Diesel Brewing 0 Mile Pale Ale

Another beer I tried The Warwick Hotel in Hummelstown was Diesel Brewing 0 Mile Pale Ale while they were pouring samples for customers to try. The beer pours an amber color with a frothy white colored head. The aroma consists of caramel, lemon, and pine. The taste is bitter and dry with some refreshing lemon before an off-flavor of cleaning solution. It has a bitter finish as expected. I couldn’t find the alcohol content online, but I would assume it to be about 5.5% ABV. This was a terrible with completely off-flavors. I wouldn’t even finish the small sample glass that I had and I would not seek this beer out again.

Diesel Brewing Asphalt Simcoe Stoudt

While at The Warwick Hotel in Hummelstown, I ordered a bottle of Diesel Brewing Asphalt Simcoe Stoudt, as Diesel was there pouring to help give the new brewery some exposure. The beer pours a black color with a frothy tan colored head. The aroma consists of chocolate, grapefruit, tangerine, lemon, and toasted malts. The taste is chocolaty and spicy with pepper and plenty of citrus accents. Tangerine, grapefruit, orange, lemon, and mint all make appearance and yield a flavor similar to an Andes candy. The alcohol content is 6.3% ABV. While I thought this was a very decent hoppy stout, I would suggest they change the name before they get sued by Stoudt’s.

Samuel Adams Merry Mischief

I tracked down Samuel Adams Merry Mischief on tap at Arooga’s in downtown Harrisburg, so I ordered a glass. The beer pours a dark brown color with a frothy tan colored head. The aroma consists of gingerbread, cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice. The taste started off with caramel before quickly transitioning to gingerbread, cinnamon, allspice, and nutmeg. Some hints of orange, chocolate, and licorice make an appearance before a light boozy finish. The alcohol content is 9.0% ABV. I thought this was a well done winter ale that had plenty of spices, but none of them were too overpowering. The orange and licorice flavors were my favorite accents, as they are not found often in beers.

Nectar Ales Red Nectar

Another beer I ordered at the new Federal Taphouse in Harrisburg was Nectar Ales Red Nectar. The beer pours a red color with a bubbly off-white colored head. The aroma consists of caramel, pepper, and toasted malts. The taste is dry with caramel on the front end and balancing light grassy hops. It finishes a little sweet. The alcohol content is 5.5% ABV. I’d say this was a rather pedestrian red ale and wasn’t memorable at all. It was pretty dry and mostly unbalanced, as it was too dry and then finished too sweet.

Magic Hat Heart of Darkness

I stopped into the new Federal Taphouse in Harrisburg, and I ordered a glass of Magic Hat Heart of Darkness. The beer pours a black color with a bubbly tan colored head. The aroma consists of chocolate, toasted malts, and coffee. The taste is smoky on the front end with toasted malts, lots of dark chocolate flavor, oatmeal, milk, and caramel. A dry finish takes over and leaves behind some maltiness. The alcohol content is 5.7% AB V. I was pleasantly surprised at this offering from Magic Hat as it was a solid beer. I haven’t been sold on their beers as of late, but I would come back to this offering again.

Brasserie Dubuisson Frères sprl Scaldis Blonde Ale Triple

As part of the Michael Jackson Rare Beer of the Month Club, I received a bottle of Brasserie Dubuisson Frères sprl Scaldis Blonde Ale Triple. The beer pours a golden colored with an extremely lofty and frothy white colored head that leaves some specs of lacing on the glass. The aroma consists of banana, hay, grass, Belgian yeast, Belgian spice, and lemon. The taste is light and bready with a large banana and lemon profile. The mouth feel is light and carbonated with some hay and pepper on the finish, yielding a nice earthiness. The alcohol content is 10.5% ABV. This was a nice, light-bodied triple that was also quite refreshing.