St Bernardus pater 6

I got my self a St Bernardus gift pack(the 6,8,(dubbels), tripel, and 12(quad) along with a chalice) after reading good reviews of each on BA, and noticing in the liquer store that the gift pack with 4 beers and a glass was less then the cost of buying the 6,8,12 individualy. Im not the biggest Belgian beer fan, but Im warming up to them, so this was an opertunity I didnt want to miss out on.


First Impressions: Dark Amber, and thick. Smells like slightly sweet.

Taste: Malty with a bit of a zing.. but not in a hoppy bitter way, not too sweet(which is a common problem I have with belgian beers), and a ghost of a bitter aftertaste.... Its there but its almost unperceptive.

overall: Great This is one tasty beer. Its balanced well, This is probably the best dubbel Ive had.... though my next beer to try is the St Bernardus 8... also a dubbel

Weihen Stephaner Korbinian

I had a taste of this at the Bad Movie night a few weeks ago, and was intrigued enough to get a bottle of my own to try. Weinstephaner is one of the best Bavarian breweries(even if I dont care for their flagship hefe weisse) as well as being the oldest brewery in the world at 968 years old.... In 32 years Id love to visit their brewery for the 1000's anniversary.

First Impressions: Dark but translucent, smells of malty licorice.

Taste: Darkly malty. A little bite of hops come through at first though. The licorice flavor comes through near the end, but its not overpowering.

Overall: Great. The first 2 doppelbocks Ive had were from victory and Sam Adams, and both I disliked for having too intense a flavor of licorice. This though is nicely balanced. The licorice still is there, but its adds to the flavor instead of overpowering it. Quite good indeed.

Longtrail Hibernator

Hibernator what a name for a cold winter night.

first impressions: pours with a nice head, dark amber colored.... bottle says it is unfiltered, but only looks slightly cloudy, slight sweet smell, but not much.

Taste: In a word.... Malty, has a slight bitter bite, but its really the dark malt flavors which define this brew. aftertaste is a hint of bitterness.

Overall: good Another solid beer from Long Trail. This reminds me a bit of an octoberfest, though according to beeradvocate its a Scottish ale

Dogfish Head 60 minute IPA

Just drove back from NJ with my friend Abi(where I was home for christmas. Was a long drive... time for a beer :)

First impressions: Big head, lots of carbonation. Nice floral hoppy smell

Taste: hoppy bite at first, but not too strong, after that gets slightly watery, not much in the way of malt balance, slight bitter aftertaste.

overall: good This is a good standard IPA, probably better then harpoon, but no wheres near as good as Stone IPA

River Horse Belgian Freeze

Nerf wars are a common occurrence around my house at Holidays as you can see.

First Impressions: Very dark, smells strong, alcoholic

Taste: strong dark malt start which turns a bit bitter at the end

overall: poor Its an interesting flavor in a weird way, but not one I would consider "good". I doubt Id have this again.

Anchor 2008 Christmas Ale

Christmas eve, I had this at my parents house, my dad and brother both liked it.

First impressions: Dark, like a porter, has an interesting aroma of spice.

Taste: interesting, sour start, a little bitter but its only slight, then a bit of spice near the end

overall: good This is an interesting beer, for a porter or stout, this doesn't really taste like one with its weird sour flavor in the beginning. Its not bad, just not something I really enjoy. I do recommend trying it though

Victory Golden Monkey

First Impressions: dark yellowish color, smells slightly sweet, but the most particular thing about this beer is the noise its bubbles make, it sounds like rice crispies. And the head lasts for quite a long time.

Taste: Belgian in a word: Strong, sweetish, but balanced, slightly bad bitter aftertaste

overall: OK Im not a big belgian tripel fan, so I don't love this beer