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…
Namaste is a beer that a wide swath of imbibers can appreciate. The beer pours with the smallest amount of whitish head and a light, hazy color. The beer has a nose that yields hints of bananas, fruits, and a slight bit of an alcohol nose. As the beer continues to warm up, the sweeter elements of Namaste come into view. This means that the wit beer style starts to…
Smirnoff’s Sorbet Light line is one of the few [product offerings that allow imbibers that want to have a diet beverage the ability to have it both taste delectable and still be wholly walloped by the alcohol percentage. The brand has a new offering – Pineapple Coconut – that contains 30% ABV. The vodka contains 78 calories in each shot (1.5 fluid ounce serving size), meaning that one will be…
The beer pours with a very bright copper color. The head that pours from the bomber is fairly substantial and with a slight off-white tone. An initial mouthfeel is fairly substantial and provides imbibers with a slight amount of carbonation; the light bubbly touch allows for a much greater gradient of flavors to be present in the ESB. The nose of the ESB links together hops with a sweet blend…
The sweet notes that are presented to imbibers are moderated through the presence of a warming alcohol touch. The 9.1 IBUs of the Abbey Dubbel allow for an absolutely approachable effort that is much more meaty and fulfilling than more hop-heavy efforts. The fruit elements (banana, dark fruit, apricot) provide additional facets to the beer. The bold elements of the beer are refreshed through the presence of tart notes, raisins,…
Effervescent without having some of the more dank and earthy notes typically present in the farmhouse ale format, Sneak Attack Saison has a tremendously easy flavor that dissipates quickly. The pour yields a very hazy, straw color with no head or lacing. 6.2% ABV is moderately perfectly by the warmer elements of the beer, while the 38 IBUs provide imbibers with additional complexity to the effort. Hints of pepper, spice,…
Engel Weisse is a Berliner Weiss beer, which means that Elevation has crafted an effort that has a considerable fruit side. An initial pour has a considerable white head and a grape meets citrus head, while an initial sip yields hints of apples, grapes, lemons, and hints of tannins. With each subsequent drink, imbibers will be impressed with the effervescence of the beer – the effort is quaffed easily, granting…
Ghost Face Killah is one of the most challenging beers that we have reviewed; the fire that the beer provides is granted from the ghost and habanero peppers that are included in the brewing process. While pepper beers have been a hot commodity through 2013, I feel that Ghost Face Killah is an effort that beer and hot sauce snobs will appreciate. The beer itself is incredibly smooth, with little…
Mexican Standoff pours with a very dark color, Spicy, chocolaty, and with a nice coffee flavor. The Mexican Standoff is an eye-opening and warmth-generating effort, a great introduction to Due South Brewing Company. This Florida-based brewery has just released Mexican Standoff, an epic porter that will caress imbibers while bludgeoning them mercilessly. Mexican Standoff’s warmth is due to the presence of Scotch Bonnet peppers. The…
This beer pours with a very reddish-brown hue and a very small but persistent white head. The beer blends toasted malts with a slight hint of hops. Taken together, the introduction that one has with the 20” Brown will be a good one. As the beer warms up, a solid amount of sweetness will ensure that the beer is inviting without hitting too strongly on the malt, barley, or hop…
Big coffee flavors, with a alcohol kick. Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout offers a strong yet very drinkable experience. When poured into a glass, the Old Rasputin produces a large foamy head that remains throughout the entirety of the beer. The beer is thick and hearty, which is perfect for a warm-up during those cold winter nights. At 9% ABV, the stout has an even balance of alcoholic kick with…
The beer pours with a dark brown, along with an off-white head that sticks around long after the initial pour. The beer has hints of cocoa, coffee, and malt; a slight sweetness creeps through that makes for a very balanced effort. The slight bit of alcohol that is present here provides an additional level of complexity; imbibers will be able to discern a different constellation of flavors and nuances with…
This is quite possibly the first gingerbread stout that we have reviewed. The beer pours with a head that does not dissipate, whiel the overall color of the beer is an incredibly dark brown / black that permits no light through. The nose of the beer is a little bit of an enigma; while it has hints of alcohol present, what will ultimately present itself to imbibers is considerably different.…
Witch Hunt pours with an amber/orange color and a slight head that dissipates shortly after the initial pour. There is a spiced flavor to this beer that is moderated by the presence of a slight hop bite. The beer is able to stay lively with the presence of a decent dollop of carbonation; the beer is able to steer away from an overly sweet character, instead opting from something that…