Beer Name: Crowtown Pale Ale
Brewery: Madison Brewing Company
ABV: ?
Serving method: 16-oz draft in a tumbler
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Unknown
Kate and I took a trip out to Bennington to check out the Madison Brewing Company, resulting in an enjoyable meal and some new beer to drink.
Crowtown Pale Ale is an orange-brown beer, with a thick head of almost two fingers in width. It faded very slowly, leaving a bunch of lacing behind. The aroma is mainly citrus hops, and some other hops in the background.
This beer has a nice hop flavor, but it's not very bitter. The more it warms up, the more the maltiness comes through, and it becomes sweeter as the pint progresses. The finish is clean, without any noticeable aftertastes.
Final thought - This is an enjoyable beer, and a slightly above average pale ale. The logo also has a crow wearing a top hat, and that's pretty cool.
-Jon
Friday, June 29, 2012
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Undercover Investigation Shut-down Ale
Beer Name: Undercover Investigation Shut-down Ale
Brewery: Lagunitas Brewing Company
ABV: 9.8%
Serving method: 12-oz bottle in a tumbler
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Unknown
Obviously there is a story behind the name of this beer, but you can go look it up for yourself. It's not overly interesting, but it's yet another example of having a bit too much government in our everyday lives.
Undercover Investigation Shut-down Ale is a slightly orangey amber beer. It poured with a bit of head, but it faded away immediately, and despite its attempts to leave some lacing behind, it was unsuccessful. The aroma is hoppy, like grapefruits, and also surprisingly malty. The label makes claims of being quite bitter, but the IBUs are a manageable 66.6. Well, manageable for me. Your mileage may vary.
Depending on how cold you drink this one, the bitterness is going to vary. When it was fresh out of the fridge, it had a very sharp bite to it. However, as it warmed up, the flavor mellowed out. The hops are very present, with enough malt to avoid being overwhelmed by them. It's mildly carbonated, with a medium-to-big body. It finishes with a little bit of bitterness, but the aftertaste is actually pretty sweet.
Final thought - Like many of the beers from Lagunitas, this one packs a nice amount of hops into each sip. Unlike the others, this one isn't quite as sweet. So if you're looking for an enjoyable hoppy beer that isn't too sweet, this is the one for you. Plus it's pretty good, so you might as well give it a try.
-Jon
Brewery: Lagunitas Brewing Company
ABV: 9.8%
Serving method: 12-oz bottle in a tumbler
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Unknown
Obviously there is a story behind the name of this beer, but you can go look it up for yourself. It's not overly interesting, but it's yet another example of having a bit too much government in our everyday lives.
Undercover Investigation Shut-down Ale is a slightly orangey amber beer. It poured with a bit of head, but it faded away immediately, and despite its attempts to leave some lacing behind, it was unsuccessful. The aroma is hoppy, like grapefruits, and also surprisingly malty. The label makes claims of being quite bitter, but the IBUs are a manageable 66.6. Well, manageable for me. Your mileage may vary.
Depending on how cold you drink this one, the bitterness is going to vary. When it was fresh out of the fridge, it had a very sharp bite to it. However, as it warmed up, the flavor mellowed out. The hops are very present, with enough malt to avoid being overwhelmed by them. It's mildly carbonated, with a medium-to-big body. It finishes with a little bit of bitterness, but the aftertaste is actually pretty sweet.
Final thought - Like many of the beers from Lagunitas, this one packs a nice amount of hops into each sip. Unlike the others, this one isn't quite as sweet. So if you're looking for an enjoyable hoppy beer that isn't too sweet, this is the one for you. Plus it's pretty good, so you might as well give it a try.
-Jon
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Cerise
Beer Name: Founders Cerise
Brewery: Founders Brewing Company
ABV: 6.5%
Serving method: 12-oz bottle in a tumbler
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Bottled 5/15/12
For those of you that don't speak Russian, "cerise" is French for cherry. As such, I am expecting this beer to be filled with cherry goodness.
Cerise is a deep ruby red beer, sort of the color of cranberry juice. It poured with just over a finger of fluffy pink head, which faded away pretty quickly but still left a good amount of lacing behind. There is a nice cherry aroma, but it's not overdone. There's also a grainy aroma to it, and the combination makes it seem like the beer will be nice and light.
This beer has a whole lot of cherry flavor. However, it's more of a tart cherry flavor than a sweet one, which keeps it from being like a soda or juice. That's not to say it isn't sweet, as it still has a sweetness to it. There's also enough of a malt presence to remind you that this is, in fact, a beer. The carbonation is somewhere in the low to moderate range, and I think the whole experience might improve slightly if there was just a bit more. The finish is sweet, and sticks around just a little too long.
Final thought - This beer is pretty good. As with many fruit beers, there's probably a low limit to the amount you'll be able to drink in a single session. There's just a point where things get too sweet or sticky and it's time for something else. My overall impression is that this is like a cherry #9, with just a bit more happening. And there's nothing wrong with that.
-Jon
Brewery: Founders Brewing Company
ABV: 6.5%
Serving method: 12-oz bottle in a tumbler
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Bottled 5/15/12
For those of you that don't speak Russian, "cerise" is French for cherry. As such, I am expecting this beer to be filled with cherry goodness.
Cerise is a deep ruby red beer, sort of the color of cranberry juice. It poured with just over a finger of fluffy pink head, which faded away pretty quickly but still left a good amount of lacing behind. There is a nice cherry aroma, but it's not overdone. There's also a grainy aroma to it, and the combination makes it seem like the beer will be nice and light.
This beer has a whole lot of cherry flavor. However, it's more of a tart cherry flavor than a sweet one, which keeps it from being like a soda or juice. That's not to say it isn't sweet, as it still has a sweetness to it. There's also enough of a malt presence to remind you that this is, in fact, a beer. The carbonation is somewhere in the low to moderate range, and I think the whole experience might improve slightly if there was just a bit more. The finish is sweet, and sticks around just a little too long.
Final thought - This beer is pretty good. As with many fruit beers, there's probably a low limit to the amount you'll be able to drink in a single session. There's just a point where things get too sweet or sticky and it's time for something else. My overall impression is that this is like a cherry #9, with just a bit more happening. And there's nothing wrong with that.
-Jon
Friday, June 8, 2012
Creme Brulee
Beer Name: Crème Brûlée Stout
Brewery: Southern Tier Brewing Company
ABV: 9.6%
Serving method: 22-oz bottle in a tumbler
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: DOB was 5/10/12
I hope all the effort I put into throwing fancy accent marks on the name of this beer doesn't result in some kind of crazy internet formatting error where they are replaced with HTML code. That would be a terrible injustice. Plus it would mean that all of that effort was wasted, and having my effort wasted makes me very unhappy.
I've been looking for this beer for quite a while, since roughly December 2010. As it turns out, that was not a particularly good time to begin my search, as this beer is released in June. Unfortunately, June 2011 came and went with no bottles to be had, as they all sold out rather quickly. Today was a different story, and while picking up some other grownup juice, I spotted some Crème Brûlée bottles hanging out in the cooler, one of which quickly became mine.
Crème Brûlée is a very dark beer, practically solid black for most of the glass with some brownish-ruby highlights around the edges. It poured with a bit of head, although that faded away in a couple of minutes. It left a light lacing pattern behind, although it seemed like it was going to be heavier. This may be a reflection of my glassware, and as such I must be more careful to rinse these things out after they've finished their dishwasher experience. I am not exactly sure what the dessert crème brûlée smells like (since Kate usually orders it and I occasionally steal a bite from across the table), but this beer definitely smells like a dessert. There's a whole bunch of vanilla, caramel, and other sweet aromas, with something like a cream or custard as well. This should be an interesting drinking experience.
This beer is quite sweet. That's probably something to be expected going in based on the name alone, and it certainly does not disappoint in that regard. There's a creamy, custard flavor here at first, with the caramel maltiness also making an appearance. It also has just a hint of bitterness at the end of each sip to let you know that this is a beer and not some fancy French dessert. The alcohol is barely noticeable. There's a moderate amount of carbonation here, and the aftertaste is mildly sweet.
Final thought - After waiting such a long time to get my hands on a bottle of this beer, I was slightly worried that I might have built it up too much in my mind. Luckily that was not the case. This beer was delicious, and will be making an annual appearance on my list of beers to purchase. I've already added it to my newly produced Beer Availability spreadsheet, and will be eagerly anticipating its arrival next spring. Hell, if the dessert is as good as this beer, maybe I'll start ordering it instead of cheesecake. Although I do love cheesecake... Maybe someone should make a cheesecake beer! Souther Tier, get on that.
-Jon
Brewery: Southern Tier Brewing Company
ABV: 9.6%
Serving method: 22-oz bottle in a tumbler
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: DOB was 5/10/12
I hope all the effort I put into throwing fancy accent marks on the name of this beer doesn't result in some kind of crazy internet formatting error where they are replaced with HTML code. That would be a terrible injustice. Plus it would mean that all of that effort was wasted, and having my effort wasted makes me very unhappy.
I've been looking for this beer for quite a while, since roughly December 2010. As it turns out, that was not a particularly good time to begin my search, as this beer is released in June. Unfortunately, June 2011 came and went with no bottles to be had, as they all sold out rather quickly. Today was a different story, and while picking up some other grownup juice, I spotted some Crème Brûlée bottles hanging out in the cooler, one of which quickly became mine.
Crème Brûlée is a very dark beer, practically solid black for most of the glass with some brownish-ruby highlights around the edges. It poured with a bit of head, although that faded away in a couple of minutes. It left a light lacing pattern behind, although it seemed like it was going to be heavier. This may be a reflection of my glassware, and as such I must be more careful to rinse these things out after they've finished their dishwasher experience. I am not exactly sure what the dessert crème brûlée smells like (since Kate usually orders it and I occasionally steal a bite from across the table), but this beer definitely smells like a dessert. There's a whole bunch of vanilla, caramel, and other sweet aromas, with something like a cream or custard as well. This should be an interesting drinking experience.
This beer is quite sweet. That's probably something to be expected going in based on the name alone, and it certainly does not disappoint in that regard. There's a creamy, custard flavor here at first, with the caramel maltiness also making an appearance. It also has just a hint of bitterness at the end of each sip to let you know that this is a beer and not some fancy French dessert. The alcohol is barely noticeable. There's a moderate amount of carbonation here, and the aftertaste is mildly sweet.
Final thought - After waiting such a long time to get my hands on a bottle of this beer, I was slightly worried that I might have built it up too much in my mind. Luckily that was not the case. This beer was delicious, and will be making an annual appearance on my list of beers to purchase. I've already added it to my newly produced Beer Availability spreadsheet, and will be eagerly anticipating its arrival next spring. Hell, if the dessert is as good as this beer, maybe I'll start ordering it instead of cheesecake. Although I do love cheesecake... Maybe someone should make a cheesecake beer! Souther Tier, get on that.
-Jon
Friday, June 1, 2012
Imperial Russian Stout
Beer Name: Imperial Russian Stout
Brewery: Stone Brewing Co.
ABV: 10.5%
Serving method: 22-oz bottle in a tumbler
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: I'm not exactly sure, but it was released this year on April 16th
Happy 200th Post everyone!
Spoiler alert - I already know that I like this beer quite a bit, so this review is probably going to be a bit anticlimactic. Especially now that I told you the ending. But I warned you that there was a spoiler ahead, so it's pretty much 100% your fault if you decided to read it anyway. Way to ruin the post for yourself.
Since there's not a whole lot of drama here, I'll tell you a story about beer. Beers that have a location in their title, such as imperial Russian stouts or India pale ales, originally were not allowed by the government to have words that suggested a place of origin as part of their name. Apparently the government felt that this would confuse consumers. Once the style became widespread enough (as India pale ale did way back in the first half of the 1900s), this was no longer an issue, but for Russian stouts, this was not the case until 2005. Before that, the government suggested calling them Russian-style, which is even worse since imperial Russian stouts were originally brewed in England and shipped off to Russia. Luckily, it all finally got worked out, mostly due to a whole lot of work by the folks at Stone, and now we can all drink imperial Russian stouts brewed anywhere in the United States. Thanks guys! And for both of my readers, hopefully you learned something today.
Stone's Imperial Russian Stout is a solidly dark beer. So dark, in fact, that there aren't even any highlights around the edges. Now that's dark. It seemed like it was going to have a thin layer of head as I poured it, but I couldn't get anything to last. Perhaps it was my lack of appropriate glassware. Whatever it was, there was just the faintest amount of head that faded away pretty quickly but in no way will be impacting my enjoyment of this beer. The aroma here is fantastic, with some coffee, dark and sweet chocolate, roasted malts and some lightly noticeable alcohol. Every sip should be proceeded by a deep inhalation to make sure you are appreciating the beer properly.
This beer definitely has some big roasted flavors, with some bitter coffee and chocolate as the main players. The alcohol isn't quite as strong as the aroma suggested, which I actually prefer as I don't want my beers tasting like my booze. The beer has a little bit of a creamy mouthfeel, and there is a decent amount of carbonation for a stout. It's a nice combination for easy drinkability. This beer also hits that sweet spot of being very flavorful straight from the fridge and also after warming up. You can't go wrong!
Final thought - You should pick up at least one of these every year. It's great. Mark your calendars for mid-April so that you won't miss it. As a matter of fact, I'm going to make a spreadsheet right now so that I don't miss it next year. I feel like I might have stated my intentions to create a spreadsheet in the past, but I probably kept drinking beers that night and forgot. Regardless, you need to go hit the packie and grab yourself a bottle of this. Then maybe invite me over and we'll quaff together.
-Jon
Brewery: Stone Brewing Co.
ABV: 10.5%
Serving method: 22-oz bottle in a tumbler
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: I'm not exactly sure, but it was released this year on April 16th
Happy 200th Post everyone!
Spoiler alert - I already know that I like this beer quite a bit, so this review is probably going to be a bit anticlimactic. Especially now that I told you the ending. But I warned you that there was a spoiler ahead, so it's pretty much 100% your fault if you decided to read it anyway. Way to ruin the post for yourself.
Since there's not a whole lot of drama here, I'll tell you a story about beer. Beers that have a location in their title, such as imperial Russian stouts or India pale ales, originally were not allowed by the government to have words that suggested a place of origin as part of their name. Apparently the government felt that this would confuse consumers. Once the style became widespread enough (as India pale ale did way back in the first half of the 1900s), this was no longer an issue, but for Russian stouts, this was not the case until 2005. Before that, the government suggested calling them Russian-style, which is even worse since imperial Russian stouts were originally brewed in England and shipped off to Russia. Luckily, it all finally got worked out, mostly due to a whole lot of work by the folks at Stone, and now we can all drink imperial Russian stouts brewed anywhere in the United States. Thanks guys! And for both of my readers, hopefully you learned something today.
Stone's Imperial Russian Stout is a solidly dark beer. So dark, in fact, that there aren't even any highlights around the edges. Now that's dark. It seemed like it was going to have a thin layer of head as I poured it, but I couldn't get anything to last. Perhaps it was my lack of appropriate glassware. Whatever it was, there was just the faintest amount of head that faded away pretty quickly but in no way will be impacting my enjoyment of this beer. The aroma here is fantastic, with some coffee, dark and sweet chocolate, roasted malts and some lightly noticeable alcohol. Every sip should be proceeded by a deep inhalation to make sure you are appreciating the beer properly.
This beer definitely has some big roasted flavors, with some bitter coffee and chocolate as the main players. The alcohol isn't quite as strong as the aroma suggested, which I actually prefer as I don't want my beers tasting like my booze. The beer has a little bit of a creamy mouthfeel, and there is a decent amount of carbonation for a stout. It's a nice combination for easy drinkability. This beer also hits that sweet spot of being very flavorful straight from the fridge and also after warming up. You can't go wrong!
Final thought - You should pick up at least one of these every year. It's great. Mark your calendars for mid-April so that you won't miss it. As a matter of fact, I'm going to make a spreadsheet right now so that I don't miss it next year. I feel like I might have stated my intentions to create a spreadsheet in the past, but I probably kept drinking beers that night and forgot. Regardless, you need to go hit the packie and grab yourself a bottle of this. Then maybe invite me over and we'll quaff together.
-Jon
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)