January 28, 2009
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Before I get started with this review, just a few things.
I’ve had this beer for months now.? For some reason I’ve been putting off drinking it.? I think I was waiting for a special occasion.? I thought about drinking it on Christmas night but that never happen.? For some reason I just kept on holding off.? Yesterday I got a call from my mom.? A lot of the viewers here don’t know that my mom was diagnosed with brain cancer about 6 months ago.? It wasn’t just any brain cancer (no cancer is good of course) it was a grade 4 tumor.? The worst you can get.? After reading about how bleak this cancer is, it changes your aspect on life.? Well yesterday I got the call from her letting me know that she is now in remission.? The cancer is going away.? I felt like this is the occasion I was waiting for.? As I took my first sip I toasted my mom and her battle against one of the worse things in the world.
Secondly thanks to Aaron from The Captains Chair for trading me this beer.? Thanks for standing out in the cold state of Minnesota and thinking of me.? Thanks for allowing me to try a truly rare beer.? Cheers.
Now on to the review of possibly the best beer I have ever laid my lips on.? When I say that I really do mean it.? Darkness is just?on another level.? It’s really hard to explain.? First off what is Darkness.? Darkness is a Russian Imperial Stout from a brewery named Surly.? Surly is known?for releasing their beer in cans and let me tell you their stuff is just fantastic.? Never believe the hype that good beer can’t come in cans.? Once a year they release Darkness on a day called Darkness Day.? Last year it just happen to fall on my birthday, October 25th.? Go figure!? People line up very early at the brewery to get their hands on this brew.? I think last year they allowed 6 to 8 bottles a person.? Aaron was nice enough to pick one up for it.? This brew is rare, beer traders all over the US want a bottle of this stuff.? I believe it also comes?in tap form but no matter what, once it’s gone, it’s gone until next year.
Darkness pours like no other beer I’ve ever seen.? It’s very dark with light brown highlights as you pour.? Just like other stouts out there, but the head on this beer is the creamiest, biggest, and smoothest head you will ever lay your eyes on.? It just looked so damn good I couldn’t wait to dive in.? The aroma of this beer is second to none.? First thing you’ll notice is cocoa.? It’s the biggest part of the smell.? It’s up front and just says hello here I am.? You’ll also notice smokiness, coffee, toffee, molasses, dark fruits, a little bit of floral hops, and a tad bit of alcohol.? So much is going on here.? But so much is going right here.? The smell is just fantastic.? It’s just sweet, rich, deep.? It’s a overload of goodness.
As I dove into my first sip, the first thing you notice is just how creamy, smooth, and thick this beer is.? It just goes down your throat.? The taste is huge.? You will not find this kind of taste in other Russian Imperial Stouts.? None that I’ve had to chance to try.? Cocoa is up front again.? Molasses, roasted malt, cherries, raisins, coffee, smokey flavor, and a nice big hit of alcohol that warms you up.? The taste is just unbelievable.? The texture of this beer is just beautiful.? Lacing everywhere.? Smoothest and maybe the thickest beer I’ve tried.? Drinking this beer was an experience.? Nothing out there like it.? I’m glad I got to try it.? I’m also glad it’s only available once in a year because it’s such a damn treat and if I?drank it all the time I might go into a diabetic shock.? To bad most people out there won’t be able to try it.? If you get a chance to, sell a kidney if you have to.? It’s worth it =)?
Found: Beer Trade
Price: No idea (Priceless to me)
Website: http://www.surlybrewing.com/
What the company says: Nothing on their site about it.? They were updating the beers page.
ABV%: 10.30%
Other beers to try from this brewery: Surly Bender, Surly?Furious
Other beers to try within the same style:Great Divide Yeti, Oskar Blues Ten Fidy
Rating: A++
January 28, 2009
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What we have here folks is a beer that is currently ranked #10 in the world by Beer Advocate and thanks to my buddy over at The Captain’s Chair, I was able to get a growler of this stuff in our recent beer trade.? Does it belong at the #10 spot?? Probably not.? A lot of the rankings of BAs?top 100 seem a little off but that’s not to say this beer isn’t friggin fantastic, because well it is and if me and the Captain ever do anymore trades, I’m going to ask for a growler of this stuff every time.
Mama pours a dark amber color with orange highlights.? The first glass of this brew really didn’t pour much head at all.? But the second, third, etc provided a nice sized head.? A ton of lacing as you drink this IPA.?
The aroma of this brew is fantastic.? I was in love as soon as I stuck my nose into the growler.? It’s a deep and rich smell of citrus, grapefruit, piney hops. and caramel.? It’s hard to explain how?great it was.? Everything was just very balanced.
Taste wise this beer is big.? Big on caramel malt, citrus and grapefruit and piney hops.? I also detected what might be a tad bit of pineapple that added a little bit of sweetness to it.? All through this beer you get a nice bitterness.? It’s not overwhelming bitter at all.? Pretty much perfect and like a lot of beers this one gets more and more fantastic as you let it warm up.? The flavors pop more.? It’s smooth and medium bodied.
This beer only rings in at 5.90% ABV and it’s just the perfect beer to have in a growler.? I had one glass of it on Saturday and on Sunday I decided it was to good not to finish.? Big Love on HBO, my girlfriend next to me, and a growler of Mama was the perfect end to the weekend.? Thanks Captain for the trade.? I’ll be asking for more if you don’t mind =)
Found: Beer Trade
Price: No idea
Website: http://www.townhallbrewery.com/
What the company says: Our brewers believe an American IPA should be full of American hops. Masala Mama uses three different West Coast varieties, over five hop additions. This copper-colored ale is not strictly about hops; American pale barley and several caramel malts balance the flavor for a green, toasted caramel finish. The British realized an abundance of hops will help preserve beer … we realized hops can preserve our customers.
ABV%: 5.90%
Other beers to try from this brewery: No idea just yet but I hope to try more real soon.
Other beers to try within the same style: Rogue Yellow Snow IPA, Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA, Russian River Blind Pig
Rating: A
January 28, 2009
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What we have here folks are beer I probably should of drank a while ago.? Seasonal beers from around Halloween and Christmas.? But you know the old saying “Better Late Than Never!”? This is the bad thing about having a beer fridge full of beer.? Some stuff just gets forgotten and hidden in the back.? So here are some quick and dirty reviews.
Up first is the seasonal offering from Bell’s.? Their Marzen/Oktoberfest.? I’m not going to lie here, usually I can’t get into Octoberfest beers.? They just don’t do anything for me.? But I actually really enjoyed this one.? It pours a very clear light amber color with a small amount of head.? The head that pours quickly disappears into carbonation.?
The aroma on this one has sweet and toasted malt, caramel, a tad bit of spice, and a little bit of a hop smell.? Everything is small and muted.? What you usually get from a beer of this style.? The taste is more of the same.? Toasted malt and caramel.? Bread like taste.? Slight hop and spice tones.?
This beer does what it’s supposed to do.? It’s not supposed to be big, it’s supposed to allow you to drink a ton of it. It’s very easy to drink, Crisp and lighter bodied.? Great to pound down a six pack of.? One of the more enjoyable Marzens I’ve ever had.
Found: Grape and Gourmet, Virginia Beach, VA
Price:?2 dollars a bottle
Website: http://www.bellsbeer.com/
What the company says: A coppery amber lager that showcases a full bodied, malty flavor that is balanced by a refreshing bitterness derived from fine noble hops.
ABV%: 5.00%
Other beers to try from this brewery:Bell’s Hopslam, Bell’s Oberon Ale, Bell’s Two Hearted Ale
Other beers to try within the same style: Brooklyn Oktoberfest
Rating: B-?
Now this is a beer I was looking forward to trying but for some reason I totally forgot I had.? Sad I know.? This is a collaboration beer from three great breweries.? Stone, Jolly Pumpkin, and N?gne ?.? The beer they brewed?? A Winter Warmer.? And I’m happy to say that folks this is my favorite Winter Warmer of all time.? Heck this might be my favorite holiday type beer I’ve ever tried.?
What I love about this beer is that they really didn’t try to do much with it.? They didn’t overload it with ingredients, they didn’t try to out spice every single other Winter Warmer out there.? What we have here might be the most perfectly spiced Winter Warmer I’ve ever had.?
This awesome beer pours a dark brown color with ruby red highlights that really shine through if you hold the glass up to the light.? It poured a medium sized head.? Nice amount of carbonation up front that dies down a bit after you let the brew sit for a bit.
The smell on this beer is just fantastic.? What you’ll notice first is the wonderful scent of sage and juniper.? It’s the highlight of this beer but like I said above it’s just right.? In the background you have a nice bready malt smell, like rye.? In the end there’s a slight bit of hops but it’s not really that noticeable.? The spices is what is key here.
The taste of this brew is something I can only describe as inviting?? It just sucks you in and by the time your done you will want more and more of it.? This is something I would love to just sit down and have a six pack of.? The spice like I’ve said a million times, is perfect.? It doesn’t overwhelm.? It’s just right from start to finish.? The rye taste complements the spice and the beer ends with a little bit of citrus hops but it’s very small.? This beer is definitely full bodied but smooth as silk.? Goes down very very easy.?
Stone seems to be getting more and more into collaborating with different breweries and heck that’s totally fine with me.? You’ll soon see a review for their other collaboration beer.? Once I pull it from the back of the fridge that is =)
Found: South Bay Drugs, Imperial Beach, CA (Mail Order)
Price: Around?3 dollars a bottle
Website: http://www.stonebrew.com/, http://www.jollypumpkin.com/, http://www.nogne-o.com/
What the company says: You can read all about the process for this beer from start to finish here http://blog.stonebrew.com/?p=249
ABV%: 9.0%
Other beers to try from these breweries:Stone IPA, N?gne ? Dark Horizon 2.0, Jolly Pumpkin La Roja
Other beers to try within the same style: Anchor Brewing Christmas Ale, Casco Bay Winter Ale
Rating: A
January 28, 2009
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What we have here folks is two of favorite things lately.? Barleywines and beers brewed by Alesmith.? Alesmith turns out some truly great beers and is quickly turning into one of my favorite West Coast breweries.? Hopefully when I go to California this summer I can fit in a visit to their brewery.? Oh heck I’ll make sure I do.?
Old Numbskull turns out to be another fantastic beer from these guys.? Oh does anyone know why a lot of Barleywines start with “Old”.? Leave a comment if you do.? This brew poured?a dark and cloudy?amber color.? From the picture you can see it poured a huge head with excellent retention and a good amount of lacing.? The aroma on this beer is big and complex.? Nice amount of floral hops, bready malt, caramel, grapefruit, and toffee.? There’s a ton going on.? Like I said huge, complex but yet somehow it still remains balanced.? It doesn’t turn into a mess and get out of control.
The taste is more of the same.? Just a total joy to drink.? Up front is a big dose of grapefruit and hops.? Maybe one of the more hoppier Barleywines I’ve had.? Almost Double IPA like in this manner.? The 11% ABV is finally noticeable in a slight taste and burn of alcohol.? The bready malt and caramel like characters come in and then the beer ends with a candy like ending.? Just awesome.?
The beer is full bodied and very rich.? From what I just said maybe you would think this beer is a little hard to drink.? No way!!? This baby goes down beautifully.? The beer finishes a little bitter and dry.? This brew easily goes into my top 5 of favorite Barleywines.? Still can’t match the greatness of Gnarlywine and Old Guardian but I would easily buy this again and the way I am, I don’t say that about to many brews.
Found: South Bay Drugs, Imperial Beach, CA (Mail Order)
Price: Around?12 dollars a bottle.
Website: http://www.alesmith.com/
What the company says: A West Coast style barleywine. A huge malt profile and a very aggressive dose of premium domestic hops give Old Numbskull a tantalizing complexity, from the aroma to the aftertaste.
ABV%: 11.0%
Other beers to try from this brewery:Alesmith IPA, Alesmith Yulesmith
Other beers to try within the same style: Flying Dog Horn Dog
Rating: A
January 28, 2009
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Ahh it’s nice to finally get back to writing reviews.? I got some weird bug or food poisoning last week.? Took me out for 3 days.? Then something weird happen.? I really didn’t want to drink any beer.? It could of been that the last thing I did before I got sick was drink three Oskar Blues Dale’s Pale Ales.? The mind plays weird tricks on you.? But I’m back in the saddle again and for my first review back from the dead I bring you one of the more fantastic beers I’ve had in a long time.? Westmalle Trappist Tripel.
I got this beer a while ago and somehow it made its way into the back of the fridge. So it might not been the freshest bottle out there.? But that didn’t seem to matter.? This is now my favorite Tripel of all time (Not that I’m a Tripel expert or anything).? What we have here is a badass Tripel.?
The color this one pours is a light orange, almost yellow.? It had spotty lacing and a very fluffy and uneven head.? The smell on this one is what gets you first.? It’s full of fruit, alcohol, yeast, and spice.
It has a nice fruity taste up front.? Some banana, apples, and oranges.? There’s also a touch of honey. Yeast and candi sugar.? Grassy and floral hops also make a huge appearance. In the end you get a big kick of spice.??All throughout you get a strong alcohol taste that burns your mouth and throat.? Its medium bodied, carbonation stings your lips, and it has a little bit of roughness about it.?
This is now on my list as one of my favorite beers of all time.? I wish I didn’t take this long to give it a try.? It’s a badass Tripel from start to finish.? Everything is big and doesn’t hold back.? Those monks can make some beer.
Found: Grape and Gourmet, Virginia Beach, VA
Price: Around?7 dollars a bottle.
Website: http://www.trappistwestmalle.be/
What the company says: Couldn’t find anything about the beer on the site.
ABV%: 9.50%
Other beers to try from this brewery: Haven’t tried anything yet.
Other beers to try within the same style: Weyerbacher Merry Monks, Allagash Tripel
Rating: A
January 28, 2009
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St. Bernardus abt 12 is one of my favorite beers of all time.? So when I saw another beer from this great brewery I got as excited as when a fat kid sees cake.? Oh and yes I know it’s not the holidays anymore.? Just wait until you see my late Octoberfest reviews.?
Basically what you have here is a fantastic Belgian Strong Dark Ale.? Poured a very dark brown color with a small beige head.? Taste and aroma is full of dark fruits such as raisins and figs, other fruits like apples and pears, nutmeg, sweet malt, and Belgian yeast.? Alcohol hits your nose and throat from start to finish.??Also all throughout you get a slight bitter and tart taste.? When you put it all together, this is a killer beer.? Perfect for those cold winter nights.? Would of been perfect during those?24 hour house marathons over Christmas Break.? If you can still find a bottle of this stuff don’t be afraid to pick it up.? It’s a fantastic Belgian Abbey Ale, just a fantastic beer period.????
Found: Grape and Gourmet, Virginia Beach, VA
Price: Around?8 dollars a bottle.
Website: http://www.sintbernardus.be/
What the company says: This beer is not listed on their site.
ABV%: 10.00%
Other beers to try from this brewery:? St.Bernardus Abt 12
Other beers to try within the same style: Lost Abbey Ten Commandments, Ommegang Abbey Ale, Delirium Nocturnum
Rating: A-
January 28, 2009
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This is another case of me picking the bottle up due to it’s name or label.? I mean come on, Yellow Snow IPA!? This beer doesn’t taste like piss, which of course is a good thing.??While Rogue makes a ton of different beers, I find a lot of them?to be mediocre.? Gladly this one doesn’t?fit that category.? What we have here is a good West Coast style?IPA.
Yellow?Snow IPA poured a light orange color that has a little bit of cloudiness to it.? It’s large?foamy head sticks around and laces the glass everywhere.? The smell on this is full of sweet malt, grassy hops, citrus, and lemon.? It’s an inviting smell.? The taste is also full of the same stuff as you get with the smell but the sweet?malt?taste takes?a bit of a backseat to the hops.? The grassy hops are the highlight here.??Lemon?and citrus come in well.? Like a lot of West Coast IPAs, this beer is pretty damn dry and crisp.??It’s medium bodied and finishes bitter.
This isn’t the best IPA ever but it’s really good.? I would easily pick this up again.? Easy to drink, easy to enjoy.??Hopefully my next Rogue? brew will be as enjoyable.? This brew is limited and according to BA it was brewed once.? So it might not be around to much longer.?
Found: State Line Liquor, Elkton, Maryland
Price: Around?6 dollars a bottle.
Website: http://www.rogue.com/
What the company says: Pale golden in color with a hoppy fruity aroma. Big hop flavor up front complemented by medium body and hoppyness mid-pallet. Finishes with a characteristic lingering bitterness.
ABV%: ?
Other beers to try from this brewery:Rogue Shakespere Stout, Rogue Juniper Pale Ale
Other beers to try within the same style: Ballast Point Big Eye IPA, Green Flash West Coast IPA, Russian River Blind Pig IPA
Rating: B+
January 28, 2009
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Ahh labels, they do a funny thing to you sometimes.? Sometimes you buy a beer just for the label itself, thinking “Hey the label is cool, the beer must be just as good!”? I’m not saying this is 100% the reason why I picked up Ichabod Ale.? No see I thought it was a pumpkin ale, being that it was around October when it first started popping up in California. But alas I was wrong, it’s actually a Dunkelweizen.? I really didn’t find this out until I took the first smell of the beer.? I didn’t find the usual spices and pumpkin aroma.? What I did find though really reminded me of a beer I just reviewed.? Boris from Alpine.?
The issue I had with Boris was it’s overwhelming sweetness and bitterness.? Sadly this beer had the same issue but this time around It was very bitter and tart.? All the reviews I’m reading for this beer are?saying people smelled and tasted a good amount of spices like cinnamon and nutmeg.?? I really didn’t?get that at all.? Some nutmeg came through the taste every once in a while.? But it was rare.? The same goes for the rest of the ingredients.? I did get a little taste of caramel and chocolate? in this beer but it was quickly over taken by the tartness.?
Honestly when I tasted this I really though this was a stout.? It had a lot of the same?characteristics as their Boris stout.? The mouth feel on this one is a little thin and it goes down easy.? The bottom line on this one though is that I will probably never visit it again.? One of my least favorite beers I’ve had in a while (doesn’t hurt that I’ve had some fantastic ones lately).? I really had a hard time finishing the bomber.? It was brewed once, maybe that’s a good thing.
Found: South Bay Drugs, Imperial Beach, CA (Mail Order)
Price: Around?7 dollars a bottle.
Website: http://www.southerntierbrewing.com/
What the company says: Nothing on their site about it.
ABV%: 5.0%
Other beers to try from this brewery: Alpine Beer Company Pure Hoppiness
Other beers to try within the same style: First one I’ve tried.
Rating: C-
January 28, 2009
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I don’t know about you, but I find a lot of lagers to be boring. Well throw that out of the window on this one.? Krampus is a brand new brew from Southern Tier.? It’s classified by them as a Imperial Helles Lager.? BA classifies it as a Munich Helles Lager.? Doesn’t matter what it really is because it’s a monster.? At first smell you would think you’re drinking a IPA and the 9% ABV it’s sure to have you buzzing after you’re done with the bomber (I know I was both times I had this)
This brew pours a light orange color with basically no head at all.? It’s smell is full of piney and citrus hops.? It has a nice malty kick that hides behind the hops.?
With the taste you’re getting more of the same but for some reason it turned out to be more of a floral type hoppy taste.? Sweet malt character is there and mixes in fantastic.? The taste has a bit of a oak flavor and for some odd reason it tasted and felt a little bit like drinking an iced tea (yeah I know weird).? The feel on this one is a little thick and syrupy.? The finish on this one is a tad bit bitter.?
Basically I’ve never had a lager like this.? I don’t know if there is another lager out there like this.? It’s an IPA stuck in a lagers body.? It’s just a joy to drink and at 9% ABV, it’s a dangerous brew.? Lagers are usually low in alcohol (the ones I’ve had anyway) but this one just changes the game a bit.? Southern Tier is just amazing.
Found: Grape and Gourmet, Virginia Beach, VA
Price: Around 8 dollars a bottle.
Website: http://www.southerntierbrewing.com/
What the company says: St. Nicholas, aka Santa Claus, is a magical figure, the bringer of gifts and an icon of holiday spirit. Forgotten by most is his evil side kick and enforcer of ‘the list’. European tradition says while St. Nick is busy delivering presents to good little boys and girls, Krampus hands out punishments to the bad. A fanged, goat-horned bully, the Christmas Devil uses sticks and chains to beat the naughty children. Dark malts and aromatic hops create the diabolical spirit of this brew. It is finished with lager yeast and aged cold for no less than 30 days. This Imperial Helles Lager will warm even the darkest hearts.
This season, replace the cookies with a bottle of Krampus. If he happens to pay a visit, toast to him with this devilish brew. Merry Kramp-mas to all, and to all a good pint!
ABV%: 9%
Other beers to try from this brewery: Southern Tier Unearthly, Southern Tier Oat, Southern Tier Back Burner
Other beers to try within the same style: First one I’ve tried.
Rating: A-
January 28, 2009
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What we have here are a few beers I had over Christmas break.? I’m such a lazy blogger that I’ve decided to just wrap up the Christmas drinking into one big review.
First up is a beer from Alpine Beer Company.? I decided to ship this one from California for two reasons really.? Lately I’ve been in a huge stout mood and secondly the only other beer I’ve tried from these guys was Pure Hoppiness which was fantastic.?
Boris pours jet black with a small fluffy head.?Mild carbonation. ?What you’ll notice up front aroma wise is a very sweet vanilla with hints of bourbon, chocolate, and coffee.? The sweetness overpowers everything.
Same thing goes with the taste on this one.? The taste is very bitter and sweet.? Vanilla and bourbon really take over the taste.? The coffee is there but only at the end does it make it’s appearance and it’s a very small appearance.?I think?of it as a guest starring role =).?To me this stout was just a tad bit to unbalanced for me.? Maybe with a little aging everything will calm down a bit but I could think of 20 different stouts I would rather have than this one.? This is not to say it’s not decent, just not fantastic.
Found: South Bay Drugs, Imperial Beach, CA (Mail order)
Price:?7 dollars a bottle
Website: http://www.alpinebeerco.com/
What the company says: Didn’t see anything about the beer on their site.
ABV%: 10.0%
Other beers to try from this brewery:Alpine Pure Hopiness, Alpine Ichabod
Other beers to try within the same style: Dogfish Head World Wide Stout, Southern Tier Jahva
Rating: B- (Close to a C+)
Here’s another beer I decided to try due to myself trying another beer from these guys and loving it.? Last time it was their IPA (which is ranked on the top 100 beers in the world by BA) and it was fantastic.? This around it’s their American Imperial Double IPA.? I can tell you that this one did not disappoint at all.
As you can see by the picture this one pours a dark amber color.? But what is so fantastic about this beer is the head and lacing this brew gives off.? First off the head was huge and fluffy but the real surprise was the lacing.? This brew has the most lacing I have ever seen.? From top to bottom of the glass there was lacing.?? Every sip leaves a huge sticky ring around the glass.?
Citrus, piney hops, and grapefruit are the highlights of the smell.? There’s also a nice caramel malt background.? The smell is big, sticky, and sweet.? Purely awesome.? The taste is just as good if not better than the smell.? It starts off as a huge hopbomb.? Citrus, grapefruit, and piney hops?attack your palette.? It’s sticky and syrupy.? Then the malt kicks in witha good amount of alcohol that burns your mouth and throat a little.? Basically what I’m trying to say here it that this brew was a fantastic present during the holidays.? If this was a year round beer I would easily pick this up anytime.? A treat.
Found: South Bay Drugs, Imperial Beach, CA (Mail order)
Price:?6 dollars a bottle
Website: http://www.alesmith.com
What the company says:During the summer, YuleSmith is transformed into a big, hoppy, Double IPA. The enormous load of hops requires a substantial malt background to create just the right balance for a Double IPA. Lighter in color, summer YuleSmith is available around the 4th of July and is packaged in a red, white, and blue bottle.
ABV%: 8.80%
Other beers to try from this brewery:Alesmith IPA
Other beers to try within the same style:? Avery Ale to the Chief, Port Brewing Hop-15
Rating: A
How can you not try a beer with a gnome on the front? I mean come on!? It didn’t hurt that Kevin from Grape and Gourmet said that I really had to give this beer a try.? I trust Kevin.? We have the same taste in beer for the most part.? So that day the little gnome entered my fridge.
Now what we have here folks is a Belgian IPA.? Yes a Belgian IPA.? Before I get into the details just remember that this is not meant to be an American IPA.? It’s not a hop bomb (although it does use 3 kinds of hops but they aren’t the usual American hops).??They list the?hops on the back of the bottle.? Also I say the following a lot.? Let this beer warm up a little before you even touch it.? This beer is a friggin mess if you try it really cold.? It’s just bitter and not good to drink at all.? Once you let it calm down, god is it good.? It’s fantastic.
Above I said that Alesmith Holiday Ale had a ton of lacing.? This one is no slouch either.? It pours a huge head that sticks around forever.? The lacing on this beer is everywhere and I mean everywhere.? The color on this one is a cloudy straw color.?
This beer reminds me more of a Tripel than anything else.? A hopped up Tripel.? Aroma and taste of bananas, cloves, lemon, and yeast.? The hops are there and mix in quite nicely.? They don’t get in the way at all and just add to the awesome taste this beer has.? The feeling this beer gives off is creamy with a nice dry finish.? Sour and a tad bit bitter.
This is just a fantastic and different beer.? That’s the best way to describe it.? Think Tripel, but think a different kind of Tripel.? A?Tripel with a nice hop bite to it?that doesn’t go overboard like our American?IPAs.??
Found: Grape and Gourmet, Virginia Beach, VA
Price: Around 12 dollars a bottle
Website: http://www.achouffe.be/en?
What the company says: The HOUBLON CHOUFFE was brewed for the first time in 2006. It is an ‘Indian Pale ale’ type of beer, with a harmonious balance between a marked bitterness (three types of hops are used to make it) and a pleasant fruitiness. The HOUBLON CHOUFFE is unfiltered, and re-fermented in the bottle as well as in the keg.
ABV%: 9.0%
Other beers to try from this brewery: First time I’ve had a beer from this brewery.
Other beers to try within the same style: Stone Cali-Belgique IPA
Rating: A
Out of the?4 beers in this review this one was the biggest surprise.? For one this beer is actually made in my back yard.? The Hampton Roads area consists of 7 cities.? Virginia Beach is one and one of the other cities is Hampton, where Olde Richmond resides.?Another surprise is that this brewery has only ever made 2 other beers.? A red ale and a brown ale.? They are actually contracted with St. George Brewery.? This beer is everywhere around me now and it’s not a bad thing because this is a damn tasty IPA.?
Color on this one is a light and cloudy amber.? Head pours small and disappears quite quickly.? Good amount of carbonation.? As for the smell it’s full of caramel malt, grassy hops, citrus, and grapefruit.? With the taste you get a rough and grainy caramel malt flavor.? Grapefruit and citrus is juicy and mixes in perfect with the malt and grassy hops.? Everything lives together nicely.? Not a hop bomb.? But there’s enough in there.? You also get a huge kick of alcohol in this one.? Especially when you let it cool down.? Hits your throat and stomach nicely.? It also has a nice bitter finish.? This IPA took me by surprise.? I love the rawness of it.? I really hope these guys make more and are able to out on their own one day.? If their other stuff is as good as their IPA they’ll do just fine.
Found: Total Wine, Chesapeake, VA
Price: $6 a bottle
Website: They do not have a website
What the company says: No website for this company.
ABV%: ???? Need to go check out the bottle when I get home.
Other beers to try from this brewery: Have not tried any
Other beers to try within the same style: Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA, Alesmith IPA, Ballest Point Big Eye IPA
Rating: B+
