#atozchallenge - Geary's Winter Ale Beer Review

Brew:  English Pale Ale
Brewer:  http://gearybrewing.com/pages/winter.php 
ABV: 6.0%
Opinion: Great Beer! 

I smell the yeast after the pour. Perhaps apples as well. Fruit, anyway.

This is perhaps the most shocked I've been during this whole A to Z beer review, and for those of you wondering, no, I didn';t start at a... I'm almost done at this point.

The flavor is butter scotch, almost entirely. There's a...no, that's it. Butterscotch. That's ALL I get. Now that I have tasted it, even the smell is butter scotch.

This has got to be the most unique beer I've had throughout this challenge, and I haven't done the IPAs yet at all... Which is my favorire of the genres... This beer was the biggest surprise so far. I like this. This is great!

The taste IS butterscotch.

I really like this beer. I have great respect for it, being something that tastes SO MUCH like something else. It even burps butterscotch.

So here's the thing about this beer... I'm totally shocked about it. It doesn't taste much like any other ale I've ever had, but... wow. Excellent ale, mostly just because it of how completely it tastes like something else. As a craft brewer, I hope that some day I can make something that takes another curious lad or lass as off guard as this took me.

Excellent beer!

A to Z Blog Challenge Beer Review - Arrogant Bastard Ale (Oaked) by Stone Brewing

Brew: Arrogant Bastard Ale
Brewer: Stone Brewing Co
ABV: 7.2%
Opinion: Good Beer!


I've been putting this one off for a while, even though it's my A post... (As you may have guessed, I didn't start at the beginning with these... I skipped around a lot. In fact, I'm about half done.) I've had Arrogant Bastard before, and it was really good. Now, this one is "oaked", but I put that at the end of the title because otherwise it wouldn't work as an A post..

But oaked, means aged in oak barrels, like bourbon, which I also like... I have big expectations for this brew. I wanted to wait for a night when I was alone, the TV was off, the wife was at work, and American Idol wasn't on. ...what, shut up.


Anyway, tonight is that night.

I am nothing if not honest about myself, so anything that proclaims itself as an Arrogant Bastard is already something that I respect. I don't particularly LIKE arrogant bastards, and I've know many. But none of them were aware of what they were. I think perhaps had they known, I might have found them a little more bearable.

And here, I grab the church-key, and pop the cap.

I smell hops, and something similar to whiskey, which I would have to assume is the oak aging. Of course, then again, maybe I'm just looking for it... Carrying on.

The hops hit first, bitter, with just a twinge of the alcohol, as it is higher than usual. The maltieness comes out in the finish, and in the after taste, balancing it nicely. It's somewhat thick on the tongue, strong grapefruit flavor.

Not a chugger, this beer is best enjoyed leisurely. If you're looking to smash beers into your face, get something cheaper and lighter. This beer is one to be appreciated, not pounded.

Very nice beer, full of character. Stone Brewing does it again.