Upstate New York, Part III

After another weekend in Saratoga Springs with college friends, I have a few more beers from Upstate New York to log.

Davidson Brother's IPA
Tap -- The Parting Glass, Saratoga Springs, NY
no hops in aroma whatsoever... and few more in flavor. slightly sweet and very pale. an incredibly weak ipa.
Score: 5

Lake Placid 46'er Pale Ale
Bottle -- Minogue's Beverage Center, Saratoga Springs
hazy pour, spiderweb lacing on glass... fruity, mild taste... drinkable, but a little bland. lake placid's frostbite ipa was a much better, more flavorful beer.
Score: 7

Mendocino Black Hawk Stout
Bottle -- Minogue's Beverage Center, Saratoga Springs
dark looking beer with thick head: impressive... smell of sweet malts, and even a little alcohol... flavor is chocolate malts, but mostly water... very thin. mediocre. it was much more enjoyable the next morning when i tried to make it into a breakfast stout by adding a little coffee...
Score: 4

Mendocino Saratoga Lager
Bottle -- Minogue's Beverage Center, Saratoga Springs
this is listed as an octoberfest, which is quite interesting. flavorful with lots of sweet malts... smooth and sessionable. i had low expectations for this one, which helped produce such a high rating.
Score: 8

Southern Tier Back Burner
22 oz Bottle -- Gordon's, Waltham
a barleywine wtih an even 10% abv. very cool looking mahogany color. first word i would use to describe aroma would be hoppy. dan went the other way: juju fruit. the flavor too was very hoppy, reminding me more than anything else of bear republic's red rocket ale. dan was thinking stone's arrogant bastard. hoppy, alcoholic, and some molasses / cocoa in back of flavor. while dan and i had different takes on the beer, we did agree that this is not your traditional barleywine, but is still a nice beer.
Score: 7

Southern Tier Jahva
22 oz Bottle -- Walpole Wine & Spirits
an imperial stout with an even 12% abv... are they rounding these numbers off? black pour. smell is sweet, some hops, no coffee. flavor is mostly burnt chocolate malt, and again, some hops but very little coffee. coffee flavored beer isn't for everyone, but i like it. and with a name like jahva, you really should bring it. a disappointment.
Score: 6

Keep an eye out for:
Davidson Brother's Dacker Authentic Adirondack Ale
Bottle -- Minogue's Beverage Center, Saratoga Springs
copper/orange pour with thin lacing... sweet malty aroma... sweet caramel is joined by piney hops and fruity overtones... medium mouthfeel, grainy, drinkable. this is exactly what an ale is supposed to be.
Score: 8

Birthday Weekend

I had a reunion with some very good friends last weekend, which also happened to be my birthday. Drinking ensued, and over the course of our tour around Massachusetts, we visited three of my favorite local brewers. Here we go!

Northampton Pale Ale
Sampler -- Northampton Brewery
orangey color, muted aroma, sweet caramel malts and piney hops in taste. well balanced.
Score: 8

Northampton Redheaded Stepchild
Sampler -- Northampton Brewery
an irish ale that pours a reddish-amber. caramel malts and fruity hops, but this is still kind of bland.
Score: 6

Northampton Steamer
Sampler -- Northampton Brewery
a hybrid lager-ale. golden and cloudy. flavor is of sharp, citrus hops and grains. very smooth.
Score: 7

Northampton Black Cat Stout
Sampler -- Northampton Brewery
aroma dominated by roasted malts, taste by dark chocolate. silky, smooth texture. underwhelming.
Score: 6

Northampton Old Brown Dog
Sampler -- Northampton Brewery
nutty. weak.
Score: 6

Northampton Maggies Wee Heavy
Sampler -- Northampton Brewery
expected sweet malts in aroma. what i didn't expect was a note of coffee in the taste... which worked for me. overall though the taste is characterized by sweetness and alcohol. of the six beers i sampled at northampton brewpub, this was my favorite.
Score: 8

Berkshire Steel Rail Extra Pale Ale
Sampler -- Northampton Brewery
as pale as advertised. light hops and sweetness on the nose. also some fruitty overtones in the flavor and kind of watery.
Score: 4

Berkshire Draymens Porter
Bottle -- Chicopee
a standard porter. roasted coffee bordering on burnt and some chocolate/cocoa flavor. a little thin in consistency but very enjoyable overall.
Score: 8

The Tap Chocolate Porter Pint -- The Tap, Haverhill
disclaimer: i was probably already drunk by the time i arrived at the tap, so my notes are brief, i.e. nonexistent. however, i remember this as a very flavorful, enjoyable porter, if a little watery.
Score: 8

The Tap Irish Stout Pint -- The Tap, Haverhill
not as good as the porter. alcohol makes its presence known. that said, i am not entirely convinced this beer is called irish stout...
Score: 7

The Tap Hewitt Brown
Growler -- The Tap, Haverhill
good aroma of malts with hint of coffee. both found in flavor as well, although it is a little watery. it is bland, but has more character than most brown's.
Score: 6

Best of the bunch:
Berkshire Lost Sailor India Pale Ale
Growler -- Chicopee
hazy golden-orange with great lacing. the biggest flaw in this one was the nearly absent aroma... all i could pick up on is some fruitiness. the hops are also understated in the taste, with an unusually dull bitterness for an ipa. nevertheless, i really liked this one, and think its simplicity might make this a great starter beer.
Score: 8

NYC

I love a good beer bar, and I found two of them on my weekend trip to New York City. The Ginger Man has 60 taps and 120 bottles... and everyone knows it! The House of Brews was much more low-key and had 80 different beers, with a good focus on local breweries. I would recommend both. What I would not recommend is the microbrewery where we started our night: Heartland Brewery.

Heartland Big Belgian Blonde Ale
Sample -- Heartland Brewery, NYC
translucent with some minimal aroma of fruit and yeast. tastes strongly of banana... not my favorite fruit. there is some warming alcohol but a very liberal interpretation of belgian style.
Score: 6

Heartland Buffalo Bock
Sample -- Heartland Brewery, NYC
defined by sweet, toasted caramel. again, an unusual bock.
Score: 5

Heartland Cornhusker Lager
Sample -- Heartland Brewery, NYC
wow, this was awful. watery with taste of corn.
Score: 2

Heartland Farmer Jons Oatmeal Stout
Sample -- Heartland Brewery, NYC
hey, this one was decent! jet black with tan head. taste of espresso and, to a lesser extent, chocolate. not very sweet though. kind of thin is my biggest quibble.
Score: 7

Heartland Harvest Wheat
Sample -- Heartland Brewery, NYC
pale and cloudy with big, billowy head. very bland. i don't see how they think this is a wheat.
Score: 3

Heartland Indian River Light
Sample -- Heartland Brewery, NYC
light with some hops in aroma. lemony taste. crisp. a light beer.
Score: 3

Heartland Indiana Pale Ale
Sample -- Heartland Brewery, NYC
fresh, grassy hops produced sharp, bitter finish. very one-dimensional.
Score: 5

Heartland Red Rooster Ale
Sample -- Heartland Brewery, NYC
i was struck by the caramel / toffee in smell and taste. smooth, somewhat sweet malts, a few hops, stale bread. meh.
Score: 5

Brooklyn Winter Ale
Sample -- The House of Brews, NYC
sweet malty aroma, with faint taste of roasted coffee. very smooth and a little watery. a warming winter brew.
Score: 6

Kelso Nut Brown Lager
Sample -- The House of Brews, NYC
pleasant aroma. taste of sweet caramel and nutty malts. medium-bodied with little carbonation, almost to the point of being flat.
Score: 7

Ommegang Hennepin
Sample -- The House of Brews, NYC
nice clear yellow pour with distinctive sour yeast smell. mild sweetness, faint spices and good accompanying bitterness. an excellent saison.
Score: 9

Southampton Double White Ale
Tap -- The House of Brews, NYC
cloudy pour, sweet and yeasty on nose. mild citrus and spice with subdued aftertaste. good mouthfeel: clean, astringent, dry, and lively. my first beer from southampton and i liked it very much.
Score: 9

Brew of the batch:
Southampton ESB
Tap -- The Ginger Man, NYC
a very drinkable English-Style Ale. woody/nutty malts balanced perfectly with subtle earthy, bitter hops. grainy, almost chewy mouthfeel. exactly what i am looking for in a beer!
Score: 10

Upstate New York

I went to upstate New York this past weekend to visit some friends... and had a few local brews while I was there: a sampler case from Cooperstown Brewing and a couple of beers brewed by Lake Placid.


Cooperstown Benchwarmer
Bottle -- Minogue's Beverage Center, Milton, NY

pours a dark brown with terrific lace retention. this porter is all about the roast, with coffee aroma and taste complemented with notes of chocolate and vanilla. medium-to-light-bodied with smooth, creamy mouthfeel. recommended.

Appearance: 5/5 Aroma: 7/10 Flavor: 8/10 Palate: 4/5
Overall: 14/20 Total Rating: 3.8 Score: 8


Cooperstown Pride of Milford Special Ale
Bottle -- Minogue's Beverage Center, Milton, NY

clear amber/copper color with minimal aroma of malts. taste of fruity, toffee malts. somewhat sticky and full-bodied. the alcohol comes through here -- great example of an english strong ale.

Appearance: 4/5 Aroma: 6/10 Flavor: 7/10 Palate: 3/5
Overall: 14/20 Total Rating: 3.4 Score: 7












Cooperstown Strike Out Stout
Bottle -- Minogue's Beverage Center, Milton, NY

one finger of big bubbles on pour. expected aroma and taste of roasted coffee, although its a little thin and watery. it was only when i made this a float with some chocolate ice cream did it really gain some character...

Appearance: 3/5 Aroma: 6/10 Flavor: 4/10 Palate: 2/5
Overall: 11/20 Total Rating: 2.6 Score: 5


Cooperstown Back Yard IPA
Bottle -- Minogue's Beverage Center, Milton, NY

golden with good head retention and fruity hops on nose. assertive hops on taste buds, but a little weak overall. light, carbonated, and chalky mouthfeel. a run of the mill ipa.

Appearance: 3/5 Aroma: 5/10 Flavor: 4/10 Palate: 2/5
Overall: 9/20 Total Rating: 2.3 Score: 5

Cooperstown Nine Man Ale
Bottle -- Minogue's Beverage Center, Milton, NY

nice color but hardly any aroma. light but surprisingly flavorful. not bad.

Appearance: 4/5 Aroma: 2/10 Flavor: 5/10 Palate: 3/5
Overall: 8/20 Total Rating: 2.2 Score: 4


Cooperstown Old Slugger
Bottle -- Minogue's Beverage Center, Milton, NY

hazy orange with sudsy white head. subtle hops and kind of sweet. closer to a pilsner than a pale its so weak. ho hum.

Appearance: 3/5 Aroma: 3/10 Flavor: 3/10 Palate: 3/5
Overall: 6/20 Total Rating: 1.8 Score: 3


Lake Placid Ubu
Bottle -- O'Toole's Restaurant and Pub, Glens Falls, NY
an english strong ale that hides its 7% abv well. malty and kind of one
dimensional with hardly any detectable hops. solid and very drinkable, but not spectacular.
Appearance: 4/5 Aroma: 6/10 Flavor: 7/10 Palate: 4/5
Overall: 9/20 Total Rating: 3.0 Score: 6


Pick of the litter:
Lake Placid IPA (Frostbite Ale)
Bottle -- O'Toole's Restaurant and Pub, Glens Falls, NY

fresh pine and citrus hops on nose and taste. touch of sweet caramel malts that complement pleasant bitterness. rich mouthfeel that is both crisp and smooth. a winner.

Appearance: 4/5 Aroma: 7/10 Flavor: 9/10 Palate: 4/5
Overall: 16/20 Total Rating: 4.0 Score: 9