Elysian The Immortal IPA

We went a-visitin' for Memorial Day weekend, and my husband was in the mood for a good IPA, so he asked me to pick one out for him.  The store we stopped at had Elysian's The Immortal IPA, so I snagged it.  I hadn't had it before, and I hadn't really heard much about it, but the carton said it uses Centennial hops, and my husband seems to like them quite a bit.

Vittles:
American IPA
6.3% abv
54 IBUs

Score:
Appearance: 10/10
Aroma: 23/25
Taste: 37/40
Mouthfeel: 9/10
Style: 5/5
Drinkability: 8/10
Overall: 92/100

Impressions:
This is a solid, bold IPA.  You can smell a decent malt backbone, which supports the citrus/grapefruit, pine, resin, floral, and herbal characteristics of the hops.  What surprised me the most about this beer is that the aftertaste isn't overwhelming, as it can be in some IPAs.  I thoroughly enjoyed this beer, and the medium body, plentiful carbonation, and slightly dry finish all added to my enjoyment.  It's oddly enough a beer that I don't hear much about (compared to, say Sierra Nevada Torpedo or Hoptimum, Heady Topper, SUCKS, or Palate Wrecker, which I hear about constantly), but it is an amazingly good American IPA.  It's very well balanced and displays the complexities and assertive flavor profile of a good west coast IPA.

I'll keep my eye out for other Elysian beers in the future, since I was so pleased with this one -- and I'm not a hop head like my husband is!  I do enjoy a good hop bomb from time to time, but I typically enjoy the maltier beers best.  This one's a very nice exception, though, and if I could find more IPAs like this one, that'd be gravy.

Cheers!

Full Sail Pale Bock

I'm down to my last two birthday beers, surprisingly.  The one that helped me quench my thirst after some yard work today was Full Sail LTD04 Pale Bock:

Vittles:

Specialty Beer (Pale Bock)

7% abv

45 IBUs

Impressions:

It's certainly crisp enough to be a refreshing thirst quencher.  The aroma is subtle and balanced between a biscuity malt presence and grassy/floral hoppiness.  The malt flavors are present but mild, and the only hops used are Willamette, so it's got a very enjoyable mild grassy and floral character with a bit of spice on the back end.  It's pretty lively with decent carbonation that adds to a medium-light body.  There isn't a whole lot of aftertaste, and it doesn't linger very long.

Appearance: 8/10
Aroma: 21/25
Taste: 32/40
Mouthfeel: 8/10
Style: 5/5
Drinkability: 8/10
Overall: 82/100

I think this is the first beer I've tried from Full Sail.  I'll be looking for more of their beers to try in the future.  I don't expect great things from them, but this seems to be a pretty solid beer.

Cheers!

Widmer Bros. Hefeweizen

I'm a huge fan of hefeweizens.  True hefeweizens, that is, not to be confused with American wheat beers (which I also tend to enjoy, but not as much as I do a good hefe!).  And I'm always on the lookout for hefes that I haven't tried before, so I snagged Widmer Bros. Hefeweizen when I mixed myself a sixer a couple weeks ago:

Vittles:

American Wheat Beer

4.9% abv

30 IBUs

First Impression:

Surprisingly bitter for a "hefe."  It wasn't nearly as cloudy as I expected, despite my rousing the sediment mid-pour; it smelled and tasted too strongly of American hops like Cascade (the grapefruit flavors were very much out of place for a hefe, but would have been fine in an American wheat beer); and there was a fairly strong sulfuric odor and taste when I first poured.  Thankfully, the sulfuric notes faded with time, but the bitter grapefruit flavors lingered and were unpleasant in this beer.  The head poured decently, maybe about an inch of rocky white foam, but it fell pretty quickly and left little lacing.

The problem here is labeling, I think.  I went into it expecting banana and clove esters because Widmer Bros. chose to call it a hefeweizen, which is misleading.  While there were slight hints of banana, I didn't pick up on any clove, and the American hops flavors were, as I said, unexpected.  I wouldn't have gone into tasting this beer with any of those expectations if they had labeled it as an American wheat beer -- why use a name that implies German flavors when you intend on producing an American flavored beer?  I realize that many people use the two terms synonymously, but that only adds to the confusion.  This is not a hefe.  However, it is a fairly decent example of an American wheat beer.

Appearance: 8/10

Aroma: 19/25

Taste: 30/40

Mouthfeel: 8/10
Style: 4/5
Drinkability: 7/10
Overall: 76/100

Sad to say, I was displeased with this beer, but maybe that's my own fault for having those damn expectations.  On to the next...

~Cheers!

Weyerbacher Verboten

I like supporting local breweries.  And by "local," I kind of mean PA breweries.  I recently came across a bottle of Weyerbacher's Verboten, a Belgian-style Pale Ale, which I've never tried before.  I've liked every other beer of theirs that I tasted, so I bought this one and enjoyed it very much:

Vittles:

Belgian Pale Ale

5.9% abv

30 IBUs

First Impression:

Very bold and crisp.  The hops profile seems strikingly American -- not quite what I was expecting to taste in a Belgian-style Pale Ale, but it's ok.

Appearance: 8/10

In the picture, it looks a little murky, but that's probably due to the slight condensation that formed on the glass while my camera opened.  It's a nice golden color with about an inch of mostly white head.  Moderate levels of effervescence helped retain a thin head after the bulk of it fell.

Aroma: 20/25

The combination of American hops notes (citrus/grapefruit) and Belgian yeast characteristics such as clove, is interesting.  I can smell a light malt aroma in the background, but it doesn't seem very assertive.

Taste: 30/40

I'm not overly fond of the grapefruit and clove combination.  It's drinkable, but it's not exactly something I look for in a tasty brew.  The American hops flavors are just too sharp and bold to really blend well with more mellow Belgian yeast profile.

Mouthfeel: 8/10

Decently effervescent and medium bodied.  Finishes mildly dry.

Style: 3/5

This beer plays fast and loose with several of the guidelines for this category, like flavors and abv.

Drinkability: 7/10

Because of the flavor combination and the abv, I wouldn't really want more than one of these at a time, and I wouldn't seek this beer out very often.  I'm sure I'll come back to it at some point in the future to see if/how my tastes have changed, but it juts doesn't put forward the kinds of flavors I tend to seek out in a beer.  I think I would've liked this beer much more if it used something like Hallertau instead of Cascade.  I think the flavor profile would've been more compatible with a mellower, more herbal hops variety.

Overall: 76/100

I've enjoyed most of the Weyerbacher beers that I've tried.  Unfortunately, this one didn't hit the right notes for me.  Maybe I've just been having too many beers that use Cascade lately and I'm getting bored with the flavor.  Or maybe I've been having too many beers that try not-too-successfully to combine European yeasts and/or styles with American hops flavors.  Who knows.  I'm still glad I've gotten to try all of these beers, despite not being overly thrilled with some of them.

Cheers!

Duck-Rabbit Milk Stout

I was pretty pleased with the Duck-Rabbit barleywine that I tried a little while back, so when I went for a mix-a-six, I tossed in a different Duck-Rabbit beer -- their Milk Stout:

Vittles:

Sweet Stout
5.7% abv

First Impression:
My first sip was so tasty I decided that the usual boring breakdown of facets was just too... boring.  If you like stouts, you'll like this beer.  This guy really knows his brews.  It's got all of the right scents and flavors, nothing off, and it's just a phenomenal example of what a sweet/milk stout should be.

Appearance: 10/10
The very dark, nearly black color of this beer turns a brilliantly clear ruby color when held up to the light.  The light also reveals steady effervescence, which helps to maintain a thin head as I slowly enjoy this one.  The head is a creamy tan, and it started about an inch tall, fell slowly, and left slight lacing as it went.

Aroma: 23/25
Roasty, chocolatey, coffee-y, and sweet, this is what I want my stouts to smell like.  The focus is clearly on the complex character of the roasted malt, and it's really well done.  As it warms to room temperature, I smell something very similar to dark fruits, particularly raisins, becoming more apparent.

Taste: 35/40
Roasted flavors dominate, but they aren't harsh or bitter as I've tasted in other stouts.  They're mellow, well-blended, and assertive.  In particular, I like the way the chocolate, coffee, and molasses flavors come together.  As the beer warmed, I did taste something like raisins, but with less sweetness, more of a savory dark fruit flavor.

Mouthfeel: 9/10
This is a chewy beer, but it's also creamy and velvety on the tongue.  It's very smooth, a little resiny, and it finishes slightly dry.

Style: 5/5
You can't describe the style any better than this.  It's textbook, and it's delicious.

Drinkability: 8/10
I could have maybe two of these back-to-back on a cold day.  Very tasty, supremely enjoyable, but at 5.7%, I wouldn't want more than two in a row.

Overall: 90/100
I was hoping this would land in the A category because it really is that good of a beer.  It's probably one of the best stouts I've had in the last five years.  I will absolutely be looking for this beer again (as well as their barleywine!), and I can't wait to try more of their beers.  It's a shame the closest place that sells these beers is about an hour-long drive from my house.

Cheers!

Flying Dog Snake Dog IPA

I like Flying Dog beers, especially their Raging Bitch.  And especially the label art (love Steadman's work in general!).  So when I saw a beer of theirs I hadn't tried yet, I couldn't resist:

Vittles:

American IPA

7.1% abv

60 IBU

Appearance: 10/10

Golden-amber is one of my favorite colors of beer.  This one's topped by over an inch of pale yellow foam (I actually had to sip some of it down so it wouldn't spill over the rim).  Plenty of effervescence makes this almost mouthwatering.  The head retained very well and left significant lacing when it eventually thinned.  A small disk of foam remained until I finished the beer.

Aroma: 21/25

The aroma isn't very strong unless I swirl the glass and get the foam out of the way.  What I do smell has a lot of citrusy/grapefruit notes and a more subtle pine/resin character.  I barely smell any malt.

Taste: 33/40

Grapefruit really dominates here, but woody, floral, earthy, pine, and resin characters also come into play a bit.  The bitterness lingers quite a bit in the back of the mouth.  Subtle malt flavors become more apparent as the beer warms, but the very bold citrus-grapefruit flavor doesn't fade.

Mouthfeel: 8/10

A little dry, medium-bodied, and decently carbonated.  It kind of leaves an odd, almost minty-fresh feeling.

Style: 5/5

It's clearly an American IPA -- it socks you good with the hoppiness and the typical American hop characteristics -- citrus, pine, resin, etc.

Drinkability: 7/10

I don't really want a second one after I've had the first, but it is a very good beer nonetheless.  But at 7.1% abv, it's not really the kind of beer that I want to drink back-to-back -- I prefer maltier beers to have one after the other.

Overall: 84/100

Snake Dog IPA is definitely going on my list for getting again in the future.  It's a good, solid American IPA with plenty of flavor, classically American hop characteristics, and interestingly complex.  I don't usually hear people talking about Snake Dog as one of the better American IPAs out there, but I think it can hold its own in this category pretty well.

Cheers!

Magic Hat #9

Today's selection is an old stand-by.  Years and years ago, Magic Hat used to be one of the few breweries we would actually buy sampler boxes from.  #9 was always one of our favorites because it's got a nice flavor and it's easy to drink either by itself or paired with dinner:

Vittles:

Fruit Beer

5.1% abv

20 IBUs

9 SRM

Appearance: 8/10

I was a little disappointed when I poured this beer because very little head formed atop the golden-amber body.  Low effervescence was also an unexpected, since I remember this being a moderately bubbly beer in the past.  I don't use soap on my beer-only glassware, since it can leave behind a residue that impairs head formation and retention (or so I've heard), so I'm not sure why the head was so unimpressive this time around.

Aroma: 22/25

Malty and fruity are the two best descriptors for this beer's aroma.  And I like the level and intensity of both. Neither one overwhelms the senses, but they're nicely balanced in the nose.

Taste: 33/40
Malt and apricot again carry the day.  It's mildly sweet, and there are floral and bready notes as well.  Again, the flavors aren't very strong, but they're in balance.  There's very little aftertaste, and the slight bitterness that does linger doesn't hang around for long.

Mouthfeel: 7/10
On the one hand, it's dry, crisp, and refreshing.  However, the medium-light body and lack of carbonation didn't add anything for me.  I'm not sure I ever really paid attention to the mouthfeel of this beer before, or maybe this is just a one-off bottle (which could explain the itty-bitty head, too).  Either way, it's a little lackluster.

Style: 4/5
Since Magic Hat bills this beer as a "not quite Pale Ale," I'm assuming that that's the underlying style for this fruit beer.  If that's the case, the IBUs and the bitter flavors are both a little on the low side.

Drinkability: 8/10
I could drink this beer back-to-back very easily, and I have done so before.  It's not a beer you have to sip and savor, nor is it one to keep your taste buds on edge, but it's very refreshing, especially during the warmer months.  I tend not to find this beer as enjoyable in colder months.

Overall: 82/100
#9 is a pretty average beer, all things considered.  It holds a bit of a special place with me because it's one of my gateway beers -- one of the beers that got me interested in craft, and for that I will always be grateful.  If it weren't for easily accessible, non-snobby craft beers like this one, I might still be drinking Red Dog, Pennsylvania Best, and the like.  We all have skeletons in our beer cellars.  Now you know one of mine.

Cheers!