IPA Showdown: Great Lakes' Commodore Perry vs Bell's Two Hearted Ale

(A few weeks back)

Stopped into Guntown Beer today knowing I wanted to buy a beer or two, but unsure of what I was in the mood for. I ended up picking up 2 previously had IPAs, both of which I enjoy: Great Lakes' Commodore Perry and Bell's Two Hearted Ale. I've decided to try one after the other because they have different perspectives on the style to offer.



Commodore Perry has an "enjoy by" date of 12/30/12 on the right side of the label.

General notes: 7.5% ABV; tawny-orange body; bubbly white head with good retention. Lacing sticking all over the glass. Peachy in the nose; herbal; leafy; alcohol heat. Creamy taste; booze; bitter back end; peppery; spicy hops.

Overall, not for the faint of heart. Especially suitable for cold winter nights at a bar or one's home, but not as approachable as say, Dogfish Head's 60 Minute IPA or Saranac's India Pale Ale. I'd guess the heat and bitterness lingers too much for most folks to really enjoy this one. That said, I'd certainly recommend this to anyone with a well established beer palate.

On to Bell's Two Hearted Ale...



Two Hearted Ale has a "packaged on" date of 09/06/12 on the back label.

General notes: 7% ABV. tawny-orange, amber body. A bit darker than Commodore Perry. Fluffy white head. Bright and fruity in the nose; pineapple. Tinny/penny-like in the taste at first. Smooth. Bitter in the back end, but disappears gently. Floral and fruity hops. Creamy. Dry finish with fruity tones lingering lightly.

Overall: much more approachable than Commodore Perry. Great Lakes' offering isn't off balance, just overly alcoholic, while Two-Hearted is very balanced, just bitter enough, and pretty refreshing. You want more, instead of anticipating and fearing the heat. Bright fruits and a citrusy flash help the approachability of this beer.

Uinta Brewing Co's Punk'n

Notes from 10/28/12

Punk'n (Harvest Pumpkin Ale), 12 fl oz "Ale brewed with pumpkin & spices." Oddly enough, the left side of the label says "3% organic ingredients." That said, I don't expect the green movement to recommend this on the merits of organic ingredients.

Pours brown amber with a fluffy, egg-white head. Damn near opaque for the color.

Pumpkin spices are pleasant in the nose and not over the top. Floral; toasted squash; dark bread; cinnamon and brown sugar.

Ghord/pumpkin taste hits the buds subtly (autumn vegetable hint). Not too spicy; pretty reserved, including the bittering hops.

Good choice if looking for a pumpkin beer beyond the mediocre, ubiquitous options.

Appearance: 4    Aroma: 4    Taste: 3.5    Feel: 3.5    Overall: 3.5 out of 5
An original photo (I take them every once in a while)...

Dogfish Head Punkin Ale

Notes from 9/13/12

"7% Alcohol by Volume" on the label; described as "A full-bodied brown ale brewed with real pumpkin, brown sugar, allspice, cinnamon & nutmeg." In the glass the brew is amber, with a pumpkin-orange glow under the light. Soapy, off-white head; thin, but retention is steady.

Pumpkin pie spices with an overall smooth aroma. Nothing overbearing. Spice and an underlying herbal hops note.

Spices don't linger in the taste. A bit of sweetness, a light hops bite. Cinnamon & allspice (as noted on the label).

There's a body to this brew that some pumpkin ales lack; a completeness. I don't get the sensation that I'm drinking watery beer with pumpkin spices added to the base. Beats most pumpkin ales in my book.

Appearance: 4    Aroma: 4    Taste: 4    Feel: 4.5    Overall: 4 out of 5

Sierra Nevada Tumbler (Autumn Brown Ale)

Notes from 9/2/12

The last two fall seasons, I delayed trying this until it was too late and off the shelves. I vowed to pick up a bottle the first time it appeared before my eyes this year. Purchased late August, consumed roughly one week later in early September.

Moderately aggressive pour. Not too much head, not too little; enough to let the aroma out. Pretty dark, as I suspected it to be. Dark brown under the light. Soapy, soft beige head. Good lacing on the glass. Carbonation bubbles can be seen through the dark malt body; looks confidently carbonated.

Wonderful aroma. Roasty, but not burnt. Taking my time, allowing it to warm up. So far, a touch of dark fruit, chocolate, floral hops and brown bread.

Well integrated hops character, malty malt bill, roasted malts, dry chocolate. A brown ale that's up my alley (a number of American brown ales are over-roasted for my tastes, not to mention over-hopped). This is well balanced, while still tipped to the American side. Herbal hops aroma comes through as it warms up a bit. Remarkably smooth. Good beer. Oh, and last whiff aroma note from the wife: lemon, citrusy...amazing.

Appearance: 4.5    Aroma: 4    Taste: 4    Mouthfeel: 4.5    Overall: 4 out of 5

Samuel Smith's India Ale

Notes from 8/15/12

A tawny amber-orange appearance; honey-like. Frothy egg white up top. Lacing stuck to the glass. Fairly opaque, but bubbles can be seen rising to the top.  Appearance: 4.5/5

Rich caramel aroma. A punch (Donnie Brasco reference) of diacetyl. Fruity hops.  Aroma: 4/5

Caramel malts and fresh tasting bittering & flavor hops. Easy going down. Balanced taste & feel. A touch of booze in the finish.  Taste: 4/5

Feel 4.5/5: bittering hops never clash with the overall character notes or get in the way of the smoothness of this brew; perfectly hopped). Creamy mouth-feel. Medium-bodied.

Overall: 4.5/5: excellent brew!

Notes: English IPAs are a decidely different brew than the U.S. (they're also the original breed). From my experience and reading, English IPAs tend to be more balanced than the slew of IPAs made in the U.S. That said, they've also been drawn down in size over the years. Historically, they were high in alcohol (round 8% ABV) and heavily hopped to withstand long trips (hops act as a preservative) when Great Britain was colonizing India in the late 1700s and early 19th century, hence the "India" attached to the pale ale.

Oranjeboom Premium Beer

Notes from 8/14/12

16 oz pint can, 5% ABV, no freshness date.

Golden-yellow appearance with carbonation bubbles rising. Fluffy white head with good retention. Tawny; not entirely clear in body.  Appearance: 4/5

Spicy and grainy in aroma. Wet grass. The faintest touch of sweet caramel underneath grains and hops.  Smell: 3.5/5

Tinny, pasteurized can tang up front, followed by grains, bittering hops, spicy hops flavor and a dry finish. Drink this colder than I did (stay below 50 degrees F).  Taste: 3/5

Creamy body (hops flavor), balanced hops & malt bill, and medium bodied.  Feel: 4/5

Overall: 3 out of 5. An average Euro-lager. Not bad at all, just nothing exceptional. I'm thinking pork sausages and potatoes with this one.

Spaten Dunkel

Introduction: This is a Munich Dunkel lager. Other examples include: Penn Dark and Pious Monk Dunkel by Church Brew Works.

Brown with reddish hues in the appearance of this beer. Not opaque, but dark enough to keep you from really checking out what's going on in the glass (the most you'll see is a reddish brown wall with the shadow of your fingers holding the glass). A frothy nougat head sits quietly up top. Carbonation bubbles rising.  Appearance: 4/5

Caramel in the nose. Chocolate fudge, raisins, figs, crust of brown bread. An underlying herbal hops aroma rises up as it warms.  Aroma: 4/5

Dark and caramel malts send suggestions of cocoa nibs and caramel to the taste buds. Hops come through with a gentle and balancing bitterness. Cold coffee. Dark chocolate bar flavor drys and lingers on the tongue.  Taste: 3.5/5

A touch watery at times, but a quaffable dunkel, for certain. Medium to full bodied; I really can't decide.  Feel: 3.5/5

Overall I give this brew a 4 out of 5. The fragrance is really enjoyable and appealing as it is malty and robust. The taste is complex, rich, sweet and dry. Though I said it was a touch watery, that characteristic improves its drinkability. 5.2% ABV on the bottle, lower than what I've read elsewhere, and that's a good thing.

Notes: Penn Dark is perhaps (it's been more than a year since I've had one) darker and drier than this dunkel, but fairly comparable. Pious Monk Dunkel on the other hand is a slightly different beast. Pious Monk has a fruitier fragrance and taste (due to the yeast activity), and at just over 4% ABV, it is notably more watery and smaller in depth (not to mention it's more of a dark amber in appearance).

Anchor Brewing Co's Brekle's Brown

Notes from 7/12/12

On the front label: "All Malt Single Hop Brown Ale. Brewmaster Gottlieb Brekle 1871-1888." On the back: "6% ABV." Also, some coding "2MO" which means nothing to the average person (including myself), although I'm inclined to think it refers to the age of the beer.

The brew pours nicely with a big, fluffy beige head that sticks to the glass. Down below, the brew is dark brown with glowing red hues (cherry red in the light), nearly opaque.  Appearance: 4.5/5

Creamy in the nose. Buttery diacetyl, peaches (my wife picked that attribute out), citrus (lime), salt, and a body of caramel and brown malts. Suggestion of booze on the outer edges.  Aroma: 4/5

That suggestion of alcohol shows up in the taste; cuts in with the bittering hops. Butter, caramel, spicy hops flavor. Good and complex flavors in the taste.  Taste: 4/5

Feels medium bodied and well balanced.  Feel: 4/5 Nothing takes over as, thankfully, this isn't over-hopped (which tends to be the prevailing characteristic amongst American brown ales).  Overall: 4/5  

Ayinger Celebrator Doppelbock

With my nose in the bottle I can smell a strong aroma of amber/caramel malts. Glory be to the beer gods! In a sizable mug with a confident handle, I poured an excited beer with an enormous head. Glory be to the beer gods!

Appearance is dark brown, almost black. Big head at first, but disappeared almost completely. That said, mahogany hints at the bottom help this beer look very inviting.  4/5

An aroma of burnt raisins, cold coffee, roasted grains, and very warm alcohol underneath all that goodness. This beer asks to be quaffed! Well, actually that we be a bad idea. Sip slowly...  4/5

Sweetness up front with a heavy dose of caramel malts. Bittering hops and alcohol hit the tongue on the back and the middle, respectively. Malty, malty, malty. Raisin bread, figs, caramel, hops for balance. Good stuff! 4.5/5

Feels slick in the mouth. Enough hops for the body which is frankly, heavy (anyone who says differently needs to take a break from beer). Alcohol lingers a bit, but solid. 4/5

Overall: 4.5/5 (very tasty!)

Notes: I finished reading Pete Slosberg's (Pete's Brewing Co, or from what I've read, formerly) book from the late 90s about his life and career revolved around beer, Beer for Pete's Sake, and in it he asserted that beer should be poured down the center of the glass. Now, I've heard about doing so when pouring a stout, but never before for all beer in general. According to Pete, it allows the carbon dioxide in the beer to escape into the atmosphere quicker, instead of first settling in your stomach (which of course leads to burps). Also, aromas are released from the brew that would not otherwise. That said, I don't know...I guess have to take issue with the idea. For example, a pilsner, a beer that typically puts forth a grassiness and dryness, would taste to creamy if given the chance to develop a humongous head by way of the down-the-center pour. While I agree with Pete in regards to the aroma intensification brought about by the technique, I just think every style of beer has, in general, a certain level of head or foam that is appropriate and that level plays an important role in showcasing a particular style and taste.

By the way, check Pete Slosberg's book out. I found it enlightening and I really enjoyed it.

Great Lakes Brewing Co's The Wright Pils

I split a case of this stuff with a co-worker. Bottles show it's good til the first week of August, which is a little disappointing since my store just got this in this week (notes from 7/4/12). That being said, nothing at all is wrong with the age of this brew.

A yellow-gold look with tawny shades. Egg white head slims down while still staying appealing.  4/5

Smells yeasty (like yeast being prepped for bread dough with warm water & sugar). Grassy and lemony in the nose. Salt, light malts.  4/5

Sharp hops cut through to the taste buds real quick with a peppery flavor. Yeast, peppermint spice, earthy hops, burnt brown sugar, bread crust, ginger. Clean malts with the right amount of fermented spiciness.  4.5/5

The Wright Pils is carried by hops, but washes away without heavy and unwelcoming lingering qualities thanks to the sweet and spicy tango.  4/5

Great Lakes pulled this one off with the hops flavor. Great stuff.

Overall: 4.5/5

Angry Orchard (Cider, I Know)

I read about Angry Orchard Cider on Lew Bryson's blog yesterday and learned that it's a Boston Brewing Co (known for the Samuel Adams line) product, something I didn't realize when I saw a case of it on the malternatives shelf (most people still ask for "wine coolers" when looking for Mike's Hard Lemonade or Smirnoff, oddly enough) at my place of employment (the gubbamint doesn't have any idea, and we sold the case) (there are far too many parentheses in this paragraph).

Bryson sold me on trying the stuff. I even read some happy reviews elsewhere via a Google search. Most folks seem to like the Crisp Apple selection the best. I found all three varieties at my local bottle shop, but decided against trying (for now) the Apple Ginger (maybe in the fall). At $2.15 a bottle, I was hoping for a shorter price line, but it's better than what I'd pay at a bar.

The Traditional Dry, said to be an English style cider, is still in the fridge. My wife and I tried the Crisp Apple yesterday afternoon. As a matter of fact, my wife was the inspiration behind the purchase. I'm always searching for a drink she'd have no trouble enjoying. See, my wife's a hard one to please when it comes to alcohol. She likes margaritas when there are chips and salsa around, has an occasional glass of wine, and almost never drinks beer anymore (she used to be a Yuengling girl). I figure ciders are the way to go, and the Crisp Apple was damn near perfect for her taste buds.

There's a little bit of heat or alcohol presence in the middle, with a slightly volatile, floral, yeasty aroma (quite nice). Crisp Apple is dangerously quaffable, with a fresh apple taste (the apples are said to be imported from Italy and another country that I'm too lazy to look up and identify for you, but my best comparison would be something close to a gala apple, which happens to be my favorite cultivar). My other half said it almost tastes like apple juice. I honestly couldn't recommend the stuff enough. If interested, it shouldn't be hard to find (honestly, Samuel Adams is just about everywhere now).

 

Tyskie Gronie

Tyskie Gronie...I bought a case to share with a friend for around $21 after tax. Apparently it's one of the most popular beers in Poland (not sure that's a good thing). Full disclosure: I've had a bunch of this already (not today, but in general).

Appearance is hazy gold. No head, slim rim nearly disappears after just 3-4 minutes. Carbonation bubbles. Not a lot going on in appearance.  3/5

Smells like a run-of-the-mill American lager. Vegetal, sweet adjuncts, a touch of grassiness and faint honey.  2.5/5  I'm thirsty...

First thing I notice in the taste is a fairly offensive muted graininess. After a few sips that aspect mellows out, and the taste sweetens, at least improving from the less than stellar introduction. Not a lot to talk about. There seems to be a heavier adjunct bill than a malt, and I prefer the latter. 2.5/5

Fairly balanced in the mouth. Not much hops, but there isn't much body either, so there you go, it's balanced adequately. Washes away pretty cleanly, but as it warms a little booze starts to tug at the back of the throat.  3/5

Overall: 2.5

Notes: this is a below average lager. I could name several American lagers that do the adjunct thing much better. And what's with the 5.6% ABV? That gravity is unnecessary. Why not cut it to 5%, add more malted barley and make a better brew?

Warsteiner Dunkel

Notes from 5/27/12

Bought this on accident (see notes after review):

Near black appearance with mahogany shades toward the bottom of the chalice. A milky, off-white head slims down, but an attractive rim remains and clings gently to the glass.  4

Coffee, timber smoked and grape juice in the nose. A touch of milk chocolate, and a slightly floral aroma.  3.5

Dark, wet malts up front with a grape-like yeast flavor sitting in the middle. A dry lingering in the back end, reminiscent of a red wine with a woody character. Notwithstanding everything I just mentioned, the taste comes off as one dimensional. 3

Hops cut into the wet malts character. The wet body, however, is broad and pronounced. Carbonation might be matching the hops. Feels a little like soda.  3

Overall: 3

Notes: went into my favorite bottle shop for Warsteiner Premium Verum (German pilsner), found it, and checked a bottle for a freshness date. Turned out the brew should have been drank by Sept 2011 (apparently nobody drinks the stuff around here). Then I saw another row of the brew right next to the bottle I picked up, and checked the dates; Warsteiner Premium Verum good til August 2012...or so I thought. Got home, poured a bottle into my chalice glass, and was very surprised by the dark color. The moral of the story is: double check labels, and don't "pull a mom" (late 90s-early 2000s reference to loving mothers and their attempts to buy regular potato chips and other junk food, but due to the constantly rushed nature of the housewife lifestyle, bring home "reduced fat" or "low sodium" bastardizations of name brands).