Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Boulder Beer Mojo Risin

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3.9/5

AROMA
8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 16/20

22 ounce bottle. Pours clear amber color with a 2 finger dense off white head with amazing retention. Aromas of citrus, pine, caramel, and floral. Taste matches the nose, everything I look for in a good IPA (DIPA in this case). Pretty standard stuff here, I enjoy the original Mojo as well and this is really tasty and enjoyable. There is a long finish on this, it starts out with a maltiness and fades into a bitterness that lasts on the palate. The bitterness is not as brutal as other DIPAs I have had though. Seems a bit more malt forward than most. Full bodied and medium to light carbonation. Very well hidden alcohol content. I will admit that there are definitely better DIPAs out there, but this one does not disappoint.

Another tasty beer from Boulder. I will get around to the regular Mojo eventually.

Three Floyds Pride & Joy Mild Ale

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4/5

AROMA
8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 16/20

12 ounce bottle. Pours cloudy dark amber color with a 2 finger off white head with good retention. Aromas of caramel, citrus, and some pine. Taste of citrus, pine, and some caramel. Has a nice clean hop bitterness on a dry finish. Very well balanced with the malts. Medium body and carbonation. This is a great session beer. When i took the first sip it tasted a lot different than anything I have had before, but as I kept drinking, before I knew it my glass was empty. I really hope they return distribution to Ohio.

My first Three Floyds brew, and I am thoroughly impressed. I can't wait to try the other ones. Hopefully they return the distribution here.

Sunday, November 28, 2010

Ben & Jerry's Dulce Delish

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I have had this one before, but I am revisiting it, and it is just as good as I remember. I am a big fan of caramel, so this really hits the spot. Caramel ice cream and caramel swirls. The caramel ice cream is pretty average I'd say, with decent texture and good taste. But the caramel swirl is absolutely fantastic. There is plenty of caramel in the pint, and it blends the flavors together really well. The caramel swirl has a nice and heavy texture and rich taste. Overall this is a very enjoyable pint, and the caramel swirl definitely wins me over with this one.

8.5/10

Friday, November 26, 2010

Great Lakes Christmas Ale

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3.9/5

AROMA
7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 16/20

12 ounce bottle. Pours a light copper color with a 1 finger off white head with good retention, and has decent lacing. Aromas of cinnamon, ginger, and caramel. Taste matches aromas, and the finish is very smooth with a small amount of alcohol warming. Taste of ginger and cinnamon lingers after the finish. Medium body and carbonation. Overall this is a fantastic holiday brew. Very interesting, and have not had anything like it before.

This beer definitely screams Christmas, and is one of the best spice beers I have had. Really enjoyable.

Great Divide Hibernation Ale

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3.9/5

AROMA
8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 15/20

12 ounce bottle. Pours clear dark brown color with a 2 finger tan head with outstanding retention. Aromas of caramel, chocolate, nuts, and roasted malts. Taste of roasted malts, chocolate, nuts, and caramel. Very creamy body, with some alcohol warming on the finish. Slight amount of bitterness, and overall pretty well balanced. The sweetness and taste of the beer sits on the tongue after the finish. Medium body and carbonation. Overall, I enjoyed this, and it is a tasty offering.

Overall it is a very good offering. I think I let it warm up too much though haha.

Thursday, November 25, 2010

Schloss Eggenberg Samichlaus Bier

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4.2/5

AROMA
8/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 9/10 PALATE 5/5 OVERALL 17/20

330 ml bottle, 2009. Pours a clear reddish brown color with a small 1 finger off white head with decent retention. Aromas of vanilla, caramel, dark fruits, and brown sugar. Taste of dark fruits, vanilla, brown sugar, and caramel. The beer finishes pretty clean with a very small bit of aftertaste, but wow is this insanely drinkable for the 14% ABV. The beer goes down clean and yet only leaves warming after the finish. No bitterness in this, but I would say it would not matter in this case because it is extremely enjoyable to drink. Light carbonation and a full and creamy body. This is a fantastic experience. Even with the smooth drink, it is definitely a sipper.

I am really glad that the clerk at Belmont Beverage recommended this. It is fantastic.

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Starbucks Caramel Macchiato Ice Cream

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This was certainly a surprise for my taste buds. I have always been a fan of starbucks coffee, in particular the Frappachinos. The taste of this definitely reminds me of a Frappachino, especially the coffee flavored ice cream. The overall texture of this ice cream is pretty much on par with most other brands, pretty good. The coffee and vanilla ice crams are swirled nicely together giving a very good flavor combo. And there is a fair amount of caramel in this pint, as shown in the spoon shot. More wouldn't hurt either. Overall I thoroughly enjoyed this pint. Will look out for other flavors in the future.

8.5/10

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Ben & Jerry's Carrot Cake

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An impressive flavor. Caramel ice cream with carrot cake pieces and a cream cheese frosting swirl. The caramel ice cream is pretty good, and there are more than enough carrot cake pieces in the pint. I am a huge fan of the cream cheese frosting swirl. The carrot cake pieces are very nice and chewy and the flavor blends very well with the cream cheese and caramel ice cream. It could have had more cream cheese in my opinion, seemed a little bit lacking in that aspect. The ice cream texture is pretty impressive itself, which surprised me because it was partially melted when it made its way into my freezer. This is a Walmart exclusive flavor, and I was lucky enough to find it in Van Wert Ohio. I have not seen it anywhere in the Akron Canton area.

8.5/10

Saturday, November 20, 2010

Avery Anniversary Sixteen

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3.5/5

AROMA
7/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 14/20

22 ounce bottle. Pours hazy amber color with a 2 finger white head with very good retention that reduces to a cap. Aromas of dark fruits, honey, and floral. Taste of honey, peach, and floral. The taste is very sweet with a very small amount of bitterness. Pretty well balanced for the style. Medium carbonation and body. This is decent and enjoyable.

I am not the biggest fan of this type of beer, but it is still good.

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Bells Java Stout

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4.2/5

AROMA
9/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 9/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 16/20

12 ounce bottle. Pours dark brown with a very nice 2 finger tan head with amazing retention and glass lacing. Aromas of strong coffee, with some light chocolate and roasted malts. Taste of strong roasted coffee bitterness with roasted malts and chocolate. The coffee aroma and taste is EXACTLY like if I were smelling or chewing fresh coffee beans. Medium carbonation and body. This has got to be the best "Java" stout I have had yet. They tell no lies, this is a true coffee stout. I love it.

Seriously, if you like coffee, you need to try this. The best coffee stout I have ever had(that is exclusively coffee).

Samuel Adams Imperial White Ale

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3.2/5

AROMA
7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 6/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 12/20

12 ounce bottle. Pours hazy red orange color with a small white head with good retention and decent glass lacing. Aromas of orange, caramel, molasses, spices, and some alcohol. Taste of citrus, spices, molasses, with a huge boozy finish that is really not an enjoyable experience. The finish is sweet with practically no bitterness. After the alcohol calmed down my senses it became a little bit more enjoyable. Full body and medium carbonation. It definitely had me intrigued when I poured it because it looks nothing like a wit, and it smells nothing like a wit. The aromas smelled pretty inviting, but the taste had some off centered flavors that really made it seem unbalanced. It’s an alright beer.

I have heard a lot of mixed reviews about this one, but it did not hit a home run with me at all. Poor quality control? who knows. There are some people that say this beer was amazing. It was really off balanced and not an enjoyable experience.

Monday, November 15, 2010

Lagunitas Ruben and The Jets

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3.8/5

AROMA
7/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 16/20

22 ounce bottle. Pours dark brown with a 1 finger dense light tan head with very good retention and decent lacing. Aromas of chocolate, coffee, dark fruits, caramel and roasted malts. Taste of chocolate, coffee, molasses, caramel and dark fruits. It has a bit of bitterness on the finish with some alcohol warming after the finish as well. This goes down surprisingly smooth for it’s alcohol content, with a very creamy body. Medium carbonation and body. This is an enjoyable stout, very interesting and different from what I have had in the past. Tasty, this got better as it warmed up a bit more.

It tasted a bit weird at first, but got a bit better. Tasty stout, I think you can still find it at Myers Lake Drive Thru in Canton. They still had it last time I was there.

Sierra Nevada Stout

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3.9/5

AROMA
8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 15/20

12 ounce bottle. Pours dark brown with a 2 finger tan head with very good retention that reduces to a lacing cap that leaves nice lacing. Aromas of roasted malts, dark chocolate, floral and citrus hops. Taste of chocolate with hop bitterness on the finish. The chocolate, coffee, and bitterness lasts for a bit after finishing. Medium carbonation and body. Pretty creamy and has decent bitterness. Overall, a tasty stout, and very good session beer.

Definitely liked the stout better than the porter. Very good stuff.

Sierra Nevada Porter

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3.6/5

AROMA
7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 15/20

12 ounce bottle. Pours dark brown-red color with a foamy 2 finger tan head with very good retention and decent lacing. Aromas of chocolate, coffee, caramel, roasted malts, and a bit of toffee. Taste of bitter coffee and chocolate with a bit of toffee sweetness underneath. Medium carbonation and body. At first the porter tasted a bit weird to me, but as I finished my glass it got better. Overall this is a solid porter and good session beer.

For some reason this came off a bit weird to me, with off tastes in it. It was still solid overall though.

Häagen-Dazs Vanilla Swiss Almond

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Wow. Once again it is restated that anything that Haagen Dazs makes is fantastic. This has a very rich vanilla flavor(probably the richest I have ever had) and inside the ice cream there are dark chocolate cover almonds. Ice cream texture is amazing, and there are multiple almonds in every spoon scoop. There are plenty of almonds in this pint, they do not skimp on the mix ins. Also, the balance of flavors of the vanilla to dark chocolate to finishing crunch and flavor of the almonds is fantastic.

9.5/10

Saturday, November 13, 2010

Lagunitas A Little Sumpin’ Wild Ale

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4.1/5

AROMA
8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 5/5 OVERALL 16/20

22 ounce bottle. Pours clear amber color with a 2 finger off white head with amazing retention that reduces to a lacing cap that leaves very nice lacing. Aromas of citrus, pine, with some fruits and spices. Taste of strong citrus and spices with pine, that finishes with a very big citrus bitterness that lasts with some spiciness. Very big hop presence in this over the malts. Alcohol presence is minimal except for a slight warming after the finish. Medium carbonation and body. As always I am a fan of hops, so this is some tasty stuff. More Lagunitas awesomeness here.

This beer is very hop forward. Probably one of the most aggressive beers I have had.

AleSmith Speedway Stout

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4.6/5

AROMA
9/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 10/10 PALATE 5/5 OVERALL 18/20

750 ml bottle. Pours thick opaque black color with a dense 1 finger tan head with very good retention that reduces to a lacing cap that leaves nice lacing. Aromas of dark chocolate, coffee, roasted malts, vanilla, and caramel with a slight amount of alcohol. Taste of tons of dark chocolate and fresh coffee with a huge finish of lingering chocolate and coffee. Huge amount of alcohol but there was no sign of it other than a warming after the finish. Full bodied with low amount of carbonation. This beer will coat your mouth for a long time as you drink. This is god damn incredible.

One of the best Imperial stouts on the market, highly recommended. It is rated in top 10 in the world as well.

Dogfish Head Midas Touch

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3.9/5

AROMA
7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 16/20

12 ounce bottle. Pours hazy amber color with a 1 finger white head with good retention and nice lacing. Aromas of dark fruits, honey, and spices. Taste of sweet grapes and honey with almost no bitterness. Lingering sweetness of honey on the finish. Super smooth drink with medium carbonation and body with some alcohol warming after the finish. This was definitely a new experience, but this is very enjoyable, and is one of the smoothest drinking 9% beers I have ever had.

A fantastic malty beer from DFH, and I am not even that much of a fan of malty beers.

Rogue Mocha Porter

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3.7/5

AROMA
7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 14/20

12 ounce bottle. Pours dark brown with a 2 finger foamy tan head with very good retention. Aromas of chocolate, coffee, and roasted malts. Taste of bitter chocolate and coffee with a lingering taste of chocolate and coffee and bitterness on the finish. Medium carbonation and body. Feels just a tad bit thinner than I wanted it to be, but overall a tasty porter from Rogue.

The double porter and this were about the same on taste and mouth feel.

Ben & Jerry's Flourless Chocolate Cake

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This is another good ice cream for chocolate lovers. It has flourless cake pieces with frosting all in chocolate ice cream. The ice cream texture is very good, which is nice considering that the pint was partially melted when it got in my freezer. The cake pieces are slightly crunchy which was interesting, maybe because they were frozen? not sure. But overall this is just a super rich chocolate experience that would please any chocolate lover for sure.

8.5/10

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Bells Octoberfest Beer

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3.7/5

AROMA
7/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 16/20

12 ounce bottle. Pours clear amber color with a 1 finger white head with average retention and average glass lacing. Aromas of caramel, pumpkin, and spices. Taste of spice and pumpkin with a bit of a bitter finish with spices that linger afterward. Medium carbonation and body. I was actually surprised on how tasty this was considering the aromas. Tasty!

Bells almost always delivers good beer. Probably the most enjoyable Oktoberfest I have had.

Samuel Adams Chocolate Bock

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3.8/5

AROMA
8/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 16/20

750 ml bottle best by April 2009. Pours dark brown color with a 1 finger tan head with good retention. Aromas of chocolate, licorice, nut, roasted malts and vanilla. Taste of chocolate, and vanilla with a bit of bitterness on the finish with a little alcohol warming. Medium body and carbonation, with a finish that wasn’t as good as I wanted it to be. I guess i kind of expected it to be like a stout. The first half of this beer was a little thin, but the second half was very tasty. Enjoyable beer!

This one is pretty rare in the 750ml version. Most of the reviews were the one in the winter pack in the 12 ounce bottles.

Bells Twenty-Fifth Anniversary Ale

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4/5

AROMA
7/10 APPEARANCE 5/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 16/20

12 ounce bottle. Pours clear red orange color with a really dense 2 finger off white head with insane retention and insane lacing. Aromas of citrus, caramel, some fruits, and oak. Taste of rye, citrus, and caramel, with some fruit notes. Some slight bitterness on the finish. Creamy medium body and carbonation. Alcohol is no where to be seen despite 8.5%. Overall this was pretty interesting stuff, but another tasty brew from Bells for me!

Bells is so awesome. Enough said.

Breckenridge Oatmeal Stout

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3.8/5

AROMA
7/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 16/20

12 ounce bottle. Pours dark brown with a 1 finger tan head with nice retention and nice lacing. Aromas of chocolate, coffee, roasted malts, and oatmeal. Taste of sweet chocolate with roasted flavor and a bit of bitter coffee on the finish. Creamy with medium body and carbonation. A small bit of alcohol warming on the finish. After reading some harsh reviews I was quite skeptical on how this would be, but this is a very enjoyable oatmeal stout.

An enjoyable stout, but I have had better ones.

Flying Dog Snake Dog IPA

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3.7/5

AROMA
7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 14/20

12 ounce bottle. Pours slightly cloudy amber with a 2 finger white head with very good retention. Aromas of pine, caramel, citrus, and floral. Taste of grapefruit, pine, and caramel. It also has an interesting aftertaste that I cannot recognize. Medium body and carbonation. Overall pretty solid, I wouldn’t make it a regular IPA for myself though.

Pretty good IPA, but there are a lot better choices out there.

Great Lakes Nosferatu

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4/5

AROMA
8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 16/20

12 ounce bottle. Pours clear copper color with a dense 2 finger off white head with amazing retention that leaves a nice cap and glass lacing. Aromas of pine, resin, grapefruit, and caramel. Taste of pine, caramel, grapefruit, rye, and some spices with a nice bitter finish. The finish lasts for a bit afterward as well. Medium carbonation and body with creamy texture. some slight alcohol warming on the finish. Highly enjoyable brew with the bitterness I love.

Great Lakes makes a lot of good beer. Too bad this is only available in the Fall.

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Jolly Pumpkin La Roja

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4.1/5

AROMA
8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 17/20

750 ml bottle. Pours hazy red orange color with a 1 finger thick off white head with very good retention that reduces to a lacing cap that leaves good lacing on the glass. Aromas of sour fruits, spices, grapes, cherries, and oak. Taste is sour cherries, apples, and some citrus with spices. Tart flavors on the front and a nice sour finish that lasts for a bit, and the flavor envelopes my taste buds. Medium body and carbonation. Wow, I have never have had a sour ale before, but after getting used to the style through the drink, I have thoroughly enjoyed this, and will seek out more JP in the future.

My first sour ale, and it was a great experience. I really want to seek out the Russian River sours though. I have heard they are the best available. Oh and this bottle had an accident because it fell out of my fridge, which forced me to drink it, but it still tasted amazing.

Dogfish Head Bitches Brew

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4.2/5

AROMA
8/10 APPEARANCE 5/5 TASTE 9/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 16/20

750 ml bottle. Pours thick dark brown with a dense 2 finger dark tan head with fantastic retention. Very nice glass lacing. Aromas of chocolate, coffee, roasted malts, honey, and vanilla. Taste of chocolate, honey, coffee, vanilla and gesho. Very creamy full body with medium carbonation. Some light alcohol warming on the finish, but fairly mild and well hidden. Some lingering chocolate taste on the finish with a bit of bitterness, and a smooth drink. This is a tasty stout and is something new and interesting. I am glad I had a chance to experience it.

This is a great stout, and the only stout I have had from DFH yet. I really hope I can find world wide stout someday. I may have to have it shipped by mail.

AleSmith IPA

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4.5/5

AROMA
9/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 9/10 PALATE 5/5 OVERALL 18/20

22 ounce bottle. Pours hazy amber color with a nice 2 finger white head with very good retention that reduces to a lacing cap that leaves nice lacing. Aromas of caramel, citrus, grapefruit, floral, and pine. Taste of strong grapefruit, with caramel, spice, and pine. Finishes off with a nice clean bitterness and lingering citrus and fruit flavor. Definitely one of the best balanced IPA’s I have come across. Very smooth drinking. A little bit of alcohol warming on the finish. Medium body and carbonation. This is phenomenal, will definitely buy again.

This is incredible. AleSmith makes a ton of good beer. Every one I have had so far has been great. My camera has a hard time focusing some of the time.

Avery Collaboration Not Litigation

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3.9/5

AROMA
8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 15/20

22 ounce bottle, Batch 3. Pours hazy orange-copper color with a 2 finger off white head with good retention that reduces to a nice lacing. Aromas of dark fruits, spices, caramel, and molasses. Taste of citrus, molasses, spices, and dark fruits. This flavor lingers a good amount after the finish with spices being prominent. Alcohol warming after the finish as well. Medium body and carbonation. A unique Belgian style ale that was interesting. Not mind blowing, but definitely tasty and enjoyable.

This is the closest I will get to Russian River Brewing for now. This is a collaboration of Avery's and Russian River's beers of the same name(Salvation).

Lagunitas Imperial Stout

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3.7/5

AROMA
7/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 15/20

22 ounce bottle. Pours dark brown with a small half finger tan head with good retention. Aromas of chocolate, coffee, roasted malts, whiskey, and vanilla. Taste of chocolate, coffee, vanilla, and a bit of dark fruits. Nice sized amount of bitterness on the finish with a fairly creamy body, and a good amount of carbonation. A large amount of alcohol warming on the finish. This is a solid stout, would probably buy again, especially at the great price that was offered.

This bomber was 4 dollars and change I believe. It seems like Lagunitas has their bombers priced very well, which I like. They make a lot of good stuff.

Häagen-Dazs Midnight Cookies & Cream

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This flavor is a limited edition flavor and will not be available after the end of this year. As with almost all of their chocolate ice creams, it is top notch in flavor and texture. There are chocolate cookie chunks throughout the pint and the "cream" is rich fudge swirled throughout the pint with the chocolate cookies. This is a chocolate lovers dream ice cream. Haagen Dazs almost never disappoints.

9.5/10

Sunday, November 7, 2010

Häagen-Dazs Chocolate Chocolate Chip

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Once again Haagen Dazs continues to make a good ice cream no matter what. Pretty one dimensioned here, but if you like chocolate(which I would imagine most people do) then you would love this. The ice cream texture was top notch as usual, with a very nice and smooth chocolate flavor. There are plenty of chocolate chunks throughout the pint, and they taste very much like dark chocolate. Just a really enjoyable time to be had here. Highly recommended.

9/10

Avery The Maharaja Imperial India Pale Ale

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4.3/5

AROMA
9/10 APPEARANCE 5/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 17/20

2010 Batch 12: 22 ounce bottle. Pours cloudy orange amber color with a dense 2 finger off white head with great retention that reduces to a lacing cap that leaves insane lacing on the glass. Aromas of caramel, citrus, floral, and pine. Taste of grapefruit, citrus, pine, floral, with a little bit of caramel. Very full body on this with medium carbonation. Long finish on this with only a bit of alcohol warming after the finish. Very well hidden alcohol for the amount. This is quite a sipper, but it is awesome.

More of awesome Avery beer right here.

Unibroue Maudite

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4/5

AROMA
8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 16/20

750 ml bottle. Pours hazy copper color with a 2 finger off white head with decent retention that reduces to a nice cap. Aromas of dark fruits, spices, and Belgian yeast. Taste of fruits, apples, spices, sweet malts, and caramel. A very slight bit of bitterness, and very smooth and drinkable. Medium body and carbonation. A bit of alcohol warming on the finish. Another tasty Belgian style from Unibroue.

Pretty much everything Unibroue makes is awesome.

Boulder Beer Obovoid Oak-Aged Oatmeal Stout

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4.1/5

AROMA
8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 9/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 16/20

22 ounce bottle. Pours dark brown with a nice 2 finger tan head with good retention and a very nice amount of lacing on the glass. Aromas of chocolate, coffee, roasted malts, and oak. Taste of strong chocolate and oak, with some roasty coffee and finishes with a nice bit of bitterness. Very creamy full body with medium carbonation. Nice chocolate/oak lasting finish, with some slight alcohol warming. This is a great beer!

Boulder makes a lot of great beer from what I have had thus far.

Rogue Double Mocha Porter

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3.7/5

AROMA
7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 14/20

750 ml bottle. Pours dark brown with a 2 finger foamy tan head with very good retention that reduces to a cap. Some decent glass lacing. Aromas of chocolate, coffee, roasted malts, with a bit of toast. Taste of sweet chocolate and coffee, with some bitterness on the finish that lingers. Medium carbonation and body with a bit of alcohol warming after the finish. Solid stuff!

This is about on par with the regular Mocha Porter. Pretty solid, this is pretty hard to find though. I found it in Columbus.

Saturday, November 6, 2010

Ben & Jerry's Coffee Heath Bar Crunch

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This flavor surprised me. Overall I would say I am a fan of coffee. This coffee ice cream definitely rivals that of Haagen Dazs, which is top notch in my opinion. I do not think I have had a heath bar in my life, but I am immediately a fan if them now. The way they blended with the coffee ice cream was just amazing. A perfect balance of flavors. The ice cream had perfect texture as well. This is a fantastic flavor, but from what I have heard the Vanilla HBC is not as good. But I will find out soon enough.

9/10

Thursday, November 4, 2010

Left Hand Imperial Stout

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3.6/5

AROMA
6/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 15/20

12 ounce bottle. Pours dark brown with a dense 2 finger light tan head with very good retention. Aromas of roasted malts, chocolate, caramel, banana, and nut. Taste of roasted malts, nuts, chocolate, and some fruits. Finishes with a bit of lingering bitterness, and alcohol. Big full body with light to medium carbonation. Solid.

People I have talked to about Left Hand have always said the Imperial is better than the Milk Stout. I like the Milk Stout better than this one.

Samuel Smiths Taddy Porter

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3.9/5

AROMA
8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 16/20

550 ml bottle. Pours dark brown with a nice 2 finger foamy light tan head with good retention that reduces to a lacing cap. Aromas of roasted malts, licorice, cocoa, caramel, and cola. Taste of chocolate, caramel, and roasted malts with a bit of a smokey and nutty flavor. A bit of a roasty lasting finish at the end. Medium carbonation and body. A bit different from other porters I have tried, but this is a tasty one.

This is one of the handful of good beers that Samuel Smiths produces. I think all I have left to try is the nut brown ale.

Rogue Shakespeare Oatmeal Stout

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4.1/5

AROMA
8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 9/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 17/20

22 ounce bottle. Pours dark brown with a 1.5 finger thick dark tan head with very good retention that reduces to a lacing cap that leaves nice glass lacing. Aromas of roasted malts, coffee, cocoa, and molasses. Taste of a bit of chocolaty sweetness on the front and bitter coffee and chocolate on the finish. medium-high Carbonation and medium body. No noticeable alcohol, and a very smooth drink. A very tasty and enjoyable stout.

One of Rogue's best offerings. I know there are quite a few of their brews are hit and miss.

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Lagunitas Lucky #13

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4.1/5

AROMA
8/10 APPEARANCE 5/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 16/20

22 ounce bottle. Pours clear copper red color with a nice thick one finger off white head with very good retention that recedes to a lacing cap that leaves insane lacing around the entire glass. Aromas of floral, pine, citrus, and caramel. Taste of caramel malt sweetness on the front with citrus, pine, and floral at the back with a nice bitterness on the finish that lingers for a bit. No noticeable alcohol with some warming on the finish Medium carbonation and body. Tasty strong ale! Lagunitas has yet to disappoint me.

I picked this one up at random, just because it was Lagunitas, and they didn't disappoint.

Victory V12

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3.8/5

AROMA
7/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 16/20

750 mL bottle. Pours clear red-orange color with a small white head with average retention. A lot of carbonation bubbling in the glass. Aromas of caramel with a ton of dark fruits and spices. Taste of caramel and banana with some slight spices and dark fruits, and a huge alcohol finish that is malty with little or no bitterness. High carbonation and fairly full bodied. Pretty enjoyable stuff!

This was one of those random pickups from the store, but I was pleased with the outcome.

Avery Hog Heaven

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4.2/5

AROMA
8/10 APPEARANCE 5/5 TASTE 9/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 16/20

22 ounce bottle. Pours cloudy red-orange color with a nice dense 2 finger light tan head with great retention and amazing glass lacing. Aromas of caramel, pine, citrus, and floral. Taste of sweet caramel, and bitter citrus and floral. Alcohol content is covered up very well. Very well balanced, and with enough bitterness to satisfy my taste. Medium to full body, medium carbonation. Fantastic brew! This bomber was a gusher unfortunately, so I will have to give it another go later on, but it is an easy find anyways.

I was afraid this would be a dud because it gushed, but it turned out amazing. Highly recommended.

Lagunitas India Pale Ale

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3.9/5

AROMA
8/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 16/20

12 ounce bottle. Pours clear amber copper color with a 1 finger white head with decent retention that reduces to a thin lacing cap. Aromas of citrus, floral, and pine hops with a bit of caramel malts. Taste of caramel and citrus sweetness on the front with a nice bitter hop bite on the finish. Some bitterness lingers on the finish. Super smooth going down as well with no noticeable alcohol. Medium carbonation and body. Very good IPA, I don’t think there are many IPA’s that I could hate to be honest haha.

It seems like everything Lagunitas releases is legit beer. Great brewery in my opinion.

Victory Golden Monkey

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3.8/5

AROMA
7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 15/20

12 ounce bottle. Pours murky amber color with a 2 finger white head with average retention. Aromas of peach, sweet malts, Belgian yeast, and spices. Taste of spice, citrus fruit, and malts. Some slight bitterness on the finish. Alcohol is very well hidden, with only some warming well after the finish. Very nice balance with Medium carbonation and body. This is very solid stuff, it is not mind blowing, but I had no problems with the taste.

There are a lot of people who seem to think Victory is mediocre, but I have thoroughly enjoyed everything I have had from them.

Avery Anniversary Fifteen

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3.6/5

AROMA
8/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 15/20

22 ounce bottle. Pours cloudy amber color with a very small off white head with very poor retention. Aromas of figs, malts, molasses, and spices. Taste of spices, figs, malts, and molasses. Medium Carbonation and body. Malty finish with a bit of alcohol warming. This is a pretty good Belgian style.

After reading the previous reviews I thought this would be terrible, but it was an enjoyable brew. Avery doesn't disappoint.