Smuttynose Winter Ale

Tasted Saturday evening after spending much of the day at the regional XC meet for the Midwest region and sitting in sampling homebrews at The Land of the Muddy Waters Homebrew Competition at Blue Cat Brew Pub. Big thanks to Chris Zook for bringing a six pack over to a micro-alumni-pre-party-pre-bars-night-out get together at my house.

Appearance: Rubied brown with a muddy turbid hue. The head is frothy cream and beige in color with bubbles varying in size, speckled throughout. Leaves a thin layer of wet lacing along the sides of the glass.

Aroma: Initially there is a strong presence of chocolate reminiscent of Swiss Miss, and of which remains prominent throughout the entire beer. Roasted barley carries out the second half in a very mild manner. Finally there is rich dark roasted fruity undertone, that more than likely is from the yeast attenuation.

Taste: The foretaste is again choked full of sweet caramel with a cocoa/chocolate malt character. Perhaps a bit grainy, but nothing to really deter from the overall flavor profile. There is a presence of toasted nuts (hazelnut?). Vanilla notes. Subtle spicing at the back half, of notes of ginger and light cinnamon (on of the best in balance with the malt). Hops provide a neutral bitterness to compliment the malt while drying the palate to leave a residual flavor of leftover cinnamon. Better yet...as it warms, there is an interesting resemblance at the end of the beer to...tootsie rolls!

Mouthfeel: Lighter bodied, though sufficient in a tacky coating over the lips. Carbonation is strong with a fine microbubble consistency, while not standing apart from the beer. The finish is dry and tannic though perfect in the aid of a crisp refreshing end.
Overall Impression: This is a fantastic beer to start out the winter months. It's not in the slightest overly spiced nor alcoholic (something I found to be hardly an issue). Extremely balanced and palatable while going down easy. Perfect for any occasion...Sipping, party's, dinner etc.


90/100

Pumpkin Ale

Tasted Friday evening, the night before the Midwest Brewers Fest in Plainfield, Illinois. I tried this following a quick run through town and a dinner on the poolside patio at Jen's house.

Appearance: Orange and Ambered haze. The head is lackluster, but still exhibits traces of a film across the top. Very clouded, but some carbonation is present. Lacing is hardly present.

Aroma: Big fall/autumn squash and pumpkin scent followed by the earthy spices. Fruit smell at the front reminiscent of apricot and some brown sugar. Hops and base malt are still present under the layers of complexity. Some Cinnamon.

Taste: Base malt is mild and basic with a flavor of biscuit, but much of it revolves around the midtaste to finish where many of the spices and hops expose themselves. You can get the hops out of this beer in combination with the spices, and more specifically, the nutmeg. Together, there is a vary balanced and autumnal flavor that isn't overly sweet, or artificial flavored. The spices do however take a prominent character. Some tannic flavors emerge as the beer gets warm, but the pumpkin remains throughout.
Mouthfeel: Higher carbonation and medium bodied. The fizz is basic, but long lasting. Finish is dry, making a crisp refreshing and savory flavored beverage
Overall Impression: This beer takes a different perspective on a pumpkin ale. The hops are very well articulated in a way the parallel the adjunct spices creating almost a citrus flavor in the very end. The pumpkin remains in the finish, that is otherwise dry. Very drinkable and uniquely spiced in a very palatable way


Jen: 85/100
Tim: 88/100

Shoals Pale Ale

Tasted Tuesday afternoon following class and enjoyed with the remaining pita chips I had cooked up. This was picked up from the Rock Island Hy-vee in an assorted six pack. I credit discovery of this brewery to Tom Bergman who is the head Beer Salesman at the Highland Park Binny's and recommended their Robust Porter to me last year. Since then I've been on the lookout, perhaps next is their Barley Wine.

Appearance: A clouded bronze color that has an orange hue to it. Quite mysterious looking. The head is full, but dissipated quickly. Nevertheless it left behind a stick resinous off white layer. There isn't much activity within the glass either.

Aroma: Smells distinctly piney with a big malt backbone. The sweetness resides with some biscuit malt and a toasted graininess. Pine again merges in followed by a grapefruity bitterness and a dark fruit undertone. Some bready and yeasty characteristics are also present. Honey earthiness is prominent as well.

Taste: The hops and malt both appear at the foretaste. Malt is carameled and toasted with a hint of biscuity sweetness. Hops are a robust pairing of bittersweet plum and raisin along with a piney earthiness. The midtaste transitions into more of a hop dominating flavor while some honeyed clove aspect remains. Finally the finish is bready and a pine bitterness takes reign. The aftertaste is hot and bittered, yet leaving behind a clean aftertaste reminiscent of dark fruit skin and tannins as well as citrus with grapefruit complexity. The finish has an interesting lager aspect to it while at the same time leaves a breath of baked bread about it.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with a slow to fizz carbonation, yet once it goes, it consists of a brief spike to the tip of the tongue but finishes full and viscous down the throat. Dry and clean.
Overall Impression: This beer maintains a wealth of complexity from malt sweetness to finishing bitterness, of which both are sustained in a balanced fashion. A big malty backbone is paralleled by an interestingly bready/pine/grapefruit hopping leaving the palate both refreshed and desiring more.


91/100

Star Island Single

Tasted following a bottling session of my imperial chocolate stout that I brewed with Joey Waldorf. This beer boasts a 9% ABV and I'm planning to age it for a while to see how it mellows. Thanks to Jen for picking this beer up in an assorted 6 pack from Hy-vee in Rock Island.

Appearance: Turbid golden color with a brief white foam filmed head. Some carbonation visible amongst the cloudiness as it slowly rises to the top. Not too much going on with this one.

Aroma: Very sweet and earthy with fruit and phenols. I smell pears and maybe some green raisins as well as honey and touches of citrus. This beer is very mellow and follows with lemon spicing and a touch of wheat based yeastiness.

Taste: Starts light and sweet with a bit of a candied sugar and honey sugar base with additions of different types of wheat malt. There is a big difference here between foretaste and the finish with little remaining in the middle. The end is spicy and phenolic with citrus and a yeasty breadiness common to a lot of the higher alcohol wheat beers. Nevertheless it is drying and leaves a peppery phenol and tannin bitter aftertaste in the mouth that is felt in the back of the throat. Lemon is one of the few characteristics that is maintained from start to finish. As the beer warms, the malt and sugar wheat sweetness begin to make a push for more of a part in the beer. Honey and lemongrass along with cracked wheat emerge. Some sourness in the end as it finishes with the carbonation.

Mouthfeel: Light bubbly body with a crisp feel and a refreshing finish. High carbonation's leaves a zip to the tongue and a dry texture. Watery initially, but carbonation seems to delay but then foams up to a larger body and distributes the favorable texture.
Overall Impression: I liked the big difference between the beginning and end, and certainly worth a try to see how strangely complex it is between the two, but I did find it to taste a little soapy (as in naturally achieved, and nothing like actual soap). Somewhat Saison-esk. A lot higher ABV to be called a session ale! I wish Smuttynose would be more descriptive in their labels. I'm still unfamiliar with good Belgian beers, let alone Belgian pale ales. However, definitely an interesting Beer to Try.


81/100

Smuttynose IPA

 Hy-vee had got a whole new shipment of beer that day so it was a full half hour of indecisiveness before we came to an agreement. Purchased this for our formal on Saturday night. I forgot my ID, and we unfortunately lost one to the security because I couldn't show I was over 21. Wah wahh.

Appearance: Straw orange with visible rising carbonation bubbles. Minimally sustained white bubbly head leaves a webbed lacing on the glass as it quickly dissipated.

Aroma: Very tropical and sweet with strong citrus fruit sweetness to carry the nose. Little grain flavors are distinguishable against the potency. Smells somewhat herbaceous and resinous from the late boil aromatic hops, or as Joe referenced it, "The C' hops."

Taste: Very grapefruity initially that almost overwhelms the palate. There is a sharp midtaste spike in bitterness but it equally transitions back to a zesty resin flavor of orange/grapefruit peel. Malt is there, but indistinguishable as noted from the aroma. Finish is resinous and grassy that remains on the palate for quite some time. Pine is another fully dominating flavor along with the lemon/orange peel compliment. Un-ethically refreshing!
Mouthfeel: Quite tacky for an IPA, leaving a sticky residue on the lips.body is thick and mouthfeel is slightly cloying, carbonation does a sub-optimal job at loosening it up, but nevertheless helps disperse and complicate the flavor.
Overall Impression: This beer has a great taste but it overwhelms any malt sweetness this beer may have had. Therefore balance is missing. Perhaps it is reminiscent of even pine sol or Sol dish cleaner, not in the sense of soapiness but more so the unearthly amount of bitterness choking this beer of any ounce of palatable sweetness. [2nd tasting did not lead to this perception, More so, just a fantastic IPA!]


T1: 84/100
T2 (11/26/11): 89/100

Robust Porter

Tried at Jen's Parents house after checking out their down town Wine and Cheese bar, and Finnegan's Pub with an extensive number of available craft rarities.

Appearance: Dark brown, pretty much black. Exhibits a very dense, frothy tan head that dissipates to a cm thick top coating. No transparency. By a couple minutes after pour, head is reduced to a film. Looks very vicious and thick.
Aroma: Strong toasted malt sweetness with a coffee aroma taking an undertoned finish. Slight spicing and perhaps some fruitiness, but predominantly caramel and some biscuit malt.
Taste: Strong burnt and coffee flavor right to the start with paralleled toasted malt, but this seems to be overtaken by the fore taste. Sweetness takes a minimal role, with emphasis placed on these initial. Gradually some bittersweet cocoa flavors begin to expose themselves near the finish. Finally there remains a burnt bitter dryness rounding out the beer. Other notable flavors: smoked wood, oak,  molasses. Some sourness.
Mouthfeel: Higher carbonation than usual porters. The body isn’t as full either with a lighter Mouthfeel, but still boasting the flavor. Carbonation has a mild prick to the tongue. Not sticky, more so just fluid and quite refreshing.
Overall Impression: A typical porter that has most of the emphasis on the black patton malt with chocolate and roasted malts. The bitter finish is another substantial contributor to the beer. As the beer warms, the sweetness preceding the burnt aftertaste is develops into a sweeter chocolate.

86/100