Magic Hat Lucky Kat

As part of the Merry Winter Sampler, I tried the Magic Hat Lucky Kat. The beer is a dark golden color with a light frothy head. It smells floral and peppery. The taste is mostly hops, with slight lemon accent and malty sweetness. It dries the tongue due to the hop content. The alcohol content is 5.8% ABV. I thought this was a decent IPA and it was very smooth drinking. The hop accent was somewhat subtle, but not too faint.

Magic Hat Howl

I picked up the Merry Winter Sampler from Magic Hat. The first beer I tried was Howl, the new winter seasonal from Magic Hat. The beer is a dark brown opaque color with a lofty tan head. It smells of toasted malts with hints of chocolate. The taste is a little nutty and dry from a chocolate undertone. It has a very light hop bite. The alcohol content is 4.6% ABV. While I was disappointed in the alcohol content for a winter beer, I thought that the taste and balance was excellent. The beer is smooth drinking and leaves a very good aftertaste in your mouth.

Appalachian Brewing Company Coconut Porter

Appalachian Brewing Company in Camp Hill brewed up a batch of Coconut Porter so I dropped in to give it a try. The beer is dark brown with little head. It has a light malt aroma. The taste is nutty and has an undertone of toasted malts. It is very light on the coconut taste, but the coconut does sweeten the beer. The alcohol content is not available on the website, but I would estimate that it is about 6.0% ABV. I thought that this porter was very tasty, but I had higher expectations for the coconut taste.

Appalachian Brewing Company Traditional Bock

When I was at Appalachian Brewing Company, they had a special home brew called the Traditional Bock. The beer is red-amber color with a foamy head. The smell is floral and fresh. The taste is sweet and malty with citrus tones. The beer finishes with a floral hop bite. The alcohol content is not posted on the website, but I would guess that it is around 7% ABV. I really liked this bock as it has a slight tartness with grapefruit accent. Most bocks do not have the complexity that this one did, and I highly recommend the beer.

Saranac Irish Red Ale

The final beer I tried from the “12 Beers A Falling” from Saranac was the Irish Red Ale. The beer has a red color with a lofty white head. The smell is slightly malty, but not overpowering. The taste is very malty with a slight wheat hint. There is slight toffee and caramel undertones and a very light hop finish. The alcohol content is 4.5% ABV. I thought this was a great Irish Red Ale and would definitely try this beer again.

Saranac India Pale Ale

Another beer in the “12 Beers A Falling” from Saranac that I had was the India Pale Ale. The beer is golden amber in color with a frothy and foamy head. The aroma is floral and peppery. The taste is slightly malty and finishes with a hefty compliment of hops. The alcohol content is 5.8% ABV. I felt that Saranac has a great entry in the IPA category, and the hop content is just right. It is not too powerful and hoppy, but provides a kick that doesn't let you forget that it is an IPA.

Saranac Octoberfest

As part of the “12 Beers A Falling” sampler pack, I tried the Saranac Octoberfest. The beer has a copper color with a medium bodied foamy head. The smell is malty with sour undertones. The taste is malty but is slightly sour with bites from the hops.The alcohol content is 5.4% ABV. The though that Saranac's Octoberfest was a little more bitter than most oktoberfest beers, but it balances nicely with the malts. I thought this was a solid oktoberfest style beer and is worth drinking again.