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January 30, 2005

Saint Arnold: Elissa

Name: Saint Arnold: Elissa
Brewed In/Type: Houston, TX/IPA
Bought at/Price unknown/unknown
Dennis: Generally an IPA means two things, bitter taste and high alcohol content. This is, as expected, a hoppy beer and interestingly one that we can't find locally. It was shipped by a friend in Texas as part of a hostage exchange :) That being said I'm a little upset, because it means we can't have any more of his wonderful beer. At 6.6% it's not to strong, and the bitterness's edge is softened by the malty body but not dulled. Over all just a damn fine quality IPA that makes me wish I could sample the other offerings from this brewery. If you find this, then drink one for us :)
Jen: This is a great IPA. It has a nice floral hops smell and taste to it that is accompanied by the sweetness of the malt. It goes down smoothly and the aftertaste is of hops that is well balanced and not too overwhelming. A complex, yet simple and delicious IPA that I would definitely drink more of if we could get it around here.
Rating: 4.25 out of 5

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January 28, 2005

Rogue: Younger's Special Bitter Ale

Name: Rogue: Younger's Special Bitter Ale
Brewed In/Type: Newport, OR / Bitter Ale
Bought at/Price Woodman's / $6.99 6 pack
Dennis: This is a very bitter beer compared to other ESB's I've had. Light on the hop flavor, and slightly reminiscent of unsweetened tea the taste certainly leaves an impression in your mouth. Better the 2nd time around in my opinion, this is a good beer for someone who craves a bitter without massive dryhopping or overwhelming hop taste.
Jen: This beer puzzles me. I taste a slight sweetness at first, but than it turns around and offers a hoppy bitterness only to end with a nice mild malt flavor. It has a relatively light body and is very well balanced. This is a different brew, but definitely enjoyable. A good starter beer for an early afternoon!
Rating: 3.75 out of 5

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January 26, 2005

Full Moon Pale Rye Ale

Name: Real Ale: Full Moon Pale Rye Ale
Brewed In/Type: Blanco, TX / Pale Ale
Bought at/Price unknown/unknown
Dennis: This is another in a fine batch of transported beers shipped to us from TX, and I have to say a pretty good one. This really doesn't taste like rye to me...nothing like a roast beef sammich as Jen suggest (humorously). While this isn't the most amazing beer this has a deep mellow sweetness to it that almost defies description. Its certainly worth tasting if you have the chance, and I'd probably buy it again if I could get it in a 12 pack.
Jen: This is a very light ale with high carbonation and citrusy hops to it. It is fairly easy to drink and IMO it is slightly watery. It is not bad but its flavors are almost too muted for me. Its presence is slightly weak. Don't get me wrong, I like it, but I tend to like a more bolder ale than what this is offering.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5

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January 24, 2005

Flying Dog: Horn Dog

Name: Flying Dog: Horn Dog Barley Ale
Brewed In/Type: Denver, CO / Barley Ale
Bought at/Price Woodman's / $7.49 4 pack
Dennis: Let me explain something about barley wines, they are the strongest of beer's traditionally. This guy clocks in at a healthy 10.5% which is respecatable. Very thick body with a dark and malty body this beer will probably kick your butt if you aren't a lover of barley wine beers. The smell is dark, musty, and sour....almost reminds me of raisins....very very sweet, syrupy raisins. I like this beer but don't try this if you haven't grown a pair.
Jen: I, for one, am not a lover of barley wine brews. IMO, it is too sweet of a beer. This brew has undertones of raisin and "figgy pudding". It is slighlty malty with little to no hops to it. It does have a high ABV, but I don't think it makes up for the sicky sweetness.
Rating: 4.25 out of 5 (Dennis made me!)

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January 22, 2005

JW Dundee: Honey Brown

Name: JW Dundee: Honey Brown
Brewed In/Type: Rochester, NY / Lager
Bought at/Price Woodman's / $15.99 24 variety pack
Dennis: This is a respectable everyday kinda beer. One of the best aspects of it to me is that it doesn't try to hide behind excessive carbonation. This is very safe brew, there's really no excessive malts or hops to speak of, but the honey added to it really makes for a smooth non offensive drink that is sure to go over well for most groups. Plus, honestly, it's pretty cheap :)
Jen: This is a light lager, but it does have some decent flavors to it. It has a nice mild malt flavor mixed with the sweetness of honey. It offers a slight hoppy flavor, but nothing bitter. Overall, it is a decent brew, and good for those that are trying to expand their beer palate. One to add to our inexpensive beers to keep on hand.
Rating: 3.75 out of 5

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January 20, 2005

Mendocino: White Hawk IPA

Name: White Hawk IPA
Brewed In/Type: Saratoga Springs, NY / IPA
Bought at/Price Woodman's / $6.49 6 pack
Dennis: So far every beer from Mendocino has been very good. The only other one I've had is the Red Tail Ale so I really wanted to give this a shot. Real light smelling with a flowery hoppy scent this is a really good IPA. Clocking in at a respectable 7% abv and a very reasonable price this is certainly up there with the better IPA's you can get such as the Avery IPA only a little less bitter.
Jen: This is a light bodied, fuzzy IPA. It has a nice blend of hops. It is bitter from the start to finish and gives off a nice mild aroma. It says the it has a "bold malt flavor", but I am having trouble finding it. The hops mask most any other flavor in this brew. It isn't bad, but I would rather spend the extra 50 cents for Avery IPA.
Rating: 4 out of 5

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January 18, 2005

Samuel Smith: Winter Welcome

Name: Samuel Smith: Winter Welcome
Brewed In/Type: Tadcaster, England / Ale
Bought at/Price gift / unknown
Dennis: This is the first Samuel Smith that we've ever had, so it's a whole new catagory of beer. This smells to me almost like a german pils, the taste is slightly over carbonated with a light roasted malty body and slight hint of nuttiness that is very subtle. I didn't really get any hops out of this personally, so if they are there they are blended really well with the malt. Overall a fine brew that I would never turn down if given to me (as this was).
Jen: Not too bad of a brew for my first Samuel Smith. It has a nice mild roasted malt flavor with slight undertones of caramelization. It ends with a nice mild hop flavor that is barely noticable. Not necessarily a favorite winter brew, but nice drinkability.
Rating: 3.75 out of 5

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January 16, 2005

Samuel Adams: Winter Lager

Name: Sam Adams: Winter Lager
Brewed In/Type: Boston, MA / Ale
Bought at/Price Woodman's / $9.99 12 pack
Dennis: It's pretty much a safe bet in my book to drink anything that Sam Adam's makes. That being said this beer leaves me a little confused. It's a meduim bodied beer with a warm malty, musky, slightly spicy taste to it. Overall though I walked away with a metallic taste that I just don't know where it came from. I think the only thing really winter about this is it's deep warm malty base. Which while being very nice, doesn't exactly take any risks.
Jen: I always enjoy a good Sam Adams, however this isn't necessarily their best. It does have some nice wintery spicy undertones, but nothing that wows you. It has spicy hops to it and a nice creamy malt finish. I obviously enjoy this more than Dennis, and for those who like a nice medium body lager with flavors that aren't too overwhelming, than give this a shot.
Rating: 3.75 out of 5

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January 14, 2005

Avery: India Pale Ale

Name: Avery Brewing India Pale Ale
Brewed In/Type: Boulder, CO / IPA
Bought at/Price Woodman's / $6.99 6 pack
Dennis: The smell of hops in this IPA isn't strong, which kinda catches you off guard when you drink it. The bitterness comes on very strong at first and certainly leaves an impression in your mouth. Not over carbonated and the body is lightweight, this what I consider to be a bitter beer. Perfect if that's what you want, but not exactly for those who don't love a good IPA or who are looking for a deeper flavor. I would drink this again personally, but if your looking for something a bit softer try a redhook IPA.
Jen: Another fantastic brew from Avery. This IPA is full of hoppy goodness, which is complimented by the malted barley. The hops are both floral and grapefruity. The bitterness is not too overwhleming. This IPA is now one of favorites. It is easy to drink and just plain good!
Rating: 4.25 out of 5

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January 12, 2005

Dogfish Head: 90 Minute IPA

Name: Dogfish Head: 90 Minute IPA
Brewed In/Type: Milton, DE / IPA
Bought at/Price Woodman's / $8.99 4 pack
Dennis: This IPA rates probably among the highest at ratebeer.com and other sites, and fiinding it was actually pretty hard considering it's almost always sold out. This is a very aggressively hopped beer as they state on the label. The smell is very strong, and the first impression is very bitter and heavy, but quickly dissolves away into a lighter body which saves this beer from being overbearing and syrupylike. While I feel that the price is a little too high, the craftsmanship in this beer and quality of the hops are among the best.
Jen: This is a high quality IPA. The carbonation is among the best and the body is a nice medium to full. The hops are evenly spread throught the taste of the brew and is accompanied by the wonderful flavor of barley. This may be slightly overpriced, but for a special occasion it is definitely worth it, especially if you love a good IPA.
Rating: 4.5 out of 5

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January 10, 2005

Michelob: Seasonal Brew All Malt

Name: Michelob: Seasonal Brew All Malt
Brewed In/Type: St. Louis, MO / Lager
Bought at/Price Costco Seasonal Variety pack (18 bottles) / $16.59
Dennis: There isn't a lot here to support the idea that this is a special seasonal brew. It's not a bad macro beer, but it's about as deep as a puddle as far as taste. Of the lineup this is probably one of the best, but I wouldn't go out of my way to purchase it at all.
Jen: In the end, this is just a macro brewed American beer. It has a mild malty flavor that ends clean and crisp. However, there are no hops to be found. There is no "complexity" to this beer, so, IMO, it drinks like any other cheap brew. I will drink it and I would never turn away if it was offered to me (that actually goes for any brew). Not bad, but not necessarily good either.
Rating: 2.75 out of 5

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January 08, 2005

RedHook: ESB

Name: RedHook: ESB
Brewed In/Type: Portsmouth, NH/Amber Ale
Bought at/Price Woodmans /$14.99 24 pack (variety)
Dennis: ESB stands for Extra Special Bitter...that being said this isn't that adventurous of a beer. It's a nice middle of the road ESB that plays it safe. You'd think I didn't like it, but I have to say this is another fine brew from Redhook. Malty and hoppy, with a softened but distinctive bitter taste (lemon grass?...i'm not sure) the only real draw back is the slight over carbonation. This is a good beer.
Jen: A nice smooth beer with caramel malting and an after taste of hoppiness. It is both rich and sweet all at the same time. It has a medium body and doesn't linger for too long in your mouth. It is easy to drink, but there are other Redhook's that I would choose other this one (soon to review). Other way, I wouldn't turn it down if offered to me.
Rating: 3.75 out of 5

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January 06, 2005

Michelob: Marzen

Name: Michelob: Marzen
Brewed In/Type: St. Louis, MO / Lag
Bought at/Price Costco Seasonal Variety perack (18 bottles) / $16.59
Dennis: Marzen is bascially german for malted seasonal beer. That being said this beer does have a maltier taste to it than regular Michelob. Then again my urine probably has a maltier taste as well. That being said, don't waste your time on this and if you want cheap american beer just buy the 24 pack of MGD Light or Michelob Golden Draft in can. They basically taste the same so buy whatever is cheapest.
Jen: This tastes like a really bad version of any german beer. I have been to Germany, and this tastes nothing like anything I drank over there. It has a flavor of malted water. This lager has little to offer over its regular cheap American brew, except maybe a little more maltiness to it!
Rating: 2.25 out of 5

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January 04, 2005

Bells: Winter White Ale

Name: Bells: Winter White Ale
Brewed In/Type: Comstock, MI / White Ale
Bought at/Price Woodman's / $6.99
Dennis: Bell's is a brewery that continues to frustrate me. I want to like them so much, but then they produce beers like this. This is a fine white (wheat) beer, but there's nothing that screams white about it aside from color. The taste is not so much watered down as it is muted, and the body comes as a little over fizzy. Over all, it's most outstanding feature is it's unmemorability. For $6.99 I expected something a little more impressive than 4.5% abv as well. The taste and flavor are there, just not what I think should be from a micro brew.
Jen: This beer is not too bad. It has a slightly sweet taste to it, somewhat fruity, like most white ale's do. It has a light body and seems almost over-carbonated. I probably won't buy it again. I would stick to Bells Best Brown when I enjoy a kalamazoo brew again,
Rating: 3.25 out of 5

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January 02, 2005

Third Coast Old Ale

Name: Third Coast Old Ale
Brewed In/Type: Comstock, MI / Ale
Bought at/Price Woodman's / $10.49 6 pack
Dennis: This beer get's a 99% rating at ratebeer, and is among the top 50 beers for the midwest. That being said this beer reminds me of Dirty Bastard...or at the least a strong scottish ale. Very strong, dark tasting and rich. Smells of a deep, dark, slightly hoppy evergreen. Definatly a season brew, and not recommended for the light of heart...stout lovers only.
Jen: This is a super hearty ale that whats to kick your ass and take names. It is rich in flavor and lots of malts. It almost tastes like burnt caramel. It is a pretty decent beer, if you can get over the initial shock of the first taste. Not bad, but for the price, I may not buy it again.
Rating: 4 out of 5

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