Middle America

While I have been steadily ticking off new brewers, the vast majority of brewers that I have tried still come from one of the two coasts. Now there are a lot of good brewers in between, especially in the Great Lakes region, but especially in Colorado. So may I introduce to you Atwater Block Brewery from Detroit, Michigan, and Fort Collins Brewery from -- you guessed it -- Fort Collins, Colorado.

Atwater Vanilla Java Porter
Bottle -- People's Liquor Warehouse, Fall River
my first michigan beer. many porters promise unique smells and flavors, but this one really did deliver both vanilla and coffee. taste is dominated by espresso -- quite tasty. i had a few of these and wasn't too impressed, but the last one i let warm to room temperature and enjoyed much more.
Score: 7

Atwater Voodoovator
Bottle -- People's Liquor Warehouse
a doppelbock at 9.5% abv. outrageous foamy white head that overflowed the glass... mild sweet malt aroma... more mild than expected: loads of caramel malts, tart cherries, molasses, and only a hint of this well-disguised alcohol... not as dark as i would have thought and i can't detect any hops or roastiness here... fizzy, syrupy or even buttery mouthfeel... i didn't dislike this beer, but i don't think that it is a good example of this style either.
Score: 6

Fort Collins Rocky Mountain IPA, CO
Bottle -- Gordon's, Waltham
first off, a nice looking beer: hazy amber, thick white head. fresh, potent hops in aroma. malts take edge off bitterness and helps brew go down smooth. nice.
Score: 7

Fort Collins Major Tom's Pomegranate Wheat
Bottle -- Gordon's, Waltham
healthy head and surprisingly hoppy aroma... fruitiness closer to lemon than pomegranate if you ask me. tart, tangy taste must be the pomegranate concentrate, but i can't be sure since i only eat 4 or 5 pomegranates a week these days... not bad, but not good either.
Score: 4

Fort Collins Z Lager
Bottle -- Gordon's, Waltham
a rauchbier, or smoke beer. pours a reddish-amber... aroma of malt, a little molasses, and a faint smokiness... smoke really emerges in flavor... extremely light in body. i find this style very interesting -- i think it might be a good beer for barbeques -- but i think the smokiness is an acquired taste... an acquired taste that i have not yet acquired.
Score: 5

Find it:
Fort Collins Kidd Lager
Bottle -- Gordon's, Waltham
a schwarzbier, which means black beer in german. it does indeed pour very dark... the smell is dominated by chocolate malt... in addition to this, taste is slightly sour, moreso because you many stouts with chocolate are fairly sweet... the smoke registers more in the mouthfeel sensation than the taste... also quite crisp and smooth. i really liked this beer, very different. it is a nice light alternative to the steady stream of stouts and porters that typically make up winter seasonals.
Score: 8

A Few Strong Beers

Weyerbacher Merry Monks' Ale
Bottle -- People's Liquor Warehouse, Fall River
an abbey tripel at 9.3% abv. cloudy golden-orange with head chock full of tight bubbles... aroma and flavor are muted at first so i let it warm up a little... yup, sure enough, that did the trick. aroma is both sweet and a little fruity... taste more of grape than banana... smooth but chewy mouthfeel and very dry. definitely a sipping beer with so much warming alcohol.
App: 3/5, Aro: 6/10, Flv: 6/10, Pal: 3/5, Ovr: 13/20, Tot: 3.1
Score: 7

Avery The Czar
Bottle -- Cardoza's, Dartmouth
brown-crimson pour... aroma and taste of supersweet molasses, cherry candies, and some submerged alcohol... some bitter hops in midst of flavor, not in finish... while i was interested in drinking this beer, i can't say it was wholly enjoyable. and at 12.2% abv the alcohol goes right to your head.
Appearance: 3/5, Aroma: 5/10, Flavor: 4/10, Palate: 3/5, Overall: 8/20, Total: 2.3
Score: 5

My favorite:
Dogfish Head Immort Ale
Bottle -- Gordon's, Waltham
i saw this listed as both a barleywine and american strong ale -- i would side with the later considering it is 11% abv. copper-ruby with almost no head on pour... accompanied by aroma that is hard to place -- raisins, hops, and alcohol are the dominant characteristics i eventually decide. raisins and alcohol dominate flavor as well, although i do pick up on the maple and vanilla that dogfish promised us. livelier than i expected with such a minimal head, it was the smoothness and complexity that took this to another level. this will more than fit the bill for the type of beer that i was looking to age, so if the blog is still around in a couple of years (lord, i hope not...) i will be writing about this one again!
App: 4/5, Aro: 8/10, Flv: 10/10, Pal: 5/5, Ovr: 18/20, Tot: 4.5
Score: 9

What is in my fridge

DISCLAIMER: So last time I wrote this post my dad showed up at my apartment and made a beeline for my fridge. When he didn't find the ten different beers that I had just posted about he threw a fit. So, to be clear, when I write about what is in my fridge, I am not speaking literally about what is still in my fridge at that instant... and I am certainly not inviting you to raid my fridge for the delicious beers that I just rated. With all of that said, here is what I have tried in the past couple of weeks.

Victory V Lager
Bottle -- Blanchard's, Brockton
on a very hot moving day i was looking for a thirst quencher, and this really did the trick. a lively, fizzy beer... aroma and taste of grain, and maybe a hint of lemon... better than the macros and good for what it is.
Appearance: 3/5, Aroma: 5/10, Flavor: 5/10, Palate: 3/5, Overall: 11/20, Total: 2.7
Score: 6

Chili Head Lager
Tap -- Chili Head Barbeque Restaurant, West Bridgewater
so this is a local barbeque restaurant / blues club that i know the owner of and have been itching to try. as usual, i forced the poor waitress to rundown the list of what was on tap and was surprised to hear that they brewed their own house brew (in addition to otter creek stovepipe porter, ipswich original ale, magic hat number 9, and sam adams summer... not too shabby!) less surprisingly, the carolina half-rack of ribs completely upstaged the lager... washed them down well enough though. try it!
App: 3/5, Aro: 3/10, Flv: 4/10, Pal: 3/5, Ovr: 12/20, Tot: 2.5
Score: 5

Rogue Chipotle Ale
750 ml -- Gordon's, Waltham
malty aroma, with some minor hops... smokey flavor, taste of pepper, as in salt and pepper, not hot peppers... wholly unpleasant. i appreciate the creativity in trying to brew with peppers, but there is a reason that no one else has done it... when i start brewing my own beer, chipotle peppers will not be an ingredient that i will be using.
App: 2/5, Aro: 3/10, Flv: 1/10, Pal: 2/5, Ovr: 6/20, Tot: 1.4
Score: 2

Shipyard Brewer's Choice Special Ale 2008 (Royal IPA)
Bottle -- McKean & Charles, Waldoboro, ME
copper color with some nice lacing... few hops in aroma but instead surprisingly fruity overtones... again, minimal hops in taste and malts and alcohol dominate in their place... medium-bodied and smooth... this has a lot of the characteristics of a scottish ale. very good.
App: 4/5, Aro: 7/10, Flv: 8/10, Pal: 4/5, Ovr: 13/20, Tot: 3.6
Score: 8

Belfast Bay McGovern's Oatmeal Stout
Bottle -- McKean & Charles, Waldoboro, ME
thick, syrupy pour produces huge, churning, foamy head -- it took me four tries to pour the whole bottle... smell of brown sugar and molasses... taste of burnt malt, and not much else... a pretty one-dimensional beer.
App: 3/5, Aro: 3/10, Flv: 5/10, Pal: 3/5, Ovr: 9/20, Tot: 2.3
Score: 5

Paper City Riley's Mother's Milk Stout
Bottle -- Marty's, Waltham
great looking pour... both aroma and taste overwhelmingly of roasted coffee... creamy feel... sneaky bitterness on finish gives this one a nice balance. between that and a modest 5.5% abv and this is a beer that you can drink right down -- tasty.
App: 4/5, Aro: 8/10, Flv: 9/10, Pal: 5/5, Ovr: 15/20, Tot: 4.1
Score: 9

My Pick:
Bear Republic Red Rocket Ale
750 ml -- Gordon's, Waltham
translucent scarlet pour with a reduced head... i love this aroma: fresh hops (think grapefruit), sweet caramel/candy malts... hops jump out at you at first, so much so that i had to check the label that this was a red ale and not an ipa... malts do balance lingering hops and alcohol is just below the surface... smooth drinking, but also a textured medium-bodied mouthfeel... quite nice. bear republic is quickly becoming one of my favorite brewers.
App: 4/5, Aro: 10/10, Flv: 8/10, Pal: 4/5, Ovr: 16/20, Tot: 4.2
Score: 9

Watch City

For Game 1 of the NBA Finals I got together with a couple of friends to watch the game in Waltham. And that means only one thing: Watch City Brewery. This is a really solid brewpub that turns over their selection of beers quite frequently. Stop by sometime.

Watch City Wheat IPA
Sample -- Watch City Brewery
very interesting that they called this an ipa -- it is nothing of the sort. a weizenbock would be a whole lot closer with all of the dark wheat that comes through. definitely worth trying.
Score: 7

Watch City 38 Schilling Scottish Ale
Sample -- Watch City Brewery
this is described as a "light" scottish ale, but i don't think it is actually a light beer... so while my expectations were low, it really wasn't bad. floral, sweet, yeasty -- with low abv this is definitely a sessionable (if slightly mindless) brew.
Score: 6

Watch City Dubbel Belgian Ale
Sample -- Watch City Brewery
don't get me wrong, i think watch city is a good brewer. but brewers have to know their own limitations. just because you brew beer doesn't mean that you can brew a belgian. this was way off, as was their belgian spring ale.
Score: 3

Watch City Shillelagh Irish Red Ale
Sample -- Watch City Brewery
muted aroma, malty flavor but mostly watery -- very bland. i can't think of an irish red ale that i have like yet...
Score: 5

Watch City Kingpin Imperial Stout
Bottle -- Watch City Brewery
dan brought a 22 oz bottle of this back from the brewery to enjoy while we watched the celtics beat the lakers in game 1 of the finals. enjoy it we did as it was a very traditional, dark and potent imperial stout. what stood out for me was some fruity overtones in the aroma and the absence of hops in the flavor. quite nice, but certainly there are better imperial stouts out there. oh yeah, beat L-A!
Score: 7