Beer I've just tasted...

[jsaliga]

My favorite local liquor store just started to stock some selections from the Goose Island Beer Co. in Chicago. Honker's Ale is fashioned after the British bitters style, and having lived in the UK for a couple of years in the 1980s, spending a lot of time in Manchester, I became quite fond of bitters. So I decided to give this brew a try. One thing Honker's Ale had going for it is that it is relatively low ABV at 4.2%. I love the big heavy beers as much as the next person, but I can only have a couple of strong beers in an evening. Two 12oz double IPAs at 7% to 9% ABV will do it for me for the night. And sometimes I want to have a beer with a whisky, which means one double IPA and one dram is about it for me.

So I have been looking for a more sessionable beer that is low ABV but pretty flavorsome. I already have a few that I like, such as Samuel Adams Boston Lager and Samuel Smith's Nut Brown Ale. But a few more choices would be welcome.

Getting back to the Honker's Ale...I was rather unimpressed. The flavor was weak, and I found Sam Adams Boston Lager to be a better beer. While it has been many years since I have enjoyed a pint of real British bitters, Honker's Ale did not recall fond memories of enjoying the real thing or strike any distantly familiar flavor notes. So I don't think I will be buying this one again.

The next time I am at the liquor store I plan to pick up a six pack of Brooklyn Lager. At 5.2% ABV it is a little stronger than I would like for a session beer, but it has received some great reviews and it is low enough in strength that I could have 3 or 4 of these in a night and not get tipsy. I'll probably pick it up in a few days.

--Jerome

[jsaliga]

I can't get this at my local store and put it in an order from Merwins. This is really an excellent imperial stout. It's not as syrupy as Southern Tier's Blackwater series or Smuttynose Imperial Stout. It is 9.5% ABV, so it it's strong, but it is also quite drinkable. Big chocholate notes and roasted barley, with a little hoppiness swirling around in the background. This is one that I will order again. Highly recommended.

--Jerome

[ColSanders]

Real Ale Coffee Porter... should have bought another Six pack only 2 left

[Mark C]

Is the Belgian Style different from the standard Yeti or is that just a different label? We had the Yeti Stout in a while back and it was great stuff. Not quite my cup of tea - not anywhere near hoppy enough;) - but a rich, luxurious stout nonetheless.

[jsaliga]

According to the Great Divide Brewing website it uses Belgian yeast strains, imparting spicy and fruity notes to a traditional imperial stout flavor profile. I haven't tried any of the other Yeti stouts so I don't have a frame of reference for comparison, but the Belgian Yeti does seem to have a lot going on in the glass and I enjoyed it enough to buy it again.

If very big hoppy, piney, citruisy double IPAs are your thing then I am not aware of any imperial stout that will float your boat. I get some hoppy notes with a few of the imperial stouts, but they take on a decidedly secondary role as the focus with these beers are the huge roasted barley, chocolate, and coffee flavors.

I like them all. It's ironic because just a few months ago I didn't drink very much beer. Most of what I was used to was just too light and fizzy for me. I would enjoy the occasional Samuel Smiths Nut Brown Ale or Oatmeal Stout, but I didn't know very much about how craft brewing has taken off. It's been an interesting journey so far.

--Jerome

[jsaliga]

At the urging of a good friend I decided to give Sierra Nevada Torepdo another try. This bottle was very enjoyable and I can only conclude that the last bottle I had was bad. This bottle had nice hop bitterness and citruisy flavors I was expecting, but they are blanaced against some notes of malt sweetness. It's a hop forward beer to be sure, but it isn't what I would call a hop bomb. I also like that it is about half the price of competing IPAs. The 22oz bomber I picked up today was less than $4. Hard to argue with that. (EDIT: I bought a few more of these today and the price was $2.99 for a 24oz bomber -- great value!!)

--Jerome

[jsaliga]

Wow, this is some very hoppy, bitter beer. It is also quite tasty. I will definitely buy it and enjoy it from time to time, but it is a little too bitter to have as a regular drinking ale. So far my favorite daily drinking brew is Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA, and Stone IPA is probably a close second.

--Jerome

[Peat Sampras]

I was in London this week and was pleased at the choice of glass beer bottles in commercial outlets such as Tesco or Sainsbury's, all pint or half litre of the following:

- Fullers London Pride: Good stuff
- Old Speckled Hen: Faboulous
- Badgers Ale: The Fursty Ferret: My favorite, some citrussy notes galore
- Mc Ewans Champion: surely ok but not my cuppa
- Spitfire Kentish Ale: an old all time favorite, oldest brewery in Britain
- Newcastle Brown Ale: another all time favorite. I learned from the blurb that the Geordies called it the "Dog" and said to their wifes "I am gannin to see a man about a dog" or "I am taking the dog for a walk" as an excuse to sample a pint of their favorite beer

All beers were around 2 quid a bottle, good value methinks.

[jsaliga]

Another great beer from Lagunitas. Little Sumpin' Sumpin' Ale (you gotta love the names some of these craft brewers hang on their products ) is a "wheated" IPA. It is very hop forward but there are also some fruity notes in this beer. I get pineapple and pears, in addition to the hoppy citrus. It's a strong brew at 7.5% ABV.

--Jerome

[C57]

A couple of Slaters' ales on draught - Top Totty (recently banned from the Houses of Parliament because of the bunny girl on the pump clip ) and Slaters Premium - excellent!

[Peat Sampras]

recently banned from the Houses of Parliament because of the bunny girl on the pump clip

Stiff upper lip?

[Mr Tattie Heid]

Fluffy White Rabbits Hoppy Triple from the Pretty Things brewery of Massachusetts. Here's what the Boston Globe said about it this morning:

Fluffy White Rabbits

It would be a challenge to anoint any of the beverages made by Pretty Things Beer & Ale Project as its best, but Fluffy White Rabbits is surely a contender. The annual spring release from the Somerville-based brewer is a magnificent beer.

Straw colored with a quickly dissipating head, it emits an aroma boasting citric hops, bananas, apricots, and Belgian candi sugars. This is a generously hopped tripel. Grapefruit and floral notes spill forth on the tongue, along with a tinge of sweetness. Despite all the hops, it’s not one iota bitter. Superb.

Fluffy White Rabbits is 8.5 percent alcohol. A 22-ounce bottle costs about $8.

All I'll add is that it's wonderfully soft and lush.

[C57]

Shalford - Braintree Market Ale (4.0%)
Cottage Bewery - Diamond Sovereign ale (4.6%)

[jsaliga]

Smuttynose Big A IPA is like no other beer I have tried. For one, it is bottle conditioned so this is a cloudy beer and you can see lots of particles floating around in the glass. Secondly, it doesn't smell like most IPAs I have tried. I get some assertive hops, but I also get some aromas that I would not normally associate with an IPA...or any beer. It has a fruitiness to the smell...canned pears and passion fruit. Flavor wise...wow!! It's a hop bomb that is tempered with a nice malt backbone. This is a big, almost syrupy beer. Very creamy mouthfeel. Virtually no carbonation (either that or the beer is so heavy the bubbles cannot escape from the bottom of the glass).

All that said I am really enjoying this beer. But like the Lagunitas Hop Stoopid I don't think I would want it all the time. And at 9.6% ABV you aren't going to be drinking a lot of them anyway. The four pack I bought was several months old, and I suspect this would be better if it were a little fresher.

--Jerome

[jsaliga]

This is an excellent Imperial Russian Stout. I picked up a case of 22oz bottles. At 10.5% ABV it will cellar just fine for a few years or more.

--Jerome

[jsaliga]

Smuttynose IPA is unfiltered and is therefore a little cloudy in the glass. It's a great tasting IPA, with a big hop bite. I think it would be a little better if it had a more balanced flavor profile, but this is a beer that I will gladly return to again.

--Jerome

[ColSanders]

Just picked up two bottles o the 2012... sadly in my vertical from 2009-2012 I'm missing a 2010... The 2011 I had with my old exec chef after 11 extra months was devine!

[Rogerdodger]

Was in Belgium at the weekend and had a fantastic Orval and a superb Chimay Bleu.

[jsaliga]

If you are a fan of hop forward beers then stay away from this, or any other beer from Innis & Gunn. This is malt forward beer, is very sweet, and there is not a trace of hops to be found. That doesn't mean it is bad beer. I quite like the Rum Cask and Irish Whisky Cask aged beers, but they are not the sort of beers I want to be chugging down all of the time. They are nice to have for the occasional change of pace, and also provide something good to serve guests who are put off by the big hop profile of the typical IPA.

I do have one complaint about Innis & Gunn: the clear bottles have got to go.

--Jerome

[solera]

Daleside Monkey Wrench 5.3% - local and excellent dark ale

[C57]

Slater's "Monkey Mild"
Hoggley's "Kislingbury"
Nethergate "Flaming Dame"
Moles "Barley Mole"
Oxfordshire Ales "Diamond Jubilee Ale"
Shardlow (Reverend Eaton's"
Black Country Ales "Fireside Bitter"

And finally Westons Old Rosie Cider at 7.3%. Nice and cloudy. Lovely (for a Somerset boy)

All in the pub next door which has a Beer Festival over the Jubilee weekend.
There are more I haven't got to yet...

[solera]

Slater's "Monkey Mild"
Hoggley's "Kislingbury"
Nethergate "Flaming Dame"
Moles "Barley Mole"
Oxfordshire Ales "Diamond Jubilee Ale"
Shardlow (Reverend Eaton's"
Black Country Ales "Fireside Bitter"

And finally Westons Old Rosie Cider at 7.3%. Nice and cloudy. Lovely (for a Somerset boy)

All in the pub next door which has a Beer Festival over the Jubilee weekend.
There are more I haven't got to yet...

Now, that sounds like a very good weekend!

[Onefortheditch]

Belhaven Black and Cairngorm Black Gold – both new (I think?) and both Scottish stouts. They are really nice – so welcome from me!!

[Onefortheditch]

I do have one complaint about Innis & Gunn: the clear bottles have got to go.

--Jerome

I personally have no complaints about Innes & Gunn.

[jsaliga]

Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout really delivers. Big roasted malt, big chocolate, and a touch of hop bitterness. It compares very favorably to Southern Tier Chokolat, Stone Russian Imperial Stout, and Smuttynose Imperial Stout. It's a big beer at 10% ABV so you want to take it easy with these. It's a winter seasonal and I was lucky that my local liquor store was able to get a case for me just a few weeks ago.

--Jerome