Left Hand Milk Stout ....

I am finishing off a full January of different beers (31!) with a Milk Stout from Left Hand Brewing Company.  Their web site lists ABV at 6% and IBUs at 25.  Twelve ounce bottle.

This stout poured with a brown, but very small head.  The color appears black - very dark and no light penetrating through the glass.  The most prominent note in the aroma is coffee.  Fairly full-bodied, probably on the strong side of medium, but smooth.  Some nice hops.  Slightly sweet and very little bitterness.  The aftertaste is mild and sweet.

Left Hand Brewing Company

Longmont, Colorado

www.lefthandbrewing.com

Saint Arnold Winter Stout ....

Tonight I am trying the seasonal Winter Stout from Saint Arnold Brewing Company.  A twelve ounce bottle, and their web site shows 5.6% ABV and 36 IBUs.  

The Winter Stout poured with a VERY thick head.  The head was a nice brown, but not real dark.  The beer's color is a darker brown, with a touch of red.  Although it is fairly dark, you can see some light through it when held up to the light.  I am getting primarily hops in the aroma and a slight floral note.  The flavor strength is medium, or a little milder.  There are some hops and malt, but neither is real strong.  It feels kind of 'heavy' in the mouth but the taste isn't that heavy.  Very little aftertaste and almost no bitterness.  This is a good stout for people who aren't big fans of the heavy, strong, high-alcohol stouts.

Saint Arnold Brewing Company

Houston, Texas

www.saintarnold.com

Sierra Nevada Stout ....

This evening's sampling is the Stout from Sierra Nevada Brewing Company.  It is a twelve ounce bottle and 5.8% ABV.  The Sierra Nevada web site lists 50 IBUs.

This stout poured with a small head, which was a nice shade of brown, but not a real darker brown.  The beer doesn't pass any light through when held up to the light - a very dark, blackish brown.  I get some hops in the aroma, and a hint of chocolate.  It has a nice balance of hops and malt.  Not overly strong - probably a medium in strength.  Very little aftertaste.

Sierra Nevada Brewing Company

Chico, California

www.sierranevada.com

Victory Storm King Stout ....

Keeping things rolling with some serious stouts - tonight is a Storm King Imperial Stout from Victory Brewing Company.  The twelve ounce bottle shows 9.1% ABV.

The Storm King poured with a thick, very brown head.  The color is so dark, it is hard not to call it black.  The aroma is somewhat high-alcohol, with hops, and hints of coffee and chocolate.  The flavor strength is not over the top - maybe a strong medium.  It has a nice balance of hops and malt, with a little more emphasis on hops than one might expect.  Not as 'heavy' as some other hearty stouts.  Definitely higher-alcohol, and it warms you up going down.  Slightly bitter aftertaste.

Victory Brewing Company

Downingtown, Pennsylvania

www.victorybeer.com

Boulevard Dark Truth Stout ....

Friday night, and day two of stouts is a Dark Truth Stout from Boulevard Brewing Company.  The twelve ounce bottle shows 9.7% ABV.  60 IBUs are listed on their web site.

The Dark Truth poured with a very thick, and extremely brown head.  This one is a DARK blackish brown.  Holding it up to the light doesn't let a hint of light through.  The aroma is fairly mild, with a touch of sweetness (that makes me think of licorice) and some herbal & spice notes.  With the color and thick, dark head I suspected this one would be malty, but the malt does not dominate.  The taste is strong, maybe not as strong as some other stouts, but complex.  Chocolate and fruit notes.  As you drink, it feels frothy on the tongue - a lot of mouth feel.  It finishes with a bit of smoky spice on the tongue, but there is very little bitterness to the aftertaste.

Boulevard Brewing Company

Kansas City, Missouri

www.boulevard.com

Real Ale 15th Anniversary Ale ....

After 3 weeks of IPAs, I thought I would change up a bit and sample some stouts.  So let's start things off with a Texan: Real Ale Brewing Company's 15th Anniversary Ale, a Russian Imperial Stout.  Their web site shows 9.8% ABV and 70 IBUs.  Twelve ounce bottle.

This stout poured with a medium head, which was a rich brown in color.  The color of the stout itself is a very dark blackish-brown; you can't see any light through it even if you hold the glass up to the light.  There is a nice hint of coffee to the aroma and some sharpness that you get from higher alcohol.  Flavor is on the strong side, with a lot of malt.  It definitely has the taste of a higher-alcohol beer, and some caramel-like sweetness.  It gives you a little warmth as it goes down - a good winter beer.  The aftertaste is slightly bitter.

Real Ale Brewing Company

Blanco, Texas

www.realalebrewing.com

Avery India Pale Ale ....

Day 21, three weeks of IPAs!  Tonight's brew is the India Pale Ale from Avery Brewing Company.  Another twelve ounce bottle, 6.5% ABV.  Avery's web site shows 69 IBUs.

The Avery IPA poured with very little head.  The color is golden, and it is slightly cloudy.  Aroma has some citrus and floral notes.  I am not getting much citrus in the taste, mostly hops and malt.  A touch of sweetness.  I would rate it on the strong side of medium for strength of flavor.  There is a nice bitterness to the aftertaste, and some lingering hops.  This is the type of IPA I prefer - lots of flavor, with heavy hits of hops and malt.

 

Avery Brewing Company

Boulder, Colorado

www.averybrewing.com

Bridgeport India Pale Ale ....

Tonight's beer will be the standard India Pale Ale from Bridgeport Brewing Company.  Twelve ounce bottle, 5.5% ABV.  Their web site shows 50 IBUs for this IPA.

This beer poured with a light to medium head.  It is a golden color, cloudy and with a fair amount of sediment.  The aroma is primarily of citrus.  I would give it a mild to medium on strength.  There is almost no bitterness, and the flavor is a mild mix of hops, citrus and malt.  Just a light aftertaste of "beer" - nothing prominent.  This would be a good beer for people who like milder IPAs, or perhaps a good IPA for wheat beer fans.    
 

Bridgeport Brewing Company

Portland, Oregon

www.bridgeportbrew.com

Breckenridge Lucky U IPA ....

And another IPA - a Lucky U IPA from Breckenridge Brewery.  6.2% ABV in a twelve ounce bottle.  Their web site shows 68 IBUs.

This IPA pours with a light to medium head.  Another one with a color of golden honey, with a little orange tint to darken it up.  Aroma is fairly mild, and of citrus.  I would say this is a medium in strength, maybe a little milder.  I am getting mostly malt on the taste, with a smaller amount of hops & citrus.  The aftertaste leaves you with that grapefruity citrus fading into some bitterness.  This is another IPA with a nice maltiness, and not so much of a focus on hops.

      

Breckenridge Brewery

Denver, Colorado

www.breckbrew.com

Rahr Stormcloud IPA ....

Tonight I am sampling a beer from a third Texas brewery, Rahr & Sons Brewing Company.  It is their Stormcloud IPA, which comes in a twelve ounce bottle.  Their web site lists 6% ABV and 64 IBUs.

This IPA poured with a fairly thick head.  It is a golden honey color, with a light tint of orange.  The aroma is mild, with light citrus and hops.  I would rate it a medium in strength.  It is definitely an IPA, but I don't get a lot of hops or citrus.  There is a nice malt to the taste, which fades into a malty, slightly bitter aftertaste.  If you like malt, and are not a hop-head who craves a lot of hops and citrus, this would probably be a good choice.

Rahr & Sons Brewing Company

Fort Worth, Texas

www.rahrbrewing.com

Bridgeport Hop Czar Imperial IPA ....

Tonight I am going to try a Hop Czar Imperial India Pale Ale from Bridgeport Brewing Company.  This comes in a twelve ounce bottle, listing 7.5% ABV and 87 IBUs.

Hop Czar poured with a light head.  It is a golden honey color, with some darker tints, and somewhat cloudy.  The aroma has some citrus, and floral hints.  This one is about a medium in strength of flavor. It doesn't have the higher alcohol bite of some imperials, which I guess is understandable at 7.5%.  The taste is citrus and hops, which fades pretty quickly to a medium bitter aftertaste.  There is a bit of spice on the tongue as well.

Bridgeport Brewing Company

Portland, Oregon

www.bridgeportbrew.com

Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA ....

Time for a Friday night beer.  I thought I would officially 'sample' one of my usuals - 60 Minute IPA from Dogfish Head Craft Brewed Ales.  It is 6% ABV and comes in a twelve ounce bottle.  Their web site lists IBUs at 60.

The 60 Minute poured with a light head, and is a golden color - no real darker tints to this beer at all.  Slightly cloudy.  The aroma is mostly of hops, with some citrus.  On strength of flavor, I would say this one leans more towards strong than towards medium.  The taste is heavy on hops, more so some grassy hops than citrus.  But there is some citrus as well.  A little bitterness.  Some malt, which probably tames the bitterness, but not so much as to distract from the hops.  The hops are the star.  Short, slightly bitter aftertaste.

I have to note that this is one of my regular beers, and really my main go-to beer.  I think the slightly lower alcohol and strong hops make it a very drinkable, thirst quenching beer.

  

Dogfish Head Craft Brewed Ales

Milton, Delaware

www.dogfish.com

Anderson Valley Hop Ottin' IPA ....

Another IPA - Hop Ottin' IPA from Anderson Valley Brewing Company.  7% ABV in a twelve ounce bottle.  Their web site shows 80 IBUs.

The Hop Ottin' poured with a medium head.  The color is a rich honey, or perhaps a little copperish.  The aroma is one of hops and citrus, with a touch of sweetness.  The flavor is on the strong side of medium.  There is a bit of a bite, that makes me think of grapefruit.  The grapefruity citrus sticks with you on the aftertaste.  There is some malt there that keeps the bitterness toned down. 

Anderson Valley Brewing Company

Boonville, California

www.avbc.com

Great Divide Titan IPA ....

I am finishing up the second week of IPAs with a Titan IPA from Great Divide Brewing Company.  It comes in a twelve ounce bottle and lists 7.1% ABV.

The Titan poured with a small head.  It is a golden color with a fair amount of orange tint.  There was a bit of sediment.  The aroma has some citrus, but it is a smoother citrus, not so sharp.  It has a fairly even balance of hops and malt, not standing out as overly hoppy.  It has some of the smoothness or mellowness of some higher-alcohol IPAs, even though at 7.1% it is not that high in alcohol.  I would say it is on the strong side of medium in flavor strength.  The aftertaste has some spice, and very little bitterness.

 

Great Divide Brewing Company

Denver, Colorado

www.greatdivide.com

Real Ale Lost Gold IPA ....

Tonight's IPA is a Lost Gold IPA from Real Ale Brewing Company.  This is the second Texas brewery I am sampling, the first was a Saint Arnold.  This is a year-round available beer, in a twelve ounce bottle.  ABV is listed at 6.6% on the web site, with 55 IBUs.

This one poured with a small head.  The color is golden, with maybe just a touch of red or orange.  It was slightly cloudy.  There is a definite citrus aroma, seems a bit orange-like to me.  There is citrus and hops in the taste that seem pretty even, with a fair amount of malt.  There is a little bitterness, but mostly as the taste fades into the aftertaste.  I would rate this one a healthy medium in strength of flavor.  If you like your IPAs fairly hoppy, but not overly strong, this would be a good one to try.

Real Ale Brewing Company

Blanco, Texas

www.realalebrewing.com

Squatters India Pale Ale ....

After enjoying the Hop Rising Double IPA from Squatters Brewery I tried a couple of days ago, I came across their regular IPA today and thought I would give it a try.  Twelve ounce bottle, 6.5% ABV.

The Squatters IPA poured with a very thick head and is a very nice golden honey color.  There is a medium aroma of the citrus of hops.  I would say this one is about a medium on strength of flavor, maybe just a touch milder.  There is very little bitterness.  Some hops and malt, and a very nice flavor of citrus.  I am getting almost no aftertaste, just the slightest bit of bitter and hops.  Very smooth.  Some milder IPAs that don't give you a strong hit of hops end up seeming a little 'watery', but I don't get that from this one.  Just a milder, smooth balance of malt and citrus/hops.

Squatters Brewery

Salt Lake City, Utah

www.squatters.com

Dogfish Head Squall IPA ....

Day 11 of IPAs - Squall IPA from Dogfish Head Craft Brewed Ales.  It is an unfiltered, bottle conditioned version of their 90 Minute IPA.  This comes in a 25.4 ounce bottle, listing 9% ABV.

It pours with a fairly small head.  The color is an amber honey, and somewhat cloudy.  The aroma has a sweetness that reminds me of honey, and the honey is also there in the taste.  It is very smooth, with light hops and a little bitterness.  I would rate it a medium in strength of flavor.  With the smoothness and higher alcohol content, this is reminiscent of an after dinner drink that is to be sipped slowly.  There is very little bitterness in the aftertaste, and a little spice.

Dogfish Head Craft Brewed Ales

Milton, Delaware

www.dogfish.com

Squatters Hop Rising Double IPA ....

Most people are probably aware that World Market and Central Market will sell beer by the single bottle, or in a mix-n-match six pack, but I thought I would mention it in case someone did not.  It is a little more expensive per bottle than a per six (or four) pack price.  However, it is a good way to try a beer you heard about, to sample several beers from a particular brewery or sample several beers of a particular style.  Tonight I am going to try a beer from a brewery with which I am completely unfamiliar that I picked up at World Market.  With most of the others I have sampled so far, I have either tried a beer from the brewery previously or at least knew a little about them.

Tonight's beer is a Hop Rising Double India Pale Ale from Squatters Brewery.  It's a twelve ounce bottle, which shows 9% ABV and 75 IBUs.

This IPA pours with a medium to thicker head.  It has a nice golden honey color, with maybe just a little reddish/brown shading.  The aroma is what I usually expect from a higher alcohol IPA, with some hops and citrus, and a bit of sharpness to the aroma.  There is a nice hoppiness and a little citrus, and some malt.  A bit of spiciness on the tongue.  The aftertaste is a little bitter and definitely spicy.  I usually like these higher alcohol IPAs (like Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA and Ska Decadent Imperial IPA), and this one is very nice and along those lines.

Squatters Brewery

Salt Lake City, Utah

www.squatters.com

Samuel Adams Latitude 48 IPA ....

Friday night and I am ready for a beer!  Tonight it will be a Samuel Adams Latitude 48 IPA from The Boston Beer Company.  This one is a twelve ounce bottle and 6% ABV.  Their web site lists IBUs at 60.

The Latitude 48 pours with a thick, foamy head.  The color is that of a darker honey, with a touch of red.  The aroma is fairly light and primarily of hops. The strength of flavor is somewhere in the medium range.  Some hops, bitterness and a little citrus.  Somewhat malty.  I don't get much sweetness.  The finish is a little light, or thin, but there is a nice bitter and malt aftertaste.  This beer isn't overly complex on the IPA front, but it does have more flavor than some IPAs I have tried.

The Boston Beer Company

Boston, Massachusetts 

www.samueladams.com

Saint Arnold Elissa IPA ....

Tonight's IPA is an Elissa IPA from Saint Arnold Brewing Company.  Their web site lists 60 IBUs and 6.6% ABV.  It comes in a twelve ounce bottle.  

This IPA poured with a fairly small head, and has a nice golden color.  There is a light to medium aroma, mostly of hops and citrus.  The flavor is medium in strength, with some hops and bitterness, but some maltiness as well.  The flavor fades pretty quickly at the end of each sip, and leaves a slightly bitter aftertaste but not a lot.  To me, this one is not overly strong on hops, or really high on the strength-of-flavor scale, but the malts give it a nice balance that I enjoyed.
  

Saint Arnold Brewing Company

Houston, Texas

www.saintarnold.com

Abita Jockamo IPA ....

I am finishing off the first week of IPAs with a Jockamo IPA from Abita Brewing Company.  IBUs are listed as 52 on the web site.  It is 6.5% ABV and comes in a twelve ounce bottle.

The Jockamo pours with a nice, fairly thick head.  It has a rich honey-like color when held up to the light.  The aroma has a floral/vegetal note.  To me, this is a light to medium on strength of flavor.  Light hoppiness and very little bitterness.  The floral/vegetal note from the aroma is also present in the taste - it might also be described as a spice/herbal note.  I assume it is from the hops, but I haven't really experienced that particular flavor in other IPAs, nor can I really think of a specific flavor it compares to other than a spice or herb.  There is also a bit of sweetness.  Very little aftertaste.

Abita Brewing Company

Abita Springs, Louisiana

www.abita.com

Sierra Nevada Torpedo Extra IPA ....

Tonight is another IPA - Torpedo Extra IPA from Sierra Nevada Brewing Company.  The web site lists the IBUs at 65.  It came in a twelve ounce bottle, listing a 7.2% ABV.

The Torpedo poured with a small head, and is a golden honey color - not much red or brown to the coloring.  Very light aroma.  This beer is a little heavier, and probably medium+ in strength.  There are some hops and bitterness, and a little citrus, but they seem to be cut some by maltiness.  It doesn't have the in-your-face hops of some heartier IPAs.  There is some bitter aftertaste.  This is a good beer for someone who likes a little heavier beer, but doesn't want a hops overload.

Sierra Nevada Brewing Company

Chico, California

www.sierranevada.com

Redhook Long Hammer IPA ....

Tonight's IPA is a Long Hammer IPA from Redhook Ale Brewery.  This beer shows 6.5% ABV on the twelve ounce bottle.  IBUs are 44, according to their web site.

This beer has a light golden color and pours with a medium head.  The aroma is fairly mild, with some hints of citrus.  On strength of flavor, I would rate it on the mild side of medium.  Mild hops, nice citrus and a little malt.  Very little aftertaste.  This would probably be a good beer to drink a couple of without killing the taste buds.

Redhook Ale Brewery

Woodinville, Washington
Portsmouth, New Hampshire

www.redhook.com

Victory Brewing HopDevil IPA ....

One week down, fifty-one to go.  I am going to start off the second week of a year of beer with a HopDevil India Pale Ale from Victory Brewing Company.  It comes in a twelve ounce bottle, with a 6.7% ABV.

The HopDevil poured with a low to medium head.  It has a nice golden honey color when held up to the light.  The aroma is very light, with nothing dominant.  I would say this is a medium in strength of flavor.  Light to medium hops and light bitterness, which seems a little unusual for a beer named 'HopDevil'.  Somewhat malty.  Very little aftertaste.  This is another 'smooth' IPA, not one that goes wild with the hops, but still very tasty. 
      

Victory Brewing Company

Downington, Pennsylvania

www.victorybeer.com

Ska Brewing Decadent Imperial IPA ....

It's Saturday night, so I am sampling a Decadent Imperial IPA from Ska Brewing Company.  It comes in a 22 ounce bottle and is 10% ABV.  The bottle has red wax melted over the cap and dripping down the neck of the bottle, which gives it a nice presentation when combined with the creative red label. 

This IPA poured with a medium head.  The color is that of honey, with some carbonation but no sediment, very clear.  It has a very light aroma - light hops and little sweet, perhaps like honey.  It has a nice bitterness and hoppiness, but with a higher alchohol taste and 'heaviness' that the Imperial part of the name implies.  Some caramel-like notes.  This is really a beer for sipping slowly and savoring, versus the 'fresh', crisp hoppy drinkability of lower-alchohol IPAs.  The aftertaste has some bitter and sweet.

Ska Brewing Company

Durango, Colorado

www.skabrewing.com