A good night!
Silver City Firefighter Saint Florian IPA
At first sip I thought this is a decent and solid offering from Silver City. Nothing outstanding but still good. Then, it was gone before I knew it. That has to count for something. This is a very drinkable IPA that doesn’t really knock you over but it’s just a good drinkable IPA. This could be a everyday drinker.
A solid IPA.v
3.5/5
1
Speakeasy Prohibition Ale
Damn! If you like amber ales, you need to get your hands on this beer. Probably one of the best ambers I’ve ever had. Maybe the best.
It’s a big amber ale that has the typical malty sweet caramel flavor but it also gives you some hoppy goodness. A lot of ambers come off to sweet for me but this one has a nice dry roasty hop bitterness in the background. Perfect!
It kinda falls between an imperial red and a typical amber, if that makes sense?
5/5
For me, it’s the perfect amber.
Goose Island Summertime
Just started getting Goose Island in Washington a couple months ago.
I always like their Honkers Ale when visiting Chicago and Michigan so I figured I give their Summertime a try.
To me, this is a pilsner with a little hop bite. Pretty good refreshing summer beer with a ton of carbonation. I could down a few of these in no time at all.
I give it a 3/5.
Good but not great.
Stone - Enjoy by 2.15.13 IPA
So, I have never really been a big fan of Stone’s Brews except for their Arrogant Bastard and it’s various incarnations. I just don’t like their IPAs and I can’t really put my finger on it. I just get a weird and bad flavor from them. It’s clearly just me given their popularity and high ratings. Maybe it’s the yeast they use? Maybe it’s the hops? Who knows?
When the Enjoy By IPAs started coming out I thought maybe these were different. Maybe I would like them. Well, I missed the last Batch 12.12.12 (?) so I made it a point to get my hands on this one. I got to say, don’t like this one either. The bitterness in this brew just doesn’t sit right with me. I just get a bad lingering, “yucky” aftertaste with what I can only describe as an oily mouth feel.
It’s got to just be me and my taste buds because everyone has been raving about it. I can normally at least appreciate other’s reviews and findings on various brews but with this one, I just don’t get it.
So, am I the only one? Seriously, I’m not bashing it, I just don’t like it and wonder if anyone else feels the same as me.
No rating given because I think my taste buds are faulty on this one.
Black Raven’s - BeakTweaker Citrus IPA
Black Raven is one of my favorite breweries here in the Seattle area but it’s way out in Redmond so it’s a bit of a haul for me. I love their Trickster IPA and can find it fairly close by on tap from time to time. Recently, Black Raven started bottling on a limited basis and I happened to be in the area this last weekend and stopped by. Had this on tap and picked up 6 bombers for home.
This is a great easy drinking IPA at 6.5%. They call it a Citrus IPA but I don’t really find it any more so than say Pliny, Hop Crisis, AleSmith, etc. And that’s a good thing. It’s definitely got some big bold citrus flavor but also has some pretty substantial piney notes. The hops are big in flavor but the bitterness if not that intense and really handled well by the light malt. I was really expecting a huge citrus taste but was pleasantly surprised by the “mellowness”. You could really throw some of these down during a sitting.
I’m going to give it a slight nod over Trickster because it’s so smooth and easy to drink. But, Trickster is excellent as well but definitely more on the bittter side.
9/10.
A gift from my brother in law. He brought it back from Germany a few weeks ago. I bought the imported version of this with the blue can earlier this year. I wish I still had it to do a side by side. I’ll probably crack it open this weekend.
10 Barrel Brewing Co. - DUB Double IPA
Man, I really liked this DIPA. It was a great combination of orange citrus and piney hops. The hops were big and bold but not overpowering. Just smooth, smooth, smooth. I’m guessing the slightly noticeable malt has something to do with that but the malt was not that strong. It actually reminds me a bit of Pliney in it’s balance but this one is a little more hop forward IMO. Finding this was good timing on my part since Russian River just pulled out of Washington State.
This was my first 10 Barrel beer and I can’t wait to try some others. DUB is one outstanding DIPA and I will surely pick it up again.
910
Bridgeport Brewing Company - Hop Czar Imperial IPA
This is a really nice Imperial IPA that has some big piney hop bitterness up front. I get some decent citrus notes as well but the piney hops are the standout here. I’m not going to say this is my favorite Imperial IPA by any means but it’s pretyt darn good and readily available in bombers and six packs and on tap around town.
7/10
Catching up on some reviews. Been slacking lately. Been drinking new beers but have just fallen behind due to a new job, holidays, etc. Just gonna give some quick down and dirty reviews from some recent favs.
HUB’s Pig War English IPA
This was a really nice IPA. Not overly hoppy and had a nice balance of malt. Tasted was the typical citrus and pine but it was not that sweet. For those times when you want a good hoppy beer that isn’t a Hop Bomb, this is a great brew. Easy drinking and really tasty.
I’m going to rate it pretty high mainly because I appreciate a good easy drinking moderately hoppy IPA.
8/10
Sam Adams Light????
Got to admit, not half bad. This would be a great hot summer drinker.
Solely for what it is and in relation to other light beers,
10/10
Elysian’s Valhalla Red IPA
Pours more of a hazy copper color than red but……
Smell is strong grapefruit and some hops. Taste is very similar. This is not a “Big” IPA. Taste hits you with some strong grapefruit citrus flavors, mellow hops and a pretty decent amount of malt smoothness. It’s not my favorite IPA by any means but it’s pretty good for a hoppy red style ale. Even if it’s not red.
Good but not great.
6/10
Northern Brewing Company - Honey Brown Lager
I was expected a lighter colored lager when I opened up this can but the pour is a nice deep amber with some decent light tan head. The smell is sweet malt and maybe a touch of roast. But, not hops smells here. This is a malt bomb to say the least.
Taste is what you would expect from a honey lager. Big sweet honey malts. But, this one has a touch of roast in the flavor. I kinda like it. This is a really drinkable brew if you can handle the sweetness. Not the best honey lager I’ve had but not bad at all.
6/10
Lost Coast Brewery - Winterbraun
Haven’t had a lot of stuff from Lost Coast but Winterbraun is a really nice winter ale.
Pours a deep red almost brown with a nice inch thick light tan head. The smell is sweet and a little spicy. This is brew with Saaz hosp and you can pick up on the hops a bit as well. Taste has some nice hop bite up front followed by sweet and roasty chocolate. I was expecting more of a malt forward flavor but the hops are a nice touch that really balance this brew out nicely.
I liked this winter ale a lot. I think I tend to like the hoppier winter ales so far. Some (not this one) have be over the top malty this year. I find that some hop bitterness mixed with the spicy malts make the winter ales a lot more drinkable.
8.5/10
BTW, I really like the artwork on this bottle.
