March 24, 2006 - #207 of 365

Brewer: Great Lakes Brewing Company (Ohio, USA)
Beer: Burning River
Style: American Pale Ale
abv: 6%

Bottle from the store.

Pours amber with a two-finger off-white head. Excellent citrusy and piney hop aroma, with honey and sweet bread undertones. Interesting flavor. Well-balanced and deliciously hoppy, but there are some strange tastes of bubble gum and some slightly medicinal notes. Dry, bitter finish, with a metallic tinge.

Rating: 3.4 out of 5

March 23, 2006 - #206 of 365

Brewer: Yards' Brewing Company (Pennsylvania, USA)
Beer: Thomas Jefferson Tavern Ale
Style: American Strong Ale
abv: 8%

Bottle from the store. A recreation of a recipe used by Mr. Jefferson for semi-yearly brewing at Monticello.

Pours hazy gold-amber with a one-finger white head. Think malty aroma--toffee, caramel, toast, and light diacetyl--with some earthy hops. Traces of alcohol and fruit. Sweet, very English flavor, with heavy toast, honey, and caramel. There's a surprisingly strong hop flavor which balances the malt nicely. A little bit of dry straw in the background. Some vinous notes as it warms. Leaves the mouth dry in the back corners and quenched at the tip of the tongue. Good, especially since I was expecting a straight English Ale.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

March 22, 2006 - #205 of 365

Brewer: North Coast Brewing Company
Beer: Acme California Pale Ale
Style: American Pale Ale
abv: 5%

Bottle from the store.

Pours amber-gold with a one-finger white head. Dish soap and citrus aroma, with caramel malt and a metallic touch. Weak flavor with some caramel in the beginning, a quick burst of citrusy hops, and then nothing but a slightly soapy aftertaste. Some honey is in there, but not enough to add any depth.

Rating: 2.8 out of 5

March 21, 2006 - #204 of 365

Brewer: Shipyard Brewing Company (Maine, USA)
Beer: Seadog Riverdriver Porter
Style: Porter
abv: 5.6%

Bottle from the store. Brewed with hazelnuts.

Pours deep garnet with a small off-white head. Remarkably non-opaque. Excellent milk chocolate aroma, with the hazelnut coming in strong with the second sniff. Some toast and nuts. Very good Porter flavor somewhat ruined by a touch of hazelnut. The beginning is very roasty, with the hazelnut coming in not long after. The finish is nicely bitter, with lingering almond. Would be better without the extra flavoring, but still good.

Rating: 3.4 out of 5

March 20, 2006 - #203 of 365

Brewer: Butte Creek Brewing Company (California, USA)
Beer: Organic Pilsner
Style: Bohemian Pilsener
abv: 4.1%

Bottle from the store.

Pours gold with a one-finger white head. Light aroma of bready malt and spicy Saaz hops. The flavor starts out bland, with only a hint of sweet malt, but ends with a surprisingly earthy and peppery hop bite. Interesting mouthfeel: creamier than expected. Still excellently drinkable.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

March 19, 2006 - #202 of 365

Brewer: Black Sheep Brewery (North Yorkshire, England)
Beer: Riggwelter Yorkshire Ale
Style: English Strong Ale
abv: 5.7%

Bottle from the store. The name refers to a sheep which has fallen on its back and can't get up.

Pours deep burnt orange-red with a large off-white head. Diacetyl and lactose are apparent in the first sniff. A good bit of fruitiness (banana, pear) comes in alongside some roasted, chocolaty notes on the second. The flavor starts with that banana fruitiness followed by a surprisingly strong earthy hoppiness. Finishes pleasantly bitter. I find it difficult, however, to get past the remarkably British banana and diacetyl beginning.

Rating: 3.3 out of 5

March 18, 2006 - #201 of 365

Brewer: Great Lakes Brewing Company (Ohio, USA)
Beer: Holy Moses White Ale
Style: Witbier
abv: 5.4%

Bottle from that sampler from my dad. Funny label, showing Moses Cleaveland parting Lake Erie. This Moses is uncannily following in the footsteps of the other, leading his people into a wholly different wasteland: Cleveland, Ohio.

Pours hazy gold with a dense, two-finger, white head. Coriander dominates the aroma, backed by yeast and light biscuity malt. A lot of spice in the flavor, alongside some lemon zest. Decent, but kind of boring.

Rating: 3 out of 5

March 17, 2006 - #200 of 365

Brewer: Brasserie Dupont (Tourpes-Leuze, Belgium)
Beer: Moinette Blonde
Style: Abbey Tripel
abv: 8.5%

Bottle from the store.

Opens with a pop and an explosion of aroma; must, yeast, and spice fills the room. Pours hazy gold with a huge head which leaves a lot of lacing. In the glass the aroma is fruitier: lemon zest, orange, and banana. There is a pronounced spiciness, with pepper and coriander dancing around that mustiness, now much more subtle. Bready flavor, turning spicy and fruity halfway through. A shot of hops comes in at the end. Dry finish, with a hint of plastic. Spritzy carbonation.

Rating: 3.6 out of 5

March 16, 2006 - #199 of 365

Brewer: Stiegl Brewery (Salzburg, Austria)
Beer: Pils
Style: Classic German Pilsener
abv: 4.9%

Bottle from the store.

Pours very pale gold with a large white head. Thick, bready aroma, with a big dose of sweet, earthy hops. A bit vegetal. Flavor begins with a honeyish sweetness over fresh bread. The hop taste comes in slowly and asserts itself as a grassy bitterness. Dull hop finish. Extremely drinkable, but bland, even compared to other Pilseners.

Rating: 3 out of 5

March 15, 2006 - #198 of 365

Brewer: Brouwerij F. Boon (Lembeek, Belgium)
Beer: Kriek Boon
Style: Kriek Lambic
abv: 5%

Bottle from the store. Kriek is cherry, cherry is kriek.

Pours red with a huge pink head. Strong cherry aroma with some light vanilla coming through. Smells like one of those cherry cream candies. The flavor starts sweet and then turns tart and a little funky on the back of the tongue. Dry, tart cherry aftertaste, with some of the funk lingering. Between Lindeman's and Oud Beersel on the sweet to tart/funky scale.

Rating: 3.6 out of 5

March 14, 2006 - #197 of 365

Brewer: Liefmans (Oudenaarde, Belgium)
Beer: Kriekbier
Style: Flemish Sour Ale
abv: 5%

Paper-wrapped bottle from the store.

Pours red-amber with a large white head with a light pink tint. Very pronounced sour cherry aroma. Lightly acidic and vinegary. Strong tart cherry flavor with little else. That vinegar is lurking in the background, but not to the point of unpleasantness. The full, oily mouthfeel is the strongest point, adding some substance that the simple flavor lacked. Sweet enough to be an alternative to Lindeman's, but tart and acidic enough to be a good alternative.

Rating: 3.7 out of 5

March 13, 2006 - #196 of 365

Brewer: Flying Dog Ales/Broadway Brewing (Colorado, USA)
Beer: Gonzo Imperial Porter
Style: Double Porter
abv: 9.5%

Bottle from the store. Brewed in tribute of Hunter S. Thompson. Ralph Steadman, Thompson's cartoon-drawing cohort, does the labels for Flying Dog.

Pours black with a brown head. Woody and grassy aroma, with strong roasted malt notes sneaking in. A bit floral and spicy. Alcohol comes out with a little swirling. Big flavor dominated by chocolate, lactose, and alcohol. The alcohol mixes with the malt flavors very nicely. Hops play a subtle but important role, providing a grassy taste at the back of the mouth and perfect bitterness on the swallow. The finish is mostly bitter hops and stays with you for quite a while. Mouthfeel is thin, which keeps this in the Porter category and is a nice change of pace from mouth-filling imperials with little or no subtlety. Decadent and depraved.

Rating: 4.2 out of 5

March 12, 2006 - #195 of 365

Brewer: Weyerbacher Brewing Company (Pennsylvania, USA)
Beer: Quad
Style: Abt
abv: 11.9%

Bottle from the store.

Pours deep garnet with almost no head. Very sweet aroma, mostly candy sugar and raisin. Large alcohol presence in the nose, almost smells like a dark rum. The alcohol is there in the flavor, too, and doesn't mix well with the other flavors until the aftertaste. The sweetness of the aroma and with some distinctive Belgian yeast notes clash with the alcohol until each begins to fade, leaving a pleasant aftertaste that reminds me of brandy or, again, dark rum.

Rating: 3.3 out of 5

March 11, 2006 - #194 of 365

Brewer: Brouwerij F. Boon (Lembeek, Belgium)
Beer: Geuze Boon
Style: Gueuze
abv: 6.5%

Bottle from the store. Frank Boon is the same guy who brews the Oud Beersel line of Lambics. Best by 01-08-2025, according to the label.

Pours deep gold with a huge head and tons of effervescence. Excellent Gueuze aroma of apple, pear, wine, wood, funk, horseblanket, pepper, brine, and a hint of urine. I'm sure I missed something in there. The flavor is disappointing, watery, and slightly tart. It starts with light fruit and then turns grassy. Here's where I expected the funky tart attack I got from the Oud Beersel Gueuze; it didn't come. In its place the mediocre flavors of the beginning and middle waned and were finally eclipsed by a stale grassy aftertaste. Not Boon's best.

Rating: 3.3 out of 5

March 10, 2006 - #193 of 365

Brewer: Great Lakes Brewing Company (Ohio, USA)
Beer: Dortmunder Gold
Style: Dortmunder
abv: 5.8%

Bottle from a sampler courtesy of my Dad.

Pours amber with a large white head. Subtle aroma of sweet malt and honey-like German hops. This one is advertised as a happy median between a German Pilsener and a Munich or Vienna Lager, and it certainly is. Not as thick and sweet as a Vienna and without the hoppy bite of a Pilsener. There are hops, though, and they come across as pleasantly subtle, their earthy spices blending very well with the bready and slightly caramel-ish malt. One of the most flavorful Lagers I've come across, and incredibly drinkable to boot.

Rating: 3.7 out of 5

March 9, 2005 - #192 of 365

Brewer: Dupont Brasserie (Tourpes-Leuze, Belgium)
Beer: Foret (a.k.a. Moinette Biologique)
Style: Saison
abv: 7.5%

Bottle from the store. An organic Saison.

Pours hazy gold with a huge white head. Peppery, wheaty, and tart aroma, with notes of freshly-mown grass and must. Slightly vinous. Very subdued flavor, with a tart wheatiness up front and a bitter, grassy finish. There's some of that metal that I've found in most organic beers, especially a couple seconds after the swallow. A thin mouthfeel makes it incredibly easy-drinking, but somewhat unfulfilling.

Rating: 3.3 out of 5

March 8, 2005 - #191 0f 365

Brewer: Black Mountain Brewing Company
Beer: Crazy Ed's Original Cave Creek Chili Beer
Style: Chili Beer
abv: 4.2%

Bottle from the store. The holy grail of crappy beers; its ratebeer.com rating is 1.14 out of 5. There's a chili pepper floating in the bottle which I poured with the beer, like a real man. And then I tried it.

Holy crap! The aromas and flavors are one-dimensional and strong. That dimension is jalapeno pepper. I like jalapeno pepper, and, good lord, I like this beer (or at least I don't hate it and would drink it again). If you think about it, pepper in a beer is hardly different from coriander in a beer, just a different spice with a different flavor. If you like chili peppers, ignore the anti-hype and grab a six pack of this stuff.

Rating: 3 out of 5

March 7, 2006 - #190 of 365

Brewer: Humboldt Brewing (California, USA)
Beer: Nectar Ales Red Nectar
Style: Amber Ale
abv: 5.16%

Bottle from the store.

Pours copper with a small white head. Floral and citrusy hop aroma with a good deal of sweet, caramel- and toffee-ish malt. Very well-balanced, but the hops don't have the mellow character of their IPA Nectar; in this one they appear in harsher form. As it warms, a lot of the malt flavor comes through. Good.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

March 6, 2006 - #189 of 365

Brewer: Abita Brewing Company (Louisiana, USA)
Beer: Bock
Style: Bock
abv: 6.13%

Bottle from the store. Their Mardi Gras beer, for some reason.

Pours amber with a small white head. Standard bock aromas and flavors. Decent effort for Abita.

Rating: 3.1 out of 5

March 5, 2006 - #188 of 365

Brewer: Troegs Brewing Company (Pennsylvania, USA)
Beer: Nugget Nectar
Style: India Pale Ale
abv: 7.5%

Bottle from the store. This is the first batch they've bottled.

Pours orangish-amber with a one-finger white head. Sweet hop aroma. Incredibly balanced flavor, with those sweet hops being joined by citrus and pine against a big malt background. Excellent, unique IPA.

Rating: 4.1 out of 5

March 4, 2006 - #187 of 365

Brewer: Piccadilly Restaurant and Brewpub (Virginia, USA)
Beer: Hometown Hefeweizen
Style: Hefeweizen
abv: unkown

Ah, the first beer from that Winchester brewpub. I took my first sip with low expectations.

Was served in a shaker glass with a slice of orange. I removed the orange posthaste. Hazy gold with about two millimeters of head. The aroma smelled faintly of banana, enough to convince me that they were actually trying to make a Hefeweizen. The only other aroma came from the orange. The flavor was virtually nonexistent. Very light banana came through, as did a slightly stronger wheat character. If I hadn't had such low expectations I'd call this a disappointment.

Rating: 2.4 out of 5

March 3, 2006 - #186 of 365

Brewer: Brasserie Dupont (Tourpes-Leuze, Belgium)
Beer: Biere de Miel
Style: Saison
abv: 8%

Bottle from the store. A Saison brewed with honey.

Pours hazy orange with a huge white head that leaves a good amount of lacing. Sweet aroma, with banana, orange, and a backing funkiness. Not as earthy in the nose as other Saisons, presumably because of the sweetness added by the honey. The flavor begins sweet, with a big orangey citrus taste. An earthiness creeps in about halfway through, and the finish is dry and acridly bitter.

Rating: 3.4 out of 5

March 2, 2006 - #185 of 365

Brewer: Oskar Blues Grill & Brew (Colorado, USA)
Beer: Old Chub
Style: Scotch Ale
abv: 8%

Can from Vintage Wines. Yeah, a can.

Pours deep reddish-brown with a two-finger beige head. Aroma of thick toffee, caramel, and peaty smoke. The flavor is mostly sweet, with that smokiness coming in toward the middle The end is peaty and alcoholic. A tad too sweet, but otherwise excellent; more smoky and less caramel-ish malt flavors would make it incredible. Cloyingly creamy mouthfeel.

Rating: 3.6 out of 5

March 1, 2006 - #184 of 365

Brewer: Avery Brewing Company (Colorado, USA)
Beer: New World Porter
Style: Porter
abv: 6.7%

Bottle from the store. Dry-hopped, which is unusual for a Porter.

Pours black with a hint of reddish-brown where the glass is thin. One-finger tan head. Strong aroma of milk chocolate, roasted malt, and sweet, citrusy hops. The hop and malt aroma blend more seamlessly than in other hopped-up Porters. The flavor begins excellently malty and rich, not unlike some of the best Porters I've had. The hops kick in about halfway through, but, again, the resinous flavor blends surprisingly well with the coffee and chocolate. The finish is the only awkward spot; the hoppiness and maltiness play a little game of tug-of-war which no one wins until the beer warms up a bit. Then it's the chocolate, providing, like a Chaplin film, a cyclical experience worth remembering.

Rating: 3.9 out of 5