Delirium Noel - Pink Elephants Anyone?

Delirium Noel comes from the great Huyghe Brewery. I am a big fan of their Delirium Tremens beer. So how does their Christmas beer compare? Delirium Noel comes in at a whopping 10% ABV. The head for this beer is small. The beer pours a dark brown color. The aroma is of malt and dark fruit. Taste wise I can pick out the slightly roasted malt flavor, along with dark fruits. The carbonation level is medium. Altogether it is a nice tasting beer, but coming from a great brewery it is a bit of a disappointment. I would expect better from this brewery. Each drink I took I thought to myself, "This could be better". Not that it is a bad beer at all. If you enjoy lightly roasted, high alcohol, Belgian style ale, then this beer is a good choice. I would share it with a friend. I would also buy it occasionally. I grade this beer a B.

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Sierra Nevada - Kellerweis Hefeweizen

Let me start by stating I am NOT a big fan of Sierra Nevada. I HAVE tried several times to appreciate the beers made by this brewery. Even my wife, who knows very little about beer, asked why I was trying Kellerweis Hefeweizen. It's simple, you have to sample the beer if you are going to write about it. I tried my best to grade it no matter who the brewed this beer. Let me share my notes about this beer. The odor is that of malt with citrus. Okay, not a bad start. The color is a hazy brown and pours with a small head. The mouthfeel is light. And now the problems begin. I do not detect alot of flavors in this beer. I picked out the malt and the citrus, but thats about it. And even these flavors do not stand out. Kellerweis Hefeweizen came across as a very average beer. Hey Sierra Nevada, do something with this beer. Go somewhere with the flavor. Give me a reason to buy this beer. Make an effort. Maybe I had an off bottle, but if this is it, I wouldn't recommend it. This beer is not bad, it just doesn't stand out in the slightest. I grade this beer a C.

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Blanche De Chambly - Oh Unibroue

Wow. I didn't realize this was a Unibroue beer until after the fact. I am a big fan of Unibroue. First off, the aroma is of sweet malt, with spices. The head is small. The mouthfeel is light. Blanche De Chambly has a malt taste, slightly bitter, with your typical witbier flavors. Blanche De Chambly is well balanced. I can't really fault this beer in many categories, although since its made by Unibroue, I wish it were a slight bit better. Since this brewery makes great beers, you would expect all Unibroue beers to be excellent. Blanche De Chambly is not a great beer, but it is good. I would buy a 4 pack. And I would share it with others. All said, Blanche De Chambly is a nice beer. Try one for yourself. I grade this beer a B.

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Wells Banana Bread Beer

Tried this beer out on a lark. When I purchased this beer, there was no price on the shelf. At the counter the clerk couldn't find it in the computer, so it was FREE! Score. There is not alot of information about this beer on the brewery website http://www.wellsandyoungs.co.uk/. To start, this beer really does smell of banana bread. Good start. There is not alot of head on this beer. The color is golden. The nice thing about this beer is that it does not have that extract banana bread flavoring taste. The flavor is exactly what the label says "banana bread". I give the brewery points for that. There is a taste of clove in it as well. The mouthfeel though is medium. With this flavor, I would imagine that the mouthfeel would have been better if it were lighter. Also, if it were a creamier it would have been better. There is also an after taste that is a bit odd and out of place. The idea for this beer is a good one, I just wished it was brewed better. It is not a bad beer, but not a great one either. I would buy this beer as a single just to try it out, but wouldn't buy a four pack. I grade this beer a C+.

Flensburger Weizen - Citizen Beer

First off, Flensburger Brewery was founded by five citizens of Flensburg, Germany in 1888. Brewing beer for over one hundred and twenty years should say something good about a brewery. The brewery uses well water from the brewery property to produce this beer. The ABV for Flensburger Weizen is 5.10%. The color of this beer when poured is golden colored with a white head. It is also a bit hazy. The aroma is that of a sweet wheat beer. The mouthfeel is soft. When it comes to the flavor of this beer, it is a typical wheat beer flavor. It must be noted there is more of a malt flavor up front than most other wheat beers. The finish is slightly dry. I would say this is an average wheat beer in most regards. There does not seem to be a lot of depth to the flavor. It is not a bad beer, but not a great one either. Slightly below average would sum it up for flavor. If I could change anything about this beer, I would take out the dryness at the finish and take out some of the malt as well. Trying Flensburger Weizen out as a single is okay. Would I buy multiple bottles? Probably not. I grade this beer a C+.

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Baltika Wheat Ale - Beer From Behind the Iron Curtain

This is one of my first beers from Russia. I was surprised to find a wheat beer made in Russia, since Russia is known for their production of Vodka. As for the website promoting the brand,

(http://www.baltikabeer.com/) I'm not sure I get it. The website seems to be promoting a "look, we are on a cruise ship and now we found a tropical island in eastern Europe with young people having a great time" theme. The brewery website looks more like a software company website. It provides a little information about the beer itself (http://eng.baltika.ru/plant/).

Fast forward to the beer. The ABV for this beer is 5.00%. The aroma from Baltika Wheat Ale is very typical of a wheat beer. I have to give Baltika credit for the aroma. It is spot on. The color is a straw color that is hazy. So far so good. The head is nice and white. The mouthfeel is light, which is good and the carbonation is low. Now for the taste. The flavor is okay. It does taste like an average wheat beer. Again I have to give the brewery credit. What it lacks is a couple of things. The flavor is a bit bitter at first, then you taste the traditional wheat beer flavor, but it is a shallow wheat beer flavor. There is no depth to the flavor at all. The other problem is that there really isn't a finishing flavor. The taste seems to dissipate. When drinking this beer, the thing that really struck me was, "where is the flavor?". The flavor is there in a basic form, but doesn't go any further than that. This is not a bad beer. Nor is it a great beer. I give the brewery some credit for the aroma and color, now please work on the flavor. This beer is okay as a single beer, but I wouldn't buy several bottles. I grade this beer as a C+.

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Pyramid Audacious Apricot Ale - Sweet

Audacious Apricot Ale won a gold medal at GABF. Pyramids website (http://www.pyramidbrew.com/our-brews/audacious) goes on to give some ingredient information and what foods to pair with Apricot Ale. Strangely enough the bottle label doesn't seem the least bit interesting. But then again, you can't judge a beer by its bottle. The ABV for Audacious Apricot Ale is 5.10%. When the bottle is first opened, there is a HUGE apricot odor. The color of this beer is orange. The carbonation level is high. Yes, the apricot flavor is definitely very bold. My main strike against the apricot flavor though is "the artificial fruit sweetness" I am tasting. The consistency is not that of syrup, but I can just picture a bucket of artificial apricot sweetener being added to the boil. I would rather this beer have a fresh fruit taste, not an artificial taste. It would seem that Pyramid is trying to hard with this beer. If you are going to create an apricot bomb, do not go the artificial flavor route. Would I buy another one? Maybe on a rare occasion. It is not a bad beer, but not great either. I grade this beer a C+.

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Victory Prima Pils - Check out those hops!

Victory Brewing Company is a producer of quality beer. You want hops? With Victory Prima Pils you got it. Ingredient information about this beer is provided by the Victory website; http://www.victorybeer.com/prima_pils.aspx. The ABV for Prima Pils is 5.30%. When the website states "Heaps of hops" are used in this pilsner, they are not lying. For those of you that homebrew, this beer has an aroma of hops right when you add the hops to the boil. The very fresh hops aroma hits you in the face, in a good way. White is the color for the head of this beer and the carbonation is medium to high. There is a bold hop taste and it is a very fresh hop flavor. That is the German and Czech hops standing out. I can also detect a slight fruit flavor, maybe citrus? Prima Pils is somewhat bitter. When added all together, this beer comes together very well. I again have to stress the fresh, hop flavor. Victory really did a good job creating this beer. The hops and flavors mesh very nicely. Try one for yourself, and buy one for a friend. I grade this beer an A. Cheers!

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Blanche de Bruxelles - Excellent!

Now this is an example for excellence. Produced by the Lefebvre Brewery, Blanche de Bruxelles is how a witbier should taste. (This brewery produces one of my other favorites, Barbar). I didn't know this fact until after I tried this great witbier. The website gives some brewing information (http://www.brasserielefebvre.be/produits.php?pro=blanche&lang=en) stating that it is brewed very slowly. The ABV for this witbier is 4.50%. The appearance is a hazy straw colored beer. The aroma; AWESOME. It smells like sweet fruit candy. The head is white. The carbonation is low and is an easy drinker. I didn't detect alot of bitterness. The flavor is sweet, and the spices with coriender are blended to perfection. Buy six for yourself, and six for your friend. I really could drink this all day long. It is a great witbier. Now I have to try Lefebvre's other beers. I grade this beer an A. Go out and try one yourself.

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Scrimshaw Pilsner - Another North Coast Beer

I like pilsners. Really I do. And I like some of the beer produced by North Coast (http://www.northcoastbrewing.com/). When I picked this beer up, at first I didn't realize it was a North Coast beer. The ABV for this beer is 4.40%. The IBU's listed for Scrimshaw Pilsner is 22. The website doesn't give alot of brewing information about this lager. The color is a medium yellow with a white head. The aroma coming from this lager is a sweet floral smell. I can also describe it is a light buttery smell. At first taste, I sense hops and malt at the beginning, but it doesn't follow thru. There does seem to be an odd after taste I cannot pin down. It is not a bad taste, it just seems a bit odd there at the end. The mouthfeel is light which surprised me. It reminds me of seltzer water. This is not a great beer, but it is not a bad beer either. I know North Coast can produce some very good beer, I just wished there was a bit more effort put into this pilsner. If North Coast can produce "Old Ale", a wonderful beer, then they I would imagine they could do the same with a pilsner. I wouldn't mind having this beer as a single again. I would buy one for a friend. It is an easy drinking beer. I grade this beer a B-.

Kirin Ichiban Japanese Rice Lager - It has malt and hops!

I decided to try this beer on a lark. I never have tried Japanese beer before. There is not alot of information about the beer on the website http://www.kirin.com/beers.htm. The website suggests malt and hops make Ichiban a great beer. I beg to differ. Just because you include malt and hops does not make a beer great. The brewer has to do something with the beer. Make the lager special, make it unique, strive for excellence. I think you know where this review is headed.

To begin with, the color of this beer is pale yellow. The head is white. The odor produced by this lager is a malt aroma. I have experienced this taste of beer only a few times prior. I would describe it as being a very "wide flavor". This is not a good or bad thing. The flavor seems to be very broad, hitting many more taste buds unlike most beers that I would describe as having a narrow flavor. Malt is the biggest flavor in this lager... and thats about it. This is not a complex beer. And this may be the problem. Kirin Ichiban is a simple lager without alot going on. It is simply a very basic beer. Where is the unique flavor, a special taste in the beer? It isn't there. It is not a horribly bad beer, there just doesn't seem to be anything great or good about it. Would I buy it again? No. Would I recommend to friends? No. Sorry Kirin Ichiban Lager, I have no love for you. I grade this beer a D.

Dogfish Head Festina Peche - Surprisingly Interesting

What did I say about not judging a beer by its label? From the get go I thought there would be a problem with this beer. The beer I am talking about is Dogfish Head Festina Peche. Right on the label it states "brewed from peach concentrate". There you have it. I was SURE this beer would have a very sweet, syrupy, artificial taste, since it was made from peach concentrate. I really made the wrong call on this beer by judging it from the label alone.

Dogfish Head produces this interesting beer. Their website, http://www.dogfish.com/, gives some information about how this beer is produced. The style of this beer is a neo-BerlinerWeisse. These beers are very tart, some people say they are "sour". Dogfish Head, you have made me a fan of this style of beer.

The ABV for Festina Peche is 4.50%. The aroma I picked up when Festina Peche was opened is a sweet peach smell along with a little alcohol. The head is white and the color of the beer is light yellow. It appears to look like a cider. The mouthfeel is a bit champagne like. It is a dry beer. WOW! The taste is tart. I totally did not expect that at all, just from reading the label. There is some peach flavor, but the tart flavor is dominating. If you know what Sweet Tart candy tastes like, then this is very close. I did notice an odd after taste, but the more I had, the less I noticed the after taste. The after taste wasn't bad, just something different. I did not notice any hops flavor or bitter taste. Just alot of tart that goes a long way. Dogfish Head Festina Peche was very surprising and very good. Would I buy it again? Yes I would. It is different and a very good beer. Try one for yourself. I grade this beer an A-. If you haven't tried a tart or "sour" beer, you don't know what you are missing.

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Xingu Black Beer - Back in Black

Here is a beer that is not typical. Not only is it a black beer, but it is also made in Brazil. The beer website http://xingubeer.com/ informs the reader that the beer is named after the Xingu River in the Amazon Rainforest. There is not alot of information about how the beer is created, although it does state how the beer gets its coloring; black roasted malts from South America. Xingu black lager has an ABV of 4.60%. The aroma from this lager is a slight dark fruit odor. When poured Xingu produces a dark brown head. The color of this lager is near black. At first this beer may appear to be intimidating. Do not let looks deceive you. By appearance alone, you would expect a harsh, deep coffee flavored drink. Think again. The taste of Xingu is wonderful. This lager is often described as "silky", and that would be an appropriate description. It has a light mouthfeel, and is sweet tasting. I do not detect any bitterness. There isn't any particular taste that really stands out, but this lager doesn't need it. The few flavors do come together very well. It is not complex, but it does not need to be. Xingu is an easy drinking beer. The cost is about $9.00 for a six pack and well worth it. I would recommend it to friends, and would definitely buy a six pack for myself. I grade this wonderful black lager a B+. "Yes I'm Back in Black"

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Kona Longboard Island Lager - Wipeout

Let me first state that I have tried other beers produced by Kona Brewery. I judge beers by taste alone, not by who brews them. Some breweries make both good and fair beers. When I spotted this beer, I thought I would give it a try. The official website http://www.konabrewingco.com/ gives little information about the beer itself, although it does provide a long list of awards their beers have won. In all fairness, your beer could have won hundreds of awards, but that doesn't shade my grading of this lager. It is what it is. I do have to give Kona points for the website, it is presented very well.

After opening the beer, I detect the aroma of a traditional lager. There is a sweet malt smell but little else was identifiable. I didn't note anything else particularly special. Longboard Lager has a golden color when poured. The head is white and it soon dissipates. The mouthfeel was lighter than I expected. The taste was pretty basic. I taste malt, annnnnnddd.... malt. That's it. This is a very basic lager. Longboard tastes like a very average lager. It is not a bad beer, but not great either. I really want to call the brewery and say, "Do something with it!". There is a solid base taste to this lager. Now build upon it by adding something to it to make it unique or exceptional. I believe this could be a good beer if only some experimentation was done to improve it. Would I buy this again? Probably not. In my opinion this is a very average lager. I do wish it were a better lager. I grade this beer a C+.

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Sinebrychoff Porter - Can I have a beer with this bottle of coffee?

WOW! Really, can I have a beer with this bottle of coffee? This porter is WAY up there with a roasted coffee flavor. Sinebrychoff Porter is produced by the Sinebrychoff Brewery (http://www.sinebrychoff.fi/) in Finland. This brewery has been making beer for 190 years and was the first industrialized brewery in the Nordic countries. Most notably, two of the beers produced by this company (the porter being one of them) made Michael Jackson's list of 500 best beers. The ABV for this porter is 7.20%. The color of this beer is black. It is an intimidating looking beer. The aroma from this porter is sweet, roasted malt. Now for a few surprises. This porter has a HUGE flavor of roasted coffee. The coffee flavor dominates this porter. I am also detecting a chocolate taste as well. Although the bitterness is rated at 45 EBU's, I really didn't pick up much bitterness because of the overwhelming coffee flavor. Also I was expecting a much harsher mouthfeel by looks alone, but I was pleasantly surprised that the mouthfeel was lighter. There is an alcohol burn near the end, but it doesn't detract anything from the porter. Sinebrychoff Porter is a smooth drinkable beer, IF you enjoy a HUGE coffee flavored porter. I would drink a single for variation sake. This bottle of porter cost $3.99. I grade it a B+.

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Barbar Belgian Honey Ale- A great surprise

Barbar Belgian Honey Ale is a great surprise. I wasn't sure what to expect from this beer. The label did have an exotic look. Barbar Honey Ale is made in Belgium and the ABV is 8.00%. The brewery website (http://www.brasserielefebvre.be/) gives some information about how this beer is produced. What I found interesting is that the water used to produce this beer is drawn from springs at the brewery and a unique strain of yeast is used for fermentation. The special yeast is probably part of the reason for the spicy, exotic taste. The color of this beer when poured is yellowish with a nice white head. Breathing deeply, the aroma of this beer is that of alcohol and banana. What it reminds me the most of is banana bread. The taste of the beer is a sweet, banana, honey flavor, covering up the alcohol well. The flavor also includes citrus and spice. This is a very well blended beer. All the flavors come together very nicely. Carbonation for this ale is medium. It is a real easy drinker. Would I buy this beer again? Oh yeah. I would recommend it to friends. The cost for a single bottle was $3.49. I grade this beer an A. Make sure to give this beer a try.

Coopers Vintage Ale - Hello Australia

Coopers Vintage Ale is brewed by Coopers Brewery in Southern Australia. The brewery website http://www.coopers.com.au/home.php does offer information about the history of the brewery (hey, they have Clydesdale horses too) but not alot of information about each beer they brew. The ABV for this vintage ale is 7.50%. This bottle of Coopers Vintage Ale was purchased for $4.49. When I opened the bottle the aroma I first experienced was fruit and caramel. Think of sweet candy and that is the aroma. The carbonation was small and the color of the ale was brown. Not alot of head happening with Coopers Vintage Ale. When tasting it, the first thing to come to mind is caramel and malt. There is also a slight roasted taste deep in the background. This is not a complex ale in any sense. Sometimes an ale does not need to be complex to be good, but in this case, it does distract from the flavor. There just isn't anything special occurring with this beer. Its straight fore ward, caramel and malt flavor. Thats it. There is nothing unique to this ale. In my book I have to take off points for this inadequacy. I do believe this ale could have gone somewhere with a bit more effort, but it seems lacking in taste. It is not bad, but it could be much more in regards to flavor. Would I buy this ale again. Probably not. I grade Coopers Vintage Ale a B-.

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North Coast Old Stock Ale - Its great to be old

Old Stock Ale is produced by North Coast Brewing Company (http://www.northcoastbrewing.com/). The website offers some information about how this beer is made. Let me first state that if I were judging this beer by label alone, I wouldn't give it high marks. My first impression from the label is that this is a boring beer. It just doesn't stand out. I was very surprised by this beer. Old Stock Ale is a big beer, the ABV is 12.5%. The color of this beverage is dark brown. The head is tan, but does not last long. What odors are detected from this beer? Toffee, chocolate, dark fruit and a roasted coffee aroma. When I first tasted this ale, the first thing that came to mind was WOW. The taste is very complex. The oak is evident, along with dark fruits, carmel, and a somewhat roasted flavor. I seriously could not get enough of this brew when I first tasted it. The alcohol does create some fire in the taste, but it goes very well with this ale. Out of the beers that I purchased that day, this was the one I picked to be least of my favorites. Was I wrong. Labels can lead you in the wrong direction easily. Picking a beer by its label is just as good as choosing blindly. Great beers have bad labels, and bad beers can have good labels. (I will be writing about this topic in the future). Go and try North Coast Old Stock Ale. You will not be disappointed. I grade this beer an A.

Dogfish Head Punkin Ale

What is in a name? From the brewery website (http://www.dogfish.com/), this beer is named after the Punkin Chunkin event in southern Delaware. The website goes on to suggest foods to pair this beer with. The alcohol by volume for Punkin Ale is 7.00%. This brew pours an orange-ish amber color. The medium sized head is cream colored. The odor from this beverage is that of cinnamon, spices, and nutmeg. I am not detecting alot of pumpkin in this drink while sniffing it. The carbonation is medium. The taste? I notice malt, some spices (cinnamon is one of them), and a brown sugar quality. Like the smell, I am not noticing alot of pumpkin in the taste. The blend of ingredients does come together well. The malt, spices and brown sugar definitely dominate the taste of this beer. Although this beer is not outstanding, the overall quality is good. I grade this beer a B to B+. Happy post Halloween.

Victory Hop Wallop - Hello Hops!

To start with, the Victory website (http://www.victorybeer.com/) gives a little information about the ingredients for this beer. German Malt and American hops go into this hoppy brew. The ABV for this beverage is 8.50%. To begin with, the color of this drink is yellowish. The color of the head when poured into a glass is white. When smelling this beer the first thing to come to mind is pine. A very fresh, flowery aroma is experienced. There may be a small citrus odor as well. So on to the drinking part. Hello hops! The hop taste is at the forefront of the flavor. Actually the hop wallop lasts from beginning to end of the drink. And it is a very nice crisp and clean taste. There is nothing added to clutter your drinking experience. This beer is simple, (this does not detract anything from the beer) it gives you what you came for; hops. Hop Wallop doesn't lead you astray from its goal. It takes you directly to the hops. Do not pass go, go directly to hops. Better yet, it is not over hopped. The hops cover the alcohol fairly well in this brew. This beer says to me, "You want a good hoppy beer? I'm the one". I grade this beer an A-. Buy one for a friend, but buy a few for yourself.