Hitting The Beer Market

napalmxv3

napalmxv3

Recently I tried out a Shipyard Pumpkinhead ale.

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Best when drank from the bottle. It's a rather thin beer and seemed to lose a bit of flavor when drank from a glass, which was unusual to me. The taste is less about pumpkin and more nutmeg than anything. Drinkable. The fiance bought it for me so it gets credit based on that alone.

But tonight I splurged and hit the market hard.

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Hoppin' Frog 'Oatmeal-Imperial Stout'
New Holland 'Dragon's Milk'
Shipyard 'Smashed Pumpkin'
Saranac 'Pumpkin Ale'
Great Lakes Brewing 'Nosferatu'

Saranac's Pumpkin is a yearly tradition for me. I love it.

And I've been waiting to try the Nosferatu for a long while now.

The others just sound damn good.
 
Saranc's Pumpkin is too clovy for me. I like the pumpkin beers that focus on real pumpkin and less spices.

Drinking a Smuttynose Pumpkin right now! Not too bad.

I forget which ones I like. I think Dogfish Head. I'll try some more soon.
 
Nosferatu is totally as advertised. 'Beer with a bite' indeed. Pours a deep reddish brown, almost like a dark blood red. Had a head a mile high. Smooth texture and then just packs a wallop with a bitter bite. Made me cringe on the first drink. Contains a very basic taste and aroma. Doesn't get fancy and stays right on target. Definitely a beer you don't wanna chase with.

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Nosferatu is classed as a American Strong Ale, it's not bad, but if you want a real ASA try Stone Brewing Arrogant Bastard or Double Bastard his big brother. :beer: :beer: :beer: :beer:

Cheers!
 
Wasatch said:
Nosferatu is classed as a American Strong Ale, it's not bad, but if you want a real ASA try Stone Brewing Arrogant Bastard or Double Bastard his big brother. :beer: :beer: :beer: :beer:

Cheers!
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Got a bottle of Arrogant Bastard Ale in the fridge. Woohoo! Also just bought Michael Jackson's Great Beer Guide. Let the journey continue. PS- I also had a bottle of Lion Stout. Very Mocha-ish and coffee tasting. Very tasty. ALmost a meal in itself. Almost.
 
Followed Nosferatu with the Shipyard 'Smashed Pumpkin' ale.

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Had a medium head, much moreso than the 'Pumpkinhead' ale by the same company. Tasted mostly of cinnamon and nutmeg with a bit of actual pumpkin flavor.

The size of the bottle afforded me ample beer to try from the bottle and from the glass. From the bottle has a strong alcohol and citrus taste with afformentioned spices has undertones. I certainly prefer from the glass with this particular beer.

It's only slightly bitter and certainly allows you to experience every bit of the 9.0% abv. Overall a decent brew and much better than the 'Pumpkinhead' ale.
 
I absolutely hated Arrogant Bastard. To me, it tasted much like the mango flavored tropical starburst mixed with alcohol. Maybe one day I'll give it another shot but I was so angry when I took the first drink.

My fiance had suggested it to me as a beer that 'fully describes me' Lol.
 
Tonight's the Hoppin Frog. BORIS (Bodacious Oatmeal Russian Imperial Stout) is the type. Truly it sounds like a beer taken from the movie 'Wayne's World' but I felt I needed to give this beer a good try being from a brewer in Akron , Ohio.

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This beer pours a thick black with a fast disipating brown head. The aroma is very nice with light hints of bitter chocolate is notes of roasted coffee.

Upon the first sip the first thing of note is how creamy and velvety it is. You almost forget this is a beer for a moment. To taste it feel more like a port to just lightly sip to get the the full enjoyment of the texture. The flavor notes are chocolate hints of vanilla and the creaminess gives a nice sense of caramel. The roasted malts present themselves near the end and leave a slight sense of dryness. It really doesn't taste like a 9.4% but certainly represents the Imperial Stout family fairly well.

Overall a very enjoyable beer. Represents Ohio well!
 
I'll definitely be getting more of the Hoppin' Frog brews. Tonight will be the Dragon's Milk if I'm feeling up to it. Haven't felt well today and I can't try a beer unless I feel perfectly well for it. Wouldn't want nausea to take away from the flavor afterall.

I'm really looking forward to it too. A 98 on ratebeer.com (my sanctuary to microbrews for the past few years) and a very nice look.
 
napalmxv3 said:
I'll definitely be getting more of the Hoppin' Frog brews. Tonight will be the Dragon's Milk if I'm feeling up to it. Haven't felt well today and I can't try a beer unless I feel perfectly well for it. Wouldn't want nausea to take away from the flavor afterall.

I'm really looking forward to it too. A 98 on ratebeer.com (my sanctuary to microbrews for the past few years) and a very nice look.
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It's been a few years since I last had that one, but it is pretty tasty. It's another American Strong Ale. Night Tripper is pretty tasty also. :beer:

Cheers!
 
Last but certainly not least of this score's beer reviews. New Holland's lovely brew 'Dragon's Milk'.

For whatever reason it paired well with Aerosmith's rune 'Eat the Rich'. Not sure why but it just really did. Anyway.. onto the review.

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Another beer tar-like black beer. This one had very little in the way of a head. On the bright side that mean I didn't have to wait for the beer foam to dissipatebefore having a nice clean drink.

The aroma on this one resembles a dry red wine with hints of bitter chocolate. A very interesting smell to say the least.

Upon the first sip I could instantly taste heavy bit of vanilla with the bitter hops buried deep within the palate. The roasted malts were welded between the vanilla and hops. But overall the vanilla texture is by far the most evident character of this beer. I really like this one. Certainly is a milky beer which is quite interesting.

Of the reviewed beers here (not including Saranac's as it's a completely different animal from the others) in order of favorite and least favorite...

Dragon's Milk, BORIS, Smashed Pumpkin, and Nosferatu.

I liked them all in their own right but that's the way they fell.
 
The Dragon's Milk is one of my favorites. Still on the search for more, as they don't sell it in WV.
I'll probably pick up several, and stash them for special occasions :)
 
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