Duck-Rabbit Porter

My friend Jeff brought the variety pack from Duck-Rabbit to my Memorial Day cookout. One of the beers in the pack was the Porter. The beer pours a deep dark brown color with a lofty bubbly tan head. The aroma consists of chocolate niblets and toasted malts. The taste is roasted malts and a hint of dry chocolate. There is plenty of oak flavors as well and a sweetness in the middle that likens to cherries. The alcohol content is 5.7% ABV. I thought this was a rather delicious porter with a great wood accent. The wood flavor helped dry out the beer on the finish, making a nice unique experience.

Sweet Water Tavern Naked River Lager Light

My buddy Ryan brought up a growler of Sweet Water Tavern (not to be confused with SweetWater) Naked River Lager Light for the Memorial Day weekend. The beer pours a light golden color with a thin bubbly white head. The aroma is slightly sour hops with a light malts. The taste is very light and refreshing. There is a sour hop and malt flavors. The finish is slightly dry and watery, but still satisfying. The alcohol content is 3.75% ABV. Overall, this was a refreshing and tasty alternative to the general light beers out there. If in the area in DC, I'd recommend giving this brew pub a try.

Flying Dog Tire Bite Golden Ale

As part of the Flying Dog sampler pack, I tried the Tire Bite Golden Ale. The beer pours a golden color (as said in the name) with a bubbly character and almost no head. The aroma is lightly sour malts with some sweetness. The taste is a bit sour and malty with some breadiness and butter on the finish. The carbonation is present but not overdone. The alcohol content is 5.1% ABV. Overall, this is a satisfying beer. It goes really well with warmer weather. It may not be an experimental brew that pushes the limits, but is is great beer to fall back on.

Appalachian Brewing Company Schwartz Bier

While at Appalachian Brewing Company on my last visit, I ordered a mug of the one-off Schwartz Bier. The beer pours a dark brown color with a thin filmy tan head. The aroma consists of toasted malts and a bit of chocolate and coffee. The taste is loaded with coffee and is very dry. There is also some chocolate in there and toasted malts. The alcohol content was not available in the email alert I received, but I would guess it to be around 6% or 7% ABV. I thought that the Schwartz Bier was not quite as good as a stout or porter because the creaminess of a porter rounds out the flavor, but it was still a good beer.

ABC Single Hop Series

The ABC Single Hop Series- From Left: Zeus, Horizon, and Simcoe

I stopped into Appalachian Brewing Company to sample their Single Hop Series. Basically, ABC created three IPAs, the only variation between the three being the hops used. I figured this would give me the perfect opportunity to train my palette even further and help it recognize the types of hops used in beers. All three beer looked the same, but the Simcoe IPA definitely had a more pronounced head than the other two.

The first beer was made with Zeus hops. The aroma consists strawberries. The taste is lightly bitter with a bit of burnt caramel. In the background there is also some lemon and pepper. This seemed like it was a run-of-the-mill hop used in making IPAs.

The second beer was made with Horizon hops. This beer was not very aromatic and it was difficult to pick up an hops. The taste is faintly lemon and somewhat plain. The beer has a dry finish. Overall, the taste was more caramel than hops, coming from the base malts used to make the beer. I thought that this was a simple base of hops, but could be used to introduce more people to the IPA style of beer.

The third and final beer was brewed with Simcoe hops. I immediately recognized this type of hops with its grapefruit aroma with sweet sugar undertone. From the beers I have tried, the IPAs using the Simcoe hop have become some of my favorite brews. The beer had a great grapefruit taste that is sweetened with sugar. Overall, this was a delicious brew and I saved some of it for last and wanted to savor each and every drop.

Otto's Pub & Brewery Double D India Pale Ale

I picked up a bottle of Otto's Pub & Brewery Double D India Pale Ale from Wegman's in Williamsport. The beer pours a copper color with a foamy white head about two fingers thick. The Roma is sweet with caramel and bits of lemon and pepper. The taste is sweet with a good backbone of caramel. The hops bitter the taste slightly with some lemon and pepper. The mouth feel of this beer is a bit creamy. It finishes a bit dry with a pine after taste. The alcohol content is 9.2% ABV. This was a really delicious India Pale Ale that was equally sweet and bitter. I was really impressed, as I had not heard of this brewery from State College, PA before, but I look forward to trying more of their beers.

Bavarian Barbarian 2x4 India Pale Ale

I picked up a bottle of Bavarian Barbarian 2x4 India Pale Ale at Wegman's in Williamsport. The beer pours a golden yellow color with a lofty foamy white head. The aroma is lemon and citrus with a light bit of grapefruit. The taste is peppery and sweet with lemon and grapefruit and a light toasted caramel taste. Surprisingly, the beer hits with a bit of wood, which I assume where the 2x4 name comes from. The beer finishes a bit dry and peppery. The alcohol content is 7.0% ABV. This was a delicious take on the India Pale Ale, and I welcomed the oak flavor that came with the beer. It was a little bit hoppy for those that shy away from hops, but not too overpowering.