Beer Review: Stoudt's Pils

Serving Type: Bottle

ABV: 5.4 percent

Appearance: This brew boasted a bright yellow color. It sort of glistened in the light with it's golden hues. Up towards the fluffy, white and bubbly head was a few layers of hazy fog. It looked as if this aspect sort of dissipated as my eyes went down to the lower portions of the glass. The bubbles in the head helped to leave some thick and ample lacing. I also noticed a few solid columns of carbonation bubbles in the middle of the body that danced slowly upwards.

Smell: I got decent portions of bread and grass aromas. That was pretty much it. In a good way it was clean and simple for the aroma department.

Taste: Despite the lower portions of the brew appearing transparent and watery, that wasn't the case once I began to drink this. On the front of my tongue I got a helping of bread and cracker flavor along with a touch of sweetness. I even got a bit of citrus, most likely lemon albeit very faint. There also was a nice hop bite on the back. Still, I must admit that it was fairly strong for my taste.

Overall Rating: 

I enjoyed this as part of the Stoudt's sampler I purchased a good while ago. I measure German Pilseners based on comparisons to Troegs Sunshine Pils. This was surprisingly close. The cracker flavor was close to the typical biscuit I enjoy in this style of beer. To some, biscuit and cracker might be considered the same taste. I don't toss them in the same basket. Maybe that's why I'm a snob? Who knows. Not on par with Sunshien, but still an enjoyable drink.

Beer Review: Boulder Mojo Risin'

Serving Type: Bottle

ABV: 10.5 percent

Appearance: Mojo Risin' looked very similar in color to its IPA brother, Boulder Mojo. It was a vivid orange. Instantly looked like an IPA, to me. It had a slight fogginess to it, but didn't appear dreadfully saturated in hop oil as some IPA's appear to me. I know I'm not Mr. IPA, but I really like a vivid orange IPA in terms of appearance. There were a few carbonation bubbles. The brightly-white head was somewhat thin, weak and eventually lead to much weaker retention.

Smell: The aroma was very peppery, initially. I expected an overload of hops, but the hop presence was a little subdued as I'd usually prefer. This was also a little citrusy.

Taste: The citrus was very pungent and was ever so present on the front. It was a combination of both orange and grapefruit. The hop presence in the taste wasn't as strong as I would have thought for a Double IPA. It was also a little weak here, but for me that's not anything bad. Not really boozy at first sip, but be ready for a little warm sensation when it goes down once the brew has a chance to get closer to room temperature.

Overall Rating: 

For a Double IPA, I actually enjoyed this. It plays quite mellow. I also enjoyed getting another citrus flavor other than grapefruit. The orange was a plus for me. That was backed by a nice piney bitterness that even a staunch Hop Nazi like me would enjoy. I wish i got a few more layers and complexity in the taste, though. Maybe some caramel or creaminess from the beer's head (which wasn't really present to begin with)?

Beer Review: Anchor Liberty Ale

Serving Type: Bottle

ABV: Six percent

Appearance: This beer was a pretty shade of orange. It was an attractive combination of orange and mango, to be more exact. There was a initial layer of vivid white foam for the brew's head. A little bit of weakness was evident by the extreme lack of lacing, but there were a few noticeable carbonation bubbles. Still, these bubbles didn't appear to provide for any decent texture later in the process. There was also the slightest of hazes in this.

Smell: The aroma of this brew was very fruity, overall. Still, it was citrusy and floral. It had an easy-going hop nose. Amazingly, my sinuses weren't destroyed! The smell of this reminded me more of a fruit beer than an IPA, which I liked.

Taste: This was very balanced. There was a hint of citrus and fruit up front before getting some hop bitterness on the middle and back portions. A tasty cracker/bread flavor accentuated the finish. A touch of paleness was the explanation point at the end of each sip. Very smooth.

Overall Rating: 

I don't want to make a pun given the name of the beer, but this is best described as what I'd call a "free IPA." It's not totally dominated by hops as many of the style are nowadays. The flavor is all there, but I'd like a little more feeling and texture to it. Not a lot of carbonation and the head was hardly present in this beer. I still enjoyed, though.

Beer Review: Lagunitas Little Sumpin' Sumpin' Ale

Serving Type: Bottle

ABV: 7.5 percent

Appearance: This brew has a deep golden color with some blonde highlights. There was a ton of rising carbonation towards the top of the glass. It was almost as if the bubbles were fighting each other for space within the concoction. That assisted the tall, thick and frothy head that was a bright white color and left very thick lacing inside the glass. Let me say again that the lacing was quite thick just to emphasize the thickness. The bubbles in both the head and the lacing were pretty big and defining.

Smell: I didn't pick up anything too exotic. Mainly just hints of a citrusy orange and a large helping of floral hop notes.

Taste: The front half of my tongue was saturated with some pleasant citrus, wheat and yeast. That combination gave me tastes of both sweet and pale. The floral hops hit me on the finish. They were quite intense and made swallowing the beer a bit of a struggle, but thankfully it didn't linger in the aftertaste. The booziness of the beer also kicked in at this point. It was a few shades above that warm feeling you get and is sometimes enjoyable. It had a slight burning sensation to it.

Overall Rating: 

This is a quality beer and it comes from a quality brewer. Apologies for not having it in the Lagunitas mason jar glass. I only came into possessing the glass some time after drinking this beer. Everything went quite well for me with this except for the harshness of the hops and the alcohol content. This seemed to be hoppier and more boozy than the Lagunitas IPA which I love. I love the label on the bottle of this, too. I'm a big history geek. So, I love that Lagunitas sometimes haspin-up style images on its labels. Ones just like those painted on fuselages of World War II bombers.

Beer Review: East End Witte

Serving Type: Draft/Growler

ABV: 4.6 percent

Appearance: East End's Witte pours a pale straw gold that's just a bit subdued. The head of the brew was an intense white color. It's hazy in the body and appears to have a thickness to it. It had some tough retention and sticky lacing as it gave way and caved inward. I looked closer and was able to notice a dabble of carbonation bubbles here and there.

Smell: This beer smelled sweet, spicy and citrusy. I also detected a hint of grassiness. There was also layers of yeast and wheat. I might be crazy, but when I smell those two ingredients I detect an appetizing sourness/tanginess in beers.

Taste: This beer had a helping of tangy citrus on the front of my tongue. On the back, it was a tad malty and yeasty. It was very crisp. Seemed excellent for spring or summer porch drinking. The finish consisted of some sweet, but sour lemongrass and a little hop kick. In my opinion, the lemongrass pulls everything together.

Overall Rating: 

The big addition for this year's East End Witte was the lemongrass. I think that ingredient tied everything else in this brew together.  I really enjoyed this one. It has delicate flavor. It's almost intricate. It's sweet, but still sour. This is definitely on the lemon witbier side as opposed to being an orange. If I could have one thing better, it'd be just a bit more presence of the lemon.

Beer Review: Founders Centennial IPA

Serving Type: Bottle

ABV: 7.2 percent

Appearance: Centennial IPA pours a solid shade of copper. It has a haziness that's cloudy enough to keep you from seeing anything on the other side of the glass. It has a massive head that had awesome retention and left tons of lacing sticking to the inside of the glass. As I continued to drink this beer the head receded somewhat, but it remained as a fluffy layer between me and the rest of the brew.

Smell: The aroma consisted mainly of floral hop notes. other underlying scents included a bit of sweet maltiness as well as citrus and pine. This is pretty much a typical IPA scent, in a good way.

Taste: First I got the sweet malts on the front of my tongue. Then came a touch of dryness from the pine and what I figured to be grapefruit. I'm always brace myself when I drink beers of this type to be blown away by the hops that are present, but I must admit my experience with this one went well. The hops weren't overbearing at all. They were pungent, but complimented the rest of the beer's flavors really well. As the brew warms, the hops to tend to become even more pungent though. Fortunately it's not quite enough to ruin the good experience you can have with this beer.

Overall Rating: 

I went into this one fearing I was going to a ton of hop notes. I was pleasantly surprised that all of the flavors played off of each other very well. The hops tend to nip at your tongue a bit as the beer gets closer to room temperature.

Beer Review: Yards Philadelphia Pale Ale

Serving Type: Bottle

ABV: 4.6 percent

Appearance: Philadelphia Pale Ale pours a golden straw color with a pretty active head. It was white and very fluffy. It was thick enough that I could actually take a finger, make an indentation in it and still not touch the beer's body. Thankfully, this wasn't a case where the head was so explosive that it takes 20 minutes just to pour the beer. This was a perfect instance. The retention was only average, but it was made up for by the layers of lacing that were left inside the glass. The golden body is somewhat clear (as you can obviously see the label of glass I poured this into), but the head presence let's you know this beer isn't watered-down.

Smell: This was very sweet and malty, but at the same time had a lovely mix of hop and citrus aromas. This was an interesting thing I noticed. You don't usually pick up citrus in pale ales.

Taste: The way this beer tasted reminded me of Troegs Sunshine Pils, but with a citrusy twist. I got the hop notes, and the pale aftertaste. The zing from the citrus and the sweet malt just go on to compliment the two traditional aspects of this style. The hop presence of this beer is also up to par with the above-average hopped Sunshine Pils. It works out perfectly. The hops compliment the finer aspects of the brew, and aren't the dominant ingredient. Overall, the taste was crisp and refreshing.

Overall Rating: 

The first sentence of the Philadelphia Pale Ale page on Yards' website says that they believe that all other beers of this style compare to this one in particular. I wholeheartedly agree. This was a fantastic drink. The fact that there was a nice floral hop presence and some citrus zest present vaults this pale ale over any other that I've had.

Beer Review: Bell's Amber Ale

Serving Type: Bottle

ABV: 5.8 percent

Appearance: Bell's Amber Ale pours exactly what the label says it's going to be! Still, it's an attractive shade of amber. Only qualm I have about the appearance is that it does appear a bit murky. It kind of resembled mud. The head was frothy and a clear white. The retention of the head wasn't the best in the world, but you'll find a decent amount of lacing.

Smell: There was plenty of action in this beer's aroma. I got plenty of malts, which consisted mainly of caramel. I also picked up bitter scents of hops and pine. I couldn't believe it, but I could have sworn I picked up the slightest hint of lemon/citrus.

Taste: Expect a rush of sweet malts on the front of your tongue. As for the back, I got an awesome bitter sensation which must have been from both the pine and the hops. I didn't notice much carbonation in the brew's appearance due to the murkiness, but it definitely translated to a textured mouth feel.

Overall Rating: 

I hold a good number of Bell's beers in high regard. I'd usually give beers with an appearance such as this one a rating of three mugs, but since Bell's pretty much always puts a quality product out there I'll give the brewery the benefit of the doubt. The aroma and taste of this brew were both pretty amazing. The pine worked well with the hop content for a crisp finish.