Rising Tide - Hesperus

Another beer picked up at Rising Tide. The folks working at the brewery have been really nice both times we've stopped by. I'd definitely recommend stopping by for a tasting. 

I had this on draft while we were at the brewery and liked it enough to pick up two bottles. I think I left one up in Maine. We'll see how it does with some age on it. 

Decent carbonation. Isn't too thin or thick for the style. Lots of brown sugar and vanilla from the barrel aging, some raisin. A little harsh finish.

Allagash - Old HLT

Stored in the cellar at the in-laws in Maine. Purchased sometime in 2012 and has a Nov 2011 bottled date. 

There is barely any cherry taste left. Mildly tart and finishes with barely any aftertaste. Carbonation is still good.  Should have drank them all last year. I have one bottle left and may leave it to see what happens for another year. 

Rising Tide - Zephyr

Purchased at the brewery. 

Fruity. Mildly bitter. The aroma is a strange mix of alcohol and the centennial and calypso hops. Decent brew. 

Traveling for Work Really Puts a Dent in What Passes for Blogging

The blog is dead (mostly, for now). I'll get around to posting the 20 or so drafted posts at some point. The only super high point out of those is the Stone Dayman IPA (coffee IPA; get it if you see it).

Follow my even briefer thoughts on beer here.

Maine Beer Co - Lunch IPA

From Joe Drinks Dinner and Stuff

I think I enjoyed Mo better. Its a nice IPA, definitely not worth the price. More on the citrus, grapefruit flavor & bitterness side than fruity. It's not a bad beer, but it's not a "world class" IPA, no matter what those review sites may tell you. 

Shorts - The Magician

From Joe Drinks Dinner and Stuff

I wasn't expecting an Irish red ale. I was hoping for something hoppier. This was fine enough. Nothing spectacular. Not terrible. 

Flying Dog - Green Tea Stout

From Joe Drinks Dinner and Stuff

There's green tea in this? Otherwise a nice, if unremarkable stout. 

Hardywood - Singel

From Joe Drinks Dinner and Stuff

Very yeast forward. I wish DC Brau's Citizen tasted like this. Nice enough. 

Heavy Seas - The Big DIPA

From Joe Drinks Dinner and Stuff

Re-formulation. Now aged on oak spirals!!

Heavy Seas is going through yet another re-branding.

Okay. After having Heady Topper the other day I'll just go ahead and call bull-shit on this beer.

Weirdly bitter. Very malty and sweet. The oak is definitely there. And it just adds a completely undesirably element to the beer. Do not buy again.

Hardywood - Sidamo Coffee Stout

Old review. Picture lost to the gods. 

Yet another coffee stout. Nothing says May or Summer quite like a coffee stout.

Fine enough. I wouldn't go out of my way to get it again. Doesn't have a super strong coffee stout, but there is some bitterness here. 

Driftwood - Old Cellar Dweller

From Joe Drinks Dinner and Stuff

The last beer from my Let's Pour order.

Its a barleywine. Not in the super hoppy range, but definitely super boozy. The bitterness is at just the right level to offset the alcohol and overall sweetness (typical dark malts, toffee, blah blah blah). Definitely enjoyable, but once again, not magnitudes better than other beers. 

Maine Beer Co - Mo

From Joe Drinks Dinner and Stuff

Aroma on this is fantastic. Definitely a hop forward pale ale. No mistaking it for an IPA though (or maybe you could for a "session" IPA, I dunno). Lightly bitter, slightly sweet malt body.

Super drinkable. But again, I paid $7-8 for the bottle. ONE BOTTLE. I bought a six pack of OTWOA two weeks ago for $18. The MBC beer is almost twice as expensive per ounce. I'll stick to their beers on draft once I've tried them. A shame because they're all pretty darn good.

Stone - Oak Smoked Old Guardian Barleywine

From Joe Drinks Dinner and Stuff

I do not like the regular Old Guardian. I've tried it fresh and aged and whatever weird variation they put out two years ago.

Somehow this one works for me. The hops are still abrasive, but the subtle smoked malt balances it out in the aftertaste. 

Allagash - FV 13

From Joe Drinks Dinner and Stuff

Woo this is tart. Starts off a little sweet and then... bam. Tart cherry. Carbonation is perfect for the style. Not too sweet, tartness fades so its not ridiculous to drink the whole bottle.

Only downside was the price, but it wasn't too much more expensive than the Old HLT that I purchased at the brewery. Recommended if you see it. 

Evil Twin - Imperial Biscotti Break

From Joe Drinks Dinner and Stuff

Super smooth & silky. Vanilla really comes through, along with  coffee and chocolate. Much more enjoyable as it warmed up. Probably one of the better non-barrel aged stouts I've had recently.

Recommended (if you can get past the $16 price tag). 

Ballast Point - Victory at Sea

From Joe Drinks Dinner and Stuff

Billed as an imperial porter.

Pretty darn enjoyable. Good amount of vanilla, chocolate and coffee flavor. I was worried it would be too thin, but the mouthfeel is perfect. Just enough carbonation. Not super thick or sweet. Enjoyable brew. Was easy to drink the whole bottle myself. 

DC Brau - Yonder Cities

From Joe Drinks Dinner and Stuff

From a growler.

Nice aroma from citra & simcoe hops. Pretty bitter. Slightly peppery yeast. 

DC Brau - On the Wings of Armageddon

From Joe Drinks Dinner and Stuff

Finally in cans! (and slightly more reasonably priced than a $10 bomber; $18 for the six pack)

Still enjoyable. Decent amount of sweetness balanced by a nice bitterness.

Devils Backbone - Schwarz Bier

From Joe Drinks Dinner and Stuff

Tasty. Slightly roasty. Great price. Solid beer. 

The Perfect Crime - Hollow Point

From Joe Drinks Dinner and Stuff

Seems a little thin for a quad? There's something slightly off about this. Its very drinkable (for a 10% brew). Nothing spectacular. Do not feel compelled to purchase this. 

New Belgium - Cascara Quad

From Joe Drinks Dinner and Stuff

Pretty enjoyable. Fairly sweet (even for the style). Slight bitterness on the finish. Not bad. Worth a try. 

Uinta - Birthday Suit

From Joe Drinks Dinner and Stuff

"Sour Brown Ale" - they should have called it "sort of sour brown ale."

Its actually pretty enjoyable. Not a great beer, but drinking the entire bottle by myself wasn't a complete chore. 

Stillwater - Lower Dens

From Joe Drinks Dinner and Stuff

http://www.stillwatersensory.com/

This is supposedly a colaboration brew inspired by a song by Lower Dens (a Baltimore band). I listened to the song. Shrug (I think I had similar feelings about the Pearl Jam beer).

The beer itself is nice. A hint of fruitiness. Really balanced, maybe a hint of wheat in there. Pricey for the size (I think it was $7). Glad I had it, probably won't buy it again.

Lost Rhino - Pretty in Pink

From Joe Drinks Dinner and Stuff

Not bad. Magnitudes better than the New Belgium Kriek last night. Would be a decent beer for the summer.

Sixpoint - 3 Beans

From Joe Drinks Dinner and Stuff

Cocoa, coffee and ??? (kidney beans? chickpeas?) I think the box had some reference to barley beans or something. Instead of looking it up online, I'll just assume they added baked beans into the beer.

Rodenbach - 2010 Vintage

From Joe Drinks Dinner and Stuff

A sour (and expensive) ale!

Tart and cherry and vinegar. I haven't had the original in a while, and while this is nice, it probably wasn't worth the exorbitant cost. 

Mission St Hefeweizen

From Joe Drinks Dinner and Stuff

Very good for the price. Nice yeasty banana notes. Good carbonation level. Another win by Trader Joes. 

Sierra Nevada - Bigfoot 2011/2012/2013

From Joe Drinks Dinner and Stuff

2011 - Pours with a beautiful head. The aroma is mostly muted at this point. Taste is still bitter, caramely sweet. Its actually fairly balanced.

2012 - Aroma is about the same, maybe a little brighter. The taste has a slight tea like bitterness to it still. Bitterness lingers on the tongue.
While Mandy drank the 2011 happily, she returned her portion of the 2012 as undrinkable. It is slightly harsher than the 2011, but without the bright hoppy aroma of a fresh bottle.

From Joe Drinks Dinner and Stuff

From Joe Drinks Dinner and Stuff

New Belgium - Hoppy Bock Lager

From Joe Drinks Dinner and Stuff

Put some hops in it!

The first in a new series by New Belgium, where as far as I can tell, they will add an unnecessary amount of hops to beer styles that are not typically hoppy.

This wasn't that great. Bready with a standard lager flavor, but with a heavy amount of bitterness to it for the style. I'd pass. 

Devil's Backbone - Dark Abby

From Joe Drinks Dinner and Stuff

A decent dubbel. Priced very nicely ($10 for a six pack). Decent caramel sweetness. "Decent."

Great Lakes - Rye of the Tiger

Yet another old review. Picture lost amongst all of Leah's dog fur. 

Great name. +1 on the marketing points.

I had this on draft a few months ago on the same night I had a Hopslam. I thought it was really great, but I didn't get a lot of rye out of it.

I'm not sure if the recipe's been changed for the bottling or if my taste buds were off that night, because the rye is a lot stronger now (which is good). I'm not really in love with the hopping and bittering here though. The bitterness just lingers too long and I don't like how it plays with the rye. Certainly a good beer, just probably not for me.

Heavy Seas - Siren Noire 2013

From Joe Drinks Dinner and Stuff

These dudes go through rebrandings like its nobody's business. "Previously" reviewed here (non-barrel aged but under the same name; confusing)

I wasn't too enthused about this before, but the barrel aging helps it a little. The powdery fake chocolate taste is a little more subtle. There's hints of the barrel aging there, slight vanilla & bourbon taste. Much better than before, but still not fantastic.

Woodstock Inn - Red Rack Ale

From Joe Drinks Dinner and Stuff

Not sure what bucket to drop this one in. Doesn't really matter.

Pretty malty, lightly bitter. Unoffensive, but forgettable. 

Boulevard -Dark Truth Stout (2012)

More old reviews. Picture stolen by some bros. 

I'm not sure a year has really done anything to this beer. Mild dark fruit flavors eventually comes out after it warms up, but is still buried by the roasted malts. Still a good beer though. 

Sprecher - Piper Scotch Ale

From Joe Drinks Dinner and Stuff

Wow. Super duper peaty. Overpowering. If you like scotch, you may like this. If not, its really off putting. Borders on a smoked ale. I'd pass. 

Maine Beer Co - Lil One

From Joe Drinks Dinner and Stuff

A slightly strange brew. Sweeter than I'd want a barleywine, but its not a barlewine. Truly an american strong ale.

For a strong brew, its mildly sweet and only mildly piney-hoppy and bitter. I don't know. There's nothing offensive about it. Its enjoyable. But its just not great. 

New Belgium - Transatlantic Kriek

From Joe Drinks Dinner and Stuff

Well this was pretty underwhelming. I guess I should have paid attention to the blend on the front of the bottle. 45% ale with cherries (55% ale without).

It definitely has a decent cherry flavor too it, but its just sweet. No offsetting tartness at all.

Do not bother with this. Blah. 

Sprecher - Abbey Tripel

From Joe Drinks Dinner and Stuff

Yeasty! Definitely a tripel. One of the better beers from the beer of the month club. 

Mendocino Brewing - Red Tail Ale

From Joe Drinks Dinner and Stuff

This is completely unoffensive and uninspiring. A hint of malt sweetness lingers for an aftertaste. Fairly crisp and not really that sweet. Low bitterness. I'd never buy it, but wouldn't refuse it. 

Random, Forgettable Beers

From Joe Drinks Dinner and Stuff

From Joe Drinks Dinner and Stuff

From Joe Drinks Dinner and Stuff

Woodstock Inn Brewery - Pemi Pale Ale

From Joe Drinks Dinner and Stuff

From the beer of the month club.

Solid malt body. Or more precisely, very malty with a lot of caramel-y flavors. Mild bitterness for the style. Unoffensive. I wouldn't turn one down, but I wouldn't actively purchase one again. 

Three Stars - Two to the Dome

Finally took a trip out to Three Stars. It's actually a lot more convenient to get to (for me) than DC Brau. Nice little layout there too. I haven't been to the brewery before because I was a little put off by their pricing ($15 for the saison & pale ale, $20 for everything else).

A pretty malty IPA. Nice subtle fruitiness in the aroma and taste. Nice use of citra & centennial. Mild bitterness for the style. Pretty enjoyable. OTWOA gets the nod ahead of this because of pricing. Otherwise pretty darn good. 

Editor's note: [pessimism] I joined Three Stars ridiculous reserve society ( the Illuminati Society: barf) on a whim so expect more bitching about $20 growler fills and bombers that aren't worth the price I paid. [/pessimism]

Howe Sound - Woolly Bugger Barleywine

From Joe Drinks Dinner and Stuff

Not aggressively hopped. I guess its an english style.

Slight tea & woody flavor in addition to the standard sticky sweet maltiness of a barleywine. Decent. Don't go out of your way to get it. 

Ninkasi - Oatis Oatmeal Stout

From Joe Drinks Dinner and Stuff

Super tasty. Really smooth and drinkable. Nice roasted malt and chocolate flavors. Recommended. 

Sound Brewery - Tripel Entendre

From Joe Drinks Dinner and Stuff

This isn't a great beer. Its not offensive. Its flat for the style and just missing... something. I would not bother getting this. Pour yourself a La Fin Du Monde instead. 

Smuttynose - Zinneke

From Joe Drinks Dinner and Stuff

Part straight up, part barrel aged.

Slight hint of the belgian yeast. Maybe a slight woodiness from the barrel aging, but there aren't a lot of vanilla or bourbon flavors here. Nice enough. Good for the price, but Folklore beats it by a mile. 

Weyerbacher - Insanity (2011)

Even more old reviews. 

Oh man this is great. Lots of caramel malt and hints of tobacco. There's a slight vanilla hint to it, but its not hot anymore. Super drinkable. I have two 2012 and two 2013 left and I may hold onto those for a while (even though I'm attempting to drink through my entire "cellar" before moving). 

Editor's note: I still have the 2012's and 2013's. 

Cascade - Blueberry

From Joe Drinks Dinner and Stuff

Not as tart or blueberryific as I was expecting. A hint of brett in the aroma. A hint of blueberry is there, but not really as prevalent as I thought it would be. Nice, but I wouldn't bother getting it again. 

Hardywood Park - Bourbon Barrel Sidamo Coffee Stout

Even more old reviews. 

Second beer from my stop at the brewery.

This was surprisingly good after the disappointing Hoplar and average raspberry stout and "jalapeno" stout I had samples of at Meridian Pint.

I don't get a strong assertive coffee presence, but there's a great hint of vanilla and bourbon from the barrel aging. Good carbonation, nicely coats the tongue. The best "local" barrel aged beer I've had. (pretty sure its better than the Alewerks offerings but maybe not?)

Uinta - Sea Legs

From Joe Drinks Dinner and Stuff

A barrel aged porter

The wood from the barrel aging is really strong. Very dry and oaky. Pretty easy drinking, but not superb. It's not bad, not great. I wouldn't get it again, but wouldn't turn down a glass (if anyone wants to pay $12 for the bottle for me!).

Evolution - Menagerie # 8

From Joe Drinks Dinner and Stuff

High carbonation that still didn't really die off even after an hour or so. Carbonation initially masked a lot of the flavor. The wine barrels definitely left their mark. I'm not sure I'd really be able to identify the base beer if it wasn't on the bottle (belgian dark ale). Moderately to really sweet. The aftertaste is like a watered down red wine. Nice enough, but I think I liked the Victory porter aged in wine barrels a lot better (and it was about $4 cheaper too). 

Goose Island - Bourbon County Brand Coffee Stout

From Joe Drinks Dinner and Stuff

Previously Reviewed

This time around the coffee is a little more muted. Its definitely there, but I think I like the normal Bourbon County Stout better just because its cheaper.