Southern Tier 2XMAS Ale

So maybe this is a few days late, but it's still the holiday season, and i'm still enjoying all the Christmas beers i can get my grubby little hands on.  The 2XMAS Ale comes to us from New York's Southern Tier Brewery, and is a holiday treat indeed.  The beer pours a lovely amber with a bubbly, off-white head and smells of spices and fruits, almost like what you would get in a spiced cider.  The flavor consists of figs, orange, clover, and some back end hops to keep things from getting too terribly sweet.  This is a great brew to drink while sitting around the house with family, and at 8% ABV, you might as well get comfortable.

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Charlie Foxtrot Imperial Berliner Weisse

This is the first brew i've tried from Texian Brewing Company out of Richmond, Texas...and holy cow is it sour.  The Charlie Foxtrot is an Imperial Berliner Weissbier, and is a tasty treat for any of your sour beer lovers out there.  The brew pours nice and gold with a white and quickly dissipating head, aromas of wheat and citrus prevailing.  Did i mention it was sour?  The taste is a blend of the aforementioned wheat and yeast and whole lot of dry sourness.  In some ways, it's reminiscent of a dry champagne, but the wheat flavors let you know you've definitely got a beer on your hands.  At 7.5% ABV, the beer knows what it's doing, and i'd recommend it for anyone wanting to try something a little different from your regular wheat beers.

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Ruta Maya Dark

The Ruta Maya Dark is a schwarzbier from Michigan's Atwater Brewery that blends plenty of coffee into their beer...and their not kidding around.  The coffee notes are very, very prevalent in this one, but mix well with the roasted malts to give off a pleasing aroma and taste.  The beer is similar to coffee porters, though lighter, smoother, and with much less of a bitter back bite.  Easy to drink, and a great starter beer for a novice beginning to experiment with different flavors.

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Real Ale Brewer's Cut Oyster Stout

Apparently it's weird and wonderful stout month for me, with the latest being the latest release from Real Ale's Brewer's Cut series, the eye-catching Oyster Stout.  And it's good.  I'll admit, i was expecting there to be a bigger oyster kick in the flavor, but this dark brew feels more like a traditional stout than anything else.  The roasted malts are evident in the aroma and the taste with a slight briny note on the back end.  Hints of coffee can be found throughout as well, sometimes giving the beer a porter-like taste.  All in all, an interesting beer from a great brewery.

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Pretzel Stout

Looking for something a little different?  Look no further than the Pretzel Stout from Martin House Brewing in Fort Worth.  This dark black stout pours thick and smells like roasted malts with hints of chocolate and coffee.  Tastewise, the brew is roasty and bitter, with flourishes of coffee and some salt and bread notes from the crushed sourdough pretzels that the beer is brewed with.  It's a nice mix.  And if you're drinking this in a bar, you're going to want something salty anyway, so why not?  The beer weighs in at 6.5% ABV, and is a nice change of pace.

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Founders Porter

There's just something about darker beers that works and tastes so wonderful during the colder months of the year.  Much like i seem to overdose on IPA's in the springtime, i found myself imbibing mass quantities of porters and stouts in the winter.  A recent highlight was the Founders Porter from Founders Brewing in Grand Rapids, Michigan.  The beer is a thick and oily black with a tan head and aromas of roasted malts, nuts, and some hints of coffee and caramel.  The taste is a little sweet on the front end, a combination of molasses and notes of cocoa, but then gets more bitter and biting on the back end when the roastiness really kicks in.  And it's oh so smooth.  All in all, this is a fantastic porter.

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Sex Panther Double Chocolate Porter

The beer is called Sex Panther.  Of course i'm going to drink it.  This double chocolate porter from Arizona's Santan Brewing was actually way different than i expected.  The beer was much lighter bodied than i had anticipated, and the chocolate flavor is actually a lot more subtle than the name would suggest.  Pouring brown with a light tan head, the beer smells of malt and some spices, with some chocolate and toffee notes.  The taste was heavier on roasted malts than chocolate and was crisp on the tongue due to the carbonation.  I liked it.  It was a much different kind of take on the porters i'm more used to, but was actually kind of refreshing, and at 6.9% ABV, the Sex Panther does not mess around.

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Infamous Pumpkin Massacre

Another pumpkin beer.  I don't have a problem, i just know what i like.  The Pumpkin Massacre from Austin's Infamous Brewing is a tasty offering, a restrained dark, kind of reddish ale with a medium and smooth body and a 7.5% ABV.  Aromas of cinnamon and nutmeg are most prevalent, and the taste is similar, but with some roasted malts and hints of brown sugar.  This brew does not overpower.  The pumpkin and spice flavors come in gradually to make for an excellent fall beer.

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Hops & Grain Porter Culture

As temperatures gradually (very gradually) drop here in central Texas, i naturally find my beer persuasion turning a little darker, a little thicker, a little stronger.  With that in mind, i am excited that one of my favorite local breweries, Hops & Grain, are adding a fifth selection to their year-round canning efforts, a delicious Baltic porter called Porter Culture.  The brew pours nice and dark, but with a medium body, and a good, tan and frothy head.  Aromas of roasted malt, wheat, and some hints of chocolate prevail, while the flavor combines those three attributes with some hoppy spice and a dry, almost crisp finish.  This is a ridiculously easy beer to drink, and i highly recommend cracking into one the first chance you get.

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Wasatch Black O' Lantern Pumpkin Stout

If you name your beer the Black O' Lantern, odds are i'm going to try it.  Wasatch Brewery out of Utah has a perfect Halloween companion to all that candy you're probably going to eat.  The Black O' Lantern is a pumpkin stout, pours dark with a tan head, and smells like pumpkin, spices, roasted malts, and some hints of cocoa.  The taste is similar to the aroma, but with some notes of vanilla and molasses, and the pumpkin spice never overpowers the rest of the brew.  The beer is creamy and delicious, and at 6.5% ABV, i recommend having two or three of these.  Happy Halloween.

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Buffalo Bill's Pumpkin Ale

Say what you will about pumpkin spiced beers, but the Pumpkin Ale from Buffalo Bill's Brewery out of California is what started it all for me, leading me down the path of trying out different kinds of beers (particularly of the pumpkin variety), and i've never looked back.  Sure, i've had way better brews, but sometimes it's nice to go back to the original.  The beer pours auburn with a nice creamy head and gives off aromas of nutmeg, cinnamon, pumpkin, cloves, and molasses.  The taste is relatively the same, but with some added yeast to its medium body.  This has been an old standby for me for the last seven or eight years, and has become a marker for the fall season.

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Port City Optimal Wit

Thank you, thank you, thank you to my friend over on the east coast who was in town for ACL Fest this last weekend and brought me a care package, a variety of beers from Port City Brewing in Alexandria, Virginia.  Last night, after some furniture assembly, i broke into the Optimal Wit, a Belgian white brewed with coriander and orange peel.  The beer pours a light and hazy yellow with a white and sudsy head.  Aromas of citrus, the aforementioned coriander, wheat, and some light notes of pepper are most prevalent, while the taste smooth with predominant flavors of citrus and wheat.  It's a very refreshing brew, and it hit the spot.  A very good witbier.

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Deschutes Chainbreaker White IPA

I always love when breweries work with and tweak IPA's coming up with awesome and tasty combinations.  Deschutes Brewery offer up their Chainbreaker White IPA, a nice mix of Belgian white and IPA.  The beer pours a hazy light yellow, with a nice and foamy white head.  The aroma consists of Belgian yeast and malts, lemon, and hints of banana and grass.  The taste is malty, with the lemon coming in front and center, followed by notes of coriander and grass.  The hoppiness is slight, especially for an IPA, but still noticeable with hints of grapefruit coming on the back end.  A great anytime beer.

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Peak Organic Fresh Cut Pilsner

Starting to get into the fall months, and then winter, so my beer preferences usually skew towards the darker and fuller varieties, but let's get in a nice pilsner while it's still warm wherever you are (it's always warm here).  Portland, Maine's Peak Organic Brewing Company only uses organic ingredients in there brews, and they've delivered a pretty tasty beer in the form of their Fresh Cut Pilsner.  The beer pours a light and hazy gold with a small, white head.  Aromas of citrus and cut grass clippings intertwine with some floral hints and pine notes.  The taste is crisp, citrus and grass with some touches of pale malt and light yeast and a nice, hoppy finish.  All in all, a really refreshing beer.  Hooray hippies!

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Mazel Hops Double IPA

Am i a fan of puns?  Yes i am.  Mazel Hops is a delicious IPA from the Shmaltz Brewing Company, a New York brewery with a whole horde of beers named with Jewish puns.  The brew pours a nice and crisp gold with white, quickly dissipating head.  Strong aromas of citrus and pine, with some bready notes abound.  The flavor starts slightly sweet with strong hints of grapefruit and orange, but finishes dry and bitter.  All in all, a great IPA.  Enjoy this one outside in the shade.

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Southern Tier Warlock

The beers from Southern Tier are often hit or miss with me, but when they hit, they tend to do it out of the park.  Continuing on my pumpkin beer kick, we have the Warlock, an imperial pumpkin stout.  It's tasty.  The beer pours a dark, dark brownish black with a quickly dissipating tan head.  Aromas of molasses, dark malts, spices, and some hints of pumpkin and bread are prevalent, while the taste was more oatmeal with spices and notes of pumpkin.  Not quite what i was expecting, but still well done nonetheless.  Enjoy this 8.6% ABV brew to wind the evening down.

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Whole Hog Pumpkin Ale

It's September, and you know what that means.  Football, colder weather (it's a crisp 90 degrees in Austin right now), and scrumptious, delicious pumpkin ale.  I was fortunate enough to try some Whole Hog Pumpkin Ale from Wisconsin's Stevens Point Brewery the other day, and i think i may have found myself my new favorite pumpkin ale.  It pours a coppery orange color with minimal head and smells of pumpkin spices, nutmeg, clove, and some toasted malts, and it tastes like pumpkin pie.  It's sweet and spicy, and sitting here thinking and writing about it is making me want one right now.  At 7.5% ABV, it doesn't mess around either.  I'm looking forward to imbibing many, many more of these this season.  Yum.

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Propolis Sahti

Let's go ahead and finish my Washington beer extravaganza with really interesting offering from Propolis Brewing out of Port Townsend.  The Sahti is a traditional Finnish style ale brewed with juniper berries.  It pours a dark and reddish color with a creamy beige head and some decent lacing on the glass.  The aroma has hints of banana and coriander mixed in with the aforementioned juniper berries.  The flavor is a little different.  When the beer is brewed, the mash is filtered through something called a kuurna, a device made of juniper twigs lining a wood trough.  The taste is complex, a fine mix of really bready malt and yeast, some fruit and pine notes, and an undercurrent of licorice.  It took several instances of going back to the well before i began to appreciate it.  This is not something you would want to drink everyday, but as a pre or post dinner treat, it's a good way to go.  Viva la Washington beers!  We'll be back to tasting from the rest of the country next week.

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Fish Brewing Vicious Circle Amber Ale

Nothing says class like drinking beer out of a plastic cup.  While visiting the beach on a chilly summer weekend in Washington, our previsions consisted of a smattering of state beers, one of which was the tasty Vicious Circle Amber Ale from Fish Brewing Company.  The beer pours a reddish amber with a light and quickly dissipating head and smells of grain, earth, and some hints of dark fruit.  The beer's flavor is pretty typical of an amber ale, but with some pine notes.  The brew finished not too sweet and not too bitter, and all around was a nice libation to warm up to and listen to ocean.

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Elysian Loser Pale Ale

I've got about three or four more Washington beers to move through before hitting up brewers' wares from the rest of the country and world.  I just had so many tasty ones while visiting there last month, that i have a veritable arsenal of brews to choose from.  Elysian Brewing Company puts out a celebratory pale ale called Loser that's dedicated to the area's legendary Sub Pop Records.  The beer is a murky gold with a white head that smells and tastes of pine, citrus, and grapefruit.  It's a dry and bitter 7% ABV pale, but balances out nicely with the sweet malts.  Enjoy one in the sunshine.

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Hale's Ales Kolsch

Still moving along on this Washington train of beers i dipped into last month, and one of my absolute favorites has to be the Hale's Ales Kolsch from Hale's Ales Brewery.  While imbibing a large number of different brews at the Bremerton Brewfest on an unseasonably hot day in the Pacific Northwest, the real standout of the afternoon was this wonderful German style ale.  It's refreshing and delicious and was a perfect concoction to drink on such a hot Saturday.  The beer looks of golden straw and smells sweet like honey.  The taste is predominantly sweet with hints of wheat and malt, and i easily could have spent all afternoon drinking this beer.  It's probably one of the best Kolsch style brews i've ever had the joy of drinking.  And, it has the notable distinction of being the only beer at the fest that i came back for seconds of.  Oh, how i wish i could get this in Texas.

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Narrows Giant Pacific Octopus IPA

IPA's in general seem to be somewhat of an acquired taste.  I know plenty of beer lovers who can do without a dosage of heavy hops.  Sometimes it can just be too much.  As a hophead myself, i'm usually game for all the spiciness and bitterness a good IPA has to offer, but every now and again, i come across a relatively smooth offering, something high on the citrus notes and with maybe even a little sweetness in the mix.  The Giant Pacific Octopus IPA from Narrows Brewing Co. in Washington is just such a beer.  There are definitely enough spicy hops to go around, but this murky, orange brew rides high on its aromas and flavors of orange peel, grapefruit, and hints of lemon.  Some subtle malty sweetness rounds the whole thing out.  This is a great and relatively strong beer (7.2% ABV) to enjoy outside on the patio on a hot day.

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Sound Brewery Ursus Spelaeus Imperial Stout

All hail the Ursus Spelaeus, otherwise known as the "Cave Bear."  This absolutely wonderful Belgian-style imperial stout comes from the always outstanding Sound Brewery in Poulsbo, Washington.  The beer pours dark with a mocha-colored and foamy head and has a medium to full body.  Aromas of toffee, chocolate, dark fruit, and some spices are dominant, with the taste including all of the above, but with some hints of licorice in the mix.  This is a beer that you will want to let sit for a few minutes, as the alcohol notes became much more prevalent as the brew got closer to room temperature.  And, at 10% ABV, those alcohol notes know what they're doing.  All in all, this is probably my favorite offering from my favorite Washington brewer.  I wish i was drinking one right now.

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Elysian Superfuzz Blood Orange Pale

Let the brews from my Washington adventure continue.  The Superfuzz Blood Orange Pale from the excellent Elysian Brewing was a great treat and a perfect beer for the unseasonably warm weather we had while on the Puget Sound.  The beer is a cloudy, golden orange with a good and bubbly head, floral and orange aromas on the heavy side, but a smooth drink with hints of the orange and florals, some malt, some slight pepper, and a bitter sweet finish.  Not bad.  Not bad at all.  I'd like another.

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Odin Freya's Gold

Last week, i was fortunate enough to travel up to the Pacific Northwest to visit friends, attend the Bremerton Brewfest (more on that in a later post), and drink lots and lots of delicious beer.  We'll be writing about many of those brews over the next few weeks.  Seeing as we brought the Texas heat with us to the Puget Sound, i thought i would begin with my first beer of the week, an excellent summer style brew...Freya's Gold Kolsch-style beer from Odin Brewing Company.  The beer pours a beautiful, carbonated golden hue with foamy white head and crisp, clean aroma.  Smells of light fruit, malt, spice, and earth linger, and the taste is slightly sweet and refreshing.  This is a perfect beverage for a 90 degree day outside on a patio.

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Uncle Billy's Humbucker Helles

 The craft brew craze currently sweeping through the city, the state, the nation has provided me with a wealth of different beers to choose from on a normal weekly basis, the reason i just keep on going with this blog.  Whether it be a new brewery, an older classic, or restaurant/brewpub that makes and sells its own wares, i seem to have an endless supply of tasty beverages to choose from.  Last week, i made it out to Uncle Billy's Brewery and Smokehouse in Austin for some beer and BBQ.  The food was great, but that's a discussion for another forum somewhere else.  Let's get to the beer.  The Humbucker Helles is fine example of a German-style Helles beer, a straw-blonde and frothy lager with hints of citrus, grass, and fruit.  It's remarkably easy to drink and was a great accompaniment to our food.  I could drink these all summer long...so it's nice that you can purchase a 4-pack of tall boys as you leave the joint.

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Lake Placid Ubu Ale

Months ago, my wife got me a enrolled us in a "beer of the month" kind of club, and we've been receiving 12-packs of random craft brews from around the country ever since.  My wife rules.  One of our recent arrivals is the Ubu Ale, an English-style strong ale from Lake Placid Craft Brewing in New York state, and it's delicious.  The brown ale is nice and dark, with a decent tan head and smells sweet with hints of dark fruit, malt, and maybe some brown sugar.  As for the flavor, the sweetness from the dark fruits and brown sugar shine through, but with some added hints of chocolate or toffee, some light, subtle hops to add some bitterness to the mix, and some roasted notes to balance the whole thing out.  The carbonation gives the brew a little bit of pop, and the 7% ABV lets you know it means business.  I love this beer.  If you live in the northeast, please send some of this to me ASAP.  Thanks.

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Argus Ironhorse

In my beer exploits and adventures over the last couple of years, i will occasionally come across a brew that looks and tastes the way i imagined beer was supposed to when i was a kid.  I just looks right.  It just tastes right.  And thus, we have the Argus Ironhorse from Argus Brewery in Chicago.  The beer is a California Common style brew, coppery in color with a light head and aromas of rye and spice, and maybe some sweet hints here and there.  The bready rye taste is probably most evident when drinking this beer, though there are enough subtle spices and some light hoppy bitterness to balance the whole thing out.  The Ironhorse feels like it's of the earth, like it's something we were meant to be drinking all along in the halls and ballrooms of our communities.  Have one with a friend.

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Odell 90 Shilling Ale

The 90 Shilling Ale from Colorado's Odell Brewing is not the best English/Scottish ale i've ever had in my life, but that doesn't mean it's not enjoyable.  The beer is a lovely amber with a white head that smells of grain and hints of caramel.  The taste is the same, but with some hints of bread and some medium bitterness from the hops.  Overall, a decent brew that was a great companion to making dinner last night.

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Uinta Hoodoo

German style Kolsch beer just makes me happy.  That's about all i need to say about it.  And the Hoodoo from Uinta Brewing in Utah does not disappoint.  A lovely, medium-bodied gold and cloudy brew with aromas of bread, yeast, and banana, the Hoodoo looks like a summer beer for the masses.  The taste is great mix of bread and malt with some high notes of fruity sweetness, some pear and banana.  It really hits the spot.  May my beer summer continue.

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Lucid Dyno Pale Ale

I'm not usually one to post beers from the same brewery in consecutive weeks, but the Dyno Pale Ale from Minnesota's Lucid Brewing is just too delicious an option to pass up.  The brew is a nice gold, with a medium body and carbonation, with plentiful aromas of bread, citrus, and florals.  The taste is heavy on the floral side, but with some good citrus and spicy hops to keep the thing pretty well balanced.  I had one of these at the end of a hot day, and it was just superb.  And once again, dig on that bottle label.

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Lucid Silo Saison

The first thing that struck me about the beer from Lucid Brewing out of Minnesota was how unbelievably cool the bottle labels are.  They're really arty and different.  That being said, the beer is pretty damn good too.  The Silo is a Saison, a light, Belgian style beer that's perfect for summer drinking.  The brew is a hazy orange with a good, sudsy head and smells of spice and malt.  Those malts and spices are prevalent in the beer's flavor, though there are some light hints of banana and orange in the mix as well.  And you gotta love all that carbonation.  Summertime beer!  Hooray!

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Revolver Blood and Honey

image courtesy of dfw.com

As springtime makes way for summer, my beer palette opens wide for an array of delicious craft brews for a hot day.  Revolver Brewing out of Granbury, Texas (near Fort Worth) has just the thing...their Blood and Honey American Ale.  The beer is a hazy, foggy golden orange with a nice white head and smells of orange, citrus, and wheat.  The beer's taste is a fine mix of orange and citrus notes with some hints of honey and spice.  And it goes down smooth...almost too smooth, considering the 7% ABV alcohol content.  I could drink this beer all day long.  And you could too.

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Standing Wave Pale Ale

Earlier this year for Valentine's Day, my wife enrolled me in a beer of the month club because she is awesome, and now i receive a 12-pack with 4 different beers from all over the country at the end of every month.  A recent arrival was the Standing Wave Pale Ale from Kannah Creek Brewing Company out of Colorado.  And it's a nice one.  The beer pours gold with an off-white head, giving off some bread and pine aromas.  The taste is the same, but with some spicy hops and some hints of citrus and sweetness in the mix.  The medium body and crisp carbonation definitely make this a summer beer, a lovely elixir for these long, hot days ahead.  I recommend drinking this with a burger.

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Mustang Washita Wheat

Sure it's early.  Sure it's a work day.  But, with a beer like the Mustang Washita Wheat from Oklahoma City's Mustang Brewing Company, who cares?  I'm usually not one to tout on anything from Oklahoma, but this brew is pretty damn tasty.  The beer pours a hazy gold with a light to medium body and some wheat aromas.  The taste is heavy on the aforementioned wheat, but with mild hints of citrus and sweet fruit.  This is a great beer for a hot, summer day.  Thanks Oklahoma.

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Lakefire Rye Pale Ale

Today was gorgeous.  The sun was out and shining.  Not a cloud in the sky.  A brisk and breezy 75 degrees.  I could have stayed outside all day drinking Lakefire Rye Pale Ales from Grapevine Craft Brewery had parental responsibilities not demanded otherwise.  The Lakefire is a perfect beer for the upcoming summer, a nice amber with rye and fruit notes on the aroma and taste, and ridiculously easy to drink.  Take some on the river or to the lake or the beach.  You'll be sipping them all day long.

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Millstream Back Road Stout

I'm tired.  It's been a long week.  Some dental work done on Monday...and even more to follow next week.  I can only chew on one side of my mouth.  My shoulder aches.  My (almost) 11 month old son never lets us sleep in.  I need a beer.  Something nice and smooth and thick and tasty.  Something dark and foamy that smells like malt and coffee and tastes the same with some hints of oatmeal can cocoa.  Millstream Brewing out of Iowa has just the thing for me.  The Back Road Stout is a great, post-dinner, late night libation...and i'm afraid i only have one left.  And that's a shame.

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Gaspar's Porter

I'm not usually one to recommend anything from Florida.  It's an American wasteland.  That being said, i really enjoyed the Gaspar's Porter from Florida Beer Company.  The brew is dark with a very light head, aromas of coffee, chocolate, and cherry evident at first pour.  The taste is heavy on roasted malt, with hints of the aforementioned coffee and chocolate.  There are also some nice dark fruit notes that make the beer a little sweeter than most porters, but tasty nonetheless.  Well done Florida.

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BLAKKR Black IPA

When breweries come together to create beer, it's just a beautiful and wonderful thing, like making art with a friend.  The fine, fine folks over at Real Ale, Surly, and Three Floyds have teamed up to craft one real hell of a black IPA called BLAKKR.  The beer is dark with a good foamy head and smells sweet and spicy and hoppy all at once.  It's kind of different, like a mix of grapes and hops.  The taste is malty and sweet at first, a nice combination of dark fruit, citrus, and hints of coffee, but those soon give way to the spicy hops and some well balanced bitterness.  There is also a pine note to the aroma and flavor.  All in all, this is one of the best black IPA's i've ever had...so you should drink it.  And at 9% ABV, it packs a nice, solid punch.

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Guadalupe Scotch Ale

A good scotch ale will sometimes pull me back to the old days when i was ore of a whiskey and bourbon drinker, and not so much a craft beer enthusiast.  But that's what it's supposed to do.  Guadalupe Brewing's Scotch Ale is no different.  This excellent offering pours a nice mahogany color with a good and creamy head.  The immediate aromas of toffee, caramel, and some hints of vanilla (maybe?) light the nostrils with some light herbal touches on the back end.  The taste is smoother than anticipated, a good blend of toffee, alcohol, and some light spice.  The grain for this brew comes from the UK, but it's aged in American oak barrels.  As a fan of scotch ales, i must recommend.  Delicious.

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Iron Maiden Trooper

I honestly don't know why i haven't written about this beer yet.  It combines two awesome and amazing things...beer and Iron Maiden.  Trooper is an ESB, a nice strong bitter with a copper color and good lacing on the glass.  Hailing from Robinson's Family Brewery out of the UK, the beer has a malty, sugary aroma that pairs pretty well with the light caramel flavors, easy hops, and mild carbonation.  It's a pretty easy beer to drink with a nice, hoppy sting at the end, and the bottle is just amazing.  Seriously.  Dig on that Eddie art.

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Go ahead and watch the video for Iron Maiden's "The Trooper" below.

Real Ale Brewer's Cut Double IPA

Real Ale's continuing Brewer's Cut series never ceases to impress me.  Each subsequent one-off release is just as tasty as it is different from what preceded it.  The latest batch is a Double IPA.  The beer pours a nice transparent copper with minimal head, but nice lacing on the glass.  The aromas are immediately detectable, hints of orange, florals, grass, and pine.  The flavor is hoppy and spicy, but well balanced with notes of orange and pine as well.  The brew is easy to drink, and not overpowering, a great beer for an IPA fan.  I dig it.

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Penn Pilsner

Because my wife is extraordinary, i am now a proud member of a beer-of-the-month club.  It's pretty fantastic.  And more so, one of the first batches they sent me was the delicious Penn Pilsner from Pennsylvania Brewing Co.  The beer is a Vienna-style lager, with a gold and amber color, a nice foamy head, light carbonation, aromas of grass and lemon, and some sweet flavors of grapefruit, citrus, and light hops.  It's a great beer for a hot day, and pretty different from most pilsners i've had the pleasure of drinking.  No skunkiness.  Just good beer.

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Independence White Rabbit

So...maybe beer and i had a little disagreement last weekend.  And maybe some things were done and said that need to be taken back.  The past is the past.  Let's forge ahead.  Austin's Independence Brewing just released a canned Belgian white ale witbier called the White Rabbit, and it's tasty, tasty, tasty.  The beer pours a clear, crisp gold with a nice carbonated head.  Aromas of bread and spice prevail, while the taste is all spice, coriander, and orange peel.  A great libation for the ping-ponging hot and cold days we've been having in central Texas of late.

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Rahr and Sons Bourbon Barrel Aged Winter Warmer

And from out of nowhere...it's winter here in Austin again.  Temperatures hung around the 30's all day, gray clouds, mist and cold, light rain.  It's the perfect weather for a strong libation.  Enter the Bourbon Barrel Aged Winter Warmer, an English dark ale from Fort Worth's Rahr and Sons Brewing Company.  This 9% ABV creation pours a dark, pitch black with a frothy, tan head.  The beer looks thick, and it packs a punch.  The bourbon is very prevalent in both the aroma and the flavor.  Add in some light touches of vanilla, chocolate, oak, malt, and some subtle spiciness, and you've got yourself the perfect beer to warm you up on a cold day or night.  But drink slowly.  You'll want another one as soon as your finished.

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Ska Brewing Hibernal Vinifera Stout

Okay, this is a different one.  I don't normally take grape juice in my stouts, but after having the Hibernal Vinifera Stout from Ska Brewing, i'm willing to change my stance on that.  It's cool.  I can admit when i'm wrong.  The beer pours a dark black with a light brown head.  The initial aromas consist of roasted malt, chocolate, and a little bit of alcohol.  The taste combines those elements with some lovely fruit notes from the grape juice.  It's sweet and bitter and smooth.  I found these very, very easy to drink, and they were an excellent companion for the cold nights we had in Austin last week.

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Adelbert's Vintage Series #3: Barrel of Love Chocolate Imperial Stout

With our recent cold weather here in Austin, i've been drinking a lot of stouts of late, and with my recent visit to Adelbert's Brewery, i've been digging on their Belgian wares and beers of late too.  That said, Adelbert's Vintage Series #3: Barrel of Love Chocolate Imperial Stout is both a mouthful to say and to drink.  It's delicious!  Aged in bourbon barrels, this one-off batch is heavy on the alcohol, heavy on the chocolate, and just heavy all around.  The beer is dark, dark, dark with a thick, brown head.  Lots of chocolate, toffee, and some dark fruit aromas are present at first pour that soon give way to some more bourbon and oak smells as the beer sits.  I recommend letting it sit and taking your time.  It got tastier with each subsequent swallow, the initial maltiness and sweetness giving way to spicier and heavier flavors.  This beer gets an A+.  I must find more.

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Branchline Brewing Woodcutter Rye IPA

San Antonio's Branchline Brewing Co. offers up a delicious beer with their Woodcutter Rye IPA.  The beer is a dark orange with a decent, quickly dissipating head.  The aroma is great, with hints of floral, pine, citrus, and spice.  The flavor is predominantly pine and citrus with a decent helping of hops to keep things just the right amount of bitter.  There's also a mild bready taste.  All in all, a very easy beer to drink, and a good intro for someone who's not necessarily into IPA's in general.

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Circle Envy

Austin's Circle Brewing Co. has a rather tasty amber beer called Envy.  The brew pours a darkish red, minimal head, and smells of molasses, some dried fruit, and maybe some hints of pine.  The flavors are predominantly sweet, but not too sweet, a good combo of the aforementioned molasses and fruit.  The hops compliment the malts well, adding a dry bitterness, but not too dry and bitter, to the beer.  Complex and simple.  Well done.  Drink this with anything.

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