Dogfish Head Fort

Brewed By: Dogfish Head Brewery in Milton, Delaware

Purchased: Huge 750ml bottle bought at Cardinal Liquors in Chicago, IL; 2012

Style/ABV: Fruit Beer, 18.0% 

"Fuck me! An 18.0% ABV Fruit Beer? Are you crazy?" 
-adhdjon's Liver

About Dogfish Head:

Dogfish Head is a craft brewery based out of Milton, Delaware. The brewery was founded by Sam Calagione back in 1995.The brewery began as a brewpub (the first in Delaware) called Dogfish Head Brewings & Eats, and was originally located in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. The initial brewing setup included three kegs and propane burners. They brewed 12-gallon batches of beer three times a day, five days a week. In 1996 the brewery began bottling their beer, and by 1999 they had distribution to around a dozen different states. In 2002 the company outgrew their Rehoboth location, and moved to Milton, Delaware. More info can be found HERE.

Tonight's beer is likely the world's strongest Fruit Beer. At least according to Dogfish Head. If you check out Dogfish Head's Fort page, you can find out all the details about this beer. This is an ale brewed with a ridiculous amount of pureed raspberries. This beer has a Belgian-style base, and then follows a fermentation process similar to the one that Dogfish Head uses for their other huge beers, the 120 Minute IPA and World Wide Stout. There's a cool video on the beer, where founder Sam Calagione breaks the beer down. Dogfish Head's website states that due to the huge ABV, this beer will age well. You should be able to cellar this beer from anywhere from 3 years and out. The website also suggests pairing this with some chocolate, or a nice piece of duck. This beer was first brewed in 2005, clocks in at a ridiculous 18% ABV, and packs 49 IBUs.

Let's get some of this into a glass...and see how it stacks up.

Dogfish Head Fort

What a crazy beer. First off, my beer was bottled in 2011. I'm not sure on the exact date, but considering how late it is in 2012, it might be a year old. That was unintentional: I'm happy I even found this beer, and attribute the age to dumb luck and my bottle shop. The beer pours an orangish/red-gold color, with 2-fingers of white head. The head maybe has a slight hint of orange from the body. I'll save the cliches: this does not look like a bright red, fruity beer. The head is pretty foamy, and made up of tightly packed small bubbles. I'm also impressed with how long it is hanging around...I still have a centimeter of head in my glass. 18% wutttt!! There is some lacing as the head pulls away....in bright light, this is an orange/yellow beer, with LOTS of carbonation in the form of tiny bubbles rising upwards. This is transparent/filtered, and you can see through it. This is fairly innocent-looking. The bottle art is fucking awesome, by the way.

When I first smelled this beer, I wasn't getting a ton...but as I let this beer sit in my glass, and warm up, I'm getting blasted with waves of raspberry currants, raspberry juice, and just raspberries. Far away from the glass, I'm picking up raspberry jam and sweet raspberries. As I put my nose in closer, I get tart and slightly acid raspberry goodness, along with fresh raspberries. I am getting some booze in the nose, along with some malt and yeast. 

This is thick and dense, and boozy. And maybe a touch too drinkable, if you ask me! This pulls across the tongue with a sticky denseness, and has characteristics of a Belgian beer, with Belgian yeast. You get raspberries in here, and a lot of booze terminates each sip on the back end. Each sip actually starts out with a big malty body...maybe a hint of oxidation? 

Let me reiterate...this is a big beer. Big booze drives each sip, with slightly spicy/peppery alcohol playing off the tongue. You get big malts, in my opinion...and I'm pulling out some honey and thickness. I'm getting sweet raspberries, raspberry currants, slightly herbal raspberry, raspberry liquor, raspberry jam, and various hints of other fruits similar to raspberry. There's a "malt beverage" thing going on here, but really complex raspberry notes and booze dance on your tongue.

 

I'm getting some pretty impressive lacing with this one. This is full-bodied, and yet...drinkable. I know, right? At 18.0% ABV, you sure do taste the alcohol, and this sure is a sipping beer. But the high amounts of carbonation, and the Belgian qualities, sort of ground everything and tie it all together. It drinks like a malt beverage, a little bit. Palate depth is great, and complexity is fairly high as well. Up front is some malt, honey, Belgian yeast, alcohol, and sweet raspberry; the middle rolls into raspberry jam, herbal raspberry, currants; the back end is raspberry, and malted beverage. There's a peppery and zesty thing going on throughout, thanks to the huge ABV and the carbonation. This obviously warms you up. If I was stuck outside on a cold winter night and wanted a fruit beer, this would be that beer.

Rating: Above-Average

I'm feeling a Light Above-Average on this. Maybe the most impressive thing is that at 18%, this still drinks like a beer. It even backtalks like a beer, and spends your money like one. Errr. I'm just saying, for a beer, this is insane stuff. I'm a little perplexed by the 750ml bottle. I'm guessing it has a lot to do with how hard it is to brew this beer, but I'm not sure. I don't feel like doing math now, but 750ml is less than a 4 pack...so maybe Dogfish Head didn't want to release this beer in single 12oz bottles, but had just enough to put it out in 750ml bottles.

 

Did I mention that I'm maybe 12oz into this thing, and I'm already drunk? Good lord, this packs the heat. And the drinkability makes it sneak up on you. Look, I don't have much else to say. I really like this beer, and I have another bottle that I'll pull out of the cellar in 3 to 5 years. Right now...this is hot, but not obnoxious. I wonder what a fresh bottle tastes like? This is definitely a beer to try, and if you're the type that hates fruit beers...give this a whirl. Recommended, but maybe share a bottle with some friends. 

Founders Devil Dancer Triple IPA

Brewed By: Founders Brewing Company in Grand Rapids, Michigan 
Purchased: Single bottle (12oz) from a 4-pack bought at Friar Tucks in Urbana, IL; 2012 

Style/ABV: Imperial IPA/Strong Ale, 12.0%

Some people just want to watch the world burn. And some people just want to watch beer drinkers pucker when they drink beer. Tonight I'm looking at Founders' Devil Dancer "Triple IPA."

Founders is the holy grail of Michigan brewing. Based out of Grand Rapids, Michigan, Founders was founded in 1997 and produce some of the best beer in the world.

This beer is described as a "Triple IPA," but falls just out of the typical guidelines with a huge ABV. As such, this beer sort of blurs the lines with a Barleywine/Strong Ale/Old Ale. If you check out the Devil Dancer page on Founders' website, you can get the breakdown of this beer. This beer is described as being massively complex, with a huge malt character that balances out an insane amount of hops. Clocking in at 12% ABV, this beer packs an impressive 112 IBUs. This is one hoppy beer! It's also a malty beer, as you might guess with a beer that pushes the ABV up to 12%. Let's put this into a glass, and see how it stacks up.

Founders Devil Dancer Triple IPA

The beer pours a hazy reddish/orange color, with one-finger of thick, off-white head. The head is made up of tightly packed bubbles, and has a slight red tint. As I swirl the beer looking for alcohol legs, I get lots of lacing from the sticky head. Once the head slowly pulls off the glass, you do see some legs. In bright light this is a murky, juice-like, reddish/orange beer, with lots of visible carbonation in the form of small bubbles.

The aroma on this beer is super sweet, and surprisingly malt heavy. It's also quite juicy. I'm getting big sweet, bready, biscuity, caramel malts on the nose. I'm also pulling out juicy citrus, and huge resinous citrus. This beer is incredibly resinous and dank. I smell pine, resin, ROSIN (for a bowed instrument), bitterness, and some grapefruit and tangerine. There is also a hint of wood.

Whew! Up front on my first sip, I'm getting a lot of bitterness, and a lot of dry woodiness. Huge pungent and resinous pine cut through the palate, with ultra bitter grapefruit rind notes hitting your tongue head-on. There's a lot of malt sweetness in the back, and I'm getting lingering sweet bread. And there is some alcohol heat on the back end, with some warming. There's some pull towards a sweeter citrus when the hops gel with the malts, and you get some candied orange notes, as well as some biscuit/honey. This is dank, with an earthy/musty/tobacco thing, more so than a sharp resinous taste. There's a salty/lemon component as well.

This is a really big beer. The alcohol is huge at 12%, and the bitterness is equally large. This has a full mouthfeel, and has the potential to be smooth with nice carbonation, but ends up incredibly chewy and turbulent thanks to all the wonderful bitterness. Palate depth is great, with moderate complexity for the style. Up front is a blast of caramel, biscuit, honey; mid palate is a huge cut into woody, lemon, grapefruit rind, pine, and huge bitterness; the back end is tongue-lashing bitterness, super dry, lingering grapefruit rind and lemon...and then you get some warming and malt in the back, back end.

Rating: Above-Average

I'm feeling a Strong Above-Average rating on this beer. This is really good stuff, but for whatever reason, it seems to be missing that dazzling trait that elevates it into something truly divine. That's just my opinion though. The cool thing is...this beer is malty. I plan to age one or two bottles of this like a Barleywine, and I'm really curious to see how that turns out. This has a really sweet malt profile on the back end, and I dig that. Anyway, to me, this drinks like an Imperial IPA with flairs of a Barleywine. It's an intriguing beer, but it's getting cute at 24 bucks a 4-pack. I would buy it again, and I would drink it again, if only for that nice, sweet, malt backbone. Food pairings: pizza, a burger, strong cheese. 

Dogfish Head Punkin Ale

Brewed By: Dogfish Head Brewery in Milton, Delaware

Purchased: 12-oz bottle from a 4-pack bought at Binny's in IL; 2012

Style/ABV: Pumpkin Ale, 7.0%

Who doesn't love pumpkins?

It's almost October, so I think it's safe to say that pumpkin beer season is here. I've already reviewed a few pumpkin beers this Fall, and I have a few coming up...including tonight's beer. I'm just happy that we can all bond over our love for pumpkin beers. Okay, fuck it...who am I kidding. Even the jaded cynic I am, I love pumpkin beers..there's just something special about them. There, I said it. About Dogfish Head:

Dogfish Head is a craft brewery based out of Milton, Delaware. The brewery was founded by Sam Calagione back in 1995.The brewery began as a brewpub (the first in Delaware) called Dogfish Head Brewings & Eats, and was originally located in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. The initial brewing setup included three kegs and propane burners. They brewed 12-gallon batches of beer three times a day, five days a week. In 1996 the brewery began bottling their beer, and by 1999 they had distribution to around a dozen different states. In 2002 the company outgrew their Rehoboth location, and moved to Milton, Delaware. More info can be found HERE.

If you roll over to the Punkin Ale page on Dogfish Head's website, you can read about why you should take your pants off drink this beer. The first step in brewing this beer is cutting a hole in the pumpkin. What you do next is entirely up to you, but Sam Calagione and co. use the meat of the pumpkin in this beer. This beer is also brewed with organic brown sugar and spices. The Punkin Ale is, "the Dogfish Head beer," and is a beer that Sam Calagione homebrewed before Dogfish Head became the famous brewery that it is today. The story goes that Sam entered his pumpkin beer in Delaware's Punkin Chunkin's recipe contest, and the beer won first place. Since then, it has become a yearly staple, and the most popular seasonal release from the brewery. Clocking in at a formidable 7.0% ABV and packing 28 IBUs, this beer is described as malty, with notes of pumpkin, caramel, and brown sugar. Suggested food pairings include turkey, roasted duck, lamb, stuffing, dessert dumplings, and sharp cheddar. This is a classic beer, and one of the first pumpkin beers to show up from craft brewers. Let's get this legendary beer into a glass, and see how it holds up.

Dogfish Head Punkin Ale

 

This beer pours with 2-fingers of thick, foamy head. The head thickens up a bit as it recedes into the beer, and it has a nice off-white, orange-tinted color. The body of the beer is an amber/copper/caramel/brown color in low light. When held to bright light, this is an orange/brown beer, and you can see a nice stream of mid-sized bubbles rising upwards. This beer is transparent and looks to be filtered. There's a centimeter of head sticking around, and some lacing as the head clings to the glass.

The aroma on this is surprisingly subtle and malty. I tip my hat to Dogfish Head for not making this a spice bomb. I'm picking up big caramel malts, brown sugar, molasses, dark bread (almost reminiscent of sourdough or rye bread), and some very subtle hints of cinnamon and pumpkin spice. I'm picking up a little earthy pumpkin and some acorn squash in the aroma as well.

You get a nice follow-through of the aroma on the taste. This beer has a nice malt body, and it rounds everything out with some brown sugar and molasses. Again, this doesn't assault your palate with spices. I'm getting sweet malts, raisins, caramel, brown sugar, hints of honey and molasses, some earthy funk, some lively carbonation and cinnamon, and hints of darker breads. I'm getting some earthy pumpkin pie.

This drinks super smooth for 7% ABV, and has a very satisfying, full palate depth. This is medium-full, and everything ties together with some light carbonation and good spice. Complexity is fairly high as well, especially for the style. Up front you get malts, caramel, bread, burgeoning raisins; the middle is raisins, molasses, brown sugar, cinnamon, hints of pie; the back end is earthy spice, and cinnamon. This finishes dry, with a lingering aftertaste of pumpkin seed and malt. I'm belching pumpkin. There's a little warming in my belly as well.

Rating: Above-Average

I'm feeling a Strong Above-Average rating on this. This is a fantastic Autumn beer, and a subtle take on the Pumpkin Ale style! I'm really digging this beer. The malts in this are sublime, with huge caramel, raisin, and molasses profiles. There's an earthy funk tying everything together, and you get some nice bread notes in here that really fill this beer out. Oh, and there is some hints at pumpkin pie in this beer. Really well-made stuff, and a hearty fall beer. I would definitely pair this beer with a turkey dinner or some stuffing. This is also an excellent fall sipper. At around 10-12 bucks for a 4-pack, this is a reasonably priced and subtle Fall beer. I'd say check it out...especially if you prefer your Pumpkin Ales to not be overly-assertive with spices.

Rogue Voodoo Doughnut Bacon Maple Ale

Brewed By: Rogue Ales in Newport, Oregon 

Purchased: Giant PINK 750ml bottle bought at Cardinal Liquors in Chicago, IL; 2012

Style/ABV: Smoked Beer, 5.6% (or 6.5% from some sources?)

I can't wait for the new James Bond movie...

As a beer geek, it was inevitable that I would eventually cross paths with Rogue's Voodoo Doughnut Bacon Maple Ale. Inspired by Voodoo Doughnut's Bacon Maple Bar doughnut -- a raised yeast doughnut with maple frosting and bacon on top -- Rogue's Bacon Maple Ale combines 13 ingredients to put a little maple bacon into beer. You can't go wrong with bacon, right?

Rogue has been around forever, and if their beer was more widely available, and not so damn expensive, I'd probably drink more of it. The brewery was founded in 1988 in Ashland, Oregon by Jack Joyce, Bob Woodell, Rob Strasser, and home brewer Jeff Schultz. Due to increasing space and distribution limitations, Jack Joyce went searching in Newport for a location for the new Rogue pub. It was at this time that he met Mohave Niem, founder of Mo's Clam Chowder. She offered Jack space to brew in her building, and in 1989 the Bay Front Brew Pub was built. Rogue's headquarters currently reside in Newport to this day. In May 1989, current head brewmaster, John Maier, joined Rogue after a brief sting brewing with Alask Brewing. John was a former Senior Technician with Hughes Aircraft Co, and a graduate of the Seibel Institute. To learn more about Rogue, check out their website HERE.

Today's beer is all sorts of crazy. If you check out the Voodoo Bacon Maple page, you can get the breakdown. This beer is brewed with 13 ingredients! The malt list includes: Briess Cherrywood Smoked Malt, Weyermann Beechwood Smoked Malt, House-smoked Hickory Malt, Great Western 2 Row, Munich, C15, C75 Malts. This beer is also brewed with Applewood-Smoked Bacon, and Pure Maple Flavoring. It also uses Perle and Sterling hops, and Rogue's in-house Pacman Yeast. At 5.6% ABV, and 30 IBUs, this is a big beer with a lot of stuff going on. The question is...does all that stuff work together? Let's find out.

Before I even pour this beer, let me comment on the pink bottle. I love it. The bottle art shares the artwork of Voodoo Doughnut, which is a Baron Samedi looking guy. Samedi is one of the Loa of Haitian Voodoo; he is the Loa of the dead. He also shows up in the James Bond novel and movie, Live And Let Die. Anyway, the bottle is eye-catching, and bright pink. The Baron Samedi guy is holding a beer on the bottle, and there are a bunch of pigs and maple leafs in the background. If you saw this in a bottle shop, you'd check it out. So this beer get's an A+ for marketing.

Rogue Voodoo Doughnut Bacon Maple Ale

The beer pours with 2-finger's worth of fairly dense head. The head is made up of tiny bubbles, and is densely packed...sort of like a Belgian beer. When I popped the cap I heard a loud hiss of carbonation being released, and I was greeted with some smoke...the head pours with a nice golden/yellow color, and the body of the beer is a hazy orange/maple color. The head is fairly persistent on this, with a half finger's worth hanging around. When held to bright light, you can see a lot of carbonation in the form of tiny bubbles rising upwards. There's also some really nice lacing on this. When held to bright light, this is an orange beer...it's not transparent, but you can see the carbonation.

Let's talk aroma....if you put your nose straight into this you pretty much smell a Rauchbier. I'm pulling out that smokey herbal note, smoked wood, campfire, wet forest, and Christmas tree bark. I'm really getting strong Christmas tree bark...that smell you get when you cut the tree. It's slightly spicy even. When you pull the beer back a bit and waft it around your nose, you pull out fat maple syrup aromas. This smells like straight up maple syrup, pancakes, and Eggo Waffles. I'm not like in the top 1% or whatever, so we ate mother fucking Eggo Waffles. Deal with it, homes. Really though, there's a huge caramel-maple sweetness dominating this nose, but if you just jam your nose into this beer you mostly get smoked malts. I'm getting a little bacon and sausage, but the smoked malts are surprisingly not overly meaty. There's maybe a faint hint of hops on the nose as well with a faint earthy/herbal bite. Cheers!

I took a pretty big sip...because I'm brave and stupid. This is surprisingly thin up front, and even in the mid palate. But man, those smoked malts absolutely kick into gear towards the end of the mid palate, and drive this beer home. I'm getting lingering maple syrup and sausage on the finish, which is the best thing I can say about this beer so far. The second sip is more of the same. This is surprisingly light and airy up front, and then you get a wave of smoked malts: Christmas tree trunk, wet forest, smoked wood. I'm getting a bit of sausage and meat, but it's surprisingly subtle and reminds me of some of the authentic, German Rauchbiers. I'm really surprised by the lack of body and the lack of a huge malt backbone. Based on the smell, I was expecting a lot more sweet maple syrup, and thick malt. You definitely pick up on maple syrup on the back end, and the finish leaves a smokey, sausage, Christmas tree, maple profile on your palate. The finish is smokey and dry.

I've read a number of reviews that have described this beer as, "drinking an ashtray." I tend not to agree...the smoked malts in here are very strong, and you get a lot of smoked wood and wet campfire...but it's not doing anything that a Rauchbier hasn't done. But then, you either enjoy the style or you don't. This is medium-light to light-bodied, has disappointing palate depth, and very little complexity. I'd call it refreshing if not for all the smoked malts. Up front you get carbonation, air, water....this rolls into more water, some grain...and then a blast of wet campfire, smoked wood, and Christmas tree trunk. The back end is smokey, smoked malts, and maple syrup. The finish is dry. It drinks like a 5.6% Brown Ale. 

Rating: Below-Average

This is a light Below-Average beer. I'm tempted to elevate this to Average, but you know....

Surprisingly, all the things I dislike about this beer are much different than what I was expecting. I'm not bothered by the smoke; in fact, it has a nice taste. My issue is this is a bacon MAPLE ale. Where the fuck is the maple? Where is the body in this beer...the malt backbone. There's hardly any complexity or palate depth. This beer could really use some bready flavors as well, which would bring that doughnut thing home. 

I do recommend checking this out, just to say you have tried it. And it's definitely a conversation piece...so share this with a few friends.

Last but not least....I know I described this beer as having a "Christmas tree trunk" aroma. I had an epiphany just now...the note I am getting is the same note as the incense that is burned during mass/service at church on Palm Sunday and during Christmas. It's that smoky, incense aroma/flavor. I can't believe my beer tastes like church! Crazy shit! I actually really dig that incense smoked profile...and it might compel me to pick up a bottle of this come Christmas or Easter time.

Goose Island Bourbon County Stout 2012

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

Purchased: 12oz bottle bought at Binny's in Plainfield, IL; 2012

Style/ABV: Russian Imperial Stout, 15.0%

I have a little something special today, the 2012 version of Goose Island's Bourbon County Stout. It would be criminal to not try a "hot" or fresh bottle of this Bourbon-Barrel Aged Imperial Stout, before throwing the rest into my cellar to age for the next 5-10 years. This beer is part of Goose Island's extensive barrel aging program, headed up by John Laffler. The brewery has over 1000 barrels of beer aging in wine and bourbon casks, and is estimated to be the largest barrel program in the United States. A bit about Goose Island:

Goose Island is a Chicago-based brewery that began as a brewpub on Clybourn, which opened on May 1988. The actual brewery opened on 1995, and is located on the Southwest side of Chicago. The second brewpub, located in Wrigleyville by the Chicago Cubs, was opened in 1999. On March 28, 2011, Goose Island sold 58% of the brewery to Anheuser-Busch. The remaining 42% of the brewery is supposed to be acquired by A-B InBev in the future, and there has been much discussion about the brewery's takeover.

According to Wikipedia, the Bourbon County Stout was first made available in bottles in 2008. The beer is cask-conditioned in oak Bourbon barrels, which may include barrels from Elijah Craig 18 Year Old Single barrel bourbon, or 25-year-old Pappy Van Winkle bourbon barrels.

If you roll over to Goose Island's Bourbon County Stout page, you can get some info on the beer from the brewery itself. This beer was originally brewed in honor of the 1000th batch of beer at the original Clybourn brewpub. Last year's BCS clocked in at 14.5% ABV, and this year's pushes the envelope to 15% ABV. This beer clocks in at 60 IBUs, and is brewed with Willamette hops, along with 2-Row, Munich, Chocolate, Caramel, Roast Barley, and Debittered Black malts. 

The beer is described as having oak, chocolate, vanilla, caramel, and smoke on the nose, and a taste that packs "more flavor than your average case of beer." Suggested food pairings are flourless chocolate cake, or capriole bourbon chocolate torte cheese. This beer can (and probably should) be aged for anywhere from 2 to 5 years and up. I've read a few cellar reviews for this beer that suggest not much happens after 2 years of aging, so age away. With that said, let's get the hot version of this into a glass, and see what the 2012 batch of Bourbon County Stout is all about.

I do recommend drinking this on the warmer side of warm. This one will only get better as it approaches room temperature. The pour reveals an impressively dark, squid-ink-black beer. Even when held to bright light, this beer is just black. The beer pours with a half finger's worth of dark, coffee-brown head that rapidly dissolves into the boozy abyss. A ring of brown clings to the edge of the glass, and swirling the beer gives way to glossy alcohol legs. Swirling the beer stirs up some head, and the head briefly clings to the glass leaving some lacing...but it rapidly disapears back into the abyss.

Bourbon County Stout 2012

The aroma on this beer is definitely boozy and Bourbon-forward, and it is easy to get lost in the Bourbon. But there's a lot going on in this aroma. I get a hugely dense chocolate fudge/brownie aroma on the nose, and it reminds me of the filling in thick chocolate or derby pie. I'm also getting some pretty distinct coconut...and maybe my brain is just filling in the gaps, but I swear I'm getting pie crust. I'm also getting some roast and hints of coffee. Really big chocolate, coconut, and Bourbon...hints of vanilla with the Bourbon, and elusive sweet caramel and dark fruits...some wood. What really stands out to me on the nose is the Bourbon, and that dense, menacing fudge/chocolate/brownie aroma. 

Up front on the first sip is huge Bourbon and coffee...this rolls into some more coffee, and the beer just coats your mouth, leaving sticky, dense, kick-ass-ness that I can only compare to the feeling when you drink something super hoppy and bitter. Then the beer just rolls into huge chocolate/vanilla/coconut flavor, with huge derby/chocolate pie filling that wallops your palate. The back end is boozy and big, and you're left with lingering chocolate, roast, and coffee. There's definitely coffee in this, and chocolate: thick chocolate, chocolate pie filling, baker's chocolate. You get a lot more Bourbon and vanilla up front in the front palate, and there is some woodiness to this, with hints of elusive dark fruits and sweet caramel. 

At 15%, this is obviously a sipper. This is full-bodied, super dense (and sticky!), and incredibly chewy. [On some sips] it kind of starts a bit thin, woody, and Bourbon-y, but that quickly builds into this huge wave of chocolate, coconut, coffee, roast, and vanilla. Palate depth is huge, and each sip lasts anywhere from 15 to 60 seconds. Complexity is high as well. Up front is Bourbon, coffee, fudge; this rolls into a bright Bourbon middle, some heat, some flashes of hops; this rolls into thick chocolate pie filling, coconut, roast, coffee. The finish is chewy, chocolate, and eventually dry. Outstanding.

Rating: Divine Brew

This is a no-brainer, Strong Divine Brew. If you find this beer, pick it up (price be damned...to some extent...I probably wouldn't go much over 10 dollars per 12oz bottle). If you're fortunate enough, pick up two or more so you can age this. I think the most surprising thing about this beer is that it drinks okay for 15%. Yeah, it's a little hot and Bourbon-forward, but the huge chocolate profiles really come out to balance the booze and Bourbon, and provide an insane finish on this. I'm only 1/3 through the bottle, and I feel like I've been drinking this for a while. This is a beer you can sip on for an hour or two, and get a ton of huge flavors.

What would I pair this beer with....a cigar. A glass. You could definitely drink this as a stand-alone. You could definitely pair this with a chocolate cake, or a cheesecake. And I bet this would even do well next to a raunchy burger or a steak.

And this is the ideal beer to age. You can age this beer from anywhere to 1-10 years, and maybe even longer. The bottle says "5 years," but I'm guessing you can comfortably double that. As you age this, the malts should really come out, the Bourbon and alcohol should smooth out, and you should get a really mellow, delicious beer. I look forward to trying this again in a few years. Goose Island said something about 10 times the availability this year...if you can find this beer this year, pick it up! 

Frankenmuth Winter Bock

Brewed By: Frankenmuth Brewery in Frankenmuth, Michigan 

Purchased: 12oz bottle from a 6-pack bought at Frankenmuth Brewery in Michigan; 2012

Style/ABV: Dunkler Bock, 7.0%

My lovely girlfriend was kind enough to pick up tonight's beer while she was vacationing in Michigan. 

The Frankenmuth brewery is touted as one of the "oldest breweries in Michigan." John Matthias Falliers founded Frankenmuth's first brewery in 1857, while cousins William Knaust and Martin Heubisch opened the Cass River Brewery just north of the Falliers' brewery in 1862, where the current Frankenmuth Brewery stands today. The Cass River Brewery was purchased by Johann Geyer in 1874, and renamed to Geyer's Brothers Brewing Co. for the next 112 years. Ferdinand "Fred" Schumacher purchased the brewery in 1987, before a fire destroyed most of the brewery. In 1990, Randall E. Heine took over the brewery. By 1996, the brewery was producing more than 30,000 barrels annually, and distributed across 25 states. At this point, an F3 tornado hit the facility causing millions of dollars of damage. The Frankenmuth Brewing Company continues to operate to this day. For more information, check out their website.

Tonight's beer, the Winter Bock, is a Dark/Dunkler Bock. From the German beer institute:

"There are several traditional types of Bockbier, each with its typical color and strength, which seems to vary almost in rhythm with the season. With the arrival of frost and the shortening of days in early December, the soul needs something more nourishing then a blond lager, especially after a frigid day of shopping for Christmas presents. Weihnachtsstarkbier (Christmas Bockbier), which is popular in the south of Germany, is often a darker version of the regular Bock. Sometimes it is also called a Dunkles or Dunkler Bock. In addition to the rich malty finish, these rewarding Yuletide brews have a slightly chocolatey taste from the addition of some roasted malts." 

The Winter Bock is described as being "rich in character," with malty sweet, full bodied notes of chocolate and caramel. Clocking in at 7.0% and 24 IBUs, this is a beer that can certainly stand up to winter weather. It's not quite winter, but it is certainly fall. So let's glass this, and see how it holds up.

Frankenmuth Winter Bock

The beer pours a mahogany/copper/caramel color, with 3-fingers of copper-tinted head. This is a transparent beer, as you would expect, with some carbonation in the form of tiny bubbles rising upwards. The beer looks about the same in bright light, and head retention is pretty solid with a lingering centimeter coating.

The aroma is malty and clean, with lots of big bready aromas, big caramel, slight grain, slight nuttiness, and a hint of clean hops/pine. I'm sort of reminded of Goose Island's Christmas Ale, as I'm smelling some pinenuts. There are some hints of toffee in the aroma, as well as some toasted notes. Overall, a sweet, clean, malty aroma.

The taste is surprisingly crisp and clean for 7.0%, with that Lager crispness. Up front are sweet caramel malts and bready notes. You get some light hop crispness and pine in the mid palate, along with some more sweet malts. The back end is nutty, malty, and toasted. There's slight hints towards a fruity note or some Twizzlers, but it never quite hits that. Maybe apple and pear? Mostly sweet malts.

This has great palate depth, low complexity, and has a medium-full body. It still has a lightness about it that is characteristic to the style, and at 7.0%, you can definitely drink this fairly easily. It's a good beer for a cold day, and maybe even better for an Autumn evening. This has malts up front, a crisp middle, and a nice malty finish. It's not dry so much as crisp and malty, with a slight density/heaviness on the finish. And it is slightly warming.

Rating: Average 

 

I'm feeling a strong Average on this. This is pretty standard stuff, but it's solid standard stuff. There's a slight astringency on the finish, but that might just be something inherent to the style. Overall though, this is a good beer from Frankenmuth, and something I would pick up to support my local brewery if I lived in Frankenmuth. Definitely a late Autumn, early Winter beer. Check it out.

Samuel Adams (Barrel Room Collection) Thirteenth Hour Stout

Brewed By: Boston Beer Company in Boston, Massachusetts
Purchased: 750ml champagne bottle bought at Jewel in Chicago, IL; 2012
Style/ABV: Belgian Stout, 9.0%

I'm really pumped to try tonight's beer, which is bottle conditioned with champagne yeast, and features a blend of Sam Adam's Kosmic Mother Funk along with a big Stout. Yum. First, a word about Sam Adams:

Samuel Adams was founded in 1984 by Jim Koch, and currently the Boston Beer Company is the largest American-owned beer company in the United States. Sam Adams is also the largest craft brewer in America, with over a million barrels of beer being produced annually. You can check out the Sam Adam's website for more info.

The Thirteenth Hour or the "witching hour" refers to the time of day when supernatural creatures such as demons, ghosts, and witches are supposed to appear, and when they are supposed to be at their most powerful. The bottle states: "The 13th hour is the witching hour and a time when strange brews can occur. With 13 ingredients, we combined the roasted chocolate and coffee notes of a stout with the complex spicy character of a Belgian-style ale aged in oak for a dark, robust, and bewitching brew."

If you roll on over to Sam Adam's Thirteenth Hour page, you can get all the info on this beer. This beer combines the roasted chocolate and coffee flavors of a stout, with the spicy characters of a Belgian ale, and then ages the whole thing in oak.

This is actually a very special beer, and makes use of Sam Adams' Kosmic Mother Funk (KMF). The KMF is an ale aged in oak tuns for a year to give the beer notes of black pepper, oak, vanilla, and acidity. The KMF is a fruity and sour beer, and goes through a second fermentation with the wild yeast, Brettanomyces. The KMF was developed specifically for the Barrel Room Collection Beers, and is blended with the various Barrel Room Collection beers.

Tonight's beer is one of those Barrel Room Collection Beers. Clocking in at an impressive 9.0% ABV, 17 IBUs, and 290 calories per 12oz, tonight's beer is brewed with Belgian-style ale yeast, and then bottle conditioned with champagne yeast. The Thirteenth Hour uses pale, caramel, munich, and specialty malts. It also uses Hallertau Mittelfrueh Noble hops. All of this is on top of the addition of the KMF blending, which adds those oak, spice, and sour/funky qualities to the beer.

Without even pouring this beer, it is evident that this is a complex beast and not your typical Sam Adams affair. This beer comes in a very sexy champagne bottle, which is likely out of necessity as champagne yeast will produce a lot of love (carbonation) in a bottle. Having said that, take caution when opening this beer. Don't aim the cork at your face, and open it in an area where you don't mind spilling some beer. Always prepare for the worst!

Sam Adams' Thirteenth Hour Stout

As you can see in the picture, the bottle comes with a cool little information book thing. The presentation is really well done. No gushing, but I did get quite a bit of smoke as I popped the cork. This beer pours with 3-fingers of thick, foamy, Belgian-esque head. The head is a light tan/khaki/coffee color, and the body of the beer is a dark black color. The head reminds me of cola, the body reminds me of an Imperial Stout. You can hear crackling carbonation, and it is evident this beer is quite effervescent. I mean, duh. Champagne yeast and all that. The head is hanging around, with about a centimeter of thick foam. There is some residual alcohol left on the side of the glass from the beer. 

The aroma on this is really interesting...and complex. I'm pulling out big notes of chocolate, Brett funk, pepper and spice, band-aids, and dark fruits like plums and grapes. This is on the cooler side of things right now, but I'm guessing as this warms up the malts are really going to come out. I do get some hints of wood and oak on the nose, along with a peppery coffee aroma, and (my WTF aroma for this beer) some eggnog? Swirling the beer unleashes a peppery, funky flurry of Brett, band-aid, oak, and coffee. Intriguing stuff, let's take a sip.

Wow. Wow, wow, wow. This beer has a huge body. I was not expecting that at all. There is so much going on with this beer...big Belgian notes pop on your palate, with dark fruits and barnyard funk. You get huge notes of chocolate, with hints of coffee. The whole thing is peppery and effervescent, but it's got a full body. You definitely get sourness cutting through, and it compliments those dark fruit notes. There's a hint of oak throughout, but it's very subtle and balanced. As this warms, I'm getting more chocolate, coffee, and even some roast on the back end. When you start to pull out the dense malts, the oak really starts to pop. That eggnog note has to be the Brett and the oak playing off each other, along with the smooth, malty qualities that the Stout contributes to this beer. As this warms further, I'm getting more fruit, funk, and oak up front, with a complex and spicy middle, and great duration that leads to a finish of roast, chocolate, coffee, and big Stout booziness. 

Incredibly complex, the palate depth is huge, the duration is great, and the mouthfeel is full. And yet, it's still drinkable and supported by champagne-like carbonation. The finish is ultimately dry, but the journey is funky, fruity, roasty and smooth. Up front is a flash of chocolate/roast, dark fruits, and big funk; the middle is funky, spicy, band-aids, Brett; the back end is a huge blast of chocolate, coffee, roast, and Stout. The finish is lingering Stout, and dry. The oak is subtle, but present throughout. I'm really impressed by the duration and body on this beer (and yet, it still drinks like a Belgian Strong Ale: way too easy for 9.0% ABV).

Rating: Above-Average

I'm feeling a Strong Above-Average on this, and maybe better but I'll have to try this again and sleep on it. Bewitching??!?! More like...bitching. Seriously, this is a good beer. And I'm totally biased, because I love Belgian Strong Ales, and I love the Belgian-Stout hybrids. But this pretty much crams everything you want into a single package...well, except for the hops. I guess you could hop this shit and go home. You have an oak-aged Brett beer, and a huge Imperial Stout. This is more fruity and funky when it is cool, but as it warms up the Stout really comes out. This is one of the better beers I've had from Sams, and definitely worth checking out if you dig this type of hybrid beer.

B.O.R.I.S. The Crusher Oatmeal-Imperial Stout

Brewed By: Hoppin' Frog Brewery in Akron, Ohio 

Purchased: Bodacious 22oz bomber bought at Binny's in IL; 2012

Style/ABV: Russian Imperial Stout (Oatmeal Imperial Stout), 9.4%

The Stallone of brewers!

Hoppin' Frog is a "small, hands-on brewery making very flavorful beers in the most flavorful beer styles." The brewery was founded by owner Fred Karm in 2006. The dude looks like he means serious business, and he has been brewing specialty beers since 1994. Karm came up with the concept of Hoppin' Frog, and has designed and produced 21 award winning beers at the Great American Beer Festival and World Cup. As Ali G would say: "Respect!"

I have to wonder if Karm is a fan of the Melvins. Wait, let me backtrack. Who is Boris? Boris is that big Russian dude who shows up to your party, uninvited. He's a big guy, and he's probably in the mob. He drinks all of your vodka, and doesn't clean up his shit. He is a total fucking asshole. You just want to throw the dude out, but you know he will kick your ass, and then get the mob to kill you. What a prick.

Boris is also an ambient/noise/experimental metal band that hails from Japan. And their name comes from this song by the Melvins: Boris. Boris truly is the crusher. The song Boris is maybe in my top 10 songs ever, and it's certainly in my top 5 heaviest songs ever. The song is crushingly heavy, and the inspiration for the band Boris. If you haven't been pulverized by Boris, check the song out.

Okay, okay, enough with the Boris tangents. Let's talk about the beer. Hoppin' Frog's B.O.R.I.S. actually stands for "Bodacious Oatmeal Russian Imperial Stout." Yup, this is a Russian Impy brewed with oats. This beer has taken home gold medals at the 2008 and 2011 GABF, and is in the top 50 Russian Imperials on Beeradvocate. The beer is described as deeply roasted and full-bodied, with a robust hop character to balance everything out. Clocking in at an impressive 9.4% ABV and packing 60 IBUs, this is a big Oatmeal Stout. So let's turn on the song Boris, and pour B.O.R.I.S. into a glass and see how it crushes.
  
I've had this beer out of the fridge now for around 50 minutes, and I'm guessing it can still warm up a bit. There was some smoke when I popped the bottle cap, something I forget to mention with many of the beers I review these days. The pour reveals a pitch-black, dark as night beer, with a pinky's worth of dark brown, coffee-colored head. The head doesn't hang around for very long, but there is a nice cauldron effect on my beer. When held to bright light, the beer is still super dark, with maybe some hints of brown. There are huge alcohol legs on this beer, and some sticky lacing when I swirl it around. 

When I popped the bottle I was greeted with an aroma of wood, brandy, and malts. This beer is super raunchy, and has a giant malt profile. You get a huge sweet oat malt on the nose, some booze, big sweet, delicate chocolate, caramel, some of that meaty Imperial Stout aroma (it reminds me of mushrooms and steak), a hint of wood and roast, and some hints towards dark fruit. There's also a touch of vanilla that is bouncing around on the aroma.

B.O.R.I.S. The Crusher

I've had this beer before, and yeah. The taste on this beer is fantastic. The palate depth on this beer is A+ stuff. The duration of this beer on your palate is incredible; I took my first sip, and some 20 seconds later I'm still experiencing waves of chocolate and roasted malt. The body of this beer is basically perfect, with that medium-full to full mouthfeel, and HUUUUUUGEEEE palate depth. It's incredible stuff.

Really, let this beer warm up. We are going on an hour here, and I still think this beer can get a bit warmer. I'm pulling out HUGE malt sweetness in this: giant pieces of chocolate, cocoa nibs, big roasted malts. There's a sweet oat note in here, along with some sweet caramel, and you pick up on some booze which adds a nice, subtle, liquor/brandy note. Big roasted malts hit on the finish, with some campfire and tasty goodness. I'm also getting some coffee in here, likely from the roasted malts. Really though, what makes this beer so incredible is the HUGE palate depth. This beer really brings the big malt flavors. (As I dig a bit further, I'm pulling out just a touch of hops, with some hints of floral/citrus bitterness, but the hops really take a back seat to the huge malts in this one).

This is incredibly smooth, fairly complex, and very drinkable for the style. At 9.4% ABV, you do get some booze in the mix. It's not overly boozy, and if you do age this beer, I'd probably see how it is holding up after 2 years or so. Again, the palate depth is huge, with each sipping occupying 10-20 seconds of flavor. This is medium-full to full, and something you want to sip on. The fullness combined with the huge palate depth give the beer some "chewiness," which is a good thing for the style. But the oats smooth things out. Up front is some roast, huge sweet malts, and then some brandy/booze...this rolls into a middle of dark fruits, sweet malts, more intense roast...the back end is roast, some campfire/smoke, and lingering blasts of chocolate and cocoa nibs. There's also some hop notes that come and go. OMG this is ammmmmaaazzzinnnng! 

Rating: Divine Brew

I'm feeling a Decent Divine Brew on this. This is really a spectacular beer, if not one of the best Russian Imperial Oatmeal Stouts I've had. This beer is amazingly smooth and drinkable, while still retaining a huge palate depth, flavor, and chewiness. The only thing that could amp up this beer would be to age it in a barrel...and it just so happens you can get this beer aged in a barrel. That's likely going to be a purchase in my near future, with the only caveat being the price (around 17-20 for a bottle). But really, this beer here was around 10 dollars for a bottle, and is totally worth it. Each sip rewards you with a long blast of intense flavors, making this the perfect beer to sip on over the course of an evening. Or during the Bears vs. the Packers, like me. I'd pair this beer with a chocolate cheese cake, or a steak with potatoes and mushroom gravy. Or a burger. If you can get this beer, check it out!!!

New Holland Four Witches Black Saison

Brewed By: New Holland Brewing Company in Holland, Michigan

Purchased: 12oz bottle from a 4-pack purchased at Friar Tucks in Urbana, IL; 2012

Style/ABV: Black Saison/Dark Belgian Style Farmhouse Ale, 7.3%

 

New Holland brews a controversy....

 

New Holland Brewing Company are a Midwest brewery based out of Holland, Michigan. The brewery was founded in 1996, and they produce 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. Today's beer is a seasonal offering, and a beer that I would describe as fairly controversial.

 

The controversy starts when you check out this beer on Ratebeer and BeerAdvocate. At the moment, the beer is getting crushed on Ratebeer with a 20 overall rating, and a 1 rating for the style. Ouch. The beer is doing much better on BeerAdvocate, getting an 83, Good rating. I've noticed that you will occasionally find beers that have pretty big differences between Ratebeer and BeerAdvocate...my theory is that once a beer tanks on Ratebeer, it has a hard time coming back.

 

Credit to /u/Catesby, who understands how I feel.

The cause of the controversy isn't a total mystery. A lot of people seem offended by Four Witches' huge black licorice/anise presence. That's a fair thing to hold against a beer, since black licorice is a pretty strong flavor to begin with. But the real problem with this beer seems to be the fact that it is a "Black Saison" or "Dark Farmhouse Ale." Many breweries are rolling out these dark Farmhouse Ales. Examples include Jolly Pumpkin's Bam Noire, Goose Island's Pepe Nero, and Two Brother's Philosopher's Stone.

 

So what's the deal with this "Black Saison" or "Dark Farmhouse Ale?" Is it a legit, up-and-coming style? Many beers have their dark counterpart: Belgian Dark Strong Ales, Dunkelweizens, Cascadian Dark Ales, and Dunkel Bocks all come to mind. I took the conversation to Reddit's beer subreddit, /r/beerit. I asked, "What's the deal with Dark/Black Saisons?" I got a lot of answers, ranging from "Drink what you like" to "I think it's a strange style" to "Make your own mind up - it really is the only opinion that truly counts." Ultimately, the community seemed to think that style guidelines are restrictive to some extent, aggregate beer review sites can have downsides, and you should celebrate individualism and drink what you like.

And you know what, I dig it. I love a good controversy, and I happen to love the beer I'm about to review. So let's break this beer down, put it into a glass, transfer it to my tummy, and see how it stacks up.

*         *         *         *         *         *         *         *         *         *         *

 

If you roll over to the New Holland Four Witches' page, you can get some info on this beer. The beer uses light and dark roasted wheat as the malt backbone, along with caramel rye and barley malts. The beer also uses "unique yeast," which is probably some strain of Belgian yeast. The bottle art is very impressive, and is done by artist Kyle Bice. The art on the bottle is a nod to the Wizard of Oz and author L. Frank Baum, who wrote the book while staying in Holland, MI. This beer clocks in at 7.3% ABV, and will probably cost your waistline around 200-270 calories per 12oz serving.  

New Holland Four Witches Black Saison

 

The beer pours a purple-black color, with a pinky's worth of khaki-brown colored head. The beer is too dark to see any carbonation, but you can conjure up some nice head when you swirl the beer in the glass. There's a little bit of residual alcohol on the glass, or "alcohol legs," as well as some clinging lace. When held to bright light, you get some brown on the edges, but this is still a very dark beer. The head is really sustaining, like a Belgian Strong Ale, so based on the appearance alone, you can guess this is well carbonated. 

The aroma on this is really nice, in my opinion. Okay, you get walloped with huge anise and black licorice up front. And you pick up on an aroma that is reminiscent to smelling a permanent marker or one of those scented grape markers from grade school. If you like black licorice, buy a case of this stuff right now. If you dig a little further, you start to pick up some dark fruits: plums, purple grapes, and juicy dark fruits. It smells a lot like a Belgian Dubbel, or a Strong Dark Ale; think Chimay Blue or Red. You also can pick up on some yeast funk in the aroma, along with some hints of spice: a touch of pepper, and earthy spice. It's a pretty complex nose when you get past the black licorice.

 

The taste is a nice follow-through of the nose, only going one step further and really hitting those barley notes home. You pick up on some slightly sour smoke in the finish. Up front is lively carbonation, yeast, spice, a touch of alcohol, and burgeoning fruits; the middle rolls into dark fruits and black licorice; the cleanup is that burnt wheat, roast, smokey, barley finish. The yeast is funky, with some playful barnyard and spice. I taste plums, grapes, and licorice. I'm getting some pepper as well. The anise/black licorice really seems to dominate mid-palate, with burnt smoke dominating the finish. It's dry on the finish, with lingering spice, smoke, and anise.

This is uber complex, and drinks like a Strong Dark Ale. The beer has champagne-like carbonation, and pretty good palate depth for the style. As I get into this more, I'm getting a lot more spices and peppery notes. I'd call this medium-full in terms of body. This is pretty smooth, and hides the 7.3% ABV very well. Front palate is carbonation, spice, yeast; middle is fruits and anise; back end is anise, smoke, lingering spice. Solid stuff.  

Rating: Above-Average

 

This is a Strong Above-Average beer for me. I like this beer a lot, and I've spent quite a bit of time with it. It's a weird beer though. Since the whole "Black Saison" style doesn't have any set guidelines, I think you can categorize this beer as such. If you gave me this beer in a blind tasting, I'd likely peg it as a Belgian Strong Dark Ale. The smoke on the end might throw that one off, however. You do get a lot more anise in the aroma with this one compared to the taste. Having said that, if you dislike black licorice, stay away from this beer. And if you expect your Saisons to be gold, peppery, and full of citrus...this one will probably drive you nuts. I hope New Holland brews this one again. Cheers!

Shipyard Pumpkinhead Ale

Brewed By: Shipyard Brewing Company in Portland, Maine 

Purchased: Single 12oz bottle from a six-pack bought at Friar Tucks in Urbana, IL; 2012

Style/ABV: Spice/Herb/Vegetable (Pumpkin Ale), 4.7% or 5.1%?

I don't know much about Maine, except they have lobsters, lighthouses, and the Maineish folks that immigrated from Maineland in Europe. They are also home to Shipyard Brewing. 

Get off my lighthouse!

Shipyard Brewing's story started back in 1992, in the seacoast village of Kennenbunkport Harbor. Entrepreneur Fred Forsley and master brewer Alan Pugsley started Federal Jack's Restaurant & Brew Pub, which became the birthplace of Shipyard ales. Around the time that Federal Jack's was getting started, the American craft beer industry was starting to grow, and within two years the demand for the beer was greater than the capacity at the pub. So Fred and Alan opened the Shipyard Brewing Company in Portland in 1994, and by 1996 it was the fasted growing craft brewery in the country. Shipyard is currently the 15th largest microbrewery in the United States, and the third largest in New England after the Boston Beer Company and Harpoon Brewery. These guys crank out a ridiculous amount of beer, and they also make soda. 

With that said, tonight's beer is fully embracing the Fall season, as well as hitting that pumpkin beer niche. And according to the beer store, it is pumpkin beer season. It's early September, and pumpkin beer everywhere. That includes Pumking (which I'm happy to report is less cloying than last year....review will be coming), which seems to be more readily available than previous years.

The Pumpkinhead Ale seems to be one of the older Pumpkin Ales available on the market (first brewed August 2002). Actually, it's unclear to me if this beer is actually brewed with pumpkin, so is this really a Pumpkin Ale? This beer is brewed with Top-Fermenting English yeast, Hallertau and Willamette hops, and Pale, Wheat, and Munich malts. It's available from September to October, and is described as having hints of pumpkin, cinnamon, and nutmeg flavors. RateBeer and BeerAdvocate are pegging this at 5.1% ABV, Shipyard's website is saying 4.7%, and the bottle says nothing. Thanks a lot, Maineish bottle label person. 

Shipyard Pumpkinhead Ale

 
This beer pours with a nice golden/yellow, transparent, and carbonated body. There were two fingers of head that rapidly dissolved. The head was fizzy, effervescent, and reminded me of the carbonation you get when you pour a 7up or Sprite into a glass. When held to bright light, this beer is still golden/yellow, and is clearly transparent. There's a lot of carbonation popping at the surface of this beer, and I'm getting a nice, constant stream of medium-sized bubbles. I'm guessing this is carbonated.

You get a ton of spice on the aroma, along with a hint of malt base, and the whole thing is rather spritzy. I'm picking up cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and pumpkin spice. It's powerful, but it is also constrained and mild at the same time. I'm not sure how that works out. I'm getting hints of pie crust, probably from the malts and the spice working together. 

The taste is light, thin, and even watery. You do get a thin malt base of wheat, and I'm getting some honey on the back end (oddly enough? right?). Up front is a ton of soda-like carbonation, followed by a bunch of thin spices: cinnamon, nutmeg, pumpkin spice, allspice. I'm still getting some honey on the back end, with maybe a hint of wheat. The hops are well hidden, and maybe pop up towards mid palate. This is ridiculously easy to drink.

Unfortunately, I'm not getting a lot of pumpkin, pumpkin pie, or pie crust in the mix. This drinks like many fruity wheat beers do: like a soda. There's a lot of carbonation, it's thin and watery, and refreshing. This is super light, features aggressive, soda-like carbonation, has low complexity, and okay palate depth. It's basically pumpkin spice soda.

Rating: Below-Average

This is a strong Below-Average beer. And I kind of want to go a bit higher, because I think this beer has a purpose...which is to be an easy-drinking, pumpkin spice beer. On the other hand, this should probably come in 40s. And I don't even know if I could drink a 40 of this stuff without getting tired of the spice. I guess what I'm saying is...there are a lot of Pumpkin Ales out there, and this one works as a light beer. A light Pumpkin Ale? This beer is seasonal, and would pair well with pumpkin desserts. You could even crack one of these open come Thanksgiving or Christmas. Check it out if you can snag it for under 9.00 a 6-pack, otherwise play the field.