Beer Reviews

Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA

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i wrote this review the other day when our internet was down. also, i had been holding off on this beer since it was $12 a bottle at the old store i used to go to. found it at total wine and more recently for about 4 bucks less..so i threw up my hands and gave in.


can't say i've ever smelled a beer like this before. smells hoppy and a little alcoholic. also some sweet pine smell to it...

the taste is also quite different from anything else i've had before. strong flavor...i'm assuming mostly hops hah. feels pretty carbonated..that or the alcohol has a bite to it. not sure how strong this stuff is because my internet is down, but i'm fairly sure it is pretty strong stuff. (21% according to BA) it also could just be that this stuff is quite bitter from the massive amount of hops used. to be perfectly honest, i'd rather have a 90min..but i would really like to find out what this stuff tastes like after it has aged. on the side of the bottle it says "what you have here is the holy grail for hopheads. this beer is continually hopped over a 120-minute boil and then dry-hopped every day for a month. enjoy now or age for a DECADE or so." beers lose a lot of the hop flavor with aging..but i think there is more than enough here to not worry about losing it all. it's a good and tasty beer..just nothing like a session beer. even if it wasn't so expensive, i still wouldn't sit down and drink this stuff all night.
 
imaguitargod said:
Just craked open Delirium Tremens by The Huyghe Brewery (Germany)......eh, it's alright I guess. A little bitter, kinda tastes like a heavier version of budweiser. GREAT bottle, label design, and name though.

A nice thing about this beer is that it is 8.5% ABV and for that amount, it isn't as heavy tasting as I expected. Not too bad of a beer, but for the price, I would rather purchase something else.
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I like Delirium Tremens. Way too much, actually. It does have kind of a screwy taste the first time you try it, but if you have a few more you'll wind up really jonesing for it sooner than you think.
 
Allagash Hugh Malone Ale

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smells like citrus and hops with a hint of pine. tastes much the same..but this is where the belgian influence comes through. the yeast kicks into the flavor alongside the hop and citrus flavors. medium-heavy body. 8.5% ABV pretty tasty stuff. compared to the only other belgian ipa( http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/321/27804 ) i've ever had..this is damn good. wasn't a huge fan of the other one, it was ok though.

the alcohol is subtle for 8.5% can't say i notice it at all. the only downside to this beer is that it is expensive! a limited release i believe. though allagash donates one dollar from every bottle sold to some group that is teaching farmers in maine (where malone moved to from ireland) about organic farming. i guess particularly organic farming of crops used to make beer..but don't quote me on that.
 
Gonzo Imperial Porter

I'm not a huge Fly Dog Brewery fan, but I can't bear to pass up a new to me stout or porter, so I grabbed a six pack of this when I saw in the Piggly Wiggly, of all places.

When I first pulled it out of the 'fridge and opened it, it had no aroma, so I let it sit for about ten minutes and warm up a bit. Took another sniff, and yeah, there was that roasted malt smell I like so much.

It poured very black with a small tan head. Taste was a wonderful blend of roasted malts with mild chocolate and coffee overtones. It was delicious! The mouthfeel was creamy, just what you'd expect from a good porter.

I'll be stopping by the Pig for more of this beauty.
 
Beach Bum Blonde Ale

Made by Anheuser-Busch. It is aa All Malt Limited Edition Seasonal Brew.

Says on the box "Brewed with the finest pale and caramel roasted barley malts, this golden-colored all-malt, blonde ale is then dry hopped with choicest imported Alsace and Hallertau hops as well as Cascade hops from the Pacific Northwest, which lend to its pleasant, slightly spicy hop aroma and malty taste."

Definatly a unique flavor. Very malty and full bodied flavor. You would expect a dark beer from the flavor but it is very light golden almost yellow color. It is a beer I will buy again.
 
Samichlaus

Samichlaus

14% ABV

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I picked this up in New Orleans; it's not available in Texas as far as I know. For a little history about this beer read here:

http://www.realbeer.com/edu/tastes/samichlaus2000.php

What we have here is sort of a barley wine on steroids. It pours a deep cooper color with nary a head which soon settles to almost nothing. Very light carbonation.

This beer has a very sweet taste that reminded me of Avery's Samael ale. It has a nice alcohol finish which I liked but some people would probably not dig. This is definitely a 'sipper" and would be great after a nice dinner ... possibly with a nice cigar.

The one I tried was a 2006. I bought 4 bottles so the other 3 will be put down for a while. This beer proclaims on the bottle "The world's Most Extraordinary Beverage". I don't know about that but this is a very interesting beer that I'm sure will not be to everyone's taste.

I paid about 4 bucks a bottle at Whole Foods in New Orleans.
 
Clipper City Brewing Co. Heavy Seas - Peg Leg Imperial Stout

8% ABV nice and dark. unfortunately all my glassware is in a box and my computer is at my grandmas house, so no pictures. hah i'm actually drinking it out of a plastic solo brand cup. smells great! very much like roasted malts and even coffee. i didn't realize there was actually some yeast sediment in the bottle when i poured it all out like a normal beer..but i don't pick up any yeast in the nose or taste.

the flavor is somewhat bitter like dark chocolate only it tastes more like roasted malts and coffee than chocolate. maybe a hint of toffee.. a tiny bit of spice from the alcohol, but it is very subtle and doesn't last long at all. finishes kinda dry..almost like drinking a coffee beverage. a little bit of lacing on my plastic cup.

overall, i like this stuff. it isn't one of the best imperial stouts by any stretch..but it is a good one at least. i'd buy more of this easily, and i want to try their other beers based on this one alone. also, i'd say this is one of the easier to drink imperial stouts. doesn't seem as heavily bodied. definitely worth a try if you like stouts.
 
Bison Organic Chocolate Stout

Bison Organic Chocolate Stout

I'm currently drinking this out of a Mason jar that I found in the cabinate. Coming in at 6.1% ABV, this has a slight kick to it. This is actually the first "Organic" (not that that means anything anymore , what with the addition of ingredients that qualify as "organic", just recently...those bastards...) so I'm kinda glad I picked this one up. It's brewed with REAL cocoa and boy can you tell.

The cocoa represents most of the bitterness in this beer. At first sip it goes from bitter to smooth in 1.34728 seconds. VERY chocolaty in flavor with the usual Stout overtones to it. I highly recomend this. Mainly becuase I so rarely find Stouts that I like (I'm not the fan of bitter that most people are).

On a side note, even the foam head (very small) is a rich chocolate brown color.
 
Wychwood Brewery: Bah Humbug! Christmas Ale

Wychwood Brewery: Bah Humbug! Christmas Ale

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So, the day to night drinking continues.... This time, this one is 6.0% abv and is an ale...a Christmas Ale. Ha, I don't celebrate Christmas anyways, so let's see how this one pays off....

: sips out of the quart jar :

Hmmm, this lightly crimson ale doesn't have enough bold tastes to register on my dulled sense of taste (due to my my anosmia) (well, if it had peppers, then I could tell you the subtleties, but alas, it does not). This just tastes like carbinated, unfiletered water to me...sigh.

I'll give the designer of the label props though. It's REALLY cool looking and is the reason why I bought the bier. I'm sticking this bottle in my "cool beer" collection.

Dave just tried this one and gave it high praise becuase it is a "clean beer". It has a taste right when you drink it, but it does not linger or leave an aftertaste. Once he said this, I find myself agreeing wholeheartedly.

Looking on the label I find this is brewed in Witney, Oxfordshire, England...god, the world is so small and connected. I'm drinking somrthing that was brewed 8, 000+ (*questimate) miles away from where I live.Just freakin' amazing man.
 
Bell's Two Hearted Ale

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smells very much like hops. also has some pine and citrus smell to it.

the flavor follows through with much of the same...hops being the most upfront addition to the taste. still has some of the pine and citrus though. some bitterness..not as much as other ipas i've had. medium bodied.

all in all, this is a damn good beer...i'd say it is easily one of my favorite ipas. being that ipas are one of my favorite style (especially hoppy ones), this is up there in my overall beer favorites.

my only regret is that i didn't buy more!

oh, and my glassware is still packed up, so i'm using some random glass my grandma has. :think:
 
Fuller's ESB

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smells somewhat sweet and malty..a bit like caramel. there is also a decent amount of hops in the smell as well but not nearly overwhelming in the least. smells good and balanced.

taste is similar..lightly sweet/sugary up front but fades into a somewhat dry hoppy bitterness that is held in check by the malt. at just under 6% ABV i can't say i can detect the booze in the flavor at all.

great beer, with a medium/light body that i could drink lots of. their other beers (that i know of) are also good, and certainly worth a go. london porter and london pride are the only two i've seen for sale here in the florida, but they have other beers that might be available elsewhere.
 
Clipper City - Heavy Seas Loose Cannon

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smells awesome, if you like hops that is. very hoppy smelling, it is labeled (on the bottle) as hop3 ale ..in other words hops cubed. so hoppy it has that great citrusy smell to it. head dissipated a bit, but a little is still there..did leave some lacing though.

this stuff is bitter. no doubt due to the large hop presence. body is medium to medium/light. the citrus flavor is more towards the beginning then it fades into hop bitterness and a nice pine flavor. for being 7.25% ABV, this stuff goes down without noticing the alcohol.

so far i've enjoyed all the beers from clipper city. unfortunately i think i've tapped out the selection available to me here..but i can still enjoy what i can get here. give them a go if you haven't tried them and see them at your local store.
 
Dogfish Head Punkin Ale

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this is only the second pumpkin beer i've had (first being shipyard pumpkinhead), but i wasn't too fond of the former. wasn't bad, just weird tasting pumpkin in my beer i guess. i figured i'd give it a shot though.

smell is mainly of spices..at first i was thinking it was a smell of alcohol, but i think it is more of a spicy smell with some pumpkin in there. the pumpkin doesn't really jump out in the aroma..more of a subtle smell than i expected. i think i can also detect a slight malty smell.

taste is again, lacking in pumpkin compared to what i expected. i can taste a kind of pumpkin pie flavor in the aftertaste. much better than the shipyard i'd say.

medium bodied, spicy upfront then sort of bitter until it tastes mildly like pumpkin. a decent ale, but i still am not crazy about pumpkin in my beers. i could see having some more of this at thanksgiving or some fall seasonal party or something...but other than that, i'll stick with other seasonals without pumpkin, or just regular beers i can get anytime.
 
Schneider Weisse The Original German Hefe-Weizen Ale

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had more of a head (not much) but it sat for a minute before i took the picture.

darker than i had imagined..guess what it smells like? wheat! smells nice..smells slightly malty, don't detect the presence of hops. slightly bready, but not very much so i guess.

taste is good..pretty smooth..notice a bit of carbonation. similar overall to the nose..wheat flavor, backed with some malty taste. overall i prefer the aventinus and even other random wheat beers. it is good, but not "special" ha. would have no problems with being forced to drink lots of it, but don't plan on spending anymore on this stuff. good, just not great. would prefer to try something new, or fall back on others that i like more.
 
Red Hook Late Harvest Autumn Ale

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not much head and i gave it a fairly head provoking pour. no big deal.. smells malty..faint suggestions of fruit or some sort of sweet something or other..and weak presence of spices. especially since this is a seasonal beer for the fall..was expecting a bit more there.

malt is the dominant flavor. light-medium body. dry finish.. makes me want to take another sip..but i'll have to get something else to drink once i get to the bottom of the glass. hop flavor is detectable..but just barely. decent beer..kinda disappointed..especially due to the lack of seasonal flavoring. i'd MUCH rather have the dogfish head punkin ale. would drink it again, but i think that is the last time i buy any of this stuff.
 
Clipper City - Heavy Seas Small Craft Warning

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"uber pils" aka pilsner. this is incredible for a lager. perhaps the best lager i've EVER had. smells fairly hoppy but in a fruity way. can't pinpoint the fruit..but it smells great...very similar to ales i've had. fairly piney smelling actually..just in a sweet way.

taste is very much the same. medium body, sorta hoppy..not very bitter though..a little. piney, sweet, delicious. this is bottle conditioned. (first time i've had a bottle conditioned lager.) all of the beers i've had from this brewer are bottle conditioned. this stuff easily shames many an ale. very good stuff. would buy again, and would drink it for free in a heartbeat. well unless there was other superior drinks available. i would still get around to it though. still seems a tiny bit lacking in flavor as all lagers do, but just BARELY. i think i would say this is the best lager i've ever had. also, at 7% one of the strongest lagers i've ever had.
 
Sweet Water Brewing Co. 420 Extra Pale Ale

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poured it kind of slow on this last one..the others had a much nicer looking head. first thing you smell are the hops. made me smile though, i love hoppy beers. slightly piney smelling too. picking up a faint background of yeast.

tastes good. pretty bitter, not overly bitter. medium-light body. taste is overall hoppy, with a bit of malt in the background to balance it out. finishes with the sort of yeast/bread flavor that i could smell. very easy to drink..would get more down the road. only thing is i've only seen it on sale at a grocery store a few hours from here.

i think next time i'm up at my friends house, i might try the other beer from this company instead..just to see what it is like. i honestly can't remember which one it was though. :mouthonfire:

i'd consider this more of a session beer than a beer to kick back and sip. certainly take your time on the first one..but it doesn't stand out as one of the best pale ales.
 
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