Nighty Night

Buckeye Brewing

Nighty Night

Colour:

Aroma: hoppy, slightly roasted/sweet (fruity)

Head: light brown, small bubbles, small quantity

Initial Taste: sweet, fruity

Mouthfeel: smooth, medium body, (fruity sweetness develops)

Aftertaste: slightly sour/sweet aftertaste

Maple Bacon Ale

Rogue / Voodoo Donut

Maple Bacon Ale

(Specs) 6.1 ABV

Colour: 

Aroma: Slightly hoppy, very maple-y, very bacon-y

Head: 

Initial Taste: intense maple and bacon flavours,

Mouthfeel: very rich, medium body, a hoppiness develops

Aftertaste: slightly sweet, maple-y aftertaste

Verdict: I don't know how they did it, but it literally tastes like Maple Bacon Donut, combined with beer. Though the flavours are bold, I don't find it tastes like chemicals or artificial flavouring, just the real deal. Your opinion of this beer will depend entirely on your opinion of Maple, Bacon, and their combination--if you don't like either, you won't like it; if you do, then you won't be able to get enough.

That said, as with many super small-batch beers, I highly recommend checking this beer out if you have the chance. It is an experience to have and to share. Especially since you probably won't be able to finish a bottle yourself, I suggest getting a couple of friends and splitting it after dinner or something. Maybe with some donuts.

Bad Elf Winter's Ale

Ridgeway Brewing Company

Bad Elf Winter's Ale

(Specs) 6.0 ABV

Colour: golden-orange colour

Aroma: slightly roasted, carmelised malt

Head: white, medium-sized head

Initial Taste: carmelised malt, slightly sweet

Mouthfeel: fairy smooth, medium body

Aftertaste: bitter, slightly astringent

Gossamer Golden Ale

Half Acre Beer Company

Gossamer Golden Ale

(Specs) 4.2 ABV

Colour: light gold, with a hint of orange

Aroma: spicy, hoppy

Head: white, small amount

Initial Taste: spicy

Mouthfeel: medium body

Aftertaste: slightly bitter

Dortmunder Gold

Great Lakes Brewery
Dortmunder Gold

One of the great things about living in the Midwest, and specifically Ohio is the craft beer scene and at the top of that list is Great Lakes Brewery. That is not to say that everything they make is the bee's knees but they generally keep to a high standard. The other great thing is that they are everwhere, even a shitty dive with only corporate "Lite" beers, will often have a tap, which makes trying to get a decent beer, no matter where you are, a much easier task.



Colour: Golden
Head: White, almost creamy head

Inital Taste: Slightly hoppy
Mouthfeel: Incredibly smooth, medium body
Aftertaste: Slight spice aftertaste

Verdict: This is one of my favourite beers from Great Lakes. It isn't knock your socks off amazing, but I find that whenever I want a beer, this usually kits the spot, no matter the occasion. If you see if on draft or bottled and you haven't had, I highly recommend checking it out.

Delirium Noël

Brouwerij Huyghe
Delirium Noël

It seems like ever since I first went to Bruxelles (Brussels, BE) and had Delirium Cafe's signature beer, Delirium Tremens on tap, it has exploded onto the world beer scene. Almost as long I have been seeing it's Christmas-themed relative, Delirium Noël, but I have always made excuses for not buying it, but as summer time looms and I will be swamped in citrus-ey summer seasonals (my least favourite of all seasonal trends), I finally took the plunge and got a bottle.

(Specs) ABV 10%


Colour: Dark amber
Aroma: Fruity, Sweet fermented hops
Head: Creamy, very foamy

Inital Taste: Sweet hops, almost fruity
Mouthfeel: Incredibly smooth
Aftertaste: Slightly overbearing, fruit aftertaste

La Trappe Quadrupel

This was the second beer that I picked up on my trip to Bier Markt, a quadruple, or a beer that has been fermented four times. Another interesting thing about this beer is that is bears the official designation of being a trappist beer, the specifics of which can be found here, but mostly stem from being made in a trappist monastery in the Benelux area (in this case Holland).

Name: La Trappe Quadrupel
Year: 2011
ABV: 10.0%
poured from a 11.2oz bottle into a pilsner glass
(site)


Colour: A reddish gold, cloudy (due to yeast, presumably)
Aroma: Medium distinctly hoppy smell
Head: Small head with creamy, offwhite bubbles


Initial Taste: Slightly sweet fermented hop taste
Mouth-feel: Medium bodied beer, sweetness of hops grows, but is not spicy or saccharine
Aftertaste: Slightly sour fermented taste, slightly taste the alcohol*

*initially this was very overpowering but I let the beer air for a few seconds and it decreased noticeably.

Verdict: It is definitely an interesting beer and the the history is pretty cool, so if someone is buying and it's on the menu, check it out, I probably 

Oaked Arrogant Bastard Ale

As I have mentioned before (Double Bastard) I am a big fan of Stone Brewing Co. Arrogant Bastard line of ales. Their packing and marketing is fantastic, and I had never been disappointed with the witticisms on their bottles. I also really liked the original Arrogant Bastard Ale and so I feel obliged to try all of it's various iterations.

This is why I ended up in the position I am right now, drinking the Oaked Arrogant Bastard Ale, even though I am congested and have a flight that leaves in like 4 hours. I picked this up a few days ago at the awesome DnQ Mini Markt (check out my post here) but unfortunately have not had occasion to drink it yet and since I will be leaving this location for at least 6 months, I felt I would do a disservice to myself, if I didn't try it before I went.

Anyway, as it is, I am not sure how helpful this review will be—I don't particularly like it (a bit too aromatic for me) but I also have a sleep-deprivation head ache, and am super congested, so I dunno, but here is my best shot.

ABV: 7.2%

SERVE: 330ml bottle poured into a Nonic Pint Glass

COLOUR: Medium Brown, red-amber tint

AROMA: slight oak, hoppy

HEAD: Small rise, light beige

TASTE:

(initial) hoppy

(mouthfeel) spicy, bitter, nice body

(after) intense wood finish

VERDICT: get back to later, when I am in a better state to taste and think clearly.

Terrible

This self-depreciating name comes from Quebec-based brewery, Unibroue. When in Canada, I tasted another one of Unibroue's creation's, their Maudite, an amber ale, and so when I saw that, especially given it's fantastic name, i just had to try it.

On to the brass tacks, though it's name is Terrible, the beer itself is not. A bit too hoppy for me, but none the less a good beer, especially if you like your beers a bit more complex. Final decision, come for the bottle, return for the beer.

Year: 2011

ABV: 10.5%

From: Form a 750ml bottle, and poured

DRINKING NOTES:

FOAM: creamy, beige head, medium size

COLOUR: black, with a dark brown tint, opaque

SMELL: dark roasted hops, slight berry smell

TASTE:

(initial) comples, sweet roasted hops

(body) medium body

(aftertaste) slightly sweet taste

Highway 78: Scotch Ale

Highway 78 Scotch Ale is a very interesting beer. I picked it up partially because I like the minimalist aesthetic of the bottle and partially because I was bullied into in by this overly knowledgeable east European man in the Beer Stone (not liquor store; it only sells beer).

Turns out though, that this is also an incredibly special beer. It is a collaboration between Stone Brewing Company (who made this), as well as Pizza Port Carlsbad, and Green Flash Brewing Company, two other California brewers. There is tons more information on the site linked above and so I suggest checking it out, but I just think that it is pretty awesome in a world of specialization and (in many ways) isolation; some brewers would get together and produce these one off beers just in the name of the craft. My hats off to them.

Year: 2010

ABV: 8.8%

From: 12oz bottle (chilled), and poured

DRINKING NOTES:

FOAM: light tan, didn't really rise, dissipated very quickly

COLOUR: deep caramel colour with a red tint

SMELL: dark, roasted smell (with hints of dark chocolate) but still hoppy

TASTE:

(initial) dark, rich flavour of roasted hops.

(body) full body, and the hops really grows blossoms but never is overpowering

(aftertaste) very little besides the initial flavour, which lingers

Double Bastard Ale

Double Bastard Ale is a from the line of "Bastard Ales" from Stone Brewing Company out of San Diego, CA. Regardless of how their beers taste (they could be absolute shite–they're not–but they could be) and I would still recommend purchasing a bottle or too because the bottles are hilarious to read. The first one I picked up (during last summer) was the Arrogant Bastard Ale and I couldn't stop showing people the bottle because it was too funny.

Unfortunately Though I remember quite enjoying the Arrogant Bastard Ale, The Double Bastard wasn't one of my favourites, so I probably wouldn't drink it again (too aromatic)—but I would definitely give it as a gift to a friend.

Year: 2010

ABV: 11.2%

From: 22oz bottle (chilled), and poured

DRINKING NOTES:

FOAM: very light tan colour almost creamy

COLOUR: deep red (like red oak) opaque, but you can still see the glint of light from the bottom of the glass

SMELL: slightly sweet scent of hops with a slight floral bouquet

TASTE:

(initial) floral notes mixed with the bitterness of the hops plant and a hints of chocolate

(body) it has a full body and the flavour really blossoms in the mouth

(aftertaste) the floral notes linger mixed with slight acidic bitterness that grows over time

Sam Adams Old Fezziwig Ale

INFO:

Sam Adam's Old Fezziwig Ale is a seasonal brew now found only in the Sam Adams Winter Classics Variety Pack. I ended up picking up a bottle from the Winter 2010 run (I presume) over the summer while buying beer in cases to circumnavigate the high alcohol prices of New York City

Year: 2010

ABV: 5.8%

From: 12oz bottle (chilled), and poured

DRINKING NOTES:

COLOUR: deep brown colour, with a dark coppery tint

FOAM: nice thick head of foam (poured with little finesse easily an inch or two)

off white, not very lasting

SMELL: sweet yet hoppy

TASTE:

(initial) sweet slighty roasted hoppy flavour

(body) nice, smooth

(aftertaste) slightly bitter

Smithwick's Irish Ale (2010)

Recently (due to a certain marathon of Guy Ritchie films I was hosting) I found myself with an overwhelming desire for a beer from the British Isles, and so I picked up a six-pack of Smithwick's Irish Ale (an import that claimed to be Ireland's favourite beer). Now, not to be only to put too much stock into what labels say about their product, I did some quick research, and apparently, Smithwick's is Ireland's local favourite draft, at according to the Internet. It also is listed as one of the top beers in Ireland according to the McHale beer rating club of Ireland and has won a number of awards.

With all this knowledge going in, I had some pretty high expectations for the beer, but they unfortunately didn't pan out. It poured a very clear dark amber-brown colour with a very tall head of off white foam that was fairly thick and long-lasting (it nicely coated the entire inside of the glass as I polished it off). The aroma was also faintly hoppy and not unpleasantly beer-y. As for the taste, it was incredibly smooth, even within the categories of red ales, with only had a trace of bitterness to it. The alcohol precentage was nominal (4.5%) but there was no real wateriness to the beer, it drank like a beer with a solid body.

Unfortunately, that is pretty much all there is about this beer. Everything is not bad, it is an average beer in all respects and as such I found it underwhelming. Sure nothing is necessarily bad (though I did feel the taste was a bit thin) but there was also nothing special about it either, nothing really stood out.

If I was to hazard a guess as to why this beer is so popular, I would probably place the blame it on nostalgia. This is the beer that is served in the pubs of Ireland so for many, it is what the first started drinking, which for better or for worse, holds some weight. For me that first beer Heineken and even though I don't really drink it anymore, it will always have a special place in my heart for this reason.

Verdict: If you're Irish, you care about it regardless of what I say, but for everyone else, a decent, drinkable beer.

Seasonal Ale: Snow Cap Winter Warmer (2010)

The Snow Cap Winter Warmer is another seasonal brew, this time from Pyramid Breweries of Portland, OR. As the name suggests, it is a winter beer and therefore only available from October to December, the bottle that I had was from 2010.

When poured the beer had a hoppy nose and was very dark amber in colour with a light brown, almost yellow foam. Unfortunately, though the foam didn’t rise very high and dissipated quickly. As for the taste it initially was very bitter and had the roasted feel of a stout. The actual drink maintained that roasted flavour but added notes of a high cocoa percentage chocolate and dropped in bitterness to level much smoother and more in keeping with an ale. Each sip ends with sweeter feel, but unfortunately leaves a slightly unpleasant bitter aftertaste in you mouth that lingers.

All in all, at 7% it is a decent beer and tastes as full bodied as its bottle claims, but regrettably the bitter initial and aftertastes come on so strong that they make the ale feel week by comparison. Still at 1.99 a bottle, it is hard to fault a decent non-massive-corporate beer that still manages to be drinkable.

Verdict: Don’t pass it up if people are giving it out, but try it before you invest

URL: http://www.pyramidbrew.com/our-brews/snowcap