Iron Hill Costanza

Another beer I ordered while at lunch at Iron Hill in Lancaster was the Costanza. The beer pours an amber color with a thin bubbly white head. The aroma is malty with caramel and rye coming out to play as well. The taste is dry with lots of rye, almost to the tune of a rye bread. There is a caramel base, and the beer is very bubbly on tongue. The finish brings out a pepper spice and a hint of lemon. The alcohol content is 6.2% ABV. The Costanza does a very nice job of balancing sweet and dry flavors. I may have been slightly off-put by the amount of rye in the beer (disclaimer: I do not like rye bread, but I do like several rye beers), but it was made up for with the pepper and citrus finish.

Iron Hill Hopstinger

Prior to a wedding in Lancaster, a few of my friends and I stopped in to Iron Hill for lunch and a few drinks. The first beer I ordered was Hopstinger, served on cask. The beer pours an orange-golden color with a bubbly off-white head. The aroma consists of caramel, lemon, pine, honey, and tangerine. The taste is smooth and lemony with a good caramel base. Bits of tangerine and orange peek through as well before the pine and dry finish. There is a sweet honey after taste. The alcohol content is 7.0% ABV. This was a very dry and amazing Imperial Amber, and I was glad we made the trip, specifically for this beer.

Goose Island Pere Jacques

I got a bottle of Goose Island Pere Jacques in a beer trade with my buddy Tim. The beer pours a brown color with orange hues and a thin filmy white head. The aroma consists of raisin, malts, fig, orange, and a hint of alcohol. The taste is smooth and sweet with lots of raisin, malts, fig, molasses, and sugar. The mouth feel is smooth and round that is similar to a juice. The finish brings in a little citrus orange and an earthy hop balance. The after taste is where the alcohol shows up and warms the back of the throat. The alcohol content is 8.0% ABV. This is an excellent dubbel that provides the perfect amount of sweetness, not overdone at all, with a great citrus and earthy accent to balance everything out wonderfully.

Spring House Cosmic Monster Quad

Prior to a wedding, my friends and I stopped in to the Spring House Tap Room in Lancaster and grabbed a growler of Cosmic Monster Quad. The beer pours an amber color with a thin filmy off-white colored head. The aroma consists of raisin, wheat, malts, and caramel. The taste is smooth and sweet with raisin, cherry, caramel, and malts. There is a slight tartness on the finish. The alcohol content is 10.8% ABV. This quad was rather smooth and delicious and I thoroughly enjoyed the fruity cherry twist in the beer, making it very memorable and original.

Southern Tier Oak Aged Unearthly Pale Ale

My buddy DahCheet brought over a bottle of Southern Tier Oak Aged Unearthly India Pale Ale over to watch the start of the Stanley Cup playoffs. The beer pours a golden orange color with a thin filmy white head with bits of lacing left on the glass. The aroma is strong and powerful with lots of caramel, vanilla, fresh lemon and pine hops, tangerine, and orange. The taste is biting up front with lemon and pine hops before the oak dryness comes in play. The finish brings out a big caramel profile, and the after taste spritzes some citrus, including lemon, tangerine, and orange. The alcohol content is 11.0% ABV. The smoothness of this beer, courtesy of the caramel, paired with the sweetness and bitterness of the citrus was wonderfully done. The dryness that shows up in the middle due to the oak aging was also quite welcome.

Mad River Steelhead Extra Stout

As part of my beer of the month club from Beer On The Wall, I received a bottle of Mad River Steelhead Extra Stout. The beer pours a black color with a lofty and frothy tan head that lingers for a while. The aroma consists of dark chocolate, molasses, toasted malts, and vanilla. The taste is smooth and chocolaty, full of dark chocolate flavors. There is a toasted malt base underneath the chocolate with molasses and a smooth vanilla finish. The after taste leaves burnt chocolate on the tongue. The alcohol content is 6.5% ABV. This is a wonderful beer with a nice biting toasted malt flavor that has plenty of chocolate accents to it. This is a must try for Guinness lovers.

Intercourse Brewing Mount Joy Light Pilsner

As part of the mixed case I picked up for poker, I tried a bottle of the Intercourse Mount Joy Light Pilsner. The beer pours a very pale yellow color with a bubbly white head that dissipates rather quickly. The aroma consists of butterscotch and sweet pilsner malts with a faint grassy hop accent. The taste is smooth and light on the tongue, nothing much to this beer. A bit of grassy flavors come into play on the finish, erasing the taste of sweet malts. The alcohol content is 4.2% ABV. Sure, there isn’t too much to this beer, as expected. However, it is a clean and refreshing beer for those days you don’t want anything too intense. Taker it for what it is as a light beer, but I’d choose it over any of the large corporate rice beers.

Sierra Nevada Glissade

I ordered a glass of Sierra Nevada Glissade from McGrath’s in downtown Harrisburg. The beer pours a golden color with a thin bubbly white head. The aroma is faint but pine and hops peek through with a light caramel base. The taste is butterscotch with pale malts, fresh hops, caramel, and a bitter pine finish. The alcohol content is 7.2% ABV. I thought this was a solid and decent beer, but not excellent or overly experimental. There is nothing wrong with being a solid beer, and I probably would drink this beer again.

Jester King Black Metal Imperial Stout

One of the bottles I brought to a small bottle share event was the Jester King Black Metal Imperial Stout, a beer I received in a beer trade with Lee from Hoptopia. The beer pours a black color with a frothy tan head. The aroma consists of coffee, vanilla, and chocolate. The taste is big on coffee and lots of toasted malts. The finish brings out a wonderful vanilla flavor with some oak accents. The alcohol content is 10.4% ABV. This Imperial Stout was smooth and excellent, and I really would like to acquire another bottle to have again. Being that it was a bottle share, I only got a small sample, and this beer was too good not to have again.

Goose Island Night Stalker

First, I am going to apologize that there is no picture taken by me with this review. This was the final beer that I had at a small bottle share event, and apparently I forgot to snap a photo. I brought the bottle of Goose Island Night Stalker to the bottle share event courtesy of a beer trade with my friend Tim. The beer pours a black color with a frothy tan head. The aroma consists of coffee, sweet chocolate, and butter cream. The taste is smooth with a nice chocolate bite, butter cream, cream cheese, and coffee. The Night Stalker has a nice dry, oaky finish that rounds out the flavor. The alcohol content is 11.7% ABV. Wow, this was a great, smooth, and robust beer. The amount of flavors, especially the butter cream and cream cheese flavors made it a memorable imperial stout.

Lost Abbey Red Poppy

At a small bottle share amongst friends, I got to try a glass of Lost Abbey Red Poppy. The beer pours a brown color with a thin foamy tan head. The aroma consists heavily of sour cherry, wheat, and Belgian yeast. The taste is sour cherry, black cherries, candy, candisugar, and Belgian yeast. The finish brings out some oak and chocolate flavors.The alcohol content is 5.5% ABV. This beer was well put together, with the sourness and the sweetness working together to create a wonderful experience on the tongue.

The Bruery Sour in the Rye

I was able to try a glass of The Bruery Sour in the Rye at a bottle share event. The beer pours an orange-amber color with a bubbly white head. The aroma consists of sour cherry, wheat, rye, and malts. The taste is sour cherry, vinegar, wheat, lemon, apple cider, and Belgian yeast. It has a nice dry rye finish that really bites the tongue. The alcohol content is 8.7% ABV. The amount of Belgian yeast that hits the tongue is what lifts this beer to elite level. It added the right amount of sweetness to the concoction of sour flavors, and was quite memorable.

Jackie O's Brown Recluse

The final Jackie O’s beer that I got to try at a small bottle share event was the Brown Recluse. The beer pours a dark amber color with a thin tan head. The aroma consists of maple syrup, sour cherry, and lots of malts. The taste is sour but sweet at the same time, thanks to the maple syrup in the beer. The sourness in the beer comes thanks to sour cherry and vinegar. The finish brings out the oak flavor from the barrel aging and is quite complimentary to the maple syrup. The alcohol content is 5.5% ABV. The Brown Recluse stood out as one of my favorite beers of the evening, especially in the Jackie O’s lineup. I enjoyed how the maple syrup was able to be added to the beer, but this beer was nowhere near the “too sweet” side, due to its sour counter-attacker.

Jackie O's Grand Wazoo

I got to try some Jackie O’s Grand Wazoo at a small bottle share amongst some friends. The beer pours a dark brown color with a bubbly off-white head. The aroma consists heavily of vinegar, sour fruit, raisin, and a dash of sugar. The taste is a drop kick of flavor to the face that reminded me of a Fun Dip (remember those?). There are flavors of raspberry, cherry, and strawberry. The alcohol content is 11.5% ABV. Wow, what a delicious beer the Grand Wazoo was. It reminded me of childhood with the Fun Dip flavors, and brought me back to reality with the vinegar kick to the tongue.