December 6th - Bell's Special Double Cream Stout

It's no secret that the last two nights of reviews have been less than stellar.  However, they always say...

Thanks for the motivation, Dwight.

Tonight I reached for something that I thought had to be at least middle of the road.  I pulled out a Bell's Special Double Cream Stout.  The beer is a 6.1% Sweet Stout that is put together with 10 different types of malt to create a rich and robust flavor.  

That's right, 10 malts!

I've reviewed some Bell's beer before in previous blogs and even the ones I didn't review were always solid to above brews.  The Oracle DIPA was awesome.  Two Hearted Ale is a nice IPA.  Oberon Ale is always a good choice in the summer months (and it can be found in a mini keg too...).  Winter White Ale is a decent option in the winter months when you want something lighter in ABV/color.  Looking for some bite?  Try Hopslam. These guys also did a planets series where they played with ingredients and styles.  I could go on.  There are lots of high-caliber choices in their lineup.

No longer in production, these are extinct brews!

Anyway, back to tonight's choice.  The pour resulted in a nice frothy, tan head on top of a opaque brown stout.  The aroma released one of coffee, espresso, and mocha notes along with a sweet, yet slightly bitter smell.  

There is no way I can place my finger on all 10 of the malts used here, but I definitely got lots of roasted malts, some slight chocolate malt, a sweetness from either caramel or lactose (I'm betting on both there), and a thick (yet pleasant), creamy mouthfeel tied together by a decent bitterness from the hops.  This definitely was not too sweet for a sweet stout.

This beer could go either way.  You could pick up a few of them to enjoy and share with friends at a tasting.  You'd enjoy the aroma and flavor, while debating what different malts were used along with the hop combination.  Or, you could waste no time at all and make sure you pick up a case, since at just 6.1%, and as easy-drinking as it is, you could go through the entire thing in a weekend.  It's definitely got some room to be crushable, even though it's not a session beer.

Full disclosure.  I've had this before...

...actually it was Sunbury, 2014...

I only figured that out after rating it via Untappd.  The good news is that my rating stayed the same.  The rules from Day 0 stated that I'd only use beers I've not rated before, but I really didn't remember having this.  I guess having it on draft at Bottle Works didn't leave an impression of what the label looked like.  You know, since there was no label to see.  Since it was on draft.  I sometimes choose beers based on label alone if I'm being honest.  

Still a 4 out of 5 for this guy!

 Tomorrow is the first Wednesday of the month...you know what that means?

See you tomorrow!

December 5th - Harpoon UFO Winter Blonde

All beer tastes good!

Yep...I have to agree tonight Dwight.  Up for tasting today is Harpoon Brewery's UFO (Unfiltered Offering) Winter Blonde.  The label also says "vanilla cold brew ale," which lead me to believe that this was made with cold brew coffee.  I've had a beer before that poured golden in color and still tasted like coffee.  Well, needless to say, that didn't happen tonight.

I felt like this tonight after tasting this beer

Pouring a hazy, golden color and retaining a decent beige colored head, I was looking forward to the panoply of flavors that I was about to get.  I smelled it and the first thing I got was a fizzy, carbonated lager smell.

There were subtle hints of coffee and vanilla here, but I may have been imagining things.  There were definitely vanilla notes in the taste of this beer, but if I'm honest it was like drinking vanilla flavored Miller Lite.  Whatever happened here, something didn't match up.  There are plenty of people out there that would enjoy this, but maybe my expectations were too high.  

I recommend you do as well...
2 out of 5 for this mess tonight...

Sorry, this needed dressed up with memes tonight!

December 4th - Weyerbacher Sunday Mole Stout

I'm sorry...it's legit the first thing that I thought of when starting this post tonight!

Rounding out a birthday weekend for my son, along with a family Polar Express train ride today, I should probably skip the beer and head to bed when the kids do tonight.  However, I persevere onward.  I mean, it's only December 4th.  If I took a night off now that would tarnish my credibility.  And we wouldn't want that now would we?

Appropriately named for the day today, we have from Easton, PA, Weyerbacher Sunday Mole Stout.  This is a heavy hitting sipper of a stout that weighs in at a hefty 11.3% ABV.  According to the stats on the label, this Imperial Stout is made with coffee, cocoa, cinnamon, and peppers.

Weyerbacher beers are nothing new to me.  I believe that I've told you before about how my brother and sister in law lived in the Lehigh Valley for a time, before any of us had kids.  One night, we decided to sample all of the 4 varieties from the Big Box of Beers from this brewery.  Let's just say it didn't end well that night.  Lesson learned, pay attention to the ABV!

Anyways, Weyerbacher makes a similar beer to this one, Sunday Morning Stout.  I HIGHLY recommend picking that beer up if you're into darker beers with some sweet bourbon flavor.  

As for this particular stout, when pouring the beer into my trusty stout glass there was no surprise at the jet black liquid that came from the bottle.  It disappeared quickly, but there was a creamy, mahogany head here with the initial pour.

The aroma was definitely chocolate/cocoa, roasted malts, coffee, and slight notes of spicy pepper.  Call me crazy, but I get sweet notes, like that of bourbon.  When warmer, it definitely had a stronger alcohol smell to it in addition to the rest of the notes here.

As we've read time and time again (or not if you're new here), my experience is that heavier beers take on a whole new profile as they warm up towards 50 degrees or so.  I learned that one night before I had a palate on New Year's Eve while drinking Sam Adams Infinium.

They don't even make this anymore...shameful actually

Regardless of temperature tonight, this beer is dominated by spicy pepper.  It's not too hot, but the pepper outshines all of the other ingredients, in my humble opinion.  The other flavors like coffee and chocolate still come through, but are still dominated by the peppers.  Also, there is some dry cinnamon in the finish, but again, it's dominated by the alcohol bite.  With a high ABV, there is absolutely a warming sensation that you would expect from a big beer.  Perfect to warm up on a cold December evening by the fire.

There are some issues I do have with this beer tonight unfortunately.  The first sip I took while this was cold reminded me of drinking something metallic.  I thought maybe my palate was off from dinner or something else, but after logging it into my trusty Untappd app, some other users had the same feelings.  Secondly, this beer became astringent tasting as it got warmer.  I'm all for an alcohol bite and/or warming sensation, but not in a beer with so many other flavors that could be showcased.

All things considered, I do have 3 more of these that I'll definitely be sharing.  So, if you receive one of these from me, I guess you know why if you're reading!  

I promise you it's not THIS bad!!!  I won't be wrapping it however...

Unfortunately I wanted to like this, but I just can't at the moment.  I need to go back and update my original Untappd rating of a 3.25/5.

2.5 sad snowmen out of 5 

December 3rd - Hijinx Brewing Company - Hop Havoc IPA

OK, enough with the ice cream themed beers for the time being.  Sorry if you were digging those, but I need something more my style to get back to my roots tonight.  I love the IPA style more than any other style of beer.  I'd tag and link some other past blog posts, but they are all over the place.  Feel free to check out other posts from past IPA reviews if you're interested.  

The Roots...in the background...get it? 

After a day where I got a ton of stuff done, including getting Christmas cards ready to mail out, followed by an impromptu dinner with friends at a local brewpub, Rusty Rail in Mifflinburg, it was time to sit down and collect my thoughts and pour out some creative juices by reviewing an IPA.  The sampler I got there tonight was decent, where I got a Spruce Session IPA, a Belgian Pumpkin Ale, and a Mixed Berry Stout, which was my favorite of the lot.

Right...blog isn't about my sampler...back to the beer

With craft beer springing up all over the place lately (see last paragraph for an example), the Lehigh Valley in Pennsylvania is where we go to tonight.  One of these days I need to make a trip to the SE part of the state to drop by quite a few breweries/brewpubs/tasting rooms because there are some gems in that area.  Fegley's Brew Works, Tire Hands, Saucony Creek, just to name 3 I know of in that area are places I'd like to get to again, or for the first time.  

For Day 3, from Hijinx Brewing Company in Allentown is their 8% IPA, which should be pretty darn close to bordering on an Imperial IPA, Hop Havoc.  According to the can, we have "a hoppy American IPA with notes of grapefruit, stone fruits and melon.  Not your everyday IPA.  The inviting grapefruit aromas lead to a subtle hint of fresh peach and are balanced by a slight malt sweetness and moderate bitterness."

The beer poured a hazy golden color with a thin rim of an off-white head.  The aroma was that of an earthy and grapefruit hop combo.  Sticky, sweet caramel malts dominated the backbone of this beer along with a moderate bitterness throughout the sip that lingered for quite a while.  I don't get the melon here, but I do get a slight taste of peach that is masked by the bitterness of the hops (if you're thinking, mmm, peaches and you're not a hop fan, don't be tempted).  

All in all, it was worth a try, but I personally enjoy a hoppy brew.  This was more malty than hoppy for me, and I'm not a fan of most grapefruity hoppy beers.  Sweet is OK, but as for the hops here, I didn't get what I expected.

not sure if that was proper English or not...there are squiggly red lines all over that last paragraph...

I have another beer from these guys that I'm looking forward to later this month and I'll definitely review it here.  As it stands for now, I'll give this a satisfactory score of a 3.5 out of 5.

December 2nd - New Belgium Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough

Next up to be filed in the "ice creams made into beer" category, tonight we have a Ben and Jerry's inspired Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough ale from New Belgium.  Described on the label as a golden brown ale, this beer is made with chocolate and vanilla.

In the last 3 years, I have explored a few New Belgium beers after starting with their flagship beer, Fat Tire while visiting Walt Disney World a few summers ago.

If you're interested, I reviewed New Belgium's Accumulation last year with a complete recap related to that year's vacation.  

yeah, tangent there...sorry...

Anyway, I wasn't impressed here at first, but if I'm being honest, this beer grew on me.  Immediately passing judgment, I looked at it and compared it to one of those cheap macrobrews.  The beer poured a very transparent golden blonde color with a creamy white head on top.  I smelled it and couldn't get past the thought of it smelling like a cheap macrobrew.

Calm down ... it gets better...

*Disclaimer - Judgment free zone...if you like those types of beers, more power to you!  

Even though it didn't smell as I've described so far, I closed my eyes and did some searching here, but once I got the hint of some pricier ingredients instead of just corn, I saw the value of this brew.  The aroma was a faint vanilla one mixed with hot chocolate powder, and slight caramel.

First sip was very reminiscent of a chocolate chip cookie, semi-sweet, slightly bitter, with a sweet, lingering finish.  Just enough hops here to balance things out perfectly and not be too bitter.  This honestly feels like a dessert beer that is fairly light in body.  That means I would end up drinking it in
 a few minutes, and I'd be heading back for another few to cap off the night.

...it would probably look like this...sorta...

Final Verdict

If you come across this beer I'd recommend giving it a try.  If you're looking for a hop-heavy beer, you won't find that here.  There isn't much in that neighborhood.  However, if you like sweeter beers this one is a safe bet and a must try.  I wouldn't personally pick up more than a few of these at a time, however.  Don't get me wrong, it's a decently made brew, but it's not something I could drink over and over.

3.5 out of 5 for this beer tonight

December 1st - Saugatuck Brewing Company Neapolitan Milk Stout

December 1st - Saugatuck Brewing - Neapolitan Milk Stout

It's so exciting!!!

Welcome back to another year of brew reviews.  Hopefully you'll find something of worth here over the next 25 days.  Maybe it will be a beer you want to try and get your hands on.  Maybe it will be some entertainment from my self-proclaimed wittiness.  Maybe not.  Anyway...

I saw this beer a few years ago in my social media feeds and was dying to get my hands on a bottle. It wasn't until a trip to my local bottle shop that I came across it...anywhere.  For the record, I don't really want to drink Neapolitan ice cream flavored beer. However the combination of flavors piques my interest enough to try it.  Plus it sounds like it will be a good one!

When a brewer can take things like this and make a beer out of them, more times using certain ingredients to mimic those flavors instead of what you think/assume, it intrigues me to try it, at least once.

My early guess where the flavors come from, courtesy of Carnac

For the record, I tried my S'Mohrs Stout again this year...it's bottle conditioning at the moment...stay tuned.

Don't worry...I'll gift a few bottles for Christmas if you're nice ;)

Tonight from Saugatuck Brewing Company in Michigan, we're reviewing their Neapolitan Milk Stout.  Clocking in at an even 6% ABV, this beer boasts the flavors you'd expect from a Neapolitan ice cream.  

The beer poured a dark, opaque brown with a thin ring of creamy tan head.  The aroma reminded me of a strawberry wheat beer.  Mellow roasted malt was present as well.  There were some hints of other fruity esters here as well, which added to create an overall pleasant aroma.  

The beer also had a ton of flavor, which was more prominent when the beer wasn't as cold.  Strawberry flavor hits first while a chocolaty malt finished things up.  Don't forget about the vanilla here.  For me, that slid in there in the middle of each sip and also lingered on the back of my palate. 

yes...yes you are vanilla...

Actually, everything lingered for quite a while.  The chocolate malt probably most so, compared to the rest of the flavors.  This is an awesome choice tonight, post-dinner as a dessert beer.  It's enjoyable as a sipping beer with some sweetness (it is a milk stout after all) for your sweet tooth.  I don't know that I could sit and drink more than 1 of these at a time, however.

All that said, I'm glad I found not one bottle of this, but two.  I'll definitely enjoy this again in the days to come, after dinner of course.  If you can find it, I definitely recommend trying one or two if you're a sweet/milk stout fan and enjoy a flavorful dessert beer.  

4 out of 5 for this beer tonight!

25 Brews of Christmas - Year 4

Well, if you've followed for the past year or so, you know what to expect.  If not, let me enlighten you and educate you at the same time so you know what you're in for if you choose to follow again, or for the first time. 

You will see:

Beer

Pictures of beer

Christmas decorations with a poured beer

(I guess that one is what I was getting at the whole time...)

Witty jokes and memes (at least in my own mind)

Winter Warmer Wednesday - it fits a theme, so why not keep it going?

Not necessarily my favorite style, but 'tis the season!

You won't see:

A beer I've previously reviewed

Pictures of me (you're welcome ahead of time)

Another "twas the night before beermas" poem...I used those creative juices up already

I usually share a photo of the beers to come, but I still have some spots to fill.  That being said, you'll just have to be surprised each day and keep coming back!

Cheers!

This is too fancy for me...and I don't have that kind of time, but you get the idea.  Also, these probably aren't cold either...