Review: Fish Tale Organic India Pale Ale

Fish Brewing Co.

Grade: B+

Appearance: Pours a murky copper orange with a weak white head that leaves some lacing.

Smell: Caramel malts with piney, resiny hops and some biscuit notes.  Tropical fruit and grapefruit linger as well.  It's not a game changing IPA aroma, but it is balanced and fresh.

Taste: Gradefruit and piney bitterness with lesser malt presence than I expected.  Some sour grass and earthiness residue in the background.  Leaves the mouth dry with mild hops on the palate.

Mouthfeel: Excellent.  Medium body with moderate carbonation.  The mouthfeel is the highlight of this brew.

Drinkability: Good. It is defenitely a sessionable IPA.  It feels light and well balanced and at 6.5% ABV, its quite refreshing.

Overall: For being organic, this is one tasty IPA with solid pine hops and a well balanced caramel backbone.  Not to mention how trippy the label is. I will defeintely be buying again.

Review: Reindeer's Revolt

Ridgeway Brewing

Grade: C

Appearance: Pours a cloudy brown amber with a frothy off-white head that recides and leaves excellent lacing.

Smell: Moderste aromas of bready malts, caramel, toffee and some molasses.  There are also subtle hints of butterscotch, raisins, and various herbs. It resembles that of a lighter scotch/whiskey.

Taste: Light caramel, roasted malt and strong biscuit lay the foundation.  Tropical fuits and english hops are in there as well.  The alcohol comes out a bit at the end than it should, as it is only 6% ABV and pretty low for a strong ale.  The finish is dry and hoppy with a citrus aftertaste.

Mouthfeel: Full-bodied with low carbonation and pretty creamy.  The carbonation doesn't hold up very well and after about ten minutes the beer is almost flat.  It leaves the mouth slightly sticky.

Drinkability: It fluctuates.  It starts out interesting, but as carbonation dies down, it gets sweeter and thicker.  You will find yourself drinking it slower about half way through the bottle.

Overall: This one smelled very promising, but the taste and deteriorating carbonation let this one down.  There are some good qualities, but overall its pretty bland and an average strong ale.  I was expecting a winter warmer and it didn't deliver.

Review: Samuel Adams Alpine Spring

Boston Beer Co.

Grade: C+

Appearance: Pours an IPA-like hazy golden yellow with a nice one finger white head that leaves nice lacing.

Smell: A wheat-like pale malt dominates with citrus and lemon notes.  The lager yeast is apparent along with the earthy noble hops. 

Taste:  Opens up with bright orange and lemon notes.  A big semi-sweet honey malt kicks in followed by a slightly bitter finish from the noble hops.

Mouthfeel: Medium body with suprisingly low carbonation for a lager.

Drinkability: Strong.  I can drink these all day.  Light 2-row malt and strong citrus notes makes this one pretty refreshing.

Overall: Meh. This tastes like a lagered version of their Summer Ale. The noble hops are really the only highlight of this brew.  It is a good, refreshing beer, but nothing about it is special or unique.  A boring and uninspired beer from Sam Adams.  However, it is better than their "Noble Pils," which this beer replaced.

Review: ESB

Redhook Ale Brewery

Grade: C

Appearance: Pours a light, clear amber with a copper tint.  The weak white head disappears quickly and leaves little lacing.

Smell: Like an English Bitter, it is floral and malty with caramel, toast and light English hops.  Smell like a milder, but well balanced IPA.

Taste: Like the smell, it is very floral with very sweet caramel and toffee.  It is bready at the back end with a slight hop bitterness. There is a touch of fruity citrus underneath the more dominant flavors.

Moutfeel: Medium bodied with smooth carbonation.

Drinkability: Solid.  Light, biscuity malts with good carbonation makes this one go down nice and easy.

Overall: This is a good attempt at an English Bitter, though it falls short.  But at the price range, you can do a lot worse.  Its a good brew, but an average ESB.

Review: Andygator

Abita Brewing Co.

Grade: B-

Appearance: Pours a pale, murky golden yellow with an orange tint.  The beautiful white head doesn't last long and leaves decent lacing.

Smell: Malty with lots of yeast and lemon notes.  The hops are grassy and earthy with some caramel and butter notes at the finish.

Taste: The malt and yeast come first, much like the smell.  There are some flavors of lemon, grass and cream.  A mild dry finish with some caramel sweetness.  The taste doesn't linger on the palate after consuming.

Mouthfeel: Perfect.  A creamy, full body with medium, yet subtle carbonation.

Drinkability: Good drinkability.  It has light and refreshing characteristics.  The alcohol is extremely well hidden.  I can't believe it is an 8% ABV beer.  I'll take another.

Overall: I actually enjoyed this beer.  It's not a great beer, nor the best example of a Helles Doppelbock, but the flavors and mouthfeel compliment each other well.  This is the best beer I have had from Abita so far and would make a good spring beer.

Review: Anchor Small Beer

Anchor Brewing Co.

Grade: D+

Appearance: Pours a crystal clear dark gold with an airy, fizzy head that vanished quickly and left no lacing.

Smell: Sweet malt with some honey, bread and floroal hop additions.  The smell is very faint.

Taste: Light malt along with light piney hops.  Tons of grainy flavor and minor herbal bitterness.  The aftertaste is that of honey and some bread.

Mouthfeel: Water thin body with moderate carbonation.

Drinkability: Water is very drinkable and this one is pretty much water with some barley mixed in.

Overall: To be honest, I have never had a "small beer" before.  A "small beer" is basically the left over liquid after the initial mashing period (when the barley is soaked in very hot water to extract the color and flavor from the barley).  In this case, this is the left over liquid after mashing their barley wine.  This is a watered down version of a good barley wine. I can understand why they are so rare, and in some cases, not even made anymore.  I am glad I experienced it, but would never drink it again.

Review: Prohibition Ale

Speakeasy Ales and Lagers

Grade: C+

Appearance: Pours a hazy amber with a brown tint.  The white and small head doesn't last long and leaves no lacing.

Smell: Sweet caramel malts with toasted bread, some nuts and a tad of citrus hops that are resiny and earthy.

Taste: Toast and light lemon and grapefruit citrus hit first.  Malts aren't as sweet as a typical amber.  The hops compliment the citrus, creating a sour bitterness.  The finish leaves an almond brittle-like taste with some bitterness still lingering.

Mouthfeel: Medium body with higher carbonation than usual for an amber.

Drinkability:  Strong.  The high carbonation and restrained malt sweetness makes this one an easy drinker.

Overall:  I'm not digging this brew too much.  The lemon citrus dominates the malt sweetness too much.  The signature flavor of the amber style is a strong malt backbone. It's just an awkward amber to me.  I'll be passing on this one and picking up one with more traditional amber characteristics.