REVIEW: Heavy Seas The Great'ER Pumpkin

More pumpkin beer! For whatever reason I find myself particularly excited about trying new pumpkin ales this year. Fall Hornin' last week, Heavy Seas' The Great'ER Pumpkin today, and hopefully some more in the coming weeks. Today's is special in that it's bourbon barrel aged. Sounds terrific right? Also, I'm always a fan of a good Peanuts reference. To the beer!

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: Heavy Seas the Big DIPA

I've taken a look at a lot of Heavy Seas beer in my time on the blog, but not any of their limited releases. Not sure why. I'm a fan of what they do, but their limited release beers have never really jumped off the shelves. Well, it ends today. What we have here is a 10.5% imperial IPA aged on oak spirals. I'm game. To the beer!

REVIEW: Flying Dog Underdog Atlantic Lager

Today's beer is indicative of three things in beer that I have really grown to appreciate in the year that I've done this blog. First of all it's canned. A vessel that I honestly prefer to bottles at this point. Two, it's sessionable, only 4.7%. And third, it's a craft pale lager. That's good enough for me to give Underdog from Frederick, Marlyland's Flying Dog a shot. To the beer!

Underdog pours a pale slightly hazed golden yellow. I'm beginning to think the reddish hue that many of these beers have been taking in my photographs have less to do with my meager skills behind the camera and much more to do with the brick wall backdrop. It looks cool though so you guys will just have to take my word on the color. It's topped by a dense finger of bone white head that left rings of lacing on the way down.

On the nose things get started with a fairly pronounced biscuity crackery malt. That is contrasted by a floral herbal hop character. Light and simple, but somehow deceptively complex.

A robust carbonation lends Underdog a pretty creamy yet light body. Much like with the aromas, the flavors of this beer are very simple: slightly crackery, slightly herbal. A strong bitterness gives the beer a crisp bite and a clean finish.

As I was sitting down to review this beer I couldn't help but find the flavors a bit one note. Not a ton of complexity. But you know what? I didn't mind at all. This is a simple, crisp, drinkable lager with a nice bitterness. It isn't trying to be anything that it's not. And sometimes, that's all you need. It hit the spot.

HD

REVIEW: Stillwater Artisanal As Follows

So today's beer is something a little bit different. I have no idea what it is. I was at the party source in Bellvue last week looking for an interesting beer to talk about and this wild looking label caught my eye. Now I remember having heard of Stillwater Artisanal at some point but I've never actually had one of their beers. I'm not sure where they're from, what their reputation is, or what their approach to brewing is. It doesn't even mention on the label what style this beer even is. I also didn't notice until after I had poured it that the ABV was mentioned on the label. This is all a long way of saying that I have no idea of what to expect when I pop the cap off of this beer. I don't know if it's a lager, a stout, a lambic, or something in between. I don't know If Stillwater is known for brewing good beer or junk. All I know is that the bottle bills this beer as 'an eschatological ale.' Whatever that's supposed to mean. This is as close to a blind taste test as I've ever done on the blog. This is kind of exciting. To the beer!

REVIEW: Flying Dog Barrel-Aged Gonzo Imperial Porter

If you'll remember, both my last encounters with barrel-aged beers and my last encounter with a beer from Flying Dog left a lot to be desired. I didn't much care for Flying Dog's Wildeman Farmhouse IPA, and Great Crescent's Bourbon Barrel Stout was cloyingly sweet to the point of being undrinkable. Here's hoping this beer can erase the bad taste of those two less than perfect experiences. I actually bought this beer a while ago. I've been excited to drink it but I've been waiting for weather that's a bit more appropriate. The recent drop in temperatures has had me looking for beers that are a bit heartier so this beer has been called up from the back of the fridge. Time to finally give this bad boy a look. to the beer!

REVIEW: Heavy Seas Small Craft Warning

I'm not sure quite what to make of this beer. It's called Über Pils on the label, Beer Advocate designates it as an imperial pilsener. OK, that all makes sense. But on the neck of the bottle Heavy Seas calls it a bock. Now bocks and pilseners are both lagers, and a maibock or a helles bock can be very pale. But I would expect a maibock to be a much maltier bigger beer. I guess I'll just have to drink it to find out. To the beer!

REVIEW: Heavy Seas Gold Ale

I don't really have anything interesting to say at the beginning of this post. I got a Heavy Seas sampler pack a while ago and I still have a couple of the beers sitting in the back of the fridge. The gold ale sounded pretty tasty as I sat down to write this post so it got the nod. To the beer!

REVIEW: Flying Dog Wildeman Farmhouse IPA

Today's beer is another spin on an IPA. I've looked at Belgian Style IPAs before here on the blog, with Heavy Seas Dubbel Cannon. Today's beer, Wildeman Farmhouse IPA from Flying Dog Brewing is a cross between an IPA and a Belgian saison. That ought to make this a very tasty IPA for the summer. Let's check it out. To the beer!

REVIEW: Heavy Seas Dubbel Cannon

I think this is the first Belgian IPA that I've reviewed for the blog. IPAs are not a Belgian style of beer so the name can be a bit misleading. Belgian IPAs combine the hoppiness of an IPA with the funky yeastiness of a Belgian ale. Often to very tasty results. Today's beer is from Heavy Seas. Brewers of the incredibly delicious and popular Loose Cannon. Dubbel Cannon is a variation on that beer. The recipes are similar, but differ slightly in the malt and hop bills. And most importantly, the yeast. Dubbel Cannon is brewed with an authentic Belgian dubbel yeast to impart all of those lovely, funky Belgian flavors. To the beer!

REVIEW: Heavy Seas Black Cannon

Ah the black IPA. One of my favorite, and relatively new, styles of beer. Combining the hoppiness of an IPA with the color and some flavors of a porter. When done well, see Stone's Sublimely Self Righteous, this can be a truly excellent beer. Now some of you may be asking, "how can it be called a pale ale when it's black? black is the complete opposite of pale!" This style also sometimes goes by the names American Black Ale or Cascadian Dark Ale. I prefer Black IPA, as these beers are brewed with IPA like levels of hops, but dark roasted malts. Plus Black IPA just sounds cool. Heavy Seas is a brewery that you might be familiar with from their excellent Loose Cannon IPA. As much as I enjoy that beer I haven't had a ton of their other varieties. Time to knock one off the list. To the beer!