December 15, 2005 - #158 of 365

Brewer: Starr Hill Brewery, Restaurant, and Music Hall (Virginia, USA)
Beer: Amber Ale
Style: Brown Ale
abv: 5%

Background: I am not a true beer lover. If I were, I would not have found myself iced in on Thursday night with no beer in the house but the last of my Allagash Tenth Anniversary Ale and an '04 Stone Vertical Epic that we're saving. But I did, and something had to be done. So Matt dropped me off at Food Lion, after sliding half the way there, and I picked up some Hot Pockets, a bottle of Horton Norton, and a six-pack of this. I walked back home. By the time I got there my beer was cold and my hat was wearing a helmet of ice. Let's see if it was worth the trip.

Appearance: Pours brown-amber with a one-finger white head.

Aroma: Light hops and caramel-ish malts.

Flavor: Even more boring than the aroma.

Notes: Decent as a session beer, I guess, but a waste of time if you're looking for flavor.

Rating: 2.9 out of 5

December 14, 2005 - #157 of 365

Brewer: Ayinger
Beer: Jahrhundert-Bier
Style: Helles
abv: 5.5%

Background: Bottle from Vintage Wines.

Appearance: Pours cloudy gold with a one-finger white head.

Aroma: Sweet, honeyish aroma, with nutty and malty notes. Some citrus.

Flavor: Much like the aroma, with more of the citrus. Dry, nutty finish.

Notes: I could drink a lot of this.

Rating: 3.7 out of 5

December 13, 2005 - #156 of 365

Brewer: Samuel Smith
Beer: Winter Welcome
Style: English Strong Ale
abv: 6%

No notes, but it wasn't all that good; English hops taste like crap.

December 12, 2005 - #155 of 365

Brewer: Three Floyd's Brewing Company (Indiana, USA)
Beer: Robert the Bruce
Style: Scottish Ale
abv: 9.1%

Background: Bottle from Vintage Wines.

Appearance: Pours garnet with almost no head.

Aroma: All malt. Toffee, coffee, and such.

Flavor: Begins sweet and malty, ends with a subtle hoppiness that pushes it from good to great.

Notes: Uh, great.

Rating: 3.8 out of 5

December 11, 2005 - #154 of 365

Brewer: Baltika Brewery (St. Petersburg, Russia)
Beer: 4
Style: Dunkel
abv: 5.6%

Background: Bottle from Vintage Wines.

Appearance: Pours amber-red with a huge white head.

Aroma: Sweet malt--toffee, caramel, etc. Smells artificially sweet.

Flavor: Just as artificial as the aroma. It tastes like a real beer with Splenda added. Bad aftertaste.

Notes: Russians.

Rating: 2.7 out of 5

December 10, 2005 - #153 of 365

Brewer: North Coast Brewing Company (California, USA)
Beer: Pranqster
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
abv: 7.6%

Background: Bottle from Vintage Wines.

Appearance: Pours gold with a two-finger white head and effervescence like backwards snowfall.

Aroma: Spicy, with a lot of Belgian yeast character.

Flavor: Fruity and spicy flavor--banana and coriander, mostly--with some wheat. The finish is lightly alcoholic.

Notes: Not terrible, but no Duvel.

Rating: 3.4

December 9, 2005 - #153 of 365

Brewer: Weyerbacher Brewing Company (Pennsylvania, USA)
Beer: Winter Ale
Style: English Strong Ale
abv: 6.1%

Background: Bottle from Vintage Wines.

Appearance: Pours deep brown-red with a one-finger white head.

Aroma: Roasted malts backed by a candy sweetness, a light spiciness, and something a bit like brownies. There's some of that dark fruit that I've come to expect from Weyerbacher beers in there, too.

Flavor: Smooth, lightly roasted with a hint of chocolate. A little funky in the finish.

Notes: Not the greatest winter beer.

December 8, 2005 - #152 of 365

Brewer: Weyerbacher Brewing Company (Pennsylvania, USA)
Beer: Insanity
Style: Barley Wine
abv: 11.1%

Background: Bottle from Vintage Wines. This one is their Blithering Idiot Barley Wine, which I didn't really like, aged in bourbon barrels.

Appearance: Pours red-orange with a half-finger white head.

Aroma: The first impression is raisin and sweet malt. The oak and bourbon aromas are subtle, but add a clear burnt wood and vanilla character.

Flavor: Starts off promising, much smoother than the Blithering Idiot, but that doesn't last long. The middle is hot and malty, with that raisin creeping in around the corners. The bourbon aging comes through at the end with some mellow wood and whiskey notes. The finish is oaky, with some light alcohol flavor.

Notes: Better than the original, but not worth it.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

December 7, 2005 - #151 of 365

Brewer: Legend Brewing Company (Virginia, USA)
Beer: Imperial Stout
Style: Imperial Stout
abv: 8%

Background: Bottle from Vintage Wines. My rating is the second on ratebeer.com--this one must be pretty new.

Appearance: Pours jet black with a large, dark head that leaves some good lacing.

Aroma: Hops are the first to hit the nose--citrusy and grassy. This is followed by the more traditional stout aroma of roasted malts, chocolate, and light licorice and caramel.

Flavor: Great malt flavor, but the hops are what really make this one good. Easily the hoppiest Imperial I've had so far--citrus and pine is present throughout the flavor, and come in at the end for an attack in earnest. The intense hoppiness hides the alcohol well; I couldn't taste it at all, there wasn't any warming until the stuff hit my stomach.

Notes: Highly recommended, at least for one taste.

Rating: 4.2 out of 5

December 6, 2005 - #150 of 365

Brewer: Redhook Brewery (Washington, USA)
Beer: ESB
Style: ESB
abv: 5.7%

Had it on tap at Dave's Taverna. The table-top menu said only "Redhook," and when I asked the waiter if it was their IPA he asked me if there was a difference. The ESB wasn't as bad as I thought it would be--probably a 3.2.

December 5, 2005 - #149 of 365

Brewer: Spaten-Franziskaner-Brau (Munich, Germany)
Beer: Spaten Oktoberfest Ur-Marzen
Style: Oktoberfest/Marzen
abv: 5.9%

Background: Bottle from the store. I know it's not October, but I've been told that it is Rocktober.

Appearance: Pours amber-red with a large, off-white head. Sparse but long-lasting effervescence.

Aroma: Smoke, toffee, caramel, and, oddly enough, a little bit of plastic.

Flavor: Smokier than most Oktoberfests I've had. Decent malt flavor, but you can taste that damned plastic, and it's even worse than the metallic taste of some Fests.

Notes: So-so.

Rating: 3.1 out of 5

December 4, 2005 - #148 of 365

Brewer: Miller Brewing Company (Wisconsin, USA)
Beer: Colt .45 (6%)
Style: Malt Liquor
abv: 6%

The guy at the Food Lion in Richmond where I bought this said I should have gotten a Hurricane. I should have gone somewhere other than Food Lion.

December 3, 2005 - #147 of 365

Brewer: Legend Brewing Company (Virginia, USA)
Beer: Pilsner
Style: Bohemian Pilsener
abv: 5.8%

No notes, but I remember it as being pretty good, probably a 3.4.

December 2, 2005 - #146 of 365

Brewer: Lagunitas Brewing Company (California, USA)
Beer: IPA
Style: India Pale Ale
abv: 5.7%

Background: Bottle from the store.

Appearance: Pours orange-amber with a two-finger white head.

Aroma: Standard west coast IPA aroma--citrus- and pine-heavy, with very light malt backin.

Flavor: Very hoppy, with virtually no malt flavor. Dry, grassy, and citrusy finish.

Notes: A bit one-sided, but very good.

Rating: 3.7 out of 5

December 1, 2005 - #145 of 365

Brewer: Weyerbacher Brewing Company (Pennsylvania, USA)
Beer: Decadence
Style: American Strong Ale
abv: 13%

Background: Bottle from Vintage Wines.

Appearance: Pours dark amber with a very small white head.

Aroma: Spices and honey, with a light malt backing.

Flavor: Honey, coriander, and alcohol. A lot of alcohol.

Notes: Would be decent at around 8% alcohol.

Rating: 3.1 out of 5