#175 Alandale - Porter

I had this beer at Alandale a local brewpub. I'm behind on this blog post.

The beer had a malty roasty smell with a hint of bubblegum aroma. The color is an opaque black, with only a slight head.

The taste is very malty with some roasted coffee flavors. The hops taste and bitterness is slight but present though all the malt. The finish is dry with some bitterness.

I really liked this beer, it was a good porter.

#176 Sam Adams - Longshot Weizenbock

Sam Adams hold a yearly competition called "Long Shot". It is a large advertised national homebrew competition. The winners beer gets made by Sam Adam and sold in the seasonal Long Shot packaging.

This beer's aroma has a clove spice aroma with a light malt note. The appearance is dark brown and hazy. The head is very thick with the initial pour filling the glass almost to the top.

This beer has a slight bubble gum sweet taste. The taste also has a pronounced clove flavor that is blending with the sweetness. The mouthfeel is thin and smooth. The finish is clean with just a light clove taste remaining.

This is a nice straight, tasty beer. Nothing too complex going on, but still a nice taste. I am not very familiar with this style of beer, but I will keep an eye out for others if they taste this good.

#174 He'Brew - Bittersweet Lenny's R.I.P.A.

This beer is named after the Jewish comedian Lenny Bruce renown for his being one of the first comics to be obscene. The name R.I.P.A means Rye Indian Pale Ale, an IPA made with some Rye malt.

There is a lot of hops in the aroma of this beer, with strong pineapple and orange smells. The color is a light red or crimson and clear. The head is very thick, threating to overflow when the beer is poured, and has good retention.

The taste starts sweet and hoppy. There is strong citrus notes to the hops. The sweet taste carries a caramel flavor that transitions into some alcohol warming. The mouthfeel is very smooth from the rye in the beer. The finish is malty with some slight bitterness, and a touch harshness from the alcohol.

This is a really good beer. I like the smooth mouthfeel from the rye along with the hops flavors. This harsh finish is surprising, but forgivable because the rest of the beer is so good.

#173 J.W. Lees- Harvest 2000

This is another J.W Lees, this time from the year 2000 and not aged in any cask.

The main aroma from this beer is raisins, maybe a little tart smell but mostly raisins. The color is a dark brown that can barely be seen through. There is a light foam to this beer, slightly covering the top.

The taste is sweet with malty characteristics. The most pronounced flavor is raisins as found in the aroma, and there is a subtle roasted flavor. The mouthfeel is medium light without any carbonation. The finish is sweet with a lingering raisin taste.

This is beer is a little to sweet for my taste. I would guess this is the same beer as the other J.W. Lees Harvest just without the cask again. The cask aging is missed in this beer. For a 8 year old beer this is perfectly drinkable.

#172 He'Brew - Genesis 10:10

Another seasonal beer form Shmaltz (He'Brew) brewery. This one is from 2006. Shmaltz has a great poster advertising the beer. This doesn't have 10 different malts and hops like the celebration 11, but it has plenty of ingredients.

This beer has a strong hoppy smell with a pronounced pine aroma. The aroma of this beer also has plenty of malt aroma. The color of this beer is orange and hazy. The head on this beer is very thick and sticky, large pieces of foam are stuck on the side of the glass as the beer goes down.

This is beer has a lot of taste. The taste starts sweet with caramel notes. There is also a strong hop flavor coming across with citrus and pine notes. The strong malt sweetness and strong hop flavors are balanced in strength. The mouthfeel is on the thick side and very smooth. The finish is hoppy, not bitter but hoppy.

This is a great beer. Lots of flavors both hops and malts.

#171 J.W. Lees - Harvest Ale 2006 (Sherry Cask)

I got to compare yesterday's 2006 J.W. Lees Harvest aged in Scotch barrels with today's aged in Sherry barrels.

There is a strong Sherry aroma from this beer, mixed well with a raisin smell. The color is brown with some red highlights. This beer is hazy with some visible sediment floating in the glass. There is no foam to this beer, not even a light right around the edge of the glass.

This beer starts very sweet, sweeter than sherry. There is a strong oxidization and raisin taste. The same earthy root cellar taste from yesterday's harvest is present in this beer. The finish is nothing but the dried root taste, there is no alcohol taste present.

This beer is very similar to yesterday's beer. The sherry aroma and the extra sweet taste are the only differences and they aren't that different. Side by side I might mistake them as the same beer on taste alone, the smell is different. I still like the earthy taste, but most people won't.

#170 J.W Lees - Harvest Ale 2006 (Lagavulin Whisky Cask)

J.W Lees releases vintage harvest beers every year, aged in sherry, port, whisky (scotch), or calvados (French spirit). This one is whisky aged from 2006 making it an old ale. Whisky spelled without the e is the Scottish form called Scotch in America.

This beer has a pronounced peaty scotch aroma with sherry notes. There is also an oxidized raisin smell to the beer which isn't surprising from a 2 year old beer. The color is brown with some haze of sediment floating in the beer. The head is almost non-existent, just a few bubbles from agitating the liquid.

The beer starts sweet, tasting more like sherry than beer. The Lagavulin Scotch only provides a peaty earthy taste. The earthy taste in this beer is very strong a root cellar or dried roots. The finish is dry with the earthy tastes. There is a slight alcohol taste to the beer which is expected form an 11.5% beer aged in scotch barrels.

I know plenty of people would not like this beer, but I really like the earthiness. A guy in my beer club recently brought a beer than was aged with old port corks and it had a similar taste.

#169 Odell - 90 Shilling Ale

I am happy to find that Whole Foods carries are large selection of ODell's beer. This 90 shilling is ODell's flagship beer, first served at their opening party in 1989.

The Ale has a grassy hop aroma with a hint of coffee. The color is copper and clear. The head is very thick and sticky with good retention, sticking to the side of the glass after it has gone away.

This is a malty beer, with a slightly sweet taste. The taste has light molasses and honey notes. There is a hint of hop flavor, nothing near the amount that was present in the aroma. The mouthfeel is medium thin giving an appropriate body to such a malty beer. The finish has a hint of bitterness, but nothing strong.

This is a really good beer, with a nice malty flavor that I don't often find. I had to buy a 6 pack of this beer and I am glad to have the extra beers to drink later.

#168 Harveys - Elizabethan Ale

First brewed in1953 this is beer was made to celebrate the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.

This beer has a Barley wine smell, dark malts, alcohol, raisins, and some aged beer oxidization. The color is a dark mahogany that can be seen through when held to the light. The beer has low foam which is common with an aged beer.

There are a lot of flavors to this beer. It starts with some sweet malt, then a raisins oxidization taste. There is a barrel aged taste, with an earthy flavor and a light sour twang. The raisin / dried fruit taste is the most pronounced, and is present to the finish. The mouthfeel is thin like an ale, not like the barley wine I first expected. Even at 8.1% alcohol the taste isn't strong, the alcohol aroma might have been the sour taste.

This is a tasty beer with plenty of flavors and good oxidization taste. Unique beers like this that I would otherwise over look is what my Year of Beer is all about.

#167 Michelob - Marzen

The marzen style of beer is often called octoberfest. Marzen is derived from the German word for March the month this style is traditionally brewed.

This beer has a standard octoberfest aroma, with a light hop smell and a lager aroma. The color is a light amber that is very clear. The head starts very thick, can take over the glass filling it with more foam then beer, given time it will fizz away to just a light covering.

The taste is traditional beer taste, dry and bitter. There is some hint of malt caramel, and some notes of hops. Overall not a lot of taste. The mouthfeel is thin with some carbonation and easy drinking.

I am not a fan of octoberfest beers and this is a fine example of an octoberfest beer. I think they just don't have much taste, and what taste they have is too thin.

#166 ODell - Extra Special Red

This beer came from Iron Barley a local restaurant / bar with a good beer selection. Iron Barley has a nice selection of good beers and is one of the only places I know that has cask O'fallon 5 day IPA. Odell's Extra Special Red is a tribute to one if the oldest know beer recipes.

The aroma of the beer was very hoppy with pineapple and grassy notes. The color was dark red almost brown, the color was so dark it made the beer hard to see through even though it was sediment free. The foam was low which is surprising from all the hop aromas.

This beer has a very hoppy flavor. Along with the hops there is toasty light nutty flavor to the beer which gives a nice contrast. The finish is bitter for the large amount of hops.

I feel like my taste description doesn't do this beer justice. This is a really good beer with a great hoppy flavor. I will look for more Odell beers to enjoy.

#165 Sleemans - Cream Ale

According the Sleeman's web site;

In 1988, Sleeman Cream Ale went on sale in Ontario for the first time in over half a century. Brewed according to the recipe found on page 64 of George Sleeman's personal notebook, and sold in distinctive clear glass bottles reminiscent of those used by earlier Sleeman brewers, the refreshing ale soon earned a loyal following among the growing circle of premium beer fans.

It would be fun to use old recipes to make beer and see how they turned out.

The smell of his beer is earthy and metallic, reminiscent of a lager. There is a hint of hops in the aroma, but only a hint. The color is straw and crystal clear. There are bubbles coming up from the bottom of the glass and the head is keeping the beer covered. From a glance this looks like any commercial beer.

The taste deviates some from the commercial beer appearance. There is a some malt sweetness in the start, followed by a taste only described as cream ale. The smooth creamy taste and mouthfeel are subtle. The finish is bitter, but the taste doesn't linger.

This is an ok beer. I like the creamy tastes, but I would like some more substance to the beer. I won't be hurrying to order a cream ale at the bar, but I might recommend one to a friend that prefers commercial beer.

#164 Brasserie Thiriez - Blond

A farmhouse ale is a beer made by a small brewery in the Saison or Bière de Garde style. The two style only differ by one being Belgian and the other French.

This beer has a strong aroma of tart lemons, Belgian spice, and honey. The color is golden and hazy with some sediment floating in the beer. The head was very thick making the beer hard to pour, this could be a result of some difficulty I had opening the bottle or maybe an infection or just a highly carbonated beer.

The taste is sweet with some honey notes. This beer has pronounced spice flavors and some earthiness, with a slight sour taste. The mouthfeel is meduim body, effervescent with loads of carbonation. There is a slight alcohol taste to the beer which is surprising for a 6% beer. The bottle mentions this beer as dry hopped but there are no detectable hop flavors or aromas.

This is an interesting, tasty beer with lot of flavors. I suspect there are a lot of spices added to this beer. I will look for other Farm house ales.

#163 He'Brew - Jewbelation Eleven

This is He'Brew's 11th year of brewing and 11th Jewbelation beer. This beer has 11 different malts including 2 types of rye and 11 different hops. Most beers only use a 3 or 4 types malts and 2 or 3 types of hops. He'Brew has a good poster on there web site listing the malts and hops and fun facts about the number 11.

The aroma is very hoppy with some malt aroma. From the hops there is a grass and fruit smell, and a chocolate smell from the malts. Almost smells like a chocolate cover malt. The color is very dark as expected from the choice malts, cannot see though the beer. The head is thick with lots of retention, it sticks to the side of the glass as it goes down.

The taste is sweet and flavorful with a touch of alcohol. The flavors from all the malt and hops are quite unique. The hops have unripe fruit flavors and plenty of bitterness. The malt brings chocolate and earthy flavors. The rye gives the beer a smooth full mouthfeel. And the finish is a little bitter. There is some alcohol warming to this beer, but only a little considering it is an 11% beer.

This is a big beer with lots of unique flavors. I wouldn't recommend this beer to someone that isn't a fan of big beers. I am looking forward to Jewbelation Twelve

#162 Goose Island - IPA

Friday I made a trip to Ciceros for a beer. This time the bartender helped me pick out an IPA that I haven't drank yet. I had tried most of there offerings O'fallon 5 day IPA, Red Seal, and Chouffe - Houblon.

The beer smelled of hops, with a weak overall aroma. The beer has a dark yellow color and was pretty hazy. The head was thin which is surprising for an IPA.

The taste was a little sweet with a pronounced hop flavor and bitterness. The predominate taste of the hops was a citrus flavor like pineapple or grapefruit. The mouthfeel was medium with a lot of carbonation. The finish was bitter which is expected from an IPA.

This was a fine beer but not one of my favorites. I would have preferred some of the other IPA they had available, but I needed to drink a different beer.

#161 Flying Dog - K9 Cruiser Winer Ale

It's been a while since I've had a Winter Ale. This style had a lot of variations most of which I wasn't too impressed with.

The smell of this winter ale is very rich and malty with some hazelnut notes. The color is a dark burgundy with red highlights. The foam is thick with some retention sticking to the side of the glass. Flying dog beers had a tendency towards the foam sticking on the side of the glass.

The taste is very malty, with sweet and biscuit characteristics. The taste is cloying (definition) it's so sweet. The mouthfeel is medium with little carbonation. The finish is slightly bitter.

I am not a fan of this beer. This is the first Flying Dog beer that I don't like and unfortunately the last I have for my Year of Beer. I just don't care much for the winter ale style of lots of sweet malt.

#160 Flying Dog - Old Scratch Amber Ale

This is another beer that I got from Stephanie at Flying Dog. This beer is a normally distribution beer unlike yesterday's. I always like the art work on Flying Dog beers, it a nice change from bottles that try to blend in.

There is very little aroma to this beer, just a slight honey and hazelnut smell. The color is amber as the name implies, and very clear. The foam is thick with mild retention.

The taste is sweet with honey flavors, and complimented with a slight floral hop taste. The mouthfeel is smooth with a medium body and mild carbonation. The finish is sweet without any bitterness.

This is a fine example of an amber ale. I don't prefer amber ale because I think they are too sweet for my taste. I am happy to find the light hop flavor among the sweetness in this ale.

#159 Flying Dog - Wild Dog Horn Dog

Wild Dog Horn Dog is part of a limited release from Flying Dog, only 725 12oz bottles were made. This Wild Dog is made by aging Flying Dog’s Horn Dog Barely wine in Stranahan’s Colorado Whiskey barrels for 13 months. The alcohol dropped from 10.5% in the original Barley Wine to 10% in this Wild Dog. This beer is only sold at the Brewery and was given to me by Stephanie from Flying Dog. Had I realized this was a limited release I might have saved it for a special night.

This beer has a complex aroma, I am getting an strong musty earthy aroma, with plenty of dark malt notes. There is also a hint of a sour, wild yeast smell. The color is basically black with brown highlights, can't see thought the glass the edges are a more brown than black. There is also no head on this beer, just the lightest foam on the side of the glass.

The start to that taste is a malty roasty barley wine flavor with some sweetness. Then the earthy flavors start to set in with some woody barrel flavor. There is also some floral hop flavors to the beer which is unexpected. The finish is slightly sour with light astringency. The finish leaves my mouth watering. The mouthfeel is silky and smooth. There is a touch of alcohol warmth but it blends with the barrel flavor becoming reminiscent of whiskey.

This is quite a beer. I don't like sour beers, and this beer has only a very slight sour note in the finish. With the smooth mouthfeel and the complex mix of flavors, I really enjoy this beer. At Shclafly's Cabin Fever I had a similar beer they called a Milk Stout or Milk Porter, it was made a similar way with putting a beer back in a used barrel.

I feel bad drinking it all myself on a lazy Tuesday when only 725 bottles were made. I am tempted to re-cap the beer and share with others but I am worried the beer might not be as good if and then it all would be wasted.

Thank you Stephanie and thank you Fly Dog.

#158 Kona - Fire Rock Pale Ale

Kona brewery is located on the Big Island in Hawaii. They only distribute the Fire Rock and special release beer to the mainland.

This beer has a hops smell, with a touch of caramel malt. The foam is thin, with little to no retention. The color is a orangish amber with a light haze.

The taste starts with some sweet brown sugar flavors. The sweetness is balanced against a fruity hop flavor with subtle notes of pineapple. The mouthfeel is thin like a pale ale should. The finish sweet with some hop flavor and slight bitterness.

The hint of fruit is really enjoyable in this beer, it's a combination of malt and hops working together making the fruity taste. This is great beer, I could enjoy drinking plenty of these.

#157 Blue Dawg(Anheuser-Busch ) - Wild Blue

This is an Anheuser-Busch beer brewed under the name of Blue Dawg. This beer was first served last year at the St. Louis Heritage Festival. According to this story A-B decided to market this beer after the long lines of people wanting this beer. I was at that festival and I remember long lines around all the fruited beers.

This beer has a pronounced berry smell with a hint of citrus sour aroma. There is also a slight hop aroma to the beer. The beer is clear with a purple color as shown in the picture of the glass.
Head is not very thick, and it quickly fizzes away. Head retention is a problem in beers with fruit added.

This beer starts with a sweet taste and some blueberry flavor. This beer is only 8% alcohol but the the alcohol flavors come across very strong and overwhelming. The finish is sweet and alcohol filled.

This beer tastes like blueberries and sugar dissolved in vodka. I am glad I only got one bottle so I don't have to figure out what to do with the remaining 5. I think this beer might be better with higher levels of carbonation that is possible from draft beer, like what they served at the Heritage Festival. The more carbonation might blend the sweet and alcohol flavors better.

#156 La Binchoise - Blond

La Binchoise is a smaller Belgian brewery, they call them selfs artisanal. All their beers are non filtered, non pasteurized and fermented in the bottle.

This beer has a sour smell, with some yeast aromas. The color is a pale honey with some sediment floating around. The head is thin, just barely covering the top of the beer.

The taste is a bit sour with some citrus flavors. There is a bit of malt sweetness but no other distinguishable flavors. The mouthfeel is highly carbonated. This Blond is like drinking a highly carbonated glass of lemon aid.

I won't say this is a bad beer, it's just not a very good beer. I would like some more substance to this beer.

#155 Sierra Nevada - Harvest

A harvest beer is made is fresh hops that have not been dried. Using of fresh hops is called wet hopping and adds a volume of liquid to the beer. Fresh hops are only available in the fall make harvest beers seasonal.

The aroma is very hoppy, lots of grass, citrus, and pineapple aromas. The head is thick and sticks to the side of the glass as is goes down. The color is a light red and very clear.

The start of the flavor of this beer is sweet, and quickly turns hoppy, but finished sweet again. The sweet brown sugar taste is more prevalent than the hop flavor. The hops are fruity and mildly bitter. The mouthfeel is medium to thin wish plenty of carbonation. The finish is a mix of sweet and bitter.

This beer could be defined as hop flavored candy. I think the sweetness is too much and would benefit from being toned down. The hop flavors are strong but poorly balanced. I'm going to happily finish the beer, but it's no hop slam.

#154 Berghoff - Solstice Wit Beerg

Traditionally the winter solstice is when beers and wine are ready to drink since the fruit and grain were harvested in the fall and take time to ferment. Thats all the background I could muster for this beer.

This beer has a strong orange aroma with a hint of yeast. The color is a pale yellow with plenty of bubbles, but over all quite clear. The head pours thin and quickly fizzes away to only a light cover.

The taste is fruity with orange and citrus flavors. There is a slight after too this beer, it might be a diacetyl butter flavor. The mouthfeel is thin and leaves a slicking feeling on the tounge and roof of mouth, also a sign of diacetyl.

I'm not to crazy about this beer. There is an over whelming flavor that I don't like. I think the flavor is diacetyl but I am not sure since I so rarely taste it. I also don't really care of a wit beer so I know that's not helping the taste much.

#153 Butte Creek - Organic Ale

Organic beers can be difficult because hops are difficult to grow and benefit greatly from fertilizes and pesticides. I know some organic beers don't use all organic hops but it appears that Butte Creek uses all organic.

There is a pronounced malty caramel aroma to this beer. There is also a slight hop aroma in this beer. The color is a light brown that is very clear. There is very little foam on this beer, not much when poured or when drank.

This has a sweet taste, reminds me of tasting liquid malt extract. There is a clear caramel and a lesser honey flavor to the beer's sweetness. The hops give the beer a floral flavor, and plenty of bitterness. The mouthfeel is medium full, a result of all the residual sweetness. The finish is sweet with some bitterness.

I'm not crazy about this beer, it's sweet and bitter all at once. Less sweetness would be appreciated in this beer. I'm sure people who prefer a sweeter beer would like this.

#152 Val-Dieu - Brown

A second beer from Val-Dieu.

There is a strong dark malt aroma to this beer. The roasted smell is the strongest but there is also a pronounced caramel smell. The color is dark brown with amber highlights. There is some sediment floating in the beer, like the Val-Dieu blond. The foam is thick and leaves the beer covered.

The dark malt give the beer a roasted taste that is balance against the sweetness. The Belgian spice flavors are weak, but noticeable. There is a slight harsh bite to the beer, but the other flavor overshadow the harshness. The mouthfeel is light with plenty of carbonation.

I really like the malt flavors in this beer, they are well balance and give the beer lots of taste. This is a easy drinking beer, like the Blond.

#151 Val-Dieu - Blond

Val-Dieu abbey was built in 1216 by the Cistercian monks. Troubles of fire, destruction, and expulsion of the monks during the Napoleonic revolution caused the brewery to only distribute locally. In 1997 the brewing was taken over by lay people (non-monks)

This beer starts with a fruity apple aroma, with hints of yeast. The color is a pale yellow, with some sediment floating in the beer. The foam is thick, and keeps the top of the beer covered.

The taste is fruity, with a clear orange flavor. There is a very light spice flavor to this blond, much weaker than other Belgian beers. This beer is very dry, giving it an almost chalky taste. The mouthfeel is light and with some carbonation. The finish is dry, with some lingering fruit flavors.

This is an easy drinking Belgian beer. Only 6% alcohol, and a light mouthfeel make this a Belgian that could be drank everyday.

#150 Michelob - Porter

I got this beer for the Super Bowl in a sample pack with 3 other varieties. The label on this beer proudly states "ALL MALT" which isn't a very clear statement. Is the beer made with any hops? I can't taste or smell any distinct hop flavors, but I don't know of any beer made without hops. I called the 1-800 number on the back of the bottle to ask. I was told by someone in St. Louis that the beer is "made with the 5 main ingredients". I can only think of 4 main ingredients in beer: malt, hops, water and yeast. I know Anheuser Busch frequently uses rice and corn in their beer. Very curious.

This beer has a very malty aroma with a clear chocolate malt smell. The color is a very dark brown with a only some light passing through. The head pours thick, but works down to a thin ring.

This Porter has a rich roasted malt flavor. The malt also gives the beer a chocolate taste. There is some bitterness and almost no sweetness to this beer. The mouthfeel is very smooth and drinkable. The finish is dry and slightly bitter.

This is a really enjoyable beer from Anheuser Busch. Nice straight forward beer, with tons of malt flavors. Nothing fancy about this beer, just easy to drink.

#148 O'Fallon - Whiskey Barrel Smoked Porter

This beer is aged in Buffalo Trace Ancient Age barrels. This is the second batch of Whiskey Barrel Smoked Poter O'Fallon has produced. Only about 30 case were made and most are being sold locally in St. Louis. I got this beer on the same trip to stars when I got the Hop Slam. I made the trip for this beer in particular but didn't find any in the beer aisle. As I started to checkout the staff pointed it out to me next to the register and I happily grabbed one. StlHops again directs me to this beer.

This beer smells like whiskey with a little smoke. The smell reminds me of a smoky Scotch from the Island region of Scotland, or of drinking whiskey by a camp fire. The color is pitch black and without any light passing through. The head is a light brown and thin, quickly going to just a light ring around the glass.

The taste is a mix of smoke and whiskey with some hints of malt. The smoke and whiskey are well balanced and neither flavor is over powering the other. The mouthfeel is thin like most porters, with a low carbonation. This is not a big beer as expected for a whiskey barrel beer, like Schlafly's barley wine. The finish is lightly smoked with a back of the tongue smoke taste.

The smoke and whiskey flavors of this beer are well balanced with neither being a huge standout. Unfortunately the whiskey and smoke flavors are about all the flavor present in the beer, and they aren't my favorite flavors in beer. I think I will look for a second bottle to cellar for a few months to a year.