21st Amendment's Bitter American (Pale Ale)

4 sentences for a 4.4% ABV pale ale from 21st Amendment Brewery...

Slightly hazy amber-orange appearance, with a slim, but sustained, head.
Cinnamon-butter and pineapple found happily in the nose.
Carried by dry hops in the taste, with a near-balancing amount of toasty malts.
Feels and finishes dry; exceptionally approachable and impressive.

...One of the best session beers I've had yet.

Notes: Came in a can; poured into a fat weizen glass.

Great Divide's Hibernation Ale (bottled 2007 - imbibed 1-16-2011)

Notes from 1-16-2011 (Bottled 2007)

From the bottle it smells of milk chocolate with dark notes. Poured into czech pilsner glass, the brew is dark brown and kind of scary. Very little head. Hardly any at all; slim rim. Tons of sediment in suspension.

Tastes like I'll survive to see tomorrow. Chocolate-y with warming alcohol in the back. They didn't shy from the use of hops; definitely counteracts the sweetness from the discerned use of chocolate malts. Again, so much sediment in suspension; quite the thing to see. This brew is likely a hoppy, cold cocoa.

Hefty body to this one. The alcohol really starts to come out when the temperature begins to rise past the 40 degrees mark.

Mouthfeel transcends into a more syrupy condition. Alcohol, hops and chocolate malts start to bring out a smoky, burnt malts taste. As tasty as last year, at least I remember it that way.

Yuengling Bock

Mahogany-brown in appearance with a light-gray head on top that slims down to a thin yet respectable rim with a misty surface. Smells of wet malts and strange hoppy aromas. Floral with citrus notes (lemon and lime). Alcohol shows itself in the nose as well. Swirled the beer for more head and caught a whiff of a well-herbed beef stroganoff with mushrooms. Call me crazy.

Taste is muddled at first sip. Dry, bitter, and a bit muted. Fairly hoppy. Attenuation, just a smidgen; I'm not complaining. Alcohol flavor pulls itself up from below the stage. Faint caramel notes.

Mouthfeel...drink cold for best results. I'm drinking another to take another look, and a cold Yuengling Bock feels a lot better than one that's warming up after 20-30 mins. Pretty close to their Black & Tan in that respect.

Not bad; a little messy. Similar to Penn Brewery's St. Nikolaus Bock, but not as good.

SIDE NOTE: I've heard whispers that Yuengling Bock is merely another Black & Tan style of beer; this time a mixture of Yuengling Traditional Lager with Yuengling Porter or the Black & Tan. In my opinion, Yuengling would do better to create an authentic Bock. Still, if your Yuengling fan (and I'm one), not a bad seasonal change-up from the year-rounds.

Augistiner Lager (Iron City Brewing Co)

Poured into my fat 20 oz weizen glass from Leinkenkugel's. Brew is a golden amber color with a cream colored head on top. Smells wet. A near-Oktoberfest aroma. Brown sugar on toasted wheat bread. Sweet malty smell spreads thin, but matches the taste. Attenuated with a balancing amount of bittering units. A mallty, honey-like sweetness in the taste. A touch of alcohol in the finish as it drys on the buds. I appreciate the head for sticking around.

Some people around my way like to compare this brew to Yuengling's Traditional Lager. While they've got a point, Iron City's Augistiner is more tepid and reserved. Still, a highly drinkable brew.

Because I work at a distributor, I paid around ten bucks for a case, but any customer can walk in and walk out with a case of IC's Augistiner for roughly $13, and that is not at all a bad thing.

Lion Brewery's (Sri Lanka) Lion Stout

Black as expected with brown floaties (such a poor choice of words, I know) that tell me this brew is left unfiltered. A creamy, tan head sits atop and looks delicious. Remarkable lacing does its thing from the pour.

Smells rich with dark roasted malts, bitter chocolate, coffee beans and alcohol. Dried prunes & figs (smell is outstanding).

Taste embodies characteristics in the smell with a smoky, burnt contour; so rich. Warmth from the alcohol (8.8% ABV). Oily hops brighten the taste & lighten up the taste buds. I welcome the creamy, heavy body. The flavors allow an otherwise mild swiss cheese to expose its better attributes. I can't get enough of the smoky, burnt aspect to this brew. It even washes down smoothly.

If someone can think of a negative remark in regards to this stout's quality, I'm all ears, but I certainly won't be jotting anything down. Simply outstanding.

Miller Lite

No freshness date on can. All I know is that my brother brought a few cans over back in early December 2010, and considering how fast this stuff moves, I'm guessing it's only 3-4 months old now.

Hay to yellow color pours out into my weizen pilsner glass. Head sits atop for nearly a minute but slims down into a thin off-white rim. Tons of carbonation bubbles. Looks very light (who would have guessed?).

Smells of wet grass, malts, hops; faint aromas, but the pilsner smell is there.

Taste is pretty mild. A slight bitterness from the hops (did you know it's triple-hopped?) and some of the usual dry malts one can expect from a "pilsner." Finishes dry with a little bit of that cardboard aftertaste from cheaper pale lagers which I don't like. Too attenuated. Comes off as a brew that's better when imbibed in the its original container (I also know from experience).

As light as baby steps in the mouth. If this was genuinely triple-hopped it would taste better. Muted flavors.

My brother and father must get something about this brew that I just don't gather. Gotta love family, though. It's the rest of the population that's got me mouthing, "what the...?" Still, to its credit, it's at least a few points better on-tap.

Dogfish Head's Palo Santo Marron

Notes from 1/29/2011

My wife compiled a six pack of different brews for my birthday and included this curious and mysterious brew.

Dark brown in appearance, nearly black. Dark nougat head. Aroma similar to Cabernet Sauvignon, not that I'm a wine expert. Fruity. Cocoa nibs. Pealed apples (green). Woodsy aromas remind me of olive oil. Fierce alcohol & acidity presenting itself in the midst of a nuance of smell variables. Sticky like jam hands (smell still).

Man, oh, man! Alcohol up front (taste). Very warming. That it's aged on wood is clearly evident. Wife calls it "salty" (reluctantly tried it). The alcohol is upfront like I said, but warming as opposed to offensive & aggressive. Washes down smoothly. Nearly a wine, but with the body of a beer. Woodsy notes linger like reverberating chords.

Sip, sip, sip slowly. Any reasonable palate will only permit a savoring of this brew, not a fast, hasty finish. I find it hard to distinguish between the hops & alcohol in this brew as it carries so much depth, but they're both playing their part undoubtedly. Mouthfeel is warm like wine, but offers a broader body with far more discernible death.

Other than slowly sipping this for a cool 45-60 minutes, it almost has zero drinkability. The high alcohol content (12%) renders this brew an "only one" endeavor.

North Coast Brewing Co's Old #38 Stout

The only thing that tends to be up in the air in terms of a Stout's appearance is the head. In this case, a beige to sandy brown. Head is definitely sticking around on this one.

Smell is deeply rich. Chocolate cake on ice, chocolate milk, thick brown bread, enough hops to bring it to a splendid balance.

Taste is roasted to burnt up front. Smoky. A touch of bitterness from the hops. Amazing how they pulled off such a milk chocolately, friendly smell while pushing harsher qualities through on the taste. Mucho props. It's part of what makes this beer so delicious.

Enough bite, but a tad bit thin. That in mind, a little dangerous because it's exceptionally drinkable. My only suggestion would be for the brewmaster to add a little more to the body. Other than that, a solid, in some aspects, outstanding stout.

Sierra Nevada's 30th Anniversary - Fritz and Ken's Ale (Imperial Stout)

Aged in my fridge for 10 months, beginning in March 2010; imbibed last night, January 5, 2011.

Posthumous reflection:

Appearance -  black body with an immense, fluffy light beige head.  Inky.  The body falls back through the head after sipping, rendering a chocolate colored trail.

Smell - Dark, deep roasted malts; citrus hops in the back.

Taste - Deep roasted malts; charcoal; alcohol taste is quite reserved. 

Mouthfeel - Thick and aggressive.

Drinkability - Loved the brew and would definitely drink a bunch of it, but considering the brew sits at over 9% ABV, I'd have to take it easy.

Cabin Fever Brown Ale

Cabin Fever Brown Ale from New Holland Brewing Co.  Tried a sample of this at a local bar a few winters ago from the tap.  My unsophisticated palate at the time drew hints of asphalt from the flavor.  Let's hope I was just a young aficionado.

Smells like a smokey porter.  Looks like one, too.  Deep roasted barley; near charred.  Fully roasted aroma.  Sweet hop flowers describe the contour, making this one serve up an exceptional treat to the nose.

Oily-charred malts in the taste.  Like it smells, but darker.  Pretty reserved in the hops category when compared to the dark malts.  Dry as the label claims, with a tamer finish.  Very little astringency, but the alcohol is beginning to show face.  That being said, it only stands at 6% ABV.

A solid, as expected body to this brew.  Somewhere past medium, but not quite as thick as a stout.  Crosses over into the realms of a porter.  The malts-to-hops ratio, with the malts as the victor, renders this a highly drinkable option, and, for sure, I could see myself drinking a few of these while my wife imbibes hot cocoa in a cabin in the woods surrounded by the stark cold of winter.  Cheers!

Dundee Festive Ale

A: Brown/dark copper, creamy off-white head

S: Malty/sweet. Caramel, spices (cinnamon)

T: A slew of spices; tasting cinnamon & orange peel. Caramel in the back end. Hops dominate the spices.

MF: Light-medium bodied.

D: Pretty drinkable. Flavor is a little reserved and flat, despite the tasting credit I gave the brew above. A good brew nonetheless.

Peak Organic Brewing Co - Fall Summit Ale

The brew is a dark copper-brown.  Silky lacing and a slim, but constant, head.  Moderate carbonation level.

Smells of tropical jelly bean hops.  Very sweet and attractive.  Butterscotch and faint maple in the tail end.

Tastes close to how it smells.  Hop bitterness, hop flavor, and malt sweetness form an excellent balance.  Warming.  Finishes without a lingering aftertaste.  Oriented toward the hops, but not overbearing.  On the thinner side, but the hop content extends the body in a misleading, yet agreeable, way.  Sort of stretches it like a silky syrup.

Very hoppy, but brown enough to balance out the overreaching nature of hop oriented brews.  Notably drinkable, not to mention, organic!

Penn Brewery Oktoberfest

Before I get into this beer, I need to get something off my chest: Christmas beers show up in stores far too early.

The beer store I work for got several cases of Samuel Adams Winter Lager 2-3 weeks ago and people are still coming in looking for Sam Adams Octoberfest.  From what I can tell, a lot of people are still thirsty for Octoberfest, but Winter Warmers and the like are already in.

I even feel that the autumn brews didn't have enough time to shine.  The bottle shop I buy from only had Sierra Nevada's Tumber (Brown Ale) for a week or two and I never saw it again, except for a few cases in the store I work weekends at, but I only wanted to try a few bottles.  I guess I'll buy it the first time I see it when next year's batch rolls through.

Enough ranting...on to the brew!

Penn Brewery Oktoberfest, as part of the brewery's Gourmet Selection (variety-pack).  Slightly hazy appearance marked by an amber-copper brown color.  Head slims to a nice rim with leftovers on top.

Grassy hops in the nose up front, with a sweet honey and malt backbone.  Candy caramel w/ sweet brown bread.

First sip--since I took the bottle out of the fridge twenty minutes ago--is marked by a hoppy-graininess that is hard to describe.  Alcohol in the taste.  Toasted barley?  Toasted brown bread?  Definitely some caramel.  Hoppy up front with a medium body.  Sweeter in the finish with a bit of a syrupy feel on the tongue.

I like it, although I'm having trouble describing its characteristics.  A good Oktoberfest that doesn't ask you to think about it too much, while remaining interesting enough to imbibe.  I can see myself drinking this in the cold.

As for the other beers that one is encouraged to drink in the cold (read: Winter Warmers), give me a few weeks.  I'm not ready yet.