The beer pours a dark golden in color.
There is over an inch of thick white head. There is a large amount of
very fine carbonation. The aroma is tropical fruit, mangos and mango
skin, passion fruit, with some earthy dankness and citrus. The taste
follows the aromas note for note. The finish is dry and moderately
bitter. The beer drinks with a soft, yet intense, refreshing
carbonation. This is really excellent, get out and try it.
“A fine beer may be judged with only one sip, but it is better to be thoroughly sure.” -Czech Proverb
Saturday, January 28, 2017
New Belgium Voodoo Ranger 8 Hop Pale Ale
This 5.5% ABV pale ale is from New Belgium Brewing of Fort Collins, Colorado. You probably won't be surprised to know it uses eight different hops. It is one of several new year round beers they are offering.
Sunday, January 22, 2017
Madhouse Wee Heavy
The Madhouse Brewing Company originated in Newton, Iowa, and now have a new location in Des Moines. This is a 13.5% ABV imperial Scotch ale that was aged in Heaven Hill bourbon barrels.
The beer pours very dark brown to
black. There is a half-inch of tan foam. The aroma is caramel,
toffee, vanilla, oak and bourbon, with a bit of maple syrup and dark
roasted malt. The taste follows the aromas, hitting all the same
notes, very rich with the sweet, malty, caramel, and dark fruit, with
bourbon and breakfast layered on top. The beer drinks very smooth
with little carbonation. It is warming, but not at all boozy. This is
rich and delicious. This is damn near perfect; excellent!
Green Flash Soul Style IPA
This 6.5% ABV India Pale Ale is from the Green Flash Brewing Company of San Diego, California. It uses Citra, Simcoe and Cascade hops.
The beer pours a deep and bright
golden. It is well-carbonated with a half-inch of white, foamy, thick
head. The aroma is light tropical fruit, passion fruit, citrus. The
taste follows the aromas, with a quite bitter finish, astringent,
like biting a grapefruit. The beer drinks smooth and easy, with a
tingling carbonation, both soft and intense at the same time.
Green Fog Organic IPA
This 6.5% ABV India Pale Ale is from the Green Fog Brewing Company of Ukiah, California. I got this at Trader Joe's and I think it is one of their proprietary contract brewed beers.
The beer pours a bright amber in color.
There is a half-inch of white head. The aroma is citrus, zest,
passion fruit, over toasted malt. The taste follows the aromas, but
is overwhelmed by a very intense bitterness on the finish. The finish
is dry, astringent, and very bitter. The beer drinks smooth, with a
soft carbonation. This would be a decent drinker if they toned down
the bitterness, it is heavy even for the style.
E40 Malt Liquor
E40 is the 10.0% ABV malt liquor made for the rapper of the same name, E40 from Vallejo, California.
The beer pours a deep golden, almost a
light amber. There is a half-inch of white head, not long-lasting.
The aroma is sweet, yet tangy, a bit vinous like a cheap white wine.
The aroma is toast with honey, along with cheap white wine. The taste
follows the aromas, adding in some wet cardboard. It is a sweet,
tangy, vinous, toasted abomination. The taste is really bad. The beer
is medium bodied with moderate carbonation. The beer has a nice
color...beyond that, nothing good to say.
Icehouse
Icehouse is a 5.5% ABV ice lager from the Plank Road Brewing Company of Milwaukee, Wisconsin (I don't know why they pretend it's not from Miller Brewing).
The beer pours a very clear golden in
color. There is a tall head of white foam. For the style, it is
relatively longer lasting. The aroma is grain, grass, with just a bit
of green apple. The taste follows the aromas, a bit less tart than in
the aroma. Pretty basic adjunct here, but no off-notes, so, well
built for what it is. The beer has a decent body for the style, and
drinks with a crisp refreshment. This is decent for a BMC adjunct ice
beer; and by decent, I mean mostly inoffensive.
Saturday, January 14, 2017
Surly Damien Child of Darkness Ale
The Surly Brewing Company originated in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, and now also has a destination brewery in Minneapolis. This black IPA is made using the second runnings of Darkness, their annual special Russian Imperial Stout release. How do you like the creepy doll face on
the bottle?
The beer pours black, with a half-inch of thick, somewhat creamy light tan head. The aroma is dark roast, light char, light black licorice, and a bit of dark chocolate. The taste follows the aromas, but is heightened, more flavor than aroma, with the char bumped up a notch. There is a light note on the finish of dark fruits. The finish is mostly dry, with a moderate bitterness. The beer drinks nice and smooth, with a refreshing tingling of tight, intense bubbles. This is a really nice cascadian ale.
The beer pours black, with a half-inch of thick, somewhat creamy light tan head. The aroma is dark roast, light char, light black licorice, and a bit of dark chocolate. The taste follows the aromas, but is heightened, more flavor than aroma, with the char bumped up a notch. There is a light note on the finish of dark fruits. The finish is mostly dry, with a moderate bitterness. The beer drinks nice and smooth, with a refreshing tingling of tight, intense bubbles. This is a really nice cascadian ale.
Firetrucker Burnout Brown
This 5.3% ABV brown ale is from the Firetrucker Brewery of Ankeny, Iowa. They are located in a former fire station, and thus the theme of their brewery and beer names.
The beer pours a very dark brown with
highlights of dark, glinting, ruby. There is nearly an inch of
somewhat creamy light tan head. The aroma is toasted, nutty, with a
bit of dark fruit, dark berries. The taste is dark roasted, a bit of
char, light notes of dark fruit and berries, some sweetness, but with
a moderately bitter finish that is mostly dry. The beer drinks smooth
and soft.
Mickey's Ice
This is the 5.8% ABV ice version of Mickey's malt liquor.
The beer pours a crystal clear golden
in color. There is a tall, foamy head of white. The aroma is grain,
dried corn in a metal bucket, grassy, with a touch of damp cardboard.
The taste generally follows the aromas, but is a bit sweeter. There
is essentially no bitterness on the finish. The beer drinks with a
moderate carbonation. So, a workable, barely decent malt liquor, not
compelling, but not disgusting.
A 40-ouncer from 2010:
Founders PC Pils
This is a 5.5% ABV American hopped pilsner. It is from Founders Brewing of Grand Rapids, Michigan.
The beer pours a hazy, light yellow
golden in color. There is an inch of foamy, bubbling white head. The
aroma is bright, lemony, with some mango and passion fruit skins.
There is some breadiness underneath. The taste follows the aromas,
hitting the same notes. The finish is dry, with a fairly light
bitterness, particularly for the style.
Friday, January 13, 2017
Lucky Bucket Brewing Pre-Prohibition Style Lager
The Lucky Bucket Brewing Company is in La Vista, Nebraska. This is their 4.0% ABV pre-prohibition style lager.
The beer pours a dark amber in color.
There is a half-inch of white to off-white head, not particularly
long-lasting. The aroma is malty, caramel, sweet, but also with a
grassy bitterness. The taste follows the aromas, toasted malt,
caramel, hint of dark fruits, sweet, but with a lightly bitter,
grassy finish. The beer drinks smooth, but with some crispness of
carbonation. This is a nice full-flavored amber lager.
From 2011: This beer pours a glowing and crystal clear orange-copper in color with a small and rapidly dissipating head. The aroma is malty and slightly roasted. The taste is nutty, malty, roasted and toasted. This is a very flavorful lager with a nice clean and refreshing finish.
Empyrean Domino Effect
The Empyrean Brewing Company is in Lincoln, Nebraska. This is a 5.6% ABV "transition" ale, whatever that means.
The beer pours a dark copper and very
dark amber. There is a short head of very light tan. The aroma is
very floral, full of geraniums and herbs. The taste is massive liquid
geraniums with a bit of root beer barrel candies. Man, you better
like flowers to drink this. The finish is mostly dry, with light to
moderate bitterness stemming from the strong floral notes. The beer
drinks smooth with a light tingle of carbonation.
Firetrucker Brigade Ale
This 5.6% ABV Pre-Prohibition Style Golden Ale is from the Firetrucker Brewery of Ankeny, Iowa. They are located in a former fire station, and thus the theme of their brewery and beer names.
The beer pours a clear golden in color.
There is a half-inch of white head, not long lasting. The aroma is
honey, grain, light floral/citrus, with a light grassy note. The
taste follows the aromas, adding in a bready note. This drinks bright
and smooth, with a sweet, bready note. There is a tingle of grassy
bitterness on the finish.
Saturday, January 7, 2017
Goose Island Bourbon County Brand Stout - 2016
This is the 2016 vintage of Goose Island's Bourbon County Brand Stout. It is a 13.8% ABV stout aged in bourbon barrels.
The beer pours opaque black. There is
a short, and short-lived, head of dark tan/light brown. The aroma is
sweet, maple, bourbon, vanilla, with lighter notes of dark roast and
char. The taste follows the aromas, hitting all the same notes, but
the char is bumped up a notch in the flavors. The aroma is all about
sweet maple bourbon, the taste blends that equally with dark roast
and char. The beer is sweet, but the char and barrel oak add enough
astringency to put a bit of dryness near the finsh. It is warming,
but not hot or boozy. The beer drinks very smooth, almost a silky
feel in the mouth. There is a light, soft, tingle of carbonation.
This is well-done, tasting nice this year, and I will enjoy putting a
bottle away and tasting it in a couple of years.
Schell's Snowstorm 2016 British-Style Ale
This is the 2016 winter offering from the August Schell Brewing Company of New Ulm, Minnesota. They were established in 1860 and they are the second oldest family owned brewery in the United States, behind Yuengeling. Every winter they release Snowstorm, featuring a different style of beer every year. This year it is a British-style ale.
The beer pours a gleaming copper in
color. There is a short white head. The aroma is sweet, caramel,
toffee, nutty, with some dark, ripe plum fruit. The taste follows the
aromas, toffee and caramel, nutty, with a quite bitter finish. The
beer drinks light, smooth and easy, with a tingle of carbonation. This is very good, but a bit overwhelmed by its bitterness.
(I later had a second bottle of this beer. I don't know why it seemed so bitter the first time I drank it. The level of bitterness was completely appropriate to the style the second time I drank it, and this shined through as a really good beer.)
(I later had a second bottle of this beer. I don't know why it seemed so bitter the first time I drank it. The level of bitterness was completely appropriate to the style the second time I drank it, and this shined through as a really good beer.)
Monday, January 2, 2017
Samuel Adams Hopscape
The Samuel Adams line of beers are from the Boston Brewing Company of Boston, Massachusetts. This is a 5.5% ABV wheat ale brewed with West Coast hops.
The beer pours a hazy dark yellow and
apricot. There is a half-inch of thick and fluffy white head. The
aroma is tangy, fruity, citrus and light passion fruit. The taste
follows the aromas, adding in light pineapple notes. The finish is
dry and moderately bitter. The beer drinks smooth with soft
carbonation.
Lucky Bucket Hoodang Wheat
The Lucky Bucket Brewing Company is in La Vista, Nebraska (just south of Omaha). This is a 4.0% ABV wheat beer with a touch of citrus. Explaining the name, the bottle says that the beer will make you holler "hoodang!" when you drink it.
The beer pours a very clear light amber
in color. There is very little head, what is there is short-lived.
The aroma is toasted wheat, a touch nutty, with light citrus tang and
fruit. The taste follows the aromas, the toasted wheat is rich and
full-flavored, but not heavy, with the fruit as mellow and sweet as
tangy. The beer drinks easy and smooth, but with some tingle of
carbonation. The finish is dry with a light bitterness. This makes an
excellent session beer.
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