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?!