Name:Harvey's Tom Paine: Brown Ale
Brewed In/Type: United Kingdom / Brown Ale
Bought at/Price: Binny's / $1.49 (clearance)
Dennis: The thing that always gets me about UK beers are the little differences in brewing culture. Such as low amount of carbonation and low alcohol content (5.5%) but if you can open your mind past that this is a pretty darn good beer. Smells real malty with a little hint of molasses, the taste starts out a little washed but grows on you a bit as it settles on your tongue. There's a really nice light bready/yeasty/fruity backbone to the taste that goes down easy. This is really an easy to drink English brown ale that will surprise you with how much you enjoy it.
Jen: This is not what I was expecting, but it is not too bad either. This is a creamy smooth ale with a sweet malty taste. Very low in carbonation. The ending has a slight hop bite to it, but nothing too noticeable at first. I wouldn't say that this that bad of a beer, but it really isn't my style. It is drinkable, but I seem to prefer the nutty brown ales, and not so much the malty brown ales.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5

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Name: Unibroue: Ephemere Cassis
Brewed In/Type: Quebec / Ale
Bought at/Price Binny's / $ 6.99 750ml
Dennis: Unibroue has always been able to win my respect in the beers they make. The reason why is because it's always easy to take the cheap way when making a lambic/fruit beer. Over all this is very true to it's form, overly carbonated a bit, and with a lite berry tartness aroma. The taste is tart at first and mellowing out into a nice flavor. Almost like when you are eating fresh raspberries and bite into the seed. Probably one of the best berry beers out there in terms of realism.
Jen: I think that Unibroue puts together the best in fruit beers. They never make it overwhelming. Between the bubbles, I get a definite taste of currants and a pleasant spiciness to it. It has a high drink-ability factor and goes down quite smoothly. Give this a shoot if you enjoy fruit beers!
Rating: 3.75 out of 5

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Name: La Binchoise: Reserve
Brewed In/Type: Belgium / Belgian Strong Ale
Bought at/Price: Binny's / $ 4.99 (clearance)
Dennis: Picked this up for a fair price, and really happy that we did. If somebody was to ask me about a quintessential belgium ale, I would point to this bottle. Pours with an exceptional fizz that goes away pretty quickly, the aroma is a mixture of faint alcohol,dark fruits, and call me crazy but I got peach out of it. The taste it really what sells it though, bubbly on your tounge it goes down with a faint peach tartness and follows up with a smooth buttery malt on the exhale. After about 3 sips you'll start to feel the 9% alcohol setting in, which really helps bring out more of the flavor. Not the most exceptional brew of this type, but really a very very solid one.
Jen: This is very mild for it's ABV. It is smooth with some spice and a mild citrusy lemon bite at the end. The body is filled with a peach-like flavor. It does have a bready taste to it, but it is not overwhelming. I find this easy to drink. It is quite bubbly. It is quite good, especially for Belgian Strong Ale newbees.
Rating: 3.75 out of 5

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Name: Wychwood: Hobgoblin
Brewed In/Type: England / English Brown Ale
Bought at/Price Binny's / $3.69 a pint
Dennis: To me, this is just another quintessential English brown ale. Although at 5.5% alcohol it is higher than Newcastle Brown ale, and the taste is just a bit better as well. I couldn't smell the hops, but I could taste a slight bitterness at the end that added to the character. Over all good, but the price here "in the states" is a little foreboding.
Jen: This seems to me like another English Brown ale with just a little extra kick. It starts with a nice smooth toffee malt flavor with mild chocolate tastes that is smooth and goes down easily. It ends with a slight bitterness from the Fuggle hops that is used in it. This isn't too bad, but for the $ I would also go with the Newcastle.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5

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Name: Fantome: Black Ghost
Brewed In/Type: Belgium / Dark Ale
Bought at/Price: Binny's / $4.99 (clearance)
Dennis: Aroma is what you'd expect from a strong dark belgian ale, warm sweet fruit, and malt. Although it appeared to be a little over carbonated (the cork damn near popped itself), after a few minutes of breathing it really settled down nicely. Taste is strong, very very dark in it's fruits (reminds me of the smell of over ripe bananas) and has a pleasant alcohol twinge to it. At 8%, this really starts to kick your butt halfway through, but the unique spices will have you guessing till the end.
Jen: The tastes in this ale are throwing me a bit. Upfront I get a nice smooth fruity flavor with characteristics of a strong Belgian Ale (figs, raisins etc.). I also get a mild taste of spices like anise and clove. There is also a strong malt presence throughout and ends with a major alcohol twinge. With a medium body and very fine and bubbly carbonation, this is an easy to drink dark ale.
Rating: 3.75 out of 5

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