So Long 2011

Since I won't be drinking any new beers tonight, and anything new I drink tomorrow night probably won't be remembered, I think I can safely say that my Mmmm, beers! writing for the year is finished. Let's reminisce a bit, and take a look forward to what 2012 might bring.

First of all, I doubt that there will be as many posts next year. I would like to try 100 new beers, but I also would like to go back to some of the ones I really liked and enjoy them again. As the days were ticking by this year, I realized that sometimes I forced myself to drink something new when I was really in the mood for a classic like BBC's Coffeehouse Porter. That's just silly.

I think maybe I should try something like New Beer Wednesday, since I have such easy access to package stores (I think Kate and I counted 5 within a mile of our house), including Ryan & Casey. R&C has a fairly huge variety, although I'm sure there might be that one guy who might be reading this who has been somewhere else with a much bigger selection and will feel the need to scoff. Whatever bro, no one likes a story-topper.

I'm really looking forward to my next trip to Table & Vine, which will proceed with me being armed with a gift card. That will probably kick off the incoming year with a whole slew of new beers, as I've already begun constructing a game plan based around beers I've wanted to try but was hesitant to buy due to their price. Not an issue now. I might even write a whole post about how exciting it is to shop for beer with what is essentially a blank check.

If you haven't noticed yet, these paragraphs are not really linked in any coherent way.

I have been looking into the necessary steps for gaining a certification in beer knowledge and what not. Perhaps you've heard, but I've kind of potentially decided that maybe teaching mathematics is not the career for me. Most careers are actually not that appealing, but I think that a career in the beer industry might work out. There are 3 levels of certification, so we'll see what happens. I'll keep you posted.

I think that this year might have been unfairly dominated by stouts and IPAs. And pretty much exclusively American beers. And while I enjoy supporting the American beer culture, I feel that I need to expand my global drinking. There's too much beer out there to limit myself. I will try to limit myself to only 40% of my new beers being stouts and IPAs and at least 1 beer in 10 being from outside the US for the next year. This seems like a good goal, and it will allow me the freedom to drink my favorites as well.

I'm looking forward to a new year of new beer. Hopefully I can get you to drink some good stuff too.

-Jon

Hope Street Bitter

Beer Name: Hope Street Bitter
Brewery: The People's Pint
ABV: 5.1%
Serving method: 16-oz draught in a pint glass
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Unknown

I don't usually drink a lot of ESBs, but I don't really know why. Maybe I've been a little too focused on the IPAs and stouts. But I suppose that if I'm going to be a world-renowned beer expert, I need to expand my preferences. Just not white ales, because coriander is gross.

Hope Street Bitter is a light brown colored beer, sort of coppery. It didn't have much head when it arrived, but then again, it's an English-styled beer and those seem to be lacking in the head and carbonation departments. The aroma was hoppier than I was expecting, and also had some graininess and a little bit of malt.

I am not really sure what to look for in a bitter, so I'm not sure if this was a good representative of the style. It's a pretty light beer, with a little bitterness from the hops along with some bready flavors. There's also a sweetness to it. The beer is not very carbonated, so it's lacking something in the mouthfeel. The beer has a pretty noticeable aftertaste, but it's nothing bad.

Final thought - At first, this beer was nice and hoppy (without being too hoppy) and very enjoyable. As it warmed up though, the nice flavors disappeared and it became watery and sort of disappointing. Luckily, it's easy enough to drink that you can plow through it before it loses its appeal.

-Jon

Red Rock Ale

Beer Name: Red Rock Amber Ale
Brewery: Opa-Opa Steakhouse & Brewery
ABV: 6%
Serving method: 12-oz bottle
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Born 11/5/11

I'm a little bit surprised that this beer hasn't been featured here before. Has it really been over 16 months since the last time I drank one? Time sure flies.

I was drinking these bad boys straight from the bottle, but I've had enough on draught to know some of the important details. Red Rock is a redding copper colored beer that has a little bit of head, but that's not really what it's all about. The aroma is a mixture of light hops and malt, and everything here seems to be in balance. Nothing too outstanding, but nothing bad either.

Much like the aroma, everything is here in balance. There are some nice malty flavors with very light hints of fruitiness. There are also some grassy hops, but nothing bitter. The whole thing has a little bit of a roasted or toasted flavor. Good carbonation for the flavors, and the beer is easy drinking.

Final thought - I like the Red Rocks, so long as they are nice and cold. This is not a beer that stands up to a temperature shift very well though, so be sure to keep them well refrigerated.

-Jon

Midnight Special

Beer Name: Midnight Special
Brewery: The People's Pint
ABV: 8.4%
Serving method: An unknown amount in a snifter
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Unknown

Yup, the beer was served to me in a snifter. I felt super classy. Unfortunately, I didn't feel like doing the necessary calculations to determine the volume of said snifter, so that particular value must remain a mystery.

Midnight Special is a very dark beer, practically black, that did not have much head on it, but the small amount that was there left a pretty heavy lacing pattern behind while sticking around for much of the glass. The beer has a very hoppy aroma, but doesn't have the malt that I was expecting from both the description and the style.

Wow, this beer packs a bitter punch. The hops from the aroma were not lying about the hoppiness of the beer. There is a little bit of malt in the background, but mostly you're looking at a big hoppy blast with every sip. The finish is a little bit dry, along with the bitterness. Despite all of that bitterness and dryness, the beer is still pretty smooth. It has a little bit of carbonation, so the whole thing is fairly easy drinking.

Final thought - This beer was a little too intense for me. It packed quite the hoppy punch, but it didn't have the malty balance that seemed to be called for. I think I'll stick to their Pied pIPA for my daily hop requirements in the future. This is not a beer for the faint hearted hop haters out there.

-Jon

Husky Imperial Stout

Beer Name: Husky Imperial Stout
Brewery: Big Time Brewery & Alehouse
ABV: 9% (maybe)
Serving method: 16-oz draft in a pint glass
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Unknown

It was very difficult to find any information about this beer or brewery other than the fact that it is out of Washington and has a website that is in desperate need of updating.

I chose the Husky Imperial Stout to go with my giant plate of barbecued food because I generally love stouts and also because it had a cool name. The beer arrived with a very thin layer of head that lasted for quite a while and left a good lacing pattern that only faded because I took quite a long time to finish this beer. There are big aromas of creamy coffee and chocolate with some roasted notes.

This beer feels so thick and rich that it's like drinking a beer milkshake. Every single sip was a giant taste explosion. There is a whole lot of flavor going on here, mostly some bitter coffee with a little bit of roasted chocolate. The beer has a very creamy mouthfeel, although the flavors really dominate your tastebuds. There is a light carbonation here, so the beer is fairly easy to drink other than it's giant ABV.

Final thought - This was a very tasty beer, but after a whole day of drinking beers and a plate of 4 kinds of barbecued meat I sadly could not finish it. I know, it's very sad. But don't take my inability to finish as a condemnation of the beer, which was actually very good. Just don't wait until the end of a long day to try it.

-Jon

Alpine

Beer Name: Alpine Black IPA
Brewery: Otter Creek Brewing
ABV: 6%
Serving method: 16-oz draft in a pint glass
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Unknown

After an afternoon spent drinking, the plan was to head over to Red Bones to cap the evening off with some more beer and some delicious barbecued meats. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on your point of view), there was a very long wait, so we had to get another beer at another beer establishment.

That beer ended up being the Black IPA (which is apparently called "Alpine") from Otter Creek. I was starting to lose my concentration at this point, so this might not be a completely accurate review. Comes with the territory though, and you didn't pay anything to read it, so suck it up and deal.

The Alpine Black IPA is a, probably pretty obviously, dark beer that poured with about a finger of head. The retention for the head was pretty good, and it left a good lacing pattern behind. There is a nice aroma of hops here, but there's also a whole lot of roasted maltiness going on as well.

The Black IPA (or American black ale) style is supposed to be a mix of the hoppiness of an IPA and the maltiness of a black ale, and Alpine delivers. There are piney and citrusy hop flavors up front, and the deep roasted malt flavors follow those up. The finish is slightly bitter, but nothing too harsh on the tongue.

Final thought - I am not sure where the name Alpine comes from, because the bottles are not labeled with it anymore. Other than that little issue, this is a good beer, and I'd definitely have some more.

-Jon

The Buk

Beer Name: The Buk Pale Ale
Brewery: Wormtown Brewing Co.
ABV: 5.5%
Serving method: 16-oz draft in a pint glass
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Unknown

This beer marks the 100th beer review of the year, meaning I actually accomplished something I set out to do without giving up in the middle like I usually do after I get bored. Hooray! Go me!!

The Buk is a special beer from Wormtown that only seems to be available on draft in the more eastern portions of Massachusetts. Whatever, elitist jerks. It's a fairly light beer, sort of a golden amber color, more on the golden side. It has a fairly hoppy aroma, but also some wheat- or bread- or grain-like scents in there. It arrived with a good sized head that slowly faded, leaving some lacing behind.

I didn't know what exactly to expect from this beer, since "pale ale" encompasses a wide variety of flavors. Luckily, this one is technically an American pale ale, which is the type I prefer as they tend to be hoppier than their British counterparts. There's a nice balance of the hop bitterness with the grainy malts here, and the whole thing works well. The beer has a good amount of carbonation, which works well with the flavor and gives it a nice drinkable quality.

Final thought - I would drink this beer again. You know, assuming I can find it. It's possible that, after drinking the Hoptical Illusion, my palate was set up to enjoy this beer with its more balanced flavor. I think that I was going to enjoy it no matter what though.

-Jon

Hoptical Illusion

Beer Name: Hoptical Illusion
Brewery: Blue Point Brewing Company
ABV: 6.8%
Serving method: 12-oz bottle in a Weizen glass
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Unknown

If you're wondering, the answer is yes: I ordered this beer strictly because of the name.

Hoptical Illusion is a coppery orange beer that started off with a nice head that mostly faded away in the first few minutes. A thin layer remained, and it left a moderate lacing pattern on the glass. There is a strong hoppy aroma, mostly citrusy. There is also some maltiness, but it's only faint.

Lots of hoppiness and bitterness in this beer. The hops have a nice citrus quality to them, but there isn't enough malt in the background to give it a nice balance. It's also incredibly dry. And what I'm saying here is that after each sip, I feel like I need to drink something else to get my saliva flowing again. This beer is pretty highly carbonated, which, when combined with the bitterness and dryness, makes it a little bit rough in the drinkability department.

Final thought - This is alright, but wouldn't be one of my top choices for IPAs if there were others available. It's a bit too dry for me.

-Jon

Applehead

Beer Name: Applehead
Brewery: Shipyard Brewing Company
ABV: 4.5%
Serving method: 12-oz bottle
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Unknown

Is this the spiritual successor to the widely loved Pumpkinhead? Only a bottle or two can answer that question.

Applehead is a sort of coppery beer. I guess the best description of its appearance would be that it looks like apple juice. You can try to force some head during the pour, but, much like its pumpkin cousin, this beer just does not produce any kind of head. And, it follows from that, it also doesn't produce any lacing. That's just how it goes with this type of beer. There is a strong spice aroma, sort of like an apple pie.

Hmm. I taste lots of spices, but I am not tasting much apple. If I really concentrate, I think I can convince myself that I'm tasting in the background. But it's definitely overpowered by the flavors of the spice. The beer is very lightly carbonated, and it's super smooth. If you enjoy the flavor, you could easily drink a bunch of these in a sitting.

Final thought - Needs more apple. It has a lot of apple pie spice flavor, but it's missing the actual apple. Not a bad beer, but not something I'd be looking forward to year after year.

-Jon

Fumata Nera

Beer Name: Fumata Nera
Brewery: High and Mighty Beer Company
ABV: Unknown
Serving method: 16-oz draft in a pint glass
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Unknown

I should probably be concerned that this beer is not even featured on High & Mighty's website. Does that mean that they aren't proud of it? Or that they don't want people to know about it because it didn't come out deliciously? Good thing I had already finished drinking it before I decided to read up on it.

Fumata Nera is Italian for "black smoke," which makes sense as this is a smoked rye beer. It's a very dark beer, but the degree of darkness is hard to specify because the restaurant is a pretty dark one. The beer arrived with very little head, but there was a think layer that stuck around for about half of the glass, and it left a good lacing pattern behind. There was a very strong aroma of smoked malts.

As expected, this beer's flavor was very much in the roasted department. I believe this is the kind of beer that Kate says tastes like meat. Lots of smokey malt flavor, and maybe a little bit of hops bitterness in there as well. This was a nicely drinkable beer that went along nicely with some food, but would have been enjoyable without it as well.

Final thought - Whether or not the brewery is proud of it, I would drink this beer again. I will throw in the caveat that it seems like a beer that is going to be more enjoyable on draft than from a bottle though.

-Jon

Leviathan IPA

Beer Name: Leviathan IPA
Brewery: Harpoon Brewery
ABV: 10%
Serving method: 12-oz bottle in a pint glass
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Something on 10/15/11

After trying this beer at the Harpoon brewery, I was eager to get some of this particular Leviathan (it's a whole series of giant ABV beers) for home use. This turned out to be surprisingly difficult, as the only bottles I was able to find were all supposed to be consumed by April. 2011. As in, over half a year ago. I finally found some that had a date that was close enough, so I jumped at the opportunity.

The Leviathan IPA is a slightly cloudy beer with a golden orange color. It pours with a thin layer of surprisingly thick head. It fades fairly soon, but it leaves a nice lacing pattern behind. There is a strong hop aroma here, mostly piney hops.

Strong hop flavor here, but also a lot of malty flavors. It's slightly bitter, but it finishes with a combination of bitterness and sweetness with a light aftertaste. The piney hop aroma was an accurate precursor to the piney flavors present here. The beer is pretty smooth, with a light carbonation and a slightly creamy feeling to it.

Final thought - While obviously not as good as it was when it was fresh straight from the fermenter, this is still a delightful beer. But be careful, as it also will kick you right in the head with it's alcohol content. Ten percent is a pretty strong level for a beer that is pretty easy drinking (for an IPA). Watch yourself.

-Jon

Encore

Beer Name: Encore
Brewery: Magic Hat Brewing Company
ABV: 6.4%
Serving method: 12-oz bottle in a pint glass
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Best by 2/29/12

Encore is another addition to Magic Hat's IPA On Tour series of beers. I believe this is the last one, although maybe they'll add some more to the rotation.

Encore is a cloudy beer with a pale orange color. It pours with about a finger and a half of head (and yes, "finger" is the measurement unit for a beer's foamy hat) that lasts for quite a while before slowly fading and leaving a heavy lacing pattern behind. The aroma is strongly citrusy hops, with a little bit of a florally hop smell in there as well.

This beer has a nice hop flavor without being overly bitter. That's a little surprising since there really isn't much of a malt presence here that often balances out the hops. I could see that being an issue, but since Encore doesn't really pack a hop wallop, everything works out nicely. I doubt that this beer would convince the hop-haters out there to change their tune, but I don't find it to be an overwhelming hop-bomb like many beers out there. The beer has a nice light carbonation, and it finishes with only a slight aftertaste.

Final thought - This might be my favorite of the touring IPAs, although hI.P.A. is certainly a close second. However, if you ask me while hI.P.A. is out, that ordering might be switched around. I guess they are both quite good. I like Encore's hoppiness without the dry finish that a lot of IPAs have. It also works well both with food or on its own, which is a great quality.

-Jon

Chocolate Stout

Beer Name: Chocolate Stout
Brewery: Harpoon Brewery
ABV: 5.9%
Serving method: 12-oz bottle in a pint glass
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Best by 2/15/12

I learned about this beer from the Friend of Harpoon newsletter, and then located it on my first try. That is probably the smoothest new beer experience I've had in a while. Too bad I can't find the same success as I look for Harpoon's latest 100 Barrel Series beer.

The Chocolate Stout is a very dark beer that looks solid black at first, but seems to be more of a very dark brown. It has a very thin head that fades almost immediately. The aroma is very chocolately, much more so than standard stouts. It's a combination of sweet chocolate, like a milk chocolate, along with a bitter chocolate smell, sort of like the stuff for baking.

With so much chocolate in the aroma, the flavor has a lot to live up to. Luckily there is a good amount of chocolate flavor in here. It's mostly a dark chocolate, with a bittersweetness to it. It also has a nice finish and aftertaste. The beer has little bit more carbonation than I was expecting, but it starts to mellow out after a few minutes. Unfortunately, the beer's flavor is better while it's cold, so letting it mellow out means letting it warm up, where the flavor does not improve.

Final thought - This is a bit sharp for a stout, and I bet it would be fantastic if they figured out some way to smooth it out. It has a very nice flavor, but I just want it to be smoother for each sip. Perhaps I'm just being picky.

-Jon

Grateful Harvest

Beer Name: Grateful Harvest Cranberry Ale
Brewery: Harpoon Brewery
ABV: 5.9%
Serving method: 12-oz bottle in a pint glass
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Best by 2/15/12

It has cranberries. I would be willing to bet anything that it is going to be better than that simply awful Cranberry Lambic beer.

Grateful Harvest is an amber colored beer that pours with a very light head that does not last very long. There is a faint aroma of cranberries here, but if you're expecting something like the blueberry aromas in all those blueberry beers or the pumpkins in the pumpkin ones, it's not there. There is also a sweet aroma here, so this beer seems like it's going to be a malty one.

Well, there is a tartness that seems like it's coming from the cranberries, but there isn't really much of a cranberry flavor. It ends up just seeming like a sweet & sour beer, and it doesn't really work for me. There is a nice amount of maltiness, so there's that if you're into malty beers. Lightly carbonated, the beer has a nice mouthfeel, which is one of the only things it has going for it.

Final thought - It was nice to give it a try, but I doubt I'll ever have it again.

-Jon

Lagunitas IPA

Beer Name: Lagunitas IPA
Brewery: Lagunitas Brewing Company
ABV: 6.2%
Serving method: 16-oz draft in an octagonal glass
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Unknown

I don't know what kind of glasses they use at Magpie, but they definitely have some tasty beverages to put in them. And for me, that's good enough!

This particular IPA from Lagunitas is a nice golden color with some orangey highlights. It's a little bit cloudy, and it came with a nice amount of head. The aroma is strongly hoppy, mostly in the citrus department. There's also a little bit of piney hop aroma, but it's faint.

As expected, this packs a hoppy punch. I am getting only the citrus flavor, which is just fine with me. There's also a malty flavor in the background, but it's only very faint and just enough to keep the hops from overwhelming the tastebuds. This beer is pretty smooth, even with a medium amount of carbonation. The finish is bitter, but not too bitter for an IPA, and it's not as dry as a lot of others. I think you could probably drink a couple of these without suffering from a hop overload.

Final thought - Fantastic IPA. I tend to prefer the citrus hops with at least enough maltiness to notice, and this one works perfectly. California tends to be the king of the American IPAs, and this is no exception.

-Jon

B.O.R.I.S. the Crusher

Beer Name: B.O.R.I.S. the Crusher Oatmeal Imperial Stout
Brewery: Hoppin' Frog Brewery
ABV: 9.4%
Serving method: 22-oz bottle in a pint glass
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Unknown

Ok, first off, the bottle had a frog drinking on it. Second, the name was B.O.R.I.S. the Crusher. Finally, it was an oatmeal stout. There was no way I was going to be able to pass this beer up.

B.O.R.I.S. the Crusher is a solid black beer that poured with a very thin layer of head that was pretty much gone before the first sip. It looks like a glass of dark velvet, and will hopefully be super smooth. Not much lacing here. The aroma is deep roasted chocolate with a mixture of alcohol in there. I suppose that at 9.4%, this beer is going to pack a punch.

This beer has lots of nice flavors going on, with coffee and chocolate as the dominant ones. Both of them have a little bitterness, and there's also some sweet fruity flavors that balance it out. Also there's a touch of alcohol in there as well, although it's probably going to be too much for some people. I'm not really getting much in the way of oatmeal though. The beer has a very light carbonation, which I think works well for it. Anything too much more would probably contrast unfavorably with the other flavors.

Final thought - If you only kind of like stouts, pass on this one. This beer is strictly for the stout fans, as it is a heavy beer that hits you like a brick. Maybe two bricks. Not like a ton of bricks though, as I believe that may leave you in a state of being not-alive. If you are a stout person though, you'll probably enjoy this one. I'd give it a few minutes to mellow out. It lets a lot more flavor come through.

-Jon

Punkin Ale

Beer Name: Punkin Ale
Brewery: Dogfish Head Craft Brewery
ABV: 7%
Serving method: 12-oz bottle in a boring glass
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Unknown

After dinner plans #1, #2 and #3 failed to come to fruition, Kate and I ended up at Judie's in Amherst where I was excited to see Dogfish Head's pumpkin beer on the menu. I've been meaning to give this beer a try for a while now, so that's one more check mark on my To Do list.

Punkin Ale is an dark orangey beer that poured with a light amount of head. They brought me the beer and a glass, so I was able to pour it how I wanted. Oddly, the glass was slightly less than 12 ounces, which makes me confused. You brought me a beer, so bring me an appropriate beer glass!! Oh well. The aroma is heavily pumpkin and spices at first, although the pumpkin part fades away within a couple minutes. The spices, as expected, are mostly cinnamon and nutmeg, similar to many other pumpkin beers.

This beer has a good pumpkin flavor with the spice levels balanced to keep them from overwhelming my tastebuds. Sadly, the pumpkin part of the flavor doesn't last for the entire glass. I guess you have to drink this beer a bit faster than I did. Which means don't order it to enjoy with a meal, as you don't have that kind of time frame. This beer has a bigger presence in each sip than a lot of other pumpkin beers, and a bit more carbonation.

Final thought - This is a good pumpkin beer, probably in the top 4 for this year. For our money, we still like UFO Pumpkin the best at this residence, although I know others will disagree. (For the record, the other members of the top 4 would be Pumking and the really long named one from Wolaver's.)

-Jon

Puffers Smoked Porter

Beer Name: Puffers Smoked Porter
Brewery: Amherst Brewing Company
ABV: 4.6%
Serving method: 16-oz draft in a pint glass
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Unknown

From one dark beer to another, I followed my stout with a porter. As a matter of fact, I believe that stouts and porters were originally the same style of beer. Or not, as there is a lot of disagreement on this particular issue. We can agree on one thing though, and that is the both styles are dark and heavy in the roasted aroma department.

Puffers Smoked Porter is a very dark beer, bordering on black. It arrived with no head, and didn't leave any lacing on the glass. The aroma here is extra chocolatey, with strong roasted malt notes.

The roasted flavor here is the dominant one. There's some coffee and chocolate, and lots of roasted malt. This beer has a much more mild finish than the stout did, without the bitter finish. The whole pint was very smooth and uncarbonated, making it super easy drinking. As the beer warms up, a nice sweetness enters into the flavor.

Final thought - For a fairly low ABV beer, this one has a lot of nice things going on. I think it will be one of my top ABC choices in the future.

-Jon

Two Sisters

Beer Name: Two Sisters Imperial Stout
Brewery: Amherst Brewing Company
ABV: 6.7%
Serving method: 16-oz draft in a pint glass
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Unknown

Amherst Brewing Company calls this an imperial stout, but at 6.7%, I'm not sure it's quite high enough to actually get the classification. But I guess if they want to call it imperial, so be it.

Two Sisters is, like many stouts, a very opaque dark beer. Also like many stouts, it came with only a thin layer of head that remained for about the first half of the pint. Some of the head clung in a light lacing pattern, but only very faintly. The aroma of this beer is a heavy roasted chocolate one.

The flavor is also heavy on the roasted characteristics, but the chocolate flavor isn't sweet chocolate. Maybe dark chocolate, or baking chocolate. There's also a little bit of bitterness at the finish. The beer has a low carbonation, and it works very well paired with some food.

Final thought - Although I really don't think this classifies as an imperial stout, it still works well as a normal stout. Getting the beer fresh from the actual brewery also makes a difference, so I don't know what this would be like if I got a growler and brought it home. I think I'll probably just drink it at ABC and get other stouts for at-home drinking.

-Jon

Woodshed IPA

Beer Name: Woodshed IPA
Brewery: Vintage Brewing Co.
ABV: 6.5%
Serving method: 16-oz draft in a pint glass
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Unknown

This beer was actually my 4th choice, but my 3rd choice (a double black IPA) was not available despite being listed on the menu as being newly tapped. Luckily, I always have a backup choice of beer for just such an occasion. I haven't really thought about what I'd do if my backup choice wasn't available either. My guess is probably panic and curl into the fetal position under the table.

The Woodshed IPA is a cloudy copper beer with a quick fading head that leaves a small layer behind. This beer has a very strong hoppy aroma, but it's a very different aroma from the Hop Harvest. Whereas that one was a grassy kind of hop, this one is all about the florally citrus hops.

And the flavor follows right from the aroma. There are major grapefruit notes from the hops. It also has a very light maltiness (and sweetness) that balance out the hops and keep them from being too much. Sadly, there is not nearly enough sweetness to keep this beer from causing a Kate-face. This beer has a very dry finish that makes you immediately ready for the next sip. As it warms up, the sweetness increases as the hop flavors decrease, so you can wait it out until the balance is right where you want it, as long as you like hops at least a little bit.

Final thought - Even though it was a backup beer, I enjoyed this beer very much. Citrusy hops with enough sweetness to keep them in check generally make for my favorite IPAs, and this was no exception. All in all, I think Vintage is a great brewery (based on only 3 beers, but they were still 3 for 3 in my book), and I'm glad it's the one that I randomly chose off my list of Madison breweries.

-Jon

Scaredy Cat

Beer Name: Scaredy Cat Oatmeal Stout
Brewery: Vintage Brewing Co.
ABV: 6%
Serving method: 16-oz draft in a pint glass
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Unknown

Since my first beer focused on the hops, I figured that my second beer should focus on malt. Specifically roasted malts in the form of a (hopefully) delicious stout.

Scaredy Cat is a very dark beer in the tradition of many stouts before it. The aroma is like a stout on steroids. It's super roasted, with some caramel, coffee and chocolate all noticeable in large quantities. There was almost no head at all, but there was a hint of some coffee colored head that could have been present in a different pouring method. Like maybe if you held the glass way below the tap or something.

Despite the balance of aromas, the flavor is mainly the coffee. The whole pint was super smooth, with very little carbonation, making the whole thing very easy to drink. Usually there is a little bit of bitterness at the end of each sip for a stout, but this one doesn't really have it. I like when there's a little bitterness to balance out the sweetness of most stouts, but since this beer had a lot more coffee flavor than chocolate or caramel, I didn't think that the lack of bitterness was an issue.

Final thought - This beer was delightful, but I could see the coffee dominance being an issue for some. They should get over it though, since it doesn't really hurt the overall stout experience.

-Jon

Hop Harvest Ale

Beer Name: Hop Harvest Ale
Brewery: Vintage Brewing Co.
ABV: 6.6%
Serving method: 16-oz draft in a pint glass
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Unknown

Since we had to check out of our hotel by noon and our flight wasn't until 5:20, we still had quite a bit of time to kill even after factoring in a 1.75 hour drive to the airport. We decided that the best way to spend said time would be at a brewery. Little did I know at the time that all this delicious beer (along with pretty much everything else I had consumed in the previous 24 hours) would be violently expelled from my body in a losing battle with motion sickness.

Vintage had a whole bunch of enticing beers, but I finally settled on the Hop Harvest Ale for my first choice. It was a cloudy ruby colored beer that arrived with a very light head that faded away, leaving only a thin layer behind that lasted for most of the beer. It also left a light lacing pattern behind. The aroma of this beer was hoppy, but a grassy sort of hops. It makes me think that the beer is hopped using super-fresh local hops, but I don't really know if Wisconsin is the appropriate climate for hop growing or if any local hops even exist. It's a mystery.

This beer had a very good flavor. It was hoppy, but the hops weren't overpowering like with an IPA. It was like they were an important part of the beer without being the main focus. They are also present in a lightly bitter finish. The beer had a nice amount of carbonation and finished cleanly.

Final thought - This was a great first beer choice. I would definitely recommend it to anyone, but I'm not sure that Vintage ships its beers way out here to MA. That's quite unfortunate, as this was only the first of several delicious things I drank that afternoon.

-Jon

Roller Dam Red

Beer Name: Roller Dam Red Ale
Brewery: Great River Brewery
ABV: 5.4%
Serving method: 22-oz draft in a pint-like glass
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Unknown

We had a long time in between the wedding ceremony and the wedding reception, so we figured the best way to fill in the gap would be to find some grownup juice. The bar/restaurant in the hotel would probably serve nicely to fulfill this goal.

There were only 2 beers on tap that I had never tried before, and I couldn't read the other one, so I went with the Roller Dam Red Ale (although, if I'm telling the truth, the tap only said "Great River" on it, so I had to ask what exactly would be flowing from said tap). If I ever own a bar, I am going to make it much easier to know what is on tap.

The Roller Dam Red Ale is, as you might expect, a fairly reddish copper colored beer. It poured without any head, and it was so cold that the glass started sweating and prevented any kind of lacing retention. The aroma is a grainy maltiness, with some bready qualities. This thing tells me "bready" is not an actual word, but how else can I make the word "bread" into an adjective? Stupid English. I am expecting a malty sweetness to this beer.

The flavor of this beer matches pretty well with what I was expecting from the aroma. It's mostly malty, with just a little bit of hops near the end. But not much bitterness from the hops, just a sort of hoppy sensation that mixes with the sweetness from the malt. There was a medium carbonation to the beer, and a very light mouthfeel.

Final thought - I usually don't go for the red ales for some reason, but maybe I should. This was a pretty good beer despite not being on my list of top styles. Perhaps I should expand my horizons more often. Also, this beer is Iowa's first contribution to Mmmm, beers! Welcome, Iowa.

-Jon

Late Harvest

Beer Name: Late Harvest Autumn Ale
Brewery: Redhook Ale Brewery
ABV: 5.9%
Serving method: 12-oz bottle
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Bottled 9/8/11

Redhook is actually based in Washington, but it has a brewery in New Hampshire as well. Based on some simple calculations (i.e. looking at a map), I'm assuming that this particular bottle of beer originated in NH rather than a few thousand miles away.

Late Harvest is an ambery copper colored beer based on the small amount that I spilled. It's probably a bit darker when it's poured into a glass. There is a nice aroma of sweet maltiness here, with something like maple syrup in there. At first, I was expecting this to be a hoppy kind of beer, with the "Harvest" part of the name implying that it was brewed with fresh-picked hops. However, upon giving it a good sniff, I am 100% sure that my original thought was incorrect.

Much like the aroma, this beer's flavor is pretty heavy on the malt. Sweetness upfront and sweetness in the finish. There's a medium amount of carbonation, which is more than I was expecting. I don't think that's a bad thing though. The finish is a bit heavy and sticky, and it has a little bitterness in it from what I can only assume is from some kind of finishing hops.

Final thought - Nothing wrong with this one. It's a good malty beer with a nice variety of sweetness to it. It's a little thin, but that's not a game-breaker. Although I have learned through my research that the company that owns Redhook might be partly owned by the same folks who brew such delicious beverages as "The King of Beers." That might be an issue.

-Jon

Batten Down Brown

Beer Name: Batten Down Brown
Brewery: Homebrewed by me (with Kate)
ABV: It's supposed to be around 4.8%
Serving method: 12-oz bottle in a pint glass
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Brewed on 8/27/11, bottled 9/10/11

My second attempt at brewing beer myself went much more smoothly than the first. This is partly due to having an actual recipe this time, but mostly because I knew everything that I had done wrong the first time and could avoid doing it again.

Batten Down Brown is, as the name suggests, a brown ale. It pours a deep brown color with only a thin head that fades quickly without leaving any lacing pattern. The aroma is pretty much all malt, with a noticeable aroma from the chocolate malt we used. There's also just a tiny hint of the finishing hops.

Somewhat surprisingly (since I was partly responsible for its production), this beer is actually pretty good. It tastes the way you'd expect a brown ale to taste, with most of the flavors being malty in nature. There is a noticeable chocolately or coffee flavor to it as well, which I like. The carbonation is very light, which, when combined with the smooth mouthfeel, make this beer drink very easily.

Final thought - While much better than the first batch of beer, I still think this could be improved. There is just a little bit of a sharpness to it that I don't think should be there. Other than that, I think this beer lived up to my expectations, and will be listed as a success in my brewer's diary.

-Jon

Oktober Fest

Beer Name: Oktober Fest
Brewery: Stoudts Brewing Company
ABV: 5%
Serving method: 12-oz bottle in a pint glass
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Unknown

Yeah, Oktober Fest is now two words. So deal with that. I bought this beer because I wanted to try something new and the bottle had a weird looking guy with some kind of musical instrument. Apparently I am still buying beer based on appearances, which I really shouldn't do.

Oktober Fest is a amber colored beer with hints of orange to it. It poured with a decent amount of head that faded slowly but only left a light lacing behind. The aroma of this beer is very faint, but there's a maltiness to it and maybe some very faint fruitiness. There's definitely something else in the background, but it's a bit difficult to pick out.

This beer has everything you'd expect from an Oktoberfest beer. There's a nice caramel maltiness to it, very little hops, and a smoothness to each sip. This is fairly light Oktoberfest as far as the experience goes. Unlike something like, say, Sam Adams, drinking one of these does not feel like a monumental event. Instead, it's light and easily enjoyable. This is lightly carbonated with a fairly clean finish and only a slight aftertaste of sweetness.

Final thought - I found this to be a nicely enjoyable beer, and I will probably seek it out again next fall to enjoy another 6 or so.

-Jon

Fisherman's Pumpkin Stout

Beer Name: Fisherman's Pumpkin Stout
Brewery: Cape Ann Brewing Company
ABV: 7%
Serving method: 12-oz bottle in a pint glass
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Unknown

I hadn't tried a pumpkin stout before, but I like stouts and I like pumpkin beers so I figured this one was a no-brainer.

The Fisherman's Pumpkin Stout is a fairly dark beer about the same color as a cola. It poured with a light head that quickly faded away without leaving much of a lacing pattern. The aroma is hard to describe; there are certainly some pumpkin and spice notes, but there's also something that is not pleasing to my nose. It's almost like a medicinal smell.

At first, I did not like this beer at all. That medicinal aroma was also present in the flavor, and it made it very difficult to enjoy the beer. However, I drank a second bottle, and it did not have any medicinal aroma or flavor. It still wasn't very pumpkiny though, which is an issue for me. Since I had a six-pack of this beer, I drank a couple more bottles throughout the week, and found 2 more to be like the first beer and 1 more like the second. There is still one more bottle in the fridge. Overall, the beer has a creamy feel to it and is very easy drinking, regardless of its flavor. I'm really not sure what's going on with this particular brew.

Final thought - The beers that weren't so good were completely unenjoyable, but the ones that seemed to taste ok weren't bad. "Pumpkin stout" was sort of a misnomer, as this beer needed some more stout flavors and definitely could have used more pumpkin. With all the other pumpkin beers out there, I think I'll be passing on this one in the future.

-Jon

Porter

Beer Name: Porter
Brewery: Southern Tier Brewing Company
ABV: 5.8%
Serving method: 12-oz bottle in a pint glass
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: DOB was 6/24/11

This weather is completely inappropriate for a porter, but it's the last of my sixpack mixpack and it's getting consumed regardless.

Southern Tier's Porter (seriously, this place makes some delicious beer, but their names need some creativity) is a very dark beer that blocks all light from passing through and is nearly black except for some ruby highlights around the edges. It pours with a minimal amount of head, and again, only because I poured it in such a way to force head production. It didn't last very long, and it barely left any lacing. The aroma is roasted malt, roasted chocolate, and maybe a little bit of fruit, but only faintly.

All those roasted notes from the aroma come through in the flavor. It's mostly roasted malt, with a little hint of the chocolate in the background. There's not much carbonation, but I'm not sure you really want a heavily carbonated porter. I am not sure I would enjoy that. There's even a little bit of a hoppy kick to the finish, with just a bit of bitterness.

Final thought - This is a very easy drinking porter. Nothing outstanding about it, but nothing bad either. I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys the style. I don't think it will convert any porter-haters though.

-Jon

India Pale Ale

Beer Name: India Pale Ale
Brewery: Southern Tier Brewing Company
ABV: 7.3%
Serving method: 12-oz bottle in a pint glass
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: DOB was 8/12/11

August is a much more reasonable time for a beer to be born if I'm drinking it in September. Hopefully that means things will go better with this beer.

Southern Tier's IPA is an orangey copper beer that poured with a thin head which quickly evaporated, leaving a thin layer around the edges. It also left a medium lacing pattern. The beer has a hoppy aroma, with a mix of floral hops and pine hops. There's also a little bit of citrus hops in the background. It seems like there is even some maltiness in there as well, but it's very faint.

This is a good flavored IPA, with enough of a hoppy kick to let you know it's an IPA without being too bitter. It is balanced with a bit of malt as well, so the flavor is both bitter and sweet. The beer is lightly carbonated, and it finishes with a bitter hop flavor. There's a little bit of an aftertaste, and it has some bitter and sweet components. After a little while, the beer's flavor sort of weakens, so drink this one sort of quickly.

Final thought - This is a pretty good beer, with only one minor drawback. I would say that it has a perfect amount of hops, with enough malt to keep things balanced. The only flaw in my opinion is that after a few minutes, the beer's flavor sort of fades away and it feels kind of watery. I bet if I drank it a little bit faster, then that wouldn't have been an issue. But that is dumb, because I like to enjoy my beers. If I wanted to chug down 10 beers an hour, I'd just drink Random Macro-brew Light.

-Jon

Pale

Beer Name: Pale
Brewery: Southern Tier Brewing Company
ABV: 6.1%
Serving method: 12-oz bottle in a pint glass
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: DOB was 5/4/11

This beer is outside my arbitrary 90 day window, and also my 120 day window, which are not based on anything other than seeming like a good amount of time in which to consume a beer after it's brewed. However, I am not sure that this window is significant for anything other than mass-produced macro swill beers, so what the hell, I'll give it a try.

Pale is a pale golden colored beer that poured with about a quarter inch of head (because I intentionally poured it to force some head to form) that quickly faded away, leaving a thin layer on top and a light lacing pattern. At first there is a hoppy aroma, but this disappears after a few minutes, leaving the beer without much of an aroma. That's kind of weird, so maybe we can blame it on the beer's age.

The first sip I took had a nice light flavor with a citrusy hop kick that was balanced by some maltiness. There was a light-medium level of carbonation, and a mostly crisp bitter finish with a mild aftertaste. The next couple sips were like this as well. Then, after a little while, that seems to vanish much like the aroma did. Now, I've had beers that change in flavor as they warm up, but to have the flavor disappear? That's a new one.

Final thought - While not a bad beer by any means, this beer doesn't really live up to the pedigree established by the other Southern Tier beers I've had. I'm willing to give this one the benefit of the doubt and try it again with a fresh one, but only because the first few sips seems like they were the beginning of a delicious beer. Let's call this one "Rating Pending," even though I don't even use a rating system here.

-Jon

Harvest Ale

Beer Name: Harvest Ale
Brewery: Southern Tier Brewing Company
ABV: 6.7%
Serving method: 12-oz bottle in a pint glass
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: It's "DOB" was 0?/29/11... it was partly scratched off.

Apparently Southern Tier actually does put dates on their bottles, but they come off very easily. As in just rubbing my finger against the date makes it rub off. What kind of adhesive are they using, wishes?

Harvest Ale is a copper-colored beer that pours with a light head (just under half an inch I'd say) that quickly fades, leaving a light lacing pattern behind. The aroma is fantastic, with citrus hops, mainly grapefruit, and caramel maltiness. If the flavor is half as good as this aroma is predicting, then this beer will be... well, pretty average. Maybe I should be shooting for at least 3/4 as good.

Well, I'm not sure I can be exact with the percentages, but this is a pretty tasty beer that doesn't quite live up to the aroma's hype. Although it's classified as an ESB, it drinks like a mild IPA. It has a light hoppiness to it, but it's balanced nicely by the malt. The finish is slightly bitter, with an aftertaste that lingers a bit, but not too long. There's a little carbonation, probably just above what I'd consider "light" carbonation. The overall bitterness increases as it warms up, so take that into consideration depending on your enjoyment of hops.

Final thought - I enjoyed this beer, but I think it would have been better paired with food. It seems like the perfect beer to drink with a meal, as it has a good flavor that wouldn't overpower any foods, but also wouldn't be covered up. I'm not really an expert on food pairings though, so I don't know what it would work with. Probably something with BBQ sauce.

-Jon

Phin & Matt's

Beer Name: Phin & Matt's Extraordinary Ale
Brewery: Southern Tier Brewing Company
ABV: 5.7%
Serving method: 12-oz bottle in a pint glass
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Unknown

What a modestly named beer! I am expecting big things.

Phin & Matt's Extraordinary Ale is an American pale ale, so it's a little hoppier than a normal pale ale without being an IPA. At least that's the way I'm understanding this. I'm fighting a fairly annoying sinus issue right now, so the only part of the aroma I'm getting here are the sweet and hop portions. There's definitely some other stuff going on though, but I can't identify it. The beer poured with only a light head that quickly faded, but the beer still left a light lacing pattern behind. For color, it has a somewhat dark golden appearance.

This beer has a nice flavor of hops without being bitter. Well, it has a little bitterness at the finish, but it's not the sharp bitterness and bitter aftertaste that most hoppy beers have. There's a light carbonation, which, when combined with the clean finish, makes this beer very easy drinking. I could see this being a good beer for a drinking session. A smooth beer with a nice flavor is always a good choice.

Final thought - This is a tasty beverage. I would suggest that if you don't think you like hops, give this beer a try. There is a nice citrus hop flavor, but it doesn't have the normal hop bitterness that seems to turn off some people. This could definitely be a new beer in my regular rotation, which will have to wait until 2012. I've still got a little ways to go to fulfill my promise of 100 different beers this year, so I can't be locking myself into anything specific yet.

-Jon

Raspberry Wheat

Beer Name: Raspberry Wheat
Brewery: Southern Tier Brewing Company
ABV: 4.9%
Serving method: 12-oz bottle in a pint glass
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Unknown

I recently learned that my local package store allows you to pick and choose beers to make your own variety packs. Sadly, this might be the most exciting event of September, unless our brown ale comes out deliciously. I took advantage of this feature to make myself a Southern Tier mixpack.

Raspberry Wheat is barely a beer. I am suspicious of any beers that make the distinction of putting "Malt Beverage" on their bottle instead of ale, lager, beer, etc. This particular beverage is a pale golden straw color that poured without any head of lacing. It does have a lovely raspberry aroma though, along with some wheatiness. Makes sense, given the beer's name.

This is a very light drinking beer, with only a light carbonation and no real hop bitterness. Everything is very smooth. The raspberry flavor is noticeable without being overpowering. The flavor also has something in it that gives you the impression of a raspberry dessert, like a turnover or a cobbler. It's nice. Each sip ends cleanly without leaving an aftertaste.

Final thought - This is a pretty good fruity beer, but I am not sure I'd be able to drink a whole bunch of them in one sitting. I continue to be impressed by what the brewers at Southern Tier are putting out.

-Jon

Hex

Beer Name: Hex
Brewery: Magic Hat
ABV: 5.4%
Serving method: 12-oz bottle in a pint glass
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Best by 11/30/11

Hex, aka Ourtoberfest, is not classified as an Oktoberfest beer over at Beer Advocate. This also goes for the Rate Beer site, although this one seems like a less fancy ripoff of Beer Advocate. I decided to go straight to the source, but on the actual Magic Hat website, it's classified as an Ourtoberfest, which just isn't helpful at all. Come on! That's not even a style!!

Regardless of what kind of beer it officially is, Hex is a deep copper colored beer that pours with about a half inch of head that fades fairly quickly, leaving almost no lacing. The aroma is strongly malty, with some caramel and chocolate notes. It seems like a typical smelling Oktoberfest beer, even though it might not be.

As usual, Magic Hat produces another enjoyable beer. There is a nice malty flavor here, with a lot of the caramel from the aroma and just a light hint of the chocolate. The beer has a light carbonation and a smooth mouthfeel, leaving just a hint of hops and caramel in the aftertaste.

Final thought - It probably isn't the best Oktoberfest beer, or possibly even an Oktoberfest for that matter, but Hex is tasty and makes a great choice for relaxation. It even tastes good when it warms up, which works nicely if you are struggling to find something good to watch on TV on a Thursday while the Red Sox are working on the most epic September collapse in baseball history.

-Jon

My First IPA

Beer Name: My First IPA
Brewery: Homebrewed by me (with Bill), brewery name still pending
ABV: No idea, but higher than it was supposed to be.
Serving method: 12-oz bottle in a pint glass
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Brewed 8/11/11, bottled 8/24/11

I'm not sure if I should be reviewing my own beer here, but since I'm the one in charge, I'm going to let it slide. Considering the amount of mistakes I made during the brewing process, I'm shocked that this even came out as beer at all.

My First IPA is a very dark beer, making the "P" part of IPA a bit of a lie. It poured with about an inch of head that quickly evaporated. As the beer level falls, it leaves a light lacing temporarily, but nothing long lasting. The aroma is lightly hoppy, but not as hoppy as an IPA should be. There's also a sweet maltiness to it, presumably a direct result of me adding the priming sugar to the boil where it absolutely did not belong. It's actually not a bad aroma, but it's not appropriate for an IPA.

The beer is very average. It doesn't really taste like an IPA though, which is disappointing. I am not really sure how to describe the flavor. It's mostly malty and sweet, with only a little bit of bitterness in the background. It finishes fairly cleanly, leaving a slight aftertaste. Light carbonation here, meaning I probably bottled it correctly. Score one for me.

Final thought - Even for a first beer, this is still not that great. Other people have had a slightly more positive opinion, but I suspect they're just being nice. They also didn't try it after being in the bottle a week, where it tasted like someone had bitten my tongue. Yeah, that's a taste now. However, it's still beer that I made, so I'm going to either drink or spite-drink all of them. And maybe give a couple away, if anyone wants them.

-Jon

Heinnieweisse

Beer Name: Heinnieweisse Weissebier
Brewery: Butternuts Beer and Ale
ABV: 4.9%
Serving method: 12-oz can
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Best by Dec 2011

After a day of errands and an afternoon of bottling our homebrew, it was absolutely time for a beer. There's a couple random beers left in there, so I figured that I had better clear them out to make room for Kate's Brown Ale, whose real name is still under construction.

Heinnieweisse is the last of the Butternuts variety pack we had picked up a little while back, so I decided to polish that off. I wasn't in the mood for pouring beers into glasses at this point in time, so it stayed in the can. It's a hefeweizen though, so it's almost certainly a hazy golden color that stays a little bit cloudy. It certainly smells like a hefe, with bananas and cloves hitting you in the nose with each sip.

Pretty standard hefeweizen flavor here, with bananas, cloves, and a little bit of some other fruitiness all sharing the spotlight. It's easy drinking as well, since I just noticed that I polished off most of the can already while writing this. Good thing the ABV isn't too high, or you could potentially run into problems. Mostly clean finish, with a slight aftertaste of sweetness that lingers on the tongue.

Final thought - I'm probably not the best person to ask about hefeweizens, since it's not one of my favorite styles. I've had some decent ones though, so this one just comes up a little short. It's not bad though. Just not as good as others that I've had.

-Jon

Pumking

Beer Name: Pumking
Brewery: Southern Tier Brewing Company
ABV: 8.6%
Serving method: 22-oz bottle, served in a pint glass
Born/Bottled/Shipped on:

Obviously this beer is not here to mess around. The pumpkin on the label is even wearing a crown. It actually looks pretty awesome. If I were an evil pumpkin, that's the kind of crown I'd be rocking.

Pumking is a orange-amber colored beer that, like many pumpkin ales, pours without much head and without leaving much lacing. There's a nice pumpkin aroma here, and the usual spice notes. There's also something else in there, like a sweet scent. It might be caramel. If the flavor is anything like the aroma, this is going to be a tasty beverage.

At 8.6%, this pumpkin ale is quite a bit higher than most of the others. The alcohol is faintly noticeable, but it's not a huge issue. The pumpkin flavor here is very good, and the spices add a nice flavor without overpowering my tastebuds. There's only a marginal carbonation here, and the beer finishes clean without leaving much of an aftertaste.

Final thought - This is another great beer from the fine folks at Southern Tier. Whatever they're doing over there, they should keep it up. Be aware that the high ABV means that this is a pumpkin ale to be enjoyed occasionally as opposed to most other pumpkins which make great session beers. I am definitely keeping this on the list of pumpkin beers to drink next year. This has been a good year for new pumpkin ales. Unlike last year...

-Jon

Sword Swallower

Beer Name: Coney Island Sword Swallower
Brewery: Schmaltz Brewing Company
ABV: 6.8%
Serving method: 12-oz bottle in a pint glass
Born/Bottled/Shipped on:

This beer was a gift from Bill, as he drank the first one of these in his mixpack and did not care for it. Also, the label was on upside down. That makes me laugh. Finally, I was not aware that Coney Island was in California. Oh wait, it's not! This brewery is tricky.

Sword Swallower is a golden color, with some hints orange in there. This one is a little more like brass, if brass is the color I'm thinking it is. It poured with almost no head, but there was a thin layer that lasted for most of the glass and left some erratic lacing behind. It has a citrus hop aroma, but there is also another aroma in there that makes the beer seem "bigger" than most pales. I would assume that this is a result of this being a lager instead of an ale.

For some reason, I went in thinking that this was going to be an IPA even though the bottle clearly said "Steel Hop Lager." Perhaps my reading abilities need to be tested. Although it does finish a bit like an IPA, so maybe they were shooting for an India Pale Lager. It has a good carbonation and is very smooth. The flavor is floral hops with a lagery taste in there as well. The finish is bitter, but the aftertaste hangs out a little too long.

Final thought - This beer was ok, but it's not something I'd go out of my way to drink again. There's nothing bad about it though, so maybe you will like it.

-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

Natural Blonde

Beer Name: Natural Blonde
Brewery: The People's Pint
ABV: 4.6%
Serving method: 16-oz draft in a tulip glass
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Unknown

Unlike Kate, I did not have to spite-drink both of my dinner beers.

Natural Blonde is an American Blonde Ale. Seriously, that's a kind of beer. I know, I'm shocked too. I thought it was a kind of girl. As the name would suggest, it's a light golden color and poured with about an inch of head. The aroma was a little bready with hops in the background. There were probably some other aromas in there as well, but my nose was pretty stuffed up by this point so it was tough to pick them out.

The flavor of this beer is very light, with just enough hops to keep it from being boring. There's a little bit of maltiness as well, but all the flavors are very subdued. It's mostly malty at the beginning, with the hops finishing things up with a crisp bitterness. The medium carbonation doesn't keep this from being a very easy-to-drink beer.

Final thought - This beer makes me think of what the Big 3's beers would taste like if they actually tasted good. Obviously it must be possible to produce a light, low ABV beverage that doesn't taste like garbage, so I'm not sure why they don't do it. And yet they still have like 95% of the beer market. I'm ashamed of people.

-Jon

Provider Pale Ale

Beer Name: Provider Pale Ale
Brewery: The People's Pint
ABV: 5.2%
Serving method: 16-oz draft in a pint glass
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Unknown

They were all out of the oatmeal stout, so I decided to branch out and try something new.

The Provider Pale Ale is actually very dark, looking more like an IPA than a pale ale. It did not have much head, but there was a thin layer that stuck around for most of the glass and left a nice lacing pattern. There was a nice aroma of hops, but it was a little faint.

This beer was pretty good. It was sort of like a toned down IPA, because there was a nice hoppiness to it without it being the only flavor. It was a good match with my food, complementing the meal without overpowering it. The flavor was sort of muted though, so it might be disappointing on its own. It finished pretty cleanly, with a light bitterness. Very light carbonation here, and super smooth to drink.

Final thought - Good with food but I think I'd go with their Pied pIPA instead if I was just sitting back with a beer.

-Jon

UFO Pumpkin

Beer Name: UFO Pumpkin
Brewery: Harpoon Brewery
ABV: 5.9%
Serving method: A pint poured from a growler
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Growler bottled on 8/14/11

If you're ever going on brewery tours in Vermont, definitely include the Harpoon Brewery. It's a great tour that is informative and has free sampling. They also have some good food at the restaurant there. Get the fries. And maybe the Vermonter sandwich. And obviously a sampler of beers.

UFO Pumpkin from Harpoon is a mostly clear, light coppery beer. If you hold it up to a light, it actually looks sort of pumpkin colored. There is an aroma of spices like most pumpkin ales, but it's more balanced than most others because there's a pumpkin aroma too. In the background there's also a maltiness to the scent. It's a busy beer. It poured with a very thin head that disappeared almost immediately and didn't leave any lacing. That's pretty typical of a pumpkin ale, so I'm not too concerned.

This beer is delicious! It's pumpkiny and spicy, but there's more cinnamon and less nutmeg to the spices. That's probably why I enjoy it so much. Cinnamon > nutmeg every day of the week. It's got a light carbonation to keep it from being like pumpkin juice, and it finishes fairly crisply with a little bit of spice aftertaste.

Final thought - Alright, so I know I said that the pumpkin ale from Wolaver's was probably going to be my pumpkin beer of choice. I was wrong. This is the stuff. And all you Shipyard fans, don't get me wrong; Pumpkinhead is a delicious choice. This one is just better.

-Jon