Merry Beermas, Pt. 3

Hello all, and welcome back to the third night of Beermas. How long is this going to run? How many beers will I review this week? I have no idea, I'm making this up as I go. Anyway, tonight's selection is yet another from the Sam Adams Holiday sampler pack: The ever so flavorful Holiday Porter. A whiff off the bottle top gives the drinker a strong smell of caramel and Bavarian Hops (medium), which perfectly mirrors it's initial tastes. A bit of a dry finish accompanies the drink, leaving once again the "I want a bit more" feeling. @ 5.8% ABV, this isn't going to get you extremely drunk all on its own, but is a wee bit stronger than my average taster.

The head on this porter is probably one of the nicer things about it; that's something to note, as it's not often a defining feature. For a simply devine aroma, a sweet-to-bitter dryness, and a nice warming quality often present in much stronger beverages, this Samuel Adam's Christmas creation deserves as 9/10.

Until Tomorrow and Hoppy holidays,
Devo

Merry Beermas, pt. 2

Howdy folks! Welcome to night 2 of the Merry Beermas celebration. Tonight's Sam Adams' selection is known as the Chocolate Bock. With an aroma emphasizing chocolate and coffee beans, you would think this would be the perfect dessert accompaniment to any holiday meal. Well, it certainly goes down smooth, and the variety of tastes don't hurt much either. Popping the bottle, the drinker is treated to a light chocolate smell (such as the label suggests), with a hint of caramel. The initial taste is also Cocoa sweet, with a light coffee bean flavor to go with.

There's a finish that's a bit nutty here. It's overall not too bad, but I wish there were more emphasized flavors than what the Chocolate Bock has to work with. I'd say through all, it still deserves a 6.5/10.

See you all tomorrow, and hoppy holidays!

-Devo

Merry Beermas, pt. 1

Welcome back folks, and Happy Holidays from Younge's Beer Review. You may recall that Last week I tried the ever-so-delicious Samuel Adam's Winter Lager,  and gave it a rather glowing review. Well, since I liked it so much, I decided to try out a week's worth of the Boston Brewing Company's extensive holiday collection (You can pick up a sampler pack at your local Grocery store in most states, or liquor store if you are in CO, or another Blue Law state)

So what did I pick for the first taster of this most festive week? None other than the interestingly named Old Fezziwig Ale, a merry-looking beverage that ought to put you in the Christmas Spirit, if nothing else will.

@ 5.9% ABV, Fezziwig is a tad stronger than the average beer that I review, but that is hardly the highlight. Popping the cap treats the drinker to a nice mixture of Caramel and Cinnamon tones. Upon the first taste, a heavy bittersweet taste hits your lips, a bit like drinking a mild Ale that's had a bit of dark cocoa powder mixed in. Continuing on, I detected a medium presence of ginger root in the finish, and a low-to-medium amount of bitterness from hops. This one really hits the stomach though; I'll admit I had it after dinner, but this Ale goes down heavy. Not a bad thing, especially if you want a nice brew to warm up with on a cold evening. I'd recommend it for any holiday party, without a doubt.

Overall, Old Fezziwig gets a seasonably reasonable seal of approval, with an 8.5/10. Nothing much missing, but I like to see a beer go the extra mile for that 1.5 additional points.

Hoppy holidays,
Devo

Back for the Holidays pt. 1

Welcome back, everybody, to the first Christmas Holiday edition of Younge's Beer Review! Tonight, i'll be looking at the first of a list of Seasonal Craft Beers up until the New Years. More on that soon, but I need to get something out of the way first. I want to apologize for missing the last few weeks of the review. I cannot really give a good excuse, but I've been a cheap bastard, and wasn't buying any beer worth reviewing. In any case, I am sorry for making you wait, so I promise this week will be a good one.

Tonight, we start off with one of my favorite Winter Brews, Sam Adams Winter Lager. I've typically been a fan of most of the creations of the Boston Brewing Company since I first tried the original Boston Lager. It's a bit of a standard bearer in American German-style Lager's in my mind, and the Winter edition does not disappoint in relation.

 Crisp and a fruitful to the nose, and with a lightly hopped, foamy first taste, the Winter Lager starts off very refreshing. That gives way to a wheat and oatmeal malt finish, leaving that pleasant quality of wanting just a bit more. It truly is mouthwatering, even to think about. In addition, the fruit aroma extends into a hint of flavor, likely owing to orange peel added to the recipe. Sadly, the promised Cinnamon hints didn't surface for me, at least not  during my tasting. Overall, this American Seasonal has a happy combination of just about everything that I like in a German-Style Lager, with a nice set of additional spices to add a touch of festivity. If there were anything to be improved upon here, it would be to make the spices more pronounced; they are rather subtle, at least to my tastes. Finally, it deserves a good rating for having just about all it needs to make a quality beverage.

Score: 9/10

Until next week,
Happy Drinking, and Happy Holidays!

-Devo

Time at the Pub

Hi everybody! Welcome back to another smashing round of Younge's Beer Review! Today i'll be reviewing an imported Pub Ale that I found on a recent grocery trip: Bodington's Pub Ale. At around 5% ABV, this is a fairly standard English Pub Beer. It pours a nice golden yellow, with a (nitro!) foamy head, that cascades down for awesome effect (similar to Guinness). Bodington's has a very mild taste profile: Watery, a bit pale (light bitterness), and the creamy, minimally-carbonated feel make up most of what this beer is about.

There's a formula being followed here, and there isn't much deviation as a result. It's a bit disappointing to not see some adventurousness whenever possible, but Bodington's still deserves a recommendation for being good at what it does: serve as liquid bread and good overall pub fare. The verdict? 6.5/10

Until next time,
Happy Drinking!
-Devo

Happy Halloween!

Hi all! Welcome to this Halloween Edition of Younge's Beer review! In the spirit of the season, I've picked out a Pumpkin Ale, KBC Pumpin Ale, from Kennebunkport Brewing, to be exact. Right off the bottlecap, it has a nose full of spice. The first sips aren't too bad, either; it's rather like drinking a pumpkin pie (which tastes better than it sounds)

I'd like to post a picture, but for now it isn't working on Google's end (you get what you pay for). Instead, i'll try to get a link for you, like this: http://www.traderjoes.com/fearless-flyer/article.asp?article_id=209

Overall, i'd say the spices that you get (cloves, vanilla, hints of fruit) do the pumpkin beer well. It is a bit light on the taste, however. Since I had this one straight out of the bottle, I cant really say much about its head or color. Suffice it to say, it was a decent drink, and a nice way to celebrate this time of year (try it for dessert, after a heavy meal!)

Score: 6.5/10

Until next time, happy drinking!
-Devo

Favorite of the Pub

Hey again, everyone! It's been 5 days since the Import binge ended, but I'm still trying to get as much International Taste as I can. To that end, I will be sampling A Domestic craft Brew that does it's damnedest to imitate a traditional English Pale Ale. Firestone Walker's Firestone Double Barrel Ale, or DBA for short does quite well. One of the nicest things about it is a very distinctive nose present from the moment you crack the bottle. I caught the scents of a smoky, hazelnut nature, with a hint of vanilla, and immediately started looking forward to what the rest of the beer would offer...

Pictured: Taste, Bottled in California

Like a real English Pale Ale, DBA comes out mildly Hoppy. A nice 32 IBUs (Compare to the Hop-head Favorite Stone IPA @ 70+ IBUs) makes its finish just strong enough make it dry, but not so much that it loses a pleasantly refreshing quality. In addition, this beer has a nice creamy body, much like a few English Bitters that I've tried. The nutty tones that I mentioned in the nose are much lighter in the taste, but this isn't so bad. If I had to say anything negative about DBA, it's that the overall pleasant experience of drinking it diminishes somewhat (usually around your 2nd pint), but I can chalk that up partially to the effects of Alcohol on the human brain. Overall it is a solid beverage, and the perfect way to celebrate just about anything, English Style (Especially if you live in California). For its excellence, I'm giving Firestone DBA 9/10.

Until next time,

Happy Drinking!

-Devo