Southern Tier Phin and Matt’s Extraordinary Ale
- Overall 75/100
- Appearance 18/25
- Aroma 18/25
- Taste 20/25
- Finish 19/25
This American Pale Ale is brewed out of Lakewood NY at the Southern Tier Brewery. It has a 5.4% ABV, and is available year-round. They also state that this beer is brewed with three varieties of hops, and three styles of malt.
I found this beer to pour light golden almost copper color with a decent head. The head however didn’t retain well and left minimal lacing on the glass. The aroma of this APA had some rather sweet pale malt to it as well as some floral, and earthy hops. When tasting the beer I found it to start off with the pale malts that were found in the aroma before finishing dry and slightly bitter from the earthy, and floral hops.
This beer has a decent mouthfeel to it as well as balance however it didn’t have that “wow” factor to me that the name suggested. This isn’t a bad beer, but just average at best in my opinion.
Cheers!
In: Ale's, Beer Reviews, Rating 70-79
Cathedral Square Iglesia Agave Ale
- Overall 62/100
- Appearance 17/25
- Aroma 15/25
- Taste 16/25
- Finish 14/25
This beer is brewed by the Cathedral Square Brewery located in Weston MO, and is available year-round. I couldn’t find an ABV for this beer but if I had to guess it would be right around 5%. They also state on the bottle that this beer is brewed with three malts, two hop varieties, and authentic agave nectar.
I found this beer to pour out a darker golden orange color with a decent amount of head. The said head however did not retain nor did it leave any lace on the glass. The aroma of this beer was rather light and I detected some sweet malt as well as some honey and that agave nectar. The taste of this beer was almost a mirror of the aroma as it was sweet from start to finish with the nectar, and honey showing through. I did not detect any hops in this beer however the finish seems to linger on your tongue and in the back of your throat.
Overall this isn’t a bad beer however it isn’t something that I think I would go after again unless it was on tap.
Cheers!
In: Beer Reviews, Fruit and Vegetable Beers, Rating 60-69
Widmer Brothers Drifter Pale Ale
- Overall 67/100
- Appearance 20/25
- Aroma 17/25
- Taste 15/25
- Finish 15/25
This Pale Ale is brewed by the Widmer Brothers Brewery which is located Portland OR. It is available year-round and has a 5.7% ABV.
I found this Pale Ale to pour a nice copper color that produces a nice amount of head that laced the glass. I found the aroma to be rather sweet and it has a bold hint of citrus and piney hops. When tasting this beer I found it to have a sweet almost candy like caramel malt front before it finished up with a very mild bitter hoppiness. I honestly expected a bit more of a bite to this beer after the aroma. This Pale Ale does have a decent mouthfeel to it while carrying a decent balance as well.
Overall this isn’t a bad Pale Ale but there are others that I would choose first. The only thing that let me down about this beer was the finish. I just wanted a bit more of a bite.
Cheers!
Schlafly Citrus Witbier
- Overall 85/100
- Appearance 18/25
- Aroma 23/25
- Taste 22/25
- Finish 22/25
This is the third beer that is a part of the 20th Anniversary series. It has a 6.5% ABV and is brewed here in St.Louis Mo.
This beer pours out a nice hazy yellow color that almost resembles orange juice. This beer had a decent amount of head that laced on my glass. The aroma was rather pleasant as it had some nice spice undertones to go with the strong citrus backbone. Oranges, lemons, and other citrus fruit is what stood out here. The taste of this beer started off with a slight malt front before the oranges, lemons and other citrus fruits take over. It finishes up nicely with a bit of the spice found in the nose as well as a hint of hops. This beer had a great balance to it to go with it’s full flavor and medium body. The higher ABV is also very well hidden in my opinion.
Pick this beer up before it is too late if you are lucky enough to have Schlafly distributed near you. I think this beer is better off as a summer beer but I would drink it year-round.
Cheers!
In: Rating 80-89, Wheat Beers/Hefeweizen's
Blue Moon Winter Abbey Ale
- Overall 65/100
- Appearance 18/25
- Aroma 13/25
- Taste 17/25
- Finish 17/25
This beer is brewed by Coors Brewing located in Golden CO. It is available in the winter time and has a 5.6% ABV.
I found this beer to pour a nice copper color with an off white head that left minimal lacing on the glass.The aroma consists of caramel malts, as well as some brown sugar, and toffee. When tasting this beer I found it to be rather sweet with the caramel, and brown sugar showing through and then the toffee comes out in the finish. It had a decent mouthfeel and a nice balance as well.
This is not a bad beer but it left me wanting more from it. It had all the hints of flavor but nothing really stood out and said here I am enjoy me. Pick it up if you would like but I think I will hold off again in the future.
Cheers!
In: Beer Reviews, Belgian Styled Beers, Rating 60-69, Winter Seasonal's
2011 Leinenkugel Big Eddy Russian Imperial Stout
- Overall 87/100
- Appearance 21/25
- Aroma 22/25
- Taste 22/25
- Finish 22/25
This rare winter seasonal is brewed by Leinenkugel Brewery located in Chippewa Falls WI that was established in 1867 by Jacob Leinenkugel. The Brewery was born on the Big Eddy Brewery which is how this beer got it’s name.Big Eddy is only available from November through January, and is brewed with eleven malts, and grains as well as three different hops. This beer also carries a hefty 9.5% ABV.
I found this Russian Imperial Stout to pour a nice dark brown with a light brown head that laced nicely on the glass. The aroma was full of dark chocolate, dark fruit, coffee, caramel, toffee, and roasted malts. I did not detect any hops here however. When tasting this beer I found the dark chocolate, caramel, and roasted malts to show through with some undertones of coffee and the dark fruit. The hops that weren’t there in the aroma showed up strong in the finish as it was nice and bitter. The finish also showed off the ABV however it wasn’t overbearing.
I found the Big Eddy to carry a wonderful balance to go with a great mouthfeel and if you are a fan of the Russian Imperial Stout this is one you should pick up. I would like to thank Ashley at Leinenkugel’s for supplying me the sample and Camille at Exit 6 Brewery for supplying the glass for the review. Pick this one up you won’t be disappointed!
Cheers!
In: Beer Reviews, Rating 80-89, Stouts, Winter Seasonal's
2010 Leinenkugel Big Eddy Russian Imperial Stout
- Overall 91/100
- Appearance 22/25
- Aroma 22/25
- Taste 23/25
- Finish 24/25
This rare winter seasonal is brewed by Leinenkugel Brewery located in Chippewa Falls WI that was established in 1867 by Jacob Leinenkugel. The Brewery was born on the Big Eddy Brewery which is how this beer got it’s name.Big Eddy is only available from November through January, and is brewed with eleven malts, and grains as well as three different hops. This beer also carries a hefty 9.5% ABV. I tried this beer after the 2011 version because I wanted to see if there was a big difference from being aged a year. This is how it went.
The 2010 version of The Big Eddy Russian Imperial poured out rather thick and black with a darker brown head than the 2011. I found the aroma to be rather similar again with the hops lurking in the background. I found the taste however to be alot more malty than 2011. The coffee, dark chocolate, and toffee really show up here in my opinion and the finish to the 2010 Big Eddy doesn’t have that bitter bite to it however the hops are still present as well as the ABV.
I found this beer to have a better balance than the 2011 and the mouthfeel was much more creamy which isn’t a bad thing in my opinion. Both beers were exceptional however the aging made this already good beer into something great! Again I would like to thank Ashley at Leinenkugel’s for supplying me the sample and Camille at Exit 6 Brewery for supplying the glass for the review.
Cheers!
In: Beer of the Week, Beer Reviews, Rating 90-94, Stouts, Winter Seasonal's
Charleville Ale Mucho Hoppo Double IPA
- Overall 85/100
- Appearance 22/25
- Aroma 20/25
- Taste 21/25
- Finish 22/25
This Double IPA is brewed out of Saint Genevieve MO at the Charleville Brewery and it has a hefty 9%ABV. The bottle states that they brew this beer with four different styles of hops. They are Chinook, Columbus, Tomahawk, and Zeus hops.
This Double IPA pours out a nice copper color with a decent amount of head that laced very nicely on the glass. The aroma is very hoppy as the four styles really show their lovely face producing citrus, pine and tropical tones while balancing nicely with the sweet malt. The taste of this beer was very hoppy with undertones of the sweet malt found in the aroma. Mucho Hoppo puts you in a headlock after the double axehandle off the top rope when finishing very bitter and hoppy 1,2.3.
Pick this one up if you are a hop head. You won’t be disappointed, I guarantee it.
Cheers!
In: Beer Reviews, IPA's, Rating 80-89
Sierra Nevada Celebration 2011 Fresh Hop Ale
- Overall 90/100
- Appearance 23/25
- Aroma 23/25
- Taste 22/25
- Finish 22/25
The Celebration Ale is brewed by Sierra Nevada which is located in Chico CA. It has a nice 6.8% ABV and is available as a winter seasonal.
This IPA pours out a gorgeous copper orange color producing a robust white head that laced beautifully on the glass. The aroma was full of piney, and floral hops as well as some sweet grainy malt with a nice hint of Christmas spices. The taste was full of hops with some nice spicy undertones. The finish was rather bitter and crisp but overall this beer had a wonderful balance to go with a full flavor. I also felt that it hid the ABV very well.
I would strongly recommend you pick this beer up to enjoy this Holiday season. If you are a fan of a good IPA you will not be let down.
Cheers!
In: Beer Reviews, IPA's, Rating 90-94, Winter Seasonal's
Charleville Strawberry Blonde
- Overall 83/100
- Appearance 18/25
- Aroma 24/25
- Taste 21/25
- Finish 20/25
This Strawberry Blonde is brewed by the Charleville Brewery located in Saint Genevieve. It is available year-round and it has a 4.5% ABV.
This beer pours out a nice golden color however it didn’t create alot of head. The head that was created did lace on the glass leaving a “ring on the tree” effect. The aroma was wonderful as it was full of strawberries and a bit of grainy malt. When I say full of strawberries I mean it they really take over the beer as it smelled a bit like strawberry Kool-Aid. The taste of this beer starts off with the grainy malt that was found in the aroma while the strawberries are found in the finish. I honestly thought there would be more of a strawberry taste due to the aroma but in fact there was a nice hint of strawberry that balanced nicely with the malt.
If you are lucky enough to be able to get Charleville beers you should give them a shot. This is yet another fine example of what Charleville brings to the craft beer table.
Cheers!
In: Ale's, Beer Reviews, Fruit and Vegetable Beers, Rating 80-89
