Filed under: brown ale [bruin] (mug), Mikkeller | Tags: bitter, brilliant, caramel, celery, coffee, crisp, drying, enjoyable, faint, garlic, ginger, hoppy, impressive lace, intense hops, interesting, long, nice, overpriced, peppery, persistent head, red-brown color, roasted, root beer, spicy, thick foamy off-white, well crafted
ABV, Volume & Calories: 6% in 16.9 fl oz. estimated at 200 C
Purchased at: OakTree Buy Rite, South Plainsfield, NJ for $14.99
Aroma: faint, spicy, hoppy, caramel, root beer, nice. 8 out of 10.
Visuals: brilliant, red-brown color, thick foamy off-white, persistent head, impressive lace. 4 out of 5.
Taste: roasted, coffee, ginger, garlic, celery, intense hops, interesting, well crafted.10 out of 10.
Palate: mouthfeel is crisp, drying, texture is peppery, finish is long, bitter, and enjoyable. 5 out of 5.
Overall: Reminded me of a dark and delicious root beer. I’d have it again as a gift, but the price was very steep. Browns in general are not a favorite style for me. This one was very well done, as are all Mikkelleri. 18 out of 20.
Filed under: Green Flash, Imperial/Double IPA (snifter, tulip) | Tags: bitter, dark, deep, funk, gold, hoppy, hops, intricate, long, mechanical, metallic, persistent head, rich, sharp, smoke, smoky, sour, unbalanced, unique, white
Green Flash Imperial India Pale Ale
ABV: 9%
RateBeer rating: 97
Calories: estimated at 400 C
Volume: 22 fl oz.
Glass: snifter, tulip
Purchased at: Oak Tree, South Plainsfield, NJ (Thanks, jay and Matt!)
Price: $5.99
Consumed at: home
First Impression: deep, smoky aroma and a simple gold body with a white head. Aroma is smoke, hops, and some funk. Visuals are a gold body with a persistent white head with very intricate lacing. Taste is a roller coaster – a bit metallic, somewhat mechanical, deeply hoppy, and lacking balance, which I don’t mind. Palate is sharply bitter with a smoky sourness. Long dark, deep finish. Rich. Second Impression – a very special IIPA, in that it imparts a sausagey flavor to the hoppy bitterness, and avoids the cloying answer to the bitterness and preserves the bitter crunch nicely. A great buy for such a very uniquely treated co-style.
Aroma: 9 out of 10
Visuals: 4 out of 5
Taste: 10 out of 10
Palate: 5 out of 5
Overall: 18 out of 20
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Filed under: Barleywine Style Ale (snifter), Dogfish Head | Tags: barley, bitter, brilliant, brown sugar, coriander, dust, hazelnut, intricate, lemon, marigold, nice, oats, parsley, persistent head, rind, sharp, spectacular, strong, syrup, wheat
Purchased at: OakTree Buy Rite, South Plainfield, NJ (Thanks, Jay and Matt)
Price: $4.99
Size: 12 fl oz
ABV: 11%
IBU: n/a
Estimated Calories: 200 C
RateBeer Rating: 97
Aural: quiet opening, very little carbonation, easy pour
Aroma 9 out of 10
Intensity: strong
Balance: sharp
Impression: nice
Malt Aroma: grain alcohol
Hops Aroma: dust, rind, bitters
Other Aroma: lemon
Notes: aroma is deceiving – It’s strong, different than most any other scent, but hard to place.
Appearance 5 out of 5
Color: dark
Clarity: brilliant
Head Retention: persistent
Lace: intricate
Notes: A very nice looking ale, and one of the few I’ve seen at this alcohol content with good lacing.
Flavor 10 out of 10
Intensity: strong
Balance: bitter
Impression: nice
Malt Flavor: wheat, barley, oats, brown sugar, hazelnut, syrup
Hops Flavor: marigold, coriander, parsley, lemon
Other:oak
Notes: A brilliant flash of inspiration with the flavor rush. It takes a moment to hit, in an amazing control over the 11% abv. So very well balanced, and so much more so than the 120 minute IPA. It’s phenomenal.
Palate 5 out of 5
Mouthfeel
Sensation: creamy warming
Body: full
Carbonation: average
Finish
Length: long
Intensity: strong
Balance: bitter
Notes: A wonderfully deep finish.
General Impression: 19 out of 20
Craftmanship: excellent
Freshness: fresh
Personal Taste: loved
Notes: One of the finest controls over alcohol content I’ve ever experienced. You expect to be thrown down and ravaged, and instead, you’re invited out for dinner and a movie. Spectacular.
Filed under: Schneider & Sohn, Weizen Bock (mug, stein, weizen) | Tags: American ingenuity, banana, banana bread, beautiful, Belgian style, bitter, caramel, Cinnamon, clove, craft, dark, deep, excellent, fruitiness, hazy, hops, lemon, maple syrup, nearly opaque, nice, orange, persistent head, quick bread, strong, sweet, sweetness, thick, vanilla, walnut, wheat
Purchased at: OakTree BuyRite, South Plainfield, NJ (Thanks, Jason and Matt)
Price: $3.99 (!)
Size: 16.9 fl oz
ABV: 8.2%
IBU: n/a
Estimated Calories: 300 C
RateBeer Rating: 96
Aural: quiet opening, visible carbonation, heady pour
Aroma 10 out of 10
Intensity: strong
Balance: sweet
Impression: nice
Malt Aroma: banana bread, vanilla, walnut
Hops Aroma: cinnamon, orange
Other Aroma: banana
Notes: One of the clearest banana aromas I’ve ever encountered.
Appearance 4 out of 5
Color: amber
Clarity: hazy, nearly opaque.
Head Retention: persistent
Lace: present
Notes: beautiful, deep, hazy, thick, and dark with depth.
Flavor 10 out of 10
Intensity: strong
Balance: bitter
Impression: nice
Malt Flavor: wheat, quick bread, maple syrup, walnut, caramel
Hops Flavor: cinnamon, clove, orange, lemon
Other: banana
Notes: Very much the taste profile of banana bread – nicely done. Very hoppy for something that has the impression of sweetness.
Palate 4 out of 5
Mouthfeel
Sensation: drying warming
Body: full
Carbonation: medium
Finish
Length: long
Intensity: medium
Balance: bitter
Notes: A very bitter, fruity finish. Very nice.
General Impression: 19 out of 20
Craftmanship: excellent
Freshness: fresh
Personal Taste: loved
Notes: Reminds me of Chouffe’s Dobblen IPA. A very nice mix of hops, sweetness, fruitiness, Belgian style, American ingenuity, and craft.
Filed under: Baltic Porter (pint, stem glass, tulip), Victory | Tags: carbonated, common, crisp, dark roast, deep, faint, hops, not bad, not the best, persistent head, plain, plums, quiet, roasted, ruby
RateBeer rating: 89
Calories: estimated at 375 C
Volume: 22 fl oz.
Glass: stem glass, tulip, English pint
Purchased at: Laurenti’s Shop RIte, Hamilton, NJ
Price: $4.99
Consumed at: home
First Impression: Seems like many other brown ales and porters. Looking forward to the hit of the 8.5%. Respectable head, good deep ruby color. Aroma is faint and quiet, plums perhaps. Visuals are a deep ruby with a relatively persistent head. Taste is in a word, plain. Not watery – good hops, nice dark finish, but kind of flat in terms of layered flavor. Palate is crisp, carbonated, roasted, with a medium finish. Second Impression: Not bad at all, but victory has a lot better choices on offer. I’d take it over many other brands, because it has a nice depth, color, and hoppy finish, but only because of Victory’s lineup. Having just had Mikkeller’s Beer Geek Breakfast for the first time the other night didn’t help this brew’s standing with me, either. See Hop Wallop or V12 for what Victory does great things with.
Aroma: 6 out of 10
Visuals: 4 out of 5
Taste: 6 out of 10
Palate: 4 out of 5
Overall: 15 out of 20
Filed under: Anchor, Barleywine Style Ale (snifter) | Tags: alcohol, beautiful, bitter, brown, depth, expensive, grapes, great, hazy, hoppy, lovely, nice, persistent head, quiet, roses, ruby, sharp, simple, siren, slick, strong, sweet, warming, well done, wispy, wonderful
Purchased at: Issac Newton’s, Newtown, PA
Price: $6.00
Size: 12 fl oz
ABV: 9 %
IBU: n/a
Estimated Calories: 190 C
RateBeer Rating: 97
Aural: quiet opening, little carbonation, simple pour
Aroma 10 out of 10
Intensity: strong
Balance: sharp
Impression: nice
Malt Aroma: grapes
Hops Aroma: roses
Other Aroma: alcohol
Notes: An inviting and forewarning aroma. Enticing and siren like.
Appearance 5 out of 5
Color: brown
Clarity: hazy
Head Retention: persistent
Lace: medium
Notes: ruby body and wispy white head – quite beautiful.
Flavor 10 out of 10
Intensity: strong
Balance: bitter
Impression: very nice
Malt Flavor: grain sweet toffee licorice
Hops Flavor: dust cinnamon lemon sugar
Other: alcohol
Notes: A wonderful flavor, full of wine live depth and flavors. Very sweet, but not cloying.
Palate 5 out of 5
Mouthfeel
Sensation: slick warming
Body: full
Carbonation: average
Finish
Length: long
Intensity: strong
Balance: sweet
Notes: A surprisingly deep mix of hoppy bitterness and sugary sweetness. Well done.
General Impression: 18 out of 20
Craftmanship: excellent
Freshness: fresh
Personal Taste: loved
Notes: A great beer, but hard to find and a bit expensive at $6 a bottle. I hope it comes to Jersey soon.
Filed under: IPA (shaker, tulip), Sierra Nevada | Tags: amazing, bitter, commercial, copper, delicious, dust, fantastic, flowery, mold, persistent head, red, sweet, very nice, well done
RateBeer rating: 97
Calories: estimated at 300 C
Volume: 24 fl oz.
Glass: tulip
Purchased at: Towne Wine and Liquor, Princeton, NJ
Price: $4.29
Consumed at: home
First Impression: A very nice IPA, if a bit commercial. Aroma is very flowery hops, dust and mold. Visuals are a beautiful red – copper body with a bright white head that is persistent with nice lacing. Taste is sweet with a bitter ending – very well done. Palate is crisp, dry, with a long bitter finish, but not very strong. Second Impression – an amazing value – a fantastic IPA for regular enjoyment. Delicious, and done in the true spirit of the craft.
Aroma: 8 out of 10
Visuals: 5 out of 5
Taste: 9 out of 10
Palate: 4 out of 5
Overall: 17 out of 20
