Saranac Hefeweizen

So for those who didn't know, the past few weeks I have been out of town so the posts have been automated. This post is included in that. I've been travelling in Europe and finished up my trip in Las Vegas with some friends. I set these posts up in advanced so I wouldn't have to worry about the blog while I was out of the country. Don't worry though, I took notes on all the beers I tried while I was away (especially in Ireland!)

This week, I have another of Saranac's beers from their Summer Sampler. This one was the Hefeweizen because I needed a break from all IPAs I've been drinking. Seriously, that many hops can kill a girl. Plus, I do have a soft spot for wheat beers.

The beer poured a gold color with some cloudiness. There was a thin, white head that dissipated rather quickly. There was some nice lacing as the beer moved down the glass. The nose was very bready with a few light citrus notes. The flavor had a strong banana notes with mild spiciness and just a bit of the bread that was in the nose. The finish was nice and clean.

Overall, a very nice beer. A good example of the style, in my opinion, though not the best I've ever had. I would recommend it to any one looking for a beer at the end of a long day. 

Shock Top Wheat IPA

A few weeks ago, my friends and I went out to celebrate my roommate moving in. We went to a local favorite, Junior's, for some food and a few drinks before really heading out for the night. Junior's has a great deal where they feature a brewery and put a few of their beers on special for the month. This month the brewery was Shock Top. The bottles of the Wheat IPA and Raspberry Wheat were the particular specials when we were there so I had the Wheat IPA.

I really have been getting into different IPAs lately, see the last few posts if you don't believe me. I think that, when done correctly, they are a very nice beer. I still have a hard time when the brewer has been too heavy handed with hops. I'm also a big fan of wheat beers. With how smooth they are and how generally refreshing they are, I find that they are among some of my favorite beers. The combination of the two was something to look forward to in my mind. 

I wasn't given a glass so I couldn't get a proper read on the color but I'm pretty sure it would be a solid gold color with some haze. There was a solid hop nose with a slight hint of citrus. The beer itself was a bit sweeter than I expected. It had a strong bready flavor to it as opposed to the hops that I was expecting considering it was an IPA. The finish was clean and pleasant. 

While it wasn't exactly what I was expecting, it was a good wheat beer. I'm not sure I would give it the credit of being a full IPA considering that it was lacking the hop flavor that I was expecting. Not as good as it could have been, but a good try nonetheless. 

Saranac Rye IPA

So as I mentioned in an earlier post, I purchased Saranac's 12 Beers of Summer pack which gives you 6 different beers to try. The next few blog posts will likely be about them as I had never had most of the beers in the pack before. This post is about their Rye IPA.

A Rye IPA is when the brewer replaces a portion of the grains with rye instead. The proportion is usually somewhere between twenty and thirty percent depending on the recipe but on various websites I've seen people say they put as much as forty to fifty percent of the grain to rye. They tend to have a spicier flavor to them from the rye and can be very startling the first time you try them if you aren't expecting it.

The beer poured a hazy, deep gold color with a bright white head. I didn't get much of a head but it did seem to stay with the beer as I drank it. There was very little lacing on the glass as I drank this beer. The nose was very spicy with quite a few hop notes to it. The flavor was pleasantly spicy with a welcome burn as you got to the hop notes. It was nicely balanced with a few malt notes toward the end. The finish was nice and clean with just a bit of a lingering burn.

A very nice beer though not something I would necessarily associate with summer considering the spice of it.

Thomas Neeson's SMaSH IPA

A good friend of mine started homebrewing about a year and a half ago. I've tried some of his beer and it is quite good. He's a grad student up in Vermont studying Education and he is a talented musician as well. He doesn't have a brewing website yet but as soon as there is something I will put a link in here.

The most recent batch he gave me to try was an all-grain brew of an IPA that was dry hopped. This was his first all-grain brew and he had been doing extract brews before that. For those who don't know what that means: extract brewing means that you are brewing using prepackaged malt extract where as in all-grain brewing, you are creating the extract yourself by creating the extract yourself by mashing different grains to create the wort.

The beer poured a hazy, gold color with a thin white head. There wasn't very good retention of the head and very little lacing in the glass as the beer was consumed. The nose was surprisingly mild for a dry hopped IPA but there were still a few hop and citrus notes to be found. The beer was very much a full bodied IPA with a lot of good hop flavor with some nice, light lemon notes as well. The finish of the beer was a lingering of the hop bitterness which left you wanting more of the beer.

A great example of DIY in the beer industry, this was very much a successful homebrew.

Saranac Blueberry Blonde Ale

So I was without internet for awhile as I moved into my new apartment but I didn't stop taking notes or trying new beers. One that made a particular impression on me was from Saranac's 12 Beers of Summer Pack, Saranac Blueberry Blonde Ale. Now in the past, I had found one of their seasonal beers a bit strong for my taste but one of my friends was raving about it so I decided to try it. Also, I was still on the hunt for the mystery blueberry beer that I HAVE FOUND and will review at a later date.

The beer poured a hazy, gold color with a bright white head. The head had good retention throughout and there was some excellent lacing. The nose of the beer had some very strong blueberry notes with just a hint of some citrus. Normally, this sort of nose is the hint of bad things to come but the flavor was pleasantly mild. It had a very nice blueberry flavor that was well balanced with a touch of hop and citrus notes. The finish was very mellow with a bit of blueberry lingering at the very end.

This beer is available, as I said, in the 12 Beers of Summer Pack but also in its own 6 pack if you want just this one. I highly recommend it.

Franklin's Brewery

A few weeks ago was the Family Hootenanny where we sat around most of a Saturday, drank beer, talked, played music and were generally awesome. My cousin Emma and her boyfriend Paul brought up some beers from their local brewery, Franklin's Brewery, for me to try. I'll probably do a more formal review when I go to visit this summer but for a sampling of what this brewery has to offer, I figure this is a good start.

First one up was the Anacostia Ale. The beer was a deep copper color with a cream colored head. The nose was very well balanced between hops and malt with a few very light citrus notes. The flavor reflected the nose with a bit of a pleasant hop bite. The finish was smooth and refreshing with the sweetness of the malt lingering just a bit.

The second beer I tried was the 10th Anniversary Ale. This one poured a hazy gold color with a bright white head that had a good retention throughout. This was also a very well balanced beer though much more mellow than the Anacostia. The nose was mild and citrusy. The flavor was a good balance between good bready malts and nice, light hop notes. It was a lingering finish.

Overall, I think this was a great sampling from a small brewery. I would love to get the chance to try more and hope to do so soon!

Deadwood Nut Brown Ale

This weekend my parents and I went to Boston to see the Red Sox play the Orioles. We stayed at a Comfort Inn not too far from downtown. Inside the inn, there were signs for a Deadwood Cafe and Brewery so, being me, I twisted everyone's arm into going.

When we arrived, the place wasn't exactly what we expected. It was in a bowling alley but who am I to judge? This could be some fantastic beer that no one knows about. Unfortunately, this was not the case.

They were out of their stout but the replacement offering was a nut brown ale so I ordered that. On the website, it's described as a blend of a Pilsner and a Stout. The beer came out a dark brown, nearly black color. There was a small head that was cream to white in color but it dissipated very quickly to a very thin layer of foam. The nose was muted but a few floral and hop notes were present. The flavor was thin and overhopped for the style of beer. It was nearly identical to my dad's IPA in the amount of hoppiness. It was very disappointing since malty beers are my favorite and that's what this was supposed to be in part. There was no real aftertaste which was good but the beer overall was lacking. I'm sorry to say I won't be recommending this to anyone because I wouldn't want them to face the same disappointment that I faced here. 

Buffalo Bill's Blueberry Oatmeal Stout

The quest for the elusive blueberry beer I had two summer ago continues. This time I decided to get out of the ales and try a stout. Unfortunately, it still wasn't a success in finding the magical purple beer but in any case, this one was still very good. Buffalo Bill's Brewery was the source of our most recent blueberry beer in the form of their Blueberry Stout. 

Their label held a lot of promise for my search which is why I bought it. I mean, look at all the berries on the label! Needless to say, that while the beer wasn't purple, it certainly did not disappoint in blueberry flavor. Even though this wasn't the beer I was looking for, I would certainly look for it again. 

Dad wanted to be fancy since it was a tulip glass

I poured the beer into a tulip glass from the Spiegelau collection that I have. The beer poured a deep brown, nearly black, color with a tan head that dissipated rather quickly. The nose of the beer was full of blueberry notes with just a hint of toasted malts and chocolate. The flavor matched the nose wonderfully with the classic stout flavor standing up wonderfully to the sweetness of the blueberries. The finish was clean with no real flavor lingering. There were a few hints of chocolate. The beer was remarkably smooth with little carbonation. It was overall a very good experience. As I said earlier, I strongly recommend this to anyone who enjoys both blueberries and oatmeal stouts. 

New Planet Off Grid Pale Ale

So for this post I did something a little different. My mom recently found out she is gluten intolerant. She, like many of us, enjoyed a good beer from time to time but no longer can. I've been on a bit of a mission to find a decent gluten free beer and this one caught my eye on my last trip to the beer store.

New Planet's Off Grid Pale Ale boasted a higher hop rating from the store I was in than other beers I usually drink. So considering they also boast being a gluten free beer, I was very much intrigued. I bought two, one for myself and one for my mom to see if it satisfied her craving for real beer. Neither of us were disappointed. 

As you can see, the beer is a dark amber color and poured with a nice, cream colored head. The nose was light but fruity with a few malt notes evident across it. The mouth feel was very similar to a regular beer. It wasn't thin like some other gluten free beers I've had. The flavor was what really sold it though. While not identical to beer, it did bear a strong resemblance to beer. It had a hoppy, slightly bitter flavor to it with a strong hop finish. There was a slightly unpleasant aftertaste to it but it wasn't unpalatable. It was on par with a normal beer's finish. So for any one out there looking for a good gluten free beer, I would strongly recommend this one. 

I found it at Half-Time Beverage store in Poughkeepsie, NY. It was $2.59 a bottle which is on the pricey end for beer for them but definitely worth it as an alternative to regular beer for those who can't have. 

Brooklyn Summer Ale

So life got a little crazy these past few months and despite the fact that I tried some wonderful beers, I just didn't have the time to write about them. Things are calming down now so we're going to try to start things up again here.

About a week ago, my sister and I were on our way to get some beer for a party we were going to when we got distracted by a display of this year's summer beers. Among them were several cases of Brooklyn Brewery's Summer Ale which we scrambled to purchase. This is a beer we both enjoy a great deal and look forward to every year.

Brooklyn's Summer Ale is an English style Pale Ale which tends to have more malt notes than its American and Indian counterparts. Brooklyn's holds true to this in the actual flavor of the beer. I put this beer into my standard pint glass and it poured a gold color with a bright white head. The nose of the beer was hoppy and floral with just a hint of fruitiness. The flavor of the beer was surprisingly mild with a good mixture of hop and malt notes. There was a bit of citrus to it as well giving it a very crisp texture. The finish was clean and left you looking for more.

A very solid beer, in my opinion, that is accessible to both people who enjoy and do not enjoy the hoppy IPAs. A great start to summer and I look forward to continuing this blog for awhile to come.

Smuttynose Star Island Single

So for Christmas this year, I asked for fancy beer glasses because I was trying to be a little bit cooler this year. Put the beers I try in the correct type of glass when I try them to give them a proper chance when I review them. The set I picked out was from Spiegelau and my aunt got them for me from Amazon. I got them about a week and a half ago and was very excited to use them. Turns out, the jokes on me and I put this beer in the wrong glass, but alas, I digress.

Last week I had the opportunity to try a beer from Smuttynose Brewing Co., their Star Island Single. This is a Session Ale. I've also seen it listed as a Belgian Pale ale and at first glance, tomato tomato (which works much better when said aloud). However, after a bit of research I discovered that session ales are beers that are very drinkable with an alcohol content that is below 5.0% ABV. This definition disqualifies Star Island Single as a session ale by just a touch as its alcohol content is 5.1% ABV. Almost only counts in horseshoes and hangrenades, after all. The other part of the definition, however, is a beer that is well balanced in both malt and hops making it very drinkable to all parties. In this, Star Island Single succeeded.

This beer, on a whole, was unoffensive. I don't like coriander much as a spice and I could definitely tell coriander was used in this beer so it took away from what could have been a perfectly fine session ale for me. The beer poured a very pale gold color with a bright white head. The new glass I used was the lager glass instead of the tulip glass which was a rookie mistake (I'm sorry). The glass did show off some very nice lacing of the head, which was well retained throughout the beer's duration. The nose was very yeasty with some light floral and citrus notes. The flavor of the beer was very well balanced. It drinks a bit like a pilsner. It was also very yeasty and the coriander notes were evident here in the citrus notes of the beer. The finish was clean, no flavors really lingered.

Sorry for the fuzziness, it didn't look like this on the camera

As we all know, I can take forever to finish a beer. This beer was the same in flavor from start to finish with no remarkable changes as the beer warmed up. Overall, it was a solid beer. I didn't particularly care for it because of the coriander but I think its a very accessible beer otherwise. This beer I bought at Half-Time Beverages of Poughkeepsie. Their address is linked in the location and their website is in the name.

Magic Hat Encore

I want to apologize for the lack of blogging lately. I've been uninspired lately, for lack of a better word. Beer, while still my drink of choice, was just not making me want to scream from the rooftops about it lately. It has been a very sad two months of uninspiring and lackluster beer. Fortunately, all that changed two weeks ago when I went to visit a couple of my friends up in Vermont.

My friend Tom deserves a lot of credit for this blog because without a lot of his pestering, I wouldn't be drinking a great deal of the beers that I have tried. I'm sure of this because I really hated hops not too long ago and now I think they're all right, most of the time at least. I went and stayed with him and Jess exactly two weeks ago and we went to Burlington to visit Magic Hat in Burlington, VT. The brewery is fantastic, I highly recommend a visit. I did not bring my camera with me, and I wasn't particularly looking to review the brewery at that time with the lack of inspiration and all; but if you get the chance, don't pass it up. You get four free samples and that choice was one of the hardest I've had to make in awhile.

When I was there they had their Encore on tap. Encore was one of their IPAs on tour and made with the ever hard to find Simcoe hops. I've said it once and I'm sure I'll say it until it's no longer true, I don't like beers that are too heavy handed on the hops. I have a hard time with very bitter beers and was extremely hesitant to try it given that it's even dry hopped. That being said, I bought a six pack to bring home and formally review before I left the state.

The name of this beer was most certainly deserved. It needs an encore for its encore. The beer is a wonderful blend of both genres it represents. It is an American Wheat IPA. It is simultaneously hoppy and yeasty which generally seem to be contradictory flavors in most beers. I brought this beer home because I knew my dad would enjoy it and tonight was that night.

The beer poured a rich, deep gold color that was a bit cloudy. The head was white and had very good retention throughout the course of drinking the beer. The nose has a lot of good hop notes to it but there is a bit of a bready undertone to it as well. Overall, both are very subtle and not very scary in the least. The flavor is the most remarkable part of this beer. It is a bit hoppy but in a way that doesn't make the beer inaccessible to people who don't like that quality in a beer. It isn't bitter, there are little to no pine notes which generally are what drive me away from a beer. There is a hint of mango, which I was told by one of the gentlemen at the brewery and will freely admit that I probably would have been driven mad by the unnamed flavor in the beer. This note, I was told, comes from those Simcoe hops that are so desired by brewers. The finish is bright and leaves you wanting more.

This beer is truly a delight in every way. The price of $8.99 for the six pack was more than doable considering the quality of the beer. I do feel the need to say that the best part was what was under the caps. I hadn't noticed it on the first one I had of the six pack but when I uncapped the second I saw a saying on the cap so I arranged our caps for a photo op. I'll be sure to update this when I uncap the other two from the pack.

So happy 2012, everyone! Raise your glasses to a bright new year!