Brasserie des Sources Bellerose Biere Blonde Extra

As part of the January shipment from the Michael Jackson Rare Beer of the Month Club I received a bottle of Brasserie des Sources Bellerose Biere Blonde Extra. The beer pours a golden color with a lofty and frothy white colored head that leaves specks of lacing on the glass as it subsides. The aroma consists of grass, earthiness, wheat, lemon, peppercorn, and a hint of raisin. The taste is light and bready with solid biscuit flavor on the front end. A spicy earthiness makes an appearance with some lemon, wheat, and peppercorn flavors. The finish is dry and grassy with a touch a raisin sweetness. The alcohol content is 6.5% ABV. This was a nice, easy, and refreshing beer to drink with a solid bready base and a great compliment of spices.

Troegs Scratch 88- Chocolate Stout

I went to Troegs tasting room to pick up a growler of Scratch 88- Chocolate Stout. The beer pours a black color with a frothy tan colored head that leaves specks of lacing on the glass. The aroma consists of dark Belgian chocolate, toasted malts, milk, lemon, and pine. The taste is very dry with chocolate powder and gristle on the tongue. Plenty of toasted malts arrive as well with some lemon and pine accents. It actually has quite a potent hop bite, but it balances well with the robust chocolate offering. ON the finish, a light hint of vanilla lingers behind. The alcohol content is 7.0% ABV. This beer tasted like biting into a bar of unsweetened chocolate, but was quite delicious. While it may have been a little powdery and gritty, it wasn't
 unbearable like some others I've had.

Dogfish Head-Sierra Nevada Life and Limb Rhizing Bines

I received a bottle of Dogfish Head-Sierra Nevada Life and Limb Rhizing Bines from Dogfish Head and poured it into one of the new IPA glasses. The beer pours a golden color with a very lofty and frothy off-white colored head that leaves a think but nicely patterned lacing on the glass. The aroma consists of pepper, fresh cut grass, wheat, light hints of caramel, and a pungent hop oil. Orange, apricot, and tangerine provide subtle accents as well. The taste is bitter and hop-forward with lemon, pine, pepper, and grass flavor all coating the tongue with an oily residue. A solid malty backbone provides support for this beer, a little more so than I expected. It has has a light wheat taste white somewhat bridges the gap between the bitter and the sweet by adding a light dryness. Tangerine, orange, passion fruit, apricot, and pineapple give the a noticeable fruity character. On the finish, oily residue is left behind on the tongue with a pronounced bitterness. The alcohol content is 8.0% ABV. Overall, this beer wasn’t as bitter as I had expected, but it was definitely a hop-forward with with plenty of hop profile. It has a quite refreshing quality about it while driving home hop oils that linger.

Guinness Black Lager

My brother-in-law brought over a bottle of Guinness Black Lager for me to try. The beer pours a black color with a frothy cream colored head that leaves a lacing on the glass as it subsides. The aroma consists of caramel, chocolate, wet cardboard, and toasted malts. The taste is very light with faint hints of chocolate, toasted malts, and caramel. A light sweetness takes over with some vanilla hints, and it finishes with a spice. The alcohol content 4.5% ABV. This beer was not that enjoyable, and I absolutely would rather have a Guinness Stout. The flavors fell very short and it was almost watered down.

Dogfish Head Birra Estruca Bronze

I picked up a bottle of Dogfish Head Birra Estruca Bronze from Al’s of Hampden. The beer pours a bronze color with a lofty and frothy white colored head. The aroma consists of wheat, grapes, pomegranate, honey, caramel, and raisin. The taste is light and fruity with white grapes, pomegranate, raisin, and honey all on the front end. An earthy root flavor comes out and spices the beer a bit and it finishes with pepper lingering on the back of the throat. The alcohol content is 8.5% ABV. I can’t say that I liked this beer off of the first sip, but it grew on me as it warmed up and as I drank more of it. The fruit juices were too sweet at first, but they mellowed and became more complimentary as it went on, so I may actually get this beer again.

Duclaw eXile X-4 Macchiato Milk Stout

I picked up a bottle of Duclaw eXile X-4 Macchiato Milk Stout from Al’s of Hampden. The beer pours a black color with a bubbly cream colored head that recedes rather rapidly. The aroma consists of coffee, milk, toasted malts, caramel, and vanilla. The taste is bold and roasty with plenty of coffee, chocolate, and espresso flavor. A soft milk backbone accentuates caramel and vanilla thoroughly. The toasted malt flavor hits in the finish, but does not dry out the mouth. The alcohol content is 6.3% ABV. This was a smooth drinking coffee-infused beer with great chocolate flavors.

Troegs Scratch 87- Bourbon Barrel Troegenator

I stopped in to the Troegs tasting room eagerly to get a glass of Scratch 87- Bourbon Barrel Troegenator. For those that don’t know, Troegenator is one of my favorite beers and definitely a go-to beer for me. Therefore, barrel aging this beer was the best idea I’ve heard. The beer pours a dark caramel color with a fizzy and bubbly cream colored head that recedes quickly. The, aroma consists of caramel, raisin, coconut, vanilla, and a hint of bourbon. The taste is smooth with caramel on the front end. A wonderful toasted coconut accent arrives accompanied with vanilla. Oak hints carry raisin to the back of the throat and it finishes with alcohol and pepper spice. The alcohol content is 11.5% ABV. Oh my, my, my was this beer amazing. The bourbon plays so well with the doppelbock since the biting alcohol flavor pierces the sweet body. The oak added a great character and the toasted coconut was most memorable.

Hopfenstark Captain Swing

Another beer I ordered at Teresa’s Next Door in Wayne was Hopfenstark Captain Swing. The beer pours a caramel color with a bubbly cream colored head. The aroma consists of caramel, toffee, raisin, alcohol, pepper, pine, and lemon. The taste is smooth at first before a bite pinches the mouth. Caramel, toasted toffee, and lemon arrive before a large hoppy presence on the finish that brings out pine, pepper, spruce, and a hint of tangerine. There is a light alcohol burn in the after taste. The alcohol content is 9.0% ABV. Overall, this was a pretty decent barleywine with a rather aggressive hop profile, something you don’t find in all barleywines.