Founders Kentucky Breakfast Stout (KBS)

4.9/5

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

Review 200! 2011 12 ounce bottle into snifter. Pours deep opaque black color with a 2 finger dark tan head with incredible retention that reduces to a thin lacing cap. Some good looking glass lacing. Aromas of vanilla, bourbon, chocolate, espresso, roasted malt, and wood with a little bit of alcohol. Quite possibly the most amazing smelling beer I have ever had. Taste of dark chocolate, coffee, vanilla, bourbon, roasted malts, and wood. There is some slight bitterness on the finish that lingers with huge chocolate and vanilla flavors, even though it is 70 IBU the strength and body of the beer covers up most of that bitterness. Medium carbonation and huge full body. Insanely smooth drink for 11.2% and there is no alcohol noticed other than a warming after the finish. It goes down perfectly and is probably the smoothest drinking high gravity beer I have ever had. Overall, I will agree with the hype. This is incredible

Definitely one of the best beers on the planet. I am glad I was able to find a fresh 4 pack this year thanks to a drive through I frequent that has an outstanding beer selection, and also is fairly unknown by the general population in the area for their selection. I would also like to thank Jacob Sanford from the Alechemy blog for sending me a bottle of 2010, which I will try in the future and do a vertical. From what I have heard the coffee flavor diminishes, but overall the beer is still incredible.

Tröegs Nugget Nectar

4.3/5

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

12 ounce bottle into tulip. Pours slightly hazy orange-amber color with a fairly dense 2 finger off white head with amazing retention that reduces to a lacing cap. Some good lacing on the glass. Aromas of strong grapefruit, with orange, pine, caramel, and spices. Taste of strong sweet grapefruit and orange with light caramel up front, that leads to a very strong citrus and pine bitterness on the finish that lasts. No alcohol was noticed at all in the taste or finish. Medium carbonation and medium-full body. Very smooth drinking as well, and very tasty. Overall I highly enjoyed this one, very drinkable and delicious.

A great beer as I had hoped it would be. Also still widely available this time of year. I saw it freshly stocked in a grocery store recently.

Ben & Jerry's Red Velvet Cake

The new ice cream flavors of the year have been released as of this month, and I finally decided to dig into the Ben and Jerry's side. It is red velvet cake batter ice cream with red velvet cake pieces and a cream cheese frosting swirl. I have never actually had red velvet cake before, so I cant really comment on how that is supposed to taste, but the ice cream flavor is fairly strong, and has a nice creamy feel to it, and good texture. The cake pieces are quite chewy and have great flavor as well. There is a fair amount of cream cheese flavor in it, even though I can't really distinguish the ice cream from the frosting. The cream cheese flavor is very noticeable, and adds a great flavor contrast to the pint. There is definitely a good amount of cream cheese, I was expecting more, but I guess it makes sense because the cake needs to take center stage. They put enough frosting to give a cream cheese aftertaste to it. There is a good amount of cake pieces in the pint as well, and they are well distributed throughout, and about the size of a standard pencil eraser tip. Overall this is a solid and enjoyable flavor. Nothing incredible, but still really good.

9/10

Great Divide Denver Pale Ale

3.7/5

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

12 ounce bottle. Pours crystal clear light orange amber color with a 2 finger off white head with very good retention that reduces to a lacing cap that lasts for the entire glass. Some ok glass lacing. Aromas of citrus, floral, spices, and caramel. Aromas are a bit weak, but still pretty good. Taste of caramel, spices, bread, and some citrus. There is a fairly large amount of bitterness that comes at the finish, and it linger for a while with spiciness and citrus flavors. No alcohol noticed at all. Medium body and fairly high carbonation, the carbonation seems to detract some of the flavor, but is not too bad. Some good balance of the hops and malts. Very refreshing beer with a nice bitter bite. Overall a very solid pale ale.

Solid stuff, but definitely some better pale ales out there that I have had.

Founders Curmudgeon Old Ale

4.3/5

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

12 ounce bottle into snifter. Pours slightly cloudy red-orange color with a dense 1 finger off white head with good retention that reduces to a lacing cap that remains for the duration of the glass. Aromas of dried fruit, molasses, spices, bread, caramel, oak, and some alcohol. Some very interesting aromas here, very unique. Taste of plenty of caramel, dark fruits, molasses, with some spices, oak flavor, and a very small amount of booze. There is a malty finish of caramel and molasses that slowly transitions to a slight citrus bitterness the lingers for a bit after the finish. Some very light alcohol warming after the finish, but overall the alcohol is very well hidden. Medium-full body and medium carbonation, with a creamy and smooth mouthfeel. I actually really enjoyed this one, surprisingly delicious, with lots of complexity and well balanced flavors.

Another winner from Founders. I am really glad I found this one. Seeing as the release is in May, this one was sitting in the store for a while, they sold it to me for $1.79 as well(was not priced), which is probably way cheaper than what it goes for.

Traquair 900

4.2/5

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

330 ml bottle into snifter. Pours cloudy dark red-brown color with a dense 2 finger light tan head with good retention that reduces to a thin lacing cap that lasts for a majority of the glass. Almost no lacing on the glass. Aromas of molasses, caramel, roasted malt, toffee, raisins, oak, and booze. Some interesting aromas that are fairly strong and very malty. Taste of molasses, raisins, caramel, roasted malt, oak. Near the finish the caramel and molasses flavors get stronger, and then it leads to a fairly dry finish, but some light malty flavors linger for a short period. It also has some very light alcohol taste with a bit of warming after the finish as well. Pretty well hidden on alcohol. Medium-full body and fairly light carbonation. Very smooth and highly creamy mouthfeel. Overall, this is a delicious barley wine with some great flavor combination, and it is very enjoyable to drink as well.

Glad I picked this one up. I saw it at Erik's Grocery Bag, advertised as "Possibly the best beer you will ever drink". I chuckled, but figured it was worth a shot haha. Oh and also I have purchased 2 new glasses off of Pubglasses.com. They are of great quality and thickness, and also came with an amazing packing job. I got a 22 ounce snifter and a 13 ounce tulip, both unbranded. I will expand to some branded glasses eventually, but the shipping is horrendous.

Dark Horse Crooked Tree IPA

4/5

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

12 ounce bottle. Pours hazy orange-amber color with a 2 finger off white head with amazing retention the reduces to a lacing cap that stays for the duration of the glass. Minimal glass lacing is present. Aromas of pine, floral, citrus and some caramel and bready malts. The aromas are fairly strong and pronounced. Taste of strong pine and floral notes, with orange and grapefruit, with some light caramel. It has a nice clean bitterness that shows up right near and after the finish, and it lasts for quite a while as well, with citrus and pine flavors. This one is more hop forward, but has some nice balance to it. Medium carbonation and body. No alcohol noticed except for a slight warming after the finish. It has a really smooth mouthfeel with some crisp carbonation as well. Overall a delicious IPA, an I would definitely have it again. It is well rounded as an IPA, but nothing really stands out to me to make it great.

All around good stuff, I'd get it again.

Ben & Jerry's Half Baked Froyo

So today, I completely destroyed squats, so I decided to have a go at this pint. It is swirled chocolate and vanilla ice cream frozen yogurt, with fudge brownies and chocolate chip cookie dough. First off, the texture of the frozen yogurt is Ok, just not as good as the Phish food froyo texture. A good amount of flavor in the frozen yogurt as well. Onto the mix ins, there are more than plenty of cookie dough chunks and brownie chunks. Pretty difficult to dig in and not hit one or two. The cookie dough is actually really good, and has overall good texture and taste, though it is a tad grainy, but its not too bad. The brownie pieces are also good, and are fairly rich, and have a chewy texture. There is definitely more cookie dough in the pint however. Overall it is quite an enjoyable experience, and I would definitely recommend giving this froyo flavor a try.

9/10

Green Flash West Coast IPA

4.6/5

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

12 ounce bottle. Pours very slightly hazy orange-amber color with a dense 2 finger off white head with incredible retention, that reduces to a lacing cap that leaves fantastic lacing. The aromas are amazing. Smells like a bag of hops, very strong aromas. Grapefruit, orange, pine, pineapple, and some caramel. Taste of a TON of grapefruit, orange, and pineapple; with pine and a slight bit of caramel as well. Has a big, yet smooth bitterness that comes in after the finish and lingers for a while with citrus flavors. No alcohol noticed except for a very slight warming after the finish. Has an extremely smooth medium-full body with medium carbonation. Overall, this is absolutely incredible. So much great citrus flavor and fantastic drinkability. I will be picking up a pack of this, thank goodness it is widely available now.

This is absolutely delicious. Can't wait to try out the other Green Flash beers I have.

Rogue Hazelnut Brown Nectar

3.9/5

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

22 ounce bottle. Pours crystal clear red-brown color with a slightly foamy 2 finger light tan head with good retention that reduces to a thin lacing cap that lasts for the remainder of the glass. Some light lacing on the glass that looks pretty good. Aromas of chocolate, roasted malt, caramel, honey, and hazelnut with some citrus. Fairly strong aromas. Taste of chocolate, roasted malt, hazelnut, and caramel. There is some noticeable bitterness but not much, mostly malt forward, and the flavors and bitterness are well balanced. Finish is fairly dry but there is some toasted and hazelnut flavor that lingers for a short period after the finish. Medium bodied with some fairly high carbonation. Has a bit of a prickly feel to it as you drink. Also has a fairly smooth and creamy body. Very enjoyable to drink. Overall, this is a very good brown ale with plenty of flavor and a smooth mouthfeel.

I had this a while ago at a bar and liked it, so I decided to give it another go. Nice brown ale.

Häagen-Dazs Caramel Apple Pie

Here we have one of the new limited edition Haagen Dazs flavors from this year. It is apple ice cream with fresh diced apples, with caramel and chunks of pie crust. There is also cinnamon in the apple ice cream, which is one of the first things you will notice when digging into this pint. The ice cream texture is fairly average, but still enjoyable, and doesn't detract from the overall experience. Both the pie crust pieces and apple chunks are fairly decent sized, I would say about a little smaller than my pinkie nail, which is pretty good. There is also a good amount spread throughout the pint as well. I did end up getting some pretty good sized pie crust pieces in there, along with the smaller ones that were the same size as the diced apples. Both the pie crust and apples add a lot of texture and crunch to this pint. Caramel was a little lacking though, but most of it was near the top of this pint. Overall I definitely enjoyed this one a lot, and it is definitely the best "apple pie" ice cream I have ever had. Fantastic stuff.

9/10

Heavy Seas Loose Cannon Hop3 IPA

4.1/5

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

12 ounce bottle, best by March 2011. Pours slightly cloudy amber color with a nice 2 finger off white head with very good retention that reduces to a thick lacing cap. Some nice lacing is left on the glass. Aromas of strong grapefruit and orange peel, with some light pine, and caramel. Very strong on the citrus flavor, it smells like I am holding an orange. Taste of strong orange, grapefruit, and pine; with some caramel, and spice. A lot of citrus bitterness on the finish, that lasts for a good while after the finish. No alcohol noticed except for a slight warming after the finish. Very smooth mouthfeel in this, that goes down easy and is very drinkable. Medium carbonation and a medium-full body. Overall this is a delicious IPA, with plenty of citrus and a good amount of bitterness, but is really well balanced as well. Delicious.

I might try a fresher bottle of this in the future to see how it is fresher. I have pretty much seen this beer everywhere, in singles and 6 packs, so it won't be a problem.

Samuel Adams Imperial Double Bock

4.1/5

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

12 ounce bottle. Pours slightly hazy dark red color with a 2 finger light tan head with good retention. Aromas of a lot of toffee, caramel, molasses, with some dark fruits, toasted malt, and alcohol. The aromas are fairly strong, and it actually reminds me of a few barley wines I have had before. Taste of caramel, molasses, vanilla, and some dark fruits; with toast and some very slight alcohol taste on the palate. The alcohol taste did not detract very much from the overall taste and actually fit in pretty well. Very malty flavor with very little bitterness. The sweet flavors linger for a decent period of time after the finish. There is also a significant amount of alcohol warming after the finish. Medium carbonation and full body. Very smooth drinking for it’s body, but is also quite a sipper and should be enjoyed slowly. Overall I was pretty impressed with this. I was not sure what to expect after my bad experience with Imperial White, but this is a really smooth drinking Imperial brew, and has a lot of flavor.

This one was sitting in my fridge for quite some time, so I decided to finally get it out. I was not sure what to expect because I had gotten a bad bottle of Imperial White at the same store I purchased this one, but it turned out just fine. I will probably get the Imperial Stout eventually, and they have also recently released an Imperial Series Wee Heavy recently, but I have not seen it yet. I also have to note that the bottle pictured is the old label style for imperial series. They have recently changed the bottle and packaging design.

My Jump Into Homebrewing

Before I really got into craft beer, I had an interest to start brewing my own. I had always generally enjoyed non-macro brewed beers before last year. in fall 2009 I went to a restaurant supply store and picked up a Mr. Beer kit and it has since been unused, until last week. I picked up a pack of the Irish Stout kit when I bought the Mr. Beer kit, so I still had that. Last week I went to The Grape And Granary (outstanding homebrew supply store that you should visit if you are in the area.) The folks at the store are very knowledgeable and can help you out with any questions you may have. They also sell supplies online for a good rate.

A little over a week ago I picked up some corn sugar, another can of Irish Stout HME, and a hydrometer(which has since shattered when it rolled on the floor haha) I did a real simple recipe. I used 2 cans of the HME Irish Stout, with a booster pack and 3.5 ounces of pure cocoa powder. Boiled it for about 25 minutes. Didnt really see the need to do it much longer because of the lack of hops.



I did a smaller boil of course, because I don't have an immersion chiller and it would be quicker to chill it down in the fermenter by pouring it in ice cold water. I also purchased a 10 dollar digital thermometer and funnel from walmart the day of the brew. I rehydrated the yeast in warm water with a little bit of corn sugar for 30 minutes before pitching in 72 degree water. Everything went well. My OG came out to about 1.063 which is pretty solid, my brew should come out a little over 6 percent next week.



I am going to start saving all of my bottles from now on, I will be delabeling them in baking soda and cleaning of course. My first batch(the Irish stout) will be bottled in the PET bottles that came with Mr. Beer. I will probably preboil my priming sugar and add it to the beer before bottling for more even carbing. I will bottle condition them for 2-3 weeks. I have done a ton of reading (The Joy of Homebrewing and How to Brew). Plus homebrewtalk forums for even more help, so I am pretty much ready for anything. Also have watched quite a few Youtube videos on all grain and making a mash tun for when the time comes.



After this batch, I have already made a simple extract recipe in Beersmith for an Imperial IPA which will be brewed once my fermenter is free. For now I really like the idea of smaller batches so I will use Mr. Beer for quite a few more batches, then it will be time for a bucket fermenter, and probably a 3 gallon Better bottle for secondary.

Here is my next recipe:

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Batch Size: 2.13 gal
Boil Size: 1.15 gal
Estimated OG: 1.088 SG
Estimated FG: 1.019
Estimated ABV: 9.0%
Estimated Color: 14.0 SRM
Estimated IBU: 112.9 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: - %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amount Item Type % or IBU
1.50 lb Extra Light Dry Extract (3.0 SRM) Dry Extract 28.3 %
3.30 lb Amber Liquid Extract (12.5 SRM) Extract 62.3 %
0.50 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 20L (20.0 SRM) Grain 9.4 %
1.00 oz Centennial [10.00%] (60 min) Hops 74.4 IBU
0.50 oz Amarillo Gold [8.50%] (30 min) Hops 24.3 IBU
0.50 oz Cascade [5.50%] (15 min) Hops 10.1 IBU
0.50 oz Cascade [5.50%] (5 min) Hops 4.1 IBU
1.00 oz Cascade [5.50%] (Dry Hop 7 days) Hops -
0.50 tsp Irish Moss (Boil 10.0 min) Misc
1 Pkgs California Ale (White Labs #WLP001) Yeast-Ale

I highly recommend the Beersmith program, as it is very easy to use and make your own recipes, and it also shows you amount of corn sugar you need by weight for carbing, which makes things so much easier and accurate. Cheers!

Great Lakes Conways Irish Ale

4/5

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

12 ounce bottle. Pours crystal clear reddish amber color with a foamy 2 finger off white head with very good retention that reduces to a fairly dense lacing cap. Leaves some nice dense lacing on the glass as you drink. Aromas of plum, apple, caramel, bread and spices. The aromas are very strong and smells very malty with a bit of a sour twang to it. Taste matches the nose pretty well: Bread, caramel, some fruits, spices, and a slight amount of hop bitterness on the finish that lasts for a bit. Mostly malt forward, but there is also a fair amount of hop flavor in the brew. Very smooth drinking with very minimal alcohol presence, only some slight warming after the finish. Medium carbonation and body. Overall it is a very tasty brew that has very good drinkability, and it actually reminds me of Christmas Ale in some aspects. An all around solid and tasty brew in all aspects.

Another great seasonal from Great Lakes!

Boulder Beer Mojo IPA

4.3/5

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

12 ounce bottle, best by November 15 2010. I hope for the best with this old bottle. Pours clear light orange-amber color with a fairly dense 2 finger white head with amazing retention, that reduces to a lacing cap. Some dense, great looking lacing on the glass. Strong aromas of orange, pine, floral, caramel, and light grapefruit. Taste of strong orange, pine, caramel, and grapefruit; with a huge bitterness on the finish that lingers with flavors of citrus and pine. Very smooth drink with a delicious amount of bitterness. No alcohol showed itself in the taste or finish. Medium carbonation and body. Overall this was fantastic, even though it was well past it’s prime as far as age. I definitely will be picking this up again.

Such a great IPA. Even though the best by date was way back in November, the hops were still shining and there was a lot of great flavor. Highly recommended.

Unibroue Blanche de Chambly

3.3/5

AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 6/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 12/20

12 ounce bottle. Pours hazy amber color with a fairly foamy 2 finger white head with decent retention that reduces to a lacing cap. Aromas of wheat, coriander, citrus, and spicy yeast. Taste of spice, coriander, wheat, and orange/lemon peel. The finish is extremely dry, and I could not even tell what the initial flavors were at first. The flavors seem like they would be a good combo, but since the finish is so dry, there isn’t much to taste. No alcohol detected as I expected. Medium carbonation and body. Overall, the aromas and appearance are quite inviting, but the extremely dry finish makes it seem lacking in those the flavor and mouthfeel. It is still drinkable and smooth however. Decent.

I may try it again in 750 if I see it again. I may have gotten a bad bottle, who knows how old it was.

Ben & Jerry's Phish Food Froyo

A nice surprise was waiting for me when I went out this week to find the new BnJ's flavors that were released this month (I found all 4 of them, so reviews will be coming shortly). All of the flavors of froyo were available at the Walmart where I found the new flavors. Seeing as I carb cycle my diet, The lower fat froyos are a nice fit on those low fat days in my diet. It is chocolate frozen yogurt with gooey marshmallow, caramel swirl, and fudge fish. The yogurt surprised me a lot. Tons of chocolate flavor in it, and very nice texture and creaminess. I remember the texture being weird for some reason last time I had their froyo. Much better this time. There is more that enough marshmallow in this as well, very well distributed throughout this pint. Less of a caramel swirl though, but I did see some of it in there. The fudge fish are well represented as well. There is one in almost every spoonful. They are quite rich, and impart a nice rich slightly dark chocolate flavor to the pint, as well as contrasting texture. Overall, definitely some of the best tasting Froyo I have ever had. I really need to try the regular flavor again now, because of this great experience. Highly recommended.

10/10

Sierra Nevada Glissade Golden Bock

3.8/5

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

12 ounce bottle. Pours crystal clear golden amber color with a 2 finger white head with decent retention and decent lacing. A fair amount of rising carbonation noticed in the glass. Aromas of spiciness, grass, light malt, and bread. Aromas come in a bit weak. Taste of spices, grass, malt, light citrus, and bread. The malty character is a bit light, with bitterness showing forth the most in the flavor with spices. The finish is quite dry and crisp, but there is some light lingering bitterness with spiciness after the finish. No alcohol noticed at all. Medium body and carbonation. It was a tad bit odd at first, but as I kept drinking it improved. Overall it is easy going with good drink ability, and decent flavor. Enjoyable stuff.

Definitely a new style for me, but it was enjoyable. In my experience with Sierra Nevada, it has shown that they put out an all around solid lineup.

Ben & Jerry's Mud Pie

For St. Patrick's Day I decided to dig into the only pint that has some sort of Irish relevance in it haha. It is chocolate and Irish coffee liqueur ice creams with a chocolate cookie swirl. Some very impressive stuff here. I remember liking it a lot when I had it last year. The ice cream's texture is very good, and I also microwaved it as usual. You get nice smooth spoonfuls, as you dig through the cookie swirl. Very creamy feeling. The cookie swirl is very good, and it imparts some nice and rich chocolate flavor to the pint. It is also rock solid, so it takes a bit of force to dig into the pint at first. I would also say that this has plenty of cookie swirl in it. Overall I would say I wasn't as impressed with this as I remember the first time I had the pint, but it is still a great flavor, and is really easy to find now.

9/10

Dogfish Head My Antonia

4.1/5

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

750 ml bottle, 2010 2B. Pours fairly clear light amber color with a nice 3 finger white head with awesome retention and some nice glass lacing. Aromas of pilsener malt, lots of citrus and floral hops, and some spices. Taste of malt and spices up front, with honey, pineapple, grapefruit and lemon peel. Not much of a hop bite on the finish, but there is some noticed on the finish that lingers with spices. Very well balanced with sweetness and bitterness, but I would also say that the sweetness is a very small bit stronger than the bitterness. Medium carbonation and body with a very smooth mouthfeel. No alcohol noticed in the taste or the finish. Overall an excellent beer, extremely drinkable, and has great flavor. I would definitely have this again.

I am not very big into pilseners, but this one is great. After seeing it in the store I had to try it out.

Tröegs HopBack Amber Ale

4.1/5

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

12 ounce bottle. Pours clear orange-amber color with a fairly dense 2 finger off white head with very good retention. Awesome looking glass lacing. Aromas of caramel, grapefruit, pine, and some light orange peel. Taste of a lot of grapefruit, with caramel, orange peel, and pine flavors. Malty on the front, with a decent amount of bitterness present on the finish. Overall very well balanced, bitterness and malts are pretty much equal. Alcohol was not noticed at all, except for a very small warming after the finish. Medium carbonation and body. This was extremely drinkable. My glass disappeared pretty fast. I would definitely pick up a 6 pack of this for a nightly session, and it is also very widely available around me. Overall a tasty and easy going amber ale. Excellent.

Another tasty brew from Tröegs. Will definitely have some again, as it is a year round brew, and is widely available around me.

Häagen-Dazs Creme Brulee

Wow. What we have here is perfection. Caramelized sugar swirled through creamy custard ice cream. There is plenty of sugar in the pint, and it has a great creamy texture to it, and imparts a ton of flavor. The custard ice cream is insanely creamy, and has a lot of flavor as well. The ice cream and the sugar swirl complement each other perfectly. Probably one of the best ice cream textures I have had right here. I also microwaved the pint for about 25 seconds, so it was really soft and creamy after that. I am just blown away by this, even though it is a flavor of simplicity. It seems like Haagen Dazs can never mess up the simple flavors, ever.

10/10

Dark Horse Too Cream Stout

4.2/5

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

12 ounce bottle. Pours a thick dark brown color with a 2 finger dark tan head with decent retention that leaves some decent glass lacing. Aromas of strong dark chocolate, coffee, roasted malts, vanilla, and cream. Taste of chocolate, coffee, roasted malts; with some vanilla and cream. Very smooth and creamy body, and very easy drinking for 8%. Some lingering roasted and chocolate flavors after the finish. Not much bitterness noticed in this, except for some coffee bitterness, and it is well balanced in flavors. No alcohol noticed at all, very well hidden. Medium carbonation and medium-full body. Overall a very delicious stout. Will likely be picking this up again in the next release. Excellent.

Overall very impressed with this, and most of the other Dark Horse offerings I have had. I still have many more to try as well.

Three Floyds Gumballhead

4.1/5

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

12 ounce bottle. Pours hazy golden amber color with a sticky 2 finger white head with very good retention, and some nice glass lacing. Aromas of pine, citrus, grapefruit, and a bit of wheat. Taste of tons of grapefruit, with some pine, wheat, and bread. Lots of citrus fruit flavors in this. Some light hop bitterness on the finish that lingers for a bit, but the beer is mostly malt forward. It has a fairly dry finish. No alcohol noticed at all as I expected at 5.5%. Very smooth drinking, and goes down easily, very refreshing. Medium carbonation and body. I am still quite a newbie when it comes to wheat ales, but this one is highly enjoyable, and I would definitely have this again. Excellent.

Once again Three Floyds makes yet another tasty beer. I believe this is the last one I have though. If I ever make it back to Indiana, I will be getting some more.

Great Divide Hoss Rye Lager

3.7/5

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

12 ounce bottle. Pours clear orange-amber color with a 2 finger off white head with very good retention that reduces to a fairly thick cap that leaves some decent lacing. Aromas of dark fruits, cherry, rye, spices, and bread. A bit weak on the aromas after the head dissipates. Taste of strong cherries with bread, and a bit of rye and light spices. The cherry flavor dominates the taste, and the finish is quite dry, with only some slight lingering sweet tastes with spice on finishing. Almost no bitterness or alcohol noticed in the taste. A slight alcohol warming after the finish. Medium carbonation and body. Overall this is interesting for being an Oktoberfest style, but it goes down easy and is enjoyable. Good stuff.

An interesting take on the Oktoberfest style, but was drinkable, and had good flavor and body.

Heavy Seas The Great Pumpkin

4.1/5

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

22 ounce bottle. Pours slightly hazy orange color with a foamy 2 finger white head with average retention that reduces to a very thin cap. Aromas of pumpkin, cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, and brown sugar. Taste of cinnamon, nutmeg, brown sugar, and some clove; with the pumpkin flavors in the background with some pie crust noticed. The finish is fairly dry, but there is some lingering notes of sweetness, with some spices. No bitterness noticed, but it fits this style perfectly. Alcohol was very well hidden, only a very small warming after the finish noticed. Quite drinkable because of the good flavor, and very smooth going down. Medium carbonation and body. I was actually letting this sit in the fridge for a while, afraid to try it, because I didn’t know what to expect. Most pumpkin beers can be done very badly, but this one is done very well, and I would definitely have it again. Delicious.

This on definitely surprised me. I can't wait to try some more offerings from this brewery.

Arcadia Cocoa Loco Triple Chocolate Stout

3.6/5

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

12 ounce bottle. Pours deep dark brown color with a fairly dense 2 finger tan head with very good retention that reduces to a lacing cap. Aromas of chocolate, coffee, roasted malts, molasses, and some vanilla. A bit weak on the nose. Taste of chocolate, coffee, molasses, roasted malt. Sweet tasting up front with the chocolate, molasses, and lactose; which moves on to a fairly strong coffee bitterness on the finish that lingers for a bit after the finish with roasted flavors. Fairly creamy and medium-full body with medium carbonation. The creaminess felt a little odd though, and there are a few off flavors in the taste, and the flavor balance is a bit off. The alcohol is well hidden, only a slight warming after the finish is noticed. Overall this is a pretty good stout, and I would have it again in the future, it has some good qualities to it.

My first Arcadia Ale, I will definitely be seeing what else they have to offer, just out of pure interest.

Bear Republic Red Rocket Ale

4.3/5

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

22 ounce bottle. Pours clear dark red color with a 2 finger light tan head with very good retention that reduces to a thick cap that leaves some very nice lacing. Aromas of caramel, pine, citrus, molasses, and toffee. Taste of caramel, citrus, pine, and toasty malt. Bitterness shows up after the finish, and lingers with the citrus, pine, and toasted flavors. Really creamy mouthfeel that goes down extremely smoothly, and is extremely enjoyable to drink. Well balanced with malty flavors and bitterness pretty much perfectly balanced, one does not overpower the other. Medium-full body with medium carbonation. No alcohol presence noticed. Overall, this is extremely delicious, and another great brew by Bear Republic. I will be having this again for sure.

I was blown away by how delicious this was as I had hoped. Everything I have had from Bear Republic has been excellent. I still have a few more of their brews waiting for me as well. Will definitely pick up a 6 pack if given the chance.

Dogfish Head Raison D'Extra

3.9/5

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

12 ounce bottle into snifter. Pours clear dark red-brown color with a small foamy head with poor retention, and hardly any head shows up when swirled in my snifter. Aromas of raisins, caramel, molasses, toffee, and alcohol. Taste of a lot of raisins, caramel, molasses, and toffee, surprisingly well hidden alcohol on tasting, with only a large warming on the finish. Bourbon notes resonate after the finish with some sweetness from the raisins and molasses. Full body and fairly low carbonation. Overall this has a ton of flavor and is fairly smooth for it’s ABV level. Tasty.

I kind of want to try Raison D'Etre again, though this really isn't my favorite style, it is still tasty. I also forgot to check the bottle date, but I am pretty sure it was bottled in 2007, because of all of the 2007 Avery's I got as well. I need to try one with more age on it.

Cold Cow Cow Pies Ice Cream

An interesting brand I decided to give a shot after seeing them in the Sheetz gas station near my university. This one is a pretty simple flavor, vanilla ice cream, with cookie dough and chocolate chips. The ice cream itself is ok, kind of grainy and icy, but has some decent flavor. There is plenty of cookie dough and chocolate chips through the pint, but the cookie dough is grainy, and the chocolate chips aren't very rich at all, and don't impart much flavor. I still did enjoy it somewhat, after all it is sugar, and whats not to love haha. Another note to make about this particular flavor, is the use of partially hydrogenated soybean oil in the ingredients for the cookie dough. Huge strike there, and the nutrition facts state a full gram of trans fats per serving. Not that I am all that worried about that anyways, because I am not taking in excessive amounts on a daily basis. Overall, I will be getting my cookie dough ice cream elsewhere. Both Ben & Jerry's and Haagen Dazs make extremely excellent versions.

5/10

Victory Prima Pils

4.1/5

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

12 ounce bottle, best by October 2010, hopefully this goes well. Pours hazy amber color with a foamy 2 finger white head with very good retention, and nice glass lacing. Aromas of grassy, citrus, and floral hop notes, pilsener malts, and spiciness. Taste of citrus and floral notes, with some spice and bitterness that lasts after the finish for a nice period of time. Very easy going and refreshing beer, feels very smooth going down. Medium carbonation and body. Overall this is a very easy drinking and enjoyable pilsener. Delicious stuff for a pilsener, I can’t say I have had too many micro brewed pilseners in my time of reviewing and enjoying craft, but this is definitely a great effort.

Very enjoyable beer, and very refreshing.

Ben & Jerry's New York Super Fudge Chunk

So I went out to Columbus Ohio this weekend for the Arnold Sports Expo, so I decided to get a pint of ice cream because it is the ultimate comfort food. I ate it in my car at Walmart. I decided to revisit a flavor I had a while ago, and what a great idea it was to choose this one. It is chocolate ice cream with white & dark fudge chunks, pecans, walnuts & fudge covered almonds. This pint is loaded with mix ins, it is impossible to dig in and not get any. I was unable to microwave it to soften in my circumstances, but the overall texture was very good, and was really creamy as it should have been. The fudge chunks compliment each other amazingly, along with the chocolate ice cream. They are very rich and have a smooth creamy flavor. The addition of the almonds, walnuts, and pecans just makes it even more incredible. A ton of balanced flavor from the nuts rounds out the pint perfectly, and gives everything a nice texture whilst enjoying. I am pretty sure that I enjoyed this more than the other loaded pint "Everything But The...", but I will definitely have to retry that flavor as well, because this flavor was amazing. Definitely one of the top 3 flavors in my book.

10/10

Dark Horse Reserve Special Black Bier

4.3/5

AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 5/5 TASTE 9/10 PALATE 5/5 OVERALL 17/20

12 ounce bottle. Pours very dark brown color with a dense 2 finger tan head with amazing retention that reduces to a lacing cap that leaves some great lacing. Aromas of coffee, roasted malt, chocolate, smoke, and molasses. The aromas are a bit weak. Taste is of chocolate, coffee, smoke, and some citrus hop bitterness. Some lingering bitterness and roasted flavors after the finish. The taste is incredibly well balanced with the smoke, coffee, and chocolate flavors. Has a medium body and carbonation, and has an extremely creamy mouthfeel. Alcohol is extremely well hidden, and there is only a very slight warming after the finish. I loved this beer, and it was gone way too fast. Fantastic.

Another great beer from Dark Horse. I am really loving the stuff they put out.

Smuttynose "Finestkind" IPA

4.2/5

AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 9/10 PALATE 5/5 OVERALL 17/20

12 ounce bottle. Pours hazy orange-amber color with a 2 finger off white head with amazing retention that reduces to a thick cap. Not too much lacing present. Aromas is kind of weak on the pour, but it improved as I made my way into the glass. Aromas of citrus, floral, caramel, and pine with some spiciness. Taste of strong citrus, caramel, and pine; with a sharp bitterness present on the finish. The bitterness and spiciness lingers for a while after the finish. Alcohol well hidden, and only a very slight warming noticed after the finish. This is a great IPA, definitely a bit more hop forward in flavor and the amount of bitterness, but also well balanced with the flavors. Medium body and fairly high carbonation, has a nice sharp feel to it. The nice amount of bitterness and flavor in this IPA makes me an instant fan. Excellent.

Smuttynose has been showing up more an more around me, and I was lucky enough to find some of the big beer series to have soon enough. This IPA is great, and is well balanced with plenty of bitterness, which is my ideal kind of an IPA. Definitely recommended.

Hoppin Frog Fresh Frog Raw Hop Imperial Pale Ale

4.2/5

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

22 ounce bottle. Pours slightly hazy orange-amber color with a frothy 2 finger off white head with fantastic retention that reduces to a lacing cap that leaves some very nice lacing. Aromas of caramel, grapefruit, floral, and some pine and spice. Taste of a ton of grapefruit, caramel, and pine. Sweet up front with the caramel and grapefruit flavors, finishes off very nicely with a bitterness of citrus and pine. The bitterness fades in after the finish and lingers for a bit. Very well balanced with the amount of bitterness and sweetness present. Alcohol is well hidden, only some slight warming noticed after the finish. Has a medium-full body with medium carbonation. Overall this is incredibly delicious, and the taste actually reminds me of some of my favorite Double IPAs. Excellent! I will be having this again in the future.

It was sitting in my fridge for a few months, and I just now got it out, and it tastes amazing despite not being completely fresh. Hoppin Frog just does a fantastic job at putting out great examples of every style(that they have done so far). I might have to make the rounds to some of the ones I first reviewed again soon. I only have a few more to try and I will have tried the entire lineup that is not retired.

Weyerbacher Blithering Idiot

3/5

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

12 ounce bottle into snifter. Pours a very hazy brown-orange color with a fairly dense 2 finger off white head with good retention. Aromas of dark fruits, molasses, caramel, toffee, and spices. Extremely malty aromas. Smells more like a dark Belgian style than a barley wine. Taste of dark fruits, molasses, and caramel. There is an extremely large amount of alcohol in this that is very close to masking the actual flavor of the beer. After sipping back some of this the alcohol presence does seem to shy away, showing the extremely malty character of this beer. Syrupy full body with medium carbonation. The malty notes last for a while after the finish, along with the alcohol warming that is quite strong. Overall, I would say that if this wasn’t so boozy with the alcohol seriously detracting from the flavor, it would be a solid malty beer. I probably won’t be having this again, but it is always a possibility down the road.

It is possible, and probably even guaranteed that I got a bad bottle or something. A lot of the ratings had a lot of good to say about this, then there were the others that showed the alcoholic mess that I got. Will have to search out a fresh batch, I have no idea how old this bottle was.

Häagen-Dazs Cookies & Cream

What we have here is vanilla ice cream with dark chocolate wafer cookies(they look a lot like Oreo wafers). The vanilla ice cream is smooth and creamy, as I expected, with very strong notes of vanilla flavor. Texture of the ice cream is also quite good, but I have had better. The chocolate wafers are very chewy and impart a fair amount of chocolate flavor to the pint. The wafer cookies are thoroughly spread through the pint, and are about the size of my thumbnail, so I'd say that is pretty good. It is a pretty simplistic flavor, but still quite delicious and well balanced with the flavors. I was hoping for some kind of creamy swirl, but did not get it. I may have to revisit the BnJ's version again and see how it stacks up, because I really don't remember too well. It is really hard for me to rate Haagen Dazs low because I am almost always blown away by what they produce.

9/10