Yum! Those boys in Winthrop make some mean ales! This edition makes my prized list of Island IPA’s. Nose and mouth agree on all aspects of this beer; semi sweet citrus, smooth bitterness, tangible booze. Clear and clean. Striking resemblance to Pliny! Keep it up Winthrop!!
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Yakima Craft Brewing Co. Vernal Splendor IPA
This is a light bodied “spring” IPA brewed with hops only grown in the Yakima Valley. It isn’t what I go for in an IPA but was very drinkable. Not big floral hops, but earthy grassy hops. Light pale malt body with a bitter finish. Poured a clear golden orange with a nice off white head and laced the pint nicely. Very “sessionable” and built for long hot days on the beach beer.
High and Mighty Beer Co. Home for the Holidays
An oak-aged winter ale that I am drinking in July. Probably not the best time to sample a beer like this, but I am poor and it was on sale. A brewery out of Holyoke, Mass that I hadn’t yet heard of which is doing a good deed by donating profits from the sale of this beer to the Iraq and Afghani War Veterans. Pouring a dark ruby brown with a bubbly beige head, this winter style brown ale weighs in at 7.2% abv. Some subtle chocolate, a little hay from the trappist yeast, and some sour peachy flavor make this brew stand out in a crowded world of too many brown ales.
Picobrouwerij Alvinne Gaspar
From a tiny brewery in Belgium which crafts an impressive variety of tasty beers. This is their hoppy beer. Similar to achouffe or hopus or matilda (all beers you can find reviewed on this site), this beer combines bitter hops with wild belgian yeast strains to create a flavor of beer which to me is simply, the cat’s pajamas. Hazy because of its unfiltered and unpasteurized nature, it has a hue which resembles the color of camel hair. Fruity and hoppy one the nose and on the palate. This beer goes down like lemonade on a hot summer day. drink up and enjoy.
He’brew R.I.P.A. on Rye
I’m just starting to learn about all the small batches of huge beers being aged in barrels of booze. They have wine-like body, and big-time alcohol, and pair well with big fatty meats. This beer could prove to be the best beer to have with braised short ribs. Amber to copper color. On the nose, medium+ intensity, caramel, coffee, toffee, honey, and layered with spices and cider tones, just about pure candy with some smoke. On the palate, big, alcoholic, and rich, very much like a dessert, with a big rock candy finish.
Bitburger
This was something I found in the Click Catalog, and remember it from my beer drinking infancy. Pale golden color. On the nose, medium intensity, skunky water, hay, grain, no fruit, classic lager. On the palate, light body, medium alcohol, medium intensity, a good easy drinking beer that isn’t as flavorless as some of the North American counterparts. I got this because I wanted something different, and it delivered.
La Rulles Biere de Gamme triple
Brewed and bottled by Brasserie Artisanale de Rulles from Belgium, we opened this one right after dinner. Very wheaty on the nose with some spice and some stank. The bottle volcanoed upon opening and I had to finger the bastard get it settled down. After pouring the carbonation quickly dispersed and left the beer a little flat. Tastes of fennel, sour grapes, hay, and some candy sugar keep this one on the sweet side but good enough to finish a glass in 5 minutes flat. Weighing in at 8.4%, there is enough booze in this one to wet your whistle and then probably reach for something else.
Sierra Nevada Bigfoot 2010
This marks the 25th anniversary of the Bigfoot. Often imitated but never duplicated, the Bigfoot is a measuring stick of a barleywine. Black pepper, pine, and spiced rum on the nose with some alcohol watering my eyes when I stick my face into the tulip I am drinking from. Hoppy ass barleywine. Need I say more? Probably the hoppiest I have ever had. When this beer comes out, buy a case and try to save some. When that doesn’t work, buy some more and try again.
Avery Maharaja Double IPA
Copper color. on the nose, medium+ intensity, grapefruit, weed, resin, grass, oates, and skunky hoppy and floral. O. the palate, medium intensity, nicely balanced, bitter hops, floral hops, with good body, and solid very solid finish. I have been waiting a while to taste this beer, as I ended up on the wrong side of empty kegs, too many times, great beer with great balance, and worth the weight.
Upright Brewing Mingus and Monk
Their Saison sour beer, and my exposure to sour beers is minimal. Brown to coffee color. On the nose, sour plum fruit, sauerkraut, big league chew, bubblegum, pickle juice, some raisin, interesting nose. On the palate, dry, sour fruit, floral, hop notes, coffee and prunes on the finish. Interesting beer that could pair well with some weird foods.