Longtrail Double IPA

Im a big fan of LongTrail... I haven't had any of their Brewmaster series though...

First Impressions: opaque orange colored... looks a bit like a weisse, smells of orange

Taste: extremely hoppy but not bitter start. Middle is more malty... with some alcoholic tastes... ends a bit bitter.

Overall: good reminds me a lot of dogfish head 90 minute ipa... decent beer, but not great.

Smithwicks Irish Ale

First Impressions: Big head. amber colored.

Taste: Decently hoppy start and balanced well with malt in the middle. not much in the way of aftertaste

Overall: good I'm Impressed, I thought this being a mass produced beer wouldnt be that great. But its impressively well balanced. It doesn't have a ton of different flavors, but what it does... it does well

Troegs Dream weaver Wheat

Troegs makes some good stuff, and I love hefeweissens so I decided to give it a try. First time having it was after a hike... should be a nice refreshing beer.

First Impressions: Nice orange color, smells nicely like a wheat beer.

Taste: slightly sour for a wheat beer, still a bit bready but has a bitter end.

overall: ok/good This is good for an American wheat beer, but its definitely not a German Hefeweisse.

Anchor Small Beer

Ive tried most of the other Anchor beers while at a brewery tour and liked most of them, so I was excited when I came across a bottle of their Small Beer.

First Impressions: lighter then I had expected, nice light amber colored, smells faintly sweet

Taste: hoppy yet lighter ... not in a normal way, almost like a light ipa if something were to exist. has a bit of anchor steam flavor at first, but none of the malt sweetness in balance. ends with a bitter aftertaste.

Overall: ok/good Its not amazing, but looking at the bottle now it says its from the leftover mash from their oldfoghorn barleywine. That explains why it tastes so light, Its still interesting if not the most tasty of brews

Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbier Dunkel

Ive never been a big fan of the standard Weihenstephaner weisse, which is their flagship beer... but I enjoyed all the other beer's Ive had from them, so I figured Id give their dunkel weisse a try

First Impressions: dark and cloudy, nice beige head, smells like a regular weisse

Taste: very carbonated start, but smooth and bready. darker near the end, but no real aftertaste

Overall: good/great I like this a lot better then the regular Weihenstephaner weisse, which I find too sweet. Its not as dark as I would expect a dunkelweisse though. It is definitely a well balance beer

Sam Adams Imperial White

I tried this at the Extreme Beer Fest back in February and remember enjoying it


First Impressions: A lot darker then most white ales. Smells great a little orange, a little spice

Taste: Strong and boozy, a bit sweet syrapy flavor at at first then, carbonation followed by more sweet syrapy flavor. Im not tasting anything but that.


overall: poor/ok I remember this being a lot better. As it is the alcohol flavor total overwhelms the rest of the beer, its a shame. It has characteristics similar to a quad(in its sweet boozy flavor), but no where near as much depth

Brooklyn Pennant Ale

Another beer from the Brooklyn mix pack

First Impressions: Light amber colored, small head, not much smell

Taste: Hoppier then expected at first. The middle is balanced with some malt flavor coming through... end if anything is clean, though one could even call it a bit watery.

Overall: ok/good Its good, has strong flavors at first, though the watery end is a bit of a disappointment. I'd rate it similar to a Sam Adams lager

Haverhill Leatherlips IPA

I had another Haverhill beer a while ago and thought it was interesting, so I brought a pack of the IPA to game last week... In retrospect I probably shoulda brought a beer that more people would like

First Impressions: light amber color, not much head, smells hoppy... if I had to guess Id say cascades

Taste: Mostly just hoppy, not much malt to balance it out, but also not as strongly hoppy as say stone ipa. Aftertaste is bitter and not in a good way.

Overall: good Id rate this higher then Harpoon IPA, in that its not watery, and is plenty hoppy, but its definitely not at the next level of Stone, Hop Devil, Celebration Ale

Bens Brown

My friend Ben brewed this beer, its supposed to be a strong brown ale

First Impressions: Dark, almost opaque, smells a bit malty

Taste: Strong hoppyness at first, followed by strong dark malty flavor and finishing with a bitter aftertaste


overall: ok This isn't a horrible beer, but it isn't one of Ben's better ones either. It has strong hops and strong malt flavors but they don't mix well in the case of this beer. It tastes unbalanced

Longtrail Double Bag

Brought a 6er of double bag to my friends Easter dinner on Sunday

First Impressions: light amber colored(lighter then I remembered) malty smell

Taste: hard to put into words, has a nice mix of hops an malt well balanced

overall: good/great This is a damn solid beer, I dont have much more to say about it other then I like it

Heineken lager

Heineken is my Boss's favorite beer

First Impressions: very light colored, smells a little sweet

Taste: small bite at first, then fairly bland, a bit of corn flavor.. similar to PBR, bit of a nasty bitter aftertaste

Overall: ok/poor Its inoffensive, and goes down easy... that's about all it has going for it.. quite nasty aftertaste

Brooklyn Brown Ale

Another beer from the Brooklyn mix pack

First Impressions: dark amber colored, smells slightly malty

Taste: bit of a bite at first for a Brown, followed by a dark malty middle with hints of chocolate, slightly bitter end.

Overall: good Ive never been a fan of brown ales, but this is different, a bit more bite, a bit more interesting flavor. I wouldn't call it amazing, but its a damn fine beer never the less.

Anchor Porter

I sampled this while on the Anchor Brewery tour, but it was so good I had to have more :)

First Impressions: dark, even for a porter, smells slightly of coffee

Taste: Delicious. hoppy bite at first then a creamy malty licoricy middle especially when you let the beer linger in your mouth some amazing flavors come out, not unlike some doppelbocks. Hops linger on your tongue afterwords.

Overall: Great I'm not a huge Porter fan... but this is amazing.... definitely my favorite beer from Anchor.

Ayinger Celebrator doppelbock

Celebrator on BA is the top doppelbock in the world.. and one of the few German beers on their t100. Ive had this bottle in my fridge for well over a month now, and was waiting on the perfect time to try it. That time is today with the successful launch of my company's website in south america(for which I have toiled a lot on recently)

First Impressions: Thick and dark smells malty and of black licorice

Taste: The three words that first come to mind are: dark, malty, velvety. Its very smooth, amazing so. Strong licorice flavor near the end

Overall: Great The ratings don't lie. Without a doubt this is the best doppelbock, and is near Aventius in quality for a strong German beer. Its incredibly strong flavored, but completely smooth at the same time. Doppelbock isn't my top style, but I still love this beer

Victory Hop Devil

Heres a beer I started my craft beer drinking with many years ago. I used to get this with BBQ out in waltham.

First Impressions: lightish amber colored, smells floral and citrusy

Taste: Hoppy bite at start, but not as strong as some IPAs. very well balanced hops/malty middle with a bitter ending.

Overall: great Its been a while, and I wasn't sure how this would stand up to my expanded palette, but it shines through. Id have to compare this to celebration IPA... but this is definitely one of the best. Its hoppy, but extremely well balanced

Wachusett Nut Brown

First Impressions: dark amber colored, malty smell

Taste: more of a bite at first then most nut browns, followed by an earthy malty middle, which tastes darker then usual, clean finish

overall: good English Brown Ales are not one of my favorite styles, but this is decent.... definitely better then the last brown I had(longtrail I believe)

Founders Breakfast Stout

After the extreme beer fest where I had Founders Canadian Breakfast stout I decided to try the original non-aged version. Its expensive, 4 bottles for $13. I got some weird comments from the guy at the checkout counter about it.

First Impressions: Dark, no head smells of coffee

Taste: smooth start, but overwhelming coffee flavor all the way through to aftertaste, hints of chocolate

Overall: good This more then any other beer Ive had is the definition of a sipper. Its good, damn good, but this isn't a beer you take a large gulp of. It is a bit one dimensional in its overwhelming coffee flavor, and its definitely not a beer I would have more then one of in a night, but its still good.

Reissdorf Kolsh

Ive been interested in trying a Kolsh for a while now, its not a kind of beer which is found all that much outside of Cologne Germany.

First Impressions: straw colored and clear, not much smell

Taste: clean, crisp, refreshing. Not much bite at first, slightly tangy corn middle and clean ending.

Overall: good. This is the quintessential summer beer. Light, refreshing and yet has a good flavor. I'm only drinking it a few months too early

Erdinger Pikantus weizen bock

Picked this up yesterday... I think weizen bock is my favorite style of beer, so might as well try em all :)

First Impressions: Dark, real dark for a weizen bock, smells wheaty and sweetish(like it should)

Taste: Very Interesting. Strong flavor at first a bit like a doppel bock but very forceful, which fades into a very ephermeral middle, which lingers a bit in the aftertaste.

overall: great Of the 3 weizen bocks Ive tried(Pikantus, Aventius, Vitus) all are vastly different and all are great. This has the most interesting mouth feel of about any beer Ive tried. It slams you at first then turns very ephemeral... I like it

Anchor Brewery Tour

Last Monday while visiting Molly in Cali, we took a tour of the Anchor Brewery, which I highly recommend to anyone who gets the chance. Its only on week days and only by reservation.

They start off giving you a little bit of history, then show you around the brewery(including these cool copper kettles where they brew all their beer from. Afterwords there is free samples ~6oz each of 6 different beers. We tried the Summer,Steam,Liberty Ale, Porter, Bock, Barley Wine.

I enjoyed the Liberty Ale and Porter the best, while Molly liked the Steam and Barley Wine

Afterwords(1 pm on a monday) we decided to walk up and down some steep SF hills before lunch, which turned into a singing session about said hills and finding bathrooms with restaraunts around them(and vice versa)

A good time was had by all!

Ommagang Chocolate Indulgence Stout

I had this on Saturday with my friend Zach at the start of a night of barhopping(yes something I rarely do) This is the last of the Ommagang gift pack I got from my brother for Christmas

First Impressions: Dark, thick, slight chocolate smell

Taste: while cold... Sour at start then bitter chocolaty middle, ending crisper then most stouts. As the beer warms up the bitter middle flavor mellows out and becomes much chocolatier.

overall: good/great At first I wasn't much of a fan.. too much bitter not enough chocolate.. but this beer got much better after warming up a bit

Troegs Nugget Nectar

Ive heard about this on BA a lot as an amazing beer... recently Troegs started distributing to the Boston area so I had to try some... Its expensive $12 for a 6er.

First Impressions: light amber colored, smells floral

Taste: Hoppy, but not really all that bitter. Very strong hoppy bite, turns a little citrusy in the middle... with a slight bitter aftertaste.. but not much

Overall: Great. This is a great beer, no doubt it lives up to the hype. It reminds me a bit of the Sam Adams Imperial Pilsner... in that its really hoppy, but not all that bitter at the same time. First Imperial Amber Ive had... and I'm impressed

Opa Opa Red Rock Ale

Another post party free beer in the fridge

First Impressions: Dark for an amber, very dark

Taste: mellow earthy malt flavors, little bit of a zing at the end, followed by slightly bitter aftertaste

Overall: good/great I'm impressed. This was not what I was expecting and yet it was really good. Its a lot earthier then other amber's Ive had... and I like it. Its not perfect but for the style pretty damn good

Sierra Nevada ESB

Got this in Berkeley California. Sierra Nevada calls it an Early Spring Beer(seasonal) I had heard decent things about it.

First Impressions: cloudy, but not as light colored as a weisse. Smells... standard

Taste: slight bite at first, and bitter through out, with a hint of a brown ale at the end

overall: good. This is a good mix of styles , American hops and English malt. I can definitely taste the English style here. Its not my favorite, but its interesting and good

Dogfish Head Aprihop

Was at the beer store the other day.. taking way too long to pick out a new beer to try.. and this is what I came home with, "A serious IPA brewed with real apricots" as it says on the bottle

First Impressions: amber colored, smells like apricots.... slightly

Taste: sourish bite at first and sourish middle, which leaves... can you guess it a slightly sourish aftertaste in the back top of my mouth

overall: ok This is an interesting beer... and that's what Dogfish Head does... make interesting beer. My opinion though is that this isn't all that great, the sour apricot flavor doesn't go that well with the bitterness of the hops imo

Schneider Weisse

According to the bottle:
- This is the first German hefeweissen
- Its by the same brewer who makes Aventius
- Its twice the cost of the divine Hacker Pshorr weisse

Needless to say... This beer has lot to live up to.

First Impressions: Darker then any weisse Ive seen, almost looks like a dunkel weisse. Smells like a weisse should though.

Taste: starts out classic weisse, with a big wheaty flavor, turns a bit bitter then ends clean... but has this weird, slight metallic/ slightly burning(but not in a bad way) sensation in the left side/bottom of my tongue its really weird...maybe that part of my tongue is more sensitive today.. I dunno

overall: good This is one of the most unique weisse's Ive tried. Though it is the original, Id say its not as good as Hacker Pshorr, Paulaner or Franziskaner

Trois Pistoles

I picked this up after hearing that Its similar in style to Trader Joes Vintage ale(also made by Unibrou which is one of the best Belgian Brewers outside of Belgium).

First Impressions: Dark and cloudy, thin head. Smells kind of like a weisse

Taste: bit of a bite at first, more then I would have expected probably due to carbonation. But then evolves into a slightly sour malty middle, strong hints of black licorice that flow into the aftertaste

overall: good/great This is a solid dark belgian ale. It tastes great, and hides its 9% alchohol well

Leinenkugels Sunset Wheat

My father brought this beer to the cabin over the weekend where I went skiing with my parents and cousin Jenny. It rained on the drive up to the cabin.. so skiing the next day was pretty icy. The day itself was amazingly beautiful though


First Impressions: Nice opaque orange color. Smells like orange and a little spice

Taste: bit of an American weisse taste, with a fair amount of orange in there.. kinda weird and fruity tasting. Significant orange aftertaste.

Overall: ok Nothing special here, but nothing bad either. Its not a bad American weisse, though it definitely doesn't stand out either. It is incredibly drinkable though... I could see it being decent on a warm summer day(unlike the snowy 10 degree day we have now) Is is significantly better then the last Leinie I had, which I think must have been their honey weisse(it was incredibly sweet)

Extreme Beer Fest 2009

Last Saturday I went to the Extreme Beer Fest put on by BA in Boston with some friends. We tried a ton of different beers, from the extremely hoppy to sours, to dark chocolaty stouts and beyond. My palate is definitely much more refined from the last time I went(3 years ago I think)

And this time I managed to not only mark up which beers I liked and didn't like... but also brought said sheet back home(last summer I did the same but it got lost on the T)

I had been looking forward to trying a lot of these beers.... some I liked, some I didn't. A lot of the strong IPAs tended to all taste the same by midway through though. The overall best in my book were the Dogfish Head world wide stout, and Founders Canadian BreakfastStout. Have I mentioned that Im not usually a stout fan...

Rating System

+ I liked
= meh
- didnt like


Alagash
+ Bi-Curieux (Curieux tripel aged in barrels with hops for 1.5 years... nice balance of sweet belgian tripel with bitterness from extra hops)

Bells
+ Bells Hop Slam

Berkshire Brewing
- Nitro Coffee Porter (too strong coffee flavor)
+ Raspberry Barley Wine (used 1 lb of rasberries for every 2 gallons)
= Scotch Ale

Sam Adams
+ Imperial White
= Triple Double(just tasted weird)

Dark Horse Brewing
= Double Crooked Tree IPA
+ Hibiscus Tea (tea and beer together how could this be bad!)
- Kumquat something (way too much like kumquat)

Dogfish Head
= 120 minute IPA (wow was really interesting, unlike any IPA Ive had before)
+ Red & White (amazing belgian wit)
+ world wide stout (absolutly delicious for 18%)

FlyingDog
= Double Dog(meh just tasted like an IPA.. which I had already had a lot of by then)
- whiskey aged Gonzo (too much whiskey flavor)

Founders
+ Backwoods Bastard(bourbon barrel aged scotch)
+ Canadian Breakfast Stout(aged in maple barrels.... absolutly amazing, all my friends agreed)
= Curmudgeon (ok... my friend Nick liked it a lot)
+ Kentucky Breakfast Stout (also good but not quite as good as the Canadian)

Harpoon
= Chile Wheat(weird but not horrible)
+ Baltic Porter

Haverhill
= Tangaweizen(spicy weisse.. meh)

Rogue
= Chipotle Ale (similar but slightly better then Chile Wheat... felt like I was eating)
= Morimoto Soba Ale

Smaltz
= Freaktoberfest(only octoberfest I saw there... was decent)

Sixpoint Craft Ale
+ Belgian Chocolate Dubbel

Smuttynose
= G bock
= Gravitation(belgian quad with tons of raisin puree... nice balance to the quad)
= Oak Aged Hanami

Southern Tier
+ Oat

Stone
= Dry-hopped Double Bastard

Three Floyds
= Behemoth

Troegs
+ Mad Elf
+ Nugget Nectar
- Scratch
= Troegnator

Victory lager

I got this in honor of my company's website launch last week... which I have been working on the past 18 months.

First Impressions: yellow and clear like a standard Munich helles(slightly darker then the PBR) Smells sweet like honey

Taste: smooth and a little sweet.

overall: ok/poor I like the Munich Helles style, and unfortunately this is a poor replica. Its a bit too sweet and just lacks the delicious taste of a quality Munich Helles beer. Its better then a bud for example.... but as a representation of the style it fails

PBR

Yesterday I watched Gran Torino with my friends Ben and Liz after attending the Extreme Beer Fest in Boston... both of which were amazing. Clint Eastwood's character drinks PBR throughout the movie, so in honor of that...

First Impressions: much more Yellow and clear then most beers I drink. Smells of slight citrus

Taste: Not a whole lot of flavor as expected, slight bite at first which mellows off into nothing... not much malt.

Overall: ok PBR is known as the goto beer when there is nothing better around, and I can understand why. Its definitely more flavorful then Bud, coors etc and it is refreshing just not that interesting

Old Chub Scottish Ale

This is a beer which has been sitting in my fridge for I dunno how long, I think it came with a party that some of my roommates had back in July. While cleaning out the fridge yesterday I re-found it and decided to give one a try. Ive always overlooked it in the past cause its in a can....

First Impressions: Dark and thick, Smells of dark malts

Taste: Real smooth, almost no hop character at all, Similar to a porter of stout, slight bitter chocolate alcohol flavor. Sweet ending. As it warms up It seems a bit like a Belgian quad at times.

Overall: good I'm impressed This is a robust canned beer, lots of interesting flavors, definitively a beer you have to sip to enjoy. I cant believe this has been sitting in my fridge for 8+ months untouched. Looking it up on BA its rated an A-(which is very good) and probably the highest rated canned beer there

Weihenstephaner Festbier

I have been looking for this for a while(downtown liquers in davis sq has most weihenstephaners except this) After going into work on saturday for an hour(yes only an hour) I stopped by the savemor on the way back home on a whim.... and walked out with 30 dollars of 4 beers. with this being one of them.

I also figured this was a decent chance to use the half liter hacker Pshorr glasses my friend Elliot gave me(6 months ago) I had been keeping them away from my roommates.... who have a tendency to break my glassware, which also meant that I didn't actually use them.

First Impressions: full of particles, like the St Bernardus tripel, which make it a bit cloud, lighter in color then the Hacker Pshorr. Smells of malt

Taste: Incredible. Possibly on of the most drinkable beers Ive had. Starts off with a mellow bite.. smooth malty middle then a zing on the tongue near the end, with a slightly sour finish

overall: great. This may beat out Hacker Pshorr as my fav octoberfest(which is ironic since I'm having it in a Hacker Pshorr glass). Its not as heavily malty as most, but it just tastes amazing. I can see myself having liters of this in a german beer hall

Anchor Steam Beer

less then 2 days to launch of the new web site. Still not sure how it is going to go.


First Impressions Nice dark amber colored, solid milky white head, smells pretty standard for a beer

Taste: solid bite at first, similar to a pale ale then turns a balanced malty, ending is a bit bitter

overall: good Nothing wrong with this beer, its a unique style though doesn't taste all that unique. Its definitely worth having though imo I prefer anchor liberty ale to the steam beer

Anchor Brewing Liberty Ale

another Sunday at work, will be having this beer while watching chuck in 3D .... on my computer since my roommate decided to delete it from tivo after I let her know I wanted to watch it.. grr at least I have a new 24 inch monitor which it looks fine on :)

About the beer.... Hear good reviews of it on BA

First Impressions: not too dark not to light colored, smells like a pale ale(ever so slightly floral but not like an IPA)

Taste: interesting. bit of a bit of a bite at first, but then slightly sour middle, with a ever so slight bitter finish

overall: good/great I'd say this is on par with SNPA as a classic pale ale. It is crisp and very drinkable

St Bernardus Abt 12

Another 14 hour day at work. This time due to a spammer attack on our current website at about 6 PM which caused a quick change to code that hasn't been touched in over a year(which then partly didn't work due to library differences and thus had to be backed out 5 hours later)

So I thought this was a good time to break out my final St Bernardus, the quad which is the highest ranked on BA that I have reviewed so far. It is a quad though, and I have yet to try a quad which I enjoy...

10% abv

First Impressions: Dark, very dark opaque. smells slightly sweet

Taste: no real bite at first, complex with some hints of dark cherry and a warming feeling, little alcohol flavor but not overpowering, very smooth feel. bit of a weird aftertaste... cant name it though

overall good/great This is definitely the best quad Ive had. Very smooth and interesting. Way better then the Three Philosophers and the weyerbacker quad. I'm still not a huge fan of the style though along with tripels

Dogfish Head 90 minute IPA

Picked this up after running low on beer, and learning that I have another week of work to do on the project(launch is postponed to next Wednesday

First Impressions: nice clear amber colored, floral smelling but not the same as a west coast IPA. Long lasting head

Taste: weird. Its hoppy , but definitely not cascades. Also has a weird malty flavor. Finishes crisp, no lingering aftertaste.

overall: good I have to say, I expected to really like this, and well I didn't. Its an decent beer, and definitely unique, but its not great. I cant accurately describe the weird taste I'm getting, its slightly sweet but also... I dunno different.

OPA-OPA IPA

2 days before launching the new website(which I have been working on for the last 18 months) Time for a little beer and Battlestar

I first had this IPA over at my friend, and coworker zach's place on new years day.

First Impressions: light colored for an IPA, floral smelling.

Taste: definitely a hoppy bite, which stays through out the taste, it doesn't get watery after the first bitter blast like some IPAs. Slight bitter aftertaste

overall: good/great this is a quite good IPA, though I wouldn't quite put it in the same class as SNCA or stone IPA. Its quite drinkable and well bodied

Brooklyn Local 1

Had this at red bones with a few coworkers after a long Saturday of work. For a 750 of beer it was reasonably priced, only a few bucks more then it costs in the store. Id had a long day at work, my 4th or 5th 12 hour day in a row.

first impressions: cloudy orange... don't remember much smell

taste: bit of a bite at first, then malty/sweet with a little sour flavor you can definitely taste the alcohol but unlike many strong beers it is balanced nicely here

overall: great This is an amazing beer. Its a strong Belgian beer, but also has a bit of a bite at first. I had heard about this a while ago and was looking to try it, and I'm glad I did today. I didn't think I was a fan of belgian strong ales, but this is balanced quite nicely.

St Bernardus Tripel

day 3 of 12 hour days at work. Decided to break out the Belgian beers again while waiting for dinner to be made

First Impressions: very fizzy. I opened the bottle while making dinner but didn't poor it for a few minutes. In that time the carbonation had crept up the neck of the bottle and spilled over. And this from a bottle that had been in my fridge for a few weeks. Its orange colored and has a lot of sediment(see pic). Smells sweet and slightly of pears.

Taste: slightest of bite at first followed by what I would call a smooth malty warming flavor, a bit fruity. Slight alcohol flavor and a little sweet. slightly malty aftertaste

overall: good/great This is by far the best Tripel Ive had. Most that I remember tend to be sickeningly sweet, and have nasty aftertastes and altogether not good. I'm still not a huge fan of the style though with this I can definitly appreciate it

Flying Dog Snake Dog IPA

Temperature from the top of Jay Peak -15 degrees before windchill(and probably -30-35 with) its damn cold today. my goggles were fogging/freezing up so I kept em off part of the time so s I could see... then my eyes started getting cold. Anyway first beer after skiing is Flying dog IPA.

First Impressions: deep amber colored, smells hoppy, especially of cascades.

Taste: Interesting. The hoppiest part is in the middle instead of at the beginning. There is a bite at first but it the bitterness develops then quickly fades into a clean finish.

Overall: good I'm impressed. This isn't as good as stone or SNCA but its a solid IPA for sure better then harpoon. Its also different then most IPAs which is nice

Trout River Rainbow Red Ale

11:40 AM first beer. Man is it cold here today, current temp is -2 feel (-18 with wind chill) Th
This is trout river's other unfiltered Ale

First Impressions: Dark ruddy brown colored, not much smell.

Taste: similar to the pale ale, but little less sour and less hoppy(as expected) not a whole lot of flavor, but also no bad after taste.

Overall: ok/good. Its nothing special, but Id call it more drinkable then the pale ale but not quite good

Trout River Hoppin' Mad Trout

Douggers just arrived and brought with em 4 more six packs, so we got a buncha beer to go through over the next day and a half. First up is Trout River Unfiltered Pale Ale, which is my first unfiltered PA

First Impressions: slightly cloudy amber colored, smells a bit floral.

Taste: a bit sour for a pale ale, not much of a hoppy bite.... bit of a sour not so good aftertaste

overall: ok Its interesting. I'm not sure I would call this a pale ale, since its not hoppy, and actualy a bit sour

Ommegang Three Philosophers quad

Second beer from the Ommegang gift pack from my brother greg. This is a Belgian quad with a little bit of cherry lambic added.

First Impressions:Dark and cloudy, smells sweet with a hint of cherry.

Taste: strongly malty and strongly alcoholic late taste, only a hint of cherry in it.

overall: ok I'm not a fan of quads, they usually taste too alcoholic to me, and this is no different

Flying dog Road Dog Porter

First beer after a heavy day of skiing, Conditions were better to day other then at the peak which was very cold and windy

First Impressions: very dark, almost like a stout, not much smell

Taste: creamy and a strong coffee flavor, slightly bitter after taste.

Overall: good/great I'm usually not a fan of porters, but this is quite good, the coffee flavor balances nicely

Flying dog tire bite golden ale

1st beer of the day over lunch. conditions were good here, still a bit foggy at top, but less wind, and warmer then yesterday.

First Impressions: Nice clear golden color, Smells like a german lager

Taste: bigger bite at first then most german lagers, but still not much. Nice crisp malt middle, tastes slightly wheaty, with a clean ending.

Overall: Good I mistook this for a Munich hell lager the first time I had it. I guess I havent had many kolsh's to compare

Flying Dog Pale Ale

2nd beer of the day... man am I exhausted. good day of skiing, up next is the hot tub!

First Impressions: amber colored, smells plenty floral for a pale ale.

Taste: Extremely hoppy for a pale ale. Strong bite which carries through the middle, only near the end taste does it mellow out and get a bit malty. Clean finish

Overall: good this is a good, if hoppier then normal Pale ale, Id love to compare this head on with SNPA

Flying Dog In Heat Wheat

First beer after a long day of skiing. It has snowed nonstop for the last 20 hours or so up here so there is plenty of fresh powder, with more to come.

First Impressions: nice cloudy orange color, smells slightly sweet in a banana way like a weisse should.

Taste: faintest of bite at first, followed by mellow weisse flavor after, and a clean finish

overall: great. This is the best American-made hefe weisse, and the similar to the originals from Bavaria

Jay Peak (long trail) Tram Ale

Having this beer at 1 AM after a harrowing snowy drive through the boonies of Vermont to reach Jay peak to go skiing with my family.

First Impressions: dark amber colored, not much noticeable smell

Taste: smoothish bite at the start, then malty middle with a clean finish

overall: good There is nothing great about this beer, but it it smooth and totally drinkable

Stone IPA vs Sierra Nevada Celebration IPA

Today we have a battle between 2 of the Giants of the IPA world. In the Left corner we have Stone IPA With a clear golden-orange color... It is my current favorite IPA. In the right corner we have SNCA which has a slightly darker complexion, and which I have heard rave reviews of on BA.

Smell: both very floral

Blind Taste test:

Stone IPA: strong hops bite at first, which continues through out. I don't taste much variation here

SN Celebration: Again a strong hoppy bite(This is an IPA after all) but the middle and end is much more balanced, I can send some malt there(though its still plenty hoppy( It definitely has some body.

Winner : Celebration

To my surprise I prefer the Celebration, to Stone. Both are very hoppy(probably the 2 hoppiest IPAs Ive had... but the Celbration has a bit more balance which makes it more drinkable. Both however are great beers

Ommegang hennepin

I got a 3 pack of Ommegang beers from my brother(pictured here) for Christmas. This is the first. I'm having it up at my family's cabin the weekend after new years with my dad after a long day of cross country skiing.

first impressions: flight citrus scent, orange and cloudy colored

taste: slight bite at first followed by a smooth and malty middle, a few citrus notes. ends clean

overall: good/great. this isn't quite great... but its definitly better then most beers Ive call "good here. Its interesting and smooth yet strong for a saison

Trader Joes 2007 Vintage Ale (dubbel)

I got this a year ago when I first noticed TJs was putting out a Christmas beer. Had one bottle then, and wasn't a fan(though my pallet has changed a bit since then Id say) Ive had some of the 2008 recently and liked it. So Im looking forward to this. Unlike most TJs beer, this is actually brewed by Unibroue a well regarded Belgian-style brewery out of Quebec.

I opened up this bottle last night at my friends Nog N Glog party

First Impressions: Dark and cloudy
ABV: 9
Taste: Small bite at first, then a highly carbonated effervescent middle, followed by a malty slightly sweet end.

Overall: great. Im a bit surprised, at how much I like this. Its significantly better then the bottle I had last year. I think the other Belgian dubbel's Ive had recently helped in that, as well as serving it at 50 degrees instead of 40ish(fridge temp) as I noticed that the other Belgian dubbels I had got better after sitting out and warming up a bit.

Ohh and the best part about it(and TJs vintage ale in general) is its $5 for a 750

St Bernardus Prior 8

2nd Beer from my St Bernardus gift pack. This is another dubbel but obviously stronger then the 6

First Impressions: Dark, almost purple colored and opaque. Smells slightly sweet.

Taste: similar to the 6, but a little sweeter, and has a bite bite at first, then mellows out to some interesting malt flavors... no aftertaste

Overall: good/great This is good beer when taken out of the fridge.... but after 20 minutes or so of warming up its great. With this, the 6, and Trader Joes Vintage ale 2008, I think Im developing a taste for Belgian dubbels(still not a huge fan of tripels or quads though)