Robinson’s - Old Tom Strong Ale
Earthy noble hop aroma with a hint of the caramel/chocolate/burnt sugar in the smell. Nice balanced flavor with some dried fruit tastes coming through. A complex flavor, but not really my style.
3/10
Robinson’s - Old Tom Strong Ale
Earthy noble hop aroma with a hint of the caramel/chocolate/burnt sugar in the smell. Nice balanced flavor with some dried fruit tastes coming through. A complex flavor, but not really my style.
3/10
Elevator Brewing Co - Three Frogs IPA
Nice, fruity, citrus flavor and good overall balance. Smoky notes to the flavor with a bit of a sour finish. Nice, clean drinking IPA; especially good when you drink it fresh at the brew-pub.
6/10
5 Rabbits - 5 Vultures Dark Ale
I had some good times in Oaxaca and couldn’t pass up this unique offering in the beer store. Then I brought it home and dreaded tasting an “ancho chili” flavored ale. It turns out, this is a surprisingly light and delicious beer. It tastes a bit like a typical cerveca, but with a toastier, more complex flavor. And the hint of ancho chili seems to add flavor without spice. Nice, drinkable beer.
4/10
Elevator Brewing Co - Bear Ass Pale Ale
Great floral hop aroma that blends nicely into an under-stated bready malt flavor. Normally, I’m not a big fan of floral hops, but this one just blends extremely well together. Nice, easy-drinking pale ale, though not especially complex.
5/10
Founders Brewing Co - All Day IPA (Session Ale)
Great citrus hop aroma, and flavor. There just seems to be a little malt missing. Nice flavor, and very “sessionable”, but not a whole lot of complexity.
4/10
Dogfish Head Brewing - Burton Baton
Oaky, toasty, and STRONG! This is a sipping beer. A delicious blend of old ale and imperial IPA. Yum!
9/10
Avery Brewing Co - Karma Belgian Style Pale Ale
Nice hoppy aroma, and a great balance of the Belgian flavor with a cereal-like malt flavor. It’s just not a style I enjoy.
2/10
Barley’s Brewing - Rye IPA
It’s almost not fair to try hoppy beers right where they’re brewed. Fresh, earthy-pine hop aroma starts like a light IPA, but finishes with a solid rye bite. Delicious.
7/10
Green Flash - Rayon Vert
Toasty aroma with a touch of hops. Bitter faste that seems an odd combination of the bitterness of an IPA without the characteristic flavors of a Belgian. Maybe I got a skunky bottle because I really didn’t enjoy this one.
1/10
Founders Brewing Co - Dry Hopped Pale Ale
Nice aroma of toasted malts and a hint of hops—far less than I expected. Sweet beer with a bit more malt than I expected in a dry-hopped Pale Ale. Bitter aftertaste. Nothing special.
2/10
Stone - Ruination IPA
Great citrus hop aroma with a touch of caramel smell. Lots of crystal malt in the taste—not really my favorite, but a very distinctive taste. Well, balanced, medium-bodied beer.
4/10
Anderson Valley Brewing Co - Imperial IPA
Smells like…figs. First taste is malty with toasted caramel and some old world hops. Nice bitterness to the flavor, but this doesn’t taste much like an imperial IPA. A little too “noble hops” and malty for my tastes in an Imperial IPA.
5/10
Oskar Blues - Deviant Dave’s IPA
Great hoppy aroma of grapefruit and citris. Almost a resiney pine flavor giving way to a nice complex malt backbone. I like the beer and it’s nice and hoppy, but somehow I just seem to like the old Dave’s better…
6/10
Bell’s Brewing - Two Hearted Ale
Typical pine / grapefruit west-coast hop aroma with a delicious sweetness in flavor. Great body and just the quintessential IPA.
8/10
DC Brau - The Corruption IPA
Great Piney-Citrus hop aroma that pops you right in the tonge. Not much to speak of on the malt backbone (in a good way). I wanted to love it at first taste, but the finish….is a bit…off. Maybe I got a bad batch, but the after-taste is too bitter and doesn’t mesh well with the beer flavor.
2/10
