Ithaca Beer Company's Box of Hops

When I first saw Ithaca post about their Box of Hops variety pack, I was like, "I have to have that!" Unfortunately you can't get their beer here, and I was not planning a trip to NY for a long time. I was just about to give up when I remembered my mom was coming down for our baby shower! I made the calls, she picked up the loot, and BAM!, hoppy goodness was at my doorstep a week later. I waited for an appropriate occasion, the day I reenlisted in the Navy, to try the brews out. (Sidebar: English folk-punk singer Frank Turner was cool enough to do the honors. He's a cool dude, for sure. I got him a special brew from Beach Brewing as a thank you.) After the ceremony was complete, my friend TJ and I returned for some PS4 and hoppy action before the concert that evening.

I am going to be brief with the first beer of the box, Flower Power IPA, because I have already discussed it here. Revisiting this brew was a delight, however, and its citrus and floral hops are so well balanced. If you are in the North East, or trading with someone from there, get some of this! It is readily available in upstate NY year round, making it a great option.

The rest of the brews in this box were exclusively brewed for this box, and that's just a shame, because The Creeker (a DIPA) is phenomenal. It poured a hazy, light gold with a white head. The nose was a fine bouquet of piney hops. The forward flavors are a nice blend of citrus and piney hop flavors. Sweet citrus flavors follow these hoppy notes up. The bitterness of the hops makes a slight appearance among the citrus, but it is quite mild. This beer finishes so smooth, and I wish I could get a hold of this on a regular basis. This would be a go-to double IPA for me (Ah-hem, Ithaca).

Next up was the beer I was most excited for, but sadly, was least impressed with: Double Zilla. A double version of Ithaca's delicious red IPA Cascazilla, I thought this thing could only get better. It pours a dark, hazy red with an off white head. The odor of this one is full of sweet, fruity notes. Those sweet, fruity notes follow through in the flavors. The malts overwhelm the flavor, accompanied with a bitter, but not hoppy flavor. I really feel the hops were overpowered by all the malts, and that's a shame. The follow up is a fruity, tangy finish. Its not a bad beer by any means, but it was not what I was looking for. EDIT: Just read on IBC's site that this thing is 11% ABV! Explains the sweetness, and my significant buzz!

Last but not least is Dark Vine, a black IPA. Dark Vine pours jet black with a big, off white head. The odor reveals incredibly fresh piney hops. Those piney hops follow through on the flavors. The big hoppy flavors are tare accompanied by some roasted malts, but they are in the background on this one. The hops are the star here, which is what I hope for but don't always find with a black IPA.

I would like to close with a plea to Ithaca Beer Company. Please, please, PLEASE make these beers again! I don't get up to NY often, but when I do, I bring back six packs of Flower Power and Cascazilla. Would really like to add more to my shopping list, just  saying.

Great Divide's Yeti

Let's face it, Yeti is all over Instagram. It seems like everyone is drinking this stuff. I take that as a sign a beer is good. Unfortunately, we didn't get Great Divide beer in this area for a little while. I didn't look into the reasoning, but I heard that it was once here and it went away. Sadly, I shelved my dreams of trying this beer and tried to forget it for a while.When I had nearly forgotten about it, my friends at Grape and Gourmet announced it was back on Facebook, and I was stoked! 

Yeti is an imperial stout that pours as black as night with a thin, dark brown head. The nose reveals great coffee notes as well as some roasted malts. The taste quickly reveals this creature of lore isn't messing around! Sweet caramel notes lead to big roasted malts, finishing up with some serious bitterness and booze. What I found unusual is both the bitterness and the booze flavor eased as it warmed (I sipped this one pretty slowly). The after taste left behind is similar to that a good coffee would leave. I really enjoyed that this stout smoothly bridges the very different flavors that are typical from this style. Usually an imperial stout does one or two of these flavors and does them well. Yeti is much more complex, and it pulls it off. This is my first Great Divide beer, and I can't wait to try some more!

PS: The light lacing left a nice little heart on my glass! Twoo wuv!

Dogfish Head's Kvasir

Almost everyone in the craft beer world knows all about Dogfish Head. If you don't, allow me to lift the rock you've apparently been living under. Dogfish Head is a brewery in DE, and they are famous for pushing the boundaries when it comes to beer. They like to use unusual ingredients, and have a few beer/wine hybrids out there. They also have a series of Ancient Ales, in which they recreate beverages from eons past with the help of a bio-molecular archaeologist. How cool is that? Kvasir is the latest  of the Ancient Ales, premiering just last month, and modeled after material recovered from a 3500 year old Danish drinking vessel (more info here) I don't know if they categorize it as a hybrid beer, but I would, and I loved every sip of it.

Poured into a tulip glass, Kvasir pours a brownish-red with an just slightly off white head. Fruity and tangy nose, the cranberries really come through in the smell. The taste is where this thing gets a little tricky to place. The tangy, cranberry notes are rocking out forward, as I had both anticipated and hoped for. After that, I had a hard time placing the taste. The fruity flavors follow through with an almost cider flavor, also some red wine notes there. Like I said, its bizarre and hard to describe. Don't take that for a negative, however, because in this case bizarre is a great thing! Cranberry comes back in its bitter form to wrap up Kvasir with a dry finish. This is a great beer for any occasion you would pull out a nice red wine. I wish I had a second bottle for Thanksgiving; perhaps I will come across one. At any rate, if your not shy about trying new things (don't be), go grab a bottle of this if you can find it. It is fantastic, and once again shows what greatness can come from pushing the creativity boundaries. You rock, Dogfish Head. Keep up the good work!

A Southern Tier Halloween!

I think part of the fun of craft beer is the is a beer for everything. You can pair beer with food, music, your mood, weather, holidays, you name it. So when we finally got Warlock in the Virginia Beach area, I thought it only right to save it until Halloween. I already had a bottle of Pumking stashed for Halloween, so I thought I would enjoy them both as I heard they were similar. Now, I know I already discussed Pumking in my pumpkin blog back in September, but I want to kind of provide a side by side. Besides, you watch reruns of The Big Bang Theory all the time, and someone has to be still watching Seinfeld, so who are you to judge?

 Warlock pours a very dark brown (near black) with a tan head. I poured it into my mason jar mug because for some reason it just screams fall to me. Anyways, a sniff will reveal sweet pumpkin on the nose along with a little bit of spices. A taste reveals a big pumpkin pie flavor nicely balanced with some light spices. Light, roasted malts wrap it up. 

Pumking, which more of you have probably tasted, pours a clear orange with a white head. Similar to Warlock, the nose here smells like pumpkin pie in a glass. The taste follows the nose to a T, with sweet pumpkin forward, followed by some spice and a smooth, light finish. Pumking is a fan favorite, and with reason.

Now the million dollar question: Which one is better? That's a tough one. It is one of those situations where you really don't want to choose. If cruelly forced to choose between the two, however, I would have to lean toward Warlock. Warlock is practically Pumking in stout form, and the stout characteristics really play well with the sweet pumpkin base. Pumking is light though, and more suited for the warmer fall days than Warlock. If you can't decide, do what I did with the remains of each bottle, and mix them. Its a Halloween party in your mouth.

Southern Tier's Choklat

Before we begin, I am excited to say that this posting will probably bring me up to 1000 page views! Woohoo! Haha sure, some of them are generated from spam visits, but at least there are a few of ya out there reading, and that's cool by me! After all, it isn't exactly hard work. I drink beer, them spiel about it for a minute. Easy enough, and I've earned a whopping $.65 doing it! Haha okay okay, onto the beer.

Southern Tier is a company that I have come to expect greatness from. So when I picked up their big, chocolate stout Choklat, I had high hopes, and I was not disappointed. Choklat pours dark and thick with a quick fading dark brown head. The nose smells like a chocolate bar with a little bit of the booze sneaking through (10% ABV on this beast). Surprisingly, however, very little of that alcohol comes through in the taste. Dark chocolate flavors are forward with some caramel and mocha to wrap it up. There is a slight bite from the booze at the end, but not bad at all. This beer is heavy but smooth. I split the bottle with some neighbors, and I wouldn't recommend conquering this whole thing on your own because of its high alcohol and richness. All in all, this beer is dessert in my eyes. Enjoy!

Bell's Stout Double Feature

Ok guys, let me start by apologizing. It has been way too long since I have last posted. And I know what you've been thinking: I have to get the bills paid, take the kids to soccer practice, I hate my job, etc. In truth, you probably haven't concerned yourself with my lack of posts. But if for some reason you have, it may have crossed your mind that I probably haven't stopped trying new beers just because I stopped posting. And right you are! So today you will receive an onslaught of posts! First up, Bell's Java Stout!

This offering from Bell's Brewery pours thick and dark as they come with a thin, mocha head. The nose is all up in your face with the coffee beans accompanied by some roasty, toasty malts. Needless to say, the big coffee nose got me excited, because coffee stouts are just great, especially when they really showcase the coffee flavors rather than just hint at them. But enough sniffing, its time to get to the goods! Taking a sip of this is... wow! Intense! I'd describe this one using 3 B's: Big. Bold. Bitter. This stuff tastes like a strong, dark roast coffee. Hard to search for much else here, because the coffee is what it is all about, but the malts are still there when your looking for them. I think this beer is great, but it isn't going to appeal to everyone. If you aren't big into coffee but want to try a coffee stout, don't start here. Ease yourself in with something more mild, because Bell's goes all out with this one.

Now, if coffee is just not your bag (baby!), you can grab Bell's Cherry Stout instead! Another dark, almost black brew, this beer's mocha head was present only briefly. Could be my pours, could be the beer, who knows? Anyways, the smell of this beer is heavenly! Chocolate covered cherries overwhelm the nose on this one, complemented by some barely there coffee notes. I really like when you can tell just by the smell of a beer that you've got something special. This one does not disappoint. A quick sip and BAM! tart cherries are all up in your mouth! This transitions into a smooth chocolate flavor, followed by an almost sour finish. This one really hits the flavor spectrum hard, and I may even claim it has one of the more complex flavor profiles I've tasted. Now, I read up and some people say the flavors mild out with a little age. Mine was just about as fresh as they come (Bottled about a week and a half before). I personally would chase these freshies like an IPA for the flavor I got, but some people might prefer the more mild option. Regardless, this one is something special, and I went back and got a six pack to share with friends and family.