$100 Worth of Beer!
Part 9: Anchor Brewing Christmas Ale
Fabulous website full of extras and history. Fabulous label on this beer. Good color. Anchor Steam has been a long favorite, but the Christmas Ale is…not to my liking to put it gently. No information on the website, save a description of this being distinct and unique. I get a hint of rich cherry, some spice and maybe tobacco. This ale is tart and pungent, not what I’m used to and not what I enjoy. And of course I picked up a sixer of it. I’ve read that this cellars decently so I’m saving two bottles until early next year or possibly next winter.
3 days ago
$100 Worth of Beer!
Part 8: Avery Brewing Old Jubilation Ale
B+ website says this is an English Strong Ale and strong it is! Not so much the alcohol, but a good mouthfeel and quite a lot of taste. Very low bitterness lets all the malty goodness shine. Avery mentions hints of mocha and toffee. I’ll agree with that. Very nice color. Very nice beer. The Thomas Kinkade label needs some work, however. Boulder, you can do better!
3 days ago
$100 Worth of Beer!
Part 7: Fish Tale WinterFish Seasonal Ale
I’ll start by giving them props for a clean and easily navigable website. Top job, old chaps et mesdames!
I tried this one on a recommendation from breadguy and he didn’t disappoint! VERY flavourful and a bit fruity. The ale, not breadguy. Pretty strong at 7.5 ABV, but I should get away from focusing so much on that. I like the Fish Tale description of it. They make it super malty and then add in some Yakima Chinook hops to balance it, quite to a pleasing effect, I might add. Bonus points to them for mentioning that this is brewed in the Republic of Cascadia.
3 days ago
$100 Worth of Beer!
Part Six:
From the website:
Strong Suffolk Vintage Ale is unique and unrivalled in this country. It’s a blend of two ales: Old 5X , which is brewed to the maximum strength possible (around 12% abv) and left to mature in 100-barrel oak vats for a minimum of two years, and BPA, a dark, full-bodied freshly brewed beer which is added just before bottling. The result is a unique beer – strong (6% abv), dark, fruity, oaky and very, very special!
From mrleedy: Sounds about right. I picked this up because I’ve seen and tried several new beers being advertised as being aged in oak barrels. Whisky barrels, port barrels, wine barrels. So why not? Beautiful color, very mild, sweet and fruity. I love English malts, so this was right up my alley. Not as oaky as I would’ve expected, but there was a hint of it.
Oh, and I think maybe I should be reviewing websites for some of these folks as well. Greene King? Fail. North Coast? Fail plus two. Great Divide? A double plus. Is it that hard to not make your website look like a myspace template? (Tumblr templates A-ok by the way)
5 days ago
$100 Worth of Beer!
Part Five:
North Coast Brewing’s Old Stock Ale
A heavy ale at 11.5 ABV, this was very sweet, very smooth. Quite complex and the alcohol definitely lets you know it’s there. Strangely, not as much as Alameda Papa Noel, or at least in much subtler way. I guess this beer can be cellared and enjoyed far in the future. I’ll see if I can pick up another bottle and try it. This was tasty, but not for drinking on a regular basis.
Side note (or sampler, as I’ll call it): Not part of my $100 Worth of Beer, but the Pranqster from North Coast is delicious and well worth seeking out. It’s a belgian style and in the normal ABV range. Not what I normally drink in the cooler months, but very good.
5 days ago
$100 worth of beer!
Part the fourth:
Alameda Brewing’s Papa Noel’s Olde Ale (no picture available)
Another English style old ale, I found this one strong and tasty, but a little flat on the complexity scale. It drops off pretty quick and at 7.2% ABV, all that’s left is a hint of harsh alcohol.
1 week ago
$100 worth of beer!
Part three:
Goose Island Christmas Ale
One of my favorite winter ales ever. And I’ve only had two of them! A brown ale with 5.7% ABV, chocolaty, smooth and to quote their (very nice A++) website, complex. I give it five goose honks.
1 week ago