The Drunken Polack

It would be very dangerous if this brewery was by me.  It would be to damn easy for me to walk in and get a growler full of goodness.  OK maybe it would be dangerous if any brewery was next to me.  But when it comes to good stuff these guys are 100% and when I think of a brewery that I would like to just stop by after work and pick up a few growlers this might be it.  I’ve had 4 beers from them and all have been right on spot.  Of course Mango and regular Masala Mama are fantastic but I got to try two of their rotating beers last week.  Thanks again to another beer trade.  Oh it’s so nice knowing people who live 5 miles away from the brewery.  But what the hell am I going to do with 4 empty Town Hall growlers.  First up is their American Pale Ale, Marmelade Sky.

Marmealade Sky is a easy drinking 4.9% American Pale Ale brewed with Amarillo hops and sweet orange peel.  Both of those ingredients come through really nice.  This one pours a dark amber color with a small one finger head.  Slight lacing throughout the glass.  The orange peel in this brew is what comes through the most.  Lemon and grapefruit from the Amarillo hops come in next but the peel is the key here and it really gives off a nice and inviting aroma. A strong caramel malt backbone finishes it off.

The taste is really more of the same.  I’ll first say that this is a fantastic sessionable beer.  Definitely a different take on a Pale Ale.  I’m finding myself stepping away from the stronger IPAs these days and really enjoying the smaller abv Pale Ales.  They can be just as hoppy and refreshing as a 7% IPA.  The citrus is first up just like in the smell.  Something I didn’t really pick up in the smell was the presence of some grassy notes.  I did pick it up in the taste.  The beer is rounded out by the lemon and grapefruit and caramel malt.  There really are a good amount of hops in this brew.  It’s noticeable with the very bitter aftertaste.

The mouthfeel is medium and creamy.  Goes down like a good APA should.

Overall this is a fantastic beer on a 90+ degree day.  Another winner from Town Hall.  You Minneapolis folks are damn lucky.

Found: Beer trade
ABV%: 4.9%
Price: N/A
Website: http://www.townhallbrewery.com/
What the company says: Well hopped American pale ale that is made with Amarillo hops and both bitter and sweet orange peel
Other beers to try from this brewery: Minneapolis Town Hall Brewery Masala Mama, Minneapolis Town Hall Brewery Abominable
Other beers to try within the same style: Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, Iron Hill Ironbound Ale
Rating: A-

While I really  liked the beer up above, this one just did it for me.  This a American Porter infused with a ton of fresh coffee.  This beer really reminded me of Williamsburg Alewerks Coffeehouse Stout and I think I enjoyed this one just a little bit more than the Williamsburg offering.

Abominable pours a very dark brown.  You would think it’s pitch black but it’s noticable when you’re pouring this stuff into a glass that it’s brown.  Small amount of head and no lacing.  Right off the bat you are blasted by really fresh coffee.  There really isn’t much more in the smell but the coffee but it’s enough.  It’s wonderful.  I could of sat there for hours just smelling this beer.

The taste has is more complex though and as you let it warm up, more and more comes out.  I love Coffeehouse Stout because it was like you were drinking breakfast.  Coffee and cream.  This made me feel the same way.  The fresh, strong coffee taste was complimented by cream, sweet chocolate, and roasted malt.  It’s just wonderful.  I could easily finished that growler that night.

The mouthfeel just added to the greatness.  Medium bodied and very creamy.  Went down perfect.

This is a beer I could get used to drinking.  It’s definitely one of the best coffee porters/stouts I’ve ever had.  The freshness was just amazing.

Found: Beer trade
ABV%: 4.9%
Price: N/A
Website: http://www.townhallbrewery.com/
What the company says: Robust American style porter brewed with the Yeti Coffee blend done by Peace Coffee right here in Minneapolis|
Other beers to try from this brewery: Minneapolis Town Hall Brewery Masala Mama, Minneapolis Town Hall Brewery Abominable
Other beers to try within the same style: Ballast Point Victory at Sea, Deschutes Black Butte
Rating: A

Iron Hill Ironbound Ale – On Thursday I decided I wanted something easy drinking and something I can enjoy a few of.  That’s when I remembered I had a growler sitting in my fridge.  When you have to much beer, sometimes stuff like this happens.  Let’s rewind to the weekend before.  I was returning from my buddies wedding in PA when my girlfriend I decided to stop by a brewery we always spotted off the side of 95.  Everytime I’d go visit my family in PA I’d always look over while in  Wilmington,  DE and spot Iron Hill Brewery.  Never stopped by though.  Since this was probably the last time I’d be in PA for a while we took the detour and stopped by for lunch.  I’m glad we did.  This is a really nice brewery/brewpub.  One of the nicer ones I had ever been too. 

We ate some lunch.  I had a sampler of a one of their lagers called The Dark Side.  They describe it as:

“Strong dark German-style lager, dark malt sweetness is balanced with a slight bitterness.”

I actually really enjoyed it.  I’m not much of a lager fan but this was a totally different animal.  Rich, malt, and sweet.  It had a kick to it.  I also enjoyed a pint of their Belgian Wit.  That was also pretty damn good.  But if you know me well, you know I had to talk something home.  This is where the Ironbound Ale came in.  I took a look at Beer Advocate for something that wasn’t to huge and I came up with buying a growler of this APA. 

Ironbound Ale pours a cloudy orange color.  A huge head is poured with great lacing and retention.  Smell is really nice and clean.  A nice hop kick.  Not IPA huge but really nice for an APA.  Citrus and floral aromas with a nice caramel malt background. 

Bottom line is this is one of the best American Pale Ales I’ve ever had.  Taste is fresh, crisp, and clean.  Nice amount of caramel and toasted malt.  Mixed in with the fresh citrus hops and you have a real winner here.  Mouthfeel is medium bodied, crisp, and goes down so easy

In the world of Imperial this and Imperial that it’s really nice to have a flavorful ale that won’t get you drunk after a few pints.  A winner here.  I would love to live close to a brewery like this.

Found: From the brewery itself
Price: About 15 dollars a growler (Growler and fill)
Website: http://www.ironhillbrewery.com/
What the company says: Hold onto your beer mugs, because this medium-bodied beer has been overwhelmed with hop additions. Brewed as an American pale ale, it’s a celebration of American
ABV%: 5.1%
Other beers to try from this brewery: Iron Hill The Dark Side, Iron Hill Belgian Witbier
Other beers to try within the same style: Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, Founders Harvest Ale
Rating: A-

Flying Fish Exit 16 - New Jersey.  My birth place.  I’ll be honest.  New Jersey isn’t the prettiest place in the US but it has a certain charm about it.  Would I ever live there again.  Na.  Just not for me anymore but I do like going back to see what the hell is going on.  Especially in the city I was born, Jersey City.  Certain parts of that place are cleaning up nicely.  OK enough I’ll move on.

Flying Fish Brewery is located out of NJ.  They are currently making a line of beers called the “The Exit Series”  They describe it as:

“The Exit Series™ of beers is a multi-year brewing experiment to brew a series of beers as diverse as the great state of New Jersey. These big beers–in size as well as flavor–will celebrate each exit of the state-long artery that connects us. Each beer will focus on a unique aspect of an individual exit. Learn more about this project at ExitSeries.com.”

Wild Rice Double IPA is the fourth beer in the series.  I currently have the second beer in the series waiting in the wings but that’s another day.  This IPA was brewed with Wild Rice, White Rice, and Organic Brown rice.  You don’t see that mixture every day.  So I was really looking forward to see how the rice would change the beer. 

Exit 16 pours a cloudy golden color.  In the picture it looks more orangish but it’s definitely lighter.  Thanks IPhone.  Two finger fluffy white head is poured with minimal lacing and retention. 

Smell is nice and fruity.  Tropical fruits explode up front.  Mangos and pineapple with some citrus thrown in.  Piney and grassy hops mix in well with the fruit.  There’s a trace of some spice thrown in.  Could this be the rice?

Pale malt and fruity goodness is what the taste is all about.  Once again the tropical fruits are there and are the star of the show.  Small amount of piney hops, not as much as in the aroma.  In the end the spice shows up mixed in with a tad bit of alcohol.  Nothing to get in the way but it’s there. 

Mouthfeel is on the lighter side.  Dry, sticky, and nice carbonated and a joy to drink.

In the end I really liked this different type of IPA.  Honestly it doesn’t scream Double IPA.  I would think it would be stuck in the regular IPA category.  Especially with only being at 6.70% . 

The rice really didn’t add much to the flavor but I’m sure it did a lot with the look of this beer.  Any homebrewers out there want to comment on that? 

Found:State Line Liquors, Elkton, Maryland
Price: Lost the receipt, sorry!
Website: http://www.flyingfish.com/
What the company says: Although usually identified with landfills and pipelines, the Hackensack Meadowlands is an amazingly diverse ecosystem providing vital animal and plant habitat. In a nod to a once common food plant here, we’ve brewed this beer with wild rice. We also added organic brown and white rice, as well as pils and pale malts.

Rice helps the beer ferment dry to better showcase the five different hops we added. Lots and lots of them. We then dry-hopped this Double IPA with even more–generous additions of Chinook and Citra hops to create a nose that hints at tangerine, mango, papaya and pine. This beer pairs extremely well with spicy foods and all kinds of seafood. And of course, it’s quite enjoyable all by itself.
ABV%: 6.70%
Other beers to try from this brewery: First brew from these guys
Other beers to try within the same style: Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA, Oskar Blues Gubna
Rating: A-

Three Floyd’s Lord Admiral Nelson – Last but definitely not least is the beer I enjoyed on Saturday night and when I say I enjoyed, I really enjoyed.  I’m not a bitter expert but I think I know a good one when I see one and this is the best bitter I’ve had yet. 

What we have here is Lord Admiral Nelson from Three Floyd’s, a one time brewed Extra Special/Strong Bitter.  I actually picked it up as an extra when I ordered some stuff from Archer Liquors.  I had to add a sixth beer to make it even.  I didn’t know this would be the star of the show. 

Admiral Nelson pours a nice copper color.  One finger head with a ton of lacing. 

Words cannot describe how in love I was with the aroma of this beer.  If every ESB was like this it would easily turn into one of my favorite styles.  It’s a hoppy ESB.  Floral and piney.  A ton of lemon and citrus mixed in with herbal notes.  A nice biscuit and sweet caramel malt background.  Lovely.

Like I said, I just found my favorite ESB.  Grapefruit and citrus steal the show here.  The lemon comes in next with a nice kick of herbal spice notes.  Caramel malt background with a smell but nice lingering bitterness.  Sweet and bitter at the same time.  Wow.  Full of flavor.

Mouthfeel is on the lighter side.  A little watery but very smooth.

I know this isn’t the usual ESB.  Doesn’t fit the style all the way.  This is a Three Floyd’s ESB.  A mixture of two very good worlds brought together to form a hell of a beer.  I need to find out if there is more of this stuff out there!

Found: Archer Liquors, Chicago, Illinois (Mail Order)
Price: Around 7 dollars a bottle.
Website: http://www.3floyds.com/
What the company says: Nothing on the site about this one
ABV%: 6.50%
Other beers to try from this brewery: Three Floyd’s Dark Lord, Three Floyd’s Rabbit Rabbit
Other beers to try within the same style: Mcneil’s Extra Special Bitter Ale, Stoudts Scarlet Lady Ale
Rating:  A+

Founders makes some fantastic beers.  I love their stuff.  But I think I’m about to give their highest score yet.  This stuff is liquid gold.  One of the best tasting, easiest beers to drink that I’ve ever had.  Harvest Ale is a Wet Hop Ale.  My buddy Aaron over at The Vice Blog also recently reviewed this beer and he loved it too.  In his review he also posted a link to an article about Wet Hop beers.  You can check out the article here.

Harvest Ale pours a nice clear golden color.  Tons of bubbles shoot from the bottom to the top of the glass.  A thin layer of head is poured.  The smell on this beer is awesome.  Fresh and I mean fresh pine and citrus backed by a small amount of caramel malt.  Just a fantastic fresh smell.  OK I think I mentioned it was fresh enough.

The taste on this beer matches the smell.  I could easily drink this stuff all night long and if this wasn’t a seasonal beer this would be in my fridge at all times.  When you find this beer, make sure to drink it as soon as possible.  Fresher the better when it comes to this brew.  The taste is full of citrus and a small amount of grapefruit.  Piney with a nice earthy malt background.  Bitter, clear, dry from start to finish.  Crisp with perfect carbonation.

Not much more to say about this beer other that to date this is my favorite Founders beer.  Taste and drinkability are amazing.

Found: Grape and Gourmet, Virginia Beach, VA
Price: 2-4 dollars a bottle
Website: http://www.foundersbrewing.com/
What the company says: This liquid dream pours a hazy golden orange straw color with a large puffy white two-finger head. First sip of this beer rewards with a super juicy hop presence bursting with fresh orange and lemon citrus then continues to introduce toasted malt undertones.
ABV%: 6.50%
Other beers to try from this brewery: Founders Double Trouble, Founders Breakfast Stout
Other beers to try within the same style: Great Divide Fresh Hop Pale Ale, Oskar Blues Dale’s Pale Ale
Rating: A

This past weekend I visited my family down in Georgia.  Visiting other people in different states is always a nice time to go beer hunting!!!  To my surprise every beer store I went to was well stocked with beer I’ve never seen before.  There version of Total Wine just blows away the ones we have here.  Distribution in Georgia is strong.  Maybe I should move there.  Instead of going nuts I decided to only try to pick up brews that were from the state.  (That worked out sorta)  I decided to get my education in a brewery named Terrapin Beer Co.  Terrapin is located in Athens, Georgia.  Which I don’t think is to far from where I was staying.  They have a line of beers called “Side Project”  These beers are only brewed once and once they are gone, they are gone forever.  I was lucky enough to find two of those brews (well actually three but I didn’t have time to drink it while I was down there) Dos Cocoas and Monk’s Revenge.  I also decided I needed to try their year around beers.  They make a four in total.  I won’t go into huge reviews for those four because well by the time I was done with drinking most of the box, I was pretty lit.  But instead here are some quick ones.

Rye Pale Ale – My second favorite of the bunch.  A decent pale ale with a punch of hops, bready malt, and of course the rye.  I love beers brewed with rye so this was good to me.  Easy to drink.  Light and crisp.  Good for the 90+ degree weather.  Rating: B

Golden Ale – Probably my least favorite of the bunch but still a really decent beer.  A nice light beer brewed with honey.  Light floral hops with a grainy taste rounded out the experience.  A great session beer.  You can down these babies all night.  Rating: C

India Style Brown Ale – Easily my favorite out of the four.  Nice mixture of brown ale and IPA characteristics.  Nice roasted malt flavor, chocolate, with a nice shot of hops.  Interesting mixture here and like I said the highlight of the 4. Rating: B+

SunRay Wheat Beer – Last but not least is their take on a Hefeweizen.  Was not to overly impressed with this Hefe but like everything else in the box it was a easy drinker and decent.  Mixture of wheat and tart fruit.  Rating: C+

Ok now on to the beers I was really searching for.  The Side Project beers.  The two I found like I said above was Monk’s Revenge which is classified as a Belgian IPA and Dos Cocoas which is a Chocolate Porter.  While I really enjoyed one, the other one really didn’t do much for me.  Read on!!

Terrapin Dos Cocoas Chocolate Porter – First is the porter.  This beer is number 4 in the series of 6  This brew poured like a soda.  At first it poured a huge head.  But quickly the head fizzles out like a soda does.  Bubbles shooting everywhere. The color of the brew is pitch black.   The smell is full of bitter chocolate. roasted malt, and a small amount of coffee.  The smell was decent but nothing to write home about.  Sadly same goes for the taste.  I was hoping for more of a rich taste.  But instead the bitterness of the chocolate takes over to much.  I know this is a chocolate porter but it was to much bitter chocolate for my tastes.  Wanted a little bit more complex taste.  Mixed in with the bitterness was a bit of sourness.  The mixture just turned me off from this beer.  What else bugged me is how watery this beer was.  One of the more watery beers I’ve had in a while.  While this was a nice beer to make I’m glad they are only doing it once and not making it a full release.  Maybe a little tinkering with the recipe would make this one a winner.  But you know you really aren’t into a beer when you don’t want to even finish it.  Luckily the other Side Project beer made up for it.

Found: Somewhere in Georgia!
Price: 7 dollars a bottle
Website: http://www.terrapinbeer.com
What the company says: The “Dos Cocoas” is a traditional Porter with a chocolaty experimental twist. “Spike” incorporated two types of chocolate at two different stages of production to achieve the balanced chocolate flavors in the “Dos Cocoas.” The first addition was 60 pounds of cocoa powder added in the whirlpool. Next, the porter was aged for one month on a 60 pound bed of cocoa nibs to really bring the dark chocolate flavors home. The result is a fine chocolate aroma, a unique bitterness and a tantalizingly balanced chocolate flavor from both the cocoa powder and the nibs.
ABV%: 5.80%
Other beers to try from this brewery: Terrapin India Style Brown Ale, Terrapin Rye Pale Ale
Other beers to try within the same style: Samuel Adams Holiday Porter
Rating: C

Terrapin Monk’s Revenge – Up next is their take on a Belgian IPA.  Ever since I’ve tried my first Belgian IPA (Stone Cali-Belgique IPA) I’ve really enjoyed the style of beer.  I mean how can you go wrong.  A mixture of Belgian style brewing with my favorite kind of beer, India Pale Ale.  A mixture made in heaven.  This might not be my favorite version of the style but it’s pretty damn good.  It’s big.  That’s for sure.  The beer pours a light orange color with a fluffy white head that leaves a good amount of lacing throughout the glass.  The smell is just inviting.  Mixture of piney hops, citrus, sugary sweet aroma, Belgian yeast and spice.  Good mixture.  When you take your first sip you’ll be welcomed by a nice fruity, sweet sugary flavor mixed in with hops and the Belgian side of things, the yeast and spice.  You’ll also notice a nice amount of alcohol.  Burns your mouth and throat a bit as it goes down.  The beer is smooth and crisp.  Just a lovely beer.  I even had my brother try it, he’s a Coors Light man, and he liked it.  Could I be converting someone else to the darkside?  No probably not.  Out of the two Side Project beers this is easily the winner.  To bad I missed the others.

Found: Somewhere in Georgia!
Price: 7 dollars a bottle
Website: http://www.terrapinbeer.com
What the company says: This Belgian IPA has a malt bill of a Belgian Tripel and a hop bill of a Double IPA. The yeast I chose for this beer comes from one of the 7 Trappist breweries. Believe it or not, this is the first time in my professional brewing career that I have used dextrose (corn syrup) in a Terrapin brew. True to style no doubt. “Monk’s Revenge” (otherwise known as the “Big Nasty”) has all the flavor and aroma of a Double IPA while hidden beneath lies the malt character of a fine Belgian Tripel. I hope you enjoy my interpretation of this very fun style.
ABV%: 9.80%
Other beers to try from this brewery: Terrapin Golden Ale, Terrapin SunRay Wheat Beer
Other beers to try within the same style: Green Flash Le Freak, Stone Cali-Belgique IPA)
Rating: B+ (Almost an A-)

There comes a time in a bloggers life where they don’t feel like blogging at all and they hit a lazy patch.  Currently im in such a state but as you can see I’m trying to knock myself out of it.  The dangerous part is that if you do hit this patch, if you keep on trying new beers, reviews just keep on piling up.  Luckily I’m only behind by 4 beers.  So I’ll get off my lazy butt right now and do two today and do two tomorrow.  First up is a beer from Harpoon.  While I’m not exactly a huge fan of this brewery, I had to jump at the chance to try a beer from their 100 barrel series.  There is only so much of this stuff to go around.  i picked up two, the first one I gave a try is their Glacier Harvest Wet Hop Beer.  The other one I’ll write about one of these days when I actually get to drinking it =)  Now I don’t know if I can really give this beer a true review.  It’s a little old.  Might not be at its freshest state but honestly it didn’t taste off to me or anything like that.  So for the good of beer science, I’ll give this one shot.

This brew pours a lighter amber color.  A good sized 3 inch head that quickly disappeared .  This one had a good amount of carbonation.  Bubbles throughout.  Now with this beer if you are looking for a hop bomb, don’t buy this beer.  Mostly what you get from this beer is more of a malty taste up front.  More of a grainy and biscuit type malt.  The hops do come into effect but are held back.  Once again this could of been from the freshness of the beer but as I read more and more reviews this was mostly the case in a lot of the reviews.  People got more of a malt flavor then a hopped up flavor.  Which i think was the point of the beer.  The hops that you do get are mostly citrus and grassy.  What I also noticed was a bit of a spicy flavor thrown in.  Mixes nicely with everything else.  The beer is crisp, light and easy to drink.   This isn’t a beer I would pay for again.  It’s nice to try once and say you’ve had it.

Found: Some liqour store near the Dogfish Head Brewery in Delaware
Price: 5 dollars a bottle
Website: http://www.harpoonbrewery.com/
What the company says:For the 24th session of the Harpoon 100 Barrel Series, we’re celebrating this year’s hop harvest with Glacier Harvest Wet Hop beer, a pale ale made with fresh Glacier hops.

Wet hop beers are brewed using fresh, “wet” hops instead of traditional dried hops—hops contain about 60% moisture when they are first picked. Typically, when hops are picked they are quickly dried and refrigerated to increase shelf life and make them more consistent for brewing. Freshly picked wet hops, however, need to be used within hours of harvest or they will begin to degrade rapidly. Wet hops retain more of their natural aroma and volatile flavors that dissipate when dried. This gives wet hop beers a fresher hop flavor and aroma than that of beers hopped with processed hops. This yields an immersed, intense hop flavor in the beer.

Harpoon brewer Ray Dobens, creator of the beer, added a heroic dose of fresh hops the day of the harvest. The result is a copper-colored ale with a pleasing blend of fresh hop flavor and sweet malt.
ABV%: 6.70%
Other beers to try from this brewery: Harpoon Munich Dark, Harpoon UFO
Other beers to try within the same style: Great Divide Fresh Hop Pale Ale, Southern Tier Hoppe
Rating: B

Up next is one of my favorite style of beers, a Barleywine.  For some reason I always see this beer.  But I never picked it up.  One day while visiting my friend Dave, he surprised me and gave me one out of the fridge.  Dave can thank me for getting him into better craft beers.  He’s hooked on Barleywines like Old Guardian, Bigfoot, and Old Horizontal.  I even got him into some IPAs like Racer 5 and Unearthly.  Ahhh I love converting people!!!  Buhahah!!!  Anyway on to Blithering Idiot.

Idiot pours a cloudy and hazy dark orange.  No head whatsoever formed.  Upon first smell you’ll get a big malt front end with a good amount of alcohol.  The highlight though is all the fruitiness.  The smell is sweet and full of raisins, figs, apricot, and apple.  Defintely a complex aroma.  The taste is also sweet.  Sticky and sweet.  A lot of people complain of the alcohol taste the brew gives off.  I really didn’t get that to much.  I got more of a nice caramel malt flavor mixed in with the great amount of fruit with a small amount of a citrus hop kick.  I’ve never had a barleywine that tasted like this.  Not my favorite ever but definitely worth trying.  The mouthfeel is nice and thick.  Smooth and sticky.  I had two of these in one sitting.  By the end of the second glass I was feeling it.  It will definitely put hair on your chest.

Price: I believe this is around 10 bucks a 4 pack.
Website: http://www.weyerbacher.com
What the company says: Our barleywine is made in the British tradition of balanced hearty ales.  Blithering Idiot is a deep-copper ale with intense malty notes of dates and figs on the palate that follows a pleasurably malty aroma to your taste buds. The finish is warm and fruity, and begs for the next sip.  Enjoy Blithering Idiot in a brandy snifter or wine glass with full-flavored meats and cheeses, or as an after-dinner drink.

Last weekend my girlfriend didn’t feel like hanging around the house.  I jokingly said let’s take a trip to the Dogfish Head brewpub.  I said it jokingly because it is around 3 1/2 hours away.  It’s also through a rather hefty bridge toll and overall trip is quite boring.  To my surprise she said OK lets go.  Woah there did I hear you right?  Yes she said lets go!  So 3 1/2 hours later we arrived in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.  Which by the way is a really nice beach.  I think I’m going to spend some time there next summer.  Doesn’t hurt that it also houses the brewpub that started it all for my favorite brewery of all time.  When you enter this place you can tell it’s been there for a while, it’s lived in.  Yeah I know sounds weird but it’s just a nice place to hang out and drink some fantastic beers.  Before I left I checked if there was anything on tap that I haven’t had before.  Sure enough Lawnmower Light was on tap.  Now usually I wouldn’t be to excited for a beer like this.  After all it’s the easiest drinking beer they make. You know I love extreme beers.  But it’s only available at the brewpub and last time I went there they didn’t have it.  So I ordered one before I got into anything heavy.

Lawnmower Light pours a pale yellow straw color.  Looks like a lot of light beers out there.  There was a good amount of a white fluffy head.  Nice carbonation.  Bubbles flowing throughout.  The smell had a nice sweet bready malt character with faint grassy hops.  The smell is nothing special but I’d drink this over that shit called Coors Light any day.  Taste had a grainy bready malt flavor to it.  Light grassy and citrus taste to it.  Mouthfeel was clean and crisp.  You could have 8 of these babies and feel totally fine.  Great for a hot day.  Maybe they should bottle this stuff?  It’s a fantastic low calorie beer.  Better than the other stuff out there.

Found: Dogfish Head Brewpub – Rehoboth Beach, DE
Price: 4 dollars a glass
Website: http://www.dogfish.com
What the company says: Lawnmower is our intro for those who need a little help jumping feet first into the crazy world that is Dogfish Head beer.It’s a starter beer, but it’s not dumbed down. Lawnmower is made with quality ingredients and is a great thirst quencher – perfect to enjoy after a day in the sun mowing the lawn (or anything else that gets you hot and bothered)!
ABV%: 4.0%
Other beers to try from this brewery: Dogfish Head Black and Blue, Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA
Other beers to try within the same style: Oscar Blues Dale’s Pale Ale, Otter Creek Pale Ale
Rating: B-

Now another reason I was excited to go was because they had one of their one off brewpub exclusive beers on tap.  One that might be only on tap once and never to be seen again.  The beer I’m talking about is a English Porter called Daily Wry.  They used several Rye malts to get the illusion that you’re drinking Pumpernickel bread.  Does it work?  Yes to a certain extent. 

Daily Wry poured a dark brown.  A murky dark brown at that.  Small tan head that had good retention and that left a ton of lacing in the glass.  The aroma had a nice rye frontend.  A bit of spice and burnt bread.  I couldn’t wait to dive in as I really liked what I picked up.  Up front the rye and spices attack the tongue with a nice burnt bread taste in the mix as well.  It’s a pretty big flavor but it’s quickly disappears as it hits the back of your throat.   I wish it would of stuck around more.  The spices did linger a bit.  Especially after I drank the whole glass.  The mouthfeel is medium bodied.  Like I said the beer attacks your tongue with a bit of a rough flavor up front but ends with a smooth ending.  There’s a tad bit of carbonation throughout.  Overall I liked this beer.  Could it do well in their daily lineup?  Probably not.  But if they work on it I’m sure it would be a nice addition.  I just wish it was a little bit bigger.  Oh you know, Dogfish Head style =)
 
Found: Dogfish Head Brewpub – Rehoboth Beach, DE
Price: 4 dollars a glass
Website: http://www.dogfish.com
What the company says: A liquid version of Pumpernickel Bread!   This English-style session Brown Ale was conceived of and brewed by our Milton brewer Joseph Lemnah.Daily Wry was brewed with Maris Otter Malt, a hearty dose of Rye Malt, Crystal Rye and Dark Munich Malt.  The grains work together to create a bready, full bodied, almost peppery flavor.  Joseph also brewed with a pinch Amber, Coffee and Black Malt adding a toasted pumpernickel bread character.  Daily Wry is lightly hopped with Liberty to balance the sweetness of the malts and spiced with freshly ground Caraway seeds to round out the illusion of Pumpernickel bread.
ABV%: 4.3%
Other beers to try from this brewery: Dogfish Head Red and White, Dogfish Head Aprihop
Other beers to try within the same style: This is the first English Porter I’ve ever had!  Can’t recommend anymore
Rating: B

Oh and did I mention I bought some fresh 60 and 90 Minute home with me?

Nestled in a small town named Downingtown, PA, lies a brewery that helped me get into craft brews.  Their Hop Wallop and Hop Devils beers are some of the first true craft beers I had ever tried and fell in love with from the start.  I had always known this brewery wasn’t to far from my moms house in PA but I really never had the chance to stop by.   It just so happens while on vacation for Christmas I did have some time to kill so me and the girlfriend decided to make the 1 1/2 hour drive. I’m oh so glad we did.

When you enter the parking lot for the brewery you’re like where the hell is it.  Basically it’s a industrial park type atmosphere with a brewery stuck on the right side.  I knew for sure we were in the right place when I saw people walking out with growlers in their hands.  We had made it their about 3:35 pm.  15 minutes before the only brewery tour they do all week.  I really didn’t understand that but we would soon find out why.  On other brewery tours I’ve been on the tours are sometimes short, maybe 15-20 minutes.  Oh no not at Victory.  This was a tour filled by details, tons of rooms, and a ton of questions.  Plus the amount of people for this tour had to run close to 50.  The tour guide was not a brewer.  It was actually the restaurant manager from the brewpub next store.  Didn’t matter though, he knew a ton of details about the brewery, the brewing process, and what makes Victory different than the rest.  He did a hell of a job.

After the tour was all done we ran back the brewpub because there was no way I was going to miss getting a few growlers of fresh beer.  The bar was packed and the growlers looked like they were disappearing.  I had to act fast.  I decided when I got into the brewpub that I would be taking home two growlers.  I had seen their growlers once before at my friend Jeff’s apartment and was instantly jealous of them.  Plus when the hell do I ever had time to come back to this place!  Oh so what beers to get?  During the tour, the guide mentioned that half their beers on tap here were not available in bottles.  He also mentioned that one in particular was a Harvest Ale made from hops around the town of Allentown, PA which is right around the corner from my moms house.  It struck me as something I just had to try.  Growler 1 full!  Next I looked over the tap list.  It was pretty damn big.  Around 30 beers, some on tap, some I would never be able to see again, some on cask.  I spotted one I had read about before, Yamika Twlight, which is a Imperial Double IPA that is only available there.  I said good sir can you please fill growler 2 up with that.  I was disappointed when he said no due to the beer only being available on cask that day.  Shenanigans!  OK give me a pint then!  Growler 2 had to wait until after dinner and until I had time to think what nectar would be going into that growler.  We sat down and enjoyed some fantastic food.  Their brewpub is top notch.  Emilie talked me into getting a sampler (she didn’t have to talk to hard) and I made sure to pick 5 beers that I would probably never see again.  Let me go over what I tried that day.

Yamika Twlight (On Cask, Double IPA)- Now I’m not a cask expert.  Heck this might of been the first time I’ve had a beer on cask.  But this beer was just creamy, thick, and smooth.  When it comes to IPAs that not something you usually get from a lot of them so I think it was the cask talking.  Now what’s the best part of drinking beer straight from the brewery?  Freshness my friends.  The hops in this beer smelled and tasted just like the first and only time (so far) I ripped open a bag of hops when home brewing.  If was just fresh and that’s the only way I can describe it.  Awesome would be another word.  The only issue with this beer was that it seemed a little bit muted but I think that was due to the cask.  It was enjoyable though and I really wanted another glass.  But the sampler arrived………… B+ (Oh come on you know I have to rate everything gosh)

Abby Six (Belgian Dark Ale) -This one was also very good.  It was full of citrus, banana, and cloves.  Nice spicyness to it.  Would easily drink again (but I’ll probably never see it again!!) B+

Almost Anton’s Lager (Vienna Lager) -  Caramel front end with a bready malt back end.  Slight taste and aroma of hops.  Not much going on here but I don’t think there was supposed to be.  Just a decent session beer. B-

Donnybrook Stout (Irish Dry Stout)- I’ve always heard good things about this stout which of course you can’t get anywhere else other than the brewery.  This stout is full of dark roasted malts with a very nice kick of coffee.  It’s smooth as silk and goes down easy. It’s a great beer to have a lot of.  It’s very low in alcohol (3.70% abv) This is another one they wouldn’t let me take home in a growler due to the nitrous. B+

Mad King’s Weiss (Hefeweizen)- This one looks to be available in bottles, it even has a label on BA.  But I’ve never seen it.  I really enjoyed this Hefe.  It has a nice bubblegum type flavor with a good amount of cloves and banana.  Really good. B+

Uncle Teddy’s Bitter (On Cask, English Bitter) - Now for my favorite part of the sampler.  I’m usually not a fan of bitters but this beer was fresh and I mean fresh.  The hops had the same freshness as the DIPA.  Creamy and full bodied.  This was fantastic.  A

So while enjoying the fantastic sampler I decided to get Hop Devil in my second growler.  Yes I can get Hop Devil anywhere but after tasting how fresh these hops were I had to try it. 

Later that night I brought both growlers back to my friend Jeff’s house and we drank them both.  Like I said before if I was living near this place I would be in deep trouble.

Harvest Ale 2008 (Growler, American Pale Ale) – What we have here is a treat.  It’s a American Pale Ale with local hops.  It was nicely carbonated, crisp and clean.  Not overly hopped.  Just about right for a good Pale Ale.  Goes down extremely easy at 5.70% Once again just a fresh hopped beer. B+

HopDevil (Growler, American IPA)- Go basically if you’ve had HopDevil, take that and add just the freshest hopped flavor you can.  Basically this is what you get.  I can’t describe it any other way.  It was just delicious.  A+ 

So there you have it.  Just a fantastic night.  Great beer, great tour, and great food.  If you’re near Victory.  Don’t pass it up.  If you want to check out all my pictures, visit the brewery link up top.  Some good pictures of the brewery in there thanks to the Girlfriend.

Ti’s the season for Fresh Hop ales my friends and just last week I reviewed the one from Port Brewing.  This time up it’s a Fresh Hop from Great Divide.  They make such fantastic beers such as Old Yeti Stout and Old Ruffian Barleywine.  On to the review!

Pours a light copper color with a small amount of head that laces the glass as you drink.

Let me just say that this beer matches it’s description.  It tastes fresh.  How do you mean you ask.  Well this beer tastes like it was just picked from the ground like a damn vegetable.  I’ll describe more as I write.

Earthy and grassy is the best explanation I can give when I smell and taste this beer.  You’ll see a lot of reviews mention grassy and earthy notes in beers, but in this beer it’s purely that and it’s huge.  That’s why I say it tastes and smells just like it was pulled from the earth itself.  There’s a bit of a citrus taste.  It’s there but is hidden behind everything else.  The feel is rough in the beginning, a little bit like gravel but as the beer heats up a bit it turns into a light and crisp treat with a tad bit of a dry finish.  I would definitely give this beer another try.  It’s different enough to warrant multiple bottles.  I would just drink it as fresh as you possibly could. 

The Final Word

Found: State Line Liquors, Elkton Maryland
Price: 5 dollars for a 22 oz bottle
Website: http://www.greatdivide.com/
What the company says: The September hop harvest is a once-a-year opportunity to brew with fresh hops, also called “wet hops.” Given the perishable nature of just-harvested hop cones, they are shipped overnight to Great Divide shortly after harvest. The morning of the scheduled hop delivery in Denver, Great Divide’s brewers begin brewing Fresh Hop and are ready to hop the beer just as the fresh hops are delivered.

Using fresh hops is a big endeavor, requiring four to five times the volume of hops compared to the usual process of using pelletized hops. This complex process brings impressive results: Fresh Hop is an American-Style Pale Ale with moderate hop bitterness marked by a unique and intensely grassy hop flavor and aroma. Fresh Hop is a superbly refreshing, medium bodied, light-copper colored pale ale.
ABV%: 6.10%
Other beers to try from this brewery: Old Yeti Imperial Stout, Hades Ale, Old Ruffian Barleywine
Other beers to try within the same style: Really hard to say on this one.  But I’ll give it a shot.  Port Brewing Fresh Hop IPA.
Rating: B

Found: My girlfriend while taking a trip to Tennessee.  Straight from the brewery.
Price: N/A
Website: http://smoky-mtn-brewery.com
What the company says: You can check out the description of this brew at http://smoky-mtn-brewery.com

What I say: Ahh the first beer for Smoky Mountain Brewery week.  My girlfriend took a trip to Tennessee to visit some family and friends and on the way she was nice enough to stop by Smoky Mountain Brewery.  They have a few locations but she stopped by the Gatlinburg Brewery.  She was able to bring me home seven of their brews and this is the first one I tried.  On a side note she’s been bugging me to start reviewing these beers.  She said if I didn’t do it soon she would take them away and never be nice again.  So here you go honey. 

The Look: This one poured a dark amber color with little to no head. 

What the nose thought: Bready malt smell up front with a good amount of Cascade hops for a Pale Ale.  There really wasn’t much else to the smell.

And the tastebuds?: The Cascade hops in this brew is the star.  They make it a dry and bitter Pale Ale.  Bready flavor is present with a good amount of a grapefruit taste.  Overall not a bad taste but there are a ton of better Pale Ales out there. 

The feel: Medium bodied.  A little oily and dry at the same time.  The bitterness and dryness of the hops sting your tongue.

Ending notes: I know I’m not giving this brew the best rating ever but I would drink it again due to it’s high drinkability.  I could easily put a six pack of this stuff down.  Next is their Black Bear Ale

Rating: C

Found: My buddy Jeff while in Wisconsin
Price: No idea
Website: http://www.furthermorebeer.com
What the company says: Black, cracked, stuffed in a sack, boiled and cold-infused. The real treat of our A.P.A. is the tangle of flavors that fresh cracked pepper and Northern Brewer Hops create. At 65 IBUs (bitterness units) there’s plenty of zing for the Hop Heads or Bitter Bettys, but not so much to overpower the tingle of the black pepper as it slowly kicks in. Likewise, the 15° Plato malt bill features a healthy dose of caramel malt meant to soften (but not stifle) the play of pepper and hops on the palate.

What I say: This one was given to me by my friend Jeff.  I wish he would of tried it but he said I could have it.  This beer is a different experience.  When I saw it was brewed with Pepper I thought well I might just taste a little bit of it.   No, I was wrong.  Read on.

The Look: Poured a deep murky amber color with a medium sized head. 

What the nose thought: Up front you have some lemon, yeast, and spices.  The spices being the pepper.  It’s not overwhelming.  Actually smells pretty darn good.

And the tastebuds?: Ok honestly I was scared trying this beer.  I mean come on, a beer brewed with black pepper?  Up front you get the lemon and citrus taste followed by the pepper.  Now the pepper is not overwhelming but you’ll notice that the more you drink that the pepper keeps on adding up.  Eventually your whole mouth has a nice burn to it, not hot wing burn, but a nice burn.  I’m sitting here an hour after having the beer and I still feel the burn.  This beer is a real treat.  Don’t be scared.

The feel: Rough on the tongue but still manages to be easy to drink.  I really wanted another after I was done.  The pepper adds a nice effect to the beer.  Gives a slight burn to all parts of your mouth. 

Would you drink more?:Easily but I don’t think I’ll be seeing this one ever again or least for a while. 

Ending notes: I got a bunch of brews from Jeff, hopefully he snuck another from this brewery in my beer goodie bag.  This is a different beer and is worth buying.  The pepper burn adds another dimension to the beer but it’s a good one. 

Rating: B+