Sunday, January 24, 2010

Howl by Magic Hat

Beer: Howl (Winter Seasonal 09/10)
Style: Black Lager
Brewery: Magic Hat Brewing Company
Brewery Location: South Burlington, VT
Site: http://www.magichat.net/
Hops: Apollo, Hallertau
Malts: Pale, Crystal, Carafa
ABV: 4.6%


Pour: Off the charts dark with a not much head. The bottle caps from Magic Hat are always interesting too. This one said “All my friends are brown and red,” which gave me a little chuckle.

Smell: Really soft nose on this one; slightly nutty with hints of tobacco

Taste: I had mine near ice cold and would recommend it that way. Went down very easy. Felt full and complete in the mouth while delivering just the right hints of coffee and chocolate undertones.

Drinkability: This is a great winter seasonal. It is chilly outside right now, and it felt just right sipping on this brew. If I was going to have a few drinks, this wouldn’t be my choice. It is not especially heavy (I think its Lager roots must help that), some may enjoy having more then one in a sitting. I’ve been milking the six-pack I picked up a couple weeks ago, and look forward to see what Magic Hat has to offer next year.

Grade: B (Almost a B+, but it was less enjoyable as it warmed up just a few degrees.)

Saturday, January 23, 2010

HopDevil Ale


Beer: Hop Devil
Style: American IPA
Brewery: Victory Brewing Company
Location: Downingtown, PA
Website: http://www.victorybeer.com/
Serving Type: 12oz bottle
Glass: Pint Glass
ABV: 6.7%

Pour: Amber color with less than a finger of head. Once it warms up, it is very transparent and doesn't look very carbonated.

Smell: Sweet and citrus.

Taste: Lots of citrus and a bit of spice. I taste of bit of pine, but not too much.

Drinkability: I couldn't get drunk off of this, but I like it. I'd say one or two and call it a day. Definitely worth your time though.

Grade: B+

Black Chocolate Stout


Beer: Black Chocolate Stout
Style: Russian Imperial Stout
Brewery: Brooklyn Brewery
Location: Brooklyn, NY
Website: http://www.brooklynbrewery.com/
Serving Type: 12oz bottle
Glass: Tulip
ABV: 10.1%

Review:
Pour: Very dark with a huge head...at least three fingers. This gives it plenty of time to warm up.

Smell: The chocolate is definitely there with a bit of coffee, malt, and some plum.

Taste: Very sweet initially and LOTS of chocolate and coffee flavors. You can feel the alcohol going down on this one, but it goes well with the style.

Lacing: Not much. This is surprising since the head was full, but I'm assuming that this one is more malty than hoppy.

Drinkablity: There's a reason this now comes in a four-pack (last year was a sixer). You'll want to sip on this one and enjoy the complexity of it. I'd say it's the east coast version of North Coast's "Old Rasputin". I'll probably catch hell for that, but it's my story and I'm stickin' to it.

Grade: A

Great Divide Titan IPA


Beer: Titan IPA
Style: India Pale Ale
Brewery: Great Divide Brewing Company
Location: Denver, CO
Website: http://greatdivide.com/
Serving type: 12oz. bottle
Glass: Ale style stem

Review: This is my first review of a brew so bare with me on this one.

Pour: This one is excellent. It's a nice dark golden color almost copper color with about two fingers of head that take a bit of time to dissipate. I let this guy sit out for a couple of minutes out of the fridge to get to proper temp.

Taste: Pine, citrus, a little caramel. The carbonation is not overpowering and seems "just right" for this style. Also worth noting, even though it's 7.1 abv, the alcohol is very well balanced.

Lacing: With all of the hop oil, this one laces well all of the way down to the bottom of the glass (Shouldn't every brew? Unfortunately, no.) .

Drinkability: Be careful...this brew can be dangerous because since the alcohol is blended is so well, you can pound this down without realizing that you're getting hammered.

Grade: A+

Friday, January 22, 2010

Winterfest, AC Golden Brewing Company






















Beer: Winterfest
Style: Amber
Brewery: AC Golden Brewery Company
Brewery Location: Golden, Colorodo
Site: http://www.acgolden.com/

Review:
This is the 15940th bottle of 85248, for a brewery like MillerCoors, that is a somewhat limited batch. I will start with the good; this is a clear, crisp, well balanced seasonal beer with great taste of maltiness and carmel. The bad is that MillerCoors marketing is too scared to put their companies name on a good beer. I understand the marketing side of things, the average person will think they are getting a craft beer.

Grade: B+

Inversion IPA, Deshutes Brewer






















Beer: Inversion IPA
Style: IPA
Brewery: Deshutes Brewer
Brewery Location: Bend, Oregon
Site: http://www.deschutesbrewery.com/splash/default.aspx

Review:
This isn't the first beer I have had from this brewery, I got my hands on a limited edition Red Chair IPA they made this paste late fall, which I will do a review for soon.
The Inversion IPA was nothing close to the Red Chair IPA. The beer is too bitter with no malt characteristics to balance the bitterness out. I could be wrong about this but there is a hop extract out there that some breweries use in place of real hops that in my opinion taste horrible, i think this beer has this hop extract in it.

Grade: B-