12 oz single, Hop City, Atlanta, GA, USA. Lovely, beautifully carbonated, golden yellow pour with a pillow-like, fluffy head that gives some nice lace. The beer is very lively and adds a certain anticipation of the taste. Looks great. Light citrus nose but this all but disappears when the true nature of the style cuts in quickly with some severe bitterness. Clean though, so the marriage is a good one. Finishes crisp and somewhat dry but has a lingering malt "effect" at the far back end....
Notes on beers brewed by
Stoudts Brewing Co.
Stoudt’s Heifer-in-Wheat
12 oz single from Hop City, Atlanta, GA, USA a couple of weeks ago. Unfortunately this had best before 11/27/09 dot-matrixed on the neck, this is one that slipped through the cracks. Murky yellow pour with not much head, lace or retention. Nose has a really fruity, very lemony clove and banana note. Tastes very bright despite being a little past the Best By date and the fruit does not manifest itself quite as strongly as it did in the aroma. We get some more light acidity and some more banana...
Stoudt’s Blonde Double MaiBock
12oz single from Mac's Midtown, Atlanta, GA, USA. A little past its best before date, purchased as part of the $8.99 mixed sixer. Label different to the picture in the BA db. Aggressive pour leads to a nice formed, fluffy head with some really good lace. This sits on top of a golden body with excellent clarity. Carbonation is low, but perhaps a function of the beer being a little older than I would normally be drinking it. For some reason, the initial tastes remind me of a 1980's Whitbread...
Stoudts American Pale Ale
12oz single from Total Wine, Kennesaw, GA, USA. Mid orange pour, small but well retained head with some really nice lace. Carbonation is mild but persistent. Soapy hop tastes are there upfront and they linger. Citrus character of the hop is definitely there. Malts are there to support the package and they come through in a mild, creamy sweet finish. Simple in the style of many APA's but at the same time I would say tastier than many others I have had. This style can often be quite bland, but...
Stoudt’s Gold Lager
Pretty new addition to the Stoudt's line that makes it to GA. $4.25, 12oz bottle, Taco Mac, Marietta, GA, USA. Label is black, gold and white rather than the one in the db currently. This is the kind of beer I refer to as a craft standard. Absolutely nothing spectacular, but a solid example of the style and in some ways an excellent crossover beer for the BI's. Nice balance of malts and a little bittering hops. Looks like a macro (except for the deeper gold color and the better head and lace)...
Stoudt’s Scarlet Lady ESB
$4.25, 12 oz bottle, Wild Wing Cafe, Marietta, GA, USA. Love this beer. My favorite style, and this is a really nice American example form a super brewer. Pour gives a lovely clear, rich brown color and an impressive head. Biscuit malts run across the palate making the whole experience a silky smooth, delightful experience. Plenty of body holds the beer together and as it warms it reminds me of a classic English Bitter from back home. Very mild hop presence lends a surprising complexity to...
Stoudt’s Pils
An extraordinarily clear beer, the clarity and the pale golden color making it very Champagne like. Very lively carbonation with streams and streams of bubbles rising quickly to give a small but persistent bone-white head. Some watery lacing. That lovely, clean Pils hop aroma dominates and gets carried over to the taste. Absolutely simple, with the requisite bitter hop twang in the long, dry finish. Puckeringly dry bitterness gives a metallic mouthfeel that is perfect for the style. I'm not a...
Oktober Fest
Crystal clear, light copper colored pour with only a fleeting head and little or no lacing. Some mild hops and very, very mild spice in the nose. Mild flavor all around. Some light malts start the taste and then the shortest of stinging hops finish it. Sweet in the mouth, light and very easy drinking, this is a beer that is nice, but at the same time not really very characterful. Body is very average, almost seems diluted a bit. Stoudt's makes some wonderful beers, this isn't really one of...
Stoudt’s Triple (Belgian Abbey-Style Ale)
Orange/amber body with an ample head that fades quickly (high ABV causes this?) to leave some spotty, creamy film and a little lacing. Aroma is mainly spiced alcohol and some ripe bananas. Tastes reflect that mix, and this comes across as being pretty sweet. Alcohol is definitely there and upfront and the banana is very evident. Full and smooth in the mouth, the spice adding a little prickle. Some pepper notes too. Quite a long finish with the main attribute being the warming alcohol. Nice US...
Stoudt’s Fat Dog (Imperial Oatmeal Stout)
Updated November 2007 === Six pack purchased for $4.99 (yes, $4.99!) at Whitlock Package in Marietta, GA, USA. Bottled 03/14/07. Nose has more chocolate and alcohol than I remember. Still packs an alcohol punch, but in balance. Original review January 2005, Max's Fells Point, Baltimore, MD === A magnificent meal in a bottle! Delicious, big, thick head with a really chewy overall feeling. Amazing bready experience all the way through. There’s no doubt here that you are getting a serious beer....
Stoudt’s Double IPA (India Pale Ale)
Finally, a Double IPA that I really enjoyed. The pour is a butterscotch orange that is very murky. The bottle conditioning doesn't really help the appearance, and some very clumpy yeast came out of the bottle at the last minute and disappointingly settled in the head. The head itself was fantastic, tall, billowing and rocky. Really pillow like! The usual characteristics are present in the intial tastes and the aroma - that is, a big grapefruit! However, this beer was different to most of the...