Tag Archives: Beer Review

Ommegang Game of Thrones Release #1: Iron Throne

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Beer Name: Iron Throne
Brewey: Ommegang (Copperstown NY)
Beer Style: Blonde Ale (House Lannister)
ABV: 6.5%
Size: 750ML Bottle
Beer Advocate: 84
RateBeer: 93 overall and for 96 style

Iron Throne

 

If you guys didn’t hear, Game of Thrones premiered tonight. What better way to celebrate the premiere than by taking down a 750ml bottle of Blonde ale created by Ommegang for the show? It makes my heart tingle with joy to know that HBO went with a craft brewer rather than a mass produced piss beer that isn’t even fit for wildlings. Even though I am kissed by fire, I am 100% Team Khaleesi and I spent the whole week looking forward to drinking this beer while staring at her.

The first beer in the series is dedicated to the Lannister House and is appropriately a blonde ale. It pours easily and emits a perfect golden glow from the glass. It has a nice light head and smells of Belgian yeast and spices. At only $7.50 for a 750ml I wasn’t sure what to expect, but the first taste was very enjoyable. A very light carbonation delivers a nice  combination of light spices and paradise grains. The lemon peel is also there and adds just a slight bit of tartness to bring balance. This is a very crisp and clean beer and is very well executed by Ommegang. This is a very approachable beer that should garner interest from non-craft beer drinkers and for that, I love it. The beer finishes as clean as it starts and carries a very light mouthfeel.

Ratings 

Sessionability:  2 Pack, a 750ml is right around two 12oz bottles and should suffice
Overall: 5pack. A very well executed and approachable beer, just missing the WOW factor. The house of lions would gladly fill their chalices to the brim.
Best Consumed: while using your remote to engage in fake sword fights and while pondering how much you want pet dragons and pet direwolves.

Two Easter Beer Reviews

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Beer Name: Green Easter (Green Gold)
Brewey: Mikkeller
Beer Style: APA
ABV: 7%
Size: 12oz Bottle
Beer Advocate: 87
RateBeer: 99 overall and for style

green easter

Well, if you are one of the 5 people who reads me regularly, you have probably been wondering where I have been. If that is the case, go ahead and read this next part, if you don’t care about me and want to read about the brews, skip to the next section ( I don’t blame you) So a couple months back I had a celiac scare, the gene runs in my family and I was convinced I had it because there was about a 95% chance. I gave up gluten for a couple months and did not see any significant change; a quick blood test confirmed that I do not in fact have the gene. In essence I won the gene lottery!! Well, sort of, I am still a damn ginger. I waited a bit before getting back to writing, since this is the most popular day for resurrections, I decided to rise like the Phoenix. So here I go, out of the ashes to return to my fiery form! (Please imagine “Mars, the bringing of war” is playing because I have a flare for dramatics)

Since Mikkeller decided to do two Easter beers, I decided to drink them both. Shocking right? Green Easter pours pretty easily and comes with a nice head. The simcoe, cascade and Amarillo hop aromas come pouring out of the class and I could tell right away that me and this beer were about to have a makeout session. So when I did put this beer in my mouth I was not at all surprised that is was delicious. You get a perfect balance of the three hops on delivery. Very grassy and damn tasty as the light carbonation helps to deliver a nice bitter from start to finish. The bitter is not overwhelming, but it does finish with a nice pucker. This is a very approachable and nicely balanced with just a touch of malt on the front end. I would recommend this for someone looking to get into the IPA/APA style. Also, the bottle has a hulk hand choking a chicken with no explanation, so there is that. You may not like me when I am angry, but you won’t find me angry if I am drinking this brew!

 

 

Ratings for Green Easter

Sessionability This is a very easy 6 pack. I could drink this all day.
Overall: 5 pack leaning toward the 6 side. The only keeping it from a 6 is that it is in a class of really good IPAs, but probably not elite
Best Consumed: Not with peeps. Grill a brat and watch some baseball with this to wash it all down.

 

 

Beer Name: Hoppy Easter
Brewey: Mikkeller
Beer Style: IPA
ABV: 6.6%
Size: 12oz Bottle
Beer Advocate: 87
RateBeer: 93

 hoppy easter

The second zombie Jesus beer for today is “Hoppy Easter”. Mikkeller, really making us flex our mental muscles to understand the complex name of this beer. The beer pours easily and forms a nice little stratus cloud of foam. I put my nose up to the glass and get almost no scent, which is odd for an IPA. It smells almost like a bock or a lager. When it first hits your mouth you get just a bit of carbonation and a light hit of hops. The hops are so feint in this beer that I cannot even make a guess as to the strain they used, so I will make up one. This beer was brewed with “Soccer Hops” because BORING. This beer is a snooze fest. It almost tastes more like a standard pale or maybe a lager that is a bit hop forward or a combination of the two. This is like listening to your one aunt that talks about her strategy when it comes to extreme couponing. It’s not going to kill you, but it’s not worth paying attention to either. I am glad the Green Easter was so tasty because even with the cute little drunk bunny on the front of the bottle, I cannot say I would recommend this beer.

Ratings for Hoppy Easter

Sessionability: 1 pack? You could easily plow through 6 of them, but why? Maybe you would if you are that asshole who thinks a plain bagel with nothing on it is tasty.
Overall: 2 pack, it’s not offensive, just not a well executed IPA in the opinion of this hop lover.
Best Consumed: Watching soccer, knitting, napping.

Beer Review: Koppi by Mikkeller

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Beer Name: Koppi
Brewery: Mikkeller
Beer Style: Coffee IPA
ABV: 6.9%
Size: 25.4 oz. bottle
Beer Advocate: 84
RateBeer: 95

Things I like: hops and coffee. But the real question here is whether they go together like chocolate and peanut butter, or more like salmon and gummi bears – which I am sure would be disgusting when combined. So I when saw a bottle of Koppi at Whole Foods, I had to answer this question that had been plaguing me for what felt like seconds.

Koppi pours a hazy dark straw color, with an initial half-inch of off-white head. The beer retained a thin layer of head throughout the consumption of the three glasses it took me to polish off the bottle; this layer provided some very nice lacing as the the glass was slowly emptied. Once my nose was over the glass, I could pick up a very nice sweet malt smell as well as lots of hop aroma – grapefruit, apricot, and pine. There was also something else floating in the background that I could not place. I attributed it to the coffee, but I think that might have been through the power of suggestion more than what my olfactory bulbs actually picked up. One of the reasons I try not to read the bottle or other reviews until I try the beer is because your brain will use this information to sway your perceptions, but when they put it on the front of the bottle there is not much you can do.

It tastes like an hoppy IPA with a hint of coffee on the back end. The beer taste to start is sweet and then floods of citrus – mostly grapefruit – and pine take over, and then it finishes with a nice coffee aftertaste. This coffee aftertaste is more like what you get when you eat coffee ice cream or coffee flavored things more than that of what you might find at the end of a cup of Folgers or espresso. It’s very interesting; the battle between hop bitterness and coffee bitterness is like twins fighting for their mother’s attention – in your mouth. The beer is very pleasant to drink as it feels light, with just the right level of carbonation.

Coffee + Hops = UMMMMM.

Ratings:
Sessionability: 5-pack (out of 6). If you like IPAs then you could drink this all day. I had the bomber to myself and would have gladly drank a second.
Overall:5-pack. One of my favorite beers from Mikkeller, maybe not as good as either of the Beer Geeks, but it is very good.
Would Best Be Consumed: On a day like we had all week in Central Ohio this week: 75 and sunny, beautiful beer drinking weather.

Beer Review: Brainless on Peaches by Epic Brewing

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Beer Name: Brainless On Peaches
Brewery: Epic
Beer Style: Fruit Infused Belgian Golden (oh, you fancy huh?)
ABV: 10.5%
Size: Bomber
Beer Advocate: 81
RateBeer: 93

 

First and foremost I need to apologize to my regular readers. My mom was in the hospital (she is fine now), my dog got diagnosed with terminal cancer, and I started either a Mandarin class or college statistics, I am still not sure which. I have been busy and my Ohio-Beer duties got placed on the back burner; this won’t happen again.

I am generally known amongst my peers and readers as someone who goes out of my way to punish my palate and my liver. I like big stouts and big hops, but there is room in my heart for a good Belgian-style beer. Epic Brainless is a pretty good and fairly inexpensive Belgian Golden Ale, but that is not the beer I am reviewing. Epic, based out of Salt Lake City (I know right?) tiers their beers into different alcohol levels and price points (classic, elevated and exponential). Brainless is a gold medal winning brew, but when your name is Epic, do you really stop there? No, the answer is no. Epic decided to take their golden ale, add peach puree, and age it in French chardonnay barrels. Before you say, “Bubba, your absence has turned your palate into that of a girl scout,” let me remind you this is a 10.5% ABV “fruit beer.”

The beer pours easier than most Belgian style beers with limited to no head. It has a nose of Belgian yeast, chardonnay, and fruit. A really deep inhale and you may catch just a bit of its alcohol edge. When the beer hit my tongue, I noticed some light but biting carbonation on the tip of my tongue. The first flavor is the standard banana-like Belgian yeast flavor. The Belgian flavor opens up your palate for a light peach flavor. Epic has managed to deliver the perfect amount of fruit flavor without being sweet or sour. The beer finishes very much like a chardonnay, with just enough carbonation, peaches, and wine to tickle your cheeks. Like most goldens, this beer carries a very light mouthfeel. The beer should be enjoyed out of a tulip or wine glass as Epic recommends and will not lace at all.

It is also worth noting that this beer actually tastes better from the bottle than from the tap, but if you do see it on tap with its brother Brainless on Cherries, don’t be scared to mix them.

Ratings:
Sessionability: 2-pack, one bomber will suffice. More than that and you may YouTube THIS and dance around your apartment drinking and dancing. Note: the author is merely speculating and has no(ish) experience in this matter.
Overall: 6-pack, this is the best fruit infused beer I have ever had. It packs a punch and your lady friend will want to drink it with you. PDA!
Would Best Be Consumed: Great in the summer, but delish anytime.

Beer Review: Silk Porter by Hoppin’ Frog

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Beer Name: Silk Porter

Brewery: Hoppin’ Frog
Beer Style: Porter
ABV: 6.2%
Size: 22 oz. bottle
Beer Advocate: 86
RateBeer: 97

If you are a regular reader of this blog then you might have seen me write about how I will drink a heavy stout/porter regardless of the time of year; that being said, when the weather and the leaves start to turn, that need for dark beers becomes all the more insistent.  So when on my last trip through lovely NE Ohio I saw a bottle from Hoppin’ Frog that I hadn’t seenin Columbus before, I had to have it.

Silk Porter is aptly named at least on appearance; it is shiny black in color, and it has no noticeable head which makes it look as though it slides up and down the glass… like silk (get it). The nose brings some coffee notes as well as a bit of dark malt sweetness and maybe a hint of chocolate. The mouthfeel on the beer also reminds me of silk. It is exceptionally smooth with just enough carbonation to make it not fall flat on the tongue. Unlike the smell, the beer’s taste is mostly of sweet chocolate with light notes of coffee. The nose did foreshadow the nice amount of sweetness found when drinking this beer.

This beer is very very drinkable for a porter; it is smooth, chocolate, coffee, and (yes) silky. If I had one criticism, though it would be that it may be lacking the bitter coffee/chocolate taste that I enjoy so much in stouts and porters. That said, I think this would be a great beer for those trying to convert someone who is afraid of stouts/porters to the dark side.

Ratings:
Sessionability: 6-pack. There might be only one or two dark beers that I would consider  more drinkable and also interesting enough to make me want to have more than a couple.
Overall: 5-pack. Not the most exciting beer that I have ever had, but it is not even an ounce bad.
Would Best Be Consumed:  Crepes with strawberries and cream.

Beer Review: Helles by Moerlein Lager House

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Beer Name: Helles
Brewery: Moerlein Lager House
Beer Style: Helles
ABV: 5.2%
Size: 12 oz. bottle
Beer Advocate: 78
RateBeer: 32

I have a bunch of vacation days remaining this year, so I took a couple to celebrate my mom’s birthday this past weekend.  Unfortunately my dad wasn’t feeling well, so they had to leave earlier than expected, which left me with an entire day at home with nothing do to…the perfect opportunity to drink some beers.

I found this beer in the back of my fridge…and sadly I cannot even remember when I purchased it.  I’m sure it was sometime over the summer, but I’m not entirely sure when…so I wanted to be sure and drink it before it wasn’t good anymore.

Moerlein states lists their Helles as “Brewed to the same standards that made Moerlein the first American beer to certifiably pass the Reinheitsgebot Purity Law, this Münchner-styled Helles is a remarkably balanced lager featuring a lightly toasted, yet defined malt character, and a touch of hops for a clean finish.”  While I didn’t get much of the “lightly toasted” taste, I really don’t think any of this is an exaggeration at all.

The Helles poured very smooth and left little head behind.  It smelled exactly as I would expect a true Helles to smell – very light and sweet.  Helles is probably my 2nd or 3rd favorite style of beer, because I tend to like lighter beers that have a clean/crisp/refreshing flavor with little aftertaste or bitterness on the back-end.  This Helles delivered exactly that…though there was a little more bitter taste on the back-end than I expected, it was still very pleasant.

Without a doubt this would make a good cookout/tailgating beer.  It is something you can drink all day and it will easily quench your thirst.  If you like Helles style beers, give this one a go. I’m sure I’ll pick it up again in the future.

Ratings:
Sessionability: 6-pack. You could easily drink these all day in the summer.
Overall: 4-pack. Good, not great.  While I enjoyed it, and will likely pick it up again in the future when I’m craving a Helles style beer, I wasn’t “blown away” by it.
Would Best Be Consumed: Anytime.

Beer Review: Mt. Carmel Brewing Company – Stout

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Brewery: Mount Carmel Brewing Company
Beer Style: Stout
ABV: 6.7%
Size: 12 oz. bottle
Beer Advocate: 83
RateBeer: 93

This past weekend I made a 29.5 hour round trip to Minnesota and back to help my future brother-in-law move.  When we began the trip, I wasn’t sure that my body could take it, but I survived (despite being basically useless for the last few hours of the trip).  So, after a grueling Monday at work I was exhausted and looking forward to getting a good nights sleep for the first time in days.  If you’d think any of that was going to stop me from having a beer though, you’d be horribly wrong.  When I got off work, I wanted two things: a cold beer and to go to bed early. I only got one of the two – but it was the right one.

Mt. Carmel bills their stout as “black in color, our stout enters with a dark fruit aroma atop a thick light brown head as the crown of a chocolate malt body. The beer is balanced with hints of coffee and the intense flavor of roasted grains.”  The stout poured jet black with a medium brown head.  It smelled deliciously sweet and chocolatey with a prominent coffee aroma.  The first taste floods your palate with a sweet and citrusy taste that fades to chocolate and then coffee.  It finishes very smooth with a pleasantly sweet aftertaste.  I found Mt. Carmel’s Stout to be very good, and as it warmed up it became even better.

While I’ve been underwhelmed by a few of the Mt. Carmel beers I’ve tried, I really enjoyed this one and I’d certainly recommend it.  I’ll certainly be buying it again.

Ratings:
Sessionability: 4-pack. It’s a bit thick and heavy to drink all day, and the 6.7% ABV could be dangerous as well.
Overall: 5-pack. Delicious.  Not the best stout I’ve ever had, but very good.
Would Best Be Consumed: Would’ve been excellent with a good meal, but was very good by itself.  I wouldn’t drink it on a hot summer day, but would be good just about any other time.

Beer Review: Old Engine Oil Black Ale by Harviestoun

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Beer Name: Old Engine Oil

Brewery: Harviestoun
Beer style: Scottish Black Ale
ABV: 6%
IBU: Unknown
Size: 11.2 oz bottle
Beer Advocate Score: 91 (The Bros 100)
Rate Beer Score: 97

When you’re walking through the beer store and spot a beer label that lists “viscous” as one of its selling points, I’m pretty sure you’re morally obligated to try it. When I got it home and started looking up the ratings, I was very pleasantly surprised that I had happened upon such a highly rated beer.

Harviestoun Old Engine Oil Black Ale was named by original master brewer Ken Brooker because the black, viscous ale reminded him of gloopy engine oil he saw when he used to work for Ford Motor Company. While I don’t think the viscosity lives up to it’s billing, it’s certainly “roasty” and “chocolatey.”

Old Engine Oil poured smoother than I expected. When I noticed that it was not gaining any head to speak of, I poured faster just to see if I could make it produce some head.  I could not.  The picture above was taken mere seconds after the pour, and you can see there isn’t much there. You’ll also notice that it is straight-up black – just like the name would suggest.  I was disappointed in the viscosity (since that was my primary reason for buying it), but it was probably silly of me to have expected something like a syrup anyhow.

At first smell, I was extremely disappointed. There was a slight hint of chocolate and coffee, but not much.  I was even more disappointed when I tasted the beer – it was just watery with a bitter aftertaste.  Things turned around after about ten minutes of sipping on the beer, when it had warmed up some.  The smell turned into very sweet/chocolatey with a distinct coffee and fruit tone, and the taste turned into a very pleasant coffee and chocolate taste with a hint of citrus. The texture of the beer also seemed to change from watery to creamy and smooth.

All in all, I really liked this beer, though I don’t feel it lived up to the hype I expected from Beer Advocate and Rate Beer.  Both sites have pictures of different labels, and the BA picture distinctly says “Porter” instead of “Black Ale,” so I can’t help but wonder if there is some difference between what you can get on tap in the United Kingdom and what is exported to the United States.  If/when I make it back over to Europe, this is a beer I’ll be keeping an eye out for.

Ratings:

Sessionability: I give it a 4-pack. Despite my initial impressions, Old Engine Oil ended up being very good, though it did feel fairly heavy on my stomach once I was through the bottle.

Overall: I give it a 4-pack. I can certainly see myself buying this again, because I can’t help but wonder if I got an off bottle and/or if there is some difference between what I bought and what is listed/rated on Beer Advocate / Rate Beer. I found this to be very good, but not as good as BA and RB led me to believe.

Would be best consumed: I expected this to be a very heavy beer that you’d want with a meal and/or during a cold night, but it would be good for fall and spring as well. I wouldn’t want to drink it outside on a hot summer day.

Beer Review: More Brown than Black IPA – The Alchemist/Ninkasi/Stone

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Beer Name: More Brown than Black IPA

Breweries: The Alchemist/Ninkasi/Stone
Beer style: Black IPA
ABV: 7.4%
IBU: Unknown
Size: 12oz bottle
Beer Advocate Score: 91
Rate Beer Score: 98

Collaboration: n. A celebration of the community and culture of craft brewing.

The above definition may not be one that would be found on M-W.com but it’s the one on the neck of More Brown than Black IPA. All of this week we have been and will continue to talk about collaboration beers and the culture of craft brewing, but I can’t think of a story that more summarizes the helpful nature of the craft community than that of the More Brown than Black IPA. The story of this beerdates back to late August 2012, when Hurricane Irene was soaking the entire U.S. eastern seaboard. Hurricane Irene completely destroyed The Alchemist Brewpub and much of the area around it in Waterbury, Vermont. Upon hearing this, Ninkasi in Eugene, Oregon, and Stone of San Diego, California, decided to get together with The Alchemist to help the best way they knew how: by brewing beer. So with all of his equipment floating around in his basement brewery, John Kimmich of The Alchemist traveled to the west coast to brew a beer whose proceeds would go to help those impacted by Irene in his home town. To read a much more detailed account from The Weather Channel, click here.

The second best thing about this beer is that it is very, very good. The beer lives up to its name and pours a very dark brown color with about a finger of head. The nose finds a toasty malt sweetness with a beautiful bouquet of hop aromas, including pine, citrus, grass, and flowers. Upon sipping the tongue finds the perfect level of carbonation, giving this beer a very light feel. The taste starts off very sweet, but ends with end with a nice amount pithy hoppy bitterness that leaves you needing to take another sip. This need of another sip upon setting the glass down is one of the things I always seem to find in great IPAs.

This is a beer you probably won’t be able to find in the stores sadly, as it was released in December of 2011 and I haven’t heard of any plans to brew it again in the future. I normally wouldn’t review a beer you would have a very hard time finding,but I was saving one for a special occasion and the story was just too “craft beer” not to include in our collaboration week.

Ratings:

Sessionability: I give it a 5-pack. Even at 7%, this beer is so good and makes you feel so good that I would drink it until I passed out if I could.

Overall: I give it a 6-pack. I loved this beer the first time I had it on draft, I loved it the every time I have had it since, and I am sad I probably won’t ever have it again.

Would be best consumed: By itself while relishing every sip until the last drop of the last bottle is gone.

Beer Review: Bashah – Collaboration between Stone and Brew Dog

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Beer Name: Bashah

Brewery: Collaboration between Stone and Brew Dog (Scotland)
Beer style: Black Belgian Style Double IPA
ABV: 8.6%
IBU: Unknown
Size: 11.2oz (U.K.) bottle
Beer Advocate Score: 87
Rate Beer Score: 97

By this point you know it is Collaboration Week. You have probably noticed that Stone Brewery continues to pop up in our collaboration reviews. Stone, based out of California, is one of the more well known craft brewers in the United States. They are able to distribute all over the United States and beyond. Stone has had a great level of success, but still agrees to brew with lesser known breweries across the country. On this particular beer, they brewed across the pond! If I have not swayed you into believing that Stone is uber cool, consider this: Stone released a book with homebrew recipes for some of their best selling beers AND recipes for the most popular dishes in their brew pub. Any brewer could use their book to create a beer and call it their own, but they wouldn’t because as we have been explaining all week, that is not how craft beer works.

Another topic we have addressed is how breweries are willing to try something totally off the wall in the company of their friends. Bashah is off the wall. Black IPAs and Belgian Style IPAs have been growing in popularity, but I do not know of anyone else who has tried to combine them.

Okay, I will get to the review before I run out of beer in my glass. The beer pours like you would expect a Belgian-style anything to pour. A giant fluffy poof of sudsy goodness lingers for a few minutes. It lets off a Cascadian smell. I only got hops on the nose, but the smell was magnificent.  Before you taste this beer, put on your seatbelt because you are in for a wild ride. When it hits your tongue the taste is initially sweet. The taste seems like it may head to a chocolate place because of the solid malt background, but just when your palate is thinking chocolate, the hops hit. Light carbonation delivers a cascade hop assault on your mouth. It finishes bitter and dry like most normal Belgian IPAs. It leaves a sticky lace in the glass with every sip.

Overall this beer is magnificent. I am reviewing batch 357 which was released 12/19/10. I had this beer months ago and I do not remember it being this good; the aging has put it on another level. Anderson’s had more of the same batch that I bought and I highly suggest you procure some in the near to immediate future.

Ratings:

Sessionability: 4-pack. At almost 9% and with the complex character, I doubt you would want more than four at a sitting.

Overall: 6-pack. This is world class. Aged, it is unlike anything else I have tasted.

Would be best consumed: By itself.