La Fin Du Monde pours with a dark tan to dirty yellow color and possesses light wisps of bubbles at the top of the pour. The beer possesses a slightly tart nose that opens up to something slightly astringent and with a fair amount of sweetness. The overall presence of the beer in one’s mouth dissipates quickly, meaning that individuals will continually have a fresh experience of the beer. La Fin…
Orabelle is a Belgian tripel that pours with a golden yellow coloration and little in the way of head. The beer is more sneaky in overall alcohol presentation than many other tripels. There is a considerable floral and fruit side that is present at the beginning of each sip. The beer shifts into something incredibly easy to drink, with sweet and slightly tart elements present at about equal amounts. The streamlining of…
Previously available in the brewery’s Big Beer series Smuttynose’s Baltic Porter is now available through the year in 12-ounce bottles. The beer pours with an inky dark brown coloration and little to nothing in the way of head. The initial sip will provide imbibers with a phenolic opening and a sweeter backdrop. Hints of dark fruits, vanilla, and tinges of whiskey make for a complex constellation that presents itself variously…
Great Divide have released their Espresso Oak Aged Yeti and the effort is able to marry hops, bitterness and a velvety mouth feel into one of the deepest and darkest efforts that I have tasted this year. The beer pours with an extremely opaque dark brown coloration and a mocha/tan head.
The Brown Ale that has been crafted by Colorado’s Upslope Brewing company revitalizes a venerable beer style while keeping all of the nuances of the original form. Upslope’s Brown Ale pours with a brown to dark brown coloration and a tannish/beige head that persists as one continues. The beer takes on additional coffee (roasty, with a slight hint of bitterness) notes to add additional complexity to this effort. Upslope’s dedication…
Winter Ale is a bold flavored beer that has hints of ginger, cinnamon, and various spice and dark fruit elements. The beer is able to hide the alcohol content (8.2% ABV) incredibly well, allowing imbibers to have a heady feeling while having their taste buds tantalized. The beer opens up nicely, with a little more malty of elements becoming commonplace as the sweeter and more sugary elements move to the…
Full Tilt is probably our favorite microbrewery that we have reviewed in 2014. We have reviewed them and their efforts extensively and are pleased to say that the brewery has knocked it out of the park yet again with their Fleet Street Raspberry Wheat beer. NeuFutur’s staffers are huge fans of sours and lambics but do not usually find much solace in fruit beers. A great many of them have…
This is the time of the year for Christmas beers and Chicago’s Revolution Brewing has just released their Fistmas Ale. The beer pours with a dark oche to copper coloration with a tannish head that will take some moments to dissipate. The beer is not overwhelmingly sweet like many of the Christmas offerings but provides imbibers with hoppy, malty, and lightly sweet elements. The higher ABV of Fistmas provides a…
Full Sail Brewing has just hit their 27th year anniversary and as a treat to their fans, have released a beer commemorating this occasion. The company has created an interesting effort in their 27 Wheatwine Ale which combines a high ABV (9.5%) with a very alluring and distinctive taste. There are hints of a dubbel and a little a more traditional malt-based flavor profile that will immediately hit individuals on…
There is a decidedly large gap between those individuals that are familiar with microbrewery lagers and those people that are fans of more hop laden beers. Sudwerk is a company that looks to bridge this divide while having a beer that is simultaneously refreshing and bitter. The beer is able to do both of these admirably meaning that there is a decided barley and wheat flavor that is active from…
Fireman’s Brew is a new microbrewery that loves to go and put some polish on familiar beer offerings, meaning that there is a blonde (Pilsner), brunette (doppelbock) and a redhead (Red/Amber ale) offering that the company currently brews. The Fireman’s Brew Blonde is an effort to expand upon the American lager format, the brew of choice for many of the titular fire men and women that are currently serving. Fireman’s…
Harpoon Brewery has just released their Winter Warmer, one of the first winter seasonals that we have received for review this holiday season. The beer is able to go and stand on its own as a solid effort – one does not need to feel as if they are in the season to properly enjoy what Harpoon has done here. The beer pours with a very reddish brownish coloration and…
The Neapolitan Milk Stout that is currently produced by Saugatuck Brewing Company looks to improve upon a cluttered style. There is only a few breweries currently producing a milk stout and the quality of these efforts ranges pretty considerably. This Neapolitan Milk Stout is one of the best that we have tasted and it looks to go and involve the milk stout format into something that is thirst quenching as…
An India Pale Ale (IPA) is one of the core competencies it seems for microbrewers. However integral that IPA may be to the menu of a new micro brewery there are a lot of sad IPAs that are currently on the market, which are either to alcoholic, too hoppy, not hoppy enough, or attempt to marry incompatible flavors. In fact it is difficult to find an India Pale Ale that…
Espresso Stouts are the perfect sort of beer for those cold winter months as they tie together stronger flavors and an alcohol presence that cannot be beat. Espresso Stouts are a style that is difficult to master, with a tendency to go overboard with the coffee notes. However Twisted Pine are able to provide a moderate and approachable style that ties together velvet, chocolate, and coffee elements into something that…
There are few easy drinking efforts that microbreweries currently provide. It seems as if the breweries are attempting to create the most assertive efforts that they can meaning that individuals that just want a beer are typically left out in the cold. The new brewery has attempted to shatter this illusion and provide individuals with a beer that is both easy drinking and flavorful as all get out. The Truck…
The amount of breweries that are crafting sour, tart, or otherwise funky beers has increased considerably over the last two to three years. This is great news for fans of the style. The sad truth is that there is considerable variation amongst the different sour offerings that are currently on the market. Funkwerks is a company that prides themselves on creating some of the most innovative and challenging beers on…
The pilsner style is not incredibly popular at this day and time as individuals are typically desiring a more strong and in your face sort of flavor. The Santa Fe Brewing Company has created their Freestyle Pilsner to go and update the style for the 21st century. What results with this beer is something that is drinkable while still having enough in the way of flavor to keep individuals interested…
Count Hopula is a prime example of one challenging effort that will provide imbibers with a number of twists and turns before revealing an eminently drinkable beer. SanTan’s latest effort is a high-ABV red IPA, linking together Simoe hop with a considerable array of malts (victory, wheat, munich, and roasted malts are but a few included). Count Hopula a big beer with huge hoppy and malty flavors and will be…