Wheach: Peach Wheat Beer

600th Post! Thanks to Ms. Britta Shold for giving me this beer a couple weekends ago while we were having drinks at the Delta Chi Theta house with all the alumni in town. Obviously, this beer has been around for a while, but I never had the opportunity to get it (there were hoppier, richer counterparts to purchase). Finally reviewed on Monday evening after an 11 mile run with the team, to round out a 23 mile day!

Appearance: The pour erupted the beer in a cascade of bubbles, resulting in a waiting period to pour the rest of the bottle. While it was short lived, the head still presented a thick film of foam across the surface. The could is faint and pale straw, and uneventfully bright. Some haze is present, but clarity is still maintained. Carbonation is acknowledged and persistent throughout.
Aroma: The scent brings me back to my childhood when I was always served canned peaches with whatever was for lunch. I don't even get much of the wheat out of this one either...just citrus and canned peach fruit. Maybe apricot/nectarines.
Taste: The peach character that was prominent in the scent was a lot more diminished in the taste, while more of the beer/wheat flavor came through. Still, however there is a trace of canned peaches in the midtaste. Citrus and wheat appear at the front and more at the end. Other than that I cannot draw a lot from this beer.
Mouthfeel: Light bodied, a bit flatter than expected, though the mouthfeel still remained balanced. Some dryness is present, encouraging a crisp refreshing flavor.
Overall Impression: Certainly a summer beer that incorporates both a familiar fruit flavor, while having a light body and a hop background to back it all up.

O'Fallon Gold Beer

Thanks to Dan Nevin for bringing this beer over for our beer dinner event last night. Dan keeps a blank coaster with him that has a list of beer that I have yet to try from the Hy-vees in the area. This was one such beer on it.
5.0% ABV

Appearance: Crystal clear, with....you guessed it, a gold color! Carbonation is frequently rising from the bottom of the glass. Sub-par head, as what only resides on the surface is a cluster of soapy white bubbles on one side of the glass.
Aroma: Big lagered aroma with a brief graininess to it. Overall, it's pretty clean. Lager yeast makes up the primary scent of this beer with all else to follow.
Taste: Very light sweetness, but without any of the corn/rice adjunct flavors. Much of the flavor resides in the second half with notes of pepper, floral and earthy notes, though extremely faint. mostly the flavor of a typical lager, and not a whole lot else occurring within. Maybe some notes of lemon at the very end. Reminds me a bit of a cream soda. Afterburp is grainy.
Mouthfeel: Strong carbonation is a primary characteristic of this beer. Light bodied and crisp at the finish.
Overall Impression: Put to a blind taste test, I'd have a lot of difficulty picking this beer out against many of the other American lagers. My ideal of a gold ale has more hop character and doesn't just follow a lines of mediocrity.

Black Hemp Ale

We had first heard about the making of this beer way back in October from Showmebeer. After months of keeping our eyes open, and with little luck, we finally came upon this beer at Finnegan's Irish Pub on Wednesday night. Jen ordered it at $7 a 12 Oz. bottle

Appearance: Thin head layer with a varying degree of bubbles both big and small clinging to the side of the glass (lacing). Deep rich dark chocolate brown that, apart from the dark hue that inhibits visible carbonation, it looks relatively clear.

Aroma: Roasted malt and chocolate adjunct.  There are also some elements of toasted malt sugars that really begin to blossom as the beer settles. At the very end one can pick out the earthy-nut essence of the hemp seeds.

Taste: Malted sugars and caramel barley at the very foretaste which is then followed by a mellow, roasted nutty flavor from the hemp (I'm assuming) with hints of chocolate as well as some indistinct dark fruity undertones are interspersed throughout the flavor complexity. Bitterness finishes off the beer in a firm bark tannin flavor leaving the taste in the mouth very dry and resinous. These indistinct tannin characters also assimilate themselves to nut shells hitting the mid palate and sticking.
Mouthfeel: Highly carbonated that distributes the majority of the flavors to the tongue, but leaving a strong spiked sensation that is almost too aggressive. Medium bodied, but very loose from the carbonation but a clean drinkable texture. Finish is dry.
Overall Impression: O'Fallon's Black Hemp Ale is quite interesting and very much worthy of tasting. Just yet another good beer they can proudly put into the line-up. One of the few and only breweries to specialize in the use of hemp and truly excel at it. Too bad we weren't able to get their Hemp Hop Rye to compare. Best served slightly warmer than normal refrigeration. Carbonation was only deterrence.


Jen: 89/100
Tim: 85/100

Hemp Hop Rye Amber Ale

I had tried this one a while back, but just recently was presented another opportunity to do so.

Appearance: A hard coppered amber color with a strong head that floats completely sustained for several minutes.Slight haziness

Aroma: Smells of robust malt caramel with an accompanying earthy aroma, along with a crisp lagered note to it as well.

Taste: Quite nutty with a back mouth spiciness. Initially and throughout I find a general biscuit overtone to this beer. There are medium hop flavors but likewise a somewhat yeasty character at the nose (probably from the large amount of dregs at the bottom from bottle conditioning. Slightly phenolic with a range of indistinguishable fruit flavors at the mid to end-taste. Spiciness at the finish, more than likely attributed to the rye.
Mouthfeel: Creamy and forgiving, yet drinkable and clean like a lager. There was no prickle from the carbonation, of which was on the medium to low side.
Overall Impression: A good beer for parties (referenced from Jen) as well as a well rounded thirst quencher following a long run (me).


90/100

Pumpkin Beer

Continuation of tasting from Brew Ha Ha.

Appearance: Hazy orange color with an off white bubbly head.
Aroma: Actually smells like a pumpkin dessert with minimal spices.
Taste: Sweet cinnamon with pumpkin tannin bitterness. Less spices then most pumpkin ales. Little sweetness, but what sweetness there is tastes slightly earthy. Some nutmeg at the finish. Pale malt as a base with some tannins extracted from the grain husk.
Mouthfeel: Smooth mouthfeel with close to no carbonation.
Overall Impression: A decent pumpkin ale.

79/100

5 Day IPA

Went to Old Chicago to purchase our tickets for Davenport's annual Brew-Haha and to try a few beers on a Monday night. T2: Thanks to Vlad for bringing this IPA by as a part of an assorted six pack from the rock Island Hy-vee. Enjoyed in a pint glass with the cat on my lap.

Appearance: Hazy orange with minimal head (though taking on a soapy/frosted texture) poured into an elongated pint glass. Large accumulation of bubbles on the side of the glass.

Aroma: Smells sweet and flowery with an underlying scent of malted grains. Slight notes of raisins and other dark kilned fruits.

Taste: Taste is quite floral and sweet with still the dark raisin sweetness at the back of the tongue. This is accompanied with a roasted biscuit maltiness and a subtle grapefruit bitterness that coats and finishes the beer off. The aftertaste remains grassy and has a pine-like bitterness that stays unchanged throughout the tasting. Extremely refreshing and delectably sweet.

Mouthfeel: Mouthfeel is thick, but not tacky. Minimal carbonation that perfectly compliments and helps bring out the flavors.

Overall Impression: This is a basic IPA with a ordinary character. Though laking in citrus and tropical sensations, it still maintains an appealing dark fruit flavor with a woodsy backdrop. Larger malt bill and a grassy, though sweet finish.

9/10/10 T1: 88/100
1/17/11 T2: 82/100