Crowtown Pale Ale

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

Winter Red Ale

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

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

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

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

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

-Jon

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

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

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

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

Will Stevens' Pumpkin Ale

Beer Name: Will Stevens' Pumpkin Ale
Brewery: Wolaver's
ABV: 5.35%
Serving method: 12-oz bottle in a pint glass
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Unknown

There are three things you should know going into this post. First, Wolaver's and Otter Creek are pretty much the same company. There is a backstory here, but you can look it up yourself, you lazy slacker. Second, I think the box these beers came in had the bottling date, but I accidentally destroyed the box. There's a story there too, but I'm not telling it because it's not very good. Finally, after a weekend of brewfest-ing, we stopped at two different breweries on the way home, including Otter Creek & Wolaver's. It was like that episode of The Simpsons where Homer and Marge went to the all-you-can-eat seafood restaurant and Homer got cut off from the food, so they drove around looking for another all-you-can-eat seafood restaurant, and when they couldn't find one Homer went fishing. That's how I am with beer. And yup, that was a ridiculously ungrammatical run-on sentence. Deal with that.

Will Stevens' Pumpkin Ale is a cloudy orange beer that poured with about a half inch of head that faded pretty quickly, leaving only a slight lacing pattern behind. The aroma, as expected, is mostly pumpkins and pumpkin pie spices like nutmeg. It's not an overpowering aroma though, and there are some other things going on there that my nose is not powerful enough to pick out. Probably some other spices.

This particular pumpkin ale is completely organic, as that's Wolaver's thing. They use Vermont pumpkins, so I am assuming that all the pumpkin flavor in here is the real deal, something that cannot be said for other pumpkin brews. The pumpkin flavor here is noticeable, but it's not ridiculously strong. This means that the beer actually tastes a like a beer instead of a liquid pumpkin pie. There is a medium level of carbonation, and a slight aftertaste of spices.

Final thought - I used to be a huge Pumpkinhead guy, but I think this beer has swung me away from the overdone pumpkinicity of Shipyard's beer back to world of more subtle flavors. However, I think there's a place for both beers in the fridge this fall. The bottom line is that this Will Stevens character has got the right idea, and his beer is quite tasty.

-Jon

Coffee Stout

Beer Name: Coffee Stout (Brewmaster Series)
Brewery: Long Trail Brewing Company
ABV: 8%
Serving method: 22-oz bottle in a pint glass
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Bottled 2/15/11

The Brewmaster Series is currently a group of 4 beers that are only available during a small window each year. Coffee Stout is only made for February and March, so I guess I got lucky when I found this bottle. Or possibly unlucky. That all depends on how good it is.

The Long Trail Coffee Stout is a very dark beer. Like solid black, just the way a stout should be. It poured with a nice thick stout head, caramel-colored and almost an inch thick. The head faded slowly, and left a somewhat heavy lacing pattern. That faded before the beer was done, since this beer is too good to rush through. There was a great coffee aroma here, but not really anything else.

First impression: wow, that's some intensely bitter coffee flavor. However, after letting it mellow out for a couple minutes, the taste becomes a bit less intense and a whole lot more enjoyable. Each sip is pretty much the same, with a little sweetness from the malt at the beginning, and then the coffee and a little bit of hoppy bitterness. This beer feels very thick and creamy as you drink it. There's a medium amount of carbonation (for a stout), and a slight aftertaste of coffee.

Final thought - If you pour this in a glass, give a few minutes, and then drink it nice and slowly, this beer is delightful. It's great for sitting back and relaxing. The coffee flavor is very noticeable, but it's not overwhelming.

-Jon

Wacko

Beer Name: Wacko
Brewery: Magic Hat
ABV: 4.5%
Serving method: 12-oz bottle in a pint glass
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Best by 7/31/11

Wacko is Magic Hat's summer beer, and has the distinction of being my new summer beer of choice. I realize that this is blasphemy coming from the person responsible for 3 consecutive Summer Ale Challenges, but it's true. I think the 800+ Summer Ales I drank in the past 3 years might have been just a few too many.

Wacko is a pinkish beer that is slightly opaque. Yup, that's right. Pinkish. That's due to the beet coloring and beet sugar used in its production. It pours with only a light head that fades practically instantly and doesn't leave much lacing behind. There is a sweet aroma here, possibly from the beet sugar. It smells a little bit like fruit.

There's nothing amazing about this beer, but it's easy to drink and has a low ABV, which is just perfect for a summer brew. No one wants to deal with some jerk who gets wasted at a cookout and knocks the grill over. There is a sweetness to the beer's flavor that tastes a little bit like cherries. This beer is not very carbonated and doesn't have much of an aftertaste. All in all, it's an enjoyable beer that doesn't try to do to much.

Final thought - Is this beer super flavorful? Not really. Does it have an especially memorable taste? Probably not. So what gives it the right to take the summer crown from Sam? I don't really know. What I do know is that I can drink a bunch of these without a problem, and the flavor never gets overwhelming. When I'm laying out in the hammock this summer with a couple of goofy looking pugs, that's all I'm looking for.

-Jon

Blind Faith

Beer Name: Blind Faith
Brewery: Magic Hat
ABV: 6.2%
Serving method: 12-oz bottle in a pint glass
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Best by 7/31/2011

In my completely non-professional opinion, the Magic Hat summer mix-pack is superior to the spring mix-pack. Write that down if you're keeping track at home.

Blind Faith is another IPA On Tour beer, joining Demo, hI.P.A. and Encore. This one is a dark cloudy copper beer that pours with a little bit of head that fades quickly but leaves a moderate amount of lacing behind. There is a sweet maltiness in the aroma that is combined with the expected amount of hops for an IPA.

While there is definitely a hoppy presence here, it's a lot more toned down than most other IPAs that are out there lately. The sweetness of the malt is very noticeable at the front of each sip, and the hops finish it off without being overly dry or bitter. The beer has a heavy presence in each sip, and there is a medium carbonation to it. There's a slightly bitter finish and a bit of a hoppy aftertaste.

Final thought - After Demo's not-quite-an-IPA performance, the Blind Faith makes a welcome appearance in my latest beer mix-pack. I like the combination of hops and malt in this beer. Both add to the flavor without dominating the other, which is a nice change from other IPAs. Good stuff!

-Jon

Single Chair Ale

Beer Name: Single Chair Ale
Brewery: Magic Hat
ABV: 5%
Serving method: 12-oz bottle in a pint glass
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Best by 7/31/11

Apparently this beer celebrates the uniqueness of Mad River Glen. So, uh, yeah. There's that.

Single Chair Ale is a golden, straw-colored ale that pours with a minimum of rapidly fading head. It actually has a similar appearance to one of those commercial beers. I don't mean "commercial" in a derogatory sense, but in the sense that this beer looks like one of the beers that is always featured in dumb commercials during televised sporting events. You know what I'm talking about. The aroma here reminds me of either #9 or Long Trail Ale. It must smell like Vermont.

This is a very smooth drinking beer. It has a very light mouthfeel and a nice light carbonation. The flavor here seems to have a little bit of fruitiness in it along with some grains. There's also a slightly sour flavor at the end, which I believe is intentional and is not a bad thing. It's more like a sour apple kind of sour as opposed to say, sour milk. There's a light aftertaste here.

Final thought - This is a nice beer, but for a beer that is supposed to evoke a feeling of a ski area, it feels a lot more like a summer beer than a winter one. While I probably wouldn't go out of my way to get more, I wouldn't be upset to find this in a cooler at a cookout. Not too shabby.

-Jon

Vinyl

Beer Name: Vinyl
Brewery: Magic Hat
ABV: 5.1%
Serving method: 12-oz bottle in a pint glass
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Best by 5/31/11

Vinyl is Magic Hat's new spring beer, although I'm not sure if there was one previously. There's not a whole lot of information on the Magic Hat website, and the Wikipedia entry for Magic Hat is just awful. It looks like a 12-year old wrote it. Oh well. Time to (hopefully) enjoy some beer!

Vinyl is a mostly copper colored beer with a little bit of redness in it. There is a little bit of head when it's poured, but it fades almost instantly. There is a nice aroma of malts and bread. It actually smells a little bit like a Saranac beer, although I'm not sure that description is going to make sense to anyone who isn't me. The beer leaves almost no lacing at all.

The maltiness of the aroma carries through into the taste here. The flavor is a little bit sweet and heavy in the malt department. This gives the beer a thick mouthfeel, and every sip feels like a major event. There is not much carbonation, so the whole glass feels very smooth as you drink it. The beer finishes without much of an aftertaste.

Final thought - This is a pretty average beer, in that there's nothing bad about it, but also nothing that makes it stands out. As a beer to sit back and relax while watching the Celtics perform barely adequately against the Wizards, it definitely gets the job done. Now to see if the C's can do the same.

-Jon

Long Trail Ale

Beer Name: Long Trail Ale
Brewery: Long Trail Brewing Company
ABV: 4.6%
Serving method: 12-oz bottle in a pint glass
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Bottled 11/3/10

Doesn't beer just taste better when it's in a glass? I think so.

This has been in the fridge for a little while, but I think that it will still be ok since it's been at a pretty constant temperature and out of any direct light. I've read that light is actually the beer killer and not temperature fluctuations, but I don't trust heat either. Leave my beer alone!

Long Trail Ale is what would probably be considered their flagship beer. It's an amber or copper colored ale with a short-lived light head. There is a medium amount of lacing left behind. The aroma is sort of grainy but also fruity, like apples. Last time I tasted a beer with an apple scent, it was awful. But that's because it was a dreaded Belgian white ale, so hopefully that won't be an issue here.

Well, those apples seem to have vanished. I can smell them, but I can't taste them. What I can taste is a malty sweetness with a smooth finish and a little bit more carbonation than I was expecting. There's not really anything hoppy going on here, and no real aftertaste to speak of.

Final thought - At only 4.6%, this would make an excellent substitute for macro-swill during a long night of drinking. It doesn't taste like water, but you should still be able to drink an entire case. But don't do that, because you also might die. A good beer, but nothing majorly outstanding.

-Jon

Demo

Beer Name: IPA On Tour: Demo
Brewery: Magic Hat
ABV: 6%
Serving method: 12-oz bottle in a pint glass
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Best by 5/31

It's not spring yet on the calendar, but the Magic Hat winter pack has gone away for now and has been replaced by their spring pack. At this rate, Summer Ale will be out ridiculously early again this year, and everyone will be disappointed that the Summer Ale Challenge has been discontinued. Well, no matter. The spring pack has #9, Circus Boy, Vinyl and the aforementioned Demo. I'll hit those middle two at some point, but we're starting with Demo.

Demo is a black IPA, which is a stupid name for a beer. How can it be black and pale? They are like total opposites. I guess this is also called an American black ale, so whatever. If people want to give their beers stupid names, I suppose there's nothing I can do about it. Yet. As predicted by this name, the beer is pretty dark. I would classify it as dark brown with red highlights. It pours with a very thin head that faded almost entirely in a matter of seconds. Despite this, there was still a pretty heavy amount of lacing. The aroma is both hoppy and malty, and reminds me of Dark Element/Matter.

Well, that's interesting. The flavor doesn't really match the aroma at all. But that's not a problem! It's actually very good, although I am not sure that it matches the style either. The flavor is mainly roasted tastes, with a little bit of hops in the background. It's also surprisingly carbonated. Usually I don't like that in a beer, but it works for this one. There is a little bit of sweetness in the finish, and a slightly hoppy aftertaste.

Final thought - As long as you don't go in expecting anything resembling an IPA, this is a very tasty beer. However, if it's anything like the other IPA On Tour beers, I wouldn't get too attached to it. It's probably not going to be around too long. And that's unfortunate. I guess I'll have to treasure the 3 that I have.

-Jon

Howl

Beer Name: Howl Winter Lager
Brewery: Magic Hat
ABV: 4.6%
Serving method: 12-oz bottle
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Unknown (but only because I forgot to check)

Magic Hat's Howl is their winter seasonal beer in the schwarzbier style. Schwarzbier, if you couldn't tell by looking at the word, is German, and it means "black beer." You might be thinking that means that they're similar to stouts and porters, but they aren't. Schwarzbiers, also known as black lagers, have a much milder taste, so you should try them even if you haven't enjoyed dark beers before. Be adventurous!

Although I drank it from the bottle, I could still tell that Howl was a dark brown color. However, there's not really any way for me to have measured the amount of head produced, its retention, or any lacing on the glass. Sorry. I'll try to do better in the future. Howl has an aroma of roasted malt and also faint scents of chocolate or coffee.

The flavor of this beer matches the aroma. It's got a nice roasty flavor that feels like a perfect fit for a winter night. There's also some faint flavors of chocolate and coffee and maybe nuts or something like that. Basically there's a whole lot of flavor going on in that little bottle. There is not a lot of carbonation or aftertaste here, so the beer is very smooth and easily drinkable.

Final thought - For whatever reason, Kate doesn't like this beer, which means they all go to me. And that's just fine, as I enjoy them very much. I think I'll grab a winter mix-pack before everyone switches over to crappy spring white ales.

-Jon

#9

Beer Name: #9
Brewery: Magic Hat
ABV: 5.1%
Serving method: 12-oz bottle
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Unknown

Someone told me that Magic Hat was recently purchased by InBev A-B or whatever that giant conglomerate is called, but I can't find anything that supports that claim. It was purchased by some group calling themselves "North American Breweries," but I don't think that's the same place. Basically what I'm saying here is, don't believe people.

#9 is a golden colored beer that might have some head if I had bothered to pour it into a glass. It has an aroma that is slightly sweet and has a fruity smell, probably apricots since that is what is in there. There's a pretty good chance that you are already familiar with this beer, so there's not really much to say.

Magic Hat calls #9 a "not quite pale ale," which is sort of confusing because I have no idea what style of beer they are actually going for. If I was expecting something that was like a pale ale but different, I would be completely wrong as there isn't anything pale ale about this. All you hop haters out there can rest easy knowing that this beer is ok for you. The beer has a light flavor of apricot and is easily drinkable since it's got a mild carbonation and pretty low alcohol content.

Final thought - Although it doesn't really feel like a winter beer, Magic Hat's #9 is still a great choice for an extended drinking session. It's not overpowering in any way, and is just a smooth drinking beer from some chill Vermontonians. I actually have no idea if they're chill or if "Vermontonian" is actually the name for people from Vermont, but this is my blog and I'll do what I want.

-Jon

Dark Angel

Beer Name: Dark Angel Imperial Stout
Brewery: McNeill's Brewery
ABV: 10%
Serving method: 22-oz bottle in a pint glass
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Best by Feb 2011

More imperial stout for me! I hope it's not as harsh as the last one.

Dark Angel is a very dark beer in the solid black category. It has a thin head that mostly disappears quickly but leaves a thin layer for the entire pint. It also leaves a fairly thick lacing behind. There is a light aroma of coffee, but it's not very strong. Actually, there isn't really anything strong for a smell.

Well now, this is surprising. The beer starts off with the roasted flavor of a stout, but it finishes with the hoppiness of a pale ale. I suppose that makes sense, as the bottle talks about dry-hopping during the brewing process. Besides that, there is a also the flavor of coffee at the beginning of each sip. The beer feels very thick while it's in your mouth, almost like it's coating your tongue. It has a mild to medium carbonation, and a lightly bitter aftertaste.

Final thought - This is a pretty good stout, although hop-haters will not enjoy it. It's a little bit strong, but it's got a nice flavor to it. I believe that I would drink it again.

-Jon

Firehouse Amber Ale

Beer Name: McNeill's Firehouse Amber Ale
Brewery: McNeill's Brewery
ABV: 5.5%
Serving method: 22-oz bottle in a pint glass
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Best by Feb 2011

Day 10 - The fridge is starting to look a little lean. The number of selections has been declining steadily. I'm not sure we'll make it to Christmas.

I first tried this beer at one of the many brewers festivals this past summer. Then I saw a bottle of it at Ryan & Casey's, so I figured I'd give it another go. Unfortunately, this was the same day I got a very spicy burrito that paralyzed my tastebuds, rendering them incapable of savoring my newfound brew. So today is the day we finally give the Firehouse Amber Ale its due.

This beer is a cloudy golden orange color with a thick head that disappears very slowly. As it fades, it leaves a very heavy lacing behind. The aroma of this beer is lightly hoppy and citrusy.

Firehouse Amber Ale has a slightly bitter hoppy taste and then a sort of sour flavor in the aftertaste. I like the hops, but I don't think I really care for the sourness. There's a slight carbonation here which adds a nice bit of action to each sip. There isn't much other flavor going on here, which is kind of disappointing. I remember this beer being different the first time I had it.

Final thought - While it's not a bad beer, I'm just not a big fan of this one any more. I am not sure what happened between that first taste and now, but things just aren't the same. Sorry Firehouse Amber Ale; it's not you, it's me. We've just grown apart.

-Jon

Long Trail Pale Ale

Beer Name: Long Trail Pale Ale
Brewery: Long Trail Brewing Company
ABV: Um. . .
Serving method: 12-oz bottle in a pint glass
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Bottled 11/1/10

Alright, I am mildly concerned because this beer is not listed on the Long Trail website. That's weird. I hope this isn't a trap beer, which is actually poison. I guess we'll find out.

This particular pale ale is a cloudy golden color with a little bit of orange in there. There was about 1/4" of head on top which faded quickly and left a decent amount of lacing behind. The aroma here is of piney hops, as expected in a pale ale.

Hmm. There's something off about the taste here. I don't know if this is an issue with this beer in general or this specific beer because I remember trying Kathryn's beer before and it tasted fine. For whatever reason, this bottle of beer just tastes off. I can taste the hoppiness and the crisp bitter finish, but there's also something weird going on. Maybe it IS poison!! In non-paranoid news, the beer has a medium carbonation that works well with the beer's style. The finish is a little dry, but not too much. There's a mildly hoppy aftertaste.

Final thought - I hesitate to make a decision about this beer until I try another one. I had a sip of Kathryn's last time she was here, and it tasted like a good pale ale. Not top notch, but still good. This one just tastes wrong. I will save my final judgment until I get another opportunity to try one.

-Jon

Hibernator

Beer Name: Hibernator
Brewery: Long Trail Brewing Company
ABV: 5.6% or 6%
Serving method: 12-oz bottle in a pint glass
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Bottled 11/3/10

There's still lots of new beers in the fridge, so the streak continues. I've got a Long Trail Survival Pack and 4 more untested bombers, so there should be daily updates from here to Christmas. Consider that your present from me.

So, Beer Advocate says that Hibernator is 5.6% ABV and Long Trail's website says it's 6%. I would assume that Long Trail knows its beer, but then again, it's in Vermont which means there's probably a lot of pot smoking going on. Hooray for stereotypes!

Long Trail's Hibernator is their winter beer in the Scottish ale style, which means that it probably gets rip-roaring drunk and then goes golfing and eats haggis. Yeah, stereotypes again!!. Anyway, the beer is a cloudy orange color with a thin head and a light lacing. Its aroma is a malty scent with a little bit of bread/grains and maybe something sweet like coffee or caramel.

This beer is deceptive. The first sip is weird, and seems not good. But then it gets more tasty as it warms up a little bit. Don't get fooled by that first taste. It gets much better. The beer has a slightly sweet malty flavor with a little bit of hops in the background. There's not a lot of carbonation, but it still seems like too much. The beer finishes cleanly without an aftertaste.

Final thought - This beer is good for the winter, since it tastes like a winter beer. I do wish it was slightly less carbonated, because then I could definitely just drink a bunch and avoid going outside for an extended period of time. Which is pretty much all I'm looking for during the winter.

-Jon