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!!!