Stone IPA

Beer Name: Stone IPA
Brewery: Stone Brewing Company
ABV: 6.9%
Serving method: 22-oz bottle in a pint glass
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Unknown

A bottle is (almost) always safer than a draft beer at a slightly suspicious restaurant. After a couple of beer-related setbacks in the past week or so, I remain optimistic about this next beer purely based on its aroma.

The Stone IPA is a cloudy golden beer with no head. Even without the benefit of a foamy cap, the beer still leaves a lacing ring around the glass. There's no mystery about the aroma here; hops and citrus all the way.

This beer is hoppy and bitter. There really isn't a whole lot else to mention. If you like hops and bitterness, then this is a beer for you. If you don't, then avoid this one. It finishes very dry, and it leaves a bitter aftertaste of hops in your mouth. There's a light amount of carbonation here as well, which makes it nicely drinkable. I was surprised to find out that it was a nearly 7% beer.

Final thought - The Stone IPA is a good one, and fits nicely in the same tier as the Celebration Ale. I would suggest that if you like one of them, you'd probably like the other, which makes sense since they're both from Cali. It's an enjoyable beer for the IPA drinker.

-Jon

Harpoon IPA

Beer Name: Harpoon IPA
Brewery: Harpoon Brewery
ABV: 5.9%
Serving method: Draft pint in a stange
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Unknown

So it turns out that being a Friend of Harpoon actually does get you free beer. Also, Kate says she told me that, so apparently it turns out that I don't listen to her as much as I should. I probably shouldn't put that into writing, since I can almost guarantee that it comes back to bite me at some point.

Harpoon was sponsoring an event at the Greenfield Grille, so we went to check it out. And get a free beer. But beforehand, we got some food and a couple of beers. I got the Harpoon IPA, because I am starting to enjoy IPAs more and more. So far the story is good, but it will soon take a terrible turn! Dun dun duuuunnnnnnn!! (That's that scary noise when something bad or foreboding happens.)

The Harpoon IPA is an amber colored draft with practically no head. It smells like a combination of citrus and hops. As I drank it, there was some lacing that lagged slightly behind the level of the liquid.

Ok, here's where things get bad. Something was not right with the tap, and the beer had a very off taste because of it. I don't know how to describe it other than comparing it to the taste you get when you have bad water. And yes, this is the terrible turn I mentioned earlier. Fortunately, after a few sips, that grossness faded and the real beer came through. It ended up having a nice hoppy flavor with a little bit of citrus. There wasn't a whole lot of carbonation, and no aftertaste. It's too bad that the beer wasn't treated as well as it should be.

Final thought - This beer has a lot of promise, what with having to battle the grossness of a dirty tapline. I am going to give it another try, at which point I will have a better idea about what is really going on. I imagine things will be better next time.

-Jon

Octoberfest

Beer Name: Wachusett Octoberfest
Brewery: Wachusett Brewing Company
ABV: 5.2%
Serving method: 12-oz bottle in a pint glass
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Unknown, best by Dec 2010

It must be almost the end of the Oktoberfest season, so hopefully I'll finish off on a strong note. I found this one in Kathryn's fridge, and it wasn't in there the last time I was here, so it must be pretty fresh.

The Wachusett Octoberfest is a golden orange color and slightly cloudy. Perhaps the color could be described as "coppery." There wasn't much head, and it faded almost immediately. The beer leaves a light lacing on the glass. The aroma here is fruity mostly and maybe a little bit of graininess.

This does not taste like an Octoberfest. It has a quality more like a red or brown ale (I can't remember which one is which sometimes). It's a little sweet, and there's a bready flavor to it as well. There's also a faint fruity flavor in the background. It's very drinkable as there is almost no carbonation here, and the aftertaste is only mild as well. If you are a big fan of it, you could probably drink a bunch of these without issue.

Final thought - Well, it's ok, I guess. It just doesn't feel like I'm drinking an Oktoberfest-style beer. I think this beer would go well with food, although I don't know anything about beer/food pairings. Let's say it would be good with. . . hot wings! Or something spicy. I think the sweetness of the beer would work well with spiciness in food. Go try it, and let me know.

-Jon

Big Bear Black Stout

Beer Name: Big Bear Black Stout
Brewery: Bear Republic Brewing Company
ABV: 8.1%
Serving method: 22-oz bottle served in a pint glass
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Unknown

This is another beer that I picked strictly based on its label. Come on! It has a bear on it! How can I turn down bear beer? This bear wasn't doing anything funny, but still. Bear beer!

The Big Bear Black Stout is also super dark, but I don't think it's as dark as the milk stout from a couple days ago. This one has a lot more head, and it leaves a little foam layer after most of the rest of it disappears. There's also a fairly detailed lacing pattern on the glass. The aroma is a combination of roasted malt and faint hops. I think there might also be a coffee scent deep underneath as well.

This is a unique stout. It has the roasted flavor of malt that you normally expect, but there is a hoppiness to it that is unexpected. Delightfully unexpected, I would say. There's also a light coffee flavor. Despite being over 8%, it doesn't taste extremely strong. I can imagine that being a problem because this beer is easily drinkable and could result in brownouts, blackouts or loss of pants if you're not careful. The beer is more carbonated than most stouts I've had as well, but it's an ok amount. There is a slightly sweet aftertaste as well.

Final thought - I like it! I think this would be a good stout for people who don't usually like stouts. The hops change up the normal flavor, so it's like a gateway stout. And it's got a bear! Done deal.

-Jon

Winter Warmer

Beer Name: Harpoon Winter Warmer
Brewery: Harpoon Brewery
ABV: 5.5%
Serving method: 12-oz bottle poured into a pint glass
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Unknown, best by 3/15/11

I am now a Friend of Harpoon, which gets me. . . beer? I don't know, as I didn't really pay attention to anything while I was signing up. Kathryn told me that there are some Harpoon events coming up that you need to be a Friend to get into, and that was good enough for me. I hope that I get a little member card and learn a secret handshake!

So the first thing that I learned is that "Winter Warmer" is actually a style of beer and not a specific brew from Harpoon. This particular one is a clear amber color with almost no head at all. It has an aroma that makes me think of Christmas, with cinnamon and maybe nutmeg. I am not positive about what nutmeg smells like, so I have to go on instinct here. The smell actually reminds me of Shipyard Pumpkinhead a little bit, so I will bet that there are some overlapping spices.

I think that this particular bottle is not very good, but I've had this beer in the past and enjoyed it. Like last week when I had one at the Lighthouse. I will try to mix those memories with what I'm currently drinking and see what I get. Harpoon's Winter Warmer is super spicy. Not spicy like hot sauce, but spicy like there's a buttload of spices in here. If your tastebuds aren't overwhelmed by the spice factor, there is also a bit of malt flavor hidden underneath. It's not very carbonated, and it leaves a medium spice aftertaste.

Final thought - I am not sure what happened to this bottle of beer. I know I like this beer in general, but not this specific one. The spice level is probably too high to have more than a few of these beers, but those few are usually enjoyable. Just hope you don't run into a dud, like I just did.

-Jon

Milk Stout

Beer Name: Wachusett Milk Stout
Brewery: Wachusett Brewing Company
ABV: 5.8%
Serving method: 22-oz bottle served in a pint glass
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Unknown, best by Mar 2011

I realized recently that I have frequently written "16-oz pint" in the "Serving Method" section up above, and that's stupid. What other pint size is there? So that ends today. I apologize for the foolishness.

Today is New Beers Day. Or should that be New Beers Eve? You know, because it sounds sort of like New Year's Eve? Right? Get it? Nuh-uh, you're stupid! At any rate, I picked up a nice selection of new beers, as well as some Celebration Ale in order to fulfill my previous post's promise. I am going to kick things off with the Milk Stout because that one is already cold.

First off, this beer is dark. Like solid black dark. It's so dark, that, much like a black hole, it absorbs all the light around it. There is almost no head on the beer, and the little that is there dissipates quickly. We're all about the beer for this one. However, despite the low head level, the beer does leave some lacing. So there's that. . . The aroma has a bit of coffee, and a bit of sweetness, and a bit of chocolate. All signs point to this being a nice, smooth brew.

The beer's flavor matches up with the scent. There's some chocolate and coffee flavors, along with a roasted/burnt malt taste. There is actually a sharper flavor than I was expecting, which is unexpected based on both the beer's style and its smell. Weird. It seems to soften up as it warms, and I prefer it this way. The carbonation is light, and there's a moderately sweet aftertaste.

Final thought - Wachusett Milk Stout is a tasty beer for any stout-lovers out there. It's not the greatest stout I've had, but it's definitely above average and very enjoyable. I like that it has a sweetness without being overly sweet. This beer is a keeper.

-Jon

Celebration Ale

Beer Name: Celebration Ale
Brewery: Sierra Nevada Brewing Company
ABV: 6.8%
Serving method: 12-oz bottle
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Unknown

It's a celebration bitches! Sierra Nevada's Celebration Ale is a winter seasonal beer that doesn't taste like a standard winter beer. This is an IPA, and it's a hoppy one!

I had this at a bar, and I had already had about 8 gin & tonics and a couple glasses of wine, so this may not be the most intelligent beer review on the site. So, um, the bottle is brown with a reddish label. I have no idea what the beer itself looks like, because the bottle is pretty dark. There is a major aroma of hops here, which should be preparing your tastebuds for the hop assault that is about to occur.

The Celebration Ale's flavor is dominated by the hops. This beer is intensely hoppy, and it's also seems very dry. Like most IPAs, there is a bitter finish, but it's not overly bitter. It's a bit carbonated, but nothing too strong. This is a beer that will wake you up when you drink it.

Final thought - I don't understand why this beer is only available in the "winter." It's delicious! I should be able to drink them whenever I want! Stupid Sierra Nevada jerks!! So obviously I like this beer, and I will be drinking many more of them during the next month or so.

-Jon

Country Ale

Beer Name: Wachusett Country Ale
Brewery: Wachusett Brewing Company
ABV: 5%
Serving method: 12-oz bottle, poured into a pint glass
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Unknown because I forgot to check

Wow, it's been a while since I tried a new beer. That's a little bit sad, but it's mostly because I have a backlog of beers in my fridge and Kate's fridge, and I can't buy new stuff until I clear out some space. But I can drink any random ones I find in there, like this one.

Wachusett Country Ale is an American Pale Ale, which I am assuming is different from India Pale Ale and regular old pale ale. It's a golden colored beer with a whole bunch of head. It's darker than a normal pale ale, so there's your first difference right there. It's got a malty aroma and a bit of a fruity smell. I'm not sure which fruit, but I think maybe apple. The head hangs around for a long time, but it surprisingly only leaves a light lacing.

This beer has a confusing taste. I like it, but I can't really figure out what I'm tasting. It's not super hoppy (pale ale difference number 2!), and there's a grainy taste, sort of like bread. And a little bit of apple I think. At first it seemed like there was a lot of carbonation, but only for a few sips. Then it calmed down and was a lot more drinkable. This beer does not have a strong aftertaste.

Final thought - I enjoyed my Country Ale, and I'll be drinking them again next time Kathryn picks up a 6-pack. I don't know if I'd buy them for myself though. It's good, but it's not so great that it sticks in my brain as a new favorite.

-Jon