Torpedo

Beer Name: Torpedo Extra IPA
Brewery: Sierra Nevada Brewing Company
ABV: 7.2%
Serving method: 12-oz bottle in a footed pilsner glass
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Unknown

Well, now I've learned something new, specifically what a footed pilsner glass is. I also learned that this particular glass is not the correct type of glass to use for an IPA. I'm proud of myself.

Torpedo calls itself an "Extra IPA," but I don't know if that means that it's in the double category or if it's just paler or more Indian or what. I'm guessing it's just stronger than an IPA. At any rate, it's a brownish-amber beer with about 3/4" of head. This head lasts an average amount of time, and leaves a light lacing on the glass. The aroma here is a nice citrusy hop scent.

This is a hoppy beer. A very hoppy beer. It's also very dry with a bitter finish. Pretty much everything you'd expect from an IPA. There is a very strong aftertaste of hops in this beer, so be prepared. The beer has a medium carbonation, and it works well with the hoppiness.

Final thought - While it's no Celebration Ale, Torpedo is still pretty good and will make a nice substitute when the Celebration Ale isn't available anymore. Which might actually be now. I haven't looked for it since it ran out at The Lighthouse. Either way, Torpedo is a fairly tasty IPA.

-Jon

NorCal

Beer Name: NorCal Ale
Brewery: Bear Republic Brewing Company
ABV: 4.5%
Serving method: 16-oz draft in a pint glass
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Unknown

The NorCal Ale is something of a hybrid beer, with characteristics of a bitter and a pale ale. I decided to put it in the pale ale category because it tasted more like that than like a bitter.

This beer has a coppery amber color with a head less than half an inch. Most of it fades pretty quickly, but the last eighth of an inch or so hangs on for dear life. It also leaves a ridiculously thick lacing pattern on the glass. The beer has a very mild hop aroma.

Hey! I know this flavor! This beer is like an IPA, only a bit milder. It's got the hoppiness that you'd expect, just dialed back a little. There's also a little bit of sweetness. There's a little bit of carbonation, and the beer has a mild bitterness in the aftertaste.

Final thought - NorCal Ale is a very tasty beer. I think even someone who doesn't enjoy hoppy beers might like it. Or someone who likes hoppy beers but wants to have something a little more mild. Delicious!

-Jon

Fade to Black

Beer Name: Fade to Black Volume 2
Brewery: Left Hand Brewing Company
ABV: 7.8%
Serving method: 12-oz draft in a mug
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Unknown

Fade to Black Volume 2 is a limited edition porter (officially a Baltic porter) from Left Hand Brewing Company, also known as "Elbow something" in certain circles. And if you're wondering, a Baltic porter is just a stronger porter, usually in the 7% and above range.

This beer is a very dark beer, probably in the solid black category. It poured with a caramel colored head around an inch thick. This lasted a decent amount of time, and it left a very thick lacing on the glass. The aroma is a mix of coffee, chocolate, and something smoky or roasted.

Fade to Black has a slight sweetness to it and the expected amounts of coffee and chocolate from the smell. It also has a slightly dry finish and a little bit of bitterness in the aftertaste. I suspect these are a result of the style, which adds something to make the beer a bit more acidic. The carbonation is nice and light, and works perfectly for this beer.

Final thought - This beer is pretty good. Kathryn and I agreed that it would probably be delicious with a meaty meal like a rack of ribs or a big fat steak. Sadly, I'll probably have to wait for Volume 3 to have this again, as I have read that it was only brewed once.

-Jon

Hop Wallop

Beer Name: Hop Wallop
Brewery: Victory Brewing Company
ABV: 8.5%
Serving method: 12-oz draft in a mug
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Unknown

This marks the first Pennsylvania beer, and possibly the first "double" IPA, which means you get a beer lesson! Aren't you excited?

Double IPAs, sometimes called imperial IPAs, are a randomly named set of beers that don't actually have a fixed criteria for being in the category. They were originally named imperial IPAs in the same vein as imperial stouts. However, this didn't make any sense because imperial stouts were actually brewed for the Russian imperial family and these IPAs weren't. The only thing "imperial" about them is that they were stronger than the standard IPAs. Well, sometimes. Some IPAs have a high enough ABV to fit into the "imperial/double" category, which just makes things confusing. And let's not even get into the Triple IPA grouping. Just go into it expecting things to get really hoppy. Hopefully you learned something here, specifically that the people who name beer styles have absolutely no plan ahead of time.

Victory's Hop Wallop is a clear golden-orange color. It poured with a thick (1") head that lasted for a little while and left a very light lacing on the glass. As I was expecting from the name, the beer has a crisp hop aroma. There is also a sweet smell.

This beer is pretty hoppy, but actually a little less hoppy than I was expecting. I am not sure if it was completely a hop wallop, but it was definitely a hearty hop smack. It also has a sweetness to the taste right in the middle. It's like hops in the beginning, sweetness briefly in the middle, and then a dry bitter hop finish. The beer leaves a bitter aftertaste, and it has a nice light carbonation.

Final thought - This beer was very good and is a nice start for PA here at Mmmm, beers! There was something in the taste that made me want to keep sipping it. This is an obvious choice for the hop-heads out there.

-Jon

Lake Effect Lager

Beer Name: Saranac Lake Effect Lager
Brewery: The Matt Brewing Company
ABV: 5.95%
Serving method: 12-oz bottle in a pint glass
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Unknown

And the dark beer streak is broken. Not that this beer is a light one, but it's not a porter or stout. Plus, with the recent weather, I figure something with the name "lake effect" is appropriate.

Lake Effect Lager is a dark amber color. It pours with a light head that starts fading quickly but doesn't completely disappear. This thin layer left behind leaves a light lacing on the glass. The aroma is very malty with a little bit of sweetness in the form of caramel.

I find that almost all the Saranac beers have a similar flavor in the background. Since there are so many varieties, I don't think that it's from them using the same malts, but I can't figure out what else it might be. I also don't know how to describe it. Other than that Saranac-ness, this beer has a little bit of caramel flavor and a little bit of creaminess. It has a slightly bitter finish, which also lingers for a little while. This beer has a medium to high level of carbonation.

Final thought - This is an ok beer, but it's not a favorite. I think that can be said for almost all the Saranac beers I've had. They're good, but they're not the best.

-Jon

Barney Flats Oatmeal Stout

Beer Name: Barney Flats Oatmeal Stout
Brewery: Anderson Valley Brewing Company
ABV: 5.7%
Serving method: 16-oz draft
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Unknown

Looks like we're still right on track with my resolution. And I'm still on my stout kick. And both of those things are just fine with me.

The Barney Flats Oatmeal Stout is another dark beer, but it's not a solid black like some previous stouts. It's more of a very deep brown. It had about a quarter inch of head which faded slowly but did not leave much lacing on the glass. The aroma was dominated by the malt, which smelled slightly roasted and sweet.

This beer had a slightly sharp flavor at the beginning which eased up as the beer warmed. I preferred the smoother taste that I was getting after about 10 minutes. There was a little bit of sweetness in the flavor, along with some faint chocolate flavor and maybe some roasted coffee. It had some carbonation in there that I would characterize as "almost medium." Once it warmed up a little, it was very smooth and did not leave an aftertaste.

Final thought - Once I got past the initial bite of this beer, I found it to be very enjoyable with my meal. If I see it again in my travels, I think I would order another.

-Jon

Russian Imperial Stout

Beer Name: Russian Imperial Stout
Brewery: Berkshire Brewing Company
ABV: 8.5%
Serving method: 22-oz bottle in a pint glass
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Unknown

It would seem that I am only going to drink dark beers this year. Actually it's more that porters and stouts feel more like "winter" beers than light lagers and pale ales. I probably won't be drinking tons of dark stuff once it warms up outside, which based on this morning's temperature of -4°F will be sometime around June.

BBC's Russian Imperial Stout claims it will "transport you to the time of the czars," so if I disappear in the immediate future, that's where I am. This is a very dark beer with a hint of ruby coloring at the edges. It pours with almost no head and very little lacing. Like many stouts, it has an aroma of coffee and chocolate and seems a little sweeter than most others.

Ok, now this is a smooth beer. Maybe almost too smooth. It's almost not even beery. There's a lot of sweet roasted malt flavor in here along with the expected chocolate and coffee flavors. The beer isn't very carbonated, which contributes to the smoothness. It leaves a very sweet lingering aftertaste.

Final thought - This beer needs a little more carbonation and a little less sweetness. It's very tasty, but its aftertaste is a little too much. I can think of a few other stouts that I'd prefer.

-Jon

Imperial Choklat Stout

Beer Name: Imperial Choklat Stout
Brewery: Southern Tier
ABV: 11%
Serving method: 22-oz bottle in a pint glass
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Unknown

Oh boy, another "big" beer from the folks at Southern Tier. I wonder if they know that they're allowed to brew below the 10% mark. Or maybe they want to save time by going from zero to drunk in 3 bottles. It's a mystery!

The Imperial Choklat Stout has a silly looking name and a deep black color. There was only a thin head that disappeared in a matter of seconds. An extremely light amount of lacing stayed behind on the glass, but it's almost none. The beer smells very strongly of chocolate, specifically like the kind used in baking. The aroma is actually so strong that it can be smelled from across the room. Now that's chocolaty!

Surprisingly, the beer's taste isn't as strongly chocolate as I was expecting from the smell. Don't get me wrong; it's quite chocolaty, but there's also some coffee taste in there as well, along with a little bit of hops. That last one was a surprise, and it makes the beer into more of a sipping beer. This beer is not very carbonated, and it has an aftertaste of mild chocolate and coffee.

Final thought - This is a great beer for sitting back and relaxing on a cold night. It's very tasty, but sadly outclassed by Southern Tier's Imperial Oat Stout. Wow, that place has got some good beers.

-Jon

Coffeehouse Porter

Beer Name: Coffeehouse Porter
Brewery: Berkshire Brewing Company
ABV: 6.2%
Serving method: 16-oz draft (x 2)
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Unknown

Seems to me like the best beer to follow up a coffee porter would be another coffee porter! Actually that thought didn't cross my mind at all, which means I've started this post off with a terrible lie. Hopefully that will be the only one.

BBC's Coffeehouse Porter is a dark beer with ruby highlights. Apparently the amount of head on a beer is highly variable, because both of my pints had a huge head on them (think like 1 inch plus), but I have read other reviews where people said that their beers had barely any head. Well, tough cookies to them. This beer had a boatload of it, and it slowly faded leaving a ton of lacing behind. As expected, the aroma was mostly coffee with a little bit of creamy malt.

Now this is what I'm talking about! That beer had a perfect amount of coffee flavor with a nice mellow taste. There was a tiny bit of hops at the finish, but overall the whole thing was very smooth. There's also a little bit of chocolate in it as well. The beer has mild carbonation and a clean finish without aftertaste.

Final thought - This beer is great. Any fan of dark beers needs to give this one a try. Even non-fans should probably drink it. You can't go wrong!

-Jon

Fogbuster

Beer Name: Fogbuster Coffee House Ale
Brewery: Paper City Brewing Co.
ABV: 8.5%
Serving method: 22-oz bottle in a pint glass
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Unknown

Happy New Year! My resolution is to try at least 100 new beers this year. Or re-try beers that haven't been featured here yet. Let's get to it.

As I may have mentioned before, Paper City's Fogbuster is a strong contender for my favorite beer at multiple brewers' festivals. And yes, I realize how lazy that link is, but I didn't feel like finding the specific examples. You should be thankful that I at least narrowed it down to the beer posts for you.

Fogbuster is another seriously dark beer, with a deep black color with a slight hint of dark brown. So it's opaque, obviously. There is a light head that recedes slowly but doesn't leave very much lacing behind. As expected, the aroma is dominated by coffee, although there is also a bit of roasted malt as well.

"?{p;.lo <--- That is Odin's opinion of the beer. I am not sure what that is based on, since he didn't even have any. He's also a horrendous typer.

The beer is actually a little more bitter than I was expecting, especially since I've had it before. The coffee flavor is at the front of each sip, and there is a sweet chocolately malt flavor in there as well. At the finish, it has some dryness, which I don't really like. There is a bit of carbonation here, and there's a mildly sweet aftertaste.

Final thought - I actually prefer this beer on draft, where I find that it has less of a bitter bite. However, it's still good enough to be glad I got the bottle. I hope that the next time I have it will be at the Paper City brewery, since it's right nearby.

-Jon