Tag: Craft Beer Reviews

ESB

  • TYPE: Amber Ale (California Style)
  • BREWERY: Green Man Brewing Company
  • LOCATION: Asheville, NC
  • CONTAINER: 12 oz Can
  • COST: UKNOWN – had it at a friend’s house or $8.99 six pack of cans, etc.
  • ABV: 5.5%
  • RATING: 4 Swigs
  • REVIEWED BY: Dave

So I’m at a concert and the band is ripping, then suddenly like the sound of tires locking up in the blue smoke of melting rubber on the tarmac, the music has vaporized in the middle of a single note… It’s dead silent.  The lead grabs the mic off his stand and walks to the front of the stage and says, “Who just opened a beer?  Not just any beer, but an ESB?”  I’m near the stage with no tall people in front of me, with my ESB in hand.  The front man jumps off the stage and parts the non-tall people and reaches out with his hand.  I’m frozen in place so he snaps his fingers and I hand him the ESB.  In one smooth and fluid move he drains the ESB and I can see it in his eyes that he experienced the same sensation that I did– it’s smooth bold malty flavor from start to finish.  He wipes his mouth with the back of his wrist and hands me back an empty can. We are both holding onto it for just a little longer than I’m comfortable, then he turns and leaps back up on stage and everything starts up exactly where it left off as if that moment never occurred and only existed in my head, and I’m wondering…. maybe it only did?  Nothing seems any different; no one is paying me any attention as I look around holding an empty can.  Did I drink it all? I look back on stage and the front man it holding a note seemingly forever then catches my eye and gives me a nod.

THEIR STORY:  Do what you can.  Can what you do.  Legendary Ales.

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Weisse, Weisse, Baby

  • TYPE: Wheat
  • BREWERY: Orange Blossom Brewing Company
  • LOCATION: Lakeland, FL
  • CONTAINER: 12 oz Can
  • COST: Hard to say, I bought a 8 pack sampler for $10.99
  • ABV: 5.25%
  • RATING: 3+ Swigs
  • REVIEWED BY: Dave

Squeezed right from my juicer, the citrus is the first sense you take in and the wheat base glides along, smoothly.  My wife liked this one a lot, but for me, I needed something with a little more bite.  I think this would be great, super-chilled, in a pint glass with an orange wedge.  It grew on me over time and when I finished, I thought… why not another?

THEIR STORY:  Like buns straight out of the oven, this bad boy is as fresh as it gets Unlike its clear cousin “Kristal” or that unfiltered yeasty boy “Hefe,” we drop our yeast like it’s hot, then take the beer for a spin in a suped-up centrifuge.  Giving it a gold-plated glow and slight hazy haze.  Brewed with traditional Bavarian yeast from Weihenstephan, one sip of this heady homeboy will have you sayin’, “Word to you brewer.”

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Sandbar Sunday

  • TYPE: American Wheat Ale (Enjoy with a Key Lime Wedge)
  • BREWERY: Islamorada Beer Company
  • LOCATION: Islamorada, FL
  • CONTAINER: 12 oz Can
  • COST: UKNOWN – had it at a friend’s house or $8.99 six pack of cans, etc.
  • ABV: 4.75%
  • RATING: 3+ Swigs
  • REVIEWED BY: Dave

I found a case of this swept out to sea, but word has it they are back in business after Hurricane Irma, so follow their story on Facebook or Twitter.  It’s a great story by a great company, whose people are family and of love for their island, their state, their country, their world, this side of the planet Jupiter–I can’t vouch beyond that.

I had to look twice at the label after taking my first swig because I am not a huge fan of wheat-based beers, but this brew has a bold, smooth and expensive taste from start to finish and  pairs beautifully with freshly caught fish and fresh greens.   I could easily drink a case of this in one sitting.  I’m a fan.

Once again, a great Florida brew.

THEIR STORY:  Have you ever heard of an island in the Keys called Islamorada?  It’s referred to as tte sport fishing capital of the world with a long standing reputation of being a drinking town with a fishing problem.  Most people who visit call it paradise, but at Islamorada Beer Co. we simply call it home.  Here the outdoors are your playground.  And if you’ve ever been to Islamorada you probably know about our Legendary sandbar.  If you have yet to experience a day wading in the water with a cold beer in your hand, we invite you to join us for the time of your life.  Share your sandbar story #MYSANDBAR.

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Meyer Lemon

  • TYPE: Lager (Meyer Lemon)
  • BREWERY: Anchor Brewing
  • LOCATION: San Francisco, CA
  • CONTAINER: 12 oz Can
  • COST: Hard to say, I bought an eight-pack sampler case for $10.99
  • ABV: 4.5%
  • RATING: 4 Swigs
  • REVIEWED BY: Dave

I suggest you get a motion sensor because you will have a hard time keeping your gardeners away from this lager, with hints of Lemon– but not just any lemon– a Meyer Lemon, which is so smooth and quietly sweet.  Meyer lemons grow large, with thin skins that will turn a soft golden yellow when ripe, fooling some into thinking it’s an orange.  This beer is perfect for outside parties, not too heavy on the ABV (4.5%) and serves out a cool smooth taste getting you to want another before the first one is done.  But your favorite part is when you shift your attention to arriving guests with pained expressions on their faces as they head toward the beer cooler expecting to reach in for a why-bother-yet-another-light-beer, but then their world turns upside-down when they pull out from under the chill of ice water, a colorful can, and their expression goes from one of nausea to pure delight as they flip it open and take a swig, then reach in for another while their other elbow is still well above their head draining the first one, not coming up for air but manage to emoji a look that others instantly recognize as, “take a selfie with me… this tastes awesome!”

THEIR STORY:

From America’s first craft brewery.

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G-Mac’s

  • TYPE: Pale Ale (Celtic Style)
  • BREWERY: Golf Beer Brewing Company
  • LOCATION: Lakeland, FL
  • CONTAINER: 12 oz Can
  • COST: Hard to say, I bought a sample pack of 8 cans for $10.99
  • ABV: 5.0%
  • RATING: 3+ Swigs
  • REVIEWED BY: Dave

A a resident of Florida, I am always excited to try any beer brewed in my home state and I have been very impressed with the quality.  Look out other states, Florida is on a role.  This brew is mild and smooth from start to finish with a pop of floral hints and the kind of beer you throw into your soft cooler before heading out for a round of golf on one of Florida’s spectacular tracks with three of your bestest golf buds or budettes, preferably in your own cart, until that is, you are chased off the course by a series of marshals and starters.  The 5% ABV is just enough to evade the best of them, by driving through the maze of palmettos, down someone’s cart path and pull into the pool area and park your cart with the plethora of other carts then hang out at the pool bar like a boss and ask if they carry G-Macs’s and if they say, “Sorry, we don’t carry that”, then you reply, “No worries..I brought my own.”

THEIR STORY:

Graeme McDowell hails from Portrush, Northern Ireland and makes his living playing golf.  in 2010 he won his first Major to go with his many other professional worldwide wins.  And while golf is his life, Graeme has always been passionate about the beer he drinks, which is why he created G-Mac’s Celtic Style Pale Ale.  G-Mac’s is a crisp refreshing pale ale with a floral hop nose and a snappy finish.  Kind of like a birdie putt on the 18th green.  Enjoy!

So far there are three pro golfers involved, Graeme McDowell, Freddie Jacobson & Keegan Bradley.  I look forward to trying Freddie’s & Keegan’s brews.  Let’s see where this goes.

As of this writing, their website is not quite there yet, but this is the best splash page I have ever seen for site under construction:

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Bengali

  • TYPE: IPA
  • BREWERY: Sixpoint Brewery
  • LOCATION: Brooklyn, NY
  • CONTAINER: 12 oz Can
  • COST: $9.99
  • ABV: 6.6%
  • RATING: 5 Swigs
  • REVIEWED BY: Dave

I have had a few beers from this brewery and so far I have liked all of them.    Let’s start with the can–sophisticated, sleek, regal… It makes you want to jump up and hit a sign… any sign… taking advantage of the male gene for sign-hitting.  Right from the beginning, the florals are there followed by a blast of citrus with the hops goose-stepping through like a north Korea military parade while the 6.6% ABV creeps up on you like the dear leader himself, tapping you on the shoulder and presenting you with a stack on 1980’s dvd’s.    This is the kind of beer you bring out to impress a friend, pretending you have refrigerators full of the stuff… right next to the truffles and beluga caviar.. but a shelf up from them.. a pyramid of cans….. of sorts.

THEIR STORY:  It all started with an epic video game marathon back in 2004. Rocking blaze-orange homebrew, we saw the foam rings  down the glass like tiger stripes.  Thousands of batches and tweaks later, the BENGALI still slashes.  Tip it back and let gravity do the work.  Game on!

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Go To IPA

  • TYPE: IPA (Session)
  • BREWERY: Stone Brewing Company
  • LOCATION: Athens, GA
  • CONTAINER: 1 Pint  (16 oz) Can
  • COST: $10.99 4-pack
  • ABV: 4.8%
  • RATING: 3+ Swigs
  • REVIEWED BY: Dave

I was in a Wegmans looking for an IPA that I could make my goto beer after a strenuous day of doing nothing, so walking the isles, scanning the shelves… well… voila…. Stone Co To IPA…   From the bold colors of the can to the first sip, this was it.. my goto IPA.   Its a bold hoppy taste that strikes all the facets of a session IPA and holds on to a nice fruity finish, leaving you right back where you started… taking another sip with your elbows above your head as you drain it, then crush the can in a primal yell!  Of course, the store’s staff were not too pleased I was drinking in the isle and quickly ushered me to the checkout counter.

THEIR STORY:

Since day one, we’ve been abundantly forthright and fully transparent about our lust for hops.  It’s led us to craft many an IPA, most of them imperial–some intense for their time and all timeless in their intensity.  For Stone Go To IPA, we are embracing our hop obsession in a new way,  funneling an abundance of lupulin-borne bitterness into a session IPA delivering all the fruity piney character of a much bigger IPA.  To accomplish this,  we employed hop bursting, a technique wherein an irrational amount of hops is added during the final phase of the brewing process to coax out  extreme flavors and aromas while also imparting a burst of desirable  pleasant bitterness.   The result is an alpha-acid-rich beer that you can enjoy more of without missing out on the assertive hop character you, like us, crave.  So sit back and go two with your new every day go-to IPA and bask along with us in the glory of the almighty hop.

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Jersey Juice

  • TYPE: IPA
  • BREWERY: Flying Fish
  • LOCATION: Somerdale, NJ
  • CONTAINER: 12 oz Can
  • COST: $8.99 six-pack
  • ABV: 6%
  • RATING: 3+ Swigs
  • REVIEWEDBY: Dave

I am not sure exactly where I was handed this beer, but I think it was around 1,500 ft. I was asking the bartender about local NJ beers and was suddenly swept off my barstool into the vortex, looking the eye-wall in the eye. The smart start to this beer was quickly extinguished for me. I felt it flattened out too quickly and had a bit of a soapy finish, but still, I could drink this all night, in an airship, with stewardesses dressed in 50’s airline outfits, as I sit back in naugahyde seats, staring out the open window and overlooking the Jersey Shore. It did grow on me.  The 6% ABV was a saving grace. I didn’t dislike it, but it is not on my priority buy list.

THEIR STORY:

15 taps, cool tasting room, awesome beer garden.Thirsty yet? Come visit.

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Wet Dream

  • TYPE: Brown Ale (with coffee)
  • BREWERY: Evil Twin Brewing
  • LOCATION: Stanford, CT
  • CONTAINER: 1 pint (16 oz Can)
  • COST: $8.99 for a 4 pack
  • ABV: 6%
  • RATING: 4+ Swigs
  • REVIEWEDBY: Dave

Holding this tall can in your hand, standing in front of a fireplace, you feel privileged in your red smoking jacket with black cuffed sleeves and puma capris athletic pants and Olukai sandals buried into a lambskin rug as you tilt your head upward and laugh, because everything seems insignificant. This is that kind of beer. The rich start and seamless transition into a coffee finish resonates and amplifies everything around you. Then I was tapped on the shoulder and asked if everything was okay. I turned to see a couple I had never seen before and asked if it were they I could assist. Their answer was direct and unwavering. No…. I believe you live next door was their response, leaving me to hang out and dry on the line.

THEIR STORY:

A beautiful brown ale boosted with gourmet espresso beans providing a delightful blend of citrus and spice aroma – the result is amazing , lusty and incoherent – yes, it’s your wildest desires in a can.

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Paradise

  • TYPE: IPA (session)
  • BREWERY: Holy City Brewing
  • LOCATION: North Charleston, SC
  • CONTAINER: 12 oz Can
  • COST: UKNOWN – had it at a friend’s house
  • ABV: 4.7%
  • RATING: 3+ Swigs
  • REVIEWED BY: Dave

A friend who knows I am writing reviews on craft beers gave me one of these.  At first sip, it comes off as a great tasting IPA,.. Very floral… but then it flattens out… a little too quickly.   Very fragrant, bitter to a liking, but could use a little more after-burn. He gave me another can for the way home.  Well… not to drink on the way home.  No way was I getting pulled over by the police, that I thought was just some adolescent teen riding my bumper too closely so I made a quick right that almost ejected me out of my seat-belt, only to see in the rear-view mirror the telltale strips and insignias illuminated by the arc lights of the telephone poll that I almost hit.  And then a knock at my window and when I rolled it down with a vice-grip because the handle broke a long time ago and asked the officer–

“What seems to be the officer.. problem?’

“Out of the car, sir.”

That required another vice-grip to pull down on the handle.

“License, registration and insurance card, please.” he said, the light from his flashlight shining in my eyes.

I complied and handed him all the necessary paperwork.

“What is this ticket for doing fifty in a twenty-five mile an hour zone?” he said dangling the ticket I received a day earlier.

“Sorry,” and I gave him the insurance card.

“We’re going to take a little test, sir.” the officer said calmly.

Knowing I was already screwed and would be someone’s bitch in prison, I complied.

“Great.” I said almost unintelligible with a hick-up. “I like tests.”

“Stand away from the car and hold your arms out to the side, shoulder level.” he ordered me, a little more authority in his voice.

I raised my arms out to the side, steady as a surgeon about to cut into a cadaver.

“Please take your foot off the car door, sir,”  he noticed.

I did.  It was hard standing with both feet on the ground.  I did much better with one foot braced on the door.

“Now I want you to walk in a straight line to my car and back.

I looked to his car.  That didn’t seem so difficult.  I dropped my arms started to walk–

“Arms out to the side, sir.”

I complied.

When I returned, he asked me how I think I did.

“Good… for a person in my condition.” I replied.

He huffed a laugh under his breath.  “Look.  You live a block away.  I’m going to follow you back to your house.  Park the car.  Go inside. And stay there.”

I complied.

THEIR STORY:

We brewed Paradise to celebrate the prevention of drilling off of our home coast, and in support of the coastal conservation league.  This session IPA is a refreshing easy-drinker with a floral nose and lots of hop flavor with two of our favorites: Citra and Mosaic.  Here’s to the continued conservation of our great state of South Carolina.

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