Day 235: Red Seal Ale

Name: Red Seal Ale

Brewer: North Coast Brewing Co. (Fort Bragg, CA)

Classification: Amber Ale

Alcohol: 5.5%

Thoughts: I try to start off each review with a bit of knowledge or a story to lead me into the beer. Every once in a while I have nothing to say. This is one of them. This Amber Ale pours a a surprisingly amber color with a think off-white head. I say surprisingly because North Coast is one of those West Coast breweries that does things a bit different from the norm. That is where normal ending and where the West Coast Offense started. The aroma is very aromatic and floral with bold fruity smells and sweet malts. The taste had plenty of malts on the front of the tongue and as the liquid slides down your tongue and into your throat you get hops, fruit, bitterness, spice and a dry finish. It feels creamy like a juice. I really appreciated this beer. I want a six-pack of this. I do have one knock and it is a little one. The finish lingers too long and as it lingers the flavor disappears and the alcohol remains. It burns a little and isn't very enjoyable. Other than this Red Seal Ale is a really good beer.

Rating: 87/100

Day 234: Chef Will's Stout (Homebrew)

Name: Chef Will's Stout

Brewer: Chef Will

Classification: Stout

Alcohol: ?

Thoughts: At my work we have a couple of Chefs who run a Culinary Job Training Program. One of these chef's has become a beer lover like myself and decided to brew his own beer. I call him Chef Will aka "The Jamaican" because he has long dreadlocks that some time get braided. I call them breads, which is prefect because he is a chef. Anyways, his beer is why I'm here. It poured a dark, dark brown, almost black with no head whatsoever. I talked to Chef and this was his first batch and he is still learning about the brewing process just like myself. He had warned me there was little carbonation, this may be due to the fact that I asked if he used priming sugar and he said, "What?" Priming sugar is what carbonates the beer. The smells were good though. It was malty, sweet with a dab of hops. It was more like a porter than a strong stout. The taste was similar to the smells. It was extremely malty, but less sweet. The hops were present, but did nothing to even out the malts. Chef, if you are reading this than this was the best beer ever made. But, if you aren't reading this it was just ok, but for a first attempt at homebrewing this was good.  

Rating: 76/100

Day 233: Hopslam Ale

Name: Hopslam Ale

Brewer: Bell's Brewery (Kalamazoo, MI)

Classification: Imperial IPA

Alcohol: 10%

Thoughts: There are very few beers that have made waves in the craft beer industry quite like Hopslam. I have even seen this beer quoted as "... a beer geek, hop-head legend!" This is an Imperial IPA brewed with honey and it seems like people have been talking about this on beer blogs, twitter and other places on the world wide web for months. I don't know how hard it is to get, but I had to stand in line to get a bottle as the store I was at only had a case of it. I am totally become a beer nerd by the way! Standing in line to get a bottle of beer? Yeah, I do that now. Anyways this "legend" pours a glowing burnt orange color with a full, thick head that laced around the glass like nothing I've even seen before. The smell was blatantly hoppy! There was enough hops in it to inoculate a cow! You could get pine and grapefruit in the aroma as well, but you don't really care because the hops smell so incredible. Now I have to be honest, I thought the hops would make it too bitter and the honey would make it too sweet, and I would just think this beer was overrated. I thought this beer is just too good to be true. Well, Hopslam didn't disappoint. Rather it surprised me. It tasted like the best IPA I've ever had. Not an Imperial IPA. The alcohol was subdued and the amount of hops in the flavor was perfect. They were sharp, but they didn't cut your palate in half. The subsequent floral, grapefruit taste mixed with the subtle sweetness made for an experience I cannot share with words. I could keep adding more and more details about the smells and tastes and feel, but there is only one way to really know the pleasure I felt while drinking this beer. That is for you to drink it your own damn self! 

Rating: 94/100

Day 232: Brugse Zot Unfiltered

Name: Brugse Zot Unfiltered

Brewer: Brouwerij De Halve Maan (Brugge, Belgium)

Classification: Belgian Pale Ale

Alcohol: 6%

Thoughts: Every once in a while a rare beer comes along and you may have the chance to try it out. Brugse Zot is found outside of the De Halve Mann Brewery in decent amount of places. However, their unfiltered Brugse Zot is very rarely found anywhere outside the brewery. It was a pretty expensive beer ($7 for a 10oz pour), but it was totally worth it. It poured a sunny yellowish-amber with a bubbly, two-finger head that faded to a lasting ring. The nose has a slight coriander aroma with malty tones and yeasty whiffs. It was really fresh and toasty. The taste is citrusy, crisp and dry on the front of the palate. It has a somewhat spicy character in the center with a little bit of wheat. The finish was quite refreshing. It was very dry with notes of earthy, bitter hops. The feel of this Belgian Pale Ale was lively with good carbonation and a creamy texture. The best part of this beer is how perfectly balanced this amazing brew is. It was like they had scales with hops on one side and malts on the other, and they couldn't have been more even. I loved this beer!

Rating: 89/100

Day 231: Lips of Faith - Biere De Mars

Name: Biere De Mars

Brewer: New Belgium Brewing (Fort Collins, CO)

Classification: Biere de Garde

Alcohol: 6.2%

Thoughts: I have really started to appreciate New Belgium Brewing, because I realize that they are more than Fat Tire and deeper than there year-round brews. They have their Lips of Faith Series of experimental beers that may or may not hit the mark. When I was at the store there were some new ones that I had never seen before including this Biere De Mars. It is a Biere de Garde style beer, which is a beer I know nothing about. So, I looked it up and these are the characteristics. The color is supposed to be deep golden to copper with an average white head. The aroma is categorized as earthy, with cellar-like musk and hoppy. The flavor should be sweet, malty, and a bit of spice with some hoppy bitterness. Well, I'm here to tell you that this is pretty much what this Biere De Mars was like. It was like a mix of a Saison and a Pale Ale. It wasn't the ingenuity I was looking for, but it was enjoyable and something new. 

Rating: 83/100

Day 230: Dortmunder Gold

Name: Dortmunder Gold

Brewer: Great Lakes Brewing Company (Cleveland, OH)

Classification: Dortmunder 

Alcohol: 5.8%

Thoughts: There has been some commotion in the Triangle Beer world because Great Lakes, who has an impeccable reputation, has started to sell their beer in the area. My time at The Flying Saucer allowed me to try a Great Lakes brew for the first time. This Dortmunder Gold pours, well, a darker gold color with a crisp, white head that floated on top the entire drinking experience. The nose is very grainy with bready malts and little bit of distinct sweetness. It seemed pretty "German" to me, like a Munich Helles Lager. However the taste was very much American craft delightfulness. Here's the rundown. The taste first starts with more grainy malts than the smell signifies, which quickly turns into a zesty citrus flavor, which then finishes grassy notes and a tinge of alcoholic splash. This beer was a real surprise. I expected it to taste malty and grainy and that's about it. It was refreshingly much more than that. The carbonation is a bit fizzy and the feel is very light. I could go on and on about this beer, but I think you will just have to try it for yourself. Also, just to let you know that I am not the only one who thinks so highly of this beer, BeerAdvocate gave it a 99! And yes, that's out of 100. 

Rating: 91/100

Day 229: Green Man IPA

Name: Green Man IPA

Brewer: Green Man Ales (Asheville, NC)

Classification: English IPA

Alcohol: 6%

Thoughts: I was in the mood to drink some new beers that I've never had and from breweries I've never had beers from before. The best place to do this in Raleigh after work is The Flying Saucer. The have 200 beers on tap and another couple hundred in bottles. Its a great place to accomplish my mission. The first beer I got was Green Man IPA which is from Green Man Ales in Asheville. It poured a copper color with a foamy head. The aroma was what sold me on t his beer as I had asked for a couple of samples to choose between. It had a nutty, woody, earthy, malty smell that was a bit "old world", but really fresh. It was great to say the least. The flavor has heavy herbal hops, which is nicely balanced with nutty malt flavors. The long dry finish has just the right amount of lingering bitterness to inspire another drink. A very nice example of the British IPA style that shows that all IPAs don't need to be hop bombs to be outstanding. This brew deserves some attention.

Rating: 85/100

Day 228: Mojo IPA

Name: Mojo IPA

Brewer: Boulder Beer Company (Boulder, CO)

Classification: American IPA

Alcohol: 7.2%

Thoughts: For some reason my running distances have picked up lately. I was running about 3.1 miles when I run. Then the last three times I've run has been 4 miles, 6 miles and 5.25 miles. I think I got my MOJO, hence the beer named Mojo. This IPA pours a completely opaque gold with a fizzy, white head. To me this meant this was going to be a a clean brew in both taste and smell. The aroma has a strong citrusy, florally, sweet smell that grabs the attention of the drinker like the hook in Kanye West song. It is something good. But not as good as the taste. A fruity, tangy blast hits your tongue first and right behind that comes a bittersweet, cannabis flow over the pallet. It is a sensational taste that I really enjoyed. Boulder has created a really original beer that is well-balanced, exciting and more importantly, enjoyable!

Rating: 86/100

Day 227: Old Speckled Hen

Name: Old Speckled Hen

Brewer: Greene King/Morland Brewery (Suffolk, England)

Classification: English Pale Ale

Alcohol: 5.2%

Thoughts: I mentioned earlier this week or last week that I have been watching James May Drinks to Britain. In the show James May and Oz Clarke are traveling around the British Isles finding the drink that speaks for Britain. Well I wanted a drink that seemed a bit "Old Britain". I don't think there is a beer sold in the US that is more "Old Britain" than Old Speckled Hen. It pours this amber brown with odd pink-reddish hues. The color is very different than most beers I've had. The head was very bubbly and off-white. The aroma was very malty and slightly skunky, not in a spoiled way, but in a nostalgic way. It does have this sense of 80 year old men sitting around in a London pub talking about World War II. The taste runs along that same line of yesteryear. It has a leathery, pale malt and dry hop flavor. There is a dash of pepper, a pinch of grass and even some tartness in the taste. I liked it, but not for the right reasons. I liked it because of what it meant, not for how good of a beer it is. In all honest it isn't a great beer. It is just average. 

Rating: 77/100

Day 226: Kellerweis

Name: Kellerweis

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

Classification: Hefeweizen

Alcohol: 4.8%

Thoughts: I have been running for a little over a year now and I finally decided to break away from my 5k routine and just run as far as I could today. I managed to run for over an hour and run 10k. I was really proud of that so I wanted to have a beer worthy of my accomplishment. I stuck my head into my fridge and I came out with Sierra Nevada Kellerweis. I then poured it into my big pilsner glass and it showed a straw-gold with orange hues and a two-finger head. The aroma is mostly spicy yeast and orange peel, but a little bit of fresh hops sneaks through. The smells are cleaner than an OCD Maid's kitchen. I mean really crisp and noticeable. Most hefeweizens have the same characteristics in the taste: wheat, clove, and citrus. Kellerweis is no different there, but where it sets itself apart is in the intensity and energy that these flavors hold. This is a bold drink, but it has a flaw that I have seen before in great wheat beers. It happened with Namaste. The taste stops right before hit hits your throat and you feel like you are missing out on something. I hope that I'm not missing out on much. 

Rating: 87/100

Day 225: Stranger Pale Ale

Name: Stranger Pale Ale

Brewer: Left Hand Brewing Co. (Longmont, CO)

Classification: American Pale Ale

Alcohol: 5%

Thoughts: The Left Hand website asks a question of this beer. Is this "stranger" a friend or foe? I intend to find out the answer to that question. This Pale Ale pours a brassy-copper color with little lucidity and a tiny head. The aroma is gentle and calm with whiffs of piney hops and fruity malts. It did have a freshness to it, which I was surprised by since this is a West Coast brewery. The taste was also mild, which in a flavor is not a good thing. I have stated many times how beer should taste exciting or at least interesting. This was neither. The hops were slightly bitter, but not enough. The malts were sweet and fruity, but nothing special. The feel of this beer is crisp, but I've had crisper beer. This is a friend to the beer world, but the type of friend you see every couple of years and you ask yourself the whole time you are with them, "Why am I friends with this guy again?"

Rating: 80/100

Day 224: Triangle IPA

Name: Triangle IPA

Brewery: Triangle Brewing Co. (Durham, NC)

Classification: American IPA

Alcohol: 5.7%

Thoughts: This is the second IPA I've had from Triangle Brewing Company. However, I tried them in reverse order. They brewed this IPA a few years ago and sold it as India Pale Ale. Then the made some adjustments and sold the new beer has IPA 2.0. Well I had the IPA 2.0 a while ago and the bar I was at  tonight luckily had one of the last remaining original India Pale Ale kegs from Triangle Brewing Co. This India Pale Ale pours an orange gold with a completely faded head that neither laced nor ribboned around the glass. The aroma was very bitter and it bubbled in my nose as the vapors escaped from the glass. After a few sips I could tell that this beer needed some adjusting which is probably why Triangle went at it a second time. The taste is overly dry and there is not enough sweetness to counteract the dryness. The hops are sharp and piney, which I rather liked, but the malts were almost non-existent. There was also a bit of herb in the flavoring as well. This was a good first attempt, but I preferred the 2.0 version to this one.

Rating: 81/100

Day 223: Fat Tire

Name: Fat Tire

Brewer: New Belgium Brewing (Fort Collins, CO)

Classification: Amber Ale

Alcohol: 5.2%

Thoughts: I finally got around to reviewing Fat Tire. It is one of the most highly produced craft beers in the US and one that most people know of. I remember when it first came to the East Cost, it was all the rage. Since then other big craft breweries from out west have brought their beers to the East. In fact, New Belgium has whittled down the finalist cities for their East Coast brewery to Asheville, NC and Philly. Please let it by Asheville. Anyways, the picture above doesn't do it justice because of the flash on my camera, but it pours an opaque lighter amber color with a standard white head. The aroma was fairly simple and light. Toasted malts, sweet caramel and a little bit of brown sugar are excavated from the smell. The toasted malts and sweetness come back in the taste, but a narrow hoppiness join the party. I feel like the flavor needs to be a little more sweet or have a little more hops to balance it out, but this is a classic for sure. I don't think I need to recommend this because everyone that drinks beer has had this at one point. If not, it's worth a try. 

Rating: 82/100

Day 222: Shiner Bock

Name: Shiner Bock

Brewer: Spoetzl Brewery (Shiner, TX)

Classification: Bock

Alcohol: 4.4%

Thoughts: It is interesting how some beers have different personas in different parts of the country. For example, Yuengling sells for $4.99 a six-pack in North Carolina, but is a coveted beer in New York and Connecticut. I feel that Shiner Bock is similar to that. It is a lower priced beer in North Carolina, but it has a massive cult following in other parts of the country. I don't know why this happens, but I could write a thesis paper on it. This bock pours a clear, brown with absolutely no head on it. The aroma is simply roasted malts. It is a rather bland smell. The taste is also confounding. It has a neutral sweetness with more malty overtones and a bitter, moist finish. It really offers nothing to the drinker expect that is a really smooth drinkable beer that has a dive bar feel to it. I may not really like this beer, but after having it I can see why it has the reputation that it does. 

Rating: 72/100

Day 221: Lomza

Name: Lomza

Brewer: Browar Lomza (Lomza, Poland)

Classification: Euro Pale Lager

Alcohol: 6.2%

Thoughts: Another Euro Pale Lager on the blog, but my first beer from Poland so I couldn't pass it up. It pours a light golden straw color with a very quickly vanishing head and no lacing at all. Aroma at first was unimpressive/ It smelled almost like water with some faint grain and alcohol coming through. Near the end of the glass, after the beer had warmed a little, the aromas were more clear. Grain and malt with a slight yeasty smell. The taste was full of grains, and malt, with some slight hop flavor as well. There was some sweetness in the taste as well, which turned into hop bitterness on the finish. Mouthfeel was nice, clean crisp with medium carbonation. A very drinkable brew. Overall this was a decent beer, a typical Euro Lager style. Nothing impressive, but nothing bad either.

Rating: 78/100

Day 220: Witches' Brew

Name: Witches' Brew

Brewer: Brouwerij Van Steenberge (Ertvelde, Belgium)

Classification: Tripel

Alcohol: 9.3%

Thoughts: First of all, Happy Valentine's Day to all you love birds out there. Second of all, I got this beer yesterday when I was shopping at Whole Foods for the lavish dinner I was making Laura in honor of St. Valentine. It is a beer I had never heard of and I needed to romance myself a little, so beer would be the best way to do that. This Belgian Tripel, or Golden Ale as this Brewery called it, poured a delectable honey color with a wispy, white head. I've been watching a show on BBC America called James May Drinks to Britain. In the show I learned that hops settle in the head much more than do malts or yeast. Therefore some smells are heavily one-sided. Even though this is true I am still going to tell what these beers smell like because it is important to the enjoyment to the beer. Just know it can be misleading. This Tripel smells of dry clove, alcohol and fresh herbs. It is pretty mild though, not really exciting. The flavor is very involved though. The alcohol in this beer is very obvious and it is more than just warm. There is little sweetness, but a lot of fruitiness if that makes any sense at all. It has moments of persimmon, peaches and orange. The malt in this beer is dry and herbal, instead of sweet and dry. Altogether this beer is all over the place, but nonetheless incredible. If the flavors could be more cohesive than this beer would be mischievously good. I rather enjoyed this beer and I would have it again in the right setting, because it is an intense, full-flavored experience. 

Rating: 87/100

Day 219: Racer 5 IPA

Name: Racer 5 IPA

Brewer: Bear Republic Brewing Co. (Healdsburg, CA)

Classification: American IPA

Alcohol: 7%

Thoughts: I have been eyeballing the crap out of this beer since the beginning of my Beer Year started and I never brought myself to buy it. Mainly cause it is an IPA and I have always already had an IPA in my basket. This time I went right to it and it was the first beer in my basket so I wouldn't overlook it. This IPA pours a golden orange with a thick bubbly head. Lots of the tropical fruits, oranges, grapefruit, pine the smells with lots of lingering floral hops. If I really try I can almost smell a touch of light malt, but it smells like a delicious hop nectar. In the flavor you get great tangerine notes, peachy hop sweetness, which quickly shifts to a grapefruit. But the pine is hugely present too. The finish has some warming alcohol in it. It is a little low on the carbonation which makes it warm quicker than other beers. This is a great beer as it just smacks you up front with the hops. However the surprise is that there are a lot of different layers to the hops in it which makes it a very interesting and stupidly tasty drink. It has definitely been worth the wait.

Rating: 88/100

Day 218: Weeping Willow Wit

Name: Weeping Willow Wit

Brewer: Mother Earth Brewing (Kinston, NC)

Classification: Witbier

Alcohol:  5%

Thoughts: I really don't have an amazing story or evening a normal, boring story with Weeping Willow. I have been wanting to try it as I am a fan of Mother Earth Brewing. So I'll dive right into the review. The pour is a hazy light yellow/straw color with just a small white head. It starts off with a very bright citrus and citrus peel aroma. There is a lot of wheat and some light spices, which is pretty much how I like my witbiers. It’s not very fruity, which is sort of surprising. And of course, there’s a bit of yeast. The flavor is also not very fruity, which you don’t normally expect for a witbier, but I think it’s great. It is light on the citrus with only mild spices. Lots of wheat bread and sweet malts with a touch of yeast. The feel of this beer is light to medium bodied with medium carbonation. It is very light and refreshing and had very nice aromas and flavors. One of the better witbiers I’ve had.

Rating: 85/100

Day 217: Stella Artois

Name: Stella Artois

Brewer: Stella Artois (Leuven, Belgium)

Classification: Euro Pale Lager

Alcohol: 5%

Thoughts: I've been saving Stella Artois until I was at a restaurant and it was the only option for me. That time came when I needed to call on Stella. However, the picture I took was too dark, but the beer looked just like the one above. It was a pale yellowish-gold color with a lovely light, white head. The smell is nothing impressive as you can imagine from a mass produced beer that is shipped all over the world. I think I have let my feelings be known on the topic of mass produced beer so I will not bother you with them here. The aroma is grainy, almost like cherrios with a dash of grassy hops. Now I am about to blow your mind. I like the taste of this beer. What!?! Yes, I said I like the taste of this beer. It is a little bland, but it is wet and clean and very drinkable. The pale malts, slight bitterness and refreshing crispness create a flavor that is easy going and likable. I know I don't seem like the person to really like Stella Artois, but I have said before that I feel Euro Lagers have a place in the beer world. This is one of the best Euro Lagers too. But (a big but), there is no complexity and no challenge in drinking this beer therefore the score won't be so high. 

Rating: 79/100

Day 216: Purple Haze

Name: Purple Haze

Brewer: Abita Brewing Co. (Abita Springs, LA)

Classification: Fruit Beer

Alcohol: 4.2%

Thoughts: I think from the moment I started to notice beer as something more than a drink to get drunk Abita Purple Haze has been on my radar. I've heard it compares similarly to Magic Hat #9 and I've seen it all over the place. However, I've never actually had it. Well, I was at Laura's school to present the program that I run to her class and the other 3rd grade classes at her school. Afterwards, also after school ended, we went to Tyler's in Carrboro for a drink and possibly some of their amazing Carolina Nachos. The glass had a little foggy tinting to it so I am unsure of exactly what color it poured but it looked fairly golden. The smells were heavy on fruity esters, most likely raspberry as this beer is brewed with raspberry puree. The taste is less fruity than I thought it would probably because of biscuity malts and floral hops. The feel of this beer is rather nice as it is creamy and crisp. I expected this beer to be slightly "gimmicky" or "girly", but it's not. It is very drinkable, very clean and pretty enjoyable. 

Rating: 82/100

Day 215: Maharajah

Name: Maharajah

Brewer: Avery Brewing Company (Boulder, CO)

Classification: Imperial IPA

Alcohol: 10.3%

Thoughts: If you have an iPhone and you are a beer lover there a bevy of great beer apps to choose from. Well the one I have is Beer Gene and I rather like it. It has a recommendation section and one beer that has been on that page for the year I've had the phone is Avery's Maharaja. It had tons of great reviews and is part of their Dictator's Series which has an all-around great review. This Imperial IPA pours an impressive amber color with a tight, white head. The aroma is an intense collection of sweetness, tang, floral hops and a glass full of genius. As you can read above this beer is at 10.3% ABV and I expected that to be mixed up in the smell, but it wasn't. However, the taste has plenty of alcohol. It also has lots of earthy, sweet malts and piney, dry hops. Additionally the palate gets a splash of warmth from the alcohol and a bite from the bitterness. Herbs, mint and caramel are slightly noticeable in the flavor as well. I don't think it takes a rocket scientist to realize that this is a complex beer that offers a lot to the drinker. Not only is it sophisticted but it is undeniably enjoyably and lovable. This is easily in my Top 10 and it may end up there when I finish this quest in July. This is also a great session beer and I was able to enjoy it over a good long while. Recommendations all around from the novice to the experienced!

Rating: 93/100

Day 214: Terrapin Rye Pale Ale

Name: Rye Pale Ale

Brewer: Terrapin Beer Company (Athens, GA)

Classification: American Pale Ale

Alcohol: 5.3%

Thoughts: I feel like I've had a lot of Pale Ales on The Beer Year in the past week or so, but they have each been a little bit different. This one is a Rye Pale Ale, hence he name "Rye Pale Ale". I know I just blew your mind with that piece of trivia. This Pale Ale made with Rye pours a solid copper color with an average head. The smell on this RPA is very tempting. There are notes of grass, citrus and rye tht draw you in and set the table for the taste. After a few sips you get the intent of this beer. This beer was made simply to be different than other Pale Ales that Terrapin already has. In the process they made a beer that was not only different from their arsenal, but from most aresenals. The taste is full of pale rye, dry malts and bitter hops. It creates a very clean, smooth, but great taste. I may have spoken more highly about this beer than the rating will show, but I've been drinking. 

Rating: 84/100

Day 213: Heifer-In-Wheat

Name: Heifer-In-Wheat

Brewer: Stoudt's Brewing Co. (Adamstown, PA)

Classification: Hefeweizen 

Alcohol: 5%

Thoughts: Stoudt's Brewery made a lasting impression with their Stoudt's Gold Lager. It was in my Top 10 for a short period of time, but was knocked out after a few weeks. But the quality of the beer never left my mind and its time I tried something a little different to see if this brewery has the skills to pay the bills. Their hefeweizen, Heifer-In-Wheat, poured a cloudy gold with little specks of sediment floating beneath the thin, white head. The smell was intoxication as I really took my time sniffing it before I took my first sip to catch everything I could. There was plenty of banana, yeast and wheat, but the clove was unreal! After a couple of sips I could really tell the quality that I got from their Gold Lager was again in this hefeweizen. The taste hit on the same notes as the smell, but in more tangible ways. This is an excellent brew from a brewery with an excellent pedigree. I have only had two brews from Stoudt's but I think this guys really know how to brew some damn good beer.

Rating: 86/100

Day 212: Caldera Pale Ale

Name: Caldera Pale Ale

Brewer: Caldera Brewing Co. (Ashland, OR)

Classification: American Pale Ale

Alcohol: 5.5%

Thoughts: I went on a nice refreshing run to shed off the extra Super Bowl pounds. I got back and immediately went to the fridge for a bottle of water to cool down. However this brightly colored can of Caldera Pale Ale caught my eye and well, I couldn't resist. I was feeling a bit mischievous so I sat on the back patio cranked some LCD Soundsystem and enjoyed my beer. I don't usually get to do that on early February day. It was evident from the start that this was going to be a good afternoon. The smell rising from the beer was the most pungent aroma I have ever smelled from a can. It was like a sweet, grassy cannabis mixed with fresh baked bread. Oh it was good! The taste made me even happier. There was some fruit (most likely grapefruit), oily hops, sugar and a wonderful malty spine that balanced out the sweetness perfectly. There was no metallic aftertaste, as it was clean and moist. No dryness in this Pale Ale. I adored this beer!  Not only is this recommended but it gets the claim as being the best canned beer I've ever had.

Rating: 88/100

Day 211: Full Sail Amber

Name: Full Sail Amber

Brewer: Full Sail Brewing (Hood River, OR)

Classification: Amber Ale

Alcohol: 5.5%

Thoughts: I know I didn't actually write this post on Sunday, February 5th, but it's only because I was too busy celebrating the GIANTS WINNING THE SUPER BOWL!!!!!!!! Too many exclamation marks? No, well then here's some more !!!!!!!!!!!! Let's get to some beer. I poured a Full Sail Amber Ale into my pint glass and discovered that this beer is not amber it is brown. Well it's an opaque brown which leads me to believe that it is just a really dark amber that looks brown to the naked eye. But I had a problem right off the bat. This beer had a screw cap! Seriously? This is a Full Fail! Beer does not stay pressurized as well with screw caps and that is why it was so difficult to get any head on the top of this brew. After the pour I was able to waft the scent into my nose and that's where my issues with this beer ended. It has a sweet caramel and malt aroma that is similar to most Amber Ales, but this one hits a little harder. The taste was warming rather than refreshing, but still crisp. There are notes of toasted malts, ripe dark fruit and more sweet caramel. As I said early I have my issues with this beer, but it still holds itself together pretty well. 

Rating: 84/100

Day 210: Peacemaker Pale Ale

Name: Peacemaker Pale Ale

Brewer: Lonerider Brewery (Raleigh, NC)

Classification: American Pale Ale 

Alcohol: 5.7%

Thoughts: If I haven't said it before I love the Triangle. I love it for its restaurants, its culture, and of course ... the beer! Lonerider is one of the reasons why the beer around here is so great. They have many wonderful beers and I am a huge fan of their Pale Ale, Peacemaker. First off, this beer is fantastic for a Pale Ale. It pours a nice hazy copper color and has a decent-sized, white head. The smell is fairly strong with floral hops and caramel malt. The flavor has a pleasant tip-of-the-tongue bite and creamy, full feeling. The whole bitter hop thing lingers and it never really moves to sugary malt, which I welcome. You get a lot of earthy, floral malt up front without the heavy malt back end. The lack of sweetness makes the body seem pretty manageable. I’d definitely have a couple.

Rating: 86/100

Day 209: Juniper Pale Ale

Name: Juniper Pale Ale

Brewer: Rogue Ales (Newport, OR)

Classification: Herbed/Spiced Beer

Alcohol: 5.3%

Thoughts: I have really been getting into this idea that you can add anything you want to a recipe in order to make a beer unique. I've seen all types of fruits, vegetables, herbs and spices. This one was brewed with juniper berries. I don't really know what to expect or what to look for because I've never had juniper berries before. So here goes! Juniper Pale Ale pours a golden yellow color with only a sliver of an off-white head, which disappears completely within a minute. The nose is mainly lemon, pineapple, hops and malt. There is also an earthiness to the nose that I liked very much. The taste is fairly underwhelming though. I get the hops, but beyond that there is not much to expand on. It's also so dry that I can't really get much. The flavors evaporate so fast I can't identify them and a grainy feeling is left on your tongue. The feel is super thin and way too dry. If you are looking for something to describe the juniper berries in the smell of taste you make be waiting a long time. I didn't find anything to make me think these berries added anything to the beer. Overall, this one misses the mark for me, which is very unlike Rouge.

Rating: 75/100

Day 208: Essential Pale Ale

Name: Essential Pale Ale

Brewer: Port City Brewing (Alexandria, VA)

Classification: American Pale Ale

Alcohol: 5.5%

Thoughts: I had to be in Chapel Hill, where Laura works, for a doctor's appointment. We decided to go grab a drink and some dinner since we were both over there. Laura got a Hot Chocolate even though it was was 70 degrees out and I got this Essential Pale Ale from Port City Brewing. I drank it right from the bottle, but its a pale ale so I am sure there is not much left to the imagination as to what it looks like. The smell coming from the bottle was a zesty orange peel with fragrant hops. The taste is very bitter for a pale ale. It is almost too pale for its classification. In addition to the bitter hops there is a malty backside and a taste of buttery biscuit. The feel of this beer is a little oily and the carbonation is slight. This is a decent Pale Ale, but not exciting enough to make a fuss about. 

Rating: 78/100

Day 207: Newcastle Founder's Ale

Name: Founder's Ale

Brewer:  The Caledonian Brewery Co. LTD (Edinburgh, Scotland)
Brewed in Newcastle, England

Classification: English Pale Ale
 Alcohol: 4.8%

Thoughts: A while ago Newcastle sent me some samples to try for the blog. Well, they are back at it again! They sent their new Special Edition Founder's Ale for me to enjoy. You can see what they sent me on the Beer Me page, and don't forget you can send me samples too. I was really interested in this beer because the other beers they sent me were darker styles like English IPAs and Brown Ales. This lighter English Pale Ale poured a beautifully clear amber-brown with a middle-of-the-road sized head. This great Newcastle glass allowed for the smell to open up and for me to get a great read on it. The aroma had some notes of toasted malts, pale malts and a hint of what seemed like leather. It seemed traditional and "British". The first sips were a bit tense for me. As a fan of Newcastle I wanted this to be really good, but I needed to be partial as a reviewer. I hopefully did both jobs well. The taste had an herbal tone to it with sweet malts filing in behind it. It had a distinct nuttiness to it as well. The finish was the best part of this beer though. It was slightly dry, a tad bitter, but very clean. It is extremely drinkable with little alcohol in the flavor. This was my favorite of the beers they have sent me. I felt comfortable enough with it to drink a six-pack and I like it enough to recommend it. 

Rating: 85/100