Schmaltz Brewing Company (He'Brew) - Genesis Ale

Pours a nice brownish copper color, head is one finger and dissipated quickly. Smell malts initially, with hints of raisin, hops character brings grapefruit, well balanced, just not very bold with the flavors. Taste malts again on the front, hops are less characterized in the taste than the smell. Good feel some oililiness, not super carbonated or crisp. Good drinkable beer, enjoyable, would like something with a little more bold flavorings.

Rating: Good

ABV: 5.6%

Rogue Ales - Chocolate Stout

Pours a deep dark opaque brown, with little 1/2 finger head that laces well. Smell cocoa and chocolate on the nose, some hops crispness in the back. Taste again cocoa and chocolate, with bitterness and crispness on the finish. Feel crisp carbonation, very tight, with some slight oiliness on the finish. Not real drinkable for me due to the sweetness and chocolaty flavors, but good for the designed taste.

Rating: Good

ABV: 6.0%

Sierra Nevada Brewing Company - Anniversary Ale (2007-2009)

Darker in color than some IPA's, pours a copper/golden/amber color with ample tan head of about 3 fingers, laces nicely on my snifter. Faint notes of pine on the nose, not overly aromatic. Taste is again pine, with some malty presence following, almost caramel. Feel is crisp on the front and oily on the finish. Nice sessionable beer, not super bold on the aromas or the flavors, but enough to keep it good.

Rating: Good

ABV: 5.9%

The Lost Abbey - Avant Garde

Pours a nice reddish brown copper color with an off white head that laces decently and dissipates quickly. Not very strong aromas, but some biscuity malt followed with some apple. Taste is similar to smell with some dryness and crispness. Dry feel with some good carbonation that doesn't stick around long. Drinkable for sure, but not one I'm going after really often.

Rating: Good

ABV: 7.0%

Brouwerij St Bernardus NV - St. Bernardus Prior 8

Deep, hazy, dark brown, with a large off white head that laces nicely. Smells of banana and cocoa with a definite presence of alcohol. Taste is cocoa malts and sweetness up front, banana and alcohol on the end. Feel is very tight up front on the tongue, finishes almost flat, thick, alcohol very warming. Nice beer not overly drinkable or sessionable.

Rating: Good

ABV: 8.0%

Paulaner Brauerei GmbH & Co. KG - Paulaner Original Munchner

Pours a golden, apple juice color, with a limited amount of head. Smells grassy, with some amount of lemony aroma. Taste is much like the smell with the grassiness up front and the citrus following. Love the crisp dry nature of the feel. Very drinkable, could definitely enjoy quite a few of these on a poker night.

Rating: Good

ABV: 4.9%

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%

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: ?

Staatliches Hofbräuhaus (Hofbräu München) - Hofbrau Dunkel

Deep dark amber/ruby in color with a just barely off white head of about two fingers that dissipates quickly to crown the beer. Some initial bitterness with caramel and toffee malts evident on the aroma. Taste has a definite bitterness with a malty aftertaste. Gentle smooth feel and light carbonation in the mouth. Overall extremely drinkable and enjoyable.

Rating: Good

ABV: 5.5%

Shmaltz Brewing Company (He'Brew) - Coney Island Freaktoberfest

Pours a very bright red color with a pinkish white color head and a solid two fingers on the pour. Laces nicely and lasts well. Malty on the nose, with primarily caramel aromas. Nice taste, would be very confused given the color, malty sweetness of caramel with a taste of hops bitterness on the end. Feels nice with a medium carbonation and body. Taste is good, not overwhelmingly sweet, drinkable though not quite sessionable.

Rating: Good

ABV: 6.66%

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%

Boston Beer Company - Samuel Adams Irish Red

Pours a nice deep amber color with tan/khaki two finger head that dissipated rather quickly. Smell has a nice aroma of malts with a slight banana aroma. Taste has great flavor of malts that reminds of caramel and coffee on the finish. Feels has a light tight carbonation and lingering aftertaste. Overall extremely drinkable and enjoyable.

Rating: Good

ABV: 5.8%

Boston Beer Company (Samuel Adams) - Dunkelweizen

Pours a deep dark orange with one finger of off white head. Smell is yeasty, cakey, with a banana and maybe raisin aroma. Taste has malts and banana flavors with a yeasty finish. Nice crisp mouth feel, almost dry, carbonation is rather strong. Good and enjoyable, nearly sessionable.

Rating: Good

ABV: 5.10%

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%

Alaskan Brewing Co. - Alaskan IPA

Pours an orangish copper color without the "glow" I associate with the best ipas, two finger head that laces nicely. Smell is rather yeasty intially with some grapefruity citrus notes following. Taste is much like the smell, with a yeastiness and a dryness to the flavorings, some pine and citrus mixed in. Feel is dry, medium bodied, with generous carbonation. Overall an average abv and decent taste make it drinkable.

As a fan of most of the Alaskan offerings this left me somewhat disappointed.

Rating: Good

ABV: 6.2%

Cucapa Brewing Company - Cucapa Obscura

Pours a very dark amber color with some clarity and a one finger off white head. Smell is sweet chocolate notes with slight alcohol aroma. Sweet tasting malts with little bitterness to balance. Light carbonation and slight oiliness. Drinkable and enjoyable though not super.

Rating: Good

ABV: 4.5%

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%

Grand Teton Brewing Co. - Bitch Creek ESB

Poured a deep dark brown in color with little clarity, light brown head, one finger. Smell is malty caramel aromas with bitter hops very evident. Taste has good bitter flavors with the caramel/coffee malts nicely present, overall a nice balance of flavors but each very evident. Very light on the tongue, small tight carbonation. Overall a good beer, sessionable, and enjoyable.

Rating: Good

ABV: 6.0%

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%

Rogue Brewery (Brewers on the Bay) - Dead Guy Ale

Pours hazy with a copper color and two finger head when poured more gently. Complex smell with the malt out front presenting a grainy nose, some hop notes but overall very balanced smell. Taste is similar to smell though the hops are more prevalent on taste than smell. Carbonation disappears quicker than most, though not terrible. Good beer, definitely drinkable, overall I enjoyed the beer.


Rating: Good

ABV: 6.5%