Sweet, ever so slightly sour, very dark brown. In the place of traditional winter ales nutmeg or other spices, is a mellow and pleasant bitterness. Minimal carbonation from this tastey seasonal ale. Nothing jumps out at you other than the presense of higher alcohol content. Enjoyable, but not memorable. This brewery from Lancaster, PA delivers a very drinkable beer with a very subtle caramel aftertaste.
At this point, I’m almost positive Mr. Henry was talking about The Anchor Brewing Company’s Liberty Ale- this stuff is absolutely phenomenal! With a thick head that slowly disappeared, leaving traces along the sides of my glass, and a pleasant floral aroma, this is a coppery, clean, crisp ale that deserves your full attention. Liberty’s taste is smooth and delicate with a slight hoppiness to it and an aftertaste that is quite satisfying. I picked up slight fruity traces in its taste (that matched its aroma), but none of the poignant hops usually present in a Pale Ale. If you’re like me and enjoy hoppy beers, you’ll still find this beer incredibly worthy.
This is truly an excellent brew, crafted by a perfectionist and respected by those with discriminating tastes. It’s nice to finally realize, after all these years, what made Patrick Henry so passionate.
Being a connoisseur of fine Irish stouts with incredibly thick creamy heads, I approached The Lancaster Brewing Company’s Milk Stout with apprehension. There is only one beer capable of utilizing the word “milk” in its outward or privately held description and it certainly doesn’t come from the Pennsylvanian hinterland.
This sweet smelling stout has a deep, dark brown to black color with a small tan head that clung to the sides of my glass. This was the first and final indication that the milk appellation was in no way attempting to usurp the nitrogen infused national beverage of “pobal na hÉireann.”
Lancaster’s taste has a smoothly sweet dryness to it, with slight hints of vanilla, followed by traces of caramel and it tingled in the back of my throat as I drank it. All in all, this is an enjoyable experience punctuated by this stout’s sweetness due to the addition of lactose (hence the milk designation). This is definitely a unique tasting stout worthy of a try.
And there is no need to fear that a beer is, in any way, attempting to seat itself next to Mother’s Milk.
I really enjoy Pale Ales. The bitter taste of these well hopped beers makes drinking them a pleasure; however, sometimes the hoppiness goes over the top. Some beers do it well, like Tuppers Hop Pocket Ale from The Old Dominion Brewing Company. Others though, don’t pull it off and create an almost disagreeable drinking experience.
Three Floyds’ Alpha King Pale Ale is, unfortunately, one of those beers. This seriously hoppy ale had an aggressive bitterness to it that I’m sorry to say, I didn’t enjoy. It has a deep dark clear bronze color and a nice hoppy nose to it; however, the taste assaulted me.
I like bitter beers. I seek them out. But the Alpha King is one beer I’ll pass on.
Sometimes when tasting a beer, you can pick up subtle traces of fruit flavors. A classic example is Magic Hat’s #9 with its light apricot taste. There are other times, however, when the tasting experience is totally flipped and you find yourself picking up subtle traces of beer.
The Framboise St. Louis lambic is more raspberry juice than beer; however, it works. It works wonderfully. It works so well that I want to stand up and shout it! This wildly tasty beer with a slightly bitter, acidic taste has a beautiful head and a deep clear raspberry red color, which gives off an amazingly sweet fruity smell. Don’t let the kiddie-like raspberry association fool you- this is an excellent beer with a hallmark lambic acidic beer taste.
This is a must try beer for any adventurous soul. You’ll probably find, however, the adventure is in the finding of this rare beer, but the taste will be well worth the search.
With a Soviet-style city name, The Magic Hat Brewery’s #9 “not quite Pale Ale” is a fresh capitalistic taste that can’t help but bring a smile to one’s face. With a big head that slowly diminished over time and a clear gold, smoooooth body, this fine brew has an excellent taste! A fruity Pale Ale-ish essence greets you as you sip upon a slightly bubbly smooth bodied beer with a hint of apricot in its taste. I also picked up traces of vanilla as well as the cornerstone bitter hoppy taste of any Pale Ale.
This is definitely an extra unique brew among a distinctive line of beers from the crazy cats in Vermont. Give it a try and you’ll know why!
I’ve had the pleasure of tasting eight different beers from The Brooklyn Brewery and up until last night, their Block Chocolate Stout was by far, my favorite of their beers. This ranking changed, however, after my first taste of their Brown Ale.
This dark colored ale, with a medium head, had a wonderfully nutty smell, which complemented its fabulous, yet mild, chocolate-caramel-nut taste. While the Chocolate Stout is a sipping beer, the Brown Ale is a drinking beer- its smooth taste goes down nicely. When I finished my glass, I found myself wishing for more.
There are a few Brooklyn beers I haven’t yet had, however, the Brown Ale is my favorite and I highly recommend it!
I’m not a Pilsner person- I rarely try them and when I do, I’m usually disappointed. That’s why I was pleasantly surprised by The Brooklyn Brewery’s Pilsner. This clear, golden beer, which had no presence of a head, had a subtle Pilsner taste that was enjoyably smooth. Its aftertaste was agreeable and I could pick up light hints of hops in the taste as well as a flower-like aroma. It was amazingly paired with Sausages and Sauerkraut, which made the experience all the more impressive.
This is one of those beers that’ll make you reconsider any negative positions you may have on Pilsners.
Tonight I enjoyed a Dominion Root Beer on tap at my favorite pizza and sandwich shop. This tasty alternative to alcohol is great with a meal or on a night when you’re the designated driver. It is sweet (like they use cane sugar or molasses) with a soft sasparilla bite. Dark, dark brown with a foamy head, strangely it leaves a slight tinny aftertaste not unlike diet coke.
Even though this winter has proven to be more than mild, I did manage to get some frostbite- River Horse’s Belgian Frostbite Winter Ale that is. This hearty ale with a deep dark color imparted a strong aroma with a taste to match it. The coffee-like flavor delivered a strong bite, which I felt deep down in my stomach as I sipped it. It had a pleasant white head that disappeared shortly after pouring and its body was on the medium side. With an 8% alcohol content, this is a sipping beer.
All in all, this was the one time where frostbite can be a pleasant experience.