Appalachian Brewing Company Grinnin' Grizzly

I stopped by Appalachian Brewing Company to get my monthly mug club beer. This month was the Grinin' Grizzly. The beer has a reddish amber color with a frothy head. It smells of cinnamon and spices. The taste is full of spices, mostly comprised of nutmeg and cinnamon. The beer is slightly dry on the finish due to the cinnamon. The alcohol content is 5.7% ABV. I thought that the Grinnin' Grizzly had a nice balance of spices and malts without any of them being too overpowering.

Harpoon Winter Warmer

I picked up a six-pack of Harpoon Winter Warmer from Wegman's. The beer has an amber color with a light head. The smell is full of cinnamon and all spice. The taste is malty with heavy accents of nutmeg and allspice on the front end, and it finishes dry with cinnamon. The alcohol content is 5.5% ABV. I thought that this beer was a little too heavy on the spices, slightly impairing the experience. While I would drink this beer again if it was offered to me, I probably would not pick up another six-pack of the Winter Warmer.

Sly Fox O'Reilly Irish Stout

I noticed that McGrath's had Sly Fox O'Reilly Irish Stout on draft and I ordered a glass. The beer is a dark brown color with a tan head. The smell is slightly nutty with a hint of chocolate. The taste is smooth and consists of milk and creamy flavors. Overall, I thought it was a little sweeter than Guinness. The alcohol content is 3.6% ABV. While I liked this beer, I think it is not quite as good as Guinness. It is a very close race, but Guinness is slightly better.

Samuel Adams Coastal Wheat

I picked up a bottle of Samuel Adams Coastal Wheat to give it a try. The beer has a pale yellow color and is unfiltered. It pours with a lofty and frothy head. The smell consists of wheat with lemon and citrus hints. The taste is lightly lemon at first, turns a little bit sour, and then it mellows out with a sweet wheat flavor. I could not located the alcohol content, but would guess it to be around 5.5% ABV. I thought that there was not too much flavor with this beer and that something was missing. There was the lemon flavor and the wheat flavor, but the were not connected together. Maybe the addition of some more hops would have rounded out the flavor.

Bell's Winter White Ale

I grabbed a six-pack of Bell's Winter White Ale at Wegman's. The beer is a white/pale yellow color that is cloudy and unfiltered. It smells is light and fresh with citrus accents. The taste is sweet and lemony with a slight spice on the back of the mouth on the finish. The alcohol content is 5.0% ABV. I thought the Winter White Ale had a very good taste and was smooth drinking beer. I liked Bell's take on the winter ale with a white ale offering and this change of pace was very enjoyable.

Delirium Noel

I picked up a four-pack of Delirium Noel at Wegman's since we have reached the holiday season. The beer has a copper color and is slightly cloudy with yeast flakes. The smells has a slight hint of malts. The taste is sweet and malty with spice accents that round out the flavor. The flakes of yeast make drinking this beer interesting, as every now and then you will get a chunk. The alcohol content is 10.0% ABV. The flavor is so smooth and is not overpowering with the high alcohol content. I really enjoyed the flavors of the Noel, but the yeast flakes set this beer back slightly in my opinion.

Duck-Rabbit Wee Heavy Scotch Style Ale

I picked up a case of Duck-Rabbit Wee Heavy Scotch Style Ale. The beer has a copper color with a creamy white head. The smell is sweet and buttery with hints of toffee. The taste is heavy with alcohol, especially at first, and it is mostly comprised of malts with toffee accents. The alcohol content is 8.0% ABV. I thought that this was an amazing beer and very enjoyable. I've only had two Duck-Rabbit beers and have thoroughly enjoyed both of them. The Wee Heavy had such excellent flavors with no impurities that I highly recommend you try this beer.