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. 

#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.

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.

#atozchallenge - Ithica Brewing's Flower Power IPA Beer Review

Brew:  IPA
Brewer:  http://ithacabeer.com/flower-power/
ABV: 7.5%
Opinion: Great Beer! 

Today I will finish the last of the brews I bought for reviews, and that group consists of ipas. I am excited, I love ipa.

Flower Power came highly recommended by a couple of folks of taste, so I am looking greatly forward to this.

The scent is potent, a nice "bouquet" of floral and pine hops. This beer smells good. It poured a cloudy orange with very little head. The scent is only that much better from the glass.

First sip, an excellent blend of citrus, floral and pine hops, the floral being only a little more prevalent than the other two. The second sip was equally tremendous. The after taste is a nice pine reminder of a moment ago when I was swallowing a terrific beer. Those were good times... good times...

This is a great beer.

#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!

#atozchallenge Beer Review - Founder's Breakfast Stout

Brew:  Stout
Brewer:  Founders Brewing
ABV: 8.3%
Opinion: Great Beer! 

I love this bottle. Doesn't the picture just make you wanna drink it??

I was very interested in this brew, being a stout fan (and a fan of stouts! HAR!) I thought it sounded good. It's stout made with chocolate, coffee and oatmeal. Who wouldn't love that?!

Interesting story: I once had an idea that Coffee flavored oatmeal would be a fine thing. I emailed the Quaker oats guy, and suggested it. I said you could go so far as to have french vanilla, hazelnut, etc. I was told that they have people who are paid to think of those things, but thanks for my interest, and they suggested I buy more product... I thought for sure a month later they'd have the coffee oatmeal on the shelves or something, but still no.

Anyway, who needs the Quaker oats dude, when you have Founders?! They figured out the same genius scheme and added chocolate!

I cracked this baby open, and immediately the smell of coffee found my nose. I eagerly, yet carefully poured. The head came up about an inch and a half. Twas a brown color, much like the foam from a cola. Still the smell of coffee dominated, which is fine with me, cause I love coffee.

As it sat, I continued to sniff, in between typing paragraphs here, and the chocolate became vaguely apparent. Perhaps it was there the whole time, but I was over powered by the coffee smell. Either way, my mouth is watering.

Wow. This beer is amazing. There's so much going on here. The coffee is definitely the most prominent flavor especially in the first of a sip. The chocolate and oats flavors come out in the finish. There's a little alcohol heat left on the tongue, as it is 8.3%. There's a little bitterness in burp.

This is such a terrific beer! Smooth and tasty. I could drink these all day. Or... at least for a couple hours or so.

HIGHLY recommended.

A to Z Blog Challenge Beer Review - Deadguy Ale by Rogue Ales

Brew: Deadguy Ale
Brewer: Rogue Ales
ABV: 6.5%
Opinion: Good Beer! 

I like the label, one of the most original labels, thus far in this review process, which did not start with A, and has not gone alphabetically.

I really like how creative, and yet, simple the name of this beer is. "Dead guy ale". That's totally a beer drinker at the helm of creativity right there. It doesn't have to be clever, it just has to be memorable, distinctive and original, just like the beer behind the label!

I cracked the bottle... which by the way... You're going to read that statement a lot. I didn't crack the actual glass of the bottle, that's cool guy slang for "opened". Savvy?

I smelled mostly bread. A sweet, bready, citrusy, maltieness. Smells like a lager yeast, I think. (Now I'm starting to sound like I know what I'm talking about, huh? Or at least like I think I do...)

This ale is sweet and fruity. Not a lot of bitterness, which is my favorite characteristic in a beer... But still a good tasting beer. For those who like everything BUT bitterness, this is a great beer.

Their website says to pair pork, or hot & spicy foods with this beer. I like to pair buffalo wings with just about any beer, but I can see where the smooth sweetness of this one would definitely compliment hot & spicy.

A to Z Blog Challenge Beer Review - Bigfoot Barleywine Style Ale by Sierra Nevada

Image from here.

Brew: Bigfoot Barleywine Style Ale
Brewer: Sierra Nevada
ABV: 9.6%
Opinion: Great Beer!

First, I hate feet, so just thinking about feet makes me wanna wretch. Feet are disgusting. All feet. Even the words feet and foot. And those of you who always say "I agree! Oh, but I have NICE feet!" no, you don't. Your feet are just as disgusting as everyone else's.

That said, there's fortunately no picture of feet anywhere on this label, so that makes it palatable.  There are footprints, however... but I prefer to call those "tracks".

I cracked this bottle open, and immediately could smell it. A sweet sorta caramel citrus fruity smell. Or a molasses. I liked the smell so much, after I poured it, I just sat and sniffed for a few. I do get hints of the high alcohol content, as it is 9.6% after all.

There was next to no head whatsoever. (Stop giggling!)

The taste starts with a burst of sweetness, very fruity and thick, finishes with a nice hoppy flavor. Little bit of warmth going down from the ABV.

Thick, heavy beer, definitely not one you'd want to chug. I could see myself having one of these with a thick beef stew on a wet, snowy day or something like that.

I have never had anything like this, so I can't really compare it to anything else with much conviction. I'm very impressed with how the maltiness is the first impression, but the hops comes mostly in the finish.

Outstanding beer. I forgive them for having the word "foot" in the name.