12 oz bottle as a single from Total Wine, Perimeter, Atlanta, GA, USA. Pour gives a still looking, dark brown body with some spotty lace on top of the mill pond body. Nose and tastes reveal some gentle, dry, bakers chocolate (cocoa) like notes. Light acidity falls in the back end. The beer seems to round out with an odd, solvent like feel and another blast of acid. Not much to like here. Mouthfeel is a bit weak and this doesn't help the apparent acidity much at all. Beer with not a lot of...
Notes on beers brewed by
Fort Collins Brewing
Wheat Wine Ale
22 oz bottle from Green's on Ponce, Atlanta, GA, USA. I've been pretty pleased with a number of the recent Fort Collins offerings, and it is my suspicion that they don't quite get the respect that they deserve. Beautiful, bright copper colored body with some wispy head that fades quickly. Not surprising given the ABV. Little or no lace. Color is attractive. Malty alcohol in the nose, not much else. Medium carbonation greets the mouth. The tastes are alcohol based with malty intentions but...
Maibock
Fresh brewed beer, 22 oz bottles now reaching GA. Purchased this one at Hop City, Atlanta, GA, USA. Request to have the beer un-retired in db made 03-07-10. Pour is an exquisite looking, beautiful red garnet color with a tan colored, rich head. Looks excellent with maximum red/copper highlights catching the sun. Nose and tastes combine in the way that they should for the style with a significant yeast not amongst the deep, repeating, rich malts. Very good depth of flavor. Tastes are caramel...
Z Lager
12 oz single from Total Wine, Perimeter, Atlanta, GA, USA. Nice copper clarity in the body and some decent head and lace form in the pint glass. Looks nice. Carbonation is constant if not huge, but at the same time it is adequate. Nose has a tiny bit of smoke but this is not a large presence. The main component seems to be a solid malt base. The smoke is slightly more pronounced in the taste but it still remains fairly mild. The depth of smoke does not require food in the way that some other...
Big Shot
22 oz bottle. Nice clarity om the pour to yield a red/bronze body. Some good, ice-cream dollop type head and some impressive lace. Solid looking. Nose is a little soapy and reveals the larger than necessary hop character that follows. Dry, cocoa notes and bakers chocolate with a dose of greenish hops that seem a bit out of place in the Brown category for me. Finishes with more dry notes. The chocolate comes back in the aftertaste. A bit "green" for me, this beer gives a bit of a fresh hop...
Retro Red
12 oz single from Hop City, Atlanta, GA, USA. Pour is interesting simply because it produces exactly the kind of beer in the glass that I am looking for. It's a very noisy, rich pour with a creamy carbonation that leads to a reddish, mocha like foam on top of the body. The color of the body is a touch muddy, and lacks the absolute, crystal clear, garnet colored body that I would like, but it's not bad. Head is better looking than the body. Outside of that the beer performs quite well within...
Rocky Mountain IPA
Taco Mac, East West Connector, Austell, GA, USA. Over $5.00 for the 16 oz pour. VERY strong, astringent hop aroma that was reminiscent of of much hoppier beer. Almost double IPA like. Standard, mid amber pour with a nice head and some decent lace. The beer drinks much milder than the aroma would have you think. Pretty well balanced for an American IPA and drinkable with a solid backbone. I must admit that although this is a solid beer, quite how it can hope to win a serious part of the...
Doppelbock
Thanks go out to russpowell for this. WOW! I've had this one for a long time in the back of the DBF and I had very low expectations for it on a number of levels. Firstly I've had a couple of FC brews before and I was less than impressed. Secondly I've had this for quite a while and I thought that time would not have been all that kind to it. Thirdly, although I like the doppelbock style, there is a fine line between good and poor. So, I open this up not expecting much, and then... ...a nice...