A: Pours a copper/ruby color with a nice two-finger head that is ever-so-slightly pink. Plenty of lacing initially as the head recedes, and some nice legs as it goes down.
S: A good amount of cherry in addition to a hefty amount of lactic sourness. Some oak. The cherry itself isn’t overpowering at all. Also detecting a very modest amount of earthy funk.
T: The cherries bring this beer to a completely different level. Absolutely beautiful how they are integrated–both sweetness and tartness–with the lactic sourness of the base beer. A bit of brown malt underlying the entire brew.
M: Fairly low carbonation on a medium body. Not terribly mouth-puckering, but fairly dry with a nice acidity.
D: Very drinkable, especially considering the style. Good carbonation levels, beautiful fruit, and a beautifully-balanced sourness.
Stone Saison de Buff
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
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
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
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
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)
New Belgian Lips Of Faith – Super India Pale Ale (Alpine Collaboration), originally uploaded by adambarhan.
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
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.
Harvest Moon Regatta 2012
Harvest Moon Regatta 2012, a set on Flickr.
Photos from the trip. Feel free to tag your boat, I started but its a lot.
Deschutes Hop In The Dark Cascadian Dark Ale
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.
The Road Worth Traveling 