Tag: beer review

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Review – Lifeblurred from Stone Brewing

SoCal has had a tiny not cold spell which has allowed me to thoroughly enjoy darker, heartier beers like Lifeblurred, an imperial brown ale from Stone Brewing.

Per Stone, this is a biggie. 11% to be exact and though at first it doesn’t seem alcohol heavy, by sip three, you feel it. I would describe this as British ale seen through a Black IPA glass, then bulked up. Very woodsy and oaky with an ever so slight citrus hop note. It is a russet and brown colored ale with a hint of a dark caramel taste to it.

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Review – Cool River from Pure Project

I have only had the murky side of Pure Project up to this point so when I saw a  Cold IPA on the beer shelf, I plucked it to review.

Cool River pours a super light orange color or dark yellow.  Very crisp on the palate with grain notes being the first to make themselves known. The hop kick is quite potent.  I get honeydew melon and some dankness as well.  Tastes stronger than 6.5% as well.

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Review – Mere Visions West Coast IPA from ISM Brewing and Brujos Brewing

Gotta powerhouse hype combo for the review today, ISM Brewing in Long Beach have paired up with Portland’s Brujos Brewing on a straight up West Coast IPA, Mere Visions.

This has got to be one of the lightest straw yellow IPAs that I have come across. Hopped with an impressive roster of Columbus Cryo, Mosaic Cryo, Strata, Simcoe and Chinook. Very well balanced overall. That Simcoe smell comes through. There is a medium hop hit before a soft bed of wheat notes. You could call this a White IPA as well.

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Review – Yorkshire Stingo from Samuel Smith

I recently had the Winter Welcome from Samuel Smith and then I saw their Yorkshire Stingo (with a super classy logo) which I have not had in many moons and decided it was high time to review to see if I get the same notes of “fruit, raisin, treacle toffee, Christmas pudding and slight oaky flavours”.

The last item on that list certainly comes through but the rest, not so much but despite that adjective failure, this is a real classic of a beer. There is a slight hint of future souring in the taste in the amber coloured ale. I taste grass and wheat and pea shoots myself. Complex and strange for sure.

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Review – Christmas is Cancelled from Frogtown Brewery

I dare not type this winter ale’s name for fear of unleashing the wrath of Santa and Mrs. Santa so this review is posting safely after. Frogtown Brewery debuted Christmas is Cancelled this year and it has a very cool retro Palm Springs look to it.

Now on to the liquid inside. The Cancelation pours a dark brown and a bakery spice pours out when the beer is poured. Lovely nice light brown foam as well. This tastes like a classic British Winter Warmer just with amped up American spice and hops. If it pops up next year, I will get it again.

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Review – Costco and Deschutes Vintage Ale 2024

There are not to many beers nowadays that get the social media talking, but one that has bucked that trend is the Costco Vintage Ale brewed by Deschutes Brewery.

I am lucky enough to know someone with the magic card and so I got to get the boxed barrel-aged beer to try.

I am amazed to see an old school 22oz bomber bottle when I wrestle the bottle out of the packaging. In the first few sips, I am getting a woody bitterness that hides the light bourbon note underneath. The aroma has a green almost peppery note to it which is at some odds to the flavor. That and the viscosity belie the 12% abv. It is almost like a coffee cocktail.

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Featured Review – Prodigal from Perennial Artisan Ales via The Rare Beer Club

Every once in a while I will get a happy email from the Rare Beer Club wanting to highlight some of their great beers that you can get.

This is the second review of the month and if it sounds good, you should check out the club.

This is the Prodigal 2024. It is a biggun in abv at 11.5% but also large in syrupy stoutness. An Imperial Stout with cacao and vanilla and it is slick and big on caramel to me more than either of the featured adjuncts. It is halfway to being stout gravy. There is also a truckload of sugar coming to the fore as well. I would net hesitate to say that this would be good as a cooking ingredient. Little too extravagant for my taste.

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Featured Review – The Last Sipper from Lost Abbey via The Rare Beer Club

Every once in a while I will get a happy email from the Rare Beer Club wanting to highlight some of their great beers that you can get.

I will be reviewing two of them this month and if it sounds good, you should check out the club.

It has been a bit since I have had a blended ale and I could not have picked a better beer and brewer to return with than The Last Sipper and Tomme Arthur.

This is a mix of quadrupel and strong ale. The aroma is candied dark fruit and hints at the texture of the beer which is not thick as some big beers are but has a minerality, along with chocolate and coffee. There is a brightness at both the beginning of the sip as well as the end. It is a complex beer for sure.

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Review – Pumpkin Haze IPA from 21st Amendment

I do not think that I have had an actual pumpkin IPA as opposed to a pie spice version so let’s dive into the Pumpkin Haze of 21st Amendment Brewery.

Gourd claims fully backed up. The first flavor to appear is pie filling followed quickly by hops and then nutmeg to round it out. The malt bill is pitch perfect as a base for those three major players to do their thing. The other noticeable trait is that this is pretty bright. Some fruited IPAs have a rounded off feeling to them but Pumpkin Haze does not.

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Review – Patio Project from Beachwood Brewing – Can 3

This month, as a bit of a scientific lark, I am going to review the same beer weeks apart to see if any differences can be found. I chose Patio Project IPA from Beachwood Brewing as the test subject after picking it for the beer shopping list post last month.

As you can see from the above photo, it was canned up on 8/1/24. For this review, the first can was tasted on 8/16/24. Can two was opened on 9/5/24. Can three was opened on 9/29.

Still pours a bright and light yellow. No visual degradation seen at all. Aroma also coming in strong. The hop bite is still there which is good because this is near session IPA to me and without it, the beer would lose a dimension.

Maybe I shall conduct this experiment again but with a different, not as high quality brewery as Beachwood and maybe take it over a longer time frame.