Beer Review: Southern Tier Hop Sun

Serving Type: Bottle

ABV: 5.1 percent

Appearance: Hop Sun has the gold and shiny appearance of a regular American lager, but with a slight haze towards the upper portions of the beer. There was a huge rush of carbonation bubbles flowing upwards. The head was a thin layer of white. I guess that it would wander off after a bit and not leave much lacing. I got quite the opposite. The head actually lingered atop the body for the majority of the drink. Overall, this has a nice summery, crisp look to it.

Smell: This emanated a lot of citrus from the hop content. It was closer to a grapefruit scent on the citrus spectrum, if there is such a thing. I guess I just invented it. The label says "one type of hop and three malts." I was surprised to have the scent dominated by hop notes and not having much malt noticeable.

Taste: I spoke too soon. I was smacked in the face with a lot of sweet malt as soon as I took my first sip. The sweetness dominated up front. As the beer glided toward the back, it translated into a bitter, yet sharp finish. The hops don't interfere with much in the taste. The rush of carbonation bubbles made for a flourish of cool textures in the mouth.

Overall Rating:

The smell of this brew confused me for a bit, but I can definitely let that slide. I don't get to bring up the textures of beer much on this blog, but this is among the best in terms of texture, bubbles etc. that I've had during my stint of writing this blog. The citrus doesn't come from lemon or orange, but from the hops. It wasn't overly dominating, but complimented the rest of the beer the way I like it.

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: All Saints Sophie's Summer Wheat

Serving Type: Draft

ABV: 4.1 percent

Appearance: Sophie's Summer Wheat pours a light shade of what can be classified as something in between a gold and an orange. There's an immediate, yet thin, white head which dissipates quickly and doesn't leave much lacing. There isn't a lot of visible carbonation. This beer appears very appetizing as it doesn't look watered-down, but looks very calm. As it is a wheat beer, It's reminiscent of the last beer I reviewed, Troegs DreamWeaver Wheat, which is also a translucent wheat.

Smell: There's plenty of wheat to go around in this beer. Next comes what I like to refer to as cobbler or pie effect in beers of this type. I also got nice hints of both peach and apricot.

Taste: The wheat and both fruits mix very well to create a very refreshing and crisp flavor. Really preferred flavors on hot and muggy days.

Overall Rating: 

I'm a big fan of fruit beers, many of which include apricot nowadays. This beer was very crisp and refreshing. An excellent choice for a hot and muggy day. The only thing that was missing was a lively and creamy head and a little carbonation in the mouthfeel.

Beer Review: Troegs DreamWeaver Wheat

Serving Type: Bottle

ABV: 4.8 percent

Appearance: Dreamweaver Wheat is a fluorescent gold with a thin white head. The head is fairly weak, but the carbonation is prevalent throughout this beer's body. Even though this is a wheat beer, it's still interesting to look at as it isn't as hazy as most of this style are. It's actually quite translucent. Really cool to gaze at.

Smell: There was a fascinating combination of aromas in this brew. Initially, I got plenty of wheat and grain. A decent amount of each banana, lemon, clove and spice came through clearly after that. Very appetizing.

Taste: The banana and lemon both combine nicely, in terms of fruit content. The wheat in this beer is the most dominating flavor of them all, but what sets this beer apart from some wheat beers is the spice. I think classifying it as something peppery does it more justice. The load of carbonation in this beer mixes perfectly with the peppery sensation in the taste.

Overall Rating: 

Not only does this beer come from one of my favorite breweries, but it's also one of my favorite wheat beers. It's look and flavor is very unique.

Beer Review: Appalachian Brewing Water Gap Wheat

Serving Type: Draft

ABV: 4.5 percent

Appearance: Water Gap Wheat is a shade of pale yellow. I'd ballpark the color a little bit below a straw yellow you see in numerous blonde brews. Water Gap Wheat is also plenty hazy. The head on the beer is very week. Once poured, it features a very thin white head which disappears quickly. It'll go away even faster if you toss a wedge of citrus in it.

Smell: This beer gives off a strong hint of lemon and citrus. I also got some small notes of wheat and grain, but the citrus scents do dominate this.

Taste: This is where is went somewhat down hill for me. The wheat, grain and citrus all mix well, but the beer in general is fairly weak. I'm hoping this beer isn't named for being watery, but that's what I took home from my experience with this beer.

Overall Rating: 

This beer had a lovely color. It also smelled very pleasant. The weakened taste and lack of carbonation lost some points in my book. It's certainly no knock on the brewer. I've had plenty of Appalachian's beers and loved them.

Lost Beers: Fat Head's Autumn Sunset

In the latter parts of 2011, an evening spent on Carson Street introduced me to one of the most intriguing brews I've ever had. It was a glass of amazing liquid that set itself far apart from other beers of its style. It was a hefeweizen, but it was far from a typical edition of the infamous hazy brew.

Autumn Sunset or "Rot Weizen" as it is to referred to at Fat Head's Saloon didn't taste nor look like your regular hefeweizen, but it made me wish every other beer of the style was made in accordance with this one.

Ironically, I'm the last person to check into this beer on Untappd.

I distinctly remember getting my witbier glass full of the lovely concoction and looking at what looked like a glass full of the Monongahela River just a few blocks away, but with some remnants of a reddish glow. The taste was amazing. It featured hints of wheat, banana and bubble gum. It was even a bit peppery on the back of the tongue, which I love in a beer.

From what I can find, this beer was only a limited-time brew. The time I came across it was one of its few times on tap. I can't find any trace of it on the Fat Head's website. It's of my opinion that one of the worst experiences a beer fan can go through is really enjoying a beer and not realize it's a limited-release until you're desperately on a mission to relocate it once more.

If anyone from Fat Head's Pittsburgh sees this, here is my plea to you to brew Autumn Sunset once more. The Lost Beer's series is young and blooming, but this is certainly the first beer that has been realized as a limited-release brew.

Yes, I'm one of only two people to check into "Autumn Sunset" as well as the last on Untappd, but there are approximately three or four different versions of the same beer from Fat Heads to select from on the app. Still figured it was comical.

Seasonal Look-Ahead: Summer Beers

Perfect for after a long day at work.

Last week, the Pittsburgh area was one of the hottest regions east of the Mississippi Rover with temperatures hanging around the upper 70's and even reaching 80 degrees at certain points. Pittsburgh even set a record for the month of March, with 11-straight days of high temperatures over 70 degrees. Coinciding with that is the early release of some of the craft beer industry's summer seasonal brews.

I'm not sure about everyone else, but I definitely could have used a few of them towards the end of some of the hotter days.

Today I want to highlight some of the summer seasonal brews I've been looking forward to along with some of my all-time favorites to consume after a long and hot day.

• Bell's Oberon Ale (MI) 5.8 percent ABV: This American Pale Wheat is arguably the the most-demanded summer beer in this region among craft beer drinkers, in my opinion. It's very fruity, but some zest balances everything out. This beer should be easy to find this week as Bell's Brewery just released it on Monday.

• Troeg's Sunshine Pils (Pa.) 4.5 percent ABV: Not for the faint of heart. Although it's one of my favorite beers to have during the hotter months, it's strength seems to deter some beer drinkers. Sunshine Pils is strong, bitter on the finish and very hoppy. My personal favorite summer seasonal.

• Sierra Nevada Summerfest (CA) 5.0 percent ABV: Summerfest is a pilsner-style lager that is hoppier than your traditional pilsner. That biscuity taste I look for in pilsners is a lot livelier in this brew.

• Harpoon Summer Beer (MA) 5.0 percent ABV: Summer Beer is a Kolsch. It's sharp in taste and is extremely lively on the head. Very spicy and tastes like citrus. A perfect beer to have while sitting out back in your personal garden.

• Southern Tier Hop Sun (NY) 5.1 percent ABV: Another Pale Wheat Ale, but Hop Sun makes a name for itself by imploring sweeter undertones. Hop Sun also features the usual citrus and zest taste you'd expect.

• Great Lakes Holy Moses White Ale (Ohio) 5.4 percent ABV: Holy Moses is a very spicy Belgian White. It's brewed with coriander and orange peel. Those ingredients might sound familiar to fans of Blue Moon Belgian White except you don't need the fruit garnish to fully enjoy this beer.

Just a few I've been lucky enough to sample over the past few summers. I'm hoping to try each of them at some point this summer and be able to share some thoughts on each that are quite a bit more in-depth. As always, I'm open for suggestions on other beers to keep an eye out for.

Beer Review: Franziskaner Weissbier

Serving Type: Draft

ABV: Five percent

Appearance: Some see orange tones in this beer, but it comes off to me as a dark straw color. The beer's body appears very hazy and wheatey. I've had this beer quite a few times and each glass I've had has featured a fluffy and foamy head.

Smell: This beer smells very wheat-like. It's also provides a pleasant scent of citrus, with lemon being the dominant aroma.

Taste: It tastes like plenty of yeast and wheat. The zest of the lemon gives you a unique kick on the front of your tongue. Breath in a little bit of the beer in as you sip it. The scent and the flavor compliment each other very well in this brew.

Overall Rating:   

I'm a big fan of weissbiers as it's one of my favorite styles. I love the mix of wheat and citrus. I just usually expect more of a citrus variety. This beer is also one of my favorite beer names. I love casually bringing up Frankziskaner in conversation just for the sake of saying it.