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Ratebeer Rating #1101 – Redhook Eisbock 28

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The “Commercial Description” for this beer reads…

Eisbock 28 is an ice processed winter warmer. This rich lager is aged for months at temperatures well below freezing and is a deep gold color and has a smooth and malty flavor with bittersweet complexities. This highly unique beer is unlike any other and to our knowledge Redhook is the only American Brewer currently brewing it. This traditional winter beer is very drinkable, even with its high alcohol content and is perfect before or after dinner.

I definitely enjoyed this one… you might want to find a friend to share this high ABV bomber with though…

Pours a pretty clear copper color with no head and almost no carbonation. Aroma is of brown sugar and caramel. Flavor is similar, but with the additional aspects of the hops. Some fruitiness present… perhaps some very mild citrus, grapes and/or apples. Definitely some dark fruit, raisins in particular. Lingering bitterness cuts a bit of the sweet. Warms as it goes down, Alcohol provides a mild burn in the yummy. I have had other eisbocks and this one has a bit more hops. Probably not to style, but I like it.

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Ratebeer Rating #1015: Weyerbacher QUAD

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The “Commercial Description” for this beer reads…

Massively big and delicious, QUAD is an elegant and dark ale. Rich with complexity and flavor, try savoring it after a long day or during a fine dinner. You also might enjoy it as an aperitif or as an accompaniment to a dessert, but QUAD stands alone quite well. We recommend enjoying QUAD in a brandy snifter or wineglass so you can drink in the aroma of this fine elixir.

I thought that is was an excellent beer….

Poured a reddish amber in color with a medium light tan head that stuck around to produce some really nice lacing on the glass. I am glad that this beer is not too cold, as that would mask some of the more subtle dried fruit (raisins and prunes with hints of grapes or apples)aromas that this beer exudes. Malty, almost a brown sugar smell is pretty strong. Flavor is fairly sweet with the malts and brown sugar being the dominant portion. Some of the fruitiness does come through. A bit of alcohol that would probably be mostly masked by a cooler temperature. A truly powerful beer… definitely a “sipper”. I like it…

See my rating at Weyerbacher Quad…

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From the HopPress: Reflections on 1000 Beers

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My latest featured article for RateBeer’s The HopPress… posted on Saturday, June 12th.

I recently reached one of those “important” milestones with my Ratebeer beer collection… my 1,000th beer rating. While I am sure that there are some Ratebeerians that would laugh at such a paltry number of ratings (the “top dog”, rating-wise, on Ratebeer is rapidly approaching 17,000 ratings!), for me the actual process of collecting these ratings is much more important than the number of ratings. Am I thrilled that I attained this milestone… absolutely, but the story and the experience of collecting that rating will always mean much more to me than the fact that it was my 1,000th. I have written before about how serious I am about collecting “experiences” along the way, rather than just simply beers.

Read more…

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From the Hop Press: Beers of Spring

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The Hop Press

My latest featured article for RateBeer’s The Hop Press… posted on Saturday, March 13th.

As spring arrives, so do the beers more appropriate to the season; a return of beers more suited to the warmer weather and a transition between the heavy/alcoholic beers of winter and the much lighter beers of summer. Traditionally these spring beers have included some of the broad category German bockbiers, but also include a number of other beers (depending upon which “expert” you choose to believe); Belgian wits and other wheat beers of various types, fruit beers, Saisons and stouts seem to round out everyone’s list.

Read more…

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Ratebeer #974: Stoudt’s Double IPA

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I really enjoyed this beer at the Three Penny Tap Room the other night… Stoudt’s Double IPA

Poured a pretty golden amber in color with a medium off-white head that produced some very nice lacing on the glass. Aroma is strong of pine resin hopiness. Flavor is also very hoppy with pine, but well muted by a fair amount of malt understructure. Alcohol not really apparent at all. Extremely well done… one of the best DIPAs that I have had.


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Pumpkin Ales – A Sign of the Season

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I have been drinking a few pumpkin ales lately… ’tis the season for harvest-type ales, of course. I am not usually one for pumpkin beers… typically the spices are just a bit too much for me, but below is a run down of three of my most recent samplings… all of my RateBeer ratings can be found at http://www.ratebeer.com/user/10669/ratings/

Clipper City Brewing Co. – Heavy Seas – “The Great Pumpkin” (ABV 8.0%, 3.2/5.0)
Bottle/22 – Pours a nice “pumpkin” amber in color with a very small whitish head that fades to almost nothing… low carbonation. Aroma is slightly sweet and almost all pumpkin spice (clove, nutmeg, cinnamon,etc.) and nothing else. Flavor is a bit more complex. Some pumpkin, spices (as noted) and a bit of harsh, unpleasant alcohol character. Slightly bitter and astringent at the end. Lingering bitterness with little else.

Shipyard Brewing Company – “Smashed Pumpkin” (ABV 9.0%, 3.6/5.0)
Draft at Great Lost Bear (Portland, ME) – Poured a coppery amber in color with almost no head and very little carbonation. Aroma is malty and sweet with the expected pumpkin pie spices. Flavor is interesting. I am not usually one for pumpkin beer, but this one was actually quite good. What made it for me was the reasonable amount of spices that were used… not overpowering at all. Plenty of malty sweetness with just enough hops to keep it from being too sweet. This one is actually a good pumpkin beer…

Weyerbacher Brewing Co. – “Imperial Pumpkin Ale” (ABV 8.0%, 3.3/5.0)
Bottle/12 – Pours a quite dark orange-amber in color with almost no head and very little carbonation. Aroma is sweet and heavy with “pumpkin” spices… cinnamon. clove, nutmeg, etc. Flavor is not nearly as sweet as I expected, but nearly overpowering with spice. Pumpkin flavor is actually apparent and lends some moderation, along with the hops that sneak in underneath, to the malty sweetness. Finish is slightly bitter and clean… except for the lingering pumpkin spices, which I seem destined to (burp!) relive for a while. Beer is pretty good, actually, but too many spices… a common complaint that I have about this type of beer.

All-in-all I enjoyed all of these beers (I usually do), but the Shipyard “Smashed Pumpkin” really stood out as my favorite. Seek it out… you will not be sorry!!

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#880 – Long Trail Imperial Porter

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One their new “Brewmaster & Limited Edition Series”. Like many quality craft brewers these days, Long Trail has created this growing collection of “premium beers” for those looking for stepped up quality . The series currently includes their “Coffee Stout”, “Double IPA” and this “Imperial Porter”. Now the details…

Pours a very dark black/brown in color with a small tan head that faded to a thin covering over the beer. Some minor lacing on the glass. Aroma is heavy with darkly roasted malts, coffee, toffee/caramel and chocolate. Flavor is a really nicely balanced mix of roasted grains, slightly bitter coffee, creamy caramel and chocolate. Thick and chewy texture. Finish is lingering, medium bitter with dark roasted malts. Alcohol not apparent. This is really good!!

Everything I would have expected from a truly “premium” beer from a quality Vermont brewer. The “Double IPA” was also excellent and I can hardly wait to find the “Coffee Stout”.

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Clipper City Heavy Seas – The Great Pumpkin Imperial Ale

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Pours a nice “pumpkin” amber in color with a very small whitish head that fades to almost nothing… low carbonation. Aroma is slightly sweet and almost all pumpkin spice (clove, nutmeg, cinnamon,etc.) and nothing else. Flavor is a bit more complex. Some pumpkin, spices ( as noted) and a bit of harsh, unpleasant alcohol character. Slightly bitter and astringent at the end. Lingering bitterness with little else.

Heavy Seas Imperial Pumpkin Ale
Heavy Seas Imperial Pumpkin Ale