Cheers!
Brad

The Brewery: The Porterhouse Brewing Company

The Beer: Oyster Stout

ABV: 5.2%

Brewery Description: Brewed with fresh oyster. A smooth drinking aromatic stout with a discernible but unidentifiable aromatic aspect. Not suitable for vegetarians.

My Opinion: I must admit I am a huge fan of seafood and the idea of a beer brewed with oysters has always intrigued me. Even as a homebrewer I have wanted to create my own unique version of this style before even trying a commercial offering. This is my second sampling of a beer brewed with oysters (I fail to remember what the first was). Right from the start I picked up a slight but distinctly pleasing oyster aroma. The malt and hop aroma blends in nicely and balances it out enough not to be overwhelmed by the smell of shellfish. This stout is comprised of pale malt, roasted barley, black malt and flaked barley. The hop offering is made up of Galena, Nugget and East Kent Goldings.

As you open this beer you cannot help but notice the pull ring cap that adorns this bottle, very unique. The head on this beer was minimal at best and faded quickly. The taste is of dark roasted malts with a dry finish that is all oyster, with a hint of malt coming through on the back end. If you are a fan of seafood, I highly recommend this beer. Even if you are not, I think you may find a healthy balance in this stout. Enough to enjoy it as the oyster flavor and aroma are neither threatening nor overpowering.

Rating: 45/50

The Beer: New Castle Summer Ale Hops and Glory

ABV: 4.4%

Brewery Description: The Newcastle Summer Ale recipe infuses Golden Promise and Optic Malts to provide a hoppier           taste that is light in color. Golden Promise offers a clean experience while Optic Malt lightens the beverage, leaving it  significantly paler than Newcastle Brown Ale. Newcastle Summer Ale also blends Fuggles and Super Styrian Goldings Hops, with Fuggles offering a mild hoppy taste with a light bitter flavor and Styrian creating a soft aroma. The fusion of a light crisp taste with a hint of bitter offers a refreshing companion beverage to complement summer dishes and social occasions.

My Opinion: I feel that I need to start this review off with a small disclaimer. This beer was sent to me by one of the fine marketing firms that speaks for this brand. With that said, this will be an honest and upfront opinion of this beer as always.

This beer pours a clear, crisp golden color as expected, with little to no head retention. The aroma is a bit like band-aids (phenols; not always a bad thing) with a slight hint of malt. Floral hops also come through here with an apple ester finish. The flavor is a mix of caramel and bread, floral and grassy hop notes with a bit of that apple/pear flavor. While I would say that this beer is of medium body and taste, it does have an unbalanced bitterness at the end and leaves the throat quite dry. Overall, I think this is a suitable beer to hand out to friends and family. While we watch the season, shortly wind to a close. I would even go as far as classifying this ale as that “gateway” beer to share with those interested in branching out beyond the average lager.

In conclusion, I would recommend this beer to budding beer geeks, but may not revisit this one myself.

Rating: 38/50

The Brewery: Cottrell Brewing Company

The Beer: Old Yankee Ale

ABV: 5%

Brewery Description: Old Yankee Ale is a medium bodied, American Amber Ale that has a great up-front malt taste, with a refreshing hop finish.

My Opinion: This ale is third in the series of beer gifts from thoughtful friends. Cottrell Brewing Company is based out of Pawcatuk, CT and established in 1996. What is interesting to me about this brewery is that they started out as a printing press manufacturer. Rather than go into a lengthy, detailed history of the brewery, I encourage you to read about their history here.

This ale pours a light to dark amber hue with a respectable head that showcases good retention and texture. Typical to the amber ale style, this beer’s aroma consists of mostly rich, caramel malts. The hops add a citrusy ester to the finish, with a slight hint of phenols (band-aids) to the bouquet. The flavor is predictably malty with a hop flavor that mirrors the aroma. The caramel notes are upfront with a citrusy finish at the end, which lends itself to a very well balanced beer. The mouth-feel is full bodied and warm with a creamy finish.

Rating: 43/50

With the BJCP process, one can score in specific areas such as aroma, appearance, flavor and mouthfeel. How do you judge your favorite styles? Do you review firmly on opinion alone, or take a deeper approach in understanding your favorite beers? Would love to hear some differing opinions on this subject.

Thanks!
Brad
(more beer reviews soon!)

The Brewery:

The Beer: 312 Urban Wheat Ale

ABV: 4.2%

Brewery Description: Densely populated with flavor, 312’s spicy aroma of Cascade hops is followed by a crisp, fruity ale flavor delivered in a smooth, creamy body. This gives 312 a  balance of flavor and refreshment that never fills you up and won’t let you down.

My Opinion
As I said in my last review, I received several out of state beers from two of my generous friends and co-workers. The Goose Island 312 (downtown Chicago area code) is one of those beers. The 312 Urban Wheat Ale has won two gold medals and one bronze at the Great American Beer Festival from 2006-2008. The aroma of this wheat ale really brings out the Cascade hops used in this recipe. This unfiltered ale showcases the typical hazy straw like color found in most beers of this style. You really get the grassy flavor of your standard wheat ale in this beer. With an IBU of only 20, there is a subtle hoppiness upfront with a diminutive hoppy finish.
This should be a celebrated beer for fans of this style. In addition, this might be the perfect gateway beer to introduce to your friends and family. A great example of what brewers and craft beer fans alike can do to introduce a novice beer consumer to well crafted ales.
Rating: B+

The Brewery:

The Beer: Olde Burnside Ten Penny Ale

ABV: 5.5%

Brewery Description: “Ten Penny Ale,” our flagship brew is a smooth, amber-hued mellow version of a Scottish Ale (5.5% ABV).     It’s a good “session ale” and was awarded “Hartford’s Best Microbrew” for 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2009 by The Hartford Advocate’s  Readers Poll. This beer is available year-round at your local bar or favorite beer store.
Why “Ten Penny?” My grandfather used to say “You can get a good beer for a nickel, but a really good beer will cost you ten pennies!” (Motto: Work hard, drink well… Ten Penny Ale!)

 

My Opinion

I have had the luck and the pleasure of working with two great people who, when they were traveling recently, took the time out to bring me back a few craft beers from afar. I cannot thank them enough. I will be reviewing these particular beer gifts bestowed upon me within the next few reviews.

First, let me start with the acquired growler from the Olde Burnside Brewing Company located in East Hartford, Connecticut. I chose to review this beer first only because this was the growler of the bunch and had to be consumed before the other offerings I was so graciously given.

This beer is described as Scottish ale and I do see how it fits in well within this category. However my perception was more along the lines of the Scottish Export 80/- style. They do not describe this beer as the typical strong scotch ale and for good reason. This Scottish ale is low in gravity with a sweet malt backing and therefore slightly different than its counterparts.

This Scottish ale has a light to almost dark brown color with a frothy head that dissipates quickly. The aroma of this ale is remarkably fruity with hints of oak and subtle malt notes pushing through. The flavor is considerably sweet and almost sour from the herbal hops and malt varieties added. The taste is slightly metallic from the sweetness of the malts and the bitterness from the hops. I’m not sure they were planning for this but it does taste a bit like pennies and I suspect this may come from the local spring water that is used to brew this beer. Iron in the water will give of a slight metallic taste.

All style guidelines aside, this beyond any doubt is a properly crafted and fine tasting ale. I am a fan of Scottish ales and it is a pleasant surprise to come across one that is a session ale. A low alcohol Scottish ale that can be enjoyed without knocking your kilt off!

Rating:

B+

The Brewery:

The Beer: Charkoota Rye Smoked Doppelbock Lager

ABV: 8.17%

Brewery Description: Charkoota Rye is a Smoked Rye Dopplebock. An homage to all things Pig, including Porkapalooza and the age-old tradition of Charcuterie, Charkoota Rye’s malty backbone is derived from a blend of rye and four other malts, including malted barley smoked over cherry wood by our very own brewers, John and Jeff. Its smoke-forward body is balanced with tones of deep mollasses and caramel, with a crisp, clean lager finish. Delightful by itself, Charkoota is best served with its succulent counterpart, Pork.

My Opinion

Before I begin, let me just say this is one of those beers that you always hear about that tastes like bacon. (Mr. Baconpants please take note). This rye lager poured a dark brown to black hue with little to no head even with a vigorous pour. The aroma was pure smoke with little to no distinguishing aroma of malt or hops. The nose on this beer was simply overpowered by the smokiness of this recipe. The flavor has a mild sweetness and bitterness, presumably from the hops added. I also picked up a bit of molasses and caramel notes with each sip. The mouthfeel is medium to heavy with an almost cloying dryness and light carbonation.

Overall I feel that this is a well made rye lager and fits the category of smoke beers rather well. When I opened this 22 oz. bottle I thought I would have a hard time bringing this beer to a close due to the heavy smoke aroma and flavor but as it warmed up a bit I started to enjoy the flavor profile more than I expected.

Rating:

B+

The Brewery:

The Beer: Ed Hardy “Premium” Beer

ABV: Don’t know and frankly don’t care

Brewery Description: Once in every generation a brand comes along that simply defies convention. This generation’s brand is Ed Hardy. With a cult of customers that is the envy of any brand, a fanatical celebrity following, and a worldwide marketing machine that spans more than 40 countries. “The time has come for Ed Hardy Beer. No Rules, No Expectations, No Limitations.”

My Opinion

Where do I start? I guess I just had to experience this urine sample for myself. This beer pours a golden shower yellow with little to no head which disappeared immediately after pouring. With that said I did see plenty of tiny carbonation bubbles rising to the top, post pour. The aroma of this “premium” beer smells like creamed corn, and the taste you ask? I have experienced what it would be like if creamed corn was poured graciously from a tap. The other aromas that really stood out were loneliness and despair. This “beer” leaves a dry taste in your mouth at the finish, and not in a good way. I feel like I just swallowed sand.

It is my hope that the craft beer scene is not falling prey to trendiness with this fine example of panther piss. If this catches on we must fight for the greater good of well crafted beers. I pray that I do not see the day when there is a Lady Gaga Stout or Beyonce Barleywine.

Rating:

F

The Brewery:

The Beer: Oaked Arrogant Bastard Ale

ABV: 7.2%

Brewery Description: (As only Stone can!) Nothing but the finest barley, most aggressive hops, clearest water, our proprietary yeast strain and abundant arrogance…all aged with oak chips.

My Opinion

It’s no secret that I have been a huge Stone Brewing Company fan for a number of years. So it should be no surprise that I’m reviewing one of my favorite offerings from Stone, the Oak Aged Arrogant Bastard.

The color of this beer is medium brown with little clarity and pours with a head that fades rather quickly, but leaves a fair bit of lacing on my tulip glass. From the initial whiff, the aroma reminded almost of a lumber yard or the smell of a carpenter’s shop. Once the woody character faded, I could sense rich fruit and caramel aromas along with hints of vanilla and a generous hoppy fragrance.

The taste is quite complex and the flavors lend themselves to grapefruits (from the Chinook hop variety) and caramel malts. The finish is bitter and dry although smooth and emphatically drinkable. Even as this beer has heavy hop additions, it has enough malt backing as to not lend itself to the hoppy characteristics of your average hoppy beer or IPA.

Like I stated at the beginning, I am a huge fan of Stone Brewing Company and this review may lean a bit towards favoritism. So with that I encourage you to try the Oaked Arrogant Bastard, if you don’t like it, then you’re just not worthy!

Rating: A+