Harpoon Octoberfest

Its fall so time for ockberfest, Ive tried a few other American oktoberfests so far this season and have been disappointed so far.

first impressions: nice dark amber color, smells a little floral

taste: strong and interesting first bite, which midway through turns skunky and ends with a bitter aftertaste

overall: ok I like a traditional octoberfest(hacker-pshorr as an example) however Ive had trouble finding an American made octoberfest which even comes close, and unfortunately this doesnt do it.

Long Trail Ale

I picked up a 6 pack of this to take up to the cabin last weekend. I had a few of them up there and they were great.

initial impressions: amber colored, smells like a standard beer

taste: strong initial bite with an interesting and good flavor, which continues through out, followed by a crisp end and no aftertaste.

overall: great this is overall a great beer, good full bodied flavor and its just delicious

sierra nevada unfiltered wheat

This was one the first hefe-weissens I remember having a few years ago, and I remember then it being quite good. Ive tried a lot since then so after finding it in the store again I decided to give it a try.

first impressions: nice orange hefe weisse color, not much smell

taste: strong citressy orange flavor, bit of a bite

overall: ok I remember this being a lot better then it seems now. Its been sitting in my fridge for a few weeks now, so maybe it has gone bad

Berkshire Brewing Lost Sailor India Pale Ale

This is the 3rd(and last 22oz) berkshire brew that I bought last sunday after hiking

first impressions: smells quite hoppy

taste: kinda wierd. Starts off with a blast of hoppy bitterness, but also a strong malt flavor which is different then most IPAs Ive had, which mellows out into a slightly funky bitter aftertaste.

overall: ok This beer starts off good, but unfortunately doesn't have the crisp aftertaste of many IPAs I enjoy, so I cant give it a good grade

Berkshire Brewing steel rale extra pale ale

This is Berkshires Extra Pale ale, which I must admit I don't quite know the difference between this and an IPA

initial impressions: nice dark yellow color, smells floral, slightly hoppy

taste: solid bite at the start, which mellows out into a somewhat tangy flavor, which then ends crisply with only a mild(and pleasant) aftertaste. Its definitely got some hops to it, but I wouldn't call it an IPA

overall: Good
This is a solid beer, not spectacular, but still quite good. The flavor is enjoyable, though it doesn't stand out.

Berkshire Brewing Hefeweisen

So today I was coming back from a hike in the Middlesex Fells reservation, and wanted some beer, but the beer I already had was not very good(more on then another post) so I stopped by the local store 5 minutes before closing looking for something interesting, when I saw Berkshire Brewing in 22 oz bombers, so I picked some up and this is the first of 3 I'll be reviewing

first impressions: smells of banana

taste: strong banana taste, smooth, small bite at the start, very tasty

overall: Great. This is a great example of an American hefe-weisse, Its definitely different then the classic Bavarian weisse, but that doesn't make it bad at all.

A bunch of quick reviews

quick reviews of some beer Ive had recently

Sam Summer - decent beer, I used to love it, now I dunno doesn't seem to taste as good anymore
Sierra Nevada Pale Ale - had this last night after a sam summer, and was impressed. Its been a while since Ive had one of these, and I liked it more then I remembered. Crisp and hoppy!
Rogue Mocha Porter - I'm usually not a big fan of Porters but this was very smooth and delicious
Harpoon Rye 100 barrel series - Good, I could definitely taste the Rye which added a nice interesting flavor to the beer