Stone Levitation Ale

We went to the Stone Brewery for a beer and food pairing dinner. While waiting for the event to start, I ordered a glass of Levitation Ale. The beer is a dark amber color with a light bubbly head. The aroma consists of pine hops with light citrus hints. The taste is earthy and hoppy with a light roasted malt flavor and a citrus finish. The alcohol content is 4.4% ABV. I really enjoyed this beer and it was a great way to start the evening after a day at the beach. The citrus hints worked really well with the toasted malts and pine hops, leaving me thoroughly refreshed.

Anchor Old Foghorn

I looked into the bottle selection at McGrath's in Harrisburg and noticed that they recently acquired some bottles of Anchor Old Foghorn. The beer has an amber color with little to no head. What is there is thin and filmy. The aroma is malty and caramel with a slight bite of pine hops. The taste follows the aroma closely, with additions of maple and grapefruit. It finishes with a nice alcohol bite. The alcohol content is 9.4% ABV. I thought overall the Old Foghorn was an excellent beer and I will order it again whenever I see it. It was a well balanced barleywine and completely enjoyable without being too sweet.

Stone Arrogant Bastard Ale

McGrath's in Harrisburg recently tapped a keg of Stone Arrogant Bastard Ale. The beer has a dark amber color with a lofty white and foamy head. The beer smells of sour hops and tasted caramel malts. The taste is citrus and hops with a light malt undertone. The alcohol content is 7.2% ABV. I like the hop accent is this beer as it is not subtle, but it is also not overdone. It was actually quite and enjoyable beer.

Coronado Red Devil

McGrath's had Coronado Red Devil on draft and I made a special trip there to try it. The beer has a dark amber color with light red hues and a bubbly tan head. It smells floral and hoppy and also has caramel and grapefruit aromas, The taste is smooth and malty with big hints of caramel and toffee. There is also a citrus undertone consisting of grapefruit and lemon. The alcohol content is 10% ABV. I thought that the Red Devil had an excellent taste. The caramel and toffee provided the right amount of sweetness and was balanced with the right amount of hops.

Bell's Expedition Stout

I picked up a bottle of Bell's Expedition Stout at D's Six Pax and Dogz in Pittsburgh. The beer pours a deep black color with a thin bubbly brown head. The smell consists of chocolate malts. The taste is a bitter chocolate with an toasted malt undertone. The beer finishes dry with coffee flavors, making it a little more bitter the the first sip. The alcohol content is 10.5% ABV. This was quite a tasty stout with a perfect balance of coffee and chocolate. The coffee doesn't hit until later in the experience, but it quite refreshing. I'm not sure that I would be able to drink several of these in a night, but it would make quite a delicious starter beer for the night or as a dessert beer.

Stoudt's Fat Dog Imperial Oatmeal Stout

I grabbed a bottle of Stoudt's Fat Dog Imperial Oatmeal Stout at D's Six Pax and Dogz in Pittsburgh. The beer pours a black color with a light bubbly tan head. The smell consists of bitter chocolate, coffee and toasted malts. The taste is sweet and chocolaty at first and it finishes a little bitter and has somewhat of a licorice taste. There is somewhat of a milky cream aftertaste that is sweet and smooth. The alcohol content is 9.0% ABV. This was an excellent beer and very dynamic. I really enjoyed the bitter chocolate and coffee tastes rounded out by the cream finish. This is a must try for anyone who likes imperials stouts.