up a few to bring home.
Color is a reddish-brown, with a little bit of head and not much lacing. I get a slight bit of funkiness mixed with perhaps some cherry in the aroma.
I actually enjoyed the flavor of this. A tad on the light (watery) side, but I've gotten a little tired of all the Imperials this winter, so this was a nice contrast. Good tartness on the sides of my mouth, but some sweetness as well, definitely some raisin in there.
I like this one, as I said, as a contrast to some of the "big" beers I've been having, I could have a good session with this brew.
Overall rating: 4.05
Lovely hazy orange color, with a good head that leaves great lacing on my tulip glass. The tulip glass funnels the spicy orange (and slight yeast?) aroma nicely to my nose.
The immediate taste hitting my tongue is of a mild fruitiness, mainly orange. The spiciness of the flavor lingers in the back of my throat: cloves mostly, with some other peppery minglings as well.
I really only get a hint of the high-ish alcohol content, which is good. Goes down smooth, but for that little bit of bite.
Overall Rating: 4.5
Wow, it's been a long time between beer reviews (seriously, October?!?!). My apologies. It's not for lack of drinking, just lack of writing and trying new stuff. Anyway, here we go.
Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout poured like motor oil, very thick looking. Impressive dark brown head, and straight black opaque color in the glass. Chocolatey aroma, with a hint of raisin-ish alcohol.
Strong flavor, as to be expected. You definitely get the alcohol bite, but it doesn't overpower the chocolatey smoothness. I get a bit of coffee bitterness and malty caramel and some more raisin on the tongue as well.
Can't really have more than one of these at a time, or it would knock me over, but it's still quite tasty.
Overall rating: 4.05
We're nearing the end of 2007, so it's time once again for my favorite stuff of the past year.
I tried 28 new beers this year and came up with one new summer favorite, Dogfish Head Festina Pêche and two new winter favorites which both tied my all-time best beer rating, Bell's Kalamazoo Stout and Dogfish Head World Wide Stout.
It was a prolific year of reading for me, as I raced through 45 books! Ten of those books managed to garner 5 stars, but my overall favorite was The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky. The other 5 star ratings went to Maxed Out, I Love You, Beth Cooper, World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War, Little Children, Soon I Will Be Invincible, Boomsday, The Zero, The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game, and Lisey's Story.
We had a great vacation to Disney World, including our awesome dinner at Victoria and Albert's.
Favorite event (outside of kids walking and other various accomplishments): buying our minivan
Favorite album: Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga by Spoon. I really dig this band.
Favorite new TV show: Pushing Daisies. The most visually interesting new show of the year, and it even manages to breath new life (har) into the old "will they or won't they?" saga.
Another year has passed, but I look forward, as always, to the excitement of the new year ahead.
By request! This was initially the only Hacker-Pschorr I could find, and the requesters were not specific, so this is what I got. Last chance for a summer beer. I did also end up seeing their Oktoberfest, so I may try that later as well.
Ah, the joys of having a proper glass with which to enjoy the last summer beer of the season. My bottle was just over a pint (500 ml), but filled my hefeweizen glass nicely with room to spare.
Nice orange color in the middle, fading to a dark yellow on the sides, with a good white foamy head.
Good banana aroma, as one might expect, with some clove spiciness too. A touch of tartness as the beer hits the tip of my tongue, and the cloves and a peppery finish are more prominent now, with wheat coming through as well. A tad bit watery, but still quite bold.
Good stuff, and I'll keep it in mind for next summer.
Overall rating: 4.45
Nice copper color and foamy head to this one, but the rest of it was fairly average. The aroma is mostly malty, grains, sweet caramel. But taste seemed off-balance to me. I expected more maltiness, and while it's there, it fades quickly to leave a bitter hoppiness. Not bad, just probably not one I'd pick out for an Oktoberfest example.
Overall rating: 3.2
Fairly nice color, decent head with good lacing. Just okay on the nose, slightly hoppy with mainly malty undertones. I found it hoppier than some have noticed, especially at first, but the flavors blended as I drank for a decent balance.
Pretty good, especially as it warms up, which is probably appropriate given the English origins of the style.
Overall rating: 3.5
Nice copper color to this interesting summer beer. Definitely not my usual, but pretty tasty.
Mostly malty aroma, with a hint of something extra. The flavor is mostly malty, but there is a good balance of hop spiciness which makes it just a little bit bolder than the usual light summer fare, but just light enough to refresh on a hot day.
Overall rating: 3.8
Ooh, "limited edition." Fancy.
Pours a cloudy bronze color. Fairly good lace on the head going down. I pick up a good bit of honey in the aroma, fairly sweet (orange, banana) with some spiciness in the form of coriander.
The alcohol hits on the tongue fairly strong. I must admit, I failed once again to check the ABV before drinking, and expected a much lighter beer than I got. Still, in spite of the estery bite, I picked up some fruitiness with the orange and honey, but mainly it tastes spicy, peppery with a dash of coriander. Very nice.
Overall rating: 4.05
No, not the singer, but the beer writer. He died at home in London last night. He was a true advocate and evangelist for the industry, and he will be sorely missed.
I've been saving a lambic and a Chimay for a special occasion, and I was thinking about popping one Sunday for Ellie's party, and now I know I will be lifting a glass to toast this great man who opened my eyes to the many wonders in the world of beer.
Big white head which, for the life of me, I couldn't help pouring over the rim of my glass. Light yellow color lies under the frothy head.
Lightly floral aroma. A bit tart and crisp in flavor, somewhat citrusy, with some floral hops coming through as well. There is also a decent malt flavor hanging around, and a nice hop bitterness in the aftertaste.
Overall, a decent crisp pils. Now that they are available locally, I'll have to try some more Atwater brews.
Overall rating: 3.8
Golden yellow color, with a reasonable head and decent retention.
Not much aroma that I discovered. Mostly wheat in flavor, with a mild citrus undercurrent. It unfortunately leaves a strange off taste in the back of my mouth which bugs me a little bit. It's still fairly refreshing in spite of all the shortcomings, it's just not particularly special either.
Overall rating: 3.0
Definitely not a summer wheat beer, don't let the "weizen" confuse you. This one packs a wallop, and is probably better saved for early fall. Fairly clear (for unfiltered) amber red color, with a finger of head on top, lacing pretty nicely.
Definite banana aroma (there's my wife calling me crazy again), some caramel malt too. Chewy flavor, reminded me of homebrewing, and popping the occasional grain into my mouth. So, mostly malt flavor with some banana, and plenty of alcoholic esters giving an extra bite.
Pretty solid, I'll revisit when it's not 100 degrees outside.
Overall rating: 3.5
Cloudy pale straw color, reminded me of lemonade in appearance, with a small white foamy head to it.
Aroma is mainly of wheat, with some peachy overtones.
Surprisingly, the peach flavor doesn't overpower here. Instead, it's a more passive participant, allowing a good bit of tartness (which I suppose could be classified as peachy, but seemed more like lemon or grapefruit, or even green apples) to come through. After the sourness fades, there's a small bit of peachy sweetness lingering on the palate as well.
Thanks to the low ABV, I could definitely put away a few of these on a hot summer day like today.
Overall rating: 4.4
Poured a golden color into a tulip glass. Bubbles fizzed up the sides as the head faded quickly.
Mostly yeasty aroma to me, not much fancy going on. Nice earthy flavor, actually a bit of sourness hitting the sides of my tongue. There's also a good bit of spiciness hitting the roof of my mouth, accompanied by the bite of alcohol.
Fairly clean finish, with a lingering alcohol aftertaste, ever so slight. Even so, you could enjoy a couple.
Overall rating: 3.85
Hazy yellow color with the slightest head to it. The aroma is of, well, beer. OK, so there is some wheat aroma to it as well, but not much else.
Taste is just north of average, with some spiciness, most notably coriander, with a little bit of citrus there as well.
As the label says, medium body to this one, but shading toward the light side, making it pretty drinkable, but not outstanding.
Overall rating: 3.25
I usually start with the appearance of the beer, but with this one, the smell of tart green apple just smacks you in the nose, it's hard to avoid. Very much along the lines of a sour apple Jolly Rancher candy, but a hint of earthiness creeps through after the initial apple shock wears off.
The beer pours a cloudy light yellow-orange with a slight white head.
The flavor is not nearly as potent as the aroma. In fact, here the earthiness and the spices come through, with the tartness tingling your tongue. It needs just a bit more body to it, as it seemed a bit watery at times.
For me, it actually paired surprisingly well with the completely unplanned chicken mango pineapple kabobs and coconut rice.
Overall rating: 4.05
Pours a slightly cloudy pale yellow with a significant head of foam. Continues to bubble throughout drinking.
Fairly spicy aroma, with cloves and wheat coming through most. A lemony zip comes through in the flavor, along with the cloves, and some banana in the back of the mouth. A bit yeasty going along with the wheat.
Nice refresher for a hot day.
Overall rating: 4.05
I have written about Rustico before, a nice restaurant with an awesome beer list. They also cook some good dishes with beer. But this is getting extreme: beer-sicles. It is so awesome, I am going to have to head down there before the stupid Virginia regulators shut it down.
May 14-20 is American Craft Beer Week. Coincidentally, I'm pretty much out of beer! So tomorrow I will be heading out to Norm's to pick up a mixed six-pack, which I will then use to post one craft beer review each day next week. If you're looking for some craft brews to try yourself, check out the Bachelor Guy's list. Some good stuff on that list, reflecting a lot of different regions of the country, so you should be able to find something in your area.
Nice coppery color with a good head of foam leaving a good lacing along the glass. I get a decent floral hop aroma, with the malt coming through as well.
The first sip brought me back to my last trip to England and trying the bitters there. Not the same thing though, I realize. The hops soon came through much more aggressively, with a good bit of a bite, but were well balanced all in all.
Overall Rating: 4.1
Orangey color, big white head which filled the hefe glass to the top, bubbles out quickly.
I smelled the glass more than anything else, not much aroma.
The flavor had a nice spiciness: coriander and orange dominating. This is a crisp beer, with a smooth wheat finish.
Didn't quite live up to my expectations, but a pretty good spring beer.
Overall rating: 3.45
Thanks to Roger, Wendy, Colin and Sam for buying me the beer glass set for my birthday. Lisa bought me a 4 pack of Delirium Tremens which I poured into the tulip glass. Somehow I thought I had reviewed it already, but it turns out that was the Nocturnum. I'll have to review Tremens later. For now, I used the Belgian goblet for this Abbey-style beer.
Poured a brownish burgundy color with a thin head into my new Belgian goblet. A bit of a yeasty aroma, mixed with estery alcohol.
The taste was quite nice, not too much alcohol despite the 9% label. I picked up some definite fruity notes, perhaps some cherry, along with the yeast mixed with fruity alcohol and malty sweetness. A nice tartness going down, with a slightly bitter but dry finishing kick.
Sometimes I think Clipper City goes overboard with the high alcohol content on their Heavy Seas line, but this one worked pretty well.
Overall rating 4.05
Having this one for the occasion of the Cherry Blossom Festival in DC this week.
Poured a coppery color with a spotty head which left a nice lacing on the glass. Not much in the aroma, frankly.
The flavor is definitely much better balanced than I expected. There is a nice tart cherry flavor, but it's not overwhelming, it just feels like it's supposed to be there in the beer. Just a slight bit of malty sweetness rounds out the flavors.
I didn't have high expectations for this one, I was just hoping it would be better than the last cherry beer I had, and it was, but it wasn't anything special really either.
Overall rating: 3.35
[Side note: Dominion changes the recipes for their seasonals frequently. Last year the spring brew was an American Double Pilsner, this year is a Belgian Pale Ale]
Oh yeah, it's time for spring in Virginia. 80 and sunny on Opening Day for baseball today. Time to crack the first spring beer of the season.
This one is a very pale yellow. It reminded me a bit too much of Bud, but the appearance was as far as that comparison goes. The beer bubbles a bit, creating a bubbly white head that fades quickly, leaving no trace on the glass.
The aroma starts with various spices (according to the label, cardamom and coriander, which I then confirmed by checking against my wife's spice rack). The taste is very crisp, more of the coriander stands out, and it finishes with a clean hop flavor to it. 7% alcohol? I didn't notice. Very smooth.
Great start to my spring, though this one is versatile enough to stretch into summer.
Overall rating: 3.9
The Sunday Source section of the Washington Post crowned their Beer Madness champion yesterday, and it was a fine brew: Brooklyn Lager. Brooklyn's whole line of beers is solid. In the end, Brooklyn beat Ellie's Brown Ale, while Saranac Pale Ale overcame Dominion Ale, and Brooklyn took the title.
Last night, Lisa and Ellie helped me recreate this Final Four. Lisa poured the four beers, Ellie brought them to me, and I blind-tasted them and picked my favorite. And lo and behold, I picked the exact opposite of the Post! I favored Ellie's over Brooklyn and Dominion over Saranac. The Ellie's-Brooklyn matchup was a close one, but I chose Ellie's Brown Ale for its well-balanced malt and hop flavors. Dominion, in a bit of a strange twist, I thought had a bit more hoppy bitterness than the Pale Ale, and was overall fuller in flavor.
In the final matchup, I still did not know which I had picked from the semifinals, so I was still completely blind. I picked Ellie's Brown Ale over Dominion. Again, the malt-hop balance won the day for Ellie's. My daughter Ellie didn't really understand how I picked "her" beer, but she had fun helping out anyway.
In spite of any criticism I had for the contest (seriously, who one earth picked Budweiser over Victory Lager???), this was a fun little tournament, and they've given me a good list of beers to work on this year. I've got a mixed up six-pack of spring beers from Norm's that I will be drinking over the next couple of weeks, so stay tuned for some more full reviews.
Had this on St. Patrick's Day as my Guinness alternative. Not really a fair comparison though. I'm also not 100% convinced of the milk/sweet stout label either, but what do I know?
Midnight black color, the head has strong retention and laces the glass nicely. Nice roasty aroma, a tinge of something else chocolatey.
Full-bodied flavor, full of caramelly roast character, mixed with some bitterness, a bit hoppy and a bit coffee. Just a smidge of licorice flavor too. This is an interesting beer, as I found that the flavors would alternate while in my mouth, so there would be a bit of sweet roastiness, some bitterness, more sweet, then more bitter.
Solid stout, one I'll seek out again.
Overall rating: 4.65 (another tied record score)
This is not the Michael Jackson you are thinking of. This one is a world renowned expert on beer, and this is his ultimate guide to the ultimate beverage. It took me a while to get through it, just because there is a lot of information to absorb. He delves into a little bit of history on the various styles, as well as the intricacies on how beers can vary widely within a particular style. This one is a must for a beer lover like me.
Next up is 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus by Charles Mann. Lisa got it from my cousin Bill and thought that I should read this history of what the Americas were like before Columbus arrived.
Recommended to me by BG, who is nostalgic for Bell's Eccentric Cafe in Kalamazoo.
Bit of a cloudy deep red color with a slow building head to it. Definite malty tones to the aroma with some raisin or wine like qualities.
Good sweet malt and raisin flavor continues at the front, which is quickly dispatched by a hoppy bitterness tinged with alcohol. I was going to mark it down a tad for the bitter aftertaste, but as I was typing I realized that it actually fades quite a bit, leaving the mouth clean and dry. A nice brew for (hopefully) the last day of winter.
Overall rating: 4.3
Another timely review, just after St Patty's Day.
Nice red-orange color with a decent head on it. Aroma was mostly malty with a slight hint of skunkiness. That didn't show through in the taste though. This was a straightforward Irish Red. Again a mostly malty flavor with just a bit of light hop bitterness to dry out the finish. It's not going to knock your socks off, but it's better than drinking green beer. For that matter, it's definitely worthy of a second glass. It paired fairly well with both corned beef with colcannon and steak with sweet potatoes.
Overall rating: 3.85
Very important stuff today. The Washington Post's Sunday Source section ran a beer "tournament." The "expert" picks have already been decided, and they are publishing them every Sunday over the next few weeks. They ran down 32 American beers, randomly pitting them against each other. The random nature of the matchups caused extremely disparate styles to be matched up (Abita's Purple Haze vs. Rolling Rock) and led to some surprising results. Budweiser knocked off Victory Lager 3-2, and Rolling Rock beat Purple Haze 3-2, setting up the RR-Bud showdown in the Sweet Sixteen. Yes, Rolling Rock or Bud will be one of the "Elite Eight." I do have a soft spot in my heart for my original session beer, Rolling Rock, and I can see how it would beat a raspberry beer, but still. There is no way in hell Budweiser is better than any beer in the US. Other matchups went as expected: Saranac Pale Ale crushed Miller High Life, and Brooklyn Lager did the same to Coors.
Check out the matchups and the results. You can also cast your own votes. I cast my votes on the beers I've tried, but there were several matchups whose beers I have not had before. Sounds like a shopping list to me. If I'm feeling up to it, I might just have to recreate the whole thing myself. Sounds like fun, doesn't it?
Oh my, this is a good one. Thanks to my buddy Jason who snuck this one into a mixed six-pack for me.
Pitch black color with a brown head that doesn't hang around for the festivities. Kind of a raisin aroma, a bit red wine-like even.
This one has a very fruity taste to it. I don't figure I can enumerate all the flavors: raisin, rum (rum raisin?), berries, very sweet sugar. The alcohol is just there in the aftertaste at the back of my mouth, but the rest of my mouth is sweet, including my lips, which I am licking obsessively to continue the taste sensation.
Dangerously drinkable for such a high ABV.
Jason, please bring some more next time you stop by!
Overall rating: 4.65 (ties Duchesse de Bourgogne for the record!)
Better late than never for this review of Mardi Gras Bock from Abita.
Pours an orangey color with a bubbly head which faded quickly. I didn't get much from the aroma on this one, a bit of malt perhaps.
The malt comes through at the forefront, a nice sweet flavor, just a slight caramel flavor too. The beer finishes with a clear and surprisingly hoppy aftertaste. Nothing crazy, just more than I expected from a bock.
Laissez les bons temps rouler!
Overall rating: 3.45
Poured a deep brown with some reddish tinges. Not much head, but my wife poured it for me, so who knows, but I'm not blaming her for anything.
Malty aroma with a bit of caramel. Fairly subtle flavors previously mentioned, with a tiny bit of chocolate creeping in, as well as a hop bitterness at the end too.
I'm a bit late posting this in honor of Mardi Gras, but this is a solid brown ale from the Louisianan Abita.
Overall rating: 3.5
I had high hopes for this beer. Michigan cherries in a stout? How can you go wrong?
Well, it went just a tad wrong. There's a balance that is lacking, it seemed to me.
The beer pours a deep black, with a hint of red to the insignificant head. There's a hint of cherry in the aroma which is dominated by coffee and cocoa.
Then you take a sip, and each flavor hits you: sour cherries, cocoa stout, and a slightly off-putting alcohol aftertaste that stays around in the mouth.
This one just didn't strike the right balance of flavors for me. Individually, it sounded like a good idea, but putting them together just didn't work for me.
Overall rating: 2.95
Pours an interesting pale orange/yellowish hazy color, with a decent head. The head didn't hang around, and didn't leave much lacing on the glass either.
The wheat is quite apparent from the get-go in the aroma. Very pronounced wheat, with definite spiciness coming through too. The flavor holds the wheat substantially on the tongue, with a tad bit of a citrusy tinge to go with the other mild spiciness.
I enjoyed this one. It was almost a nice bit of summer in a land of winter warmers and stouts.
Overall rating: 4.1
Wow, I'm not sure where all the bad vibes are coming from for this beer. While I am not a big chocolate guy, I found it to be pretty interesting.
The head is nice and solid, and the aroma has mainly cocoa, with a tinge of honey maybe.
I didn't get the sourness or bitterness many others got. Sure, there is a bit of bitterness from the cocoa, but since it is a side-effect of the cocoa flavor which predominates, it's not off-putting.
Don't get me wrong, the beer is not spectacular, but it's also not as bad as everyone else at BeerAdvocate has made it out to be.
Overall rating: 3.1
Finally reached the end of my six-pack of Brooklyn Winter Ale, so it's about time I reviewed it.
Nice amber color with a decent head to it. The malt comes to the forefront in the aroma, and continues as the predominant flavor. Still, it's not an overly sweet maltiness, as the hops bring in a bit of balance.
Solid warming ale for the winter months.
Overall rating: 3.95
I've been saving this one for a special occasion, and New Year's Eve is as good as any. Instead of bubbly champagne, bubbly beer.
This one is dark and opaque, with a substantial head that hangs around all the way down the glass.
Smells sort of winey, but more robust, perhaps some wet leaves lurking.
Taste is a bit of tartness, with some plum or prune. Something else is there that I can't quite put my finger on. There's also a slightest bit of an alcoholic warming effect as it goes down, but not so overpowering that I couldn't drink the magnum myself.
A great way to ring in the New Year.
Overall rating: 4.45
I had a busy year of book reading and beer drinking. Lots of other stuff too, like curling, baseball, and you know, the birth of our son and all. Here's my favorite stuff from this year:
Favorite beer: Duchesse De Bourgogne. Fruity and tart. A fine Flanders Red Ale.
Favorite book: Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Marukami. Second year in a row for a Marukami book to top my list. He was closely challenged this year by We and The Intuitionist by Colson Whitehead.
Favorite movie: Bwahahahahahah! That's funny. Like I even went to the movies this year. I think we did see The Pink Panther, but that was pretty horrible. We also saw The DaVinci Code, which was decent, but not worth being on a list. And yes, those are the only two movies I saw this year. Sad, isn't it?
Favorite Theater: Well, we only went to one, but Spamalot was pretty good.
Favorite album: St. Elsewhere by Gnarls Barkley. I admit I haven't gotten to listen to as much new music this year, but I really liked this one.
Favorite new TV show: Heroes. It really amazes (and pleases) me that Network TV is airing so much sci-fi these days.
Favorite event: The birth of Evan! If not for him, it might have been hitting my first home run, or Ellie starting school.
I'm looking forward to 2007 for sure.
I admit to being biased toward this beer due to my fond memories of drinking it at the Potomac Curling Club. Thanks to George Shirk for introducing me to it. I found it at Norm's and had to pick up a six-pack.
Nice copper color with a strong hop aroma. There's a good bit of malty sweetness before the hop bitterness takes over. You can also taste some of the 8.25% alcohol in there too. Both flavors remain in the mouth afterward, but not to the adverse effect one might expect.
The alcohol does stay with you, but in the winter, that's exactly what you want in a warmer. Just don't drive afterward.
Overall rating: 4.1
I swear, that's the name of the beer. Cool label too, which got it banned in Maine, which is part of why I picked it up. Check out the label picture at BeerAdvocate.
Like a lot of people, I picked this beer up in protest due to it being banned in Maine or some such. The label really isn't that bad, I mean, come on, people!
Anyway, it was a pretty nice beer. Deep brown color with reddish tones when you hold it up to the light. I got a malty aroma with some chocolaty overtones.
There's a bit of coffee in addition to the chocolate flavor. A tinge of bitterness crept in, but not overly so.
I expected it to be a little more full-bodied than it was, the flavor left the tongue quickly. Pretty good, but obviously not perfect.
Overall rating: 3.7
Every time I pulled a bottle of this out to drink, I had to keep reminding myself: "It's not Budweiser, it's not Budweiser." Luckily, it bears no resemblance to other Anheuser-Busch offerings I may have partaken of in my misguided younger years.
Despite my misgivings about its macro heritage, this is not too shabby.
The head didn't last at all, reminded me of soda the way it quickly disappeared. The aroma was, as the bottle would indicate, vanilla, maybe a touch of caramel.
I was originally put off a bit by the vanilla taste. At first sip, it tasted artificial to me, but subsequent tastings have mellowed. There's just a hint of the bourbon mixing with a bit of bitterness in the end. It finishes clean and leaves the mouth waiting for the next sip.
This beer is better than I expected, but still, it could have been more.
Overall rating: 3.5
I had a cold almost the whole time I was off helping take care of Evan. Now that I'm over that, I can finally review the beers that have been in my fridge for a couple of weeks, starting with this fine brew.
Deep amber color with a short bubble head that didn't last or lace. Now that I'm over my cold, I can pick up a whiff of cherry and some alcohol. The taste does have a bit of honey to it (as the label suggests), and that same cherry that was in the smell. The alcohol is pleasantly not overpowering, even at the advertised 11%, leading to a drinkable brew. It adds a touch of bitterness to go with the tart cherry and sweetish honey. Still, the aroma is a big part of this beer, so I'm glad I waited to review it at a time I could savor it.
Overall rating: 3.75
Last night, we had dinner at Rustico, a new restaurant in Alexandria. It's owned by friends of ours, by way of the crazy Cajuns. Personally, I loved it. I wished we didn't have to get back to the midwives for a meeting, otherwise I would have stayed longer and enjoyed more of their extensive beer menu. (The beer and wine list had one page of wines and about 15 pages of beer. My kind of place) The first page of the beer list was all drafts, and it took me a while before picking this one out. A bit more expensive than the others, but something new that I've always wanted to try. We are so going back to this place.
On tap at Rustico, a fine new restaurant with a beer and wine list that features one page of wines, and about 15 pages of beers. Gotta love that. Anyway, on to the beer.
Poured into a Chimay glass. The restaurant was dark, so maybe the beer seemed darker than it is, but it was a deep red, close to brown color. The head dissipated somewhat, but left a nice lacing on the sides of the glass.
Wow, the taste. I remember reading about Duchesse, but when I ordered it, I wasn't sure what to expect. What I got was a tarty cherry flavor smacking me on the tongue. I almost had my non-beer drinking wife try some, but then decided to keep it for myself. The tartness is well-balanced by a very sweet fruity flavor, and it only tastes like what most people would call "beer" in the remotest sense.
This is one of those beers you take to your wine snob friends if you want to turn them into beer snobs. Lots going on, and I could drink it for days.
Overall rating: 4.65 (a new record!)
Yummy. I might have to go back and get some more of this when the weather turns cold again. It's a nice warming beer.
Very brown, bordering on black color which hints at the strength of the beer.
Strong malty caramel aroma with coffee overtones, perhaps some dark chocolate too, though my wife would disagree.
Lots of flavor on different parts of my tongue. All the previously mentioned aromas are there, with some nice hop bitterness, as well as the esters from the high alcohol content. The dark malt caramel lingers on the tongue, and I found, after licking my lips, that they tasted of chocolate and coffee as well.
A well rounded beer from Dogfish Head.
Overall rating: 4.2
I've got two more beers ready to drink and review sometime soon: Dogfish Head Indian Brown Ale (it is VERY brown) and a special gift from our buddy Jason, Liefman's Kriekbier. Mmm... Belgian. Till then, we'll make do with my last Oktoberfest.
Light orangey color with a meager head that left only the slightest lacing on the side of the glass.
Slight malt and caramel aroma wafting to the nose.
Well-balanced, but subtle malt and hop flavor. Both are evident, but neither prominent, resulting in a bit of a watery taste.
Not a bad beer, but I was left wanting more flavor.
Overall rating: 3.5
Been a while since my last review, so here's the first of two.
Deep copper color with a small but persistent head that leaves a good lacing behind on the glass.
A piney hop aroma is very present and continued prominently in the flavor as well. There was a sweet malty note at the front of the tongue, followed by the lingering hop bitterness at the back. If not for just a bit too much aftertaste, I might have rated it a bit higher.
Still, a fine beer, pretty darned drinkable.
Overall rating: 4.0
I had to include a picture of the bottle on this one, big and bold, like the beer itself.
Nice copper color with a thick, slowly dissipating head.
The smell reflects its high alcohol content, with caramel malt and some hops coming through too.
The flavor is surprisingly not dominated by the alcohol as I expected. It's pretty well balanced with caramel malt to start, finishing dryly with hoppy bitterness, and a tinge of alcoholic aftertaste at the back of the mouth, but just a tinge, as again it was surprisingly clean.
I've got to be careful with these high alcohol beers, they do hit me harder than I expect, but this is pretty drinkable nonetheless.
Overall Rating: 4.05
In honor of those poor hops which perished in the fire in Yakima...
Pretty copper color with decent head leaving white lacing on the glass.
Malty aroma with slight hoppiness. Fairly malty flavor too, with a nice touch of hops to go along, leading to a smooth, dry finish. Just a bit watered down, otherwise it would score better.
Overall Rating: 3.5
I felt a great disturbance in the Force, as if millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced.
4% of this year's hops, up in flames. I shall hoist a cold one during the Yankees game tonight in their memory.
From the first sniff, this reminded me of one of my favorite fall beverages, the Pumpkin Spice Latte from Starbucks. I'm not a fan of pumpkin pie, but I do like pumpkin spices, and this has them all over. Cinnamon and nutmeg abound in the aroma, and again in the flavor.
Good finishing hop bitterness to counter the sweet malt and spices. Very nice effort from Dogfish Head.
Overall Rating: 4.3
Beer #20! Dogfish Head was charged with recreating a "beer" brewed in ancient China, as defined by the archaeologists who analyzed pottery shards there. It was awesome. Warning, extreme beer snobbery ahead.
Wow. This was an interesting beer. It almost reminded me of my first Saison, but that could just be me.
Cloudy light orange color with a substantial light head, which disappeared in a fashion that reminded me of the Saison.
Earthy aroma with slight fruitiness.
More earthiness in the flavor, with a sharp tartness and a fruity mouth coating. Definite honey overtones, with some slight grape flavor to balance the high alcohol taste. The grape was very subtle though, which I thought was a nice counterpoint, giving it an almost wine-like character.
Overall, a nice sweetness balanced with the tart bite and earthiness throughout. It went very well with my dinner of balsamic vinegar peach pork chops. A fine experiment that I hope they keep brewing. The bottle is a bit much for one person though, so I recommend sharing.
Overall rating: 4.35 (ties record high!)
Every other Friday usually brings with it a trip to Norm's, and this past Friday was no exception. I'm on their email list now, so I had a checklist of brews I wanted to pick up. Since I enjoyed St. Boisterous from Victory so much with my first review, I made sure to grab this Oktoberfest beer.
Big bubbly head on this one. I had to slow the pour to get it all in the glass. Dark coppery color, with a sweet malty fragrance.
The taste was all about the sweetness of the malt to me with some caramel flavor too. There was a bit of a hoppy flavor in the finish to top it off as well.
On my recent foray to Norm's, I picked up a six-pack of this, with some singles to taste as well, and I'm thinking that the singles will have to wait, as I enjoyed this quite a bit.
Overall rating: 4.2
The last of my summer-y beers. Too bad it sucked.
Started off with a light orangey color, with a bit of a pinkish color to the quickly dissipating head. Unfortunately, things went downhill from there.
The aroma immediately let me know something was off with this beer. It was very strong, but in an off-putting way. The aroma was mainly raspberry, but something was strange about it. Ah! Vanilla! That's what it is. The vanilla really throws me for a loop.
The flavor. Hmm, the best way I can describe it is when you add one of those flavored syrups to your coffee, and you put a pump or two too many in there, it throws off the balance.
The label says "Malt Beverage with Raspberry Juice Added," and I guess that describes it, but it's not a good thing. I really like their Celis White, but this just didn't do it for me.
Overall rating: 2.15 (out of 5)
Getting toward the end of summer, so I had better finish off the summer beers left in the fridge, including this gem from Celis (based in Webberville, Michigan, right on the road to MSU, go figure).
Getting toward the end of summer, so I figured I should try this one out before it goes away till next year.
Pale golden color, not much head to speak of.
Variety of aromas to start, I really need to get one of those kits so I can place the aromas better. I suppose it was clove or coriander. I thought maybe a bit of banana too.
Good wheater, a bit of citric tartness in the flavor which also adds a little bite on the tongue.
I really enjoyed this, and I'll be looking for more next summer, along with other examples of the style. This shouldn't be a problem, with it being Michigan-based, and with Allagash and Brooklyn varieties also in fairly close proximity.
Overall rating: 4.05 (out of 5)
Leftover from the fantasy football draft. I drank three of these during the course of it, but didn't take notes for the review until now.
Nice deep copper color. Malty aroma that reminded me of the smell when I homebrew.
Fairly smooth going down. Sweet maltiness, just a tad bit of hop bitterness.
Really not a whole lot to it other than that. It's a solid brew, no flaws to speak of, just above average overall.
Overall rating: 3.35 (out of 5)
As promised, a very special review. It's a tad on the early side for Oktoberfest beers, as it doesn't start till September, but I couldn't resist the temptation of the mini-keg. So here's my review from BeerAdvocate.
Picked up a mini-keg from Norm's in Vienna for Ellie's birthday party (no reason to leave all the fun for the kids!). Interesting little contraption. It worked reasonably well, but it seemed like there was a lot of carbonation at times, leading to very thick heads.
Definitely a switch from the summer beers I've been drinking, but a good transit