Filed under: Dry Stout (English pint), Victory | Tags: black, cocoa, coffee, dry, good head, hops, mold, nice, sweet
ABV: 3.7 %
RateBeer rating: 52
Calories: estimated at 100 C
Volume: 16 fl oz.
Glass: shaker
Purchased at: Kildare’s in Philadelphia at South Street
Price: $5.00
Consumed at: Kildare’s in Philadelphia at South Street
First Impression: Aroma is sweet cocoa, coffee, and mold. Visuals deep black with a long lasting head. Taste coffee, some hops, nice depth and flavor. Palate dry with a short finish. Second Impression a very nice stout, and a great way to celebrate my birthday.
Aroma: 6 out of 10
Visuals: 5 out of 5
Taste: 6 out of 10
Palate: 3 out of 5
Overall: 12 out of 20
Filed under: Barleywine Style Ale (snifter), OHanlon | Tags: alcohol, amazing, barley, beautiful, bitter, caramel, coffee, creamy, dry, excellent, licorice, nice, off the charts, opaque, quiet, resin, slick, strong, subtle, sweet, syrup, tar
Glass: Snifter
Purchased at: A gift from Sean.
Price: $ n/a
Size: 8.5 fl oz
ABV: 11.7 %
IBU: n/a
Estimated Calories: 175 C
RateBeer Rating: 98
Aural: very quiet opening, subtle carbonation, beautiful amber pour
Aroma 10 out of 10
Intensity: overwhelmingly strong
Balance: very sharp
Impression: quite nice
Malt Aroma: barley, syrup, coffee
Hops Aroma: anise, licorice, acid
Other Aroma: alcohol
Notes: A wonderfully enticing smell, though seemingly strong.
Appearance 4 out of 5
Color: brown
Clarity: nearly opaque
Head Retention: poor
Lace: poor
Notes: A deep dark color, stands up impressively against the led test, but of course as with many ales of this strength, there is no head.
Flavor 10 out of 10
Intensity: off the charts
Balance: sweet start with a bitter finish
Impression: strong, but very nice
Malt Flavor: grain nut caramel toffee licorice
Hops Flavor: floral tar resin grapefruit rind
Other: alcohol
Notes: The flavor is surprisingly balanced. I expected this to be a repeat of Dogfish Head’s 120 Minute IPA, which defined new limits for me. This is much less intense than that, and very enjoyable.
Palate 5 out of 5
Mouthfeel
Sensation: creamy slick drying and warming
Body: full
Carbonation: faint
Finish
Length: long
Intensity: strong
Balance: mostly bitter
Notes: A very dry, enjoyable finish. It really does need deserve to be sipped.
General Impression: 19 out of 20
Craftmanship: excellent
Freshness: fresh
Personal Taste: loved
Notes: I can’t wait to thank Sean for such an amazing treat. He made my birthday with this gift, even though for him, it was a drainpour giveaway. 😉
Filed under: Founders, Scotch ale (thistle) | Tags: bitter, burnt, caramel, chocolate, cocoa, delicious, long finiosh, mellow, red, Toast, whole wheat, wispy
RateBeer rating: 94
Calories: estimated at 175 C
Volume: 12 fl oz.
Glass: thistle, shaker
Purchased at: Canal’s Discount Liquors, Burlington, NJ (Thanks, Mike!)
Price: $1.89
Consumed at: home
Tanka: Chocolate surprise
mellow red white wisps
deep cocoa and caramel
long bitter and burnt
chocolate on whole wheat toast
when can I have another?
aroma 10 out of 10
visuals 4 out of 5
taste 10 out of 10
palate 5 out of 5
overall 18 out of 20
Filed under: American Pale Ale (lager glass, shaker), Stone | Tags: amber, citrus, delicious, flowers, grapefruit, long finish, maple, pine, red, simple, sweet
RateBeer rating: 92
Calories: estimated at 150 C
Volume: 12 fl oz.
Glass: shaker, lager glass
Purchased at: Circle Liquors Super Saver, Pennington, NJ
Price: $2.25
Consumed at: home
Tanka: zen master
angry amber reds
flowers, citrus, and pine bark
sweet for a long time
maple, pine, and grapefruit shine
delicious but simple treat
aroma 8 out of 10
visuals 4 out of 5
taste 9 out of 10
palate 4 out of 5
overall 16 out of 20
Filed under: IPA (shaker, tulip), Stone | Tags: appealing, balanced, bitter, delicious, flowers, grapefruit, hazy, heavy, hoppy, lemon, long lasting, remarkable, resin, sour, sweet, warming
ABV: 6.9%
IBU:
Volume: 12 oz
Glass: Tulip Goblet
Purchased at: Hopewell Valley Wine and Liquor
Consumed on: Friday, February 15th, 2008 at 10:55 pm
first impression: A quickly dissipating head and a slightly unfiltered, hazy appearance gives a mixed bag of anticipation, but I’ve had this beer before, and know what I’m in for. The grapefruit is amazingly present in the aroma, and the color, while not the most interesting or poetic, is certainly not unappealing. The taste is remarkable. It warms, and travels down the chest with a trail of hops. It is a beer with a taste history to it. You can remember the flavor for minutes after, and it is a great flavor. Wonderfully bitter with heavy malt undercurrents. It is an exemplar of an IPA.
Aroma/Olfactory:
Malt is roasted, toasty, and weighs heavily on the flavor.
Hops are resinous, very flowery, and brimming with grapefruit and lemon.
Yeast/Bacteria reminds one of a stack of stone slabs, a hint of surface water but not odoriferous or negative in impression.
It is tasty, heady, commanding, intoxicating, present, heavy, and delicious.
Visuals/Appearance:
Color is pale, orange, single noted, and without real depth.
Liquid is just a bit hazy and quiet.
Head is gone, but the lace is remarkable present. Hangs more on the glass than the volume itself. Quite white at the start.
Taste/Flavor:
Sweet in a slight way, but more bitter
Bitter is the overarching sentiment here, and it delivers in droves. It’s not ruination, but it’s not far off, IMHO.
Sour notes come with the bitter and citrus components.
Beatifully balanced in hops and malt.
Palate/Tactile:
Body/Mouthfeel is full and long lasting.
Texture is slightly cloying, not in a sweet way, and not like a stout, but it does not dissipate quickly.
Carbonation is crisp but not visually active.
Finish is quite bitter, and nicely so.
Second impression: Overall, this is a great beer, a fantastic example of an IPA, a strong exemplar of Stone’s lineup, and just a pleasure to have. One of my favorite beers, by far.
Filed under: IPA (shaker, tulip), Philadelphia | Tags: bitter, bronze, chemical, faint, fleeting, hoppy, meadows, rain, shoirt lived, sweet
RateBeer rating: 62
Calories: estimated at 150 C
Volume: 12 fl oz.
Glass: shaker, tulip
Purchased at: Joe Canal’s, Lawrenceville, NJ
Price: $2.25
Consumed at: home
tanka: music and electronics
bronze cymbal white crash
chemical, sweet, and hoppy
bitter and short lived
faint fleeting rain in meadows
brand precedes flavor, stumbles
aroma 4 out of 10
visuals 4 out of 5
taste 6 out of 10
palate 3 out of 5
overall 14 out of 20
Filed under: Dogfish Head, traditional ale/bitter (English pint) | Tags: ancient, barley, bubbling, chives, gold, honey, leather, sand, sawdust, silt, sweet, white
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- pair
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- label
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- head
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- body
RateBeer rating: 86
Calories: estimated at 200 C
Volume: 12 fl oz.
Glass: Dimpled mug, English pint, Stein, Yard
Purchased at: Circle Liquors Super Saver, Pennington, NJ
Price: $3.50
Consumed at: home
Tanka beer review:
bubbling gold and white
sand and leather, sawdust sweet
long lasting sweetness
honey, chives, silt and barley
traveled from a thousand years
aroma 8 out of 10
visuals 4 out of 5
taste 8 out of 10
palate 4 out of 5
overall 17 out of 20
Filed under: Abbey Tripel (trappist), Victory | Tags: apple, banana, cloudy, Fruity, lemon, plums, pretty, quirky, smoke, special, wonderful
ABV: 9.5%
IBU: n/a
Volume: 12 fl. oz.
Glass: shaker
Purchased at: Sherwood Liquors
Consumed on: February 27th, 2008, 10:12 pm
sensory first impression: A very pretty beer with quirky advertising. Overwhelming fruity scent, which I like. No head or lace to experience, but I don’t miss it, since the olfactory is so nice. I poured twice – first time clear – second time because I felt I had missed out on the bottle conditioning yeast. Whoopsie! the second yeasty pour made it downright cloudy. It’s like sandblasted glass now. Nice bite, lots of flavor – I taste bacon, and I smell banana. I’m not crazy about smoke in beers – see my future review of Triumph’s Rauchbier, for example, but this is balanced pretty nicely. There’s lemon and plums and orange and apple — lots of apple — and banana. Nice bite and texture, and the presence is divine. This is a special beer.
Aroma/Olfactory:
Malt is smoky and full of a fruit bowl of taste influences.
Hops are herbaceous, mellow, and leafy. Very nice balance here. In the hands of an amateur, this would be a mess. Hail Victory.
Yeast/Bacteria doughy, earthy, leafy, and reminds one of an aquarium. I just jumped in. Did I mention this is 9.5% alcohol by volume?
Banana seems omnipresent, and I love it. Paprika? Ginger-licious. What an amazing depth of flavor.
Visuals/Appearance:
Color is pale and a solid block of gold.
Liquid is cloudy with yeast.
Head/Lace is nowhere to be found.
Taste/Flavor:
Maltiness/Sweetness is heavy in smoky sweetness – like a banana infused sausage, but delicious.
Hoppiness/Bitterness is light and very balanced.
Sour from the smoke, but in an affectionate way.
Palate/Tactile:
Body/Mouthfeel is quite full and cloying.
Texture is creamy, slick, and thick
Carbonation is softly present in the background.
Finish is long lasting but muted. The cloying aspect amplifies this aftertaste, which is wonderful.
Overall second impression: What a wonderful beer. It wasn’t the first thing to reach out and grab me, but I’ll be sure to keep it on the top of my list when I’m looking for something special to sip, enjoy, and savor. What a treat.
Filed under: Sam Adams, wheat ale (shaker, weizen) | Tags: average, deep, delicious, good price, highly available, muted, ordinary, quiet, refreshing, sour
On tap at Winberie’s in Princeton. A bit of a sour note, but a delicious, highly available, well priced beer. A quiet aroma, mostly due to chilled glasses. The appearance was average. The flavor had a nice depth, and was refreshing, but was nothing out of the ordinary. The palate was nice, but again muted. Not a bad beer, but nothing near great. Much better than the average macro.
Filed under: Anchor, California Common (lager glass) | Tags: dark, deep, fine, nice, not bad
Bottle at WInberie’s in Princeton. A very nice beer for such wide distribution. The aroma was very muted because of over chilling, but did not seem bad or off. The appearance was a darker body with a very active head. The flavor was fine – a bit deeper than your average American pils. The palate seemed nice – it hangs on for a minute. Over all, not a bad beer, and a good alternative to many macros.
