I’ll tell you what, there’s nothing quite like stepping outside and finding out that a box of delicious beer has arrived at your door step.  Those good folks over at Flying Dog Brewery sent me a few beers for review, and the first one I chose is the Kerberos Tripel.  The reason I chose to review Kerberos first is that I’ve only tried one other Tripel from an American micro brewery (that being Victory’s Golden Monkey).  Flying Dog is one of those micro breweries that truly know how to reach out to its customers, not to mention that they have great beer.  I reviewed their K-9 Cruiser Winter Ale a few months back, and was very pleased with the results. 

Kerberos pours with a slightly foamy head and it possesses a hazy, dark orange appearance.  After taking a whiff, I immediately noticed a citrus smell coupled with a hint of alcohol.  The first sip went down smooth, as I got the full flavor of what seemed like a combination of yeast, more citrus, and wheat somewhere in there.  This all goes down surprisingly well for a Tripel, as the second sip displayed more of the same. 

Taste: Very Good

Smell: Average

Drinkability: Above Average

Final Words:

I really enjoyed this one.  It had just about all of the makings of a great Belgian beer, but it was brewed right here in the States.  It’s very easy to drink, even with an ABV of 8.5%, so how can you go wrong?  Flying Dog scores again with another solid beer, and I suggest that you give this one a try if you’re in the mood for a Belgian (that’s not really a Belgian).  I find this one to be better than Golden Monkey, and I even went as far as giving it my patented hobo-hitchhiker thumbs up.  Where else can you get a beer that has a 3-headed monster and a Hunter S. Thompson quote on it? 
 

Technorati Tags: Beer, Reviews, Flying Dog, Tripel, Kerberos, micro brew

Staropramen is a Czechoslovakian beer from the brewery of the same name.  My only over previous experience with Czech beer is drinking the popular Pilsner Urqell.  I first tried Pilsner Urquell in a European beer variety pack with Tyskie and Peroni (all three of which are under the beer brewing giant, SABMiller ).  Let’s just say that Tyskie and Peroni are long gone, while the neglected Pilsner still holds a spot in my fridge.  The metallic-like taste puts me off at times.  However, I was still willing enough to give Czech beer another chance with Staropramen and I’m much more pleased with the results.

Staropramen pours with a minuscule amount of head that dissipates fairly quickly and has a slightly dark golden appearance.  You can also see lots of bubbles here, as the carbonation is in full effect.   It smells faintly of malt and hops, but neither aroma is overbearing.   Upon first sip, I was greeted with a pleasantly refreshing taste and a smooth dry finish.  The hop bitterness is very small but still noticeable, as is the malt flavor.  The small amount of bitterness works in this beer’s favor, and you might even be able to taste some citrus-like elements somewhere in there.  With all these different elements, none of them are complicated and it makes this beer a simple lager that’s perfect after working in a cubicle all day.  

No metallic aftertaste here folks, just a straight forward, awesome Czech beer.  Also gets extra points for not tasting like you’re licking a muffler.

Taste: Above Average

Smell: Average

Drinkability: Excellent

Final Words:

It looks like I picked a good one to review here.  Perhaps I was drawn to it due to the fact that it’s packaging looks similar to Jameson’s Irish Whiskey (at least it does to me due to the color scheme, or maybe I’m just retarded)?  Anyway, it tastes good and it’s incredibly easy to drink with an  ABV of 5.0%.  It’s much better than Pilsner Urquell in my opinion and makes me want to seek out more Czech beer.  This is among one of the better lagers I’ve tried, and I’d buy it by the case if I could find it.  If you’re in the mood for a good lager and you come across this, give it a try.  I even gave it a crooked, Quasimodo-like,  thumbs up  as you can see above.  Recommended.
 

Technorati Tags: Beer, Reviews, Staropramen, Lager, import, imported beer, Czech

In my post reviewing Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, I mentioned that I’m not a big fan of IPA’s.  While that still rings true, I think I’m warming up to them a little more.  I still can only drink them in smaller quantities, but sometimes that’s for the best.  Anyway, the other beers in this sampler pack were Red Hook’s ESB, Blonde Ale, and Copperhook.  I haven’t tried the Copperhook yet, but the name alone makes me think of a metallic taste.  I’m sure it’s in reference to its color or something, but whatever.  Perhaps I can give that one a review next as it’s their seasonal beer for spring.  

Long Hammer pours with a nearly non-existent head with a golden-yellow color which is somewhat lighter in comparison the Sierra Nevada Pale Ale.  The smell is pretty much pure hops, which would have made me gag like a chick on a Blacks on Blondes video a year ago when I wouldn’t go near a pale ale.  As far as taste goes, the first sip I took I experience what I like to call "Hop Rape".  What this means is that you get that instant hop bite that can be quite overwhelming and surprising, hence the term.  Luckily, this dies down significantly as the beer sits.  It then becomes smoother and more drinkable without the flavor of chewing a handful of hops.  The taste resembles something along the lines of pure hops and pine.  Drinking pine may not sound like a whole lot of fun, but thats what you have to expect when drinking pale ales.

To some folks, the "Hop Rape" factor is very appealing, but after it dies down they seem to lose interest.  For myself, it’s the exact opposite.  I enjoyed Long Hammer’s ability to "calm itself down" in a sense, but if you’re a real hop head it may lose its appeal in this regard. 

Taste: Average

Smell: Average

Drinkability: Average

Final Words:

So is this a hit or miss for Red Hook?  I think it’s a little bit of both.  It’s a pretty much a run of the mill IPA, but it’s an easy one to try for starters even with a 6.5% ABV.  I doubt I’ll be buying more of these in the near future, but as of right now I certainly don’t mind Long Hammer taking up room in my fridge.  I’d recommend this beer to a person that’s wants to "break in" to the world of craft brews, but nothing above that. Just as it states in the ratings above, this beer is pretty much average all around. .  Although that may not be such a bad thing for an everyday beer.
 

View the Pour:

Technorati Tags: Beer, Reviews, Red Hook, Indian Pale Ale, IPA, craft beer, ale, brew

Last weekend, a good friend of mine had informed me that he was going to pick up a case of Samuel Adams White Ale.  He had mentioned that he had tried this beer on tap and was quite impressed with the result.  However upon drinking the same beer from the bottle, he had had found that it wasn’t nearly as good as he originally thought.  In fact, he offered to give me a six pack of the beer in question and had asked me to review it on my blog.  Never a man to turn down a six pack of beer, I accepted this gracious offer and thus here is my review of Sam Adams White Ale:

First off, let me take some time to say a few things about Sam Adams beer.  Personally, I’m on the fence about this brewery.  I’ve moderately enjoyed nearly all of the beers I’ve had from them, including their Summer Ale, Winter Lager, and their flagship Boston Lager beer.  However, with all of them I could only sit through two or three beers at a time before I got tired of them. There just wasn’t a whole lot of substance there.  Will this beer have the same result?  Considering that I’ve have tried all of their seasonal beers (including their Ocotberfest beer which I didn’t care for at all), I guess it’s only natural that I try their Spring beer as well which the White Ale is geared towards.

This beer pours with a very thin head on top and a with a cloudy orange body.  You also see a nice amount of bubbles floating to the surface that go nicely with the hazy look that’s common with your typical unfiltered wheat beers.  The smell of the beer is citrus-like in nature with hints of spices, but overall the aroma is kind of weak.  This is pretty much what I expected thus far from this beer, but how does this stuff taste?  Quite simply put, the taste is sub-par for a wheat beer.  You get the yeast-like taste and the flavor of various spices and even a pepper-like finish, but none of this is very strong or memorable.  I wasn’t expecting anything complex and thrilling from this Spring beer, but at least give me SOMETHING to work with.  I should also note that subsequent sips from this beer still resulted in a big bowl of "meh" as well.

Is this the right beer for the Spring season?  I guess if this is the only wheat beer around it might be a contender.  It does go down somewhat easily though, which increases the drinkability factor and the 5.2% ABV is just right.  However, if there’s a Hoegaarden available, I’d go with that first and keep Sam Adams White Ale as an after thought.

Taste: Below Average (for a wheat beer)

Smell: Average

Drinkability: Average

Final Words:

Sam Adams continues its streak as a brewery that’s just slightly over mediocrity in my book.  If I could sum up this beer in one sentence, it would probably be: "Think of drinking a Blue Moon with less flavor and perhaps more water and you’d have Sam Adams White Ale".  Is this beer horrible?  Not quite, but I would probably never had more than one if I didn’t receive that free six pack.  Despite the fact that Boston Beer Company(Sam Adams) is the biggest "craft" brewer in America, they need to step their game up a bit with this one.  Oh well, I’m still going drink the rest of that six pack any fucking way.  

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Technorati Tags: Beer, Reviews, Sam Adams, Samuel Adams White Ale, craft beer, ale, brew, Blue Moon, Boston Lager, American beer

First of all, I should talk about my dislike for pale ales.  I love beer of all types, but for one reason or another anytime there’s an excess of hops I’m immediately turned off due to the high bitterness.  I actually avoided this beer for the longest time because I was weary of its title of "pale ale". However, a good friend insisted I tried it because it was among his favorites, so I caved in and gave it a whirl.  Let’s get on with the formal review, shall we?

This beer pours with very thin white head at the top, which almost gives it an appearance of dish soap (yum!). It has a very light shade of yellow throughout, but not quite as light as the yellow of a Miller Lite (probably because it’s not 3/4 water like the aforementioned beer).  The smell is what you would expect in a beer like this, very hoppy with some hints of fruit.  No surprises in store thus far.  So what about the taste, especially coming from the guy who avoids ultra hoppy beer?  To my surprise, the taste is both refreshing and highly drinkable.  You still get mouth full of hops, but its not a kick in the balls like other beer.  It comes off as fruity and light, and it almost seems like it’s beer mixed with Aquafina.  For whatever reason, the water quality in this beer just seems very filtered and crisp. 

Is Sierra Nevada Pale Ale enough to bring me to the hoppier side of beer?  Not quite, but that’s not this beer’s fault at all.  Although it has all the qualities of a fine pale ale, its never overbearing and its insanely easy to drink.  At 5.6% ABV, it’s not quite the killer like some of the other beers I’ve reviewed on this site, but after 7 or 8 of them you’re going to be feeling fine.  I find myself pounding these much easier than a lot of others, and that certainly is not a bad thing.

Taste: Very Good

Smell: Good

Drinkability: Excellent

Final Words:

So what do I think about such a widely known beer?  Despite the fact that this beer has been heavily plugged on movies like Knocked Up or other TV shows that I could care less about, I just can’t get enough of it.  Just like most people say, it IS an American classic, and I’d have this over it’s competitor Sam Adam’s Boston Lager any day of the week.  With such a smooth taste and a fantastic amount of drinkability, it makes we wonder why I avoided this one for so long.  Even if you’re not a hop head, chances are you’re going to enjoy this beer.  After a shitty weekend, I found myself enjoying Sierra Nevada Pale Ale on more than a few occasions. 

View the Pour:

Technorati Tags: Beer, Reviews, Sierra Nevada, Pale Ale, craft beer, ale, brew

Before I get into reviewing the beer itself, let me speak a few words about Flying Dog Brewery.  This is my third beer from these folks, and they have yet to disappoint.  Often times guys at various six pack shops will give me a heads up about Flying Dog and tell me how good their stuff is.  Also if a brewery has enough balls to put the words, "Good Beer, No Shit" on its website, thats always a plus. Will this seasonal winter ale live up to my already high expectations?  Lets find out:

This guy seems to pour with a lot of head, however I fucked up the pour by holding my camera, so that may be the reason why.  In appearance, its a its a mixture of brown and copper tones.  The smell of this beer is somewhat rich, as you’ll smell a lot of malt with some hints of spices mixed in.  No real complaints there (I’ve had some beers smell like sewage, which is definite turn off even if it tastes great).  The taste reminds me of a mixture of malts and toffee, however I can’t really taste the spices that appear to be present in it’s aroma.  You can taste some alcohol in this guy slightly, as its 6.4% ABV.  Thankfully, It goes down pretty well, and I can stand by that because I’m sipping it as I’m writing this very review.

K-9 Cruiser Winter Ale is a good winter brew and really gives you the "warmth" feeling as you sip it.  I can see why they chose this beer to have as their winter seasonal, as its perfect to drink on those freezing winter nights.  I’d be interested in trying this guy again, and perhaps I’ll get to try it out once more before the winter is through.

Taste: Above Average

Smell: Slightly Above Average

Drinkability: Above Average

Final Words:

This beer is another solid entry from Flying Dog.  It really does give you that "warm up" feeling that you’d need in a winter brew.  The significantly high ABV is sure to give you some extra warming up as well.  I haven’t tried a ton of winter ales, but thus far this beer is on the top of the list for those seasonal brews.  Its meant to be sipped rather than be chugged, but thats a quality I don’t mind in beers like this.  I’d be happy to pick this one up again next winter.

View the Pour:

Technorati Tags: Beer, Reviews, Flying Dog, brewery, winter, winter ale, k9, cruiser, ale

Well lets see here, we have a Belgian style ale from an American micro brew.  Lets see how it holds up.  This beer pours a dark brown color with red undertones (or mahogany, as it says on the bottle if you want to get technical).  There’s little to no head on this guy either, but that doesn’t seem to hinder its flavor.  For those that don’t know, the head (or the foamy stuff on the top) is known to trap in the flavor of beer once it hits the air.  Thats why some people say that beer is only good on the first sip, which is only true if the beer you’re drinking sucks.  Anyway back to the review.

You’ll notice very small thin bubbles in this beer, which can only really be seen if you’re looking hard enough.  As far as smell goes, I shouldn’t be the best judge of this right now with my cold, but I detect a smell that resembles that of a fine brandy.   So how’s the beer taste?  I’m happy to say that the combination of an almost  fruity sweetness is complimented nicely by a brandy-like finish that goes down quite easy.  It also combines a subtle bitterness of hops but it does a great job of balancing all these elements successfully.

Raison D’Etre is a very complex beer, thats for sure.  Although I must say that I didn’t really taste any sort of raisin flavor like I was expecting.  Here’s my breakdown of Dogfish Head Raison D’Etre:

Taste: Very Good

Smell: Average

Drinkability: Very Good

Final Words:

This beer is awesome, there’s not much more than can be said.  Its complex, its drinkable, and at 8% ABV, its sure to get you feeling good in no time.  What really surprised me is that there’s is no "alcohol burn" present in this beer at all for having such a high ABV.  I could easily see myself drinking a six pack of these and not even thinking twice.  Just like the last beer I reviewed, this one will also knock you on your ass, but your ass will be feeling much more satisfied on the way down (ah man, that sounded gay).  Pick this beer up if you like your brew complex, drinkable, and a cut above the rest.

View the Pour:

Technorati Tags: Beer, Reviews, Dogfish Head, Raison D’Etre, Brew

One thing I noticed that as soon I poured this beer, I got some pretty good head on it (hey, calm yourself down you perverts) but it soon vanished fairly quickly.  There are also a good bit of thin bubbles that anxiously make their way to the top which always adds character.  In appearance its a dark brown beer, perhaps a bit darker and muddier than a New Castle Brown Ale.  As far as smell goes, the first thing you’ll notice is the appearance of alcohol in this brew. This is to be expected however, as this Coopers Vintage Ale has a robust 7.5% alcohol by volume (ABV).   In comparison, Miller Lite has measly 4.2% ABV. 

Upon first inspection, you might think you’re into a trappist beer from the aroma, but unfortunately this is not the case (you’ll have to pardon my love of trappist beers, I still haven’t tasted one I didn’t like). In the flavor department, you’ll get a malty-type taste, with a reasonable amount of fruitiness, and a dry finish.  Here’s my breakdown of Coopers Vintage Ale:

Taste: Average.

Smell: Average

Drinkability: Slightly Above Average

Final Words:

Not a bad beer by any stretch of the imagination, but not one to write home about either.  I’d try this one again, but I wouldn’t make a habit of picking it up every time I visit a six pack shop.  The high ABV will be sure to knock you on your ass, so tread with caution.  So are those Aussies accurate in their claim of beer superiority?  Not quite yet fellas, we’ll see what you have guys have cooked up next time!

Technorati Tags: Beer, Reviews, Coopers