Beer Name: Total Domination
Brewery: Ninkasi Brewing
Beer Style: Bourbon Barrel Aged Stout
ABV: 6.7%
Size: 22 oz. bottle (available in 12oz too)
Beer Advocate: 84
RateBeer: 95
We at Ohio Beer like to spread our wings and fly sometimes, these flights – whether they are ours or FedEx’s – sometimes bring with them beers from distant realms like this guy from Oregon. Watch it. Also for those checking it is 65 IBU. 
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
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
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 Name: Heady Topper
Brewery: The Alchemist
Beer Style: Double IPA
ABV: 8%
Size: 16 oz. can
Beer Advocate: 100 (CURRENTLY #1 overall)
RateBeer: 100 (currently #5 DIPA)
It’s been a while people and for that we apologize it won’t (ok… I hope it won’t) happen again. Between the holidays, NFL playoff games, kid, a gluten scare, work, school, vertigo, and life in general, we have been absent; but unlike your deadbeat dad we came back with that milk and those Marlboro Red Tops, or in our case, a brand new beer review. And we went BIG! Watch Below!
Brewery: Ballast Point
Beer style: IPA ABV: 7% IBU: 70 Size: 22 oz. Bottle Beer Advocate Score: 98 ( #49 on top 100)
I review Sculpin by Ballast Point
Ratings:
Sessionability: 5- Pack
Overall: 6-Pack
Would Best Be Consumed: I don’t know that there is a time that isn’t appropriate to enjoy this beer. If you can get your hands on it drink up!
Beer Name: Bohdi
Brewery: Columbus Brewing Co. (C-bus)
Beer style: Double IPA
ABV: 8.0%
IBU: N/A
Size: 64 oz ($19.50 including growler)
Beer Advocate Score: 96
Ratebeer: 96
DISCLAIMER: If public displays of affection make you a bit queasy, you are going to want to turn away because this is going to get gratuitous!
Early last month I saw this article from Alesheads which took raw ranking data from BeerAdvocate eliminated beers with 10 reviews or less and chose the best from each state. While it may not be the most scientific and all-encompassing way to reach conclusions, it does provide a great spark to get conversations rolling. Anyway this is what it said about Ohio:
Ohio – Columbus Brewing’s Bodhi DIPA: I was thinking Great Lakes would take the Ohio cup with something like their Blackout Stout, but nope…Columbus swooped in for the victory with their big, brash Bodhi. I haven’t had it, but it sounds like a tropical fruit-bowl of goodness.
After reading this I remember taking a break between sips while drinking with BubOhioBeer and saying something like, “I know that I have had Bodhi a while back and I remember liking it, but I don’t remember it blowing me away like some other Ohio beers have.” He agreed, and we proceeded to continue pickling our livers as we are known to do. But the article kept making questions ring out in my head. Could I have been wrong? Was I wasted when I had it? Or did I have a cold? Is it possible that on my search for great Ohio beers I somehow missed the best one in my own backyard? And it turns out that I AM AN IDIOT.
I don’t know exactly how to give this beer justice through a written review, so I will just try and write it as I experienced it. It was poured into a glass out of a tap (I also left with a growler that I drank later); it looked like a frothy tequila sunrise, bright yellow-orange at the top and transitioning to a reddish-orange at the bottom. As I sat for a second admiring the color at arms length, I noticed the slight smell of citrus. I pulled the beer to my nose. What started out as a cool island citrus breeze turned into an F5 tornado ripping through a Floridan orchard. This might be the single best smelling IPA I have ever had, with grapefruit, lemon, orange, tangerine, pineapple, and pine fighting for olfactory receptor real estate, like some fruit[ier] version of Tom Cruise in Far and Away.
So after my my nose was sufficiently colonized, I took a sip. Bodhi starts off with a nice malt sweetness that doesn’t last for long before the hop marches in, covering every inch of my mouth with the same hop flavors noted above, especially the grapefruit. As I swallowed, I felt the bitterness start to take hold and a grapefruit pith bitterness lingered for a bit. There are even some spice notes that can be found if you look for them. Bodhi has a very crisp and light mouthfeel as well.
As I have said before in my posts, one of the marks of a great IPA/DIPA – in my opinion – is that it almost forces you to come back for more; Bohdi might be the best example of this in any beer I have ever had. I drank two pints with dinner while in the pub, and then took a growler of it home (and to be honest, I considered buying two) which my wife and I finished with no problem at all two days later. I don’t know if I can say it’s the best beer I have ever had, as it is tough to rank IPAs with stouts or sours, but I can say it is on the short-list. I usually don’t like to admit when I am wrong but on this, I was very, very wrong; Bodhi is unequivocally a WOW beer.
Ratings
Sessionability: 6-pack. My wife and I polished off a growler on a Tuesday, and were disappointed we didn’t have any more to drink. The 8% isn’t enough to scare you off of this beer.
Overall: 6-pack. Like I said before, this is maybe the best beer I have had from Ohio. I have already given other Ohio brews the 6-pack, so it was kind of inevitable.
Would Best Be Consumed: Right in The-Heart-of-the-Heart-of-it-All: Columbus, Ohio.
So it was IPA day and I went out into my garage to get a holiday-appropriate brew and ran into a small issue. I grabbed AleSmith’s X, and I didn’t know right away whether it was an IPA or not. The bottle says it is an extra pale ale, but doesn’t give a classification beyond that. So after an internet search, I determined that it is, in fact, classified as an American pale ale. On any other day, the classification of a beer is just something I use to help me to select beers I might like and has very little impact on my thoughts on a beer. But today was IPA day and I needed an IPA. Fortunately I had AleSmith’s IPA in the fridge, so I was covered. This small ordeal got me thinking about what the differences between APAs and IPAs actually is. So I decided to do some research and share the information with you, because I am such a nice guy (and because it was an excuse to drink and review both of the beers).
So lets start with the APA. A quick summary of the BJCP style guide for the America Pale Ales basically says it should be a clear amber color, and should taste and smell of a strong hop aroma (usually citrus) and may have a little malt smell and taste too. IBUs should be in 30s or 40s, and it should be between 4.5% and 6.2% ABV. It gave some examples too, including: Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, Stone Pale Ale, Great Lakes Burning River Pale Ale. The top rated APA on Beer Advocate is Three Floyd’s Zombie Dust, a beer I love and have in my fridge.
The history of the APA dates back to the late 70s and early 80s in California when Sierra Nevada was brewing early versions of their pale ale and Anchor was brewing their Liberty Ale, depending on who you ask, following the English tradition but using American ingredients, especially hop varieties including Cascade and Columbus.
The BJCP style guide says an American (as opposed to English or Belgian) IPA should be gold or copper in color and should have an intense hop aroma consisting of citrus, flora, pine, and grass, with very light malty character. It should taste as hoppy as it smells, with a good amount of bitterness and clean subtle malt flavor. It should have 40-70 IBU and an alcohol content of around 6.5%. Some examples would be: Bell’s Two-Hearted Ale, AleSmith IPA, Great Divide Titan IPA. The top AIPA on Beer Advocate is Ballast Point’s Sculpin, another beer I love and currently have in the fridge.
Most of us have heard that IPAs came from a purposeful decision to brew a beer with more hops and more alcohol so that it would survive the long trip from England to India on a boat. This is not 100% accurate; people had been shipping all sorts of beer to India without it tasting horrible for years but the extra hops and higher alcohol helped IPAs, a beer type people had been enjoying in England for some time before they started shipping them to India, taste better when the beer got there. The truth of it is more a comment on new roasting techniques, logistics, and personal taste and is far less interesting. Here is a Wikipedia article that tells you more.
So, in summary, they share roots and are similar enough to have some potential areas for crossover. As a general rule, the AIPA should have more hops and more alcohol than the APA, while the APA should be a bit more sessionable. So if you are like me, into big bold flavors, IPAs are probably more our speed. If, however, you like to be able to sit and enjoy a six-pack of something refreshing, APAs are probably more up your alley.
Beer Name: AleSmith X
Brewery: Alesmith
Beer style: APA
ABV: 5.0%
Size: 22oz bottle
Beer Advocate Score: 89
Rate Beer Score: 96
It smells like sweet grapefruit or tangerine, with maybe a slight hint of grass as well as a bit of sweet malt. It starts of with sweet malt and citrus, but then finishes up with a nice clean, pithy bitterness with just a bit of residual sweetness. This beer is not big or bold, but as we learned it shouldn’t be; it is well balanced and very drinkable. I would say it fits in very well as an APA.
Ratings:
Sessionability: I give it a 5-pack. There is nothing offensive here and it is very crisp.
Overall: I give it a 4-pack. As I said I am a big fan of big and bold; if i was judging this for its style, it would get a 5.
Would be best consumed: Patio drinking, but not on IPA day.
Beer Name: AleSmith IPA
Brewery: AleSmith
ABV: 7.25%
Size: 22oz bottle
Beer Advocate Score: 95
Rate Beer Score: 99 (number one rated IPA)
It smells of floral and pine with a hint of citrus. There is not much malt character on the nose; its a hop party. This beer starts off very piney, but retains a bit of its malt sweetness for a good ten seconds after swallowing and then the bitter creeps up on you starting at the throat and works its way up to hit all of your mouth after maybe thirty seconds. This beer is big, hoppy, complex, and most of all delicious.
Ratings:
Sessionability: I give it a 4-pack. Even at 7%, this beer is so good that you are going to want a bunch.
Overall: I give it a 5-pack, pushing a 6. It is ultra complex and very tasty, but I have liked some other IPAs better.
Would be best consumed: On IPA day of course!
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 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.