Stoudt's Oktober Fest Beer Review #craftbeer #beermail

Stoudt’s Oktober Fest beer is brewed in Adamstown, Pennsylvania.  This beer weighs in at 5% ABV with an unlisted amount of IBU’s.  I got this beer from Mark Pyle who is a member of the Erie Better Beer Bureau and I cannot wait to try this brew.  Thanks Mark!

Appearance-  With an aggressive pour 3.5 fingers of tiny bubbled head formed on this beer.  Very little head retention.  This beer is totally see through and is a nice light amber color.  This beer is highly carbonated the bubbles just lay on the glass.

Smell-  Well, I do not get a whole lot off the aroma.  I get a slight breadiness with a malt sweetness on the back of the nose.  I actually smell a little bit of hop presence on the nose.  Really, not a whole lot on the nose.

Taste-  It is interesting.  I get a tiny bit of toasted malt with very little sweetness on the back end.  Very little taste on this beer other than a hint of biscuit and bread on the finish.  The grains are all that is detectable really.

Mouthfeel-  This is the wateriest beer I have ever had especially for an Oktoberfest beer.  This beer is highly sessionable and incredibly easy drinking.  The low ABV makes this a huge sessionable beer.  Really though way to light on the mouthfeel.

Overall, I do not really enjoy this beer.  It is very watery and does not have a whole lot of taste.  The only thing it has going for it is high drinkability and could be a transition beer for BMC fans.  I will never seek out this beer again.  CHEERS!

Sweet Water IPA #craftbeer #beerreviews #IPA

Sweet Water IPA from Sweet Water Brewing Company is from Atlanta Georgia.  There is about 65 IBU’s in this beer with an ABV of 6.7%.  I got this beer going down to Kentucky and I actually saw it in a gas station.  I was pumped to see some good craft brew.

Appearance-  With a steady pour I get about a 1.5 finger of tiny bubbled head.  This beer is highly carbonated with a beautiful burnt orange color to it.  This is the definition of a light amber beer.  Totally transparent the whole way through the beer.  Great lacing the entire way down the glass.

Smell-  HUGE lemon hop scent right on the front of the nose with a sweet malt finish to it.  High amounts of grapefruit and citrus are present in this beer.  It has all of those tropical fruit scents to it that are appeasing.  There is a bit of a malt background to this beer.

Taste-  Wow that is perhaps the lemoniest IPA I have had.  That is incredibly interesting.  I get more of the grapefruit on the middle of the tongue with almost zero lingering bitterness on the back of the tongue.  There is a slight malty caramel sweetness on the end of the taste for sure.

Mouthfeel-  this beer goes down so smooth its unreal.  The mouthfeel is quite light and the carbonation makes it highly drinkable and the low ABV makes it sessionable.  When I think of a summer time/ lawn mower IPA I will imagine this beer.

Overall, this is a great IPA.  The crispness of this brew is fantastic.  I would recommend this to any beer drinker.  Actually, my friend was here as I reviewed it and he loved it (his favorite beer is miller 64).  Yes it’s that good and I will definitely pick up another six pack next summer if I get the chance.  This is not my favorite IPA by any means but the subtle differences really lead me to enjoy it.  CHEERS!

Bell's Two Hearted Ale Beer Review #IPA #craftbeer

Bell’s Two Hearted Ale is an American IPA brewed in Kalamazoo, Michigan.  This IPA weighs in with a 7% ABV and has about 55 IBU’s.  I have always wanted to try this beer and I finally got it in a mix and match six pack.  Here goes nothing!

Appearance-  With a nice aggressive pour a 1.5 finger of tiny bubbled head forms.  This beer is a beautiful like rusty orange color.  This brew is not totally transparent there is a little bit of floaties going on but that is ok.  Totally see through though.

Smell-  Right off the nose I get a nice citrus orange scent followed by a nice floralness to the hops.  BIG pineapple on the second smell.  Really, I get a nice sweet caramel to the malt.  The smell seems incredibly balanced and I hope the taste follows suit.

Taste-   Wow nice floral hops with HUGE citrus notes.  Literally the first sip made my mouth begging for more like I immediately salivated.  Second sip I get big big big notes of pineapple with even I bit of mandarin orange.  I get just the tiniest hint of caramel malt in this beer but the hops by no means are over bitter.

Mouthfeel- This brew leaves a nice coating in your mouth so I would say it has a light to medium Mouthfeel.  This beer is dangerously drinkable for a 7% ABV this beer goes down like it’s a 4%.  Very drinkable especially on a hot day.

Overall, this is a fantastic style of the American IPA.  I would give this to any craft beer drinker and this could be a huge bridge beer for a non-craft drinker to the craft scene.  This is the first time I have has this beer and it did not disappoint whatsoever I will definitely buy this beer again.  CHEERS!

Midas Touch Craft Beer Review #craftbeer #ancientale

Midas Touch is brewed by Dogfish Head brewing Company and is part of their ancient ale series.  Dogfish Head is located in Milton, Delaware.  This beer weighs in with a pretty high ABV of 9.0% with about 12 IBU’s.  I have wanted to try this ancient ale beer for quite a while now and I finally saw it on sale so I snatched one up. 

Appearance- With a heavy pour only about a .5 finger of white foam holds.  It is a yellow orange color with a bit of haziness to it.  There is medium to low carbonation.  Decent lacing does occur even though it has such a low head.

Smell- There is kind of a rancid smell to this brew.  I get like that kind of pea soup smell to it with a tiny bit of the grapes that they mention on the bottle.  There is a sort of spiciness to it that I really cannot pick out but it is definitely not appealing to me.

Taste- The taste is much better than the smell.  I get a nice malty almost honey like sweetness on the front of the tongue.  The aftertaste is kind of strange like a wet cardboard almost but I don’t mind it at all.  The more it warms up the better I like it.  I taste like a nice honey malt taste to it with a hint of white grapes it is kind of appeasing.

Mouthfeel- It is a medium bodied beer with a nice dry after taste.  I really enjoy the dryness to the beer it makes you want to go back for another sip.  This is not a sessionable beer with the 9% ABV but the alcohol is not present at all.

Overall, I actually enjoy this quite a bit.  The smell really lowers my rating because it does not smell anything like it tastes.  I do think the taste is quite complex and not for a beginner.  I never would have expected to like this but I actually do.  CHEERS!

Sierra Nevada Pale Ale Beer Review #paleale #beerreivew

Sierra Nevada Pale Ale is brewed by Sierra Nevada Brewing Company in Chico, California.  This beer weighs in at 5.6% ABV with 37 IBU’s.  Almost every craft beer drinker has tried this beer and it never ceases to amaze me.  I am excited to finally review it. 

Appearance- Beautiful light amber brown color with about a 1.5 finger of white tiny bubbled foam.  Medium high amounts of carbonation and fully transparent even due to the darkness.  This beer has incredible head retention the entire way down the class.

Smell- I get a nice bit of floral hops with just a bit of pine.  However, I do really get a nice bready and malty characteristics to this beer as well.  A nice floralness is definitely present for sure that is honestly really appetizing for a pale ale.

Taste- Well, that’s a pretty damn good pale ale.  It has that nice floral and malty characteristics that complement each other very nicely.  There is a great hop bitterness on the end as well, which is nice for a pale ale it really is hoppier than a normal one.

Mouthfeel-  This brew has a light to medium body.  This to me is the definition of a sessionable craft beer.  Nice full body but light enough to drink all day long.  Honestly this is my tailgating beer that really gets my friends into craft beer.

Overall, I really think this is one of the best pale ales I have had even though it is so widely known and distributed.  The hoppiness is fantastic being just below an IPA.  I recommend this to any craft drinker and also as a bridge beer to new craft drinkers.  CHEERS!

Dundee Kölsch Style Ale Beer Review #Kölsch #craftbeer

Dundee Kölsch Style ale is brewed by Genesee Brewing Co. / Dundee Brewing Co. in New York, United States.  This wheat beer weighs in at 5.1% ABV with about 10 IBU’s.  I got this beer from my dad and am pretty excited to try it.  CHEERS!

Appearance- Fully transparent brew with about a 1.5 finger of head with tightly compacted bubbles.  The color is close to like a roasted straw with just a very small hint of brown.  This beer has mildly high carbonation with actually really good lace retention.

Smell- There is not much to the smell honestly.  I get like a sweet malt with hints of like a corn or some sort of graininess.  Now that I am smelling it more, I actually pick up like a bit of honey with some roasted malt.  Very little on the nose though, I really had to search for it.

Taste- Wow taste is much better than the smell.  I really only get like a wheat and malt sweetness but I at least get something out of it.  This is definitely a grain centered beer with like a little bit of a honey back ground.  There is a slight grassiness to the end of the beer that makes it crisp.  It is a very sweet beer the more it warms up.

Mouthfeel-  The look is actually kind of deceiving there is a bit of a medium body to this beer.  It is quite pleasant actually.  This beer is highly sessionable with the low ABV and I would definitely consider this a lawn mower beer.

Overall, it is a mediocre beer.  I know it is a wheat beer so that is usually not my style; however I could see this as a sessionable tailgating beer.  I would recommend this definitely as a transition beer that could really turn someone into a craft drinker eventually.  CHEERS!

Oskar Blue's Ten FIDY Russian Imperial Stout #imperialstout #beerreview

Oskar Blue’s Ten FIDY is a Russian Imperial Stout from Oskar Blue’s Brewing Company in Colorado, but this one was brewed in Brevard, North Carolina.  This beer comes in with a big 10.5% ABV and 98 IBU’s.  This beer was canned only 3 weeks ago so it really is pretty fresh.  This is the first time I have had this beer and it was not cheap, so let’s hope it was worth the cost.  Hope you guys enjoy!

Appearance- Wow literally black as night, it is totally black.  There is a beautiful one inch head that is burn khaki brown with pretty small bubbles.  The head is lasting incredibly for such a high ABV beer.  In addition, beautiful lacing on the glass; wow very creamy looking.

Smell- Big dark chocolate and cocoa hit the nose really hard.  Which is then followed by a nice burnt roasted malt scent.  Huge amounts of coffee just penetrate your nostrils with a bit of dark fruits like raisons for sure.  Great smelling beer without a doubt.

Taste- Nice bitterness that just dances and lingers on your tongue upfront.  Right as it subsides though huge coffee and burnt malt come storming through.  Massive amounts of a dark chocolate sweetness followed with some toffee and vanilla undertones.  Definitely a hint of booziness though which is to be expected with a high ABV brew.

Mouthfeel- Very heavy bodied brew, it is very creamy the whole time in your mouth.  It just holds to your teeth beautifully.  It is a little warm the whole way down but boy is it good.  This Russian Imperial Stout goes down very smoothly and is highly drinkable, definitely not a session beer though.

Overall, probably one of the best Russian Imperial Stouts I have had yet.  It really through me off guard for being so tasty.  I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys stouts, DEFINITELY not a transition beer.  I think it tastes some developed taste buds to enjoy this beer.  CHEERS!