Many friends. Many beers.
We drink to make others feel less awkward around us.
- Brooklyn Brewery Black Chocolate Stout
by Andy on Nov 16.08 to beer
The fall weather has gotten me in the mood for darker beers and having recently come off a Goose Island BCS high, this seasonal caught my eye. I have been recommended some of their beers before but for some reason or another have never picked one up. Hope this strong looking stout packs a punch I need it after a long day…
Brewery Hometown: Brooklyn, NY
Appearance: Black and viscous. Immediately reminds me of Kevin’s infamous ‘motor oil’ comparison. No light is getting through this baby. Nutty brown head that sticks around.
Aroma: You can immediately tell this is a strong stout with a little more punch. Rich, chocolaty chords with a sweet, caramel-like finish. This will seem familiar to BCS fans out there.
Taste: My first impression is of a dark chocolate, that has a complex richness to its initial bite. Fades into a caramel/coffee and then has a lingering bitterness like double shot of expresso. Later tastes get more waves of malt and coffee/chocolate (roasted bean). Flavor is good but not overly showy or complex, seems subdued and mature. Oh yeah, the alcohol content and the maltyness really come back in the end FYI. An overall solid fall beer.
Alcohol: 10%
Drink one or all?: 1 or 2.
Cost: $10/6 pack
Overall: 16/20. Not as much character as my lover Goose Island BCS, but good.
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- Lindemans Framboise
by Andy on Nov 06.08 to beer
Tonight Jenny and I are doing a special combo review on this fruitastic beer introduced to me by the crew at the Hopleaf. Jenny really dug this the first time, so she picked up a bottle at Binnys. She is sweet enough to let me/us drink and review it. Stoked!
Brewery Hometown: Belgium
Appearance: Unfiltered rich dark red. “Looks like fizzy pomegranate juice” says Jenny. Head is strong with strong pink hue. Don’t leave this out around kids next to JuicyJuice.
Aroma: Strong. Fruity. Sweet. Jenny thinks it smells like raspberry seeds. Musty and fermented. Opening the bottle (its corked like champagne) lets a burst of aroma out.
Taste: First…its fruity (duh its a fruit beer). The raspberry taste is surprisingly tart and refreshing. Very little to NO taste of hops/beer, yet it doesn’t have the dryness of say wine. Its very concentrated, not watered down or overtones like in other fruit beers. Its a raspberry smack in the face, so if you feel like some fruity beer bdsm, this could be your thing. Fruit dominates you. “Literally does not taste alcoholic…starts having a bitter after taste after a while” says Jenny. I think its the overdose of sweet fruity-ness that leaves behind a slight dryness.
Alcohol: 4.0%
Drink one or all?: How dedicated are you? Most likely just 1, too sweet for all night. A great one to recommend to non-beer drinking GF’s.
Cost: $12/750 mL bottle
Overall: Andy (14/20 - too sweet and sticky), Jenny (17/20 - good in small quantities)
[ 3 Comments ]
- Isle of Skye Wee Beast
by KFAZ on Oct 28.08 to beer
So I was trying to find something super random, tired of all these good beers floating around. How could Wee Beast not be interesting. The bottle itself talks about a “Legend has it that the great warrior of Celtic legend, Cuchulain, was oft accompanied by a fierce dog-beast that wandered the jagged mountains of Skye”. Can you get something better then that? I mean really?
Incoming nerd out……All I can think of from this is how hunters in WOW can tame epic exotic pets, so its like a hunter going into Molten Core and taming Magmadar ( Look on the pic to the right, hes so much more bad ass as a dog beast then the dog on the bottle) as a pet and runnning around with that while playing wii. I mean the picture even looks like someone having a epic animal on a chain as its pet. I mean really, how can we go wrong here. Let’s hope the beer can be as epic and earn a 1337 rating. Nerd out over. (lets hope Jim reads this still and catches that one)
Brewery Hometown: Isle of Skye, Scotland
Appearance: Kinda looks alot like the 3 Floyds King Pale Ale. Same dark orange, murky color.
Has a lot of head that lingered around for a quite a while. And left a good amount of lacing around.Aroma: Had a strong smell. I poured and smelled it right away. A fresh citrus smell. Kinda outdoor woody smell with some malt in there.
Taste: Slighly bitter to start then sweet. Kinda taste like should be a citrus taste but just taste acidic in the middle. Kinda a creamy taste/feel with carbonation tossed it there. Kinda explains why the head looks how it did with all the foam. Enough carbonation to notice its there and make it not taste flat but nothing too crazy. There’s a smokiness taste throughout it all. Leaves a kinda woody sweet/sour tastes. Its actually quite drinkable in the end. Kinda different but not bad.
Alcohol: 7%
Drink one or all?: Ehh probably wont have it again but wasn’t bad.
Cost: 4.49 plus tax for 500 ml bottle
Overall: 14/20 Failed on being epic, but haven’t really had Scottish ales before. Its decent, just nothing amazing.
[ 2 Comments ]
- Three Floyds Alpha King Pale Ale
by KFAZ on Oct 28.08 to beer
Got this beer last week sometime and loved it. I haven’t review it yet figured its about time I do since I only had one left. I’ve been trying a few Three Floyds lately mainly because they are cold at the Sams right next to me and I don’t want to wait to get my beer cold before I drink it. I have to say so far i’m pretty impressed with the Brewery. The box and bottles design are colorful and stand out and the beer is pretty damn good too.
Brewery Hometown: Hammond, Indiana
Appearance:Cloudy, murky dark copper color. You can’t see through this baby. Had a decent amount of head that kinda looks like a mountain and took a while to fade leave a gracious amount of lacing. Alot darker and merky then expected.
Aroma:Not very strong but has a citrus smell and very hoppy. Didn’t expect this from a pale ale. Seems like the look and the smell was off on this beer from what i thought it would be
Taste: Look off- check
Smell off-
Taste off-
A very hoppy kick at the start but doesn’t end bitter at all. Kinda fades away and comes back with an after taste that leaves you wanting more. The middle is kinda a smooth citrus taste not strong but you know its there. Its light and smooth by not watery. Leaves a nice dry feeling of wanting more.
Alcohol:6 %
Drink one or all?:Drink all in one session easily.
Cost: 10$/6 pack (I think)
Overall:17/20 Probably one of my favorite Pale ales now. I can drink it all night long. Would give it a higher rating but I cant just give all good beer a almost perfect rating.
[ 6 Comments ]
- Tommyknocker Maple Nut Brown Ale
by Andy on Oct 27.08 to beer
I picked out this fall-y beer in a mad rush to grab something at my favorite liquor store in Evanston before my train came. I guess I had fall flavors, Canada (aka Jenny) and darker American beers on the brain (holy shit Goose Island BCS is amazing), because this interesting sounding little number is what struck my eye during the scramble. Go figure.
Brewery Hometown: Idaho Springs, CO
Appearance: A clear amber brown, strong off-white head with good lacing. The head builds strongly with a modest pour and as you will see below, gives off a strong, great scent.
Aroma: Sweet with big overtones of maple and nuts. Scent is crisp and clear, the maple does not come across to sweet or fake, wonderful! The chocolate malts mix in nicely as well.
Taste: Nutty! I have to admit my first thought even before taking a sip was to compare it to Goose Island’s Nut Brown Ale. After a first sip, the dark nut taste is a little pale in comparison but is supported by a wonderful sweet, maple kick initially, followed by a dry coffee/chocolate aftertaste that lingers nicely. I thought that the flavor was a little thin, watery, but every once in a while another taste chord such as the sweet balance of the maple would linger in. At the end of the bottle, the sweetness was a little too much.
Alcohol: ??? Guessing 5%
Drink one or all?: 1. Too sweet for multiples.
Cost: $9/6 pack
Overall: 14/20
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- Dogfish Head Punkin Ale
by KFAZ on Oct 23.08 to beer
Yeah back from the dead finally. Still don’t have a real job, and have a girl friend who works all week so i dont see her, stupid teachers. So why the hell am I not reviewing beer!?
So we start off with one of my favorite brewers DogFish Head with a beer that says punk on the bottle. What could be better.Brewery Hometown: Delaware
Appearance: Golden orangish caramel color. What you expect a pumpkin to look like if it was beer. Clear with a decent white head that develops.Aroma: Sweet smelling with cinnamon and nutmeg. Kinda like pumpkin pie, if it taste how it seems you’ll be in luck.
Taste: And we have a winner. DING DING DING. It taste like Sweet old pumpkin pie with a lil spice. If you want to put pumpkin pie into a bottle of beer this would be it. Not watery at all. Nice, thick and creamy.
Alcohol: 7%
Drink one or all?: all of the 4 pack
Cost: I think 9 bucks/4 pack
Overall: 19/20- Its pumpkin pie in beer. Probably the best pumpkin/Oktoberfest beer I’ve had. Too bad it only comes once a year.
[ 2 Comments ]
