Harlot is a beer that looks to expand upon what one will desire from the blonde ale / lager style. This Carson’s Brewery effort pours with a very dark, amber / copper coloration. The head that issues forth dissipates quickly and is fairly off-white. An initial sip provides imbibers with a number of twists and turns. The beer has a good amount of sweetness that is moderated with the slightest…
Rolle Bolle is New Belgium’s spring seasonal, and it pours with a very pale yellow. The beer does possess a very small amount of a white head that sticks around a considerable amount of time. We’ve been bottle-aging this release since its release last year, and are pleased to report that the beer has settled I nicely. The beer has a considerable sweet portion on the initial sip, but it…
Allagash has created a Saison that expands the contours of the farmhouse style while imbuing it with just enough alcohol presence to make this into an endearing effort. The beer pours with considerable haze and virtually no head. The head that does collect is off-white and dissipates quickly, owing to the effervescence of the Saison style. The beer blends equal parts malt, hop, and links these sides together with…
Stevens Point has an absolutely dark and evil beer on their hands. A pour will yield little (maybe even nothing) in the way of a head, while the effervescence of the beer disappears for much of the pour. The beer has a good amount of malt on the onset, while a velvety sweetness comes up shortly after that. While the beer has an ABV that is absolutely on-par for other…
Sweet Josie pours with a very dark color and a small amount of tannish head. The ABV (6.1%) provides a small amount of bite, which provides an additional facet to a sweet, dark-fruit heavy set of flavors. The beer goes down tremendously easily, with great quaffs being de rigeur. As the beer continues to warm up, individuals will be provides with a moderation of the sweet elements and further highlighting…
Sympathy for the Lager is a refreshing take on the lager style, as Karbach has provided a considerable amount more hops than would normally be present in the run of the mill lager. This slight bit of bitterness ensures that individuals could use the beer as a palette cleanser, while having enough twists and turns to keep imbibers interested from beginning to end. The balance that exists between the…
Black Cannon is a Black IPA that pours with a very dark (nearly black) head. After further examination, one can faintly discern a reddish color poking out at the edges of the beer. There is a smallish tan head that dissipates shortly after the initial pour. An initial whiff of the Black Cannot yields floral and hoppy hints, while the bite associated with the hops will immediately hit imbibers. At…
Naughty or Nice is a solid contribution to the winter warmer format, with a good amount of sweetness and just enough spice notes to keep the beer varied throughout. The beer pours with a very dark color and a small amount of off-white head. The beer has a small amount of hop presence that provides further complexity to this effort. Naughty or Nice is able to have a lower ABV…
The Upslope IPA is a formidable experience. The beer pours with a small head and with a ruddy reddish-brown coloration. The initial nose of the Upslope IPA is very astringent, linking together citrus notes with hints of grass. Despite a 10% ABV, the beer goes down extraordinarily easy. There is a fairly substantial hop backbone that permeates the beer at all points. What the Upslope does is push the boundaries…
Hi-Rest pours with absolutely nothing in the way of head, along with a very bronze / gold body. The beer is effervescent, and will immediately yield a nice alcohol burn. While there are notes of hops present here, the 111 IBU level of the Hi-Res will not overwhelm the balanced nature of the effort. Hints of caramel, spice, lemon, and sweet malts can all be discerned within…
The golden lager style is one that has been largely ignored by microbrewers. As the dominant style on the macro-brewery side of things, it makes sense that the beer style has fallen out of favor. However, Sly Fox has created a golden lager that is refreshing and tasty while providing a number of distinct twists and turns before the beer is finished. The sweetness of the beer is moderated…
Magic Hat is a brewery that attempts to shake up beer styles and includes some interesting twists and turns with their efforts. Their G-Thing seasonal is a nice blend between a porter and a winter warmer, with a curveball thrown into the mix – a substantial amount of ginger flavor. The initial earthy tones of the ginger are a mite bit off-putting for those that are expecting…
Durty is one of the best Brown Ales that we have reviewed. The beer pours with a very dark brown color, with hints of amber. The lacing of the beer remains long after each sip, while the beer itself has a very bold flavor. Malt begins the effort, while the hop bitterness pushes the effort into a whole other plateau. The 8.4% ABV of the Durty is hidden well by…
Red Nose is a winter warmer that does not get too sweet, while maintaining a little bit of a hop bite to keep things interesting. The beer pours with a dark brown / reddish coloration. The effervescence of the beer ensures that any head that is present dissipates quickly. There is a toasty side to this effort that will keep individuals warm through the coldest months of…
Perennial Artisan Ales has created a delectable dunkel, swapping out the large amount of sweetness with a nice hint of alcohol. The dunkel pours with a dark brown and a slight reddish tone, and a small amount of off-white lacing sots on the top of the glass. The dunkel has a slight amount of a pepper note, providing additional nuance to the beer. Perennial has placed their Black Walnut…
Rebel IPA is Samuel Adam’s latest offering, and it pours with a gold / amber coloration. The head of the Rebel is pretty tenacious, providing lacing from the beginning to the end. The beer comes forth with a decent blend of floral and hoppy notes. There is a small amount of grain that can be discerned, providing considerable amount of complexity with each sip. A floral and fruit set of…
The beer opens with a strong hop nose, and pours with a light, vibrant copper color. There is a small amount of off-white head that is present, while the beer has a solid amount of effervescence that sticks with the beer long after its initial pour. The lacing continues to inch its way down the glass with subsequent sips. Bits of malt and grain can be discerned alongside the hop-forward…
The beer goes in a slightly different tank than the other winter efforts that we have received. The beer has hints of grain and malt alongside a slight hop bite. The complexity of the beer yields a different variety of flavors each time an individual has a sip. The sweetness that ties together these two elements keeps individuals wanting more; taken together, the Lakemaid Frosty Winter Lager is a beer…
The hop flavor is very light on the palette, while the slight sweetness of the beer plays nicely. The Hundred Yard Ale is something that provides hints of spring even as the temperatures stay cold. While the beer is fueled through a decent dollop of alcohol (6.8%), the overall tenor of the beer is such that one will be able to polish off a Hundred Yard Dash easily. The beer…
Cold Snap is a very hazy and bubbly effort from Samuel Adams that looks to showcase the change from the heavier and darker releases to the more fruit and sweeter efforts of the spring season. The beer separates itself from other white ales on the market as it has a sweeter, almost caramel-like aspect to the flavor. This provides additional complexity to what is already a heady…