Avery Brewing Company - The Czar

Avery Brewing Company's "The Czar" pours a deep dark black opaque, tannish golden head of one finger that dissipated to a nice crown. It smells of a nice roasted malt aroma, with some hop characteristics finding their way through. The taste is malts again, very prevalent, some crisp bitterness on the finish. Feel has a crisp carbonation, and an oily finish. Overall "The Czar" is as drinkable as the style can be given the sweetness and abv's prevalent. A good imperial stout though I typically prefer a bit more balance of hops to the malts.

Rating: Better

ABV: 11.03%

Ska Brewing Company - ESB Special Ale

Pours from the can a nice copper color little haze, with an off white two and a half finger head that laces enough, but dissipated pretty quickly. Smell pine notes initially with some malty sweetness following. Taste is crisp and piney followed with some roasted malt flavors. Feel is crisp yet very oily, good carbonation. Great drinking beer, very enjoyable, not too stout.

Rating: Better

ABV: 5.7%

Odell Brewing Company - India Barley Wine

Darker copper color, with a light brown head that laced slightly in the glass. Some sweet malts presenting as banana, but the primary aroma is from the hops, grapefruit mostly. Taste is crisp pine followed with sweetness and some alcohol. Initially very carbonated but by the second pour carbonation was mostly gone. Enjoyable beer, abv limits repeatability, though i will drink again. Would like to try this aged several more months.

Rating: Better

ABV: 9.7%

Odell Brewing Company - Mountain Standard Reserve

Deep, very dark brown with a slight off white head that left some lacing on my snifter. Smell is a hoppy citrusy aroma, with some finishing malts on the end. Taste is very similar to the smell with a nice balanced flavor, citrusy hops up front and malt sweetness finishing. Light carbonation, gentle feel, soft finish. Good feel, and taste. Good balanced beer.

Rating: Better

ABV: 8.5%

Avery Brewing Company - Hog Heaven Barley Wine

Deep dark copper color, clear, with ample tan head and some minimal lacing on my snifter. Great pine and citrus aromas, followed with some definite malt sweetness. Taste is again hoppy with pine and grapefruit, followed by some brown sugar and caramel on the finish. Great feel, with a nice carbonation, and some oiliness on the finish. Overall great, very balanced beer with great character, abv the only thing keeping this from sessionability.

Rating: Best

ABV: 9.2%

Ska Brewing Company - Decadent Imperial IPA

Pours really much redder than expected, deep amber/copper color with ample tan head. Smell alcohol as really the first aroma, followed by malts, very sweet smelling. Taste again has alcohol up front, followed by malts and sweetness, some hoppy bitterness on the end. Nice feel, very oily with ample carbonation. Not as drinkable as some of the same style, enjoyable, though quite sweet and the abv does not lend to extreme drinkability.

Rating: Good

ABV: 10.0%

Ska Brewing Company - Nefarious Ten Pin Imperial Porter

Pours a deep dark ruby almost black, clear when held to the light. One finger of tan head that is barely there before it is gone. Slight bit of lacing left behind as the beer disappears. Smell is chocolate malts and some coffee, with a slight aroma of raisins. Taste is again, chocolate with definite coffee. Slight fruityness on the tail, with the alcohol. Feel has very light carbonation, smooth, slightly oily. Drinkable as any beer at 8% is, taste, aroma worth it, overall a good beer.

Rating: Best

ABV: 8.0%

Twisted Pine Brewing Company - Billy's Chilies Beer (Timberline Series)

Pours a cloudy golden color with a white one finger head into my pint glass. The head dissipates rapidly to near nothing. Smell is very much what was expected, very peppery and spicy on the nose, with jalapenos being the primary pepper noticed. Taste is spicy with the jalapeno being the pepper flavor that i was able to pick out, leaves a gentle warming on the lips and tongue after the beer is long gone. Good feel pretty light on the carbonation though. Drinkable, but not something I would choose to have a bunch of in one sitting.

Rating: Good

ABV: ?

Oskar Blues Grill & Brewery - Ten FIDY

First of all this is one of my favorite beers of all time. I love canned beer, especially canned beer that pours as deep, dark brownish black with a slight amount of dark caramel/golden color head as this does. The smell has aromas of cocoa, coffee, and alcohol with some sweetness evident. The taste is sweet cocoa, with some bitterness on the tail end, alcohol is fairly well masked. Feel is crisp with some carbonation, nice alcohol warming and a great smoothness. Overall this beer is a great version of an American Imperial/Double Stout, and the presentation just seals the deal for me.

Rating: Best

ABV: 10.5%

Breckenridge Brewery - Lucky U IPA

On tap at Breckenridge Oktoberfest...pours a nice deep copper color with ample head. Smell oozes pine on the nose, crisp and bitter. Taste has great pine crispness and quite dry and bitter. Good feel, really light on the carbonation, some oiliness on the finish, light aftertaste. Nice beer very drinkable and enjoyable, could have kept going on this all day....

Rating: Better

ABV: 6.2%

Odell Brewing Company - Levity Amber Ale

Pale copper color, ok maybe not pale but lighter than expected. One finger white head that dissipates quickly and laces moderately. Smell is initially yeasty in aroma, followed by slightly more malty sweetness than hoppy bitterness but very balanced, and relatively plain. Taste again is not powerful but malts sweetness overides that bitterness from the hops. Feel has light carbonation and medium body. Good, generally pretty plain though.

Rating: Good

ABV: 5.0%

Breckenridge Brewery - Avalanche Ale

Poured from the bottle into a snifter a darker amber/copper color, with a white one finger head. Initially notice aroma of malts followed by some faint bitterness. Taste is similar to the smell with malts present first and bitterness following. Not the boldest of smells, or tastes. Light carbonation with little oiliness on the feel. Drinkable, though I would probably go elsewhere most times.

Rating: Good

ABV: 5.41%

New Belgium Brewing - 1554 Enlightened Black Ale

Deep, deep, dark amber/black colors with a one fat finger of head, tan/khaki in color. Smell has some spiciness, with some intriguing smokey notes. Malts and yeast prevalent. Taste is smokey, banana, with the yeastiness and maltiness expected. Great carbonation and light bodied feel, refreshing. Extremely sessionable and enjoyable overall. One of my favorites.

Rating: Best

ABV: 5.6%

Avery Brewing Company - The Reverend

Pours a very reddish amber color, with a lightly tan one finger head that dissipated quickly. Smell of cake and some fruitiness, lightly like bananas. Taste is gently spicy with some malts and fruitiness on the tail. Light tight carbonation with an easy feel. Enjoyable beer, ABV to high to enjoy too many...

Rating: Good

ABV: 10.0%

Breckenridge Brewery - 471 IPA

Poured a very copper color with a slight amount of white head that dissipated quickly. Not hugely aromatic, but the slight aroma is very citrusy and floral in nature. Not huge flavor, I have noticed this about some of the Breckenridge beers, that they can tend to be very subtle in flavor and aroma. Hoppy citrus and pine notes are there just not quite as "punch you in the face" as some other beers. Nice light carbonation, like other attributes of the beer somewhat subtle. Alcohol is not overly evident, though the ABV is limiting drinkability or sessionability. However I do find this beer to be enjoyable in its quietness.

Rating: Better

ABV: 9.2%

Ska Brewing Company - Modus Hoperandi

Poured nice clear copper color, one finger off white head. Smell notes of pine, definite bitterness, some malty hints on the tail end. Smell more aggressive than taste, though similar. Hops present piney tastes, with the aftertaste presenting the malts. Carbonation is light, but tight small bubble feel on the tongue. Good flavor, enjoyable and not killer amount of alcohol all lead to a very drinkable beer.

This is one I really miss after my move from Colorado to Alabama. Will be keeping an eye out for it whenever possible.

Rating: Best

ABV: 6.8%

Rock Bottom Restaurant and Brewery - Bottoms Up Kolsch

Pours a hazy copper with a two finger head from a vigorous pour. Smell has lots of malts up front, some grainy smell and some faint fruits on the end. Taste is not very bold on flavors, but not bad tasting, some citrus notes and relatively balanced. Good feel note crazy carbonated, gentle aftertaste. Overall the beer is drinkable, and even enjoyable, not outstanding but still worthy of a pour.

Rating: Good

ABV: 5.0%

Oskar Blues Grill & Brewery - 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. Smell is interesting my nose first picks up the malts, then the hops. Taste has citrusy hops with a nice balance of malts to finish. Very enjoyable light carbonation. 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: Best

ABV: 6.5%

Odell Brewing Company - St. Lupulin

Pours a beautiful golden/copper color with a one finger bright white head. Smell has piney notes followed with some citrus (grapefruit), very clean, crisp smells. Taste is outstanding gentle hoppiness, not overwhelming but very present. Again, piney notes with some citrus aftertaste similar to grapefruit. Feel has some oiliness, gentle carbonation, very smooth. Extremely enjoyable and definitely sessionable.

Rating: Best

ABV: 6.5%

Odell Brewing Company - Red

Poured wit a very appropriate appearance, deep dark red/amber color with nice one finger head with an off white color. Smell was initially yeasty, malty aroma, followed by very heavy hops smell. Taste has some initial malty notes with the hoppy bitterness in the aftertaste. Gently carbonated but very nice feel in the mouth, some light oilyness in the end. Extremely, very enjoyable beer, moderately high alcohol content but still on the border of sessionable for some, definitely for me.

Rating: Better

ABV: 6.5%