Dixie Blackened Voodo Lager

Brewery: Dixie Brewing Company
Style: Schwarzbier
ABV: 5.0%
Country: USA, Louisiana

Dark brown hints of ruby. Thin white head dissipated quickly. Rich aroma with dark fruits, clove spiciness. I was a little under the weather at the time and my nose was a bit stopped up so any real subtleties were lost on me. The aroma that came through I liked. Had almost a cola quality to it as well. Interesting mix of flavors. Cherry sweetness upfront with more cola and licorice. Some roasted flavors were present as well. Light bitterness rounded out the finish. This sort of reminded me of a root-beer of all things both in taste, appearance, and all around feel. Body was a bit light and the finish was rather weak. B-

Anchor Steam Beer

Brewery: Anchor Brewing Company
Style: Steam Beer
ABV: 4.9%
Country: USA, California

I didn't plan it this way, but this beer happens to be another beer that originated a style. In this case, Steam Beer. For those keeping score at home, the last three beers, including this one, originated a style. Steam beer is actually a trademark of Anchor Brewing Company so the style is also known as California Common. It is a unique American style that originated in San Francisco back in 1896. What makes this style unique is that it uses lager yeast that is made to ferment at warmer temperatures. Lager is usually fermented in cold temperatures, but since refrigeration was costly at the time, warmer temperatures were used.

Poured a dark caramel with a hint of ruby and incredibly clear. Good off-white head dissipated quickly. Aroma was mostly malty and sweet with a bit of grassyness. Plenty of sweetness throughout. Carbonation gave this a bit of a bite. Grains are definitely present at all stages and linger long after the finish. Only hop presence were some earthy flavors and a hint of some zestyness. Not too much bitterness was present, but it is noticeable in the finish. Like the ESB the other day, this was another really malty beer. Usually I'm a hop-head, but I have to say that these malty beers have been growing on me lately. B-

Trappistes Rochefort 8

Brewery: Brasserie de Rochefort
Style: Belgian Strong Dark Ale
ABV: 9.20%
Country: Belgium

Here is the second of the three Rochefort beers, Rochefort 8. The first one, Rochefort 6, was only okay by my standards. A bit too sweet and a bit too carbonated. This version comes out a bit stronger and should pack more of a punch.

The pour was similar, a murky brown with a darker head than 6. Big head that dissipated and left a nice lace. Plenty of yeast seen swimming around. Plenty of dark fruits. Cherries and plums both present. I smelled more yeast than 6 and the alcohol was certainly noticeable. The first sip had some sweetness and lots of bready malts. Quite similar to number 6 in flavor as well. The largest noticeable difference is that alcohol flavor is much more prevalent. This gave the beer a nice spiciness that helped to improve the taste. The high level of carbonation made it hard to enjoy this. B-

Homebrew Tasting Day

So there haven't been any posts the last couple of days because I've been skiing in Vermont and the last of my scheduled posts ran out. Bo is in cider land and Roy is a bum, so posts have been lacking. I had a couple of good beers in Vermont including a local ale and a black IPA. I didn't take any notes to do posts on them because I was tired from skiing all day and just wanted to relax with some beer and not be that guy at the bar writing notes down with each sip.

I got home after a long day of driving and what do you know? I was in the mood to relax with a nice beer. I had bottled my home brew over two weeks ago meaning that the sugar added at bottling had been fermented to provide carbonation and a bit more alcohol. I figured now would be a good time as any to try my very first batch so here we go.

Poured a hazy coppery brown that had a massive sticky head. Head was off-white and stuck around a long time. This is an unfiltered beer since I lack the equipment to do the sort of filtering that professionals do. If I do brew this again, I can use a glass carboy for a secondary fermentation to improve the clarity. The aroma had the distinct grapefruit aroma from the cascade hops. Some of the yeast was present in the aroma as well. The first sip carried with it the familiar hop flavor though it was a little more subdued than I thought it would be. Some sweet malts were present as well. Some roasted malts started into the transition the finish. Finish carries with it plenty of bitterness and was plenty dry. Overall it was quite good especially for a first attempt. I think if I were to try this recipe again, I'd increase some the malt base to increase the flavor. I'd probably do a dry hop phase as well to increase the overall hop flavor and aroma. Luckily I liked drinking this one since I have over a case of it in my basement. B-

Kona Pipeline Porter

Brewery: Kona Brewing Company
Style: Porter
ABV: 5.40%
Country: USA, Hawaii

Deep and dark brown, nearly black but not quite. Nice sized head that lingers a long time and leaves plenty of lace. Rich coffee aroma with a hint of sweetness behind it. Great smelling brew. Dark coffee flavor, almost espresso like. Has a little bit of grassiness to it. Flavor ends with a deep roasted flavor and a mild bitterness. Nice medium body with a little acidic feel to it. There was an odd flavor/feel to it that I couldn't quite figure out. Still good though. B-

Bass Pale Ale

Brewery: Bass Brewers Limited
Style: English Pale Ale
ABV: 5.00%
Country: England

Another English beer for the list and one that is quite recognizable to most people. According to the bottle, Bass was awarded the first trademark in England to prevent imitators from using the red triangle. Bright, amber caramel color with a good sized off-white head that lingered. Herbal and grassy aroma with a bit of hopiness to it. Plenty of the grassy flavor upfront with a bit of peppery. Finishes with a light bitterness and plenty of toasted bread malts. Very dry and crisp finish. This highlights the difference between English pale ales and American pale ales. English versions are typically more subtle and understated while American versions are more bitter and hopier. At first I wasn't a fan of this, but I have to say it grew on me more and more as I sipped on it. The finish is what grew on me, quite pleasing. B-

Saranac Seaon's Best

Brewer: Saranac
Style: Brown Nut Lager
ABV: 5.30%

Pour gives the expected brown/amber color with a nice thick head tat recedes to a solid lace that marks the glass.

Aroma has notes of hops and a nutty malt.

Tastes goes straight to hoppiness with a nutty finish much like the aroma. Beer finishes clean and crisp with little aftertaste.

Mouth feel is a lightly carbonated full bodied beer. Quite filling, wouldn't be able to drink too many of them.

I'm giving this a B- because it lacks some flavor, but is drinkable. Good for sitting around and drinking slow.

-Roy

Lagunitas Brown Shugga' Ale

Brewery: Lagunias Brewing Company
Style: American Strong Ale
ABV: 9.99%
Country: USA, California

From the bottle: "We believe this special ale is something unique. Feeding brown cans sugar to otherwise cultured brewery yeast is a'kin to feeding raw shark to your gerbil. It is unlikely to ever occur in nature without human intervention. And it looks weird besides. But it has happened and now it's too late."

Pored a brown, reddish copper color with a bubbly tan head. Had a nice crystal clear body. It had a strong, sweet aroma. Brown sugar, some toasted toffee dominated the nose with a bit of hopiness. Taste had plenty of different sugar flavors. True to the name, brown sugar was the most dominant. Both molasses and caramelized sugar were present while toasted toffee shined through. A surprising amount of bitterness does a good job of bringing some balance to the picture. Some alcohol flavors and spiciness show up as well. Overall, it was a bit to sweet for my liking. B-

Troegenator Doublebock

Brewery: Troegs Brewing Company
Style: Doppelbock
ABV: 8.2%
Country: USA, Pennsylvania

Sill working through my gift pack. This is the second Troegs on this blog, the first being the awesome Mad Elf. The Doppelbock is a more potent version of the Bock style. For those that prefer SATs, Doppelbock is to Bock as Imperial IPA is to IPA. More malts, flavors, and alcohol.

This particular version poured a dark, ruby brown with a thin white head and a wispy lace.
The aroma was strong and spicy, plenty of malts and sweetness were present as well. The first sip contained plenty of fruity flavors. Raisins and cherries dominated with a spicness in the end with plenty of alcohol presence. The thick and syrupy body was sticky and sweet. This came off as a milder version of the Mad Elf. Less cherries and sweetness than the Elf, but a similar syrupy feel. Overall, it was a bit to thick and sticky for my liking, but was still pretty good. B-

Rogue Santa's Private Reserve

Brewer: Rogue
Style: American Amber/Red Ale
ABV: 6.0%

Now I know Christmas has passed but I still have some Christmas beers to make it through. Next up is Rogue's Santa's Private Reserve which I picked up from good ol' Wegmans in a craft pack.

The color matches the style a deep amber with the some slight yellow on the edges. Head settles to a thin off white lace.

Lots of piney hops in the nose with some malt.

The taste follows the aroma quite well. Malty start with some pine in the middle and with the hoppier finish. The bitterness is minimal but a nice touch. Medium to heavy body and quite filling.

Really not much to it but not a bad beer, I am giving this a B-.

-Roy

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Starr Hill Pale Ale

Brewery: Starr Hill Brewery
Style: Pale Ale
ABV: 5.5%
Country: USA, Virginia

Another beer from my Christmas gift pack. This is also a beer brewed Crozet Virginia which is about twenty minutes away from Charlottesville. I've had a few beers from them before with mixed results. I thought their IPA was good but their lager was not that great.

This one poured a bright, coppery amber. thin white head dissipates quickly. The aroma was the typical grapefruit hop aroma that is common in this style. The taste had some sweet base malts with biscuit flavors and some fruity hopiness mixed in. dry bitter finish that lingers a bit. Tilts a bit more toward the bitter end of the spectrum. Pretty simple overall, not too exciting. B-

Samuel Adams Winter Lager

Brewer: Samuel Adams
Style: Bock
ABV: 5.6%
Country: USA, Massachusetts

Being that we are still in the grips of winter, I've picked up the Samuel Adams Winter assortment. 12 bottles of six different beers, hopefully there will be some good brews in here. First up will be the classic Winter Lager. This is classified as a bock (by Beeradvocate) which is a type of strong lager though at 5.6%, this is at the milder end of the bock spectrum.

The beer poured a dark, ruby caramel. This is a beautiful color for this kind of beer. A nice white head settles into a wispy, lingering lace.

Aroma is mostly faint. What scents are there are sweet, a little bready and a hint of orange.

Medium-light body, nice carbonation. Sweet malts. Smooth slick mouth feel. Goes down easy with light bitterness. Toasted, buttery bread finish. I tried to find the spiciness that the bottle claimed, but couldn't find any. Best characteristic of this beer is the creamy mouth feel, quite a treat. Beyond the body, the beer is lacking otherwise. I'd had this several years ago and I seem to remember more spiciness so I wonder if the recipe has been changed since. More holiday spice presence would certainly be a plus. Overall though, this is still a nice beer that I would have again. B-

Cigar City Cuban Espresso Maduro

Brewery: Cigar City

Style: American Brown Ale

ABV: 5.5%

So I spent the holidays in Orange City Florida with family. Upon leaving VA Alex told me to look for Cigar City beer as it was brewed in FL and we could not get it in VA. Oddly most places didn't carry this local brew in stores but I was able to locate a great specialty bar with an amazing selection of which included multiple Cigar City beers. The place was Abbey in Deland Florida. If you are ever in the area I recommend checking this place out, the owner and staff are all very knowledgeable when it comes to wine and beer.

So I bellied up to the bar and ordered an Espresso Brown Ale from Cigar City's offerings. This beer is based off of their all year round offering, Maduro Oatmeal Brown Ale. The color was a deep brown which allowed little light to pass through. It resembled a thinned out coffee beverage. Very thin lacy head to begin with which dissipated to nothing rather quickly.

The aroma was amazing and that of fresh brewed espresso with a slight hint of spice. There also some notes of roasted malts which combined well with the coffee.

The taste was fantastic, primarily coffee yet not over powering of the fact that this was a beer. A very light bitterness shown through before an aftertaste that continued the coffee theme. The mouth feel displayed a decent amount of carbonation but not enough to overcome the smoothness of this beverage.

Overall a good coffee based brown ale and I would like to have some again, I give it a B-.

-Roy

San Miguel Dark Lager

Brewer: San Miguel Corporation
Style: Dark Lager
ABV: 5%
Country: Philippines

Pours dark, not totally opaque like a stout or a porter. One finger off-white head, leaves a thin lace and nice rings. Aroma is nice, smells like toasted caramel and honey. taste is sweet and bubbly, body is medium. Finishes dry with molasses making an appearance. Slight bitterness in the finish. Sweetness is a bit much and could use more bitterness to make a more balanced brew. The molasses finish is close to how the Baltika should have finished; less overpowering but still tasty. If this had the initial taste of the Baltika with the San Miguel finish, it would make an excellent beer. As is, this is pretty good but it would be hard to have several in one sitting. B-

Coopers Sparkling Ale

Brewery: Coopers Brewery Limited
Style: English Pale Ale
ABV: 5.8%
Country: Australia

Hailing from the land down under, this was the first non-Fosters beer from the Aussies that caught my eye. Nothing against Fosters, but from what I've heard, their flagship lager isn't anything special. This poured a a orange-tan color that was quite bright. Not much head and not much lace. Plenty of particles and sediment were present; since this is a bottle conditioned beer, this is to be expected.

Aroma was sweet with some honey and a hint of lemon present. Taste wasn't as sweet as I expected initially. My first impression was the high amount of carbonation present, tonic-like and prickly. Sweetness followed the carbonation which was quickly followed by a bitter finish. The finish left the largest impression on me, crisp and bitter. Overall, this beer went down easy, but I would have preferred a bit more maltiness up front. I'd be willing to have this one again. B-