Avalanche

Beer Name: Avalanche Ale
Brewery: Breckenridge BBQ & Brew Pub
ABV: 5.4%
Serving method: 12-oz bottle in a pint glass
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Unknown

I wish all breweries gave all their beers exciting names. I find that Avalanche Ale is a much more exciting name than just calling it Breckenridge Amber Ale. The only downside to giving beers cool names is when you go out to a restaurant and they don't clarify on their menu what type of beer each option is. Sometimes it's pretty obvious (if I'm ordering something called Hop Devil, I'm not expecting a stout), but if I told you a beer's name was Mojo, that doesn't really give you any possible reference point for beer type.* Still, I'd rather have the exciting names. If I end up drinking a Belgian white because of it, that's really my fault for not doing my research properly.

Avalanche Ale is a reddish amber beer that poured with a fluffy head around a finger in width. The head faded away pretty quickly, and it left a very erratic lacing pattern. There is a sweet malt aroma mixed with something fruity smelling. My instinct is to say apples, like a crisp Granny Smith apple aroma. Everything seems light and pleasant here.

This is a pretty malty beer, with really only the faintest hint of any kind of hop. There is a fruitiness to the flavor as well, but nothing dramatic. I think it could use just a little bit more carbonation, but without knowing the age of the beer I probably shouldn't make that a general statement. This particular bottle could use some more oomph though. The beer finishes with a very light bitterness, and it lingers slightly with the malt.

Final thought - While nothing spectacular, there isn't anything I dislike about this beer. It's light and crisp, it has a nice maltiness to it, and it finishes without leaving a heavy flavor behind. This would be an easy beer to make a night of, and a drastic improvement over what generally makes up a long night of drinking.

-Jon

*Mojo is an IPA, which you would have known if you were a dedicated reader.

Vanilla Porter

Beer Name: Vanilla Porter
Brewery: Breckenridge BBQ & Brew Pub
ABV: 4.7%
Serving method: 12-oz bottle in a pint glass
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Unknown

This is the 3rd of 4 beers from the Breckenridge pack, and the one I was most excited about. I shouldn't have been though, because my history with vanilla in beers hasn't been great. But I really want it to be, so I'll keep on trying vanilla flavored beers until I find a winner. Come on brewers! You're so successful with chocolate!! Don't leave vanilla out.

Breckenridge's Vanilla Porter is a very dark brown beer, but it's slightly translucent if you hold it up to a light. It poured with a good head, and it held on for a little while before leaving a light lacing pattern. There is a strong aroma of malt here, with vanilla and a bit of fruit mixed in as well. In hindsight, I should have realized that this beer needed to be given a few minutes to warm up, but I was a little too focused on Holmes on Homes to think clearly.

At first, the beer seemed a little lacking in flavors. However, it turns out that I just needed to give it time. By the end of the glass, there was a nice vanilla flavor with each sip. There was also a good amount of malt and sweetness for the whole glass, and nothing really in the hop department for bitterness. The beer finishes mostly clean, with a lightly sweet aftertaste.

Final thought - This was pretty good by the end of the glass, although I'm not about to go out and grab some more. It seems like it would be a good beer for sitting inside on a cold winter night. The vanilla curse is definitely broken.

-Jon

Oatmeal Stout #2

Beer Name: Oatmeal Stout
Brewery: Breckenridge BBQ & Brew Pub
ABV: 4.9%
Serving method: 12-oz bottle in a pint glass
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Unknown

I have been a little lax on my beer updates in the past week, but instead of blaming it on laziness, I will instead use the excuse of wanting to drink a couple before writing my thoughts. That way my opinions will be a little more focused. Or something like that.

Breckenridge's Oatmeal Stout is a very dark beer, but it's a thin sort of blackness. It poured with basically no head, although there was a very thin ring around the edge. There was a very light lacing, but it tended to slowly fade away rather than last on the glass. The aroma is roasted grains, with some coffee. It actually reminds me of the stout I just put into bottles a couple weeks ago, which might not necessarily be a good thing.

The roasted notes from the aroma are also present in the flavor, although they aren't quite as noticeable as I was expecting. Most of what I'm getting is a bitter roasted coffee, with not much complexity going on. The beer is very carbonated for a stout (which is like a moderate carbonation), and finishes slightly bitter and turns into a bready aftertaste.

Final thought - This beer is not bad, but there are just too many other great stouts out there for it to get a regular place in my fridge. I have to stick to the classics. And try new things, I suppose, since this poor blog will stagnate if I don't.

-Jon

Lucky U

Beer Name: Lucky U IPA
Brewery: Breckenridge BBQ & Brew Pub
ABV: 6.2%
Serving method: 12-oz bottle in a pint glass
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Unknown

I picked up this mix-pack of beers a while back, but there wasn't room in the fridge for it so I hid it away out of the light. Now that I've finally cleared some space, it's time to hit these 4 beers from Breckenridge.

Lucky U is a hazy beer, somewhere between orange and light brown in color. It poured with slightly less than a finger of head, which faded away pretty quickly but left a bit of lacing behind. There is a nice hop aroma, but there's also a whole lot of malt (for an IPA) as well. It's very citrusy from the hops, and the malts have an appealing sweetness.

The flavor of this beer is surprisingly mild after the aroma. There are some nice hop flavors, but they are not overly strong and the bitterness is very low. There's a light maltiness to each sip as well. I was a little bit sad that it wasn't as citrusy as the aroma had led me to expect, but there was still enough hoppiness to keep my tongue happy. The beer has a good carbonation, and only a light aftertaste.

Final thought - This is a nice drinking IPA. The hop flavors are very muted for an IPA, so I could see drinking a few of these without my palette suffering from a hop overload, which sometimes happens with the more hop-forward beers. I would enjoy having this beer again.

-Jon

Dale's Pale Ale

Beer Name: Dale's Pale Ale
Brewery: Oskar Blues Grill & Brewery
ABV: 6.5%
Serving method: 12-oz can... in a plastic cup
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Unknown

I'm so embarrassed to have consumed a craft beer out of a plastic cup. But I was out at a bar, and it was super busy, and it was either that or drink it straight out of the can, which is only appropriate at cookouts and parties. That was a ridiculous run-on sentence, but I don't care.

Dale's Pale Ale is, somewhat surprisingly considering its name, a fairly dark copper-colored beer. Given the nature of my beer's container, there wasn't really going to be any lacing. Or, if there was, it wasn't going to be noticeable since the cup was also white. There was a good head on it, however, so I'd imagine that in a proper glass things would be looking good. The aroma is a mix of light citrus and pine hops, and pretty typical of the American pale ale style.

This first thing that hits me about this beer is that it's a more bitter flavor than I was expecting. There's a maltiness to help balance it out, but there is definitely a sharp dry bitter flavor at the finish. It was a little jarring at first actually. After a few sips, I was a little more prepared for the flavor, and it was pretty enjoyable. It has a good carbonation and a bitter aftertaste that hangs around for a long time.

Final thought - This was a pretty good beer. The finish was a little dry for me, but that's just a personal preference. I think that the next time I drink one of these, I wouldn't make it my first beer of the night so that I can warm up my tastebuds a little bit.

-Jon

400 Pound Monkey

Beer Name: 400 Pound Monkey
Brewery: Left Hand Brewing Company
ABV: 6.8%
Serving method: 12-oz bottle in a pint glass
Born/Bottled/Shipped on:

You might be wondering, and the answer is yes: I bought this beer strictly because of the name.

Left Hand's 400 Pound Monkey is an IPA, which isn't readily apparent from its name. It's a sort of cloudy golden color, but I was hoping that it was going to be brass colored so I could make references to the song "Brass Monkey." The beer poured with a half-inch head that faded fairly quickly but left a nice lacing behind. It's got a good hoppy aroma, but there seems to be a little bit of maltiness in the background.

For an IPA, this beer really dials back the hoppiness. I'm not about the suggest it to Kate since there is still a noticeable hop kick, but it's not as strong and in-your-face as many IPAs are these days. There's also a noticeable sweetness to it, which sort of sticks in your throat as you drink it. It's pretty carbonated, and it finishes with a cloying bitterness and sweet aftertaste.

Final thought - This beer is pretty good, and I would recommend it if you're the kind of person who likes a little bit of hops but doesn't usually enjoy IPAs. I like it, but I don't love it.

-Jon

Mojo

Beer Name: Mojo IPA
Brewery: Boulder Beer Company
ABV: 7.2%
Serving method: 12-oz bottle
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Best by 7/6/11

Wow, cutting it a bit close with this one. Also, I thought I already posted this, but apparently I hit Save Now instead of Publish Post. That's a rookie mistake, and you hate to see it. Oh well. I can always go back and change the date to when I actually wrote it. Problem solved.

The Mojo IPA (which I like to pronounce with a soft J just to be a doofus) comes in a bottle with a cool label that is unfortunately too dark for me to see the beer. Based purely on the aroma and taste, I would say that it's probably a light copper colored beer that would pour into a pint glass with about a 1/2" of foam, maybe slightly less. I think it would be a fun experiment to try this out with the last bottle I have to see how accurate it is. There is an aroma of citrus hops, mostly grapefruity.

The flavor here is pretty much what the aroma suggests it would be. There's a good citrus hop flavor with some nice maltiness at the end for a hint of sweetness. It has a bitter finish, but only a very slight aftertaste. There is a bit of carbonation, but not too much. Although 7.2% isn't that high, it's still up there, but the beer doesn't seem that strong. It has a good drinkability.

Final thought - This is a good IPA, but it's not one of the top tier ones. I wouldn't mind having them again, although I'll probably aim for some bottles with a best by date that's a little further away. This particular 6-pack will make a good experiment now that I've had a bottle right before the date and can drink another one once it's gone by. Let's see what happens!

-Jon

Yeti

Beer Name: Yeti Imperial Stout
Brewery: Great Divide Brewing Company
ABV: 9.5%
Serving method: 22-oz bottle in a pint glass
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Bottled 3/18/11

Yup, it's another stout. I have been drinking a lot of these this year, and there's a very good reason for that. Stouts just happen to be my current favorite beer style. After a day of doing all sorts of non-productive things, a good stout is a great way to kick back and relax.

The Yeti Imperial Stout is supposedly "untamed" and "imposing," or so the label would have me believe. This is another extremely dark beer. It's so dark, in fact, that there aren't even visible highlights at the edges of the glass when it's held up to a light. That is dark. It poured with a quickly fading head that still left a heavy lacing behind. There is a normal stout aroma (roasted malts and chocolate), but there's also a little bit of fruitiness in there.

This seems like a pretty complex beer. There's a sweetness at the beginning of each sip, mostly chocolatey, but then there's some bitterness and a strong roasted finish. Despite the high ABV, the alcohol does not have a strong presence, which is just the way I like it. At first, the beer seemed a bit strong for my liking, but with each sip, I like it a little more. I guess it was imposing after all. It's got a bit of carbonation, but not too much for the style. Aftertaste is a little bitter.

Final thought - This is a nice stout, but it has to be a sipper. It's a little deceptive, because the first sip is a somewhat intimidating, even though the beer is very enjoyable. Don't be frightened off; it's a good stout for a cool night.

-Jon

Titan IPA

Beer Name: Titan IPA
Brewery: Great Divide Brewing Company
ABV: 7.1%
Serving method: 12-oz bottle in a pint glass
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Bottled 2/15/11

Finally, a company that puts the date right on the bottle's label so I don't have to go on a scavenger hunt to find it.

Titan IPA is another strong ABV beer from Great Divide. This one is a pretty clear copper color that pours with only a very thin head that is gone almost instantly. There is obviously a strong hop aroma (it is an IPA after all), but there's also a sweet maltiness in there as well. The beer leaves a very light lacing on the glass.

This beer is a little too hoppy fresh out of the fridge, but after a couple minutes it mellows out into a delightful brew. It starts off with a little bit of sweetness, and then you get the citrusy hops. There is a light carbonation and a nicely bitter IPA finish. The beer has a bit of a lingering aftertaste, but nothing too strong.

Final thought - This is a much more balanced IPA than the last one I had. While it packs a nice hop punch, there is some other stuff going on that evens things out. The strong ABV is completely hidden behind all the flavors, so be careful with this one. It'll sneak up on you.

-Jon

Denver Pale Ale

Beer Name: Denver Pale Ale
Brewery: Great Divide Brewing Company
ABV: 5.4%
Serving method: 12-oz bottle in an unknown glass
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Unknown

The Publick House in Brookline has a pretty ridiculous number of beer choices. And that's fantastic! The only problem is that it's a little overwhelming when you pick up the 4 page beer menu. Picking just one beer from this extensive list is a daunting task! I'm glad I had checked it out beforehand so that I could narrow my list to 4 or 5 possibilities.

The first beer I had was the Denver Pale Ale from Great Divide. It was served in a glass that was also roughly 12-oz, but I'm not sure what kind of glass it was. It was short and stocky, with 8 defined sides. If you ever see one and find out the name, I'd appreciate it if you let me know. The beer is a golden color with a light head that quickly fades away. The aroma is mostly citrus hops with a faint hint of malt in the background. At the end, there was a light lacing on my glass.

The taste of this beer is a little surprising. I went in thinking that this was going to be another hop festival, but it's not. It's actually a little bit sweet upfront, with both maltiness and hoppiness in each sip. The beer finishes with a little bit of hoppy bitterness and a medium aftertaste. It keeps a good flavor as it warms up, making it a nice sipping beer.

Final thought - This beer has a much more mellow hop intensity than most pale ales. I wonder if that is because it's technically an "English" pale ale instead of an "American" pale ale. I have so much to learn about beer. At any rate, I enjoyed this beer much as I enjoyed the last Great Divide beer I had. I think these are sold at Ryan & Casey, which means I'll have to pick some up.

-Jon

Hibernation Ale

Beer Name: Hibernation Ale
Brewery: Great Divide Brewing Company
ABV: 8.7%
Serving method: 12-oz draft in a pentagonal glass
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Unknown

This beer is classified as an "old ale," and usually that would mean that you would learn something new about beer. But not today, because I'm feeling lazy. Let's leave it at old ales are generally pretty malty and probably not that old.

Hibernation Ale is a clear ruby-amber colored beer with a slow fading half inch head. It's a pretty thick head that leaves a moderately heavy lacing on the glass. The aroma is a combination of sweet malt and some hops. If the beer is half as good as it smells, it's going to be great.

And it is! This beer is delicious! The flavor starts off with a sweetness and coffee, and then moves into the hops that are expected from the aroma. It's a very tasty mix. The beer has a medium carbonation, and it finishes clean without an aftertaste or the dryness that is usually associated with hoppy brews.

Final thought - Add Great Divide to the list of places that I'll be trying more beers from. This one was great. It's too bad that I am only finding out about it now, because I have to assume the winter beers are on their way out and the spring ones are coming in. How sad.

-Jon

Left Hand Imperial Stout

Beer Name: Imperial Stout
Brewery: Left Hand Brewing Company
ABV: 10.4%
Serving method: 22-oz bottle in a pint glass
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Unknown

Wow, this is a strong one. Let's see how it goes.

Left Hand's Imperial Stout is a slightly transparent beer with a dark coloring and ruby highlights. It has a fairly thick head that fades slowly, leaving a thick lacing. It has a nice aroma of roasted malt and some coffee.

The alcohol in this beer is very apparent in the taste. It's almost like taking a shot with every sip. I am not sure if that's an appealing characteristic. The stout flavor is in the background, but it's definitely dominated by alcohol. I think I was picking up some roasted toffee flavor in there, along with a general maltiness. The beer has a light carbonation and a mildly alcoholic aftertaste.

Final thought - This is definitely a sipping beer. The alcohol flavor is so strong that it overshadows everything else about the beer. I believe I will stick to Left Hand's milk stout in the future.

-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

Milk Stout #2

Beer Name: Left Hand Milk Stout
Brewery: Left Hand Brewing Company
ABV: 5.2%
Serving method: 16-oz draft
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Unknown

Bam! Three new beers in a row. Now we're cooking with gas!

After my delicious experience with Wachusett's Milk Stout, I decided that I should always try beers in the milk/sweet stout variety if I have the opportunity. So when the guy at the bar finally moved and I could read the draft list, I knew that Left Hand's offering had to be my beer of choice.

This is a dark beer. The Vanilla Stout from earlier was pretty dark, but this one makes it look more like Coca-Cola. The Left Hand beer is more opaque. There is a thin head on it, but it leaves a very heavy lacing pattern. The aroma here is like a roasted sweetness with the usual suspects of coffee and chocolate in the background.

This beer is delicious! It's a little sweet, but not overly so. It's not very carbonated though, which I liked because I don't want a lot of carbonation in my stouts. But some other people probably won't like it because it almost seems flat. Well, to each his own. There's a little bit of the coffee and chocolate flavor in here as well. This is an easy drinking beer.

Final thought - Buy this, drink this, enjoy this. It's fantastic. And it's not too strong, so you can have a bunch before there's a problem.

-Jon