Green Pine's Ghost Face Killah

Terrifying that at the time of this post I have 666 page views. That's because this brew is straight from hell! Enjoy this silly, first time video blog!

Ok, so I have a little catching up to do...

I did a lot of posting over the weekend. I was on vacation, after all, and did enjoy a few different beers. That being said, I have missed a couple in the last few days, and I don't want my loyal readers/mom/random spam bot sites to miss a thing! So here you go folks, a few more brews for you to read about, make an informed decision about, and then seek out!

First up to bat: Ithaca's Apricot Wheat! I had a stash of Ithaca beers from my trip up to NY, and had yet to try them all. Apricot Wheat was just what I was looking for the other day; something light, low in alcohol, and refreshing. Also I wanted to test out the crazy fancy glassware my neighbors purchased for me. Killed two birds with one stone (No animals were harmed in the creation of this blog). Poured into my (see photo) glass, this beer is a hazy (surprise) apricot color with no head to speak of. Could be normal, could be a bad pour. Who knows. Anyways, the nose is very fruity, smelling strongly of citrus and apricots. The apricots are just as strong and forward in the flavor, with some sweet wheat flavors to round it our. All in all a good brew, but I think I would have preferred this earlier in the year, and it is too sweet for me personally to have more than one.

Now that that parenthesis-filled paragraph is over...


Next up is my first experience with Hoppin' Frog Brewery. A brew with a heck of a name, Hop Master’s Abbey Belgian-style Double IPA was certainly a good ambassador for the company. Pouring a clear gold in my IPA glass, this IPA has a thick, pillowy off-white head that leaves great lacing behind. A sniff reveals sweet, candy malts. As expected, those sweet malts were very forward, followed up with some light, bitter hops. I am not sure if it is a character of the Belgian IPAs as I have only had a couple, or if I purchased an older bottle, but the hops seem a bit receded here; not in a bad way. The balance is great and the result is an incredibly smooth drinking beer that I wish were available in 12 ounce six packs. Wish away, right?

Last is a beer that I have had before, but not since the birth of this wonderfully strange blog: Dogfish Head's 61 Minute IPA. By now, most people have tried or at least heard about Dogfish Head's 60, 75, 90, 120 Minute IPAs, but the 61 Minute is new this year, and it stands out from the pack. It is their 60 minute IPA with the addition of grapes, and the result of this combination is fantastic. Poured into my IPA glass (which I purchased from the Dogfish Head brewery, FYI), the 61 Minute pours a nice, ruby red with a just slightly off-white head. Sweet grapes hit the nose and remind me of a glass of good, sweet wine. The taste is where the magic truly lies, though. The sweet grapes take the lead on this wine/beer hybrid, followed by a smooth transition into nice, light hop flavors. None of the flavors are overpowering. The balance is as perfect as can be expected from such a strange beer. I expected either big bitterness or cloying sweetness, and I was happy to find neither. This is an incredibly refreshing brew, a fantastic hybrid, and I cannot praise Dogfish enough for a job well done!

Well there you have it folks; you're all caught up. One more thing though. Dogfish Head does have two new brews coming out next month! American Beauty, the Grateful Dead beer project, and Kvasir, their latest ancient ale, will both be available soon in 750mL bottles. Sound like a DFH double-feature is in the near future? You bet! Cheers!

Russian River's Pliny the Elder

There are some beers with so much hype behind them it makes me skeptical. I am one of those guys who watched Donnie Darko after the hype and because of that it just didn't meet my expectations. Sure, it was interesting, but it didn't live up to my pumped up expectations. So when I completed my first beer trade for some Pliny the Elder, I was afraid I would feel similarly let down. Not even close.

Pliny pours a very light gold for the style, but it was clear with a two finger white head. I insisted on putting this legendary IPA in my IPA glass. I knew I had something special just by smelling this beer. Fresh citrus and pine notes hit the nose and foreshadow the taste to come. The taste encompasses all that I want from a hoppy, double IPA. Nice, light malts hit the tongue first. The taste smoothly flows into citrus hops and follow through with a nice, light bitter tinge. The light lacing wraps this beautiful brew up until the end. I can tell Russian River really took their time to take all the things we love about double IPAs and perfected them. I have had beers that have wowed me before, but this one is just exactly what I never knew I was craving. Unfortunately not readily available on the East Coast, I will share my second bottle with a friend, and keep my eyes out for another opportunity to get some more. This is a statement I do not take lightly: This is my favorite IPA thus far; perhaps my favorite beer all together... 

Cerveza de Los Muertos Immortal Beloved Hefeweizen

Ok, this blog is a bit hard for me to type right now. Why you ask? Because I have my very first Pliny the Elder chilling in the fridge right now and I am super stoked. But I had this over the weekend and I need to share, right? Right...

I snatched this one up because it is a Mexican import craft beer and that alone seemed very interesting. Most of the brews I got in SC were IPAs, so I snatched up this Hefeweizen to mix it up. I popped the top and was instantly concerned. Twist off, it seems. Now, I'm not saying good beer cannot come in a twist cap bottle, but in my experience it tends to be less than impressive. This one, though nothing out of the ordinary, certainly was not disappointing. Poured into a plain old pint glass, this beer is a hazy gold with a white head that diminished almost immediately. Light banana and wheat notes on the nose. The taste follows the nose as expected, with a little bit of light citrus flavor added to the bananas and sweet wheat notes. This is a nice, light beer that I could see being a solid session beer, and though a bit sweet, it is a solid Hefeweizen. I enjoyed it enough to be interested in trying their other beers when I get the chance. Guess I need to learn not to judge a beer by its twist cap.

Thomas Creek's Up the Creek "Extreme IPA"

I am currently on a mini vacation down in South Carolina, so I naturally checked out the beer store to see if there were some southern brews that I had never seen before. Among others, I picked up a four pack of Thomas Creek's Up the Creek. It boasted of being an extreme IPA, and at 12.5% ABV, I sure believed it. And with a catch phrase of "Sink the status quo" I was pretty sure this was a brew for me. I was right, but it was not at all what I expected.

Poured into your every day pint glass, Up the Creek pours a dark burgundy with a thin beige head. One whiff of this reveals intense, sweet malts on the nose. Taste follows the nose in a big way! The malts are the core of this brew, with some nice fruity notes throughout. Pretty significant booze taste in there too, but not overwhelming and certainly not as much as it could be for its content. Here is my dilemma. Where are my hops? Hidden within all that malty goodness there are hints of piney hops, but not what you would expect from an extreme IPA, or even a less than extreme IPA. In their attempt to sink the status quo with their IPA, I think Thomas Creek accidentally made a really great Barleywine instead. Not a bad thing by any means, just not what I was expecting. BUT, it is their beer, so I will let them make the call on what category it belongs in. Try this IPA if it is available around you. If not, maybe ask for it in a trade. It is worth a taste for sure. Now, since this IPA breaks all the IPA rules, I am going to break one as well, and stash one or two of these away to see how they age. My guess: As gracefully as Sierra Nevada's Bigfoot.

Green Flash's Green Bullet and Heavy Seas' Loose Cannon

Here I am once again getting into the habit of posting a couple days late. Not sure that there is a real issue with that, but if anyone has any qualms with that feel free to say so in the comments below. Anyways, the other day I decided I wanted something with some serious punch to it in the hop department. By now it is very clear that I am an IPA man, so these hop cravings are nothing new. So I decided on two brews: Green Flash's Green Bullet and Heavy Seas' Loose Cannon (Disclaimor, I am not certain I am using that apostrophe correctly. Any grammar Nazis are free to correct me in the comments below...).

First up was Green Flash's Triple IPA, Green Bullet. Poured into my IPA glass, this brew is a clear gold with a big off white head. Now, some people take the time to smell their beer and appreciate the odors prior to tasting. Others don't think its worth bothering. It doesn't matter which of the two you are in this case, because the big floral and citrus hops are on the your nose as soon as you pour it! Tasting this brew will reveal a quick tingle of sweet malts before huge, bitter hops kick you square in the teeth. There is a slight hint of grapefruit here and a notable booze kick at the end. As your taste buds adjust, later sips will reveal a little more of the sweet malt character at the front. Take the time to enjoy Green Bullet, because at 10.1% ABV, it could catch up to you real quick!

Later in the evening, once I had allowed my taste buds some time to recover, I cracked open a Loose Cannon from Heavy Seas. Pouring a dark, clear gold with a white head, Loose Cannon had some sweet malts on the nose along with a hint of floral hops. Though quite appealing, the nose revealed I certainly wouldn't be up against the intensity that I was with Green Bullet. Sweet malts are on the forefront, followed by a nice combination of citrus and piney hops. The balance here is great, and if you are not into extreme bitterness, this is a good IPA for you. All in all, a very refreshing beer, and would make a good choice if you are searching to enjoy more than one in an evening.

Old Dominion/ DuClaw Double Feature!

First and foremost... It's the weekend! Kick back folks! Crack your favorite craft brew and relax. You've earned it! Tonight I had a hankering for some darker brews, so I snatched a couple of brews I purchased on a recent beer run out of the closet in hopes of being satisfied.

First up was Old Dominion's Morning Glory Espresso Stout. This was my second Old Dominion brew this week, and I was just hoping it held up to the quality of Double D. In my humble opinion, this was even better! With a one finger, chocolate head that faded pretty quickly, this brew is as black as they come. Take a moment to waft this brew before you take your first sip. The roasted malt and coffee nose are just great. The taste follows the nose, with even more coffee flavor than expected. I shared a sip with a person who is not a fan of dark beers, and he enjoyed this one just because it tastes so much like a well brewed coffee. The flavor is so balanced I assumed the alcohol content must be on the lower end. Dead wrong, it is 9%ABV and you would never know if it weren't for the label. In conclusion, if you don't like coffee, pass on this, because that is the bulk of the flavor. For me, however, this is one of my new favorite stouts, and I intend to make it a go-to beer in the future. You've won me over, Old Dominion. Consider me a loyal customer.

There was a pattern in tonight's brews: I had DuClaw's Serum, a double IPA, recently and tonight I enjoyed a dark porter of theirs: Sweet Baby Jesus. This brew had caught my eye because it was a chocolate peanut butter porter. I love peanut butter so much and firmly believe it should be incorporated whenever possible. I was on the fence until I posted my Serum blog on Twitter and DuClaw responded to it. They chatted back and forth for a couple messages and then suggested Sweet Baby Jesus. Any brewery that cares enough about their products to take the time to respond to my posts (several have) shows me they really care about what their customers think of their brews. That's a big deal to me, so I took their advice. But enough of that, onto the beer! Sweet Baby Jesus pours solid black with a thin tan head. One sniff of this makes me start to believe I am about to drink a blended Reese cup, which I am totally down for! Not as intensely sweet as expected, you get a solid chocolate malt base in this porter followed by a smooth peanut butter finish. If I were to express a gripe with this brew, it would be only that it gets pretty rich about half way through the glass. All in all, its a great beer worth trying and to share with friends. I wouldn't recommend bringing a six pack to a party with the intention of drinking them all yourself, but bring them to share and your friends will love you. Cheers!

Dogfish Head/ Stone/ Victory's Saison du Buff

A few months ago I was up in Springfield, VA for a concert (Streetlight Manifesto). Springfield is a weird town, and I was really early, so I was trying to find something to do. Beer shopping was a natural first choice. So I popped into the local whole foods and along with some great brews I found something unexpected. A collaboration between Dogfish Head, Stone, and Victory: Saison du Buff. Three great breweries, so obviously I was intrigued. Problem was, these bottles were from last year and I wasn't sure how well this style ages since it is not one I drink on a regular basis. I took the risk and snatched up a few bottles. I shared all but one before I had this blog (taking no notes, sadly), and opened my last one tonight. So disclaimer, this interpretation is of a 2012 bottle, and I have never had it fresh.

This golden yellow nectar poured with a thick, two or three finger white head. Now, when I say thick, I mean I literally tossed a bottle cap on it and it didn't think about sinking through the head.Sweet, citrus notes on the nose along with some interesting spices. I am not too familiar with this style so I struggle to describe the flavor. Nice, light spices are forward followed by sweet, tangy lemon notes. Wrapped up with a little something that tastes like it came out of my spice rack (It does have thyme, rosemary, sage, AND parsley in it) along with just a little bitterness. I imagine those forward spice notes are provided by the above listed herbs. I am not sure how different this brew is now compared to fresh, but I really enjoyed it. This particular bottle is Dogfish's version of the brew, but apparently all three breweries release it. I am curious if there are any differences between the bottles. Guess I'll just have to get a hold of all three and find out! Cheers!

Old Dominion's Double D IPA

I have said it before and I'll say it again: Packaging Sells! The craft beer industry is exploding, and that's a great thing! Unfortunately with all these available craft beers, the wall of new beers to try can be a bit overwhelming. If I am not in the store for something specific, it is often the labels that catch my eyes. Needless to say, Old Dominion's Double D...um.... eh hem... caught my eye. Thank goodness for great packaging though, because this is pretty tasty.

Double D pours a clear gold with a thick, one finger off-white head. A great combination of pine and citrus notes on the nose. When you sip this brew, give it time in your mouth so you can get the full gambit of flavors. You get a quick tang of malty sweetness, followed by citrus hop goodness. It finishes strong with big, bitter pine hop flavors. All in all, I really enjoyed the balance of this brew. It runs the spectrum of the expected Imperial
IPA flavors, and at 9% ABV and 90 IBU's, it can hang with the best!

Brooklyn Brine/ Dogfish Head Hop Pickle

Tuesdays are racquetball nights. If you have never played racquetball before, let me assure you it is not a game you want to have a beer before playing. I felt like blogging, though, because I was sitting right at 499 page views! Then I remembered a beer featured treat that I had in the fridge. Ladies and gents, meet Hop Pickles!

The name Dogfish Head means two main things to me: Creativity and Quality. So when I heard they were working with Brooklyn Brine to make pickles, I was more than curious. So I bit the bullet on this mildly pricey jar of pickles and jumped on in! What I got I did not expect though. The hops are certainly there (they are made with 60 Minute IPA) but the kicker is the spice! I didn't read it on the jar so the habenero really caught me off guard. I loved it. The hops, tangy pickle, and pepper combo is great, and though I can't afford to top every sandwich with these, they are a nice treat that I recommend everyone try.

Young Veterans Brewing Company Grand Opener!

Today was an awesome day. Not only did we announce the gender of my first child (It's a boy!), but we had a new brewery join the ranks in Hampton Roads. We are lucky enough to have several small breweries in this area, but one more is always welcome. Two former military men opened this brewery and they have used their military heritage to base their brews off of. Winning two Battle of the Beers in this area before even opening, I had big hopes for these guys. I most certainly was not disappointed.

The first beer I had to try was the winner of both Battle of the Beers, Jet Noise IPA. Jet Noise had a nice, white head and pours a hazy gold. Big hops come to the nose on this one. The real treat of this brew, however, is how the flavors smoothly transition from citrus hops to big bitter flavors. This is certainly a beer that is meant to be enjoyed fresh and I am glad I came out early enough to get to try it.

Next up was another brew with limited availability: Night Vision Stout. I am pretty sure it is not possible to have a darker brew than this one, and the dark chocolate colored head really contributed to the appearance. One with of this brew reveals big coffee notes. These coffee notes follow through in the flavor. There was a nice balance of roasted malts and coffee flavors. I felt like I could pour a glass of this in the morning with my eggs and toast. Can't wait to grab some of this brew on a cold winter day and warm up the evening.

Next brew in line to taste was also the most creatively named: Semper Fi PA. Clear gold and and with a nice white head, I only took a couple sips out of my buddy's cup on this one. With my quick judgment of this brew I noticed its big floral nose and the big bitter hop taste. Sorry, not a very detailed description on this one, but trust me when I say it is worth a try.

I followed up with a pale ale called Even Keel. Pale ales are not particular favorites of mine, and though this brew was certainly well made, it is my least favorite of the bunch.Another hazy yellow brew with a white head. Fruity yeast notes on the nose that follow through lightly in the flavor. Slightly buttery after taste that is common of the style. Once again, not my favorite brew, but that is because of the style and certainly not because of the quality of brewing.

The last brew of the night was my absolute favorite, which is Pineapple Grenade. As with any hefeweizen, this beer poured a typical hazy yellow with a white head. Nice wheat notes on the nose as well as great citrus odors. The pineapple is huge in this brew. The forefront is all pineapple, followed up by some fruity wheat notes. I had to take some of this home, so I had a growler filled and brought it home to the neighbors. It was a hit!

In closing, I have to say that I am totally stoked for these guys. They took the time to get their brews right before opening, and it shows. Keep up the good work gentlemen, we will be waiting for the next big thing!

Sierra Nevada's Flipside

Sierra Nevada is a go-to brand for me. If I want to try something new with very little fear of being disappointed, I check out what's up in the Sierra Nevada section of my Total Wine. So while browsing for a lower alcohol content (should put lower in quotations, it is 6.3%) beer to sip on for my anniversary, I came across Sierra Nevada's Flipside Red IPA. 

Flipside pours a clear, dark red with a thick, one finger, tan head. Big floral hops on the nose here. Before even tasting it I knew I was going to get more than I expected from this one. For some reason I was thinking more red ale, less IPA. Ha. Wrong! My first sip revealed big, fresh hop flavor. Balancing out the bitterness of the hops are the slightly sweet fruit backings of a red ale. This is an great in between seasons brew, and at about $8 for a six pack, you won't have to break the bank to enjoy it. Between this and Ithaca's Cascazilla, I think I have found a style that is quickly becoming one of my new favorites: Red IPA. Cheers!

DuClaw's Serum Double IPA

There are many reasons I decide to pick a beer out of the mass selection that is available. Sometimes it is the notoriety of the beer. Others the packaging or bottle label catch my eye, or perhaps I enjoyed the name of the brew. Seldom is there a beer where the bottle cap is the final attribute that makes me buy a beer. DuClaw's Serum was one of those beers.

I was picking out a build your own 6-pack at Total Wine, filling it with IPAs that I had not tried, when I picked up Serum. To be honest, I had heard about DuClaw before, but I hadn't tried one before. I don't know if all their caps say this, but when I read the words "Craft Be Cherished. Rules Be Damned." on the cap, I was sold. How craft beer/ punk rock is that? I'm all about breweries that push the limits of a beer and I am always down to try new things. Though there was nothing extremely out of the ordinary with this double IPA, I was not disappointed in my choice.

Poured into my IPA glass, Serum is a hazy dark gold beer with a big bubbled, one finger head. Piney, floral hops are on the nose along with a some big malt smells. Those sweet malts are very big in the flavor. They are at the forefront of this beer, but are not so powerful that they are overwhelming. Citrus hops follow the malts, and then big time bitterness wraps it up. Though not hugely set apart from the crowd, Serum's showcasing of all my favorite features of DIPAs makes it a brew that my IPA glass will contain again soon.

A Day of Pumpkin Ales!

Labor day weekend is often considered as the unofficial end of summer. So with that, I decided to celebrate with an all out pumpkin ale tasting. So I pulled out my mason jar mug and used the all powerful Google to compile a list of the most celebrated pumpkin ales that were available in my area, and this is the group I came up with...

First up this evening was New Belgium's Pumpkick. This beer was a nice, bright gold with an off white head. Nothing special on the nose here, just typical ale notes of alcohol and malts. If you have ever had New Belgium's signature Fat Tire ale, you have pretty much had this beer. Slight (and I mean VERY slight) hints of pumpkin and cranberry tartness. Not a bad beer by any means, but nothing terribly impressive.

Next up was Schlafly's Pumpkin Ale. Talk about a big difference. This beer poured a nice, hazy brown with a white head. Cinnamon and spices were very prevalent on the nose. Spices are very forward in the flavor of this ale, followed by light hints of sweet pumpkin and malts. This beer was absolutely fantastic. Incredibly warming and with just the right balance of sweetness and spice. I have heard by many that this is the best of all the pumpkin ales, and I certainly can see why they feel that way.

Next in line was Dogfish Head's Punkin. Now, I am quick to admit that I had my hopes up for this one. I love Dogfish Head and all that they do. This, however, was not my favorite of the evening. Pouring a clear, golden brown with a one finger off white head, the spices on the nose were much fresher smelling than the previous brews. Those spices hit hard forward in the taste; perhaps a little too much for my liking. The pumpkin was a subtle aftertaste followed by sweet malts. The Dogfish quality is certainly still there in this brew, but it just did not appeal to me.

Next up was Cisco Brewers Inc's Pumple Drumkin. This came highly recommended by both the folks of the interwebs and the fine folks who sell these brews at the local beer stores. Golden brown with an off white head, I had a hard time placing the nose on this one. There was a slight pumpkin odor, but not much else here the I can describe. The flavors were very sweet and malty. Not much pumpkin here, but there was a little bit of a spice follow up. All in all, unfortunately I appreciated the pumpkins on the bottle label much more than I did in the beer.

Okay, so here comes one that I had way hyped up. Southern Tier's Pumking is a bit of a legend around here. In the past years it has not always been easy to get a hold of, and I have always been told it was the best pumpkin beer around. This beer pours a nice, clear orange with a two finger, off white head. A quick whiff made me think someone was baking a pumpkin pie. The taste is exactly what the odor would imply. It does not taste like beer. It tastes like a delicious pumpkin pie that has been put in a bottle. The big pumpkin flavor is followed a sweet, spicy tang. Though a little sweet to have more then one glass, I see why this can be hard to find. It tastes awesome.

Smuttynose's Pumpkin Ale was next in line; a very hazy, orange beer with a two finger off white head. A nice blend of sweet pumpkin and spices come on the nose. The spices are the highlight of the flavor of this beer. They are very forward with only a slight hint of pumpkin. Sweet malts wrap this quality brew up. Though quite tasty, nothing made this beer stand out from the group.

Next up was one of my favorite brews of the evening, Alewerks's Pumpkin Ale. From Williamsburg, just 45 minutes West of here, this brew pours a clear brown with a thin, off white head. Wafting this one reveals big, sweet pumpkin odors on the nose. This is another big, very spicy pumpkin pie flavored beer. This is followed up with a fantastic spicy finish. The balance of the sweet pumpkin flavor and the spiciness is something that was lacking in the other brews.

Rounding out the evening was Southampton's Pumpkin Ale. Pouring a clear brown with a one finger head, the nose on this one suggests I was about to have another sweet brew. Big, super sweet pumpkin notes flood the nose. This is why I was so surprised by the flavor. Instead of a sweet brew, I found fresh pumpkin flavors, not nearly as sugary as the nose suggested. Followed up with subtle spices, this was another great beer with very nice balance.

Pumpkin beers was not a style I had previously delved into. When I first started drinking craft beers, I had tried one and my new, tame palate was not ready for the strange intensity in it. Now that my tastes have evolved, I am glad I revisited the style. They are fantastic brews and a great welcoming for the Fall season.