When tasting and reviewing a beer there are a few things to look for and to keep in mind. Firstly, it is best to drink at least twelve ounces of the beer when giving a review. Five ounce samples just don't let you get to know the beer as intimately as the brewer wants you to before you go writing about their child. Also, be sure that your glass and palate is always clean between beers. A glass of water between beers works to keep your mouth ready for new flavors. Be sure your beer is at a proper temperature. The colder it is the less flavor you can taste. Lastly, judge it on its style not on your personal taste.
Now how to taste a beer:
- Look - Check the head and the body for color appropriate for the style, pure white to brownish. Check for cloudiness up against light.
- Smell - Hops? Malt? Coffee? Chocolate? Fruit? Whatever you smell, does it go with the style. The smell should be almost as enjoyable as actually drinking the beer.
- Taste - The fun part. Be sure to take in the smells just before you take a sip to bring out all the flavors. Pay attention to its body in your mouth, is it too heavy or too light? Is there an appropriate bitterness and maltiness? What extra do you taste, chocolate, toffee, coffee, spices, fruit, etc. Do the tastes work together and for the style?
Ales
Pale Ales
Belhaven Twisted Thistle IPA
Jordan Wilberding
- Look: A little lighter than most IPAs. Poured with a very small head even when vigorously poured. The head quickly dissipated.
- Smell: Has a nice hop aroma, nothing too great though, just a nice sensible pleasing smell.
- Taste: I hate comparing beers to other beers, but this beer really tastes like Goose Island's IPA but with a dark punch in the middle, almost porterish like, but then finishes amazingly clean. It is very interesting.
Overall, as far as IPAs go, it is just about as good as all the others, but I do enjoy the unique bite it has and am amazed at how it finishes so cleanly. It has a 6.1% ABV which is about average for an IPA. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoys IPA type beers that are not overly hopped.
Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA
Jordan Wilberding
- Look: Pours a little darker than most IPAs with an inch of head that dissipates quickly.
- Smell: Has very strong hop smell, almost smells like roasted hops.
- Taste: You really end up not tasting the hops that much. It starts with a sweet taste lightly hopped and turns into a nice roasted taste. Finishes with a warm sensation in your stomach.
120 min IPA, as far as I know, is considered the srongest IPA made in the world, with a 21% ABV. You wouldn't be able to tell from drinking it though. It is a great beer if you love IPA and also like some stout flavors in your beer without being overpowering. I really wish more companies would invest time in creating a wider range of strong ales.
Dogfish Head Aprihop (Apricot IPA)
Jordan Wilberding
- Look: Pours a very clear golden color with virtually no head.
- Smell: Mostly a hoppy aroma with a note of apricot.
- Taste: Starts hoppy and ends with a fizzy apricot taste in the back the of the mouth. The two flavors really complement each other well.
Aprihop is named so because it is an IPA brewed with real apricots. I generally hate fruit beers, since they are always too fruity for me, but Dogfish Head did a fine job on this beer. Hopefully they try some other combinations in the future.
Flying Dog Snake Dog IPA
Jordan Wilberding
- Look: A strong golden yellow color. Pours with an inch of head, which slowly dissipates.
- Smell: Has very noticeable hop aroma. Can definitely smell that flowery smell.
- Taste: A nice slightly alcoholic, medium-strong hop flavor.
A very nice slight more hoppy than usual IPA. It has a modest 5.8% ABV, which makes it a good session beer.
Founders Devil Dancer Triple IPA
Jordan Wilberding
- Look: Pours a murky brown with nearly no carbonation.
- Smell: Has very strong hop smell, almost smells like roasted hops, kind of like 120min from Dogfish Head
- Taste: Has a very strong bitter taste, yet remains very smooth.
At 13% this is definitely a strong beer, however there really isn't that much of a bite to it as you might expect, as the beer remains very smooth through out the pint.
Long-Shot Grape Pale Ale
This was one of two winners in an employee home-brew contest held within the Boston Brewery.
manchicken
- Look: Fat head, dissipates quickly. Carbonation tickles my nose.
- Smell: Smells of light malts with a strong floral hops--though less than a normal Sammy.
- Taste: Wheaty, semi-sweet at first, sweetening as it rolls around on the tongue. Delicate hops and a very soft fruitiness. Not an obvious grape flavor. Much less hoppy than a normal Sammy.
This isn't the best pale I've ever had, but it is certainly an interesting one. It's one of the thickest pales I've ever had, with the consistency of a very thick apple juice. It's very strongly carbonated. I could have another one, but I'm sure there are better things to be drinking.
New Holland Brewing Co.'s Existential Ale
Tristan Sloughter
- Look: Classic India Pale Ale look, dark golden color. Less head than I expected.
- Smell: Oddly not a strong smell until you swirl it, that's when a strong wiff of alcohol meets your nose. Without swirling the beer has a good fruity smell for a pale ale, but expected more.
- Taste: Not as bitter or fruity as I would have preferred, but it definitely is a good India Pale Ale. Amazingly can't tell that it has a high alcohol content.
This beer surprised me. When I read 10.5% abv and saw the giant hop outline on the front I expect either a big hit of hops or a big hit of alcohol on each sip. Even though I would have liked more hit from the hops they do a great job of creating a 10.5% abv India Pale Ale that tastes like a normal India Pale Ale. So they found a good balance of hops to malt to create this brew. A beer to suggest to those who like India Pale Ale but can't handle the ones that get above 6 or 7% because of the bitterness.
Southern Tier Imperial IPA Unearthly
Tristan Sloughter
- Look: Beautiful golden color. Pours with almost no head but ends up with a thin layer of perfectly white foam.
- Smell: Decently strong smell of alcohol, but can still make out a nice fruity smell as well.
- Taste: A great mix of warm alcohol and sharp hop bitterness. A great light beer for on a cold night.
This beer packs a wallop. 11% abv and 153 ibu's. They were also kind enough to list the ingredients on the bottle. 2-row pale malt, cara-pils malt, red wheat, kettle hopes: chinook and cascade, hop back: styrian golding, dry hopping: cascade, centenial and chinook. Hopheads find your wallets, its a must try!
Bitters
Browns
Downtown Brown by Lost Coast Brewery & Cafe
This "smooth, medium bodied nut brown ale, hand made in small batches" comes to you from the Lost Coast Brewery & Cafe in Eureka, California, USA.
manchicken
- Look: This brown--and boy is it brown--is by no means translucent. It is very hazy and looks to have a very thick body. The head starts big and then fizzles to a thin lace.
- Smell: I smell hops, not the most appetizing hops in the world but hops none the less. I can't really smell anything else.
- Taste: There's some very laid-back malt going on. It's a little sweet, vaguely reminiscent of molasses, and then there's that hops again. The body is thick and smooth, but we've got way too much carbonation going on here.
This is certainly not the best brown ale I've had. Were it not for the bad hops and over-carbonation then this brown would be quite good. It claims to be a nut brown, but the ugly hop flavor is bleeding any nutty flavor out. I don't think I could stomach more than one of these.
Messiah Bold by He'Brew, The Chosen Beer
This dark brown is brought to you by the folks at Shmaltz Brewing Company from Saratoga Springs, NY.
manchicken
- Look: True to its name, this is a very dark brown ale. The head is thin (approx. 1cm) and dissipates quickly never to return again.
- Smell: Mmm... very sweet malt smell, something maybe a little nutty.
- Taste: Citrusy, not as sweet as it smells. It's not as strong as I'd hoped, but not exactly watered down. Very drinkable, half-sweet-half-bitter finish. Carbonation is there but not much of it.
This is a tasty beer. It doesn't quite live up to its name of "Messiah Bold" being a little on the shy side of browns. I could drink more than one, but it could use a little more of pretty much everything.
Wild Goose Nut Brown Ale by Wild Goose Brewery
This excellent nut brown ale is brought to us by the Wild Goose Brewery in Frederick, MD, USA.
manchicken
- Look: Pours well, thick cream-colored head. Dark, translucent amber color. Head dissipates slowly to a thick lace.
- Smell: Floral hops, soft and yielding to the smell of the toasted malt.
- Taste: Smooth, strong toasty malt with a very gentle hops in just about the right quantity--a little more wouldn't hurt--with a very obviously nutty flavor.
This beer is quickly becoming one of my favorite nut brown ales. It could use a little more body, but it's not watery. It's very well balanced--minus the need for some more hop--and it's incredibly drinkable. Hell, it even got my wife drinking a beer!
Winter Warmer by Tristan Sloughter
Another beer from Tristan Sloughter. Again the bottle has a Sam Adams label... false advertising!
Jordan Wilberding
- Look: Pour with a small light brown head that quickly dissipates. The beer is a dark brown, but with lots of clarity.
- Smell: It smells basically like an IPA, just a fresh, hoppy smell.
- Taste: It tastes like a typical brown, kind of a nutty flavor, that finishes with a crisp hoppy flavor.
This is my first winter warmer I have ever had, but I like it a lot, I will definitely have to make a batch sometime.
English Strong Ale
Insanely Bad Elf By Ridgeway Brewing(UK)
manchicken
- Look: Pours with a golden color and very little head.
- Smell: Smells very hoppy.
- Taste: Starts with a hoppy flavor and finishes with a smooth malty flavor.
This beer is a tad bit sweet at the end, which is probably an effect of having a n 11.2% abv. Overall the beer is very good, not sure it is worth the 5$(from a store) for one 12oz bottle, but it is good nonetheless.
Porters
Cocoa Porter Winter Warmer by Tommyknocker
Ale brewed with cocoa powder & honey, brewed by the Tommyknocker Brewery & Pub, LLC. in Idaho Springs, CO.
manchicken
- Look: Very dark, the bubbles are very light and happy and inviting. The head is about 3-4cm, and it sticks around for several minutes before reducing to a light lace.
- Smell: I smell lots of hops with accents of honey and cocoa.
- Taste: Wow, that's chocolate I'm tasting. There are some unmistakable hops, malt, and lots of sweet, sweet chocolate and honey.
This seems to be pretty unpopular with many folks reviewing on BA, but I like it. I wouldn't drink it with dinner, but for dessert it's just fantastic. Your girlfriend will like this beer.
Goat Scrotum Ale by Tristan Sloughter
Jordan Wilberding
- Look: The beer comes in a Sam Adams bottle with the labels still on!!! Other than that, it pours a witha thick, chocately brown head of about 2 inches. The beer is very, very dark.
- Smell: Has a chocolatey, malty smell to it.
- Taste: The beer flows very smoothly on the palette with a taste of chocolate, coffee, and a hint of ginger. A great tasting porter.
Stouts
Coffee Stout by Schlafly, the Saint Louis Brewery
Some notes from the bottle: This Fair Trade espresso is brewed using the cold toddy method for an exceptionally delicious, fresh flavor. This Oatmeal Stout with natural flavor added uses locally roasted Kaldi's Coffee (local to St. Louis, MO, USA).
manchicken
- Look: A nice dark color that I would expect for a stout, but darker still for a nice almost coffee-like color.
- Smell: I smell some rather profound hops, and subtle hint of coffee.
- Taste: Very hoppy, you can definitely taste a very acidic coffee flavor (could have been smoother). Just a little sweet, but with finish that just screams "hey, these hops taste like coffee!"
I like this coffee stout, but I think they could have toned down the hops and turned up the volume on the coffee and some more of the sweetness I'm getting. I certainly recommend this one.
Other
Scotch Style Ale by Schlafly
This spring-time seasonal is brought to you by the kind folks at Shlafly Brewery in St. Louis, MO. on January 21st, 2008. It was consumed on March 6th, of 2008.
manchicken
- Look: Pours with a gorgeous light-to-dark brown color and a nice fat head at about 3cm. After about 45 seconds the color goes darker and the head settles to about 1cm, this beer looks very good.
- Smell: Floral hops tickle my nose and the toasted malt is subtle.
- Taste: Very wheaty with a kick of citrus. Finishes with a smooth hop taste.
This beer is quickly becoming a spring favorite of mine as it's the first beer in a while I saw fit to buy a whole six-pack of. This sweet and strong flavor is well balanced and goes great with a something salty or sour.
Weiss by Sin City Brewing Co.
This "refreshing German wheat beer" is brought to you by the Sin City Brewing Co. in Las Vegas, NV. I found it in a Sin City Brewery Co. shop in the Miracle Mile Shops center on Las Vegas Blvd.
manchicken
- Look: Light tan, cloudy, very similar in appearance to other hefeweizen beers. Absolutely no head what-so-ever, just a tiny (very) thin lace along the edge of the glass.
- Smell: I smell almost nothing. A tiny hint of hops can be smelled if you let let it sit under your nose for a while.
- Taste: Barely any malt taste, very watery consistency. Overly carbonated. Interesting hops, but there is a distinct taste that seems similar to ammonia.
This beer has a very watery mouth-feel and is so over-carbonated that it really gets in the way of any opportunities that any other flavors might have had to come out and play.
All-in-all, I really didn't enjoy this beer. I could only stomach half, and for the $6 price tag it's hardly worth the trouble.
Dunkelweizen by Gordon Biersch
This excellent dunkelweizen is brought to you by Gordon Biersch. I discovered it at the Las Vegas International Airport in Las Vegas, NV.
manchicken
- Look: This beer looks think, dark, with a cream-colored head that sits well and dissipates slowly.
- Smell: I smell a very dark toasty malt. It smells strongly of molasses and a light hops. Very sweet and mouthwatering.
- Taste: Sweet, molasses, with a slightly metallic after-taste.
In the week I've been around Vegas sampling beers, this is the best I've had. The mouthfeel is smooth and silky, with slight whisps of carbonation. I think I'll have another.
Black Bier Ale by Dark Horse Brewing Co.
This gorgeous dark ale comes to you from the nice folks at the Dark Horse Brewing Company in Marshall, MI.
manchicken
- Look: *VERY* dark with two fingers of extremely thick dark--coca-cola colored--head. Not transparent at all.
- Smell: Strong hops, sweet malt, hint of chocolate.
- Taste: Mmm... sweet chocolately and thick. Strong biting hops like you'd expect in an IPA, all playing nice with gentle cocoa. A nice bitter coffee finish.
A very heavy dark beer that is just very thick and coating. I'd like to see a little more of that malt to balance the hops, but it wouldn't take much. This is a very nice dark. This beer follows dessert so very well.
Belgians
Brasserie des Rocs Grand Cru Belgian Special Brown Ale
Jordan Wilberding
- Look: Has a very dark brown color. The tan head starts big but shrinks quickly. They also must not filter or centrifuge the beer as there was alot of yeast floating around, more so than most Belgians that are refermented in the bottle with a small amount of yeast.
- Smell: Slightly subdued sweet smell, almost like bubblegum with a slight hint of alcohol. Very hard to describe.
- Taste: It has a very light sweet taste that you find in some other Belgian beers immediately when you take a drink, but has very little aftertaste.
This beer is very similar to Rochefort 8 after it has sat at room temp for a few minutes. It has an 9.5% ABV.
Goose Island Demolition
Jordan Wilberding
- Look: Pours golden almost no head.
- Smell: Has a very sweet wheat smell to it.
- Taste: It has a very nice wheat taste. It is almost like a strong 312 for people are familiar with that beer from Goose Island. It is very drinkable and has nice happy hop ending to it.
Demolition is an excellent beer that is marketed from Goose Island as being a "Belgian Style Ale". It definitely has Belgian overtones too it, while remaining true to Goose Islands style of beer. It is absolutely a great beer that really gives a nice spin to what a Belgian Ale really can be.
La Fin Du Monde
Jordan Wilberding
- Look: Pours golden with a huge head.
- Smell: Has a slight spicy smell similar to some of the other spicy Belgians. I am still learning to discern the Belgian spice flavors from each other, so that is good as I can say.
- Taste: Has a slight Belgian taste to it, but almost also has a slight pineapple taste. It is not enough of a pineapple taste to dissuade you from liking it if you do not like pineapple like I do, but just a hint enough to give it a very unique flavor.
As written on the bottle this beer has gone through "triple fermentation". I am guessing that means primary fermentation, a secondary fermentation, then a final fermentation in the bottle. It is like a strong golden ale, but does not include as much of a spice punch, and has other subtle complexities not found in beers like Duvel. Very good though.
Pauwel Kwak
Jordan Wilberding
- Look: Pours a nice golden cider color with lots of head that dissipates rather quickly, but leaves some behind to linger.
- Smell: Has a light spicy aroma and not too much more.
- Taste: I've had it in both bottle and on tap. From the bottle, it tastes like a water downed Duvel, just a light watery spice flavor. On tap it had a very strong unique flavor. I can't really describe it at the moment as I don't remember it well enough, but will remember to write notes down next time I taste it.
The beer is served with a long rounded bottom glass that sits on a wooden stand. It is very unique and fun to drink from. Definitely get this beer on tap though, it is not worth drinking when from a bottle.
Trappistes Achel Blond Bier
Jordan Wilberding
- Look: As you might have guessed, the beer is blonde. It pours with a huge head; this is one you want to pour very slowly. The head holds for quite a while, like Duvel does.
- Smell: Has a slight spicy smell similar to some of the other spicy Belgians.
- Taste: It has both a spicy and a fruity type flavor that I still haven't been able to quite distinguish yet, it might be an oaky banana. The flavors are so subdued it is hard to tell.
I would consider this to be one of your standard Belgian Strong Golden Ales. It is a true Trappist Ale. I would say it is similar to Duvel, but with more a subdued spice and more of an oaky banana flavor coming through. It is has an 8% ABV.
Trappistes Rochefort 8
Jordan Wilberding
- Look: Very dark beer, couldn't even see through it when I put it to the light. The tall head was a creamy brown but quickly dissipated.
- Smell: Surprisingly the beer does not have that strong of a smell, even when swirled. I only detected a light barley smell along with a light alcohol smell.
- Taste: The beer has roasted malt taste that takes a few moments to be fully realized. However, the taste is not overpowering. It is more of a pleasant, smooth taste. Towards the end of the beer it starts to sweeten up just a tad.
Rochefort is one of the six true Trappist breweries still in existence in Belgium. It definitely stays to the true monastic tradition. Unlike some of the other Belgian beers that are lighter in color, Rochefort 8 is a very dark beer, but does not taste like the dark porters or stouts that you might be used to. With an 9.2% ABV the beer is still very drinkable.
Ancient Ales
Midas Touch
Tristan Sloughter
- Look: Pale, not as light as a Pilsner but not as dark as an IPA. Small, barely noticeable on the pour, white head.
- Smell: A very sweet honey smell to it. No hop smell, pretty sure there are no hops in the beer.
- Taste: A very pleasing honey taste. I want to say its a balance between a beer and a mead. I've only had one mead and it was very strong so hard for me to compare the two completely since I've only tried one. All I can say its a very pleasant sweet beer to sip on and enjoy the honey and grape tastes.
The beer contains barley, honey, white muscat grapes and saffron and is an amazing work of science. The ingredients were discovered by taking samples from nearly 3000 year old drink vessels. Yes, it is based on the recipe for the oldest known fermented beverage from King Midas' funeral. Thank god for Molecular Archaeology. Definitely a must try for everyone.
Lagers
Pilsner
Hallertau Imperial Pilsner by Samuel Adams
Jordan Wilberding
- Look: It is a very light golden color, clear enough to see the head through the bottom of the glass, speaking of which, it pours with a nice 1/2 inch of head or so that quickly dissipates.
- Smell: An absolute hoppy smell with a slight malty smell.
- Taste: A very power bitter hoppy taste on the back of the pallete, with a flavorful hoppy aftertaste.
This is a seasonal ale from Samuel Adams made from handpicked hops from the Hallertau region of Bararia Germany. It is called an "Intense Hop Experience". They are not joking! It is the hoppiest beer that I have probably had. Even compared to 120 min, which is continually hopped, the lack of such a strong ABV helps the hop flavor come out even strong with this imperial pilsner. It definitely made be very "hoppy".
Bock
Dunkel
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