Otto's Arthur's Imperial Red Ale

I went to Otto's Pub and Brewery in State College with some friends the other day, and I wound up getting Arthur's Imperial Red Ale, mainly because it was one of the few beers on tap that I haven't tried yet, and I was in the mood for something different -- I haven't tried a new beer in close to a week, so I was jonesing for different.  Normally I'm pretty good about remembering to take pictures, but it slipped my mind.

Vittles:
Specialty Beer
6.9% abv

Score:
Appearance: 8/10
Aroma: 20/25
Taste: 36/40
Mouthfeel: 8/10
Style: 5/5
Drinkability: 7/10
Overall: 84/100

Impression:
I had this beer on tap.  It was a mildly hazy coppery-caramel color, and the little head that remained by the time it got to my table was a very light khaki.  It had a fairly appealing aroma, lightly toasty maltiness underlying assertive citrus/grapefruit and mild earthy/herbal flavors.  The mouthfeel adds a not quite chewy consistency, with a decent amount of effervescence tingling the tongue.  The aftertaste is mild grapefruit and toasted malt, but it doesn't linger very long.  Fairly decent overall.

Cheers!

Evil Genius Formidable

Belgian styles are among my favorites, so I was happy to see a Belgian dubbel in my Evil Genius Supervillains 6er:

Vittles:

Belgian Dubbel

6.5% abv

20 IBUs

Score:

Appearance: 8/10

Aroma: 20/25

Taste: 35/40

Mouthfeel: 7/10

Style: 4/5

Drinkability: 9/10

Overall: 83/100

Impression:
It definitely hit the spot, though the mouthfeel was more on the watery side than I would've liked.  The beer, as with the style, is fairly malt-forward, so I tasted a lot of delicious malty flavors like toffee, caramel, and brown sugar.  I got hints of raisins here and there, but it wasn't as substantial of a flavor as I would've preferred.  It also had a nice, mellow noble hops character to it, nice and earthy/herbal, which complemented the malt flavors very well.  It wasn't my favorite Belgian dubbel, but it's a pretty solid showing, and I'd definitely get it again.

Cheers!

Evil Genius Hunchback

I stopped by one of the better six-pack shops in town earlier in the week and picked up a Supervillains 6er from Evil Genius.  I'd heard good things about this brewery before, so I've been looking forward to trying their product.  Plus, they're a PA brewery, so I get the feel-goods for supporting a quasi-local small-scale brewery.  And it's hard to beat a good hefe on a hot and humid summer day, so I went for the Hunchback first:

Vittles:

Hefeweizen

5.4% abv

13 IBUs

Score:

Appearance: 9/10

Aroma: 22/25

Taste: 36/40

Mouthfeel: 8/10

Style: 4/5

Drinkability: 8/10

Overall: 87/100

Impression:

I was a little disappointed when, after I swirled quite vigorously and poured the beer, there was still a fair amount of yeast sediment that hadn't roused when agitated, and I'm sure the yeast left in the bottle took a little away from the aroma and flavor of the poured beer.  I did smell and taste a little of the banana and clove I was looking forward to, as well as a very well-presented wheat background, but the primary characteristic was lemony-citrus until the beer warmed.  Again, I'm sure the true hefe flavors would've been more prominent if the yeast cake hadn't been so stubborn.  And recalcitrant.  But as the beer warmed, more of the esters and phenols came to the front, leaving only a slight sharp sting on the back end.  Overall, this was a very satisfying hefe -- not a Franziskaner, not by a long shot, but a solid example of the style nonetheless.  Next time I'll make sure to swirl more vigorously and for longer, just to make sure I get all that yeasty goodness in my glass.

Cheers!

Saranac Rye IPA

Ok, down to the last two bottles of IPAs I haven't tasted yet.  I went with the Saranac Rye IPA:

Vittles:

Specialty Beer (Rye IPA)

5.95% abv

Score:

Appearance: 9/10

Aroma: 18/25

Taste: 31/10

Mouthfeel: 8/10

Style: 4/5

Drinkability: 7/10

Overall: 78/100

Impression:

It's brilliantly clear with sufficient effervescence, but it does have that Saranac taste.  With the exception of the White IPA that I tried recently, almost all of Saranac's beers have the same basic flavor profile, so it's hard to be surprised, impressed, or disappointed when trying a different Saranac beer.  This one falls right in line with the rest -- mild aroma, moderate flavors, color and abv all in the same range as the rest of the pack.  It's just another very average beer.  It's a good thing I find Saranac beers fairly enjoyable, if relatively mediocre.

Cheers!

Sam Adams Grumpy Monk

Down to the last few untried IPAs in my stock:

Vittles:

Specialty Beer (Belgian IPA)

6.5% abv

55 IBUs

13 SRM

188 cal.

Score:

Appearance: 9/10

Aroma: 22/25

Taste: 36/40

Mouthfeel: 8/10

Style: 5/5

Drinkability: 7/10

Overall: 87/100

Impression:

It's zesty!  The aroma and the flavor both have a refreshing combination of sweet roasty maltiness, citrus/grapefruit, piney, herbal, earthy, peppery, and clove notes that nicely complement the palpable yeast characteristics, while the effervescence helps give this beer a more satisfying mouthfeel.  I felt the first sip on my tongue almost like licking the terminals on a 9-volt, but each sip after that was a little less... lively... on the tongue.  It's well-balanced, too, unlike some of the other Belgian IPA attempts I've tried in the past.  I want to be able to taste the yeast, the hops, and the malt, and I can taste all three in this beer.  The only real negative I have here is that I taste something a little funny on the back end, like a detergent kind of flavor in the lingering bitter aftertaste.  I know there's no detergent or soap in my glass, since I wash my beer-only glassware with only scalding hot water, since I don't want soap residue left in the glass to destroy the head on my next beer.  But I can get past the detergent-like taste, since it isn't all that strong, and it doesn't linger very long.

Cheers!

Sam Adams Longshot Magnificent Seven (Zack Adams)

Sam Adams Longshot Magnificent Seven (by Zack Adams) was the second I tried from the Longshot 6er.  I just can't seem to get away from IPAs, can I?

Vittles:

Imperial IPA

7.8% abv

Score:

Appearance: 9/10

Aroma: 21/25

Taste: 35/40

Mouthfeel: 8/10

Style: 5/5

Drinkability: 7/10

Overall: 85/100

Impression:

It's unmistakably an Imperial IPA, from the bronze color to the piney, resiny, earthy, and grapefruit aromas and flavors.  However, it does have that homebrew quality, that bland flatness of taste where the flavors just don't jump on your tongue like they should (not flat as in lacking carbonation, as this beer was sufficiently bubbly).  I taste that homebrew quality in only a few professionally brewed beers, but it's noticeable (to me, at least) in most of the homebrews I try.  It's not a negative, just an observation.  Just seems a little less polished than it could be.

Cheers!

Sam Adams Longshot Strawberry Lager (Dave Anderson)

I have often wondered by breweries don't release their own mixed 6ers.  I wasn't even sure why most variety packs seemed to come with only 3 different beers, though recently I'm starting to see them with up to six different beers.  That's an amazing improvement, in my eyes, though I'd still like to see that trickle down to the 6ers.  So, when I saw a 6er that had 3 varieties in it, it caught my eye.  And the varieties all came from a homebrew competition -- I'm all about supporting homebrewers, so long as they brew good shit.

Sam Adams Longshot Strawberry Lager (by Dave Anderson) is the first beer I tried from the Longshot 6er I picked up earlier in the week.  I've been having a whole bunch of IPAs lately, so a fruit lager seemed a good way to mix it up:

Vittles:

Fruit Beer

5.5% abv

Score:

Appearance: 8/10

Aroma: 18/25

Taste: 24/40

Mouthfeel: 7/10

Style: 5/5

Drinkability: 6/10

Overall: 68/100

Impression:

The aroma was very appealing, dominated by a strong smell of strawberries.  I could smell something citrusy, as well, and there's a faint toffee hint in the background.  However, the taste was disappointing.  It certainly has strawberry flavor, and I could taste the toffee as well, but the two flavors just did not jibe.  Part of the problem for me is that the strawberry flavor is very prominent, but it lacks any sweetness to cut the acerbically bitter edge.  The strawberry flavor just isn't as palatable without at least a degree of sweetness to offset it, and it kind of jars on the tongue.  When I smelled this beer, I really wanted to like it, but the taste just doesn't pan out.  I'm not saying this needs to be an overly sweet beer, but as it is, it's not well balanced.  I would not buy this beer again.

If I had bought a 6er of this brew, I would've been very upset, so I'm glad there's only one more of these beers in the 6er.  My husband can have it.  Or I'll cook with it.  I have yet to drain-pour a beer, and I'm not about to start throwing money down the drain now.

Cheers!

Sierra Nevada Torpedo

I've been waiting to try Sierra Nevada Torpedo for some time now, but with the wealth of IPAs currently in my stock, I kept putting it off.  I've heard it's very good, so I wanted to save the best for last, since I'm fairly sure I'll like it better than the Saranac and Sam Adams beers I still have sitting in my keezer.  But, my curiosity got the better of me, so I finally cracked open the Torpedo:

Vittles:

American IPA

7.2% abv

Score:

Appearance: 9/10

Aroma: 23/25

Taste: 37/40

Mouthfeel: 8/10

Style: 5/5

Drinkability: 8/10

Overall: 90/100

Impression:

The picture above is a little misleading -- the beer's more of a coppery-amber color, and it's brilliantly clear, with plenty of the bubbly.  The aroma has most of the characteristics you usually find in assertive American IPAs -- pine, resin, and grapefruit, with a bit of a herbal character, too.  I like the balance between hops and malt in the flavor, and this is one of the better IPAs I've had recently in that department.  It's all kinds of tasty with a good level of complexity, and it showcases some of the more pungent west coast hops flavors, especially the pine and grapefruit.  I'm not always in the mood for an IPA, but this is one I could enjoy whenever.

Cheers!

My Year in Beer So Far

I started this blog on March 16 of this year.  It's been three months since I had the DAB Dortmunder that kicked off this little project, so I decided to compile some figgers and see how much ground I've covered to date.

Here's an overview of the beer styles I've had since I started keeping track of these things back in March:

I didn't keep track of how many of each particular beer I had, only each unique beer I tried.  So if I had, say,  four Yuengling Bocks, it only counted once under the Bock category.

It'll be interesting to see how these numbers change over the next nine months.  I'm betting the hoppier beers and the wheat beers will go up more quickly over the next three months or so, then the maltier beers and the darker beers will start climbing again.

So far, I'm somewhat surprised that I've had more IPAs that anything else, since they aren't exactly my favorite style (though I am beginning to enjoy them more).  In fact, the graph above is a little misleading, since several of the beers classified as Specialty Beers are really IPA variants, like Rye IPA, Black IPA, Red IPA, etc.  I was hoping to have at least one beer in each category by now, but I'm only missing three, so I guess that's not too bad.  One of the things this project has pointed out for me so far is that I hadn't been getting much variety.  But there's nothing better than trying something new, even if it's just another variation of your favorite beverage.

Cheers!

Saranac White IPA

When I got home from work last night, I happily returned to my task of whittling down the list of beers in my keezer that I haven't tried yet.  I went for a Saranac White IPA since it seemed like it might be a little less bitter than the rest of them, what with being a Saranac and all -- not hating on Saranac, but a lot of their beers tend to taste fairly similar, and they tend not to be as strong or assertive as, say, Sam Adams IPAs.  So White IPA it was:

Vittles:

Specialty Beer

6% abv

Score:

Appearance: 9/10

Aroma: 21/25

Taste: 36/40

Mouthfeel: 8/10

Style: 5/5

Drinkability: 8/10

Overall: 87/100

Impression:

I like the hazy, nearly opaque straw color of the body.  The aroma is fairly appealing, and I can smell lemon and orange, a bit of pine, a healthy yeastiness, and a moderate wheat backdrop.  The flavors are very well balanced, with the delicous citrus of the hops blending nicely with the wheat and yeast flavors, and I think I taste some coriander as well.  What I like best about this beer is that it showcases the hops without being overbearing.  The yeast and wheat qualities, which seem to get pushed into the background in the other Belgian IPAs I've tried, aren't hidden here, much to my joy.  I think people often fixate on bold and assertive hops and overlook or ignore the complexities in yeast and grain profiles.  As I've mentioned before, I tend to prefer maltier beers, and I love yeasty beers like hefes, so when I beer can bring those aspects together with with a good hops addition and keep all three in balance, I consider that a job well done.  This is probably my favorite Belgian IPA so far, and I would definitely have it again.

Cheers!

Sam Adams Red Tasman

Of the myriad beers in my keezer, there are only about half a dozen I haven't tried yet, and somehow they're all IPAs.  So when I came home from work last night, I thought I'd pare my selection back a bit.  Sam Adams Red Tasman, a Red IPA, seemed interesting enough:

Vittles:

American IPA

6.5% abv

50 IBUs

45 SRM

223 cal.

Score:

Appearance: 9/10

Aroma: 23/25

Taste: 37/40

Mouthfeel: 8/10

Style: 4/5

Drinkability: 8/10

Overall: 89/100

Impression:

The grapefruit, pine, and earthy scent of the hops are obvious on the nose, but there's also a caramel and toffee-like malt quality in the background that nicely rounds out the aroma.  The pine is a bit more prominent than the grapefruit on the tongue, but not by much, while the earthiness drops off a bit.  As the beer warmed, the grapefruit gained strength, and the bitterness rose as well.  This IPA has a bunch of linger -- the bitter grapefruit and pine aftertaste stays with you for a long time.  That kind of lingering aftertaste is one of the aspects of IPAs that my husband loves, but I'm not too fond of it.  In fact, it's one of the reasons I really didn't enjoy IPAs at first.  I think I would enjoy IPAs much more if the aftertaste lingered half as long.  Different strokes.

Five more IPAs to try.  This should be interesting!

Cheers!

Dundee Honey Brown Lager

This one's an old stand-by from my early drinking days.  It was cheap enough to afford occasionally on my very limited budget, and it tasted quite a bit better than the Jacob Best that I usually got.  It was also one of the gateway beers that helped me move from BMC to craft/microbrews.  So even though it isn't really all that great of a beer, the taste of Honey Brown Lager holds some pretty awesome memories for me.  Every now and then, I like to grab a 6er of it and stroll down memory lane:

Vittles:

Dark American Lager

4.5% abv

Score:

Appearance: 8/10

Aroma: 18/25

Taste: 30/40

Mouthfeel: 7/10

Style: 4/5

Drinkability: 9/10

Overall: 76/100

Impression:

Despite having a thin taste that consists mostly of a faint bready-malt flavor, and despite having low levels of carbonation, poor head retention, and a slight malty aroma, I just can't help enjoying this beer.  It's a little grainy, a little sweeter than I remember, and has little to no aftertaste.  While it poured with a decent head, it fell very quickly, dissipating to a minuscule ring.  This is a good filler beer, and if I could get a case of cans for cheaper than I can get Yuengling Light Lager, I'd probably alternate between the two for more session variety, though Honey Brown is still a little higher on abv than I'd prefer.

Cheers!

Saranac Wild Hop Pils

Saranac Wild Hop Pils caught my eye because the bottle says it's made with Belma hops, a variety found growing wild near Yakima.  And it's been a while since I've had a pils -- seems like I've had a disproportionately high number of IPAs lately.  Not that that's a bad thing.

Vittles:

Pils

Abv unknown

Score:
Appearance: 8/10
Aroma: 20/25
Taste: 31/40
Mouthfeel: 7/10
Style: 4/5
Drinkability: 8/10
Overall: 78/100

Impression:
Moderate levels of carbonation helped this pils pour with a decent head, which eventually fell to a thin disk.  Initially, I smelled sulfur, but that faded over the first few minutes.  There was also a wet hay aroma and flavor at the start, but that also dissipated and was replaced by a faintly sweet cracker flavor instead.  This is a pretty typical pils in terms of light malt aromas and biscuit/cracker flavors.  Since I'm not exactly familiar with Belma hops, it was interesting trying to pick out all of the nuances.  It's definitely a subtle hop variety, which surprised me, but it worked very well with the pils style.  I think I picked up on fruity, herbal, floral, earthy, mildly spicy, and faintly peppery notes.  Overall, I think I like Belma, but I definitely want to track down more beers that use it.  I can see why it might get overlooked over on the west coast, amidst all the heavy-hitting hops, but I'd love to taste this in a brown ale.  Maybe I'll have to order some and brew it up on my own.

Cheers!

Saranac Session Ale

Sometimes (quite often, actually), I want the taste of beer without a lot of alcohol, but there are relatively few American beers that are truly sessionable.  So when I come across a session ales, I like to try them.  Maybe I'll find a tastier alternative to the Yuengling Light Lager that's my session stand-by.  Saranac's summer beer sampler included a session ale, and I wasn't in the mood for anything too strong or heavy, so that's what I went with:

Vittles:

Blonde Ale

4.5% abv

Score:

Appearance: 8/10
Aroma: 18/20
Taste: 30/40
Mouthfeel: 7/10
Style: 4/5
Drinkability: 8/10
Overall: 75/100

Impression:
4.5% abv is a little high for a good session ale, as far as I'm concerned.  I'd love to find a non-BMC beer that clocks in around 3.5% -- that's about the range I would prefer in my ideal session beer.  Anyway, Saranac Session Ale is middling at best.  It tasted very similar to their Kolsch, which I tried recently.  It started out with a decent head, but with poor head retention, it fell pretty quickly to a small, thin ring of foam.  I unfortunately smelled a bit of the cooked vegetable smell of DMS, but that seemed to fade a little over time.  There was also a wet hay kind of flavor at the start, but that flavor became a little sweeter and more mild as the beer warmed.  There was also a nice floral hop quality that balanced out the malt flavors very nicely.  With a crisp and clean finish, this beer was fairly average but very refreshing.

Maybe it's just me, but many of Saranac's beers taste very similar.  They all seem to share a certain taste that I can't quite put my finger on yet.  I like their beers -- they're solid examples of their particular styles, but they aren't outstanding in any way.

Cheers!

Saranac Kolsch

My husband and I stopped by a grocery store when we were out and about today, and this grocery store had an amazing beer selection.  I mean, especially for this area, the selection really blew me away, especially since the last time I went in this particular store, they had about a tenth of their current offerings.  So we wandered around for a while and finally settled on a Saranac sampler and a 4-pack of Sierra Nevada Torpedo pounders.  Since it's a pretty warm evening, I decided to have a Kolsch with dinner (rotisserie chicken, olive salad, fresh bread):

Vittles:
Kolsch
5% abv

Score:
Appearance: 8/10
Aroma: 20/25
Taste: 30/40
Mouthfeel: 7/10
Style: 4/5
Drinkability: 8/10
Overall: 77/100

Impression:
It's been a while since I've had a Kolsch, so this was a pleasant change from the IPAs I've been having recently.  The beer looks very clear and crisp, fairly bright, and has low levels of effervescence.  The aroma is a little mustier than I expected, but it's pleasant overall.  There was also a faint sulfur smell when I first poured it, but that dissipated fairly quickly and was replaced with a sweet undertone.  There flavor in this beer is very subtle, mostly of yeast and light malt, though there was also a faint spiciness and a slight, fresh flavor, almost like mint but not quite.  With its light body and almost non-existent aftertaste, this is an extremely refreshing beer, and it went fantastically well with my dinner.

Cheers!

Sam Adams Dark Depths

Yesterday was kind of chilly and grey, so a dark and robust beer seemed appropriate.  I grabbed a Sam Adams Dark Depths, which is a Baltic IPA according to the label:

Vittles:
Baltic Porter
7.6% abv
55 IBUs
60 SRM
254 cal.

Score:
Appearance: 9/10
Aroma: 21/25
Taste: 33/40
Mouthfeel: 8/10
Style: 4/5
Drinkability: 8/10
Overall: 83/100

Impression:
It's surprisingly malty and tasty.  It seemed much more like a Baltic Porter than an IPA, if a wee bit on the hoppy side.  The beer itself, though it looks fairly opaque in the picture, is actually a crystal clear mahogany with ruby highlights.  This beer also had a substantial head, which settled slowly into a thin disk.  The aroma is dominated by roasty, toasty malt notes, and the hops take a back seat.  I could smell citrus, floral, and pine notes in the nose, but more hops flavors were apparent on the tongue.  The citrus became more like grapefruit, and in addition to the floral and pine notes, I could also taste a sweet, earthy, peppery flavor that was delicate and mild.  High levels of carbonation gave this beer a rich, creamy, medium-bodied mouthfeel, and the aftertaste was in interesting combination of roast malt and grapefruit, but it wasn't overpowering.

I'm not sure that calling this beer a "Baltic IPA" doesn't do it a bit of a disservice.  First, I was expecting something hoppier, with a grain bill that doesn't take center stage -- enough maltiness to support a wicked hop punch, but not so malty as to tip the scale away from the hops.  I didn't find much in this beer that would encourage me to see it as an IPA, and I think folks who see "IPA" on the label might be a little disappointed.  This is a very good beer, but it doesn't scream hops.  The malt profile of a Baltic Porter is certainly up to the task of supporting a richer, more assertive hop presence than this beer has.  As a porter, it's delicious.  As an IPA, it lacks.  Sam Adams should just call it a Baltic Porter and not try to force the melding of BP and IPA.

Cheers!

Sam Adams Whitewater IPA

IPAs were never my favorite style, but I think I might be changing my tune a bit.  I've had quite a few IPAs over the last several months, and I find myself liking a wider range of hop characteristics.  My least favorite hop flavors used to be grapefruit and pine, because they were so much bolder and more assertive than I was used to, and my favorite flavors, the malt profiles, usually take a backseat to the hops in most IPAs.  Now that my palate is becoming a bit more educated and I can distinguish different flavors more easily, I'm finding IPAs a good challenge for practicing picking out specific tastes.

TL;DR: I'm starting to like IPAs more.  

So when I got home from work last night, I was looking forward to grabbing a Sam Adams Whitewater IPA out of my keezer:

Vittles:

American IPA

5.8% abv

61 IBUs

7.5 SRM

197 cal.

Score:

Appearance: 9/10

Aroma: 21/25

Taste: 34/40

Mouthfeel: 8/10

Style: 5/5

Drinkability: 8/10

Overall: 85/100

Impression:

Very bold and assertive with plenty of lemony-citrus goodness.  Whitewater IPA is highly effervescent and medium-bodied.  It smells grassy, fruity, floral, herbal, piney, citrusy, and spicy.  The grapefruit and the pine come out more in the flavor than in the nose.  The lemon and grassy flavors are also more prominent, and I think I taste coriander, too, which is always a welcome note.  I also enjoyed the wheat qualities in the background quite a bit.

I would definitely get the Whitewater IPA again.  Very tasty brew, nice and refreshing, good level of hop complexity.

Cheers!

Sam Adams Latitude 48 IPA

Ok, I lied.  The anti-histamines did the trick, and the poison ivy is quickly disappearing, so I can go back to my beer-hounding ways sooner than I thought.

A buddy of mine, oh heck, my best friend aside from my husband, came to visit us last weekend, and he came bearing gifts.  For my birthday, he and his wife got me my very own sampler flight (awesome!!!) and a Sam Adams IPA variety box (also awesome!!!).  Unfortunately, I was suffering from that insidious poison ivy and was on some meds for it, so I couldn't partake of his very thoughtful gift.  Until last night.  When I came home from work last night, I cracked open a Sam Adams Latitude 48 IPA, and the evening got all kinds of mellow:

Vittles:

American IPA

6% abv

60 IBUs

20 SRM

206 calories

Score:

Appearance: 9/10

Aroma: 22/25

Taste: 37/40

Mouthfeel: 8/10

Style: 5/5

Drinkability: 8/10

Overall: 89/100

Impression:

This is the 2013 Latitude 48 with Mosaic hops -- not a distinction I would normally write out, but I think this is the first time I've tried a beer with Mosaic (at least as far as I know).

Solidly hoppy but not overly bitter, this beer has a mild, earthy, spicy, herbal, and floral aroma.  I can smell a bit of a malt backbone, but the main aromas are decidedly hoppy, and they smell delicious.  They also smell pretty balanced, and that balance carries over into the flavor nicely.  There are a few flavors I didn't detect in the aroma, but none of them are overpowering.  The citrus/grapefruit hits you a bit on the back end, and there's a hint of pine and a slight peppery flavor, too.  The longer I let it sit in my mouth, the more prominent the grapefruit notes become, and the more everything else fades into the background.  The flavors are interesting, and they keep me guessing, especially as the beer warms to room temp. and more of the complexities come out to play.  It started out highly effervescent with a large head (I had to sip it down quite a bit so it wouldn't spill over the sides of the glass while I took my picture).  The head settled into a thin disk, which remained throughout.  It also left significant lacing, which I just love.  The medium body and creamy mouthfeel really add to my enjoyment, as well.  Maybe it's because I haven't had a beer for a few days now, or maybe it's because this is a more balanced and well-rounded IPA, but it's really hitting the spot.

Can't wait to try another SA IPA tomorrow night!  Cheers!

A Brief Hiatus

Over Memorial Day weekend, I picked up a nasty case of poison ivy.  Since I'm taking some anti-histamines to help with the itching, I can't exactly drink any alcohol, so I won't be able to post anything new for a few days.

To kind of sort of tie this back in to beer, I did come across an interesting tidbit in my research for more effective home remedies.  Apparently, and I don't know if this is true (I found it on the internets, so grain of salt?), if you're out in the woods and get poison ivy on you, you can supposedly wash it off of your skin with beer or another alcoholic beverage more effectively than using water alone.  And beer supposedly can act as a drying agent on the rash, as well.  This link to Backpacker.com is one place I found my information, and here's a doctor's website that verifies the info.  I haven't tried it for myself, but it's good to know.

Ahhh, the wonders of beer.

Magic Hat Elder Betty

The last of my birthday beers survived longer than I thought it would.  Magic Hat's Elder Betty grabbed my eye because it's a weiss-style beer, which I usually enjoy, and it uses elderberries, and that sounded like an interesting combination:

Vittles:

American Wheat or Rye Beer

5.5% abv

13 IBUs

4 SRM

Elderberries

Score:

Appearance: 9/10

Aroma: 19/25

Taste: 31/40

Mouthfeel: 7/10

Style: 4/5

Drinkability: 7/10

Overall: 77/100

Impression:

On first whiff, I can smell a mild wheat base, a syrupy-sweet berry aroma, and a grassy hop character in the background.  The taste follows much the same, except the berries are more present than I'd like.  About half of the berry presence would've been much more in balance, since it tastes overly sweet the way it is.  I've categorized this beer as an American Wheat Beer, despite the "weiss" on the label, because it uses an American yeast strain, it lacks the clove and banana esters a true hefeweizen should have, and the emphasis is on the added berries, not on the hefe or the weiss.  All of these components come through pretty clearly in the flavor, and calling it a weiss-style beer or a hefeweizen is a little misleading.  The mouthfeel was a little on the thin side, and low levels of carbonation were disappointing, to say the least.

I really haven't been overly thrilled with any of the Magic Hat beers I've had lately.  They used to be one of my go-to brands, back when I first got into craft beers, but either my palate is changing, or their beers are getting worse.

Cheers!

Erie Railbender Ale

So, Erie's Railbender Ale made its way to my fridge free of charge.  Apparently, some Coors representative (not sure on this point -- this is basically like a big game of telephone) dropped it off at my husband's barber shop, for some reason I'm not too clear on, but the barber doesn't drink beer, so he was going to just throw it away.  Enter my husband, who thankfully saved the beer from such a fate.  And so, I got to try another beer.  But I was kind enough to share the wealth with my husband and a friend of ours:

Vittles:

Scottish Ale

6.8% abv

26 IBUs

Score:

Appearance: 9/10

Aroma: 23/25

Taste: 38/40

Mouthfeel: 9/10

Style: 5/5

Drinkability: 9/10

Overall: 93/100

Impression:

I was pretty impressed -- it's creamy, rich, and full-flavored.  The head didn't persist very long, despite the decent levels of effervescence.  The first whiff smells of caramel and toffee, with a hint of breadiness in the background.  There's also a nutty character in both the aroma and the flavor that I find very enjoyable.  Caramel and toffee also follow nicely into the flavor, and there's a slight hoppiness on the back end, but the focus is primarily on the malt.  Medium mouthfeel, plenty of carbonation, and a moderately dry finish all improve the experience of this beer.  It's insanely smooth and drinkable.  I could get into trouble with this beer.

Cheers!