22 oz bottle with the usual, Great Divide presentation. Red foil on this one. Dark copper, garnet colored body with good clarity and a small, off-white head. In the Chimay chalice the beer leaves some decent lace and a thin, creamy spotty head on the surface of the beer. The nose is where things get interesting to say the least. There is some sweetness that I was expecting, but there is also a dose of some hop character. The tastes are also pretty odd. There's a lot of sweetness, but not...
Notes on beers served in the format
bottle
Terrapin TomFoolery
22 oz bottle, $7.99, #14 in the Side Project series. I'm immediately put on the defensive by the idea of a 'Black Saison'; as a traditionalist and a person that really loves a great Saison this doesn't really fill me with a lot of inspiration or hope. Jet black body with a small, creamy head. Some nice lemony, citrus notes in the nose, and a simple replication in the tastes. Some nice, sharp orange peel and a few light spices and white pepper in there too. Very, very minimal roastiness (which...
Big Eddy Russian Imperial Stout
12 oz single from Hop City, Atlanta, GA, USA. Pour is a nice looking one, with all the requisite attributes for the style, plus some really nice alcohol legs. Head and lace are not amazing, but solid. Nose is pretty strong, but mainly in alcohol and little else. Usually that's not a good sign but this particular aroma sits OK with me. Very light in the mouth which adds to the drinkability. The beer is a collection of maltiness wrapped inside more alcohol. Obviously some roastiness but very...
Maduro Oatmeal Brown Ale
===Updated Review 04/11=== This bottle straight from the brewery thanks to Joey. 1000x better. No infection issues here. A lovely, deep brown color with some decent head and retention. Not much lace, but still looks nice. Decent depth on the color too with some nice red hues coming through. A nice, smooth nuttiness permeates the whole experience and leaves that lingering malty character that one really wants with a brown ale. Carbonation does feel a little prickly which detracts from a...
Infinium
Elaborate bottle that I acquired for the somewhat bargain basement price of $16.99. Delighted to get it for that kind of money since there seems to have been a very mixed reception for this beer. Poured into the champagne flute, the appearance lives up the style with a hazed, darker than one might expect, peachy, golden body and a hugely effervescent head. The nose offers a dry, acidic alcohol aroma that is promising. The tastes on the other hand are nowhere near as dry as I was expecting, and...
Ubu Ale
I had a few of these fro the first time back in the Summer of 2010, but this review is from a 12 oz bottle. Pour is a dark brown with blackish, red highlights and a resplendent, high, mocha colored frothy head. Head retention and lace are both very good. An extremely solid, malty nose suggests depth, and a lot of it. Tastes don't quite deliver what the nose suggested, but still give a hearty malt based beer with some alcohol and a decent dose of bitterness. A tiny amount of oxidized, sweet...
Série Signature Kellerbier
750 mL corked & caged bottle. Opens with a decent pop. Arbor Place Beverage, Douglasville, GA, USA. Hazy, butterscotch orange pour with a splendid head. The head is very ice-cream like, and threatens to be almost solid. Thick white density with retention to match. Great looking beer. Nose gives a characteristic musty, rye note which is carried into the taste. The tastes give quite a bitter, peppery note that lacks the charm or fruitiness of a beer like a Saison, or the sweetness of a Tripel,...
Lips Of Faith Dunkel Weiss
22 oz bottle, the usual Lips of Faith series presentation from Hop City, Atlanta, GA, USA. Pour gives a lovely black color (in poor light), but a more traditional brown based beer in better light. The head is tight, and mocha in color with a nice amount of retention and lace considering the ABV. The worry with the ABV of 9% is that the solvent alcohol may begin to take over the beer and rob it of its normal style characteristics. Fortunately it doesn't, and the beer delivers all of the...
Schell’s Bock
12 oz single, thanks go out to Kevin for the chance to try this one. Pour is a slightly reddish brown, with some good clarity, a smallish head that is not retained all that well and does not really give much lace. The nose and tastes combine to yield a very nice malty, alcohol flavor that is compact and fairly short without fuss. The beer is pretty light with a straightforward approach that delivers a bready finish and some simplicity and depth that is uncommon. Robust, perhaps a little nutty...
Berghoff Sundown Dark
12 oz single thanks go out to Kevin for the opportunity to try this beer. I do like the labeling and the presentation of the Berghoff beers, shame that's the best part of the beer. Color is a surprisingly dark body with a smallish head. Minimal retention, minimal lace. Carbonation seems better than average. Nose and tastes give a disappointingly watery feel. Some light malts but the beer is overall grainy and does not produce any significant taste. Ultimately it is a very sweet beer and it...
Jamaica Red Ale
12 oz bottle as a single from Hop City, Atlanta, GA, USA. Different label than the one in the BA db. A slightly hazed, mid-brown pour sits underneath an off-white medium sized head and produces some better than average lace. Nose dives up some dry hop notes. Tastes are in line for the style and combine a decent hop and malt balance with the requisite dry finish. Aftertaste lingers to give some more residual hoppiness which is appropriate. Some mild alcohol burn in the back end and finish. The...
Improvisación Oatmeal Rye India-style Brown Ale
Given to me as a gift from a well-known bar owner. Many thanks. 750 mL capped bottle. Not really sure what a Oatmeal, Rye, India Brown Ale is, but... Opening produces a HUGE gusher - not a trivial amount of beer lost, in fact around one third of the total contents are lost on the kitchen counter. Makes me think 'infection' or a best 'over-carbonated', we'll see. The pour gives a frankly UGLY, chocolate brown color to the body that looks like viscous med - totally opaque. The head is obviously...
Fat Squirrel Ale
12 oz single, thanks to Kevin for the chance to try this one. Always delighted to try a New Glarus beer, and this is no exception. Pour provides a body that is quite clear and has a reddish-copper pour with a somewhat small head. Not much retention or lace. Good malty nose, but unfortunately the nose does not really translate into much depth in the taste. Quite honestly, it tastes really quite weak. This is disappointing to me because if this were a really good example of an English Brown Ale...
Saranac Pomegranate Wheat
12 oz single, many thanks to Kevin for the chance to try this one. Pour gives a peach colored body with some light, wispy head. Lace is minimal but nevertheless it is present. Nose offers some light, acidic fruit but little else, even on warming. Tastes are surprisingly neutral. I was expecting EITHER a blast of fruit, or a blast of wheat and in the end got neither! There is a little, light fruit acidity that the nose promises but it never gets significant and the wheat never manifests itself...
Haywards 5000 Super Premium Beer
A Super-Premium beer no less! What could possibly go wrong?! Having spent a large portion of my first 35 years of life in Indian restaurants, I though that I had seen most of the Indian based adjunct lagers that one could be exposed to , but this was a new one on me. Went to an Atlanta curry house and sw it on the menu, but they were out. A few days later i picked up this gold foiled, 650 mL bottle at Total Wine, Perimeter, Atlanta, GA, USA for $2.49 (I think). There really is very little to...
White Beer
12 oz single courtesy of Kevin - many thanks. The beer pours with a requisite, hazy lemon pour with a somewhat disappointing head. Retention and lace are lackluster to be honest. The beer does contain all of the character that should be in a Wit, but it seems watery, light and without depth or presence. Slight touches or coriander, and orange peel but it simply isn't enough. The beer does come through with a little bit of citrus acidity, but the whole package is too light by far. Too...
Eastside Dark
12 oz single, no freshness date to be seen (notches missing from the label). Thanks go out to Kevin for the chance to drink this one. Pour is a surprisingly dark one, going beyond even the dark brown that was expecting and taking it to a new level with a close to black, stout like hue. Head is good, rocky and pitted, produces some nice lace with its retention. Smell has some malty goodness, and he beer in terms of the way it looks and smells is certainly promising. However... ...when we taste...
16th Anniversary Wood Aged
When this came out, rumor had it that this was exactly the same beer as the 15th anniversary. I have no idea about the validity of that statement, and it wound up in the BA db as a different beer anyway, so here goes. The bottle has silver foil on the 22 oz neck. An aggressive pour produces a slightly hazed, mid-orange body and gives a lovely, dense, creamy white head. Looks a little like a latte floating on top of the beer. Nose has a little soapiness (which I like), but it never gets strong....
Midnight Expression
22 oz bottle, $4.99 from Smyrna Beverage World, Smyrna, GA, USA. Black pour with an attractive, pitted, mocha colored head that is light and bubbly. Looks nice. Nice is a somewhat neutral malty sweetness, even when warmed slightly. The initial taste blast is a little unexpected and seems quite bitter and hoppy. I wasn't expecting this a all considering the style and it is really noticeable. I didn't like that jolt very much, but on the plus side as soon as it came, it faded and the middle and...
Saison Du BUFF
12 oz single from my Secret Santa 2010 - thanks to finewinemike. This is the third in the series for me, and I had pretty poor experiences with the Stone and Victory versions (the Victory was especially awful), so my hopes are low for this one. Having said that, this kind of things is something that DFH is likely to pull off better than the other two breweries involved so there is more hope. Nice golden pour, with some attractive cloudiness that is appropriate for the style. Impressive, fluffy...
Samuel Adams Latitude 48 IPA
12 oz single, Total Wine, Perimeter, Atlanta, GA, USA. Nice mid-copper pour with plenty of light carbonation and some decent, broken white, airy head. For an American IPA the nose is really quite malty. It reminds me a little of a Sam Oktoberfest. Quite a shock. Tastes are also strangely sweet and malt based with what comes across as a layering effect of bitterness from the hops. Middle, back end and finish combine to give quite a coinage metal effect and a short, sharp grapefruit ending. I...
Sierra Nevada Hoptimum
2011 vintage. The 24 oz large format bottle that SN seems to have favored for this type of release for sometime now. $9.99 from Smyrna World of Beverage, Smyrna, Atlanta, GA, USA. A very, very attractive looking beer. A beautiful golden, clear body with some significant white, frothy, sticky lace which is well retained considering the ABV, and is really pretty. Nose has some alcohol, but frankly not a huge amount of hop presence when considering the nature of the beast. The tastes are...
Oaked Butt Head Bock
12 oz single, Hop City, Atlanta, GA, USA. Pour is a muddy, Dubbel-like mid brown with a disappointing lack of clarity. Musty aroma with some blue cheese notes and a mild acidity - slight lactose aroma. Strange. Tastes reflect the nose and offer a weird combination of light acidity (unexpected) amongst the more predictable smoke/oak notes and the malty, alcohol strong, Doppelbock flavors. Not sure that there is any point in oaking a Doppelbock I think that there is precious little to be gained....
Sand Creek Golden Ale
12 oz single, thanks to Kevin for the chance to try this beer. Pour is a strange, hazed and cloudy pour with a butterscotch color. This is a sweet, grainy, musty beer which frankly is pretty unimpressive. Some notes of cardboard and a mixture of lemony sweetness come together to produce a beer that is a prickly, fizzy, bland and watery concoction. Not good, and I'm not sure what this is trying to be, but either way - no thanks.
Horizon Wheat
12 oz single bottle. Thanks to Kevin for the chance to try this. A nice, butterscotch colored, unfiltered look, Half decent head but not much lace. Nose is pretty light and gives up nothing more than a touch of citrus and perhaps some vegetal notes. The tastes are much better and deeper than the nose would suggest. Some citrus wheat, a little light bitterness and a decent fruity finish. Decent taste and a beer that would be interesting fresher and on tap. Delighted by the ABV as well.
Rumble IPA
12 oz single. Pour gives a copper colored clarity and a nice, full white head. Quite creamy looking. The appearance is without question the highlight here. Nose has a lot of soapy character and not much else. I like the soap note in the nose, but it does not really get carried forward into the tastes. The beer is quite bitter - with a metallic twang. I'm not sure that oaking an IPA is a wise move, and the combination seems to create a very, very bitter affair with all the bad aspects of...
The Angel’s Share – Brandy Barrel-Aged
375 mL bottle, corked and caged bottle from Mac's, Atlanta, GA, USA. $14 for the privilege. 11.5% on the label. It's flat. 100% flat. Was pretty positive that it would be even before I bought it, but it still needs to be recorded. The beer pours with a dark brown, mid-viscosity and obviously zero head, lace or retention. The nose and tastes give what amounts to be a glass of sherry. Lots of rum & raisin ice-cream notes, other dark fruits, brown sugar and light, evaporating alcohol. A few woody...
Wheat Monkey
12 oz bottle, many thanks go out to Kevin for the chance to try this. Pour is a pretty standard, requisite hazed yellow color that looks a tad watery. A few yeast sediment particles that ultimately dissolve to add to the murky, unfiltered nature. It is what it is, meaning it delivers a pretty average, very light, a tad watery body on top of diluted wheat notes in the nose and tastes. It's fine, it acts as a decent thirst quencher. Light grain notes in the aroma and a very, very mildly acidic...
Majestic Wheat Ale
Retro looking bottle (as per the BA db picture), thanks to Kevin for the chance to try this beer. Pour gives an alarming, quite dark orange color with a lot of dirty sediment and a large, billowing head. Lace is average, some stickiness. Nose gives a blast of acidity that I take as a good sign, thinking theat there may be some depth to the flavor - there isn't, or at least nowhere near as much as the appearance and the nose would suggest. Very ordinary in the mouth, the beer has a few wheat...
Terrapin Hoptaneous Combustion
$9.99 for the 22 oz, foiled and boxed bomber. Bottle #2002. Pour is a rather attractive golden color with some nice clarity. Head is tall, frothy and sticky. Retention is average, wish it was better to complete the visual package. Nose is a typical, fruity hop bomb with some alcohol and largely in line for the style. If this were a blind tasting I don't think I would pick up any smoke at all, but knowing that there is some present the beer does reveal a hint - no more, but enough to let me...
IPA
12 oz single, taken from notes, many thanks to Kevin for the opportunity to try this one. There IS a freshness "strip" on the side of the label, but as is sometimes the case, the notches are missing - frustrating. A hazy orange pour, a sticky white head but a few yeast particles/floaties that I could do without. When the particles settle at the bottom of the glass we see some medium carbonation. The head is nicely retained and the stickiness is always a good sign for a beer like this. Nose has...
Klisch Pilsner Beer
12 oz single, from notes, many thanks go out to Kevin for the chance to try this beer. Label is slightly different to the one in the BA db where the words Pilsner Beer have simply become "Pilsner". Notched as being bottle in Wk 1, May but no year given, assuming 2010. The pour yields a beer that has a pilsner color (perhaps it's a little more 'yellow'), but unfortunately it comes with a slight haze that substantially detracts from the clarity. Not really what I'm looking for here, and it...
Gratitude
Additional notes 07/31/22 A can, yes a can! Pictured. What has the world come to? All the romance of the paper-wrapped, and waxed original bottle is lost. Not sure what vintage this is, and even if the colored vintages still exist. Out of the can this is a thoroughly stunning looking beer, with some of the most amazing color of any beer, ever. However it remains staggeringly sweet to the point of distraction. Not an easy beer, and more than about 12 oz per year is going to be hard no matter...
Dragonslayer
22 oz bottle that I purchased in a Wegman's in Binghamton, NY, USA. Pour is exactly what one would expect; oily black body, with a thin, mocha film on the surface of the beer. The alcohol in the nose seems a little strong and it has me a bit concerned for the tastes. In reality it doesn't manifest itself quite as aggressively as the aroma would suggest, but it is still a prominent feature. At first I didn't think that this was going to be a very hoppy stout, but as the glass and bottle...
Duke Of Winship
12 oz single. The label suggests that this beer is a cross between a Scotch Ale and a Porter. I'm not sure what that means, but in the final analysis the beer drinks largely like an American Porter to me. "American" in the manner that the hops are higher than the original English version, and the beer has a less creamy texture and finishes drier. No Scotch Ale character for me. Dark brown pour with a few reddish highlights. Head is good and leaves some decent lace. Nose has some malts but is...
Kuhnhenn Fourth D
Original notes 01/12/11 2008 vintage. 12 oz bottle. Big thanks go out to finewinemike for the chance to try this as part of my Secret Santa 2010 box. Pour is a dark brown, muddy affair with a huge, well retained coffee colored, ice-cream styled foam that eventually falls away to give a light foam. Nose gives a fairly predictable sherry like note, but to be honest it comes with a little oxidative, mustiness that takes the edge of a little. The tastes do something similar. A sweet, very light...
Wizard’s Winter Ale
12 oz single. Murky. mid-brown/orange pour that creates some head but not much lace. Nose offers a malty fruit base that adds a little bitterness that is reminiscent of grapefruit, but to be honest it's not a grapefruit taste that one normally associates with a high hop profile. Similar things happen in the taste, where the slightly bitter grapefruit sits on the fruity end of the spectrum rather than the hop end of the scale. As the paragraphs above would suggest, the beer is really quite...
La Parcela
750 mL bottle, Batch 610 bottled 8-13-10. Label says 5.9%, not 6.0% ABV. Jolly Pumpkin is a frustrating brewery to me - more of that later. The pour produces a burnt orange hue with a small head that produces some nice, white lace. Looks good. The nose and tastes are well,...Jolly Pumpkin! Light acidity, strong apple notes, plenty of cider character and the light funk and mild Brett character. They meld quite nicely together and the beer offers a sharp, refreshing and slightly ethanoic acid...
ImPaled Ale
12 oz single thanks to Rob. Light , golden orange body with an initially, big rocky head that leaves some nice sticky lace. Slight haze/cloudiness. Nose and tastes are typically English in terms of the biscuity malts and the relatively restrained hop profile. I think that this is a slightly older bottle, so it may be that these attributes are a function of some time, and earlier on this beer was more "American" in its feel. Light metal in the finish, but this adds to the clean feel associated...
Firestone 13 – Anniversary Ale
Notes added 03/06/2022 I think this is now 12 years old, possibly a little more. I was inspired to crack it on the basis of just ordering the 25th Anniversary Ale from FW. I still have a XII and an Eleven left to crack. They’ll be opened very soon. From a distance a jet black body but with plenty of red-brown highlights at the edges when the light hits it just so. When the glass is tipped way back, and the volume of beer is reduced significantly, the body is almost completely dark scarlet red....
Steelhead Double India Pale Ale
12 oz single from Hop City, Atlanta, GA, USA. Pour is a rich, clouded, honey orange hue with an inordinate number of yest floaties. The combination of the color, floaties and general muddy appearance does nothing for the beer and frankly makes it appear somewhat "soup-like". This is not a good sign in my book. Head is strong though, and leaves lots of sticky lace. Nose and tastes both give similarly muddled impressions. Hop bitterness and edge is lacking, and it is replaced by a large,...
Bar Harbor Blueberry Ale
12 oz single, courtesy of Kevin - thanks mate. A clouded, "orangey", copper colored pour with some scant white head but a lack of much presence or lace. A somewhat attractive blueberry based fruit aroma comes off the beer, even when quite cold. This nose intensifies as the beer warms as the volatiles escape. Tastes are unfortunately less attractive than the nose would suggest, but in a surprising way. Sometimes, beers like this a criticized for their "imitation" fruit flavors but that's not...
Swallow Wit
12 oz single from my brother-in-law - cheers Rob. Not sure about this from the get-go. Is this a filtered Wit? Seems odd to say the least. The beer is golden with a small head but almost has zero cloudiness in the glass. Makes me feel odd, a bit like the disconnect between the appearance and taste that one finds in the American-style India Black Ales. Smell offers some light lemon and that peculiar sinus clearing carbonation that can sometimes exist in a beer. Lemon notes are less prominent in...
Schell’s Dark
12 oz bottle, many thanks Kevin. Interesting. I actually really like the presentation. The clear glass with the dark contents look appealing and interesting to me, and frankly whilst completely understanding and not disputing the chemistry, I feel that the number of problems with skunking are generally overblown a little. Anyway.... ...a solid, chocolate brown colored pour with some great looking clarity. Carbonation is OK, but I wish that it provided a better head and some increased...
Syracuse Pale Ale
12 oz single. I've always liked Middle Ages but they pulled out of GA a long time ago (at least I don't see their beer any longer in these parts), this bottle came from my brother-in-law in upstate NY - cheers Rob. Slightly hazed, orange gold body with a soapy looking, one finger head. Head is light and frothy in appearance. Lace is minimal. Carbonation seems a little low. Tastes are fairly straightforward grains with a hint of bitterness in the back end. Light soapy tastes compliment the...
Terrapin Sound Czech
#3 in the Georgia Theater series (although apparently this and #4 were seemingly essentially, simultaneously released), and as a pair they complete an extraordinarily large number of beers released by Terrapin in the last twelve months. 22 oz bottle with the usual presentation of the gold foil and the fancy box. $10.99 for the privilege. Crystal clear, light golden clarity with an impressive, rocky, pillow-like head, great carbonation and some super lace. Very good looking indeed. A really...
Geary’s Hampshire Special Ale
12 oz bottle courtesy of finewinemike as part of my 2010 Secret Santa package. This beer was on my Wants list for a long time, and I must admit I'm a bit confused by that - I *think* that's because BA used to have this categorized as an ESB, and a such I was interested in in. I have the feeling that this haas been re-categorized iin the BA db. A very hazy, mid-orange pour that yields some frothy, "dirty" head and comes with some yeast sediment from the bottle. Some sticky lace. Very strong...
Rogue 21
Bought this several months ago, at Hop City, Atlanta, GA and paid the slightly absurd price of approx. $20! The bottle is pretty extravagant, even by ridiculous Rogue standards. My guess is that the price is why there are only 15 reviews before mine, despite the fact that this beer has been out for a LONG time. The beer pours with a mid-brown, clouded body and a healthy, light tan head. Some decent lace considering the ABV. The nose is not especially strong, even on warming. It reveals a...
3 French Hens
Notes added, 10/17/21 (This is pictured) It is SO gratifying when a beer drinks like this after cellaring. Carbonation is great (always the first worry), and the pour is so good as a result. 10+ years has mellowed out the oak here tremendously, and the depth of flavor is absolutely intense and immense. Smooth, beautifully balanced, drinkability off the chart, and a beer to remember in a way that it wasn't 10 years ago. The bottle conditioning has saved the carbonation here. Subtle, fruit...
River Horse Belgian Freeze Belgian Style Winter Ale
12 oz single, thanks go out to finewinemike as part of my Secret Santa 2010. Pour is a murky brown, Dubbel like affair with some decent head and some fairly significant lace. In that respect, pretty nice to look at. Some Belgian yeast notes in the nose and tastes, but also a fair amount of hop character that I wasn't really expecting. The hops, although fairly muted and reserved, still sing out too much for the style for me, and frankly don't belong there, even in the relatively muted manner...
Bolita Brown Double Nut Brown Ale
750 mL from Broudy's Liquors in St. Augustine. $8.99 for the capped, dimple-bottomed, thick brown glass bottle. Now under the name, "Bolita Double Brown Ale" (the "nut" part of the name is missing from this bottle). Impressive, dark chestnut brown color with a really creamy, espresso type head that has nice retention and some very creamy, coating lace. Looks like the proverbial dark chocolate milkshake. Plenty of malty, bready alcohol in the nose. Creamy mouthfeel with a hint of acidity and...
The Red MacGregor
500 mL bottle courtesy of finewinemike as part of the 2010 Secret Santa. Delighted to get a beer with a sensible ABV for achange, and to be honest this is becoming a rarer and rarer treat. Shame. Beer pours a fantastic red/tawny port color with a modest head and some sticky lace. With a better head, the beer would be close to perfect in appearance, but out of the bottle a t leas it does not quite deliver. (On draught, I think it may look a bit better). I was expecting a typical, malty...
Allagash 10th Anniversary Ale
750 mL bottle courtesy of finewinemike in my 2010 Secret Santa package - many thanks Mike. Obviously this beer is quite old, and probably at an age way beyond what the brewer originally intended so the review should be viewed in that context. Corked & Caged affair that opens with a pretty small pop and a touch of gun smoke. The pour is a fairly bright orange color, with a still body an a disappointing lack of carbonation/head/lace. I suppose that given the age of the beer that the carbonation...
Jubel 2010
22 oz, black waxed affair (as Abyss). Pour is a superb looking, garnet color with some tremendous clarity. Head is small, leaves little lace but is a pleasing tea hue. Attractive. Nose has a rich, sugary, molasses light liquor note that is replicated in the taste t a n extent, but the beer feels a little thinner than the nose suggests. The tastes offer a touch more alcohol than the nose, plus some mild hop character. This beer reminds me a lot of Fuller's Vintage Ale, except it seems to have a...
Fraoch 20th Anniversary Ale
Many thanks go out to my Secret Santa for 2010, finewinemike for the chance to try this beer. This beer has been on my Wants list for quite some time, and having passed on it at least once in the store, I wondered if I would get the chance - many thanks, Mike. Bottled in July of 2009, this is described as being best before 2019. Expensive looking in as much as the beer comes with a heavy gold foil, a neck label stating that this is bottle #1971 out of 7800 all in a heavy, green glass, 750 mL...
Double Dread Imperial Red Ale
12 oz single from Hop City, Atlanta, GA, USA. Gusher from the bottle that leads to an ugly pour. Murky reddish brown with large specks of yeast floaties in huge quantities. This beer is obviously struggling through either an excess of bottle-conditioning, the lack of filtration or some other final stage issues. Given the amount of foam that gushes from the bottle, the head and lace a woefully disappointing. Nose and tastes give an overly aggressive bitter, hop note that tastes like an American...
Chief BlackHawk Porter
12 oz bottle, usual stubbie presentation from Tyranena, thanks go out to Kevin for a chance to crack this one. Surprisingly black pour with little or no brown elements that one often sees with porters. Head and lace are frankly both a little disappointing even if they are a nice mocha color. The nose reveals a touch of coffee but not any bitterness or hop character to speak of. I like my porters, mild, smooth and creamy and although Blackhawk hits to some degree on each of these attributes,...
Gordon Biersch Winter Bock
I think that in general, GB beers receive less than a fair shake, and I find many of their German based lagers tasty, brewed close to style and generally worthy. 12 oz single from Total Wine at Perimeter, Atlanta, GA, USA. A great depth of garnet color on the pour, coupled with super clarity and a decent head, the beer looks really nice in the glass. Nose gives some really good, alcohol soaked malts with a brief promise of some toasty warmth. The beer delivers a taste that is a bit drier and...
Stone Tepee Pale Ale
12 oz bottle, usual stubbie presentation from Tyranena, thanks go out to Kevin for a chance to crack this one. Honey orange color on the pour with a pleasing white head. The beer is capped with a frothy layer of thick bubbles and the head provides some nice, inviting lace. Nose seems very weak and has me worried. It seems as though this beer has potential to be extremely light on flavor if the nose ids anything to go by. I need not have worried. The tastes provide a really quite aggressive,...
Rocky’s Revenge Bourbon Brown
12 oz bottle, usual stubbie presentation from Tyranena, thanks go out to Kevin for a chance to crack this one. Fairly innocuous looking, mid-brown pour with some creamy head but not much lace. Nose and taste reveal quite a lot of the bourbon character, in fact a bit more than I was expecting. I'm not a huge fan of bourbon aged beers, but an American Brown Ale does at least seem like a sensible place to put such a thing, and this works fairly well. The bourbon notes are not exactly strong, but...
Lips Of Faith Vrienden (Allagash Collaboration)
22 oz bottle in the usual Lips of Faith presentation. Pour is a good looking, light, bright copper hue with some sticky, complex lace. Head is small and leaves just a ring around the extremities of the beer. Clarity is excellent, carbonation medium. Essentially, if you've ever had an English, west country cider you will have had an experience mightily similar to this. Nose and tastes reveal some fairly straightforward and simple light apple and cherry acidity that offer a pretty gentle...
Minhas Swiss Style Amber
12 oz single, mnay thanks go out to Kevin for the chance to try this beer. Not sure what a "Swiss Amber" really is, but I'll try anything once! Pour is a light, orange, maber body with below average head and lace. Nothing much to report. The beer is essentially a Vienna Lager in terms of the way it drinks. Sweet, malty, pretty much no hop character and a watery mouthfeel. The dry element is just about the only way that it resembles the style, and if you are looking for any type of significant...
Namaste
Many thanks go out to finewinemike for a chance to try this beer. Came as part of my Secret Santa for 2010. I guess that this is a somewhat atypical Dogfish Head beer in as much as it is somewhat typical for the style! Nothing really very outlandish here at all, all quite "normal". A honey body sits underneath a tight, fine, dense white head. Nice lace. The nose and tastes are very floral with the emphasis on the lemongrass rather than the orange peel or coriander. The body and mouthfeel are...
Terrapin Big Daddy Vlady’s Russian Imperial Stout
22 oz bottle in the usual Side Project presentation, this is #13. $7.49 for the bottle. The latest in the deluge of beer that is coming out of Terrapin these days (with mixed results I might add). Standard jet black pour with a smallish head. There is a distinct lack of body. The beer really is quite thin. The beer pulls together an odd combination of attributes. It's quite sweet but it brings a terribly unrelenting solvent alcohol presence. The roasty sweetness that IS there and threatens to...
Frosted Frog Christmas Ale
22 oz bottle from Hop City, Atlanta, GA, USA. The pour is a very attractive garnet colored pour with a smallish head that eventually forms a light, mocha colored spotty film on the surface of the beer. No lace to speak of. The nose delivers a HUGE blast of cinnamon. Not subtle, not restrained and a little off-putting. The tastes follow suit with some large cardamon, cinnamon and ginger elements all present. Underneath it all there are some caramel malts, but the spices are extremely dominant...
Pipers Scotch-Style Ale
12 oz, single stubbie in the usual, Sprecher presentation. Beer courtesy of Kevin - many thanks. Pour provides a reddish, brown hue with some really nice head and lace. The head is pretty thick and produces a lot of sticky residue. Nose and tastes deliver a LOT of peat! A very smoky experience indeed, and not one that I was expecting. Having said that it does grow on me as I consume the beer, but it's a bit of a shock at first. I would call it bracing! Obviously amongst the smoke and peat is a...
Lukcy Basartd Ale
22 oz bottle from Hop City, Atlanta, GA, USA. Magnificent clarity on the garnet pour with a head that is initially good but fades quite quickly. A little lace. The color is very attractive. There's a big, 'ole piney West Coast nose upfront with this one. Quite herbal too. Tastes are largely as expected with drying hops, aggressive bitterness and some hot alcohol, but this beer lacks the richness and complete, malt intensity that the other Bastards do. It feels like Arrogant Lite, and the...
LongShot Old Ben Ale
12 oz single from the Longshot pack. A nice looking pour that gives a simple, brown, clear beer with some pretty good carbonation considering the ABV. Head and lace are both adequate and better than I anticipated. This beer is nowhere near as intense as I was expecting, which may be due to the age of the beer. It has probably calmed down a bit since it was first bottled. Nose and tastes are pretty straightforward. Light alcohol amongst the sweet sugars (brown) and some simple raisin like...
Slammer Wheat
22 oz bottle from Hop City, GA, USA. Nice presentation, I like the artwork, and having been to the brewery it certain is in keeping with the branding that they are looking for. I first tasted this beer way back in February or march of this year when I visited the brewery. I thoroughly enjoyed it then, so i was delighted to see that the bottles had finally made it out a couple of weeks ago - good stuff. A honey colored, orange pour with nice cloudiness, a decent yeast sediment that makes its...
Santa’s Swallie
500 mL bottle from Hop City, Atlanta, GA, USA. Pour delivers a classic, English Pale Ale appearance with a slightly clouded, light amber hue with a spotty head that produces some nice retention and some sticky lace. All is well with the appearance. Nose offers some lovely malt notes that have depth, plus a pronounced, buttery, toasty aroma. Nice. Tastes reflect the nose and also bring a slight, light-rum character. NOT boozy, but it does have some raisin and bready notes. Short finish which is...
Moa Noir
Hazy, reddish-brown pour with a small one finger head and very little lace or retention. Nose and tastes are simple and slightly nutty. In that respect the first impression of this beer are much more in the brown ale area of things rather than as a dark lager. As things progress (warm), the beer does take on some cleaner and more bitter edges and the malt sweetness fades somewhat. There is no doubt that there is a degree of bakers chocolate in the tastes in addition to a touch of cocoa. A...
Panic Attack
12 oz single, Hop City, Atlanta, GA, USA. When a beer has the generic words, "Belgian Style Ale" on the label it makes me nervous. When it's from the Holy Mackerel stable as well, it makes me even more wary, and to be honest I do not have high hopes for this beer before I open it. A copper hue with a decent amount of lace and some creamy head that sits on top of the brew, Firstly this is NOT, by any stretch of the imagination a beer that should be categorized as a Belgian Strong Dark. It fails...
FireBrick
12 oz bottle, thanks go out to Kevin for the chance to try this. A mid-amber, cloudy pour with a thin head that produces some attractive if somewhat thin lace. The lace is a little watery, but is quite intricate. Bready, malt based combo of nose and tastes lead one into a fairly authentic Vienna lager taste. Pretty light in the mouth which may seem like a good thing, but to be honest it feels a bit thin and watery. More bread and sweetness in the back end and finish. Carbonation is pretty...
Lips Of Faith Sahti
22 oz bottle. Pour is a very, very good looking golden orange body with a wispy, thinnish head. Not much retention, some lace. Nose has plenty of sweet malts and perhaps a whiff of solvent like alcohol. Not very well defined as far as I could make out. Tastes are built around that of a malty, relatively high gravity lager with some lemongrass notes. There is little or no juniper character, and the beer reminds me a bit of a watery Maibock. It really doesn't have a lot of body but in one way...
Fade To Black Volume 1 – Foreign Export Stout
12 oz single. Been holding on to this one since the original release. Time to have a crack at it now. Pour is an impressive jet black body with a tight head of very fine bubbles. Nice looking head and decent retention and lace. Nose releases some bready malts and not a lot else. Tastes release some very light alcohol notes amongst the very lightly charred, dark chocolate. A little bitterness that is the source of the slightly dry character. The dryness doesn't really ever get very high, which...
Founders Nemesis 2010
12 oz single from Hop City, Atlanta, GA, USA. Meh, when beer gets like this for me it essentially ceases to become beer and turns into an experience that is simply too much like hard work. You have to really work at this beer to appreciate it and drink it, and for me that begins to detract from the point of "having a beer". It's a VERY high octane product no matter how one looks at it, and a beer like this could ONLY be brewed in America, or least by a brewer with a colossal American...
Maple Oat Ale
12 oz single from Hop City a few weeks ago. Pour is a hazy, honey colored amber with a fluffy white head and some persistent lace. Aroma is pretty sweet with plenty of maple syrup notes, some more honey and brown sugar. All of these aroma characters come together in the taste to produce a real, sugar sweet, malt bomb. Finish offers a little hop bite, but it's generally lost amongst the sweetness. Aftertaste lingers a little. Mouthfeel is pretty rich and reflects the sugar nature of the beer....
Marshal Zhukov’s Imperial Stout
750 mL bottle from Total Wine in Jacksonville, FL. OK, small hiss/fizz as the cap is prized off, in a moment you'll see why that detail is relevant. Pour gives a rich looking, thick, jet-black body with a few very dark brown highlights at the edges. The beer leaves some very impressive, tobacco colored film/oil on the inside of the glass like alcohol legs that cover the whole surface of the vessel. Impressive. ZERO head. ZERO lace. Nose gives a really sweet, alcohol based aroma with some...
Totally Naked
12 oz single, many thanks go out to Kevin for the chance to try this beer. Pour is a well carbonated, totally clear light straw color with a huge, fluffy and sticky head. Lace is pretty good too. Color is a little light, but otherwise looks pretty good. Nice carbonation leads to a lively mouthfeel. Nose is a little corny and vegetal to be honest, and does not inspire much confidence. The tastes are citrusy. Some lemongrass but it is quite watery. The back-end and finish are very short, but it...
Great Lakes The Wright Pils
12 oz single - many thanks go out to Micah for the chance to crack this one. Only from the brewery? Not sure, but that's what I remember hearing. Typical Pils appearance with a light golden body and a wispy head. the head lacks much presence for me. The nose and tastes are in the right ballpark, but a re a little too sweet for my liking when I consider the style. I like my Pils to have a really strong Noble/Saaz bite especially in the finish, and although this beer delivers some of that, it...
Rum Cask Oak Aged Beer
11.2 oz single from Hop City, Atlanta, GA, USA. recently in four packs in Atlanta. Clear bottle presentation with the blue accents makes a very attractive proposition. The color of this beer is truly a sight to behold. Beautiful clarity on the pour and a copper/red/burgandy body sits underneath a white head. Some lace and a fine film forms on the surface of the shimmering body. Nose is surprisingly muted to be honest. Even on warming the liquor aspect is not strong to me (although it is...
Harpoon Leviathan – Triticus
12 oz bottle , courtesy of shogokawada. Pour is a very rich looking, black color but does not have too much viscosity. Thin, creamy film forms on the surface of the beer. Initial tastes give some nice chocolate malts and a healthy does of booze. These are the main competing/complementing factors. As the beer warms we get more and more liquor and sherry notes and the brew really starts to come into its own. As expected the nose starts to develop with warmth, too; a malt bomb laced with somewhat...
Trader Joe’s 2010 Vintage Ale
A release that I look forward to every year for two reasons; the value associated with this beer is generally exceptional, and Unibroue is simply a brewer that rarely misses when it plays in its own, Canadian inspired, "Belgian" ballpark. Corked & Caged 750 mL in the usual Unibroue style bottle, with a blue "U" on top of the cap that is reassuring. Best Before date on the rear of the bottle, 09-10-2013. J221 01 953Q dot-matrixed on the shoulder of the bottle at the side. A very dark brown body...
Hedgerow Bitter
22 oz bottle, thanks go out to Shogokawada for the chance to try this. Bottled Aug 2010, 1st Batch. Pour is a pretty light amber color with plenty of orange color. Quite hazed. A little head, a tiny bit of lace but not much retention. It looks a bit muddy. The nose does not give way to any hop character, rather it gives a simple, malt sweetness and not a great deal more. The tastes are intensely bitter in several areas. The front end is not too intense, but the middle, back end and finish are...
Monstre Rouge
*SHRUG* I have literally no idea what is going on here. If the attempt was to make a Flanders Red then this is a complete failure. If they wanted to produce a slightly watered down version of a DIPA, then success! $14.99 (at least), in some locations even more expensive, for the 750 mL (plastic) corked and caged bottle. Cork is very difficult to remove. Beer pours an ugly, murky brown that looks like tea. Head is initially good, but fades very quickly to give a thin white film on the top of...
Long John Ale
12 oz single from Hop City, Atlanta, GA, USA. Word on the street is that this is essentially the same beer as this; http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/864/46125 but the beer has been "tweaked" a little in terms of the recipe, and (obviously) it has been re-branded as part of Red Brick's image overhaul. The pour gives a nice, mahogany body with some light chill haze. The head is tan and light and bubbly. Retention and lace are below average. WOW! The nose and tastes are ENORMOUS bubble-gum...
Mountain Lager
12 oz single, thanks to Micah for the chance to try this one. No freshness date that I can see. Nice golden clarity on the pour and a pretty high head. Head fades to leave a small collar and a little lace. Attractive. Very strong (surprisingly so) sweet malt aroma builds from the moment it is opened. The sweetness carries into the tastes with some light hay, a bit of wet grassiness about it and a small whiff of organic notes. Appropriate, gentle carbonation. there is quite a lot of grain based...
Frambozen Raspberry Brown Ale
12 oz bottle in the usual New Belgium presentation. 20FEB11 is dot-matrixed on the label. New Belgium has been in the GA market for sometime, but this beer is a relatively new entry. Single from Hop City, Atlanta, GA, USA. Pour is a really attractive, dark copper brown with great clarity and a spectacular abundance of bright read highlights. Really great color. Head is initially large but fades quickly to give a little lace and some thin film across the surface of the beer. Nose offers some...
Kasteel Cuvée Du Chateau
Updated notes 10/31/21 This is the bottled pictured. Best Before 24/11/2025. Just about 11 years since I made the original notes below. I’ve drunk this beer a few times in between, but without additional notes. Pour looks more black, and the head and retention are both better than the original notes. Again, not quite as sweet as one might think, and it does maintain that burned, almost licorice element. In fact, the licorice notes are strong here. Smooth, still very drinkable, the beer warms...
Legend
$9.68 from Euro Street Market in Jacksonville Beach, FL. The red wax on the bottle is extremely thick and a big pain in the ass to get through. 2009 vintage with the date embossed in the wax as per a seal. The pour is pretty much un-carbonated and yields a murky, dirty brown body. Not attractive and little or no head. Nose has an enormous amount of oak and associated liquor notes. Very good aroma. Tastes reflect the nose and there are a lot of residual sugars, sherry notes and some warming...
Our Special Ale 2010 (Anchor Christmas Ale)
12 oz single from my annual sixer. Usual presentation The usual, dark walnut brown pour with plenty of quite rich looking head. Some good looking lace as usual and the beer looks its usual, rich color. All of the expected and normal herbal, lightly spiced notes with the emphasis on some more bitterness than in the past. Some really light licorice but a beer that seems to have less influence on the fruity side of things. A little bit of sweet and sour on the back end. Mouthfeel does not seem...
30th Anniversary – Grand Cru
750 mL with a tight cork and cage. BIG pop on opening - take care! The beer really does look magnificent in the DFH signature glass. There is a deep, garnet color with some super clarity, and a remarkable, high head with good lace. The head is both creamy and rocky and has an of-white color that is truly impressive. OK, I have to admit that I was hoping that this was going to be a Belgian Dark of some description (given the Grand Cru moniker), but of course there is no reason why that should...
Til Fra (To From)
Opening this today (11/14/10) to commemorate week #300 of NBS. This is a bottle that I received as part of my 2007 Secret Santa package from BA nlmartin over three years ago. Seems like a good moment, occasion and decision to crack this one now. Price tag says it came from "Dilly Deli". 750 mL bottle with gold foil on the neck, a plastic "cork" and cage. Small pop on opening. Undated as far as I can see, but as I say this was given to me in 2007. Jet black body with a few reddish-brown...
Jai Alai Cedar Aged IPA – Humidor Series
750 mL capped bottle from a recent Jacksonville visit. Bottle label has the large "H" on the front as per a (newer) design than in the BA db picture. Pour is a hazy, clouded light orange with a lovely, thick and creamy head. The creamy nature of the beer carries forward to the mouthfeel which is quite rich. This is one interesting beer with a LOT of white pepper and herbal notes. It's really quite medicinal amongst the strong hop base, and the beer comes together quite well. The light aniseed...
He’Brew Jewbelation Fourteen
22 oz bottle, Hop City, Atlanta, GA, USA. In general I'm a massive fan of the malt-based beers that Shmaltz has been putting out in the series, and Jewbelation has been a constant source of delight for me. As a result I was excited to pick this up and to try it. Off the top this is not your typical American Barleywine, so don't expect a hoppy concoction in the bottle - that just wouldn't be a Shmaltz beer! The pour is basically a jet black pour with a HUGE, bubbly, mocha head. Really massive....
Sweetwater Dank Tank Border Hopper
22 oz bottle, usual Dank Tank presentation. The usual nonsense written on the bottle (pointless) and this one comes with a similar (if not identical) green color as Wet Dream. Very attractive clarity on the mid-orange body. Good lace, nice retention and some sticky lace. Nose and taste are pretty restrained for a beer of this style. there is a lot of sweetness amongst a few typical resinous, west coast notes. The sweetness remains the dominating factor amid the clean cleans. The beer is...
Sea Bass
750 mL capped bottle, part of a recent booty haul from Jacksonville, FL. Pour is a dark, dank looking reddish brown with some rocky, impressive looking head. LOTS of sticky lace too, a nice looking beer. Aromas and tastes match very well. There is a VERY strong vinegar element to this beer that pushes the very boundaries of the style, and not really in a good way for me. The ethanoic acid notes are dominant, and although they diffuse over the course of the bottle, they are without question the...
My Antonia
750 mL bottle, capped. From Total Wine in Jacksonville, FL, USA. Typical pour into the DFH signature glass. Great looking golden pour with a large head head which is fluffy, dense and produces a lot of sticky lace. Lovely, whipped topping effect from the lace. Very thick. Nose gives a little white pepper but also some bitter, herbal notes. Some hops in the nose. Some sinus clearing menthol. Tastes are very interesting. Lots of Pilsner malts, but also plenty of herbal bitterness from the...
Berghoff Winter Ale
This beer appears to be now called simply "Berghoff Winter Ale". 12 oz single, thanks go out to Kevin for the chance to try this. Pour is a very attractive, dark maroon color with a decent head and some nice lace. There is excellent clarity on the pour, and to be honest the beer looks really nice and inviting in the glass. Nose is somewhat muted, and gives very little even on warming. A little bit of alcohol and perhaps a buttered toast whiff. Tastes are fairly neutral but revolve around light...
Gouden Carolus Easter Beer
Pictured 03/09/2014: Original notes 11/05/2010: 750 mL corked & caged bottle. MASSIVE thanks go out to Steve for the opportunity to finally get my hands on this beer. I've been trying to get hold of it since I came to the US, and until very, very recently it was generally "not" available here. Despite several trade attempts I never managed to get one until Steve just simply gave me one! That's an amazing piece of advocacy that I will always remember. Color is frankly a not particularly...
Thomas Creek Up The Creek
12 oz single from Hop City, Atlanta, GA, USA. This bottle has been in the cellar for several months. I have had a few really NASTY experiences with Thomas Creek, so I approach this beer with a little trepidation to say the least. However, several people have told me that their experiences have been similar, but Up the Creek made them think again. Off the top, the beer contradicts its "Extreme IPA" moniker in many ways (see below), so if you are looking for a classic, American DIPA look...
Sweetwater Crank Tank Rye’d Ale
Had this a few times in the last few weeks, this review is for the final 22 oz bottle that I will drink. Pour is a rich looking, clear orange with some good carbonation and head and lace to match. The lace is pretty sticky. Looks solid in the glass and almost has the look of a fine Belgian Tripel. The nose delivers the typical spicy rye notes but it is pretty restrained and much less intense than many others that use the grain. The tastes reflect the nose and its light touch as well. The beer...
Hofbräu Maibock (Urbock)
12 oz single from Grassroots, Jacksonville, FL, USA. Quite a surprising orange color on the pour with very little head. The beer produces a very light film on the surface of the beer and no lace. It looks a little flat, but actually isn't once one tastes it. Extremely malty and musty nose. Lots of organic hay and and some degree of mustiness as well. The nose goes into the taste with a yeast based acidity being quite strong. Fruit notes peek through somewhat, but this a German based malt bomb...
Terrapin Moo-Hoo Chocolate Milk Stout
12 oz bottle as part of a sixer from Hop City, Atlanta, GA, USA. Extraordinary hype has surrounded this beer in the last few weeks, and to be honest I even got a little caught up in it myself. I dislike it when that happens, but of course this is not one of those ultra-limited, one day only release affairs that I had to camp out overnight for (I'd never do that), so at least my dignity remained in tact. Anyway, on to the beer. Into the DFH signature glass it goes. Some slightly lighter hues at...
Headless Man Amber Alt
12 oz stubbie as per the usual Tyranena presentation. Many thanks go out to Kevin for the chance to try this beer. Murky brown pour that lacks clarity but does produce a nice head and some significant, sticky lace. Nose and tastes are very yeasty (as one would expect) and the German tasting malts come through really strong. The persistent yeast and malt tastes re the backbone of this beer and are the fundamental aspects that one would expect in the style. Plenty of toffee and caramel notes as...
Guava Grove Saison
750 mL capped bottled. Pour is a seriously hazed, butterscotch orange color with a persistent, thin film that sits atop the beer with some scant but pleasing lace. The nose has quite a lot of ethanoic acid and is sinus clearing. The tastes are very acidic - at least at first. It is difficult to know where this is coming from. Is it the Guava? Is it some kind of Brett infusion? Is it just a function of a farmhouse/Saison brew? The longer the beer drinks, it seems more likely that the fruit is...
Estate Homegrown Wet Hop Ale
VERY robust bottle with annoying wax over the cap. Quite an effort to get into it. $9.99 for the bottle, NOT good value. Nice light amber pour with a smallish head but it does produce a little lace. Plenty of citrus, slightly onion-based aromas. Tastes are clean, obviously nicely hopped and straightforward but ultimately forgettable. Well balanced and refreshing, but in the end it's simply just another hop-forward Sierra Nevada beer and not much else. In that respect it seems a bit pointless...
Hofbräu Oktoberfestbier
This is an EXTREMELY odd beer. 12 oz single from Grassroots, Jacksonville, FL, USA. Pour is a somewhat alarming, yellow color that has plenty of macro notes about it but perhaps more importantly does not have the slightly darker, more orangey amber color that I was expecting. Head and lace are minimal. The surprises continue through the nose and the tastes where there is an odd combination of Heineken-like skunk, Pilsner malts and a Saaz/Noble bitter ending. VERY peculiar indeed. The beer does...
A Little Sumpin’ Sumpin’ Ale
12 oz stubbie bottle. Good, golden clarity on the pour with an impressive amount of head and some nice sticky lace (just like that you would expect from a West Coast IPA - read on!). Nose and tastes are ALL light grapefruit with a fairly seriously dry finish which puts this beer firmly in the American DIPA/IPA category in terms of its tastes. There is a faint fruit aftertaste and the wheat lingers a little in the background, but it is very faint and without knowing that this was supposed to be...
Chatoe Rogue First Growth Creek Ale
Without question my favorite of all of the First Growth Series so far. 22 oz bottle from Hop City, Atlanta, GA, the usual First Growth presentation. Not an especially attractive pour that generates a murky, reddish brown body, a nice, thick, creamy head but a carbonation that at first seems a little on the high side. After it all settles down it does produce a creamy feel and a less prickly mouthfeel than I first thought it might. Nose and tastes give some gentle tartness and a really fruity...
Terrapin So Fresh & So Green Green
22 oz bottle. Gold foil on the neck as per other Terrapin offerings. Perfect golden clarity on the pour with some nice carbonation. Head and lace are a touch disappointing for me. Nose and tastes are typical for the style, at least until the back end and the finish. The finish adds some fusel alcohol to the mix that I don't care for and sits especially badly in the style. Plenty of organic hop notes with serious sinus clearing capabilities, but the finish on the beer is quite boozy and beyond...
Spotted Cow
12 oz single, large thanks go out to Kevin for this one. Golden, slightly hazed body with a nicely formed tight head. Retention and lace don't add up to much but there is some froth left on the inside of the glass. Nose doesn't have much more than some simple, sweet grains. Tastes are really pleasing. Sweet malts up front with a light, but lively carbonation. Very smooth and silky in the mouth. A very "soft" beer.The finishes adds a touch of bitterness and more sweet, light fruitiness. Tiny...
The Oracle
12 oz single from Hop City, Atlanta, GA, USA. 9901 dot-matrixed at the bottom of the rear label. Typical of the style, there is a clouded, hazy orange body with a very sticky collection of head and lace at the top of the glass. Carbonation is pretty high for the type of beer we are dealing with here. The nose is very strong, with a nice, citrusy based hop smell. However, this is NOT a West Coast, resiny aroma, it's a little gentler than that, The tastes reflect a lot of sugary, sweet light...
Bourgogne Des Flandres Brune / Bruin
The is is definitely better categorized as an Oud Bruin (rather than the current Belgian Dark - change requested as of 10/15/10) and I have reviewed it with that in mind. Pours as one would expect for a Bruin into the the Val-Dieu chalice. Minimal head that is provoked only by an aggressive pour and a brownish red body with quite a high carbonation. All of the attributes for an Oud Bruin are there; sweet & sour notes with the emphasis on sweet, a light mouthfeel and gentle carbonation a few...
Original Munchner Hochzeitsbier Von 1810
500 mL bottle from Hop City Atlanta, GA USA, The beer pours with an amber hue, but it has a slight chill haze. Nice, simple white head. A little retention but not much lace. Nose and tastes release a very strong malt base and a creamy mouthfeel. Plenty of light pineapple notes amongst the malt followed by a really quite dry, lightly hopped ending. There are some esters present but it's not what one would call "fruity", nevertheless some banana notes around the malty bread notes that dominate....
Stone 10.10.10 Vertical Epic Ale
=== Updated Review 03/11 === Curious to see what this has done in a few months. Definitely more Belgian yeast character for me, and the grape elements seem to have dropped off quite a lot. This is not good news for me, since I really embraced them in the fresh beer and that is what I enjoyed the most, back in October 2010. Alcohol seems a little more prominenet too. A few peppery notes have come to the fore as well. I still really like this, but it has changed somewhat over the last few months...
Smoked Baltic Porter
After a really strong start to my experience with Great Divide over many years, inmore recent times there have been some very mixed results. Unfortunately, this is another relative disappointment which doesn' make the mark for me. Pour is pretty much as expected with a low carbonated, jet black body that doesn't produce much head or lace after the initial, aggressive pour. Requisite light, charred malts but the smoke is disappointingly restrained. I don't necessarily want a massive Rauch...
Allagash Fluxus 2010
750 mL Corked & Caged bottle. Quite a pop on opening, and an inky black pour. The beer is seriously black with a very small head and little retention. What head there is has a tan color. The nose offers a light but intense roast. Tastes are very much the same, but a few pointers; + ZERO Belgian character + Well hidden alcohol + Some lactose notes + Licorice and burned character in the aftertaste There is an annoying and lingering aftertaste that feels a bit milky to me, and coupled wit the...
Budweiser Select 55
$3.65 for the pleasure of a 12 oz bottle at Buffalo Wild Wings, Douglasville, GA, USA. Pour is about as expected in terms of a ridiculously pale color and an alarming lack of head, retention and lace. I say "alarming" since this kind of beer is rarely under carbonated but this one seems lifeless - not the usual "fizzy" macro. The nose and tastes are basically zero with a little grainy sweetness. The really depressing thing about this beer is really two-fold. Firstly this is what some people...
Pink Killer
12 oz single from Hop City, Atlanta, GA, USA. Kraig tried to talk me out of this, but I KNEW that I would like it and I was glad that I went with my gut on this one. The beer pours a hazed, peach/pinkish color with a better than expected head. There is even a tiny bit of lace and some half decent retention! Nose has a slightly medicinal acidity. The taste is that of a lightly sweetened grapefruit with lots of decent fruit flavor. The beer drinks incredibly easily and is really refreshing....
Christmas Ale 2009
Purchased form Sam the Beer Man in Binghamton, NY in summer of 2010. 750 mL bottle, $8.99, Corked & Caged. Murky brown pour with a fair amount of yeasty sediment but a nice presentation in the glass. Good head forms, with a thick, mocha color and some nice lace. Looks good. Pleasing nose with some gentle fruit and spice, but that doesn't really manifest itself quite as strongly in the tastes. Perhaps even the few months age on this has not treated it all that well, and it would have been...
Fixed Gear
22 oz bottle, a recent arrival to the GA market. Pleasing presentation, too. Pour is a very nice garnet color with the standard, requite white head that sits atop the beer. Good clarity and appropriate carbonation. To me, one of the most important things about the style is that it has some nice clarity, and this beer works well in that regard. Nose is fairly neutral but the tastes are better. I'm always looking for a dry finish with the Reds and this beer delivers that. There is some sweeter...
Bell’s 25th Anniversary Ale
12 oz single from Hop City, Atlanta, GA, USA. Poured into the DFH signature glass, the beer pours a very attractive color (a copper/garnet body) but has a somewhat disappointing head with only a tiny amount of retention. A small film forms on the surface of the beer with a tiny, white collar. It lacks the richness and noisy pour of the best beers in the style. Nose offers an aroma that I would characterize as a fruity, American DIPA effect. Some alcohol. The tastes reflect the nose, BUT there...
Cantillon Rosé De Gambrinus
375 mL bottle, corked & capped. Bottled 23rd December 2009. Blood red, scarlet pour with a big fizzy, pink head on the pour. Obviously this fades quickly to leave no lace and there is almost no retention. The nose makes it obvious that this going to be pretty tart. A little funk in the nose and we also get a touch of the horseblanket in the tastes. Initial tastes (unsurprisingly) prove that. Some light fruit, but otherwise it is ALL dry, tart, apple notes with the usual cider elements being...
Three Beaches Honey Blonde
12 oz bottle, typical Tyranena presentation. Bottom line is that this is not a very good beer. The appearance is odd. It has a macro feel about it in as much as it comes with a huge number of small bubbles clinging to the inside of the glass. It looks highly carbonated, but the beer seems largely lifeless and there is no head or any retention. There is a darker color than a typical macro would give which I suppose is from the honey element. The nose and taste do deliver a little sweetness from...
La Mi Dòna
$1.99 for the chance to try this at tower on Piedmont after this beer originally retailed around $5.99. An old(er) bottle, but with no discernible date on the label I feel totally justified in reviewing it. Pour has a mid brown color that looks decent and promises a touch of richness. Head and retention are not great. Nose and tastes are distinctly malty (as an English Pale often is), but it lacks much (if any) of the distinct, biscuit malts that the real thing would have. In that regard it's...
E Figoun
$1.99 for the chance to try this at tower on Piedmont after this beer originally retailed around $5.99. An old(er) bottle, but with no discernible date on the label I feel totally justified in reviewing it. Macro color on the pour except for a distinct haze - in that respect, a little like a Hefe in the glass. Poor head, not much retention. Smell and tastes are slightly sweet, light vegetal aspects with nothing too offensive but at the same time nothing that would lead me to buy it again....
Heavy Seas-The Greater Pumpkin
I've been generally disappointed with the Heavy Seas, higher ABV (Mutiny) series. 22 oz bottle from Hop City, Atlanta, GA, USA. The usual Mutiny series presentation. There is a turbid orange pour which disappoints. I really want a good clarity on any Pumpkin beer. Some low level head and a little bit of lace. The nose replicates the combo of pumpkin and light liquor notes very well. I don't get excited about the aroma much, but it does it well. There is also a VERY strong, alcohol note that...
St Petersburg Imperial Stout
Hop City, Atlanta, GA, USA. 500 mL bottle. Jet black pour with standard appearance in terms of head and lace. Not a great deal to report but nevertheless, looks good. Nose is quite rich and boozy and promises much. Frankly, tastes are less impressive. There is a very distinct chalky nature to the beer which detracts from the richness in the mouth and also leads to a diminished taste profile. Elements of alcohol and light roasts are there, but the residue that coats the teeth and tongue...
A Little Sumpin’ Wild
22 oz bottle from Smyrna Beverage Center, Smyrna, GA, USA. $4.69. Pour is a beautiful, tangerine orange body with tremendous clarity, good carbonation and a light and wispy head that offers some great lace. The nose offers a LOT of west coast, medicinal, sinus clearing, grapefruit and citrus based hops. I'm almost instantly annoyed by the beer as soon as it hits my taste buds. For all intents and purposes (in least in terms of its taste) this is an IPA. Not a problem, but in the BA database it...
Günther Bräu Bockbier
Given the number of reviews this is likely a relatively new entrant to the US market. I've certainly not seen it in the ATL market before now so it's certainly new here. 500 mL bottle from Green's on Buford, Atlanta, GA, USA. Golden pour with a little haze. Head is above average and some attractive lace gets deposited on the Tucher Weizen glass 0.5 L glass. Nose imparts a typical German yeast aroma and the tastes follow suit. Alcohol is well hidden and the beer gives a very pleasing...
La Puténa
Swing-top bottle that I picked up for the bargain price of $1.99 at Tower on Piedmont, Atlanta, GA, USA (these bottles have been on sale in Atlanta in the $5.99 range prior to this). These bottles have been in ATL for quite a while now, and obviously they are trying to move this stock that did not sell well. No freshness date on the bottle, but probably an old"er" bottle. Nice presentation in the swing top bottle which pops open with gusto, so a good sign there. Pour is a light brown affair...
Pub Brown Ale
16 oz stubbie as per usual from Sprecher - there's something really substantial about these bottles that I like. Apparently, now called, "Pub Brown Ale". Pour gives a good dark brown color, and importantly a decent clarity with good carbonation. The head is well formed (and white) and the lacing is better than expected. Solid appearance. The thing that i like about Sprecher more than anything else, is the fact that they generally make simple beers, to style in many of the somewhat...
Fall Summit
12 oz single from Hop City, Atlanta, GA, USA. Beautiful, dark amber pour with superb clarity, a nice head, decent retention and some good, persistent carbonation. Very good looking. Nose and tastes give a very distinct Summit profile, which of course is a good thing! Classic combination of the style and the hop to give a really clean, dry and sharp finish that works very well together. Lovely, restrained malts pull the whole thing together really well. Yeasty back end that holds the beer...
Ommegang Cup O Kyndnes (Cup Of Kindness)
I always get excited by the prospect of another Ommegang special release and this is no exception. 750 mL corked & caged bottle in the usual Ommegang presentation. Beer opens with a slightly disappointing lack of pop, but the pour is better than the lack of gas might suggest. Although the color is that slightly clouded, not particularly attractive mid-brown, Dubbel like affair, it is pretty much as I expected. The head and lace are much better, and the creamy residue that sticks to the side of...
Guinness Foreign Extra Stout
12 oz single from Hop City, Atlanta, GA. This beer was not available in the USA until relatively recently (last few months) when Atlanta became one of the test markets before a wider launch across the USA in September of 2010. With all of the various incarnations of this beer being brewed in all parts of the world, I'm pretty sure this review is in the correct place since apparently (according to the bottle at least) this was brewed in Ireland and not the West Indies etc. Pour as expected is...
Smuttynose Really Old Brown Dog Ale (Big Beer Series)
Pleased to see this beer make it to Hop City, Atlanta, GA. 22 oz bomber. Obviously I was thinking that this would be an Imperial Brown Ale, but apparently it is categorized as an Old Ale here. Pour is a murky brow, Dubbel like color. Not especially attractive and I would love to have a beer that showed a really beautiful, reddish brown clarity. Head was fine, but it disappears quickly. It's a shame that beers with higher ABV's cannot produce better heads. The nose gives up a LOT of chocolate....
Hacker-Pschorr Munich Gold
Delighted to find this at Hop City as a 12 oz single. Not sure if I have seen this in the US before now, a welcome addition. Classic golden clarity on the pour, with nice carbonation that produces a bone-white head. Some lace and a little retention. Nose and tastes give plenty of malt based sweetness that manifests itself in a honey, grain and raisin manner. A little organic grass in there too and plenty of freshly mowed hay on the back end. Crisp and thirst quenching, the beer delivers a...
Duvel Tripel Hop
OK, not really sure what the purpose of this beer actually IS, as it seems as though Ommegang has had an influence on Moortgat. As much as I love Ommegang, this is not an influence or input that is needed under ANY circumstances when you consider the superb, supremecy of Duvel. Extravagant presentation with thick, gold foil and corked & caged presentation with a fancy label. Close to @$20 for the chance to try this. The pour is interesting since on the first two pours into the Duvel tulip...
Miles Davis’ Bitches Brew
750 mL bottle. The usual hoopla that is associated with DFH (relatively) limited releases that is beginning to leave me cold. Don't get me wrong, I'm a big fan of DFH but the hysteria that has been building over a number of beers in the recent past is getting tedious. Ho hum. Pour reports nothing. It's jet black and there is not much head. Perhaps a few red highlights but so what. Good but standard. Not a particularly rich RIS, in fact rather average. Solid roast notes, a decent splash of...
Treblehook
Very low expectations for this beer, as the history with Redhook and the aggressiveness of the style put me in a bad mood before I even open the beer. In the updated presentation for the Limited release Series from Redhook. Actually, the style forced me into aging this for a year because I knew I would probably not enjoy the alcohol and hop intensity when it was young. This both is almost exactly 1 year old, and carries a date of SEP 09 2009. Pour and nose are exactly as expecting, giving a...
Terrapin Reunion Beer 2010
As per the SP series, a 22 oz bottle with gold foil. A dark copper body with a really disappointing lack of head a lace. Almost seems "flat" and this seriously detracts from the whole experience in terms of appearance and mouthfeel. Nose is a malty, alcohol infused aroma - fair enough, no complaints there. Carbonation seems a little low to me. Lacks spark, depth and life. Massive, and I mean massive, bubble-gum presence in the taste; OVERWHELMING in fact. There is almost nothing here other...
2XIPA
12 oz single, Hop City, Atlanta, GA, USA. Hazed, orange pour with a bone-white head. Not much lace. Unusually light in color for a DIPA with almost a Hefe (or a least a wheat beer) look about it. Nose has sweet, sugary citrus which is replicated in the taste. Not especially bitter, and frankly a pretty reserved and low hop presence in this beer for the style. This is NOT a complex or complicated beer by any stretch of the imagination, and for me that's the appeal. Simple, tasty stuff. Pretty...
Audacious Apricot Ale
Thanks to Kevin for the 12 oz stubbie bottle. In a nutshell, one of the nastiest beers in recent memory. The pour is a surprisingly dark orange, almost marmalade color with a HORRIBLE fizzing associated with it. Pours like a soda with no head or lace of any description. The beer also looks murky. The soda-like nature of the carbonation is worrying. Unpleasant non-descript, artifical fruit taste greet the nose and mouth and imparts a sickly, sugar attack on the senses that defies any real,...
Shiner Oktoberfest
12 oz single from Hop City, Atlanta, GA, USA. Amber pour, with little head or retention. Head fades badly. Aroma is bereft of any necessary elements. Horribly disappointing. Light malt tastes, but weak when considering the O'fest category as a whole. Malts are supported by a little hop factor, but it's ultimately somewhat non-descript. Fairly well balanced if rather bland, sand the downfall of the beer is really its lack of malt presence. Very little to report with this beer, a malt based beer...
Frog’s Hollow Double Pumpkin Ale
$9.99 from Arbor Place Beverage, Douglasville, GA, USA. 22 oz bottle, the usual Hoppin' Frog presentation. Pour has an attractive, deep orange color with good clarity, but a smallish and poorly retained head. Nice combination of spices in the nose and the taste. The dominant flavor is a warmish, ginger. The ginger actually burns a little and is quite strong, with a little heat. The beer is plenty simple and reflects what one would expect from the style, but the ginger heat is definitely the...
Wittekerke Rosé
11.2 oz bottle from Hop City, Atlanta, GA, USA. My bottle is the "Framboise" that I'm pretty sure is the US version of "Rose". To be honest, I'm NOT against this kind of beer as a matter of principle, but having tasted this beer it's not something that I can take. Peach colored pour with a nice head that produces some lace. Th beer actually looks OK, as long as you observe it for what it is and no more. The nose is that bad either, with some artificial raspberry notes and some lightly acidic...
Doppelbock Grande Cuvée Printemps
750 mL corked & caged from Hop City, Atlanta, Ga, USA. One of the three new LTM beers to reach Georgia relatively recently and I felt the Doppelbock would be the best place for me to start. Pop on opening is not great that concerns me slightly but ultimately there was no need to worry. The pour is a very deep, chocolate brown with a lovely, mocha head and a little lace. The depth of color is impressive. The nose is even more impressive. An incredibly deep, malt bomb with lots of alcohol and...
t Smisje Grande Reserva
11.2 oz "stubbie" bottle from Hop City, Atlanta, GA, USA. WOW! This happens about every 6-12 months, i.e. a beer that truly blows me away. A truly magnificent, regal beer. The pour and the appearance are most definitely the weakest points. A light brown, murky affair with an annoy over-carbonation that leads to a difficult pour and foam that snakes out of the bottle. After the somewhat disappointing appearance things REALLY take-off in a serious manner. The nose and tastes yield a pretty much...
Midnight Project #3 Oxymoron
22 oz bottle. Well, this certainly lives up to the name, a strange beer to say the least. I don't quite know how to describe this, but it drinks like a dry, hoppy Marzen. It's odd because the last thing that you would associate with a lager of that basic description would be a dry character or a bitterness - odd. Perfectly clear, the beer pours with a disappointingly scant head, not much lace and golden orange hue. The nose is really rich and nice. It offers some classic sweet notes and some...
Saison Du BUFF
12 oz bottle from Hop City, Atlanta, GA. $2.99 I *think*. Nice looking pour with a very attractive golden color and plenty of head. Some retention, a little lace. Solid looking. The aroma gives a little white pepper and a few sinus clearing elements, but nothing out of the ordinary for a Saison. HOWEVER, this does not set me up for the taste! The taste is a garlic laden, herbal assault that is difficult to get to grips with. It's abusive up front, but fades a bit as the beer warms....
Adriaen Brouwer Dark Gold Ale
750 mL corked & caged bottle from Hop City, Atlanta, GA, USA. Beer pours with a brown, Dubbel like color but with more clarity than one associates with the Dubbel category. The bottle opens with a disappointing lack of pop, but pours in a very much better manner than the opening would suggest. the beer yields a lovely, creamy, cream colored film on the surface of the beer, and produces a small amount of broken lace. Nice, light booze in the nose that produces some decent sherry aromas. There's...
Heaven & Hell
12 oz bottle with red wax on the neck. Brewed 23/11/09 and bottled on 08/01/10 - already 9 months old. Bottle # 1159. $8.99 from Hop City, Atlanta, GA, USA. The beer pours as one would expect. Jet black body with a tan head that produces a little lace and some alcohol legs. The beers' overwhelming aspect is a deliberate and sapping dryness. It's not the alcohol that you remember (it's well hidden), nor is it the considerable bitterness (which is persistent) and it's not even the roasty, burned...
Stone Soup
12 oz single, thanks go out to Kevin for the opportunity. Pour is a bright, honey orange affair with a large, but somewhat light and thinnish head. The head is not especially well retained and there is little lace, both of which seem to be a function of the high carbonation of the beer. At times the beer almost seems "fizzy" and this obviously detracts from the mouthfeel. The aroma and tastes definitely have a nice Belgian yeast character, but ultimately that's all it is - a "character" rather...
110K+OT Batch #3 – The Other West Coast IPA (2010)
Purchased as a 750 mL at Big Z beverages in New York. Delighted to find this at the time, but also seems silly that paperwork (apparently) has prevented us from getting this in GA. Shared this one at The Brick Store recently. Hazy, orange amber pour with some nice, sticky lace. Nose and tastes are essentially a malt bomb which may confuse those people looking for a West Coast style DIPA. I have no problem with a DIPA taking on some significant malt character, but in this case the beer seems...
Heavy Seas – Märzen
12 oz single from Hop City, Atlanta, GA, USA. Having been fairly disappointed with the Mutiny, 22 oz series from CC/Heavy Seas, I was pleased to see a "back to basics" beer from the stable, and also in one of my favorite styles. Pour is a fairly light orange, amber beer with some scant head and lace. The beer has a medium carbonation that produces a decent mouthfeel. The beer does provide the typical element for the style- plenty of malt, yeasty aftertaste and a moreish and yummy taste,...
Saison De Dottignies
11.2 oz bottle, recent purchase art Green's, Buford, Atlanta, GA, USA. Always delighted to get a new beer from a favorite brewery and this beer seems to be right in the wheelhouse of De Ranke. A cloudy, honey orange body with a lovely, fluffy head which produces some super lace. Looks nice. Nose has a light, soapy aroma which some small hop character. The tastes largely reflect the nose, but the hoppy notes, soapy taste and light grapefruit are all exaggerated when compared to the aroma....
Terrapin Hopzilla
#12 in the Side Project series. Drunk twice; once on-tap at Leon's, Decatur, GA, USA on the night of the Terrapin takeover, and once from the bottle. This review is from the bottle version purchased at Green's, Buford Highway, Atlanta, GA, USA. Usual 22 oz presentation with the gold foil. Pour is a hazed, light orange affair with a big head that produces some excellent lace. Retention is OK. Looks nice. Nose and tastes replicate a west Coast style DIPA quite nicely with huge grapefruit, pine...
S.O.S. (Save Our Shore)
22 oz screen printed bottle. Abita's charitable effort. Best By 08/11 on the neck of the bottle - can a Pils with an ABV of 7.00% really feel fresh over one year from now? I dunno - maybe. Pour offers a light, straw colored body with a fairly low level of carbonation. The head is minimal, but at least it hangs around to leave a small film on the surface of the beer and a decent amount of broken lace. Smell is a neutral sweet one with nothing else to report. Tastes are inoffensive but frankly...
Smithwick’s
12 oz bottle as part of a six pack. Body is a rather impressive brown/red with an excellent creamy head and some superb lace. Surprisingly good. Nose yields a big malty presence plus a touch of hops - not much, rather a "kiss". The tastes are somewhat uninteresting an neutral, but the back end has a touch of bitterness. The bitterness is fleeting but surprisingly strong. Quite a dry beer (despite the malt emphasis), and this is manifested in the finish which drops quite a profound bitterness...
Pannepot Reserva – Old Fisherman’s Ale
11.2 oz bottle from Charleston Beer Exchange, Charleston, SC, USA. $7.99. 2008 vintage. Pour is a Dubbel-like affair that is a murky brown but also has a slight plum-colored, "grapeish", light purple hue - possibly just the light. Thin film sits atop the beer and a ring forms around the edge of the surface. No lace. A few alcohol legs. Even with a decent amount of warming, as the beer comes to ambient temperature the nose is largely muted - surprising. Tastes are largely as expected with a...
Ground Break
12 oz single from the brewery. Slightly murky golden color with an impressive head that lingers. Some lace. The nose and tastes are VERY organic and quite aggressive. Lots of serious grass and hay and a lot of bitterness. Some medicinal phenols to that come thorough in bursts, repeating the grass and organic feel. Lots of rustic notes her that build in places to give quite a bitter beer. In other parts the beer drinks with a little more subtlety, but to be honest the beer is generally quite...
Dream Weaver Wheat
12 oz single from Kevin - many thanks. Different label than the one currently in the BA db picture. Good looking, hazed butterscotch pour with good depth of color but a wispy, ill-retained head and virtually no lace. Plenty of banana in the nose and tastes. The finish offers a little spice and bitterness that seems like orange peel. Lingers a touch as the beer establishes its aftertaste but the spice is not as big a feature as the fruity banana. A bit prickly in the mouth as well which doesn't...
IPA2 (Double India Pale Ale)
16 oz bottle presentation, the usual Sprecher, bulky "stubbies" which I really enjoy. As soon as I tasted this beer I knew that if I read a few reviews at the lower end the criticisms would be that "this doesn't really taste like an American DIPA", and to be fair those reviewers are correct - that why I LIKE this beer! If you were to review this beer in a stylistic manner it would score very badly, but to me it drinks really well and is fantastically tasty, however if you are looking for a...
Green’s Endeavour
Older bottle (Best before 16/09/09). Interesting (again) in the non-beer/beer category. Pour is a lively, fairly well carbonated affair that yields a Dubbel-like, murky brown body and a little, thin foam that hangs around. It even produces a small amount of lace - no mean feat. Nose is VERY good with a strong sherry like, alcohol smell that is very enticing and promises much. The beer delivers some of the characteristics that the nose does, but they are somewhat muted. Some light fruit,...
Peak Organic Summer Session Ale
So, at 5.00% this is NOT a session beer anyway, but...ho hum. 12 oz single from Hop City, Atlanta, GA, USA. Mid-orange, macro like pour with good levels of carbonation and a rocky, if somewhat small head that produces some lace. Nose and tastes are both lightly hopped with some of that characteristic soap note that can flag a beer with some bitter character. Dry body and a touch more bitterness make up the back end and finish. Definitely some grassy, hay like notes which is typical of many...
Hitachino Nipponia
550 mL bottle from Hop City, Atlanta, GA, USA. Not sure what to expect here, but what I do know is that it is brewed with the Sorachi Ace hop and the "Ancient" Kaneko Barley. Having not especially enjoyed Brooklyn's Sorachi rendition, I get a bit nervous about this beer. Pour is a slightly hazed, golden body with limited head, retention and lace. Nose and tastes give an awkward combo for me. There is a yeasty, light funk in the nose which promises much. It appears from the aroma that the beer...
Terrapin Double Feature
22 oz boxed, foiled and capped bottle into the (appropriate) Chimay chalice. Typical Dubbel color with a burned orange appearance with a better than average head. Some creamy remnants form on the sides of the glass and on the surface of the beer. The beer exhibits quite a lot of fruit in the nose and the taste with an emphasis on alcoholic, dry pineapples or peaches. Some marzipan notes as well. The combination of obvious malts and slightly more subtle yeasts drive this beer to a good place...
Black Bavarian
Thanks go out to Kevin (again). 16 oz bottle in the usual Sprecher presentation. The beer pours a solid black pour with a nice, creamy head and some superb red highlights. The lacing is not great. Still looks good though. The nose changes with temperature (as expected) and there is a really large increase in the malt profile with temperature. The light licorice really builds a LOT with temperature. The tastes give a lovely, sweet, light licorice touch that really develops IN the mouth. The...
Cascazilla
Had this a few times, including last month at the Brewery, but this review is from a 12 oz bottle that I bought at the Brewery about a month ago. Pour is fantastic; a rocky head that produces great lace with plenty of retention. The color of the body is perhaps one of the best! Reminds me of a classic ESB from England, even though the beer is a LONG way away from such a brew! A classic example of the American Red style with potent hops, but bitterness that is tempered by a dry, rich malty...
Crack’d Wheat
12 oz single, courtesy of Kevin - many thanks. Absolutely delighted to get a chance to try this beer. It promises much. The pour is a lovely, butterscotch hazed affair with a nice, rocky head. Good looking beer without doubt. The nose and tastes have plenty of clove and banana notes, but the emphasis seems to be on the clove and spice elements. Some alcohol, but also a few medicinal phenols. The phenols are where this beer starts to deviate a little from authenticity. They don't grate, but the...
Lips Of Faith Belgo IPA
22 oz bottle in the usual Lips of Faith series presentation. Beer pours out a pretty dark, copper color with a medium head. The lace is surprisingly good and forms a nice pattern. This is one of the better parts of the beer. Nose is largely American IPA without much Belgian influence. The tastes do better, with a healthy dose of Belgian candy sugar and some yeast notes. Some metallic notes appear in the back end with a little coinage. The beer seems very dry to me, and the combination offers a...
Spotless IPA (Brewmaster Reserve 2010)
22 oz bottle from Hop City, Atlanta, GA, USA. Always interested to try a new Full Sail brew because I think that they brew some really good quality, simple beers. The nose offers a bright citrus and a touch of alcohol. The pour is a very slightly hazed, pale orange with a frothy head with mid level density. Some lace. The tastes are very fruity upfront. Some nice, sweetish orange and other citrus notes at the front end which turn into more bitter citrus notes (grapefruit) on the back end with...
Anchor Humming Ale
Usual Anchor presentation. Bottle says 5.9% alcohol. Dot-matrixed freshness says OLU. Always interested by a new Anchor brew, so here we go. Bottle produces a beer that looks a little macro in its appearance except for a much better head that is solid and is retained well. Neutral nose and some simple, balanced malt and hops make up this easily drinkable and simple brew. In true Anchor style, this beer sits in the well-made category without setting the world on fire. A light fruit note is...
Shipyard Smashed Pumpkin (Pugsley’s Signature Series)
22 oz bottle, classy presentation with high quality on the paper label that wraps around virtually the whole bottle. Gold foil on the neck. Pumpkin Ales are not my favorite, so I feel a little wary, but this turned out to be a magnificent beer. Pour gives me exactly what i was looking for in terms of color and clarity. A perfectly clear, copper/orange body with a decent head that is a little short lived. Given the ABV I can deal with that, so all in all a great looker. A very light touch of...
Bière De L’Amitié (Green Flash & Brasserie St. Feuillien)
750 mL, corked and "banded". An interesting collaboration, and on top of that an unlikely one. Green Flash are not exactly a subtle brewer (their existence in San Diego is unlikely to produce much of that), so I was concerned about their influence on a beer that would NOT benefit from a typical West Coast battering. The beer is very highly carbonated to the point of being a little annoying. The corked pops with alarming ferocity and the beer pours all the way to the bottom of the bottle with a...
Struise Tsjeeses
11.2 oz bottle, $6.99 from CBX, Charleston, SC, USA. Lot B 9 09. Deweer's ABB describes the name being derived from the brewer exclaiming, Tsjeese wat een lekker biertje, or "Gee, what a nice little beer"! I'm not about to disagree. Pour offers up a clouded, well hazed orange body with some sticky lace and froth. Burnt marmalade in color. Nose offers some fruit peel and perhaps a touch of spice but it's not strong. The tastes deliver some more, biter citrus notes including a lingering...
Harpoon Pott’s Landbier (100 Barrel Series #32)
22 oz bottle, gold foil with the usual 100 Barrel series presentation. Hop City, Atlanta, GA, USA. Strange one this. I think if you had given me this in a blind taste taste I would have sworn it was Yeungling! Now, you can take that any way that you like. I don't dislike Yeungling, but as we all know it's hardly a bastion of high quality beer so... Pour is a pretty clear, mid-brown affair with a disappointingly poorly retained head and not much If any ) lace. Nose and tastes produce a slightly...
Chatoe Rogue First Growth OREgasmic Ale
22 oz bottle from Hop City, Atlanta, GA, USA. Pour here offers a good, high head (deep and rich with a nice off-white color) that lingers. The color however, is a different matter - a turbid, murky, dirty brown that I don't care for. The color undoes the good work of the head IMO. This is a VERY strange beer to me. Firstly it does not look (or feel) like an APA at all. It seems to dark to me, and the tastes are odd. This beer just seems overdone. At first the beer seems too malty. Then, in the...
Night Stalker
22 oz bottle purchased on a recent trip to NY. Pour is a very standard, jet black with a little ring of mocha lace that settles around the edges of beer, plus a thin film over most of the surface of the beer. Some decent alcohol legs on the side of the glass. Definitely menacing and viscous. Nose and tastes reflect one another with all of the usual dark, roasted malt and chocolate notes that one would associate with this kind of beer, but with the added hop element that one usually does NOT...
Bourbon County Brand Coffee Stout
Another example of how strangely one can get to taste these beers that are highly sought after without even trying. I got to get a decent taste of this at a recent BA gathering in Charleston, but given the size of the pour, and the number of other beers being consumed, I decided to pass on taking formal notes or writing a review. I did make some mental notes. Then, a few days later, I unexpectedly got another chance to try the beer in a better light and make these observations. Not much to...
Vapeur En Folie
750 mL bottle, capped & corked from Green's on Ponce, Atlanta, GA. Cork comes out pretty easily with on a dull pop. Champagne style with large dimpled bottom. Green. Pour is a golden orange with a fine, light froth for the head. Some good haze and the fine carbonation leads to some nice smoothness in the mouth. Nose has some floral notes and a does of medicinal, estery, phenol. Not strong but noticeable. There is a fairly large hop profile for a beer of this type. Of course, that's not to say...
Sweetwater Dank Tank Magnum IP
22 oz bottle in the usual Dank Tank presentation. I've had this a few times before now, this is the bottled review. Poured into the DFH glass, the beer is truly a deep golden color with (considering the ABV) a decent head and some retention. The nose gives plenty of fusel alcohol notes but it's not overpowering. A little spice in the aroma too. The tastes give up the usual (and expected) malty, alcoholic bitterness. There is some white pepper (especially in the finish), and a little dryness in...
Fifteen
12 oz single from Hop City, Atlanta, GA. Had this one on the fridge for a few weeks. Jet black body with a few brown colors at the extremities. The body sets itself up with a very thin, wispy mocha film. A few legs and a little lace drips down the glass. There really is very little smoke in the nose at all, and what little there might be is overwhelmed with booze anyway. The beer also lacks much smoke element in the taste, too. The first wave of taste is a large sweetness, but this quickly...
Fish Paralyzer Pale
22 oz bottle from CBX, Charleston, SC, $5.49. Well, it needs to be said that this beer does not look like, or drink like, a Belgian Pale Ale. This is one thing that REALLY pisses me off. When a brewery puts the words "Belgian Pale Ale" on the label, it seems reasonable to assume that there is a Belgian Pale in the bottle - in this case there isn't, there's a beer that is much closer to a Dubbel, or at very least a Brune. It beer looks good as a "beer", but it looks awful as a "Belgian Pale"....
Hefe Weiss
16 oz, usual Sprecher, "stubbie" presentation. Thanks to Kevin for the chance to try this one. The beer pours a hazed orange with a tea-like appearance. No head, retention or lace to peak of. Looks a little "dead". A lot of tropical fruit in the nose with an especially large emphasis on the pineapple for me. The beer drinks and tastes a little drier than the nose would suggest, but it still has a strong fruit note as opposed to any kind of wheat. The pineapple keeps coming and there is a touch...
Trade Winds Tripel
The usual Bruery presentation in the 750 mL bottle from Hop City, Atlanta, GA, USA. The latest Bruery offering to arrive in GA. Beautiful pour with plenty of fluffy white head that comes with good lace and retention. The color is interesting because it changes with the light more than most beers. In strong light there is a lovely, bright orange hue and in lower light it takes on a deeper, darker honey color. I like to see it in full light, but either way it looks great. It also exhibits a wide...
Bison Organic Imperial Brown Ale
12 oz single from Hop City, Atlanta, GA. Deep brown pour with a nice head. Not very good retention and no lace. Body has a few orange and rust colored highlights. A barrage of sweet, bready malts in the nose and not hint of bitterness of alcohol. The tastes still keep the malt based at the forefront, but add some alcohol and a little bit of bitterness to back up the idea that this is in the American end of the Brown Ale spectrum. Malts hold up well, and the alcohol never gets out of control....
Stone 14th Anniversary Emperial IPA
22 oz bottle, usual Stone presentation. Arbor Place Beverage, Douglasville, GA, USA. OK, off the top I think the name is tacky. There, got that out of the way, now back to the beer. Very light haze on the mid-orange pour. The body looks a bit like a cask pour. Not much lace as the beer forms a light, thin film on the surface which has some good retention. The nose is very odd - it literally smells like cheese to me. Like a slightly overripe soft cheese - perhaps French. The tastes are a...
Saison Du BUFF
12 oz single from a recent trip to NY. The pour is a very bright orange color with a fizzy head that fades quickly to leave no lace but some thin film on the surface of the beer. The nose is very strong. It's a sweet, citrusy, herbal mix with the emphasis on the herbs. This is something that I usually enjoy, but this seems unusually aggressive and wears a little. The tastes reflect that nose, but here the orange-like citric notes come much more into play. There is also a soapy bitterness that...
Big Barrel Double IPA
22 oz bomber, courtesy of BitterBill - thanks, Bill! My first beer from Karl Strauss - excited to try it. Pour is very standard for the style, with a high, fluffy and rocky head atop a slightly murky, mid-orange/brown body. Nose and tastes reflect a very distinct fruitiness that seems like a combination of a number of things; grapefruit dominates, but you also get several other soft, tropical notes. Well hidden alcohol. One criticism for me is that the beer is a little muddled in the tastes....
White Gold
750 mL bottle purchased at the brewery (or maybe Finger Lakes Beverage in Ithaca), either way, close to the source! Batch: E!022 opening the cap gives me a gusher, and quite a profound one. It takes several minutes before the cascading, fine foam relents by which time maybe a quarter of the contents of the bottle are on the counter. Poured in two separate portions into a 16 oz glass. The first pour gives a murky, yellow or butterscotch color with some good head. The head does fade rather fast...
Black Orchard
Happy to come across this on my recent trip to NY. This never made it to GA (The Bruery got here after this was done), so happy to hook myself up! Also glad to to see a more sensible ABV from The Bruery on this one for a change. Popped the cap on the 750 mL, usual style Bruery bottle (I do like their labels) and the pour is an impressive JET black! A few gold highlights at the extremities, but otherwise pretty solid. Carbonation is annoyingly fizzy. It detracts from the smoothness, leaves...
Heavy Seas Cabernet Barrel Aged Below Decks
22 oz bottle form Hop City, Atlanta, GA, USA. I've become really wary of this series from Clipper City because frankly, the beers have been pretty poor. I'm a little more optimistic about this one though, since I liked the original Below Decks so there would appear to be some solid ground to build upon. The pour is NOT attractive. A watery light brown with no head retention, lace or indeed much of a film. Underneath this beer is a decent ENGLISH styled BW. Obviously if you are looking for a...
Alaskan Baltic Porter
22 oz bottle thanks to BitterBill for the opportunity. 2009 Vintage. Pour is a standard black, with some brownish highlights at the extremities. Head appears quickly but it is very "fizzy" and then it dies immediately. Coupled with the color, the beer looks EXACTLY like a freshly poured Coke - exactly. The head (or rather the lack of it) is rather disappointing and although the color is good but the overall appearance is not all that thrilling. The nose gives a heap of sweet molasses and...
Nelson
22 oz bottle courtesy of BitterBill. Thanks Bill! Pour produces a beautiful color. A really rich orange and an excellent head with some sticky lace. Very nice to look at. The nose and the tastes are one and the same and exhibit and extraordinary deep, clean and sharp hop note. The hop is, without question, a unique one and the cleanliness of it is what stands out for me. Overall the beer does exhibit a large, West Coat hop feel, but at the same time it seems incredibly light. Plenty of sweet...
Ommegang Zuur
750 mL corked and caged, Hop City, Atlanta, GA, USA. Damaged cork pops out ALARMINGLY quickly ( http://beeradvocate.com/forum/read/2851950 ). Pour is a resplendent dark brown with a pretty decent amount of carbonation when considering the style. No lace to speak of, but a thin film on the surface of the beer and a nice collar of foam at the extreme edges. Mild, fruity acidity in the nose but nothing too ethanoic acid based. Tastes are very gentle with the beer not really living up to its name....
Halcyon
500 mL bottle, gold foil on the neck. Hop City, Atlanta, GA, USA. 2009 hop harvest, beer bottled in April 2010. OK, pretty interested to find my first Thornbridge beer in the US, There's been plenty of talk about this brewery and I'm keen to make up my own mind and to experience some of their beers for myself. Very unusual appearance. In a nutshell the beer resembles a Hefe in terms of the color. A hazy, orange, butterscotch affair with some fizzy carbonation. Head is small and not very well...
Heavy Seas – Smoke On The Water
22 oz bottle from Hop City, Atlanta, GA, USA. This is now a serious pattern rather than a few blips in the Big Beer series from Heavy Seas/Clipper. This is just not a very good beer - ANOTHER poor effort in the series. Pour is fine with the standard black body and a decent amount of early carbonation. Head fades quickly; no lace or retention to speak of. Nose gives virtually no smoke element which in itself is not an encouraging thing, but when the beer warms and there is only a tiny change...
Brooklyn Sorachi Ace
750 mL corked & aged beer from Hop City, Atlanta, GA, USA. Always very excited to try a new beer from Brooklyn, especially one in one of my favorite styles. The pour has a beautifully rich, butterscotch, lemon yellow hue, but to be honest the head, lace and retention are not all that great. The nose delivers the lemongrass aroma as advertised. Quite attractive. The taste is where things start going a little awry for me. There is no doubt that the Sorachi Ace delivers an absolutely unique...