Brewery: Harpoon
Location: Boston, MA
Style: Pale Ale
Brewery Website
Rating: B+
In my glass today is Harpoon's Belgian Style Pale Ale. The Belgian Pale Ale is golden in color with a hint of copper. It pours with a short, off-white head, and a considerable amount of fine carbonation. The nose has a Cascade-like citrus note along with sweet malt.
The Belgian Style Pale Ale leads with a fruity hop note up front followed by a piny hops kick. The hops fade into a sweet malt note of multigrain bread. There is a hint of witbier flavor here (most notably a banana-like sweetness), but it is just a highlight in the background. The body is light-to-medium with fizzy carbonation. The Harpoon Belgian Pale Ale finished with sweet malt over fading hops undertones.
Harpoon has crafted a refreshing, unique pale ale with their Belgian Style Pale Ale. This basically drinks like an amber with a touch of witbier. This is a nice option for pale ale fans looking for something just a bit different.
Monday, February 28, 2011
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Duvel Tripel Hop
Brewery: Brouwerij Duvel Moortgat
Location: Breendonk-Puurs, Belgium
Style: IPA
Brewery Website
Rating: A+
Today we bring you something special, the Duvel Tripel Hop. Duvel is widely regarded as one of Belgium's best breweries, and the Tripel Hop is rather novel for a Belgian brewery. This beer is an infusion of a distinctly American-style hop-forward IPA with a traditional Belgian-style ale. The Tripel Hop is cloudy, honey-gold in color with a white, clumpy-foam head. The nose has fruity/citrus and spicy hops along with a background note of yeast.
On the palate there is a nice spicy (black pepper) hops note. The yeast and malt lead to some cherry and wine notes. Citrus/grapefruit hops make themselves known. The bitter hops show up eventually, but take a while to shine through the juicy malt. There is also some woodiness and a hint of sweetness. The Duvel Tripel Hop has a medium-heavy body and is on the juicy side. The finish has citrus and spice along with lingering juicy notes.
When a brewery the caliber of Duvel takes on a beer such as this, good things almost always happen. The Tripel Hop is no exception. This is a fantastic combination of IPA-meets-tripel, and Belgium-meets-US craft brew. The end result is the best of both worlds. This beer is juicy, rich and loaded with complex hops flavors and aromas. Well worth every penny, this is truly an exceptional beer.
Location: Breendonk-Puurs, Belgium
Style: IPA
Brewery Website
Rating: A+
Today we bring you something special, the Duvel Tripel Hop. Duvel is widely regarded as one of Belgium's best breweries, and the Tripel Hop is rather novel for a Belgian brewery. This beer is an infusion of a distinctly American-style hop-forward IPA with a traditional Belgian-style ale. The Tripel Hop is cloudy, honey-gold in color with a white, clumpy-foam head. The nose has fruity/citrus and spicy hops along with a background note of yeast.
On the palate there is a nice spicy (black pepper) hops note. The yeast and malt lead to some cherry and wine notes. Citrus/grapefruit hops make themselves known. The bitter hops show up eventually, but take a while to shine through the juicy malt. There is also some woodiness and a hint of sweetness. The Duvel Tripel Hop has a medium-heavy body and is on the juicy side. The finish has citrus and spice along with lingering juicy notes.
When a brewery the caliber of Duvel takes on a beer such as this, good things almost always happen. The Tripel Hop is no exception. This is a fantastic combination of IPA-meets-tripel, and Belgium-meets-US craft brew. The end result is the best of both worlds. This beer is juicy, rich and loaded with complex hops flavors and aromas. Well worth every penny, this is truly an exceptional beer.
Monday, February 21, 2011
Tröegs Troegenator Doublebock
Brewery: Tröegs Brewing Company
Location: Harrisburg, PA
Style: Double Bock
Brewery Website
Rating: A-
Up for review today is the Troegenator Double Bock from Tröegs (umlaut rule in effect - I'll give you the first one, but I'm skipping it from here on in). The Troegenator pour up a clear, deep amber-brown color. There is some fine carbonation in the glass and a short, tan-brown, frothy head. The nose is fairly light with notes of wine and wheat toast.
On the palate the first thing I notice is a light tangy note followed by a touch of sweetness. There is a nice toasty note reminiscent of lightly toasted bread. Wine and oak are notable as well. There are both bitter and floral hops notes present, but they fade well into the background. There is also a faint vanilla/marshmallow note in the background. The Troegenator is medium-heavy bodied with light syrupiness and juiciness present. The finish has lingering oak and syrup notes with a squirt of juicy tang.
Troegs has a great dopplebock on their hands with the Troegenator. The flavors are very well balanced, with no one flavor overpowering anything else. They really nailed the right amount of sweetness, which to me is one of the biggest components that sets the decent dopplebocks apart from the great ones. The Troegenator is one of the best double bocks this side of Bavaria, and is worthy of your finest Octoberfest stein.
Location: Harrisburg, PA
Style: Double Bock
Brewery Website
Rating: A-
Up for review today is the Troegenator Double Bock from Tröegs (umlaut rule in effect - I'll give you the first one, but I'm skipping it from here on in). The Troegenator pour up a clear, deep amber-brown color. There is some fine carbonation in the glass and a short, tan-brown, frothy head. The nose is fairly light with notes of wine and wheat toast.
On the palate the first thing I notice is a light tangy note followed by a touch of sweetness. There is a nice toasty note reminiscent of lightly toasted bread. Wine and oak are notable as well. There are both bitter and floral hops notes present, but they fade well into the background. There is also a faint vanilla/marshmallow note in the background. The Troegenator is medium-heavy bodied with light syrupiness and juiciness present. The finish has lingering oak and syrup notes with a squirt of juicy tang.
Troegs has a great dopplebock on their hands with the Troegenator. The flavors are very well balanced, with no one flavor overpowering anything else. They really nailed the right amount of sweetness, which to me is one of the biggest components that sets the decent dopplebocks apart from the great ones. The Troegenator is one of the best double bocks this side of Bavaria, and is worthy of your finest Octoberfest stein.
Monday, February 14, 2011
The Lost Abbey Deliverance Ale
Brewery: The Lost Abbey
Location: San Marcos, CA
Style: Strong Ale
Brewery Website
Rating: B+
In my glass today is the Lost Abbey Deliverance Ale. The Deliverance Ale is an interesting blend of the Lost Abbey's Angel's Share Strong Ale and their Serpent's Stout, aged in brandy and bourbon barrels, respectively. The Deliverance Ale pours up a short, chestnut colored head. The beer is opaque and the color of black coffee. The nose detects raisins, syrup, wood and smoke.
The flavor leads with sweet notes of vanilla bean and maple. Raisins, dark chocolate and syrup are also present on the sweet side. Oak and tannins are here, along with dark rye toast. There is also a bit of wininess as well. The Deliverance Ale is medium-bodied, and is on the lighter side for such a syrupy-tasting beer. The finish has dry woodiness with lingering vanilla and syrup.
Although it is a bit too oaky for my tastes, the Lost Abbey Deliverance Ale has some great flavor. It has just the right amount of sweetness. My main issue is that the flavor and high alcohol content want this to be a sipping beer, but the body wants to be a session beer. (At 12.5% ABV, this is in no way a sessionable beer, unless your name is Rasputin.) It could really use more syrup in the body to fill it out a bit. That concern aside, the Lost Abbey Deliverance Ale is a damn tasty brew and I will be sure to snatch some for the cellar if I can still find some around.
One other point of note on the Deliverance Ale - the cocoa, vanilla and woody notes make this a perfect pair for a dark chocolate. I paired this with the Chocovic Ocumare, which has some nice woody notes of its own.
Location: San Marcos, CA
Style: Strong Ale
Brewery Website
Rating: B+
In my glass today is the Lost Abbey Deliverance Ale. The Deliverance Ale is an interesting blend of the Lost Abbey's Angel's Share Strong Ale and their Serpent's Stout, aged in brandy and bourbon barrels, respectively. The Deliverance Ale pours up a short, chestnut colored head. The beer is opaque and the color of black coffee. The nose detects raisins, syrup, wood and smoke.
The flavor leads with sweet notes of vanilla bean and maple. Raisins, dark chocolate and syrup are also present on the sweet side. Oak and tannins are here, along with dark rye toast. There is also a bit of wininess as well. The Deliverance Ale is medium-bodied, and is on the lighter side for such a syrupy-tasting beer. The finish has dry woodiness with lingering vanilla and syrup.
Although it is a bit too oaky for my tastes, the Lost Abbey Deliverance Ale has some great flavor. It has just the right amount of sweetness. My main issue is that the flavor and high alcohol content want this to be a sipping beer, but the body wants to be a session beer. (At 12.5% ABV, this is in no way a sessionable beer, unless your name is Rasputin.) It could really use more syrup in the body to fill it out a bit. That concern aside, the Lost Abbey Deliverance Ale is a damn tasty brew and I will be sure to snatch some for the cellar if I can still find some around.
One other point of note on the Deliverance Ale - the cocoa, vanilla and woody notes make this a perfect pair for a dark chocolate. I paired this with the Chocovic Ocumare, which has some nice woody notes of its own.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Week Off
Beer! is taking the week off while our sister site, The Dark Chocolate Blog, is having a theme week of 100% cacao dark chocolates. We will return next week with some hoppy goodness. Head over and check out some of the darkest of the dark at The Dark Chocolate Blog in the meantime.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Avery Mephistopheles Stout
Brewery: Avery Brewing
Location: Boulder, CO
Style: Stout
Brewery Website
Rating: A
Today's tasting is a big, bad boy from Avery - their Mephistopheles Stout. The bottle I am sampling is from batch 5, dated 12/09 and weighing in at a gigantic 16.83% ABV. Mephistopheles is an opaque ebony color and pours with a slow-rising dark brown head that fades to a clumpy foam. The nose detects complex notes including wine, yeast, honey, raisins and wheat toast.
On the palate the Mephistopheles is off-dry, despite its somewhat syrupy mouthfeel. There is a malt note of very dark toasted rye bread and an overall heavy burnt toast characteristic. Big beer notes of honey, raisins and wine are here. There is also some espresso and a piney bitter hops note. The Avery Mephistopheles Stout has a heavy body to go with the light, clingy syrup sensation. There is also some serious warming from the potent alcohol level. The finish has lingering dark toast with some raisins and black coffee in the background.
The Mephistopheles is simply a beast. This is a complex, rich and potent stout that is quite unique. The only thing I'd change is that this is a little dryer than I'd like, but not by much. The Avery Mephistopheles Stout reminds me a lot of the Thomas Hardy's Ale. I plan on cellaring a few of these as this should only improve with age.
This was also a fantastic pairing with the Waialua Estate dark chocolate bar.
Location: Boulder, CO
Style: Stout
Brewery Website
Rating: A
Today's tasting is a big, bad boy from Avery - their Mephistopheles Stout. The bottle I am sampling is from batch 5, dated 12/09 and weighing in at a gigantic 16.83% ABV. Mephistopheles is an opaque ebony color and pours with a slow-rising dark brown head that fades to a clumpy foam. The nose detects complex notes including wine, yeast, honey, raisins and wheat toast.
On the palate the Mephistopheles is off-dry, despite its somewhat syrupy mouthfeel. There is a malt note of very dark toasted rye bread and an overall heavy burnt toast characteristic. Big beer notes of honey, raisins and wine are here. There is also some espresso and a piney bitter hops note. The Avery Mephistopheles Stout has a heavy body to go with the light, clingy syrup sensation. There is also some serious warming from the potent alcohol level. The finish has lingering dark toast with some raisins and black coffee in the background.
The Mephistopheles is simply a beast. This is a complex, rich and potent stout that is quite unique. The only thing I'd change is that this is a little dryer than I'd like, but not by much. The Avery Mephistopheles Stout reminds me a lot of the Thomas Hardy's Ale. I plan on cellaring a few of these as this should only improve with age.
This was also a fantastic pairing with the Waialua Estate dark chocolate bar.
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