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

Cadillac Mountain Stout

Beer Name: Cadillac Mountain Stout
Brewery: Bar Harbor Brewing Company
ABV: 6.7%
Serving method: 22-oz bottle in a pint glass
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Unknown

Kate wants to go to Bar Harbor for a vacation. Since there is a brewery there, I'm up for it. We could do a mini Maine beer tour.

Cadillac Mountain Stout is a limited release, so it might be tough to find. This is a very black beer, all the way to the edges. It poured with a small head that faded away pretty quickly, leaving only a faint lacing behind for the first glass but a heavy amount for the rest of the bottle. Maybe it needed a little bit of moisture on the glass for the lacing to stick. There is a big roasted dark chocolate aroma here, which is pretty great.

The flavor here is very roasted, mostly chocolate although there is something else happening as well. Sort of like a grainy flavor, but with toast notes. Whatever it is, it seems to be working, as the beer is easy drinking. There is a only a low carbonation to this beer, so it's very smooth. A very light bitterness shows up for the finish, but the aftertaste is sweet and malty.

Final thought - There isn't anything that really stands out about this beer, but the whole thing is very delicious. It's like a basketball team where even though there isn't a superstar, they manage to keep winning games. This beer works well with food, but it's even better on its own where there isn't anything else to mess with its flavors.

-Jon

Lubrication

Beer Name: Lubrication
Brewery: Clown Shoes
ABV: 6%
Serving method: 22-oz bottle in a pint glass
Born/Bottled/Shipped on:

While I was reading up on this beer, I found a link about people who thought that it looked like there was a wang on the label because the robot on the label is holding a gasoline nozzle at its waist. Which reminds me that people are stupid and I hate them. So much...

Lubrication is a very dark beer. In the glass, it's basically solid black, but as it pours, you can pick out some ruby highlights if the light is right. It had a finger of fairly thick head that faded away in a few minutes, leaving a moderate lacing pattern behind. The aroma is roasted hops, which is an odd combination. It's probably more likely roasted malts behind the hops, but the only part of the malt I'm getting is the roasted part. This could be because I am brewing beer right now, and the malts in that one are super roasted smelling. Or possibly I burnt them. The point is, there is a serious roasted aroma going on right now.

The first sip is very good, and then the rest start going downhill. At first, there is a nice balance between the hops and the malt, and it's nice. Then the hop flavor sort of disappears, and the malt takes over. Normally this wouldn't be a major issue, but the malt flavor is a little too smokey, and it really dominates everything else. And not in a good way. The beer has light-to-moderate carbonation, and it finishes with a little bitterness. In a strange twist, the hops that disappeared earlier show up very faintly in the aftertaste.

Final thought - It starts off well, but all good things come to an end I suppose. This would be a good beer at a brewers' festival, as I think a few ounces would be delightful.

-Jon

Sculpin India Pale Ale

Beer Name: Sculpin India Pale Ale
Brewery: Ballast Point Brewing Company
ABV: 7%
Serving method: 16-oz draft in a pint glass
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Unknown

Somewhere in the back of my mind, I seem to remember saying something about trying a wider variety of beers this year and not just drink stouts and IPAs all the time. Well that's dumb. I like stouts. I like IPAs. So that's what I'll be drinking, and variety be damned. You know what? Out of spite, I think I'll brew a stout myself this weekend. You might be wondering who I'm spiting, and that's a valid question to which I have no answer.

Sculpin is, possible, a nice coppery ale. I say possible because I drank it at The Hangar, and the lighting in there is horrendous for beer color judgment. It arrived with a fluffy head around a finger in height or so. This head faded very slowly and left a heavy lacing pattern behind. The aroma here is a fantastic citrus hop, with just enough malt in the background to suggest that this beer is going to be amazing.

There were several beers on the menu that I wanted to try, but I have a fridge full of beer at home that needs drinking so I had to pick just one. I ended up panicking when the waitress asked for our drink orders and picking the Sculpin because it had a weird name. Well, I must have pleased the beer gods, because it was a good choice. The flavor has a great citrusy punch to it, and there is a big malt backbone to add a sweetness to the bitterness from the hops. There was only a light carbonation, but that's good because the beer itself was a great accompaniment to the hot wings we were eating. What a delicious brew.

Final thought - I enjoyed this beer immensely, and it also received Kate's highest IPA rating of all time. Granted that rating was "I don't really like it, but if I had to drink an IPA, this is the kind I would drink," but that's really high by her standards. Seriously, this is on par with me recommending a Belgian white*. Clearly you need to go out and try this beer.

-Jon

* Ok, in the interest of honesty, I should probably admit the following: I was at the restaurant Judie's once, and my mother asked me for a beer recommendation. Based on her previous beer drinking, I suggested Allagash White, which of course she loved. Obviously I need to open up a beer store and sell craft beers to people. If I can get my mother to drink craft beers, I can get anyone to.

Red Rocket Ale

Beer Name: Red Rocket Ale
Brewery: Bear Republic Brewing Co.
ABV: 6.8%
Serving method: 22-oz bottle in a pint glass
Born/Bottled/Shipped on:

Bear Republic refers to this beer as a "bastardized Scottish style red ale" on the bottle, but as an amber ale on their website. Eh, whatever. They can call it whatever they'd like as far as I'm concerned, since it's their beer.

Red Rocket Ale is a dark amber beer. It poured with about a finger of head that faded slowly, leaving a moderate lacing pattern behind. The aroma of this beer is fantastic. There is a nice roasted sweetness coming from the malts, like a toasty caramel or toffee. It also has some hop aromas, probably just a few aromatic hops tossed in there for a little balance. I would wear this beer as a cologne, it smells so good. Well, probably not because that would be silly, but you get the idea.

The flavor here is good, but not quite as good as the aroma. This is a fairly strong flavored beer, with a whole lot of malt flavors dominating. There are some hops in there as well, but they only come through as a lightly bitter finish. The beer lingers slightly with a caramel aftertaste in the middle of my tongue.

Final thought - I enjoyed this beer, although you have to prepare yourself for an assault on your tongue. It makes a good sipping beer.

-Jon

Winter Red Ale

Beer Name: Winter Red Ale
Brewery: Otter Creek Brewing
ABV: 5.5%
Serving method: 12-oz bottle
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Unknown

Last time there were bottles of Otter Creek at Mom & Chuck's house, they had accidentally set their refrigerator far too cold and frozen the beers. This resulted in some beer volcanoes, and made the beers undrinkable. This time was much more successful, so I was actually able to enjoy a few of these OC brews.

Winter Red Ale is a seasonal beer that I drank straight from the bottle. This means that I have nothing to report on its head retention or lacing. On the other hand, even in a bottle there is a nice piney hop aroma. There's also a little toasted caramel in it as well. It's a nice combination, so hopefully the flavor can match up.

Well this is much more drinkable than the last red ale I had, so that clears up the issue of whether it was the beer or the style. There's a light hop character to it, but the star of the show seems to be the malts. They have a nice grainy caramel to them, with the hops keeping things interesting. The beer leaves a light aftertaste on the back of the tongue. Unfortunately, after about 2/3 of the bottle, the flavor shifted from a nicely balanced beer to a sort of off-putting bitterness.

Final thought - Things were pretty good at the beginning, but the flavor kind of went south after a little while. I think this would be a very enjoyable beer as long as you finish it within about 10 minutes or so. Open it up, start the clock, and get drinking!

-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

Santa's Little Helper

Beer Name: Santa's Little Helper Imperial Stout
Brewery: Port Brewing Company
ABV: 10%
Serving method: 22-oz bottle in a pint glass
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Bottled 9/1/11

As usual, as soon as I say one thing, something completely different happens to make me look foolish. I end 2011 by saying I probably won't be trying as many new beers this year, and then I start off 2012 with a record-setting month. This puts me on an absurd pace for 176 new beers this year, which I am fairly certain neither my wallet nor my liver could handle. I think I'll have to slow things down for February.

Santa's Little Helper is a very dark beer, practically solid black. It poured with about a finger and a half of thick, fluffy, caramel-colored head that lasted for quite a while before finally fading away, leaving a heavy lacing behind. This beer has a very strong aroma of roasted coffee and some toasty malts. There's also a noticeable alcohol aroma, presumably due to the potentially ass-kicking 10% ABV.

Well, in spite of the alcohol present in the aroma, it's not as strong in the flavor as I was expecting. Instead, there's just a faint alcohol taste with a bunch of roasted coffee flavors, some dark chocolate, and some very roasted malts. The carbonation here is very light, and the beer has a big mouthfeel, making it very thick and smooth feeling with each sip. The finish has a bitter punch, but the aftertaste doesn't linger very long.

Final thought - This is a tasty brew, but it is strong. It's very smooth, and it can be easy-drinking if you want it to be, but I wouldn't recommend it because you will end up feeling it quickly. Sit back, sip this baby slowly, and relax.

-Jon

Irish Setter Red

Beer Name: Irish Setter Red
Brewery: Thirsty Dog Brewing Company
ABV: 5.9%
Serving method: 12-oz bottle
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Unknown

Thirsty Dog has lots of beers with dog breed names. I don't really know what red ales are supposed to taste like, but hopefully this is better than Killian's.

Irish Setter Red is a reddish amber beer that poured without much head or lacing. The whole thing seems like it's a fairly thin beer, which can be ok. The aroma is malty along with a sweet breadlike scent. There's also a sourish smell. Nothing in the hop department at all, which predicts a flavor without any bitterness.

The flavor of the beer is a combination of sweet caramel malt flavors along with some graininess and sour fruits. It starts off sweet, and has a sour-sweet finish. It ends fairly cleanly, without much of an aftertaste. This beer is very lightly carbonated, and is pretty smooth.

Final thought - Maybe it's the beer, or maybe it's the style, but this just isn't for me. There's nothing really wrong with it, but I just need more as far as the hops go. I'll stick with their Raspberry Ale, or that ridiculously strong stout I tried at the package store. This is better than Kilian's Irish Red though, so it's got that going for it.

-Jon

Oak Aged Mocha Stout

Beer Name: Oak Aged Mocha Stout
Brewery: Peak Organic Brewing Company
ABV: 8.4%
Serving method: 22-oz bottle in a pint glass
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Unknown

This beer is brewed with chocolate, gets coffee added to it during its conditioning, and then hangs out in an oak barrel which is supposed to impart some vanilla flavors. So basically this beer is some fancy stuff. So fancy, in fact, that the top of the bottle was wrapped in foil, which is annoying. Don't do that, breweries! Especially if you're going to adhere the foil with some sort of sticky adhesive. Now I can't add this Peak Organic cap to my collection.

The Oak Aged Mocha Stout is a velvety black beer. It poured with about a finger of head, which faded after a short time. The beer tried to leave a lacing pattern, but for some reason it just wouldn't stick. I think that may actually be a fault of myself as opposed to a fault of the beer, in that I may have not used a properly cleaned glass. I can live with that, because I have to. This beer smells fantastic, with great stout aromas of coffee and chocolate. I suppose maybe I can pick out some oaky notes in the aroma, but I think it's probably a psychological thing because I know the beer is oak aged.

This beer has some very complex things happening in its flavor. There are roasted coffee flavors (sort of like a burned flavor, but in a good way). There are chocolate flavors. I am also getting some very faint vanilla flavors. There is really a whole of stuff going on here, and all of it is pleasant. The beer has a light carbonation, and even with its fairly high ABV, it's nice and smooth. Bitter coffee takes the spotlight in the finish, and it has a light mocha aftertaste.

Final thought - I was a little skeptical after the first few sips, because the beer seemed like it just wasn't what I was expecting it to be. Then it warmed up slightly, and it became amazing. I am a little embarrassed that I didn't think to give it a few minutes, what with it being a strong stout and all. Obviously a beer like that needs a chance to meld its flavors. What a rookie mistake. Also, I may have to rethink my position on barrel-aging beers after drinking this one.

-Jon

Raspberry Ale

Beer Name: Raspberry Ale
Brewery: Thirsty Dog Brewing Company
ABV: 3.9%
Serving method: 12-oz bottle in a pint glass
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Unknown

This brewery is not new, but it's new to being distributed in this area. Or at least that's what the guy conducting the beer tasting said. I haven't seen it before, so I'll take his word for it.

Thirsty Dog's Raspberry Ale is a light golden colored beer. Since it's a fruit beer, it had a little bit of head when it poured, but it was gone almost immediately. The aroma is, as you would probably expect, raspberries mostly. It also has some light malt aromas, and nothing in the hops department. Everything is pointing to a sweet tasting beer.

The beer's flavor is dominated by raspberries. It tastes like actual raspberries though, and not like raspberry candy, so it's not sickeningly sweet. There's also some light malt flavors, but they're much fainter than the raspberry. The beer has a light carbonation, and just a little too much of a sweet aftertaste. It finishes with a nice raspberry flavor, but then it hangs around on the front of the tongue slightly too long. I can live with it though.

Final thought - For a raspberry beer, this is fantastic. It tastes more like real raspberries than artificial fruit flavors like a lot of fruit beers do. It's also low in alcohol. If this stuff is around this summer and is a reasonable price, I am going to be spending a lot of time with these and the hammock.

-Jon

East Chop Lighthouse Ale

Beer Name: East Chop Lighthouse Ale
Brewery: Offshore Ale Company
ABV: 4.7%
Serving method: 22-oz bottle in a pint glass
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Unknown

I wonder if this brewery really brews out in the ocean. Probably not. East Chop Lighthouse Ale is an American blonde ale, which means it's light in color, light in flavor, and malty. Well, at least in theory. Let's see how this one plays out.

East Chop Lighthouse Ale is a straw-colored beer, slightly cloudy, that poured with a thin, light head. This head faded pretty quickly for the most part, although it left a small ring around the top edge of the beer. There is a strong malty aroma here, possibly pale malt (which would make sense, given the color of the beer). It also has a hint of a grassy aroma.

The flavor of this beer almost feels like it could be from Magic Hat (that's a good thing in my book). The maltiness is the main flavor, although there's also a nice grain component to it as well. It's very light feeling, but there's still quite a bit of flavor, unlike some other very pale colored light beers. The finish is fairly sweet, and it has a very faint aftertaste of malt.

Final thought - This is a nice enjoyable light-drinking beer. It's light flavor and low ABV make sure that you can drink it without any worries about drunken repercussions. If you like really light beers, this one should get a try.

-Jon