BBC American Pale Ale

Brewery: Bluegrass Brewing Company
Style: Pale Ale
ABV: 5.79%
Country: USA, Kentucky

Orange brown with plenty of off-white foam that left plenty of sticky lace that ran up and down the glass. Sweet, sticky hops dominated the aroma. Tons of citrus and plenty of pine. The first sip showed less hop flavors than what I expected, this probably had ample dry-hopping going on. Malts were pretty thin, not much sweetness or heft. Body was mostly watery as well. finish was dry and bitter. Bitterness lingered awhile but there wasn't much else to be found here. Aroma and bitterness was more potent than I would have expected and the taste wasn't anywhere to be found. I wont be having this again. D

Long Hammer IPA

Brewery: Red Hook Brewing Company
Style: IPA (supposedly)
ABV: 6.50%
Country: USA, New Hampshire

Bright and pale golden and clear color with a thick and bubbly white head that dissipates fairly quickly. Some citrus and pine hop aroma. Some of the citrus flavors up front but the flavor dissipated rather quickly. Transitions to some bready malts and some spicy bitterness to round things out. This is really weak to be called an IPA. The biggest redeeming quality of this brew is that it has a good level of alcohol that is concealed. Other than that, this is a weak excuse for an IPA. This beer is forgettable and nothing special. D

Barn Owl Premium Ale

Brewery: Cotleigh Brewery
Style: English Bitter
ABV: 4.5%
Country: England

This is only the second English beer to be looked at so far. Poured a cloudy and coppery brown with a nice and thick white head. Aroma was floral and grassy, quite mild. Malty and sweet up front. Some toffee like notes. Flavor turns quickly into the floral and grassy flavors found in the aroma. Somewhat like damp straw. Thin and watery body. Finished quickly with a light bitterness. Finish is quick and fleeting. Couldn't really find anything in the beer too enjoyable. Purchases of the beer go to an trust fund for owls. So something good I guess? D

Samuel Adams Holidy Porter

Brewer: Samuel Adams
Style: Porter
ABV: 5.9%
Country: USA, Massachusetts

Poured mostly black with some brown around the edges. Aroma was mostly sweet and sort of medicine like, hard to place. Initial taste was very sweet, almost cola like. Finish was quite bitter as well though the two flavors were disjointed. This somehow managed to be both too sweet and too bitter at the same time. I also felt like the medium body was overly carbonated as well. I didn't care for this one at all and don't want the second one that came in the case. D

Sweetwater Tavern Giddyup Stout

Brewer: Sweetwater Tavern
Style: Stout
ABV: 6.4%

Yup its a cellphone shot, didn't think bringing my DSLR into a restaurant would have been too appropriate. None the less you can see the dark, motor oil like color and sticky head that is so common to a stout.

Per its brief description in the menu, "roasted malts & real coffee make this stout well balanced & smooth...decaf not available!" I settled down expecting a standard stout with a hint of coffee and a malty finish. I took one deep inhale and captured little to no aroma other than some faint malt but no coffee. This left me perplexed.

So down the hatch it went and I immediately found the coffee, it was all hiding in the flavor. It was an overpowering taste to say the least. Once my first try was finished the after taste set in and the first thing I could think of was the over roasted burnt coffee you get from Starbucks. This beer left a lot to be desired. Although I did have a second in hopes that maybe someone had accidentally given me a cup of coffee with some foam on the top, I was still sadly disappointed.

On a scale of 1-10 I rate this beer a D. If I had wanted a cup of coffee I would have ordered one.

-Roy

Also my amazing cell phone photography skills are available for weddings.