Beer Review: Southern Tier Live

Serving Type: Bottle

ABV: 5.5 percent

Appearance: This brew boasted a vivid golden color once I poured it. A thin layer of fluffy head appeared almost immediately. It was white and I noticed some hay-colored hues as well. I also picked out some beady trails of carbonation bubbles that look like a small school of fish as well as a hazy body. Both say that there is a hefty amount of yeast and sediment present in the beer. Not really a shocker as it says "bottle conditioned ale" right on the label.

Smell: This was quite fruity and estery. Credit should have gone to the yeast for that. There was also a mild floral hop nose.

Taste: The yeast once again came to the forefront. The fruity and estery profile hit me not long after that. The fruity flavor seemed to resemble some lemon that tasted moreso sweet than sour. Definitely a plus. It transitioned to a malty and peppery flavor towards the back of my tongue. I seemed to gather that the peppery flavors were both coriander and allspice.  The finish was light, brisk with a minimal hop bite.

Overall Rating: 

I had a beer quite similar to this in Indigo Imp Blonde Bombshell a good while ago that was also a bottle conditioned brew. Similar colors and fruity and estery profiles. This one had a few more layers of taste in the flavor department, though. The fruit and spices were clearly differentiated and everything seemed to play off of each other amazingly.

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: 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: Victory Prima Pils

Serving Type: Bottle

ABV: 5.3 percent

Appearance: Prima Pils certainly has the color of a pilsner. It's straw gold and has a thin layer of bubbly head to top it off. The head will leave a little bit of lacing inside the glass, but you have to look close to spot it. The body of the beer is really hazy. I'd bet any money that this pilsner is a touch hazier than some witbiers out there. The haze instilled fear in me that this is one of those brews that's overly-saturated in hops.

Smell: Overall, this brew smells very dry. It's very yeasty, bready and grassy. Any hop presence that's in the aroma is very subtle and comforting.

Taste: My fear was somewhat proved true once I was able to taste this beer. There was a flow of hops all of the way across the tongue. The yeast that was in the beer mixed well on the front, though. The biscuit taste that provides that characteristic bitterness we look for in pilsners was present on the finish. So, that was definitely a plus. This beer still tastes very crisp.

Overall Rating: 

If you're one of those that enjoy more hops present in beer then you will probably enjoy this one more than I did. For me, a great pilsner is all about that biscuit taste on the finish. I feel that hops should only be a compliment and not a focus. That's just my opinion. Whether you like this beer depends on your ability to tangle with its bite because it definitely has some.

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!

Rogue Beard Brew Set for 2013

Remember that beer that was supposed to have yeast from a Rogue Ales brewer's beard in it? Well, that beer that sent ripples across the craft beer world a few months ago finally has a release date associated with it (as far as I can remember there wasn't a date attached previously.

It's not much more than a ballpark figure, but you can expect this beer at some point in 2013. Which month exactly? Well, I can't find anything just yet.

I'm still not sure as to how excited I am for this beer. I mean it's yeast from someone's beard. That's not entirely appetizing for me. still, we've seen many weird things put into new beers. I just sent a link on my Twitter feed about a brewery putting old pages of Moby Dick into a new concoction. Obviously, the possibilities are endless.