Mike Loves Beer

Name - Samuel Smith’s Winter Welcome Ale
Country - England
Type - Winter Warmer

Appearance - Poured a very clear, light amber color with a nice white head that subsided rather quickly.

Smell - Slight smells of caramel malts with a backing of apple.

Taste - A sweet malty flavor with hints of granny smith apples and caramel. Very slight taste of spices.

Samuel Smith to me is the beer brewer of England. They make quality beers that are by far some of the best you have ever had of that particular genre. This is not the best I have had from them but as a fellow beer blogger at Belching Monkey says if this was made by most other breweries it would probably be one of their best. That is just how good Sam Smith is with their beers. This one definitely fits the season and I did enjoy it.

Overall Grade - B-

Posted December 18th, 2008 by Mike | Tags: samuel smith, Winter Warmer, winter welcome ale | Category: Winter Warmer |  Email This Post | Leave a comment

Name - Samuel Adams Cream Stout
Country - United States
Type - American Milk Stout

Appearance- Very Dark, not transparent at all. Thick light brown head. Similar to Guinness in color without having to let it settle.

Smell - Very aromatic, a slight creamy sweet smell. Maybe some sort of coffee like smell.

Taste - A slight sweet creamy taste, along with a strong roasted coffee taste. Similar to every stout I have ever sampled, this too leaves me with that ungodly thick java after taste. Overall though, not bad. This is a great beer for the time of year, when there is a slight chill in the air.

I purchased a six pack from our local favorite store, and plan to enjoy some Samuel Adams Cream Stout while relaxing in the jacuzzi.

Overall Grade - C

Posted December 18th, 2008 by Chris | Tags: cream stout, samuel adams | Category: Milk Stout, Stout |  Email This Post | Leave a comment

Name - He’Brew Bittersweet Lenny’s R.I.P.A.
Country - United States
Type - American Double IPA

Appearance - Poured a clear amber color with a slightly tan foamy head.

Smell - Very prominent sweet malt smells. Rye bread and yeast is smelt as well.

Taste - Big malty taste up front with caramel up front followed by a big rye taste. The hoppy flavor is there but not overpowering like most IPAs. Very slight alcohol bite at the end.

Zak from Shmaltz Brewing Company (makers of He’Brew beers) highly recommended this to me. The beer is named after the late comedian Lenny Bruce. After not finding it a few times I was able to finally find it in one of my local beer stores. I will say that this is not your typical IPA. I don’t find it as hoppy as most. The sweet rye taste just does it for me. I could very easily have a couple of bottles of this and forget that it is 10% ABV. I would then probably realize that not too much later though. An outstanding beer on all fronts and by far the best double IPA I have had to this date.

Overall Grade - A

Posted December 16th, 2008 by Mike | Tags: Double IPA, he'brew beers, india pale ale, lenny's ripa, Shmaltz Brewing | Category: Double IPA, IPA |  Email This Post | Comments (2)

Name - Avery India Pale Ale (IPA)
Country - United States
Type - American IPA

Appearance - A golden yellow pour that was pretty hazy with a nice white head.

Smell - Citrusy notes on top of a nice hoppy smell.

Taste - A sweet taste with tastes of citrus, lemon and grapefruit predominantly, and bread.  Not overly hoppy like most IPAs but just enough.

I first had this at the beer and food pairing in early November that I went to and this just stuck out to me and made me want to have it again and review it.  I love the citrus tastes to it that make it just slightly sweeter than most IPAs.  This is definitely up there with some of the best IPAs I’ve ever had and showing that Avery is top notch brewery.

Overall Grade - A

Posted December 4th, 2008 by Mike | Tags: avery brewing, avery ipa, india pale ale, IPA | Category: IPA |  Email This Post | Leave a comment

Name - Samuel Adams Hallertau Imperial Pilsner
Country - United States
Type - American Imperial Pilsner

Appearance - Poured a cloudy straw color that was almost orange.  Nice sized white head.

Smell - Quite hoppy for a pilsner with hints of floral notes.

Taste - A sweet hoppy taste.  There was a significant citrus taste to it but what kind of fruit escapes me.  Finished very smooth.  This is not your typical store bought pilsner.

I was extremely surprised in how good this one was.  It’s hoppy indeed but I don’t think it is overpowering with those bitter hops that you might expect from IPAs or other ales.  I really like the sweetness to it as it stands out but is not over powering.  This was the last bottle I saw in the store and hope that I can find it again as it was a very good one.  Yes this is getting a good rating.

Overall Grade - A

Posted December 2nd, 2008 by Mike | Tags: hallertau imperial pilsner, Pilsner, samuel adams | Category: Imperial Pilsner, Pilsner |  Email This Post | Leave a comment

Name - Great Divide Hercules Double IPA
Country - United States
Type - American Double IPA

Appearance - Cloudy reddish color with a nice sized foamy white head that stuck around for quite a while.

Smell - Hoppy of course with a slight scent of citrus notes.

Taste - Very hoppy at first but finished with a crisp, sweet flavor of citrus.

One thing I don’t typically note but noticed a lot on this was the lacing on the glass.  This one had lacing from top to bottom of the glass.  It was amazing as I have never seen that nice of lacing on a glass.  But overall I thought this was a great beer and enjoyed it enough to where I would definitely have it again.

Overall Grade - A-

Posted December 2nd, 2008 by Mike | Tags: great divide brewing company, hercules double ipa, IPA | Category: Double IPA, IPA |  Email This Post | Leave a comment

Name - Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale
Country - United States
Type - American IPA

Appearance - Pours a nice copperish red color with a two finger white head.

Smell - Very hoppy smell with some slight spice smells to it.

Taste - A powerful taste of earthy hops.  Slight pine tastes with other spices to finish.

This is a powerful tasting IPA.  The hops hit your right from the smell and show up in the taste.  Has that spicy finish to it that you would expect with a winter type beer.  I enjoyed it but it is definitely not for those that aren’t crazy about hops.  But if you are a hop head then this is definitely for you.

Overall Grade - B

Posted December 1st, 2008 by Mike | Tags: celebration ale, sierra nevada | Category: IPA |  Email This Post | Comments (1)

Name - Rogue Santa’s Private Reserve Ale
Country - United States
Type - American Red Ale

Appearance - Foggy amber color with a nice sized white head.

Smell - Earthy and pine smells to it.

Taste - More earthy hops with a slight tastes of spices but not overly present.  Subtle taste of citrus, lemon mostly.

This is my first winter beer of the season and it was a good one.  The spices and earthy hops were there but not overpowering.  The citrus tastes help balance it out and make this a very good winter ale.

Overall Grade - B+

Posted November 30th, 2008 by Mike | Tags: rogue ales, santa's private reserve | Category: Ale, American Red Ale |  Email This Post | Leave a comment

Name - Samuel Adams Chocolate Bock
Country - United States
Type - Bock

Appearance - Very dark brown with slightly reddish highlights to it.  Fizzy tan head that went down very quickly.

Smell - Sweet malts with a mild chocolate smell.

Taste - Not as chocolaty as one might imagine.  It was there but not a lot.  Very sweet malts.

I remember reading about this only having won a contest for the next brew by Sam Adams.  When I saw it in the store I just felt I had to grab it.  It wasn’t as heavy as I thought it was going to be.  It was very smooth with a nice sweet flavor.  I had the first glass by itself and then on the second glass had it with a piece of my mom’s homemade chocolate cake.  The cake helped bring out the chocolate flavors a bit.  While note as chocolaty as I would have thought I still thought it was a good brew.

Overall Grade - B

Posted November 27th, 2008 by Mike | Tags: chocolate bock, samuel adams | Category: Bock |  Email This Post | Leave a comment