Beer Review: Victory Helios Ale

Serving Type: Bottle

ABV: 7.5 percent

Appearance: Helios Ale has an appearance that's close to that of honey. It's a very similar shade of gold. There's also a noticeable haze that's most likely from the yeast used in this beer. The head is a vivid white and has somewhat weak retention. It sinks back into the beer fast and doesn't leave any lacing at all. There was also a ton of small bubbles that quickly rose to the top of the glass. As I've started to notice in saison brews, the yeast used in the process helps the bubbles to travel in lines. They appear to be following each other towards the top. Aside from the weak head on top of this beer, this is a very pleasing beer to look at.

Smell: The aroma of this beer is certainly yeasty. There was quite a few more layers behind that. There was definitely an interesting hop backbone, too. I also sensed an overload of spice and/or pepper. It sort of tingled in the nostrils. It was somewhat enjoyable, but I'd rather not have it smothering the citrus notes as it was in this particular instance.

Taste: The yeast was very present in the taste as expected. The next strongest flavor on the tongue was definitely the spice and/or pepper that I noticed. That gave me that zesty sizzle on my tongue that I love to write about in brews that I'm able to try. I got a bit more citrus (which I was able to identify as both orange and lemon) in this section than I did the smell, but it was still overpowered by the pepperiness. The carbonation I noticed after the pour resonated in my mouth. This beer had an awesome texture with all of those bubbles.

Overall Rating: 

I had high hopes for this beer, but it fell just short. There were some great qualities in this one, though. I surely didn't like the weakness of the head and the overabundance of the spice/pepper, but these two things were far from ruining this beer.

Beer Review: Brooklyn Pennant Ale '55

Serving Type: Bottle

ABV: Five percent

Appearance: Pennant Ale '55 pours somewhere between a gold or an amber color. The color ended up being the most appetizing part of this. There wasn't much carbonation to be noticed. The head of the brew was cream white and began as a very thin layer of foam before fading away into oblivion. It left no lacing on the inside of the glass.

Smell: Overall, the aroma of this beer was very malty and sweet. The malt seemed to pass off a scent of slight roast. I think the extra punch of sweetness was honey, which was a nice touch.

Taste: This beer definitely earned some points with me on in this area. Everything was quite well-balanced. The sweetness of the honey and what I also noticed to be caramel hit me on the front. On the back, I got a complimentary bitter finish that evened everything out. The paleness of the brew sits on the back in the aftertaste.

Overall Rating: 

I didn't get off to a great start with this beer, but things did improve afterwards. I got some nice sweet malt and honey in the smell and I was very pleased with the balanced taste. I just wish this beer would have been able to appear a little more active to make this experience a complete one.

Beer Review: Hop City Barking Squirrel Lager

Serving Type: Draft

ABV: Five percent

Appearance: Barking Squirrel Lager looked exactly like your typical amber-colored lager. It's a deep and shiny amber with a creamy head. If you look closely at the head you'll notice thousands of tiny carbonation bubbles. Look lower and watch them dance upwards to form the head. The head had pretty weak retention and didn't leave much lacing if any at all.

Smell: There wasn't a lot that I noticed when I smelled this beer. Mainly two things which were a tad of maltiness and a strong hop aroma.

Taste: The flavor of this beer was a little more complex. The malt hit my tongue first. That provided a nice roastiness along with a small taste of nuts which was also on the darker side. There was also some sweet caramel before an above-average hop kick on the finish. Unfortunately, for my palate I wanted more of a textured mouth feel from all of that carbonation I noticed at first, but I didn't get as much as I would have liked.

Overall Rating: 

Coming from a brewery named Hop City I initially feared that this would be one of those beers that was made to distinctly prove the brewer can put more hops into his or her concoction than another. It was a good thing that the hops actually worked like they were supposed to and complimented the other features of the beer. They provided a tasty bitterness on the back. I really wish the head had more retention and potential to add some creaminess atop the caramel and roasted flavors this beer features. That would have only shown more of this brew off.

Beer Review: Lancaster Winter Warmer Ale

Serving Type: Bottle

ABV: 8.9 percent

Appearance: Lancaster's Winter Warmer pours a dark color, but not as dark as you'd expect it to be. If you look close, it's almost a really deep shade of purple.I never thought I'd actually write purple as a beer's color on this blog. I finally have. If your parents ever gave you Dimetapp medicine as a kid you know the same color I'm talking about. It had a beige and off-white head that doesn't leave much lacing. The carbonation appeared differently than in most brews. There were mini streams of bubbles that trickled upwards in lines.

Smell: The aroma of this beer was pretty complex. There was some sweet caramel ahead of some dark fruits I picked up. I couldn't really classify them until I tasted it. Given the higher ABV I assumed the booziness of this would translate heavily into the smell. Luckily it was masked. I didn't pick up any of it.

Taste: Once again, the first thing I noticed was the sweet caramel. This time I was able to decipher the dark fruits as being raisins and figs. This hit the back of the tongue. A touch of alcohol mixed with the dark fruits on the finish for a nice warming sensation. The alcohol presence wasn't overbearing at all. This is how it should be.

Overall Rating: 

This was a really above-average winter beer. I believe this is classified as an Old Ale due to the presence of darker fruits and lack of your expected spice content. The only qualm on my part was the odd color. This is most likely because of the few times I've had an Old Ale. I still would very much like to have another bottle of this beer.

Beer Review: Boulder Honey of a Saison

Serving Type: Draft/Growler

ABV: 11.5 percent

Appearance: Honey of a Saison pours a dark shade of amber. It also has hues of both orange and red throughout the body. There wasn't any carbonation bubbles present, but the head of this beer was thick and towering. There was an above-average head even on the latter pours from the growler. I expected it to be an ivory or cream color given the dark amber of the body. Surprisingly, it was almost as white as snow. It faded away after a few minutes, but leaves plenty of thick lacing.

Smell: This beer was very estery after my initial smell. There was also plenty of yeast in the aroma. What lacked was the honey. It was there, but only slightly.

Taste: The yeast and the honey mixed quite well on the tongue. There was a strong alcohol presence from that 11.5 ABV on the finish./ This beer's taste packed some heat. It had a familiar burning sensation to bourbon or rum when it goes down your throat. I tend to prefer the alcohol a little more masked in brews with a higher ABV.

Overall Rating: 

I'm still trying to learn the eccentricities of the saison/farmhouse style of beers. I mostly enjoy them. This one was a little too strong for me. Especially the boozy presence. Not only did I feel the burn in my mouth, a hefty buzz followed soon after. If you're into brews that pack a punch like this one you might like this a bit more than I did.

Beer Review: Bell's Winter White Ale

Serving Type: Bottle

ABV: Five percent

Appearance: Bell's Winter White wouldn't appear to the casual eye as a beer that comes out during the winter months. It pours a straw gold with tons of carbonation bubbles dancing towards the crown of the glass. The golden body is somewhat hazy, but this can depend on how much of the yeast you pour into your glass. I usually leave a good portion of it inside the bottle. The head is very thick after the pour and consists of thousands of tiny bubbles. It fades away quickly and surprisingly doesn't leave much lacing inside the glass.

Smell: This beer smells very zesty and citrusy. There's a good dosage of coriander and orange peel. It's the orange peel that provides you with that spiciness. There's also an aroma of wheat and yeast, as this is a wheat beer. It better be there!

Taste: I got the wheat taste on the front of the tongue. This had a subtle sweetness to it. As your swig makes its way towards the back of your tongue the yeast and spices take over. I can't say enough about the way the coriander and citrus works in this beer. The orange is tart at first, but as the sip makes its way to the ending stages there's a spiciness that takes over on the finish. Oh, and as for that carbonation? Just provides a wonderful texture which finely compliments the taste. Such a wonderful experience.

Overall Rating: 

This is probably my favorite winter seasonal beer. It in no way looks or acts like a winter ale. It's a wheat beer in almost every aspect. It has its own character and that's what makes this beer special. A good comparison to this is Troegs DreamWeaver Wheat. Bells Winter White is almost twice as spicy. DreamWeaver has more of a fruity undertone in the flavor. Both are excellent brews. I'f prefer this beer to appear a bit more full. Maybe that head can stick around longer and possibly provide more lacing? I think this beer's appearance is still open for experimentation. Maybe if you pour more of the yeast into it the head can be somewhat stronger.

Beer Review: 21st Amendment Hell or High Watermelon

Serving Type: Can

ABV: 4.9 percent

Appearance: Hell or High Watermelon pours a nice-looking straw yellow. The body has a slight haze to it, but nowhere near the cloudiness you'd expect in a wheat beer. The head had a decent thickness for the first few minutes, but disappeared about a third of the way through the drink. There was also a bit of carbonation in terms of bubbles dancing towards the top, but I really had to peer in close to notice the ones that were there.

Smell: I did pick up a few hints of yeast and citrus, which I decided was most likely lemon. We finally found the right highway exit towards wheat beer city. Unfortunately I couldn't get any scent of watermelon. Then again, I've never smelled watermelon in a beer before.

Taste: The beer is initially sweet, but with a few zesty citrus notes. The yeast and wheat content of the beer are somewhat weak in this department. The sweetness in this is most likely from the watermelon. Altogether, everything did seem somewhat weaker than I'd prefer it to be. A plus is the fact that this did have an above-average mouth feel in terms of carbonation bubbles inside the mouth.

Overall Rating:  

Overall, this beer was just different for me. I've had good experiences with 21st Amendment Brewery before and I appreciate the notion of going out on a limb with a watermelon beer (I haven't come across many of these). It was just too weak in terms of scent and flavor for me. Aside from that, this is definitely one of my favorite can/bottle labels!

Beer Review: Troegs Pale Ale

Serving Type: Bottle

ABV: 5.4 percent

Appearance: Troegs Pale Ale pours somewhere in between a gold and a copper. There's a slight haziness throughout the body which also adds some attractiveness. There weren't a lot of bubbles floating throughout to provided any evidence of carbonation which helped to cast some doubt in my mind about the beer's texture. However, the head is white and frothy and had maybe a quarter of an inch thickness. It had above-average retention as the beer was consumed.

Smell: Initially, this beer had a strong aroma of grassiness. Some floral scents were also picked up. I was really reminded of being somewhere outdoors, most likely a forest. There was also a tad of yeastiness as well as a backbone of citrus from the hops.

Taste: I was worried that the hops would takeover the taste of this beer. I was pleasantly surprised. The hop character was balanced out by the hints of caramel on the front of the tongue. This beer finishes with an aftertaste that features the crust/yeast and that subtle paleness you look for.

Overall Rating: 

The only qualms I have with this beer is the slight lack in carbonation, which limits the texture of the beer a bit, and  possibly an overuse of hops. Again, this is most likely just my preference because I'm one to always go easy with hops. Maybe a bit more caramel? Otherwise, an awesome and enjoyable drink. I'm rarely disappointed by any Troegs offering.