Avery Brewing New World Porter

Avery New World Porter was not at all what I was expecting. I expected the usual dark coffee and chocolate flavors. What I got was a ton of hops. Reviews I've read elsewhere talk about the standard porter flavors being in there, but to me, this could have passed for an IPA if I had tasted it without seeing it. It was similar to Troegs' Dead Reckoning porter, but even hoppier.

Update: A lot of the strange flavor the first night was probably due to whatever I had been eating. I finished the rest of the six pack and while it was definitely very hoppy I could taste the standard porter flavors, too.

Ridgeway Lump of Coal

Lump of Coal is another Christmas themed seasonal beer I decided to try. I'm a sucker for any beer with a funny name or picture on it, so this caught my attention. This is a dark English ale, similar to Hobgoblin. It's fairly bitter, as expected, and is slightly thin and watery. Overall I enjoyed it, but there are a lot of other beers I would turn to first for a dark beer, since I prefer a bit thicker, heavier drink.

Troegs Brewing Company Mad Elf Ale

Ewww. I really wanted to like this. I've been slowing working my way through the six pack for a few weeks now hoping that it'll grow on me. Unfortunately, Mad Elf Ale is just not doing it for me. Without the cherry it would probably be great. The cherry flavoring makes this taste like beer mixed with cough syrup.

Southern Tier Brewing Company Oat

Oat is actually the second beer I've had from Southern Tier Brewing Company, but I haven't gotten around to mentioning the other yet. Oat is a pretty good Imperial Oatmeal Stout. As expected, it's dark and fairly bitter with hints of coffee and chocolate and a just a slight bit of alcohol coming through.

New Holland Brewing Company Dragon's Milk

I don't think New Holland Brewing Co. makes a bad beer. I've been really enjoyed everything I've tried from them. Dragon's Milk continues the trend. This is an excellent stout aged in oak barrels. It has that nice stout flavor with oak and vanilla. It's not the thickest stout I've had, but thick enough, and very smooth. This is good stuff. I wish they sold it in 6 packs and not just 22oz bottles so that I could drink this stuff all week.

Rogue Brewery Double Dead Guy Ale

Double Dead Guy Ale is a limited edition brew from Rogue Brewery based on the Dead Guy Ale. This is really good stuff. It's pretty thick and heavy, with a nice hoppy finish. Not IPA hoppy, just a nice bitterness that sticks around for a few minutes. It also comes in a really cool 750mL bottle that is painted red.

Left Hand Brewing Company Jackman's American Pale Ale

Jackman's American Pale Ale is a nice change of pace from my usual heavy, dark beers. It's light and crisp, like a light lager. It's fairly malty with just a hint of bitterness, rather than the over the top bitterness that is popular these days with IPAs and similar styled beers.

Williamsburg Alewerks Washington's Porter

Washington's Porter from Williamsburg Alewerks is yet another hit. It's fairly light compared to a lot of porters I've had, so I can easily drink several of them. The tasty is malty and somewhat sweet at first with a reasonably bitter finish which rounds it out nicely.

Terrapin Beer Co. Depth Charge

Terrapin Depth Charge is the second beer in a series where Terrapin Beer Co. and Left Hand Brewing have teamed up to create limited release beers. This one is a delicious espresso milk stout. I expected something closer to their coffee oatmeal stout, but this is a little bit lighter, less boldly flavored beer. It's almost like an iced coffee with alcohol, with a smooth coffee flavor which is evened out by the sweetness of the milk stout.

Cave Creek Chili Beer

Cave Creek Chili Beer is both disappointing and a pleasant surprise. I was afraid that I was buying a really expensive Miller Lite with a flavorless chili in the bottom. The good news is that it doesn't just taste like a Miller Lite. Unfortunately, it's a bit gimmicky and I was kind of tired of it before the end of the bottle. I'm definitely glad I didn't buy a six pack of these. Chili Beer is a standard lager which has a Serrano pepper in the bottom to add some flavor. Unfortunately, the pepper is basically all you taste. It's pretty cool for the first few sips, assuming you like hot peppers, but quickly grows old.

Stone Brewery Smoked Porter

Stone Brewery's Smoked Porter is a bit different than other Stone beers. Most Stone beers have a very big, strong flavor. The smoked porter still has a big flavor, but not as big as most of their other beers. Much like with The Poet, this only adds to the drinkability. Stone beers are all very good, but they're strong and can be hard to drink a lot of. The slightly more subtle flavor just means that more of this can be enjoyed at once.

New Holland Brewing Company The Poet

The Poet is a delicious oatmeal porter. It has a bit lighter flavor than many beers of this style, but that just adds to the drinkability, making this a beer that I can easily drink several bottles of. The flavor is pretty much what you'd expect, coffee and chocolate, primarily. There are no real surprises, it's just very well done.

Orkney Brewery Skullsplitter

Fortunately, Skullsplitter is not referring to the morning after you drink it. Skullsplitter is named after a viking who was the 7th Earle or Orkney. Anything named after a viking has got to be awesome. I really liked this beer. It was very smooth and malty, with a flavor very similar to a quality double bock. Skullsplitter is on my list of beers to add to my regular selection.

Penn Brewery Penn Pilsner

Well, it's a pilsner. Penn Pilsner isn't terrible, but it just doesn't have much flavor. As far as pilsner's go, it's not bad, I tend to not be able to taste them much in general. It is a little better than your standard big company brews, though.

Stone Brewery Imperial Russian Stout

Like everything I've had from Stone Brewery, the Imperial Russian Stout is excellent. It has a big, strong flavor, which is expected from Stone Brewery and is nice and thick. This is easily one of the best stouts that I have had.

Tommyknocker Brewery Butt Head

Disappointing. I've had a couple other beers from Tommyknocker that were very good. Between that and really liking most double bocks I expected to really enjoy Butt Head. I did not. I can't put my finger on what it was, but the flavor was very odd and just had something to it that I did not like.

The Duck-Rabbit Craft Brewery Milk Stout

Last week when I picked up a Milk Stout The Beer Girl recommended The Duck-Rabbit's Milk Stout. The Beer Girl is the girl who is usually running the register when I go pick up beer and since I don't know her name, I'll call her The Beer Girl. Back to the beer now. On her recommendation, I decided to try it since I liked the other Milk Stout. She was mostly right. This beer has excellent flavor. It's dark and somewhat creamy and sweet. This would possibly be my favorite beer if not for one problem. It's way too damned carbonated. The carbonation is so high it's distracting.

I tend to drink straight from the bottle all the time. I'm sure some beer snobs out there consider that near blasphemy, but whatever. In any case, I may give this one a try from a glass to see if that evens out the carbonation some.

Terrapin Beer Co. Big Hoppy Monster

Big Hoppy Monster is the second brew I've tried from Terrapin Beer Co. This is an Imperial Red Ale, which is like an Irish Red such as Killian's or Smithwick's with a whole lot more hops. Big Hoppy Monster is the first of this style that I've tried and I think I'll need to investigate this style a little more. Red Ales are some of my favorites as it is and adding some extra, big flavor is a nice change of pace.

Clipper City Brewing Co. Heavy Seas Big DIPA

The Big DIPA is a limited release Double IPA from Clipper City Brewing Co. Like everything I've had from Clipper City Brewing Co., this is a pretty good, enjoyable beer with a strong flavor. In this case, being a Double IPA, that strong flavor is hops. It's rated at 75 IBUs, so it's not the most bitter beer out there, but it's certainly up there.

Lancaster Brewing Co. Milk Stout

Lancaster Brewing Co. Milk Stout was a nice change from some of the other stouts I've been drinking lately. It has the same coffee and chocolate flavor, but it's balanced some by the sweetness from the lactose. That seems to make it a little more drinkable and slightly less heavy feeling than a lot of stouts.

Lagunitas Imperial Stout

Lagunitas Imperial Stout, like all of their beers, is damn tasty. I don't know that it particularly stands out in any way, but there's nothing bad to say about it. It's fairly strong tasting, with an initial sweetness and a pretty good bit of hoppiness at the end, just like an Imperial Stout should be.

New Holland Brewing Company Ichabod Pumpkin Ale

Ichabod caught my attention because it has the fucking headless horseman on it. How cool is that? No one should be able to pass up a beer with the headless horseman on on the bottle. I've also never had a pumpkin ale, so it's something new and also seasonal, so not something I can easily try year round. Overall, this is a pretty good beer. It's a little bit watery, but has a good spice flavor followed by pumpkin. This beer is more flavorful and actually tastes better if you let it warm up a bit rather than drinking it straight from the fridge.

Clipper City Brewing Co. Heavy Seas Small Craft Warning

Heavy Seas is a series of beers from Clipper City Brewing Co. which have all been pretty good. I recently had Small Craft Warning, the series' pilsner. It had a little less flavor than I tend to like, but for a pilsner, had a fairly strong, good flavor. This is something I'd definitely recommend to someone who is looking for something with more flavor than the typical American lagers but is not quite ready to jump into an IPA or double bock.

Terrapin Beer Co. Coffee Oatmeal Imperial Stout

When I was at the store this weekend they were offering samples from Terrapin Beer Co's. All of them were good, but the one I decided to buy more of was their Coffee Outmeal Imperial Stout tastes like something you'll probably either love or hate. It has a ton of flavor and a lot of that is coffee. This has a ton more coffee flavoring than your average stout. Fortunately, I really liked it.

Victory Brewing Company Golden Monkey

Golden Monkey is the first tripel style ale I've had. I go back and forth on whether I like this beer or not with every bottle and sometimes a couple of times during a bottle. It has a very strong flavor which I'm never expecting that has a lot of spice and some citrus. It's also more bitter than I expected for a style of beer that contains so much malt. I'll probably try a few more of this style so that I have some point of reference, but I'll be picking up singles rather than 6 packs.

Carolina Beer Company Carolina Blonde

Eh, it's drinkable. That's really all I have to say about Carolina Blonde. It's about like drinking a Miller Light, maybe with a bit more flavor. Nothing offensive, but nothing to get excited about, either.

Xingu Black Beer

Xingu caught my attention because it's from Brazil. You never hear about Brazilian beers, so I figured I would see what they have to offer. Xingu is another ok, but not amazing beer. It starts sweet and then goes hoppy quickly. Overall, it's fairly watery and the flavor, while not bad, isn't very strong and fades out quickly.

Unibroue Maudite

Muadite is not a terrible beer, but the bottle was far more impressive than the beer. The bottle is why I tried this in the first place. It has a gargoyle, a flying boat, and the name Maudite apparently means "Damned". How could you go wrong with this one? Well, this is supposed to be a red beer. Unfortunately, this tasted nothing like the other red beers I've had. I can't describe the taste, but it wasn't anything I really cared for. This beer rates highly at other places I've read about it, though, so maybe I just had a bad bottle.

Smithwick's

For a long time Killian's was one of my favorite beers. Smithwick's has taken it's place over the last week. Smithwick's is pretty easy to drink with mild carbonation, a slightly bitter, hoppy taste and a moderately light feel. This has a good flavor that is strong enough that you know you're drinking a beer but not so strong that you have to stop after just a couple of bottles.

St. George Brewing Company Dragon Pack

I've had my eye on this pack of beers for awhile now. It has a dragon on it. How can it not be awesome? This pack came with six different beers and I'm feeling lazy and don't have a whole lot to say, so I'm just going to hit all of them I've had so far in one post.

Lager - This is really good. I think this is my favorite from this pack. It's nice and smooth and is one of the most flavorful lagers I've had. It's mostly malty and sweet, with just a little bit of hoppiness.

Pilsner - Similar to the lager, but a bit hoppier.

American Brown Ale - This is smooth with coffee and chocolate flavors, almost like a porter.

Erie Brewing Co. Misery Bay IPA

Misery Bay IPA is one of the better IPAs that I've tried. A lot of people seem to consider it a more middle of the road beer and a bit too malty. This probably was to its advantage with the number of very malty beers I drink compared to very hoppy things like IPAs. It was still definitely bitter and citrusy, but not like the offerings from breweries such as Stone, where it takes a few sips just for me to adjust to the flavor.

Leinenkugel's Summer Shandy

Leinenkugel's generally can be counted on for a good beer. Unfortunately, I don't much care for their Summer Shandy. It's not bad, but it's not for me. The Summer Shandy is a wheat beer with lemonade in it, similar to their Sunset Wheat. It's a very sweet lemonade, though, which is not something that I care for. I prefer a more sour, lemony lemonade.

Samuel Smith Taddy Porter

Just a placeholder for the moment so that I don't forget

Harbin

Harbin was my first foray into Chinese beer. This one seems to be more or less the same thing as our typical beers in America with a little bit more flavor. I haven't looked into it, but I wouldn't be surprised if this was the equivalent of Miller or Budweiser over in China. For someone used to drinking Miller or Coors or the like who would like to branch out would do well to start here. It has slightly more flavor than the usual American beers, but isn't going to be the huge, sometimes disliked difference that jumping straight to a proper IPA or Stout is.

Wychwood Brewery Scarecrow Ale

Scarecrow Ale is a decent, if a bit average tasting beer. It would probably be very good, except it's pretty watery. This beer is malty and earthy with just a little bit of hop flavor. I really wish it were more impressive, because it wasn't bad, and the brew names and bottle images from Wychwood Brewery make me want to drink them.

Samuel Adams LongShot 2008 Double IPA

Wow, this is some bitter, hoppy beer. Of course, that's to be expected, but still, damn. This is the third beer from the 2008 LongShot contest that Samuel Adams holds. It's a very strong Double IPA with a lot of hops and a definite citrus flavor. According to the label, the person who brewed this used 7 types of hops. Apparently this was actually a 2007 winner, but there was a hop shortage, and some of the required hops were not available. Sam Adams decided to add a 3rd beer to the 2008 Longshot pack so that this beer could be distributed. Drinking this beer is like drinking a grapefruit.

Clipper City Brewing Co. Heavy Seas Peg Leg Imperial Stout

Peg Leg Imperial Ale is an interesting beer. It has strong chocolate and coffee flavors. The mouthfeel (see, I'm using fancy beer snob words) is pretty thin with very little carbonation. I've tried several of the Heavy Seas series of beers, all of which are good, but this is the only one I've bought a second time so far due to the strong and different flavor.

Stone Brewery Arrogant Bastard Ale

Arrogant Bastard Ale has caught my eye several times due to the comical name and the gargoyle logo. Fortunately, this is also a pretty good ale. It's pretty strong, with a very hoppy flavor. I wish I had more to say about this one, because it is a good beer.

Samuel Adams LongShot 2008 Cranberry Wit

I tend to enjoy a wheat beer with some fruity flavoring and this Cranberry Wit is no exception. In fact, it's kind of nice to drink a wheat beer that uses a flavoring other than citrus. It does seem a little watery, though and I would like it if more of the cranberry flavor came through. Overall, a decent beer and a nice change from the other beers I've been drinking recently.

Anchor Brewing Anchor Steam Beer

Anchor Steam Beer is a traditional American lager of a style originating on the west coast. Originally, steam beer was an inexpensive, low quality beer brewed out of necessity rather than preference. It used lager yeast, but was brewed without ice or the cool temperatures usually associated with lager. Anchor Brewing is based out of San Francisco, California and has taken the Steam Beer name for their beer, which is officially referred to as California Common Beer since it has little relation to the original Steam Beer style. Anchor Steam Beer is somewhat thick and creamy, but with the light, only very mildly hopped flavor of most American Lager style beers, but higher quality. I will definitely be on the lookout for Anchor's other offerings.

Samuel Adams LongShot 2008 Traditional Bock

For the last few years Samuel Adams has held a contest for home brewers. Two beers are picked from the submissions to be brewed and distributed for a limited time by Samuel Adams (although there were 3 in the 2008 pack due to a problem in 2007). This weekend I picked up a 6 pack of the 2008 winners. The first one I tried was the traditional bock. This was good, but did not stand out from the other bocks and double bocks I have been drinking recently. I was rather sweet, moreso than the others, although not to the point of the barley wine I didn't care for a couple of weeks back.

Jefferson's Reserve Bourbon Barrel Stout

Jefferson's Reserve Bourbon Barrel Stout is one of the more interesting beers I've had recently. This is the first bourbon barrel stout that I've had, so I wasn't sure what to expect from my first sip. The initial flavors are chocolate and coffee, which is common, followed by a hint of bourbon. The bourbon flavor was unexpected, I really didn't think a significant amount of the flavor would come through from aging in bourbon barrels. It turns out I was wrong and pleasantly surprised. I'll be on the lookout for other bourbon barrel stouts to try in the future.

Spaten Optimator

Yep, another German double bock. Spaten Optimator is malty with almost no hop flavor and the usual thick feel to it. I've had a lot worse, but this is not one of my favorites. The flavor was pretty weak compared to other double bocks and I prefer a nice hoppy finish.

Lagunitas Pils

Since I've been drinking a ton of double bocks and have only ever had 1 bottle of pilsner that was not from a major American brewer, I decided it was time to try a proper pilsner. Tonight, that was Lagunitas Pils. Part of what drew me to this was that I've seen Lagunitas beers recommended before. The other was that it was Czech style, and being of Czech heritage, I decided it'd be cool to see what my ancestors drank. It was pretty good for a pilsner. A big change from what I've been drinking lately, obviously. Much thinner, maybe a bit more carbonated, and a kick of hops right up front which fades somewhat quickly.

More Beers!

So, this weekend it's Lagunitas Pils, Spaten Optimator, and 1 more that I'll edit in here shortly when I get a chance. Lagunitas is an American brewed Pilsner, Optimator is yet another German Double Bock, and the third I need to look at - I can't even remember.

Birra Morettia La Rossa

La Rossa has recently becomes one of my favorites. This is another double bock, This one coming from Italy. La Rossa was originally brewed by Moretti, which is now owned by Heineken. It has a nice dark color and sweet, malty flavor. This beer finishes up with a more hoppy flavor, which I really enjoy and feel makes this one of the more drinkable beers with is mixture of sweet and bitter.

Paulaner Salvator

Fortunately, Paulaner Salvator was more to my liking than the barley wine. This doesn't come as much of a surprise since double bock beers are becoming one of my favorite styles.

This beer is a dark, almost reddish color. It is very malty tasting, with a good bit of sweetness. The beer went down smooth and was finished a little faster than I had intended, so you won't hear any complaints about it from me. I'll be checking out Paulaner's other offerings.

Weyerbacher Blithering Idiot

If anyone suggests you try Weyerbacher Blithering Idiot, they are probably not your friend.

To be honest, I could see someone liking this, but it's not for me. This is a barley wine ale, which are sweeter than typical beers, and is apparently something I do not enjoy. At least it was 11% ABV.

I will probably be giving other Weyerbacher brews a try in the future. While I did not enjoy the flavor of this, I don't think it was because Weyerbacher did a bad job, it just isn't my thing. One of their brews in a style I enjoy will probably be excellent.

More new beers for the weekend!

Alright, so I didn't say anything about the Dead Guy Ale from last weekend. I will. For now, I'll leave it at being tasty.

For this weekend I've got some Birra Moretti La Rossa, which is one of my favorites. I've also got a couple new beers. First off is Weyerbach Blithering Idiot. After that, I've got a double bock called Paulaner Salvator that I hope will be delicious. I've also got some Peg Leg Imperial Ale by Clipper City Brewing from a few weeks ago, which I like quite a bit.

Troegenator Double Bock

Hot damn. Troegenator Double Bock is going in my regular rotation. This was delicious. It's a smooth, malty beer, which is almost thick and creamy. It tastes great and has a relatively high alcohol content at 8.2%, what more could you ask for in a beer?

In Heat Wheat

Well, I got impatient and opened the Dog In Heat Wheat a bit early, so it was a tad warmer than I prefer - cool, but not cold. With that in mind, I still enjoyed it overall. It went down fairly smooth and had a decent flavor. I still prefer some of the other wheat beers that are more readily available such as Leinenkugel's Sunset Wheat, though.

This Weekend's Beer

To kick things off, here's what I normally do. Each weekend I pick up a six pack of something I'm fairly sure I'll enjoy or know I do from past experience and a couple single bottles of something that is usually completely new to me.

So, the beer list for this weekend looks pretty tasty. First off I've got something a lot of beer fans are going to be familiar with, Dead Guy Ale by Rogue Brewery. Next up, I've got Dog In Heat Wheat, a Heffeweisen from Flying Dog Ales. My third beer this weekend will be Troegenator Double Bock from Troegs Brewing Company.

First post!

Every weekend I pick up a few new beers from a local beer and wine specialty store. This is where I will catalog the tasty beers and review them. If anyone has any suggestions for specific beers or breweries to look for, please suggest them.