Monday, February 27, 2012

Begnining of the week - Beer!

1) Fantomme Saison - 8.0% Appearance) Nice golden hue with a little frothy head. Smell) A bit metallic...phenols coming through. Taste) A ton of lemon zest, peppery spiciness...the acidity disapears pretty quickly...man the lemon comes right back. Mouthfeel) Vey nicely carbonated. I like the champagne mouthfeel! Overall) Pretty damn outstanding!

2) Spider Bite - Boris the Spider Russian Imperial Stout - 10% - Nice new Long Island Beer co. Jet black beer nice brown head coffee and chocolate dominate! Look forward to this being bottled!

3) Clown Shoes - Supa Hero - IPA - 8.0% - Nice DIPA, amber color, little light on the hops though for me. Wish it was fruitier!

4) Peak Organic - Local Series - VT - 6.9% - Not bad... a little maltier for a pale ale than I would have liked.

Friday, February 24, 2012

Weekend Beer Review!

Pretty lame showing last week....hopefully will be making up for lost beer! Might hit 1,100 by next week or so. Have something special for that.

1) Lagunitas - Imperial Red - 7.8% - Tasty strong ale. Thought this would have been a bit hoppier but the IBU's are at 54. This is way too easy to drink.

2) Sixpoint - Spontaneous Contruction - Smoked Beer unknown ABV - Not a big fan of smoked beer but this is really good. There is a nice sweetness to this that is balance with just a slight bit of smokiness. Well done Sixpoint!

3) Bear Republic - Mach 10 - 9.2% - A Bit more malty and bitter than I would like. Kind of like these guys wanted to make an east coast IPA.

4) Midnight Sun Sockeye Red ...nice IPA done!

4) McTarnahan's - Spine Tingler Tripel 8.5% - Bubble gum bomb!...nice but too sweet.

Saturday, February 18, 2012

Weekend Beer Review!

Nice day for a drive....hit the new Captain Lawrence Location, DeCicco's (of course and the Peekskill Brewery (with a stop at the Birdsall House)!

1) Peekskill Brewery Tropical Thunder 5.5% - A not quite so pale ale. This could easily be a go to beer. The fruitiness is incredible!

2) Samuel Adams - Mighty Oak Ale - 5.7% - Kind of a Griffin's Bow light. Nice vanilla taste!

3) Samuel Adams Black Lager - 4.9% - Man cheating on this Sam's Seasonal. Schwarzbier with just a mild smokiness. Pretty tasty!

Monday, February 13, 2012

Couple of Specialties Beer review!

Which may be expanded at my idiotic whim....

1) Firestone Walker 15 - 12.5% - Poured into a FW Snifter - This beer is a nice reddish brown when held up to the light. A little bit of a head. From the smell I get caramel and vanilla. From the taste, the caramel and vanilla return but there is also raisin and the barrel oakiness. Sweetness is really there. The alchohol is hidden but this beer is to be had at home. This is a blend that is 76% Barleywine, 19% Imperial Stout and 5% DIPA. The Frankenstein of beers.

2) Deschutes - Hop Henge Experimental IPA - 8.5% - Main beer in the recent trade. This is a very solid DIPA. Love the Hop bitterness yet there is some underlying sweetness!

3) Sam Adams - Dark Depths - Black IPA - 7.6% Nice Chocolate and Hops!

4) Sixpoint - Resin - 9.1% - Double IPA which is very tasty but leans more towards the piney taste of the hops rather than the tropical fruit notes that the west coast produces. I give these guys credit for bucking the trend here. The graphics on their cans are pretty outstanding.

5) Midnight Sun - CoHoHo - Imperial IPA -8% - IPA brewed with brown sugar, honey and juniper berries? A bit too much.

6) Olde Burnside - Amazing Grace 2011 - 10.0% - These guys make scotch ales taste good! This is the Ten Penny Reserve aged in French Cognac Barrels.

7) Jester King - Black Metal 10.4% - Pretty Outrageous Imperial stout. Bold coffee notes.

8) Clown Shoes - Vampire Slayer - Thin and done!

Friday, February 10, 2012

Weekend Beer Review!

1) Lawsons Finest Liquids - Double Sunshine IPA - 8.0% Thrilled to even have a chance to try this...poured into a tulip glass. Appearance) Nice golden hue with a frothy head, very good retention. Taste) Oh man this is fantastic. Upfront sweetness from the mango and pineapple is prevalent. Some lemon zest shows up in the middle and the finish is crystal clean. When you have a beer that gives you all the flavors up front and finishes this clean you have something special. Overall) These hops rule!

2) Samuel Adams - Cinder Bock - 9.4% - Interesting beer from their small batch series....get so interesting sweetness up front, then so smokiness in the back. Alchohol extremely well hidden. For 6.99 a bomber not bad!

3) Cambridge Brewing Company - Tripel Threat - 10.0% - Supposedly the first commercially produced US Tripel. Tasty but kind of a Tripel light.

4) Cambridge Brewing Company - 8.0% The Audacity of Hops - OK this is an off take on a Pre preseidential Obama memoir...But still this beer is very good. My only issue is that this is supposed to be a Belgian IPA but drinks like a DIPA.

5) Slumbrew - Happy Sol 5.5% - This is a brewery from Mass (great name). This is a Hefeweizen brewed with Honey and Blood Oranges. Pretty tasty although I don't get the phenols I would like.

6) Deschutes Brewery - Hop in the Dark - 6.9% - Received in a trade...Their black IPA. A little past the freshness date (but that was made up in the trade). Still worth the deal.

7) Saint Arnold - Divine Reserve 11 - Another one from the trade...a bit old but still good! This is a double IPA.

8) Boulevard Brewing - Chocolate Ale - 9.1% -
The Chocolate flavor is kind of nice. Get a bit more vanilla than I would have thought. Very easy drinking....

Monday, February 6, 2012

Post Superbowl Beer Review!

Ugly day today...up to late watching the game....drank too much during post game...remedy....beer review!

1) Brooklyn Brewery - Mary's Maple Porter - 7.2% - Nice porter a light body with just a slight hint of maple. Easy drinking.

2) Alpine Beer Co - Pure Hoppiness - 8.0% - Extra in a trade...Appearance) Nice golden hue slight foamy head. Taste) Wow this is a hop bomb! Nice flavors of pineapple, grapefruit, orange, lemon...this is a treat. This beer is absolutely fantastic. Good fortune to have had!

3) Alpine Beer Co - Exponential Hoppiness - 11.0% Appearance) Nice kind of murky orange, slight translucent head. Taste) You get the pineapple and grapefruit I am getting a load of lemon zest but the malt quickly compensates to balance this out. There is some oak and vanilla as well. This is very interesting! The flavors of this beer run the gamut. Mouthefeel) Nicely carbonated and nicely sticky! Alcohol is not noticeable. Overall) I really like this....have had some of these amped up IPA's that have needed some ageing. This is best fresh!

4) Live Oak - Hefeweizen - 5.2% Growler as part of a trade. I fell in love with this style last summer, the combination of the clove, banana and bubble gum is pedominant as it should be. There is a nice bitterness at the end which quickly goes away. Third top 100 beer reviewed this week.

Saturday, February 4, 2012

SuperBowl Beer Review!

Went Growler Hunting NebCo had a new release and found a new Hooker! (Go G-Men)!

1) New England Brewing - Ghost Pigeon Porter - Suprise (at least to me) from New England Brewing. Poured into a tulip glass. Appearance - Nice deep dark black, small tan head which quickly dissipates. Taste - Charred coffe, cocoa with some licorice undertones. This finishes with a nice hoppy bitternes (40 IBU's). I like this combination. Nice to have found this tasty treat. Hopefully it goes into the rotation.

2) Thomas Hooker - Chocolate Truffle Stout - 6.3% Appearnce - Totally black tan head.
Taste - Chocolate dominates... this is the reason for this beer. The chocolatier that they utilized is a local CT. one. There is a nice sweetness to this without it being too much of a sugar bomb. Mouthfeel - Creamy, this is chocolate milk for adults. Great beer which is slighly sneaky on the ABV!

3) Samuel Adams - Whitewater IPA - 5.8% - Pretty tasty IPA - Get a little apple and cinnamon with this. Wasn't Whitewater a Clinton Scandal!