Beer. Beer. And More Beer.: October 2015

Saturday, October 31, 2015

#1123

GOOSE ISLAND BEER CO. - Sofie Belgian Style Farmhouse Ale 2014 Really nice example of a belgian saison. Nice balance of spice and fruit. Smooth.

ODELL BREWING COMPANY - Friek 2014 I always look forward to this one every year. A bit behind on giving this one a try. I thought I had already tried it and this bottle was just a bonus, but upon review I had not had it before. Aroma is super fruity; cherries and raspberries of course. Tastes the same and the oak really shines. A clean and easy drinking fruit sour. The fruit and the oak complement each other very well. Another top notch beer from Odell. Can't wait for the 2015 version.

#1121

CASTLE DANGER BREWERY - Double Crossing IPA Decent imperial IPA from a Minnesota brewer. Very citrus forward aroma. Taste is big hops, malts and alcohol. Has a litrle bitrerness. The 9.1% ABV is also more noticeable than I expected. The balance seems off just a little bit. Big imperial IPA that just doesn't seem to quite come together.

Friday, October 30, 2015

#1120

STONE BREWING CO. - Enjoy By 10-31-15 IPA I always enjoy the Enjoy By series from Stone, and this one is no exception. Great as always, not much more needs to be said. Buy any of the Enjoy By beers you can find, you won't be disappointed

#1119

FOUNDERS BREWING COMPANY - Harvest Ale 2015 Founders version of a wet hopped ale. Nice sweet fruity pine aroma. Big hop taste of pine, floral and mild citrus. Has a moderate bitterness. Very tasty, glad i found this one this year as I have never seen it around here before.

#1118

SURLY BREWING COMPANY - Wet 2015 This is the 2015 version of Surlys fresh IPA. I was happy to find this. They didn't make it in 2014 and in 2013 I searched everywhere and never found it. Basic aroma, not much there, grass, pine, and citrus. Taste is the same. Overall, a little dissapointed. Not the best beer I have had from Surly, decent, but there are better "Fresh hop" IPAS out there and at $16.99 for a 4 pack, this is not the cheapest. Nice, but expected more.

Thursday, October 29, 2015

#1117

DESCHUTES BREWERY - Chasin' Freshies Fresh Hop IPA 2015 Really enjoy these fresh hop beers. Strong lemon and citrus aroma. Tastes the same. Light, refreshing and very easy to drink. I like how they change the variety of hop used from year to year to make this a different experience each time they brew it.

#1116

FOUNDERS BREWING COMPANY - Blushing Monk 2015 This is a Belgian style ale fermented with real raspberries. I am a big fan of Founders Rubaeus, which is a base raspberry beer in the Founders lineup, so I was really looking forward to this. Essentially an "Imperial" Rubaeus. Made with more raspberries and has a higher ABV than Rubaeus. Surprise, the aroma is raspberries and more raspberries with a touch of Belgian funk. Taste follows the nose. Sweet raspberry over a malt base. Very good, another outstanding beer from Founders, wish I had bought a few more bottles.

Wednesday, October 28, 2015

#1115

DOGFISH HEAD BREWERY - Black & Blue This ia a Belgian Style golden ale fermented with blueberries and blackberries. Great aroma, lots of blueberries and blackberries as expected. Tastes as advertised, fruity with a little Belgian spice. Very good. It has a little bit of booze from the 10% ABV, but it seemed less noticeable as it warmed. Unique and interesting. Fun to try.

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

#1114

ABITA BREWING CO. - Two Boots Saison Collaboration beer with Abita and Birra Birrificio Del DuCato in Italy. Brewed with pepper, honey and lemon. Interesting. All i get in the aroma is the pepper and some faint floral notes. Taste is very lemony with a little fruitiness. The honey gives it a some sweetness and it finishes with a little kick from the pepper. Nice flavor, but a little understated, could be so much better. Doesn't seem like it would work, but it's actually not bad, with a little tweaking it could be a lot better.

#1113 continued.

Stupid Google Blogger app has so many bugs they never bother to fix. Tonight it wouldn't let me add a 2nd picture to a post . I thought the art on the 1492 bottle was pretty cool, so wanted to add another picture to give the full effect.

#1113

TOPPLING GOLIATH BREWING COMPANY - 1492 India Pale Ale Decent single hop IPA (surprise, Columbus hops used in a beer named 1492). Some spicy notes with citrus. Nice soft hoppy aroma. Flavor was not as hoppy as I expected, lots of bright citrus with a little bitterness in the finish. Solid, but nothing extraordinary.

Monday, October 26, 2015

#1112

FAIR STATE BREWING COOPERATIVE - Pahlay'Ahlay Really nice Pale Ale from Fair State. Huge citrus aroma upon opening. Lots of tropical fruit: mango, pineapple, grapefruit, orange, and peach. Taste follows the nose, but a little more muted. Very good, a tropical bomb that is easy to drink.

Darkness release day

Very happy with my luck on Surly Darkness release day. Might have to have a Darkness party soon!

Wednesday, October 21, 2015

#1111

AVERY BREWING COMPANY - Joe's Premium American Pilsner

#1110

612 BREW - Unrated Rye IPA

Monday, October 19, 2015

#1109

FOUR PEAKS BREWING COMPANY - Peach Ale

Monday, October 12, 2015

#1108

ALMANAC BEER CO. - Farmer's Reserve Strawberry Nice base sour, but the strawberry is almost non-existent in most sips. Bordering on almost too tart, but manages to not cross that threshold. Sure wish the strawberry stood out a little more.