Shipyard Brewing Co. : Double Old Thumper Ale

Mendocino Brewing Co. - Imperial IPA

Mammoth Brewing Co. - Double Nut Brown Porter

Shipyard - Blue Fin Stout

Boulder Beer Company - Mojo IPA

Saint-Germain Page 24 Bière de Noël

Hale's Ales, Seattle, WA: El Jefe, Weizen Ale

First off, you have to love this beer's name and label.  Coming out of the rich craft beer region of the Pacific Northwest, Hale's Ales in Seattle is one of my favorite breweries.  The host a great variety of beer, one of my favorites is their cream ale - and their pub restaurant has some mean corn-beef and hash.

El Jefe is a good example of an American style wheat/weizen with a strong grassy/wheat taste, semi filtered straw-like color with a bubbly head.  I enjoyed this beer on a hot day in central Washington after walking through apple, pear and cherry orchards with a belly full of Mexican tamales.

"El Jefe" Weizen Ale possesses a flavor profile that is "true Bavarian Style" -complex and mouth-filling, with the spicey and fruity influences that only genuine hefeweizen yeast can produce. This is a beer that combines old world quality and character with new world freshness--the best of both worlds. -Hale's

Brasserie d'Achouffe, Belgium: Houblon Chouffe Dobbelen IPA Tripel

Gnome crazy Belgians rule!  I love this Indian Pale ale Belgian style beer, with a harmonious balance between bitterness (three types of hops are used to make it) and a pleasant fruitiness.  The HOUBLON CHOUFFE is an aggressive unfiltered, and bottle re-fermented Belgian IPA.  Although I really love this beer, its gnome sister beer - LA CHOUFFE (golden style), is my favorite from this brewery.  While I've found this beer bottled in both bars and grocery stores, I would love to taste it on tap. 

Knee Deep Brewing, Tanilla Porter

Knee Deep Brewing's Tanilla Porter has become one of my favorite porters if not one of my favorite beers after tasting it earlier this week.  The porter has a sweet chocolate flavor from the roasted malts and a very pleasant vanilla flavor from the use of Tahitian Vanilla beans.  Drinking this beer on draft I didn't notice much head and the beer is a medium to light body and holds 6.3% abv. Although I didn't see a physical address posted on the Brewery's website it is apparent that Knee Deep is out of the Sierra Foothills and the Master Brewer is from Reno which makes this Lake Tahoe guy very happy.  Despite the low ratings and poor reviews for this beer on Beer Advocate.com I am sticking with this one and think it is top notch.  I am going to hunt down more beer styles from this brewery asap.

Unibroue - La Fin du Monde

(My first time enjoying this beer was in 2001 while on a road trip through Canada with my buddy Ty.  I remember buying the beer from a liquor store because I liked the name and label, the complex tastes of the beer expanded my horizons for high ABV Belgian beers.  After visiting some hot springs and sipping this beer we ended up sleeping in the car.  To this day, I still find myself seeking out this fantastic beer which invokes these great memories. You'll find a wide variety of sweet exotic flavors in La Fin du Monde; tropical fruits balanced with a nice bitter aftertaste.

La Fin du Mond: French for "The end of the world" is a Belgian Style triple fermentation (also refermented in the bottle) Golden Ale.  La Fin Du Monde’s appearance is a light cloudy golden hue, and while similar to most other Belgian triple ales in appearance, its flavor is less bitter and more spicy (featuring coriander and orange peel).  

The fully-fermented beer contains (9% ABV) alcohol content and an abundance of awesomeness.

Grand Ivey Brewing Co., "Wit and Nerdy"

Wit beers have become increasingly popular the last few years and with good reason, they’re refreshing and flavorful yet can be complex enough to satisfy beer geeks, especially on a hot summer day.  Much of the credit for this beer's popularity is due to Master brewer, Pierre e Celis, a farmer from the city of Hoegaarden, brought this ancient style back into modern brewing in the mid-1960's.

I was fortunate enough to learn how to brew this beer earlier this year with the head brewer of Grand Ivey who told me about the importance of Pierre's work.  We happen to brew this batch of Wit on Friday April 9th, 2011 - We later learned that Pierre past away the following day on Saturday April 10th.  So this one's for Pierre, Cheers! 

Congratulations to Grand Ivey for producing such an incredible wit style brew.  I loved the light white-wheat color and its refreshing flavors,  The beer had a medium, bright white head that laced perfectly and all of the spices came through just as we hoped.  I am sure there is room for improvement in brewing this beer but I am proud of it and I think Pierre would be too!

Delicious!

-K

Full Sail Brewing Company

My-oh-my.  My Beer-connoisseur-sister from Portland, OR sent me a special-special gift of black nectar from one of the world's beer meccas.  Thanks for sending me Full Sail's Black Gold Sis, even though it came with a "only drink after: date" that kept me waiting for about 3 months... but it was worth the wait to enjoy this bourbon barrel aged Imperial Stout.  This is a serious beer: it tastes like a french roast coffee  cappuccino mixed with a shot of strong Kentucky whiskey.  With out a doubt, this beer put some hair on my chest, not to mention my wife's too.  At some 11% ABV it was like licking the inside of a bourbon cask with it's woody, boozy flavor which was balanced out with its smooth, malty, chocolaty, coffee flavors that are more commonly associated with stouts.

“This extended aging presents hints of vanilla and allows the Stout to pick up the flavors of the wood, bourbon and oak. The aging combined with the robust character of the Imperial Stout make for an extraordinary and wonderful taste experience. It has a strong roasted malt character and a full body. Chocolate and caramel nuances blend with the hops for a smooth Imperial Stout,” described by Jamie Emmerson, Full Sail Brew Master.

Awesomeness.
-K

Iron Springs Brewing Co., Fairfax, CA

Just as I started to feel like, maybe I've had one too many IPAs and it is time leave those hop-headed-heroes on the shelf for a while, a friend of mine put this beauty in front of me and I was re-inspired.  This is an excellent IPA, an excellent beer.  The first thing I noticed while enjoying beers at Iron Springs Brewery just 7-10 miles north of me in Fairfax, CA was the amazing color quality of ALL of their beers (I ordered 10 samplers so I got to see most if not all of the beers they had on tap).  Secondly, Iron Springs does a great job bringing out the characteristics of each beer style, so while I see them as a creative brewery, I also think they are really good at following traditional modes of brewing.  There must be some Block-headed German in one of the beer-masters, just try their Kolsch style beer: "Kent Lake".
Anyhow,  I enjoyed this 22 of the JC Flyer IPA at the brewery and took one home with me.  It pours with a hazed golden body with a small white head. The aromas are of orange, tangerine, and pine. The flavors are dry, grainy, citrus and there is a very light caramel flavor, dry body, lively carbonation with no astringents and weighs in around 9%. A well balanced big hoppy beer that reinvigorated my pallet. -Kbaer

Mammoth Brewing Co: Hair Of The Bear - Dopple Bock Lager

Hailing from 8000 feet above sea level is Mammoth Brewing Co. where the waters of the Eastern Sierra mix with roasted dark malts to produce this amazingly delicious Lager.  Standing in at 9% ABV with a smooth chocolate-nut flavor this is one big bear of a beer and one of the best beers I've posted this year.  I'd track down this beer any day of the year.

Coors Brewing Company: Blue Moon- Pale Moon

Golden Colorado lays claim to a Belgian-Style beer with its line up of Blue Moon beers but the end result remains in line with what the brewery does best...perhaps these beers should be called Belgian-style-light beers and come packaged in a hyper-colored-gimmicky can. Ahh, I am upset that I spent good beer money on this 6-pack.

De Kluis Brewery, Belgium - Hoegaarden

Although it is not the first time this beer has been posted on this blog I had to mark my own experience with this beer - in preparation for a visit to Grand Ivey Brewing Co. in Dacula Georgia where I had been invited to work along side their brew-master on a Wit Beer I had to do some research in the field - I started with one of my favorites, Hoegaarden. 

The brilliant white beer is brewed to a traditional recipe which dates as far back as 1445, although the beer Hoegaarden has only existed since 1966. Hoegaarden gets its great taste partly due to there being special ingredients added during the brewing process, such as - wheat, coriander and curacao orange peels. Also the pale, cloudy appearance of this mysterious looking drink is all thanks to an additional second fermentation in the bottle.  Hoegaarden is quite strong for a beer, standing at 5% vol.

We set our sites on brewing a beer similar in color and taste as Hoegaarden.  With its light body and citrus aroma, this beer is just perfect for a hot summer afternoon, but what really makes it work for this beer lover is the spicy quality of the coriander which becomes reminiscent of warm spice drinks served around winter season holidays thus making this beer a year around favorite.  

Judging by the fine quality of ingredients selected by Grand Ivey Brewing and the initial color and gravities of the wort, I trust that the batch we brewed in homage to the great tradition of Belgian Style Wit Beers will be exceptional and I look forward to sampling a glass or two.

Bell's Brewery Inc., Kalamazoo, MI - Oberon Seasonal Wheat Ale

I recently enjoyed this beer on a hot afternoon while in Florida.  This wheat beer had a prominent citrus flavor and was not too sweet for my liking.  The ale was very drinkable with a subtle hop favor but the spice qualities were a bit masked by the fruity aromas and citrus flavor.  I really liked this beer and just a couple days later enjoyed another one of Bell's best brews, the Two Hearted Ale which is reviewed by Taster B on this blog. 

"This American Wheat beer is fermented with Bell's signature house ale yeast, mixing a spicy hop character with mildly fruity aromas. The addition of wheat malt lends a smooth mouthfeel, making it a classic summer beer."
-Bell's

Red Brick Brewing, Atlanta, GA: Red Brick Brown

Red Brick out of Atlanta builds its marketing on the pride and personality of Southern culture and hospitality. The label pulls together a local focus with text like "Beer from around here. A nice, smooth ale that says yes Sir and yes Ma'am"

As described on their website: "The beer seems to have all characters for a beer with personality but is kind of dissociated having intense flavors at first, then some emptiness in the middle of the mouth and finishing with a bitter finish."

Ahh, B-.

Sweet Water Brewing Co, Atlanta, GA: 420 Extra Pale Ale

Sweet Water Brewing Co offers some good quality beers in the state of Georgia. The 420 Extra Pale Ale is very good but the vibe of the brewing company itself throws me off a little. You can easily see their marketing attracts the mainstream with their conservative name and fish logo (how many more brewery fish logos do we really need?) while playing off the quazi stoner-rasta-frat boy subcultures with their beer names like "420" or "Happy Ending". I don't know, they seem to be one of the more widely distributed craft beers in Georgia, they have a good product but I value the story of a craft-micro brew and I just don't buy this one.

Terrapin Brewing Co, Athens, GA: Hop Karma Brown IPA

My oh my, how Terrapin Brewing has something good goin' on in Athens GA. I mean they are on top of every last detail from their branding to the diversity of their beers to their extensive website: Terrapin is going to have the state of Georgia on lock down - slow and steady wins the race.

This year around beer, the Hop Karma Brown IPA is awesome. I brings together the best of both worlds of Brown Ales and IPAs by cutting the Brown's sweetness with the hop bitterness of an IPA while maintaining the nutty flavor of the brown.

http://www.terrapinbeer.com/beers/7-Hop-Karma-Brown--IPA