Day #10 of 365 Days of Beer - 2009 Great Lakes Christmas Ale

Perhaps I just discovered an opportunity for a more challenging goal. I wonder if I can do 365 Beers from 365 different breweries in 365 Days. Hmmmm ... I must contemplate this .. it certainly makes things a bit more difficult.

Beer Name - Great Lakes Christmas Ale (Cleveland, OH)

Serving Type - 12oz Bottle served in a snifter

Style - Winter Warmer

Availability - Winter Release

The beer pours a dark amber color with a quick huge head that dissipates into what's pictured above. The beer is very bubbly as you can clearly see the carbonation from the pour.

The aroma is very similar to the Harpoon Winter Warmer I reviewed a few days back. Lots of spices, some maltiness, a hint of pine and possibly cranberry.

The flavor is that of various spices (ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon), bit of a yeasty bread, some pine, and roasted malts. Seems to be a typical christmas flavor present in a few holiday beers. Smooth body.

Final Thoughts - There was a lot of hype surrounding this beer for me. Lots of people told me it was the best christmas beer they've ever had. The beer was good, but the best I've ever had, probably not. As I said, the beer reminds me of several other holiday offerings with not really much to set it apart from the others. The alcohol is a bit on the medium side at 7.5% ABV. Take it easy on these. Plus the beer drinks a bit on the sweet side, so having multiples may not agree too well with your palate. Again, this was a good beer, just not as outstanding as I was led to believe.

Day #9 of 365 Days of Beer - Pretty Things Saint Botolph's Town

The original Boston in England was an abbreviation of "Botolph's Town" or "Botolph's Stone". Botolph is a 7th century saint from England who's feast day is on June 17th. A beer review and a history lesson? Where else you going to get that in the same place =)

Beer Name - Pretty Things Saint Botolph's Town (Cambridge, MA)

Serving Type - 22oz bottle served in a bell glass

Style - Rustic Dark Ale

Availability - Year Round

The initial pour is a very dark brown with a twinge of red. Super thick tan head with a lot of bubbles in it. The head is so thick that it poured up over the glass rim and stayed there. Never ran down the side. With head this thick as expected you get a ton of offwhite lacing on the glass (very pretty).

The aroma of the beer surprised me. I've never heard of a "rustic dark ale" styling before this beer so I really didn't know what to expect. The smell was fantastic though. Very earthy. Malts, a bit of nuttiness, hint of hops, and perhaps a bit of spices (perhaps clove).

Again I have no idea what to expect from the flavor either. Again, I was pleasantly surprised. Brown sugar, caramel, hints of chocolate, bit of hops, and it all finishes with plum? (definitely some sort of dark fruit, maybe raisin). Very smooth to drink and not too heavy on the palate.

Final Thoughts - I'm impressed. This was the first beer I've had from Pretty Things and I now want to track down some more. This was just a solid beer from start to finish. The ABV is low at 5.7% ABV and with as smooth as the beer is, you should definitely be able to have a few of them before you get full.

Day #8 of 365 Days of Beer - Hair of the Dog Fred

This beer was created to honor beer writer and historian Fred Eckhardt.

Beer Name - Hair of the Dog Fred (Portland, OR)

Serving Type - 12oz bottle served in a tulip glass

Style - American Barleywine

Availability - Year Round

First off ... I'd like to say that I was completely engrossed in a conversation when I received my beer and didn't notice that it was probably served in the wrong glassware. Being a barleywine, it probably should have been served in a snifter or goblet. But alas, a tulip is the next best thing, so it won't hurt the aroma or flavors too much.

The beer pours a hazy coppery orange color with a pretty heavy off-white head that dissipates quickly into the ring you see in the picture. With the head being so heavy, it does cling to the glass very well to leave nice lacing effects.

The aroma is full of different smells from malt, to citrus, to hops, and even a very sweet candy type smell.

The taste of the beer is about as complex as the smell. Initially the beer drinks "hot" (explained in other review) but the alcohol taste is quickly met by an orangy malt flavor, some hints of caramel, and then finishes with some hop bitterness.

Final Thoughts - Barleywines are known for one thing and that one thing is being high in alcohol content. This particular one clocks in at 10% ABV. Please drink in moderation. It's not often that I get to sample stuff from Hair of the Dog as we have a poor distribution of it in my area. In general though, I do like their stuff very much and this barleywine is no different. Not my favorite barleywine but definitely one I'd be able to drink on a regular basis.

Day #7 of 365 Days of Beer - Saranac Winter Lager

Probably the 2nd best offering in the Saranac Winter variety case this year.

Beer Name - Saranac Winter Lager (Utica, NY)

Serving Type - 12oz Bottle served in a pint glass

Style - Vienna Lager

Availability - Winter Release

The initial pour of the winter lager is a rustic copper color with about a quarter of an inch white head which doesn't last long. Not too much lacing to speak of on the glass. Hindsight being what it is, I think I should have poured this into a glass with some laser etching to keep the carbonation more fluent. The beer tended to drink a bit flat at the end.

The aroma of the beer is that of bread (yeasty) plus some malts, with a hint of spice at the end.

The flavor of the beer is heavy of the malts and like the aroma, hints of spice (I'm guessing cinnamon, not getting nutmeg at all) during the aftertaste. There is also a hint of hops and possibly maple in the aftertaste as well.

Final Thoughts - Not a bad offering from Saranac. As I said in the intro, was probably by 2nd favorite brew in the variety case next to the Maple Porter. Pretty low ABV (5.9%) which should lend this to a good "session beer" (having multiple beers in one sitting).

Day #6 of 365 Days of Beer - Stone 13th Anniversary Ale

Hopheads beware .... this beer may be brutal for even you .... you've been warned.

Beer Name - Stone 13th Anniversary Ale (Escondido, CA)

Serving Type - 22oz bottle served in a pint glass

Style - Imperial / Double Red

Availability - Brewed Once (June 2009)

Stone is absolutely one of my favorite breweries. I can honestly say that I have not once had a bad beer from them and I absolutely look forward to the anniversary ale every year. This year, for the start of their teenage years, they gave us a beer that's not only hopped ... not double hopped ... nope, they triple hopped this bad boy. Mmmmmm

The initial pour is a deep deep, did I say deep?, red. Almost to the point of it being black. There is a fantastically thick tan head (approx 1inch) that stays with you throughout the session and sticks heavily to the glass.

The aroma on the beer is amazing. With so many hops in the beer you get a very nice floral bouquet in your nose. Very big pine smells that are cut nicely with some roasted malt and citrus hints.

Now with a smell like that would expect that this beer may be on the sweeter side .... WRONG ... this beer is all hops ... about 99% of the time. You get some dryness from one hop strain ... you get bitterness from another hop strain ... then it leaves you some maltiness .... and dark fruit flavorings at the end.

Final Thoughts - Another outstanding offering from Stone in my opinion. I would recommend serving this slightly above room temperature for full flavoring potential. This beer is pretty high on the ABV scale at 9.50% so drink in moderation. Although one 22oz bottle should be enough for anyone per sitting (it's a lot of hops).

Day #5 of 365 Days of Beer - 2009 Harpoon Winter Warmer

Welcome to the 5th installment of 365 Days of Beer. I got tied up this evening and didn't get home until around 11:30pm, just barely got this beer poured and consumed on Day 5.

Beer Name - 2009 Harpoon Winter Warmer (Boston, MA)

Serving Type - 12oz Bottle served in a goblet

Style - Winter Warmer

Availability - Winter Release

Ah yes, the winter warmer by Harpoon. This is another beer that I look forward to every year as rumor has it, they tweak the recipe every year to make it a little different than the previous. I will usually pick up a case and put a six pack in the basement for again purposes.

The initial pour of the beer give you a nice ruby colored body with a very small off-white head that dissipates quickly into the small ring that you see in the picture above. Minimal off-white lacing is present on the glass throughout the drinking session.

The aroma on the beer is big on spices. I detect some cinnamon and nutmeg, perhaps a hint of clove.

Onto flavor. The beer drinks very spicy. Definitely overpowering on the cinnamon and nutmeg. It's actually hard to taste anything else in the beer. As the beer warmed I was able to get a bit of a vanilla flavor but that was about it.

Final Thoughts - I must say that I'm pretty disappointed with this years offering of winter warmer. Perhaps it was a bit late for me to try this and my taste buds are off? I'll give this one a try but I'm not holding out hope for a different outcome. Here's to hoping that some aging will take a bit of the spiciness away.

Day #4 of 365 Days of Beer - Sam Adams Imperial Stout

Day #4 of 365 Days of Beer

Beer Name - Sam Adams Imperial Stout (Boston, MA)

Serving Type - 12oz Bottle served in a gaudy oversized snifter

Style - Imperial Stout

Availability - Year Round

OK, so Sam Adams. Some decent stuff, some not so decent stuff, it's an "OK" brewery for me. I must however say that this Imperial Stout definitely falls high on the decent stuff list. I was pleasantly surprised.

Poured into a grossly oversized crystal snifter, the initial pour started with about an inch of dark tan head that faded quickly to the small ring you see in the picture above. Lacing tended to be a bit sketchy throughout the session and was more thick beer than it was foam. The color of the beer you ask? Black ... perhaps jet black. There is no seeing through the glass. The pour itself was very thick ... almost like pouring motor oil.

The aroma of the beer is that of chocolate and coffee with a hint of alcohol.

I would recommend serving this beer slightly above room temp as you'll get the vanilla, chocolate, and malt flavorings up front. As the beer warms, the beer tends to drink "hot" (again, high alcohol taste) and you get a very heavy roasted coffee flavor. Now, this is not to say the flavor is bad as it warms, I'm just saying that the beer has two distinctly different flavorings depending on temperature. Both flavors were actually quite good.

Final Thoughts - A high alcohol beer (9.2% ABV) that should be enjoyed in moderation. If you're a stout fan, for the price of this beer, you won't be disappointed at all. The beer has a good carbonation and even with the heaviness having 2 or 3 of these shouldn't be a problem. For all you non-stout fans out there (silly people) ... I would stay away from this one. This beer represents probably everything you don't like about stouts (heavy, bitter, etc).

Day #3 of 365 Days of Beer - Cold Spring Brewery's John Henry 3 Lick Spiker Ale

Day #3 of 365 Days of Beer

Beer Name - Cold Spring Brewery's John Henry 3 Lick Spiker Ale (Cold Spring, MN)

Serving Type - 12 Oz Bottle served in a pint glass

Style - American Strong Ale (aged in oak bourbon barrels)

Availability - Rotating

This is my first beer of the year that is aged in Oak. For the record, I love just about any beer aged in Oak, the more Oak the better. The pour on this is very very dark allowing no light through the glass. There is about a half inch dark tan head that quickly dissipates ... and I mean quickly .. and leaves a thin line of foam seen in the picture above. The head does however leaves a nice white lacing on the glass.

This beer is listed as an American strong ale but it sure does smell like a porter. The aroma is heavy on the oak, with some chocolate and some malts.

The flavor on this is very nice. Hints of bourbon, molasses, oak with a mild bitter aftertaste. Very smooth and light body ... really wasn't expecting that for how dark this beer is.

Final Thoughts - I was pretty impressed with this beer. Probably because I'm a huge porter fan and to me this was more of a porter than a strong ale. The drinkability of this is really good from a flavor standpoint .... but like the Mad Elf yesterday ... from an alcohol standpoint it's not a good idea to have a lot of this (it runs at 9.1% ABV). For my first ever sampling from Cold Spring Brewery I'll say again I'm impressed. I'm hoping to get a chance to try a few more of their offerings to see if they match up to this one.

Day #2 of 365 Days of Beer - 2009 Troegs Mad Elf

Welcome back for Day #2 of the 365 Days of Beer challenge. Today I bring to you one of my favorite beers. Today I bring to you:

Beer Name - 2009 Troegs Mad Elf (Harrisburg, PA)

Serving Type - 12oz Bottle served in a snifter (crystal to make you jealous)

Style - Ale brewed with Cherry and Honey

Availability - November Release

"Why put 2009 in front of the beer name AJ?" Well that answer is easy. I have found that Mad Elf ages REALLY well, so I want to make a note of which year I'm reviewing. To be completely honest with you, for the last two years 2008 / 2009, I have found that drinking Mad Elf fresh is a bit disappointing. Now don't get me wrong, it's still a tasty beer, but having a 2008 Mad Elf right now is much more flavorful than drinking a fresh 2009.

Pouring this beer into a snifter (my recommended vessel) will allow the aroma of the cherries and honey to consolidate into your nose and give you a wonderful bouquet. The pour itself is pretty flat producing little to no head in the glass which leads to little to no lacing on the glass.

This is another beer that you don't want to drink super cold. Store at cellaring temperature (about 52-55 degrees) and pop in the fridge 5 mins before you're ready to drink one. If you're drinking a fresh bottle, in this case 2009, the beer drinks "hot" (a highly noticeable flavor of alcohol) as the beer clocks in at 11% ABV. With aging, the alcohol is not as noticeable and leads to a more smooth drinking experience.

The overall flavor of Mad Elf is outstanding. The cherries and honey are definitely the star of the beer and are very noticeable in the flavor. The aftertaste will also leave you with malt and a hint of a Belgian style flavoring. As with the last beer, as the beer warms up, the flavors become more pronounced.

The biggest problem with Mad Elf is the availability. The brewery only produces a set # of cases per year and the allocation to distributors gets a bit crazy (some places only get 2 cases, bigger places could only get maybe 6 if they're lucky). Fortunately each year of release Troegs has upped their production #s and it seems to be more widely available. I for one usually get 2 cases a year (one for drinking and the other for aging), which leads to Mad Elf availability all year long. You can all be jealous of me again. =)

Final Thoughts - The drinkability of Mad Elf from a flavor standpoint is fantastic. I personally could drink it all night long. The drinkability from an alcohol standpoint is BAD ... I repeat ... BAD!!! With the 11% ABV I wouldn't recommend having more than 1 of these if you're driving. If at home, I really wouldn't go beyond 3 in one session.

Day #1 of 365 Days of Beer - Cricket Hill's Cricket's Nocturne

Welcome to Day #1 of my 365 Days of Beer challenge. For those of you reading this, my hopes are that I can help expand the knowledge of craft / import beer and introduce it to a more widespre adaudience.

So with that I give you my first beer of 2010:

Beer Name - Cricket Hill's Cricket's Nocturne (Fairfield, NJ)

Serving Type - 22oz Bottle, Served in a pint glass

Style - Dark Lager

Availability - Winter Release

Upon initial reaction to the pour of this beer, the brewery certainly lived up to it's Cricket Hill name, as I waited for some type of head to form in the glass but alas was only treated to the chirping of crickets. The beer poured a very dark brown with no ability to see through the glass. As you can see by the picture there is a very very thin line of head at the top of the glass. There was no lacing to speak of on the glass throughout the drinking session.

On initial tasting of the beer, the taste was pretty much as flat as the pour. I got a little bit of toasty malt flavor as an aftertaste, but that was about it. Hoping that this beer had more characteristics than what I had experienced so far, I figured I would give it a chance to warm up a bit. This turned out to be a very good idea. About 10 mins of warming did nothing for the glass pour (still very flat) but the flavor changed considerably. The flavor now had a more prominent toasty malt flavor as well as chocolate undertones and finished with a decent crispness. As the session continued and the beer warmed even more, all the flavors continued to increase and by the end turned out to be a very enjoyable beer.

So what did we learn from this experience?

If you order this in a bar and the bottle is super cold, order another beer and let the bottle sit out for at least 15-20mins (I'd give it 30 for optimal flavoring). If you have this bottle at home, don't store it in the fridge. Keep it at room temp until about 5mins before you're going to drink it, toss it in the fridge for 5mins, and you should be good to go.

Final Thoughts - A very nice winter offering from Cricket Hill. Something I would definitely order again. Unfortunately I was unable to find out what the ABV (alcohol by volume) of the beer is so I'm not sure how the drinkability factor (how many you can drink in a sitting without getting smashed) is.

Coming Soon .. 365 Beers in 365 Days

I saw a few people attempt to do this on some beer websites and thought it would be good to give it a go myself.

So ... starting this Friday ... I will be blogging 365 different beers once a day for all of 2010. This may not be the easiest thing to accomplish trying to find 365 different beers .. but it should be doable.

If anyone has any suggestions of beers that you'd like to see reviewed .... please leave comments.

Also, any donations of beer that aren't easily obtained around North East PA will be greatly appreciated. Just contact me and we can work out details of shipping.

AJ