Thom's Beer Blog

1098. Southampton Porter

2009-11-23T09:30:00.000-05:00

1098. Southampton Porter

This was on The Muddy's rotating tap. I had it on Thursday November 19th.

Beer Stats:
Brewery: Opa Opa Steakhouse and Brewery
Alcohol: ?
Serving: Tap
Style: American Porter, BJCP Style Guide

Appearance: 3.5 | Smell: 4.0 | Taste: 4.0 | Mouthfeel: 4.0 | Drinkability: 3.5

Overall: 3.85

Southampton Porter pours a dark, opaque black. It's topped by a beige head that fades to ring. The aroma is quite nice. There are notes of roasted malts, coffee, a mild chocolate sweetness, and slight dark fruit.

Initially this porter is sweet. Chocolate notes greet the palate, and move into a roasted, coffee bitterness in the finish. The chocolate notes are good, but the roasted bitterness could be upped.
This Porter is medium-bodied, moderately carbonated, and has a roasty roughness.

I though this was a fairly tasty porter.

1096-1097. The Publick House

2009-11-18T09:30:00.007-05:00

On November 8th Jadyn and I had dinner and drinks at the Publick House with some of her labmates. I had two new beers while there, one before dinner, and one after dinner. In between were Cuvee de Trolls, and Orval. We started with a mix of appetizers: Monk's Frites, Moules Frites, and the Publick Plate. My entree was the Waterzooi aux Poissons.

1096. Cane & Ebel

Beer Stats:
Brewery: Two Brothers Brewing Company
Alcohol: 7.00%
Serving: Tap
Style: Rye Beer, BJCP Style Guide

Appearance: 4.0 | Smell: 4.0 | Taste: 4.5 | Mouthfeel: 4.5 | Drinkability: 4.5

Overall: 4.3

Cane & Ebel is a Rye Beer from Two Brothers Brewing Company, a brewery in Illinois that I hadn't heard of. It pours a clear, reddish color, and is topped by a dense, foamy, one-finger, beige head that retains well. Initial notes of spicy, rye grains meld well with an herbal, slightly resiny hop character. Swirling brings out a sweet, bready malt undertone, which opens up into notes of molasses upon warming.

There are moderately sweet malty characters upfront. There are notes of bready malts, caramel, light toffee, and chocolate. This moves into a slight spiciness that's part rye, part hops, and part carbonation. The spiciness quickly gives way to a strident, leafy, hop bitterness. Overall very tasty. This Rye Beer is medium-bodied, yet still crisp, and has a nice dose of prickly carbonation.

This beer had great balance. A good, flavorful malt backbone stood up well to a strong hop bitterness.

1097. Triple Exultation

Beer Stats:
Brewery: Eel River Brewing Co.
Alcohol: 9.70%
Serving: Tap
Style: Old Ale, BJCP Style Guide

Appearance: 3.5 | Smell: 4.0 | Taste: 4.5 | Mouthfeel: 4.0 | Drinkability: 3.5

Overall: 4.05

Triple Exultation pours a cloudy, brownish-red. It's topped by a thin, sudsy, off-white head that leaves sheets of lace. The aroma is rich and fruity. Notes of dark fruit are dominant: rasins and dates. A slight acidity and woodiness make up the second layer of aromas that give this a nice complexity.

Initial malt flavors are fruity (dates and raisins) with a mild chocolate character. This moves through to a mild citric acidity in the center, which moves into a hoppy, and woody(?) finish. This beer is full-bodied, but has a dry astringency, and mild carbonation.

I thought this was a very tasty Old Ale, not quite to style, but very tasty.

1095. Frye's Leap India Pale Ale

2009-11-16T09:30:00.003-05:00

1095. Frye's Leap India Pale Ale

This is one of the bottle that David brought down from New Hampshire when he visited in October. I let this warm a bit and served it in my CBC Great Pumpkin Festival glass.

Beer Stats:
Brewery: Sebago Brewing Company
Alcohol: 5.70%
Serving: Bottle, 12 oz.
Style: American IPA, BJCP Style Guide

Appearance: 4.0 | Smell: 3.5 | Taste: 3.5 | Mouthfeel: 2.5 | Drinkability: 3.5

Overall: 3.5

Frye's Leap pours a hazy, copper color. It's topped by a meringue-like, off-white, two-finger head that retains well, leaving plentiful lace. The aroma is predominantly hoppy with floral notes, and mild hints of resin. There's also a mild undertone of toasty malts.

The initial toastiness gives way to a mild, bready sweetness with mild hints of caramel. This mild maltiness persists through the center. A prickly spiciness precedes the finish, which has herbal and resiny hop flavors, and a strong hop bitterness that lingers well into the aftertaste. I thought the malt backing was a bit weak, and could be increased just a bit. Despite a good dose of carbonation, I thought this beer felt a bit watery on the palate.

Overall I thought this was an average IPA. There were things to like (strong dose of hops), and things to dislike (weak malts, and thinness).

1094. Balto MärzHon

2009-11-13T09:30:00.003-05:00

1094. Balto MärzHon

Jadyn and I had dinner at Christopher's on the evening of November 2nd. I had a pint of Clipper City's Oktoberfest with my dinner.

Beer Stats:
Brewery: Clipper City Brewery
Alcohol: 6.00%
Serving: Tap
Style: Märzen / Oktoberfest, BJCP Style Guide

Appearance: 3.5 | Smell: 3.5 | Taste: 3.5 | Mouthfeel: 4.0 | Drinkability: 4.0

Overall: 3.6

Balto MärzHon pours a crystal-clear copper. It's topped by an off-white head that fades to a film, leaving speckles of lace. The aroma is fairly mild overall. Initially toasty notes are predominant, but swirling brings out aromas of caramel and toffee.

Toasty, and bready malts move into a moderately sweet, caramel character in the center, which then fades into a mild, but firm hop bitterness. This beer is moderately carbonated, and light-bodied.

I thought that this was a decent Märzen. It wasn't as malty as mast other examples of the style, which could be good or bad, depending on your preference.

1086-1093. The CBC's Great Pumpkin Festival

2009-11-11T09:30:00.019-05:00

Jadyn and I went to Cambridge Brewing Company's 2nd Annual Great Pumpkin Festival on Halloween. After dinner at home, we took the T back to Kendall Square and arrived at around 10 PM. There was a fairly sizable line, but turnover was brisk, and we got in about 15 or 20 minutes later.

Entry to the event was $10, but this included a GPF pint glass. They were out of them when we arrived, so we got two CBC pint glasses instead. Luckily Jadyn has good eyes, and on our way back to the T, spotted an abandoned GPF glass on a table in the courtyard of the Kendall Marriott.

Beers were purchased with tickets, which were sold at two locations at the event. Tickets were available in increments of four, and we ended up buying two sets of twelve tickets totaling $30. For most beers one ticket equaled a four ounce pour, but for stronger beers or rarer beers two tickets equaled a four ounce pour. For us it worked out to about $5.50 per pint, about standard for a pint of quality beer in the area.

The CBC had six of their pumpkin beers on tap, Great Pumpkin Ale, Olde Pumpkin Porter, Biere de Gourde, Spinal Pumpkin, Black Magic, and Ich Bin Ein Kürbisweisse. They also had their standard house beers on tap, as well as another non-pumpkin beer. There were also fifteen pumpkin beers available from other breweries such as Allagash, The Bruery, Dogfish Head, and Elysian to name a few. I was pleased with the variety of different styles of "pumpkin beer." In general I tried to taste the beers that weren't the standard spiced, pumpkin ale.

Jadyn and I were lame, and didn't wear costumes. However, all of the staff and the majority of the patrons were dressed up, and the bar was heavily decorated for Halloween. I thought this was a great beer event. The variety of different interpretations of pumpkin ale kept things interesting, and the food menu looked great. I'll definitely want to go next year.

I've included the description on the beer list before my tasting notes for each beer.

1086. Mr. Yuck

Beer Stats:
Brewery: Elysian Brewing Company
Alcohol: 5.10%
Serving: Tap
Style: American Wild Ale

"Brewed with pale, Munich, Cara-Hell and 150º Crystal malts and both malted and unmalted wheat, as well as wheat flour. Very lightly hopped with UK Fuggles and aged in fermentation for ten months wwith second-generation sour Belgian yeast blend (a culture we've kept alive for seven years), then in kegs for an additional four months. Pumpkin in the mash and kettle."

Mr. Yuck pours a hazy, copper golden. The aroma is pleasingly acidic with notes of funk, wet blanket, and characteristic Brett hopsack. The acidity is moderate, and the finish has Brett flavors. Nicely crisp and dry. I liked this beer, but thought it could have been a bit more sour.

1087. Heavy Seas - The Great Pumpkin

Beer Stats:
Brewery: Clipper City Brewery
Alcohol: 8.50%
Serving: Tap
Style: Pumpkin Ale, BJCP Style Guide

"From our Heavy Seas line of extreme beers, our best experiment ever. The secret is in the 3 ounces of spice per barrel for this fall brew. We add the pumpkin during the mash at precisely the right time to create just the perfect balance of malt, hops, pumkin and spice. The crew at the brewery voted on their favorite recipe to bring you the best & biggest pumpkin beer you'll ever have!"

Pours a clear copper color with an off-white head. There are mild pumpkin notes and strong notes of nutmeg and cinnamon in the aroma. Sweet, sugary pumpkin up front move into a cinnamon and clove spiciness in the center and finish. There's a moderate hop bitterness in the finish.

1088. Olde Pumpkin Porter

Beer Stats:
Brewery: Cambridge Brewing Company
Alcohol: 6.80%
Serving: Tap
Style: American Porter, BJCP Style Guide

"Olde Pumpkin Porter is our attempt at recreating the pumpkin-infused beers of colonial days. Brewed with pale and roasted malts and fresh organic sugar pumpkins, it has whiled away the past year in old bourbon barrels, where it was inoculated by Brettanomyces and Lactobacillus naturally occuring in the CBC dungeon, er, Barrel Cellar. It was then blended with cinnamon sticks and candied ginger, and finished with new oak. It's tart and roasty palate may just transport you back to 17th Century Boston"

Pours a dark black, and is topped by a brown head. The aroma has notes of bourbon, roast and a light acidity. Initially this porter is mildly sweet with roasted undertones, but moves into a boozy center, and a roasted bitterness in the finish. There are also hints of tartness and Brett earthiness in the finish. I thought this was an interesting beer, I'm always interested in attempts to make beers in a somewhat historic context.

1089. Black Magic

Beer Stats:
Brewery: Cambridge Brewing Company
Alcohol: 3.75%
Serving: Cask
Style: Irish Dry Stout, BJCP Style Guide

"Our Irish Dry Stout, Blackout, has been infused with fresh pumpkin, ancho and chipotle peppers, cacao nibs, and whole cinnamon sticks. No beer is safe from the pumpkin! Going one step further, this little beauty is served on cask for this event!"

BLack Magic pours an opaque black, and is topped by a thin, brown head. The aroma is a peculiar mixture of maltiness and cinnamon that gives the distinct impression of Graham Crackers. There are more subtle aromas of peppery spice and roast, but the Graham Cracker aroma was what really stuck out at me. There's a bit of chocolatey, and pumpkin sweetness upfront, but this is quickly eclipsed by the spiciness of the cinnamon, ancho, and chipotles. This spiciness finishes out the beer, leaving a strong, lingering heat. I thought this was a great beer. I really liked the heat, and thought that the slightly sweetened (pumpkin infusion) Irish Dry Stout backbone provided the perfect base for the spiciness. I wonder if this was inspired by Mayan and Aztec chocolate drinks. This was probably my favorite beer of the evening.

1090. Ich Bin Ein Kürbisweisse

Beer Stats:
Brewery: Cambridge Brewing Company
Alcohol: 4.30%
Serving: Tap
Style: Berliner Weissbier, BJCP Style Guide

"Possibly the world's first pumpkin Berliner Weisse! Infused with autumn spices and fresh sugar pumpkin and, well, a secret ingredient to turn this beer a bright orange. Sweet upfront, tart in the finish, pumpkin-spicy in the middle."

Pours a cloudy, golden, orange color, and is topped by a light, white head. The aroma is grassy and grainy with mild spice aromatics, and a sour apple undertone. The initial maltiness leans towards sweet with hints of grassiness. The finish is pleasingly tart with a dry, and earthy character. The pumpkin pie spice is mild, but present throughout. This was another favorite of the evening.

1091. Jack O' Bite

Beer Stats:
Brewery: Elysian Brewing Company
Alcohol: 6.40%
Serving: Tap
Style: Scotch Ale / Wee Heavy, BJCP Style Guide

"Brewed with pale, 77º Crystal, Munich and Cara-Hell malts, and bittered lightly with Glacier hops. Pumpkin in the mash, kettle and fermenter; aged in Jack Daniel's and wine barrels for 6 weeks, inoculated with yeast from Rodenbach."

Pours a hazed, amber-red. It's topped by an off-white head with good lace. The aroma is boozy with woody, acidic and funky notes. A pumpkin and malty sweetness upfront moves into a tart bite. The finish is dry. I thought this was an interesting blend of pumpkin, Scotch Ale, and sour.

1092. St. Alphonso

Beer Stats:
Brewery: Cambridge Brewing Company
Alcohol: 4.50%
Serving: Tap
Style: Belgian Pale Ale, BJCP Style Guide

This was the one non-pumpkin beer I had all night. It's sort of a cross between a Belgian Pale Ale and a hoppy APA. Their description:

Brewers have long held a tradition of naming beers after patron saints. We wanted to do the same, but which saint to choose?
All of the good ones being taken – St. Arnold, St. Bridgette, St. Augustine, etc., etc. – we were left with old Saint Alphonso, patron saint of church pancake breakfasts.
What’s he got to do with our newest beer? Nothing, really. Like I said, all of the good saints were taken.

Inspired once again to abuse our position and mess up the mainstream, we’ve created an “American” take on the Belgian single, or table beer. Created for consumption on a daily basis while at the meal table, as opposed to the richer and stronger doubles and triples reserved for festival times, bière de table in Belgium is a lower alcohol beer with plenty of spicy, yeasty, malty flavors.

Our spin involves our house Belgian yeast strain and bucketloads of American hops. Brewed with pale and aromatic malts, its primary flavors and aromas are big, floral, grassy and citrusy thanks to Glacier, Amarillo, and Centennial hops. Glacier hops were added at first wort, and combined with Amarillo and Centennial at the end of the boil and in the whirlpool. Additionally nearly 1.5 pounds per barrel of dryhops were added for that bit of something we call “extra.” No bittering hops were used, but the flavors and residual dryness from the hops, combined with a very well-attenuated, super-dry, light-bodied beer, create a perfect balance on the palate.
Call it a hoppy Belgian session beer if you like.
We call it St. Alphonso.

St. Alphonso pours a pale, straw color, and is topped by a white head. The aroma is primarily hoppy: lots of resin and grassy hops, and a bit of citrus. A distinct citric flavor accompanies a light, grainy maltiness upfront. This moves into resiny and leafy hop flavors in the finish, which contribute more to flavor than to bitterness. This one seems insanely drinkable.

1093. Hansel and Gretel

Beer Stats:
Brewery: Elysian Brewing Company
Alcohol: 4.50%
Serving: Tap
Style: Czech Pilsener, BJCP Style Guide

"Brewed with organic pale, Weyermann Munich and Cara-Hell malts, with pumpkin added in the mash, kettle and fermenter. Spiced with peeled and pureed gresh ginger in the boil and bright tank and hopped with lots of Czech Saaz hops (otherwise it wouldn't be traditional)."

Pours a clear, golden color. Ginger and pumpkin notes beat out the Saaz in the aroma. The pumpkin contributes a distinct sweetness to the style. This sweetness moves into a ginger-spice center, and through to a nice, hoppy bitterness in the finish.

1085. Founders Breakfast Stout

2009-11-09T09:30:00.005-05:00

1085. Founders Breakfast Stout

Jadyn and I had dinner at The Publick House on October 24th. I started with a Delirium Tremens while we waited for a table, and had an Atomium Grand Cru with my meal, Waterzooi aux Poissons, a stew of mussels, cod, scallops, shrimp and potatoes. I'm not normally a seafood fan, but as part of my ongoing efforts to expand my pallate I decided to give a seafood heavy dish a go. I was very pleased with my decision. The broth was creamy and delicious, and the seafood was fresh and tasty, though I'm still not a huge fan of the texture of scallops. My final beer of the evening was Founders Breakfast Stout, which I had as an after dinner beverage.

Beer Stats:
Brewery: : Founder's Brewing Company
Alcohol: 8.30%
Serving: Bottle, 12 oz.
Style: American Double Stout

Appearance: 4.0 | Smell: 4.0 | Taste: 4.0 | Mouthfeel: 4.5 | Drinkability: 4.0

Overall: 4.05

Founders Breakfast Stout pours an opaque black, and is topped by a dark brown head that fades to a bubbly ring, and leaves good lacing. This stout has a wonderful, rich, roasty aroma. Strong notes of coffee beans are dominant, with subordinate notes of chocolate and hints of dark fruit. Swirling the beer enhances the dark fruit aromas.

There's a strong, roasty character present from start to finish in this beer. Upfront it serves as a counterpoint to chocolate sweetness, in the center it mellows allowing the chocolate flavors to blend with notes of dark fruit for a sweet kick, and in the finish the coffee used in this stout emerges and melds with the roasted flavors giving a lingering bitterness. This stout is full-bodied, moderately carbonated, and smooth and creamy.

I thought that this was a good, strong stout. There's a lot going on, and a nice interplay between the chocolate and coffee.

1081-1084. David's Visit

2009-11-06T09:30:00.011-05:00

David and his wife Megan stayed at our place on their way back to New York on the night of Ocotober 9th. We started the evening with the latest batch of home brew, an IPA that Matt and I brewed. We followed up with dinner and wine at Gran Gusto, an excellent Italian restaurant in our neighborhood. After dinner David and I broke into some of the beer that he'd brought from New Hampshire, as well as some of the beer that I had in the fridge.

1081. 6288 Stout

This is one of the beers that David brought down from New Hampshire.

Beer Stats:
Brewery: Tuckerman Brewing Company
Alcohol: 5.90%
Serving: Bottle, 12 oz.
Style: American Stout, BJCP Style Guide

6288 Stout, named for the elevation of Mt. Washington, pours an opaque black color. It's topped by a brown, half-inch head that fades to a sudsy layer. The aroma is roasty with notes of chocolate and coffee, as well as hints of dates.

The flavor profile is similar to the aroma. A chocolate sweetness greets the palate, moves into a center with notes of dark fruit and a mild sharpness, and finishes with a roasty bitterness. 6288 stout is medium-bodied with moderate carbonation.

I thought that this was a decent stout. The balance between sweet malts and roasted malts was good.

1082. Kennebunkport Pumpkin Ale

We had this in the fridge. Jadyn and I picked it up at Trader Joe's.

Beer Stats:
Brewery: Federal Jack's Brewpub
Alcohol: 4.70%
Serving: Bottle, 12 oz.
Style: Pumpkin Ale, BJCP Style Guide

Pours a very pale orange. It's topped by a thick, off-white head. The aroma is pretty one-dimensional: pumpkin-pie spice overwhelming any hints of pumpkin. The flavor is much the same: heavy spicing, with a mild pumpkin undertone. This Pumpkin Ale is light-bodied. I thought this beer was disappointing. There was way too much spice, completely overwhelming any other characters.

1083. Boathouse Brown

David brought this one down from New Hampshire.

Beer Stats:
Brewery: Sebago Brewing Company
Alcohol: 4.80%
Serving: Bottle, 12 oz.
Style: American Brown Ale, BJCP Style Guide

Boathouse Brown pours a clear brown, and is topped by a sudsy, brown head. The aroma is malty with notes of caramel, chocolate, and roasty accents.

The palate is malt heavy as well, though surprisingly well attenuated. Dark chocolate notes upfront move into dark fruit in the center, followed by a roasty bitterness in the finish.

I thought this was a very nice brown ale. It's malty, but not too sweet.

1084. De Dolle Oerbier Special Reserva 2005

I'd had this beer in my fridge for at least two years, perhaps longer. I originally picked this up at Downtown Wine & Spirits, but I don't remember when.

Beer Stats:
Brewery: Brouwerij De Dolle Brouwers
Year: 2005
Alcohol: 13.00%
Serving: Bottle, 330 mL
Style: Flanders Oud Bruin, BJCP Style Guide

Appearance: 4.0 | Smell: 4.5 | Taste: 4.5 | Mouthfeel: 4.0 | Drinkability: 4.0

Overall: 4.3

De Dolle Oerbier Special Reserva pours a cloudy, brown color with orange tints at the edges. It's topped by a full, light-brown head that fades to a continuous film, leaving moderate lace. The aroma is dominated by two characters, acidity and a boozy, aged maltiness. The acidity is the more dominant of the two caracters, but when combined with the aged out malts give the impression of sour fruit. All overtly sweet, malty aromas have been aged out. There are notes of orange peel, alcohol, and a slight woody aroma.

This beer greets the tongue with a strong, acidic sourness, which mellows, but never disappears. All malt sweetness is attenuated and aged out, leaving the malt flavors, but none of their sweetness. This results in a mildly boozy impression, which melds well with the earthy and woody notes in the finish. This Oud Bruin feels surprisingly light on the palate. The mild carbonation, and relatively light body really accentuate the dryness of this beer.

I was very happy with this beer. I was expecting an aged, malt heavy brew, but instead got a nicely acidic and dry beer. Fantastic. I'll definitely pick up some more of these vintages if I see them.

Caught Up

2009-11-04T22:43:00.002-05:00

It seems like I've been somewhat behind on the blog since late May, but as of tonight I'm caught up on writing posts. I have four posts that are scheduled for this week and next week. Perhaps now I'll get to some of the bottles in the fridge.

1080. Simply Red IPA

2009-11-04T09:30:00.000-05:00

1080. Simply Red IPA

I had this beer on tap at the CBC on September 23rd. Unfortunately I have very little info about it. The only description on the website says it was dry-hopped with amarillo hops. I do remember that this beer was brewed for the 40th birthday of a CBC regular. I apologize for the horrible quality of the photo.

Beer Stats:
Brewery: Cambridge Brewing Company
Alcohol: ?
Serving: Tap
Style: American IPA, BJCP Style Guide

Appearance: 3.5 | Smell: 4.5 | Taste: 3.5 | Mouthfeel: 4.0 | Drinkability: 4.0

Overall: 3.8

Simply Red pours a very cloudy, amber-copper color. It's topped by a thin, white head that fades to a ring, and leaves a good smattering of lace. The aroma is bursting with hops. Resiny, and earthy hops blend with grainy and caramel malts to create a sweet, yet hoppy aroma. There are grassy and citric notes on the tale end of the nose.

Toasty malts move into a bready sweetness that's mildly sweet, and serves as the backbone. Peppery, herbal, and floral hop flavors come into play, before the finish which is moderately bitter. This IPA is moderately carbonated, medium-bodied, and slightly oily.

I though this beer had good balance, and nice flavors.

1079. Sierra Nevada Anniversary Ale

2009-11-02T09:30:00.005-05:00

1079. Sierra Nevada Anniversary Ale

I'm not sure where I got this bottle, but I had this beer on September 13th. I served it in my CBC pint glass.

Beer Stats:
Brewery: Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.
Year: 2009
Alcohol: 5.90%
Serving: Bottle, 12 oz.
Style: American IPA, BJCP Style Guide

Appearance: 4.0 | Smell: 3.5 | Taste: 4.0 | Mouthfeel: 3.5| Drinkability: 4.0

Overall: 3.85

This beer pours a slightly hazed, copper color. It's topped by a two-finger, cream colored head that rises quickly, and quickly fades to a quarter-inch layer, leaving sheets and patches of lace. The aroma is malty with toasty and bready notes, along with a caramel sweetness on swirling. The hop aroma is more subtle. There are mild grassy notes, and a bit of peppery spice.

The malty backbone of this beer is the first character to greet the palate. There are toasty notes with an underlying, bready sweetness, which moves into a sweeter caramel character. A peppery bite becomes evident in the center, and moves into a resiny hop flavor with a lingering bitterness. The sweet, malty backbone underlies the finish. This IPA is medium-bodied, has mildly prickly carbonation, and has a bit of roughness in the finish.

I thought this was a balanced IPA. There's a good deal of malty sweetness to off-set a strong bitterness in the finish. A good, but not great IPA.

1073-1078. Moat Mountain Smoke House

2009-10-09T09:30:00.014-04:00

We had our annual, lab camping trip in New Hampshire from the 1st of September to the 3rd. On the 2nd we hiked the Brook-Liberty trail loop to the summit of Mount Chocorua. Rather than cook for ourselves after hiking, we ended up driving into North Conway for dinner. Jenny suggested Moat Mountain, a restaurant/brewery nearby. We split some appetizers, and I had meatloaf for dinner. It came with green beans, squash and mashed potatoes, all very tasty. Rather than choosing one beer I had the six-beer sampler.

1073. Hoffman Weiss

Beer Stats:
Brewery: Moat Mountain Smoke House & Brewing Co.
Alcohol:5.70%
Serving: Tap
Style: Hefe Weizen, BJCP Style Guide

Hoffman Weiss pours a cloudy, straw color. It has a nice weiss aroma: cloves, banana and bubble gum with a slight sharpness. Initial malts are neutral and grainy, and move into a citric sharpness with a good banana flavor. There's a nice crispness from the wheat. I though this was a good hefeweizen. I placed it at #3 out of 6 beers in the sampler.

1074. Golden Dog Pilsner

Beer Stats:
Brewery: Moat Mountain Smoke House & Brewing Co.
Alcohol: ?
Serving: Tap
Style: German Pilsener, BJCP Style Guide

Pours a clear, golden, straw color. The aroma is mild, but there's a bit of peppery spicy, and some grassy notes. Crisp carbonation upfront moves into a mild fruitiness in the center, which when combined with a mild, peppery spice, is reminiscent of blueberries. The finish has a mild, hop bitterness. Decent, there's a bit of flavor, but not a ton. #4 out of 6.

1075. Czech Pilsner

Beer Stats:
Brewery: Moat Mountain Smoke House & Brewing Co.
Alcohol: 4.90%
Serving: Tap
Style: Czech Pilsener, BJCP Style Guide

Pours a clear, straw, golden color. The aroma is exceedingly mild, you really have to try for it: hints of citrus, and grassy hops. The start to this one is mild, there's some pepperiness in the center and a mild bitterness in the finish. This was too light, and didn't have much flavor. It tasted better after I accidentally dropped a chuck of melted jack cheese and onion in it. This was #5 of 6.

1076. Iron Mike Pale Ale

Beer Stats:
Brewery: Moat Mountain Smoke House & Brewing Co.
Alcohol: 5.60%
Serving: Tap
Style: American Pale Ale, BJCP Style Guide

Pours a clear copper color. There's a very nice, hoppy aroma with notes of citrus and apricot. A caramel sweetness greets the palate, followed by a fruity maltiness and a leafy bitterness in the finish with a nice lingering taste. I thought this was a very nice APA, definitely my favorite of the sampler, #1/6.

1077. Opa's Oktoberfest

Beer Stats:
Brewery: Moat Mountain Smoke House & Brewing Co.
Alcohol: 7.0%
Serving: Tap
Style: Märzen / Oktoberfest, BJCP Style Guide

Pours a clear, reddish brown. The aroma is malty with notes of caramel and toffee. There's a strong malty start to the beer. It's predominantly a caramel sweetness, but there are also hints of chocolate. The finish has a mild, but nice, bitterness. There's also a rough chalkiness in the finish. I liked this one. #2/6.

1078. Bear Peak Brown

Beer Stats:
Brewery: Moat Mountain Smoke House & Brewing Co.
Alcohol: 5.50%
Serving: Tap
Style: English Brown Ale, BJCP Style Guide

Pours a clear brown color. There's a mild roastiness, and slight fruitiness in the aroma. Unfortunately the taste doesn't match up with the aroma. There's almost no flavor until the finish where there's a mild roasty flavor and slight fruitiness. Watery, bland not good at all. Easily #6/6.

1072. Sierra Nevada Southern Hemisphere Harvest Fresh Hop Ale

2009-10-07T09:30:00.004-04:00

1072. Sierra Nevada Southern Hemisphere Harvest Fresh Hop Ale

Jadyn bought a bottle of Sierra Nevada's 2009 release of their Southern Hemisphere Fresh Hop Ale. I drank this one on the 30th of August.

Beer Stats:
Brewery: Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.
Year: 2009
Alcohol: 6.70%
Serving: Bottle, 22 oz.
Style: American Pale Ale, BJCP Style Guide

Appearance: 4.5 | Smell: 3.5 | Taste: 4.0 | Mouthfeel: 3.5 | Drinkability: 4.5

Overall: 4.0

This Pale Ale pours a cloudy copper. It's topped by a frothy, off-white head that clings to the side of the glass. There's a nice toasty aroma with a bit of caramel, a slight alcoholic spice, and hops that are leafy and citric with a bit of fruitiness.

There's a mild, caramel sweetness upfront with a good, toasty backbone. The malts quickly give way to an alcoholic spice, and a spicy, leafy, hop bitterness. Medium-bodied, highly carbonated, and coarse in the finish.

I thought this beer had a great malt-hop balance with good flavors from both elements.

1071. Nom de Plum

2009-10-05T09:30:00.004-04:00

1071. Nom de Plum

Jadyn and I went to the CBC for drinks on the 14th of August. We each had a "Nom de Plum", a Belgian-style ale brewed with plum juice.

Beer Stats:
Brewery: Cambridge Brewing Company
Alcohol: 5.75%
Serving: Tap
Style: Belgian Pale Ale, BJCP Style Guide

Appearance: 4.0 | Smell: 3.0| Taste: 3.5 | Mouthfeel: 3.0 | Drinkability: 4.0

Overall: 3.5

Nom de Plum pours a hazed, reddish, copper color. It's topped by a slightly off-white, shiny head that fades to a continuous film and leaves sheets of lace. The nose is dominated by peppery coriander, with a slight underlying fruitiness lent by the plum juice. I thought the aroma was a bit one-note for my taste. This beer would definitely benefit from toning down the coriander aromatics to let the fruitiness from the plums to come through.

This beer is malty upfront, but in a neutral sort of way: grainy rather than bready, textural rather than sweet. After these initial notes the plums come forward lending a slight bit of tartness, sweetness, and fruity, plum flavor. The finish is fairly flat, without a good flavor or spiciness. This beer is light-bodied with low carbonation. The carbonation could have been punched up a bit because the beer came across as fairly thin.

Despite my complaints, I thought this was a decent summer beer. It was light and refreshing.

1068-1070. Beer at the Tahoe Cabin

2009-10-02T09:30:00.007-04:00

We spent most of our time in California at Jadyn's Family's cabin at Tahoe. While there we had the bottled beer that I'd purchased at Russian River, as well as a growler that we'd purchased at The Brewery at Lake Tahoe.

1068. Damnation

Jadyn and I shared this bottle with her sister on August 3rd.

Beer Stats:
Brewery: Russian River Brewing Company
Alcohol: 7.75%
Serving: Bottle, 750 mL, Batch 048
Style: Belgian Strong Pale Ale, BJCP Style Guide

Appearance: 4.5 | Smell: 5.0 | Taste: 5.0| Mouthfeel: 4.5 | Drinkability: 5.0

Overall: 4.85

Damnation pours a mildly cloudy, golden color. It's topped by a thick, white head that retains well, but eventually fades to a thin layer. The aroma is spot on for the style. There are notes of banana, peppery spice, and yeast above a grassy, grainy undercurrent. Swirling brings out more graininess, pepper, and some alcoholic spice.

There's an initial sweetness that's mild, but builds into a fruity esters in the center: bananas, hints of juicy, tropical fruit, and citrus. The finish has a bite from the peppery spiciness and the alcohol. There are lingering hints of yeast, and a mild, hop bitterness in the aftertaste. Damnation is medium-bodied, but the crisp carbonation, along with a dry finish make this beer seem a bit lighter-bodied.

This beer was excellent. It's probably one of the best examples of the style that I've had.

1069. The Brewery at Lake Tahoe's Witbier

We picked up a growler of The Brewery's Witbier on a trip into South Lake Tahoe on August 6th.

Beer Stats:
Brewery: The Brewery at Lake Tahoe
Alcohol: ?
Serving: Growler
Style: Witbier, BJCP Style Guide

Appearance: 2.5 | Smell: 3.5 | Taste: 3.0 | Mouthfeel: 3.5| Drinkability: 3.5

Overall: 3.1

This witbier pours a cloudy, peachy, golden-orange color. Topped by a thin, white head that fades to nothing. The aroma has notes of powdery yeast, and nice, fruity notes of peach and banana. There are also the classic aromas of orange-peel and peppery coriander.

There's a mild, grainy sweetness upfront, moving into a fruity sweetness in the center: banana, and orangey-citrus. The finish has a peppery, corriander spice. The right flavors are there, but they're very mild overall. This witbier is light-bodied with good carbonation, and a mild dryness.

This beer isn't bad, but it's fairly middle of the road. Again, everything is a bit too subdied.

1070. Pliny the Elder

I opened up this beer on August 7th.

Beer Stats:
Brewery: Russian River Brewing Company
Alcohol: 8.00%
Serving: Bottle, 500 mL
Style: American Double IPA, BJCP Style Guide

Appearance: 4.0 | Smell: 5.0 | Taste: 4.5 | Mouthfeel: 3.5 | Drinkability: 4.0

Overall: 4.35

Pliny the Elder is mildly hazy and copper in color. It's topped by a creamy, off-white head that retains well and leaves fluffy lace clinging to the glass. The aroma can be summed up in two words "intensly hoppy". The hops are herbal, piney and strongly resiny. Swirling the beer brings out even more resiny hops. There are fruity notes of apricots and oranges, malty sweetness, and toastiness that comes out on swirling. It's like sticking your nose into a bag of hops.

Overall this beer is pretty balanced. It's not overly sweet like a lot of other DIPAs. The intial malt impressions are toasty and bready with only a mild sweetness. Malts move towards a sweeter, caramel flavor in the center, but still not overly sweet. Hop flavors also make themselves known towards the center. There's a citric bite with a floral, orange blossom quality. Towards the finish there's a mild peppery bite with a good slighty herbal, strongly resiny hop bitterness in the finish that lingers long into the aftertaste. Pliny the Elder is medium-bodied, and has a prickly carbonation that cuts the sweetness somewhat. There's an oiliness towards the swallow that trails off leaving a final impression of thinness.

This DIPA is very balanced. The malts are present, but aren't cloyingly sweet like other examples of the style. The hops are present, but their main contribution is a nice finishing flavor and wonderful lingering bitterness.

1066- 1067. Russian River Brewing Company

2009-09-30T09:30:00.006-04:00

Jadyn and I spent a week in California visiting her family in early August. We made a side trip to Santa Rosa on the way to Lake Tahoe so I could finally try some of Russian River's sour beers. We made the mistake of driving through, rather than around, San Francisco, which tacked on an hour or so to our trip, but we did get to drive across the Golden Gate Bridge.

We arrived in Santa Rosa in time for a late lunch at the brewpub. I had a tasty meatball sub for lunch, but the real highlight was the beer. The bottles of Temptation were too expensive, especially since I wasn't planning on taking any beer back on the plane. Instead I got two bottles of Damnation, and one bottle of Pliny the Elder.

1066. Temptation

Beer Stats:
Brewery: Russian River Brewing Company
Alcohol: 7.25%
Serving: Tap
Style: American Wild Ale

Appearance: 5.0 | Smell: 4.5 | Taste: 5.0 | Mouthfeel: 4.5 | Drinkability: 4.5

Overall: 4.8

Temptation pours a slightly hazed, golden color. It's topped by a bright white head that fades to a thin layer leaving thick, frothy lace. The aroma has all of the elements of a good sour beer. There's a good amount of acidity, as well as bright citric notes. The characteristic "hop sack" aroma from the Brettanomyces used in fermentation is present, as well as an earthy, woody undertone.

Temptation is very gueuze-like. There's a coarse, grassy quality to the malts upfront, but these characters are quickly overshadowed by an escalating, citric and acidic sourness that's present through the finish. Earthy Brett flavors and a mild bitterness round things up in the finish. Temptation is crisply carbonated and light-bodied with an intense dryness in the finish.

Temptation is a very good beer. The sourness, Brett, and barrel-aging give it a distinclty Gueuze-like quality. It's mouth-puckeringly sour, and awesome.

1067. Sanctification

Beer Stats:
Brewery: Russian River Brewing Company
Alcohol: 6.47%
Serving: Tap
Style: American Wild Ale

Appearance: 4.0 | Smell: 5.0 | Taste: 4.5 | Mouthfeel: 4.0 | Drinkability: 4.5

Overall: 4.45

Sanctification pours a cloudy, straw-golden color. It's topped by a white head that fades to a thin layer leaving good lace. The aroma is intensely and wonderfully fruity. There are notes of banana, tropical fruit, and a hint of Brettanomyces. Swirling brings out an earthy aroma, and a slight funkiness.

Upfront, this beer is fruity with banana and tropical fruit flavors. A moderate tartness appears early on and is present through to the finish, which has earthy and funky Brett flavors, and a leafy bitterness in the finish. Prickly carbonation gives way to a creamy mouthfeel.

I thought this beer had a nice interplay between the fruitiness and earthy Brettanomyces characters.

1065. Jedi Mind Trick

2009-09-28T09:30:00.004-04:00

1065. Jedi Mind Trick

I had my first interview for a post-doc on July 29th. Jadyn took me out for dinner at the CBC to celebrate getting a job offer.

Their description:

Cambridge Brewing Company, at One Kendall Square in Cambridge, MA,
will not be releasing a beer called Jedi Mind Trick on Friday July 24.

The brewers at CBC have not created any such beer.

It is not a hoppy expression of Belgian tripel.
Nor is it a Belgian strong golden with plenty of American hops.

It does not have a balanced, clean malty palate,
floral-spicy hop aroma, subtle fruitiness
from their proprietary yeast strain.
No crisp carbonation or creamy head.

This isn't the beer you're looking for.

There is nothing to see here.

You can go about your business.

Move along.

Beer Stats:
Brewery: Jedi Mind Trick
Alcohol: 7.50%
Serving: Tap
Style: Belgian IPA

Appearance: 3.5 | Smell: 4.0 | Taste: 4.0 | Mouthfeel: 4.5 | Drinkability: 3.5

Overall: 3.9

Jedi Mind Trick pours a very cloudy golden. It's topped by a white head that fades to a ring, and leaves patchy lace. There's a nice fruitiness in the aroma. There are notes of banana, citrus, yeast, and peppery spice. There are also more subtle notes of crisp, grassy hops.

The initial burst of banana fruitiness is quickly met by an intense dryness that moves through to the finish where peppery spice blends with resiny and grassy hops flavors, and a strong bitterness in the finish. The carbonation lends a nice crispness to the beer that complements the dryness nicely.

I thought this was a nice beer, though the hops slightly overpower much of the fruitiness contributed by the yeast.

1064. Haver Ale

2009-09-25T09:30:00.001-04:00

1064. Haver Ale

Jadyn and I went to the Tavern in Central Square for some reason on the 24th of July. I had a couple of these while there.

Beer Stats:
Brewery: The Tap / Haverhill Brewery, Inc
Alcohol: 4.50%
Serving: Bottle, 12 oz
Style: Cream Ale, BJCP Style Guide

Appearance: 3.5 | Smell: 3.0 | Taste: 3.5 | Mouthfeel: 3.5 | Drinkability: 3.5

Overall: 3.4

Haver Ale pours a slightly-hazed copper color. It's topped by a sudsy, off-white head that fades to a thin film. The aroma is mild, but what's there is malty. There are notes of toffee and caramel. There's also a mild hop aroma.

This beer is pretty light on flavor when it first hits the palate, but a nice mix of toasty, bready, caramel and toffee malts come through in the center. There's a mild hop bitterness in the finish. This beer is smooth and medium-bodied.

Ah, Cream Ale, a style that doesn't excite, doesn't impress, but somehow still satisfies. That's how I felt about this beer, and generally it's how I feel about the style.

1063. John Harvard's Houblon Saison

2009-09-21T09:30:00.004-04:00

1063. John Harvard's Houblon Saison

Sometime in mid-July Jadyn and I were in Harvard Square. We stopped in to John Harvard's for a beer or two.

Beer Stats:
Brewery: John Harvard's Brew House
Alcohol: ?
Serving: Tap
Style: Saison / Farmhouse Ale, BJCP Style Guide

Appearance: 4.0 | Smell: 2.5 | Taste: 4.0 | Mouthfeel: 3.5 | Drinkability: 4.0

Overall: 3.65

This saison pours a hazy, peach-infused, straw-golden color. It's topped by a fluffy, sudsy head that fades, but leaves lacing as it goes. The aroma is fairly mild. There's a bit of grassy, grainy malts, a hint of yeast, and bananas and citrus that appear on swirling. For a beer called Houblon Saison, you would expect to detect some hops in the aroma, but none are evident.

There's a fruity, banana sweetness upfront, along with some clove spiciness also contributed by the yeast strain used to brew this beer. The finish is slightly grainy, has notes of citric hops, and has a coda of herbal hops. Houblon Saison is medium-bodied, and is highly carbonated.

Aside from the lack of hops in aroma, this was a fine beer. There's a nice balance between Belgian yeasty flavors and the herbal hops.

1062. Trade Winds Tripel

2009-09-18T09:30:00.003-04:00

1062. Trade Winds Tripel

Jadyn and I had dinner at Christopher's on July 8th. I had the Bruery's Trade Winds Tripel with dinner.

Beer Stats:
Brewery: The Bruery
Alcohol: 8.10%
Serving: Tap
Style: Tripel, BJCP Style Guide

Appearance: 4.0 | Smell: 3.5 | Taste: 4.0 | Mouthfeel: 4.0 | Drinkability: 3.5

Overall: 3.85

Trade Winds Tripel pours a cloudy golden color, and is topped by a bright white head that fades to a film. The head leaves sheets of lace as it fades. The aroma is classic Belgian. The spicy notes of pepper are the strongest. Secondary are the fruity aromas of bananas and apples. Swirling the beer brings out grainy and yeasty notes and a bit more spiciness.

The prickliness of the carbonation gives an initial impression of spiciness. As the carbonation mellows a grainy, malt backbone makes a brief appearance. Fruitiness in the center quickly takes hold with notes of banana, apples and citrus. The finish has an intense peppery spice. This Tripel is on the light side of medium-bodied. The spiciness of the initial carbonation provides a nice bookend to the peppery finish.

I thought this was a good Tripel. The spiciness was strong, but I thought it was a net positive.

1051-1061. The American Craft Beer Fest Part III

2009-09-16T09:30:00.007-04:00

This is the third set of write-ups from the American Craft Beer Fest. At this point my reviews are briefer and the handwriting is much worse, so take them with a grain of salt.

1051. Blue Hills IPA

Beer Stats:
Brewery: Blue Hills Brewery
Alcohol: 6.60%
Style: American IPA, BJCP Style Guide

Pours a clear golden color, seems pretty light for an IPA. The aroma has notes of leafy hops. There are mildly sweet, bready malts upfront, and a leafy hop bitterness in the finish.

1052. Southbridge Ordinary Bitter (S.O.B.)

Beer Stats:
Brewery: Honest Town Brewery
Alcohol: 4.00%
Style: English Bitter, BJCP Style Guide

Pours a clear, golden straw color. The aroma is disappointingly mild. This seems like a session beer: crisp maltiness, and a mild bitterness.

1053. 30th Anniversary Flashback Ale

Beer Stats:
Brewery: Boulder Beer
Alcohol: 6.88%
Style: American Brown Ale, BJCP Style Guide

Pours a clear brown color. There's a bit of roastiness in the aroma that complements hints of hops, and offsets the notes of fruit. There's a fruity, chocolaty sweetness upfront that move into a roasty finish with a good hop character.

1054. The Cambridge House IPA

Beer Stats:
Brewery: The Cambridge House
Alcohol: 6.70%
Style: English India Pale Ale, BJCP Style Guide

This is described on the website as a "New England Style IPA brewed with all English Malt and Hopped with a blend of English and American Hops. High in Strength, Bitterness and Aroma." So I've listed it as an "English IPA." Pours a hazed copper color. The aroma is wonderfully hoppy (wish I'd described it more in my notes). Toasty malts upfront with a citric hoppiness in the finish.

1055. Ipswich (Crane's) Castle Hell Summer Barleywine

Beer Stats:
Brewery: Mercury Brewing Company
Alcohol: ?
Style: American Barleywine, BJCP Style Guide

This was a tip from one of the volunteers. It was in the program, but not listed at the booth. You had to ask. Pours a hazed amber. The aroma is rich with notes of yeast, fruit and toffee. The flavors were similar with a strong, alcoholic spice in the finish.

1056. Mayflower IPA

Beer Stats:
Brewery: Mayflower Brewing Company
Alcohol: 7.00%
Style: American IPA, BJCP Style Guide

Pours a clear, copper color. The aroma has notes of apricot, and a nice hop backing. There's the same apricot fruitiness in the flavors with a nice hop bitterness in the finish.

1057. Prohibition Ale

Beer Stats:
Brewery: Speakeasy Ales & Lagers
Alcohol: 6.10%
Style: American Amber/Red Ale, BJCP Style Guide

Pours an amber-copper color. The aroma is pleasantly hoppy: grassy and resiny. There's a nice maltiness to start things, and a pleasant hoppiness in the finish (great description on my part...).

1058. Belgica

Beer Stats:
Brewery: Great Divide Brewing Company
Alcohol: 7.20%
Style: Belgian IPA

Pours a pale, straw golden. The aroma hints more at Belgian than at IPA. There are notes of yeast, hints of graininess and a slight fruitiness. The flavors are also more Belgian than IPA. There's the typical Belgian yeast fruitiness, consisting of banana and citrus. The finish has peppery spice, alcoholic heat and a mild bitterness.

1059. Duck-Rabbit Barrel Aged Porter

Beer Stats:
Brewery: Duck-Rabbit Craft Brewery
Alcohol: 5.75%
Style: American Porter, BJCP Style Guide

This porter is aged in 23-year-old Pappy Van Winkle barrels. My notes get really bad on this page of my notebook. I'll quote directly here. "Amber-black. Whiskey aroma. Porter sour with whiskey flavors." Not super descriptive, but accurate.

1060. St. Lupulin

Beer Stats:
Brewery: Odell Brewing Company
Alcohol: 6.50%
Style: American Pale Ale, BJCP Style Guide

The handwriting is worse on this one. "Clear copper. Hoppy, resiny, citric aroma. Malty, caramel, toasty, citric, resiny hop finish."

1061. Odell IPA

Beer Stats:
Brewery: Odell Brewing Company
Alcohol: 7.00%
Style: American IPA, BJCP Style Guide

These notes are more of a scrawl. " Intense hoppy aroma. Resin citrus aroma & taste. Clear copper."

1041-1050. The American Craft Beer Fest Part II

2009-09-14T09:30:00.002-04:00

This is the second set of write-ups from the American Craft Beer Fest. I apologize for the huge delay in getting these posted, but applying for jobs takes priority over beer blogging. Hopefully I'll get caught up fairly soon.

1041. Ipswich Pre-Prohibition Lager

Beer Stats:
Brewery: Mercury Brewing Company
Alcohol: ?
Style: American All-Malt Lager, BJCP Style Guide

Pours a clear golden. There's a mildly fruity aroma. This beer is clean and crisp. There's a crisp graininess, with a grassy bitterness in the finish.

1042. Existential: Hopwine

Beer Stats:
Brewery: New Holland Brewing Company
Alcohol: 10.50%
Style: American Double IPA, BJCP Style Guide

Pours a clear copper. The aroma is sweet and malty with notes of caramel, but not a lot of hops that I detected. There's an intense malty, caramel sweetness upfront that moves into a strong, hop finish.

1043. Duck-Rabbit Paul's Day Off

Beer Stats:
Brewery: Duck-Rabbit Craft Brewery
Alcohol: 9.00%
Style: American Strong Ale

This is a "Farmville Black Ale aged in 23-year-old Pappy Van Winkle barrels." It pours a hazed brown. There are strong notes of whiskey in the aroma along with a good bit of maltiness. There are caramel and toffee malts upfront and a boozy character that ends with an oaky, whiskey tinged finish. I thought this was a good barrel aged beer.

1044. Ommegang Adoration Ale

Beer Stats:
Brewery: Brewery Ommegang
Alcohol: 10.00%
Style: Belgian Strong Dark Ale, BJCP Style Guide

Pours an amber-copper color. The aroma has notes of banana, yeast and a mild roasted character. I written "Fruit, strong, sharp." as my description of the taste. So make of that what you will.

1045. Bitter Brewer

Beer Stats:
Brewery: Surly Brewing Company
Alcohol: 4.50%
Style: English Bitter, BJCP Style Guide

Pours a clear, copper color. There are herbal and peppery hop notes in the aroma. Toasty with a mild, bready sweetness upfront. The finish has a mild, herbal hop bittterness.

1046. WildDevil

Beer Stats:
Brewery: Victory Brewing Company
Alcohol: 6.70%
Style: Belgian IPA

This is an interesting take on the "Belgian IPA" style. It's an IPA fermented with Brettanomyces. It pours a hazed copper in color. There's a strong Bretty, hop-sack aroma. The funky, Bretty flavors are present from start to finish in this beer. There's a caramel sweetness upfront that moves into a hoppy finish.

1047. Schmutzig Hopfen Weisse

Beer Stats:
Brewery: Smuttynose Brewing Company
Alcohol: 5.80%
Style: Hefeweizen, BJCP Style Guide

Pours a cloudy, straw-golden. The aroma has notes of graininess from the wheat, but the hops cover most of the fruity esters. There's a rough, grainy start to the beer, a citric center, and a good, hoppy finish. I thought that this was a good wheat-hop hybrid.

1048. Steelhead Double IPA

Beer Stats:
Brewery: Mad River Brewing Company
Alcohol: 8.60%
Style: American Double IPA, BJCP Style Guide

Pours a hazed copper color. The aroma has a strong, resiny, hop presence. There's a good bit of caramel, malty sweetness upfront that moves into a strong, hoppy finish.

1049. Obsidian Stout

Beer Stats:
Brewery: Deschutes Brewery
Alcohol: 6.40%
Style: American Stout, BJCP Style Guide

Pours a deep, dark black in color. The aroma is dominated by roasty malts, with a good dose of coffee aromatics. Upfront, sweet malts with notes of dark fruit are dominant. In the finish roasted malts and coffee flavors are dominant.

1050. Purity of Essence

Beer Stats:
Brewery: High and Mighty Beer Co.
Alcohol: 6.50%
Style: American Pale Lager, BJCP Style Guide

Pours a copper color. There are herbal, spicy hop notes in the aroma. There's a nice, mild, malty sweetness upfront, and a crisp, mildly hoppy finish.

1030-1040. The American Craft Beer Fest Part I

2009-07-31T09:30:00.003-04:00

I missed the first American Craft Beer Fest last year, and was eager to go to this year's ACBF. Like the Extreme Beer Fest this was another multi-person event. Jadyn and I went with people from lab, other grad students and Bennett.

I wasn't sure what to expect from the larger format and venue, but in the end there were both pros and cons. The biggest advantage to the fest was by far the huge selection of beer available. I haven't counted, but the fest claimed to have 75+ brewers and 300+ beers, which was easily the case. There was a good regional representation from big name breweries like Brooklyn, and Allagash, as well as from smaller regional breweries like Honest Town and Cambridge House. The selection of breweries from other parts of the country was more limited, but still good. My guess is that 2/3 were from the northeast, and 1/3 were from other parts of the country.

The venue was much larger than the Cyclorama. This allowed more brewers, but also more people. It seemed about as crowded as the smaller fests, but the lines seemed much longer. Though the line to get on seemed to move much more quickly. The lack of tables at the venue was another inconvenience. I didn't have any food at this fest, but Jadyn said the choices were much more limited and of lower quality than at the Cyclorama. She speculated that the choice of food and vendors was dictated by the venue. The bathrooms were another big negative; there was only a long row of portable toilets outside the venue.

Overall I prefer the smaller fests held at the cyclorama. The beer selection is more limited, but the venue and food are much nicer. I'll go back to the ACBF next year, but I'll appreciate the fests at the Cyclorama more.

As usual, my notes are abbreviated and probably inaccurate, especially towards the end of the fest.

1030. Sour Wench Blackberry Ale

Beer Stats:
Brewery: Ballast Point Brewing Company
Alcohol: 5.40%
Style: Fruit Beer, BJCP Style Guide

I love sour beers, so I looked through the beer list ahead of time to pick out the sour beers that I wanted to try. This was the only one that looked promising. It poured a clear, reddish purple, and was topped by a pinkish head. The aroma was fruity with notes of blackberry and a mild graininess. The berry fruitiness was the dominant element in this beer with a mild grainy backbone. The sourness was only limited to that contributed by the blackberries. I was disappointed, mainly since I expected a much more sour beer.

1031. Brew Free! or Die IPA

Beer Stats:
Brewery: 21st Amendment Brewery
Alcohol: 7.20%
Style: American IPA, BJCP Style Guide

Pours a hazy copper color. The aroma has a mild resiny hop character. There's a breadyness to the malt backbone upfront that's met by a good, resiny, hop bitterness.

1032. Hell or High Watermelon Wheat Beer

Beer Stats:
Brewery: 21st Amendment Brewery
Alcohol: 5.20%
Style: Fruit Beer, BJCP Style Guide

Pours a pale straw color. The smell is grainy with subtle notes of watermelon. There's a little bit of a sour kick initially, followed by strong watermelon fruitiness, and a grainy finish.

1033. Allagash Victoria Ale

Beer Stats:
Brewery: Allagash Brewing Company
Alcohol: 9.00%
Style: Belgian Strong Pale Ale, BJCP Style Guide

Pours a pale, golden straw color. The aroma was yeasty with a grape fruitiness to it. Mildly sweet malts and a sharp, grape fruitiness in the finish.

1034. Imperial Skibsøl

Beer Stats:
Brewery: Cambridge Brewing Company
Alcohol: 6.30%
Style: Smoked Beer, BJCP Style Guide

This beer is an "Imperial Smoked Lager" brewed collaboratively by teh CBC and a Danish brewery. It pours a clear brown, with an orange tinted head. An initial malty, caramel sweetness moves quickly into a very strong, smokey finish. The sample was almost too much to finish, I can't imagine being able to finish a pint of this stuff.

1035. Confounded Mr. Sisyphus

Beer Stats:
Brewery: Pretty Things Beer and Ale Project
Alcohol: 7.00%
Style: Belgian Pale Ale, BJCP Style Guide

Pours a cloudy, golden, straw color. The aroma is fruity, with predominant notes of banana. There's a mildly sweet, bready maltiness, as well as a good bit of banana fruitiness. The cherries seem to be a minor component of the overall flavor.

1036. JuJu Ginger Ale

Beer Stats:
Brewery: Left Hand Brewing Company
Alcohol: 4.00%
Style: Herbed/Spiced Beer, BJCP Style Guide

Pours a clear, copper-tinted golden. The aroma is a nice mixture of caramel malts and ginger spiciness. A mild malty sweetness upfront moves into a strong, ginger spice.

1037. Sierra Nevada Brown Saison

Beer Stats:
Brewery: Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.
Alcohol: 7.85%
Style: Saison / Farmhouse Ale, BJCP Style Guide

Pours a clear, brown color. The aroma has strong roasted notes with a hint of fruitiness. There's a nice strong fruitiness with a roasty finish. I thought this was a nice beer.

1038. Northern Lights

Beer Stats:
Brewery: Sixpoint Craft Ales
Alcohol: 7.00%
Style: Saison / Farmhouse Ale, BJCP Style Guide

Pours a hazy copper. The aroma is mildly fruity, with hints of graininess and a mild phenolic character. There are initial grainy flavors, which moves into a mildy fruity center with a sharp finish.

1039. Brooklyn Cuvée de Cardoz

Beer Stats:
Brewery: Brooklyn Brewery
Alcohol: 8.50%
Style: Belgian Strong Pale Ale, BJCP Style Guide

This beer is spiced with ginger, tamarind, mace, black pepper, coriander, fennel, fenugreek, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, chilies, toasted coconut. This beer pours a clear, straw color. The aroma is a mix of sweet fruitiness and a strong spiciness. There's a nice coconut sweetness that melds with an intensely spicy finish. Given the list of spices, I was surprised that this was as tasty as it was.

1040. Brooklyn Intensified Coffee Stout

Beer Stats:
Brewery: Brooklyn Brewery
Alcohol: 8.00%
Style: American Double Stout

Pours a deep black. The aroma of coffee is dominant. A sweet chocolate flavor upfront moves into a roasted, chocolate and coffee finish.

1029. Samuel Adams Boston Brick Red

2009-07-08T09:30:00.006-04:00

1029. Samuel Adams Boston Brick Red

Our lab went out for beers with another lab on our floor in mid-June. After encountering a line at The Muddy Charles we headed to Characters, the bar at the Kendall Square Marriott. I decided to try Brick Red, the new beer from Boston Beer Company that's available only in Boston.

Beer Stats:
Brewery: Boston Beer Company
Alcohol: ?
Serving: Tap
Style: Irish Red Ale, BJCP Style Guide

Appearance: 4.0 | Smell: 3.0 | Taste: 3.0 | Mouthfeel: 3.5 | Drinkability: 3.5

Overall: 3.3

Sam Adams Brick Red pours, as expected, a clear, deep red. It's topped by an off-white head that fades to a film leaving nice lace. The aroma is fairly light overall with notes of caramel, toffee and a hint of fruitiness.

Biscuity and toasty malts upfront quickly move into a strong caramel sweetness in the center. Towards the finish a graininess appears along with a mild bitterness. Boston Brick Red is medium-bodied with moderate carbonation and a mild stickiness.

I know Irish Reds are supposed to be malty, but this one just seems a bit too malty to me. Perhaps it's the one-note dominance of the malt flavors. It's a decent beer, but most likely not one that I'll have again, especially if there are better options on tap.

1027-1028. Two From Long Trail

2009-07-06T09:30:00.004-04:00

Jadyn and I had some friends over to our apartment on Saturday June 13th. I picked up a mixed twelve-pack of Long Trail beers, two of which I hadn't had before. I had both that evening, but have reviewed each subsequently.

1027. Long Trail Belgian White

Beer Stats:
Brewery: Long Trail Brewing Company
Alcohol: 4.70%
Serving: Bottle, 12 oz.
Style: Witbier, BJCP Style Guide

Appearance: 3.5 | Smell: 3.5 | Taste: 3.5 | Mouthfeel: 4.0 | Drinkability: 4.0

Overall: 3.6

Long Trail's Belgian White pours a cloudy, straw color, and is topped by a bright white head that quickly fades to a film. I like the color a lot, but the head retention leaves something to be desired. The aroma is fairly mild overall, though the traditional notes of spicy coriander and citrus are there, along with notes of pepper, yeast and banana. There's also a bit of graininess present in the aroma, which, when combined with the relative lightness of the other components of the aroma hints at an inviting crispness.

Like a lot of wheat beers the malts here are predominantly grainy with a mild sweetness, but their major contribution is a crisp texture on the palate rather than a huge amount of flavor. Esters contributed by the yeast, and the traditional Wit spicing become evident in the center. There are bright citric notes of lemon and orange, notes of banana, a coriander spiciness, and a peppery finish that melds with the crisp backbone of the beer in the finish. Long Trail's Belgian White is light-bodied with a nice crispness that comes from the grainy malt backbone and the substantial carbonation. There's also a mild dryness in the finish.

Long Trail Belgian White is a decent Witbier. It's a nice refreshing summer beer, but it could use a bit more punch in the flavors from spicing.

1028. Long Trail Traditional IPA

Beer Stats:
Brewery: Long Trail Brewing Company
Alcohol: 5.90%
Serving: Bottle, 12 oz.
Style: English India Pale Ale, BJCP Style Guide

Appearance: 4.0 | Smell: 3.0 | Taste: 4.0 | Mouthfeel: 4.0 | Drinkability: 4.0

Overall: 3.8

Long Trail IPA pours a lightly hazed golden color with a hint of copper, making it a shade lighter than most other IPAs. I really like the color on this beer a lot. It's topped by a thin, sudsy white head with good, clinging lace. The aroma is fairly mild overall. There are notes of toasty and biscuity malts as well as leafy, resiny hops.

This IPA is very malt-forward, with a strong malt backbone. Initially there's a bready, caramel sweetness upfront and through the center. The finish has a nice peppery spice that plays well with the resiny hop bittereness. It's not the hoppiest IPA, but if you want a maltier beer that still has a good amount of hop flavor this IPA nails it. Long Trail's IPA is medium-bodied with prickly carbonation and a grassy dryness in the finish.

Long Trail IPA might not be the hoppiest IPA, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. This beer is the epitome of balance, with enough malts to offset, but not overpower the hop bitterness and flavors.

1023-1026. New York

2009-06-26T09:30:00.004-04:00

Win came to New York for the June 9th-11th Mets-Phillies series at the new Mets stadium. I took off early on Tuesday the 9th and caught the noon Fung-Wah bus to New York. Win's flight was delayed so I headed to The Blind Tiger to wait for David to get off work.

1023. He'Brew Rejewvenator 2009 (Year of the Date)

Beer Stats:
Brewery: Shmaltz Brewing Company
Year: 2009
Alcohol: 7.80%
Serving: Cask
Style: American Strong Ale

Appearance: 3.5 | Smell: 4.0 | Taste: 4.0 | Mouthfeel: 4.0 | Drinkability: 3.5

Overall: 3.85

Perhaps this wasn't the wisest beer to start the evening with, but I didn't realize that it was such a strong beer. This beer was served on cask, barley chilled in a thick, glass mug.

Year of the Date pours a mildly hazy, ruby-tinted brown. Its off-white head quickly fades to nothing, though the low head retention could have been the result of being served on cask. This beer has the dark, malty aroma of a Belgian Dubbel or Strong Dark Ale, mostly due to the addition of dates, which are the predominant aroma. Additionally, there are notes of brown sugar, toffee, a sharp note, and a mild peppery spice.

Upfront there are sweet notes of caramel and brown sugar, before moving into a dark fruitiness in the center that's dominated by date flavors, which are accented by a sharp character. The finish is peppery and spicy with an underlying, mild, roasty bitterness. The beer was thick, rich and smooth with low carbonation.

I enjoyed this beer. I'm not sure what the style they were going for was, but the use of dates gave it a distinctly Belgian feel.

1024. River Horse Special Ale ESB

Beer Stats:
Brewery: River Horse Brewing Co.
Alcohol: 4.50%
Serving: Cask
Style: Extra Special/Strong Bitter (ESB), BJCP Style Guide

Appearance: 3.5 | Smell: 3.0 | Taste: 3.5 | Mouthfeel: 4.0 | Drinkability: 4.0

Overall: 3.5

This was another beer served on cask. Again, it was served lightly chilled in a mug. River Horse ESP pours a very cloudy, copper color. The aroma is mild overall, but what's there is pleasant: toasty malts, and citric and fruity hops. The aromas could stand to grab you a little bit more.

Toasty malts first hit the tongue followed by a light, bready sweetness. The flavors quickly move into a citric and herbal hop finish. The flavors are pleasant, but seem a bit muddled, with nothing really standing out. This ESB is light-bodied with low carbonation and a husky texture in the finish.

This is a decent session beer, though I think it could be a bit bolder without sacrificing drinkability. My score seems to be a bit above the Beer Advocate average, perhaps this beer benefits from being served on cask.

1025. St. Boisterous

Beer Stats:
Brewery: Victory Brewing Company
Alcohol: 7.40%
Serving: Tap
Style: Maibock/Helles Bock, BJCP Style Guide

Appearance: 4.0 | Smell: 4.0 | Taste: 4.0 | Mouthfeel: 4.0 | Drinkability: 4.0

Overall: 4.0

This was our final beer at The Blind Tiger before Win called and we headed off to meet him at Penn Station. It was served chilled in a tulip glass. St. Boisterous pours a crystal clear golden. It's topped by a bright white head that fades to a film leaving clinging lace. The aroma has a crisp graininess to it, as well as some nice apple esters, and bit of leafy, grassy hops.

This maibock starts off with a crisp, neutral graininess that moves into a mild, apple fruitiness in the center. The finish has a nice citric bite and an herbal hop bitterness. This beer is light-bodied, highly carbonated and very crisp.

This is a nice summer beer. It's flavorful, crisp and refreshing.

We met Win at Penn Station, and then took the 7 to TARP field. We arrived at the end of the 4th inning because Win's flight was delayed. I was pretty impressed with the new field. The open concourses were nice, as were the improved amenities.

We hadn't had dinner yet, so we went to the food section on the right field side. We got BBQ from Blue Smoke, beef ribs, wings, and a pulled pork sandwich, as well as fries from Box Frites. It was definitely the best stadium food I've had, though my experience is pretty limited. The craft beer selection was decent. They had some good options at Big Apple Brews, and both Blue Smoke and Box Frites had Brooklyn on tap. I ended up having a Brooklyn Blue Smoke with dinner, as well as a Blanche de Queens, which I assume is a rebranded Blanche de Brooklyn.

1026. Brooklyn Blue Smoke Blend

Beer Stats:
Brewery: Brooklyn Brewery
Alcohol: ?
Serving: Tap
Style: Extra Special/Strong Bitter (ESB), BJCP Style Guide

Blue Smoke pours a hazed copper, and is topped by a sticky, off-white head. The aroma is light, but there are notes of caramel, toasty malts and fruity hops. It's toasty upfront with and underlying bready sweetness. There are good hop flavors in the finish, but only a mild bitterness. Medium-bodied and highly carbonated. I though this beer was a good sessioner, but it could have been a bit hoppier.