750 mL bottle. Part of the Ancient Ales series. Cranberry, ligonberry, honey, birch syrup and herbs. A reddish hue to the copper colored body, and a lovely, medium bodied off-white head that has decent retention. A lot of clean fruit on the nose. Tastes are sharp and clean, with a nice touch of acidity balanced very nicely with some sweetness. A nice sweet and sour (no not that kind of sour) affair. The alcohol at 10% is largely almost completely absent up front. It finishes with a little...
Notes on beers served in the format
bottle
Dogfish Head
Stone Smoked Porter w/Vanilla Bean
An old friend with a new twist. More from Stone. 12 oz bottle, purchased as a single in raleigh, NC. Pour is, as expected, robust. A reddish brown hue breaks the black monotony. Head is light but has good depth. Not much retention or lace, but the beer seems solid. Nose seems quite sweet without ever being especially vanilla based. If anything, the vanilla element seems to enhance the smoke. The tastes are certainly well integrated, but never especially "vanilla" in their manifestation. Light...
Dogfish Head
American Beauty
I know nothing about The Dead, so Granola references are a bit lost on me. Pour is an amazingly pretty, deep golden color with a tremendous white head that has very good retention. It's quite sweet up front. A definite honey and light viscosity hits the palate at first. The viscosity makes for quite a rich mouthfeel. The 9% ABV is definitely 'there', but it doesn't overwhelm things early. Not a grab deal of hop character here, but there is a bit of a Saaz-like Noble bitterness all the way in...
Saison Blanc
$5.49 for the 12 oz corked and caged affair. Yellow dot-matrix date is obliterated on the neck. Brewed with 'Golden Raisins' (that I think is American for sultanas) and white pepper. Potentially a beer that I am VERY interested in. VERY. Always holding my breath with carbonation and Lost Abbey - medium to low pop on opening . No gun smoke. Lovely, hazed golden color. Light, musty citrus in the nose, Intensified in the mouth with a real satsuma peel and juice note. Tasty. Wow! A beer to...
Weisse Weisse Baby
$9.99 for the 750 mL from Growlers, HHI, SC, USA. Bottled 03/29/13. Well this beer has been a long time coming. A few years ago, a few months before Westbrook had even opened, I had the pleasure of meeting Ed Westbrook at a party held in Charleston (thanks Brian Z.). Ed brought two beers with him that he was piloting for the new brewery. One I forget (perhaps a Strong Belgian Dark), but the the Berliner Weisse I did not. It was astonishingly good. I was thinking that WWB might be an...
Castelain Blonde Biere de Garde GRAND CRU
A rare, rare treat in the US - the Grand Cru at 7.8%. 30/11/13 L12244 $9.99 for the 750 mL, Green's on Ponce. A classic BdG in appearance with that distinct copper color that always seems to yield very little head or lace. Great clarity. Nose offers plenty of bright, clean malts, and the tastes follow suit in a simplistic, and very sharp manner. No edges here, a well-defined beer, true to style and one that leaves not a whiff of residue of any type. There's plenty of the nutty sweetness that...
17th Anniversary Götterdämmerung IPA
Oh good, another Stone DIPA. They don't make many of those! The usual Stone presentation. Very pale yellow pour, almost macro lager like in terms of the color. Average white head, some lace but very little retention. Low level hop aroma in the nose. There is undoubtably a strong and intense bitterness about this, with even a little aspirin element being present, but to be honest it also has a fence amount of bright, sweetish fruit about it. Interesting combo. 102 IBU's? Whatever, we're close...
RU-55
Chestnut brown pour with a better than anticipated head on the aggressive pour. JesterKing classes this a 'Barrel Aged Sour Red'. Unfiltered, unpasteurized and aged on oak barrels. Some mid-level ethanoic acid on the nose amongst some organic wafts of hay. The initial tastes offer some barrel notes that I am not keen on and don't need. Luckily the light vinegar sourness is enough to counteract this fairly quickly, and even about a quarter of the way down the bottle, the barrel elements becomes...
Brewery Ommegang
XV Reserve Anniversary
$15.99 for the tin and the corked bottle. Love me some Ommegang, but even before I open the tin or the bottle I feel that the price here is unlikely to be kind in terms of value. We'll see. The corked and caged bottle opens with a modest pop and only a touch of gun-smoke. Pour is a dark chestnut brown that borders on black. There is a lovely mocha head that is deep and pitted, but it doesn't last long at all. A shame, since this was set up to be a real treat on the eye. The nose offers plenty...
Le Petit Prince
Farmhouse Table Beer
Big thanks go out to Lee for providing me with the original bottle of this back in 2012. That bottle was cracked open on vacation in Hilton Head, SC in summer of 2012, the height of relaxation for me these days. Thee notes are a combination of two separate tastings, the second one being a bottle that I purchased from the Greenville Beer Exchange in Greenville, SC in March of 2013, about 9 months after my original notes. I paid $6.49 for the 750 mL bottle. Pour is a honey yellow with some lace...
Black Tuesday
The Bruery
Updated notes Original notes 03/06/2013 The back story to me acquiring this beer is interesting. When it first came out, I was still very active on beeradvocate. At the time, I remember doing my usual, 'this is bullshit' type rant about limited release beer and the ridiculous hype associated with it. I then received a 'beermail' from another BA, offering to send me a bottle for nothing. I gladly accepted, and a week or so later, there it was. I of course reciprocated with a big box in return....
Dogfish Head
Birra Etrusca Bronze
Pour is a, 'per the label' dark bronze color with some initially high head that fades pretty quickly. Retention is not great, and lace is essentially zero. Of course, the name is actually nothing to do with the color, rather a reference to using 'bronze' in the fermentation. I'm not at all sure what that means, but I suppose it refers to using bronze equipment rather than adding pieces of alloy to the fermentation vessels!!?? The label is ambiguous. Nose has some amber, toffee malts with a...
JesterKing Commercial Suicide
(Oaked) Farmhouse Ale
OK, an 'Oaked, Farmhouse Mild Ale'? Hmmm, I dunno. Unfiltered, unpasteurized and bottle-conditioned, 750 mL in the usual Jester King presentation. The label also refers to something that they call 'English pub ale'. Needless to say, that worries me a bit, and coupled with some other equally silly guff on the label, it's not a good start for me. In addition, any source that is quoting this as being in the, 'ENGLISH Dark Mild Ale' style, is offensive to me. Pour is a chocolate brown color with a...
Stone 12.12.12
Vertical Epic Ale
Here we go with the final in the vertical epic series (neither a vertical or in most cases 'epic'), but nevertheless always beers that I look forward to trying each year. On the face of it, 12 sounds like a beer that will suit me a lot. We'll see. Pour is inky black with a small, but well formed head. Nice dark mocha color with some equally good coffee-like, thin lace. Nose has a lovely, cinnamon based, mixed all-spice note that definitely has a strong 'Belgian/Christmas' element. This is...
Yule Shoot Your Eye Out
(Seasonal Ale)
Huge shout-out to @lnashsig for the chance to crack this one. Looking forward to it immensely. Pour is a dark brown/black affair with two fingers of mocha, wispy and bubbled head. Brewed with cocoa nibs and spices. Nose offers some light acidity but not much of the spiciness that follows in the tastes. This beer is light on its feet, and offers plenty of the cocoa nibs that are advertised and some simpler, light spice notes too. Nothing dramatic or too heavy here, the beer offers some easy...
5 Golden Rings
Additional notes 08/08/2021 Aged bottle. Carbonation almost completely gone, and for this beer, that’s not good. Look, I’m not about to ding a beer for being this way after all of these years, but it’s a pretty important reminder to drink beer pretty much as soon as one can. Outside of the carbonation issue, this beer remains pretty true to the original notes. That’s all. Additional notes 12/22/2013 One year on and frankly, not much change. I was hoping for a slight tempering of the fruit and...
Oatmeal Stout 2012
Beer Camp #45
Before purchasing the Beer Camp 12 pack, I was pretty sure that the beer that I would like least would be this one. It turned out that it was the one that I enjoyed the most, and by quite some distance. It should be noted that is not a commentary on the weakness of the other beer in the pack, rather it's a credit to the strength of this beer. Pitch black pour with a small, half-inch mocha head that is perfectly formed. No lace to speak of and the retention is hardly good, but given the ABV...
Brewery Ommegang
Duvel Rustica
OK, what are the differences between this and Duvel? The question really seems as though it should be at the forefront of any discussion of Rustica, since it is being declared as Ommegang's, "American Farmhouse interpretation of Duvel'. Let's just say that Ommegang had better be confident (and careful) about deliberately drawing comparisons in this manner, because they are opening up a whole can of worms if the beer fails to reach those dizzy heights! For me, it's a high risk endeavor. For a...
Wolfgang
Black body with a thick, creamy, almost old fashioned Guinness like head. The retention is OK, but the lace is not as good as the original , creamy presence (initially) suggests. Nose has a little caramel (but less in the taste) and is disappointingly lacking in alcohol presence. Bitter. VERY bitter for the style, and nowhere near sweet enough. A little soapy hoppiness that I have zero problem with in many other styles, but which is not appropriate for a Doppelbock. Bitterness lingers in the...
Dogfish Head
75 Minute IPA
Had a chance to purchase a bottle at the brewpub in March of this year, but I passed. Everything comes to he who waits, and lo and behold here it is on the shelves in GA a few months later. $8.99 for the 750 mL from JUGS Atlanta. Pour is a mid-orange, hazed body with a thick, white head that leaves very good lace and has better than expected retention. Looks nice, appearance is a strong point. The nose is surprisingly neutral given the relatively aggressive hopped-up nature of the beer, and...
Fantôme
Fantôme Saison
Extremely surprised to see this back on the shelf at Green's in early August of 2012 - extremely. Distribution to GA seemed to have stopped for quite a while, amidst rumors of Dany Prignons' demise. $12.99 for the 750 mL corked and capped bottle. The usual Fantôme cork is extracted. Batches of this beer are basically impossible to date, and there can be such variation that oftentimes comparisons are extremely difficult to make sense of. I suppose this is a relatively recent batch unless Adam...
16th Anniversary
Bottled conditioned, August 2012. OK, the last Stone Anniversary beer that I thought was any good was 13. That beer was superb. 14 and 15 I disliked strongly, and I thought that 14 was simply a bad beer. That brings us to 16. Well, there are some conflicting signs (for me), right off the bat. Lemon, I like; Stone doing a DIPA ought to be a solid platform; Rye is generally an element that I don't care for in beer. Very attractive pour. The clarity and color are both outstanding, and the head is...
Cucumber Saison
High, fluffy, large bubbled and wispy white head sits above a mid-orange, slightly clouded body. Nose has a light, floral element with some icy, apple notes. Clean. Tastes are much like the nose but with the floral element jacked-up, and a slightly tart character coming through. It's very clean. Occasionally, as one takes a gulp, there is a really large cucumber presence and it's fantastic. I really like this. The slight acidity on top on the clean edges works fantastically well, and rather...
Dogfish Head
Positive Contact
Presented by both Dogfish Head and Dan The Automator (whoever he is), this has farro, cayenne and cilantro added. I like me some cilantro, so I think this has potential. It also has a label with DELTRON 3030 emblazoned on it - another thing that without the help of Google, I have no clue of its meaning. I know this is part of DFH's music series, but I also have no idea what the Positive Contact song/track/album is. Frankly, I'm rather glad. I was a little concerned with this beer since I...
Ommegang
Biere d’Hougoumont
Curious that a brewery would pay homage to a Bière de Grade by naming the beer after the scene of an EPIC French defeat, but...... Nice pop on opening. Mid amber pour in strong light gives some deeper red tones. Attractive colors. However, head retention is poor, and leaving zero in its wake. Not really too much of a problem given the style, but I would prefer a little more of a nod in the direction of head. Nose has a little yeasty fruit and some alcohol. Fairly reserved. Big rounded tastes...
Ommegang
Art of Darkness
The usual Ommegang Limited Edition series presentation. Cork pops with modesty. Brewery Ommegang says, 'A spellbinding homage to brewings' dark arts'. Really? Who brewed this? Harry Potter? Nice dark brown color which gives away a slightly olive green hue. Head is pitted and mocha, leaving a thin, spotty film, but not much lace. Perfectly acceptable. Nose is simple. A few dark fruit notes, but mainly simple bread. Tastes do not really give as much Belgian dark character as I was hoping for,...
Unibroue 17
Grand Réserve
Bottled in 2011, No. 2011-100254, best before 12-12-2016. Parchment like label, information on the back describing the 2007 beer and the process it went through to become the 'Grand Reserve'. I've been (generally) a huge fan of the Unibroue anniversary series, and indeed enjoyed 17 very much, so even at $12.99 for the corked and caged 750 mL it was a no-brainer for me. A healthy pop on opening (good) is followed by a light chestnut, brownish pour. The carbonation is pretty good and gives a...
Tank 7
Farmhouse Ale
Additional notes 06/17/23 Since those original notes from 11 years ago I've come to adore this beer. Put simply, it (along with Saison Brett) is one of the great beers brewed in the USA. Original notes 01/21/12 Part of the usually tremendous, Smokestack Series, the beer pours with a magnificent, bright, golden orange marmalade colored pour with a huge head in the Duvel chalice. Looks wonderful. Smudged dot-matrix 'Best By' date on the neck is unreadable, along with another illegible number -...
The Bruery
4 Calling Birds
Additional notes 07/04/23 (Pictured) Almost 12 years old. A little fizz on opening and for a few seconds the head doesn't look too bad after av try aggressive pour. After that the carbonation drops off dramatically, but 100% as expected. Apparently a jet black body, but on closer inspection and different light we see chestnut browns and reds. Lots of the early reports of this beer 12 years ago was that it was hot with alcohol. Frankly, even after all of this time it's still quite feisty! It's...
Stone 11.11.11
Vertical Epic Ale
Every time that I pick up a VE bottle I am annoyed by the fact that the series is not a 'vertical' at ALL, but I suppose that's a conversation/post for another day. Decent legs, nice, solid copper colored with a tiny bit of lace and a thin, creamy and spotty film eventually settles on the surface. Nose gives no sign of heat, and is really very fruity. Some Belgian esters that do not really carry forward to the taste until the beer warms significantly, and even then they are not exactly...
Dogfish Head, Faithfull Ale
(Pearl Jam Twenty)
Paid about $12 for the 750mL bottle from Macs in Midtown Atlanta, GA, USA. Yellow, dot-matrixed date on the bottle shoulder that declares 'Bottled in 2011, 103 1'. Pour delivers a golden macro colored body and a slightly above average (although not spectacular) head, retention and lace. Small ring of foam left after initial pour. The nose and tastes have weak, yeasty, lager notes about them with perhaps a very mild hint of white pepper, alcohol and fruit. The tastes exaggerate the fruit part...
Brasserie La Botteresse
de Sur-Les-Bois Brune
This beer did something for me that happens pretty infrequently these days - it really WOWED me! One of the best beers I have tasted in quite some time, and a beer that for me, really took me back to some other classics. Spectacular pour that looks brooding with its big, dark chestnut body and creamy, mocha colored head. It's big and dangerous and looks like it! Lots of medicinal notes amongst the more typical Belgian Dark notes - in that respect, a little surprising. There's a touch of...
Genesis 15:15 Barrel Aged
Harvest Barleywine Ale
Batch 001, 791 cases, bottling date 9/7/2011 all noted in detail on the neck label. 22oz bottle from Mac's Midtown, Atlanta, GA, USA. Shmaltz is a brewer I have come to enjoy very much, if for no other reason than the fact that they generally favor the maltier side of the spectrum which usually suits me more than the other end of things. Very dark chestnut (close to black) pour which provides more head and lace than I was anticipating given the ABV. A very thin film forms on the head of the...
De Proef Brouwerij
Broederlijke Liefde Saison Ale
750mL, (plastic, meh) corked & caged bottle in the usual Brewmaster's Collaboration Series presentation. This one comes with the added moniker on the label of being associated with Philly BEER Week. This is the fifth in the collaboration series. Pour is a bright orange with some cloudiness. The head is small but nevertheless fairly well formed and the retention is absolutely tremendous. The nose is strong. Funk is fully formed with a few floral notes. Tastes are particularly floral even...
Smashed Blueberry
22 oz bottle, somewhere between $7.99 and $8.99 in most Atlanta retailers. The gold foil and the vivid blue of the label make this an attractive package externally. The pour (a rich, almost black color with a super head and some nice lace) match the intensity and the pleasurable nature of the look, and have me salivating at the prospect of tasting it. Having drunk this last weekend, I actually went back and bought another bottle - partly because I enjoyed it so much the first time I drank it,...
Extra Special Bitter Ale
Every time I see an American brewed beer with the ESB moniker, my heart sinks. On nearly every occasion that I recall, the resultant beer has been dreadfully disappointing, mainly because it has been so far away from the genuine article it often hurt my very soul to see/taste it. The usual issue is a hop profile that is way too high, and the added threat of a west coast brewery in this case doesn't exactly make me optimistic! We'll see. Somewhat confusingly this is called, 'Extra Special...
Sixteen
Obviously a relatively unusual style, especially in the form of an anniversary beer, but nonetheless a welcome one. Darker than expected pour with a nice beige head. Small retention but some really nice creamy stuff is left on the surface of the beer - good, spotty, thin film sits as a temptation for what is below. Mahogany color, but on the dark end of that particular spectrum. Nose offers little more than some strong, sweet alcohol, but I suppose that is entirely appropriate. In the taste...
Gavroche
French Red Ale
$2.99 for the 11.2 oz bottle. Unfiltered, unpasteurized and bottle-conditioned, from Arbor Place Beverage, Douglasville, GA. I'm fairly sure that this is a bottle with a significant amount of age on it, but at the same time I'm pretty confident that this type of beer will mature well, and perhaps equally importantly it will mature in a manner that will suit my palate. $2.99 for the bottle is hardly a huge risk either, so I'm in! "Order 1008" dot-matrixed on the rear of the label near the...
Saison Cazeau
I spent an hour or so chatting with Crawford Moran (the genius brewer at 5 Seasons Westside in Atlanta) yesterday, and really enjoyed drinking his Provence Saison that is brewed with Lavender. Coincidentally I had picked this up at Hop City next door, just a few minutes previously. Both of these floral saisons seem to dovetail beautifully with the very hot weather that has hit Atlanta in the last 36 hours or so. The pour is an interesting one for a couple of reasons. Firstly the beer appears...
Existent
American Farmhouse Ale
750 mL capped bottle with matt, black foil on the neck with a brooding sepia and black label with additional Nietzsche quotes. It's all trying a bit too hard for my liking. Anyway ... I was excited to see the words 'Farmhouse Ale' on the label since I generally love a good Saison, but frankly I should have taken more careful note of the word 'American' in front of them. In this case this stands for (as it so often does), 'fucking about with'. Why oh why do we need 'black' Saisons? Pour gives a...
Rauch Geek Breakfast
(AKA ‘Beer Geek Bacon’)
Purchased at Hop City, Atlanta, GA, USA. 500 mL bottle. Jet black pour with a really dark, coffee colored head. Nose and tastes deliver a large amount of smoke, but the beer lacks the meaty, solid quality of many smoked beers and in that respect feels a little light. Tobacco features with some leathery components, but the beer lacks a sweet edge that really needs to accompany the smoked malts. Slightly too bitter for me and this beer frankly lacks the charm and subtlety of many other smoked...
Rosey Nosey
Lighter than expected amber color with a head and lace combo which is sufficient to keep me happily engaged. Medium (appropriate) carbonation. The nose is where the special nature of this beer start to manifest themselves. Rich caramel, biscuit malts combine to reveal a classic, English malt and mid-hop character brew. Slight dry finish that one would expect completes the package with a touch of soapy bitterness in the aftertaste. Don't think of this as a Winter Warmer and you'll be happier....
Rauch Geek Breakfast / Beer Geek Bacon
Jet black pour with a really dark, coffee colored head. Nose and tastes deliver a large amount of smoke, but the beer lacks the meaty, solid quality of many smoked beers and in that respect feels a little light. Tobacco features with some leathery components, but the beer lacks a sweet edge that really needs to accompany the smoked malts. Slightly too bitter for me and this beer frankly lacks the charm and subtlety of many other smoked beers. Frankly i was disappointed. Not up to speed for...
Special Reserve Wisconsin Scottish Ale
As others have mentioned, there is no mention of "Special Reserve" on the label here, so I am assuming this is the correct beer. 12 oz bottle, thanks go out to Kevin for the chance to try this beer. Mid-amber pour with a nice clarity. Head is reserved, but appropriate. The nose is really rather strong with plenty of sherry liquor notes which get me rather excited.The aroma promises a richness. The taste don't really match the virility of the aroma. There is certainly a huge malty, sweet,...
Ommegang Gnomegang/Gnommegang
Additional notes 03/17/23 (pictured) Almost 12 years ago since I last made notes on this. Note the new spelling. This is such a hard, hard beer to review in 2023 given what has happen to it in the 12 years since my initial notes. It’s not really because that much has changed, if indeed anything at all, but this is now brewed by a brewery that has long since lots its way in terms of the beer that it puts out generally, and now, God forbid, it’s in a can. Like most of the canned beer produced...
30th Anniversary – Jack & Ken’s Ale
OK, a 'Black Barleywine' brewed by an American brewery is frankly unlikely to be a beer that I fall in love with, so for that reason I decided to sit on this one for a while. I've had it since it first came to Georgia, so a decent amount of time on it now. Opening corked & caged affair gives a pretty alarming pop with some good gun smoke. A really dark chestnut colored pour that reminds me of the most mature conkers that I had as a kid. A thin, creamy film/cap forms on the beer as things...
Bashah
12 oz bottle. Batch 352 which I think says 12/19/10 as the bottled on date, but I bought this way before that so that cannot be correct. My suspicion is that is a best before date. Anyway... Black pour with some brownish highlights. Not much head, very little lace, but it settles to give a spotty, creamy film on the surface. Nose offers plenty of hop character, and it is typically aggressive for the style and the two breweries involved. That carries forward to the taste where the hops could be...
Steelhead Extra Pale Ale
12 oz stubbie bottle. Blue label that is different to the picture in the BA db. As a single form Hop City, Atlanta, GA, USA. Pour is a tad disappointing as the beer sits somewhat lifeless with a classic macro look - no head, no retention, no lace and a golden body. Color is fine, carbonation is not. Head is particularly disappointing to me. Nose and tastes give a distinct vegetal sweetness and a malty experience that feels musty and old. No date on the bottle that I can see, so who knows?...
Mission St. Hefeweizen
22 oz bottle from the Trader Joe's cheap and cheerful line. I have had some really good success with some of these budget brews, but there have also been one or two stinkers so it's always an adventure - let's see what we have here. The beer goes into the 500 mL Tucher Weizen glass. It's color is definitely out of the ordinary for the style. It's deep, orangey copper which is a long way away from a typical, lemony yellow body. The head is good initially, and to be fair doesn't fade as badly as...
Ovila
Corked & caged bottle with an unusual shape around the neck. Opens with a fearful pop with a button mushroom like cork - I suggest great care opening this one, but to be honest I would rather have it that way than without sufficient carbonation. Nice gun smoke. Attractive reddish brown hue which seems less muddy than the usual Dubbel appearance which is a bonus. Having said that beer is a dreadfully disappointing head and it fades horribly. No lace, no retention - shame. Light, alcoholic...
Hop Ruiter
So I've been eying this 750 mL bottle in the store for some time and assumed (from afar) that it would be a Belgian IPA (considering the name), but was a little surprised to see it in the BA db as simply a BSPA. Additionally it was reviewed in this months BA magazine and was given the moniker 'Belgian Strong Golden Ale'! Seems like the beer has a identity crisis. Either way I'm pretty confident that I know what this beer will taste LIKE, it really depends to what degree that the white pepper,...
Capricho Oscuro – Batch 2
12 oz bottle, many thanks go out to Steve for the chance to try this one. On the neck label the Batch # (2), and the bottle count (205/450) are noted. Pour is a dark, chestnut brown with quite a lot of sediment, a lovely rich, coffee colored head, some which brings with it some decent retention and lace. Big 'ole which malty notes with some sherry and alcohol. Tastes reflect that, but come in with a bit more subtlety. The sherry and alcohol notes are reflected early, but then we get more...
Querkus Smoked Oaked Porter
The presentation of this beer certainly makes one think that this could be a Scandinavian beer - something about the name and the label. Had no idea this was a Ridgeway beer until I looked at the label very carefully. A really pretty color on the pour with plenty of ruby red highlights throughout the beer. Conservative head but still gives decent retention and some nice lace. However, the color is the star in the appearance; quite exquisite. Nose and tastes give a mild smokiness that permeates...
Sanctification
375 mL bottle courtesy of Ross - many thanks. Batch 005. Chilled this off perfectly and the medium pop on opening the corked & caged bottle produces some nice gun smoke. The head 'fizzes' up initially but of course it does not last and there is not much lace or retention. A very thin film of bubbles sit atop the beer. The color is REALLY memorable. A very, very distinct lemon colored, yellow body. Super bright in terms of the hue and a stand out feature of the brew. The nose is fresh and...
Shark Attack Double Red Ale
22oz bottle, Arbor Place Beverage, Douglasville, GA, USA. Very typical for the style, a cloudy and turbid brown soup like affair with some big, rocky, pitted, off-white head and lace. Retention is not great. It's a bit of an ugly looking beer for me. Nose and tastes deliver typical big, hoppy alcohol notes, and there is the requisite dry finish. Strangely, the alcohol is fairly well hidden during the drink, but in the aftertaste and at the end the beer packs its' full punch. The combination of...
Jai Alai IPA – Papaya
750 mL bottle as part of a care package from Joey at the brewery. Many thanks. Nothing on the label to suggest that this beer has Jai Alai as the base, but reading the reviews it apparently does. The label is attractive and it suggests a fruity, rich experience is in store - that doesn't really happen for me. Pour is a VERY attractive deep copper color with a high, fluffy head. The color is very rich and reminds me of one of those high def photographs that has that orange hue. The beer looks...
Midnight Special India-Style Black Ale
So, I had heard about the new limited, special series that Glenn at Jailhouse was going to release and this one popped up at Green's on Buford yesterday. $8.99 for the large (bomber like) bottle. Part of the new, Solitary Confinement Series; Cool! Not sure that I understand the label with the train bearing down on the convict in his bed, but, hey...whatever! The pour is a very rich looking, dense, totally black affair that pours with a real, 'gloop, gloop' noise as it comes out of the bottle....
North Peak Siren Amber
12 oz stubbie bottle as depicted in the BA db, thanks go out to Kevin for the chance to try this one. Pour produces some nice sticky, white lace on top of a slightly murky, brown body. Not really very interesting to look at but at the same time the head is decent, produces some nice lace and is somewhat well retained. Nose offers little other than some sweet malts. The tastes are fairly ordinary with a few hoppy hints amongst the fairly dry, average malt base. Drinks easily and has good...
Organic Honeydew
500 mL bottle as depicted in the BA database. $3.99 from Green's on Buford, Atlanta, GA, USA. Pour is an impressive, bright golden color with some lovely clarity, good carbonation, a nice, tight white head with some good retention and lace. Attractive no doubt with some great depth of orange color in the golden hue. Nice. The nose offers a little breadiness amongst the sweet malts and a hint of toasty grains. Tastes give more of the toasty grain character and a honey elements that is more on...
Irish Style Stout
12oz stubbie bottle as per the usual Sprecher presentation. Thanks go out to Kevin for the chance to try this beer. The bottom line with Sprecher is that they produce some great examples of simple styles, that are generally under-appreciated outside of their immediate locale, and by America geeks in general. Simple black body with a modest head. The thing I like about both the nose and taste associated with this beer is that they both represent a VERY light, balanced profile that sits in a...
King Goblin
Single 500 mL bottle from Green's on Ponce, Atlanta, GA , USA. Superb color on the pour, giving a beautiful, garnet clarity that I seldom see these days. Color is deep and present. Head is to be frank, a little disappointing. Small, not well retained although the lace defies he lack of retention. Nose and tastes give up a classic biscuit malt and a light touch which defines the style (at least in the bottle). Some hoppy notes are added to the alcohol which produce a nice balance of drying...
New Holland Night Tripper
22 oz bottle from Brawley's, Charlotte, NC, USA. Light foil on the neck of the bottle. New Holland is one of the few brewers that get to NC but not to GA, so I generally pick up something from them every time I'm up in NC. Inky black pour with a modest head. Some nice, then mocha film sit atop the black body. Carbonation is reserved but entirely appropriate. Nose and tastes give a fairly significant sweet effect. Some alcohol and lots of dry chocolate in the finish. A little warmth but...
Stone Old Guardian BELGO Barleywine
22 oz bottle from The Beer Dispensary, Apex, NC, USA. I approach this beer with a mix of trepidation, excitement and interest since I feel that it is likely to bring together two elements of beer that are usually at opposite ends of the enjoyment spectrum for , namely Belgian yeast and character at one end (the good), and aggressive, hoppy, high ABV American Barleywines at the other (the bad) - it promises to be quite the experience. The pour is a VERY attractive, bright dark copper with some...
Mongo
22 oz bottle. $7.99 from Ansley Wine Merchants, Atlanta, GA, USA. Heard a lot of buzz about this beer in the last couple of weeks as LA/Port has recently made it to GA. For some reason (not sure why) I was under the impression that this was going to be largely a draught offering, so I was a little surprised to find it in bottles. Pour is an attractive hazy marmalade color with a large, three finger head but doesn't quite give the magnificent and sticky lace that such a good head should bring,...
Imperial Stout
2011 vintage, as a gift from Mike at Duckworth's. Most generous, many thanks. 22 oz bottle with some really thick gold wax on top. Ding and the wax go to battle for a few minutes before I manage to prise the cap off. Wax seal like affair has 2011 embossed into the wax. Pour is the requisite black, inky body, but with a very well retained head and some nice, cappuccino, sticky mocha colored lace. The mouthfeel is pretty silky without being remotely cloying at all. Very smooth even considering...
Presque Isle Pilsner
12oz single thanks go out to Kevin for the chance to try this one. Extremely pale color on the pour with a touch of haziness about it - not good for a Pils. Carbonation seems low for the style too. Weak vegetal notes, some dubious notes int eh nose and some funny dry bitterness in the finish. Not a clean beer and it lacks all kinds of attributes that a solid Pils should have. Perhaps better fresher and closer to the source, but I'm not convinced of that and I'm not holding my...
Berghoff Rock River Red Ale
12 oz single thanks to Kevin for the chance to try this. What is this?? Expecting an Amber/Red of *some* description I get a honey-colored, slightly hazy beer that, apart from the big, fluffy head, appears to be a macro color. The nose and tastes are SUPER sweet and grainy. I mean SWEET, even by my standards that can usually tolerate a lot of sweetness. There's a corny maltiness about the beer too. Metallic features amongst the vegetal notes. Some alcohol. Strange, and if this is an Amber/Red...
Wipeout I.P.A.
Review #2600 on BA. On tap at Taco Mac, East West Connector, Austell, Atlanta, GA, USA. 16 oz pour. The beer comes as a hazed, mid-orange pour with the emphasis on the cloudy nature of the beer. Quite 'dense' looking which is OK for the nice, two-finger head that forms, but less appealing in the body of the beer. Typical, west coast, American IPA is the simple analysis here; large, piney, resinous grapefruit in the nose which intensifies on warming. More of the same in the tastes with perhaps...
Cascade Kriek Ale
750 mL, corked & caged from Brawley's, Charlotte, NC. 2009 vintage, $19.99. No hint of a pop on opening. Pour gives some more head than I was expecting but no lace and only a thin film is left behind after a couple of minutes. The body is a light, chestnut brown color and lacks much hint of red that a few others seem to have mentioned. Nose gives plenty of sinus clearing, fruity acidity - as expected. Tastes reflect the nose but with a touch more aggression and more residual drying effects...
Angry Angel Kolsch
12 oz single from The Beer Dispensary, Apex, NC, USA. Kolsch? Nope. Pour gives a cloudy, mid orange body with a large, frothy, fluffy off-white head that leaves some sticky lace. The nose instantly gives a fairly significant blast of hops, and the tastes replicate some of the hop bitterness too. Also present is a large malt backbone which holds the whole thing together. Aftertaste is quite dry. In a blind taste taste I would put this down as being an old, American IPA. It fails the 'look' test...
Le Terroir
22 oz bottle. Pour is a rich, golden color with good clarity but a few hints of hazy cloud. Head forms quickly, is small, light and fluffy and fades to yield no more than a thin film and next to no lace. Nose is interesting. As well as the tart acidity that one is expecting, there is also a fleeting whiff/hintof the green-feel hops. However, this slips away quickly to give way to the acidity in the blink of an eye. The tastes mirror the nose with the apple acidity barging past a minor hop kiss...
Urthel Saisonnière
11.2oz bottle. Surprised to see this at The Beer Dispensary in Apex, NC, USA. Not an Urthel beer that I have ever seen in the US before. Pour gives a pretty standard, honeyed, hazed, lemon color with a nice creamy white foam on top. Some nice lace as the beer sits in the Brasserie de l'Abbaye des Rocs goblet. A significant, sweet earthiness permeates the nose of this beer right from the get go. Organic feel about the beer. In typical Urthel fashion the tastes are a little reminiscent of a...
Lagunitas Bavarian-Styled
Doppel Weizen
$3.99 for the 22 oz bottle which itself suggests that this might be a good value beer. Typical numbers for the Lagunitas series of bombers. Murky, honey colored pour with a semi-decent head. The nose and the tastes give up some of the banana notes that one might expect, but you have to concentrate a little to detect them. They are not as strong as many others beers in the style. The murky appearance of the beer is replicated in the mouthfeel which is syrupy and viscous. Not really a huge...
Sweetwater Dank Tank Mean Joe Bean
22 oz bottle in the usual Dank Tank presentation this time with a brown and yellow motif. The pour is basically black with a few brownish highlights at the extreme edges. Head is quite small and lacks any retention or lace, a little disappointing. Nose has a surprisingly lack of coffee element and is mainly dominated by a malty, alcohol note. The mouthfeel is very light which I suppose could be taken one of two ways. Either the beer is very drinkable and easy, or it lacks presence for a beer...
Headwaters Pale Ale
12 oz single from Ale Yeah, Decatur, Atlanta, GA, USA. Relatively new entrant to the Atlanta market. Th e pour gives a clear, copper colored body with a one finger head. Head is unfortunately poorly retained and there is virtually no lace. Color is pretty though. I'm very surprised at the hoppy nature of the nose. It's quite striking under any circumstances, and considering the style that is even more amazing. The tastes also give up some of that hoppy element, but it's not quite as strong as...
Bink Grand Cru
750 mL bottle with a synthetic 'cork', silver foil and cage with black cap. Cork is wedged in pretty tight, it is a pain to open. Also, the lack of 'pop' and lack of gun-smoke is a little disappointing. In anything other than bright light, the beer looks black. In stronger light the body is seen to be a shade or two lower getting into the very, very dark brown region with even a few red notes/highlights in the extremities. Aggressive pour was required (at least by me, since I am a fan of...
Aecht Schlenkerla Eiche
The usual Schlenkerla bottle shape, purchased from Green's on Ponce in Atlanta, GA, USA. The pour is a particularly attractive, gold color with a moderate, white head. It looks really nice in terms of the color, but I would much prefer a bigger and better retained head. It lacks a little in that department, but the color is really superb. Very nice carbonation. The nose delivers the usual Schlenkerla bacon smoke, but it seems more complex and layered than some of the other Schlenkerla beers....
Bell’s Oarsman
12 oz single from Ale Yeah, Decatur, Atlanta, GA, USA. A very pale, hazy yellow pour with a pretty small head and little retention or lace. Nose and tastes are citrusy and light, but lack any depth for me. It's not complex and beers of this ABV CAN BE! There are a few light (relative) sour notes. It seems to me that Bell's are getting away with a little something here. They are filling a gap in the US market, but they are doing it with a beer that's not very good. However, the gap in the...
Minhas 1845 Pilsner
12 oz bottle courtesy of Kevin. The pour delivers a color that is darker and more orange than I would like to see from a Pils. It has a slightly hazed, copper tone and doesn't give a very clean appearance. The head is a quick, one finger affair but it disappears very swiftly. No lace. Nose and tastes are at first watery and grainy, and then cut in with a huge dollop of sweetness. The sugar seems very artificial and quite chemical in its nature. The lack of body continually repeats itself....
Schell’s Pilsner
12 oz single - thanks to Kevin for the chance to try this one. Pour is a very odd color. It has a watery pale look, but also has a slightly bizarre hazed, wheat-like look. The head is not really of any consequence and there is a thin film of froth on the surface. No lace. The color is very disturbing to me - it looks both washed out and cloudy. Strange. Nose has some dry, grainy alcohol and a little degree of sweet malt. There is a hint of bitterness that permeates the beer (good), but it also...
Old Slugger
12 oz single, thanks go out to Rob for the chance to try this. This is a beer with some presence. I like it a lot. The pour looks substantial with a heavy, copper colored body and some really nice, thick white head. Nose and tastes deliver some substantial, malts that are nicely complimented with a decent splash of bitterness. The hop profile is noticeable and definitely brings a presence that is unusual for the style, AND gives more punch than a beer with this kind of ABV would be expected to...
Saranac Amber Wheat
12 oz bottle as a single from Kevin. Thanks mate. The beer pours with a lovely, dark golden color with a decent white head that leaves a little lace. There is a touch of haze to the beer which seems appropriate for the style. Nose offers very little outside of some weak malts and a little grain. Tastes are quite dry with a short finish. Plenty of pale malts with the faintest kiss of hop bitterness in the final flourish. More dryness in the aftertaste. The malts have a little biscuit nature...
Saranac Helles
12 oz single courtesy of Kevin. A good clean, bright (appropriate) pour with a head head that is not especially well retained or leads to much lace. Carbonation is good amidst the golden, clear body. Some light, peppery spice on the aroma and tastes that also lend a degree of bitterness. Sharp and clean, the beer gives away its sharp roots with a combination of dry, stinging bitterness. This is by no means the harshest of the style I have had, not does it deliver the real sting of solid Saaz...
Berghoff Prairie Lager
12 oz single, from Kevin - many thanks. Oh dear, this is not very good at ALL! I like the label and the general appearance of the bottle, it's a shame that this is by far the best aspect of this particular beer! Should i eat the label instead of drinking the beer? To be fair the beer does pour with a Pilsener appearance in terms of color, carbonation and clarity, but the head is woeful and the lace non-existent. The tastes and nose are INCREDIBLY sweet, even for my sweet tooth and obviously...
Hopalicious
Many thanks go out to Kevin for the opportunity to sample this beer. 12oz single. At first glance, from the general appearance and more obviously from the name, it seemed to me as though this was going to be some huge, American DIPA that would be a real plate abuser. On closer inspection it reveals that the beer is not supposed to be that at all, and it's just a swell since it did not appear especially hoppy at all. In fact, the name was somewhat ironic in both the respect that it was not...
Lakemaid
12 oz single from Kevin, thanks mate. Pour offers a slightly hazed yellow body and an aggressive dispensing yields a pretty decent head if truth be told. Obviously little retention and/or lace, but not bad considering everything. Nose and tastes do no more than a beer of this style and nature should. A sweet, grainy, vegetal note with limited bitterness and weak malts. Mouthfeel is average for the style and the beer delivers a thoroughly underwhelming experience pretty much across the board....
Buckeye Beer
12 oz single courtesy of Kevin. For a beer that has a Czech Pils moniker, it has a heck of a lot of adjunct lager character! Head retention is pretty weak and the beer delivers a nose that is chocked full of vegetal sweetness. The aroma characteristics are somewhat 'bothersomely' repeated in the tastes and frankly they do not improve much. The nagging sweetness replaces what should be a dry, clean, bitter Saaz bite in the finish, and the beer generally under performs horribly for the style,...
Heavy Seas – Siren Noire Imperial Chocolate Stout
I believe that the latest batch of Siren Noire (late 2010/early2011) came out a few weeks ago, but this review is from a bottle that is just over 12 months old. 22 oz presentation in the usual, Heavy Seas Mutiny series bottle. I have been generally VERY disappointed with the Heavy Seas range of Mutiny beers over the last couple of years so i have had my expectations lowered considerably. Pour is a requisite dark brown, but fails to reach strong levels of black at any point in the glass. Quite...
Fighting Billy Bock
12 oz single, many thanks go out to Kevin for the chance to try this beer. Pour is an encouraging, reddish brown affair with some nice clarity and good, attractive highlights when the light catches it correctly. The head is a little small, quite poorly retained and lacks much lace, so the good work provided by the color is unfortunately undone almost immediately. Shame. The carbonation seems a touch low. A malty beer with fairly simple caramel and sweet characteristics without getting...
Saranac Rye Pilsener
12 oz single, thanks to Kevin for the chance to try this. Rye beers (of any description) are not really my thing so I approach this with a degree of trepidation. the beer pours as a totally clear, golden straw color with a small, white head. Carbonation is decent and leaves a touch of lace. With the combo of pale malts and, hops and rye, the beer does deliver a clean-cut edge with a degree of bitterness up front. However, this beer is not really deep. Finish is short and dry (good), but lacks...
Point Classic Amber
12 oz single, many thanks go out to Kevin for the chance to try this. Pour offers a strangely red tinge to the beer with plenty of white head. The color goes beyond amber and to another level. Nose offers little, but the tastes do deliver a touch more that I was expecting. Some light acidity on the malts and a light dry character that no-one is calling 'hoppy', but on the other hand does deliver a certain non-sweet note. Ordinary? Sure, but a beer that doesn't leave me unhappy, if at the same...
Grand Cru
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
Berghoff Sundown Dark
12oz 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 does...
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...
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...
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...
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 saw 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...
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...
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...
Sierra Nevada Hoptimum
Additional notes 08/22/23 (pictured) Draught, JK O’Donnell’s, Fort Wayne, IN. 12oz pour, presumably 2023 vintage. Now sporting an 11% ABV (as opposed to 10.4% in the bottled 2011 vintage) and a ‘Triple IPA’ moniker (yawn), it’s been around a dozen years since I’ve either tasted or seen this. Nice copper body, and with a more aggressive pour this would generate enough head and lace to be acceptable at this ABV. This does feel ‘hoppier’ than in years past, but also exhibits most of the...
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.
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
Kuhnhenn Fourth D
Additional notes 08/18/23 2022 Vintage, still a 12oz bottle. Another beer that I never thought I would ever see again, but here we are thanks to the internet (Tavour). 2022 vintage still coming in at 13.5%. No head to speak of which is expected, but interestingly in contrast to the notes below. This definitely isn’t as smooth as the 2+ year old 2008 version in 2011, but this has to be around a year old I would think (depending on bottling date) so it has still had some time. There’s quite a...
La Parcela
750mL 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...
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....
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...
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...
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
12oz 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 the...
Swallow Wit
12oz 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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
Frosted Frog Christmas Ale
22oz 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...
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
12oz 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
22oz 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....
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...
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...
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...
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...
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 750mL 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...
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...
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...
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
12oz 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...
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...
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...
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...
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 22oz 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...
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...
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...
Hofbräu Oktoberfestbier
Additional notes 09/16/23 (pictured) Of late I've been trying to fill in a few gaps in terms of notes and reviews for beers that I've drunk a lot of prior but have looked at old notes and thought, "what?"! This time of year there's obviously great opportunities to do that with Oktoberfests and Festers. 12 oz bottle from a six pack. Immediately the Festbier (rather than the Märzen) becomes apparent from the pour. A golden body with a nice, two finger wispy white head. Looks well-carbonated and...
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...