Spring House Two Dudes Wet Paint Guava Ale

I noticed the the Spring House Tap Room had the Two Dudes Wet Paint Guava Ale on tap, so I decided to order a glass. The beer pours a brown color with a bubbly white head. The aroma consists of guava, caramel, malts, and nectar. The taste is smooth and sweet with a big guava focus here. There is a caramel base that peeks through the guava flavors before a dry finish with some cinnamon and nutmeg, even though it has neither of those ingredients in it. The alcohol content is 7.5% ABV. I thought this was a wonderful beer, although it is a tough one to nail down. The finish is what intrigues/confuses me, as I could not nail the exact flavor down, but it was dry like cinnamon.

Spring House Robot Bastard!

Another beer I ordered at the Spring House Tap Room was the Robot Bastard! The beer pours a translucent orange-amber color with a frothy white head. The aroma consists of pepper, banana, Belgian yeast, and orange peel. The taste is sweet and smooth with lots of banana, orange, and yeast. The finish brings out pepper, spices, and thyme. The alcohol content is 7.0% ABV. The Robot Bastard! is a wonderful example of a Belgian IPA and balances the sweetness and spiciness nicely. The thyme finish was quite memorable and sets this beer apart from other Belgian IPAs.

Spring House Beyond the Gates Double IPA

I took a day off of work to hang out with my friend Tim in Lancaster, and we went to the Spring House Tap Room. I ordered a glass of Beyond the Gates Double IPA. The beer pours an amber color with a frothy white head. The aroma is sweet with lots caramel, lemon, and pine. The taste is bitter, and by saying bitter once might not be enough, with pine and lemon hops right up front. A hint of caramel sweetness arrives on the tongue before a grapefruit bitterness completely dries out the mouth. The alcohol content is 7.9% ABV. I would say this beer is deliciously bitter and very hoppy, but it can be tough to finish an entire imperial pint due to the bitterness. If you order something after this beer, make sure to cleanse the palate with plenty of water, or you will taste nothing but hops.

Kuhnhenn 4th D

My friend Tim brought a bottle of Kuhnhenn 4th D with him from New York to share. The beer pours a dark brown color with a thin filmy off-white colored head. The aroma consists of oak, bourbon, malts, and raisin. The taste is bold and malty with lots of raisin and caramel. The finish is warming and brings out lots of alcohol, oak, and bourbon. The after taste is dry with alcohol and is wonderful. The alcohol content is 13.5% ABV. The bourbon alcohol bite in this beer was intense, but very enjoyable. It successfully balanced out the raisin and malt sweetness in the beer and made for quite a dynamic drink.

Voodoo Trapped Under Eisbock

I scored a bottle of Voodoo Trapped Under Eisbock from Al’s of Hampden and I decided to share it with some friends. The beer pours a dark amber color with a thin filmy white head. The aroma is malty and oaky with slight hints of cherry hiding in the background. The taste is smooth and malty with lots of raisin, malts, toffee, and caramel. There is a dry alcohol finish and an excellent cherry after taste that provides a nice twist to the beer, sweetening out the alcohol bite. The alcohol content is 14.0% ABV. Overall, Trapped Under Eisbock was a wonderful beer that stands above other eisbocks due to the oak aging and addition of cherries. I would like to see Voodoo make this beer once a year so that more people have the opportunity to try it.

Captain Lawrence Smoke From the Oak Imperial Smoked Porter Aged in Rum Barrels

As part of a beer trade, I received a bottle of Captain Lawrence Smoke From the Oak Imperial Smoked Porter Aged in Rum Barrels. The beer pours a black color with a bubbly tan head, but it was much more fizzy and lofty than the Apple Brandy barrel aged beer. The aroma consists of sweet rum right on the front end, chocolate, vanilla, oak, and toasted malts. The taste is smooth and creamy on the mouth with lots of chocolate on the front end, vanilla, and toasted malts. The sweetness gives way to a dry and bitey oak and rum flavors. The finish brings out the alcohol warmth and dries out the mouth a little bit. The alcohol content is 12.0% ABV. If you are look for a beer where the alcohol accent is more complimentary and does not take over, the rum barreled aged beer is for you. It is wonderfully smooth and easy drinking with just enough warmth.

Captain Lawrence Smoke From the Oak Imperial Smoked Porter Aged in Apple Brandy Bottles

As part of a beer trade, I received a bottle of Captain Lawrence Smoke From the Oak Imperial Smoked Porter Aged in Apple Brandy Barrels. The beer pours a black color with a bubbly tan head. The aroma consists of peat, oak, brandy, lots of smoke, toasted malts, and apple. The taste is bold and dry with plenty of smoke right on the front end. An apple sweetens accompanies toasted malts, chocolate, and caramel. The finish emphasizes the smoke again with some oak, vanilla, and peat. The after taste has a brandy dryness that lingers, warms, and dries the tongue. The alcohol content is 12.0% ABV. The intense flavors that come from the apple brandy barrels make this beer extremely enjoyable, but you must be a brandy fan as well, or this could be a bit intense.

Firestone Walker Abacus

My friend Tim brought a bottle of Firestone Walker Abacus with him when visiting from New York and shared it with my friends and me. The beer pours a dark amber color with a thin filmy off-white colored head. The aroma consists heavily of oak with accents of alcohol, malts, and caramel. The taste has a smooth and sweet caramel base with toasted malts. There is a dry finish with lots of warming alcohol with a kick. There is a bitey, peppery, and spicy after taste that lingers for minutes. The alcohol content is 13.0% ABV. The Abacus was an absolutely wonderful beer that was warming from alcohol, yet welcoming with sweet caramel and toasted malts. The peppery after taste was the best part of the beer, as it lingered after the beer was finished.

Iron Hill Savage IPA

My friends and I were in a zone of sharing a bunch of bombers, and another beer we popped open was the Iron Hill Savage IPA. The beer pours a golden color with a frothy white head. The aroma consists of lemon, wheat, and caramel. The taste is smooth and oaky, making it dry, right before lots of lemon sweetens up the tongue. I thought it had a wonderful flavor and a fresh taste, and then there was a pine finish that topped off the experience nicely. The alcohol content is 6.5% ABV. This was an easy drinking IPA with great citrus flavors. The hint of dryness kept all of the other flavors in check and was a beer worthy of praise.