Erie Brewing Company - Ol' Red Cease and Desist

Poured from the bottle into a standard pint glass. Pours a deep garnet red with little head that dissipates quickly. Aromas are sweet with a hint of peat smoked malt trailing in. Taste is similar with a very sweet initial flavoring of malts but the slight oddity of the peat trailing in at the end. Feel is full bodied with an oiliness that lingers. Drinkable for the style as the ABV limits intake.

Rating: Good

ABV: 10.10%

Saint Louis Brewery/Schlafly Tap Room - Biere De Garde

Poured a gentle amber color with some light cloudiness, great head with differing size bubbles and good lacing. Aroma is light with some Belgian hints but primarily of apples. Tastes good very tart and slightly sour with apples being the primary flavor. Mouthfeel is a crisp medium body very slightly oily. Drinkability is good for the style though a little tart for my tastes.

Rating: Good

ABV: 7.00%

Anchor Brewing Company - Anchor Porter

Poured a deep dark almost opaque brown with some ruby highlights. Ample yellowish brown head that laces minimally. Aromas of banana and chocolate malts. Taste is similar with more chocolate. Feel is medium bodied with a slightly oily texture and light creamy carbonation. Very drinkable and enjoyable.

Rating: Better

ABV: 5.6%

Sierra Nevada Brewing Company - Porter

Poured a deep dark ruby or garnet tinged brown with ample tan head that dissipated quickly and left some lacing. Aromas primarily of chocolate malts with some slight bitterness on the tale end. Feel was medium to full bodied with some dryness/crispness noticed. Very drinkable as the flavor was not overly sweet and the ABV is manageable.

Rating: Better

ABV: 5.6%

Lazy Magnolia Brewing Company - Reb Ale

Poured from the bottle into a weizen glass a nice amber golden color with some clarity. Head was very large, three to four fingers with a vigorous pour. Laces nicely. Aroma is definitely hops with the wheaty biscuityness present. Taste is hops with citrus flavors and the dryness of the wheat. Good crisp light to medium feel and minimal oilness. Sessionable beer that is enjoyable.

Rating: Good

ABV: 5.4%

Plzensky Prazdroj, a. s. - Pilsner Urquell

Poured into a weizen glass (all I had) with a great golden straw coloring and a white head. Laced minimally down the glass. Some toastiness in the aroma along with the hops. Similar taste to the aroma with the straw flavors being more prominent. Feel was slightly oily with a light body. Great drinking session beer.

Rating: Best

ABV: 4.4%

Terrapin Brewing Company - Big Hoppy Monster

Really looking forward to this limited release from Terrapin. Really enjoy most red ales, so this was a special treat.

Poured from the bottle into a standard pint glass, darker ruby color that was clear and had about one finger of head that dissipated quickly into a crown on the beer. Hoppy aroma that leans toward citrusy grapefruit, roasted malt aromas come out after some warming. Taste mimics the aroma, with a good malty backbone lending some balance to an otherwise very hoppy ale. Good carbonation that tickles the tongue without overwhelming the feel. Very good beer overall that I could enjoy all evening.

Rating: Better

ABV 8.3%

Terrapin Brewing Company - Rye Squared

Enjoying being in an area with a few new brews and breweries to try and enjoy. Tonight I got a couple of brews from Terrapin Brewing that are not available in Colorado.

Rye Squared poured from a bottle into a standard pint glass. Pours a deep amber/ruby in color with an ample off-white head. Flavors initially of the rye and hops bitterness with pine notes present. Malty balance follows with some definite sweetness. Good overall balance. Mouth does not have very much carbonation but a definite dryness. Overall a good beer that I could have a few of in a setting.

Rating: Better

ABV: 8.5%

Sierra Nevada Brewing Company - Celebration Ale

Poured from the bottle into a rounded tumbler. Pours a deep copper hue with ample off white head that lasts long and laces very nicely. Aromas of grapefruit initially, with some malty backbone of roasted malts. Hops and fruit flavors balanced well with slight roasted character of the malts. Crisp feel on the front with a minor oiliness on the finish. Great, balanced beers are always very drinkable with this one having a sessionable ABV and great taste.

Rating: Better

ABV: 6.80%

Lagunitas Brewing - Brown Shugga'

Poured from the bottle into a tumbler. Pours a reddish-brown-copper with little head that dissipates quickly to crown the beer. Definite sweet aromas of malts and sugar with some hoppy citrus (grapefruit) aromas as well. Taste is very sweet and the citrus flavors along with pine dominate the flavors. Feels rather light really compared to my expectation and the carbonation is rather light as well. A good drinking beer that could be pretty sessionable if not for the alcohol content.

Rating: Better

ABV: 9.84%

Sierra Nevada Brewing Company - Life and Limb

First of all this is a collaboration between Sierra Nevada and Dogfish Head Brewing Company.

Poured from the bottle into an tumbler. Pours a nice thick dark ruby/brown with a tan head. Limited lacing. Initial aromas are definitely roasted malts and sweetness of the maple syrup. Taste is sweet initially with the malts being very present seem to taste some bitterness following with a hint of coffee, maybe chocolate. Feel is medium to full bodied, leaning to the full side, with some light tight carbonation. Alcohol warming is present and noticeable in the aftertaste. Overall a good beer, with great unique attributes. ABV limits sessionability as does the sweetness in my opinion.

Rating: Good

ABV: 10.20%

Avery Brewing Company - Hog Heaven Barley Wine

Poured from the bottle into a rounded tumbler. Pours a deep dark copper color, clear, with ample tan head and some minimal lacing. Great pine and citrus aromas, followed with some definite malt sweetness. Again hoppy with pine and grapefruit, followed by some brown sugar and caramel on the finish. Light carbonation with a medium bodied feel, some oiliness on the finish. Very balanced with great character, abv the only thing keeping this from sessionability

Rating: Better

ABV: 9.2%

Deschutes Brewery - Black Butte XXI (21st Birthday Reserve)

Limited offering brewed once in June 2009. Poured from the bottle into a rounded tumbler, deep dark brown (almost black color) that has some slight ruby at the edges, head is one finger that doesn't stick around very long, yellowish brown in color. Aromas of the roasted malts some burnt malts seem to be apparent. Chocolate malts provide some definite bitterness. Sweetness limited by the bitterness of the chocolate malts, the taste is very balanced between the chocolate malts, coffee flavors, and the roasted malts. Medium to full bodied feel that has some slight dryness as well. A drinkable beer for the style and very good though the ABV limits consumption.

Rating: Better

ABV: 11.0%

Oskar Blues Brewing Company - Dale's Pale Ale

To me presentation is as much a part of the appearance as the color and head, the can presentation is great, I Love It. Pours a darker than expected copper, some haze. Head is about two fingers and sticks around quite a while. Interestingly enough my nose first picks up the malts, then the hops. Citrusy hops with a nice balance of malts to finish. Very enjoyable light carbonation and light medium-light body. This has become a staple in my beer fridge as what I go to when I just can't decide what I want. Very sessionable.

Rating: Better

ABV: 6.5%
IBU: 65

Stone Brewing Company - Cali - Belgique IPA

Picked this one up a few weeks ago at a local beer store. Then saw it again this afternoon on tap at the Vine Street Pub (Mountain Sun Brewing) so when I got home I decided that this was definitely going to be enjoyed this evening.

Poured from the bottle into a rounded tumbler nice golden color with a thick, sticky, barely offwhite lacy head that really sticks to the glass. Great aromas of hops initially but transitions to a more typical Belgian spicy-malty aroma after some time. Definite crisp piney flavors to go along with the unique Belgian spiciness in the taste as well. Crisp, light bodied feel with a dry aftertaste that lingers. Unique flavors and wonderful aromas, combined with the light feel and relatively low alcohol content lend a hand to make this a very drinkable beer.

Rating: Better
ABV: 6.9%

Russian River Brewing Company - Pliny the Elder

Best beer I have had...ever!

For starters bottled on 2/3/2009 and consumed on 4/5/2009. A little long of a wait for this beer that needs to be had fresh but still very good

Poured from the bottle into a rounded tumbler, brilliant, almost glowing orange golden color, poured one finger of loose, medium bubble head, very sticky and laces beautifully. Wonderful floral and citrus aroma of hops. The hops of the taste a little bit in contrast to the aroma as pine is more present though the grapefruit aftertaste is there. Crisp, light bodied feel, with any oily feel. Relatively light, though ABV would hinder drinking too many

Rating Best

ABV: 8.5%
IBU: 100

Oskar Blues Brewing Company - Old Chub

Poured from the can into a rounded tumbler deep dark brown, almost black. Pours with a two finger head that leaves some lacing. Primarily chocolate malts on the nose some smokiness. Sweet, chocolatey bitterness, again with a slight smokiness. Thick and creamy with light carbonation with a small tight feel. Some lingering aftertaste. Definitely drinkable, good beer overall, sweetness is not over the top.

Rating Good

ABV: 8.00%

Odell Brewing Company - Extra Special Red

Another early review, probably won't be able to find it again as it was a part of Odells single batch series, it was a good beer.

Pours a deep dark red, light carbonation with light head. Fruitiness apparent along wiht alcohol. Nuttiness and Fruitiness along with some oaks. Alcohol content is apparent in taste. Nice, light carbonation tickles the tongue. Good though alcohol content could limit intake.

Rating: Better

ABV: 8.00%

Big Sky Brewing Company - Moose Drool

This is one of my favorite beers, so I am going to try to not be too biased.

Poured from a bottle into a standard pint glass. Pours dark but not black, shades of amber, healthy head that is sticky and laces nicely on the way down. Hints of fruit in the aroma, nice caramel nose as well. Taste of chocolates or caramel and some bitterness. Ample carbonation, slightly fuller bodied, with a smooth feel. Medium carbonation and not too filling, like I said one of my favorite beers, so I could drink plenty of these.

Rating: Best

ABV: 5.1%

Stone Brewing Company - Levitation Ale

Another very early review that probably needs to be revisited for descriptiveness. This is a great session beer, and never really gets old.

Poured from a bottle to a standard pint glass. Poured a deep amber with cream colored head, average carbonation, dissipating quickly. Smell encourages tasting, light bitterness noticable. Good light bitterness, light aftertaste. Enjoyable feel, easy drink. Lighter alcohol heightens drinkability.

Rating: Good

ABV: 4.4%
IBU: 45

Stone Brewing Company - Stone IPA

One of the first brews that I ever reviewed so the content is not quite as descriptive as it should be or needs to be. I will have to pick up some of this soon and update this review.

Poured from the bottle into a standard pint glass, nice honey colored appearance with healthy head when poured. Slight cloudiness noticed. Fine bubbles with sticky characteristics. Enjoyable aroma, nothing extremely noticable, though it builds anticipation well. Great taste, slight bitterness detected though still thoroughly enjoyable. Interesting feel considerable carbonation with tight bubble texture on tongue. Thoroughly enjoyable and extremely drinkable, easily could have had several more.

Rating: Better

ABV: 6.90%
IBU: 77

Founder's Brewing Company - Red Rye

Poured from the bottle into a standard pint glass.

Initial appearance is amber/copper color, a little lighter than expected, gentle one finger head that laced nicely. Aroma is balanced with gentle hops and even amounts of malts. Taste follows the nose with very balanced flavors, hops are noticeable with some fruity and floral flavors, malts balance and finish with slight sweetness. Medium bodied with a strong finish and average carbonation. Overall a highly recommended beverage that is amply drinkable and will not disappoint.

Rating: Better

Stats available
ABV: 6.8%
IBU: 68