Sunday, February 27, 2011

North Coast Pranqster

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3.5/5

AROMA
6/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 14/20

12 ounce bottle into snifter. Pours hazy light amber color with a foamy 1 finger white head with decent retention that reduces to a slight cap that leaves minimal lacing. Aromas of dark fruits, banana, honey, spicy yeast, and some clove. Also a slight bit of alcohol noticed in the aroma. Taste of banana, spice, and honey with some clove coming in near the finish. Very sweet on the front with the spices coming in on the finish. Fairly high amount of carbonation with a medium body. Decently strong alcohol warming felt after the finish. The mouthfeel is as smooth as I have had with some other Belgian styles, but comes in a bit thin. Overall this is a solid Belgian style. I was hoping for a bit more complexity, and the aroma was fairly weak, but I would probably give another go in the future.

It wasn't as amazing as I thought it was going to be, but still fairly solid.

Saturday, February 26, 2011

Left Hand Fade To Black Vol. 2

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4.2/5

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

12 ounce bottle. Pours very dark brown color with a dense 2 finger dark tan head with very good retention that reduces to a lacing cap that leaves some nice lacing. Aromas of roasted malts, chocolate, burnt wood, and cedar. Taste of chocolate, roasted malts, smoke, and cedar. Some very slight bitterness, but not very much on the finish. Insanely creamy and smooth body, with some smokiness and roasted flavors lingering after the finish. Medium body and carbonation. Overall it is a great beer, and one of the few smoked porters I have had, and maybe the best one as well. I would love to have more of this, it has an great balance of flavors, and one of the best mouthfeels I have had. Excellent.

This definitely is the best smoked beer I have had. So smooth and very tasty. Looking forward to this years Fade to Black release.

Friday, February 25, 2011

Lagunitas Brown Shugga

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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 slightly hazy orange-copper color with a dense 2 finger off white head with very good retention that reduces to a lacing cap that leaves some nice lacing. Aromas of caramel, citrus, molasses, pine, and cherries. Taste of citrus, caramel, molasses, and pine, with a bitterness that is not too strong that fades in on the finish. Sweet malty flavors of the molasses, caramel, and some fruits on the front. The bitter flavors last for a bit after the finish as well. Alcohol was not detected other than a warming after the finish. Medium body and carbonation. Overall a very tasty brew from Lagunitas. Very sweet tasting, but also has a well balanced amount of bitterness as well to round out the brew. I would definitely have it again.

A tasty beer that was actually an accident. The story is that Lagunitas was trying to make Olde GnarlyWine back in 1997, and after something went wrong with the batch they added a boatload of brown sugar to the batch to attemp to rescue it, and therefore Brown Shugga was created. Also pretty well explains why the brew is 9.9%. The head actually lasted all the way till I was finished as well. I am rarely disappointed by this brewery.

Thursday, February 24, 2011

Buckeye Zatek 2010

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4.2/5

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

22 ounce bottle into snifter. Pours very dark brown color with a dense 1.5 finger tan head with very good retention that reduces to a lacing cap that leaves some nice lacing. Aromas of roasted malts, chocolate, citrus, dark fruits, oats, and some licorice. Taste of roasted malts, chocolate, and oat, with a decent amount of citrus bitterness on the finish. The bitterness lingers for a short time after the finish. The flavors are very well balanced between the sweetness and bitterness, and the overall main flavors also compliment each other nicely. A very creamy medium-full bodied mouthfeel here with medium carbonation. The alcohol content is hidden very well in this with only a slight warming after the finish. Overall, I am impressed by this offering from Buckeye, it is definitely a tasty RIS. I would like to have some more of this sometime, but it will probably be the next batch.

Only my second brew from Buckeye, and it is a very well put together RIS.

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Starbucks Signature Hot Chocolate Ice Cream

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As you open the pint, you are greeted with swirls of chocolate and vanilla ice creams, with a fudge swirl, which is well distributed through this pint. I am a pretty big fan of this chocolate ice cream, it is definitely full of flavor and compliments the fudge very well. There is quite a bit more chocolate ice cream than there is vanilla, but I can hardly complain about that. The fudge swirl is also very rich, and in my opinion the amount of the swirl they have put into this ice cream is just enough so that it does not over power the flavors of the entire pint. The texture of both the ice cream and fudge is pretty spot on. The fudge is fairly viscous, as it should be. Overall fairly impressed with this flavor, and I would definitely recommend it to fans of chocolate ice cream because of its richness and the fudge.

8.5/10

Sunday, February 20, 2011

Hair of the Dog Fred

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4.1/5

AROMA
7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 9/10 PALATE 5/5 OVERALL 16/20

12 ounce bottle into snifter, batch 77. Pours a hazy dark orange-brown color with a huge 4 finger off white head with incredible retention that reduces to a lacing cap that leaves nice lacing. Aromas of dark fruits, molasses, caramel; with a bit of wood, citrus, spice, and booze. Taste of dark fruits, molasses, spice, citrus, and caramel. There is a bit of a delayed hop bitterness on the palate after the finish, with strong sweetness on the front that lingers after the finish. Very smooth and full bodied mouthfeel, with medium carbonation. There is also some well pronounced alcohol warming after the finish, but the alcohol strength does not detract from the flavor at all. Overall, this is definitely a great beer, and is very unique and interesting. Too bad I will not be able to try any other HotD beers at this time unless I trade some, but I am glad I was able to experience a few of them.

Another good one from Hair of the Dog. I am interested in trying out some of the other Adam and Fred variants out there(wood aged, cherry etc). Will definitely have to trade for them in the future.

Saturday, February 19, 2011

Three Floyds BlackHeart English IPA

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4.3/5

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

22 ounce bottle. Pours slightly hazy amber-orange color with a 2 finger off white head with amazing retention that reduces to a lacing cap that leaves fantastic glass lacing. Aromas of grapefruit, pine, floral, caramel, and pineapple. Taste of grapefruit, pine, pineapple, and caramel, with a delayed bitterness of citrus and grapefruit, that lingers for a while after the finish, showing a strong use of hops. Very well balanced flavors, and it definitely reminds me of the Dreadnaught DIPA from them. Medium carbonation and a medium-full body. Absolutely no notice of the alcohol content. Overall, this is outstanding, and I really hope they start to distribute back to Ohio, because everything I have had has been a great experience. Delicious.

Another winner from 3 Floyd's. Apparently it is slightly aged on oak, but I didn't detect much if any oak flavor. Regardless, I am pretty sure this is my first oak aged IPA style. Also noticed that the label is much different than what is shown on the beer rating sites, and is probably one of the coolest looking labels I have seen.

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Ben & Jerry's Vanilla Heath Bar Crunch

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This certainly is a tasty flavor. This is vanilla ice cream with chunks of heath bars. Throughout the pint it is mainly chocolate flakes and chunks of toffee, which have great flavor and texture, but I did find a rather large piece of heath bar in the middle of the pint which surprised me. The vanilla ice cream flavor is very good and the texture is excellent, and is on par or better than many of the other vanilla BnJ's flavors. It tastes really creamy and delicious, and the small chunks of heath bar are well distributed throughout the pint. I definitely recommend this flavor, but the real question is do I like Coffee or this more? I would have to go with coffee, because in my opinion, it is the ice cream with more flavor and I think it compliments the Heath bars better. This is still excellent however.

9/10

Avery Samael’s Oak-Aged Ale

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4.2/5

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

12 ounce bottle into snifter, April 2007, batch 3. Pours hazy red-brown color with a 1.5 finger light tan head with good retention with some slight lacing on the glass. Huge aromas of molasses, caramel, oak, vanilla, rum, and dark fruits, with some alcohol. Taste is also enormous, with vanilla, molasses, caramel, rum, and oak. The amount of flavor in this startled me at first sip, just huge on flavor. As you continue consuming this the overall feel and flavors smooth out a ton, and this is actually quite drinkable, but this is absolutely a sipper on all counts. Not much bitterness going on here, but there is a huge amount of lingering sweet flavors on the finish that sit around for a bit. Practically no alcohol noticed other than a slight warming after the finish. Medium carbonation and huge full body. Overall, this is an extremely smooth barley wine for its alcohol content(15%) and is the strongest Barley Wine I have had, and is loaded with flavor and very well balanced. Excellent.

A great brew that is loaded with flavor. I just have The Beast left to try and I will have tried all of the Avery high gravity beers.

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Unibroue Don de Dieu

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4.3/5

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

12 ounce bottle into snifter. Pours cloudy amber color with a 2 finger white head with very good retention that reduces to a lacing cap. Aromas of grapes, apple, spicy yeast, clove and honey. Taste of apple, grapes, honey, and spices, with no bitterness on the finish. The finish is pretty dry, but has some lingering sweetness after the finish. Flavors of this beer are greatly balanced, and the beer goes down really smoothly, even for 9%. The alcohol is not noticed except for a slight warming after the finish. Medium carbonation and body. Overall, this is amazing for a malty beer(as have been the rest of the Unibroue strong beers I have had) I think I am going to need to try the lineup again, because I have a feeling I probably underrated some of the other ones. This is great!

Unibroue definitely has a great lineup, and I will have to give the rest of them another try for sure.

Sunday, February 13, 2011

New Holland Cabin Fever

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3.8/5

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

12 ounce bottle. Pours clear dark brown color with a 2 finger light tan head with good retention that reduces to a lacing cap. Aromas of chocolate, caramel, roasted malts, some dark fruits, and rye. Taste of chocolate, caramel, rye, and roasted malts. There is a slight bit of unbalance in the flavors, but overall pretty well put together. A nice little hint of bitterness, with some burnt notes on the finish. The finish is rather short and dry, but there is some lingering roasted notes that stick around for a bit. Mouthfeel is solid, and has a decent creamy feel to it. There is a slight amount of alcohol warming after the finish. Medium carbonation and body. Overall this definitely surprised me a bit in the taste department, it has a nice amount of flavor. I would definitely have this one again. Solid brown ale!

This brown ale surprised me. The aroma was a tad weak, so I was expecting a weaker flavor as well, but it showed through with a good amount of flavor. I would definitely have it again.

Thursday, February 10, 2011

He'Brew Bittersweet Lennys R.I.P.A

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4.2/5

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

12 ounce bottle into snifter. Pours hazy dark red color with a huge 3 finger dense off white head with amazing retention with some nice glass lacing. Aromas of pine, citrus, floral, caramel, and rye. Taste of sweet caramel and citrus notes on the front leading to bitter pine, floral, and citrus near the finish. There is a smooth bitterness on the finish that lingers for a bit, but it is not too overpowering in itself, because there is a ton of maltiness to balance it out. Medium carbonation and a very full body. Very smooth and enjoyable mouthfeel as well with no noticeable alcohol except for a slight warming after the finish. Overall, this is very similar to many of the Double IPA’s I have had in the past, very well balanced and tasty. I would buy this again. Excellent!

An excellent double IPA that makes me interested in giving some other beers from this brewery a try.

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Dogfish Head Palo Santo Marron

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4.1/5

AROMA
7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 5/5 OVERALL 17/20

12 ounce bottle into snifter. Pours very dark brown color with a huge 3 finger dense tan head with very good retention that reduces to a thin cap. Aromas of strong chocolate, coffee, some dark fruits and wood; with a slight bit of alcohol as well. Taste of chocolate, coffee, and a huge amount of wood, with a bit of dark fruits. There is a very slight alcohol warming after the finish, but overall the ABV is hidden well. Very smooth and creamy drink, especially for the alcohol content. Goes down easy, but is definitely a sipper. Medium carbonation and full body. Overall, this is very good stuff, very easy to drink, and full of flavor and body. Tasty!

Overall this is good stuff, and the strength of the wood flavors is not as bad as some other people had made it out to be.

Monday, February 7, 2011

Tröegs Dead Reckoning Porter

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4.1/5

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

12 ounce bottle. Pours dark brown with a very nice 2 finger dense tan head with good retention and some very nice glass lacing as well. Aromas of chocolate, coffee, caramel, roasted malts, and a slight amount of pine showing through. Taste of chocolate, coffee, caramel and roasted malts; with a nice smooth bitterness on the finish that lingers for a bit. A good amount of lingering roasted chocolate and coffee flavor linger after the finish, with almost no alcohol noticed. Medium carbonation and body with a creamy mouthfeel. Overall I really have no complaints here, this is a very well done porter.

I would definitely have this again if given the chance. I still have a few more brews from Tröegs in the fridge as well, can't wait to try the others.

Friday, February 4, 2011

Häagen-Dazs Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough

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As expected, this wowed me just as much, if not more, than the Ben & Jerry's version of this flavor. Basically just vanilla ice cream, with cookie dough chunks and dark chocolate chips mixed in to the pint. The vanilla ice cream was spot on, as I would have expected from them, with plenty of rich vanilla flavor. The cookie dough pieces are well sized(about the size of a dime) and are well populating this pint. They have great texture, and are very chewy and have great taste. The dark chocolate chips also are well represented here, and are well distributed through the pint. The pint was warmed up in my microwave prior to consumption, and the ice cream texture is just phenomenal here. Highly recommended, and also I have found that most of the basic flavor combos created by Haagen Dazs are usually phenomenal.

9.5/10