Name: Ska Brewing: Decadent Imperial IPA
Brewed In/Type: Durango, CO / Double IPA
Bought at/Price: Binny's / $5.99 22oz
Dennis: Usually when you have double IPA's you get hop's to the Nth degree and a strong bitter flavor. This brew however seems to take a more subtle approach. At first, I wouldn't have believed you if you told me this was a double IPA. I also wouldn't have believed it was 10% alcohol either. I think what they did was skip on the dry hopping (which is just smell really) and actually added some Belgian sugars to it to hide the alcohol and soften the hop bitters. Honestly, at first I was disappointed, but as I drank I really have come to respect the power behind this beer.
Jen: At first whiff, all I get is mild hops and the sweetness of caramel malts that I'd not expect from an Imperial IPA. The taste is in the same boat. It has a nice piney and grape-fruity hop flavor, but then this weird sweetness sneaks up on you. I would usual expect a punch of hops with a mild malt backbone, but this seems to be a balance of the two. I do appreciate the fact that it is 10% ABV and you can't tell, but I don't find myself wanting more.
Rating: 3.25 out of 5

Posted by Jen at 11:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Name: Adnams: Broadside Original Strong Ale
Brewed In/Type: England / Ale
Bought at/Price Binny's / $1.49 bottle (on clearance)
Dennis: Picked this up on a whim in the bargin bin of a local Binny's, and couldn't be happier. The aroma on this is true to the taste, dark, sweet fruits, with a strong malty backbone. Low carbonation suits this just fine, as the taste manages to convey sweet malts. Slightly thick in body, it really opens up once your 1/2 through the bottle and the tastes come through. At 6.0% honestly, for an english beer, it's a steal.
Jen: This seems to have an unusual plethora of flavors. It has the tastes of dark dried fruits like dates and figs, but then I also get a twinge at the end of strong bitters on the exhale. There is definitely a presence of malts blended with hops in this bubbly brew. It has a light to medium body and goes down smoothly. Pretty decent and easy to swallow.
Rating: 3.75 out of 5

Posted by Jen at 11:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Name: Three Floyd's: Alpha Klaus
Brewed In/Type: Munster, IN / Porter (seasonal)
Bought at/Price Binny's / $7.99 22oz
Dennis: Three Floyd's really is one of those breweries that has a signature taste. Usually, in all their brews I can pick out the hops they use, and honestly it's been what I look for sometimes as well. This take on a seasonal porter is no different, it has everything you'd expect from a porter. Chalky burnt chocolate taste, medium body, easy drink-ability, but it offers a decent chunk of classic Three Floyd's hops in there (piney in my opinion). Honestly though, this is easy to drink, and if you love porters working having. But the price and low alcohol content (7.5%) really hinder the "purchase again" factor. There are beer that are just as amazing, for almost 1/2 the price....plus they come from farther away even.
Jen: To me, this is just another porter, but with a little more. It has the typical flavors of roasted malts, coffee and bittersweet chocolate. It is both dry and easy to drink. The one thing that makes this stand out (slightly) is how the bitter hops interrupt the ho-humness of a porter. This also has a 7.5% ABV, which is abnormally high for a beer that is "the leftovers"!
Rating: 3.75 out of 5

Posted by Dennis Judd at 02:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Name: Founder's: Centennial IPA
Brewed In/Type: Grand Rapids, MI / IPA
Bought at/Price: Woodman's /
Dennis: A hoppy beer is a good beer in my opinion, and this certainly delivers they way an IPA should. The aroma is strong hops (due to dry hopping), I'm assuming centennial hops (but who knows really, probably something else in there...maybe not). The taste is quite good also, even though their website says only 45 IBU's, I still get a pleasant bitterness to it, that comes in quick and then fades. It really makes this beer stand out from other whitewashed, weak IPA's. At 7.2% alcohol, I could easily drink this more if the price was more reasonable, and there wasn't so much sediment on the bottom of the bottle (had to sacrifice an oz. each to the beer gods).
Jen: I find this beer to be drinkable. It has a nice hoppy body accompanied by a malt background that you can recognize throughout the beer start to finish. It has the definite tastes of citrusy fruits with a more syrupy mouth-feel than I expected. All the same, I do enjoy this, in it's short lived life!
Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Posted by Dennis Judd at 11:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Name: Fuller's 1845
Brewed In/Type: London, England / Ale
Bought at/Price Woodman's / $2.99 18.6 oz bottle
Dennis: The only real caveat with bottle conditioning beer is that you risk ending up with two bottles of the exact same brew, that taste completely different. As was the case with this beer, one was rich deep malts with a sweet fruity aftertaste, and a nice subtle hop bitterness. The second bottle came across very different, almost like an ESB...certainly higher IBU's than the first bottle. Over all, honestly I'm a little put off by this variance, but it's not really a bad brew. Sort of like a hopped up New Castle, but at 6.5% alcohol.
Jen: I really don't find anything too special about this beer. It is slightly sweet with fruits and malts at the start, but it is quickly overshadowed by ending with a huge burst of hop bitterness. Actually, Dennis and I switched because my just tasted like an ESB. Nothing here to brag about, but it is drinkable.
Rating: 3 out of 5

Posted by Jen at 02:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Name: Columbus
Brewed In/Type: Netherlands / Belgian Pale Ale
Bought at/Price Binny's / $1.99 bottle (clearance)
Dennis: Picked this up at a local Binny's on the clearance rack, and honestly have to say I was pleasantly surprised. The bottle may look tiny to some, but the beer within packs a solid punch (9%). The smells is almost typical sweet Belgian, with a hint of dark fruits and a little tart funk. I didn't really pick up any hops in this, but a slightly lighter body really makes this shine. Honestly if your a fan of other Belgian, and want something a little different, this is great choice. Just make sure to poor carefully, because there's a fair amount of sediment.
Jen: This brew starts off with a scent of of the normal Belgian sweetness, so I was not expecting any strong hop flavor. I didn't get the hop s on the first sip. I more or less got a taste of normal malt Belgian sweet, but after a few sips I started to get a twinge after the swallow and with the exhale. Even though this brew doesn't come across with strong hop flavors, it is definitely drinkable and goes down smoothly.
Rating: 3.75 out of 5

Posted by Dennis Judd at 02:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Name: Fantome: Saison
Brewed In/Type: Belguim / Saison
Bought at/Price: Binny's / $4.99 (clearance)
Dennis:Picked this up in the clearance bin of a local Binny's, just before somebody else came in looking to purchase this last bottle. The color of this beer is amazing, something I normally don't comment on. It comes out so soft and gold, you'd think it was almost a generic american macro brew, but the aroma really lets you know that this isn't micheloeb. The body is light with just a tad of agressive carbonation, but the taste is just amazing. Hits right away with peach, and follows up with a perfect bitter twang.
Jen: After pouring ths, I was not expecting too much due to the very light color of it, but after takeing a whiff, I knew that it would have a lot to offer. The first taste is quite shocking, very tangy and sour. Then, on the second sip, I can taste the fruits and an almost grassy like bitterness at the end. Quite bubbly, easy to drink and done well.
Rating: 3.75 out of 5

Posted by Jen at 11:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)