Category: Beer Reviews

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Review – Harvest Newly Developed Hops from Sierra Nevada

Orange as a pumpkin, or the New Black is my take on the color of this latest Harvest beer from Sierra Nevada. To me the proof is in the pudding though. I love the idea of the series as it stands but the execution hasn’t thrilled me. I’ve had good beers but nothing to reach the level of the iconic pale or the Torpedo IPA.

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This new beer does have some nice orange juice notes to it. Not super laden down either, it has a nice bubbly texture to it. There is also some wine grape notes stuck in there as well primarily from the aroma. This is the type of beer that could elicit different flavor responses from each person that tries it. The bitterness is a notch too strong and a little tannic to me.

This is an interesting effort. Better than others in the series but still hampered by attributes that don’t work for me.

 

 

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Featured Review – Oktoberfest from Left Hand Brewing

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For the first of four OktoFest beer reviews we start in Colorado with Left Hand Brewing.  And to change things up, I am tasting this Marzen Lager paired with three cookies from the famous Diddy Riese in Westwood.

When tasting with the peanut butter cookie, the beer really helps lighten the buttery and heaviness of the peanut butter.  The dark roast is a little too much for the peanut flavor though.

When it comes to the classic chocolate chip cookie, the match-up is a little too adversarial for me  the beer wants to be lighter but the chocolate is too rich and sweet and doesn’t give up

Oddly, the chocolate chocolate chip works much better.  The added sweetness gives a proper foil for the malt and carbonation.

Overall, the Left Hand Oktoberfest is light and lively with a bit of spice to it.  A solid beer.

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A New Stroll on Mission Street

Trader Joe’s has a few house brands, Ol’ Burro (Golden Road) and Joseph Brau (Gordon Biersch) and Mission Street which was done by Firestone Walker but now is brewed by 4+ Brewing in Salt Lake City.
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So it is time to see how the Utah version of the session pale and IPA taste….

The slightly mercenary naming of the pale ale as a “session pale” is the only turn-off for the blue labeled Mission Street.  The beer has a juicy citrus and tea taste with a nice layer of bitterness and malt underneath. It tastes lighter than the 4.7% ABV.

(On a side note, the label is stamped with the bottling date which is very helpful.)

On to the IPA, which is quite fine.  Woodsy would be the main flavor attribute.  A little toffee sweetness to it which is a bit of a detriment.  Tastes heavier than it’s ABV which is a fitting counterpoint to the pale ale.  Again, it is rather a juicy beer with some pepper notes in it.

I would take the Session Pale over the IPA but both are screaming great deals at $6.99 a six-pack with tax that comes out to about $1.25 a bottle.

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Review – Snakebite From Gigantic

Many moons ago, I embarked on a month-long visit to London as a college theatre course.  My naive beer and alcohol knowledge consisted of wine information gleaned from my parents and college parties.  For some reason, I became enamored of the Snakebite a 1/2 lager – 1/2 cider concoction with black currant added.  It was not good.

But now, memories paint it in a different light and Gigantic Brewing has teamed with Cider Riot! and Beau’s All Natural Brewing to make a 2015 version of the Snakebite. The Gigantic version is Kolsch fermented with apple juice and black currant .

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How will it compare to my faded recollections?  Let’s see….

Right off the bat the currant and apple flavors pop. Thankfully, it isn’t in a sweetened juice way as this ale/cider hybrid gets very dry, very quickly. There is a biscuity undertone and a bit of watery lightness on the back of the tongue to stave off a complete drying effect. This amber/red streaked colored beer still retains a beer-iness even though the aroma has a bit of mint quality to it. Like drinking a sour ale, this rewards the fan who slowly takes it in rather than as a quick refresher type of beer.

On my new (patent pending) rating scale of, Buy It! – get a bottle. Try It. – get a taster. Shy from It. – get something else first  Snakebite gets a Buy It!

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Featured Review – Two from Pure Order Brewing

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I started my duo of Reinheitsgebot influenced beers from Santa Barbara’s Pure Order Brewing with what they call a red wheat with the moniker Red Eye. They reference dunkel on the label but this beer felt lighter with hints of strawberry to it. Did I hold onto it for too long?  Was my first thought upon sipping for the first time. Before long though a light grain taste started peeking through the hazy, dull and nearly black beer. The promised raisin notes surfaced as well.

Crooked Neck Hefe has a better name and a cool tall tie-in to the Santa Barbara Zoo but I fear it also fell into a too old trap.  Hints of clove and banana are underneath. But there is a starting to turn edge to it that even some warming up can’t alleviate. I can’t in good conscience review it here.  What I do know is that these beers either didn’t have good transport to L.A. or they were more delicate than others in the style.

I will try again and amend this post with further results.

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Featured Review – Vanilla Coffee Lager from Sudwerk

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When I get a “blah” / “meh” kind of beer, my first and charitable reaction is to think that I bought it or drank it too late.

That may be what happened with this Coffee Vanilla Lager. I recently had Sudwerk’s Citrus Gose and really enjoyed it so my expectations were high for this beer but it never really took flight.

Coffee notes were really muted. No sweetness from the vanilla or cocoa nibs was evident, so I was left with a middling slightly flavorful dark lager. I will chalk it up to bad timing and try it again. Maybe if I see it on draft.

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Featured Review – Zero to Sexy from Figueroa Mountain

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The winning combination found by Noble Ale Works with their Naughty Sauce was bound to be imitated.  Stone had a hand in on that action and now from the north, Figueroa Mountain is proffering up a Golden Mocha Stout.

And though I don’t know how the name matches the beer style the color is pitch perfect.  Certainly golden enough to fool someone who is new to lighter hued coffee ales.  The smell starts off with a cigar aroma first that slides into a darker type of coffee roast smell.  Another sleight of hand.  The taste continues that cigar push.  Almost ashy I would say.  There is quite a bit of sweetness that is in fighting mode against that cigar but in the end it is a push until the next sip and the burnt paper takes back over.

I really like aspects of this beer but it really doubles down too hard on that cigar which I presume is the after effects of the roast of the coffee.  Maybe Fig Mtn. will try this again next year with a different roast or roaster.  I would love to compare how the coffee is adding or subtracting from the rest of the recipe.

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Featured Review – Far Post from Wiens Brewing

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We head to Temecula and Wiens Brewing for this review. Far Post Brown Ale conjures up images of soccer fields to me but the brewers have other ideas. Envisioning arrows and banners and battle.

This ale starts with an aroma of chocolate lava cake. Milk chocolate primarily. That doesn’t follow into the flavor though there is a touch of cocoa in the taste. It is light but still cake-y. And the label does not lie. It is quite the dry finish. I noticed a pucker in my mouth as I sipped away on this one.

I wasn’t sold at first but the chocolate keeps coming at you and I am starting to ponder which desserts to match with it as I drink.

Wiens beers are starting to pop up on L.A. beer shelves and are worth a look.

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Featured Review(s) – Claremont Craft Ales

For August, I have grabbed a variety of beers to review that are adjacent to Los Angeles and we start with Claremont Craft Ales and two of their canned offerings….
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First up is Baseline which began it’s journey as the 2nd Anniversary beer and is now, as the can explains, “part crisp blonde ale and part over-the-top Double IPA”.  With lemon peel.

It certainly has a hop kick and the lemon peel weaves in and out as you sip the beer.  After I poured the beer, I looked at the ABV and noticed that it certainly is imperial at twice the percentage of the Hoppy Wheat Ale. As the beer warms up, the lemon becomes a bit more pronounced in the aroma with almost a candied note to it.  There is a bit of viscosity off this beer as well.  That combination makes this beer stickier and slower to drink.  Probably best as a taster as opposed to a full glass.

Next up is Indian Hill part of the weird nomenclature that makes this sorta / kinda a Session IPA or XPA.  How will it compare to the recent Citra Bend from Golden Road that is also in the WHA category?

The focus here is squarely on the Wheat.  It starts behind a citrusy aroma and hoppiness but then the grain just takes over the palate which is the opposite of what most in this group are like.  There are also some orange notes in the back as well.  Despite the lightness of this beer it doesn’t fall into the watery trap that can be the downfall of the session beer.

Both beers are interesting and well above average and I certainly hope a steady supply will be in stores.

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Review – Jackie Tar Brown Stout from MacLeod Ale Brewing

This is my second bottled MacLeod Ale and boy does it hold up just fine away from its normal cask environment.
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Jackie Tar the Brown Stout is supremely roasty. It pours an inky dark brown and it delivers a slightly smoked malt bomb to your taste buds. It is light with some watery-mess at the far back but that strong flavor just keeps your attention.  It is not a complex beer but it works.

I only wish I could return the bottle to the brewery directly for them to re-use. I almost feel bad recycling.