Name: Lagunitas: Undercover Shut Down Ale
Brewed In: Petaluma, CA
Type / ABV: Double IPA / 9.28%
Bought at/Price: Binny's / $4.99 22oz bomber
Dennis: Say what you will about the situations that spurred this beers creation, at least something positive has come out of it. As a double IPA this beer manages to dodge a common trap that some others fall into of simply just increasing the hops and alcohol. The smell will fool you into thinking there isn't much here, but one sip of this and you'll know that you probably should take your time. One of the best things about this isn't the hops, but rather the malts that really keep them in check and let them shine on the exhale. Together they make a balanced beer that can be enjoyed, as opposed to a showy flashy one that has not substance.
Jen: The reasoning behind making this beer is quite hilarious, I just wished it was a little bit better. It has an aroma of nice floral hops with a mild malt sweetness. The first swig mostly consists of hops with an alcohol punch to it. After sitting for a while, it warmed up and the flavors balanced out. It starts with bursting hop flavors, followed by a mild sweet malt backbone, ending with a twinge of alcohol. It seems quit balanced, but almost humdrum. Easy to drink, and you will finish before you know it!
Rating: F

Posted by Dennis Judd at 05:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Name: He'Brew: Bittersweet Lenny's R.I.P.A.
Brewed In: New York
Type / ABV: Double IPA / 10%
Bought at/Price: Binny's / $4.99
Dennis: I suggest that anyone who purchases this fine brew should immediatly open it up and chug it simply as fast as possible. Once done, if you've managed not to vomit you'll probably be able to light your belch on fire or at the very least impress your date. If you choose not to take my advice you are probably a wise man, and will fine a generous helping of hops, and a very distinct malty rye backbone that leaves a lingering taste in your mouth. Honestly about 1/2 way through the first glass you almost loose any ability to taste beyond that. When I die someday, I hope somebody makes a beer half as good as this in my honor.
Jen: I tend to be a sucker for IPA's, and this one falls into that category nicely. Right off the bat, the aroma is thick with hops, trying to prepare you for what is to come. The first to the last sip is filled with strong citrus hops, mostly of the grapefruit nature. The alcohol makes itself known on the exhale right away, almost burning into mouth. The rye malts are more than plentiful, but they are unable to tame the wild hops that are like a bully on the playground. And last but not least, the carbonation seems to play nicely with hops, like the bully's butt monkey.
Rating: I wanted to give it an F, Jen wanted an U, so we comprimised. FU

Posted by Dennis Judd at 05:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Name: He'Brew: Monumental 10
Brewed In: New York
Type / ABV: American Brown Ale / 10%
Bought at/Price: Binny's
Dennis: I had a really hard time writing this review because of the complexity behind this beer. I mean 10 different malts and hops....that's just crazy. In some ways this brew reminds me of a stout, but in other's more like an imperial brown ale. The aroma screams stout, but the taste and body say brown ale with an alcohol kick. Either way you'll get the typical coffee, dark chocolate hints out of this...even if you don't quite know where it all comes from.
Jen: This is such an odd beer: 10 hops, 10 malts and 10% ABV. It is almost like they took all of the leftover crap in their brewery, dropped in a cauldron, and this is what they came up with. The aroma is a mixture of hops and malts, hard to put my finger on it. The taste is of roasted malts with a finish of mild hops and a twinge of alcohol. It definitely has a nutty, coffee flavor with a bittersweet dark chocolate hint. I can taste the malts better than the hops, but with 10 different kinds, it is hard to identify all of them. It is almost like too much is going on. It is really good, but too busy.
Rating: G

Posted by Dennis Judd at 05:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Name: Avery: The Maharaja
Brewed In: Boulder, Colorado
Type / ABV: Imperial IPA / 9.7%
Bought at/Price: Binny's /
Dennis: This is indeed a regal IPA style beer, before you even taste it the smell of hops proclaims that this beer will be intense. For me though, the best feature of this beer is that it's very strong but balanced. The malts really don't get overwhelmed by the hops, which to me says there was craftsmenship behind it, although they do come across as a little sweet. Certainly this beer isn't for casual drinkers or non hop heads, but for those that can appreciate a strong beer this is the good stuff.
Jen: This is quite the intense brew. It starts of with an aroma of mild hops and a little maltiness also. It doesn't prepare you for what is about to happen. It is almost like fresh hops exploded in my mouth (and I have eaten fresh hops so I know what it tastes like). It really makes my taste buds stand at attention. The exhale tastes of malts and barley, a nice balance to the explosion of hops. The mouth-feel is a nice medium body with plenty of carbonation! This will be a mainstay in our basement! In the words of Rachel Ray "Yum-O!"
Rating: C

Posted by Jen at 05:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Name: Great Divide: Yeti Imperial Stout
Brewed In: Denver, CO
Type / ABV: Imperial Stout / 9.5%
Bought at/Price: Binny's / $6.99 22oz
Dennis: Normally I don't judge a beer by the color of it that much, but this beer has one heck of a deep black body, it's actually pretty impressive. The smells are pretty much the standard fare, sweet with some toasty dark chocolate hints. Taste wise this is an impressive, if not standard, imperial stout. Strong malts, deep dark chocolates, but over all a little light honestly. The real shine to this is the hop bitterness that comes through, imho. A good stout, but with a little bit of a low alcohol for my book.
Jen: If I judged this by the color, it would be a 5, but that is not the only thing I judged a beer on. The nose is of roasted malts and mild hops. The taste is not quite what I would expect in a stout. It starts off with the normal roasted malts followed by a nice smooth dark chocolate and toasty coffee flavors. The ending of this stout is what gets me, it is strongly hopped. I would have expected a nice mouth coating of a stout from the way it poured, but the flavors don't seem to stick, except for the hops. Not too bad, and it has it's good points, but for me I will stick to Avery's The Czar or Bell's Expedition Stout (if we could still get it here in Illinois!)
Rating: G

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