Day 296: Doggie Style

Name: Doggie Style

Brewer: Flying Dog Brewery (Frederick, MD)

Classification: American Pale Ale

Alcohol: 5.5%

Thoughts: In the past I have avoided Flying Dog because I haven't really had good experiences with their brew. However, I decided to give them another chance and try their classic Pale Ale, Doggie Style. It pours reddish-orange/amber color with absolutely no head whatsoever. The aroma had whiffs of dry hops and pale malts, but everything was faint and slightly dull. I think some more carbonation or yeast would have made the presentation and smells a lot better. The flavor is a little citrusy, with an orange peel tang to it. The hops and malts decide to show up in the taste as they build a good base for the other flavors to build on. Brady tones and some sweetness join in on the festivities. I think the taste of this beer is really good, but everything else fails it's attempt. I judge a beer on its entirety, not one aspect. This has potential, but it needs to concentrate on those other aspects. 

Rating: 83/100

Day 295: Great Divide 18th Anniversary

Name: 18th Anniversary Wood Aged Double IPA

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

Classification: Imperial IPA

Alcohol: 10%

Thoughts: Well I'm back on the wagon as my Shitty Beer Week is over. It was a nice refresher in why I am doing this blog. I wanted to do something challenging, I wanted to learn as much about beer as I could, and I wanted to inform me that there are better beers than the mass produced crap you see in most bars and stores. I started the rest of the blog with a special beer. It is Great Divide's 18th Anniversary special. It is a wood-aged Imperial IPA and as you can see in the small snifter glass about it pours a clear amber color with a bleach white, soapy head. The presentation for this beer gets full marks. The aroma was very grainy and woody (I assume from the wood-aging process). I was expecting a big, bold, flavorful beer, but the wood was a bit underwhelming and ladened the rest of the beer. This is a very soft beer and the palate can really relax and take in this beer. The hops are muted, but not subdued, and the malts are sweet. There are notes of apple, vanilla and herbs. It creates a very different taste and an interesting one at that. When drinking this beer, don't go into it thinking that there will be a ton of hops because it is an Imperial IPA. Instead enjoy the wood-aging and the uniqueness of this beer. Oh yeah, I had this at Tyler's hence the Wife in the background. 

Rating: 85/100

Day 294: Bud Light

Shitty Beer Week!

I have decided to have a Shitty Beer Week to celebrate the horrendous mass produced beer that does such an elegant job of representing this country's beer market! Go Shitty Beer!

Name: Bud Light
Brewer: Anheuser-Busch (St. Louis, MO)
Classification: Light Lager
Alcohol: 4.2%

Thoughts: I found this review of Bud Light and I am going to repost on here because it says it all. "Smells and tastes like a combination of alkaseltzer, pennies, seaweed and lake water. Truly terrible! The perfect beer for a) poor people; b) young people; c) people who don't know better; d) big parties or some combination thereof. With that said, the fact that this shit is the best selling beer in the world does not speak to quality but rather illustrates that bud light is the fast food of beers."

Rating: 52/100

Day 293: Miller Lite

Shitty Beer Week!

I have decided to have a Shitty Beer Week to celebrate the horrendous mass produced beer that does such an elegant job of representing this country's beer market! Go Shitty Beer!

Name: Miller Lite
Brewer: Miller Brewing Co. (Milwaukee, WI)
Classification: Light Lager
Alcohol: 4.17%


Thoughts: First of all, they misspelled Light. L-I-T-E? They must be marketing to the morons in this country! The morons that wouldn't realize how shitty this beer is. Miller Lite advertises as "More Taste, Less Filling", but in fact it is "Less Taste, More Shitty". Miller Lite is a ridiculously bad beer. You just cannot put any of the beers on Shitty Beer Week up against any of the craft beers I have had on The Beer Year. There is honestly no comparison. Long Live the Craft Beer!


Rating: 51/100

Day 292: Corona

Shitty Beer Week!

I have decided to have a Shitty Beer Week to celebrate the horrendous mass produced beer that does such an elegant job of representing this country's beer market! Go Shitty Beer!

Name: Corona

Brewer: Grupo Modelo (Mexico City, Mexico)

Classification: American Adjunct Lager

Alcohol: 4.6%

Thoughts: How do you say shitty in Spanish?

Rating: 54/100

Day 291: Yuengling

Shitty Beer Week!

I have decided to have a Shitty Beer Week to celebrate the horrendous mass produced beer that does such an elegant job of representing this country's beer market! Go Shitty Beer!

Name: Yuengling 

Brewer: Yuengling Brewery (Pottsville, PA)

Classification: Amber Lager

Alcohol: 4.4%

Thoughts: There are two "shitty" beers that I genuinely like. This is one of those. BeerAdvocate actually gives it an 80 rating. And in the North you see this beer sell for $10 a 6-pack (in the South it is $5). So I don't know how shitty this can actually be called, but it is massed produced, cheap as hell, and made in Pennsylvania (2nd to Jersey as the worst state in the Union). If I was going to recommend one beer this week, this would be it. I really like Yuengling and I will drink it until the day I die. 

Rating: 74/100

Day 290: Budweiser

Shitty Beer Week!

I have decided to have a Shitty Beer Week to celebrate the horrendous mass produced beer that does such an elegant job of representing this country's beer market! Go Shitty Beer!

Name: Budweiser

Brewer: Anheuser-Busch (St. Louis, MO)

Classification: American Adjunct Lager

Alcohol: 5%

Thoughts: If this is the King of Beers than I'm the King of Models. Trust me, I'm not all that pretty. Budweiser is THE classic icon of American beer. It just is. And in the time I have been drinking beer this was the first one I have ever had. I got a nice big 24oz. can and brown bagged it on the back porch. It was rather nice, until I drank the beer. The smell is as bland as unseasoned boiled leather and as exciting as a paralyzed mime. Tasting this beer was nearly as offensive as my mime joke. I got notes of shit with undertones of shit and sweetened shit. It was just plain shitty. How this became so popular I will never understand, but then again, I don't understand how the TEA Party gets votes. 

Rating: 46/100

Day 289: Coors Light

Shitty Beer Week!

I have decided to have a Shitty Beer Week to celebrate the horrendous mass produced beer that does such an elegant job of representing this country's beer market! Go Shitty Beer!

Name: Coors Light

Brewer: Coors Brewing Company (Golden, CO)

Classification: Light Lager

Alcohol: 4.2%

Thoughts: Wow! Coors Light is so shitty! How Shitty? Really Shitty! I wouldn't have this again even if North Korea launched nuclear weapons and the only way to stop them was to drink Coors Light. Instead I would offer the Coors Light to Kim Jong Un hoping that he would die from boredom, because this beer is so boring. It smells like the underside of a hippo after its been sitting in a river for weeks. It tastes as if all the ingredients in it were bought from Big Lots. If you are a fan of any of the beers of Shitty Beer Week, you need to rethink your life, especially with Coors Light. Shame on you! Overall: Pretty Shitty.

Rating: 44/100

Day 288: Don de Dieu

Name: Don de Dieu

Brewer: Unibroue (Chambly, Quebec, Canada)

Classification: Belgian Strong Pale Ale

Alcohol: 9%

Thoughts: As you may know Canadians that live in Quebec speak French. So, most, if not all, of the beers from Unibroue are French names. This one, Don de Dieu, was the ship that Samuel de Champlain sailed on from Europe to Canada. He's the dude that started Quebec. Well Don de Dieu means "Gift of God". This beer is pretty much that. It pours a beaming copper-orange with an enormous and foamy head. I actually waited a while for the head to calm down before taking the picture. It was literally through the roof. This all-around-you aroma packs a Mike Tyson like punch. It adds together scents of pepper, vanilla, grapefruit and lots of Belgian yeast to create a profoundly enjoyable smell. Beware, you may forget to drink the beer because you will be spending a lot of time smelling it. The taste however is a Hulk like punch of flavor that nearly knocks out the palate. I got sweet-wheat malts, fruity hops, lots of clove, honey, yeast and a number of other wonderfully descriptive notes. The feel is bright and fresh, and the finish is bittersweet with a warming alcoholic sensation that hits all the right buttons. This will slide into my Top 10 pretty easily and I think it is an unbelievably great beer. Unfortunately I am exhausted and not able to give a better more original description of how amazing this beer really is. Forgive me. 

Rating: 93/100

Day 287: Turbodog

Name: Turbodog

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

Classification: English Brown Ale

Alcohol: 5.6%

Thoughts: I'll be honest, I only picked this out because it was on sale. I know, I should be trying beers I want to try and not ones that are convenient. It is not that I didn't want to try it, but I wasn't very excited about it. Although, sometimes things work out a lot better than you intend for them to. This beer pours out a nice dark color, that produces a nice light brown head and lace on the glass. The aroma consists of toffee, chocolate, and some roasted malts. This is a good beer on a cold, rainy day like today. The taste is almost a mirror of the aroma but with more chocolate and toffee showing through, while the finish is a mix of some nuttiness and caramel. The feeling is creamy like a coffee with half & half and sugar. Of all the Abita beers I have had, this is the best, plus it is brewed with a very high quality. A full recommendation from me.

Rating: 86/100

Day 286: Conscription

Name: Conscription

Brewer: Roth Brewing (Raleigh, NC)

Classification: American IPA

Alcohol: 3.8%

Thoughts: With all of the NC Breweries that I have featured on this blog I cannot believe that I just now have gotten to Roth Brewing. For two reasons: 1. They make really good and interesting beers 2. I went to high school with the Roth Brothers! Eric, the younger Roth, was in a number of my college classes as well. I have had a few of their beers. These aren't cheap bottles of beer, so I usually only get it on draft. I however, I got Conscription, their low-ABV IPA. I don't know if it is intentionally low, but it is only 3.8%, pretty low. It also has a real clear yellowish gold hue to it, pretty different. The head was very minimal, but the bubbles crack in your ear it was so crisp. The aroma floating above this beer is noticeable and pleasant. I did sense the light, sunshine filled hops first. The sweet malts and sugary apple juice-like flavor come in afterwards to create a unique and rather daring IPA. I say daring because it is really different compared to any other IPA I have had, but not necessarily better. The tartness (or whatever it is, tough to say) at the very end of the taste is a bit if an issue. It leaves a weird aftertaste and I didn't like that. Other than that this is a really interesting beer. Something a bit unexpected, and a bit bold. I am going to do my best to get more of their beer on before the end of The Beer Year is up. 

Rating: 82/100

Day 285: Hop Rod Rye

Name: Hop Rod Rye

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

Classification: Rye Beer

Alcohol: 8%

Thoughts: Hop Rod Rye has received critical acclaim as one of the best Rye IPAs in the craft beer world. I have had a number of chances to try it, but this is the first time I was able to get a bottle of it for The Beer Year. I did make a mistake when drinking in this though. I had it late at night after I had already had a few other beers. My palate probably needed to be cleansed and my stomach was a little full. Despite that I thoroughly enjoyed this beer. It poured a dark auburn brown with a weak, dissipating head. It was murky like a wheat beer, and I assume this is due to the rye used to brew it. The aroma was much more like a summery beer than a darker beer as this one appears to be. Grassy hops, sweet rye and a good bit of citrus peel are all in the nose of this beer. Its like a mild-mannered IPA but with a hint of wheat or rye. After a few sips of this creamy brew I was really able to get the rye. It is a dark, marbled rye that has more brown sugar than raw sugar. The next thin I noticed was the bitterness. The hops are half grassy and half citrusy, which makes the bitterness rather enjoyable. The rest of the flavors are the usually sweetness and graininess, nothing fancy. Overall I was really impressed by this beer. The more I drank it, the more I wanted it. The last few sips were the best. This is a good example of how a beer grows on you. Two thumbs up and a full recommendation. 

Rating: 87/100

Day 284: Bell's Oberon Ale

Name: Oberon Ale

Brewer: Bell's Brewery (Kalamazoo, MI)

Classification: American Wheat Pale Ale

Alcohol: 5.8%

Thoughts: Bell's is back with another one of their highly popular brews. Oberon Ale is a Wheat Ale that I feel like I a lot of people really like. I mean when they hear "Oberon Ale" they nearly crap their pans with excitement. However, I just don't get it and I definitely don't feel the same way. It pours a radiant orange color with a big, creamy head. If you look in the picture you can see that the head was already lacing on the glass. The smells are strictly wheat. I expected more citrus or at least some sort of sweetness, but it was nowhere to be found. The taste and flavor of Oberon Ale is pretty good. The wheat and yeast is soft. There is some good fruitiness and a wee bit of hops. The aftertaste lingers a lot and has a good bitterness to it. I think this beer is worthy of being drunk in a number of ways. I just don't think it is this super amazing beer that deserves to be praised like I have seen it. And maybe that is just me. Maybe I'm the only person who has seen people freak out over this beer. Either way, this beer is just good.

Rating: 84/100

Day 283: Demo

Name: Demo

Brewer: Magic Hat Brewing Co. (Burlington, VT)

Classification: American Black Ale

Alcohol: 6%

Thoughts: This Black IPA is part of a special series from Magic Hat and I felt I needed to familiarize myself with it. It pours a bark, murky black color with a naturally tan head that fizzled pretty quickly. The smell was a little subdued and it lacked any real tangency. I was able to sense some chocolate nibs as well as some toasted malts that reminded me of a stout. Before I even put my lips to the glass I expected it to be full of roasted malts and maybe some chocolate and toffee, at least some sort of sweetness. That is pretty much what I got. It is just what you expect from a black beer because of the malts used to get that color. The one thing that was unexpected was the tremendous aftertaste. It is really the only reason I would recommend this beer. It tastes like a hot chocolate. It coats the throat and tongue with a winter warming like chocolatiness. Maybe this would taste better warmer and maybe even better in winter. 

Rating: 81/100

Day 282: Legend Pale Ale

Name: Legend Pale Ale

Brewer: Legend Brewing Co. (Richmond, VA)

Classification: American Pale Ale

Alcohol: 6.4%

Thoughts: This is a brewery I was introduced to at the Beer Festival on Saturday. I didn't get to try any of their beer because I was pretty drunk and honestly didn't any more beer by the time I got to their table. I just happen to find a couple styles of their beer at the store. So if I like it I may have more of it later. This beer pours a clear, light orange color with a decent head of white foam on the surface. The aromatics are full of citrus notes. There is a bit of orange and lemon zests as well and a touch of grapefruit in there. So, lots of fruit! Great hop additions in the aroma too. There's really nothing to say as far as how the beer is flavor-wise. There is the obvious light, bitter hops and sweet malts. This beer is light crisp and refreshing. This beer is unassuming, it's not gonna win any awards, but it's a pretty good beer overall. It's hard to define why it's quality, but I can assure you that this beer is not a bad choice.

Rating: 82/100

Day 281: Beasley's Honey White

Name: Beasley's Honey White

Brewer: Fullsteam Brewery (Durham, NC)

Classification: Witbier

Alcohol: 5%

Thoughts: I said on Friday that a few of us went to Fullsteam after hitting up Bull City Burger & Brewery. Well it was an amazing day outside so we got a few beers and sat down to play Spades. It was a lovely way to spend a Friday evening.  I picked out the Beasley's Honey White because it was the only one on tap I had not had. Beasley’s Honey White is an unfiltered white ale brewed with Bee Blessed Pure Honey, North Carolina oats, and Tellicherry black pepper for Beasley's Chicken + Honey in Raleigh. As you can see in the picture it pours a cloudy orange that nearly matches the table underneath it. The head is bright white and slightly wispy. The nose has an overpowering pepper scent to it as well as some undertones of sweet honey and malts. It is a very savory smell that I can see going extremely well with Chicken and Waffles. The taste is again big on the pepper and sweetness. There is a mound of flavor in every sip. It is easy to drink despite the burning spice in the back of your throat. I liked this beer a lot, but it has its issues. That doesn't stop me from wanting more!

Rating: 84/100

Day 280: World Beer Festival

I spent the day enjoying All About Beer's World Beer Festival in downtown Raleigh. With over 100 different breweries represented and over 300 different beers available I was pretty much in Beer Lover's heaven. Everybody got a little glass that you could use to stroll around and fill up from all the different vendors. They only pour you 2oz at a time, which means you can try tons of beers. I don't remember all the ones I tried and I lost count after about 20, but I think I ended up somewhere in the mid 30s in number of beers tried. I do remember getting to try beers from many breweries that have been featured on this blog including Allagash, Unibroue, North Coast, and pretty much every NC brewery. As well as some new breweries. 

They also had food pairing exhibits to try as well as forums and guest speakers. I managed to get a lot of free stickers and I ran into a number of friends. It was just overall a great afternoon. The have another one in Durham in October and I may just have to go to that one too. So, I know I didn't feature one beer on here today, but I drank plenty. 

Day 279: Reel Amber Ale

Name: Reel Amber Ale

Brewer: Bull City Burger & Brewery (Durham, NC)

Classification: Amber Ale

Alcohol: ?

Thoughts: It's Friday night and I'm feeling right, the party's here on the west side! Well not entirely. Tonight the wife, friends and myself took a trip downtown Durham for a little Bull City Burger & Brewery. We also made our way up to Fullsteam, which will be discussed on Sunday. For now I am concentrating on BCBB's Reel Amber Ale which was brewed specially for the 15th Annual Full Frame Festival held in Durham every year, which also happens to be going on. The Amber Ale poured a real clear, solid Amber color with a lightly tan, but enormous head. The aroma is very herbal and earthy with a good malt contingent. It smelled freshly brewed as this is only the second day it was on sale. I did expect more from the taste, but it is sill a fantastic beer. The beer balances bitter hops and sweet malts quite well. A nice dry spice is also swimming around in there. I can't really argue against anything I just wish it had a little more of everything in it. BCBB keeps stacking up the count of good beers. Three on The Beer Year and three with good reviews. 

Rating: 83/100

Day 278: Allagash Dubbel

Name: Dubbel

Brewer: Allagash Brewing Co. (Portland, ME)
Classification: Dubbel
Alcohol: 7%

Thoughts: I got to work at 6:30 this morning! 6:30! I had to get some extra stuff done before the usual 8:00. However, this meant that I got off of work at 2:30! Yeah, 2:30! I took full advantage of it by doing a little day drinking. My options were limited because I need to go to the store, but I did have Allagash Brewing's Dubbel sitting in the fridge. Plus it was a cool day in the 60s so a Dubbel suited the palate just right. The picture actually does not due this beer justice. It is a lighter reddish-brown and has a burst of yellowish-orange at the bottom of the glass. The head is an eggshell white that creates a thin film-like layer that sits on the beer the whole way down. The smell radiated from the glass as notes of toasted malts, raw sugar, belgian yeast and roasted nuts spread out around the room. To me the smell indicated that the taste was going to be big. It wasn't quite as big as I thought, but it packed a punch. There is nothing really new from the aroma, but I can repost that the nutty, sweet, malty flavors were surprisingly crisp and light. This contradicts some of the previous Dubbels that I have had. I'm not going to complain about it though, because this is the most drinkable Dubbel I have had. Allagash is one of maybe 3 or 4 breweries that does no wrong in my eyes.

Rating: 86/100

Day 277: Carlsberg

Name: Carlsberg

Brewer: Carlsberg Danmark (Copenhagen, Denmark)

Classification: German Pilsner

Alcohol: 5%

Thoughts: There is a little European Deli about a mile from my house and I have not been in it despite living within walking distance from it for 2 years. Well today I decided to go and just see what was in there, and to my surprise the served beer on draft in half-liters and liters! That is how beer should be served in my mind. In a big size and an even bigger size! And it was the same price as American pints! I freaked out a little and despite be the only person in the grocery I asked for a half-liter of Denmark's Finest! Carlsberg pours a strong gold color with a paper-thin head that is nearly invisible. The smell and aroma is a pretty easy catch as it is the same smell you get from most European beers. It is very bready and grainy with a hint of hops, but mostly malts. You really have to break away from the mainstream beer in Europe, as you do in America to find the truly good stuff. However, the taste of Carlsberg has always pleased me. It is such a simple beer, that offers up refreshment and enjoyment quite easily. There is a small pocket of flavor including grassy notes, more bready malts and the faintest tone of citrus. It supplies just enough sweetness to make you want a second, and a third, and maybe even a fourth. The rating on the beer maybe be low, but my respect for Carlsberg is high. I do enjoy this beer, despite its old-world flavors and simplicity. 

Rating: 74/100

Day 276: Hopzilla

Name: Hopzilla

Brewer: Terrapin Beer Company (Athens, GA)

Classification: Imperial IPA

Alcohol: 10.8%

Thoughts: The more beer I drink the more I have to pee. Also, the more beer I drink the more I see this phenomenon of having hops somewhere in the name of an IPA. There are two in my Top 10 and many more that have been featured on The Beer Year. This is one of the least original names, but one of the best beers feature the word Hop in the name. It pours a cloudy orangey-gold with an uneven, creamy head. The smells are immediate as they shoot up from the glass to catch your olfactory off guard. Blasts of grapefruit and other tropical flavors are on one side of the nose and big, floral hops are on the other side. Usually after you pour a beer and smell you have the intention of drinking it. There is nothing different here as I did the same. I thought I would just throw you off a bit. This taste is big! I mean A-Rod ego big! And I'm a Yankee fan. A heaping helping of fruity notes, even more fragrant hops, and a nice touch of bitterness. There is a great sophistication to this beer that really challenges the palate and the mind. This is a true craft beer that needs a little experience to honestly enjoy, but I recommend it to anybody that can take the 10.8% ABV.

Rating: 88/100

Day 275: Atwater Maibock

Name: Maibock

Brewer: Atwater Brewery (Detroit, MI)

Classification: Maibock

Alcohol: 7.5%

Thoughts: Having a craft brewery in Detroit is like having an IKEA in Dothan, Alabama. The culture is just not there for the most part for something like this to survive. However, when you take a hard working, blue-collar attitude and mix it with a craft brewery you may have some success. Atwater seems to be that perfect mix. Their maibock pours a hazy brown and copper color with a highly carbonated head. The aroma is very bready and grainy. The malts really take command of the nose of this beer and not much can get through. The taste is also incredibly malty. I dare call it the Malt-ic Sea! Oh Yeah! I went there. There is some butterscotch flavoring and pinch grassy, herbal hops. The bops and butterscotch don't offer up much of a break from the malts though. If you like malts this is an epic drink, but if not I'd give it a try, but not much more than that. 

Rating: 79/100 

Day 274: Rocky Mountain IPA

Name: Rocky Mountain IPA

Brewer: Fort Collins Brewery (Fort Collins, CO)

Classification: American IPA

Alcohol: 6.2%

Thoughts: Got back from Wilmington a little bit ago after spending the weekend with family for Easter. I unloaded the car, grabbed a beer and watched a wonderful finally 2 hours of the Masters. The beer I chose was Rocky Mountain IPA from Fort Collins Brewery. It poured a light amber color with a thick, lightly tan head. The head did its very best to lace around the glass as I drank the beer. The smell was classic American IPA with notes of rich malts, dank hops and grapefruit. It was a refreshing, enticing aroma. Next came the drinking part of the process and it was a good one. If the smell was classic then the taste was the prime example of an American IPA taste. Hops on hops on hops with different aromatics and flavors mixed with those rich, earthy malts left me with a glazed look. The bitterness was not over the top and the finish was dry enough to make you notice, but not enough to make you hate it. This is a flavorful, rather intense beer and I recommend it to drinkers who love that hoppiness in an IPA because this beer has got that good. 

Rating: 86/100

Day 273: Saison De Aviator

Name: Saison De Aviator

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

Classification: Saison

Alcohol: 7.5%

Thoughts: I had sometime to kill today so I thought I would pop on down to the bar and grab me a nice cold one. They had their usual draft selection, but with Spring Seasonals coming out they landed a couple of kegs of Saison De Aviator. I saw it on the board as soon as I walked in and I ordered it before I sat down at the bar. It pours a frosty gold with a snowy white head. The light shinning through it was gorgeous. I didn't really need to stick my nose in the beer as the aroma was quite lofty and potent. I got a lot of spice and wheat. They were the two main components and were fairly strong leaning on each other to support the nose. I also got some bitterness from the hops. A little different from most saisons. I was able to enjoy this beer while watching Baseball and the Masters which was a mini-Sportsgasm in itself. The beer made it even better because of its spring like flavors and pertinent enjoyability. Dark fruits, citrus, pepper, clove, and a nice balance of malts and hops are all available for tasting in the brew. This been really grabs at the senses and sends little tingles down the tongue and throat. Saison De Aviator is a really good, experience-worthy beer. 

Rating: 85/100

Day 272: Joe's Premium American Pilsner

Name: Joe's Premium American Pilsner

Brewer: Avery Brewing Co. (Boulder, Co)

Classification: German Pilsner

Alcohol: 4.7%

Thoughts: "A contemporary rendition of a classic style. Hopped with purpose, Joe's is beautifully bitter and dry with an abundance of floral, Noble German hops. Uber-sessionable. Utterly American. This is Premium American Pilsner." That is the description I read about this beer. Well then I must have gotten a bad batch, because all I tasted was an over carbonated, under malted, awfully bitter, smell-less can of seltzer water. No way this could have been a good can of beer, must of gotten shaken way too much or something because it was dreadful. I may come back to this and try it another time, but for now...

Rating: 47/100

Day 271: Genesee Cream Ale

Name: Genesee Cream Ale

Brewer: Genesee Brewing Co. (Rochester, NY)

Classification: Cream Ale

Alcohol: 5.1% 

Thoughts: I was feeling something traditional, but new to me when I picked out Genesee Cream Ale. Apparently they have been around a long time, but I have never heard of them. I was also in the mood to drink straight from the bottle when I picked it out of the fridge. Therefore no pour and no picture of what it looks like. However, most Cream Ales I have had have been very crystalline and clear with a lot of carbonation and little head. I expect that this one is similar to those. The smell of this beer was pretty much non-existent. I got nothing but a faint alcohol smell. So not a good start for Genesee. I took a few sips of this, rather enjoying the texture and feel of it. However, the taste never met my expectations. There is a little sweetness and a lit bit of creaminess to it. There is also a wee bit of hops and malts that are as noticeable as Secret Service agent. Take that crappy analogy for what you will. Now the upside of this beer is that  it is cheap. The cheapest single bottle of beer I have bought at a store before at only $1.19 a bottle. This is a better alternative to Bud Light and Miller Lite. 

Rating: 74/100

Day 270: ACME California Pale Ale

Name: ACME California Pale Ale

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

Classification: American Pale Ale

Alcohol: 5%

Thoughts: Holy Guacamole! I am 9 months and 3/4 of the way through this Beer Year! I cannot believe how fast it is going. I feel as if this has become so much a part of my life that I will have to readjust to not having to drink and review a beer everyday. Today I have selected North Coast's ACME Pale Ale. It was one I had put off trying for a number of reasons, but today it has been selected. It pours a crystalized copper-gold color with a pretty solid, white head that sort of floats above the beer. Right off the bat you can tell this beer is trying to separate itself from other APAs. The smell is a bit musty with yeast and wet grains. There is also an outdoors like smell, like fresh flowers and fruit still on the tree. The taste was a definitely different from the norm as it had a sharp carbonated stab to the tongue which was then overcome with grainy suds, mild hops and and what seemed like a peppery Belgian yeast. The type of yeast you see in Saisons and Belgian style beers. Maybe this is what was throwing me off. The flavoring is one of a kind and I could see people on both ends of the spectrum having their own opinions about it. It could be great, it could be mediocre. I am somewhere in the middle of that.  

Rating: 81/100

Day 269: Hop Wallop

Name: Hop Wallop

Brewer: Victory Brewing Co. (Downington, PA)

Classification: Imperial IPA

Alcohol: 8.5%

Thoughts: Another beer that caught my eye at Tyler's was Victory's Hop Wallop. As you can see in the picture this looks like no other Imperial IPA you make have seen. It looks like a simple Kolsch or Pale Ale because it is opaque and bright gold. Usually an Imperial IPA is hazy and a darker color; anywhere between copper and brown. It made me slightly wary of what was to come. After one whiff of this walloping Imperial IPA took away all my doubts and reminded me of the old saying, "Never judge a plastic surgeon by how he looks, just on how he operates" (I just made that shit up). This delectable beast operates pretty damn well. The aroma is one great big nostril orgy of aromatic, piney hops and super-floral fruit esters. The body of this beer is very clean and light with enough malt to not allow the hops to subdue your taste buds like Steven Seagal judo chopping some bad guys. The fruit is where it is at though. Lots of berries and citrus in the flavor. And the bitter hops finish the palate off like a Thai Masseuse. I know that is a pretty vulgar statement, but I was close to that feeling. I was literally hop walloped by this beer. Nothing short of amazing!

Rating: 93/100

Day 268: Burton Baton

Name: Burton Baton

Brewer: Dogfish Head Craft Brewery (Milton, DE)

Classification: Imperial IPA

Alcohol: 10%

Thoughts: Today was perfect weather-wise. 76 degrees, sunny, a slight breeze. Big Boss even tweeted to share that it was perfect drinking weather. I happen to agree so the wife and I went to Tyler's for the first time in a while. Their menu was looking good, but the waiter said they had a few things not on the menu that were pretty interesting. He then listed about 4 or 5 Imperial IPAs that I have been dying to try. So I started with Dogfish Head's Burton Baton, which is an oak-aged Imperial IPA that is twisted together with an old-world English Ale. It is a pretty unique beer that I have been wanting to try for a while. It pours a creamy orangey-copper with a soapy, white head. The aroma is full of life with its hints of apricot and vanilla. Not to mention the fragrant hops and malty undertone that give this smell its wings. I expect this to be an intense beer that would knock me off my feet. I based this anticipation off of the high gravity and forward aroma. However, it left a bit to be desired. It is a great beer, please don't get me wrong, but all the hype didn't come  to fruition. The oakiness was underwhelming, the alcohol was subdued, and all the fruit and sweetness couldn't make up for that. I think I am being a little hard on Burton Baton. I think that I am usually harsher on beers that are so close to being great that I knock them down a peg or two out of spite. That is wrong of my and I send my full apologies to this beer. 

Rating: 89/100

Day 267: Kronenbourg 1664

Name: Kronenbourg 1664

Brewer: Brasserie Kronenbourg (Stratsbourg, France) 

Classification: Euro Pale Lager

Alcohol: 5.9%

Thoughts: I will be honest and say that I had this beer yesterday and that I am using it for today, but it is only because I will be traveling all day. I will be having a beer today, most likely one of my Power Out Pale Ales. Anyways, Kronenbourg gets around and I am sure many people have seen it in bottles. However, outside France I have never seen it on draft. I loved it when I was in France and I hoped I would do the same here in the States. It pours a standard pale gold color with a bubbly, white head that tickled your nose as you sniffed the beer. The smells were made up of freshly baked bread and faint grassy hops. It was a bit more relaxed than I remembered. The taste was a little flatter than I remember. Not that it wasn't as good, just not as carbonated. Grains and pale malts made up the bulk of the flavor, but once again the hops sprung to life to give the beer just enough to make it enjoyable. As always this beer is better where it came from. So much so that I had to ask myself if it is the nostalgia that makes this beer better. Maybe so. 

Rating: 80/100