Stone IPA

Stone IPA - Escondido, CA

A true IPA if I have ever tasted one. This is a full blast of hops from beginning to end. If you aren't into bitter beer, then this is not the beer for you.

Stone IPA pours a nice deep golden amber/copper color. You can smell the hops from the very beginning a very light amount of malt helps smooth the beer out. There is a lot of hops smell and taste but somehow it isn't that overpowering. They have done a tremendous job in capturing what an IPA should taste like. Hop heads all around will enjoy this beer. It has a pretty high ABV (almost 7), so I wouldn't recommend having more than 2, unless you feel like getting pretty crazy.

Overall it was great to re-discover this IPA. I was worried because Stone is usually so over the top with there beers they are hard to enjoy (Arrogent Bastard comes to mind. This is probably one of the better IPA's out there. I will rank it highly in my list.

Who: Bill
Where: the deck
Price: $$$
Score: 4 / 5

Happy Drinking!

Brooklyn Pennant Ale '55

Brooklyn Pennant Ale '55

Last Friday, Bill and I sat on the deck listening to the Reds lose to the Brewers and kicked back with a few beers. I went for the Brooklyn first, since I really enjoyed a few of their other brews.

American style Pale Ale that pours a typical amber/orange color. You could really smell the malt over the hops in this beer. A very sweet carmel flavor with a slight citrus bitterness at the end. It was a pretty smooth drink because the hops were very weak.

I would recommend the East India Pale Ale or the Brown Ale from Brooklyn over this brew. It's not necessarily a bad beer, just not what I enjoy so much. Especially copmared to the Stone IPA and the Hazed and Infuzed we ended up drinking alongside this one.

I wouldn't refuse one next time around, but you probably won't see me buying a 6 pack for myself anytime soon.

Who: Bill
Where: the deck
Price: $$
Score: 3 / 5

Happy Drinking!

Magic Hat #9

Magic Hat #9 - American Pale Ale

I think this beer is actually termed a fruit beer. It really doesn't have the hoppiness of regular pale ales and has a distinct apricot flavor. I first starting drinking this beer when I would visit Luke in Washington D.C. It always had a pretty fair price and is easy to down a few in a row. Magic Hat finally started showing up at my neighborhood grocery last summer and I have been able to grab a 6 pack every once and awhile.

Amber orange color with a sweet citrusy smell. This beer is very drinkable and is easy to introduce to any beer drinker. I would recommend this beer to anyone, especially those who tend not to stray away from the American lights...Bud, Miller, Coors, etc.

All in all I have always had pleasant experiences with #9. I still need to get up to Burlington for Magic Hat fest. I hear its a great time -- plus I could do some skiing while up there.

Who: Luke
Where: DC
Price: $$
Score: 4 / 5

Happy Drinking!

Snake Rive Pale Ale

Snake River Pale Ale - Jackson Hole, Wyoming

I had been itching to try this beer for a couple of years but was always unable to find it. A couple of weekends ago while in Cleveland, Thad bought a 6 pack for me to try -- Actually not knowing I had wanted to try the beer, but because he really enjoys the Snake River brews when he heads out West with friends.

The beer was better than I expected. It had a very smooth taste and was not as Hop heavy as other pale ales -- probably because its an American PA. Poured a nice dark yellow color with slight head. Nice floral and citrusy smell. A hint of caramel malt to tone the bitterness of the grapefruit (not nearly as potent as the Loose Cannon).

It wasn't my all time favorite, but a very drinkable beer that I will keep on my list of beers to buy if I see it again. I would love to get the chance to taste the other Snake River brews. Thad says that they are much better out west, and I believe him. Based on my experience with beers from the west, when drank in Cincinnati vs. where they come from, it isn't even close.

Who: Thad and Cathy's family
Where: Cathy's Mom's house
Price: Free
Score: 4 / 5

Happy Drinking!

Heavy Seas - Loose Cannon

Heavy Seas - Loose Cannon

After our first wedding shower (well I should say: Cathy had a bridal shower while my dad and I went and had lunch...came back and moved packages from the shower to the cars), we went out with some of our friends to the Winking Lizard in Peninsula, Ohio for a couple of beers. I really like bars like the Lizard because they have so many to choose from and usually I can find a few I haven't tried before.

My first beer at the bar was the Loose Cannon. I really wasn't into the beer at all. It was very bitter and not really what I wanted at the time. It has a very distinct grapefruit smell and you could really feel the bitterness of the fruit in the back of your mouth. That is the only thing that I remember from the beer because it was so overpowering for me. So I can't really tell you anymore about it.

I almost always like IPA's and I think if I were to drink it again, I might like it more. I had a few beers at lunch with dad and I think that kind of hurt the palette for this beer (I had a Sierra Nevada, a Bell's Two hearted and then when we got home from the shower I had a Great Lakes Eliot Ness...)

Right now the score for this beer is probably going to be on the low side, but maybe after another try I will like it more.

Who: Cathy, Ang, Mindy, Bethie
Where: Winking Lizard (Peninsula)
Cost: $
Score: 2 / 5

Happy Drinking!

Bells - Two Hearted Ale

Bells Two Hearted Ale.

Hailing from Kalamazoo, Michigan - Bells checks in with another fine IPA. This one very easy to recommend to anyone and can easily be drank one after another.

I didn't get a chance to pour the beer out of the bottle when I drank it (so I can't comment on the head), but I could see that it does have a nice dark orange/brown color. The beer also has a nice citrus and floral aroma which is typical of the IPA style. It does have a nice hoppiness but isn't overwhelming, this is why Cathy prefers the taste of the Two Hearted Ale over the previous IPA review (Dogfish Head 60 Min).

Maybe I'm just partial to the regional breweries (Great Lakes, Bell's, etc.), but I really haven't tasted a beer that I didn't enjoy from Bell's. I will be looking to add a few of their brews to my list after we get through the next few months before the wedding.

PS - Sorry about the image, we were inside with hardly any light and I can't use a flash or it blows out the label.

Happy Drinking!

Who: Cathy, Emily, Billy
Where: Allyn's Cafe
Price: $$
Score: 5 / 5

Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA

Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA

This is the beer that Dogfish head is know for, and in my opinion, one of the better IPA's available (unless you ask Cathy). This was one of the first craft brews I got hooked on, and at the time, it really opened up my eyes to what a good beer can and should taste like.

To start it has a very nice orange/amber color which coincides with the citrus flavor. For an IPA it has a rather light bitterness which makes this beer very enjoyable and easy to drink. It also has a pretty nice hoppy finish and if you look closely you can see all the hops on the label.

I honestly was very surprised when I saw the beer on Arthur's menu, and after I saw that on the list, I looked no further. When we lived in Hyde Park and were frequenting the café often, the only beers you could get in bottles were Bud, Miller, Coors and Sierra. Maybe they have a beer geek doing the purchasing these days.

Happy Drinking!

Who: Cathy and Ang
Where: Arthurs
Price: $
Score: 4/5

Bass

I used to like this beer a lot more than I do now. I drank it first in college when I was trying to get away from the regular American light beers. I really wouldn't recommend this beer to anyone if you asked me for a Pale Ale. I just don't think that England has figured out the Pale Ales like the Americans have.

Who: Unsure
Where: Allyn's Cafe
Price: $$
Score: 2 / 5