Beer reviews, news, commentary, and more from a guy who just likes to drink beer!
Today's video review features two pale ales using blood orange in their recipes. These beers come from Elysian Brewing Company and Duclaw Brewing Company. Check them out!
More Beers in Review on Monday, plus check the video to find out what I'll be reviewing on Tuesday!
I've got some big beers queued up for this review, so let's get started.
We start off with Thomas Creek Brewery and their Bourbon Barrel-Aged Quad, using Four Roses Bourbon barrels. This beer pours a deep brown and is quite hazy. The leading flavor is a whole lot of sugar, almost to the point of being sickly sweet, with notes of chocolate and dark fruits. Also, there was something in there I couldn't quite identify, flavor-wise, but it was almost making my lips pucker, as if there were some kind of sour or bitter note, but I detected neither. I would imagine such a note would speak loud and clear against the sweet notes, unless they were buried incredibly deep by that sweetness. Checking in at 10% ABV, the boozy note also pushes pretty hard. Despite those last couple of things, this was a damn tasty beer.
Next up is Sacred Heartier Double IPA from Columbia's own Conquest Brewing Company. Another big time beer, but it a totally different way from the Quad, obviously. The beer is a pretty orange color and quite clear. It is possible my palate was a bit skewed from the Quad, but this DIPA wasn't as sweet/boozy as I find most in the style to be. I was not bothered by this at all, as I enjoyed the solid hop presence that brought pine notes and a hint of citrus to the flavor profile. I haven't always been big on Conquest--I find them to be inconsistent, generally--but this was quite the hit for me. I just hope it's the same the next time I try it.
Finally, from Founders Brewing Company is the world-class Breakfast Stout. It's very nearly pitch black in color, with a mild boozy note (ABV 8+%) and some dark fruit. The Stout also brought a little bit of coffee and a slight-but-delightful chocolate brownie note that came through in the end of the drinking experience AND EVEN MORESO in the aftertaste. This beer has a considerable reputation, and it stood up to that reputation in my eyes.
So, this finally marks the end of all my beer reviews from the Craft and Draft Octoberfest party. I tried to save the best for last, but the truth is that virtually everything I had at this event was excellent. I look forward to this being an annual event curated by the great guys at C & D!
The latest video review is Kosmos Reserve from Spoetzl Brewery, aka Shiner. Check it out!
I'm looking to get into a more regular posting schedule. My goal is to have videos Tuesdays, Thursdays, and once on the weekend, likely Sundays. Mondays, Wednesdays, and Friday (and, frankly any video day, as well) will be dedicated to Beers in Review, Six-Packs of News, and more. The end goal is at least 5-6 posts per week, making PRB a location worth visiting daily.
That's the plan, anyway.
I'll be honest. The blog is named "Pourly Reviewed Beer", with emphasis on the first two words, for a reason. I don't pretend to be an expert at this stuff, and sometimes, even when the palate isn't cooperating, you feel the need to push out some content. Especially when you haven't done a video review in 5 days. This is The Brooklyn Brewery's Defender IPA. I don't tell you much about, but it truly is a delicious beer. If you should find it, give it a try. I'll try to get back on track for Thursday's review.
I have some more beers here from the Craft and Draft Octoberfest, so let's get right into it.
First up is an Orange-Infused Golden/Blonde Ale from Cooper River Brewing Company. The name of the beer brings you just about everything you need to know about this beer. It pours a nice gold-orange color, and brings orange and orange rind flavor notes, along with maybe just a hint of funkiness. It's not too sweet, which is good, and has a fairly clean finish, though a bit of a grainy or corny note in the ending.
Next is B.W. BeerWorks, which is operating under the name RavenBeer, and their Annabel Lee white ale. This was a fairly basic, but well executed, wheat beer: hazy, straw yellow with a refreshing lemony tartness, along with some other citrus notes, a very mild sweetness, and some spice notes, such as clove and coriander. The Annabel Lee also brought a clean finish. Again, nothing ground-breaking in this beer, but a fine illustration of style.
Next up was a bit of right turn at the festival, as I dove into Flemish sour style with Oude Bae from Stillwater Artisanal Ales (sorry about that website--it's a bit of a thing). A nice brownish, reddish copper color with lots of sour fruit and a bit of a red wine note. This really isn't surprising, as Oude Bae is billed as a sour ale brewed with Pinot Noir grapes. It's fairly two-note (sour, assorted fruits), but it is a tasty sour ale.
I closed out the straight fruity section of my tasting experiences with a Wild Ale from Crooked Stave Artisan Beer Project called Petit Sour Cassis. It poured the color of grapefruit fruit/flesh and initially had a very slight sour note. The flavor profile was led by mild citrus, almost to the effect of something like unsweetened lemon-lime soda or similarly-flavored seltzer water. There was also perhaps a winey quality in this beer, as well, though I got white wine in this one.That slight sour note also grew as the beer warmed a bit. A really enjoyable drinking experience, and one that I've rarely had.
Here is the third and final installment of the Octoberfest video review series. Also included in the video is a ranking, based on my personal preference, of all six beers in the series. Enjoy!
This is my 50th video for PRB. I'll be honest--I wasn't sure I'd get past 5 videos. But a weekly video series quickly turned into 2 to 3 videos nearly every week, resulting in 50 videos in less than 8 months. My thanks to all of my readers and viewers for their support.
For this 50th video, I present a very special tasting, centered around Ballast Point Brewing Company's terrific Sculpin IPA. Here it is:
Greetings from PRB Northern Command!
.....
It's my parents' house.
And no, I did not run away from the hurricane (though I hope anyone reading this that was in its path is safe and secure), but traveled up here for personal reasons. But travelling won't stop me from writing about beer! I still have to write about quite a few beers from the Craft and Draft Octoberfest event, and this intro is already overly long, so let's get started!
First up is a seasonal lager from Hi-Wire Brewing. The charmingly-titled Zirkusfest pours a nice deep copper color, and opens up with a slightly sweet malt backbone. Also among the flavors is a semi-sweet caramel note, along with some other burnt sugars. This all leads to a crisp and fairly clean finish. I found this to be a pretty solid Marzen overall, though it was perhaps a bit overshadowed by some of the other offerings at this event.
Next is another fall seasonal, Thicket Autumn IPA by Natty Greene's Brewing Company. Also pouring a copper color, a standard of most fall beers, I was quite impressed by the hop/malt balance. The nice, spicy malts blend well with dank and piney hop notes. I found little-to-no sweetness in this beer, though it should be noted I had this immediately after the Zirkfusfest, which DID have a bit of sweetness to it. Such can be the hazards of reviewing at such an event. I found this to be a really nice beer, though. The balance of flavors was very pleasing to me. I probably need to try to track this down and try it solo, away from all other beers. Perhaps as a video review?
We now switch gears into more fruity selections, beginning with a fruited Berliner-Weiss from Southern Barrel Brewing Company. Wild Bramble pours a pretty fruity reddish-pink color with a considerable amount of haze. The flavors are pretty straight forward; the Berliner-Weiss is made with raspberries and blackberries, and so those tart berry flavors come through in a strong way. This beer is light, crisp, refreshing, and pretty tasty--everything you would want out of a Berliner-Weiss.
Today's final entry comes from Good Times Brewing. Not Your Grandma's Peach Cobbler is a Bourbon barrel-aged Brown Ale. The color follows suit to the style: a somewhat cloudy brown color. While there were some malt hints detectable in this beer, a few other flavors overtook those malts. Peach and peach skin are quite present, along with a little bit of a brown sugar note. There is also perhaps a hint of booze. Even so, a nice tasty beer that brings some differing elements from your standard Brown.
After Sunday's little party, I have whole bunch of beers about which to write, but I'm still playing catch-up from the previous week! We'll see if I'm feeling frisky and want to write about a couple beers more than usual. Let's get started.
Leading off is Picture of Nectar Double IPA from Southbound Brewing Company. It pours a yellow-gold color, and features peach and peach skin flavors, along with some floral aromatic notes and piney hops. I got a mild bitterness on the back end of the drinking experience, as well as some earthiness towards the end. It wasn't too sweet, and also not really boozy, which was a slight surprise for 9.3% ABV. A very drinkable DIPA.
It seems like I've covered a lot of Bell's Brewery lately--the Octoberfest series has aided that perception--and the latest in a series of very good beers from Bell's is their Special Double Cream Stout. As expected, it pours a near-black color, and offers notes of coffee as well as some cocoa and perhaps even a hint of smokiness. It's very tasty overall, with a fairly smooth mouthfeel (again, as expected from a DOUBLE cream beer).
Third up is the highly-regarded Narwhal Imperial Stout from Sierra Nevada Brewing Company. This beer is pretty much pitch black, with some quite tasty flavor notes, including dark fruit, raisins, plums, sweet chocolate and vanilla, and sweet maltiness. It has an incredibly complex flavor profile, with a moderate amount of booziness. This my first tasting of Narwhal, and it lives up to its reputation.
Finally, let's jump into one beer from Octoberfest on Sunday. This Brewdy Peach/Habanero IPA was brewed by Low Tide Brewing Company for The Fat Hen, a French Low Country restaurant just outside Charleston, SC. Pouring a cloudy orange color, this IPA brings plenty of pepper. The Habanero kick is evident from the outset, as a just-uncomfortable-enough spiciness invades the throat upon the first sip and persists even after swallowing. A black pepper note joins it early on, before being joined by the peach and maybe a funk note, as well. The hops come through in the back half of the drinking experience, an experience which includes a bit of a creamy mouthfeel. This is an impressive beer, and the first I had at Octoberfest. It was a hell of a lead-off hitter.
Hey, everyone. I'm proud to present Part 2 of my Octoberfest beer series, featuring beers from Bell's Brewery and Left Hand Brewing Company. Check them out!
Also included in the video is a rundown of the next few videos, and their timing. Thanks, everyone!
Happy October! I am happy to present Part 1 of the 3-part, 6-beer Octoberfest video review series, today featuring seasonal beers from Thomas Creek Brewery and Ballast Point Brewing Company. Enjoy!
It's been awhile since I've done one of these. Admittedly, the start of football season has skewed my bar-visiting habits quite a bit, so I'm going to the beer bars less frequently right now. Regardless, I have a bunch of beers to write about now, so let's get to it!
Starting off our group of beers is one of the few Octoberfests I'll actually be writing about; rest assured, you will be able to check out plenty of Octoberfest beer reviews on the YouTube channel in the coming weeks!
Samuel Adams' Octoberfest had a nice copper color and brought a pretty strong malt backbone to play with other assorted relatively sweet notes. Most obvious were some mild fall spice notes--mostly cinnamon and I think nutmeg (they all kind of blend together for me)--and some very nice darker fruit notes. I picked up plum and hints of raisin and cherry as well. A slight caramel note also came out of the malt backbone. Overall, despite the potential for a sugar bomb, I found this beer to be fairly balanced. The sweetness was moderate and thankfully not overpowering.
Next up is a collaboration between New Belgium Brewing Company and Avery Brewing Company. Officially under the "Fat Tire and Friends" banner, Fat Wild is an American Wild Ale, and it shows, as the drinking experience leads off with a funky tropical fruit introduction. While other flavors came and went throughout the drinking experience, the funkiness was a constant companion that intensified as I reached the end of my glass of the ale. Other notes included a mild, caramel-sweet maltiness, as well some mild berry notes. I also noted the relatively unique mouthfeel of the Fat Wild as I drank it. I found it to be highly carbonated, and almost frothy, almost as if it were a cream ale or under nitrogen. It was an unexpected, though not unwelcome, feeling.
Our final beer of the day is a local White IPA from Swamp Cabbage Brewing Company. It pours a pale yellow color, similar to a light white wine, and the beer plays very much like a wheat beer to open, and an IPA to close. Some cloves and other spices, along with perhaps some mild graininess, before giving way to a mild piney hit and a decent amount of bitterness that carries through the back end of the drinking experience and lingers well after drinking. I felt this was a decent attempt at a somewhat difficult style.
As promised, the latest video review, featuring a beer in celebration of Victory Brewing Company's 20th Anniversary!
In addition to the upcoming videos I mentioned in the review, I also may have some stuff from an Oktoberfest festival I will be attending this weekend. Expect some written reviews, if nothing else.
It's a Sunday afternoon in the fall here in America, which means many Americans are watching football! What better beer to review than the Pre-Game Session from The Unknown Brewing Company!
Our latest video review features one of my favorite North Carolina breweries, Frog Level Brewing Company. Check out their Nutty Brunette!
Today's video review is the excellent Oberon Ale from Bell's Brewery. Check it out!
Check out PRB's latest video review, the Queens Blvd Session IPA from Queens Brewery.
Also, as I mentioned in the last video review, I have started creating playlists of video reviewed beers, sorted by style. So, you can check out all of the IPAs I've reviewed in one list, or all the Hefeweizens. At this point, most playlists have 4-6 entries, though this will obviously grow. As the video reviews grow, these playlists can also help to track down old reviews by limiting the number of reviews through which to search. Playlists have also been created for Pale Ales and Dark Beers/Porters/Stouts.
Frankly, I spent all my brainpower coming up with a witty title. That up there, that's what you got. We'll get to the gose in a bit.
But we'll start with another offering from Rogue Ales. Charlie 1981 is an American Strong Ale (and it shows, sporting an ABV of 9.1%) that pours a reddish-brown mud color. I found this beer to be quite tasty. Vanilla notes, specifically vanilla bean ice cream, lead the flavor profile, giving way to lots of cherries, some plum, and other fruits. There was a slight note of straight-up alcohol that affected the flavor profile a bit, but otherwise I found this beer to be delicious.
Next is Prairie Flare Gose from Prairie Artisan Ales. As I poured it, it had a massive amount of head (at least 2 fingers in an 8 oz. glass). With a fair amount of bubbles rushing up through the glass, and the color, it very much reminded me of sparkling wine, though it was maybe a tad more yellow than most sparklings I've seen. This gose has a nice flavor balance of sweet and salty. The winey look carries into the flavor a bit, and the mentioned coriander is evident in the finish, while the orange/citrus note floats over the entire tasting experience. Fairly tasty, with no overpowering flavor note.
Finally, Elysian Brewing Company's Blood Orange Pale Ale. A hazy orange-gold color, the Blood Orange Pale is bright and citrusy with a very mild hop bite. There is also a hint of pine hoppiness, with a juiciness that opens up as it warms up a bit. There is also a citrusy sweetness that opens up later, as well. A decent pale ale, overall.
The latest video review is New Belgium Brewing's Citradelic Tangerine IPA. Check out this tasty beer!
Also note that as there are now some 40 videos on the YouTube channel, and nearly all of them are beer reviews, I have started sorting the videos into playlists. The Travel/"Reflections" videos have all been put together in one playlist, and I've started sorting the beer reviews by style. Currently
I'm writing this at a later hour than I normally like to write, so let's just get into today's beers.
First up is the Honey Kolsch from Rogue Ales. Rogue's farm near their brewery in Oregon sourced the honey for this Kolsch from over 7 million bees kept on the farm. This beer pours a straw yellow, and is nice and light with mild sweetness, including a not-too-strong honey note. Doughy and yeasty notes are also prevalent, all leading the way to a nice biscuity malt finish. I found this beer to be quite tasty.
Next up is New Holland Brewing Company's Sundog. Pouring a deep copper color, I found notes in this beer I really liked, but I also found something a bit off. The beer has a strong malt backbone with bready notes and a whole lot of caramel. The finish was kind of strange--I felt like I was getting a nutty note, but there was also some sort of off flavor. It seemed like maybe something metallic, but I had trouble placing it. The front half of this beer was decent, but the back half was a bit of a killer. I would give it another try, perhaps in bottles (I got a draft) or at another locale.
Finally, from Freehouse Brewery, their Battery Brown Ale. The beer poured a pretty light cola color, and brought a massive malt bill with huge burnt sugar notes, along with toffee. There was a slight hint of a straight-up burnt note, but it blended well with everything else going on, so that it was not off-putting. Despite the dark candy-like notes, this beer carried just a hint of sweetness. A whole of what I like from brown ales in this Battery Brown. The brewers call it "quaffable...for all seasons", and I completely agree.