Elevation Beer Company Apis IV

Another beer I received as part of a special shipment from the Rare Beer of the Month Club, I received a bottle of Elevation Beer Company Apis IV, a quadrupel brewed with honey. The beer pours a dark brown color with with a thin beige colored head that leaves no lacing on the glass. The aroma consists of caramel, fig, raisin, date, and a touch of honey sweetness. The taste is smooth and sweet on the front end with date, fig, caramel, and raisin. While the honey adds some sweetness, it also dries out the finish a little bit with some grass and Belgian spiciness. The alcohol content is 10.7% ABV. This beer had a lot of sweetness to it, but the honey dried out the finish wonderfully and balanced it very well.

Elevation Beer Company Senorita

As part of a special shipment from the Rare Beer of the Month Club, I received a bottle of Elevation Beer Company Senorita, a Horchata Imperial Porter. The beer pours a black color with a bubbly tan colored head that leaves a nice lacing on the glass. The aroma consists of cinnamon, toasted malts, strong vanilla, hints of coffee, and chocolate. The taste starts off with some milk chocolate and toasted malts with caramel and vanilla sweetness. A cinnamon spice arrives at the back of the throat on the finish and it leaves behind a dry toasted malt flavor. The alcohol content is 8.4% ABV. This was rather easy drinking and wasn’t too overpowering with cinnamon. Lots of toasted malts came out in the flavor and I’d definitely drink this again.

Blue Point Brewing Sour Cherry Imperial Stout

I picked up a bottle of Blue Point Brewing Sour Cherry Imperial Stout while at the Warren General Store in Vermont. The beer pours a black color with a frothy tan colored head that fizzles somewhat quickly and leaves a thin lacing on the glass when it subsides. The aroma consists of chocolate, toasted malts, a little bit of cardboard, and a hint of cherry. The taste starts with strong chocolate and toasted malts before transitioning into a light sour cherry flavor. The alcohol content is 9.0% ABV. The beer started off very nicely and I liked the idea behind the sour cherry, but I thought it fell a little short of expectations. A light sour twist was nice, but it could have been a bit more sour.

Hill Farmstead Florence

Another beer I brought back from the Hill Farmstead Brewery was Florence, a wheat saison.. The beer pours a pale golden colored with a frothy white colored head that leaves a nice lacing on the glass. The aroma consists of lemon, grass, wheat, and hay. The taste is lemon, grass, wheat, cream, meringue, and pepper. It finishes light and dry, but amazing. The alcohol content is 5.0% ABV. Anytime I can get a beer that gives off a meringue flavor, I fall in love with it. I have always loved lemon meringue pie, and this beer reminds me of that in part of its profile. It also has a great dry aspect with hay flavors that balances the sweetness of the beer.

Grassroots Brewing Convivial Suarez

I brought back a bottle of Grassroots Brewing Convivial Suarez from the Hill Farmstead brewery. The beer pours a golden color with plenty of carbonation and a frothy white colored head. The aroma consists of barnyard funk, horse blanket, hay, lemon, hibiscus, and grass. the taste is funky with lots of lemon, hibiscus, and hay flavors. While it is funky and lightly tart, it is very easy drinking. Dry finish with pepper and a wonderful candied lemon after taste. The alcohol content is 6.0% ABV. This was an excellent saison with a great a funky flavor that also brought some tart notes along with it. The hibiscus and lemon flavors may have been my favorite, and I loved the candy-like after taste achieved with this beer.

Fiddlehead Brewing IPA

I picked up a growler of Fiddlehead Brewing IPA at the brewery to bring back to share with friends. The beer pours cloudy golden-amber color with a frothy white colored head that leaves specks of lacing on the glass. The aroma consists of grapefruit, tangerine, lemon, orange, passion fruit, and pepper. The taste is dry and bitter with tangerine, grapefruit, orange, lemon, and passion fruit. A peppery and spruce finish dries out the mouth a bit more and. Overall, it had a solid caramel and toffee base. The alcohol content is 6.2% ABV. I absolutely loved how bitter and hoppy this beer was despite its easy drinking profile. I will order this beer every time I return to Vermont, which I hope is soon!

Sprecher Russian Imperial Stout

My buddy Adam brought over a bottle of Sprecher Russian Imperial Stout to share. The beer pours a black color with a lofty and frothy tan colored head. The aroma consists of lots of bold and dark chocolate, vanilla, caramel, and toasted malts. It was great to smell when it was first opened but died off quickly. The taste is sweet at firth with lots of chocolate before it finishes with some oxidation. A lot of metallic flavor overtakes the light vanilla and caramel flavors. The finish is bubbly and not too appetizing. The alcohol content is 7.9% ABV. This beer was way past its prime and it is difficult to say if it’s a good beer or not, as I was bombarded with metallic flavors. Maybe I’ll try this one again if it’s fresh. Maybe.

Foley Brothers Native Ginger Wheat

While at the Warren Store, I picked up a bottle of Foley Brothers Native Ginger Wheat. The beer pours golden color, plenty of carbonation bubbles, and a frothy off-white colored head that leaves a thick lacing on the glass as it subsides. The aroma consists of wheat, strong and spicy ginger, lemon, grass, and pepper. The taste is spicy with ginger on the front end that desensitizes the tongue a little bit. The carbonation bubbles take over and drive home some lemon, wheat, pepper, and grass flavors. The alcohol content is 6.3% ABV. This was truly an amazing beer with lots of spicy ginger based on a solid performing creamy wheat beer. All of it mixed very well together.

Switchback Ale

I picked up a bottle of Switchback Ale while at the Warren Store in Vermont. The beer pours a cloudy golden-yellow color with a frothy white colored head that leaves some lacing on the glass as it subsides. The aroma consists of lemon, pepper, grass, caramel, and toffee. The taste is spicy and bitter with pepper and lemon on the front end. There is a toffee and caramel background before the yeast adds another spiciness with a slight funkiness. A dry wheat flavor is left behind on the tongue. The alcohol content is 5.0% ABV. This was a nice spicy beer with a solid backbone and nice dry finish. It was well balanced and had a good variety of flavors to keep the tongue happy.

Hill Farmstead Society & Solitude #6

I picked up a growler of Hill Farmstead Society & Solitude #6 while at the brewery in Vermont. This version of the beer was made with mosaic hops. The beer pours a cloudy golden color with a frothy white colored head that leaves a nice lacing on the glass on its way down. The aroma consists of strong tangerine and pink grapefruit with sugar, orange, passion fruit, lemon, hop resin, pepper, and spruce.The taste is bitter and strong right on the front end with a citrus punch including orange, tangerine, pink grapefruit, lemon, and passion fruit. Spruce and pepper come out in the finish and leave behind a light coating of hop resin. The alcohol content is 8.1% ABV. If you love a power hop punch that packs tons of citrus and leaves behind some resins, this beer is absolutely for you. In other words, I absolutely loved it and was glad I picked up a second growler.

Liquid Hero Imperial Stout

At Imminent Liquidation, I won a growler of Liquid Hero Imperial Stout. The beer pours a black color with a frothy tan colored head that leaves a lacing on the glass. The aroma consists of chocolate, toasted malts, vanilla, pine, lemon, and pepper. The taste is bold with rich, dark chocolate and a robust toasted malt profile. It hits really hard with fresh hops that give it some citrus flavors including lemon, tangerine, grapefruit, and orange. A light pepper spice comes out before vanilla and caramel sweetness in the aftertaste. The alcohol content is 8.5% ABV. This was a bold and very robust stout with an aggressive and forward hop profile that keeps the drinking experience extremely enjoyable.

Ommegang Biere de Mars

My buddy Jordan brought over a bottle of Ommegang Biere de Mars. The beer pours a dark golden color with a lofty and frothy white colored head. The aroma consists of lemon, grass, hay, barnyard funk, pepper, brett, and spices. The taste is light and funky with a brett funk to it. The beer says it was bottled in November 2008 (batch #3), and the age seems to show in the beer with some cardboard flavors. It finishes dry with some pepper, hay, and grass with a light lemon accent. The alcohol consists of 6.5% ABV. I’m not sure about this beer, and it may be because of the age. It wasn’t terrible and had some decent flavors, but it had a cardboard flavor that did get in the way of the total enjoyment of it.

Otter Creek Russian Imperial Stout

I was very curious to try the Otter Creek Russian Imperial Stout (I love the label!) and I ordered a glass on tap at the new Federal Taphouse. The beer pours a black color with a frothy tan colored head. The aroma is big on toasted malts with chocolate and vanilla mixing in as well. The taste is dry with dark chocolate and lots of toasted malt flavors. A dry finish arrives that leaves behind hints of pepper and vanilla with a bubbly and carbonated mouthfeel. The alcohol content is 10.0% ABV. This beer exceeded my expectations and was a quality beverage. I think it represents the style was and had a robust and bold flavor.

Old Forge Bourbon Barrel Quad

I dropped in to check out the new Federal Taphouse in Harrisburg and I ordered a glass of Old Forge Bourbon Barrel Quad. The beer pours a dark brown color with a frothy tan colored head. The aroma consists of vanilla, coconut, raisin, fig, caramel, Belgian yeast, and grass. The taste is sweet and smooth with raisin, fig, caramel, and Belgian yeast on the front end. Spice, light vanilla, and coconut from the bourbon come out in the finish surprisingly with no alcohol burn. The alcohol content is 9.0% ABV. I really enjoyed the vanilla and coconut notes from the bourbon that were imparted on this quad, and I would drink this again if I saw it on tap.

Duclaw Old Flame

I ordered a glass of Duclaw Old Flame while at Al’s of Hampden. The beer pours a dark amber color with a thin filmy cream colored head. The aroma consists of cinnamon, nutmeg, caramel, and raisin. The taste is dry with a cinnamon and nutmeg spices before being overcome with sweet raisin and caramel. A dry grassy finish arrives that leaves gingerbread flavor behind on the tongue. The alcohol content is 7.5% ABV. This was a very sweet and malt-forward brew that could have benefited from a little more balancing. The spices were nice and helped to balance out the sweetness somewhat, but not quite enough.