Style: Barleywine
ABV: 11.3%
My thoughts: This smells like Grim Bergen! It actually tastes a lot like Grim Bergen as well. Seriously this is a Grim Bergen clone, with a slightly higher ABV. It may have a bit rougher aftertaste. If you like Grim Bergen and want to get drunk faster, this is the way to go.
Rating: 4.5/5
Brewery website: Goose Island Beer Co.
Style: IPA.
ABV: 7.8%
My thoughts: Strong citrus scent. Interesting fruity flavor. It’s very sweet and the hop flavor is almost nonexistent. It’s very smooth and almost creamy. No indication of its ABV. The finish is clean and there’s an almost fresh taste to it, sort of like a fresh and juicy fruit salad. This is a fantastic beer!
Rating: 4.5/5
Brewery website: Captain Lawrence Brewing
Style: Berliner weiss sour.
ABV: 3.2%
My thoughts: First, let me say WTF at this ABV. Is this even beer? It certainly smells pretty fucking sour. Well, it’s mouth puckeringly sour. So… Yeah… There’s almost something sweet when you first sip it, but it’s gone so quick I am not sure if I’m imaging it. The rest is just the sour of a fruit that’s gone bad. Strong carbonation. It’s quite dry. The finish is, as one might expect, more sour, but at least it vanishes quickly. I white girl can’t even with this.
Rating: 1/5
Brewery website: Barrage Brewing Co.
Style: Imperial IPA.
ABV: 8%
My thoughts: Smells like a sickly sweet mess. It tastes… I dunno. Like an IPA but it’s gone bad. The flavor is like a typical mildly hoppy IPA with something sweet mixed in, but that sweet thing was maybe sitting in the sun too long and has maybe turned a bit. Strong carbonation, medium body, and a mild finish can’t save what’s fundamentally a bad beer.
Rating: 2/5
Brewery website: Knee Deep Brewing
Style: Baltic porter.
ABV: 10.1%
My thoughts: Moderate, almost cocoa scent. Nice flavor, notes of mild coffee with an undertone of chocolate and bourbon. More carbonation than I expected, but it plays nicely with the flavor. Full body, but not too rich. Somewhat creamy. Slight coffee bitter aftertaste that dissipates quickly.
Rating: 4.5/5
Brewery website: Sixpoint Brewery
Style: Porter.
ABV: 5.8%
My thoughts: Weird metallic scent. Weird metallic flavor too. Aside from that, there doesn’t seem to be any other flavor in here, certainly not any chocolate. It’s super watery and thin, which is just plain wrong for a porter. It’s also quite carbonated. The aftertaste is metallic as well, just like the rest of this apparently metal based beer. This is no good.
Rating: 2/5
Brewery website: Long Ireland Brewing
Style: Imperial Porter
ABV: 10%
My thoughts: Super strong coconut scent. Pretty strong coconut flavor as well. There’s some coffee underneath and I feel like I’m getting a hint of chocolate. The finish is bitter coffee and it lingers a bit. Full body, low carbonation, and smooth.
Rating: 4/5
Brewery website: Ballast Point Brewing & Spirits
Bottle description: Big Bear, as the name implies, is a hefty black stout. This stout boasts a rich, caramel sweetness lavished by a robust deep roasted heartiness you can really sink your teeth into.
ABV: 8.1.%
My thoughts: There’s a strong aroma here that seems to me to be a blend of malt and caramel. While the ABV isn’t super high, I am able to pick up an undertone of alcohol odor in the aroma. The flavor is pretty interesting. The description claims a “rich, caramel sweetness,” but I have to disagree somewhat. Its got some sweetness, but it takes a seat in the back… way back. Imagine the flavor of caramel, but without 90% of the sweetness. That makes up the main part of the flavor. As I said, there is some sweetness in there, but it’s minimized. This is in no way a sweet beer. Mixed in somewhere with that caramel is a smoky sort of flavor. It provides a good counterpoint to the caramel and balances the overall smooth feel of the beer with a bit of a rough edge. It’s not all that carbonated, which I find pretty commonly with the stouts I’ve tried. It leaves a bit of a tart smoke aftertaste, which I rather enjoy. I almost never do this, but I’m gonna recommend a food pairing! I feel like this would pair well with cheese or something similarly rich and salty. Overall, I’m pretty pleased with this beer, and not just because its going to my head!
Number of times I’ve had it: 1 (22 ounce bottle)
Rating: 4/5
Location: Got this as a birthday gift and drank it at home.
Website description: Tsingtao Lager offers a crisp and refreshing flavor with a nutty and subtle sweet taste that will complement your choice of cuisine without weighing you down.
ABV: 4.8%
My thoughts: This has a very fresh scent. It reminds me a little of fresh linens, oddly enough. It tastes a bit sweet. There’s a light, malty finish. This beer has some strong carbonation. Amazingly, this has turned out to be one of the few lagers I like! Not only that, but I’d say this is just a really good beer overall. The flavor is mellow without suffering from that watery nonsense most lagers taste like. If I can find this again, I’ll definitely be bringing some home. Something to note here is that the glass they served this beer in was frozen and had a thin layer of ice on the bottom third. While a fun way to keep the beer cold, it actually ends up being too cold and doesn’t do the beer any favors. I’d love to try this again at a more reasonable temperature, but I think my overall opinion won’t change. If it can still taste great when its served way too cold, it’s likely phenomenal under normal circumstances.
Number of times I’ve had it: 1
Rating: 4/5
Location: Sea
Brooklyn, NY
Bottle description: Deliciously rich and flavorful, this is a complex brew with an easy going taste. A happy contradiction in a bottle.
ABV: 5.5%
My thoughts: I drank this mofo right out of the bottle. I was in a trivia competition, you see, and losing quite badly. There was no time for glasses! That said, let’s move on to the beer itself. This ale had a very light hop aroma. There’s a mild tartness with a typical hoppy bite. It’s an average IPA that’s a little too bitter at the end for my taste. It’s highly carbonated and feels quite crisp. I wish there was more to say about this, given how much I liked their pumpkin ale, but this is unfortunately a pretty average beer.
Number of times I’ve had it: 1
Rating: 3/5
Location: A friend’s house
