Spring sippings

Maybe it's just me, but springtime seems built for hoppy beers. Those malty winter beers tend to get pushed to the back of my beer shelf for some fresh hopped-up six-packs. This is what I have been sampling:

Berkshire Saint of Circumstance Sour Mash Whiskey Barrel Aged IPA, 9
berkshire decided to go for it with this gutsy idea for a beer. i thought it worked too. hops and bourbon play nice together and its sour without being over the top. very interesting.

Blue Hills Comet Tail Pale Ale, 7
 a pretty big pale ale. malty in the front and hoppy in the back.

Cambridge Weekapaug Gruit Ale, 7
while this is an unhopped style, the replacement spices give it a springy feel as well. points for the phish reference too.

Mayflower Spring Hop, 6
solid hoppy amber.

Sixpoint Resin, 7
really stands out on the shelf with its sharp green label and skinny can. heaps of delicious piney, citrus hops. not to be confused with a session beer however.

Winter grab bag

Whether you prefer dark or hoppy for your wintertime drinking, there is something for everyone in this grab bag of recently sampled beers. Dig in!

21st Amendment Bitter American, Score: 8
at 4.4% abv, this is an excellent session beer. great bitter flavor without being over-the-top. my favorite offering yet from this canner.

Blue Hills Three Peaks Holiday Stout, Score: 9
flavor is complex, bordering on crowded. an unusual milk stout but the best new winter seasonal i have tried this year.

Full Sail Elevation, Score: 7
nice beer. don't let the imperial ipa tag scare you off -- bitterness isn't brash at all.

Full Sail Wassail, Score: 5
malt heavy, lacking in pop. if given a choice, i would go for another one of their seasonals, wreck the halls.

Furthermore Obscura, Score: 7
a coffee california common lager. so pretty unique and it worked.

Green Flash Imperial IPA, Score: 8
off the charts IBU's at 101. a nice beer i would have tried before now if the price point wasn't always so high.

Maine Beer Mean Old Tom, Score: 6
i think this beer was a victim of the brewers previous success... and my sky high expectations. was hoping for bigger aroma / taste considering aged on vanilla beans.

Shipyard Applehead, Score: 4
clearly the brewer is trying to match runaway success of Pumpkinhead with a seasonal offering for the rest of the year. so much so, that i would have trouble distinguishing the two in a blind taste test. not my thing, but friends have enjoyed it.

Sierra Nevada Grand Cru, Score: 8
another solid offering from the 30th anniversary series.

Sierra Nevada Ruthless Rye IPA, Score: 7
a new offering. well balanced. solid.

Slumbrew Flagraiser IPA, Score: 8
nice hoppy brew out of the gate for this somerville newby. there is a hef, cream, and porter out there too...

Southern Tier Unearthly Oak Aged, Score: 6
not sure i would choose this over the regular unearthly.

10 to add to the list

Boulevard Double Wide I.P.A., Score: 7
this beer is everywhere you turn all of a sudden. sweet, strong, and flavorful. should be a good go-to option if it sticks in the market.

Fantome Magic Ghost, Score: 8
pours a crazy looking yellow-green. tart, sweet, sour, awesome. thanks, devon.

Fire Island Lighthouse Ale, Score: 4
malty and dull.

Grand Teton Lost Continent Double IPA, Score: 8
bursting with grapefruit hops. recommended.

Great Lakes Dortmunder Gold, Score: 8
very flavorful for a lager. sweet malt, fruity hops, and incredibly smooth.

Hoppin' Frog Barrel Aged B.O.R.I.S. Oatmeal Imperial Stout, Score: 8
over-priced as always but preferred added whiskey flavor to normal B.O.R.I.S.

Left Hand Fade to Black, Volume 2, Score: 6
a baltic porter. lots of smoke, wouldn't drink more than one.

Notch Saison, Score: 4
notch churns out another sessionable beer with this 3.8% saison. drinkable but watery.

Sixpoint Sehr Crisp Pilsner, Score: 8
german pilsner that is crisp, as promised. good session beer.

Sixpoint Bengali Tiger, Score: 6
solid ipa with a bit of a harsh bite at finish.

Emptying the notebook

Allentown Beer Works Hop'solutely, Score: 5
at 11.5% you should know better than to come looking for well-polished hop flavor.

Anchor Summer Beer, Score: 6
your prototypical lawnmower beer as a sessionable american wheat.

Avery Anniversary Ale - Seventeen, Score: 9
a schwarzbier, and an excellent one at that. the rise of black ipa's has been fun but don't sleep on this classic style!

Avery India Pale Ale, Score: 8
a very good ipa if you can find it fresh.

Cape Ann Fisherman's Sunrise Saison, Score: 6
use of rhubarb and strawberries put this squarely in the fruit beer style, not farmhouse. unique.

Cisco Indie Pale Ale, Score: 7
smooth with big flavor.

Coronado Islander IPA, Score: 7
solid.

De Proef Signature Les Deux Brasseurs Ale, Score: 6
a splurge purchase ($25) that has been in my crosshairs for sometime. disappointing overall with an incongruent medicinal note. sour brett part grew on me though.

Great Divide Hoss, Score: 4

Great Divide Titan IPA, Score: 7
aggressively hoped with robust malt backbone. nice.

Harviestoun Ola Dubh Special Reserve 30, Score: 8
wanted this since the tap kicked early on at Beervana. whiskey barrel component is interesting, but i have to drop this a letter grade for overly steep pricetag.

Innis and Gunn Rum Cask Oak Aged Beer, Score: 3
skip.

Notch Session Pils, Score: 6
not bad, if no better options.

Pretty Things November 15th, 1901 KK, Score: 8
labeled an english strong ale by BeerAdvocate rather than black ipa. quality by any name.

Russian River Redemption, Score: 7
very pleasant beer, but definitely not worth the hefty price tag.

Samuel Adams Coastal Wheat, Score: 3
i did not enjoy this beer. very dull.

Samuel Adams Longshot Blackened Hops, Score: 6
better than expected.

Sea Dog Apricot Wheat Beer, Score: 2

Smuttynose Belgian Stout, Score: 6
belgian yeast didn't quite jive.

Watch City Tick Tock Golden Ale, Score: 2
let's assume i got a bad batch but this was really hard to drink.

White Birch Tripel, Score: 5

Hopping into spring

As mentioned, hoppy beers are too commonplace to be a seasonal, but, boy, they just seem to taste better in the spring, don't they! Here are a few of the beers I've been drinking lately for all of you hop heads out there.

BrewDog Hardcore IPA, Score: 7
hard to believe this is my first beer fromt these guys, considering they are in the news so much. i expected the brew to be thoroughly undrinkable and while the alcohol comes on pretty strong it wasn't bad.

Flying Dog Raging Bitch Belgian-Style IPA, Score: 8
head and shoulders the best beer i have had from these guys. it would be nice to see more american brewers use the belgian yeast for their ipa's...

Middle Ages ImPAled, Score: 7
nice. hops aren't too sharp. does have an english bend to it.

Victory Yakima Glory, Score: 7
a cascadian dark ale / black IPA. pretty good take i thought. body isn't too heavy and flavor isn't too dark. could drink a couple of these.

Watch City Hop Explosion IPA, Score: 7
solid. tasted great compared to other lackluster offerings on tap (spearamint ale, tick tock golden ale...) hard to beat a load of hops.

Weyerbacher Double Simcoe IPA, Score: 5
way too sweet for my taste. everything i dislike in barleywines.

Widmer Drifter Pale Ale, Score:6
a solid pale ale. balanced malts and hops, as most of their beers are.

The Beers of 2010

You might not believe it based on the list of 1200-some beers that I just posted, but I actually cut back on my beer consumption in 2010. Writing for The Providence Phoenix led to less time spent with the blog, and consequentially, less new beers drank than in previous years. It's a hard knock life, for sure.

Even so, reading this article looking back on the year in beer I was a little surprised at just how many of the most buzzworthy beers of 2010 evaded my grasp. I mean, of these 25 I only tried four (Oskar Blues Gubna, Dogfish Head Saison du Buff, Victory Yakima Glory, and Jolly Pupkin La Parcella!) While it may now be 2011, I am determined redeem myself -- I am not done with these beers just yet! Here are my top targets:

1) Ithaca Super-Friends IPA: good buzz on this collaborative brew.
2) Goose Island Bourbon County Brand Vanilla Stout: loved the regular stout, so do want to try the vanilla.
3) Lagunitas A Little Sumpin' Wild Ale: again, the little sumpin' wheat was great so curious what some wild yeast did to the beer.
4) Brooklyn Sorachi Ale: a new saison!
5) Allagash & New Belgium Lips of Faith Vrienden: two good brewers should mean one great beer!
6) Stone Lukcy Basartd Ale: this isn't a typo so i imagine this strong ale has a kick to it.
7) Ommegang Zuur: i am sure they are going to get this flanders right.
8) Dogfish Head Miles Davis' Bitches Brew: this beer seems older than just one year, but i still haven't tried it.
9) 21st Amendment Back in Black IPA: a black ipa in a can -- nice.
10) Pretty Things Babayaga: i added this last one to round out the list. their first stout!

Homebrew #11 & #12

With a hoppy pale ale almost finished (a Mirror Pond Pale Ale clone), I realized that I never briefed you on my last two homebrews. Both were tribute beers, the most recent going down as my favorite homebrew to date...

Josh's Homebrew's Wit and Wisdom
Bottle -- Brockton
named for the recently departed howard zinn, a former brewer himself. to call this a gusher doesn't begin to describe. this is the first time i have had a bottle explode... and a growler too! what a mess. cloudiness you hope for in a wit. aroma is primarily citrus and some biscuity malts. again, a very fruity flavor. sweet and slightly tart. wheat lends a textured, dryish mouthfeel. overall, very easy to drink. an enjoyable summer beer.
Score: 7

Josh's Homebrew's Stash
Bottle -- Brockton
first off, you may be wondering about the name. it's a tribute to phish, who i was preparing to see at mansfield. (a phenomenal show, but i know that is not why you are here to read about...) this was my second ipa, and while the first one was pretty good, i wanted a hoppier, cleaner ipa this time around. in pursuit of this goal i used 5 ounces of cascade, fuggle, and columbus hops and was overly cautious in straining the beer. the results were fantastic. generally i am slow to render judgement on a homebrew but this time i declared it a winner after the first taste. very piney nose, and the flavor follows. very tasty. while the bitterness is fairly robust, it is easy to put away a few at a time (i am going to have to ration this liquid gold...) orange in color and good clarity. add it all up and you clearly get the greatest beer i have ever made.
Score: 9

Oregon Brewers Festival!

While on the west coast, my wife and I had the chance to attend the Oregon Brewers Festival. Arguably, the best outdoor beer festival in the country, this event took place in the picturesque Tom McCall Waterfront Park. 81 different domestic brewers showed up with one special beer. The festival itself worked on a token system; 1 token (or about $1) for a 4 oz sample, or 4 tokens for a full mug of beer. Of course, our goals was to try as many different beers as possible, but totally insane lines (we were there on a Saturday) led us to switch over to pints at the end of the afternoon. Regardless, this was easily the best festival we have been to and an awesome afternoon of drinking.

Tier 1:
Firestone Walker Union Jack (8) was my number one priority coming in and was a very piney, sweet IPA. Not on my radar was New Belgium Ranger IPA (8) with an equally big flavor. Double Mountain The Vaporizer (9) and Boundary Bay German-tradition Double Dry Hopped Pale Ale (9) two excellent pale ale’s, and possibly my favorite beers of the whole day. Surly Bitter Brewer (10) belongs in those discussions as well; I would love to be able to buy six of these cans at a time. Cascade Summer Gose (9) was certainly my wife’s favorite beer of the day and I too found it to be a very refreshing sour. Boulevard Tank 7 Farmhouse Ale (9) was another top priority and I was duly impressed with the use of corn flakes to smooth out the mouthfeel. Rounding out the top tier was Upright Reggae Junkie Gruit (8). New to the scene, Upright did an excellent job of simulating the sensation of hops by using heather tips, orange peel, and a healthy level of carbonation.

Tier 2:
Tier 2 started out with three solid IPA’s: Beer Valley Leafer Madness (7), Laurelwood Organic Deranger Imperial Red (6), and Fort George Vortex (6). Surprisingly, Laughing Dog Dogzilla Black IPA (8) was the only “Cascadian Dark Ale” to make an appearance. This newly-emerging style has great potential, and indeed the hops and roasted malts played very well with each other. Maui Coconut Porter (7) took the prize for longest line of the day and kicked pretty early on. Coconut worked well, if imparting slightly too much sweetness in the middle of the flavor. Buckbean Original Orange Blossom Ale (7) tasted like a frozen orange ice pop according to Kelly, which was actually pretty good. Easy drinking Pelican Pub Kiwanda Cream Ale (7), 10 Barrel ISA (7), and Collaborator Sunstone Pils (7) round out this class.

Tier 3:
Our last grouping features some very ambitious beers that didn’t quite come together. Caldera Hibiscus Ginger Beer (4) and Caldera Rose (5) came on too strong to be enjoyable but didn’t miss by much. Natian Destinatian (5) is a new nano-brewer that got the invite and responded admirably with an interesting brew containing Oregon honey. MacTarnahan’s Lipstinger Farmhouse (3) utilizing peppercorn was less good. Same goes for Ram Barefoot Wit (4) and Great Northern Wheatfish Wheat Lager (5). The surprise of the day though had to be not one, but two beers from The Bruery falling to the last category. The Bruey Oud Tart (6) and The Bruery 7 Grain Saision (5) were very one-dimensional offerings.

From British Columbia to Boston

AleSmith Horny Devil
750 ml -- Luke's, Rockland
very nice looking beer with lacing that goes the distance... yeasty aroma is quite fresh... a trappist yeast apparently... flavor is spicy and bready too... hides the 11% very well. as good as you would expect.
Score: 9

Central City Red Racer IPA
Can -- RSVP Discount Beverage, Portland, ME
from british columbia. it seemed like they fit every flavor of hop into this little can -- grapefruit, piney, citrus, you name it. some bready malts but maintains robust bitterness. sticky mouthfeel but leaves me wanting more. as good as (or better than) dale's pale ale.
Score: 10

Lagunitas IPA
Bottle -- Luke's
i was suprised to see this unrrated. pretty cut and dry ipa: clean and hoppy. nice.
Score: 7

Narragansett Lager
Tall boy -- Great Lost Bear, Portland, ME
this one i know i have had before, but was unrrated. $1.99 for a tall boy, so that is something. old school can says "made on honor. sold on merit." i like that. sweet corn you expect in an adjunct lager. quite grainy, with some hops peaking out at finish. very crisp, clean taste. as far as these regional macro alternatives go, i thought this held up pretty well.
Score: 5

Rogue Yellow Snow IPA
Sample -- Great Lost Bear, Portland
the clever name led me to expect another over-marketed rogue beer. loved it though. great lacing on pour and the grapefruit hops are just fantastic. wonder if i would have rated it this highly had i still been on the west coast, or am i just missing real ipa's?
Score: 8

Samuel Adam's Noble Pils
Bottle -- RSVP Discount Beverage, Portland
my wife was crushed to hear this would be replacing her beloved white ale as their spring seasonal. got to say, i do like this a lot better though. surprisingly assertive herbal hops and crisp mouthfeel. still not sure why it debut's in february though...
Score: 7

Sierra Nevada Glissade Golden Bock
Tap -- Chili Head BBQ, W. Bridgewater
had never heard of this beer until i saw it on tap at chili head. when they told me it was a golden bock it sounded kind of like an oxymoron to me. apparently, this is a helles bock though. hoppy nose with sweet body. nothing special.
Score: 5

Smuttynose Farmhouse Ale
Sample -- Ebenezer's Pub, Lovell, ME
clear, light color... something is floating at bottom, probably spices... pretty sweet taste with slight twist at end. never could put my finger on it.
Score: 7

The People's Pint Pied pIPA
22 oz -- Cambridge
i was excited to finally find this beer. can't say it matched expectations though. pretty bitter, without the hop character you crave in an ipa. i will probably give them another shot at some point, but this is a pass.
Score: 4

Victory Wild Devil
750 ml -- Washington, D.C.
a belgian ipa with more than healthy carbonation. funky yeast cuts bitterness. thanks hil and franklin for a pretty cool christmas gift!
Score: 7

A few ups and downs from DFH

I have been working my way steadily through Dogfish Head's whole line of beers. Three more to add to the list.

Dogfish Head Burton Baton
Bottle -- Luke's, Rockland
a double ipa. big hoppy nose, and a flavor that matches. very enjoyable. worth the price? that is another question. but yes, yes it is.
Score: 9

Dogfish Head Shelter Pale Ale
Bottle -- Luke's
dogfish's answer to bud. malts are fruity and sweet in nature. raw sort of bitterness. not great.
Score: 4

Dogfish Head Squall IPA
750 ml -- Luke's
an unfiltered and bottle-conditioned version of dogfishes 90 minute ipa. i had avoided this beer for a while assuming it would be ridiculously expensive, but it was only around $5. Beer Advocate notes that this was "Brewed to honor the Rogue Gallery in Portland, Maine, who will also be releasing a DFH designed clothing line in the summer of '09." so that is interesting. candylike sweetness that surpasses the 90 minute, but still falls short of the 120. not my favorite of their beers.
Score: 6