Southern Tier Hop Sun

Tasted Tuesday morning at 8th st grille after a morning run and cooking up lunch for the week, consisting of organic basmati Indian rice with peas and nuts, topped with spicy Ethiopian red lentils made to replica those served at chicago's own, Ethiopian diamond. Pint served
5.1%ABV

Appearance: Bright Golden color with strong clarity, aside for the slight chill haze present. The head is thick and a bit off white and cream colored, different for such a light looking beer. Retention is strong. Carbonation sticks to the sides and persists within.
Aroma: Faint yeast pungency is present upfront complimented with the familiar wheat scent. Lemon zest follows with a rich fresh citrus. Neutral sweetness upholds everything.
Taste: Some faint wheat citrus sweetens the fore palate for a brief instance, only to immediately merge into a zesty crisp bite. Some notes of hay and floral undertones can be noted in the middle of the beer, while a lemon character rounds out into the finish. The hops used in dry hopping this wheat (what??) seem to integrate a pepper profile in conjunction with the lemon zest.
Mouthfeel: Very light bodied with a strong carbonation that bites the entire tongue as it goes down. A separation remains between the beer and the carb making the texture crisp and refreshing, though some of the wheat incorporates a palatable smoothness.
Overall impression: Predominantly wheat citrus and lemon zest with a delightfully lemon pepper hop profile. A bite to encourage a crisp dry finish and a carbonation to parallel that perfectly. Summer wheat with a bit of a hop kick!

2X Stout: Double Milk Stout

Finished up a review Tim started before he left for Michigan. Tasted during a Breaking Bad marathon and while working on a logo for Against the Grain Brewery a& Alehouse.

Appearance: Black in color with a hint of brown. In fact, this beer looks rather similar to root beer. The carbonation is extremely high with large persistent bubbles. Sticky lacing that coats the glass and stays throughout the tasting.
Aroma: Presence of oxidation up front. Other than that, there is a ton of rich chocolate and roast malt. Some staleness persists through the rich aromas.
Taste: Upfront, there is a rich malt base that envelops the flavors of sweet chocolate and caramel. A presence of rye that follows. There is a lightly scorched roasted malt bitterness followed by a light acrid burnt flavor. Slight acidity and lactose flavor in the finish (hey, it's a milk stout right?)
Mouthfeel: Thinner mouthfeel than I expected. Very bubbly, but maintains a creamy texture that holds an acidic aftertaste in your mouth.
Overall Impression: The alcohol is well hidden by the flavors in this brew. Would have liked a little more creaminess than initially had, but it was easy to drink and tasted good in its warm state, as stouts should be enjoyed.

Eurotrash Pilz

Thanks to Dan and Kaylee for picking this six pack up from the local Hyvee. New to the shelves with a cool, flashy, against-the-man kind of look!
Tasted Saturday evening before guests arrived for our weekly hosted beer dinner/tasting.
Pilsner Lager
5.2% ABV

Appearance: Pristinely brilliant and bubbly. Carbonation looks strong and persistent. Head is a bit lack-luster, but still presents a soapy white translucent ring around the inner perimeter of the glass. Gorgeous looking.
Aroma: Grainy and lagered. I wouldn't necessarily say clean because it still retains that lagered/yeasty quality. Slightly spicy and grassy from the addition of hops.
Taste: Clean with a lagered bitterness. Sweetness maintains an element of rice to it. Graininess still present throughout the beer. Slight peppery bite to the beer, along with a brief, but faint lemon zest quality. Overall is it a normal American pils with some extra umph to it. The finish extrapolates a typical pilsner flavor rounded with your usual noble hop profile. Spicy. I get a bit of a skunk character in the back of the throat, and especially in the afterbreath.
Mouthfeel: Crisp with a high carbonation. Zesty drying effect on the palate, but leaving hardly any aftertaste to note. Light and fluid body with a bite. Pretty clean and dry
Overall Impression: It's not the most outstanding pils I've had, but if you're looking for a good pils, this lager would be a safe bet. Drinkability is high which is true to style for most pilsners.

Harvest Ale

Thanks to Joshua Schipp for picking up a six pack of this last week. I tasted it on Wednesday evening as we at Annie's Organic mac-N' Cheese and also tried the Hollowine he had been raving about the last 4 months. Finally got around to reviewing it on Monday afternoon as I could hardly move my legs from yesterdays 1/2 Marathon.

Appearance: Deep copper color with a frothy, yet spacious white head. As dissipation occurs over several minutes, the remnants take a dry styramfoam-like textured lacing on the side of the glass. Both clarity and carbonation are strong in appearance, though there still remains a slight haze.
Aroma: Earthy up front smell along with subtle notes of Holiday spicing like cinnamon and ginger. Sweet caramel malt and toffee make a very nicely incorporated malt foundation. Perhaps pumpkin/squash is present, thought it's difficult to decipher under the spiced complexity.
Taste: Forefront of the taste is nice a richly decorated with caramel and even toasted malt. By midtaste it has already grown into revealing a pumpkin earthiness. Nevertheless, much of the flavor lies in the finish where a conglomeration of spices, hop elements and earthy undertones clash to create almost an un-describable flavor.  Some yeast presence can be drawn out under the malt. From what I can pick out, I get cinnamon, ginger and even brown sugar. The back-taste is bittered with a perceptive characteristic of dried leaves. Hops still present a piney flavor that impressively fits with the alternative flavors. Aftertaste is dry but still with a notable hop presence. Together, everything comes off as still that highly prominent fall dry leaves flavor. Becomes quite sweet tasting profiled by biscuity/caramel malt as the beer becomes warmer.
Mouthfeel: Very smooth textured with a very well infused carbonation that all but strengthens the overall feel and flavor of the beer. Medium bodied. Dry and crisp.
Overall Impression: The pinnacle of the fall season, while still remaining true to a beer-esk character. The complexity is overwhelming if thought out, otherwise it is quite simply an easy fall beer to enjoy any time of day. Smooth, yet enticingly crisp, I know full well another six-pack is on my list for this season.


90/100

Créme Brûlée Stout

Tasted Wednesday evening while at Ribco. This was part of a pre-festiv-ale tapping before Saturdays big event. I had heard the rarity of this beer and just had to jump on the opportunity to get it. Jen and I shared this with Karan and Scot Scharr as well as Dan from Bluecat and Major John. Served in a bottle, poured in a snifter and pint glass.

Appearance: Extremely dark in look, bordering black, but still maintaining a brown tint. Dark beige head initially, but no sooner dissipates into a ring around the inner perimeter around the glass. No visibility within.

Aroma: Huge smell! Actually, it's so aromatic one can smell it several seats down the bar, and upon every swirl, someone acknowledged it. Vanilla, toffee and caramelized candi sugars, with notes of chocolate and caramel. Literally a dessert to be paired with ice-cream. I've never really found a beer to be so rich and accurately similar to a custard/caramelized Créme Brûlée dessert! Irish Cream.

Taste: Bold and rich. Similar to the aroma, but a bit more subdued and sweet with a profile of chocolate and toffee. Vanilla is still very prominent along side a rich nuttiness and custard-like complexity. Toffee complements an otherwise light coffee toasted bitterness. As the beer warms, it gains even more of a sweetened characteristic. All very reminiscent of Bailey's Irish Cream or a chocolate liqueur atop vanilla ice cream. Some alcohol rounds out the beer, but is well masked by many of the preceding flavors. Toasted malt emerges and is long lived in the aftertaste, along side the ever remaining vanilla flavor that seems to be common to all aspects of the beer (even appearance!).
Mouthfeel: Body is very volumptuous and thick, and gains this as the beer warms and carbonation lessens. I'd compare it more to the consistency of hot syrup. The lactose and unfermentable sugars in the flavor provide a stickiness on the lips and a cloying factor in the throat. Much of the alcohol does clear this up, but there still remains some cloy in the back of the throat. Not very drinkable by drinkability standards, more just a sipper.
Overall Impression: I'd put this with something Starbucks would make, complete with espresso, caramel, toffee, vanilla and cream, whipped together and served hot (well not hot in that sense...more hot by alcohol standards). Robust and overwhelmingly rich. A bottle will go a verly long way, so be sure to have several people with to share it with. We couldn't finish ours. Definitely a unique rarity to get your hands on for a taste.
 My rating is not representative of whether I liked it or how interesting or drinkable it was, more a combination or lack there of, of all three.


84/100

422 Pale Wheat Ale

Thanks to Robert Liva for donating this to the blog. We went to Hy-vee and he told me to pick an assorted 12 pack with something I haven't had, but with enough bitter beers to appease him. Southern Tiers craft pack was just right. Tasted Saturday afternoon following a 14 miler.

Appearance: Hazy straw yellow with no head to speak of, consequently, it leaves no lacing.  Visible rising carbonation among the turbidity.

Aroma:  Strong presence of wheat malt and yeast.  Fruit like lemon and pear complement the strong grain flavor.  Simple and clean.  Aroma is very subtle so this makes it difficult to pick out more smells.

Taste:  Very light and crisp.  Starts off with a wheaty, grainy flavor that gives way to citrus flavored hops that add a slight bitterness to the finish.  Also contributing to the flavor is a hint of zesty lemon from midtaste to the finish.  Very wheaty in the malt base and sweetness with a ripe fruit skin bitterness. Pear skin.

Mouthfeel:  Light bodied with very active, minuscule carbonation bubbles that add a sort of creamy texture.  Slightly dry finish but not overpowering.  Leaves a herbal aftertaste
Overall Impression:  Southern Tier makes a very simple and clean brew that would be refreshing to drink on a hot summer day.  Yet there is an underwhelming quality overall.  Surprisingly, the alcohol content is 5.8%. quite an interesting beer that clashes hops and wheat.


84/100

Phin & Matt's Extraordinary Ale

Thanks to Kate Reis and Logan Beausoleil for getting a six pack of this beer for the night of beer tasting and pizza making.

Appearance: Clear amber color with a thin bubbly foam head with a glistening lacing on the sides. Carbonation is relatively aggressive as bubbles arise from every orafis of the glass. 100% clarity.
Aroma: Biscuit malt and toasted barley along with an underlying fruitiness about it. Some honey and sweetened spicing and a crisping yeastiness. Some citrus.
Taste: Sweet caramel and toasted barley forefront with a honey undertone. Clean tasting. The beer then transitions into a floral bitterness that parallels a pine element. Some pungency from slight elements lagering. Well attenuated and balanced between the malt and hops. Some spicing results in the finish. I also sense some brief orange peel zest for a bitterness.
Mouthfeel: Light carbonation and a light body, but nevertheless the combination conveniently creates a very creamy and smooth mouthfeel. Easy drinking and crisp from the hops.
Overall Impression: A highly drinkable ale  that I'd see being a perfect beer for those crowds you are unsure of in their preferences, but don't want to show up with any econo-beers. A fantastic summer beer and the best substitute for fat tire.


86/100

Choklat

The other imperial Stout I tasted with Joey Waldorf at Bent River for their $2.00 of guest draft night. Snifter served.

Appearance: Black color with an off white ring head with no film in between. Syrupy looking and thick. Very wet lacing .

Aroma: Rich dark bittersweet chocolate mapled smell with a toffee aroma to follow up. Very thin and dry licorice smelling perhaps contributed from the high alcohol (11%ABV). I'd classify the olfactory sensation more similar to that of a chocolate liqueur. Similarly I'd say there would also be some vanilla extract-like undertones that help round out the beer.
Taste: Very boozy and yes, does maintain the chocolate liqueur character that I described in the aroma. The malt has some extract like chocolate that forms the dominant sweetness through to the finish of the beer. The finish is hot and dry tasting with a subtle wood tannin profile. Hop character is relatively indistinguishable against the alcohol. Cocoa and vanilla draw a light spicing through midtaste. Still there is maple and some licorice undertones that contribute to the bold cocoa flavor. Minimal roasted malt, though most noted in the finish with the character of burnt grains.
Mouthfeel: Thick and wet, carbonation is fizzy to the tongue. Though the body is perceptively lighter than the Founder's Breakfast Stout, the attenuation can be accredited to softening the body for more alcohol. Less creamy and more sharp to taste. The beer leaves a long drawn out aftertaste of chocolate.
Overall Impression: Good but almost too bold in flavor. The chocolate is pronounced from start to finish. Nevertheless it is impressionabley more aggressive when it comes to the alcohol at the end. I find the potential complexity of this beer masked by the overwhelming mono-flavor.


84/100

Old Man Winter Ale (2010)

As you may know this is the second Old Man Winter I've tried. The last one is from 2009, while this one was tried at Rock Island Brewing Company (RIBCO). This was the Night that Dara Wegman-Geedy (Fall term Microbiology professor) took us out for drinks.

Appearance: Clear Bronze with a slight brown hue to it. There is a minimal if not non-existent head. Similarly, following the beer down the side of the glass, there is minimal lacing as well. Invisible carbonation.

Aroma: Robust malt character with caramel and toasted biscuit sweetness. I find that there is a finishing hint of dark fruit to follow.

Taste: Very sweet, but balanced with a semi-grassy but developing grapefruit zest bitterness that is complemented with a subtle bittersweet spicing. The complexity of each component of the flavor is impeccably balanced while layered at the same time. The flavor starts sweet with some fruity notes reminiscent of dark fruit and even rhubarb undertone but immediately progresses and is replied by a delicate bitterness combined with brief notes of rye and other spices. Honey and perhaps some brown sugar make up a lot of the backbone sweetness to this ale.

Mouthfeel: Smooth, but carbonation gives a zip on the tongue, that isn't too overwhelming but nonetheless adds to the texture and overall feel. Body is thick and tacky. The finish is spicy with a medium alcoholic warming flavor.

Overall Impression: Quite a great winter ale compared to last years batch. I'd certainly get a six pack of this. Balanced and delectable with a warming spice for the holidays.

90/100

Old Man Winter Ale (2009)

Friday afternoon visit to Neil and Jarrett's house to hang out, make Annie's Mac 'n' Cheese (yum!) and taste some beer.


Appearance: Enjoyed in the best glass Neil could find... a plastic cup. Rich dark amber color, very hazy and a bubbly head.
Aroma: Amazingly effervescent. Hints of caramel, toasted biscuits/bread, light hopping.
Taste: Extremely biscuity.. and that's it. Carmel mid-taste. There is a highly apparent IPA flavor that I wouldn't associate with a winter ale. Nevertheless, complex and unique, sweet and honey-like, that finishes with a grassy hop finish. I really taste hints of brown sugar too that I think was added both to endure higher alcohol but also for sweetness to counter mild hints of chocolate in the foretaste
Mouthfeel: Thick and creamy with hardly any carbonation.
Overall Impression: It is really a rich drink to have in a quick (11 minute) sitting and is more of a session ale. Full robust flavor and a definite second trial is in order.


87/100

Southern Tier Pale Ale

Thanks to my Parents who got me an assortment 6 pack from a store in Galena. I had previously tried this a while back and did so again following a long run last night.

Appearance: Yellow straw color with a sticky foamy head that clings to the side of the glass. Head sustains its shape even when glass is tilted. Visible carbonation through the transparent liquid.

Aroma: Strong grassy and plant like aroma with brief touches of fruit and citrus. Fruity esters are noted mid way through, but still very minimal.

Taste: Resembles a multitude of plant like flavors right at the tip of the tongue. Overwhelmingly hopped for a basic Pale ale. I can tell I would have easily hated this not even 5 months ago. Delicious malt sweetness tops off the alpha acids which mingle well together. The beer gradually takes on more acceptable flavors the deeper one progresses into it and the more accommodating the palate becomes to the surprising hop flavors. Cascade, Tettnang, Willamette hops perhaps? Definitely a complexity to the bitterness alone. Finally towards the end grapefruit zest emerges which makes me thing Simcoe?

Mouthfeel: Delicate texture helps propel this velvety smooth beer to a crisp finish.
Overall Impression: A complex pale ale, but still missing something. Certainly worth a try though.

82/100

2XIPA

This beer was recommended to me by Mr. Nathan McDowell (See: Southern Tier IPA). Jen picked it up from Hy-vee while she was doing her marketing study with customers. Tasted the night before and during lunch time on Thursday before class. Pint poured.                                                                                                                    

Appearance: A hazy amber straw color with a fingers worth of white soapy foam. Turbidity is low so there is still some transparency to the beer. Carbonation bubbles are visible as well.
Aroma: Extremely floral with touches of grass and pine. There is a complementary sweet biscuit smell that finishes with a splash of citrus at the nose. 
Taste: Rich and resinous upon first taste. This IPA reveals a true grapefruit zest like qualities that few beer attain. I think it falls as a delicious complement to the overall profile of this beer. The overwhelming bitterness leaves the mouth dry and thirsty. Hop character is very complex with a complementary caramel/biscuit sweetness. The balance between sweetness and bitter is pulled to one end leaving little to the sweetness end. I find that a beer like this on occasion is a great vacation from the sweet IPA’s that tend to incorporate the sweet malt flavors but at the sacrifice of the body, making it thick and tacky. Semi-tartness by way of the alpha acids giving the impression of citrus fruit. Leaves a residual aftertaste of pine and caramel sweetness.
Mouthfeel: Like I said above, this beer keeps the sugar down so the body and mouthfeel are light. Finishes dry and crisp, not necessarily making it a thirst quencher, but drives the mouth to crave more. Ridiculously drinkable and worth savoring. Carbonation is light and gives the beer a delicate texture.
Overall Impression: Light and drinkable, this is definitely something new and far out. Distinguished from most IPAs in taste and texture, this beer is totally worth trying, but be warned, the IBU’s are through the roof! Pricey, but just think...6 glasses at $2 each isn't bad at all if you're used to buying $4-5 at local breweries!

91/100

Southern Tier Indian Pale Ale

A simple tasting after practice a couple weeks ago. Pint poured, served with the usual local seasonal squash dish.

Appearance: A lighter strawed amber that resembles apple juice, no head, and quite clear.

Aroma: Smells sweet and floral with a apricot note to it.

Taste: Taste is gratefully sweet with a complementary grapefruit zest to bitter it up. A great biscuit malt flavor is mixed in as well, finishing off with an ever subtle alcoholic taste. Bittering hops Willamette? Centennial? Simcoe? or even cascade?
Mouthfeel: Mouthfeel is very forgiving and delectably drinkable. Minimal carbonation but just enough to carry through the dark fruit flavor and zest.

Overall Impression: Definitely a great IPA. fully complex and a bittersweet hop balance.

91/100

Imperial Pumking

Another beer tasted during the River City Beer Festiv-ALE. Quite an opportunity.

Appearance: Lighter straw color with a white frothy ring. Slight cloudiness.

Aroma: Very unique! Reminiscent of sweet potato fries , baked with brown sugar and cinnamon. Very potent caramelized malt smell.

Taste: Literally pumpkin bread/pie in a bottle. Perfect balance between pale malt and sweet caramel pumpkin, finished with fruity hops. I'd also go to say it has a perfect interaction of acorn squash, cinnamon, brown sugar/honey. Says a higher alcohol on the label but hardly hot and finishes clean. Still it's the baked aroma and taste of the actual pumpkin that predominate.

Mouthfeel: Warming and full bodied, yet drinkable. to be enjoyed slowly and nothing but. Wow.

Overall Impression: Usually, most seasonal pumpkin ales over do the spices and make them the center of the beer, followed by the over-sweetnesses of their special ingredients. But this magnificent brew employs the whole pumpkin - 100% tannins and all, making it actually taste natural and un-altered by overwhelming spice and alternative ingredients.

91/100