Taddy Porter - Samuel Smith Old Brewery

Samuel Smith Taddy Porter: This beer needs no fancy introduction. It is, by many accounts, the gold standard of porter beer. If you desire more than that just drink the damn thing.

ABV: 5%
Serving Type: 12oz. bottle

Appearance: Black with a burgundy glow. A fairly firm dark tan head (my picture notes an abnormally huge wad from a sloppy pour, disregard). Sits pretty nicely and leaves behind a nice lacing.

Smell: Earthy roasted malts and barley. Lots of nose. A little noticeable hop creeps out from behind the barley.

Taste: Nutty on the takeoff. Roasted mocha tones throughout. A hint of red wine earthiness. Sugary malts coat the mouth and linger.

Mouthfeel: Very pleasing on the tongue. Firm but completely unobtrusive in the mouth. A low carbonation feel. Not bubbly at all, just enough firm carbonation to help it down. Not exactly smooth, but closer to that than grainy.

Drinkability: This is a well balanced beer. As I've said before, I tend to favor slightly bigger beers. That being said, this one's not too weak to pass the mark, it's got excellent flavor, and it doesn't sit heavy in the gullet or the gut. It's a little pricey, but worth shelling out for. Apparently the only drinkability note that I deemed worth writing down was "extremely, I want another," which says pretty plainly that this beer invites one in for a full night of dinner, dancing, and home-run level action sure to leave an impression.
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Links:
Samuel Smith Old Brewery Website
Beeradvocate Page
ratebeer Page

Belhaven Scottish Ale - Belhaven Brewery

Don yer best tartan kits, because today we're heading across the pond. Belhaven brewery has bestowed upon Floridian beverage distributors a number of it's sundry sauces, direct from Scotland. It's assured that this is the first, and a safe bet that it will remain the only, brewery from East Lothian to come across my humble beer review. There are a handful of tempting brews from Belhaven, and the first I've chosen to take a crack at is their Scottish Ale.

ABV: 5.2%
Serving Type: 12oz. bottle

Appearance: Golden brown in color leaning toward the red end. Medium-thin looking body on a delicate pour. A crisp, bubbly, and surprisingly firm off-white head hangs around the glass nicely.

Smell: Very creamy malt nose with sugary sweet and caramel tones heavy. There is also noticeable grain note. Overall fairly clean, but with no bitterness or hops discernible.

Taste: Tastes almost identical to the smell. Creamy malt in the front, sweet, caramel, maybe some toffee, very light hops. No bitterness at all. Smooth but not buttery, some crisp cleanliness about the flavor.

Mouthfeel: Thicker than expected. The pour looked a little on the thin side, but it coats the mouth and hangs nicely on the palette.

Drinkability: If I were in Scotland more often I think I'd be happy to have dram upon dram (I know that term is for Scotch, but I don't have a Scotch review, so I'm going with it). As with most of the beers that have graced the review so far, it's tasty and very drinkable for the sweet-toothed kind. Weighing in at 5.2%, it's not terribly strong. I'd prefer it a bit bigger, because it seems to me like this type of flavor profile handles high ABV pretty well. Also I'm a more swerve for my coin type of guy. The price point is fairly friendly for a beer of this level, at around $10/six pack. It's definitely worth a try and I look forward to having another go at it.
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Links:
Belhaven Brewery Website
Beeradvocate Page
ratebeer Page

Red Brick Porter - Red Brick Brewing Company

I've had a rather protracted siesta from writing since I tackled the last brew review and I have a stack of beer notes piling up on my desk. A few weeks ago I decided to cut back my beer consumption to weekends only in a weak attempt to stay in shape and not become an alcoholic. If I can make myself crank out some catch up reviews I should be able to fall into a regular two or so new reviews per week. We'll see how that works...

To ease back into things I've decided to dig out the notes on yet another brew in what is easily one of my favorite styles, the Porter. This one made the short trip down from Atlanta, provided by my new good friends at the Red Brick Brewing Co. (formerly Atlanta Brewing Co.). You may know the name already from their quirky and ultra-recognizable Amber Ale, Laughing Skull. The Porter is the first beer I've tried out of Red Brick, and it was relatively blind. I hadn't heard much about them before buying this one, but their distinctly Southern sit-around-and-drink-beer-time air and "Beer from Around Here" slogan tickled my fancy just how I like it.

Appearance: Medium thick on the pour with a clear walnut brown body. A fat, sticky, two finger beige head propped istself up from a gingerly pour, and stuck around for the full dirt-lip tour.

Smell: On the first pass a pure chocolate aroma dominated. After giving it a few goes around I could pick out a bit of hops and sweet sugar cane, but it mostly smells of scandalous chocolate on top of chocolate action.

Taste: A simple and unassuming chocolate taste. Very smooooth (my notes directly indicate the smoothness factor of 4 "o"s) and a little sweet, but well balanced.

Mouthfeel: Coats the mouth nicely and hangs on the tongue just enough. Velvety smooooth feel following the taste's lead. If anything a little too thin for the taste and style.

Drinkability: Again quoting directly from my notes, "Yes!". With a little more thickness in the mouth and a sucker-punch of robustness or bitter in there I might be a fanboy. It's simple, it's got great flavor and it's very yummy for the drinker with a tiny bit of a sweet tooth. Fans of the American Porter at large should definitely give it a go. I would gladly drink this one all bbq long, and surely will at some point in time, hopefully soon.
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Links:
Red Brick Brewing Co. Website
Beeradvocate Page
ratebeer Page

Retro Red - Ft. Collins Brewery

Ft. Collins Brewery! Welcome to the blogosphere, lad. We're happy to have you here today to help us tap into the beloved red ale style. We've been looking forward to kicking this one off with a bang and we're lucky to have you here with us. What's that you say? You've got a tasty red in the back, held out for just such an occasion? Well played, boy! Let's get to it then!

Appearance: Ruby red and crystal clear, without the head I'd have thought it to be cranberry juice. Three-finger St. Augustine sand colored head that went as fast as it came and left no lacing behind.

Smell: Caramel malt, sliiiiiiight foot skunkiness (I'll disclaim that my sinus congestion may have handicapped me here).

Taste: Kind of citrusy, crisp and present hops. Sweet malt finish and lingering aftertaste. Fuller flavor than expected. Extremely well balanced.

Mouthfeel: Light body, bordering on thin. Good low amount of carbonation that met my desire nicely.

Drinkability: This one is juicy and refreshing. It's not the best red I've ever had, mostly because I'm not keen on citrus, but it's very nice. The balance is better than most reds that I've tried by keeping the malt flavor from weighing down everything else. As the brewery is re-introducing this beer in 2011 as the Red Banshee, I'm certain I'll be trying it again soon and wouldn't stray away from it on tap.
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Links:
Ft. Collins Brewery Retro Red Page
Beeradvocate Page
ratebeer Page

AmberBock - Michelob Brewing Co.

Today's review leads us into the world of American mega-brewing. With Michelob, as with the other American giants, there seems to be very little attention paid to craft. These breweries tend to focus their efforts on volume and price, leaving me with very little to expect when trying their beers. AmberBock is bottled and advertised to entice cheap beer drinkers looking to take a step up to craft brewing. The campaign has a more refined and special air than generic american lagers and ales. So does Michelob step up the beer quality along with the ad scheme? Let's go inside.

Appearance: In somewhat dim lighting it looks to be a rich brown, almost walnut. The pour is watery, with an instantly vanishing white 1/3 inch head.

Smell: There is hardly anything at all to the nose. A very generic american lager smell is there, without noticeable malt, and very un-bock like.

Taste: From the malts, the taste pulls a bit of roasty nuttiness. There is a sweetness and a tiiiiiny bit of bitter sting from either weak hops or carbonation. The most prominent feature of the taste is the lack of flavor. A distinctly weak and watery vibe.

Mouthfeel: The carbonation passes straight through and it washes down like water. Again, very un-bock in character. Not bad as a meal accompaniment/beer flavored food wash.

Drinkability: In a word, nah. I will say that Michelob has stepped up from the regular bud/coors/michelob fare. This beer has a somewhat pleasant flavor deeeeep down. On the website Michelob claims to have a balanced beer here, but unless they mean balancing amounts of actual beer and tap water I would tend to disagree. AmberBock has failed to surpass even my outrageously low expectations of it. It is absolutely not what I want from a bock beer. It's not terrible, it's just not any good. I would rather drink this than other American macro-brew varieties, but I will not seek it out or buy it at any time in my life.
*Note to Michelob: please spend more money on brewing beer and less money on marketing beer.
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Links:
Michelob.com AmberBock Page
Beeradvocate Page
ratebeer Page

Ol' Red Cease & Desist - Erie Brewing Company

Another Erie Brewing Co. flavor is my feature flavor today. The beer journal proudly welcomes the Scotch Ale, specifically a Wee Heavy for today. Erie comes at you with Ol' Red - Cease & Desist. I selected this one because I tried a taste on tap last week at Stubbies and wanted to get deeper.

*As a sidenote, for the sake of my readership I'm going to try to write my reviews with more brevity and less filler. Maybe I'll take up novel writing to get out my suppressed Hemmingway, but the b.j. will be more brief for at least a hot minute.

Appearance: Poured glistening golden amber. Thin ale-y beige head came and went in a blink, with just a tiny remainder holding on for the duration.

Smell: Light nose of mostly caramel malt and a little alcoholic sting.

Taste: Surprisingly rich creamy caramel malt flavor. Tiny bitterness hidden by mild caramely sweetness. A fairly simple flavor hangs nicely with some alcoholic warming effect from the 10.1% ABV. Somewhat dry finish for the style, leaves on a refreshing note.

Mouthfeel: Creamier than it looked on the pour. It has the thinness of an ale but sticks nicely around the palette. 

Drinkability: I rather enjoyed this one. For 10.1% Ol' Red is very smooth. It's still not a chugger, but I found myself going through it with pace. I give a thumbs up, and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys the sweetness and malty taste of a British brown ale.

**I'll try to hit this one with an update if I have another shot at the tap at Stubbies.
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Links:
Ol' Red Cease & Desist Page
Beeradvocate Page
ratebeer Page

Hooker Imperial Porter - Thomas Hooker Brewing Company

The brew of the day is Thomas Hooker Brewing Company's take on an Imperial Porter. This is another brewery that I have heard mentioned, but had never previously tried any of their products. The website clearly displays their claim as "Connecticut's Beer" which on it's face seems quite bold. But for all I know they are the only brewery operating up there (though I doubt it). I've heard good words spoken in their favor, so I'll just let the beer speak for itself.

Appearance: Dark as hell. I'm pretty sure this beer actually poured into a black hole in my glass. My 8 LED flashlight with new batteries hardly cut through the black. As compared to the previous two beers this one seemed more visibly syrupy. A nice tight mousse-like tan head appeared and continued to lace throughout the drink.

Smell: I may have been handicapped by congestion, but I could just hardly decipher any nose at all. What little I could smell had an oak and alcohol mixture more reminiscent of some dark red wines I've tried than the porters I'm used to.

Taste: The whole of this beer proved to be as dark and mysterious as it seemed on the pour. An amalgam of flavors were present, but it was hard to distinguish particulars. I tasted defined hops, more oak barrel as the smell had foreshadowed, tiny bits of roasted malts throughout, tiny bits of chocolate and coffee, and a highly unexpected slightly sweet finish.

Mouthfeel: A good mix of carbonation and medium viscosity made the feel very nice. The beer swirled nicely around and I found it poised well between heavy and light. However, the feel appeared significantly thinner than the flavor indicated.

Drinkability: I don't know what to think about this one. I can't say that I particularly enjoyed it. I had very high hopes for this dark and robust looking beer, but it fell flat. The look and palate were somewhat stout-like, but the flavors were too clouded and unbalanced for my taste and the mouthfeel left me wondering where Hooker's cojones went. I'd like to try this beer on tap or cask. My overall assessment is that this Hooker Imperial Porter is an odd brew that might be overly ambitious and it has come out too big for it's britches.
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Links:
Hooker Imperial Porter Page
Beeradvocate Page
ratebeer Page

Fallenbock - Erie Brewing Co.

Surprise, I'm back! No, I didn't give up this beer journal after only one crack at it. It'll take at least two posts to kill this aspiration.

Today's brew is privileged to be the first bock addition to the journal, as well as the first doppel, the first by Erie Brewing Co. of Erie, PA, and the first that presents my opinion differing from that of the internet beer reviewing community at large. I've read some harsh pannings of Fallenbock, but I'll say it twice over, I like this autumnal doppelbock and enjoy drinking it even deep into January.

Appearance: Rich walnut body, a little red and fully translucent when held to light.  A nice, springy tan head appeared and covered the glass well. The head stuck around for a few minutes leaving a nice lacing behind for the duration of the drink.

Smell: The nose struck me as much darker than the beer looked. Malt and nut jumped out of the glass, with a little bit of a roasted scent behind.

Taste: The taste followed the scent in perfect form, nutty and a bit malty. A very light hoppy boost balanced the flavors well. The taste was very different from my expectations of a doppelbock. Overall very smooth and light taste with a little bit of chocolate leading to a sweet finish.

Mouthfeel: After getting accustomed to drinking stouts and porters this felt more like a legit lager. It's a bit on the lean side for a doppelbock, but pleasant. A pleasant amount of carbonation helped the feel a bit as well.

Drinkability: I liked this beer chilled and a bit more once at room temperature and breathing. A good mix of slight bitterness without being hoppy and roasted malty sweetness really make for a drinkable brew. I think the problem with the beer is an identity crisis. It suffers from being called a doppelbock. With the mighty doppel people expect a flavor worthy of a title like "OPTIMATOR", "LIBERATOR" or "MAXIMATOR", something that mashes the caps lock into oblivion for you. Truly the Fallenbock is much more a very subtle, nice, dark(ish) lager beer. I wouldn't say that it's not as good as other doppelbocks, it's just different. With an open mind and an open mouth Fallenbock proves itself highly drinkable.
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Links:
Erie Brewing Co. Fallenbock Page
Beeradvocate Page
ratebeer Page

Highland Oatmeal Porter - Highland Brewing Company

For my first post-hiatus beer review I knocked back a beer I thought I'd surely enjoy, Highland Oatmeal Porter. I had never before tried anything from the Asheville, NC mountain people at Highland Brewing Company, but I've heard the name passed casually a time or two.

*For the sake of reading simplicity I'll follow beer advocate's standard A/S/T/M/D format.

Appearance: This brew poured quickly into a dark brown pool (almost black until held up to light, highlighting some chestnut hue). The head was very little, loose, not apparent, and faded immediately.

Smell: The scent was roasty, a bit nutty, and reserved for a beer that appears so dark. More chocolate nose came out with a little breathing time.

Taste: Chocolate chocolate chocolate. The flavor starts out chocolately, some malt and a tiny bit of hoppy bitterness creeps in, and the finish is chocolately all the way. The bitterness only serves to give a dark chocolate-like bite. The hop flavor sits in the back and keeps it's mouth shut. It's there if you're looking for it, but easy to miss. I got none of the distinct oatmeal or coffee flavors I was expecting, but the lack of those wasn't disappointing, just surprising. I would have preferred a tiny bit more sweetness with my chocolate, as there was hardly any there to speak of.

Mouthfeel: The oatmeal was at play here, along with the porter part of the title. Much like this brew's oatmeal stout brethren, it went down as smooth as silk (and smoother than the soymilk kind). Unlike the comparable stouts the porter is light and watery. Low carbonation and thinness make for an interesting mouthfeel for this type of flavor profile.

Drinkability: Good beer for lots of occasions. I would love to find this on tap and grab a pint, or crack open a bottle every now and again while shooting some breeze. This isn't a beer I'd drink all night, or with a meal, but it's interesting and tasty. I will certainly try this one again in the future. I'm not overly impressed with it, but I think this was a solid brew to kick off my beer index.
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Links:
Highland Brewing Company Styles Page
Beer Advocate Page
ratebeer Page

Trying Again

As a comprehensive life review blogger I failed miserably. I reviewed a handful of things over a period of months, but come the long summer days I dropped off the blogosphere and my relic of a blog fell back into the abyss. Well, after an extended hiatus I'm thinking of trying again.

I have a new goal in mind, one which many 20-somethings can relate to: beer. I don't really drink liquor, and only use wine for cooking, but I've gotten in the habit of cracking open a brew whilst playing prep chef in the evening, and I can now safely call myself a semi-regular beer drinker. I am also growing into thinking of myself as a beer snob. I won't say I'm particularly knowledgeable, but I like to try new things and have certain likes and dislikes. Given the million different types of beer available on the market and the wide variety of flavors I occasionally have trouble remembering which beers I've tried. It's a slap in the face to buy a sucky beer for the second time because of a memory lapse.

If I can keep up my blogging, I intend to keep this as a catalogue of sorts. I will take brief notes on any new beers I try (when not hammered) and write down my thoughts here. Not only will taking notes and blogging about beers help me remember beers I like and dislike, but eventually I'll have a fair database of my drinking history and most likely a sad reminder that I could put a kid through college with the money I'm spending on beer.

To kick things off I got a mixed 6 of some interesting singles from Dorn's and I intend to get things rolling while I'm frying some catfish tonight.

Cheers!