Beer Review: Berkshire Brewing Co - Drayman's Porter

Brew Style: Porter
Brewer: http://www.berkshirebrewingcompany.com
ABV: 6.2%
BrewNewb Opinion: Good Beer

Perhaps I'm a little bit biased, being from MA, and loving the Berkshire mountains and all, but then again - maybe the beer they make is just plain awesome! 

Bought a pint of this, poured, as always, into my Sam Adams perfect pint glass. Poured very dark, nearly black, which piqued my interests. The foam was thick, didn't stick around very long. 

Smelled of sweet vanilla. It was a mild understated scent, I was surprised at how thin the scent was. 

Coffee is the front end of this beer, it's the taste that hits the hardest in the beginning, finishs with the chocolate. The hops are light, a perfect balance to the sweetness. Carbonation is very slight, does not interfere with the complex flavors.

Very nice beer, great selection if you like a nice porter.

Beer Review: Berkshire Brewing Company: Dean's Beans Coffeehouse Porter

Brew Style: Porter
Brewer: http://www.berkshirebrewingcompany.com
ABV: 6.2%
BrewNewb Opinion: Great Beer!

I love a nice thick porter. I love the brown sweet scent, the way it pours like a flat soda, the thick creamy froth of the head, and this brew does NOT disappoint. 

I bought a pint of this, brought it home and poured it into my Sam Adams perfect pint glass. It smelled like a iced coffee, with a mild grain scent, hints of cocoa.

The head is truly impressive, thick and fluffy, and dark like that of a root beer float. 

The taste was smooth and crisp. Coffee and caramel, vanilla and chocolate, with a smooth finish. Very well balanced beer, and a good choice if you're itching for a coffee porter. 

Price was nice too, a pint was less than $5.

Beer Review: Shipyard XXXX IPA

Brew Style: American Double / Imperial IPA
Brewer: http://www.shipyard.com
ABV: 9.25%
BrewNewb Opinion: Decent beer

I love a good presentation, and I thought the foil wrapping around the cap was a nice touch. I was rather surprised to notice, after cracking the cap, that it was actually a twist off. I don't know why this struck me as odd, and frankly I never really thought much about the fact that I apparently associate twist off caps with crappy beer, much like wine that comes in screw-cap bottles. 

It isn't an association I established consciously, and perhaps it's not a fair one. However, I can't seem to help it. There is no good rational reason for it, except that all the crappy beers use twist offs. Maybe in my head, the good beers decided not to, to further distance themselves from their crappy counter parts... Who knows. 

Anyway, this beer poured from the pint bottle into my Sam Adams Perfect Pint glass, a nice amber peachy color. This frothy head with a good lacing. 

The smell was a little surprising. It was a bit too complex, with too many hoppy smells coupled with the smell of the alcohol. (Which is hard to avoid at 9.25%!)

The taste, like the smell was a little bit of a disappointment to me. I love a solid IPA, but I feel like they tried to do too much with this one. Too many flavors, and too much ABV. I tasted mostly caramel malt and alcohol that completely dwarfed the various hops. I would have liked to see them use either fewer hops, for a strong hops flavor in one direction or another, or less alcohol. 

All in all, not a bad beer, though it's not what I expected out of an IPA. Perhaps a barleywine?  

Be Hoppy IPA by Wormtown Brewing - @WormtownBrewery FANTASTIC beer!

Brew Style: IPA
Brewer: http://www.wormtownbrewery.com
ABV: 6.5%
BrewNewb Opinion: Excellent beer!

My now #1 favorite beer of all time, and another great beer from my home state of MA! This beer recently dethroned Jack's Abby's Hoponiuos Union (which I still love, by the way!) as my very favorite brew. 

I cracked open this bottle, and sniffed. LOTS of charcter coming through that bottle neck! Hints of floral and citrus hops got my mouth watering. 

I poured into my Sam Adams pint glass, it poured a hazy orange, nice head that stuck around a good long while. As the bubbles in the body settled, I noticed flakes... Now, I'm no stranger to craft beer, but I've never seen the like. 


It's tough to see in the pic there, but those flakes on the bottom where pure white. Now, I'm not afraid of lees, it's actually quite good for you, but I was little unnerved by this. 

However! I'll drink just about anything. Secure in the knowledge that it's likely some yeast... thing... funny kinda fermenting side effect... And hell, it's stewed in alcohol, so it's likely not going to be toxic. I drank it. It was fine. 

The taste of this ambrosial nectar is sweet floral and citrus hops at first, backed by a caramel bready backbone. Great balance, excellent piney hoppy finish. Went down nice, wasn't heavy... GREAT beer. 

Hoponius Union - Excellent beer!

Brew Style: IPL 
Brewer: http://jacksabbybrewing.com
ABV: 6.7%
BrewNewb Opinion: Excellent beer!

It's a well known fact that the dark IPA has been my favorite brew for a long time, until I was introduced to the IPL. 

This beer is a lager with the hoppyness of an IPA, and quickly become my #2 beer of all time! 

The beer pours a nice golden yellow and has a thick frothy head giving great lacing on the glass.

It smells like an IPA with a citrus flavor, and yet like a malty lager. 

It's bready like a lager where the IPA would ordinarily be dry. Excellent flavor, great hops, and as we all know is important to me, burps like an IPA!

The bad news, it only comes in a four-pack. The good news, they're all pints! Interesting bottle too. 

#BeerSummit Boston!

So in the midst of the A to Z challenge, I was unable to get in a post about the Beer Summit! http://www.beersummit.com/

The beer summit in Boston was April 13th, and 14th. I went with my friend Mike Johnson from http://www.FestPics.com who was taking pictures of the event.

There were 78 Brewers at the event, each with several brews to share. We got there a bit early so that Mike could set up. We walked around and got some pics of the folks setting up, got to talk with them for a while, and got the lay of the land.

The fest picked up quick, and within no time was packed. I very quickly lost track of Mike, which was OK, because he was busy anyway, and I really have no issues with being on my own. This was my first fest every, but he's been to a billion of em.

By the time the general public was let in, I'd already had a good buzz going. There's a lot I don't really remember, and not because I was wrecked or anything, but simply because a lot of it didn't stick out. All in all everything was "Good", with a few greats,  and a handful of disgusting.

I stopped and talked a while with the guys from Geary's, because during the A to Z challenge, I'd really been kinda blown away by their Winter ale. It was the only beer in the whole challenge that really surprised me. You can read my review of it here.

The Geary's guys were cool. I don't recall what the beers they had there were, except for an IPA... Which of course if you have read this blog much, or know me, is my favorite brew, so it's no surprise that that's what I remember...

The best brew of the night though, was a black IPA from the Garner Ale House brewpub out in Gardner MA. This beer was fantastic! If you are anywhere in the area, stop in and have some "Nightcrawler". You won't be sorry.

I was crushed though, to find that they do not make enough to ship to liquor stores, and it can only be had at the brew pub which is a 2 hour ride for me, one way... I will make it out there at some point though... This I swear.

I took this picture at the Saranac stand, cause I have two daughters, and thought this chair would be an excellent Barbie doll prop. He wasn't prepared to part with it though, and rightly so I suppose. I took this picture because I thought it was a great shot. This was before the doors opened. I had no intention of taking pictures. 

However, at some point, I guess I did. And I don't remember this because at this point, I WAS wrecked.

As you can see, I am not much of a photographer when I'm drunk. Don't judge, I don't even remember these. Not sure what I was taking a picture of. 

 

I don't have the slightest idea who these guys are, but aren't they photogenic? And friendly?

 

I don't know these two either, but this is actually a fairly decent pic. 

 

This guy I did talk to a fair amount, he's a friend of Mike's and is at most of the beer fests, from what I'm told. Very nice guy, though I can't remember his name... 

From this point on, things got worse as far as the pics I was taking... I got a few shots of the backs of some folks, and then a shot of some of them turning around like "Dude, what?" They were all pretty blurry, so I won't bother posting them. I'll leave you with this last one though, that sort of encapsulates ALL the rest of the pics I took that night. 

 

A beauty, ain't it? This is kinda what I remember the rest of the fest as. 

For anyone worrying, I am aware what my limit is, and I did stop drinking shortly here after, and got some hot dogs and water. I sober up pretty fast, the last half hour of the fest is pretty clear in my head, though it consisted of me just kinda standing around. 

Having just checked out the Beer Summit website, as I recommend you all do, I realized that their next fest is September 21st... That also, just so happens to be my birthday. Coincidence?? I think not. 

Magic Hat Black IPA

Brew Style: Black IPA
Brewer:  http://www.magichat.net/ipa_on_tour/blind_faith
ABV: 6%
BrewNewb Opinion: Good Beer


I love stouts and IPAs, so I figure, how can a hybrid be bad??


I poured this into my Samuel Adams, perfect pint glass, and it poured well, an inch and a half of head. 


Smells like a good stout. I'm aware of the lack of IPA smell though.

Next to no carbonation. 

Sort of a sticky sweetness to the taste, not a whole lot of hops. Tastes more like a black lager to me, than a black IPA. 

Still though, not a bad beer... I'll give this one a decent. 


I'm not blown away by this beer, given that it was called a black IPA. I love IPA... It was not even close to my definition of an IPA, black or otherwise. BUT. I do like it.

Port Brewing Hop-15 Ale

Image stolen right
off their website.

Brew Style: American Double / Imperial IPA
Brewer:  http://www.portbrewing.com/our-beers/hop-15/
ABV: 10%
BrewNewb Opinion: Good Beer!


I poured this badly. I went a little too fast, into my over-sized Samuel Adams glass... The head came up fast, and I had to suck some ... uh, I'm not saying head there... Foam down real fast, or I was going to wear it. 


That said, the foam was quite promising. 


I let it relax a bit, and finished topping off the glass. 


Could QUITE fit it all, so I drank the end of what was left in the bottle. Lots of malt, and I could taste the alcohol though it's shrouded by bitterness and maybe a little metallic taste. I like it. 


The glass, very hazy orange. Translucent, but only a little. Enough to see floaties in the mix there. Probably dead yeast and what have you... "Lees" as it's called. 


Low carbonation, Syrupy. The after taste is mostly alcohol, some malt, not as much bitterness as I like in an IPA, and a little more floral than I care for. 


All in all, a good beer. 

Cisco - Grey Lady

Brew Style: Witbier
Brewer: http://www.ciscobrewers.com/
ABV: 4.5%
BrewNewb Opinion: Yuck.

In all fairness, I didn't drink the whole thing. I asked for a taste at the British Beer Company, where it was (IS right now) the beer of the week.

This poured (for me anyway, in the little taste glass) much paler than the picture on the left there, almost like a lemon juice. Smelled OK, lots of malt, lots of yeast and a TON of citrus.

The flavor was rather tropical, lots of coriander, oranges, maybe pineapple, and I swear I could taste some coconut. Perhaps some white-tea flavors... Underneath the fruits and flowers, it had a taste of something akin to coors light... A Pina-Coorslada, if you will.

Lots and lots of carbonation too, even in the small sample I had.

I did not like this beer all that much from the two or three ounces I was given as a taste. Perhaps given a full beer, it might have made a different impression, sometimes the first sip shocks the pallet, and you can't get the full appreciation until afterwards, but honestly, I can't see this beer tasting much better...

If you like light citrusy beers, give it a shot, you might be impressed. I just may be more of a hop head. I won't say it's a bad beer, just not my bag. This is the first example of this brew style I've ever had, maybe as far as the style goes, it's good? BeerAdvocate seems to like it.

#atozchallenge - Reflections

Welp. I almost made it... I think at this point it's safe to say that I can quit, since it's halfway through the month AFTER the challenge.

The sad part is, I DRANK all the beers, I just couldn't get all the reviews done within the allotted time.

I will still post them, but I will refrain from calling it a part of the A to Z challenge.

Had a great time though! Going to still go through the linky list and visit the participants. Now I can actually spend some time commenting on others' posts!

A to Z Blog Challenge Beer Review - UFO by Harpoon

Brew: Unfiltered Wheat
Brewer:   http://www.ufohefeweizen.com/
ABV: 5.1%
Opinion: Yuck...

 I wanted to try to stick to lesser known, or "craft" brewers for this challenge, but I had a hard time with this one... I'm not sure if Harpoon is considered a "craft" brewer either, I'll have to check on that...

Anyway, this is an unfiltered wheat beer. I poured from a 12oz bottle, it smelled like a bud light, to be honest. My expectations are low.

Next to no head, it poured a very pale yellow. I noticed a lot of carbonation being released as it sat on my table. I let it sit a few minutes, and gave it another whiff. Still a bud or miller light scent.

Tried it. I hate it.

This is like two parts bud light, three parts scrambled eggs. Nothing but corn and yeast flavor. Totally not a fan.

This seems like a beer that people who want to say "I don't like bud light" but need to have something similarly bogus. "I won't drink that swill! I drink THIS!" but it's still swill, it just has a cool, lesser recognized label.


The only saving grace I can see this beer having is that it's a 5.1%.

I'm actually kind of surprised, my friends over at BeerAdvocate.com seem to think it's good to average.

Truth be told, I'd rather drink miller light

And yeah, I know I didn't capitalize miller or bud.

I am disappointed. I like Harpoon's IPA.This is a far cry. I hope I never have to drink this again. Perhaps it's just me though, maybe I'm not much for unfiltered wheat beer?

#atozchallenge - Torpedo Extra IPA by Sierra Nevada

Brew: Extra India Pale Ale
Brewer:   http://www.sierranevada.com/beers/torpedo.html 
ABV: 7.2%
Opinion: Meh...

This is another beer I kinda dropped the ball on. I seem to recall having somewhat of a trying day, and decided to do a few reviews all in the same night, for more reason than just to do the reviews...

But I remember this well. Frankly, this was one of the few beers (count em: TWO!) that I did not like from this whole challenge.

First, let me describe... The smell was hops, like most other IPA, some breadyness too... Nothing unusual there. I don't recall being impressed one way or another by the head, so I imagine it was average.

The inital taste was lots of piney hops, which I loved. However... Have you ever taken a drink of water from a freshly washed glass, from which not all of the dish soap was rinsed? You know that bitter soapy taste that kinda clings to the back of your throat? I got a lot of that... I thought perhaps it was just that it was the first sip, and my pallet wasn't expecting it or something, but throughout the whole bottle, I just had that soapy flavor in the back of my throat.

Aside from that, I probably would have enjoyed this. I'd still drink it before a Bud. Hell, I'd drink soapy water, before a Bud, most of the time.

#atozchallenge - Ruination by Stone

Brew: India Pale Ale
Brewer:  http://www.stonebrew.com/ruin/
ABV: 7.7%
Opinion: Great Beer!  

In keeping with their large boasts, the brewers of "Arrogant Bastard" have done it again. This beer boasts that it will ruin your pallet for anything else. Here's the description from their website:

So called because of the "ruinous" effect on your palate! This massive hop monster has a wonderfully delicious and intensely bitter flavor on a refreshing malt base. One taste and you can easily see why we call this brew "a liquid poem to the glory of the hop!" Those who seek, crave and rejoice in beers with big, bold, bitter character will find true nirvana in Stone Ruination IPA!  

I love the fact that they come right out and say it, and then do not disappoint. I personally love high IBU (International bitterness unit) beers. I live them full of flavor.

This one grabs you by the taste buds and doesn't let go. This is like drinking crushed up pinecones, which after this blog challenge, I just might consider trying. Once the initial shock of pine bitterness, there's subtle hints of floral hops as well.

This is a great beer for sipping. I do no recommend chugging. Although I may try that one of these days.

Hmm... That sounds like a great blog challenge... I could chug, and then describe the experience as the brew expands in my stomach, and makes my eyes tear...

Nah, that'd be a waste of great beer.

#atozchallenge - Q...?

Welp. I dropped the ball here, cause not only is Q supposed to have been posted some time back, but I never got my hands on a Q brew...

SO. Instead of giving you a first hand review of a beer, I will search the internet, and give your a few regurgitated reviews of a few Q beers...

I figured, there'd HAVE to be some kind of beer with "Queen" in the name, right? "Queen's land" or "Queensmen" or something... So I turned to the internet on my Droid, as I do so often.

The app is called "UNTAPPD" and you can use it to "Check in" in different places, while you're drinking, and get badges for what you're drinking etc. It's like Foursquare, which I tried out before, though I seldom leave the house, so location based check ins make no sense for me.

Beer based check ins however...

Aside from simply tracking your drinking habit, which may or may not be smart, by the way... It also allows you to review the beer and share your thoughts on twitter. I like this cause I can't remember things so well these days, so I can look back and see which ones I liked the most!

So I searched for Q...

Result #1 - Queen Josephine's Brewery. A couple of clicks here, and I get their beer list... Very interesting, says I!

Coffee & Donut Stout! The second that looks interesting here is Queen Josephine's Chocolate Maple Porter. Indeed. Let's see what I can find on the interwebs about these things!

So it looks like this brewery is in Marietta, GA, and has a total of 4 beers listed on Untappd. That's the extent of the information on this place in that app, so I turn to Google! ...nothing. I didn't expect that. There's nothing more than the address some ten or so search results down on the page. They apparently have no website. That's a drag.

So I go to Beer Advocate! Absolutely nothing.

So depressing! How's that for anti-climactic?! Sorry to whet your appetite to let you down here!

Let's move on, I guess...

Quantum Brewing Co.
They are apparently in Manchester England, but I won't hold that against them. Looking through their Beer list for the most interesting sounding name...

Huh... "American Amber Ale"... Wonder how that sells in England? ...moving on.

So far, the names are fairly boring, like "IPA" and "Stout"... Ah, here we go... "SK1", "Steam Beer", and "Don't Panic". Excellent.

Unfortunately, once again, there's not a whole lot of info on the web here. They do have a web page, but there's nothing on Beer Advocate, and the only description they have of the three brews above, is the SK1, which is:

Quantum SK1 Barleywine. The first in what will hopefully be a series of collaborations with Colin Stronge, head brewer at Scotland’s Black Isle Brewery, this was a 7.4% barley-wine brewed in August 2011, using all New Zealand hops. It has been released in keg, bottle and we have a cask held back for the Stockport Beer Festival 2012.

Well, I guess I could continue on, but I don't think I'm going to find much else here. I will look for a brew that I can get my hands on, cause at this rate, this post is likely to be HUGE, and not really say much. 

Any readers out there have a Q beer, or know of these brewers I've listed and want to share your opinions?!

#atozchallenge - apologizes...

Sorry. I'll be back in the saddle again tomorrow. Thanks for sticking around.

A to Z Blog Challenge Beer Review - Pale Ale by Tröegs

Brew:  Pale Ale
Brewer:  http://www.troegs.com/ 
ABV: 5.4%
Opinion: Great Beer!  

When I started drinking beer, I started much like most other folks, drinking the cheap, yellow fizzy corn-tasting stuff that the college kids drink out of funnel-ended tubes. Responsibly of course, and only after the age of 21.

I remember going to a bar that didn't actually have any of those things, and I was kind of shocked. Out of my element I ordered a Harpoon IPA, and remember thinking it was disgusting. Now I find them ALMOST bitter enough!

One of the first brews outside of yellow and fizzy that I started to enjoy a lot was a pale ale. (Bass, to be specific).

This here Tröegs pale ale was sort of an last minute grab, because I was having trouble filling the P slot. Thinking about it now while sitting at home, I can think of several other beers I could have gone for, but frankly I'm glad I grabbed this one. I always tend to overlook the pale ales, going for the more bitter IPA or the completely different stouts.

So without further blahblahblah, I get down to it, optimistically!

Ok.. .that was interesting. Not sure exactly what it means, but I cracked the bottle and began sniffing at the opening, only to realize that third sniff, my nose was sitting in foam. The head crept right up out of the bottle. I know it hadn't been shaken, it was sitting here on the table for the last ten minutes... perhaps the temperature change?

Anyway... Poured, low carbonation, as a pale ale tends to be. Dense orangy color, slightly opaque. Juicy slightly sweet smell. It tastes almost exactly how it smells, too. It's a nice, crisp, sweet slightly citrusy beer. Hints of hops in the finish, just enough to remind you that it's a beer.

This beer reminds of me of Tröegs Nugget Nectar which I reviewed two posts ago, only a little more on the light side.

This is a good beer. Once again Tröegs doesn't disappoint!

A to Z Blog Challenge Beer Review - Otter Creek's Copper Ale

Holy fizzy fluffy head Batman!

I popped this thing, and smelled maybe some Killians.. malty, bready, a little sweet. I had so much fizz it was ridiculous! I got about four ounces in there, and the whole damned glass, which is a 16oz Sam Adams glass, filled to the brim with foam. 

Citrusy, a little coppery (ironically?) Poured a cloudy coppery red.

Slight hops, overtones of wheat and honey.

This is a very mellow ale. All in all, not a bad beer. I would drink this if there weren't an IPA available.

I don't have a hell of a lot to say about this brew, it's understated, and good. I think I'll leave this post understated as well. :)

A to Z 2012 - Nugget Nectar by Tröegs Review

Brew:  Imperial Amber Ale
Brewer:   http://www.troegs.com/our_brews/nugget_nectar.aspx 
ABV: 7.5%
Opinion: Great Beer!   

\Nugget Nectar from Tröegs is an "Imperial Amber Ale", and a damned good beer, says I! This is a seasonal spring beer. I wish they made it all year round!

Brewed with Nugget, Warrior, Tomahawk, Simcoe, Palisade, and dry-hopped with more Nugget and Warrior, this runs (or hops?) the gamut of hops.

As I opened the bottle I could smell the hops immediately, with a bit citrusy over-tone. And not the kind of citrus smell where you figure they used hops that taste like citrus, I'm talking like, there may be orange juice in this brew.

It pours a coppery color with a short fluffy head that turns creamy. My first sip was pleasant, for someone who loves the sharp bitterness of hops. it was a mostly piney, somewhat floral hop flavor with a grapefruit / orange or pineapple aftertaste.

It's a very well balanced beer, nothing over powering in any way, unless you like beer that sucks, in which case, I recommend you don't drink anything I recommend on this blog.

This beer hits me right in the back of the throat and hangs there on the tongue. Very nice beer.

A to Z Blog Challenge Beer Review - Mayflower Oatmeal Stout

Popped the top of this beer and honestly didn't smell much... After the pour I did though.

It poured smooth, slight chocolate brown head. Smelled malty, tones of brown sugar, and toffee.

Tastes like toasted malts, baker's chocolate, and oatmeal. Brings it all together nicely. Lots of tastes in one nice flavor... or is it lots of flavors in one nice taste?? Not sure how that works...

Anyway... not a bad beer. Not wonderful, but way better than yellow fizzy.

A to Z Blog Challenge Beer Review - Long Trail's Double Bag

Brew:  Strong Ale
Brewer:   http://www.longtrail.com/
ABV: 7.2%
Opinion: Good Beer.
 
Straight outta Vermont, this beer came highly recommended by a friend of mine. I was intrigued by the fact that it says "Strong Ale" on the label, and have no real idea what it has to do with cows...

I popped open this beer, and got a bready, metallic and yeasty scent. Not bad, I thought as I poured.

Light in color, a amber red. No head whatsoever.

It's got a nice malty flavor, a little bit of the alcohol taste, as it's 7.2%, but honestly not too much. I don't mind that flavor anyway to be frank.

Not a bad brew, I like it. I'd probably not crave it or anything, but if it were available, I'd much rather it to a fizzy yellow beer, or like, wine coolers.