Samuel Smith Oatmeal Stout

For those of you who may have missed it, there was a small storm that hit the eastern seaboard of the United States this weekend. My family and I are okay, all in one piece with no major damage. The storm hit Sunday so of course on Monday, it was time go to work.

Unfortunately, my path to work was terrifying, there were sinkholes in the road the size of office desks. My path home for the evening was not so clear so I stayed at a friend's house who happened to live near work. A decision was quickly made that dinner needed to occur so of course, there was some drinking. We went to Max's on Main and since my last few beers have been domestic, I managed to find an import that looked interesting and this one most certainly did not disappoint.

Samuel Smith's Oatmeal Stout. This beer is vegan and, as seen on their website, brewed by Yorkshire, England's oldest brewery. The well they get their water from is still the original well used by the brewery from 1758. This information, along with fact that I generally enjoy stouts, made me very nearly giddy that the roads home were closed.

This beer, unlike others I have tried, did not disappoint. It poured nearly jet black with a thin, cream colored head that dissipated quickly. The smell was sweet with malt notes and the flavor matched with hints of dark chocolate. The finish had the chocolate lingering along with some hints of coffee. While it was $6 for the bottle, the price is about average for the area when the beer is an import and undoubtedly worth it. I would highly recommend this beer to anyone, even if you don't like stouts because the flavor was so smooth and so rich that it should be tried at least once if given the opportunity.

Sierra Nevada Pale Ale

I know, I know. Two pale ales in a row. I promise this is just a coincidence. It was lying around the house and I figured since I've never tried it before, why not? What harm could possibly be done? It would seem that it has, in fact, officially made me a convert. I have started to truly enjoy hoppy beers. I don't know if it's long term but for now it is definitely a truism.

Tonight's selection is Sierra's Nevada's Pale Ale. Sierra Nevada got started in 1979. Their Pale Ale that I am reviewing is considered to be their most popular, and it's easy to see why. Their brewery is located in Chico, California.

A game of where's the arm perhaps?

In our house, Friday is traditionally pizza, beer and baseball night. Today, however, I would rather not discuss baseball and the pizza was rather unextraordinary. Plus this blog is about beer so I guess we should go with that anyway. The bottle design is beautiful and highly decorative. As I tend to pick out beers, even in my own home, based on this, this is a definite plus.

The bottle cap/opener arrangement brought to you by my dad (featured in this post's first picture)

The beer poured slightly darker than yesterday's Harpoon IPA but still a gold color. There was a reddish tint to it, giving the beer an almost strawberry blonde appearance. The head was thin and bright white. It dissipated quickly with the exception of a thin ring around the edge of the beer's surface. The beer had a rather floral smell to it with a strong citrus flavor to it. This was not quite as bitter, nor as strongly hoppy as the IPA but it's not supposed to be. It was a great beer to try even if it was carbonated like soda which is a little strong for a beer.

The flavor of the beer stuck around long after it was finished in a clean, hoppy finish. The price is a little high when you consider that it's a domestic beer. However, when you consider that it runs about the same price as Yuengling, it isn't too bad and it more than holds up against any other beer out there. It is thoroughly enjoyable and very refreshing, especially in the calm before the storm that is sure to be Hurricane Irene.

Harpoon IPA

Now I know what you're thinking. She doesn't like hoppy beers, why is she drinking an Indian pale ale? It was the special last night, to be honest, and I hadn't had it on tap before so I thought I'd give it another shot. A friend of mine and I went to Friday's for appetizers and drinks last night because I was being stubborn and wasn't hungry for real food.

I would like to say that I wasn't skeptical. I would like to say that I was terribly gung-ho about the opportunity to once again give hoppy beers another chance, but I wasn't. I was being cheap and it ended up being a pale ale. So I got it and was a bit hesitant but fortunately, I was pleasantly surprised by my own reaction.

This particular one was made by Harpoon Brewery. This brewery opened in 1986 and currently has two locations, Boston, MA and Windsor, VT. Their IPA is one of seven year round brews made by the company.  According to their website, their IPA is modeled after the original English IPA that was created to bring beer over to America in the unrefrigerated vessels available way back when.

Hops: Perhaps the former bane of my existence? 

I took a few sips, not really believing that I was enjoying this hoppy beer. Who was I? What was wrong with me? No matter what the question was, the answer always seem to come back to "It doesn't matter, this is delicious." The beer was hoppy, as IPAs are. It was a very light beer, that is to say it didn't feel like it was filling me up like some of the other beers I enjoy. The finish was clean though very bitter and hoppy in flavor. It lingered in the mouth much like the Hop Sun but dissipated much faster.  

As the picture shows, though not very well, the beer was very light gold and when poured from the draft it had a nice, bright, white head on it. The price was perfect for what we were doing at $4 for a pint but it was on special that night. I would undoubtedly drink this again, even if it wasn't on special. Does this make me a convert? Not necessarily. Does it make me want to try other hoppy beers and see how I like them? Absolutely. 

Dogfish Head Raison D'Etre

Raison d'être \ˌrā-ˌzōⁿ-ˈdetr^ə\: a French phrase meaning "reason to be" or "reason for existence" 

Now, no matter what you are making, calling your product the reason to be or the reason for existence is a tall order to fill. It is ambitious and puts the bar very high to begin with. The question stops being is this any good and quickly becomes does this live up to its name. 

I found this beer on my most recent journey to my favorite beer store (which at this point I feel deserves a solid mention so the details on the location of this magical land will be at the bottom of the post for those of you located in the Hudson Valley area) I had a difficult time deciding on a beer. I didn't want to start being a one note horse and get the delightful malty beer that was recommended to me by the owner when I bought the Celebrator Dopplebock at my last visit. So I wandered and wandered and my sister finally decided it was time for us to leave so I threw up a Hail Mary. 

I had heard a lot about Dogfish Head and nothing but good things from everyone who spoke of it plus this beer was labelled American Beer of the Year so I figured it was only good journalism to buy it. At this point, I had no idea what the beer's name meant but even so, I was excited to try something new. 

My friend translated it for me and immediately, my outlook on the beer changed. The bar had been raised and  now not only was this the American Beer of the Year but it was reason to be. Who wouldn't be thrilled to try something like this? 


I did my usual research and as it turns out this beer was created to go with a wood-grilled steak according to the brewery. Made with Belgian yeast and brewed with green raisins and Belgian beet sugars, the intention of this beer was to be paired with steak and invoke the feelings of good Bordeaux wines. The brewery's website instructed me to drink it out of a snifter or goblet. Upon going through the glasses available to me, I couldn't find a glass goblet or snifter but there was a plastic one so I poured. The result was disastrous looking so I quickly switched the beer to a pint glass. 
  

Much nicer looking beer, I promise

As can be seen, the beer was a deep reddish-brown color with a good head on it. The head didn't last long but that may have been because of the inappropriate glass I was using. The smell of the beer was very sweet, the grapes and sugar were very apparent and smelled a bit like candy. Now, this beer is 8% ABV which is a lot stronger than most beers that you can get in your grocery store. While I do enjoy strong beers, as with the Dopplebock and, my current personal favorite, La Fin Du Monde, the taste of alcohol in this beer is strong, bordering on unpleasant when it's cold and nearing the taste of whiskey if it sits too long. You can, of course, still taste the grapes and I think if the beer's alcohol content was just a smidge lower, it would be a very enjoyable brew. The price, while not terribly steep, was too much for me to ever consider trying this beer again at $11.99 a six-pack. Overall, I would say this beer does not live up to its name. It set the bar high and it seems as though instead of going over it, it runs right into it. 


 Now for the beer store location:

Beverage Plus II
15 South Street
Warwick, NY 10990-1325  
(845) 986-8855     

Southern Tier's Hop Sun

I bring to you today, a beer that is very unique. It is the summer seasonal beer from the Southern Tier Brewing Company called Hop Sun. It is a relatively young brewery being in operation since 2002, located in Lakewood, NY. Despite it's recent start, it has already garnered national attention and is distributed to many states.

Look at the pretty bottle!

I can't, and won't, take credit for picking out this beer. My sister noticed it on my first trip to my favorite beer store so I bought it. It is listed as an American Wheat Ale on Southern Tier's website but it is unlike any other American Wheat Ale I have tried. The box boasts that it's brewed with three different types of malts but based on its appearance, you wouldn't know it.

Pretty gold color hiding delicious malts? 

This beer doesn't fall into my typical category either. Because while it has a delicious malt taste at the beginning, the finish is all hops. The finish is not too bitter though which is something I find to be characteristic of hoppy beers which is why I think I enjoy it so much. The beer itself is sweet and citrusy with a good amount of carbonation. The head was good with the pour for dissipated fairly quickly. The hops finish lingers in the mouth a long while making the beer last. Aside from the finish, however, you wouldn't be able to tell the color of this beer just by the taste I think.

The price isn't too bad either. For a six pack, I paid $9.99. Taking into consideration this is a seasonal brew, I find the price to be completely reasonable. It's a little more expensive than other similar styles of beer but considering the complexity, I'd say the price increase is well worth it.

Celebrator Doppelbock

I do like to think, at least for the most part, that I am fearless when it comes to trying new beers. Yes, I read the labels and see what it is before actually buying a pack of any kind but for the most part I'll buy a beer even if I have no real idea what I'm in for. Luckily, I have a beer store where the owner will point me in the direction I need to be. On my most recent trip, I discovered a beer with an interesting label. There was a goat on either side of a goblet of beer.

Who's going to win here? Beer lovers

Being a visual person, I was intrigued and happily brought the four pack to the front to be rung up. The owner asked to see if I enjoyed malty beers before he sold it to me. After confirming my love of such beverages, he pointed a few out to me to try the next time I come in. I went home, excited to try my new beer. Today, in celebration of International Beer Day, I did as such.

Celebrator in celebration!

In addition to having a beautifully designed label, you get a free goat charm and who doesn't like free things?

Look how cute!

But seriously, this beer is well worth trying. Lacking a proper stemmed glass, I poured the beer into a pint glass. The beer was nearly black in color with red highlights when the light hit it. There was very little head in the beer but in pictures of it on the brewery's website, a good frothy head is shown. I don't know if this is because of how I poured it or if the beer wasn't at the right temperature or some other extraneous variable made it incapable of producing such.

Now, admittedly, I am strongly biased for malty beers. I'm not a very big fan of pale ales or very hoppy tasting beers. They are not without merit but I do prefer my beer to be heavy on the malt. That being said, this beer was delicious. It had a good malty aroma to it that stayed with the beer through the whole drinking experience and only developed a more toasty note toward the end. There was a good texture to the beer. It wasn't too heavy in spite of it's color and I feel that needs to be said as I find some friends shy away from a beer based on its looks without trying it. It had a good sweet flavor to it, sweet being relative for a beer. The finish of it was toasty with a coffee, very nearly chocolate taste to it.

However, despite all of the good qualities of this beer, the price was very steep running $14.99 for a four pack. I would likely buy it again for a special occasion but not for just anything. Overall, the beer was worth trying, without a doubt, but perhaps not for the price. I do believe that I'll try to check out the maker of this beer, the Ayinger Brewery when I travel to Europe next summer.