Deschutes Mirror Pond Pale Ale

As part of my beer of the month club from Beer-on-the-Wall, I received a bottle of Deschutes Mirror Pond Pale Ale. The beer pours a golden color with a lofty and frothy off-white colored head. The aroma consists of caramel, pine and grass hops, light lemon, and oregano. The taste is smooth and rather malty with some caramel flavors up front before some bitter pine and grass hops come in to play. The finish brings out a lemon citrus hint that is quite refreshing. The alcohol content is 5.0% ABV. This was quite a good pale ale and very refreshing beer to drink, as it gave just enough lemon citrus on the tongue to compete with the hop bitterness and caramel sweetness.

Rogue Dead Guy Ale

I’ve had Rogue Dead Guy Ale before, and I’m not sure why I never reviewed it, so here is my review. The beer pours a golden orange color with a foamy white head. The aroma consists of sweet malts, caramel, alcohol, toffee, and butterscotch. The taste is smooth and round with lots of malts, toasted caramel, toffee, and butterscotch. The finish is lightly dry with some pine and floral hops and has an after taste of grassy and earthy hops. The alcohol content is 6.5% ABV. This is a wonderfully crafted maibock and stands as a great example of the style, with an excellent hop accent that keeps it from being too sweet.

East End Pedal Pale Ale

I picked up a growler of East End Pedal Pale Ale from the growler shop in the Pittsburgh Public Market. The beer pours a golden color with a frothy white head that laces nicely on the glass and lingers for a while. The aroma consists of bitter pine and lemon hops with a caramel undertone. The taste is bitter but smooth with lots of caramel building the base and has pine and lemon accents. There are hints of tangerine that come out in the finish. The alcohol content is 5.4% ABV. I love how intense and bitter this beer is. A lot of pale ales can be pedestrian, but the dynamics of this pale ale were much appreciated.

Sierra Nevada Best of Beer Camp California Common

As part of the Sierra Nevada Best of Beer Camp sampler case, I opened a bottle of the California Common. The beer pours a golden color with a frothy white head that leaves some lacing on the glass. The aroma consists of sweet malts, wheat, and a light peppery hop accent. The taste is bitter on the front end with lemon and peppery hops with a twist of pine all built upon a caramel and wheat base. The alcohol content is 6.5% ABV. Overall, this is a wonderful beer that has a nice sweet balance, but is quite bitter and hoppy for the common style.

Mission Shipwrecked Double IPA

In Pittsburgh, I went to Harris Grill for brunch and ordered a glass of Mission Shipwrecked Double IPA. The beer pours an amber color with a frothy off-white colored head. The aroma consists of sweet grapefruit and tangerine with some caramel, lemon, and fresh pine. The taste is sweet with sugared grapefruit, tangerine, and orange. There is a good caramel base that all flavors are built upon and a bitter and pine hop finish that dries the mouth. The after taste leaves some hop oils on the tongue, which I most enjoyed. The alcohol content is9.25% ABV. The Shipwrecked was an excellent sweet citrus double IPA with just enough bitterness for hop heads and just enough sweetness for those that are not. This is a must try again for me, and I recommend ordering it if you see it.

Brouwerij Van Steenberge Sharp Edge Over the Edge

I decided to order a glass of Over the Edge while at Sharp Edge Beer Emporium, the house beer brewed for Sharp Edge by Brouwerij Van Steenberge. The beer pours a golden color with a frothy white head. The aroma consists of banana, fresh spicy hops, and yeast. The taste is creamy on the tongue and not as spicy and peppery as most tripels. There is lots of banana flavor and a dry and bitter hop accent. A yeasty after taste remains on the tongue long after drinking the beer. The alcohol content is 9.5% ABV. Over the Edge was excellent and smooth with a light sweetness and great bitterness, but most surprising was that it was not very peppery or spicy, even thought that fact did not ruin the experience.

Cantillon Rose de Gambrinus

I ordered a bottle of Cantillon Rose de Gambrinus while at the Sharp Edge Beer Emporium. The beer pours a red color with a foamy white head. The aroma consists of sour raspberry, vinegar, and yeast. The taste is big on vinegar up front before the sour raspberry tartness comes into play. Luckily, there is a sweet Belgian yeast finish to save your tongue from all of the sour flavors. The alcohol content is 5.0% ABV. This was a decently sour beer with some great raspberry flavor. The vinegar and tartness was too overpowering or puckering, making it an enjoyable drink.

Full Pint Perc E Bust

I went to the Sharp Edge Beer Emporium while in Pittsburgh for dinner and I ordered a glass of the Full Pint Perc E Bust. The beer pours a black color with a frothy tan head. The aroma consists of chocolate, coffee, toasted malts, and cream. The taste is smooth at first with lots of sweet coffee, cream, and a good chocolate base with a toasty flavor. The alcohol content is 6.0% ABV. The Perc E Bust had an excellent flavor with just enough coffee accent. I would not call this a coffee beer, but rather a coffee accented beer with plenty of chocolate and toasted malts flavors.

Hofbrau Munchen Dunkel

While in Pittsburgh, I stopped in to the Hofbrauhaus and ordered a (large) 1 Liter mug of the Hofbrau Dunkel. The beer pours a caramel color with a lofty and frothy off-white colored head. The aroma is malty with some caramel sweetness and light pine hops. The taste is smooth and sweet with lots of malts and caramel. A slight toasted flavor comes out in the finish which helps to balance the sweetness. The alcohol content is 5.5% ABV. This is a wonderfully crafted beer that is smooth and sweet with a nice hop and toast balance. It is definitely my favorite beers that Hofbrau makes, and is my go-to sessionable beer when I get a chance to drink it.

Fat Head's Head Trip

Another beer I ordered while at Fat Head’s in Pittsburgh was their own Head Trip, a tripel. The beer pours a pale golden color with a bubbly white head. The aroma consists of banana, pepper, thyme, and light lemon accents. The taste is dry and slightly bitter with lots of pepper and dry hops on the front end. The finish is sweetened with yeast and banana and the after taste is dry with pepper and grass. The alcohol content is 11.3% ABV. This was a great tripel, but take note that it is on the dry and bitter side rather than the sweet and yeasty side that most tripels adhere to.

Fat Head's Voodoo Monkey Chocolate Stout

When visiting Fat Head’s in Pittsburgh, I decided to try their own Voodoo Monkey Chocolate Stout. The beer pours a black color with a frothy tan head. The aroma is big on chocolate and has some toasted malts, vanilla, and caramel. The taste is smooth with chocolate at first before a toasted malt bite kicks in and caramel and vanilla sweeten up the finish. The after taste is dry and has a slightly bitter chocolate flavor. The alcohol content is 6.1% ABV. The Voodoo Monkey Chocolate Stout has great sweet flavors with a bitter and dry balance that was both smooth and bitey, a nice package inside of a beer.

Lagunitas Hairy Eyeball

While at Fat Head’s in Pittsburgh, I ordered a glass of Lagunitas Hairy Eyeball. The beer pours a brown color with a thin filmy tan head. The aroma consists of sweet malts, raisin, smoke, alcohol, and cherry. The taste is strong, bold, and very malty with cherry flavors, toasted malts, and hints of smoke that are well masked. There is a lightly dry finish with alcohol and grassy hops. The alcohol content is 8.8% ABV. This was a wonderful beer that was more than enjoyable to drink and was really dynamic, especially with the slight cherry twist and smoky background.

Penn Brewing Penndemonium

I ordered a glass of Penn Brewing Penndemonium at Fat Head’s in Pittsburgh. The beer pours a caramel color with thin filmy white head. The aroma is sweet and malty with caramel and light grass hops. The taste is big and sweet with lots of caramel on the front end and some butterscotch mixed in there as well. The finish is dry, leafy, and grassy. The alcohol content is 8% ABV. Overall, the Penndemonium is an excellent beer that is smooth and sweet with just enough hops to balance all of the flavors nicely.

Sierra Nevada Best of Beer Camp Weizenbock

One of the beers out of the Sierra Nevada Best of Beer Camp sampler packs was the Weizenbock. The beer pours an opaque orange-tinted golden color with a lofty and frothy white head. The aroma consists of wheat and lemon with a hint of pepper and grassy hops. The taste is smooth and sweet with a creamy mouth feel, lots of lemon flavor, earthy and grassy hops, and a hint of orange. The finish has a little dry pepper bite to it, but is quite enjoyable. The alcohol content is 6.8% ABV. This was a smooth and nicely sweet with great citrus flavors, creamy mouth feel, and a refreshing experience.