Beer reviews, news, commentary, and more from a guy who just likes to drink beer!
Hi, everyone! After catching a cold last weekend, and spending most of the week still stuffed up, I feel un-stuffed enough to resume doing videos. I'll be working to get caught up for missed time, and the first video of my triumphant return features Thomas Creek Brewery's Class Five IPA. Enjoy!
Hello, everyone! I am back, and mostly better from the bug that sidelined me for part of the holiday weekend. I even have a couple of beers to write about, including two collaborations, one of which is a largely long-forgotten style that I had never heard of before.
That beer, you may have guessed, is known as a Gruit. It's a style of hopless, herbal drink that goes back into medieval times and further, gradually getting phased out throughout Europe between the 11th and 16th centuries. Gruit uses bittering herbs instead of hops in the brewing process. This particular Gruit, called This Is How We Gruit, is a collaboration between Tradesman Brewing Company in Charleston, SC and the owners of the bottle shop Craft and Draft here in Columbia. Pouring a muddy gold, this particular Gruit was brewed with ginger, mugwort, juniper berries, rosemary, and several other spices. This beer is very straight-forward--ginger and massive herbal notes come through unabated. It is not sweet, and possesses a very slight bitter note, and a somewhat odd herbal aftertaste. I regret to say that I only finished about 3/4 of a pint. I didn't dislike the beer, by any stretch, but it was drastically different from anything I had ever had before, and by about the halfway point of the pint, I found it to be quite taxing to drink. I pushed through a few more ounces before tapping out. Still, no regrets in having this beer; it was a neat drinking experience.
Second is an offering from Revelry Brewing Company and Octohops Homebrew, both in Charleston, SC. The Octohops guys have been competitively homebrewing for awhile, and they teamed with Revelry to brew a version of their Wise One Hefeweizen which will be entered in next month's Great American Beer Festival Pro-Am competition. The beer pours hazy gold, and has a nice depth of flavor. Mild grain notes blend well with nice spice notes. I detected a hint of citrus as well, I think. The beer is bright and crisp. A nice hefe for the ongoing hot weather here in South Carolina.
Finally, I have Shiner Strawberry Blonde from Spoetzel Brewery in Shiner, Texas. The beer pours a nice golden color, and while my nose is still a bit stuffed up, I had no trouble whatsoever picking up a mighty and pleasing strawberry aroma coming from the beer. The taste has less of the strawberries, but they are still a notable presence in the flavor profile. The beer is quite carbonated, so that the overall effect is very much like that of an unsweetened strawberry soda. A cool effect is that you can pretty well taste all the parts of the strawberry, as in the fruit AND the seeds--there is also a bit of a green plant note, almost as if the stems were also added during the fruit add for this beer. There may also be a slight grainy note, as well, though that just may be me interpreting the greenery notes. The aftertaste is slight but not off-putting, as it almost totally evokes the strawberries.
I had strongly hoped to do a video review today, but I'm feeling a bit under the weather. My fingers are working perfectly fine, and I have a handful of beers from earlier in the weekend to cover, so let's cover them!
Last month, I had my first offering from a new brewery in Columbia, Bierkeller Columbia, who are dedicated to making high quality German-style beers using simply core ingredients. I found their Braunbier, a dark lager, to be terrific. I was similarly impressed with their Kellerbier, which poured a delightful, slightly hazy gold color. This is supposed to be a little on the hoppy side, but as with the Braunbier, I found the malty side spoke to me more. The beer did open with some mild dank hop notes that quickly gave way to caramel malts. Regardless, I found this beer to be delicious. No matter what Bierkeller was going for, this was another tasty offering from that team.
Next is Mad Hatter, an IPA from Mad Hatter Brewing Company. This beer pushes hard towards becoming a "hop bomb", staying just on this side of overpowering. The bright, citrusy hop notes are accompanied by delightful floral aromatics and a moderate bitterness that just sort of lays on top of the overall drinking experience--very much present throughout, but, again, it's not an overwhelming presence. A solid IPA.
Up next, I try the next installment in Shmaltz Brewery's second offering in their 50th Anniversary of Star Trek series, called the Trouble with Tribbles Golden Anniversary Ale. Now, I enjoyed the first offering, which was a Red Session IPA. I recall being a fan of the beer, which had an impressive malt/hop balance and delicious malt flavors. Unfortunately, I was less impressed with this entry. This beer played like a mild Pilsner, as it was a bit peppery with a mild grainy sweetness. I also got an overall bitter note that just wasn't jiving with me. To me, this beer was just okay.
Finally, from Wooden Skiff Brewing Company, a Kolsch called The Tourist. Pouring a nice, light gold color, this beer was grainy-sweet and, quite simply, beer-like. It had a mild malt presence and was quite smooth and fairly refreshing. Really solid, a highly drinkable beer.
Man, it's been a big week for video reviews, mostly because I don't have anything for Beers in Review--that shall be rectified this weekend. Today's video review is a sour from Fullsteam Brewery called Common Good. Check it out here:
There are two videos in today's entry. The first is the final review from the Sierra Nevada Beer Camp Across America series, a beer called West Latitude Session Rye. It was made by Sierra Nevada, along with Bear Republic Brewing Company, Faction Brewing Company, Mad River Brewing Company, Magnolia Brewing Company, and Maui Brewing Company. Check it out:
The second video features my personal rankings of the six beers in the Beer Camp Across America series. That's right here:
Check out my latest video review, featuring the 5th installment of Sierra Nevada's Beer Camp Across America collaboration series, the excellent Moxee-Moron Imperial Session IPA. This IPA featured collaborators from Bale Breaker Brewing Company, Barley Brown's Beer, Black Raven Brewing Company, Melvin Brewing, and Odell Brewing Company. Enjoy!
Expect the final installment of the Beer Camp series, along with a bonus video ranking the 6 beers of the series, on Tuesday!
Before I can get into THIS weekend, I have some beers from LAST weekend burning a hole in my iPhone. Let's do it.
We start with a unique twist on Westbrook Brewing Company's Gose, their Key Lime Pie Gose. Now, I am a fan of the standard Gose, but this Key Lime Pie variation was not for me. It pours a hazy lemon color, and as expected, is very sour and moderately salty with very little sweetness. Now, all of this is pretty well in line with the standard Gose--perhaps I was just expecting a little more sweetness from a variant like this. Admittedly, Key Lime Pie is usually not sweet, per se, but there is a sweetness to be found in the pie. This Key Lime Pie Gose has no such sweetness. Instead, the Key Lime Pie factor brings a ton of citrusy, puckering bite, and an incredibly dry finish. Both of these factors were overwhelming for me, and greatly harmed my potential enjoyment of the beer. I have no doubt this profile is exactly what Westbrook was shooting for. I think this is just a situation where the standard Westbrook Gose is an acquired taste, and the Key Lime Pie Gose is even more so.
Also from Westbrook is a sessionable variant of their insanely popular Mexican Cake Imperial Stout--a beer that disappears almost as soon as it hits the shelves across the state. Mexican Cupcake comes in at a MUCH more manageable alcohol level (4.2% ABV vs. 10.5% for Mexican Cake). The stout pours a very dark brown, as expected, and is quite mild overall. The flavor profile leads with an unsweetened cocoa note, along with some spices (like cinnamon) and roastiness. But I think, considering this is an off-shoot of the bold Mexican Cake, I expected a more potent drinking experience. Nothing about this beer was bad, but it left me wanting more out of it. The beer even utilizes multiple varieties of hot peppers, yet there is almost no heat initially, and it only comes out a tiny bit as the beer warms. But again, it was another mild note.
Next up, from Stone Brewing, is a re-release of their 6th Anniversary Porter. The official beer type varies a bit, but this is, without a doubt, a smoked porter. Pouring nearly pitch black, this beer took me on quite a journey. There are very nice sweet notes of dark fruit, including berries, chocolate, and just a hint each of coffee and booze. Then there is the smoky note, which took me on quite the roller coaster. My initial impressions of the beer were very positive, then, for a while, the smoke became overpowering to me--to the point that I ALMOST dumped the beer. Just as I was about the dump it, the smoke backed off again, giving all the delightfully sweet notes I first enjoyed. Then, the last few ounces were again taxing to drink due to the smokiness. This is an impressive beer, but I don't know if it's one I want to have again.
Finally, a Scotch ale from Granite Falls Brewing Company, called 1716 Castle Stormer. I had this immediately after the Stone 6th Anniversary, and this was a much...smoother ride. It pours a dark brown to cola-ish color, and was very sweet, almost sickly sweet, but just barely stayed on the good side of that line. Flavors included toffee and dark fruit notes, along with some nice maltiness on the back end. It was also very smooth overall. I don't normally go for super-sweet beers, but I think after the smoky experience of the Stone, I found this beer delightful.
Check out my latest video review, where I ramble on about the 4th installment of Sierra Nevada's Beer Camp Across America collaboration series, Stout of the Union Robust Stout. For this stout, Sierra Nevada collaborated with Bagby Beer Company, Beachwood Brewing, Port/The Lost Abbey Brewing Company, Smog City Brewing Company, and Societe Brewing Company.
Check out the 5th installment, plus a brand new Beers in Review, this weekend. See you then!
Today's video review brings us the third in the Sierra Nevada Beer Camp Across America collaboration series. This is Sweet Sunny South Southern Table Beer, brewed in collaboration with Austin Beerworks, Wicked Weed, Bayou Teche, Creature Comforts, and Funky Buddha. Here it is:
Check back tomorrow for the return of the Six-Pack of News!
5 beers up for review today, including a couple of homebrews from a family friend. Let's get to it!
We start off with River Falls Red Ale from Thomas Creek Brewery. Their award-winning flagship ale pours a nice copper color, and is medium-bodied. It features a solid malt backbone with dark fruit flavor notes, along with some nice additional caramel and toffee notes. As I said, I am big on malt-forward beers, and this is one of my favorites. A really tasty red ale.
Next up is Firestone Walker Brewing Company's summer seasonal session IPA, called Easy Jack. It's a nice gold color, and opens delightfully grapefruity with a mild hop presence. Citrus notes dominate, with orange joining the initial grapefruit notes. It is an IPA that's pretty smooth, with a pretty clean finish. With a great citrus flavor, and checking in at just 4.5% ABV, this beer nails the definition of "sessionable".
Schlafly Beer's/The Saint Louis Brewery's summer seasonal American IPA pours a nice, hazy golden color. It has a complex flavor profile, leading off with spicy and hoppy notes. This gives way to assorted special citrus notes, including sweet orange candies and orange rind. There is an initially mild hop bitterness, which ramps up big time as it warms. A really nice AIPA.
Finally, two home-brewed beers made by a friend of the family, called Coyote Cool Brewing. The first was supposed to be a Double IPA, though it poured a brownish-copper color. This beer really seems to be more of a brown ale, featuring a nice maltiness and cocoa notes. There was also a minor red wine note, along with some kind of candy. I really enjoyed this beer--it's absolutely delicious. But it was not a Double IPA.
The second offering was a Black IPA with Cocoa Nibs. Pouring a pitch black, this beer had a really good malt/hop balance, with mild bitterness and mild unsweetened cocoa notes towards the back. In talking with the homebrewer, he acknowledged that he wanted more cocoa out of it, and I agree. But I really enjoyed the balance in this beer. I feel like Black IPAs can be tough to nail, but this was a really solid first effort.
Hello, everyone. Today, we have the second installment from Sierra Nevada's Beer Camp Across America series, this time trying the Family Values Imperial Brown. It's a collaboration with August Schell Brewing Company, Dark Horse Brewing Company, Half Acre Beer Company, Perennial Artisan Ales, and Sun King Brewing. Check it out!
Check back tomorrow for more Beers in Review, including some clean-up from before vacation and maybe a couple more from DURING vacation. See you then!
As promised over the weekend, I will be video reviewing the six beers of Sierra Nevada's Beer Camp Across America collaboration pack. Here is the first offering, a collaboration with Dogfish Head, Devils Backbone, Trillium, Stoudts, and Lawson's Finest Liquids, called Pat-Rye-Ot.
Expect the next review in the series on Saturday. See you then!
This particular blog has been around for nearly a year now, but before Pourly Reviewed Beer got off the ground, it was called Inside the Keg, and at this point, I can't even remember if I did any work for it. Regardless, the real big take-off was going to be the 2015 version of this particular entry: my (and my family's) 3rd annual visit to Cape May Brewing Company. This brewery and their tasting room is located in warehouse spaces at southern New Jersey's Cape May Airport, and has been producing beer since 2011.
After a self-guided tour (required by state law) at their taphouse, customers enter a tasting room serving up usually 12-15 different beers along with house-made root beer and ginger ale. As I mentioned in Sunday's video, I find they don't make a bad beer--much of their line-up is really solid, with a few stand-outs. One such stand-out is their summer cranberry shandy, known as The Bog, as well as one other beer I'll review later.
I had the opportunity to try several of their beers at this year's stop, starting with another of their seasonals, a Belgian-style Witbier called Summer Catch. Pouring a hazy, pale yellow, this nails the crisp, clean summer beer category. Citrus notes with a hint of grain provide a nice flavor profile for this light summer offering.
Next up was something unique, a Sour IPA called Corrosion. It poured yellow and very hazy, and wasn't quite as extreme as I was expecting for the style. I feel like the sourness was well-cut by the hop profile, which provided bright orange and grapefruit notes. The flavors overall were relatively mild, but the beer was very well-balanced, and one I'd recommend to craft beer drinkers, even if they are not big on sours.
Next up was one of Cape May's flagship beers, their namesake Cape May IPA. The beer has a nice orange-gold hue to it, and brings decently-powered citrus hop notes, along with a hint of earthiness or spiciness. Some dark fruit notes also come along later in the drinking experience.
Their Honey Porter was one of my favorites, with this offering being offered under Nitro. A very dark brown color with a silky smooth texture in the mouth, the Honey Porter featured the expected sweet notes that were very much present, but not overpowering. I think the honey additions blended with the standard Porter notes to generate some delightful cocoa notes. A really delicious porter.
The final beer I had I tried on a whim, and proved to be the most enjoyable of the bunch. I don't normally jump at fruity beers, but an apple-based wheat that checks in at around 8% ABV drew my interest. Quite simply, Apple Bomb lives up to its name in a big way. It brings tons of balanced sweet-tart apple flavor with some bready malt hints for depth of flavor. The tartness does nudge up a bit towards the end of the drinking experience. An absolutely delicious beer that CAN be dangerous, because in no way can you detect the 8% alcohol (if I recall, the brewery limits customers to 2 pints of this and their other high-alcohol beers). Apple Bomb was easily the highlight of this year's visit to the brewery.
Three years of visits to Cape May Brewing Company, and I have yet to have a disappointing beer. Keep up the great work, guys!
As promised, let's get into the myriad of beers I had while on vacation. This particular entry will deal with three Philadelphia-/New Jersey-based breweries. We'll start with the one-offs.
First up is Sol Reaper Pale Ale from Demented Brewing Company. It pours a fairly clean golden color, and the ale brings a moderate hop bite with a bit of citrus and even some light dank hop notes. There is also a nice spicy note at the end that tends to linger after the drinking experience.
Next, from Tuckahoe Brewing Company, is Colubris dry-hopped amber ale, and they nailed the style. It pours a pretty red-gold color. I was impressed by the well-balanced malt and hop presences. Flavors included nice piney hop notes, and a really delightful and bright orange note. As a guy who can appreciate more malty beers, this beer's balance really hit a nice chord with me.
As I mentioned in yesterday's video, Yards Brewing Company provided a bit of mixed bag while I was up north. I first had a bottle of their long-time standard Philadelphia Pale Ale. They refer to it as "sessionable", so I wasn't expecting anything too bold or strong in this beer, but I found it still quite mild overall, perhaps TOO mild for my liking. Pouring a pale yellow color, I found it quite aromatic, but was surprised by grainy flavor notes, along with some mild spice notes. There was a very mild--nearly non-existent--hop presence. Frankly, this particular beer was a bit of a disappointment, though given the beer's reputation, and the quality of the beers that followed, I would certainly give this Pale Ale another try.
Next from Yards was General Washington's Tavern Porter. This Tavern series is Yards' attempt to create modern beers while trying to closely replicate the recipes of ales created by our country's Founding Fathers. In this case, the result is a beer that is a moderately dark brown, lighter than cola, and lighter than I expected. Despite being lighter than expected, this porter did not lack for taste. It features a nice, well-balanced sweetness, with strong notes of cocoa and molasses. It is a malty and rich beer, and it really is tasty and quite excellent.
Finally, at the complete opposite end of the beer spectrum is a tart fruit ale called Pynk. It pours a light red to pinkish color, and features sour and sweet cherries and raspberries. My palate brought this all together--most notably the sour cherries, I think--and came up with cranberry-like flavor notes. Indeed, it was quite sweet, making it taste almost like a cranberry soda. Pynk was crisp and clean, and so incredibly tasty.
I wanted to get one last post up before I head out on vacation. More on that both below AND in the video. But please check out this Mandarina IPA (which works out because it is, apparently, IPA Day) from Highland Brewing Company:
On Friday, I'm headed to the Jersey shore for a week, so posting will be minimal, as I won't have my laptop and WiFi may be sporadic. I will be checking out plenty of local/regional beers, including Cape May Brewing Company, and hope to make a video or two to accompany my drinking experiences. If WiFi permits, I will upload something to YouTube during the week. Otherwise, I'll have lots to talk about when I get back next weekend. Cheers, everybody! See ya when I see ya!
Some pretty terrific beers in today's rundown. Let's get running!
First up is Palmetto Brewing Company's Island Wit, which pours a very pale yellow. While officially listed as a "pale wheat ale", the wheat characteristics play through much more than the pale ale side--I wasn't getting a lot of personality out of the hop profile. In fact, the beer was very light overall, with some mild grain notes, as well as some coriander and other spices. I also detected a mild Belgian yeast-style sweet characteristic--very mild, but certainly present. This beer will play very well in the summer with its quite mild overall characteristics.
Next is Queen Bohemian Lager from the England-based RnR Brew. Inspired by the legendary rock band and their hit "Bohemian Rhapsody", this beer is listed as a lager but is actually a Pilsner. It pours a nice gold color, and hits all the Pilsner notes pretty well. Crisp and pretty clean with a biting carbonation (though not much in terms of head--agitation is need to bring out that carbonation), the flavor notes are straight forward: crackery and peppery, with maybe a faint apricot note. Nothing extraordinary in this beer, but it is a solid execution of the Pilsner style.
Next is a beer mentioned in a recent Six-Pack of News: Stone Brewing's 2016 version of their W00tstout, developed by Greg Koch (Stone Co-Founder & CEO), Drew Curtis (creator of news aggregation and commentary site fark.com), and Wil Wheaton (Star Trek: The Next Generation, web series TableTop). The beer pours pitch black, and clocks in at a massive 13% ABV. Rich chocolate are integrated into powerful boozy notes. There are also some dark fruit notes, and maybe some black licorice, as well. This is a super tasty and very strong Imperial Stout.
Finally, a beer from Columbia's newest brewers, Bierkeller Columbia. As you might guess from the name, they are trying to do beers in more traditional German styles. Their Braunbier pours a deep reddish-brown with ruby highlights. I'm big on malt brown and red ales, so this was right up my alley, with a mighty toasted malt backbone that nearly invokes the malted milk ball flavor. This sensation is aided by moderate cocoa notes. There also are some faint bready notes. This is a terrific beer from Columbia's newest brewers! My congratulations to Bierkeller Columbia!
Coming soon, a post intended for last night that was derailed by a massive thunderstorm and power outage, a brand-new Beers in Review.
But first, enjoy this video review from Frog Level Brewing!
Two posts in one day! Crazy!
Folks, this is one of my absolute favorite beers. I'm shocked I hadn't reviewed it already, but it wasn't on my list, so I corrected that in no time! Check out Highland Brewing Company's Gaelic Ale!
Hello, again, everyone. There will be a video review later this afternoon. But first, a quick jump into a couple of beers from the West Coast of the U.S.A.
Leading off is a beer from San Diego-headquartered Green Flash Brewing Company's Hop Odyssey series. The Styrian Golding Single Hop Pale Ale uses only the hop of the same name, Styrian Golding. Styrian Golding is an aromatic hop grown in Slovenia and Austria, and based on my research, is not used a lot in American beers. The beer pours a slightly hazy golden color, and is pretty well carbonated. The beer opens with bright citrus notes, and lots of earthiness. There was a building hop bitterness as I drank, and that bitterness lingered briefly after drinking, but quickly went away. The unique hop ingredient made for a somewhat different flavor profile than I am used to.
Next is Space Dust IPA from Elysian Brewing Company. The beer pours a rich, dark gold color that is perfectly see-through. A generally mild flavor profile brings some dank hop notes along with a hint of orange and possibly other citrus. Also present is a mild to moderate hop bitterness that ramps up as it warms. Pretty much a spot-on IPA.