Friday, July 24, 2009
*** New Beers ***
It pours a orange gold color with a bright white head. The aroma is herbal with lemon. The flavor is slightly sweet, the lemon verbena shows up mid pallet and the finish is a touch yeasty with a slight brett funk.
This 2009 Brewmaster reserve beer pour a deep copper color with two fingers of head. The aroma is of fruity hops and a light maltiness. The flavor starts with fruity / citrus hops, a light nutty malt and an ample bitter finish..
Brown / red in color with an orange tinge, the head pours and laces better than expected from the style. The nose is winey sharp with a cherry like fruitiness and a bit of oak. The mouth-feel is fizzy yet soft. The flavor is shocking tart up front that diminishes after the first few sips. After your taste buds acclimate to the tartness the wonderful fruity combination of cherry and ripe apple come pouring through with hints of caramel and oak as well. An outstanding Flemish Sour.
Very dark brown in color with a red tint to the edges. The head pours two to three finger tall with a creamy tan foam. The aroma is of chocolate and spice (anise?). The flavor is big sweet cocoa, roasted barley, prunes, and smoke. This Belgian stout is tasty and easy.
Sunday, July 19, 2009
*** New Beers ***
Once again Full Sail has hit the mark on another “Session” brew. This time they aimed their sites at the German schwarzbier style. This is a black lager style that is totally unlike any porter or stout you have ever had. The body is light like a lager and the finish is crisp and clean. Unlike golden lagers this black has a lightly roasted flavor along with a touch of toffee. The hops provide a late pallet showing to complement the malt but do not linger to make for that clean finish. Like I said they really hit the mark, great packaging, great price, great beer. This just goes to show that a beer does not have to be a 9% over the top monster to be an excellent beer.
This wheat beer with cherries was partially aged in oak and pours a golden orange color. The head is big a fluffy like a wheat beer should be. The aroma is of wheat, Belgian yeast, and sour cherries. The flavor starts our tart with the wheat and cherries. The yeast brings a bit of fruity ester and the finish comes in with a touch of wood and just a hint of alcohol.
The LTD series has produced two excellent lagers so far. This time around they have gone for a tasty pilsner. More hoppy than the first two, this beer has a great floral hop aroma and flavor that work well with the bready malt. It has a good amount of bitterness in the finish along with a light refreshing feel.
Golden bronze in color with a couple of fingers of foam. The aroma comes off resiny hops with a touch of peach fruit. The flavor has a toffee malt with tangerine, lemon and pine flavors to boot. Very nice IPA and being organic is just a bonus.
Golden bronze in color with a couple of fingers of foam. The aroma comes off resiny hops with a touch of peach fruit. The flavor has a toffee malt with tangerine, lemon and pine flavors to boot. Very nice IPA and being organic is just a bonus.
*** Back In Stock ***
Ok, this is not quite an IPA but it is too golden to be a pale and too hoppy to be a golden. Well, how about a hoppy golden. Deep gold in color, the head is thin but leaves a splotchy lacing. The aroma is of flowery / tangerine hops. The flavor is mildly bitter with an orange like hop flavor and a light malt flavor to finish.
From the makers of Moose Drool. This Honey beer pours a bright light yellow color. The head is medium with some descent retention for a beer of this style. A nice clover honey flavor with maybe a touch of wheat and just a small bite of hops.
Monday, July 13, 2009
*** BrewDog BrewDog BrewDog BrewDog BrewDog ***
Wow!!! What could be more exciting than a collaboration between Mikkeller and BrewDog. This 12.1% barleywine has been partially aged in Speyside whiskey casks. Sorry I do not have a review for it but am going to work on one soon but wanted to get this item up on the site as soon as possible. Enjoy! And I will acquire as much of this limited beer as I can get my hands on. I have a quantity in stock now and will get another shipment later this week.
Cheers!
Matt
BrewDog and Smokehead’s enthralling alliance creates a revolutionary beer with all the Atlantic smoke, encapsulating peat and intensity of flavor of an Islay malt whisky.
The rich vanilla sweetness, hints of cinnamon and balancing aromatic fruit and ginger flavors of the Arran malt are all completely infused deep into the texture of the smooth robust imperial stout.
BrewDog Paradox Imperial Stout aged in Spring Bank whiskey casks.
This Scottish IPA pours an amber gold color with a good two to three fingers of head. The aroma is hop floral and mildly fruity from the yeast. The flavor is malty up front with caramel and toffee tone, flowery mid pallet, and a medium stiff bitter finish. The malt and yeast tend toward the English IPA style while the finish is definitely American IPA in character. This is another excellent IPA from BrewDog. This one has a little something for everyone.
Thursday, July 02, 2009
*** Good new, more good new, yet even more good news and…well…. some bad news. ***
*** Good news, the Deschutes Black Butte XXI is in ***
Good news, this years Deschutes Black Butte XX (XXI) is in.
We have plenty to cover the existing pre-sells with some left over. The price was correct and it will not need to be adjusted. If you have not ordered any yet you can do so now and are assured delivery. We are working hard to get all of the orders boxed up.
*** More good news…Stone 13th Anniversary is also in. ***
This is an ultra red ale. It comes in at 9.5%, is a beep red color and the head is thin and tan. The aroma is almost completely of lime and pine hops from the double dry hopping. The flavor bitter up front with pine hop and toffee / cake malt. The finish is bitter and hoppy with long staying power. This is the kind of thing Stone is known for and it does not disappoint.
*** Yet even more good news… 21st Amendment is now available. ***
This micro brew in a can pours a rich gold color with a tint of orange. The head is white and sudsy and settles to a thin layer. The aroma is floral in the hops and honey in malt. The flavor lightly malty up front with a grassy fruity hop and a 70 IBU bitter finish. This is a tasty, well-constructed IPA that truly has malt to hop balance. I know many beers say that but it is rarely true.
This beer has quite a following and has won the “Most Popular” beer award at the Oregon Brewers Festival many times. The color is straw yellow with a yeast haze. The head has the appropriately large billowy character you expect from a good wheat beer. The aroma is grainy wheat and watermelon. The flavor has a crisp Weiss wheat flavor and a melon finish. There is NOTHING artificial tasting, they use only real watermelon and it shows. It is not fruity sweet rather it has a big wheat / malt flavor up front with a mellow watermelon underpinning. As it states on the can “Yeast inside, agitate before opening.” This is important (I did it after opening because I did not want to ware the beer) because putting the yeast in with the beer dramatically changes the flavor and mouth-feel. If you do not do this you lose the crispness in the flavor and have a thinner feel.
*** Some bad news….. too hot to ship. ***
We are working hard to get all of the pre-sell orders boxed up and stay on top of our existing order queue but it is too hot to release them to UPS. If you want to take the chance and have me release your order anyway please let me know but with the weekend coming and the 4th holiday in there I think that it would be sitting in the back of a trailer truck for too long and end up cooking. If you really want me to release your order please shoot me an email with “Release order XXXXX now” and I will get it out the door. Sorry for the delay but I think it is for the best.
*** Back In Stock ***
Ahhhh, the return of a classic. Deep mahogany in color with a small but persistent head. The aroma is oaky with a light sweetness and raspberry / cherry notes. The beer is light on the tongue with just a hint of caramel malt to play off of the lactic tartness and just a hint of damp earth. The finish is dry with minerals and fruit skin. Try this side by side with the Verhaeghe Duchesse d Bourgogne and see which you like best.
This Rodenbach has been aged in oak for 18 months. It pours reddish brown with a thin head. The aroma is woody and earthy with a touch of minerals and wine. The flavor is very tart and fruity up front with plum and cherry. There is some malt in there but it finishes dry, tart and woody.
** This may be our last shipment of 2008 the supply is running thin. ***
Alaskan Smoked Porter is credited with helping revive the German rauchbier style, or smoke-flavored beers, in the United States. The most award-winning beer in the history of the Great American Beer Festival, Alaskan Smoked Porter has a dark, robust body and pronounced smoky flavor. This unique beer is produced in limited vintages each year and may be aged in the bottle much like fine wine. It ages very well and will continue to mellow and increase in complexity for some time. For those of you who love the hops, you will probably like it better young, for the rest of us aging it for a year or two smoothes and mellows it.
This Black IPA / American Strong Ale is yet another fine brew from Stone. It pours black (really a very dark brown) with a medium head. The aroma is very hoppy with pine, and citrus rind, other scents include a light fruitiness and coffee from the dark malts. The flavor up front is of resinious hops then moves into the dark roasty malt. There is a bit of sweetness but the finish is of that Stone style bitterness.
