Beer Review: Great Lakes Burning River Pale Ale

Serving Type: Draft

ABV: Six percent

Appearance: Great Lakes Burning River pours somewhere between a light amber and a dark copper. There is a remarkable amount of bubbles trickling towards the fluffy, white head which provides its gazer with a thickness of a half-inch. The head has somewhat weak retention as it doesn't leave much lacing on the inside of the glass.

Smell: The first thing I noticed was a slight over abundance of hops. I know that American styles of pale ales tend to be hoppier than their British counterparts, but it sometimes reminds me too much of an IPA. I also picked up some citrus notes (yet another characteristic of an IPA). The maltiness that I expected was very weak in the aroma.

Taste: As I expect from a pale ale, this beer was decently malty and crisp in the taste. The problem I had was that the hops and the citrus seemed to creep back onto my tongue now and again and provided a harshness I don't get that exuberant over. Yet again I was reminded of an IPA. I prefer to pick up a few sweet, but subtle hints in a pale ale.

Overall Rating: 

I recognize that there are many people out there that have fallen in love with this beer, but I think it's just that I look for something different in pale ales. Maybe it's that I prefer more of a British style? It's even possible that pale ales in America tend to be more experimental. I'd just have to do a little more research on that topic. This beer was alright. It's just another episode of going into a beer with such high expectations.

Beer Review: Rivertowne Pumpkin Spice (2012)

Serving Type: Draft

ABV: Five percent

Appearance: Rivertowne's Pumpkin Spice pours a vivid shade of orange with some fogginess throughout the body. Yes, it's foggy/hazy, but not in that bad way that resembles one of our rivers. If the beer was a bit darker, we are venturing into that territory. It's head is extremely thick with awesome retention, but doesn't leave a lot of lacing inside the glass at all. I couldn't find out for sure, but if I had to wager anything I'd say this was definitely a nitro draft.

Smell: The three big ingredients you like to see in pumpkin-related desserts this time of the year are all in the aroma of this brew. I got plenty of cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg. Although it was a little tough to discern the brown sugar on the rim of the glass, this beer gives off a few hints of sweetness.

Taste: This is where this beer hits home. It tasted fantastic. There's a ton of pumpkin on the front of the tongue and the spiciness of the beer is perfect. They're not weak nor are they sizzling on your tongue. But the cinnamon is the most noticeable of the three. The thick, white head adds a subtle creaminess that tops this fantastic beverage off.

Overall Rating: 

I'm not quite ready to put this beer above Southern Tier's Pumking, but it's definitely up there. I absolutely loved the combination of sweetness, spice and pumpkin. I'm saddened by the fact I couldn't make it out to Rivertowne's Pourhouse more often to try this a few more times.

Beer Review: Southern Tier Creme Brulee

Serving Type: Draft

ABV: 9.6 percent

Appearance: Southern Tier Creme Brulee pours a thick black. Just straight black. I couldn't pick up any other highlights such as a brown or red within the body. It looks like something you can chew. It's head provides an inch thickness, is more fizzy than thick and is an attractive shade of beige.

Smell: This beer smelled like some sort of an epic dessert. Good thing I had it after my meal. Vanilla is the most dominant aroma. Caramel and chocolate hints followed that up. Overall, the three aromas are extremely sweet.

Taste: Amazingly sweet. I can do sweet, but not too much of it. This has a ton. As it warms, it just becomes too much for me. That doesn't mean it's the beer. I'm like that with anything. Otherwise, the vanilla and chocolate are prominent on the front. There's also something roasty about this brew's flavor. I'm not entirely sure if it was a dark chocolate or coffee taste that was hidden somewhere in there. The darkness in flavor is almost a welcoming feeling. You're not completely consumed in sugary sweetness.

Overall Rating: 

This is a really complex beer. If you can handle the sweetness, I suggest you try it. If you've got a sweet tooth this could be right up your alley. Milk Stouts are definitely something I'm looking into exploring a bit more.

Beer Review: Smuttynose Pumpkin Ale (2012)

Serving Type: Bottle

ABV: 5.8 percent

Appearance: Smuttynose Pumpkin Ale pours a deep gold with a vivid orange hue. The head of the brew is white and fizzy, but fades away quickly. It does leave an extremely thin layer atop the beer for the remainder of the drink, though. There are visible amounts of carbonation in this beer, but I prefer a little bit more. If you follow my posts, you know that this year's batch is a completely different one than last year's!

Smell: The spices are dominant in this brew. Nutmeg and cinnamon are the most noticeable. There's also a sugary sweetness you get before taking in the pumpkin aromas. Overall, it smells like pumpkin pie, which hits the mark for most pumpkin ales.

Taste: When I first opened a bottle of this I noticed it looked different. It went even farther south for me when I tasted it. The spices were way too strong. The cinnamon and nutmeg almost start sizzling on your tongue. There's a tad of pumpkin up front that teases you, but fades away quickly leaving you to bout with just the strong spices. A nice bit of mouthfeel from the carbonation is just about the only plus in terms of flavor.

Overall Rating: 

This batch is completely different than last year's Last year, it was much darker and the pumpkin was much more prevalent. After each sip you could taste the roof of your mouth and taste pumpkin. Now, it's just overly spiced.

Beer Review: Rock Bottom Pumpkelweizen

Serving Type: Draft

ABV: N/A

Appearance: Rock Bottom Pumpkelweizen is a dark and hazy shade of brown. Some reddish highlights help to add different hues throughout the body. If comes off as very thick. Almost opaque. It slightly reminds me of a Pittsburgh river, but that's my only small complaint. The beer's crown features an extremely thick and frothy head. I noticed some intense lacing, which was also very thick and had strong retention. It really sticks to the glass as the beer slowly travels downward.

Smell: Initially, I got plenty of spices and pumpkin. As for the spices, cinnamon and cloves were really dominant. I also picked up a wheat and grain aroma in front of a few darker fruits which I couldn't exactly distinguish.

Taste: The tanginess of the spices and a slight sourness from the wheat create an exotic taste. This beer features a taste I haven't come across before. The pumpkin tosses in a good aftertaste after each sip. The head of the beer is thick and powerful enough that you get a slight touch of creaminess atop all of the other flavors. Exotic, yet exceptional taste.

Overall Rating: 

This is a really interesting beer. I went out of my way to stop and try it. I was very pleased with it, to say the least. The spices go well with the wheat that's in the beer.

Beer Review: Yuengling Oktoberfest

Serving Type: Bottle

ABV: 5.4 percent

Appearance: Yuengling Oktoberfest pours a deep amber, which isn't typical of most Oktoberfests I've had the past few years. It reminds me of the amber color that Yuengling Traditional Lager has. It also features the bubbly white head we love with Yuengling's flagship beer. Already, we can see homage paid to one of the great beers of Pennsylvania. The only qualm I have is that you can somewhat see through the beer (If you look closely I have this in a Coors Light pint glass (Apologies, but it was a long day prior to drinking this) I prefer a darker color in this style.

Smell: This beer's aroma consisted of strong roasted grain. This is something I've come to adore in the Traditional Lager as well. Notes of sweet caramel dance in your nostrils too.

Taste: The caramel is sweet and spicy on the front of the tongue. The strong roasted grain helps out with a smooth finish. The grain taste is very similar to the Traditional Lager taste when it's consumed from the bottle. It's very close to a strong roast in a cup of coffee. It's slight, but you notice that it's there. (Yuengling on draft tastes different to me). I didn't get a good amount of hop character on the back of the tongue when drinking this one. The flavor was just a tad weaker than I prefer.

Overall Rating: 

Overall, not a bad beer. I'm happy I have a case of this. I love that Yuengling decided to brew an Oktoberfest. Looked everywhere for it last year in pubs, but couldn't get a drop. I like that this beer is similar to the flagship, but would have preferred it set itself apart. The flavors need to come together a little bit more.

Beer Review: Great Lakes Oktoberfest

Serving Type: Bottle

ABV: 6.5 percent

Appearance: Great Lakes Oktoberfest is very unlike your typical Oktoberfest in terms of color. It pours a vivid orange with some darker copper highlights. The head is an off-white, almost an ivory in color that leaves plenty of lacing within the glass. The texture of the beer is evident with the fancy little carbonation bubbles that dance up the glass towards the head of the brew.

Smell: I got a ton of sweeter notes from this beer. When it comes to Oktoberfests I've had I've usually noticed stronger hop aromas with the sweeter characteristics taking a backseat. This one has it the other way around. The caramel and toffee notes are dominant in the aroma. Very pleasant.

Taste: Just like the smell, the caramel and toffee have a magnificently sweet flavor. In my opinion, what makes a great Oktoberfest is good use of both sweetness up front and hop bitterness on the finish. This is an Oktoberfest that certainly takes the cake in that department. The hop bitterness is more of a biscuity taste you get from pilsners rather than a hop bitterness. These two flavors combine nicely.

Overall Rating: 

I absolutely enjoyed this beer. I feel that the best Oktoberfest that's reachable in this area is Penn's Oktoberfest. If there was a good one to fall back on, it's this one. Penn's has the hop bitterness more prevalent with the sweeter notes lessened. Great Lakes has it the other way around. Both ways are very delicious. Both go well with bratwurst and pretzels!

Beer Review: Thomas Jefferson's Tavern Ale

Serving Type: Bottle

ABV: Eight percent

Appearance: Thomas Jefferson's Tavern Ale pours a light copper and honey brown with a fair amount of orange hue elsewhere in the body. It also features a white head that's heavy at first, but settles down and leaves an appetizing and thin layer of foam. There's also plenty of ample lacing as you consume this brew. Altogether, this beer has a thick appearance to it and that's with the body being a lighter shade of copper/brown.

Smell: Initially, this beer smells very dark and toasty. I got a lot of caramel malt and toffee. In essence, it smells like this beer would be farther into dark spectrum given the strong notes I was taking in.

Taste: It's very strong on the front. The harshness was mostly due to the bitterness of the toffee and the strong hop character this beer had. The aftertaste is definitely pleasant, though. There's a subtle, yet sweet honey taste on the finish.

Overall Rating: 

Tavern Ale is very appetizing in terms of look and aroma. I just wasn't expecting the harshness in the taste. Just a little bit too strong in the toffee and hops department for my preferences. Still, this is an excellent beer choice for a history buff.