The Drunken Polack

Here’s a quick little review before the weekend starts.  21st Amendment is still sort of new to our area.  I’ve tried their Hell or High Watermelon and wasn’t to impressed.  Then I got to try their draft only Golden Doom which was pretty damn good.  I think I went back to that tap three times at the Richmond Beer Fest.  Next up is their newest beer in a can, Back in Black.  Which of course is a Black IPA.  This style of beer is quickly making its rounds around the US.  The first time I had such a beer was Stone’s 11th Anniversary Beer.  I loved that beer and so did a lot of other people.  They loved it so much that it was brought back into Stone’s regular lineup as Sublimely Self Righteous Ale.  I believe that recipe was slightly tweaked but anyway that is where I think the start of the Black IPA occurred, well for me anyway.  So what did I think of this newest brew from 21st? 

Back in Black pours an almost pitch black color but ends up being a very very dark brown.  A huge fluffy white head is poured but quickly loses its battle and turns into a messy and bumpy head.  Lacing is huge with this beer.  It was all over the glass.

The aroma of roasted malt hit me first.  Followed up by citrus and grapefruit and a small amount of sweet chocolate.  When I took my first sip of this beer I didn’t like what I tasted.  It was metallic right off the bat.  But after the first sip I didn’t really pick up any metallic notes.  Toasty and roasted malt comes in followed by the sweetness of chocolate and caramel.    In the middle of a sharp taste of grapefruit comes through.  The finish leaves a bit of a roasted coffee taste on the tongue.  Which I thought the taste of this brew was pretty good, I loved the mouthfeel on this beer.

The mouthfeel is chewy, thick, and smooth.  Goes down very nicely and it really made me want another can.  To bad I only bought one.

While this is not an every drinker for me, I still really enjoyed it and it’s a welcome addition to the canned beers out there.  I am truly psyched to see more beer in cans and quality ones at that.

Found: Grape and Gourmet, Virginia Beach, VA
ABV%: 6.80%
Price: Around 2 dollars a bottle
Website: http://www.21st-amendment.com/
What the company says: Inspired by Paul Revere’s midnight ride, we rebelled against the British style IPA, embraced the more aggressive American version and then recast it in bold, brave, defiant black. Our Black IPA is a Declaration of Independence from the tyranny of the expected.
Other beers to try from this brewery: 21st Amendment Golden Doom, 21st Amendment Hell or High Watermelon
Other beers to try within the same style: Stone Sublimely Self Righteous Ale
Rating: B+

Really so far so good when it comes to Cigar City brews.  Everything I’ve had has been pretty damn good and some just amazing, Hunahpus in particular.  This time around I got to try their year round IPA, Jai Alai.

Now what exactly is Jai Alai?  Well if you look at the bottle you can actually see it in action.  It’s a sport.  Reading over the Wikipedia article about it, they state that the ball can be thrown at 188mph.  Bottom line is, if you have ever been hit with a raquetball really hard, just imagine being hit by a goatskin ball going 188mph.  No thanks.  I’ll just stick to the beer.

Jai Alai  pours a dark orange color with a three finger fluffy white head.  Lacing throughout.  It really is a good looking pour. 

Now when this beer was first poured I was really disappointed in the smell.  Very malty.  This sounds weird but it almost had a soapy aroma to it.  So I let it sit for a bit and as it warmed up the smell got better and better.  A nice deep aroma of mango, citrus, and grapefruit.  Nice bready malt background.  Don’t jump right into this beer.   Let it sit for a while.  Maybe more than you would wait for other beers.

Upon first sip the hops bite the tongue giving a nice bitter flavor and feeling.  Piney and citrusy.  Then comes a nice rich sweetness.  Tasted like honey and tropical fruit.  It’s once again backed up a sweet bready malt.

Mouthfeel is kind of on the medium- heavy side.  Creamy and nicely carbonated.  If Cigar City gets one thing right it seems their mouthfeel is always top notch. 

So I might actually be a little disappointed in this beer.  Don’t get me wrong, it’s an ok everyday IPA (if you want to call it an everyday IPA at 7.50%).  But I felt like the flavors were a little subdued.  Like it was holding back.  The flavors that come through are good but I wish it was turned up a notch.  I can’t wait to try their new  DIPA that is coming out in their 110K+OT line, if I can get a hold of it that is.

Found: Beer Trade
ABV%: 7.50%
Price: Don’t know.  Sent as an extra in a beer trade.
Website: http://www.cigarcitybrewing.com
What the company says: You can check out the description of the beer here.  It’s in PDF format.
Other beers to try from this brewery: Cigar City Warmer Winter Winter Warmer, Cigar City Hunahpus Imperial Stout
Other beers to try within the same style: Weyerbacher India,  Alpine Duet
Rating: B+

Weyerbacher Winterfest - I lived up in Pennsylvania for over 10 years and never knew about this brewery.  I guess I wouldn’t of known because I really didn’t get into craft brewing until I moved to Virginia.  Weyerbacher was only 30 minutes away from where I used to live.  This past weekend I came up to PA to visit my family.  It just so happened that Weyerbacher was releasing a brewery release only brew.  They have a special line of beers that they name after the NATO Phonetic Alphabet.  Of course it all started with Alpha, Beta, etc.  Finally they are up to India.  But I’ll get back to India later.

I arrived at the brewery at around 1pm.  The tasting room is only open Saturday from Noon to Three.  Let me just say that the brewery is in no mans land.  I thought the brewery would be stuck in the city part of Easton, but instead it’s stuck on the outskirts and man I never knew this area even existed.  Honestly why someone would even choose to have a business in this area is anyone’s guess.  I passed up the brewery twice.  You wouldn’t even think the building is a brewery but once inside it’s actually pretty nice.  Nice tasting area with growler fills.  About 7 beers on tap.  They allow you to mix and match a case.  Everyone was very friendly and you could see the brewery down at the end of the building.  I picked up my case of India and picked up a growler of their Winterfest brew.  Oh and I got lost on the way home.  Damn backwoods.

Winterfest pours a caramel color with ruby red highlights.  A small head forms but quickly dissolves.  No lacing.  The smell consists of a slight aroma of malt, toffee, vanilla, and other spices.  Decent smell.  At first I couldn’t really get into the taste of this brew but as it warmed up and as I drank more of it, it got better and better.  Up front is a slight taste or roasted malt.  Then some sweet chocolate that I didn’t pick up in the smell.  The taste ends with some toffee and vanilla.  The mouthfeel is medium bodied with a big amount of carbonation.

Like I said this brew wasn’t great but got better and better as I drank it.  But I still have half a growler left and I’m not to sure if I’ll finish it.  I have a lot of India to drink!!!

Found: The Brewery itself!
Price: I think it was around 15 dollars for a fresh growler
Website: http://www.weyerbacher.com
What the company says: At Weyerbacher we’ve created a Winter Ale that is a must for any malty beer lover. Winner of a Silver Medal in the 1998 World Beer Championships, Weyerbacher Winter Ale is brewed with deep-roasted chocolate malt. The taste predominates with a warm, roasty flavor, balanced out with a slightly dry finish. It’s smooth but not cloying, with a warming belt of alcohol (5.6% ABV).
ABV%: 5.60%
Other beers to try from this brewery: Weyerbacher Double Simcoe IPA, Weyerbacher Heresy
Other beers to try within the same style: Wild Goose Snow Goose Winter Ale, Anchor Brewing Christmas Ale
Rating: B

Weyerbacher India – This is the reason I stopped by the brewery. India is a take on a West Coast IPA. Only available at the brewery and only 100 cases made. I did spot it on draft at the brewery so it’s possible you might see some kegs out there somewhere.

India pours a clear light orange color with a two finger head and great retention. Lacing throughout the glass. The smell is really nice. Big amount of fruit. Citrus and grapefruit with a smell kick of floral hops. I also picked up a tad bit of spice and caramel backbone. Not as nice as real West Coast IPAs but nice and decent. Now when I first tasted this brew it made me think of one thing. Orange Jello. It tasted just like it. Oh and I love Orange Jello. Then as I had my second bottle I definitely noticed more grapefruit and the citrus took a back seat. Still present but just not as big. I also picked up some tropical fruit, a bready and caramel malt background, and some spice. The mouthfeel is medium boded, creamy, and silky with a nice dry and bitter finish,

Overall I was really impressed with this one time brew and I really glad I picked up a case of this stuff. It’s not quite as great as other West Coast IPAs (Hey they’re from PA) but it’s a nice try.

Found: The brewery itself!
Price: Around 38 dollars a case
Website: http://www.weyerbacher.com
What the company says: Nothing on the site about this one
ABV%: 7.20%
Other beers to try from this brewery: Weyerbacher Blithering Idiot, Weyerbacher Zotten
Other beers to try within the same style: Alesmith IPA, Russian River Blind Pig
Rating: B+

Captain Lawrence Nor’ Easter - So there’s this little problem when it snows in Virginia Beach and surrounding areas.  Nothing happens.  This area is so unprepared for snow that when it snows like it did on Friday (7 inches to be exact) the whole area shuts down.  Roads remain undriveable for days.  It’s Monday as I’m writing this review from my home, work is closed, schools are closed.  Oh yeah it snowed on Saturday.  Hey I can’t complain, it might seem like I am but I’m not really.  I got to stay inside, play videogames, watch movies, and more importantly, drink beer!  So the last 2 days I got to try 6 different beers.  I’m to lazy to write 6 reviews right now so I’ll throw three at you today and three tomorrow.  Heck I need to get back to playing games and taking advantage of the situation

First beer on the list matches the weather outside perfectly.  Nor’Easter is a Winter Warmer from Captain Lawrence.  They call it a Winter Warmer while BA calls it a Belgian Strong Dark Ale.  I’ll call it the Belgian Dark Strong Ale.  It didn’t have the spiciness that a lot of the Winter Warmers out there.   It also left me a little disappointed.  While this beer was good, I really wanted it to blow me away.  It has a lot going for it but kind of fell short for me.  Read on!

Nor’ Easter pours a little bit like a stout.  It’s dark.  A very dark brown.  A nice frothy 2 finger head is poured and has nice retention.  Now I was expecting to get wow’ed by the smell of this beer for some reason.  The mixture that it says on the front of the bottle got me ready for something awesome.  Ale with elderberries aged in bourbon barrels.  Yum sounds fantastic but what I got was very muted.  The Elderberries gave off the biggest smell.  They were sweet.  But everything else like the ripe dark fruit, caramel, and bourbon was lingering there but just small.

Taste was more of the same for me.  Muted.  That doesn’t mean it wasn’t good though.  The bourbon woody flavor definitely came through more on the taste.  The berries are there and make for a kind of sour and bitter combination.  Under all of that caramel and dark fruits sit on the bottom.  Mouthfeel was really nice.  Thick and smooth.  Silky and sits in your mouth.

In the end I liked this brew more then the first couple sips I took.  The flavors started to add up.  Thanks for trading me a bottle of this stuff Aaron.  I’ve been looking forward to trying this beer for a while now.

Found: Beer Trade
Price: Not to sure on this one.
Website: http://www.captainlawrencebrewing.com/
What the company says: This is a truly unique brew, combining some unusual elements to create a powerful, yet flavorful brew. I brewed a similar beer to this one back in 1998, while I was home brewing out in California. Only this time around I decided to age it in bourbon barrels to add a new element to the already rich sensory profile. The combination of dark malt, elderberries and bourbon barrels makes for an interesting tasting experience. This is a sippin’ beer, so sit back by the fire and enjoy. 12% alcohol by volume.
ABV%: 12.00%
Other beers to try from this brewery: Captain Lawrence Captain’s Reserve IPA
Other beers to try within the same style: Allagash Odyssey, The Lost Abbey 10 Commandments
Rating: B+

Cigar City Jai Alai with Juniper Berries - A couple of weeks ago I got this message out of the blue in my Beer Advocate inbox.  It was a gentlemen who spotted a post I put up months ago.  In the post I was pretty much begging for anyone to trade me some Cigar City brews.  Since then I’ve been able to try a few and have been blown away.  We’ll he spotted my message and out of the blue he offers me a growler of their Jai Alai IPA mixed with Juniper berries.  Heck I couldn’t say no.  When was I going to see this again.  So the package came in a few days ago.  To my surprise this little growler arrived.  It’s small.  About enough for a few pints.  Perfect size if you ask me.  I then remembered that Florida has some weird rule about the sizes of growlers.  I guess this is as big as it gets there.  Didn’t matter.  I was hyped to try this one off beer.

This brew pours a dark amber color with a white two finger fluffy head that quickly disappears.  At first the Juniper berries aren’t to noticeable.  But as you let the beer warm up a bit the more you’ll notice the berries.  The smell was more of a malt bomb then a hop bomb.  But mixed in with the malt is nice citrus and piney hops and some other fruits.  The taste up front is more of the same.  Really nice amount of malt, citrus, pine, and what I believed to pick up as some peaches.  The Juniper is there and it gives a bit of a bitter taste.  Mouthfeel is medium bodied with a good amount of carbonation.  A little bit rough on the tongue.

I still haven’t tried the regular version of this beer but in due time.  I’m must glad I got to try an one off beer that I’ll never probably see again.

Found: Beer Trade
Price: No idea on this one
Website: http://www.cigarcitybeer.com/
What the company says: Nothing about this version of Jai Alai on the site but here’s info about the regular version.  Jai Alai IPA is a monster interpretation of an American IPA. In fact, it is so big that it equals the alcohol of some double IPAs on the market. Our IPA uses 6 different hop varietals, with Simcoe hops only being used for dry hopping. The rest of the hop additions are blended at different IBU’s (International Bittering Units) in groups of three hops per addition in order to create more hop complexity. At CCB, we love hops but also feel that balance is important for IPAs. So Jai Alai features a sturday caramel malt component which helps to create balance, staving off hop astringency. Ultimately, Jai Alai is a very strong interpretation of a single American IPA. We hope that it makes Tampa Bay natives happy because this is head brewer Wayne Wamble’s favorite Cigar City beer and he’d love to share one with you!
ABV%: 7.50%
Other beers to try from this brewery: Cigar City Warmer Winter Winter Warmer, Cigar City Hunahpu Imperial Stout
Other beers to try within the same style: Ballast Point Sculpin, Alesmith IPA
Rating: B+

The Bruery Saison Rue - With The Bruery becoming one of my favorite breweries of all time you’ll be seeing a lot more reviews from these guys.  This time around it’s their year round Saison and Saturday nights beverage of choice.

Saison Rue pours a cloudy light orange color.  Head that pours is huge.  Everytime I poured a new glass of this stuff the head would almost go over the top of the glass.  Great pour.  At first I didn’t pick up much of anything other then lemon and Belgian yeast.  But as this got warmer the flavors just started to pop!  A great musty, earthiness came through with spices, lemon, citrus, and apple.  Fantastic smelling Saison.

In the taste the lemon which I smelled a lot of in the smell takes a bit of a back seat to tart apples.  A bit of sourness comes in.  A bit of the barnyard funk as they say.  Spicy and bitter notes come in next with a great yeasty flavor.   A nice complex Saison.  One of my favorites really.  The mixture of the fruit (lemon, apple, and citrus) earthiness and funk really hit the spot.  Mouthfeel is dry, crisp and light.  One thing I did notice though is that in the beginning the mouthfeel is all of those three things I mentioned.  But maybe half way through the bottle the mouthfeel changed a bit to more of a dead kind of beer.  Less carbonation.  Not that it ruined the beer at all for me.  A little bit of heat comes through from the alcohol but not even close to enough to complain about.

It’s great to have such a good Saison available year around.  Another winner from these guys.

Found: Grape and Gourmet, Virginia Beach, VA
Price: Not to sure on this one.  I believe it was about 11 dollars a bottle
Website: http://www.thebruery.com/
What the company says: Saison Rue is an unfiltered, bottle conditioned, Belgian/French-style farmhouse ale. This is a beer of subtlety and complexity, with malted rye, spicy, fruity yeast notes, biscuit-like malt backbone, and a slight citrus hop character. With age, this beer will dry out and will become more complex with rustic notes of leather and earth from the contribution of a wild yeast strain. Being a Saison, Saison Rue is ambiguous unto itself as it is a different beer when fresh and when aged. We hope you enjoy it in all of its incarnations.
ABV%: 8.50%
Other beers to try from this brewery: The Bruery Black Tuesday, The Bruery Orchard White, The Bruery White Oak
Other beers to try within the same style: Goose Island Sofie, Victory V-Saison
Rating: A

Terrapin Hopsecutioner - Say hello the newest beer in the Terrapin Beer Company line.  Surpringly enough this is their first IPA.  They do make a DIPA but this is the first time an IPA has shown up.  I was excited to try this brew because before this came out, I could of swore I heard it was going to be more of a West Coast IPA.  While it might have some of the characteristics of one, it doesn’t live up to being one and this was an IPA that was easily forgettable for me.   

Hopsecutioner pours a orangish amber color.  A two finger head is poured at first but it quickly disappears to a thin ring of lacing around the glass.  The smell of this beer got me really excited to try it.  It had a nice fruity hoppy aroma.  A nice mixture of grapefruit and lemon with some piney hops.  There was a slight caramel malt background holding everything together.  The smell is nice and juicy.

But the taste is where the beer fell apart for me.  The fruits pretty much disappear here and the piney hops take over.  The beer is bitter from start to finish and will leave a bitter aftertaste.  If the fruits stuck around more then this would be a very good IPA.  I just didn’t get them in the taste like I did in the smell.  Mouthfeel is a more on the thinner side.  Nicely carbonated and finishes bitter and slightly dry.

If you see this brew I’d say pass.  There a ton of better IPAs living on the East Coast.  If you want to try a Terrapin brew, pick up something else from them.  They do make some really good stuff. 

Found: Grape and Gourmet, Virginia Beach, VA
Price: Around 2 dollars a bottle
Website: http://www.terrapinbeer.com/
What the company says:Here ye, here ye…All hopheads shall herewith rejoice! Terrapin has recruited ye old HOPSECUTIONER to execute the exact hop profile for this killer IPA!
ABV%: 7.20%
Other beers to try from this brewery: Terrapin Gamma Ray, Terrapin Side Project The Dark Side
Other beers to try within the same style:Alesmith IPA, Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA
Rating: B-

Coast Brewing Hop Art IPA – This is my first dealing with Coast Brewing out of Charleston, South Carolina.  I never heard of them until I made a trade for one of their rarer beers and this was thrown in as an extra. 

Hop Art pours a murky deep orange color.  The head this beer pours is huge and has great retention.  The head also leaves lacing everywhere and I mean everywhere.   Now before I go any further, I just want to say that I think my bottle was a little old.  It was still very good but I could tell some of the ingredients were going a little stale. 

The smell has a nice grapefruit smell mixed in with a very sweet caramel malt and floral hops.  Good stuff.  The taste is full of sweet malt backed up by piney hops that I didn’t pick up in the aroma.  Mixed in with that is grapefruit and some peppery spice.  The malt is definitely up front here though, so that’s why I think this beer might be a little old.  I would love to try a really fresh bottle.  Mouthfeel is medium bodied, mild carbonation, and finishes with a slight spicy and bitter taste.

A good IPA that I would love to try again, especially fresh as possible.  Can anyone hook a brother up? =)

Found: Extra in a beer trade
Price: No idea
Website: http://www.coastbrewing.com/
What the company says: Walking a fine line of sweet malt and assertive hop character. A hop presence so enticing it truly is a work of art.  Brewed year-round.
ABV%: 7.70%
Other beers to try from this brewery: First brew I’ve had from these guys
Other beers to try within the same style: Captain Lawrence Captain’s Reserve IPA, Alpine Duet
Rating: B+

Ballast Point Sea Monster Imperial Stout – I bought this brew a long long time ago and for some reason just got around to trying it.  Yeah this is the problem when you have just to much beer in your house.  Happy to say that it held up just fine.  As far as Ballast Point brews go this one is at the bottom of my list.  It didn’t wow me like Tongue Buckler, Victory at Sea, or Sculpin did but it’s still a decent Imperial Stout.

Sea Monster pours black.  Pitch black.  A small tan head forms but quickly disappears.   Right off the bat you’ll notice this beer has a really sweet nose to it.  One of the sweeter stouts I’ve smelled in a while.  It’s the dark chocolate doing it’s thing.  A decent amount of roasted malt and a smaller amount of coffee.  The taste is more of the same.  The sweetness cuts through everything else.  The coffee leaves a bit of a bitter ending that sits at the back of the throat.  Mouthfeel was really nice.  It was more towards a heavier, thicker mouthfeel.  A little bit on the flat side.  Just goes down your throat with ease.

Not a bad stout to pick up.  Would love to try it a little bit more fresher.  Maybe the coffee would of come through just a little more.

Found: South Bay Drugs, Imperial Beach, CA (Mail Order)
Price: Around 8 dollars a bottle
Website: http://www.ballastpoint.com
What the company says: Nothing on the site about this brew.
ABV%: 10.00%
Other beers to try from this brewery: Ballast Point Tongue Buckler, Ballast Point Dorado IPA
Other beers to try within the same style: Mikkeller Beer Geek Breakfast, Boulevard Brewing Imperial Stout
Rating: B+

New Glarus Black Wheat – A black wheat beer?  Yeah your eyes aren’t deceiving you.  A black Dunkelweizen.  Anyone know if any other brewer makes a black wheat beer?  Let me know i’d be interested in giving it a try.  This time around my buddy Jeff provided me with another New Glarus beer.  Thanks again my friend.  As many of you know New Glarus doesn’t sell their beer in any other state other then Wisconsin.  I recently heard a story that some bar in New York was serving a keg of their Spotted Cow brew.  New Glarus somehow found out about this and made them stop serving the beer.  i believe the bar actually got fined also.  Anyway there I go going off track.  This beer is being retired at the end of the year.  So if you somehow have access to a bottle make sure to pick it up.  It’s a good and unique brew.  It won’t wow you but it’s easy drinking and tasty.

Black Wheat pours very dark brown, almost black color.  Hold it up to the light and you can see little ruby highlights.  A huge head is poured.  I had to wait a bit before it calmed down to what you see above.  It’s tan, fluffy, and full of craters. The smell starts off like a lot of wheat beers do.  I picked up a little bit of a fruity aroma.  Banana.  I also picked up a good amount of spice.  As the beer warms up though, the beer changes a bit.  I got more of a roasted aroma with some chocolate and coffee thrown in.  A welcome surprise.

The taste starts off just like the smell did.  It’s a light tasting brew with the fruit and spice.  But then the beer hits the middle of your palette and the beer turns to a roasty and smokey taste.  The chocolate and coffee then linger a bit.  It’s like the beer transforms.  The mouthfeel goes more towards light then medium bodied.  Slight amount of carbonation.

It’s a shame this beer is being retired.  But you never know it could come back one day soon.

Found: From my buddy Jeff
Price: No Idea
Website: http://www.newglarusbrewing.com/
What the company says: Our Black Wheat arrives to relieve the bleak bore of Wisconsin’s winter. Rich and chewy this bottle conditioned weiss is bursting with Midwestern wheat, oats, rye and finished by malted barley.
ABV%: 5.70%
Other beers to try from this brewery: New Glarus Cranbic Ale, New Glarus Raspberry Tart
Other beers to try within the same style: First time I’ve reviewed a beer of this style
Rating: B+

Firestone Walker Union Jack- Damn you West Coast IPAs!!  You make me jealous.  Living on the East Coast I can’t regularly get you!  Yeah so this is another really good West Coast IPA.  Ok almost Double IPA in my mind.   I’ve always heard great things about Union Jack.  So it was a big surprise when I opened a recent beer trade and saw this as one of my extras.  Sweet!!!

Union Jack pours a clear amber color.  A ton of bubbles rise from the bottle of the glass.  Small amount of head pours.  There is a ton of lacing as you drink this brew.  Rings left after every sip.  First whiff, yup this is definitely a West Coast IPA.  Huge amount of fruit.  Grapefruit and mango.  But there is a good enough malt background to make this a balanced IPA.  Taste is just fantastic.  There’s the fruit again.  It’s juicy and big.  Mangos and grapefruit.  In the end you get bready malt and a nice bitter ending from the hops.  While the smell and taste of this beer is good enough to make this a fantastic IPA, the mouthfeel is the crowning jewel.  The mouthfeel is sticky and thick.  It coats the mouth and throat as it goes down.  I haven’t had a IPA this thick in a while.

I would love to see this IPA come to the East Coast but I would be afraid of freshness issues.  But if you can trade for a fairly new bottled version I think you would be in for a treat.

Found: Beer trade
Price: No idea
Website: http://www.firestonewalker.com/
What the company says: The newest member of the Firestone family, Union Jack is the aggressive IPA that you’ve been searching for. Citrus, pineapple, and a full chewy malt profile finish clean on your palate. Over 70 IBUs and 7.5% alcohol by volume, Union Jack won’t have any problem competing with the big India Pale Ales. A beer true to its origins; deeply hopped and bolstered for a long voyage.
ABV%: 7.50%
Other beers to try from this brewery: Firestone Walker 13
Other beers to try within the same style: Alpine Duet, Russian River Blind Pig
Rating: A-

Otter Creek Russian Imperial Stout – Once again here is another gift from my buddy Jeff and his trip to Vermont earlier in the year.  This time around it’s an Russian Imperial Stout from Otter Creek out of Middlebury.  Now Russian Imperial Stouts are probably my favorite style of beer these days.  I love the big taste and smell these brews usually give off but I felt like this beer just didn’t hit the spot for me as many of the others in the style did.  Overall though it’s still a rather decent beer.

This RIS like many others (ok 99.9%) pours pitch black.  Nice frothy tan head and great retention.  Now like I said above I love my RIS to be huge, after all why put the word “Imperial” in the name if you didn’t want it to be big =)  But this one kind of fell short.  Faint aroma of burnt coffee, molasses, and sweet dark chocolate.  If this was brought up a notch I would of been in love.

The same goes for the taste.  Good but faint.  What I did notice more then the other ingredients was the molasses.  Brought a nice sweet taste to the brew.  Espresso and chocolate bring up the rear.  The mouthfeel was slick and smooth.  A little bit on the heavy side.  Little carbonation.

This RIS has some good qualities.  Maybe I waited a little to long to drink it.  But I was just looking for a little bit more.  

Found: From my buddy Jeff
Price: No Idea
Website: http://www.ottercreekbrewing.com
What the company says: The style was first brewed in England for the Russian Czar and it is the king of stouts. Plenty of big malt flavors- chocolate and roasted- and high alcohol with lower carbonation and mild hops.
We brewed this beer with double the malts and four times the hops of regular stouts! Otter Creek Russian Imperial Stout clocks in around 10% ABV- a beer to be savored responsibly. True to style, this beer will last for years so you may want to stock up on a few bottles for your cellar while it’s available.
ABV%: 10.60%
Other beers to try from this brewery: Otter Creek Pale Ale
Other beers to try within the same style: Stone Russian Imperial Stout, Brooklyn Brewery Black Ops
Rating: B+

Southern Tier Cuvee Series 2 – Beer geeks love the world Oaked or Barrel Aged.  As we get more and more into the craft beer world you’ll notice that a lot of these beers are harder to get.  Southern Tier Cuvee series is a series that is actually pretty easy to get.  I can walk into most of the good stores around here and they’ll have it sitting on the shelves.  This brew in particular is number 2 in the series of 3.  Word on the streets (or beer sites =) is that the third in the series will be hitting the stores soon.  The first in the series actually disappointed me a bit.  Sadly I felt the same way about this one.

Cuvee 2 pours a dark brown color with ruby red highlights.  A good amount of head is poured but quickly fizzes away into what you see above.  A very thin layer of head is left.  The aroma on this beer is decent and really had me hoping this one was better then the first.  Lovely smell of wood hits the nostrils first.  A good amount of caramel and vanilla follow that up.

The taste is slightly boozy but not as bad as I thought it would be.  This beer is definitely a malt bomb.  Looking for any kind of hops in this beer, just don’t bother.  The caramel is mixed in nicely with the oak flavors.  I also picked up a good amount of dark fruits and vanilla.  This brew has many characteristics of a Barleywine.  What I didn’t like was the bitterness it gave off.  It didn’t taste like the usual bitterness that is given off by a ton of hops but something different.  Something I just couldn’t get into.

The mouthfeel is smooth and big.  Goes down really nice.  Overall this was maybe another disappointment for me.  Hopefully the series turns it around when the third one is released.  You know what they say, third one is a charm.  If you are looking to try some Southern Tier for the first time I’d say stay away from this brew.  They make so much better stuff.

Found: Grape and Gourmet, Virginia Beach, VA
Price: Around 12-14 dollars a bottle
Website: http://www.southerntierbrewing.com
What the company says: ALE IMPRESSIONS: Dark ruby red color, roasted malt flavor with apparent bitterness. Finishes with a rich caramel and espresso aroma.
AMERICAN OAK IMPRESSIONS: Impressions of vanilla crème, classic crème brûlée and nougat. A little more oak flavor than series one, but with creamy intensity.
11.0% abv. • individually boxed, foil labeled 22 oz bottle
ABV%: 11.00%
Other beers to try from this brewery: Southern Tier Gemini, Southern Tier Mokah
Other beers to try within the same style: New Hollands Dragon Milk, Stone Double Bastard
Rating: B

Sierra Nevada Estate Brewers Harvest Ale – The way I got this beer is pretty funny and not funny at the same time.  A friend of mine (who shall remain nameless) got a phone call from a buddy of his.  He asked him if he wanted some of this brew and because this stuff isn’t available in the area he jumped all over it.  He said “Sure get me two or three” Much to his surprise, his friend arrived at his house with 3 cases of the stuff.  Surprised and lost for the most part he asked what the hell is this, you said you wanted two or three.  Not cases he said!  Bottles!  So basically he’s stuck with 3 cases of this stuff.  So he was nice enough to give me a bottle.  Hell I think he’s giving a way a lot of bottles =)

Estate is a pretty cool beer.  Why you ask?  Well every ingredient in this brew is from Sierra Nevada.  Everything.  That’s not something you can say about a lot of beers.  Estate pours a dark amber color with a huge fluffy head.  Great retention and a ton of lacing throughout.  The smell on this beer is pretty damn nice.  Floral hops.  Earthiness.  A nice bready malt background.  A slight aroma of alcohol hits the nose.

Overall a winner from these guys.  I’d love to see what they can do with other styles of beer if they continue to make beers with ingredients from their farms.

Found: From a friend
Price: No idea
Website: http://www.sierranevada.com
What the company says: Nothing on the site about this one yet.
ABV%: 6.70%
Other beers to try from this brewery: Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale, Sierra Nevada Pale Ale
Other beers to try within the same style: Alesmith IPA, Town Hall Masala Mama
Rating: B+

Lagunitas A Lil Sumpin Extra!- Here’s a beer I heard nothing but great things about.  Well this and it’s little brother A Little Sumpin Sumpin Ale.  Both didn’t make it to my area so when I saw extra come up on South Bay I jumped at the opportunity to grab a bottle.  Quick little tidbit about the beer.  This one is classified as an American Double/Imperial IPA while it’s little brother is classified as a American Pale Wheat Ale.  I didn’t get any wheat ale characteristics in this one.  This is definitely more of a DIPA.

Extra pours a clear deep copper color.  A nice big frothy head forms.  Good retention and lacing throughout the glass.  The smell on this brew is fantastic.  A great amount of fruit.  Citrus, grapefruit, tropical fruit.  Piney hops and a sweet malt character linger in the background.  The fruit is the winner here and it’s wonderful.

The taste is good but not as strong as the aroma.  The grapefruit definitely sits up front here with all the other fruit right behind it.  Piney and grassy hops follow next.  A slight bit of alcohol comes through once in a while but it’s balanced nicely with everything else.  The mouthfeel is great too.  Medium bodied and creamy.  Just makes this DIPA even more drinkable.  This brew is definitely a fruity blast.  It doesn’t kill your tastebuds with hops and alcohol like Hop Stoopid does (which I love also).  Easily an DIPA I could have a few bombers of and be totally fine.  A winner from Lagunitas.

Found: South Bay Drugs, Imperial Beach, CA (Mail Order)
Price: Around 5 dollars a bottle
Website: http://www.lagunitas.com/
What the company says: Nothing on the site about this one.
ABV%: 8.74%
Other beers to try from this brewery: Lagunitas Lucky 13, Lagunitas Hairy Eyeball
Other beers to try within the same style: Ballast Point Dorado, Dogfish Head Squall
Rating: A-

Hair of the Dog Blue Dot – This is a brew I orginally had in San Diego when I went to visit the Toronado.  I remember I couldn’t finish the bomber.  Not because the brew was bad but because right before that the girlfriend and I just got done eating some authentic Mexican food that actually made me a little sick.  So I think I got maybe half of the bottle done and had to leave.  So when I needed to fill one more spot in my last South Bay order I picked this baby.  This is my first Hair of the Dog brews.  From what I’ve read that make some fantastic stuff so look out for some future reviews.

Blue Dot pours cloudy light amber color.  A very small head is formed. Barely an lacing.  Aroma is more of a malty one.  Sweet caramel malt mixed in with grapefuit, lemon, and a small bit of spice.  Definitely more of a balanced aroma and not a huge hop bomb.  That isn’t saying that this beer doesn’t pack a good amount of hops though.  Just more balanced that a lot of other IPAs I’ve been having lately.

On the taste the grapefruit and citrus is up front.  Next is a small amount of piney hops followed by the lemon and sweet malt taste.  In the end a little bit of alcohol comes in with a nice bitter hop finish.  Medium bodied but definitely one of the more lighter feeling DIPAs.  Mild carbonation.  This is a very good brew that I wouldn’t mind visiting again if I saw it.  It’s not something I would order again though.  Not with all the better IPAs out there.

Found: South Bay Drugs, Imperial Beach, CA (Mail Order)
Price: Around 6 dollars a bottle
Website: http://www.hairofthedog.com
What the company says: Nothing about this beer on their site.
ABV%: 7.00%
Other beers to try from this brewery: First brew I’ve tried from these guys
Other beers to try within the same style: Long Trail Double IPA, Three Floyds Dreadnaught
Rating: B+

Captain Lawrence Captain’s Reserve IPA- First off thanks to Aaron from The Vice Blog for the trade.  He sent me a few of these bottles and they did not disappoint.  I think he mentioned to me earlier that this beer is just making it’s appearance in bottles.  It’s been on draft for a while now.  So thanks for sending me some!

Captain’s Reserve pours a clear light golden color with as you can see in the picture up above, a huge white frothy head.  Great retention and a ton of lacing throughout the glass.  Smell is full of citrus and piney hops.  Alcohol is pretty present also.

Taste starts of with citrus, grapefruit, lemon, and tangerine.  There’s a nice bready and caramel malt background.  Once again just like in the smell the alcohol is present.  The mouthfeel on this one leans a little bit towards heavy then medium.  It’s definitely a little thick and chewy but very smooth and silky.  Goes down nice.  It’s like golden nectar! Overall this is a great IPA.  Especially for it’s price point.  People are buying this stuff for 3-5 dollars a bottle.

Found: Beer Trade with my buddy Aaron
Price: Around 5 dollars a bottle
Website: http://www.captainlawrencebrewing.com/
What the company says: This beer is a salute to the ingenuity and creativity of the American craft brewers. A uniquely American style of beer, the Double or Imperial IPA, has become the calling card of many craft brewers who aren’t afraid to push the limits of what hops can add to a beer. This beer is big and hoppy – not for the faint of heart! Be prepared to experience sensory overload as you savor this Imperial IPA.
ABV%: 9.00%
Other beers to try from this brewery: First brew from these guys
Other beers to try within the same style: Russian River Pliny the Elder, Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA
Rating: A-

Alpine Duet- In this case I saved the best for last.  I had Duet and every other Alpine IPA when I visited their brewery during this past summer.  Nelson, Expoential Hoppiness, Pure Hoppiness, Bad Boy, etc are some of the best IPAs on this planet and it just so ends up that Alpine makes them all.  Amazing.  Nelson still remains my favorite IPA out there but this beer isn’t no slouch.  This beer packs beer packs a ton of Simcoe hops.  This beer was tap only until recently and I got one of the first batches that made they put in a bottle.  Heck maybe it’s the first batch.  I’m happy to say that this beer is just as good in bottle as it is on draft.  Order this from Cali if you have to.  It’s totally worth trying this IPA that is sitting on BA top 100 list.

Duet pours a deep amber color.  Very little head is poured.  Smell is just out of this world.  Raw and powerful Simcoe and Amarillo.  Tons of citrus and pine attack your nostrils with a good amount of malt to give it a nice bready malty background.  At first the beer is very rough and raw in the taste department.  Just piney hops everywhere.  Like you’re chewing on pine needles.  As you let the beer warm up a tad this beer just becomes out of this world.  The piney hops are still there and they are big but the fruit comes through and the mixture is just amazing.  Tropical fruit and citrus.  It’s just juicy.  This beer is like a magician.  It’s full of raw hop flavor but remains balanced and so drinkable.  Words cannot describe some of the tastes you get from this brew.  The mouthfeel is medium bodied, crisp and smooth.  This IPA easily sits on my top ten IPAs.  I have to publish that list one day =)

Found: South Bay Drugs, Imperial Beach, CA (Mail Order)
Price: Around 5 dollars a bottle
Website: http://www.alpinebeerco.com/
What the company says: A West Coast IPA Our original single IPA made with Simcoe and Amarillo hops “in harmony.” 1.065 OG 45 IBU 7%ABV
ABV%: 7.00%
Other beers to try from this brewery: Alpine Nelson, Alpine Bad Boy
Other beers to try within the same style: Ballast Point Sculpin, Russian River Blind Pig
Rating: A+

Summer is over and wow did I drink a ton of great beers during my second favorite season (fall being my favorite)  Along the way some of those beers were just forgotten about or well I was to lazy to write about them.  So here’s some quick thoughts on some of those forgotten beers.

Stone Vertical Epic 07/07/07 Aged in Red Wine Barrels – When I visited Stone,  it was my goal to bring back some one off brews that I could enjoy in the hotel room.  I came back with two growlers.  One of them was the beer you see above.  I love their Vertical Epic line.  I enjoyed what the Red Wine barrels gave to this beer.  It added a bit of a sweet taste with a mixture of a smokey aroma.  Very nice to try something that you can’t buy in the stores

Rating: B+

Stone Old Guardian Aged in Red Wine Barrels -This beer was a little bit of a disappointment.  But it was still really nice to try.  The Red Wine gave the beer kind of an off taste.  I enjoyed the Vertical Epic just a tad bit more. Old Guardian is one of my favorite Barleywines ever.  I don’t think the Red Wine made it any better.

Rating: B

Alpine Exponential Hoppiness -This is one of the beers I came to San Diego to get.  The girlfriend and I took the 35 minute drive to Alpine on  one of our last days there.  I plan on posting some pics of the actual brewery soon but let me just say that it’s small.  Very very small.  If you blink, you miss it.  But size matters not as Yoda says.  In my opinion, Alpine makes the best bunch of IPAs on this Earth.  Duet, Nelson, Pure Hoppiness, Bad Boy, O’Briens and well this beer right here.  Let me have Alpine explain this beer because well, it’s right on.  It’s amazing and it belongs on the top 100 of Beer Advocates best beers in the world.

Very popular. A complex hopping method where each hop addition is double the previous amount. More hops in the hopback and then two dry-hop sessions. The second dry-hop session is with whole hops and oak chips. 1.093 OG 10.75%ABV

It’s a mixture of hoppy goodness with a beautiful smokey flavor.  It’s dangerous.  It’s so easy to drink.  I was just estatic to try this brew.

Rating: A+

Ballast Point Dorado Double IPA -Ballast Point makes a ton of beers but this is there only Double IPA and its a really good one.  A great mixture of floral, citrus, and piney hops.  Easy to drink and crisp.  These guys are just amazing.  The one – two punch of Sculpin and Dorado is one of the best out there.

Rating: A-

Ballast Point Victory at Sea -This is the second brew I tried at the brewery and wow it just blew me away.  Dorado was very good but this was just fantastic.  I wish I would of bought a bigger glass but I was already feeling a little buzzed and I had to drive around San Diego.  A place I really don’t know to well.  The mixture of coffee and vanilla in this porter is just spot on and the mouthfeel is amazing.  Easily my favorite porter.  See this somewhere, you make sure to buy a glass

Rating: A+

Stone Sawyer’s Triple – The reason this beer exists is a sad story.  You can read about it here http://blog.stonebrew.com/?p=149 But there is a happy ending.  100% of the sales of this beer go to fight ALD.  So if you are at the brewery, pick up this beer.  Not only are you helping a good cause but hey this is actually a pretty damn fine beer.  Taste is full of candied sugar, fruit, and honey.  A real treat.

Rating: A-

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Starr Hill Northern Lights – What you see here might be the worst beer I had all summer.  I had it while I was at the Dave Matthews Band concert.  It was a bitter mess.  I would of thrown it away if it didn’t cost me 12 dollars for the plastic cup you see above.  Maybe I’ll have to try this beer again in bottle.  I see it all the time around my area.

Rating: D

Dogfish Head Goser the Gosarian -Yes this is definitely a Ghostbusters reference.  I had this brew at the Rehoboth DFH Brewpub.  It’s a brewpub exclusive and I don’t know if they will ever brew it again so I’m really glad I got to try it.  Hey look it’s even smiling at me! Gozer is classified as a Gose.  Beer Advocate says this about the style:

An old German beer style from Leipzig, Gose is an unfiltered wheat beer made with 50-60% malted wheat, which creates a cloudy yellow color and provides a refreshing crispness and twang. A Gose will have a low hop bitterness and a complementary dryness and spice from the use of ground coriander seeds and a sharpness from the addition of salt. Like Berliner Weisse beers, a Gose will sometimes be laced with various flavored and colored syrups. This is to balance out the addition of lactic acid that is added to the boil.

Somewhat recently, Gose has seen a mini-revival with a handful of breweries bringing back the style in the Leipziger area and pubs like Gosenschenke “Ohne Bedenken” serving traditionally brewed Gose.

The writeup was pretty much right on.  It defintely had a little sour twang to it.  Not much, just right for me.  Mix that in with a decent amount of coriander, wheat, and lemon and you have a nice small tart brew.

Rating: B+

Stone 10th Anniversary and Stone Smoked Porter with Vanilla Beans (sitting right behind the glass of 10th =) – One of my first nights in San Diego the girlfriend and I went out to visit Joey from South Bay Drugs.  We met him at a bar that was holding a Stone night.  Joey also brought in some Stone brews.  I got to try Juxtaposition for the first time but the highlight was trying Stone 10th Anniversary.  I missed the 10th anniversary beer because I really only got into craft beer with the 11th anniversary beer came out.  Stone 10th was classified an American Double/Imperial IPA when it first came out.  But after all the years of aging this beer is tasting more like a Barleywine these days and wow was it just fantastic.  Thanks Joey!  Also I got to try an tap only Stone beer.  Their Smoked Porter with Vanilla Beans.  Wow!!!  Smoked Porter is ok by itself but with the vanilla it’s just out of this world.

Stone 10th Anniversary Rating: A-
Stone Smoked Porter with Vanilla Beans Rating: A

Mikkeller Nelson Sauvin Single Hop IPA – It just so happens that one of my favorite beers of all time, Alpine Nelson, is brewed with the hop used in this brew.  It didn’t really hit me until I took the first sip of the beer and looked at the bottle.  To me Nelson Sauvin has distinct aroma and taste to it.  I remember popping this beer open and saying to myself, this smells like body odor, but in a good way.  Yes I know that sounds weird but this hop has a very different smell to it.  It’s pungent and raw.  The beer is full of fruit.  Grapefruit and mangoes come to mind.  Mix that with a nice caramel malt presence and you have a very nice brew.  Out of the four single hop brews that I’ve had from Mikkeller this was my favorite.  Mouthfeel is slick and oily and like all the other single hops the head that it pours is huge.

Found: State Line Liquor, Elkton, Maryland
Price: Around 6 dollars a bottle
Website: http://www.mikkeller.dk
What the company says: Nothing on the site about this one.
ABV%: 6.90%
Other beers to try from this brewery: Mikkeller Warrior Single Hop IPA, Mikkeller Stateside IPA
Other beers to try within the same style: Alpine Nelson
Rating: A

Mikkeller Cascade Single Hop IPA – So up top you’ve just seen my favorite of the 4 I got to try, now meet my least favorite.  Not that Cascade isn’t a great hop to make beer with but for some reason I was bored with this beer.  It didn’t do much for me.  This brew pours clear dark amber color.  Once again these beers produce a huge fluffy crater filled head.  Smell is light of bready malt and citrus.  Not much else going on.  In the taste I picked up a few more things.  The bready malt flavor is toned down a bit.  The citrus shows up a little more with a little bit of lemon and grapefruit.  But not enough to make this a fantastic beer.  Mouthfeel is a little light.  But as with the other 3 single hops they go down really easy and are smooth.

Found: State Line Liquor, Elkton, Maryland
Price: Around 6 dollars a bottle
Website: http://www.mikkeller.dk
What the company says: The third in the series of single hop IPA’s from Mikkeller. Brewed with Cascade, a true american classic hop type. This hop is less powerfull than the ones used in the previous two single hop IPA’s – creating a great balance with the beers other aspects.
ABV%: 6.90%
Other beers to try from this brewery: Mikkeller Jackie Brown, Mikkeller It’s Alive!
Other beers to try within the same style: Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA, Surly Furious
Rating: B-

Two Brothers Hop Juice – What we have here is the first brew I’ve ever tried from Two Brothers Brewing Company out of Chicago.  This beer is in their Artisan beer line.  In this line is also an Porter and two mystery beers that will be available later this month and November.  I’ve always heard good things about Hop Juice so when I spotted it on the Archer Liquor website,  I included it in with my latest package.  What I got from Hop Juice was a very good Double IPA.  It doesn’t quite match up to Pliny or Pure Hoppiness but it’s very good.

Hop Juice pours a very dark amber color.  The head is thick and creamy.  A ton of spotty lacing is left behind as you drink.  The smell on this beer is wonderful.  It’s full of fruit and hops.  Pineapple, citrus, grapefruit.  Sweet malt is also in there.  The sweetness kind of stings the nose.  Same deal with the taste.  This is a sweet tasting beer.  The fruits are more toned down in the flavor but the piney hops kick in a little more.  A small bit of alcohol rounds out the taste but the 10% hides really well.  A really nice taste.  The mouthfeel is thick, chewy, slick and oily.  A winner from Two Brothers.

Found: Archer Liquors, Chicago, Illinois (Mail Order)
Price: Around 8 dollars a bottle
Website: http://www.twobrosbrew.com/
What the company says: Hop Juice is a powerful Imperial IPA. It is brewed to 9.9% ABV, 100.1 IBU’s, and dry hopped with a pound of hops per barrel. Hop Juice has a very strong aroma of pine and citrus. This hefty beer is balanced at the start with some nice caramel and brown sugar notes. Then it has a massive hop flavor and bitterness with some complex fruity characters.
ABV%: 9.90%
Other beers to try from this brewery: First one I’ve tried.
Other beers to try within the same style: Three Floyds Dreadnaught, Russian River Pliny the Elder
Rating: B+

Clipper City Heavy Seas Big DIPA – Last but not least is a new beer from Clipper City.  This is out of their Heavy Seas line.  Now within that line is a totally new line called Mutiny fleet.  Confused yet?  This line is a line of bigger beers.  These are brews that are only going to see the light of day once and are limited.  Now in the past I really haven’t found any Clipper City brews I’ve really loved.  So I was hoping this beer would break the curse.  Well it really didn’t.

Big DIPA pours a copper color with a nice big frothy head.  The smell is strong of alcohol up front.  It’s hard to get past the alcohol at all.  But once in a while you’ll get a small amount of citrus and grapefruit.  Now the taste is what truly threw me off with this beer.  It had a very candy like taste.  Like butterscotch.  Very buttery.  If that’s even a word.  Mixed in with the strong alcohol it really doesn’t make for a very good combination.  Small amounts of citrus and piney hops follow but I really couldn’t get that taste out of my mind.  Mouthfeel is creamy and medium-full bodied.  If you asked me if you should try this brew I would probably say no.  I believe a few more beers from this line will be seeing the light of day very soon.  One of them is a Pumpkin beer.  I’m really looking forward to trying that one.  Hopefully that will break the Clipper City curse =)

Found: Grape and Gourmet, Virginia Beach, VA
Price: Around 6 dollars a bottle
Website: http://www.ccbeer.com/
What the company says: Big DIPA – Double IPA, is the first in the Heavy Seas Special Edition Series due to be released in mid June. Hopped 3 times in the brewing process, Big DIPA has an earthy hop aroma. In keeping with the Heavy Seas philosophy we’ve made a big beer with a surprising balance. The best part is that you’ll hardly notice it’s 10.6% ABV (est). The label artwork was created by Kurt Krol, one of our brewers who also helped to develop the recipe.
ABV%: 10.60%
Other beers to try from this brewery: Heavy Seas Below Decks, Heavy Seas Small Craft Warning
Other beers to try within the same style: Moylan’s Moylander Double IPA, Alesmith Yulesmith Holiday Ale
Rating: C+