It has been a while since one of these
massive “omnibus” beer review posts either here or on my recently-deceased beer
blog Beer Samizdat, but I know you’ve been patiently sitting on your hands
waiting for my verdicts on the ales and lagers of April, May and June. So it’s
time to reward you for your unceasing patience. Without delay, here’s a compendium of
short-ish reviews for every new beer that passed my lips during that time
period that we haven’t already covered in separate posts on this here blog. I’ll
helpfully break them down into categories to help you further with your
purchasing decisions. You’ll undoubtedly note that the outstanding & very good ones are
front-loaded very heavily this quarter, which I guess shows more than anything
else that I selected and paid for beer based upon the good recommendations
of others, and that strategy paid off, as it shall when you take my advice and do the same with the reviews below.
Let’s start with the winners before moving on
to denigrate and mock the losers, shall we?
THE
OUTSTANDING
HAANDBRYGGERIET – “DOBBEL DRAM”: This
Norwegian brewer, whom I’ve raved about before and whom I don’t believe have
quite received their complete due in the beer dork world, had me from the
get-go when advertising this one as a “Norwegian Double IPA”. What in the world
could that be? Well, while it had absolutely zero head to speak of, bubbles
just surged up the glass in a figurative race to my gullet, and the beer itself
was tremendous. A malty, fruit-packed and mildly spiced orange IPA that
definitely didn’t taste “American” or “west coast” in any way, yet retained
many of the essential olfactory & gastronomic qualities of the classic
imperial IPA. Definitely one to bring into regular rotation, provided you have
the cash to do so (it’s pricey). 9.5/10.
RUSSIAN RIVER BREWING – “ROW 2, HILL 56”: A new
and surprising bottled beer from one of humanity’s all-time finest brewers – a “tribute
to the Simcoe hop” that is as good as Blind Pig IPA and better than Pliny The
Elder. It has a lovely pine flavor and a tingling hop bite; more of a hoppy
pale ale, I reckon, than an IPA straight-up. What’s the dif, right? Excellent
beer and hopefully not just a one-off. 9/10.
ALLAGASH BREWING – “VICTORIA ALE”: You gotta
hand it to Maine’s Allagash Brewing – I’d had this fruity Belgian pale ale
pegged as only the second “low-alcohol” brew I’d ever tasted from them, only to
find it pumped up at a big 9% ABV. It truly goes down smooth-n-easy, with herbal-ish tastes of apricot and grape. In my notes I’d totally pronounced it a “table
beer”, and I’ll stand by that as long as you’re sitting at my table. 9/10.
THE
VERY GOOD
ALMANAC BREWING – “SPRING 2012 BIERE DE MARS”: A beer made with fennel!! This delicious ale continues this San Francisco brewer’s 4-beer winning streak in a mighty way. “Biere De Mars” is very fruit-packed with a mild zest to it, and is quite different than anything else I’ve had, like, ever. It’s a farmhouse ale that tastes of figs and perhaps of honey, and is not dry and is far juicier than many of its ilk. Given its unique place among the many beers I’ve tried, not really sure what ilk that is, but I’m happy to bestow a hearty 8.5/10 upon it.
GREEN FLASH BREWING – “RAYON VERT” – Wanted to
try this one so badly that I sprang for a 4-pack, something I never do (sixers are
generally forbidden in the house as well - the better to try a new, weird and
unfamiliar beer at every turn). Rayon Vert is Green Flash in Flemish or something,
and this is a delicious, soapy Belgian pale ale which packs much more Belgium
into its 12-oz. bottle than it does pale ale. Easily could have been made by De
Proef or De Ranke or some abbey and we’d have been just as happy – nice to see
this one for sale (and affordable!) at Safeway and Whole Foods. 8.5/10.
MIKKELLER – “BEER GEEK BRUNCH WEASEL”: This is a
tribute to the transcendent and sometimes ephemeral powers of the imperial stout, attempted by many and
mastered by few. So glad my pal Geoff hung onto this for me for many months just
so we could experience it together. It’s a medium-bodied, roasty (but not
bitter) chocolate ale; not velvet-smooth by any means, but certainly not a
scorch-your-mouth firebreather either. It clocks in at about 11% alcohol but is finely engineered to taste like something closer to 8% instead. Outstanding. 8.5/10.
MARIN BREWING – “THREE FLOWERS IPA”: A
super-fresh, light-yellow, crisp and juicy IPA that I drank on draft at City Beer
Store and just loved from the word go. Not many notes taken on this one, but I remember
its terrific hop balance and how much I just hated that I had to drive home and
couldn’t drink seven more of these. 8.5/10.
DOGFISH HEAD BREWING – “MY ANTONIA”: I read
the original “My Antonia” book in college, yet I missed the original beer, a collaboration with Italy’s Birra Del
Borgo, in bottles and on draft. Looks like Dogfish is now going this one alone,
and it’s exceptionally drinkable. It’s a creamy, hoppy pilsner that earns every
letter of the word “imperial” but which is easygoing enough for the
properly-adjusted palate. It’s as good a pilsner as I’ve had since Moonlight’s
Reality Czech, and that’s pretty damn good. 8/10.
CIGAR CITY/THE BRUERY – “DOS COSTAS OESTE: LEMON-WOOD AGED”: “Two
west coasts” – get it? A wonderful collaboration beer from Florida and
California brewers who just happen to be two of the best in the business of
great beermaking. This was brewed at Cigar City as part of a barrel-aging series of four ales. It’s a deep and rich beer;
orange in color and taste; slightly sour with tastes of ginger, coriander and
orange peel. Yes, like a witbier, except this one’s got a thick mouthfeel, lots
of tang and has gone slightly off the rails in the best way possible. I’m
crying in advance because I doubt I’ll ever see it anywhere again. 8/10.
STILLWATER ARTISINAL ALES – “OF LOVE AND REGRET”: Orange IPA color but a tangy, yeasty Belgian saison through and
through. You definitely taste the yeast and even a little cinnamon once you let
the enormous head of foam calm down
and allow you to get down to business. Loads of spice in this one; like an
experimental saison with enough moxie to beat the next beer by a half point. 8/10.
SLY FOX/DE PROEF – “BROEDERLIJKE LIEFDE”:
This spicy saison sat in the beer fridge for a good 6 months waiting for
someone to split it with – heavy bottle, cork-top, you know the drill.
Imposing. Turns out it’s a very good dry Belgian saison with strong carbonation
and rip fruit flavor. Smooth on the sip, but with a sharp and hoppy aftertaste.
Expected something maybe a point or two higher – it is De Proef, after all – but no one’s gonna walk away sad after
drinking a 7.5/10.
CATHEDRAL SQUARE BREWING – “BELGIAN-STYLE ABBEY ALE” : Got this via mail order from the excellent Wine and Cheese Place. I
selected it somewhat at random in order to try some Midwest breweries I’d never
heard of; Cathedral Square are from St. Louis, and let me tell ya, they make a
pretty fetching Belgian-style abbey ale. In fact, that’s what they call it.
Pours a reddish-brown, and is toasty, smoky and fruity with medium body. Ever
had a Belgian “singel”, like Trappist Rochefort 6? This tastes like one of
those – a little lighter and easier on the gut and on next day’s brain, but
very impressive nonetheless. 7.5/10.
SIX RIVERS BREWING – “IPA”: I know this
brewer, they’re part of the Humboldt county crew up in extreme Northern
California, and now I also know that they make a strong and unique IPA that I’d
be proud to go to again. Pours a deep reddish-orange with high carbonation, and
while hoppy, has a citrus taste that actually leans more orange than grapefruit.
Very approachable and good. 7/10.
BEAR REPUBLIC BREWING – “RED ROCKET ALE”: It had been many a year since I’d
tried this imperial-ish amber ale, one of the first hoppy red beers ever poured
far as I know; figured I should give it a go again. It is a sweet one, surprisingly,
but still much grounded in the ways and means of the hop. It’s cool, smooth and
malty but with a strong bitterness that was off-putting at first. This was
tempered a bit by how much better it became as it warmed. I think this is
exactly what I rated it five years ago, a comfortable and quite solid 7/10.
THE
MARGINAL
IRON FIST BREWING – “DUBBEL FISTED”: This zesty
dubbel from the San Diego area is definitely not without its charms. It’s a
deep amber-brown ale that’s a little thin for my tastes and perhaps a bit sweet.
They say I’m supposed to be getting tastes of chocolate, caramel and plum. I
get none of any of those. OK, maybe a little caramel. Moving on. 6.5/10.
STILLWATER ARTISINAL ALES – “HOLLAND OATS” : A
Belgian amber made with Emelisse in Holland.. Super hoppy. Lots of aftertaste. That is all I can say about
this fairly unremarkable ale. 6.5/10.
OSKAR BLUES – “DEVIANT DALE’S”: Keep in mind
that I gave this normally stellar Colorado brewery’s flagship “Dale’s Pale Ale”
a savage review a couple of years ago. Was it any surprise I didn’t really care
for its “imperial” brother either? This is an 8% ABV version and is, yes, Very Hoppy. What’s deviant about it is
its marginality. It’s a fairly standard, bitter IPA with not a lot of malt
action. Definitely for hopheads, but not a smooth nor particularly enjoyable ride
for me. 6/10.
THE
WEAK
KNEE DEEP BREWING – “SIMTRA”: With all due
respect to the Sacramento-area’s Knee Deep Brewing, but this “triple IPA” is
the worst beer I’ve tasted in 2012. Intense, ugly and teeth-gnashingly gross to
its core, this is a total monster IPA but tastes like one that wasn’t
completed. No head at all and zero balance whatsoever. It really tastes like
someone grabbed it from an early-boil tank and forgot to complete the recipe.
If you want to experience what a masterpiece “triple IPA” can taste like, grab
a Moylan’s “Hopsickle” instead and stay far away from this one. 2/10.
