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

Snapperhead IPA

Beer Name: Snapperhead IPA
Brewery: Butternuts Beer and Ale
ABV: 6.3%
Serving method: 12-oz can
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Best by Dec 2011

This can isn't quite as awesome as the others, as it only has a fish rocking out to a Walkman. I prefer high-fiving pigs, personally.

Snapperhead IPA is not a typical IPA, as Butternuts doesn't really brew with a whole lot of hops. This means that even if you hate hoppy beers, you might enjoy this one. The aroma here is sweet and malty, and not hoppy at all. Since the can is pretty impossible to see through, I don't know much about the beer's color or whether or not it poured with any head. It tastes like a darker ale though, so maybe a light brown or deep reddish color would be appropriate.

This is a very malty IPA, with nary a hop to be tasted. It is very smooth and thick, and pretty much all malt in the flavor department. There's only a light carbonation, and it has a slightly bitter aftertaste. Overall, the whole thing feels very heavy as you drink it.

Final thought - As an IPA, I'm not really sure about this one. But as a beer, it's not too bad. I think it's overshadowed by their stout and pale ale, but I'm not about to dump it down the sink. I am not sure what the reviewers that say it has a nice citrusy flavor were drinking though...

-Jon