Day 206: Ommegang Witte

Name: Witte

Brewer: Brewery Ommegang (Cooperstown, NY)

Classification: Witbier

Alcohol: 5.1%

Thoughts: Brewery Ommegang have been making some of the best Belgian style beers for a while now. However, today I am trying their version of a German witbier. It pours a cloudy pale gold with a big bubbly, white head. The nose is pretty reserved although there is some lemon peel, coriander and pinches of wheat. It smells like a witbier should, just less so. The taste is less sugary than most witbiers but it packs more spice and yeast than most witbiers. There is some fruit like banana or orange in the flavor as it creates a nice pop in the back of the throat. I do have one issue with this beer though. It just doesn't have the joy in the taste that I would want in a craft beer. It is a good beer, but it is missing something. I don't know what it is, but enjoyability is an important factor when it comes to drinking beer, obviously. Anyways, I am on the fence about recommending it, but if you are too make your own judgement. 

Rating: 81/100

Day 205: Sprecher Abbey Tripel

Name: Sprecher Abbey Tripel

Brewer: Sprecher Brewing Co. (Glendale, WI)

Classification: Tripel

Alcohol: 8.41%

Thoughts: Even though Wisconsin has some infamous big name beers like Pabst Blue Ribbon, I am unsure of home big they are on craft brews. I believe this is the first beer I have had on The Beer Year from Wisconsin. Sprecher's Abbey Tripel pours a deep, dark orange with a paper-thin white head. The smell really takes akin to other Tripels I have had with banana esters, Belgian yeast and a dash of spice. After a few sips of this I really noticed the sweetness and it sort of turned me off of it, but as it warmed the sweetness either faded or the other flavors came to life and I really enjoyed this beer. There was a good helping of alcohol with some additions of bready yeast, sweet malts and a pinch of peppery spice.  This beer was pretty good, but it never really reached a level of excellence that I thought it might. Maybe that is my fault for having high expectations or maybe this beer promotes itself to be better than it is. Either way this beer is mediocre at best. 

Rating: 80/100

Day 204: Samurai Rice Ale

Name: Samurai Rice Ale

Brewer: Great Divide Brewing Co. (Denver, CO)

Classification: Rice Ale

Alcohol: 5.1%

Thoughts: Usually a beer is made with four simple ingredients: water, barley, hops and yeast. In the case of Samurai the hops are replaced with rice. This is new to me, and I am rather excited to try this out. It pours a very pale, hazy blonde with a thin white head. The smell is mildly fruity with a hint of sour dankness. On first sip this beer is just awesome and it gets better with each passing sip. There is a hefty amount of grain in the flavor with additions of citrus, banana, pepper and more sour flavor. It is a truly unique flavor that I have never experienced before. It has a wonderful crisp bite on the back of the tongue and a nutty, dry finish in the throat. I think this needs a little more "je ne sais quoi" to it. However, the newness of this beer is great and it makes me want to try more beers that think outside the box like this. Definitely Try This! 

Rating: 90/100

Day 203: Kitchen Sink Amber Ale (Homebrew)

Name: Kitchen Sink Amber Ale

Brewer: Big Eared Dog Brewery (Matt & Anna's House, Durham, NC) 

Classification: Amber Ale

Alcohol: ?

Thoughts: The wife and I went over to our friends Matt and Anna's house for some dinner and board games. We also went over because Matt had just finished his first batch of homebrew and was willing to share his creation. He decided to make an Amber Ale which turned out to be an excellent decision. Kitchen Sink Amber Ale poured a light amber color with a tinge of orange shining through it. The head was pretty big in the picture but on other occasions it settled better. The aroma was rich in malts with a bit of sweetness and some floral hops to create an engaging and sensual smell. The taste had a bit more hops involved than did the smell, but the biscuity malts and subtle sweetness still hit the spot. The best part of this brew and probably the best part of any homebrew was the freshness. There was no staleness or tartness from this sitting in a warehouse or on a shelf. Along with being fresh this beer was mild and balanced. Pretty amazing for a first time homebrewer. I hope to start my homebrewing adventures by the end of February, and I hope it turns out to be as good as Matt's did. 

Rating: 87/100

Day 202: Cottonwood ENDO IPA

Name: Cottonwood ENDO IPA

Brewer: Foothills Brewery (Winston-Salem, NC)

Classification: American IPA

Alcohol: 

Thoughts: I had Cottonwood Pumpkin during my Oktoberfest celebration during the month of October. I said then that this company had just been bought by Foothill Brewing. I really liked their Pumpkin Ale, in fact is one of my favorites, so I wanted to see if their IPA could hold up. It pours a dark ruby brown with very little head to speak of. I even poured aggressively and you can see the how little head there was in the picture. To me this smelled more malty and sweet than hoppy and citrusy, which makes me feel like this is a British IPA not an American style IPA. However, they say it is American so I will have to trust them. The taste of this beer has an initial bite of hops, but settles back down into the toasted malts and caramel sweetness that I smelled. It does finish dry and bitter like an IPA though which is nice. Not the fanciest IPA I've ever had but I could easily drink a few of these. This IPA does not try to overwhelm you with flowery hops that can at times seem overwhelming in other beers of this style.

Rating: 79/100

Day 201: Old Chub

Name: Old Chub

Brewer: Oskar Blues Brewery (Lyons, CO)

Classification: Scotch Ale

Alcohol: 8%

Thoughts: I am usually a big fan of Scotch Ales. Some of them are slightly Americanized, but some return to the Scottish roots these Wee Heavy beers were originated with. I feel that Old Chub is one of those beers from the latter. However, I don't think it gets it due credit being canned. A beer like this should be bottled in my opinion. I think the alcohol and sediment settle better and the metallic taste you can get with a can is less likely. Because this beer has a higher AVB and a full flavor it doesn't get to age correctly being in a low pressure can. Anywho, this is a good beer. I am not sold on it as much as most people are (this beer was a 90 on BeerAdvocate), but I found the toasted malts, hints of chocolate and bittersweetness to be delightful despite being slightly overwhelmed with alcohol. I think this would be a phenomenal beer on tap though. 

Ratings: 83/100

Day 200: Foret

Name: Foret

Brewer: Brasserie Dupont (Tourpes-Leuze, Belgium)

Classification: Saison

Alcohol: 7.5%

Thoughts: There is so much Belgian beer in the world that I never thought I would manage to have the same brewery on The Beer Year twice, but I couldn't pass up Foret. It is brewed by Brasserie Dupont, the same brewery who brew Saison Dupont which I had back in July for Belgian Independence Day. This too is a saison, but there are some differences. First off this beer is darker in color and the head is much more carbonated. Actually the beer is much more carbonated with smells of white grapes and spicy Belgian yeast. Saison Dupont was much more citrusy and more zesty than spicy. The taste has an obvious difference in alcohol as this beer has a warm tingly sensation that runs down your throat. There is less character in the taste with only lemon and grass coming through. It is a simpler, toned down saison compared to Saison Dupont. But this is still good and more than exciting. 

Rating: 85/100

Day 199: Redhook ESB

Name: Redhook ESB

Brewer: Redhook Ale Brewery (Seattle, WA)

Classification: Extra Special Bitter

Alcohol: 5.77%

Thoughts: I tired a new bar after work and they were having pint night with Redhook ESB. If you have been following the blog for a while then you know I have had a couple of ESB style beers, but I haven't really enjoyed them. Even though these beers are supposed to be bitter it is the stingy type of bitterness that these beers exert that I don't like. If it was the bitterness that you get from an IPA or an Imperial IPA then that's a different story. I really feel that I can't properly judged these beers because the English Bitter that is added to these ESBs. It is too unpleasant for me. Redhook's ESB isn't the worst of these styles of beer though. It has a nice bready smell and and some herbal hops in the taste. The feeling is crisp and light and if you enjoyed the taste that would make this beer very drinkable. But I just don't like them and this is the last you will see of ESB on The Beer Year. 

Rating: 72/100

Day 198: Tilted Smile

Name: Tilted Smile

Brewer: Unita Brewing (Salt Lake City, UT)

Classification: Imperial Pilsner

Alcohol: 9% 

Thoughts: When I go to the store there a bunch of beers that I eyeball every time I go in and there are other beers that I contemplate buying but don't because of the price tag. Well, Tilted Smile is one of these beers I use to eyeball, and then I started picking it up and putting it back after second guessing myself. This time I didn't second guess myself. This Imperial Pilsner pours a radiant gold with an orange glow and a soft white head. The smell and taste both break away from the normal pilsner. It actually reminds me of a Belgian Pale Ale in many ways. The smell is full of yeast, orange zest and floral hops. The taste is a bit starchy, but the flood of pale malts, spicy yeast, sugary punch, and slight bitterness wash over the palate. This is a complete and full figured beer with a lot to offer. It may be a little too sweet for some, but it didn't cross the border into Toosweetland for me. I do have a slight negative knock on this beer. Usually as a beer warms the flavor gets better and more accessible. This beer gets a little too bitter and a little too tangy. This probably keeps the beer from making my Top 10. I need more Uinta though, cause these guys can brew! 

Rating: 90/100

Day 197: Mission Amber

Name: Mission Amber
Brewer: Mission Brewery (San Diego, CA)
Classification: Altbier
Alcohol: 5%

Thoughts: This beer may have Amber Ale written on the label but it is truly an Altbier, which is slightly different. An Altbier is a special style beer that founds its roots Dusseldorf, Germany. They are conditioned for longer periods of time than regular beers and a special type of rising yeast is used in the brewing process. Mission Amber pours a solid amber with an overflowing slightly tan head that laced around the glass very nicely. The smell of this beer is very heavy on the malts, but they were both sweet and toasted. Additionally there was some herbal hops in there, which really set this smell off. The taste was unexpectedly amazing! I got a lot more than I thought I was going to get. There were notes of caramel, hard baked bread, earthiness, and undertones of pine and maybe some phenols. The feel of this beer is slightly creamy and a little bit heavy. The dryness and warmth of the alcohol in the aftertaste round this beer out nicely. I really liked this beer as it is a step above the realm of Amber Ales. This one is getting a full recommendation.

Rating: 86/100

Day 196: Hoppyum IPA

Name: Hoppyum IPA

Brewer: Foothills Brewing Co. (Winston-Salem, NC)

Classification: American IPA

Alcohol: 6.2%

Thoughts: North Carolina is slowly becoming one of the best state's in the US for Craft Brew. I can argue all day about it, but here is some hard evidence. I have had some Foothills Brews featured on this blog before, but I don't think I have given them their due credit. This is their IPA, Hoppyum, and it pours a darker, sparkling gold with a great fizzy head resting on top. I stuck my nose down deep in the foam to get a real sense of what was happening in their and got a great fresh citrus hop smell and some juicy pineapple notes. A very resilient nose as it stayed strong through out the drinking experience. The taste was somewhere on the borderline between good and great. Lots of tangy grapefruit, bitter hops, pine, and grassy malts build on each other to make a complete taste. There is nothing lacking in this beer it just doesn't wow me like a few other IPAs that I've had. Despite that, it may be the best IPA made in North Carolina. 

Rating: 88/100

Day 195: Monster Ale

Name: Monster Ale

Brewer: Brooklyn Brewery (Brooklyn, NY)

Classification: English Barleywine

Alcohol: 10.8%

Thoughts: This is my first experience with Barleywine. For some reason Barleywine has been coming a lot when I have been reading about beer or trying to choose a beer at a restaurant. So, I went with a brewery I trust. This barleywine pours a cloudy rustic brown with a thin off-white head. I expected the aroma to be similar to wine, but it was less like wine than I anticipated. There is plenty of grapes and alcoholic vapors, but there was also some dark fruit and sweet malts. I was clueless as to how this would taste and I was anticipating it to be either too much for me to handle or a new revelation. I don't know why I thought this but I did. I think it was right in the middle. At first it was a bit overwhelming as the alcohol is a bit heavy, but as the beer warms the caramel, bready malts, and citrus notes bring the noise. This is an intense beer, but I still couldn't get over how much the alcohol is present. It is a down point of this barleywine. Despite this I will be having more of these in the future.

Rating: 80/100

Day 194: Ruthless Rye

Name: Ruthless Rye

Brewer: Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. (Chico, CA)

Classification: Rye Beer

Alcohol: 6.6%

Thoughts: Another Sierra Nevada brew on the blog. I use to think they were limited to their Pale Ale because I do not care for their IPA, Kellerweiss, or other year-round beers. But the brews I have been trying lately have been great. This one pours a reddish amber with an off-white head that holds and leaves rings of very pretty lace. The nose is flowery with whole-cone hops that smell to me like lemon flowers (if there was such a thing), a touch of rye and a hint of caramel. I can't get over how pretty and lemony/citrusy the hop character is. The taste is just what the nose led me to believe. Citrusy hops with a bit of peppery rye flavor riding on a backbone of soft caramel. It is very well balanced, nicely done and a medium body. I just wished it was a tad drier. Overall, another very fine, accessible brew from Sierra Nevada.

Rating: 87/100

Day 193: BottleTree Blonde

Name: BottleTree Blonde

Brewer: BottleTree Beer Co. (Tryon, NC)

Classification: Belgian Pale Ale

Alcohol: 5%

Thoughts: I honestly didn't know a thing about BottleTree when I picked this beer up. I picked it because I wanted to take a chance on a brewery. I think you have to do this every once in a while because this is how you grow as a beer drinker. Try new breweries, new beers and new experiences. Come to find out this is another NC Craft Brewery! This Belgian Pale Ale pours a bubbly gold with a fizzy white head. The smells wafting off this brew were very bready and pale. It didn't seem any more complex than that. However, the taste did reach a different level. The yeast and sweet malts really balance out the floral, aromatic hops. The spice is barely there, but the alcoholic aftertaste is warming and clean. I feel that this beer is on the right track to be a really good beer and should probably be fine-tuned a little more. However, if you have a chance to tree something new and unknown, go for it!

Rating: 81/100

Day 192: Northern Lights

Name: Northern Lights

Brewer: Star Hill Brewery (Charlottesville, VA)

Classification: American IPA

Alcohol: 6.5%

Thoughts: Star Hill Brewery is a new brewery to The Beer Year, so I would like to welcome them. I have started basic with them and bought their IPA to try. This American IPA pours a slightly cloudy, medium golden brew. The head was white, creamy and fine, with nice lacing around the glass. The mellow aroma had some solid citrus notes and hoppy hints in addition to some underlying toasty malt smells. Up front the taste is nothing remarkable, but this beer comes into its own in the middle of the tongue. There is a nice hop flavor, and a moderate amount of bitterness. The finish is pleasant and bitter, but the carbonation carries this one, and it acts as a nice palate cleanser. I had this beer with a burrito made with pork jowl, chorizo, and plenty of spicy pepper. It held its own while allowing the food to shine through. This is a pretty good IPA. 

Rating: 85/100

Day 191: Victory Prima Pils

Name: Prima Pils

Brewer: Victory Brewing Co. (Downington, PA)

Classification: German Pilsner

Alcohol: 5.3%

Thoughts: I was able to go grab a beer with a friend that I hadn't hung out with in a while this afternoon. The beer I was able to grab was a Victory Prima Pils. This beer pours a yellowish straw-gold with a wispy white head that flowed over the side of the glass. The smell has a very traditional biscuit and grain malt smell with a pinch of lemon and spice to give it something extra. The taste is bright and crisp with plenty of floral hops up front. Notes of tart citrus and sweet malts come up after the hops subside. The character of this beer is light and fresh and all types of good. I really enjoyed how clean this beer is and how the flavors distinguish themselves from each other. This is more of a summer beer, but on a day in the middle of January that is in the mid 60s it's still pretty damn good.

Rating: 87/100

Day 190: Epic Imperial Red Ale

Name: Imperial Red Ale

Brewer: Epic Brewing Co. (Salt Lake City, UT)

Classification: Amber Ale

Alcohol: 8.1%

Thoughts: I usually buy a 22oz. Bomber of something good at the store when they have something new i want to try. This time there was a bunch of things I wanted, but I went with Epic Brewing's Imperial Red Ale because Epic is a brewery I am unfamiliar with and wanted to learn more about them.   So, let's review this brew. It pours a very dark red that is borderline brown with a thin white head that laced wonderfully around the glass. The aroma has loads of caramel and fruity sweetness that rise from the glass with some hints of floral hops. There is a lot of oily hops, somewhat piney resign, and a touch of grapefruit in the taste. As it warms, I get some more darker roasted malts which I didn't expect. The feel is creamy and a little chunky, but a full flavored beer nonetheless. I think there is a lot to offer here from a non-standard Amber Ale. I think it is also the type of beer that can be a Hit or a Miss, but it was a Hit for me.

Rating: 87/100

Day 189: New Belgium Trippel

Name: Trippel

Brewer: New Belgium Brewing (Fort Collins, CO)

Classification: Tripel

Alcohol: 7.8%

Thoughts: I can't believe I managed to go 189 days without having New Belgium Brewing on The Beer Year. It wasn't by purpose, but it won't be the last time I have them make a visit to my liver. Also, I'd like to give a shout out to my friend Matt who's beer this was and for giving me. I drank this one out of the bottle so I am unsure of how this pours or looks. However, the smell was intense and enticing. There were signs of lemon peel, pepper, Belgian yeast and maybe some banana. The flavor is even bigger than the aroma. Bolder versions of citrus, spice and fruit all make themselves present in every sip. I do have a knock on this Tripel though. It is just too sweet to be considered great. It is good and it has a place in the beer world, but by the bottom of the bottle my lips were pursed from all the sugar. On a side note, New Belgium is looking to have an East Coast Brewery and they are down to either Philly (the crappiest city outside of anywhere in New Jersey) and Asheville, NC. Let's pray that it's Asheville because that would be awesome!

Rating: 86/100

Day 188: Aviator Hot Rod Red

Name: Hot Rod Red

Brewer: Aviator Brewing Co. (Fuquay-Varina, NC)

Classification: Irish Red Ale

Alcohol: 6.1%

Thoughts: Tonight we went to City Beverage in Durham with a bunch of friends. City Beverage has a pretty good draft list and I wanted to order something I had never had before, not just something I had not had on the blog. So I ordered Aviator's Hot Rod Red. You may not be able to tell in the picture but this beer pours a dark red with a pencil thin head. The aroma has a great toasted malt smell that is balanced out with sweetness and fruity hops. The smell had a great "pub" feeling. At first the taste was less than appealing, but after I gave it a chance I started to really like it. The grainy, toasted malts are back in action here with sidekicks sweet caramel and pale hops. The finish is the best part though. It is crisp, clean and cool. If you are looking for something a little different I recommend this.

Rating: 84/100

Day 187: Hop Strike Black IPA

Name: Hop Strike Black IPA

Brewer: Tommyknocker Brewery (Idaho Springs, CO)

Classification: American Black Ale

Alcohol: 6.5%

Thoughts: I have had to search multiple times on various Tommyknocker beers and their webiste to make sure this is the right beer. They seem to change label art and descriptions quite often. Some consistency would make my job easier because the beer is what I'm after not the bottle art. Although there are some cool bottles. That being said let's review this beer. The appearance was a pretty dark brown/black, almost opaque, with a small head and spotty lacing. The smell had roasted malts with a good hop presence and some earthy rye. The taste is better than the smell. Roasty flavors come through first, with some coffee, toffee and chocolate finishing second, and a nice pungent rye aspect up next. The finish has a good degree of hoppiness and a warming sensation to boot. This is a n interesting beer, but not one I would choose often. It is a little challenging and would require someone who really likes Black Ales to fully enjoy.

Rating: 83/100

Day 186: Great White

Name: Great White

Brewer: Lost Coast Brewery (Eureka, CA)

Classification: Witbier

Alcohol: 4.8%

Thoughts: For some strange reason I kept thinking that I have had a Lost Coast Brew on the blog before, but on further inspection that wasn't true. I think this means that I have reached a point where I have had so many beers I am having trouble keeping up with what I've had or haven't had. Anywhositwhatsit, let's check out Lost Coast's Great White. This witbier pours a yellowish gold color with hints of orange. This beer is highly carbonated and the head is very bubbly. The taste is mild, but refreshing nonetheless. It is mostly citrus and wheat, but I taste a faint hint of herbs. Some witbiers can be overly sugary, but because the taste is mild the sweetness is subdued which makes this beer more drinkable and enjoyable. This is a beer I could drink multiple of in one sitting and not get tired, however it isn't dynamic and it isn't great. 

Rating: 80/100

Day 185: Lagunitas IPA

Name: Lagunitas IPA

Brewer: Lagunitas Brewing Co. (Petaluma, CA) 

Classification: American IPA

Alcohol: 6.2%

Thoughts: I have a had a few beers from Lagunitas on The Beer Year and I am really becoming a fan. So I decided I needed to try their flagship beer, their IPA. It pours a crystal golden color with a small bright white head. The aroma is on the lighter side, but notes of bitter hops, grapefruit, and grass are easily sensed through the nose. The taste is pretty solid and it shows the quality of brewing by Lagunitas. There are plenty of piney hops and doughy malts to splash the palate, and there is still some citrus and a bit of spice left over to make this beer worthy of buying a 6-pack sometime. This beer is refreshing, clean and has a slight crispness to it. I do recommend it and I will be having it in the future. 

Rating: 85/100

Day 184: Blackened Voodoo

Name: Blackened Voodoo

Brewer: Dixie Brewing Co. (New Orleans, LA)

Classification: Schwarzbier

Alcohol: 5%

Thoughts: Well, tonight is the BCS National Championship game between LSU and Alabama. The game is being played in New Orleans at the Superdome. So I decided to celebrate by having a beer from New Orleans. For this I chose Dixie's Blackened Voodoo Lager. OK, I can't lie anymore. This was a total coincidence, but it looked plan. This "Blackened" brew pours a very dark brown, not black, with a thin, highly carbonated head. The smell is lacking, but malts are present and their is a tinge of smoke there too. The taste brings more to the table, but it isn't all that great either. This Schwarzbier is heavy on nutty malts with very little sweetness. There is a little tartness and dryness that actually make the aftertaste interesting. However, there is just not enough there to make this beer worth trying again. If I was in New Orleans I would recommend it, but that is about the only time it may be worth it. 

Rating: 78/100

Day 183: Ovila Abbey Dubbel

Name: Ovila Abbey Dubbel

Brewer: Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. (Chico, CA)

Classification: Dubbel

Alcohol: 7.5%

Thoughts: I am starting to realize that some of these bigger breweries have other smaller brands of beer  under the larger brand company. For example, this brew is the brand Ovila, but it is owned by Sierra Nevada. And when I say I am realizing that they this is the case I mean that I am actually starting to look for it instead of finding out after I have already bought the beer. They usually say it somewhere on the back of the bottle in small print. So be on the lookout for that. Anyways, this Abbey Dubbel pours a reddish brown with a soft white head that faded fairly fast. The smell was made up of a mild dark fruit smell, roasted malts, and hint of sweet toffee or caramel. It wasn't anything special, but it served its purpose. The taste is just a more flavorful version of the smell. It consists of red grapes or plums, a woody grainy malt flavor, some sweetness and a faint spice. I enjoyed this beer, but I don't know if I'd get it again. It just didn't seem memorable. 

Rating: 84/100

Day 182: Hop Head Red

Name: Hop Head Red

Brewer: Green Flash Brewing (San Diego, CA)

Classification: Amber Ale 

Alcohol: 7%

Thoughts: Green Flash's Imperial IPA has been sitting in my Top 10 for 4 or 5 months now and I think it is about time I try another beer from them. I settled on their Amber Ale/Red IPA Hop Head Red. I have heard great things about it so I kind of had high expectations. It pours a dark amber with a thick, heavy off-white head that laced the glass the whole way down. The smell has bright and sunny for an Amber Ale. There were plenty of florally hops that overshadowed the caramel and bready malts. The taste of this beer followed suit with sweet, bitter hops and roasted malts. There are simple notes in the taste but they pack a lot of energy and really give this brew a great charge over the palate and down the throat. The mouthfeel of this beer is creamy, but smooth. The best Amber Ale I have had on this blog is 5 A.M. Saint and this is just a tad behind it. I think Green Flash is an amazingly talented brewery and this is only the second beer I've had. I can't wait to get my hands on some more of these. 

Rating: 89/100

Day 181: Palmetto Pale Ale

Name: Palmetto Pale Ale

Brewer: Palmetto Brewing Company (Charleston, SC)

Classification: Pale Ale

Alcohol: 5.2%

Thoughts: My Parents and Brother were in Charleston, SC for the New Year and brought me back a 6-Pack of this Palmetto Pale Ale. I have never heard of this brewery before, but it seems that they have been around since 1994. After drinking this beer I realized why I have never heard of them. I was really in the mood to drink from the bottle so I am unsure of how this beer pours or looks. I assume a pale gold color with a standard white head. The smell was malty and floral with a little bit of sweetness creeping out of the bottle. The taste was rather off. It was similar to the nose with sweet malts, grain, floral hops and a tiny bit of fruity flavor. Then came the metallic aftertaste which is such a turnoff for a beer. I am hoping it was just the one bottle. I will try another one to see, but its safe to say the beer wasn't that great to begin with. That is my guess to why I haven't really noticed this brewery before. 

Rating: 73/100

Day 180: Long Hammer IPA

Name: Long Hammer IPA

Brewery: Red Hook Brewery (Seattle, WA)

Classification: American IPA

Alcohol: 6.5%

Thoughts: I feel like Red Hook is a brewery that a lot of people are familiar with, even though this is the first time they are on my blog. They make pretty decent beers, but I feel that they have compromised their brewing craft in an effort to grow. This happens sometimes and it is unfortunate. However, I will grade this beer as I always do, which is on this experience and this experience only. This American IPA pours a dark yellow with a tinge of orange and a solid 2-finger head. The smell was my favorite part by a long shot. This beer smells like a high-grade, stinky cannabis that brought back memories of Amsterdam. It was awesome! Then I drank the beer and it brought me back down to earth. The taste has hints of grapefruit and piney hops with too much bitterness for a low-intensity tasting beer. I would like to try this beer with a nice joint sometime in the future to see how well they pair. I really hope my wife isn't reading the blog tonight. 

Rating: 74/100

Day 179: 10° Below

Name: 10° Below

Brewer: Scuttlebutt Brewing (Everett, WA)

Classification: Weizenbock

Alcohol: 7.4%

Thoughts: What the hell is a Scuttlebutt? Better question. What the hell is a Weizenbock? I have never had one of these and it may be a while before I have one of these again. Usually when I see sediment in a brew it is miniscule and very difficult to see. However, the sediment is big and it made this beer rather unappealing for me. It poured a dark brown like a cola with very little head. The smell was oddly sweet with some rye and grain in the smell. It tasted like burnt chocolate with sugary sweetness and again grain. This beer was way to carbonated, which references the soda again. I am doing this blog to learn about beer as much as I can in a year and the goal is try as many types of beer as I can. However, I knew I would run into a couple of beers that wouldn't work for me. This Weizenbock is definitely one of them. 

Rating: 68/100

Day 178: Bell's Amber Ale

Name: Bell's Amber Ale

Brewer: Bell's Brewery (Kalamazoo, MI)

Classification: Amber Ale

Alcohol: 5.8%

Thoughts: Bell's is another great American brewery based in Michigan. I had their infamous Two-Hearted Ale on the blog a few months ago. It was a great beer and I expect the same out their Amber Ale. Speaking of Amber Ale, this looks nothing like an Amber Ale. It pours a very cloudy orangey-gold with lots of sediment and a carbonated head. It smells of Bojangle's biscuits and sweet caramel. If you don't know what Bojangle's biscuits smell like or you don't live in the Southeastern US than you need to find out. The taste of this beer is heavy on the malts and light on the fruit and hops. It does have some bitterness like a Pale Ale, but with a grainy taste like a darker beer. This Amber Ale is pretty different than it's counterparts but it fails to be great, or even on the level of their Two-Hearted Ale. 

Rating: 83/100

Day 177: Brew Free! Or Die IPA

Name: Brew Free! Or Die IPA

Brewer: 21st Amendment Brewery (San Francisco, CA)

Classification: American IPA

Alcohol: 7%

Thoughts: If you asked people on the street what the 18th amendment was I guarantee you most people wouldn't know. For people like me, White Males who own property (Just Kidding, I meant Beer Lover), it is one of the most important amendments in the constitution. It was the amendment that repealed the 18th amendment, which was the prohibition amendment. So, 21st Amendment Brewery seems like a pretty legit name for a brewery. History lesson over, let's get to the beer. This IPA pours a dark, clear gold with a massive head that I can only describe as a "white afro". The smell is subdued but there are some tropical notes like mango and banana to go along with the sharp hops. The taste reminded me slightly of the Green Flash Imperial IPA, but with less zing to it. The bitterness sits on the back of the tongue and the fruitiness is upfront. The aftertaste is fairly smooth and reminds me of an organic beer the way it coats your throat. This is a good beer for a lot of reasons and I can't wait to try more from 21st Amendment. 

Rating: 85/100