Mikkeller 10



Mikkeller 10, originally uploaded by adambarhan.

A: Poured a slightly cloudy copper color with a dense off-white head.

S: The nose is definitely hoppy with some conflicting notes. Good pine and floral aromas, along with some underlying citrus. Still quite a bit of malt for this style.

T: There is a distincly perfumey note to this beer. Lots of floral hops, some mild citrus and pine, and a fair amount of caramel maltiness.

M: The body is medium with a moderate carbonation.

D: The problem with these Mikkeller IPAs is that they’re not all that fresh by the time they get to the states. Still decent, but I’d opt for a more locally brewed option that is fresher. Can imagine it would better out of the tap in Denmark.

Mikkeller Simcoe



Mikkeller Simcoe, originally uploaded by adambarhan.

A – Poured a clear, copper color with a two-finger, long-lasting head of foam. It left thin, sticky rings of lace on the glass.

S – It smelled like pine and grapefruit. There was a decent amount of maltiness, too.

T – It tasted of sharp, piney, resiney hops. Some grapefruit and other citrus flavors, too. Sweet toffee/caramel flavors were also present

M – It was crisp and sharp with a dry finish. A medium bodied IPA with some sharp bitterness.

D – This is another great brew from the folks at Mikkeller. Really well done and tasty.

Serving type: bottle

Saison DuPont



Saison DuPont, originally uploaded by adambarhan.

A fine Belgian Farmhouse Ale

Appearance – Delicate pour yields a hazy golden body with highly active carbonation. Wonderfull fluffy eggshell white head that leaves chunky lacy all over the glass.

Smell – Lemon rind, a hint of pepper, light clove, sweet malts, grassy hops, and light aromas of musty cellar and earth. Really balanced and hard to pick apart.

Taste – A nice backbone of malt sweetness sweetps across the tongue bringing with it pepper and clovey spice. Subtle hints if citrus fruit sit calmly underneath. The finish is both herbal and grassy with a moderate bitterness. Dry finish.

Mouthfeel – Light, fluffy, and unbelievably smooth. Effervescent to say the least.

Drinkability – The ultimate summer beer. Light bodied, complex, but easy to mentally digest. This is one of the most refreshing saisons that I have encountered. Definitely a leader of its category.\

Paired with homemade Cast Iron Pizza, a delicious pair complement each other nicely. The cheese and spice of the pizza is easily cut by the carbonation of this beer.

Grab one and give it a try.

Brooklyn Brewing Monster



Brooklyn Brewing Monster, originally uploaded by adambarhan.

Definitely one of the best Barley wines to date. If you wrote off this style grab two of these hide one away for a few years and drink one now.

2011 bottle served in Brooklyn Tulip

A: Great looking, perfect beer. Tawny-to-copper colored, with good clarity, foamy off-white head that fades away and leaves some decent lacing.

S: Fruity and grainy. Booze is almost invisible. Dried apricot, some dark fruits like raisins and dates and figs, toasted grains, caramel, and a hint of citrus, probably from an English Ale yeast.

T: Close to the nose, with nice variables. Sticky toffee and dried fruits on the front and middle of the palette, finishes with a flash of a toasted or lightly burn caramel grain. A splash of alcohol rounds out the flavors.

MF: Medium, thin almost…really just moderate with some good sticky viscous notes and a ghost-like dryness.

O: A nice winter drinker with well-masked alcohol and not too much sugary & buttery malt presence. Recommended.

Adams Amber Ale Brew day

Brew day has came and gone and the amber is now in the fermenter getting busy with the yeast for a while.  The process stayed the same as previous day with the addition of filtered spring water to see if I cant get some different flavors.

 

Adam’s Amber Ale Recipe

5gal Batch extract Ready in about 5-6weeks ish:

 

Grain:

0.5lbsVictoryMalt

0.5lbsBriessCaramel60

6lbs Munich malt LME

1oz German Perle(60min)

– 1oz Hersbrucker(15min)

– WYEAST1762BELGIANABBEYII

I boiled at all for 60min less the late hop addition, I guess we will see in a few weeks how it is doing.

Epic Brewing Barley Wine



Epic Brewing Barley Wine, originally uploaded by adambarhan.

A= Pours a deep brown color. The haziness was odd in this style but turned out OK. The head is a finger and a half high with some sticky spotty lacing and the retention is pretty nice.

S= The smell is pretty typical barleywine was well. A touch of hops and a lot of toffee malt. A schoge of booze and a hint of caramel. A little quiet for a barley wine.

T= The taste is about what I expected. A touch of malty sweetness and a nice hop bitterness. The toffee malt character plays a little tango with the hops leaving a sort of overripe tropical fruit taste. Again however I notice that the flavors are a bit muted for a barleywine.

M= The mouth is very good for a barleywine. Just enough carbonation. The flavors still don’t last though.

O= This is a good intro to barleywines. It has all the components of a good barleywine but it just seems a little quiet. Worth checking out and maybe it will develop nicely into a sweeter treat with time but for now this is just an average barleywine that is a nice intro to the style.

Crooked Stave



Crooked Stave, originally uploaded by adambarhan.

The Wild West Brett Series by Crooked Stave in CO. I very good beer would strongly recommended trying there beers if you come across one.

Green. As with all CS beers, time will change this beer, they are too new to judge age.

A medium dark golden pour with medium white fluffy head. Lacing is slim

Fantastic aroma of fresh Galaxy hops; some passion fruit, tropicals and flowers. Very juicy smelling. A tinge of sour Jolly Rancher lingers.

The taste isn’t as robust or definitive as the aroma, as far as hops go. The passion fruit is gone, and more subtle tropical characteristic emerges. The dryness is apparent but not biting. Some notes of grass and taffy come about. I would like to see how this one ages….good thing I bought two