Peachy Keene Kolsch

Beer Name: Peachy Keene Kolsch
Brewery: Elm City Brewing Company
ABV: Unknown
Serving method: 16-oz draft in a tumbler
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Unknown

I suppose I have to admit something: I am a sucker for beers with silly puns or wordplay in their names. This is 100% of the reason why I have a bottle in the fridge with a label that says "Hoptimus Prime" on it. Assuming you don't hate hops, how can you pass up something like that? I know I couldn't. As such, I was also unable to resist a beer with the name Peachy Keene.

Peachy Keene Kolsch is a dark golden beer. Not dark like a brown ale or anything, but noticeably darker than the Raspberry Wheat. There wasn't really any head on this one, but that seems to be typical of particularly fruity beers. There also wasn't any lacing to speak of. The beer has an extremely peachy aroma. If you like the smell of peaches, this is the beer for you.

Peaches dominate the flavor here. It's pretty much all peach all the time, from the first sip to the last. I like peaches, so this is a good thing in my book. It's also nice that, while sweet, it's not a sickly sweetness and it's not sticky. The beer is very smooth, with very low carbonation. It's not quite as sweet as a soda, but it's close. The finish is clean, and there is not much of an aftertaste.

Final thought - I liked this beer a lot. Kate was skeptical of me ordering a Kolsch, but not everything has to be a stout, porter or IPA for me to drink it. I am a diverse beer drinker, dammit, and people need to recognize this. I am glad I got this, and give it a full recommendation. Unless you don't like peach, in which case stay far, far away.

-Jon

Raspberry Wheat #2

Beer Name: Raspberry Wheat
Brewery: Elm City Brewing Company
ABV: Unknown
Serving method: 16-oz draft in a tumbler
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Unknown

Elm City seems to cycle through their beers pretty quickly, so this one was probably brewed not too long ago. We knew going in that during Happy Hour (actually 2 hours), wings were 45 cents each, but we didn't know that the beer was discounted too! It made our late lunch/early dinner even more exciting.

The Raspberry Wheat is a slightly cloudy, bright golden beer. It arrived with a thin head that faded away quickly but left a light lacing pattern behind. The aroma is very grainy, and there isn't much raspberry in it. The wheat seems to be dominating here.

Despite not being too noticeable in the aroma, the raspberry is fully present in the flavor. It's a nice raspberry flavor too, more like a real raspberry than an artificial syrupy flavor. There's nothing overly sweet or sticky about it. The beer has a very light carbonation and is very easy drinking. It finishes with a little bit of malt and a faint sweet aftertaste.

Final thought - This is a nice light beer that was perfect with a meal outside. I don't know if it would have been enjoyable in a dark restaurant, as there just seemed to be something about it that said "drink me in the sun!" And I was happy to oblige.

-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

Cream Stout

Beer Name: Cream Stout
Brewery: Elm City Brewing Company
ABV: Unknown
Serving method: 16-oz draft in a pint glass
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Unknown

This particular lunch was a 2-beer lunch. That's my kind of lunch.

Elm City's Cream Stout is about the same color as their Oatmeal Stout. It might have been slightly lighter, but it was still pretty much solid black. This beer did not really have much head, but there was a light lacing pattern on the glass when I finished it. There is a roasted aroma here that is the most noticeable part of the scent.

The Cream Stout has an intense roasted flavor with some faint coffee in the background. It also has a very bitter finish and aftertaste. There's a lot of smokiness in the flavor, and it's not quite as smooth as their other stout. I think it would have been good with my burger, as the sweet flavor of the BBQ sauce would have paired nicely with the flavor of this beer.

Final thought - This beer was ok, but I preferred their Oatmeal Stout to it. Kate thought that it tasted like an ashtray, which begs the question of how she knows what an ashtray even tastes like. I wouldn't go that far, but there is definitely a smokey flavor to this beer. I probably wouldn't get this beer again if they had other stouts available.

-Jon

Oatmeal Stout

Beer Name: Oatmeal Stout
Brewery: Elm City Brewing Company
ABV: 3.5%
Serving method: 16-oz draft in a pint glass
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Unknown

Ok, so June was not a big beer drinking month. Actually, that's not really accurate. It wasn't a big new beer drinking month. I had a whole bunch of 6- and 12-packs to finish off, so I didn't really want to load up on a bunch of new things to drink. There's only so much fridge space. Fortunately, all that stuff has been consumed, so it's time to kick off the second half of the year with some (hopefully) delicious new brews! First up are a pair of stouts from Keene, NH.

Elm City's Oatmeal Stout is a solid black beer that came to me without any noticeable head. This also meant that there wasn't much lacing on the glass, although there was a very faint pattern at the end of the pint. It was hard for me to pick up on any aroma here, but I think that might be more due to my allergies than to the beer not having a strong aroma. I did pick up on a little bit of roasted scents.

This beer was good, but it wasn't especially memorable. It's very smooth, with just a little bit of carbonation. There's a light roasted flavor, and an aftertaste of bitter coffee. After a few minutes, the beer became quite delicious. It seems like the kind of beer that should be served at a slightly higher temperature than your average beers. It made a great companion to my burger.

Final thought - Definitely worth the short trip to Keene, this particular oatmeal stout was very enjoyable while I drank it. I am actually shocked at how low the ABV is. This is a great example of a session beer, since it has a good flavor without knocking you on your ass.

-Jon

Robust Porter

Beer Name: Robust Porter
Brewery: Smuttynose Brewing Company
ABV: 5.7%
Serving method: 12-oz bottle in a pint glass
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Best by 10/11

There was a Smuttynose tasting over at Ryan & Casey, so Kate and I got to taste test a bunch of there beers. Sadly for her, and awesomely for me, there was a porter, a pale ale and an IPA as 3 of the choices. She really needs to expand her beer palette. I guess that's up to me.

Robust Porter has a funny picture of an old-timey weightlifter on the bottle and is a very dark beer. Super dark. Like, stout dark. There is a little bit of head on it, but it fades pretty quickly. Even with this fast fading head, there is still a very heavy lacing left behind. The aroma is delicious chocolate and roasted malts.

This beer starts off with a bitter chocolate flavor upfront and sweetness in the middle. It finishes with roasted bitterness and an aftertaste of roasted malt. This beer feels very big in the mouth, with each taste seeming like a big event. There is a decent amount of carbonation here, appropriate for this style.

Final thought - This is a good beer, but it feels very heavy. After drinking it, I have a feeling like I just ate a big meal. I would drink it again though. As far as porters go, this one is near the top of the list.

-Jon

Imperial Stout

Beer Name: Smuttynose Imperial Stout
Brewery: Smuttynose Brewing Company
ABV: 9.8%
Serving method: 22-oz bottle in a pint glass
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Bottled-conditioned in 2011

Time for a beer lesson! Most beer that you get has a shelf-life on it, and if you don't drink it pretty close to that window of time, you are going to be drinking some pretty bad tasting beer. By bottle conditioning the beer, the brewer keeps the yeast alive, which fights against the normal breakdown that leads to skunky beer. When it's done correctly, the beer will keep much longer, often for several years. The moral of this story is that since this beer was bottle conditioned (and I assume done correctly since these are professionals), the date it was bottled is immaterial.

Smuttynose's Imperial Stout is a very dark beer, bordering on solid black. It pours with a thick head that fades very slowly and leaves a sporadic lacing pattern that is very heavy where it sticks. There's a whole lot going on in the aroma here, including a heavy dose of chocolate, some light hoppiness, and a whiff of alcohol. It also has some roasted scents, mostly coffee, along with a bit of malt. It's very complex for my poor nose.

Several of the scents that were apparent in the aroma are also present for the taste. There's a sweetness at the beginning of each sip, but there's also a little bit of bitterness from the hops. The aftertaste of the beer has a little bit of coffee in it. This beer feels very heavy as I drink it, so it's not one to drink quickly. It's got a little bit of carbonation, but I wouldn't want much more. Even though it's strong, there isn't really a noticeable alcohol taste. And that's a good thing.

Final thought - I had told Kate that I needed a good beer to relax with after I got drenched (again!) at today's track meet, and this beer fit the bill nicely. This beer is a sipper, and absolutely perfect for watching the Bruins attempt to give everyone in Boston a heart attack. It's also another good example of how to make a strong stout without having the alcohol dominate the flavor. Delicious.

-Jon

Smuttynose IPA

Beer Name: Finestkind IPA
Brewery: Smuttynose Brewing Company
ABV: 6.9%
Serving method: 16-oz draft
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Unknown

See, I told you it was time to get serious. And back-to-back posts is the best way I know how to make that happen.

Smuttynose is one of the most hilariously named breweries around, and they have a little otter (or something similar) in their logo so they get to be on the list of beers I'll pretty much always try. The "Finestkind" IPA is a deep golden-orange beer with about 1/4" of head on the top. This lasted for a bit as well as leaving a nice lacing on the glass. The aroma here is the standard citrusy and piney hops of an IPA.

Whoa, this is a dry IPA. There isn't a whole lot of bitterness, but it's so dry that I almost needed a water afterwards to rehydrate my mouth. Ok, that's an exaggeration. But this is very dry. If you don't like your IPAs dry (think Stone IPA or Celebration Ale), then you'll want to skip this. As for drinkability, this beer has a medium carbonation and survives nicely as it warms up.

Final thought - This is an above average IPA, but I wouldn't rank it in the top tier of ones that I've tried. I'll drink it again though, because it was very enjoyable.

-Jon