10.30 - WORLD SERIES!

2013.  Red Sox.  World Series.  Up 3-2.. AT HOME.  You bet your sweet ass I'm gonna be having some beers!

Hill Farmstead Brewery - Jimmy
a 10.% ABV "Cascadian Dark Beer" or Black IPA.  Brewed only once in 2012.. so let's see if it holds up. Roasty nose and hints of a sharp piney hop.  The body is slightly light and oxidized for a higher ABV beer..  the hop profile still remains after 12+ months.. decent piney notes balanced out by mild roasty chocolate and iced coffee flavors.  Dry finish.. more roast..  hops are close to fading out completely.  Not my favorite style, but for the age, this held up very very nicely

- - 8 Hops!

Hill Farmstead Brewery - Everett

a 7.5% ABV Porter.   Now I've heard amazing this about this Porter.. but as a no-frills Porter, it's really tough to be stand out.  Can it live up?  Typical rich pour, mocha head..   has a rich, roasty nose, more akin to a non-Russian Stout than a Porter.  There's the chocolate and coffee you'd expect, but the roast is heavy and amazing.  Smooth and strong.. this is just plain solid1

- - 8 Hops!

Mystic Brewery - Cabernet Sauvingon Barrel-Fermented Saison

a 7.0% ABV Saison fermented in red wine barrels.. yeah, not aged in the barrels.. actually fermented in the barrels.  Suck it, neck-beards.. you aren't on this level.  The natural bacteria in the barrels assists in the fermentation, adding a level to the Matrix that you just can't get from barrel-aging.  Dry, funky, hay nose with an underlying tannic, fruity note.  The body is the perfect blend of CabSauv and Saison.. yeasty, funky, and jammy without being tart.  This is exactly as advertised.. a Saison blended with a Cab Sauv wine.  Juicy barnyard goodness

- - 9 Hops!

SOX WIN! SOX WIN! SOX WIN! SOX WIN! SOX WIN! SOX WIN!!!!

Alesmith - Speedway Stout (Vietnamese Coffee)

a 12.0% ABV Imperial Sout brewed with Vietnamese coffee.   I was told I can pick any beer from my friend's cellar.. everything was so epic, the decision was ridiculous.  This is a fine celebratory beer, right? Such a huge, thick head and just oozes with this amazing coffee aroma.  This drinks like a sub-6% ABV beer, absurdly smooth and sweet, zero booze bite, the coffee notes are like the most luxuriant coffee you could image, blended with orgasm-inducing chocolate.  Highly recommend ANY of the Speedway Stout variants.

- - 9 Hops!

10.28 - Harpoon #46

Nice to get free beers from time to time from a local shop.

Harpoon 100 Barrel Series -#46 Hoppy Belgian Style Blonde

a 6.5% ABV  53 IBU Belgian Blonde-style ale.  A hybrid of the nose of a Belgian White and a Triple.  Strong esters and grassy hops.  Not a ton of complexity to the nose, nor the body..  this is a straight-forward "Belgian blonde" that's hopped up.. exactly as the name says.  Banana, close, Belgian yeast with tropical esters and a floral hoppy bite.  There once was a time when the 100 Barrel series made some standout beers.. but if you're aiming for 100 unique beers, there's bound to be some duds.  

- - 6 Hops!

10.27 - OTWOA

I seriously love my connections..

DC Brau - On The Wings Of Armageddon.
a 9.2% ABV  ~115 IBU Double IPA.   I've tried this a few times at fests, but just happy to finally have cans for myself.  A super bold orange pour with strong malty notes and a pungent piney hop profile.  Orange zest and piney resin.. caramel malts.. the hops dominate the nose in a bold fashion.  They grab ahold and let nothing else in.  As for the taste.. well again, the hops dominate.  Thicker orange peel and piney resin flavors comprise the body.  This is just a hop monster.   A very "East Coast" DIPA as the malts play a huge role in the body and finish, giving a ton of caramel sweetness and stronger-than-expected booze bite.  Just a monster of a DIPA, on the tropical/fruity side but with giant piney notes.   Good fresh and still good even with a few months of her

- - 9 Hops!

10.25 - K.B.S.

It's a Tuesday.. so why the fuck not?

About damned time that I ticked this..  finally landed some earlier this year, and well.. it was a shit day at work today.  The prefect excuse to crack it 

Founders Brewing Co - KBS (Kentucky Breakfast Stout)

an 11.2% ABV  70 IBU Bourbon Barrel-aged Stout.    Fun fact I learned, the KBS base beer is in fact NOT FBS!  Who'da thunk?  They use a slightly different base beer for the KBS and the CBS (Canadian Breakfast Stout - barrel-aged with maple syrup).  This is a thick, dark brown pour with a faint mocha head.  Coffee and chocolate are dominant on the nose with some vanilla/bourbon sweet notes.  This is a ridiculously smooth beer for over 10%.. toffee, chocolate and coffee hit you first with a bourbon sweetness that is cloying light.  The name of the game for this beer is deception.. you'd never guess 11.2% from the nose or taste.. all booze is hidden harder than that one douche in 2nd grade who would always win at Hide and Go Seek.  It's not as mind-blowing as the hype would make it out to be, but it's an awesome BB Stout with the added uniqueness of being an oatmeal stout, adding more body than the usual stout.  An awesome beer, for sure

- - 9 Hops!

10.22 - Three Beer Tuesdays

Because sometimes, why the hell not?

Austin Beerworks - Heavy Machinery 'Half IPA'

a 5.6% ABV Pale Ale (get it.. hoppy pale ale = half IPA..  whatever).  This is such a clean looking beer that I'd almost call it crafty.  Seriously, it's like see-through.  I'm getting some very faint citrus hops and some other grassy note.. but it's all very subdued and almost watery notes.  The taste doesn't help this much.. it's very watery and underwhelming.  The hops are there.. and a decent caramel/biscuit malt profile.. but it's all super light.. almost as if this is a mediocrely hopped macro beer.  I don't know.. I can't say much great about this besides the fact that it was free and that it didn't taste bad.. only faded.  oh well.  Tickers gonna tick

- - 6 Hops!

Stone Brewing - The Perfect Crime

a 6.8% ABV 60 IBU 'Black Smoked Saison' - a collab with Stillwater Artisanal Ales and Evil Twin Brewing.  A definitely black pour..way darker than I expected.. and a nice thick cream-hued head.  There's a coffee/roasty aspect to the nose with some floral and berry notes and a noticeable smoke aspect.  It's a heavier Saison, as would be expected with the malt bill to this.. but that combined with the yeasty flavors lend itself to a meaty, Belgian-style porter..  yes.. it was meaty.  The smoke in this, when paired with the lighter, yeast-influenced profile of a Saison, ends up overpowering and comes across too meaty and savory. A touch too much for my liking.. but for the most part, it works, just a little out of balance and out of the ordinary

- - 7 Hops!

Ending with a Bold City Brewery - Duke's Cold Nose Brown Ale

a 6.0% ABV Brown Ale from Bold City in Florida.. given to me by a friend.  A clear, rich mahogany pour and giant head.  Faint chocolate aromas with nutty, toasty notes and a sweeter hint of caramel malt.  For 6.0% ABV, this is a very light, clean beer.. in aroma and taste.  It's just as the nose suggests: nutty, toasty, caremel..  some hints of iced coffee and sweet chocolate.  But overall.. for a Brown Ale, this drinks more like a Pale and was gone in about 10 minutes.   Enjoyable, but just a touch too crushable

- - 7 Hops

10.21 - Cubano

Had a friend in my trading group stop by Cigar City a little while back, ask if anyone wanted anything..  I took a look at the list of what's available, and being a coffee beer fiend, I had him grab me a 4pk of this and damn, am I glad I did! (the tulip in the back - 7eventh Sun Brewery - was thrown in as an extra )

Cigar City - Cubano-style Espresso

a 5.5% ABV 25 IBU Brown Ale with vanilla, cocoa and coffee beans added.  In Florida, apparently Cubano-style espresso is a popular drink (woulda thunk?)  As expected it pours a rich brown/black and has a slightly off-white head.  It's got a crap-ton of lactose sweetness on the nose with amazing espresso/iced coffee notes.. like I feel like I'm inhaling pure coffee beans.  This has far more body that you'd believe is in a 5.5% beer.. there's huge espresso flavors with rich, smooth, sweet vanilla and just a hint of roasty chocolate.  I have ZER0 clue what actual Cubano espresso is like.. but if it's half as good as this beer, I would crush cups of it morning, noon, and night.  The sweetness with subtle roast and a huge body for such a small beer.. just phenomenal.

- - 9 Hops!

10.20 - Greener Than Green

Finally made the trip out to Tree House Brewery in Brimfield MA yesterday for not only myself, but some guys in the beer group, and well..  I ended up with quite a bit..

Oh.. and that's all of ONE kind of beer.  Yep.  they ran out of everything except for ONE BEER..

But before I get to that, I snagged a highly sought-after IPA collab this week

Otter Creek / Lawson's Finest Liquids Collab - Double Dose IPA

an 8.5% ABV Imperial IPA.  for those you not in the know, Lawson's has one of the most coveted IPAs in VT, which is saying something when your state is home to Heady Topper and Hill Farmstead.  So they go an create a beer with Otter Creek, one of VT's oldest craft breweries..  These bottles were flying off shelves around me.. is it worth the hype..?  a pure orange pour and decent head.  There's grassy hops, bits of heavier, dank resin hops, and sweet orange peel.  Sadly, only the last part comes through in the body..  it's pure bitter orange peel.  zero malt notes, zero hops..  I hear everyone raving about this.. but it's just a mediocre orange peel bomb.. nothing more, nothing less.  Might be a bad bottle, but who's to judge

- - 7 hops

Tree House Brewing Co. - Green

a 7.6% ABV IPA brewed with American and Australian hops..  we're talking 2 days old here folks..  Green is the name.. green as in fresh.. green as in WHOA.  A perfect copper orange pour, clean and clear, with a just-right white head.  The tropical nose on this makes you think you just stepped off a plane in Tahiti.. good god that's amazing.  There's tons of pineapple, mango, guava.. also peaches, nectarines..  there's touches of sweet malts and just a bit of grass.  I am 110% happy that the taste perfectly mimics the nose..  this is the epitome of a tropical IPA!  Essentially no dankness, no pine, no stickiness..  pure. topical. glory.  I just can't even talk about this beer anymore for fear my words won't live up to the beer.  Each sip makes you want another until the next thing you know, the 750ml growler is gone in 25 minutes.  

- - 9 Hops!

10.19 - When In Mass..

Well hey now.. this beer literally JUST won a gold medal at GABF in the "other strong" category, or something.  Not sure if in recent years anyone from MA has won anything, but in "my" craft beer drinking days, it's awesome to see some great guys win a medal!  Here's why they won..

Jack's Abby - Mass Rising (2nd Anniversary Lager)

an 8.0% ABV 100 IBU Double India Pale Lager - based off the recipe for their 2nd Anniversary DIPL beer.  Their beers are a steal at between $4 and $8 for a 500ml bottle.  This had that perfect 1inch, thick head with a just-right orange/copper pour.  There's hints of a thick, dank hop profile.. but there's more peach/mango with an underlying pine/onion note.  Simple pilsner malt aroma is all I get for the sweetness.. this had a strong punch of hops up front.. piney and bitter, leading into more subtle tropical notes.  It's rather light for an 8.0% ABV brew.. alcohol is completely hidden which is scary as hell in this bottle!  A juicy, sweet finish behind all other flavors with practically no malt bill..  those bastards can make some hoppy-ass brews that are cleaner than Peter Griffin's house after Consuela with it

- - 8 Hops!

10.17 - All Up In That Dirt

Brand new beer.. this replaced Hop Devil..  which was good, but not great.  Let's see what they got goin on..

Victory - DirtWolf DIPA

an 8.7% ABV ~65 IBU Double IPA with whole flower Chinook, Citra, Mosaic, and Simcoe hops.  It had an opaque, bright sunshine yellow pour with a minimal head.  You guys read the word "Citra", didn't you? Well, the Citra dominates the nose, as it tends to do.  Some Chinook/Simcoe come through with piney notes towards the end, but it's wholly citrus, tropical, onion Citra notes.  There's a ton going on in this..  there's dryer, piney notes.. sweeter tropical notes, and dank resin notes.. all with just a little malt backbone to try and tame this wild animal.  There's a drying, piney finish that has a lingering mango/pineapple flavor..

By far one of the best things that Victory has put out, and a nice addition to bring them into the modern IPA game

- - 8 Hops!

10.15 - There Is No Name..

I know people who know people...

well.. that IS true, but this was just given by a friend who happened into cases of Cody..

Cody Brewing Co - No Name IPA

a 5.5% ABV  IPA..  it's a bit old.. (January 2013, I believe..) but I've had older.  Let's see if it held up.. Incredibly orange in color with very little head.  Heavy, thick, sweet orange peel nose.. caramel malts, brown sugar, toffee..  it's a thick nose for sure.. but overly sweet, with a faint pineapple/tropical hop note.  For the taste.. yeeeeech.  This is like orange extract.  all sweetness and fruit, zero hop.. basically zero carb. Some IPAs.. when they're 'old' and faded, you can get glimpses of what it could have been..    This.. no.  it's so unbalanced, skewed toward fruit..  Points for free beer.. points taken away for just not being good.  Win some, lose some.  But I got a tick out of it..

- - 4 Hops

10.14 - Dat Wet Hop

Wet hopped.  The hops are the opposite of wet, while dry hopped, yea... the opposite of dry.  Wrap your mind around that little nugget.   You back to reality yet?  Ok.. let's go

Jack's Abby - Mom & Pop's Harvest Series: Wet Hop Lager

a 5.2% ABV  13 IBU Wet Hop Lager.  OK, guys.. here's a little bit of brewing 101.  Wet Hopping is when super super fresh hops are added to the beer.  Not dried, not pellets..  most are picked and added to the beer within 48 hours.  I know Surly makes sure their hops are added within 24 hours..  so huge hop profile.. right?  WRONG  This has a very subtle hop aroma, more grassy and floral than anything, beneath a golden yellow pour and rather large, pure white head.  Hay and honey water are also present on the nose..  This is very light and watery..  the hops aren't all that present in the body and those that are, aren't overly impressive.  It tastes a bit hay-like and stale, despite being less that 3 weeks old.  I can't quite place this.. but something is just off.. tart, dry, watery, barely any bitterness to the finish..  macro-ish

- - 3 Hops..

10.13 - Double Devil

meh.. sometimes I hate intros.  You're gonna see the picture anyway.  You're probably not even gonna read the post.. so why come up with something witty.  Beer

Founders - Double Trouble

a 9.4% ABV 86 IBU Double IPA  A limited yearly release DIPA from Founders.  Everyone else was doing these cool upside-down bottle pictures, and I'm clearly a sheep, so I will too.  This pours out a bright cloudy golden yellow and the head faded quickly.. or I took too long to set up the picture..  either way, there at least was carb to begin with, got it?  There's a lot of thick citrus and tropical fruit rind in the nose, backed up by a heavy dose of caramel and toffee malt sweetness and a secondary hit of piney floral hops.  Double the pleasure on this one as you get the same intense waves of bitter, thick, and sweet flavors throughout the taste. There's definitely heavier honey malts to balance out some of the strong piney bite with a tropical finish. It ends drier and boozy.. this is a sipper DIPA for sure.  

8 Hops!

I've already reviewed this one.  go back and check that shit, yo.  Don't be a lazy bitch.

10.12 - The Crimson Dirigo

I found this while up in Maine over the summer.. a beer without a brewery.  I had sampled some stuff by Bull Jagger at fests before, but this is my first full beer from them.. and sadly they shut their doors late spring/early summer of this year.  Super sad face, engage.

Bull Jagger - Dirigo

a 5.0% ABV 'Crimson Lager' listed as a Marzen style beer.  Well, the crimson description is pretty spot-on. This is about as red as you can get a beer without it being a Kriek, Flanders, or Rouge.  Super light-bodied pour, the carb faded quick and left no head or lacing.  Caramel malt nose, grassy hops that play into a sort of autumn leaves type taste.  It's incredibly carbed for having such little head.. like an old, oxidized cherry soda.  Zero hops to be found here, this is strictly a malt showcase here.  It's bright, smooth, and light for a malt-bomb, however, and has a ruby-esque quality to it.  Not mind-blowing by any means, but a solid beer and a shame that they had to close their doors.  

- - 7 Hops!

10.9 - WTF is a Gotterdammerung?

(Twilight of the Gods?) Apparently it's an opera composed by Richard Wagner?  also a rough translation of a disastrous series of events?  Hey, Wikipedia, you're cool shit, thanks for imparting knowledge to us everyday folk!

This Gotterdammerung is the 17th Anniversary brew by Stone featuring all German malts and hops... let's see if it's operatic, twilightic, or disastrous...

Stone - 17th Anniversary Beer 'Gotterdammerung IPA"

a 9.5% ABV 102 IBU DIPA brewed with all German malts and hops (Herkules, Hersbrucker, Magnum, Merkur, Opal, Smaragd & Strisselspalt  -  from the Stone website).  Let's see how Stone tackles the idea of a German IPA.  To start, it's got a crazy bright, hazy yellow pour with a pure white head.  As you'd expect, the nose is heavily hop-forward..  there's citrus, vegetable, and floral hops..  sweet, mellow honey malts come up on the back end.  Sadly, this was the most enjoyable part of the beer.   Definitely a German twist on a west coast IPA as floral and malty hops mix with an underlying citrus note, but everything is super slick and sweet.  Supposedly only pilsner malts were used, but it's got the body of a stout with pale malts.  Resinous, oily.. with toffee and orange peel sweetness..  the amount of sweetness, thickness and borderline rotting-vegetation to this beer make it somewhat off-putting.  I can't fully isolate why it's so weird, it just is...

- - 5 Hops

10.7 - A Crooked Variety

I love hops.. and when you can showcase hops in a beer, and show what a particular variety can bring to the table.. well, that just makes me happy in the pants region.  Crooked Tree by Dark Horse is a great IPA, a mainstay for years, and they decided to release a variety pack of single-hop variants.. This called for me having a buddy over to sample all three plus the original! Left to Right...

Dark Horse - Crooked Tree IPA
a 6.5% ABV 50 IBU IPA... not a hop monster by any stretch of the imagination, utilizing Colombus, Centennial and Cascade.  All pour a great copper orange, this one having the fullest head.  It's got a tropical/mango nose with rye and bready malt notes.  It's incredibly well balanced with sweet, sticky tropical hops, some pine notes and smooth malts with touches of caramel.  Did I say this was incredibly well balanced?  It's a slightly toned-down west coast-style IPA that drinks lower than it's ABV suggests.  A seriously underrated IPA in a world where hops reign supreme now.

- - 8 Hops!

Edacsac Dekoorc Eert IPA

the Cascade single-hop version of Crooked Tree.  yadda yadda yadda.. how does it taste different? well, there's less tropical hops, more of a piney, orange peel quality that you'd expect from Cascade, with less malt to balance it out.  Definitely more of a hop bite here, same ABV, but the alcohol heat came through a bit more.  Some grapefruit comes out near the end, but way more pine than I'd like, but that's personal taste, and unfortunately, personal taste is the rule of the land in rating beer

- - 7 Hops!

FF Dekoorc Eert IPA

the Falconer's Flight single-hope Crooked Tree..  why didn't they call it Srenoclaf Thgilf?  Idk, whatever, lame, minus style points.  (please remember that Falconer's Flight is not technically a single hop.  Educate yo self, fool)  This one has a more grassy, citrus, woody-type hop aroma.  There's more unabashed bitterness here, less malts backing it up, and less smooth for sure.  I really dig Falconer's, but there's something holding this one back a bit.. maybe the malt, maybe a bit too much age

- - 8 Hops!

Artic Dekoorc Eert IPA

duh.. the goddamn Citra version of Crooked Tree.  As has been for a while now, Citra is the king of hops.. it's almost impossible to brew a sub 8 beer with Citra.  Can Dark Horse fuck this up?  There's the bright, citrusy, grapefruit, tropical hops that Citra is famous for.  Still a bit old (4-5 months) but the Citra is still beautiful here, the perfect balance of hop, citrus and sweetish malts.  If you haven't had Citra, it's incredibly tough to pinpoint the exact flavors it exudes, but when you taste it, you just know, like that 9th sense or something.  I'd normally give it a 9, but the age mellowed it out slightly and gave it a bit of oxidization..  still a very awesome brew

- - 8 Hops!

10.6 - Random IPA Night

Sometimes you just gotta grab some beers and drink them, for no reason other than "because"

Saranac - White IPA

a 6.0% ABV 50 IBU White IPA.  Bought as part of a mix pack, sometimes it's nice to just drink 'regular' beer instead of ones I've traded or had sent to me that would be whale status in MA.  A crazy bright golden yellow pour with a minimal head.. the Belgian yeast and bright lemon notes were forward on the nose, wheat and faint spices.  It's got a Belgian Pale quality to it with cracker/biscuit-type malts, faint hops.. apparently Citra is used here.. it's slight notes that hint at it.. very bright citrus without a bite that;s indicative of Citra..  but the malt and spice body to it are a bit lacking.  Decent blend of a Belgian style and IPA, however, and one of the better White IPAs out there with emphasis on both aspects of the beer

- - 7 Hops!

Squatters - Hop Rising

a 9.0% ABV 75 IBU Double IPA.  This was given to my by a coworker who had one the other night and said "it's too damn hoppy for me!"  Being the resident beer geek, I guess I get all unwanted beers and beer-related items by default.  So score?  Let's see...  it pours a golden copper with a decent head.  There's a strong presence of everything in the nose.. from ABV heat, to sticky-sweet malts, to piney hops with orange peel just dripping off them.  I can see how some would say this is too much..  strong hoppy bitterness, but not a whole lot of bite, if that can be believed.  There's a ton of peachy citrus to this, with thick honey, caramel, bready malts..  this has a huge body, like the hops of a DFH 90 Minute meet the body of a 120 Minute, meet the flavor of peach liquor..  it's odd, but not terrible.  Search it out if you love sticky bold hops..

- - 6 Hops!