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

Old Rasputin

Beer Name: Old Rasputin Imperial Stout
Brewery: North Coast Brewing Company
ABV: 9%
Serving method: 12-oz bottle in a pint glass
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Unknown

This beer was recommended to me by Nate. Hopefully it passes the test.

Old Rasputin is a solid black colored beer with deep ruby highlights at the edges when held up to a light. You can already tell that this is a serious stout. It pours with a light head that fades pretty quickly but still leaves a heavy lacing behind. There is a great aroma of roasted coffee and maybe chocolate and alcohol. If the taste matches up to its aroma, this is going to be a big-drinking beer.

First off, I would recommend pouring this beer and then giving it a couple minutes to mellow out. It comes off very strong at first, but after it warms a bit it gets much more flavorful. There is a strong roasted flavor here with both coffee and chocolate present. The sweetness of the chocolate and malt is in the front, and the bitterness of the coffee is in the back of each sip. Definitely a beer to sip slowly and enjoy. There's a medium (for a stout) amount of carbonation and a light aftertaste of coffee.

Final thought - Unlike some other imperial stouts as of late, Old Rasputin manages to pack a big alcoholic beer into an easily drinkable beverage that doesn't seem like someone spiked your drink. Even though it's very strong, it's quite enjoyable. Well done, Nate.

-Jon

Titan IPA

Beer Name: Titan IPA
Brewery: Great Divide Brewing Company
ABV: 7.1%
Serving method: 12-oz bottle in a pint glass
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Bottled 2/15/11

Finally, a company that puts the date right on the bottle's label so I don't have to go on a scavenger hunt to find it.

Titan IPA is another strong ABV beer from Great Divide. This one is a pretty clear copper color that pours with only a very thin head that is gone almost instantly. There is obviously a strong hop aroma (it is an IPA after all), but there's also a sweet maltiness in there as well. The beer leaves a very light lacing on the glass.

This beer is a little too hoppy fresh out of the fridge, but after a couple minutes it mellows out into a delightful brew. It starts off with a little bit of sweetness, and then you get the citrusy hops. There is a light carbonation and a nicely bitter IPA finish. The beer has a bit of a lingering aftertaste, but nothing too strong.

Final thought - This is a much more balanced IPA than the last one I had. While it packs a nice hop punch, there is some other stuff going on that evens things out. The strong ABV is completely hidden behind all the flavors, so be careful with this one. It'll sneak up on you.

-Jon

Moosehead Lager

Beer Name: Moosehead Lager
Brewery: Moosehead Breweries Ltd.
ABV: 5%
Serving method: 12-oz bottle
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Unknown

Wow, is this really my first (blogged) beer from Canada? According to the tags it is, and that's really the only official source. Well, welcome to the party, Canada. Drink up, eh!

Moosehead is probably a light golden beer, although I am just assuming this since I drank it out of a green bottle. However, I think I've had enough beers in my day to state this with confidence. The beer has a sort of strange smell, similar to a Heineken. Also, that's not a compliment.

This beer tastes like a macrobrew beer, and hopefully you know what that means. It has a stronger flavor than its American counterparts though, so it's a little... beer-ier? That should definitely be a word if it's not already. It has a nice clean finish and doesn't leave any lingering taste in your mouth. There's just the right amount of carbonation to make this beer easily drinkable.

Final thought - This is a dangerous beer to be writing about, as anything negative written here will be considered blasphemy by Alex. This beer is sort of like a Canadian equivalent to a Budweiser or MGD, except better. While there's not a whole lot of awesome beeriness going on here, it's good for an extended drinking session, and tastes better than those NASCAR beers.

-Jon

Opa Opa Blueberry

Beer Name: Opa Blueberry Lager
Brewery: Opa-Opa Steakhouse & Brewery
ABV: Um... ?
Serving method: 12-oz bottle in a fancy Sam Adams glass
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Unknown

Even though Opa-Opa is no longer on the approved restaurant list, I'll still try their beers from time to time if they're offered to me. It's pretty hit-or-miss with them in my experience. Let's see where this one lands.

Opa's Blueberry Lager is a very pale beer, sort of like the color of straw. It poured with a light head that vanished almost immediately. Since this is the first beer that I've rated that's been served in this particular style of glass, I am not sure if there's any correlation there. I doubt it though. Fruit beers tend to not produce much head. The aroma of this beer is dominated by blueberries to the extent that they almost smell artificial. There was no real lacing to speak of on the glass at the end.

The flavor of this beer is pretty much the same as any other blueberry beer that you've had. Think of Wachusett Blueberry or Sea Dog Blue Paw and you're on the right track. The beer has a light carbonation that works well with the flavor. No real aftertaste here.

Final thought - Probably not quite as good as a Blue Paw, the Opa Blueberry Lager is a perfectly serviceable beer for a summer day. There's not really anything that makes it stand out over other fruit beers though. It's definitely drinkable enough that you could enjoy a bunch on a hot day. Just try to find the ABV first, in case this beer is deceptively strong.

-Jon

Dragonslayer

Beer Name: Dragonslayer Imperial Stout
Brewery: Middle Ages Brewing Company
ABV: 9.5%
Serving method: 22-oz bottle in a pint glass
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Unknown

This beer is called Dragonslayer. Was there really any doubt that it needed to be purchased? Unfortunately, there is almost no way that this beer can live up to the ridiculously high expectations I have for it. I am pretty sure that I'm expecting to be able to go out and kick a dragon's ass after I drink this, and there's really no way that's going to happen.

Dragonslayer is a solid black beer that pours with an incredibly thick head that sticks around for a while. At this point, it's been in the glass for about 3 minutes, and there is still a decent amount of foam there. There's also going to be a heavy amount of lacing. It looks like one of those fancy drinks you get at a coffee house. There is a coffee aroma along with a distinct scent of alcohol. This beer is going to be strong.

The flavor here is a little more bitter than I was expecting. There's a bitter coffee flavor along with the very-present alcohol. There also seems to be a little bit of chocolate in the background. And everything is sort of roasted. The beer is only lightly carbonated, which makes it very smooth to drink. The finish is bitter, but only has a slight aftertaste.

Final thought - Too much of an alcohol flavor here for me. Maybe it will mellow out if I let it sit a bit, but my first reaction is that this needs to be toned down a little. I feel like someone spiked my beer with a shot of vodka, and that's not a good thing.

-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

Storm King

Beer Name: Storm King
Brewery: Victory Brewing Company
ABV: 9.1%
Serving method: 12-oz draft in a mug
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Unknown

Storm King is another imperial stout, which means it is strong. Apparently if you wanted to ship beer to the Russians, you had to jack up the alcohol so that it wouldn't freeze. There's definitely a vodka joke in here somewhere, but I don't feel like making it.

Storm King is a dark black beer that pours with about a half inch of head. This fades at a middle-of-the-road rate, but it doesn't leave much of a lacing pattern. That could also be a result of my drinking speed, but that can be addressed later. The beer's aroma is slightly sweet, like toffee, combined with a roasted scent.

This is an intense beer. There is a very noticeable alcohol flavor in it, which stands out along with the taste of roasted malts. It also has the hint of coffee in the background. All in all, the stout flavor of the beer is very strong. Even though there is a fairly bitter finish, the beer does not have much of an aftertaste. As it warms up, the beer maintains a good flavor.

Final thought - This is a beer for drinking slowly. It's just way too intense of a brew to rush through. Because of this, it's possible that the lacing just faded away as I moseyed my way through the glass. Aside from that weirdly distinct alcohol taste, the beer is delightful. Sadly, that minor issue does knock it off my top tier of brews. If I wanted to have a strong alcohol flavor, I'd drink hard liquor like whiskey or bourbon. Or scotch, like a boss.

-Jon

Wipeout

Beer Name: Wipeout IPA
Brewery: Port Brewing Company
ABV: 7%
Serving method: 16-oz draft in a pint glass
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Unknown

Despite the week of no new beers, I am still nicely on track for my 100 new beers this year. I suppose I should start April off with a few new brews.

Wipeout IPA is a cloudy golden color with about a half inch of head that fades slowly and leaves a sort of heavy, erratic lacing pattern. The beer has a very strong aroma of citrus hops, particularly grapefruit. Before the first sip, you can tell that this beer is going to be a hoppy one.

No surprises here. This beer is strongly hoppy. It actually hits you at the end of the sip. At first there's a little bit of citrusy flavor, and then the hops come in full force. The beer finishes very dry, and there is a strong aftertaste. This combination makes this beer a definite sipper in my book. The glass stays flavorful all the way until the end.

Final thought - While I do enjoy a hoppy beer, this one is just a little too strong for me. I think it would be good paired with some food, but on its own it kind of kicked me in the tastebuds. It was obviously a well-done beer though, so Port Brewing will stay on the radar as a place whose beers I should try.

-Jon

Doggie Style

Beer Name: Doggie Style Classic Pale Ale
Brewery: Flying Dog Brewery
ABV: 5.5%
Serving method: 12-oz bottle in a pint glass
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Unknown

This marks the first Maryland brewery to be featured here. Welcome to the party, Maryland.

This also marks the moment I realized that I have "pale ale" and "American pale ale" as separate tags. At some point I really will need to go back and redo the tags, but that point is not now. If you really care, I'll show you how to do it and you can take care of the problem.

Doggie Style is a copper colored ale that pours with a quickly fading head. I drank a few bottles, and the amount of head was different every time, but it was always between a quarter inch and 3/4". Not that it matters much, because it's going to be gone in a few seconds. The aroma is hoppy and citrusy, and I would bet that the beer uses Cascade hops. There was a light lacing on the glass when I was done.

The beer has a very typical pale ale taste. It's pretty hoppy, but there is a malty taste in the background. The finish is dry and bitter, like most pale ales. The beer is very smooth, with only a light amount of carbonation. It finishes with a slight aftertaste.

Final thought - After going through a handful of these the last couple days, I have concluded that this is a nice beer for relaxing with a 6-pack and just hanging out. While it doesn't stand out as one of the best beers I've had, there's nothing bad about it. Overall, just a solid, easy drinking pale ale.

-Jon

Mayflower Porter

Beer Name: Mayflower Porter
Brewery: Mayflower Brewing Company
ABV: 5.5%
Serving method: 12-oz bottle in the same type of glass as my last beer
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Unknown

This was the second beer at The Publick House, after which I was so full of meatloaf that I couldn't possibly try another. This is an important thing to remember if I go there again: don't fill up on food! There's too many exciting beers to try to be full of healthy crap like meat and potatoes.

The Mayflower Porter pours very dark. In the dimness of the restaurant, it appeared to be solid black, even when I held it up to the window. That's dark. The head was pretty light, and it almost completely faded except for a very thin layer. The beer had a very strong roasted aroma, like malt and coffee.

This is a strong flavored beer. Very strong. The roasted aroma that was so noticeable in the aroma is in force in the flavor. It's almost overwhelming. There is a sweet flavor in the background, maybe caramel. The beer finishes very strong, but only has a light aftertaste. This is definitely a sipping beer.

Final thought - The flavor of this beer is so intense that it almost has to be paired with food (like meat!) or sipped slowly. This is not a beer that you're going to go out and pound a 6-pack or use for drinking games. You'll regret that instantly. It was a little bit too strong for me, but the flavor was very good. I'm torn about drinking it again. I should probably give it a second try in the spirit of fairness. After all, my family was on the Mayflower many years ago.

-Jon

Denver Pale Ale

Beer Name: Denver Pale Ale
Brewery: Great Divide Brewing Company
ABV: 5.4%
Serving method: 12-oz bottle in an unknown glass
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Unknown

The Publick House in Brookline has a pretty ridiculous number of beer choices. And that's fantastic! The only problem is that it's a little overwhelming when you pick up the 4 page beer menu. Picking just one beer from this extensive list is a daunting task! I'm glad I had checked it out beforehand so that I could narrow my list to 4 or 5 possibilities.

The first beer I had was the Denver Pale Ale from Great Divide. It was served in a glass that was also roughly 12-oz, but I'm not sure what kind of glass it was. It was short and stocky, with 8 defined sides. If you ever see one and find out the name, I'd appreciate it if you let me know. The beer is a golden color with a light head that quickly fades away. The aroma is mostly citrus hops with a faint hint of malt in the background. At the end, there was a light lacing on my glass.

The taste of this beer is a little surprising. I went in thinking that this was going to be another hop festival, but it's not. It's actually a little bit sweet upfront, with both maltiness and hoppiness in each sip. The beer finishes with a little bit of hoppy bitterness and a medium aftertaste. It keeps a good flavor as it warms up, making it a nice sipping beer.

Final thought - This beer has a much more mellow hop intensity than most pale ales. I wonder if that is because it's technically an "English" pale ale instead of an "American" pale ale. I have so much to learn about beer. At any rate, I enjoyed this beer much as I enjoyed the last Great Divide beer I had. I think these are sold at Ryan & Casey, which means I'll have to pick some up.

-Jon