REVIEW: Sixpoint Global Warmer & Die Hard

I'm excited about this one. A new beer from one of my all time favorite breweries and one of my all time favorite movies. I knew when I started this whole Christmas beer and movie pairing excursion that I had to check out Sixpoint's newest, Global Warmer, and Die Hard, what might be the definitive American action movie. At first blush, neither is easy to come up with a celluloid or brewed counterpart to. I think I've come up with something though. Let's get to it.

REVIEW: Brooklyn Lager

Alright, better late than never right? So, today we've got a dry hopped Vienna lager in a 16 oz can from Brooklyn. This sounds like a winning recipe. I don't really have a ton to add here! To the beer!

REVIEW: Anderson Valley Fall Hornn'

The first pumpkin ale of the year! A truly momentous occasion. Some people don't love the pumpkin beers. Loyal readers will know that I am not one of those people. Today we've got a brand new fall seasonal from Anderson Valley, Fall Hornin'. A 6% ABV 20 IBU beer brewed with pumpkin and spices. Let's get to it. To the beer!

Fall Hornin' is appropriately autumnal in color. It pours a quite clear deep chestnut ruby hue topped by a layer of off-white head. Quite pretty.  

Spicy notes of cinnamon, ginger, allspice and a bit of nutmeg are contrasted by a sweet graham cracker maltiness. Sweet, spicy, very inviting. 

Fall Hornin' is medium bodied with a wonderful creaminess. The flavors mimic the nose fairly closely. Robust graham crackers sweetness is joined by notes of cinnamon and nutmeg. Sweet touches of vanilla come in before an earthy, spicy, balancing bitterness on the finish. 

This is one hell of a good pumpkin ale. Hearty, drinkable, spicy, and just all around excellent. This is one to keep your refrigerator stocked with all through the fall months. 

HD

REVIEW: Aviator Devil's Tramping Ground Tripel

In doing a little bit of research on this beer I came across the legend behind the name of this beer. Apparently there's a patch of ground near Bennett, North Carolina where no vegetation grows and local folklore is that this spot is the spot at which the devil can exit Hell and enter our mortal plane. I love weird local tales and bits of legend and folklore like this. But anyway, we've got another caned Belgian style ale, this time a tripel. The aforementioned Devil's Tramping Ground Tripel from Aviator Brewing, a brewery new to the hallowed halls of this here blog. To the beer!

It's not immediately evident fro looking at the photo above but Devil's Tramping Ground Tripel pours a hazy, vibrant, golden yellow beneath a fluffy white layer of persistent head that leaves beautiful lacing.

On the nose I get grassy, herbal hops, fruity notes of pear and lemon, and a white pepper, clove-y spiciness. 

Devil's Tramping Ground is pretty full bodied with powdery citrusy notes of lemon. A sweet breast maltiness is countered by a spicy peppery bite and some Belgian yeasty esters. It's very drinkable for a beer with an ABV north of 9%, just a bit of boozy heat. 

This is a pretty solid little tripel! Nothing totally out of the ordinary but I certainly wouldn't turn down another!

HD

REVIEW: Stillwater Classique

A while back I had the outstanding As Follows from Stillwater Artisinal Ales. I said then that I would be on the hunt for more beers from Stillwater. Well, nine months later, I'm finally back to the Baltimore based gypsy brewer of all things Belgian and farmhouse. Today I'm taking a look at Classique, a 4.5% ABV Saison, in that beautifully designed can. To the beer!

Classique pours a hazy, effervescent pale gold underneath a billowy layer of resilient    bright white foam which hangs on quite a while and leaves great lacing. 

On the nose I get robust notes of lemon alongside grassy, earthy hop hints and a touch of a peppery clove spiciness and a bit of banana. 

Classique is light in body but plenty of carbonation lends a creaminess along with a prickly mouthfeel. The flavors here are all very subtle. Nothing really jumps out to the forefront or dominates the palate. Fruity notes of lemon and lime are contrasted by a peppery spiciness and and a grassy herbal hop character. A very crisp, very bitter snap comes in on the finish. 

This is kind of a weird saison. Very light, subtle, and a surprising bitterness. In fact, it almost drinks like a lager with the sessionable crispness. It's different but I really like it. 

HD

REVIEW: Brooklyn East India Pale Ale

It's been far too long since I've taken a look at a beer from Brooklyn. Almost a year in fact since I talked about their terrific Oktoberfest. But the liquor store down the road from my new apartment has had the East India Pale Ale here on sale so here we go. To the beer!

REVIEW: Jackie O's Chomo-Lung-Ma

More beer from Jackie O's! This one has a pretty cool story behind it. Chomolungma is the Tibetan name for Mt. Everest. The brother of Jackie O's owner summited the unforgiving peak as part of an effort to raise money and awareness for lung cancer, hence Jackie O's unique hyphenated version of the name. But anyway, Chomo-Lung-Ma is a 6.5% ABV brown ale. Let's get to it. To the beer!

REVIEW: Jackie O's Firefly Amber

This post is going up awfully late in the day. If you've been just sitting on your computer hitting refresh all day waiting for my thoughts on beer I apologize. Wait, no I don't. That would be ridiculous. And you deserve the reaming you're bound to receive from your boss tomorrow for skipping that big presentation to stay home and wait on me. What was I talking about? Yes. Beer. That's it. Jackie O's has been around  in Athens, Ohio for years but has only recently begun canning their beers and even more recently have those beers become available in Cincinnati. What better beer of their's to start with than what they refer to as their "gateway ale," Firefly Amber. To the beer!

REVIEW: Muskoka Cream Ale

This one brings us to the end of the Canadian beers. A bit bittersweet if I'm being honest. I've had a lot of fun looking at these beers. We've had some really good ones and some that were disappointing. All in all though, I've been pretty impressed! I'm going to be super bummed if we end on a real dud though. Hopefully Muskoka's Cream Ale doesn't let me down. To the beer!

REVIEW: Hop City Big Mouth

I owe you folks an apology. I forgot to post this review yesterday. I got home after work and was so busy watching the Reds finally win a game and reading new comics (Uncanny X-Men continues to be great. I picked up the latest issues of Guardians of the Galaxy and Indestructible Hulk on a lark and both of those were pretty rad as well.) and I just totally spaced. I hang my head in shame. But we still have beer to talk about. I'm getting down towards the end of the Canadian beers. Only a few left. Today we've got another beer from Hop City. The dudes behind the Barking Squirrel lager that I enjoyed recently. What we have here is Big Mouth Tap Room Pale Ale. That's kind of a mouthful. I'm just going with Big Mouth. To the beer!

REVIEW: Lake of Bays Rock Cut

My first experience with Lake of Bays was certainly not the best. There just wasn't much there with the Crosswind Pale Ale. Here's hoping Rock Cut, a pale lager, has more to offer. To the beer!

REVIEW: Lake of Bays Crosswind

Before making it a point to actually go seeking out Canadian craft beer I had never heard of a lot of these breweries. Just goes to show you how big the craft beer world is. There are tons of local and regional breweries that you would have no idea existed if you didn't travel to their home turf or get a heads up from somebody there who is in the know. Enter today's beer, Crosswind, a pale ale from Lake of Bays Brewing. To the beer!

REVIEW: Hop City Barking Squirrel Lager

I am a sucker for funny animals. Ever since the days of Duck Tales and old Uncle Scrooge comics. The  squirrel on this can looks like he would fit right in in Duckburg. He's got an interesting look about him. I'm not sure if he'd be hanging out with Donald and the nephews or the Beagle Boys. But more on the beer inside the can, it's a 5% 24 IBU amber lager. Let's get to it! To the beer!

REVIEW: Sun King Bourbon Barrel Wee Mac

More Sun King! Hooray! Now this beer came in a rather unique packaging. A two pack. I don't believe I've ever seen that before. But I do suppose that this is a special beer. From some quick research online this King's Reserve is a banner under which they package a lot of their limited, specialty releases. What we have here is a version of their Wee Mac Scottish ale that has spent a year in bourbon barrels. Sounds tasty to me! To the beer!

REVIEW: Sun King Osiris

The last time I looked at a beer from Sun King it was the Sunlight Cream Ale that I got when I went up to Indy to see Dark Knight Rises in IMAX. That was fun. I should do that again. Anybody know if Pacific Rim was actually shot in IMAX? That movie looks incredible. IMAX is sort of like 3-D for me, If a movie was shot in 3-D or IMAX, I'll check it out. If it's upconverted, like most big action movies that come out are, it isn't worth the extra cash for the ticket. But yeah, Pacific Rim looks insane. Idris Elba fighting Kaiju? Sold. Who wants to go see it with me? Back to the beer. Today we're looking at Osiris, the last of Sun King's core beers and a dry hopped west coast style pale ale. To the beer!

REVIEW: MadTree PsycHOPathy

So the first two MadTree beers I've looked at this week have both been pretty great. The hearty, robust Gnarly Brown and the interesting and tasty Happy Amber. That just leaves us with PsycHOPathy. A 6.9% ABV India pale ale, which has quickly become my go to beer down at Great American Ball Park. Let's not waste any more time. To the beer!

REVIEW: MadTree Happy Amber

More MadTree! Hooray! I'm continuing my looks at the canned beers from Cincinnati's own MadTree with the beer we have here today. Happy Amber, a 6.0% ABV dry hopped amber ale. Amber's have never really been my favorite style. I realize the appeal and I get why breweries want them to have them in their lineup. Everybody's got to have a simple, approachable beer to appeal to the folks who aren't quite ready for IPAs and big stouts and this and that. But I dig what the guys ad MadTree do, so let's give it a shot. To the beer!

REVIEW: MadTree Gnarly Brown

I'm pretty pumped to finally be getting to some beers from the newest kid on Cincinnati's craft brewing block. I've enjoyed all of their beers on draught at various bars around town but only in the past couple of weeks have I been able to drink these beers at home. And in cans no less! I love it. And how about those cans? I'm getting a strong Entish vibe from this one. I can't imagine this brew will make me any taller though, which is kind of a shame. Although, perhaps those effects are limited to hobbits. But Gnarly Brown, a 7% ABV American brown ale, is surely a beer that would make Treebeard proud. To the beer!

REVIEW: Finch's Secret Stache Stout

So, My plan to do three English nitro ales backfired when two of them tasted eerily similar. But I've got content to create and I can't let a small setback like that deny you fine folks my thoughts on beer. So I soldier on. Next man up, as they say. That said, today's next man is Secret Stache Stout, from a brewer I have some affinity towards, Chicago Illinois' Finch's. A 5.3% ABV stout, brewed with vanilla. Sounds good to me. To the beer!

REVIEW: Sixpoint 3Beans

You guys know I couldn't let a new Sixpoint beer pass by the wayside without taking a look at it. I love these guys and their fabulous beers. Their newest ale, 3Beans is brewed with coffee beans, cacao beans, and romano beans, hence the name. A beer brewed with coffee and chocolate is old hat around these parts. But romano beans, which are similar to green beans? That one seems a bit odd. Turns out that brewers in medieval Europe, in many Baltic countries, didn't have access to traditional brewing ingredients. So they often had to turn down different avenues for fermentable sugars. They used, you guessed it, beans. Sounds intriguing to me! As always, with any new Sixpoint beer youtube is required viewing. This video chronicles the creation of and tribulations involved in getting the beer into my grubby little hands. If you can watch that video and don't come though on the other side excited about beer you're nobody I want to be friends with. So, we've got a 10% ABV, 85 IBU imperial stout brewed with Mast Brothers chocolate, Stumptown cold pressed coffee, and romano beans. Three Brooklyn companies, three beans, one beer. Sounds good to me! To the beer!