Sierra Nevada Stout

To start off, Sierra Nevada Stout has a 5.8% ABV. Beginning gravity-16.0 Plato and ending gravity of 4.8 Plato. The yeast is a top fermenting Ale yeast. It uses Magnum bittering hops and finishing hops of Cascade and Willamette. The Malts used are Two-row Pale, Munich, Caramel and Black.

The aroma is malty and roasty with a deep-dark hue that is good for a stout. It also has a good head and lacing all the way down the glass!




It tastes very creamy, malty and some sweetness in there. A bit of bitterness too to complement it all. A nice change from other stouts.



Not bad at all, good job! If I couldn't have Guinness or it didn't exist (Heaven forbid!)I would definitely drink this stout. I just may have to pick up a six or twelve pack of Sierra Nevada Stout to enjoy when I'm out of my usual Stout!

Arcadia Ale-London Porter

Arcadia Brewing Company was established in 1996 as a microbrewery specializing in handcrafted British-style ales. All of their beers are produced in small batches, and their 25 Barrel Peter Austin Brewery and methods originated in England, which allows this style of beer to reflect over 250 years of world class brewing heritage.

Arcadia Ales

This is their version of an 18th Century “Smoked Porter”. A dark, black hue with a barley malt aroma. Decent head and lacing as seen below.



It has an extraordinary taste, malty, caramel, and chocolate??? Yes, I was right, according to their site with also hints of coffee(I mistakenly thought caramel). A bitter, creamy aftertaste, other wise not bad for a porter. For being a porter, I would almost swear it was a stout!



I enjoyed this porter and hope you do too.

Sláinte

Loose Cannon Hop3 Ale

Hops, hops, and more hops!!! You have to love hops to love/like??? this beer. Magnum, Centennial, Chinook, Amarillo and Palisade, all of these go into this brew. Three pounds of hops per barrel at 3 different times of processing!!!!

It has a medium golden color, but not much of a head. Though the lacing is pretty good. (below)



Definite hop aroma, there's no doubt about that. It's bitter! Just not good tasting at all, I won't be drinking it again! Too hoppy and bitter, plain God awful!

The bottle says it's: "herbal and aromatic and delicious", it is not, whether it's an American IPA or not!



Loose Cannon also uses Crisp English Pale, Carapils, and Munich malts. The ABV is 7.25% (is that the only good thing??)

The beer is hopped 3 ways - in the kettle, in the hop back, and dry hopped. Winner of the Overall Best of Show Award in the Maryland State Governor's Cup 2005 Competition and voted the #1 IPA by Mahaffey’s Pub. We are very excited about this new product and have decided to make this beer available year round!

Clipper City Brewing Co.

The people at "Mahaffey's Pub" must drunken slobs, they should have thrown this one back, into the sea. Davy Jones Locker needs to keep it under lock and key(preferably losing the key!).

Well...Not the first disappointment I've had and probably won't be the last.

Until next time, save a bar stool and a cold pint for me!

Lion Lager

Unfortunately, I couldn't find an actual website for this brew. Disappointing too, I really wanted to learn more about the company and it's other beers. Maybe later, one will turn up and I can edited this post! :)

So, this will be a fairly short review.

The lager it's self has a light golden hue and a head that starts off good. The bad thing is that it dispenses rather quickly. As for the lacing, well, it's reasonable then appears less and less on the glass.



Loin Lager has a malt aroma and a definite malt flavor than is also creamy. It doesn't have much bitterness, it's a light full body taste. It's refreshing and surprisingly good.




My only disappoints in the beer are the head, lacing, and the lack of a website to really studied up on it's brews. Hopefully, one will be short coming and I can tweak this post.

Cheers!

Birra Moretti La Rossa

The most desired beer in Italy.

They must not be able to get any other kind!!!!

Birra Moretti La Rossa is a double bock beer produced using high quality 100% malted barley. Another key ingredient is the Spalt Select hops. The Master Brewers advise a serving temperature between 10° and 12° C(50 to 53.6F).


It has way too big of head if poured too fast and doesn't stick around long. The lacing is fairly decent though. And it also had nice dark reddish-amber hue to it.



It, however, had a very malty smell, almost like Soy Sauce???? That was my first impression, anyway. I thought it strange tasting as well, like Soy Sauce. Not good at all, needed research on this one before trying. YUCK!!!!!

Not good at all, bad aroma, bad taste. Maybe it was old. I would have been better off taking pictures of the clouds than this beer OR DRINKING IT!



It did taste better after settling a bit, but the aroma still wasn't pleasant. Hops/spicy, tangy too and bitter. Not too horrible once you get into it, but I won't be drinking it again!





From their site at Moretti Italian Beer

. A rich sweet taste and an intense fragrance of roasted malt. The amber color that characterizes the beer, comes from the kind of malt used in the recipe (malt is dried, roasted barley).

Another key ingredient is hops. The variety used is particularly aromatic, giving a characteristic bitter aftertaste and a delicate fragrance to the beer.

Well, it has a 7.2% ABV and a shelf life of only 15 months, so maybe it was old? 241 calories per 12 oz. serving and sold in 6-pack/12oz longneck bottles and 7.92 gallon kegs.

Sorry, I just was not that impressed.

Crooked Tree IPA

Inspired by West Coast I.P.A.'s, but brewed with Michigan style. From their site at Dark Horse Brewing Company.



With a dark golden, copper hue and a bit of cloudiness, this brew has an excellent head that stays with your glass awhile. The lacing is also very good as it "sticks" to the sides of the glass while drinking it.


A very hoppy and malt aroma that is almost stinky at first but flowery in the end. Crooked Tree is heavily dry hopped that gives it it's aroma and (according to their site) a big aroma of pine and citrus.

At first sip, it is bitter and almost unpleasant tasting. You can really taste the malt, hops and a spicy bitterness. I felt it had a very bitter aftertaste as well, but not totally undrinkable. Not bad, but maybe a bit too hoppy for me. Pales Ale, especially IPA's, usually don't taste very good to me, but this one isn't too bad once you get into it.

Now, this is the "single hop" brew with the ABV of 6% and is available year round. There is the double Crooked Tree with an ABV of 13.6% that has limited availability. I will review that one later and no driving for after that one!!!! =D

Save a cold one for me! :)

Schell's Stout

Most people don't know how hard it is to review or compare a stout when you're a Guinness drinker.

So, I'll just dig right in!



Dark black in color. A reasonable head at first but doesn't last long after having a few sips. The lacing is decent but it also slides down the glass quickly.



It has a coffee/chocolate aroma and an espresso/coffee flavor. Mild, no real bite to it with a creamy aftertaste.

Compared to Guinness, it's a second placer for sure!

Then again, it's described on the site as a London Style Sweet Stout with a 5% ABV. I guess I'm too Irish for it. LOL


Well, I have six more brews to try this weekend and no, their not all from the same company this time.

Until, I get those tried out....

Save a pint and a bar stool for me!!!

Schell's Firebrick

This Vienna-style lager, with 5% ABV, was introduced in 1999, and is named after the bricks that line Schell's old boilers.

I was extremely disappointed with the head that dissipated too fast and the very little lacing it had. Even with it's amber-reddish hue, it seemed bit cloudy.



The aroma? I couldn't really get one! Thought maybe my nose was stuffed up, but it does have a mild malt aroma to it. As for taste.....

Malty and a tad hoppy with a creamy aftertaste. It bites a bit at the sides of the tongue with maybe a touch of sweetness there. You can read how they describe it on their site at www.schellsbrewery.com. 21 and over, please.

It's fairly drinkable but to the other four, they were slightly better, IMHO. Maybe if I had than one to go on, I would have thought different.




ON TO THEIR STOUT!!!

Schell's Octoberfest

Now my actual review on this particular beer is rather short and to the point. So, I'll start off with a little history of it from the Schell's website. www.schellsbrewery.com Don't forget, if you want to visit this site yourself, you must be 21!!!!

The Octoberfest or Marzen (March) type of beer was originally brewed in
March, and laid down in caves before the summer weather rendered
brewing impossible. Stocks would be drawn upon heavily during the
summer, and exhausted by October.

In
Germany, this tradition has come to be associated with one specific
style, Octoberfest Bier. In keeping with true German tradition, August
Schell Octoberfest beer is brewed just once a year. They carefully select
the perfect balance of Caramel malt, Pale malt, Cara Pils and Black
malt with Cascade and Nugget hops to create a rich, smooth taste.

The color hue of the beer I found pleasing to the eye with an amber hue.
(I tried using a white background to show this)



It had a wonderful malts aroma and a smooth caramel flavor. BUT...Though it starts with a good head, it dissipates. Somewhat disappointing. Plus, not much lacing, as seen in the second bottom pic better.





All in all, it's a good seasonal October Bier! BTW, it's ABV is 5.5%.

Can't wait for Octoberfest 2009 at the riverfront!

Schell's Zommerfest

Now before continuing, I'd like to say I bought a six-pack sampler of Schell's beer that contained 4 year round brews and two seasonal. So, four more to go!!!



Zommerfest(now in season), introduced on Memorial Weekend, 1998, is brewed in a 'Kölsch' style, which originates from
Cologne, Germany. It's brewed with 90% barley malt
and 10% wheat malt and now also with real Minnesota honey from
Madelia, MN.


Sorry, the pic isn't better.

I found it to have a pale gold color with not much of a hop aroma and malt taste. Even though the site says it's has "slight malt flavor and sweet hop aroma", but it also says it is "low in hop flavor and aroma" Which I totally agree with.

It has a dry finish, one that leaves you wanting more to drink, with little aftertaste, it is very refreshing. It also has a excellent head and lacing that stays with the glass(as seen below).



This Kölsch Style Honey Ale is 5% ABV and is claimed to go "well with any summer activity". I can see how to could, but you'll have to judge that for yourself!

Schell's Pale Ale

Now I'm not one who usually enjoys a pale ale or IPA(India Pale Ale), I just can't find one that is really good and enjoyable to drink. I'm always willing to try a new one though, in the hopes of finding one I can enjoy!



Schell's is the only brewery that produces this particular beer style. It was brewed in celebration of the 135th Anniversary of Schell's and was so popular, they re-introduced it under the name German Pale Ale. With the characteristics of an IPA's English malts and hops then combined with a German Alt yeast, it really a hybrid of sorts.

This brew has a good head and a lacing that stays with glass the whole way.





The Pale Ale has a flowery, hop aroma and good flavor. It's spicy and creamy, hoppy and malty and you can even taste the yeast!! Just Excellent!!!

I love the taste, the bitterness of it as a whole and the creaminess of the aftertaste. It's described on it's own site as : "Rich maltiness with a distinct hop bitterness."

Just remember this beer has an ABV of 5.75%, I know that may not sound like much, but when you start drinking, do it responsibly. One ends up ten, then you just forget how incapacitated you really are.

Save me a pint!!!

Schell's Pilsner

Developed in Pilsen, Bohemia around 1840, the full hop characteristic and delicate aroma was widely copied by early American breweries. It has lost out over time
to the much lighter-bodied, low-hopped relatives known as
American "Premium" beer.

A Bavarian Pilsner style beer, Schell's Pilsner is brewed with 100 percent barley
malt and showcases the imported German Hallertau hops.

I first take notice in the color, a bright golden yellow hue, and wonder what it was going taste like. With it's fruity, barley malt aroma, I couldn't wait to taste it. I then took notice in the nice head of the beer(above pic) and the lacing on the sides of the glass.



As I was tasting this Pilsner, I thought it had a bitter hoppy taste but also a good barley malt flavor. In fact, very hoppy, almost spicy due to it. Not a bad aftertaste, it's creamy on the palate.



The overall appearance and taste are very good. I would recommand it to any one who likes "true" Pilsners.

This is a little short for a review but it gets to the point that this beer is worth drinking!!! No wonder it has won several awards and those who like to know, the ABV is 5.6%.