Long Trail Ale

A couple weeks ago, I picked up a Long Trail variety box.  I don't think I've had anything by this brewer before, so this should be interesting.  The first one I'm trying is the Long Trail Ale:

Vittles:
Northern German Altbier
4.6% abv
28 IBUs

Score:
Appearance: 9/10
Aroma: 22/25
Taste: 36/40
Mouthfeel: 8/10
Style: 3/5
Drinkability: 8/10
Overall: 86/100

Impression:
This seems to be the first Amber Hybrid Beer category beverage that I've had since I started this blog.  I think I could have just as easily lumped this under Dusseldorf Altbiers, but the NGA label seemed just a little more accurate.  Anyway, this beer looks pretty tasty to me.  The aroma is well-balanced, but not very strong -- I smell wheat notes, along with woody/earthy hints, but a slight whiff of banana surprised me a bit.  It's not an unwelcome surprise.  I get the banana again, very very faintly, right at the front, then a nice mix of hops, malt, and wheat flavors takes over.  None of the flavors really jump out at me, but it's a satisfying beer with a crisp, clean finish.  If the rest of Long Trail's beers are just as good, I might be looking at adding another regular to my rotation.

Cheers!

Magic Hat Pistil Dandelion Ale

I hate dandelions with a burning passion, so when I saw the Pistil dandelion ale in my Magic Hat sampler, I thought it'd be a nice victory beer -- mow down the damn things in my yard, then guzzle their cousins.  That'll teach them not to grow in my yard anymore, right?  I had no idea what to expect from a dandelion ale:

Vittles:

Herbed/Spiced/Vegetable Beer

4.5% abv

20 IBUs

3 SRM

dry-hopped

Appearance: 7/10

It's a dull, hazy, golden color with about an inch and a half of mostly white head.  The head fell pretty quickly and left little to no lacing on the glass.  It doesn't look overly appealing to me, to be honest, and I think that's due to the dullness of the color.

Aroma: 18/25
Herbal and grassy notes hit me first, followed by earthy, floral, and spicy scents.  The malt isn't all that prominent, maybe a little bready.  There's also a mustiness in the background that detracts from the overall aroma.

Taste: 30/40
Grassy and vegetal flavors dominate, with the breadiness of the malt in the background.  There are some very muted earthy, floral, and spicy flavors in the background, as well.  I don't taste the herbal character as clearly as I could smell it, but the mustiness does come through pretty clearly, unfortunately.

Mouthfeel: 7/10
A clean and crisp mouthfeel, with a medium-light body and lowish levels of carbonation don't really add anything to my enjoyment.

Style: 5/5
The guidelines for a spice, herb, or vegetable beer vary according to the beer that's used as a base.  Magic Hat has never had trouble coloring within the lines for ales.

Drinkability: 6/10
After I've finished the one, I don't want another.  I probably won't have this beer again for quite some time, since I was not overly impressed with it.  The musty smell and flavor were a big turn-off for me, as was the dullness in the color.  I'd have one if there were no other beers available, but I wouldn't buy it again.

Overall: 73/100
It's not an overly bad beer, but it's not all that great, either.  If you like grassy, herbal, or floral qualities in your beer, you'd probably like this one more than I do.  It's not that I don't like those flavors in beer, but they just didn't combine in a way that pleased by taste buds in this beer.

Cheers!

Duck-Rabbit Barley Wine

My husband, parents, and I went out for lunch over the weekend, so I just had to try to Duck-Rabbit Barley Wine, since it was on tap:

Vittles:

English Barleywine

11% abv

Appearance: 9/10

It looks darker in the picture than it really was, since the bar we were in was very dim.  This barleywine appeared to be a dark burnt orange, almost a nutty brown color, and it had a thin head by the time it got to our table.  My husband took a sip while I was getting my camera open on my phone, but you can see the nice lacing on the glass.  I even saw some legs after I took a sip, which is nice to see in this style.

Aroma: 23/25

It starts off with a complex roasted malt nose with caramel notes.  Very bready on first sniff, which I love.  The hop character balances very nicely with the maltiness; neither one seems to dominate.  Dark fruit aromas, especially raisins and figs, become more apparent as you swirl the glass.  There's a touch of something muskier, maybe vanilla, on the tail end, too.

Taste: 37/40
This is what I look for in an English barleywine.  The flavors complement the bouquet pretty squarely, with the bready/biscuity tastes dominating up front, blending into a fruity, floral, citrusy, not quite resiny hoppiness, which gets overtaken by the dark and dried fruit flavors on the back end.  The aftertaste is a combination of roasted malt sweetness and dark fruit flavors -- very appealing.

Mouthfeel: 9/10
It's a smooth, velvety, and full-bodied beverage, which adds quite a bit to the impression this brew leaves on me.  I also liked the moderate alcohol-warmth that followed each sip.  Luscious is an apt descriptor here.

Style: 5/5
For an English barleywine, this brew is pretty much spot on.  The flavors are balanced very nicely, and the hoppiness isn't over the top.

Drinkability: 9/10
For hopefully obvious reasons, I'd never drink more than one barleywine in a sitting, nor would I drink it quickly.  This is absolutely a beer that's meant to be sipped and enjoyed slowly.  I did appreciate how the flavors altered and a little more complexity developed in the fruitiness as the barleywine warmed to room temperature, which made this all the more delicious of a drink.

Overall: 92/100
I love barleywines, and this one is no exception.  I've never had any Duck-Rabbit beers before, but if this beer is an indication of the kind of quality I could expect from the rest of this brewer's offerings, I'd gladly take a shot at the rest of his beers.

Looking forward to sampling the next one from my ever so modest beer cellar!  Cheers!