Beer Review: Revolution - Galaxy Hero

Revolution Brewing
Galaxy-Hero
American IPA
6.6% ABV

Appearance: Pours a beautiful, clear golden yellow with two fingers of frothy off-white foam.


Smell: Lots of resiny pine with light notes of citrus fruits and pineapple.

Taste: Follows the nose with big, bitter pine and acidic citrus (mainly grapefruit and orange) with a faint caramel malt backbone.

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied and crisp with a smooth finish.

Overall, this was a pretty good IPA but nothing spectacular. It's a very bitter beer that lacks complexity but it's tasty nonetheless and surprisingly smooth. I actually had two pints of this at the brewery and was more impressed with it on draft than I was with it out of the bottle. For whatever reason, it seemed a little more fruit-forward on tap. Still, a solid IPA. I don't think I'd buy another bottle but I would grab another pint of this at the brewpub.

4 out of 5

Beer Review: New Glarus - Moon Man

New Glarus Brewing Co.
Moon Man
American Pale Ale
5% ABV

Appearance: Pours a clear golden yellow with three fingers of fluffy, bubbly off-white foam.

Smell: Softly pungent fruity hop aroma consisting of pineapple, mango, and apricot. Little bit of pine and some earthiness as well.

Taste: Pine, grapefruit, semi-toasted malt, and a nutty finish. Great balance between hops and malts.

Mouthfeel: Fairly light bodied, crisp, well-carbonated, and refreshing.

Overall, Moon Man is yet another well-executed beer from New Glarus. Nothing too unique but at a sessionable 5% this APA has quite a lot of flavor. They're not trying to reinvent the wheel here and that's ok. What they've done instead is created a tasty pale ale that's extremely well-balanced and incredibly smooth. I'm a huge APA and IPA fan but for some reason I prefer New Glarus' lagers and maltier ales to their hoppy beers. Still, this is a really enjoyable brew and a solid take on the style.

4 out of 5

Beer Review: New Glarus - Spotted Cow

New Glarus Brewing Co.
Spotted Cow
Farmhouse Ale
4.8% ABV

Appearance: Pours a beautiful four fingers of rich, bubbly white foam over a bright pale yellow body. Relatively clear despite the claim that it's bottle conditioned with yeast. Looks amazingly fresh and mouth-watering.

Smell: Bready/crackery malt, grain, corn, white pepper, and a light fruitiness from the yeast.

Taste: Follows the nose. Grain, crackery malt backbone, corn, a light lemony sweetness, and just a touch of a white pepper-like spice.

Mouthfeel: Light bodied, dry, crisp, tingly, and refreshing.

Overall, New Glarus certainly makes more interesting and flavorful beer than Spotted Cow but it's easy to see why this is their flagship beer: anybody can drink it. Simple, clean, light, and refreshing. This is the kind of beer you want handed to you after mowing the lawn on a hot summer day. This is the kind of beer you want a whole cooler full of at a backyard BBQ. This is the kind of beer you want to drink outside with the sun shining behind it, illuminating its beauty. Understated, delicious, and utterly satisfying. One of life's simple pleasures.

4.5 out of 5

Beer Review: New Glarus - Dancing Man

New Glarus Brewing Co.
Dancing Man Wheat
Hefeweizen
7.2% ABV

Appearance: Pours a bright pale, semi-hazy yellow with over three fingers of creamy off-white foam. Looks amazingly fresh.

Smell: Being a hefeweizen I expected banana in the aroma but this is just ridiculous. In a good way, of course. Smells almost exactly like banana Laffy Taffy. I also picked up on some clove, bubblegum, and a light whiff of vinegar.

Taste: Lemon, white pepper, clove, and lots of delicious banana. Spicy and sweet. Finishes with a soft kiss of sugary alcohol.

Mouthfeel: Nice, tingly carbonation. Refreshing and creamy.

Overall, this might very well be the best hefeweizen I've ever had. True to style, beautifully crafted, and bursting with flavor. New Glarus has perfected yet another classic German beer. Prost!

5 out of 5

Beer Review: Pipeworks - Abduction

Pipeworks Brewing Co.
Abduction
Imperial Stout
10.5% ABV
Batch #100

Appearance: Pours pitch black with a scant one finger of tan foam.

Smell: Strong initial hit of bright, fresh oak with notes of pear, bourbon and vanilla.

Taste: Pine, coffee, roasted malt, and like the nose, a little bourbon and vanilla creep in on the finish as the beer warms.

Mouthfeel: Super creamy and velvety smooth. Low carbonation with a medium to heavy body.

Overall, this was a nice imperial stout. Its not super complex and flavorful but it makes up for that with its insanely creamy mouthfeel and smooth finish. It's hard to believe that this is 10.5%. Drinks very easy. A tasty stout that would probably be great after some barrel aging.

Beer Review: New Glarus - Edel-Pils

New Glarus Brewing Co.

Edel-Pils
German Pilsner
5.3% ABV

Appearance: Pours a perfectly clear golden straw with three fingers of fluffy off-white foam.

Smell: Spicy and floral hops, bready malt, and a lightly fruity yeast (banana and lemon). I was expecting a typical pilsner aroma but this is quite nice. It does have a little bit of that sharpness inherent to the style but its softened by the Bavarian yeast.

Taste: Dry, crackery malt, lots of graininess, some spicy hops and fruity yeast. Picked up a little apple and lemon tartness as well as some faint banana esters.

Mouthfeel: Wow. Starts off crisp and then becomes incredibly creamy. Finishes super smooth. Carbonation seems to die off rather quickly but other than that I absolutely loved the feel of this one.

Overall, this is easily the best pilsner I've ever had. I've never been a fan of the style but leave it to New Glarus to make an expertly crafted version of a boring classic. In my opinion, this is the kind of beer they do best. Simple, clean, beautifully constructed lagers. I like that they're sort of old-fashioned in their approach to brewing. Being a German style of beer, the use of Bavarian yeast and hops are key and lend an inimitable authenticity, while the addition of American barley and hops keep it from being strictly a European affair. This one threw me for a loop. I was not expecting something this good. Apparently it's been years since they last brewed it. New Glarus celebrates their 20th anniversary this year. I couldn't think of a better way to commemorate the occasion.

4.5 out of 5

Beer Review: New Glarus - Cabin Fever

New Glarus Brewing Co.
Cabin Fever
Maibock
6% ABV

Appearance: Pours a crystal clear pale gold with three fingers of white pockmarked foam.

Smell: Not a whole lot going on here. Mostly bready malt and some faint floral notes. Sweet honey comes through as the beer warms up a bit. It does smell crisp and inviting though.

Taste: The flavor is much more pronounced than the smell, although it does follow the nose. Crackery malt, mellow lemon, and clover honey. Finishes super sweet with semi-warming notes of what I can only assume is alcohol (although this is only 6%).

Mouthfeel: Dry, crisp and light bodied with a syrupy finish.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this Wisconsin pale bock. The aroma didn't do much for me but the taste was refreshing and unique. The addition of clover honey really imparts a lot of flavor and turns what would've been a fairly standard lager into something special. Its a very sweet beer so that may divide beer drinkers on this one. There are aspects to it, particularly the finish, that remind me of mead (an alcoholic drink of fermented honey & water, for the layman). I don't think I could drink a lot of this in one sitting but I would recommend giving it a try.
It won't knock your socks off but I found it to
be a tasty little drink.

3.5 out of 5

Beer Review: Three Floyds - Toxic Revolution

Three Floyds Brewing Co.
Toxic Revolution
Imperial Stout
8.5% ABV

Appearance: Pours an opaque blackish brown with over two fingers of dense beige foam.

Smell: Coffee, soy sauce, roasted malt, bitter chocolate and a peculiar aroma reminiscent of oyster sauce.

Taste: Follows the nose but thankfully minus the fishiness. I mostly get coffee and toasted malt with some baking chocolate. Moderately bitter and quite salty.

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied, relatively light for a stout. Medium carbonation with an oily feel.

Overall, this was not what I was expecting. Three Floyds is a very hop-centric brewery and I was hoping for a nice hoppy stout. Or, failing that, at least a smooth, richly complex one. Toxic Revolution, unfortunately, is neither. It had an odd, unappetizing fishy aroma and an overly salty flavor profile which I did not enjoy at all. I've had excellent stouts from this brewery in the past, most recently their Blot Out the Sun, but this was a disappointment. It's a shame, too, because the label art is probably the coolest I've ever seen.

2.5 out of 5

Beer Review: Aleman/Stone/Two Brothers - Dayman

Aleman/Stone/Two Brothers
Dayman Coffee IPA
American IPA
8.7% ABV

Appearance: Pours a hazy golden orange with two fingers of off-white foam that clings to the glass.

Smell: The first sniff I got bitter roasted coffee and on the second sniff I got bright aromatic citrus. The two vastly different aromas continued to tag in and out throughout the tasting.

Taste: Unlike the aroma, the flavor stayed the same sip after sip. There's roasted coffee grounds, toasted pine, a little nuttiness, and some grapefruit and orange rind. No alcohol on this one. I never got the sense I was drinking a beer that was almost 9%.

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied, nicely carbonated, relatively smooth and easy to drink.

Overall, this was a unique beer drinking experience. I must say I've never had anything quite like it. The coffee aromas and flavors actually complimented the citrus characteristics nicely. Sometimes it tasted like you were drinking an iced coffee and other times the fruity hops really shined through. While this was really interesting to try I can't say that I would ever buy this again. I think it was a fun experiment and really it's about the best a coffee flavored IPA is going to taste but it's not my thing. Still, I've got to give these three breweries credit for brewing such an unusual but drinkable beer. I'll bump up the rating a bit just for its uniqueness. It's definitely worth trying at least once.

4 out of 5

Beer Review: Three Floyds - Permanent Funeral

Three Floyds Brewing Co.
Permanent Funeral
Imperial IPA
10.5% ABV 

Appearance: Pours a mostly clear golden orange with a nice two fingers of white foam.

Smell: Sweetly pungent aroma of overripe tropical fruit: mango, tangerine, orange, and apricot. There are also some subtle floral notes and a bit of sour funk.

Taste: Clean pine bitterness, tangy grapefruit and orange, some caramel malt, and a bit of a floral nectar sweetness with a semi-nutty finish. I definitely felt and tasted the alcohol on this one, which is not surprising as this is about as high an ABV I've seen for a pale ale.

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation and a smooth but alcoholic finish.

Overall, this may be the best double IPA Three Floyds has ever brewed. It feels very much like an amped up, imperial Zombie Dust. Bursting with juicy, dank, fruity flavors and a nice clean hop bite, Permanent Funeral is a big, bold beer. The only thing I didn't love was the relatively strong alcohol heat present in the flavor. I'm a fan of high ABV beers but I feel like knocking this down to 8.5 or 9% would make this a more balanced and easier drinking IPA. Still, this is a fantastic and extremely well-made beer with one helluva hardcore label and name.

5 out of 5

Beer Review: Firestone Walker - Sucaba

Firestone Walker Brewing Co.
Sucaba
Barrel-Aged English Barleywine
12.5% ABV 

Appearance: Pours a deep, rich brown (almost black) with ruby highlights. Not a lot of foam on this one. Less than a finger of tan head.

Smell: Where to start?! An intoxicating aroma of bourbon, charred oak, vanilla, black licorice, light tobacco, and subtle hints of Montmorency cherries, red wine, coconut, and raisins. A heavenly experience for the olfactory lobes.

Taste: Follows the nose fairly closely. If I were to sum up the flavor with just three words, they would be "bourbon", "oak", and "vanilla". But there's also a little bit of baking chocolate and some caramel as well as fleeting hints of the aromas mentioned above. At 12.5% its not surprising that there's a good deal of alcohol heat, making this a slow sipper.

Mouthfeel: Medium to heavy bodied with fairly low carbonation. Goes down smooth with a little kick in the finish.

Overall, this was a stunning and wonderfully complex barrel-aged English-style barleywine. I've had quality beer from Firestone Walker in the past but this is on a whole other level of greatness. The moment I cracked open the bottle I knew it was going to be something special. I've never smelled or tasted a beer so rich and intricate yet smooth and balanced. The myriad of flavors and aromas intermingle so cohesively that it was a bit of a challenge to decipher individual elements. And I mean that in the most complimentary of ways. Even if this is a style of beer that you usually steer clear of, you absolutely must try this. It's a perfect bottle for a special occasion or just a night in with good company. Definitely share this one though. A 5 oz. sample is a perfect amount as this is both high in alcohol and abundant in flavor. I'm very excited for their next barrel-aged release later this month, a 13% ABV Russian imperial stout called Parabola.

5 out of 5

Beer Review: New Belgium - Rampant

New Belgium Brewing

Rampant
Imperial IPA
8.5% ABV

Appearance: Pours a clear golden yellow with a stark white bubbly head of foam.

Smell: A very distinctive aroma of cantaloupe and honeydew melon with light peach notes and a bit of pine.

Taste: Follows the nose with melon, peach, pear, and apple as well as some honey and nectar sweetness. Pine and a thin crackery malt round out the taste. There's a touch of stinging alcohol in the finish that's accompanied with an almost rosewater-like flavor.

Mouthfeel: Fairly light bodied with low to medium carbonation.

Overall, this was a unique imperial IPA but not my favorite interpretation of the style. I found it to be a little light, overall. Hard to believe it's 8.5%. The distinctive melon flavors were interesting but melon being such a watery fruit, the beer ends up tasting sort of thin and watery. Not altogether unpleasant but I like my beers more robust and flavorful and this just didn't cut it for me. An easy enough beer to drink but not a very good execution of the style. Nothing about this says "imperial IPA" to me.

 

3 out of 5

Beer Review: Great Lakes - Rye of the Tiger

Great Lakes Brewing Co.
Rye of the Tiger
Rye IPA
7.5% ABV 

Appearance: Pours a clear, bright copper with three fingers of frothy beige foam.

Smell: Sweet crystal malt, spicy rye, earthy hops, a bit of grapefruit and fleeting hints of pear and apple skin.

Taste: Sharp, bready rye, biscuit and caramel malts, pine, and some grapefruit and pear.

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with a dry, crisp finish.

Overall, this was a really enjoyable rye beer. It's not terribly unique or complex but there was just something about it that I loved. A simple yet extremely well-made IPA that is crisp and clean, bitter yet smooth and, in true Great Lakes fashion, wonderfully balanced. A ridiculously drinkable and refreshing beer. I love constantly finding and trying new beer (obviously) so on the rare occasion that I do buy a six pack (as opposed to 22 oz. bombers) I tend to only drink one or two. The rest I give away or sadly end up dumping out after they've been in the fridge too long. There is so much great beer being made and new releases coming out every week that I don't often revisit beers I've already tried. However, this is one of those brews that I could easily sit and drink 3 or 4 of on a warm Summer day and be perfectly content. Word of warning, though: this goes down like a session beer but don't be fooled, it is 7.5%.

4 out of 5

Beer Review: Three Floyds - Zombie Dust

Three Floyds Brewing Co.
Zombie Dust
American Pale Ale
6.4% ABV

Appearance: Pours a semi-hazy glowing golden orange with three fingers of rocky cream colored foam.

Smell: Big juicy tropical fruit comes wafting out of the bottle. A pungent medley of pineapple, guava, mango, tangerine, and orange marmalade. There's also a touch of honey, a hint of peppery spice, some light floral notes and faint strawberry. I could smell this perfectly fine standing a good two feet from the glass. Easily one of the top 3 best smelling beers I've ever had.

Taste: Pulpy grapefruit, tangerine, sticky pine sap, and raw honey with a lightly toasted, nutty finish. Incredibly smooth with a nice hop bite.

Mouthfeel: Light to medium bodied and well carbonated with a slick mouthfeel from the abundant hop oils. Crisp and tingly on the tongue with a semi-dry finish.

Overall, its easy to see why this wicked pale ale is always in such high demand. Currently at #7 in Beeradvocate's Top 250 Beers, this is truly a marvel. A big, bold, flavorful pale ale gushing with pungent fruity hops. It manages to be complex yet extremely smooth and well-balanced. This may technically be labeled an American pale ale, but for me it is the quintessential IPA. It also has one of the best names and label art of any craft beer out there. A beauty to behold.

5 out of 5

Beer Review: Pipeworks - Citra Ninja

Pipeworks Brewing Co.
Citra Ninja
Imperial IPA
9.5% ABV
Batch #109

Appearance: Pours a deep, hazy sunset orange with over two fingers of white, rocky foam.

Smell: A somewhat subdued and soft aroma of tropical fruit. Grapefruit, pineapple, and candied orange peel. The nose seemed to gain potency as the beer warmed a bit. This was not quite as pleasantly pungent as the last batch I had back in December but it's still quite good.

Taste: Mellow pine bitterness, soft grapefruit, tangerine, and blood orange with just a touch of lemon; sweet, caramel malt backbone and a slightly nutty finish. Alcohol remained hidden until the beer warmed up significantly.

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation. It seemed to get progressively thinner and a bit watery as the tasting went along. Still an incredibly smooth and easy drinker for 9.5%.

Overall, this is an excellent double IPA from Pipeworks that deserves all the praise it has received but I did find this most recent batch just a tad disappointing. The aroma was much more subtle than the two bottles I had in December, which blew me away with a huge blast of pungent tropical fruit. However, I did find the flavor to be smoother and more balanced this time around so I suppose that makes up for it. In any case this is a must try if you're lucky enough to find a bottle (not an easy task). I really want to give this a perfect score based on a combination of this most recent batch and the December release but that wouldn't be entirely accurate. I have one more bottle in my fridge so depending on how that one strikes me, I may be back to revise my consensus. For now, though, I'll settle on a...

Beer Review: 18th Street - Seven

18th Street Brewery
Seven 
Black Double IPA
8.5% ABV

Appearance: Pours a rich, opaque black with auburn highlights and a nice two fingers of dense tan foam.

Smell: I know this is an IPA but the appearance still fooled me into thinking it was going to smell like a stout or porter. Instead I got a huge blast of juicy tropical fruit on the nose. Big notes of pineapple and apple skin as well as some faint roasted coffee and vanilla. Really nice.

Taste: Quite different from the aroma. Toasted nutty malt, coffee grounds, baking chocolate, and some light grapefruit and orange rind. Has a nice, clean bitter finish.

Mouthfeel: Medium to full-bodied and satisfyingly crisp. Goes down pretty smooth.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this black IPA from 18th Street. It has a really nice night and day thing going on with the dark, roasty flavor and the bright, citrusy aroma. The two work wonderfully together. This is a good gateway beer if, like me, you love IPAs but you want to start getting into porters and stouts. A
really solid followup to their first bottled beer, Sinister.
I look forward to seeing what they'll churn out in the future.

4 out of 5

New Release: Great Lakes - Rye of the Tiger

Great Lakes Brewing Co.

Rye of the Tiger
Rye IPA
7.5% ABV

Official description:

Like tigers creeping through tall grass, hopheads will stalk this majestic golden brew, rising to the challenge of its bold flavor attack. Full bodied and loaded with hops, our Rye of the Tiger IPA is brewed with rye malt, adding a spice complexity to every sip. Its an ale meant to inspire feats of strength and skill, a worthy contender in the bout against the flavorless. If you can step into the ring with this hopped-up cat, you've earned your stripes.

Another seasonal IPA offering from the always reliable Great Lakes Brewing Co., Rye of the Tiger is brewed with Columbus, Warrior, and Simcoe hops which produces a "strong citrus and pine presence with a clean, dry finish".

Hitting store shelves this week!

Beer Review: Ommegang - Iron Throne

Brewery Ommegang

Iron Throne
Belgian Blonde Ale
6.5% ABV

Appearance: Pours a hazy pale golden yellow with a towering four fingers of dense, bubbly white foam.

Smell: Very faint aroma of a crackery Belgian yeast along with a little bit of soft lemon. As the beer warms the smell becomes stronger with notes of banana and clove.

Taste: Much more intense than the aroma. Tart lemon, sweet, bready malt, Belgian yeast, strong peppery citrus from the grains of paradise, ripe banana, and some light floral notes.

Mouthfeel: Light to medium bodied, crisp, tingly on the tongue. Pretty refreshing.

Overall, I enjoyed this. I got suckered in by the Game of Thrones marketing but this was actually a pretty nice little beer. Complex, flavorful and satisfying. I wish the aroma would've been a little stronger but the taste makes up for it. It reminded me of a hefeweizen/witbier/Belgian pale hybrid. A perfect beer for spring and summer. The only real negative for me was that the flavor and carbonation sort of died off as the beer warmed, leaving it thin and watery. Other than that, it's a solid Belgian blonde. Looking forward to seeing more beers in this series.

4 out of 4