Bonfire Brown Ale

Thanks to the crew at Saugatuck for dropping this off last week. To my knowledge, we are the Drop of site for the Michigan beer shipment to the GABF next year. I managed to snag a bottle for this review. Tasted Friday evening prior to my 4 am Saturday morning brew - Hopivore!
Snifter Served
5.5% ABV

Appearance: Fantastic head retention with a dense 1" of froth settled atop the beer. Lacing is dry and styrafoamed against the side of the glass. The pour was a light brown color, nearing the pigment of coke, but in the glass it holds a rich brown with a rubied glow when held to the light. Dissipation finally results in a clustering of larger sized bubbles (eyes) after several minutes.
Aroma: Strong toast based malt aromas permeate from the glass. Interestingly, the smoke scent appears to be a lot more prominent than it is in the flavor. Smokey, earthy and a bit of wood notes come through along with a touch of caramel and even a bit of an acidic roast.
Taste: Up front, a brief acidic flavor churns out a great bite to compliment the mild toasted malt base. Fueling this is the flavor of carbonation which helps boast the hops in the end along with prolonged roast character, paralleled by wood, oak and a touch of un-processed maple sap and burning wood.
Mouthfeel: With all the complexity pumped into this beer, it remains rather drinkable. The carbonation falls middle of the road to perfection as it froths up at the end without too much of a bite. Body is medium to light,   and the finish is dry.
Overall Impression: Delicious, not too smokey and incredibly drinkable. The best adjective for this beer...balanced. Nice work guys.

Continuum IPA

Thanks to Eamon for picking up a bottle of this for me about a month ago. I had first seen this beer in boxes at the brewery as it waited to be distributed to retailers. Tasted on a Tuesday morning after one of my first 10 milers in over 2 months and a large veggie sandwich.

Appearance: A nice gloomy looking copper with a glowing orange hue, with haze to make visibility impossible. The head is minimal, but frothy white and it leaves speckled lacing in its wake. Carbonation is strong as bubbles both cling to the glass and persistently rise with no uniform style.
Aroma: A fantastic orange peel aroma paralleled by rich fresh pine and other fruit, primarily mango, pineapple and grapefruit. The malt base is simple, but fuels these fruity byproducts when matched with the abundant hops.
Taste: The start is sweet, reminiscent of cane sugar, biscuit malt or brown sugar. Quickly, however the hops introduce an orange peel sweetness in the midtaste, which eventually blossoms into a full blown hop complexity. The alcohol in the end is warming, and I think it helps release some of the residual alpha acids, leaving in its wake a near biscuit/nutty sweetness against a grapefruit zest bitterness. As this beer warms, it approaches the flavor of an orange liquor. Aftertaste is dominated by malt, with a pine-orange characteristic.
Mouthfeel: Medium to heavier body, but with the higher alcohol content, I think it helps loosen things up. The carbonation is extremely fine tickling the throat as it progresses down. The finish is both cloying and dry, though acquiring more or a nice crisp bite at the end. The beer is tacky to the lips.
Overall Impression: I found this beer very interesting as it warms. Changing from crisp and zesty with rich fruit character, all the way to a mellow orange malt based liquor. Surely one to boast the best of complexity, while not neglecting balance and palatability. A big malt based IPA with no neglect to the hops.

Neapolitan Milk Stout

This is a new beer to try, I've never even heard of the brewery, but fortunately we have those kind folk who bring these beers into the brewery and enable us to hone in on our palates and compare our beer with theirs. Tasted Monday afternoon during my day off.

Appearance: Dark brown and of coffee complexion. The pour looked viscous and unsettlingly syrupy. A 1/2" of dense beige head grew after several seconds of being in the glass following the pout. No light penetrates this beer.
Aroma: Vanilla, chocolate and notes of toasted barley waft up from the glass. Initial impression leads to a very sweet and rich tasting beer. Some fruity undertones are present, but nothing from fermentation, all intentional. Oak and wood, with fire roasted nuts, brown sugar and molasses. There is a lot going on in this one.
Taste: The foretaste really does remind me of what's on the label - the tri-fecta of ice cream. Vanilla, chocolate and even a faint strawberry undertone are present. Very impressive and assertively balanced. Sweet from start to finish with a slight bittersweetness at the end. This beer is by all means malt forward, with perhaps alternative adjuncts. Nutty and toasted malts dominate as the beer warms, along with a subtle kick from molasses. The sweetness is intoxicating!
Mouthfeel: Very thick and chewy. The beer leaves a tackiness to the lips. Smooth going down with the right amount of carbonation to slightly loosen up the body and enforce a soft velvety texture.
Overall Impression: This is a fantastic stout! It incorporates all desirable flavors into one beer. I find that the chocolate and vanilla complement perfectly the Lactose used to create the body. And the strawberry adds a finishing touch to one of the best dessert beers I've ever had. Extremely delectable and overwhelmingly satisfying.


94/100

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