Author: Adam Barhan

Stone Saison de Buff

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Stone Saison de Buff, originally uploaded by adambarhan.

Appearance: Pours a hazy honey color with a modest head that leaves some spots of lace

Smell: Fruity and herbal, with floral lemony taste and rosemary, thyme and herb dominant

Taste: The floral lemon/lime elements kick off the flavor fest with the peppery yeast and herbal (rosemary, thyme and sage) aspect developing by mid-palate; after the swallow, the herbal tone grows medicinally bitter

Mouthfeel: Light to medium body with moderate to high carbonation

Drinkability: A very interesting brew, but the aftertaste is too medicinal and leaves it lacking compared to the other versions of this beer

Angry Orchard Crisp Apple

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Angry Orchard Crisp Apple, originally uploaded by adambarhan.

Pours like apple juice with a hint of fizz. Nose is like a honey crisp apple. Mouth feel is slightly fizzy, more than I expected based on the pour. The front is sweet the finish is slightly tart. I’m a noob when it comes to Ciders, but I found this to be quite drinkable.

Dogfish Head Punkin Ale

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Dogfish Head Punkin Ale, originally uploaded by adambarhan.

A: I poured the bottle picked up from Specs into my Lost Abbey Teku glasses. It poured a clear, light brown color with a two finger off-white foam.

S: Not that much going on in the nose. I primarily pick up a yeasty and doughy aroma with some notes of spice.

T: The taste is much better than the nose. Nice notes of cinnamon and all-spice, and a solid pumpkin flavor. Not as sweet as many other pumpkin beers which is a nice break.

M: Medium bodied and moderately carbonated. The carbonation helps to keep things a little bit lighter.

D: It’s definitely a solid offering, and one of the best pumpkin beers I’ve had.

Jester King Bonnie the Rare

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Jester King Bonnie the Rare, originally uploaded by adambarhan.

A: pours a golden yellow in color with pale yellow highlights and a nice thin head which left some good lacing sticking to the glass.

S: funky earhty with spice was noticeable upfront on the aroma with apple, slight pear but with grainy notes and a little tart astringent qualities.

T: the tart character was more prominent on the palate alongside toasty grains, apple fruitiness, some spice, citrusy accents a touch of bretty funkiness.

M: the brew was medium in body with a good amount of carbonation which had a funky, mild fruity, spice, grainy, tart and slight dry finish.

O: definitely one of the better offerings from JesterKing but still needs some work.

Six Point Bengali Tiger

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Six Point Bengali Tiger, originally uploaded by adambarhan.

A: The beer pours a cloudy light amber color with a huge white head that sticks to the glass.

S: Mostly bread and pale malts with just a hint of floral hops and maybe some tea, touch of hops. Just a little bit of citrus peel and that’s about it.

T: The flavor is simple and easy to drink. There is a light bitterness and just a bit of grassy and floral hops. Mild citrus peel notes and a little bit of tea here, too.

M: Medium in body with the carbonation just on the low side of medium.

O: Amazingly smooth for an IPA. I’ve had several good beers from Sixpoint, so this was right on par. Nice guys

New Belgian Lips Of Faith – Super India Pale Ale (Alpine Collaboration)

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Appearance: Pours a clear amber; the head is rather modest but it does an impressive job of sticking some lace

Smell: Fresh and citrusy, with grapefruit, mango and pine notes

Taste: While there is clearly a big malt bill that adds some sugary sweetness, the hops dominate the flavor profile from start to finish; tropical fruit flavors are up front, with the mango and grapefruit, but by mid-palate, the resinous, piney flavors start to dominate; the finish has a wild onion flavor going on

Mouthfeel: Medium to full body with moderate carbonation and a bit of warmth in the gullet

Overall: While I am not crazy at all about the wild onion flavor, there is a lot going on and the flavor profile is rather distinctive; nice to see an Alpine-influenced beer outside of southern California

Serving type: bottle

Sixpoint Resin

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Sixpoint Resin, originally uploaded by adambarhan.

A: Pours a gold with light amber tint and massive foamy head. Some lazy carbonation evident.

S: Smells like a hop lover’s dream with pungent aromas of pine & citrus. Totally in-your-face hop aroma. The name “resin” aptly fits this beer from aroma alone.

T: Truly resinous on the teeth. It feels like there is so much hop residue that it coats your tongue. I like it. Very faint malt character but mostly hops through & through. Some warm alcohol notes are evident.

M: Highly bitter. Feels a bit heavy due to the high amount of hop residue. Drinks like a barley wine.

O: A very nice interpretation of a DIPA. And an East Coast version at that. I really like this one and will absolutely come back to it again and again.

Deschutes Hop In The Dark Cascadian Dark Ale

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A – Poured out a dark brown color with a small, off-white head of bubbly foam. It left minimal lacing.

S – It smelled of roasted malt, grasses and pine.

T – It had a nice bitter hop bite with a piney/resiney flavor. Good roasted malt backbone provides needed balance.

M – It had a nice pop and bite on the tongue with a dry finish. Medium bodied and relatively sessionable.

D – This is a good black IPA. Liking the west coast pine aromas and flavor.

Curvee Des Jacobins Rouge

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Curvee Des Jacobins Rouge, originally uploaded by adambarhan.

A: The red ale is a dark cherry red color, opaque due to the hue, with a small white band of head.

S: The nose is sour cherry, full and sweet, with just a touch of funkiness. The sour aromas are definitely there

T: Sour cherry and vanilla drive the flavor. The flemish red aspects impart the cherry notes, smoothing out acetic vinegar flavors with the sour fruit.

M: The fruit, funk and wood all take their turns, moving from sweet to sour and back again with ease.

D: Weighing in below 6%, with a solid flavor and not too much acetic tartness, what’s there not to like.

Nice beer.