Review: Green Flash Double Stout

Green Flash Brewing Co.

Grade: B

Appearance: Pours an extremely dark brown with an amber tint.  The light tan head dissipates quickly and leaves slim lacing.

Smell: Sweet roasted malts dominate with some coffee flavors and a hint of piney hops.

Taste: Strong roasted malts and hop bitterness starts it off with some burnt caramel.  Hops are felt throughout the levels of flavor. There are some undertones of chocolate and dark fruits mid palate and a slight alcohol punch at the finish. The finish leaves a weird tobacco-like taste one minute after consumption.

Moutfeel: A filling creamy body with moderate carbonation at the finish. 

Drinkability:  The 8.8% ABV makes this beer hard to session, but I could handle a couple despite its full, creamy body.

Overall:  An interesting take on an imperial stout. This brew does get rough around the edges as the drinking experience progresses. The abundance of herbal hops doesn't quite blend with the musty grain element as it warms. The odd tobacco-like aftertaste takes the brew down a notch. Its a good beer, but not my first choice when I want a stout.

Review: Edmund Fitzgerald Porter

Great Lakes Brewing Co.

Grade: A

Appearance: Pours a pitch black with a 1/2 finger light tan head that recedes quickly, and leaves light lacing.

Smell: Chocolate jumps right out. Sweet mocha and roasted coffee beans linger in the background.  Earthy hops finish off this amazingly smelling porter.  Ahhh! Great!

Taste: It begins with a very warming roasted coffee then moves over to a slight dark chocolate flavor.  The earthy hopes, combined with sweet caramel, put a nice end to this tasty treat.

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with slightly high carbonation, which is a good thing.  The higher carbonation helps break up the initial strong roasted coffee flavor so that it doesn't feel like a morning cup of coffee.  It then mellows once the dark chocolate wondermint kicks in.  Well done.

Drinkability: Give me a sixer and it will be gone in half an hour.

Overall: Man, oh man!  What a delicious beer! One of the best porters I have ever had the pleasure of drinking.  It is incredibly balanced with the late hops combating the early sweetness of coffee and chocolate.  Highly recommended!

Review: Lakefront IPA

Lakefront Brewing, Inc.

Grade: B

Appearance: Pours a murky golden orange color with a head that withers away quickly, but leaves decent lacing.

Smell: Citrus and strong pine hops dominate, along with sweet malt and some bready notes.  A simple, but straight forward smell.

Taste: Not as much piney bitterness that one would expect from the smell. A strong and sweet malt backbone masks the hop bitterness very well, almost too much.  A note of grapefruit shows up at the very end.  It's a refreshing IPA, although the balance is off a bit.  A stronger hop bite would help balance this brew out.

Moutfeel: Medium to light bodied with high carbonation. An easy drinker.  

Drinkability:  I could drink these all day due to its light body and caged hop bitterness.  One of the most sessionable IPAs I have tried.

Overall:  This is a middle of the road IPA that resides on the hoppier side of the spectrum, but the strong malt presence never allows the hops to take full flight.  It is an enjoyable brew, but if you are a hophead like I am, this doesn't quite hit the mark.  With that being said, I would definitely pick this one up if I am looking to have an easy drinking IPA session.

Quick Tip: If you are looking for a bigger hop bite, drink this brew straight from the bottle, as opposed to pouring in a glass.

Review: Monkey Wrench Saison Ale

Allentown Brew Works

Grade: B

Appearance: Pours a pale orange with a very strong head that sticks around for a while then reduces to a dense 1/2 finger head that leaves good lacing.

Smell: Smell is yeast dominant with fruity apple, lemon and citrus notes.  Some banana peel and melon are picked up as well.  Although the smell is light, it is nice.

Taste: It begins with a dry sparkling apple cider, then transitions to nice a wheat and citus flavor.  Tastes of orange, apple and peach take over the finish.  Pretty good.

Moutfeel: A good sparkling carbonation comes first, then it mellows down to a slightly carbonated light body with a flowery acidic bite at the swallow. 

Drinkability: Saisons, like most Belgian beers, aren't normally my first choice when I want to kick back and drink some beers, and this one is no different. Saisons are a great style but a one and done style for me.

Overall:  The flavor is light compared to what you would expect, although it is sweeter and less dry than most.  The fruit and yeast flavors are there, but could be more pronounced. This would be a good beer to drink on a sunny 80 degree day.