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.

Stegmaier Oktoberfest

Stegmaier Oktoberfest pours a vibrant copper to amber color.  A white head sits atop and gradually recedes to a healthy rim.

A notable dose of butterscotch, caramel, and alcohol in the nose.  Hops pull through to sharpen the tones, as well as a mild graininess as the brew warms up.

In taste, it's hoppy up front, with a sweet/malty middle and finish.  Caramel and butterscotch/diacetyl.  Some alcohol definitely comes out in the finish.

Feels medium bodied, slightly syrupy, and active from the hops & alcohol.  Moderate carbonation in my opinion.

Not a bad Oktoberfest by any means.  It took me a few tries over the past month, but after a summer full of pilsners and lighter styles, I'm just now starting to dig the marzens this season...

Beck's Oktoberfest

Appearance: Dark amber/copper. Solid head retention. Deep enough to avoid the label of being transparent.

Smell: Sweet malts and caramel. Toasty.

Taste: Hoppy all around. Hops drive the taste, with a notable malt backbone to pull it all in. The malts add to the flavor in a more pronounced fashion than they add to the body. Still, medium bodied. Some caramel in the taste, but very reserved.

Drinkability: I'm very impressed by this beer. It's so accessible, I had to pick up a single at $1.75. Beck's Oktoberfest redeemed my faith in the style. Whether at a festival or hanging with friends, I could drink this all day or all night. Try it for yourself.

Founders Dirty Bastard

Appearance is cloudy, with an array of hues that make the beer look delicious and inviting.  A fluffy nougat head on top.  A dark brown to mahogany glow to the bottom of the glass.  The smell is unbelievable.  Sweet fruits to a chocolatey, malty backbone.  Taste's earthy.  Not quite what I was expecting.  A lot of hoppy bitterness.  Hot alcohol.  Malt and grains somewhere in the mix.  Definitely a sipper.  As it warms up it tastes more and more like bourbon or a brown liquor.  Have a good night...

Hook & Ladder Backdraft Brown Ale

Appearance:  Deep, dark brown; almost black.  Creamy off-white head recedes to a modest, but worthy remainder.

Smell:  Caramel; very malty.  Smells like I could chew it.  Hints toward milk chocolate.

Taste: Malty, but attenuated.  Enough hops to add bitterness & balance the brew.  Some alcohol also shows up to tango with the hops.

Mouthfeel:  Wet & not interfered with by the body the smell suggests.  Medium-heavy body.  Pardon my redundancy: attenuated.  Mild astringency from the alcohol or hops?  Got me.

Drinkability:  Wish I could walk into any bar & find this on tap.  I'd drink several pints & sleep like a baby.

Great Lakes Oktoberfest, 2010

Out of appreciation for Great Lakes' "For freshest taste, please enjoy by:" marking on the back end of the label, here you go: 9/24/10 - About 11 days before the freshness expiration.  I'm not drinking this late, though, seeing as how we are less than a month away from October.  On to the review...

A copper-amber appearance with a fluffy white head and good retention.

Smells of syrupy sweet malts & caramel, plus a little alcohol and apple cider in the nose.

Tastes of caramel & honey. Very malty. Sticky. Thinner than I expected. A decent amount of alcohol drys on the tongue. A good level of hops comes through as well.

I could drink a few, but still a little heavy on the alcohol taste.

Derailed Black Cherry Ale

Erie Brewing Co either impresses me or lets me down.  There are a few of their beers that I really like, and I few others I don't really care for, but I always give them a shot when I see a brew of theirs that I haven't had yet.  That being said, it's time to move on and review Erie Brewing Co's Derailed Black Cherry Ale.

The brew pours a hazy amber brown from what I can tell; let's just say I don't have the pleasure of natural light right now.  There also seems to be a faded grayish-red hue toward the corners of the glass (2-D perspective).  A silky, multi-layered rim collects itself after a few minutes.



The smell is delicious, albeit it is probably derived from some sort of cherry extract.  Canned cherries; that's all I can gather from the smell.

The taste is a little bit of husk up front, with a sweet cherry finish.  Muted malts and a pseudo oxidation taste at first, but the cherry sweetness soon washes that away.  Still, I'm left with a syrupy tongue more akin to a few maibocks I've run into in the past than a cream ale.

Not a bad brew, but not one I would drink a lot of.

Peroni Nastro Azzurro

Poured into my czech pilsner glass, Peroni is a yellow-golden brew with lively carbonation bubbles, and a slim head that recedes to a very modest rim.

The smell of a pilsner is very upfront, with sharp, grassy tones, coupled with toasted notes of barley & hops.

The taste is very mild.  Comparable to a friendlier Moosehead Lager.  Hardly any astringency to mention.  A clean body, a touch of hops, and a reserved degree of malts.  Actually a bit on the sweet side.

Carbonation is a little much in this brew.  Veering toward pop territory, but not terrible.

Certainly a solid beer.  Definitely sessionable, but that's all.  If you are in the mood for a night cap, I recommend you grab a different beer from the fridge, but I can't say that it would be a bad idea to keep this one around.  It just might go well with pizza.

Bitburger Premium Pils

On the back label reads what I assume to be the "bottled on" date: 29 04 10 (4/29/10)

Pours a yellow golden, almost murky, hue. Slim, fluffy white head recedes to a thin rim with left over head tracings in the middle.

Smells grassy, skunky, w/ sharp floral hops.

Tastes like its aroma, but with the addition of ripe white grapes. A bit of astringency at the the tail end, encouraging one to drink more to quench their never ending thirst.

A good bite up front w/ a wet finish. I could certainly imbibe more than a few. A good pilsner.

George Killian's Irish Red

As far as I can remember, this marks only the second time that I've had George Killian's Irish Red. My first experience happened to be around the time I hadn't yet discovered the beautiful complexity of beer, so I'm going to drink this one with optimism.

Well, the predominate hue is nice. Amber brown to mahogany. A beige head shows its weakness, and over the course of less than a minute, dwindles down to a sorry nothingness. Evidence of what once was a head lays pitifully on the top, like a shattered continent on a map of the globe. A thin rim tries to keep it together, and remind me that this is a beer in my glass.

The smell is toasted. Burnt brown sugar, malts, & sweet caramel. Doughy & full-bodied in the nose.

The taste is malty & toasted, with a dry, corn kernel-like finish. A mild hint of butter.  Dryness trumps the attenuation, hiding what I tend to complain about.

Medium-bodied, but missing a considerable depth of character. Still, one of the better beers offered by Coors.