Boulder Beer Never Summer Ale

I stopped by a local bottle shop yesterday and picked up a sampler from Boulder Beer Co.  The sampler contains Never Summer Ale, Hazed & Infused, Mojo, and Sweaty Betty.  I've heard some pretty good things about their beers before, but haven't actually tried any myself.  Until yesterday, that is.  I started off with the Never Summer Ale:

Appearance: 8/10
This beer pours a cherry-brown with ruby notes and a small, off-white head.  There wasn't much of a head when poured, and the head settled fairly quickly, leaving a neat honeycomb pattern on top of the beer.  The beer itself was very clear; looks crisp, clean, and inviting.

Aroma: 20/25
The aroma was pleasing.  I could pick up both malt and hops, and the hop characteristics came through well on the nose.  Pine was the main hop aroma I picked up on, though there were also hints of resin, leather, bread, and maybe straw.

Taste: 34/40
What struck me the most about the taste was that it was very well-balanced.  Flavors of both maltiness (esp. bready) and hoppiness (spicey, floral, herbal, piney) were both clearly present, and they did not clash with each other, but accentuated each other.  I was fairly well impressed with the flavor profile overall.  It doesn't have the complexity that I find in other beers of this type, but those beers often lack the real balance of this beer.  The 40 IBUs are nicely matched with the sweetness of the malt, and the more you roll this beer around your mouth, the more complementary flavors come out.

Mouthfeel: 8/10
With just the right level of carbonation and full-bodied mouthfeel, this aspect adds to the enjoyment of the beer.  It's the kind of beer that you can roll around in your mouth without getting that unpleasant sting from too much carbonation.  At 6.5% abv, there's just a very slight alcohol-warmth on the back end -- very enjoyable.

Style: 5/5
Though the bottle/packaging doesn't explicitly say what kind of beer this is, I think it's fairly safe bet to call it a winter warmer.  And since the guidelines are pretty lenient in that category, it's kind of hard to lose points there.

Drinkability: 8/10
I did enjoy this beer quite a bit, and it was a good introduction to the Boulder Beer Co. for me.  The flavors were pleasing, I can think of quite a few dishes this beer would go well with (mainly heartier dishes), and I would definitely drink it again.  I'm looking forward to trying the rest of Boulder's beers.

Overall: 83/100
I'll have to try a few of their other beers before I decide for myself where Boulder Beer Co. will rank in my all-time list of brewers, but based on this one beer, I'd say they do merit some applause.  (If that sounds grudging, it's because the people who hyped up Boulder Beer Co. to me also hyped up things like Twilight, so my opinion of their opinion is pretty low.  But they weren't wrong here.  Fluke?  I hope so.)

I can't believe I just referred to Twilight in a beer review.  That makes me feel so... dirty.  Ugh.  This might be a drink-to-forget kind of day.  Cheers!

Lancaster Winter Warmer

If you want to get a good price on cases, stop by a distributor when they're changing over their seasonal stock.  I wound up dropping $30 total on two cases of seasonal beers: Lancaster's Winter Warmer and Brooklyn's Black Chocolate Stout.  I was impressed with the Winter Warmer, which I tried last night:

It's described on their website as a "classic Olde Ale," and it certainly fits that bill nicely.  It poured from the bottle with about a one-inch tan head, which settled pretty quickly -- it was halfway settled by the time the camera on my phone was ready to go.  It has a rich, spicy, floral, resiny aroma, and a solid roasted malt and coffee flavor that complement the warmth it leaves in your mouth.  Notes of caramel, molasses, figs, dates, and even some plum also came through, and there's just a touch of dryness on the back end.  Overall, I thought the aroma and flavor profiles were well-blended and balanced.  While you can taste the floral spiciness of the hops, it isn't overly bitter (their website lists it at 30 IBUs).  It's definitely a sipping beer, which is nice for these freezing cold early spring days.  I'd give this beer a 7.5/10.  It's not quite an 8 in my book, but it's almost there.

I was also a little warmed to see "Benefitting the Wolf Sanctuary of PA" on the bottom of the label.  I feel better about buying from companies that do something to give back in some way, shape, or form, especially if it helps the environment or animals (or both).  And I've always thought wolves were just awesome...  If you'd like more information on the Wolf Sanctuary of PA, you can visit their website here.

I'm glad I stopped by the distributor -- this case cost me only $10, which is an excellent price, especially for a beer this good.  Even if I don't finish it before warmer weather sets in, I can always stash it in my basement through the summer and enjoy it when the fall chill creeps back into the air.  I'll have to keep my eye out for other end-of-season clearances.  Cheers!

Otto's Sampler

Last night, the hubby and I went to meet up with a buddy at Otto's Pub and Brewery in State College, PA. We like to get a sampler when we go to places like that, so that's what we did last night:

It's not the best picture, but you get the idea.  The four around the circle are, from left to right, Winter Warmer, Ottonator, Beer Engine #2 - Arthur's Rye-IPA, and Beer Engine #1 - Jolly Roger Imperial Stout.  The fifth sample was their guest tap, which I believe was Troegs Nugget Nectar, but don't quote me on that.  I'm sure I'll review the Troegs in a future post, so I'm going to focus just on Otto's beers today.

I was impressed with the Winter Warmer.  The beer list on the table described it as a "Belgian Raspberry Porter," and it was delicious.  I would almost suggest it as more of a dessert beer, since the raspberry nose and flavors are fairly prominent, and it has a sweet-chocolate undertone.  I tasted a roasted coffee flavor that blended nicely with the other more prominent flavors, and it had that breadiness and a mild spiciness that I enjoy in many Belgian styles.  At 8.2%, this brew will definitely help you shake that winter chill.

I've had the Ottonator and the Jolly Roger before, but both were slightly different this time around.  The Ottonator is a doppelbock with a broad, malty taste, caramel and coffee undertones, and slight residual sweetness to balance out the hop-spiciness.  It weighs in around 7.7% ABV, so it leaves a nice warmth in your throat that's perfect for those cold winter days. Or for the last night of winter, when it's below freezing and snowing out...  The Ottonator is a good, solid, very drinkable beer that pairs well with a wide range of foods.  I prefer it with the reuben and sweet potato fries they make at Otto's -- they go very well together.

The Rye-IPA was decent, too.  My tastes seem to go in cycles, and my preferences lately have been for more malty beers.  Give it a few months, and I'll probably cycle back to preferring hoppy beers instead.  My own preferences aside, I found this beer to be just a little off-balance.  I don't think the rye spiciness melded well with the hop flavors.  The beer list at the table said this one was made with Palisade and Amarillo hops, and while the herby/citrusy aroma of those hop varieties was definitely there, I don't think they were the best choice to match the flavors of the rye.  I think something grassy like Fuggles or earthy like Hallertau Hersbrucker might have gone better.  Or, maybe a longer conditioning period would have helped the flavors blend more smoothly.

The Jolly Roger Imperial Stout, as I said above, was better this time around.  I had it last year, as well, but wasn't terribly fond of it then, since the flavors did not seem well-blended.  This year's batch, however, tastes much better overall.  Last year's version tasted too wood-chippy, and while those flavors are still present in this year's, they are more mellow and subdued.  You still get the woody dryness on your tongue, which adds to the other earthy notes, like chocolate, roasted coffee, and a bit of vanilla.  I could have sworn that the Jolly Roger was aged in oak bourbon barrels, but I can't find anything this year to back that up, so maybe that's just my whimsical memory playing tricks on me again, though I do taste some of the same undertones in this beer as I do in bourbon.  This IS has about 10% ABV, so of course it's another one that warms up your gullet nicely.

All in all, it was a satisfying evening.  If you're looking for a good meal and some above average beers, check out Otto's in State College, PA.  Cheers!