Craftbeer

Oskar Blues Deviant Dales

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Oskar Blues Deviant Dales, originally uploaded by adambarhan.

Appearance: Bright orange. Head is off-white, massive, and sticky as can be. Drops to a thin cap very quickly. Very clear.

Smell: Grapefruit and biscuits layered over a damp hops. Faintly spicy with a touch of pine needles. Sweet without being sugary. Loads of biscuit. Some roasted notes along with some cooked grain. Green onions. Did I mention Hops!

Taste: Loads of malts. Biscuits and sweetness upfront. Lingering pine notes mix with pith and an oniony/vegetal flavor. Bitter, pithy, earthy hops. Hops assault at the beginning and the end of the sip with a nice malt backbone rounding out the middle. Hops

Mouthfeel: Medium body with a higher than expected carbonation. Dry and a touch crisp. Oily hops.

Overall: Unique to say the least. The hop profile is definitely an acquired taste, that I have drifted away from. Definitely pour this in a glass to smell what your re in for. The can hides the aroma and making it shocking on the first sip. Hop Bomb in my book.

Saint Arnold Endeavour IPA

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Saint Arnold Endeavour IPA, originally uploaded by adambarhan.

Appearance: Bright amber gold glass shows excellent clarity. Holds a thin head that is a bit below expectation for a DIPA, but laces nicely.

Smell: Fresh, oily hop cones, all West Coast citric. Grapefruit with a touch of pine, the hops overwhelm any malt character.

Taste: Bitter almost tea like start fades into a sweet hard candy peach before the oily hops soak in for a long slow finish. Nice round profile. Loads of hops, cone, leaf, maybe a bit of vine, they went whole hog.

Mouthfeel: Medium heavy body with a mild chew, lively carbonation.

Overall: A nice IPA.

Ommegang Hennepin

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Ommegang Hennepin, originally uploaded by adambarhan.

A – Pours out clear golden in color. Carbonation is champagne like and constant. The head is two fingers of white foam. Retention is good but lacing is a moderate.

S – The nose is excellent. Lots of clove and black pepper spice. Belgium yeast, banana and faint wheat characters thought the middle. Sweet white grape as well. Hints of alcohol. Complex.

T – Yeasty, spicy, grainy, fruity, it just like it smells.

M – Smooth and refreshing with a champagne like finish.

O – Pretty good. Lots of flavors going on and melded so well together. Excellent to say the least.

Chatoe Rogue Good Chit Pilsner

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Chatoe Rogue Good Chit Pilsner, originally uploaded by adambarhan.

A: A straw color with a slight chill haze and a finger’s width white head that laces the glass.

S: Bready malt with a fresh earthy, grassy hop aroma.

T: The hop is immediately noticeable with a floral and earthy flavor that overpowers the malt. There is a very slight bready malt flavor and a slight sweetness. It finishes clean with a slight floral hop.

M: Light with good carbonation. Very refreshing.

O: I like the aroma and flavor of this beer. Pilsners aren’t my favorite style but this is nice.

New Belgium Lips of Faith Prickly Passion Saison

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A: Pours a golden hue, clear, and a light 1/4 finger worth of head. A good amount of carbonation coming off the bottom of the glass, light lacing as it recedes.

S: Nose is of green apples, Lemongrass, a very light acidic note, and in the end I’m getting some Belgian yeast (although I know it’s French yeast).

T: Taste is a bit tart. Tartness is smoothed over by earthy yeast and citrus notes. I’m not keen to the passion fruit/prickly pear in this saison, but I’m definitely picking out some citrus and pear notes.

M: Medium- bodied, light and refreshing, as well as perfectly carbonated. Great hot summer day drink, but at 8.5% ABV, it was well disguised.

North Coast Old Stock Ale 2012

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North Coast Old Stock Ale 2012, originally uploaded by adambarhan.

A: Pours a dark caramel/toffee with a thin light cream-colored head. Almost entirely opaque with some carbonation.

S: Smells of toffee and caramel. Rich malt base. Still fairly hot in terms of alcohol.

T: Definitely still fairly hot. This is my first of these, and even with a year on it you can definitely taste the 12.5 abv.

M: Medium to full body with a smooth creaminess. Definitely large alcohol notes; this is still quite hot, although still good. This is a beer that could definitely use quite a bit of time more in the cellar.

D: Again, still a little hot. Still, quite nice. I’m hoping that some time in the cellar will help the complexities in this one come out a little bit more.

Stone La Citrueille Celeste De Citracado

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A: Clear copperish brown, sudsy topping

S: Birch sap, lemon oil, gourds, caramel very. Very hippy smelling

T: Brown bread, birch, vague spice, lemon zest, earthy pumpkin, steely caramel, mild hopping, slightly roasty finish

O: Not the best idea for the collab in my opinion, the birch takes the lead though and leaves most of the yam behind. The pumpkin make its mark more towards the finish. Interesting use of spice. Nice but I would pass on it in the future.

Mikkeller 10

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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.

Epic Brewing Barley Wine

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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.