Name: Lagunita's Cappuccino Stout Ale
Brewed In: Petaluma, CA
Type / ABV: Stout / 7.99%
Bought at/Price: Binny's / $4.49 22oz bomber
Dennis: I haven't had to many Lagunitas brews, but the few I have made me feel like I was getting beat over the head with hops. Happy to say that isn't the case here, and so far this is probably one of my favorite coffee themed beers ever. You really get a sense that real coffee was used in the beer, and not just flavoring or distillations. Also the dark bitterness of that coffee really goes a long way towards elevating the beer to a level beyond stout. It's good to see that they knew it could deliver enough to not try to hide it behind hops. This is a strong, flavorful, semi-bitter brew that pretty much shows what a coffee beer should be.
Jen: I feel that this brew brings together two of my favorite things: beer and coffee. However, it isn't a "great" brew, but it is very tasty. It smells of roasted malts and has a nice deep, dark color to it. The first sip is a little pecular, but upon further consumption, I definitely get the full flavor. It starts with toastiness from the malts, followed by the smoothness of a strongly brewed coffee, and ends with a slight bam of really dark chocolate, like my 85% cocoa bar from Trader Joes. The bubbles are quite small, but are abundant. This seems to be a well made brew and is quite easy to drink.
Rating: 3.75 out of 5

Posted by Jen at 05:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Name: Founders: Blushing Monk
Brewed In: Grand Rapids, MI
Type / ABV: Belgian style lambic / 12.3%
Bought at/Price: Binny's / $14.99
Dennis: After having Devil Dancer, both of our opinions of Founders have been pretty high. That's part of why we were willing to pay so much for this beer, and I'm happy to say that it's pretty darn impressive. The beer itself pours a deep red that almost makes it look like a dye, with a quickly dissipating head...the beer almost appears flat to the eye. Taste however, shows that the carbonation was just hiding as tiny bubbles really make their presence known. Of course the real star here is Raspberry....strong, tart, alcohol hiding raspberries. You'd never know this has 12.3% at all, you'd just think it's a pretty tangy wine cooler. Before you know it, you'll be done and wishing there was more.
Jen: Do we usually pay this much for a beer? No! Would I buy this again...without even blinking!. It pours out a nice deep magenta color with little foam. All I can smell is raspberries. First taste is quite amazing. It has a nice medium body with small bubbles. The ending is of tart raspberries that makes the alcohol virtually disappear. I wouldn't even think there was alcohol in it, except that equivalent to a wine cooler. I both want to savour this and drink it in one big gulp...can't wait to have it again. I would recommend this to anyone, even non-beer drinkers!
Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Posted by Dennis Judd at 05:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Name: Avery: The Kaiser 2006
Brewed In: Boulder, CO
Type / ABV: Imperial Oktoberfest / 9.3%
Bought at/Price: Binny's / $5.99 22oz bomber
Dennis: This beer is an example of why I like Avery so much as a brewery, they take something that is boring and mundane, and amplify it into something stronger. Every October you get besieged by a glut of Oktoberfests from just about every brewery out there, even Miller and Coors. Instead of just regurgitating another version of that though, they take and put the Avery spin on it, strong malts, and stronger hops designed to hide the increased alcohol behind it. The noble hops elevate this "lager" to a whole new level, very strong but not overpowering. The malt sweetness can be a bit overpowering, especially if you let the glass breathe a bit and warm up. Still for those of us that love large beers this is the beer of choice this fall.
Jen: I generally love Oktoberfests, and this one seems to top the list. It is unique and will stand out in a overcrowded shelf of fall brews. I get a nice malty beginning, followed by hops and ending with an alcohol pow, something you might not expect, but not overwhelmed with either. The mouth feel is a combination of tiny bubbles and a medium body. I look forward to the 2007 and planning on buying extra to cellar.
Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Posted by Dennis Judd at 05:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Name: Ska Brewing: Nut Brown Ale
Brewed In: Durango, CO
Type / ABV: Brown Ale / unknown
Bought at/Price: Binny's / $5.99 6pack
Dennis: This is one easy drinking brown ale, comes across with a sweet malty aroma, pretty solid carbonation on your tongue and then leaves like nothing ever happened. To be honest, it's a little to one sided for me with my love of big strong beers. I was left feeling like I wanted a little something more.
Jen: Wow, I was almost done this bottle before I even started the review. It obviously goes down easy. It is smooth with a sweet and malty tongue with a nutty background. Being an English Brown ale, it fits right in. Light, smooth and well carbonated. Not too bad in my book, but for an English Brown, I will stick to Newcastle.
Rating: 3.25 out of 5

Posted by Dennis Judd at 05:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Name: Mendocino: Black Eye Ale
Brewed In: Saratoga Springs, NY
Type / ABV: Light Ale / Dark Ale mix / 6.5%
Bought at/Price: Binny's / $5.99 22oz bomber
Dennis: Eye of the hawk is such a favorite beer of mine, that when I say this beer I was very excited. Combining Black Hawk Stout and it should have been a home run. Obviously since I've made that statement you can guess how I feel, not really disappointed, but rather let down. The aroma is sweet strong malts, with a very strong taste in you mouth with a woody under taste. I suspect that if I made a black and tan with eye of the hawk and another amber beer it would taste like this exactly, but somehow I had hoped it would be just something more than a blend. Not bad at all, but really what do you gain from taking two great brews and making one mediocre out of them?
Jen: So I was expecting a lot more from this beer, being that the "bird" series is usually pretty decent. This one just seems to fall short. The aroma, which seems to consist mostly of roasted malts, is very light and barely there. It tastes of more roasted malts with a slight coffee and bitter chocolate backbone to it. It seems to have a very mild hop ending, that I almost didn't catch. To me, this feels thrown together. I wouldn't say this is terrible, but I won't be hunting it down.
Rating: 3.25 out of 5

Posted by Dennis Judd at 05:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)