Widmer Alchemy Ale

I've only had one Widmer Bros. beer before.  I try not to judge a brewery overall until I've had most of their offerings, so to start filling in some gaps, I picked their Alchemy Ale for one of my mix-a-sixers:

Vittles:
American Pale Ale
5.8% abv
40 IBU

Score:
Appearance: 8/10
Aroma: 21/25
Taste: 34/40
Mouthfeel: 8/10
Style: 5/5
Drinkability: 8/10
Overall: 84/100

Impression:
It's a pretty pour with good retention, almost brilliant clarity, and moderate lacing.  Fruity, floral, spicy, and bready notes in the aroma are fairly balanced and enticing.  Citrus (orange zest and grapefruit) come out more on the tongue, as do caramel, vanilla, banana, and toasted grains, with an underlying floral quality.  With decent carbonation and an almost silky texture, this is an enjoyable brew.  It finishes dry and slightly crisp with a subdued aftertaste.  Decent overall, a solid beer, but it seems a little generic since there isn't much to really distinguish this beer from other APAs.  I'd like to try it again, maybe on tap.

Cheers!

Elysian Bifrost Winter Ale

I don't normally grab more than one beer from the same brewer when I put together a mix-a-six, but the Elysian Bifrost Winter Ale looked more interesting than some of the other singles.  And Elysian hasn't disappointed me yet:

Vittles:

American Pale Ale

7.6% abv

58 IBU

Score:

Appearance: 8/10

Aroma: 20/25

Taste: 34/40

Mouthfeel: 8/10

Style: 4/5

Drinkability: 8/10

Overall: 82/100

Impression:

It's got a pretty pour and decent head retention, plus the lacing it leaves as it drinks down is pleasing.  The aroma is mostly pine, spice, and fruit/citrus, with herbal, earthy, caramel, and a slight woodiness in the background.  It tastes sweet and earthy, piney, resinous, and fruity, though there is something like wet cardboard in the back.  As it warms, other earthy tones, like grass, make an appearance.  Moderate carbonation brings a bit of a sting, and the medium-light body carries a nice smoothness.  I'd prefer this kind of flavor profile during the warmer months, to be honest.

This isn't really what I think of when I hear "winter warmer," since it's basically an APA or mild AIPA, but with some "wintery" flavors.  When someone says "winter warmer" to me, I think moderately dark malt bill, dark fruit flavors, brown sugar/molasses, earthy and herbal hops... that kind of thing.  Something that you can really sink your teeth into, something that will warm you from the inside.  Elysian Bifrost Winter Ale is good, but it isn't a winter warmer.  It's some sort of Pale Ale with a scarf around its neck.

Cheers!

16 Mile Old Court Ale

Since I was in Delaware for my vacation, I figured I should try something from a Delaware brewery.  Last time I was down there, I went to Dogfish Head, so this time I decided to give 16 Mile a try.  I found a 6er of their Old Court Ale for a good price, so I gave it a shot:

Vittles:

American Pale Ale

6.1% abv

Score:

Appearance: 9/10

Aroma: 21/25

Taste: 35/40

Mouthfeel: 8/10

Style: 4/5

Drinkability: 8/10

Overall: 85/100

Impression:

I was actually a little surprised by this beer.  The aroma was pretty close to what I expected to smell -- toffee, caramel, a little breadiness, a hint of biscuit, something grassy, and a fair noseful of hoppy goodness.  But it punched me in the tongue more than I was expecting after such a relatively light aroma.  It was a welcome surprise.  It tastes like an APA should taste, for the most part, and it leaves a sticky, resinous bitterness that lingers in the aftertaste for quite a while.  The one down side was that I tasted something metallic that I couldn't quite pin down.  This seems like the kind of beer that would pair well with a good cut of steak or some slow-smoked bbq ribs.

Cheers!

Free Will Citra Pale Ale

I was looking for something bold and intense to enjoy before dinner, so I rummaged through my stock and came up with Free Will's fourth variety, the only one from the box I haven't tried yet, their Citra Pale Ale:

Vittles:

American Pale Ale

5.7% abv

49 IBU

Score:

Appearance: 8/10

Aroma: 21/25

Taste: 35/40

Mouthfeel: 8/10

Style: 5/5

Drinkability: 8/10

Overall: 85/100

Impression:

I started pouring this beer the same way I pour all my beers (I like head, what can I say?), but there was an over-bubbling issue.  Not sure why that happened -- the beer had been sitting for a couple weeks untouched, so it wasn't agitated, and it had been at a steady 40F.  So it took me like 10 minutes to pour the whole bottle, and that kind of sucked.  Hopefully it was a one-off.  Anyway, the beer has an enticing aroma, mainly citrus and biscuit/bread.  There's also a bit of grass and something of caramel in the background.  The flavors were mainly citrus (lemon and orange) and biscuit/cracker, with a more pronounced caramel note.  As the beer warmed, the caramel faded out and grass and a bit of pine came out a bit more, and towards the end of my glass, I thought I tasted some grapefruit as well.  The mouthfeel is medium-light, somewhat creamy, and the higher than expected carbonation added a bit of sting.  The aftertaste doesn't linger as long as I'd expect from a citrus-hop-heavy beer like this.  All in all, I'd have it again.

Cheers!

Elysian Super Fuzz

My husband really enjoyed the Elysian The Immortal IPA that I brought home a couple months back, so I thought I'd surprise him with their Super Fuzz.  The label says it's made with blood oranges, and I thought that sounded interesting:

Vittles:
American Pale Ale
5.4%
made with blood oranges

Score:
Appearance: 8/10
Aroma: 21/25
Taste: 36/40
Mouthfeel: 8/10
Style: 4/5
Drinkability: 7/10
Overall: 84/100

Impression:
It's a citrusy punch in the nose/mouth.  I was expecting it to taste orangey, but there's also a significant grapefruit aroma/flavor, as well, and about a minute after I tasted it, grapefruit flavors just took over my mouth.  There was more of a sharp acidity than I had expected, but it wasn't an unpleasant aspect.  Overall, it's very tasty, has a good level of hop bitterness, and keeps your tastebuds on alert.  I like the floral and resinous notes in the background and the hints of tropical fruits like guava.  Very tasty!

Cheers!

Erie Mad Anthony's APA

So far, I've been fairly pleased with the Erie beers I've had.  The next one I pulled from my sampler box was Mad Anthony's APA:

Vittles:

American Pale Ale

5.5% abv

40 IBUs

Score:
Appearance: 9/10
Aroma: 21/25
Taste: 36/40
Mouthfeel: 7/10
Style: 5/5
Drinkability: 7/10
Overall: 85/100

Impression:
This beer is about on par with the rest of the Erie beers I've had so far.  There's a slight metallic taste in the background, which isn't all that pleasant, but it isn't very distracting, either, and it dissipates as the beer breathes.  The aroma is about what I'd expect: fresh bread dough, grassy, sweet malt aromas backing a mild fruity-citrusy scent.  After the aroma, I was mildly surprised at the dry character of the beer.  The bitterness takes a little bit to kick in, and the primary flavors are more earthy/herbal/grassy, with the fruity-citrusy hops characters coming in on the back end.  I was a little disappointed in the lighter mouthfeel, though it did have a fairly smooth drinkability to it.

Cheers!