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)