Magic Hat Hex

Brewed By: Magic Hat Brewing Company in South Burlington, Vermont

Purchased: 12oz bottle from a 6-pack bought at Jewel in Chicago, IL; 2011

Style/ABV: Amber Ale, 5.4% 

Like a rebellious teenager, Magic Hat is flagrant, flashy, and often requires you to bail its ass out and give it a second, third, or fourteenth chance. I like Magic Hat - for their willingness to try new things, for their cool artwork, for their constant rotation of new beers - but they are a frustrating company.

Magic Hat is renown in the beer world for their "Magic Hat #9," an apricot-infused fruit beer that is of the love-hate, polarizing variety. Magic Hat is also famous for releasing a lot of one-offs and constantly rotating their seasonals. This means that while the company has released some stellar beers in the past that people have absolutely raved about, those beers may no longer exist.

I found #9 to be on the low-end of Average, but I would perhaps try it again. My introduction to Magic Hat came earlier in the year when I picked up their Summer Scene mix pack. I was attracted to the cool artwork and the promise of four beers that looked interesting. In reality I got to try the average #9, the just above-average Single Chair Ale, the below-average and nasty Wacko, and the surprisingly intriguing (but average) Blind Faith. The mix pack was a bit of a letdown, but in the process I researched Magic Hat and learned about the controversy surrounding their beer from the craft beer community. Like #9, it seems like beer drinkers are pretty divided on Magic Hat.

But wait...this is me, a guy with an opinion, giving a beer review. I try to be as objective as possible, so let's focus on the good things and cool things. Magic Hat has one of the better designed brewery websites I have come across. The website is interactive, and has lots of good information on their beers. Magic Hat has been around since 1994; they brew 4-year round beers and 4 seasonals, and they also brew a ton of one-offs. They turn out about 150,000 barrels annually, and they own Pyramid Breweries.

Today's beer, Hex, is one of the brewery's seasonal beers. Specifically, this beer is available in 6-packs during fall months, or you can pick it up in the "Night of the Living Dead" variety pack. Being a huge zombie fan and a nerd, I had a nerdgasm when I discovered the name of Magic Hat's fall variety pack. Against better judgment, I may need to seek it out.

Never a brewery to avoid controversy, today's beer is advertised by Magic Hat as an "Ourtoberfest." This is the type of retarded shenanigan that only Magic Hat could pull, and so I point back to my rebellious teenager analogy. You might be mislead into thinking that Hex is an Oktoberfest, but it actually is an Amber Ale. This beer is probably not worth dissecting, but according to Magic Hat's website Hex is brewed using German Ale yeast and Apollo and Hallertaur hops. I know nothing of brewing, but the fact that thsi beer is brewed with German "Ale" yeast leads me to believe this beer is an ale and not a lager. Traditional Märzens and Oktoberfest are lagers. Furthermore, the Apollo hops are American, and the Hallertaur are German/European. Hex also uses Vienna malts and Cherry Wood Smoked Malt. All-in-all the beer sounds like it has a lot of flavors of an Oktoberfest, but it also sounds a lot like an American Amber Ale. 

There is nothing wrong with all this, of course. Amber Ales capture a lot of the essences of a fall beer or an Oktoberfest. But Magic Hat does advertise this as an "Ourtoberfest." So like your kid who dances ballet but listens to Motorhead, we have a beer with an identity crisis. Let's dive in and see how this all stacks up.

The body of this beer is a nice amber-brown color, and has a nice Autumn-esque quality. I was able to get a nice one-finger, slightly off-white head. The head is slightly amber in color, and consists of thin soapy bubbles. This is a transparent, filtered beer, and there is a ton of rising carbonation. This is quite the lively beer. And if any Magic Hat fanatics are reading this, I am sad to report that my review bottle did not have anything noteworthy on the back side of the cap. However, the other day I did open up a Hex that had "all my friends are brown and red" on the back of the cap.

The aroma on this beer is quite malty. I smell a lot of caramel and a lot of sweet malts: I detect notes of toffee, red delicious and granny smith apples, and just subtle hints of smoke and cherry. 

Magic Hat Hex

This has a really mellow taste to it, with lots of sweet malts and caramel notes being supported by a soft doughy undertone. There are pulls towards that smokey note, as well as some bursts of hop-notes including apples. This is malty and earthy, but sweet and soft. There is some nuttiness in here, as well as some hints of a toasty bread-note on the finish. But the main flavors are sweet malts, a doughy undertone, and some supporting hop characters.

This is not particularly complex, but it is mellow and has good depth across your palate. I would call this a medium-medium beer. The carbonation actually works for and against this beer: it seems to make it very drinkable at first, but catches up to you and adds a heaviness to the beer midway through. You get a ton of carbonation and sweet malts on the front end; the middle is more sweet malts with some pulls towards the apples and smoke; and the back end is doughy, bready, nutty, and mellow. It seems to be slightly drying on the back.
 

Rating: Average
Score: 73%

At 5.4% this is pretty drinkable. I worked my way through 5 of these pretty quickly. I still don't get the whole "let's use an ale yeast" to brew an "ourtoberfest" beer. Is this angst and rebellion? Ingenuity?  

I really don't give a shit. The bottom line is that this is a good beer. This is a good fall beer. This is one of the better Magic Hat beers that I have had. I would not have gone out of my way to buy this beer, so thanks to my girlfriend for buying me a 6-pack of this. 

I would drink this again. If you can pick a six-pack of this up for 6, 7, or even 8 dollars, you would be doing right in finding a cheap Autumn beer. On the flip side, I do not understand the Magic Hat "ourtoberfest" angle. But then again, I don't get a lot of things that Magic Hat does. I guess that is the magic. 

Magic Hat's Hex is a surprisingly good Amber Ale with a nice Autumn twist. 

SKA Modus Hoperandi IPA

Brewed By: SKA Brewing in Durango, Colorado

Purchased: Single CAN (12oz) from SKA mix pack bought at Binny's in IL; 2011

Style/ABV: India Pale Ale (IPA), 6.8%

 

So here we are...

 

Despite two disappointing brews in SKA Brewing's mix pack, I have pretty high hopes for their Modus Hoperandi IPA. I have high hopes for two simple reasons: First, I've already had this beer three times now. It was good. Second, SKA's Euphoria (an American Pale Ale) was "da bomb." 

At this point we all are familiar with what an IPA is, and I've already introduced and talked up SKA brewing in my review of their True Blonde Ale. So with further ado, let's dive in. 

This beer is on the darker spectrum of IPAs, but still pours about what you would expect. This beer is filtered, transparent, and pours with a dark copper-brown body that has moderate-low carbonation. There is a nice one-finger head that is slightly off white. The head isn't super thick or creamy, and has the consistency of dish soap bubbles. I'll report back on lacing at the end.

Finally, we have a canned SKA beer from this mix pack that has a serious personality. This beer is off the charts aromatic, with huge hop notes punching the air. I'm smelling huge pine notes, oranges, sweet tangerine, and grapefruit (the citrus trio; niiiiice), subtle hints of melon and bubblegum, and a nice earthy component almost approaching hemp or tobacco. This is a mean nose; this is a nose with attitude; this is a ska nose.

SKA Modus Hoperandi IPA

This beer advertises 65 IBUs, or right about what you want for an IPA. I'm happy to report this beer is quite bitter, but in a good way. And there is malt coming along for the ride. This tastes really assertive and nice, so let's break it down. For starters, I'm picking up a really nice orange-malt flavor. It's like the orange and the malt are tangoing it out. I'm getting an orange liquor note, which is accompanied by an almost syrupy or resiny mouthfeel. There is quite a bit of pine and floral flavors in here, as well as a healthy amount of caramel and sweet malts. I'm really impressed with how punchy, assertive, and fresh this beer tastes. This is quite the lively IPA. In fact, some of the pulls in the flavor almost lean towards Double IPA status, with huge sweet tangerine notes coming and going. The nose of this also reminds me of some Double IPAs.

For me, this is a medium to full-bodied beer. This is not cloying, but the mouthfeel is quite thick and almost resiny or syrupy. There seems to be some alcohol in the body (and at almost 7% ABV it seems to be expected). The alcohol that is in the body actually helps cut through the syrupy/resiny body - and it also contributes towards intoxication - so I say cheers to that. This is fairly complex, if not approaching very complex. And this has great depth and is not remotely watery or thin. 

The front end features carbonation, big punchy hops, and sweet caramel malts. The middle rolls into more malt, surprisingly, and the back end dominates with more sweet hop notes and a bitter, drying finish. This is surprisingly drinkable, despite clocking in at near-7% and having such a thick complexion. Lastly, there is not a ton of lacing, but that could be due to the glass I am using...I may need to investigate this further. 

Rating: Above-Average

Score: 86%

 

I've had a lot of IPAs in my short beer-drinking career: and this is definitely one of the better ones. Hell, I'd wager that this might be the best available IPA in a can? I mean, how many IPAs are available in cans these days?

 

This is not just good, this is a beer taking the IPA style and dominating it. This has huge hop notes, and huge aromatics. More than once I think this beer pushed the aromas and flavors into Double IPA territory, and that is awesome! The big punchy hops are balanced near perfectly with the caramel-malt backbone, and there is enough alcohol and bitterness to cut through the slightly sticky and thick mouthfeel this beer has. 

This is redemption. The SKA Brewing mix pack would be a total wash without this beer. I still think the SKA Brewing mix pack is totally worth picking up, even though two of the three beers in it are not so great. The whole "craft beer in a can" gimmick is actually legitimately intriguing, and you also get a kick ass IPA to boot. 

Right now, I'm inclined to believe that SKA Brewing know how to craft a hop-forward ale. Both their Euphoria (Pale Ale) and Modus Hoperandi (IPA) are top-notch beers. I plan to hunt down some more of their beer in the future, but definitely check their Modus Hoperandi out, and definitely consider picking up their mix pack if you see it. You'll get a macro-equivalent Golden Ale, an average but astringent Bitter, and a kick ass IPA.

SKA Special ESB Ale

Brewed By: SKA Brewing in Durango, Colorado

Purchased: Single CAN (12oz) from SKA mix pack bought at Binny's in IL; 2011

Style/ABV: Premium Bitter/ESB, 5.7%

 

It's time to wrap up my SKA Brewing mix pack. The pack contained 12 beers; 4 of their True Blonde Ale, 4 of their Special ESB Ale, and 4 of their Modus Hoperandi IPA. This has been a pretty solid mix pack. Sometimes I like more of a variety, and in that case I might lean towards a Sam Adams mix pack or something with more than three types of beer. But this mix pack is essentially three 4-packs, and gives you ample opportunity to weigh in on the three beers. The Blonde Ale was kind of a bummer, so let's see how their Extra Special Bitter ale is. 

SKA Special ESB Ale

If you check out SKA Brewing's "The Brew" section on their website, you can learn some cool stuff about their Special ESB Ale. According to SKA's website, this was the second canned microbrew in the United States after Dale's Pale Ale. This beer uses Galena Hops (medium, pleasant, and citrusy) and pale malts.

This beer looks pretty typical for the style. It pours with a nice amber body and a fluffy two-finger head. The color of the body is amber-caramel and looks slightly toasty. The body is totally transparent and has medium-low carbonation. The head is slightly off-white, leaning towards an eggshell color. The head is hanging around pretty good, but what has dissolved is leaving lacing. 

I smell caramel and malt on the nose, and maybe some grain. I also pick up on aluminum, a note I often detect in macro brewed pale lagers. The longer I bury my nose in this beer, the more I begin to pick up hints of a hop note: maybe sweet orange, melon, or peach. 

The taste is predominately malt-aluminum, but there is a hop note. The hop note is that sweet citrus note; peach or overripe orange. It's pleasant and not very bitter. There's a lot of caramel in here, but I swear I am tasting a slightly astringent flavor in here. 

The front end of this beer is carbonated and malty. Hops show up in the middle and a bit on the back. The back end is more refreshing than dry, but I am getting a slight metallic astringency. There is good carbonation supporting the body of this beer, but overall the beer is not remotely complex and is sort of thin. This has a light-medium mouthfeel that has okay depths, but it loses some depth thanks to its lack of complexity. The lacing on my glass is nice, the astringent note isn't. 

Rating: Average
Score: 53%

Maybe I'm crazy, maybe I have a defected batch. But all 4 cans of this have tasted about the same. That is: there is a good caramel and sweet hop note, but a strange astringent note. The astringent note isn't offensive enough to totally ruin the beer, but it is a problem.

 

As with the True Blonde Ale, I would not recommend you seek this out if you are looking for an ESB. This one does fall close enough to middle-of-the-road that it does work in favor of the SKA mix pack. As a standalone, meh.

I'll try this one again in the future, for science, just to make sure I'm not crazy. But the consistent astringent note across all four cans leads me to believe this beer just doesn't mesh with me. Your mileage may vary.

North Coast Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout

What better way to pop the Stout cherry than with Old Rasputin, pretty much the standard Imperial Stout amongst beer geeks.

Brewed By: North Coast Brewing Company in Fort Bragg, California

Purchased: 12oz bottle from a 4-pack, purchased at Binny's in Chicago, IL; 2011

Style/ABV: Russian Imperial Stout, 9%

Like IPAs of old, traditional Russian Imperial Stouts were brewed to high gravity and hopped to high heaven so that the beer could survive long voyages. Specifically, the beer needed to go from England to the Baltic States and Russia. Imperial Stouts continue to see huge ABVs for no purpose other than to brew really awesome, extreme beer. Thanks American craft beer movement! Today's beer clocks in at 9% ABV. That is a big ABV, but not even close to pushing the envelope for Imperial Stouts.

Old Rasputin has a cult following, and is one of the Imperial Stout standards among beer geeks and craft beer drinkers. Old Rasputin is brewed by North Coast Brewing, a brewery that has been around since 1988. Today's beer has won a boatload of awards; it clocks in at 9% ABV and packs a mean 75 IBUs; and is brewed in the tradition of the 18th Century English Brewers.

Today's beer features a picture of Rasputin on the bottle, along with Russian text which looks cryptic but probably isn't (I fail language barriers). Rasputin is a Russian legend known for his occult practices, and being impossible to kill. He was also a ladies man, banging away in his spare time. Rasputin was kind of a bad ass motherfucker, so I felt like the only appropriate way to enjoy this beer is with Rasputin himself. I present today's special guest: Grigori Rasputin.

adhdJon: Greeting, Rasputin. How are you doing today?

Rasputin: Where are the assassins!?!? 

adhdJon: Umm...there are no assassins here, just me and some beer! 

Rasputin: Good. Assassins and women are my worst enemies.

adhdJon: What about women assassins?

Rasputin: Never get caught with your submarine in the Baltic sea.

adhdJon: ....So, Rasputin, what gives? According to Wikipedia you are dead? 

Rasputin: HAHAHA! You cannot kill Rasputin! In Russia, we do not use Wikipedia as a credible source.

adhdJon: Riiiight....you probably censor it.

Rasputin: Hey! We may censor our Internet, but how many countries can you buy your bride from? Eh, eh?

adhdJon: So if you are truly impossible to kill, then is all the stuff they say about your giant "National Treasure" true as well?

Rasputin: You mean my giant penis? Of course!

adhdJon: Okay. So you are hung like a horse, impossible to kill, impermeable to old age...that's an impressive resume. So, I have also heard that you are an expert authority on beer?

Rasputin's Penis? (picture not to scale)

Rasputin: Yes. I am on the bottle, aren't I?

adhdJon: Okay, that is true. So Rasputin, can you tell me what to expect from this beer?

Rasputin: This beer will put hair on chest, even on little girl!

adhdJon: Umm...but little girl shouldn't be drinking alcohol anyway, right? 

Rasputin: Not so in Russia.

adhdJon: I see....well I won't argue with you. So is this beer going to taste like alcohol? 

Rasputin: No, no! Imperial Stout is boozy, but should be warming and mellow like large Russian woman. And strong like when she lays on top of you! 

adhdJon: So this beer should be like a large Russian woman? What flavors should I expect? 

Rasputin: Roasty, fruity, bittersweet, chocolate, coffee, cocoa, little children. No, I'm just kidding! Hahaha Russia funny!

adhdJon: I see why someone might have wanted to assassinate you. o_O. Okay, so shall we open up a bottle and see what this beer is all about?  

Rasputin: I've already had 6.

adhdJon: 6! Good lord! You do know that one of these beers packs around 300 calories. The breakdown is actually 300+ calories per 12 ounces, making this quite a costly and calorie-intense beer. The good news is other high-ABV Imperial Stouts also rack up the calories, so this beer is not unique in being high calorie.

Rasputin: Calories are good! In Russia, we drink til people look good. We did invent Vodka after all.

adhdJon: Touche...touche. Anyway, this beer pours a wonderfully pitch black color. The body on this one is quite dark with nary a hint of color escaping. The head on this beer is a gorgeous brown, coffee-brown color. The head does not stick around for long, but that is to be expected with such a high-ABV beer. There are some alcohol legs, and the head leaves some nice bubbly foam on the top of the glass. The remnants of head look like some evil stew or witch's cauldron, it is quite menacing. Swirling my snifter stirs up the head, so my guess is there is good carbonation in this beer.

Rasputin: There should be some carbonation.

adhdJon: Well, we will find out when we taste it. This beer smells really good. I smell a lot of roasted malts, dark fruits, some burnt notes, molasses, a wood note, berries and cherry, and maybe even some vanilla. There is also some booze on the nose as well, but hey - at 9% ABV that's okay.

Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout

Rasputin: Alright, alright, you are moving slower than a Polish blitzkrieg. How does it taste!

adhdJon: Wow, this tastes really good. This is a smooth and silky beer, but it is also quite bitter at 75 IBUs.

Rasputin: Smooth and bitter, just like me.

adhdJon: Didn't you force yourself onto a handful of nuns?

Rasputin: A vow of silence, it's like don't ask, don't tell. 

adhdJon: You magnificent, evil bastard. Anyway, this beer has a hop presence, but the whole profile of this beer is incredibly bitter. This beer tastes like someone took a cup of coffee and poured it over a campfire. There is bitter coffee and chocolate, pulls towards vanilla, a cherry and berry note, velvet bitterness on the back end, a wood-tobacco quality, and some booze on the back end.

Rasputin: When Rasputin gets wood, people notice.

adhdJon: How would you describe the body, mouthfeel, and palate?

Rasputin: This beer is full-bodied, like my second wife. It has medium complexity, but huge depth. There is some alcohol warming on the back end, but this beer is carbonated and velvety smooth like torpedo. Very drinkable!

adhdJon: How would you describe the palate?

Rasputin: The front end is carbonated and has burnt flavors and those berry and cherry flavors! The middle shows the first signs of alcohol, and you get coffee and vanilla. The back end is warming, boozy, bitter, and leaves trace notes of coffee, vanilla, and burnt notes. This is velvety and smooth from front to back, but the bitterness is drying on the back of the palate. 

adhdJon: So would you drink this again?

Rasputin: I only drink this. And Vodka.

adhdJon: So what is the verdict on this beer, Rasputin?

Rasputin: I would let someone cut off my penis again for this beer! 100%!

adhdJon: I see...well, I am going to say this beer is a 87% beer for me.

Rasputin: You disgrace Russia! You weak America. I will crush you.

adhdJon: How about we make a deal...if you don't crush me, I will let you come back in the future to talk about beer? 

Rasputin: Deal!  

adhdJon: Okay, well until next time, cheers! 

Rasputin: FOR THE MOTHERLAND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

Rating: Above-Average

Score: 87%

North Coast's Old Rasputin isn't just the standard, it actually is a brilliant beer that goes above and beyond in many ways to deliver one of the most satifying Imperial Stout experiences available. 

This is a really interesting beer. There is an extremely bitter quality (from the hops; 75 IBUs) that drives home some big dark chocolate and coffee notes. This beer also retains an incredibly velvety mouthfeel that seems to play off the vanilla and berry/cherry notes in the beer. There are also pulls towards a woody and tobacco note. 

Aesthetically, this beer looks like a witch's cauldron once the head subsides. You can actually stir the head back up by swirling your glass. There is good carbonation as well. At 9% ABV, this beer is pretty drinkable despite being kind of heavy and dry. This is more velvety than oily, so it isn't a hot sticky mess like some big beers are. I have seen people pouring this beer into a pint glass, but I am of the opinion that the best way to enjoy a beer like this is slowly, and in your snifter or tulip glass. This is a great beer, so why pound it back?

But.

And hear me out. You could drink this beer less conservatively than many other Imperial Stouts. Why is that? Because this beer is relatively cheap. I've seen a 4-pack of this going for between 8 to 10 bucks. At 8 bucks, that is less than 2 dollars a bottle. For a beer with such a huge ABV, that is a steal. Two of these will make you feel really, really good. Four of these will get your drunk. Just some food for thought. 

So....why not the divine rating. I know you're thinking it. It's a matter of perspective at this point. Earlier today I had some of Goose Island's Night Stalker. At 11.7%, that is a superbly complex monster of a stout. It was just a reminder to me how competitive and cutthroat the Imperial Stout category is. In some ways, the Imperial Stout category is likely the most competitive, envelope-pushing style of beer. Like Double IPAs, brewers are going to extremes and beyond to entertain and challenge beer drinkers. 

The take-home point is not that this beer doesn't meet expectations; this beer meets all expectations and exceeds them. The point is that in the Imperial Stout category the ceiling is extremely high. If I rate this beer higher, I run out of room quickly. A better way to approach this is to look at Imperial Stouts like this: any beer getting above an 85% is pretty much going to blow your palate away. 

This is a life-changing, bargain of a beer. This is the standard in the world of Imperial Stouts. If you are looking for a place to start, start here. If you are looking for a good standby, get this beer. This style of beer is not noobie friendly, so if this is your first stout I would advise you to look into an Irish/Dry Stout or an American or Cream Stout. Stay away from Imperial anything until you are more experienced.

For everyone else: GO GET THIS BEER NOW. It is a classic. 

In the meantime, I look forward to reviewing more stouts, and perhaps we will see Rasputin around again, someday. 

Shitty Beer Tuesday #4: Miller High Life

Brewed By: Miller Brewing Company (MillerCoors) in Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Purchased: Single, big-ass, bomber can (25.4oz) from Jewel-Osco in Illinois; 2011

Style/ABV: Pale Ale/American Lager, 4.7%

Why do college students by cheap beer? The answer is because they are poor. What is better than a 24-pack? Correct, a 30-pack. Are fraternities just socially acceptable vehicles that support date rape and bad behavior? Broseph, I don't have an answer.

Shitty Beer: not just for bros

At some point in time, you maybe went to college. If you did, there is a good chance you drank beer. And if you did drink beer, there is a good chance that it had the word "lite" towards the end of the title. Today's shitty beer is "The Champagne of Beers." This is not some unofficial slogan made up by the homeless dude on the corner who was just able to swindle a dollar out of you and go buy a 40. No, this is actually official marketing from the folks at Miller.

Miller High Life has been around since 1903. The beer's famous slogan came about because the beer is so carbonated and bubbly that it is "The Champagne of Beers." This beer was originally only available in miniature champagne bottles, and was one of the premier "high-end" beers in the country. It is amazing how this beer went from being premier, to a 7-11 beer that college kids buy in 30-packs to chug while playing beer pong. This beer is king at the beer pong table, among bros, and the homeless. How the mighty have fallen...or has it?

Miller High Life

I'm not going to indulge and pour this beer into a Champagne flute or anything like that. But this beer pours a nice golden-clear color that is quite carbonated. There is a bubbly head that has thin bubbles and is very very white. The body is clear and clean, and the head is not only hanging around sort of decently, but it is leaving some lacing.

The aroma on the nose is very clean and sort of boring. I get a lot of rice and grain, and a sweet note like apple. 

There isn't a lot going on as far as flavors go, but there is something going on. First off, there is a lot of that thin rice/grain note. There is also light fruity esters, along the lines of apple, like I was smelling on the nose. This is pretty neutral in terms of cloying (Budweiser) or more sour/bitter (Heineken). Some of the sweetness in this takes on a slight honey or corn syrup note, and there is a touch of cereal or sweet malt in here as well.

This is light-bodied, crisp, refreshing, and super drinkable! At 4.7%, you might need a few of these to get drunk, but you could easily pound a few of these back if you needed to. The only thing stopping you is...*belch*...all that carbonation. This is not a complex beer, but then it is a pale lager. It has a good mouthfeel that has good depth for the style and isn't cloying or bitter. The front end is carbonated and full of sweet esters like cereal, malts, honey and apples. The middle is smooth and that is where I am getting some grain and rice. The back end is grain and rice and finishes crisp.

Oh, and this is from a can, and not a green fucking bottle. This isn't going to be contaminated by the sun.

Rating: Above-Average
Score: 79%

High Life > Budweiser

That's right, bitches. 79%. Above-Average. Look, I'm a total beer geek. I love hops, I love over-the-top ABVs, I love all the crazy stuff going on with craft beer these days. But sometimes you need to get back to the basics. As far as I am concerned, this is one of Miller's most unadulterated beers. I don't see Miller advertising this beer with commercials that are attacking how manly I am, or talking about their Vortex neck on their bottle, or telling me how the Rocky Mountains turn blue on the bottle when the beer is cold enough to drink.

This beer is a business beer. This is a beer you drink when you want to drink a high volume of beer. This is a beer pong beer. This is a hot summer day beer to drink after mowing your lawn. This beer has enough flavors that aren't cloying (Budweiser, Stella) and still tastes pretty good.

This beer has a good palate, looks good when you pour it, has a decently lasting head for the style, has lacing, and is cheap. You can drink 10 of these in one night (I speak from experience), and a 30 pack of this stuff runs between 14 and 18 bucks. To put that in perspective, at 14 bucks, that is less than 50 cents a can. That is a steal.  

Miller High Life is one of my preferred standard American Lagers.

New Holland Ichabod

Brewed By: New Holland Brewing Company in Holland, Michigan

Purchased: 12oz bottle from a 6-pack purchased at Jewel-Osco in IL; 2011

Style/ABV: Pumpkin Ale, 5.2% (seems like a variable ABV at the moment)

How is it that pumpkin and fall beers show up in the store around late July and early August? What the hell, beer industry. I want to dust off some wheat beers in late August, and not be reminded of the 9 months of cold, shitty cold that are on the horizon. It's bad enough that the fall of 2011 has opened up with rain and below-average temperatures. 

Try as I might to ignore them, fall beers have been glaring at me, so I finally broke down mid-September and picked some up. Pumpkin beers are already lining the shelves, and while I think pumpkins are mostly acceptable between October and November, I'll let late September slide. 

New Holland Brewing Company are local to the Midwest. Based out of Holland, Michigan, the brewery was founded in 1996 and make about 10,000 barrels annually. They have a handful of staples, including their Mad Hatter IPA and their The Poet Stout, and they also have a handful of seasonal offerings. They have recently bought into the Pumpkin Beer hype, and have rolled out their Ichabod Ale. According to their website, Ichabod combines malted barley with real pumpkin, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Ichabod, or Ichabod Crane to be more exact, meets the Headless Horseman in The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. The imagery and the artwork is spectacular and completely Halloween-esque, but is this beer worthy?

Very cool artwork.

This beer pours with a hazy brown-orange color. The body is moderately carbonated, and the carbonation contributes to a moderately bubbly head. The body is slightly murky, and the head is tan-brown. This is a murky, Autumn-looking beer, so it sets the scene well.

The aroma is HUUUUUUUUUUUUGE nutmeg. I can smell club soda, carbonation, nutmeg and cinnamon, big big spices, gingerbread cookies, and spiced pumpkin cookies. The overwhelming aroma note is huge huge spice. And that spice is nutmeg.

The taste is very lagery, and finishes with some club soda bite. There are huge spice notes pulling at your palate, and they have a lot of synergy with the carbonation. The end result is a beer that is overwhelmingly nutmeg and cinnamon-forward. 

Interestingly enough, this is my third bottle of this stuff, and the first time I am detecting any noticeable malt or pumpkin notes. This is overwhelmingly spicy, and the giant nutmeg notes really overwhelm your palate. Once the nutmeg is done blasting your palate, you seem to develop an aversion to the spice, and you pick up on hints of malt and pumpkin. The pumpkin I am getting is really nice. To be frank, the notes that I am getting are more along the lines of pumpkin cookies, or gingerbread cookies.

In summary, what you can expect to taste in this beer is: nutmeg, cinnamon, manifestations of carbonation and spice such as club soda; once your palate adjusts to the huge nutmeg notes, you can pull out some spiced gingerbread or pumpkin cookies. There is a hint of malt, but it mostly softens the beer and rounds it out.

Murky and orange.

This is about as complex as nutmeg water. This beer has a medium body, and is too spicy to be refreshing. Despite being hugely spicy, this is drinkable with a nice carbonated mouthfeel. This beer has some depth: the front end of your palate gets blasted with a lagery feel, carbonation, and the beginning of the nutmeg storm. The middle is pretty spicy but rolls into some malt and pumpkin. The back end finishes by pinching your palate with that spice note, and leaving hints of pumpkin and gingerbread cookies. Anyone who uses lots of cinnamon or nutmeg will know what is up with this beer.

Rating: Average
Score: 74%

At first I was not impressed by this beer. This is a Pumpkin Ale after all. Not a nutmeg ale. The more of this I drink, the more I can start to home in on a legitimate pumpkin note. I would say this beer is a worthy October beer, and certainly a worthy spiced beer. If you don't like your pumpkin beers overly spiced, stay away from this beer. If you are looking for a more dominating pumpkin flavor, perhaps look elsewhere. At the end of the day, I could see trying this out, and I could certainly see myself picking this up again next October. 

New Holland's Ichabod won't blow your head off, but it is an acceptable choice for a October-Halloween beer. Especially if you enjoy nutmeg. You've been warned.

Goose Island Harvest Ale

Brewed By: Goose Island Beer Company (owned by AB InBev) in Chicago, Illinois

Purchased: 12oz bottle from a 6-pack purchased at Jewel-Osco in IL; 2011

Style/ABV: Premium Bitter/ESB, 5.7%

Goose Island should need no introduction. They are one of Chicago's largest breweries, and have several brewpubs in the city. They are perhaps most famous for their 312 Urban Wheat Ale, and most respected among craft beer drinkers for their big stouts and their Belgian lineup. Recently, Goose Island was purchased by Anheuser-Busch InBev. This has generated some controversy among craft beer drinkers, but as long as Anheuser-Busch stays away from the actual production of the beer, I will likely continue to support Goose Island beer.

Today's beer is one of Goose Island's seasonal releases, available between August and November. Goose Island's Harvest Ale is an Extra Special or Premium Bitter. The term Bitter was used to describe English pale ales, and currently Bitters are a style that usually utilize English/European hops. If you check out Goose Island's website, they give a good breakdown of their Harvest Ale: this beer uses Cascade hops and Midwestern malts. This beer clocks in at 5.7% ABV, and packs 35 IBUs.  

This beer pours with a nice copper body that is filtered and transparent. There is moderate carbonation, and the pour yields a nice one-inch head that is pretty thick and tan in color. 

This one smells floral and malty. There is some caramel and sweet malt, some nuttiness, some grain, and light floral components coming off the head.

Goose Island Harvest Ale

If you are not familiar with Bitters, this is somewhere between an American Pale Ale and an American Brown Ale. This is light, earthy, and hoppy, with a slight floral or pine component. But there is a good malt character here providing caramel and nuttiness. 

Despite the large malt component, this beer is really balanced and grounded. It is pretty damn refreshing, and has a nice hop character and just enough bitterness to beckon another sip. This slightly dials up the malt component, but could compare to an American Pale Ale. 

This is medium-light, crisp, and refreshing. There isn't a lot of complexity, but the mouthfeel is satisfying. The front end is carbonated and sweet, which leads into a caramel and hop-driven middle, and finishes with a crisp back end. I'm getting hops and malt on the back. 

Rating: Above-Average

Score: 83%

At 5.7% ABV, this is super easy drinking. You could easily make a few of these disappear. I'm also digging the nice lacing and head retention. I tried to figure out why this is a "fall seasonal." It didn't make sense to me at first. But when you think about this particular style of beer, you can see that it is slightly less hoppy than an American Pale Ale and might have a more prominent malt character. 

When it is spring time, you want to reach for an American Pale Ale that has fresh pine and floral notes, is more hoppy than malty, has a nice golden body, and delivers nice hop notes like pine and citrus. 

When it is fall you want to reach for an Ale that is a little more malty than hoppy, has more subdued hop notes, has a nice copper/darker body, and delivers a slightly heavier taste but is still refreshing. Malts can contribute to that "heavier feel." This Harvest Ale is a Bitter that is still super fresh and drinkable, but the perfect fall compliment to a spring Pale Ale.

In conclusion: This is a great fall beer, and the perfect foil to a spring Pale Ale. From it's copper color to its big malt presence, this is an easy drinking beer that would be great during a football game or on a chilly Autumn day.

Half Acre Daisy Cutter

Brewed By: Half Acre Beer Company in Chicago, Illinois

Purchased: 1-Pint CAN from a 4-pack purchased at Jewel-Osco in Chicago, Illinois; 2011

Style/ABV: American Pale Ale, 5.2%

Half Acre Beer Company

When you think India Pale Ale you probably think California, and I can't say I blame you if you do. When I hear Pale Ale, I usually smile and think, "Yup, the Midwest has you covered." Between Three Floyds and Half Acre, you would be doing juuuussssttt fine out here in middle America. Up in Chicago, you can find Half Acre's Daisy Cutter on tap at a lot of places these days. Or, in my case, in an awesome 1-pint can.

Let's back up real quick. The Half Acre Beer Company was founded in October 2006, making it a really young enterprise in the world of beer. This is a brewery with humble roots. The founders of Half Acre started out by working with the Sand Creek Brewery in Black River Falls in Wisconsin. They eventually developed their Half Acre Lager, and began distributing and selling it in Chicago during the August of 2007. The beer was successful enough that Half Acre was able to buy out a space in the Bucktown area of Chicago. With continuing sales, Half Acre was eventually able to purchase equipment from Ska Brewing Co. and moved to their current location on Lincoln Avenue on the north side of Chicago. Half Acre has been brewing at their Chicago location since 2009, and seems to be really expanding in both amount of distribution and popularity. Check out the full story HERE, and check out their website for a low-down on all their beers and info.

I love supporting the local guys, so I hope to get my hands on some more Half Acre beer in the future. If you check out their "The Beer" section, you can find a bunch of cool info on all their current and seasonal offerings. Today's beer is a Pale Ale, brewed with around five varieties of hops. Pale Ales are a dime a dozen, and are in no foreseeable short supply. On one hand this is a good thing: Pale Ales are crisp, light, and easy drinking, but they also usually pack enough punch to keep the beer interesting; on the other hand, EVERYONE makes a Pale Ale these days, so it is hard to distinguish them apart. 

Today's beer is somewhat exceptional, rising above the pack in many ways. I'm happy to report that in advance, but let me dive in and give a play-by-play review of this beer.

 

Let me tell you I LOVE this 1-pint can. How is this not the prefect beer storing vessel? Today's beer is in a can so it is protected from light, it is easy to transport, and it's a frickin' pint! I get sick of keeping track of quarter-pints or half-pints, or one pint and insert number of ounces here. And millilitres are great, if you're a chemist! This is one pint folks. I also like to pour my Pale Ales into nonic pint glasses, the British standard; or, in tonight's case, an awesome 1-pint Samuel Smith's tulip shaker.

This beer pours absolutely fantastic, with a great one-finger head that is slightly orange or off-white. Maybe eggshell? The body of this beer is a pleasant murky color, almost hazy, and certainly not transparent. The color of this beer is a super sexy golden-orange-bronze color, and I swear this beer is glowing. I wish I could tell you about the carbonation, but the glowing murky quality is making it hard to tell. I can tell you that after dissolving a bit there is still a nice coating of head hanging around, and there is a ton of lacing. This is a gorgeous looking Pale Ale, and although aesthetics are not a factor in how the beer tastes or the rating, they do contribute to the drinking experience. If you pour something that looks like someone diarrhea'd into your glass, you probably would lower your expectations before even drinking it. Anyway, I'm not planning to boink this beer...at least not yet...so shall we move onwards?

This beer is quite aromatic, with lots of hops coming off the nose. There is quite a bit of grass and pine, but also big floral components and some citrus. The citrus is not the star here, but there are some pulls towards orange and lemon. There is also a hint of bread and maybe some caramel. The take-home point is that there is a malt component on the nose. 

Half Acre Daisy Cutter

As a hop-head and someone who loves hops dearly, I often find myself not being wooed or wowed when I first try a Pale Ale. I have to remind myself of the style, and tune my taste buds into Pale Ale frequencies. I don't have to do that with the Daisy Cutter. This beer delivers some serious flavor right across the middle of the palate. 

Some of my fondest memories involve all the stupid shit I used to do as a kid. Back in Grade School my friends and I would spend most of our days outdoors during the summer, and would occasionally try to eat dandelions or grass. Why? Because that's what kids do. At least I was never dumb enough to drink the pretty blue stuff under the cabinet that the folk's used to clean windows with. At any rate, I have a pretty good idea what dandelions taste like. I have firsthand experience. (It turns out that I'm actually a child genius, Dandelions are QUITE nutritious and are an edible weed: Health Benefits of Dandelions). This Daisy Cutter packs a mean dandelion and grass note, and it is powerful and delicious. 

Besides the wonderful dandelion component, I am pulling out quite a bit of malt. It's not the star of the show, but there is a good amount of bread, biscuit, and even some toast in here to level out the serious hop flavors. The hops are quite punchy, and even slightly dank. I'm getting really complex floral and herbal components. There are big flower notes, from dandelions to fresh flowers. There is also a good amount of grass and pine in here. I'm getting some pulls towards citrus, mostly an herbal tea quality; maybe some orange or lemon.

This is crisp and refreshing, and at 5.2% this is incredibly drinkable. I could see myself making a 4-pack of this disappear in one night if I wanted to. But despite being so crisp and refreshing, this beer does not sell you short. This beer has a huge mouthfeel, and is full-bodied. It's not heavy though...so I would call it a light-full beer, if that makes any sense. There's a huge range of depth as the beer unloads malt and hops across your entire palate, and this beer finishes slightly dry and crisp. The front end is carbonated and SHARP: you get blasted with hops right away. The middle rolls into even more hops, and then you pick up on some nice malt notes. The back end is hoppy, malty, and slightly drying, but still pretty crisp and refreshing. It's a balanced beer, as a Pale Ale should be.

After sucking down a couple of serious hop-bombs this week, my palate is officially wasted. The Daisy Cutter isn't super bitter, but it does have a bite. This beer is balanced nicely with a strong malt backbone, but there is still some bitterness. I would guess this is pulling around 50-60 IBUs. 

Rating: Divine Brew 

Score: 96%

What more could you ask for from a Pale Ale? Need I say more? The fact that this beer, Daisy Cutter, tastes as advertised - floral as hell and with legit dandelion notes - is incredible! I have no plans to eat a daisy anytime soon, but I imagine this beer channels a lot of the bitterness you would get from the stem of a flower. 

This is a fan-frickin-tastic beer, so if you are ever in the Midwest or the Chicago area, try and grab this beer. This is a super drinkable, but highly competent Pale Ale. I could see this beer pairing nicely with pizza, wings, or any bar food in general. This stuff could also stand alone on game day, or whenever. 

I'm honestly impressed. So check this out.

Green Flash Imperial IPA

Brewed By: Green Flash Brewing Co. in San Diego, California

Purchased: Single 22oz bomber from Binny's in Illinois; 2011

Style/ABV: Imperial/Double IPA, 9.4%

I am in the process of alienating my own blog with the absence of any stouts. I swear there will be stouts on the horizon, including some Old Rasputin and something from Goose Island. In the meantime I have some Imperial IPAs on my hands that need to be consumed, because IIPAs are best consumed fresh!

So today's beer is one of the aforementioned IIPAs, or Imeprial IPAs. Imperial IPAs are - as far as I can tell - an American craft beer innovation that pushes the beer envelope by adding more hops to your standard IPA recipe. There is no functional benefit to adding more hops to an IPA other than to flex big hop muscles. So Imperial IPAs (or "IIPAs" or "Double IPAs" as I often call them) are pretty much hop bombs for hop heads. I happen to be a huge hop head, so I say bring on the extreme beer.

Green Flash Brewing's Imperial IPA looks very similar to their IPA in terms of what is on the bottle. The Green Flash West Coast IPA is one of my absolute favorite IPAs, and I have had it several times since discovering it. It is super aromatic, dank and funky, punchy, and hoppy. It is a really vibrant beer, a Divine Brew, and would easily be in my top-IPA list. The Green Flash Brewing website is well designed and looks great. They have a great section discussing all of their beers, including today's IIPA. Today's beer uses Summit and Nugget hops, clocks in at an impressive 9.4% ABV, and packs a walloping 101 IBUs.

One thing you might notice when looking at the beers offered by Green Flash Brewing is that they have won a fair number of awards for their beer. Green Flash Brewing has only been around since 2002 and only puts out about 14,000 barrels annually, but they seem to be on the rise and their beer is top-notch stuff. So let's dig in and see how this IIPA tastes.

Green Flash Brewing Co.

Damn this smells good...I want to drink this, but I owe it to myself and to the 4 people who read this blog the courtesy of describing what I see and smell. This beer has a gorgeous and warm body. It is orange with hints of copper, but it is definitely brighter than a lot of IPAs. There is a big pillowy head on here as well, which I find surprising given the giant ABV. The head started at 3-fingers and has mellowed down to about half a finger's worth. The head is leaving epic lacing along my glass. The head is slightly off-white, with hints of eggshell or orange. The body of this beer is murky, and it looks like there may be some sediment drifting around. I would guess this is unfiltered. There is moderate carbonation as well.

But dammmmn! This smells good! Drink this fresh if you like hops. I am getting blasted with waves of sweet citrus. Huge tangerine, sweet oranges, and even tropical fruits like pineapple and mango DOMINATE the nose. There is a strong herbal earthy quality as well, and that herbal note is playing off the citrus notes to give off something like a fresh lemon. I squeeze fresh lemons all the time, and I swear I am getting an awesome lemon citrus note. There are lots of earthy, herbal, tea-like flavors coming off the nose, and the aromas are fresh and awesome. I'm not getting any malt, but there is a hint of booze on the nose. Let's see if that shows up in the taste!

Wow, that herbal-tea-lemon component is really swinging through in the flavor. The body is a lot more smooth than I expected, even featuring some resiny or malty notes. This is a lot more resiny and oily as opposed to the straight up dank notes I was getting in the West Coast IPA. This is also much more...dirty...than say, the Firestone Walker Double Jack. That's not a bad thing. See, the Double Jack is like a guy in a suit, or a 5-star restaurant where you need to show up in a tuxedo; and the Green Flash IIPA is like your awesome pot smoking roommate who is funny as hell, or a greasy slice of authentic Chicago pizza. This beer is delicious BECAUSE it is resiny, oily, and potent.

The 101 IBUs are showing up, for sure, but the oily/malty complexion and the big ABV keep this beer grounded. This one goes down pretty easy, even though it shouldn't. But again, I am puckering, and this beer is finishing bone dry.

Let's talk specific notes I am getting in this beer: There is pine, for sure. I'm actually getting a decent amount of bubblegum in this one as well as some hints towards Pepto-bismol. That's surprising because I'm not big on pulling bubblegum out of IPAs. There is quite a bit of herbal, earthy notes: I'm getting lemon and orange tea. I'm getting big punchy grapefruit rind and orange rind, but with a subtle alcohol sweetness. Perhaps the note could be described as orange liquor. It's really good. I'm also getting the infamous "cat pee" note. I could write up a whole post on the cat pee note, but all you need to know is that it is a description frequently used to describe IIPAs.

se. This is highly drinkable, as an IIPA should be. But caution to the new beer drinker: this is an IIPA. If you hate bitter things, or things with hops, stay away from this beer!!!! The front end of this beer is all about the textures: the beer morphs from clean and carbonated into something big, mean, oily, and resiny. You get your first hop punch between the front and the middle: it is an earthy, herbal one. You also start to feel the alcohol and the bitterness. The back end rolls the rest of the hop flavors at you, including citrus and bubblegum. This beer is smooth from front to back, and finishes bone dry with bitterness that hangs around. This beer is excellent.

Green Flash Imperial IPA

Rating: Above-Average

Score: 89%

The resiny, herbal, earthy quality to this beer is a serious winner. If you are a hardcore tea drinker, I would say give this beer a swing. This beer goes above and beyond in almost every single way, so why not the divine rating? There are two reasons, one is on the beer and one is on me. 

Let's talk about the beer first. In terms of complexity, this beer has an outstanding palate. There are so many interesting flavors from herbal notes, to citrus, to pine, to bubblegum. The mouthfeel is impressive too, and the beer evolves nicely as it works across your palate. Still, despite being full-body and pretty heavy in terms of drinkability, this beer reaches medium-depth. I just feel like this beer is reaching for something...and just not quite hitting it. I'm not sure what that is.

So it comes down to me. Right now I've only had a few IIPAs in my lifetime. This is certainly one of the better ones, and this is so damn good I will buy it again and I will revisit it in the future. I hope that after I try 20 IIPAs I will have a better frame of reference. For example, the West Coast IPA blew me away: it is dank, funky, and fun. That's an IPA I would take to my deserted island. I'm undecided this Green Flash IIPA is worthy of desert island status.

To conclude: DAMN. This beer smells great. It tastes really good too. The 101 IBUs kick ass and are completely welcome. This beer is herbal, earthy, and packs a mean lemon tea note. The mouthfeel is oily and resiny and in the best way possible. This is another excellent beer from Green Flash Brewing Co., so check them out and check this beer out.