Roy Pitz Best Blonde Ale

On my most recent visit to McGrath's in Harrisburg, I noticed that they tapped a keg of Roy Pitz Best Blonde Ale. Roy Pitz is a new brewery from Chambersburg, PA. This was my first taste of their beer, and I was pretty excited. The beer pours a light yellow color with a thin bubbly white head. The beer is fairly clear and light colored. The aroma consists of wheat and apricot. The taste is also wheat and apricot and very light bodied. The alcohol content is 4.0% ABV. I thought that this Kolsch style was decent but not too special. It was very clean and crisp with a good apricot flavor.

Troegs Scratch 31- IPA "Citra of Brotherly Love"

I stopped by the Troegs brewery to pick up some six-packs of the latest Scratch Beer. Scratch 31- IPA, nicknamed Citra of Brotherly Love, was brewed for Philly Beer Week with citra hops, the first for Troegs. The beer pours a brilliant golden color with a bubbly white head that has a good lace that sticks to the edge of the glass. The aroma consists of sour grapefruit and a light hint of pepper. The taste consists heavily of grapefruit that is still somewhat sour and some lemon and pepper. The alcohol content is 7.4% ABV. This is exactly the IPA I would expect Troegs to make, as the grapefruit hops really make this very intensive yet extremely enjoyable. The hops are not overdone and this is a very smooth drinking beer.

Appalachian Brewing Company Batch No. 666

I stopped into Appalachian Brewing Company to pick up a couple of bottles of Batch No. 666. This beer had been released previously, but the brewery decided to bottle and sell it. The beer pours a black color with a frothy tan head. The aroma consists of a heavy dose of chocolate, coffee, and cream. The taste is very bold and empowering in the mouth. There is plenty of chocolate and coffee on the front end that is sweetened a bit by some honey. The alcohol also has an immediate impact in biting the sides of the mouth. The flavor then transforms into an oak/wood flavor. The finish brings a bit of fig and dark fruit along with it and dry out the back of the mouth with cinnamon and nutmeg. The alcohol content is 7.7% ABV. This was a thoroughly delicious brew, but I would only have to question the timing of the release in bottles. It is somewhat of a winter warmer, and it was released a week before summer starts. I don't mind terribly, as I will drink a good beer anytime of the year. This beer definitely fits the bill of a beer that I will drink anytime, and I recommend you get a bottle before it's gone...forever?

Troegs Sunshine Pilsner

I picked up a case of Troegs Sunshine Pilsner for poker night at my house (I'm pretty nice to my guests, aren't I?). The beer pours a clear yellow color with a frothy white head. The aroma consists of sour hops with a healthy backbone of malts. The taste is light and malty with a crisp hop bite on the side of the mouth. There is a light lemon zest hidden in the background of this beer with a nice helping of wheat as well. The alcohol content is 5.3% ABV. I thought that Troegs has nailed the pilsner style and has provided a perfect, refreshing beer that actually has flavor unlike the mega-breweries' yellow fizzy water. On a hot day in the summer, Sunshine Pilsner is the beer you want to be drinking.

Avery-Russian River Collaboration Not Litigation Ale

I picked up a bottle of the Avery-Russian River collaboration brew called Collaboration Not Litigation Ale. The beer pours a dark golden color with a foamy white head. The aroma consists of yeast, honey, plums, and some toasted malts. The taste is sweet and full of yeast and honey. The taste has a healthy dose of candisugar as well, with an added bit of plums. There is a bready finish as well with a light hop bite of the back of the tongue. The alcohol content is 8.21% ABV. This was a very interesting brew/ I definitely did not hate it, but I couldn't come around to love it either. There were plenty of flavors to excite the tongue, but I almost feel that they didn't blend well with each other. Regardless, I wouldn't turn this beer down if I was offered it, I'm just not so sure I would go out and buy it again.

Founders KBS

I was lucky enough to secure a bottle of Founders KBS (Kentucky Breakfast Stout) from Brass Rail in Campbelltown. The beer pours a dark black color with a thin bubbly tan head. The aroma is deeply filled with chocolate and coffee and a hint of cream. The taste packs a powerful punch of chocolate and coffee and does not shy away from hinting at a high alcohol content. In the background is some oak and bourbon tastes that stick to the outside of the mouth. The finish to the beer is slightly creamy, but really bites with alcohol and some floral hops. The alcohol content is 11.2% ABV. I am not surprised as to how delicious this beer is, as the beer is aged for an entire year in bourbon barrels. The normal chocolate and coffee flavors are ever-present, but the oak and bourbon additions really make drinking this beer a pleasurable experience.

Southampton Grand Cru

I picked up a bottle of Southampton Grand Cru from Al's of Hampden. The beer pours a golden amber color with a lofty bubble white head. The aroma consists of of orange citrus and coriander with an underlying smell of cream. The taste consists of very spicy at first with coriander, but finishes smooth and sweet with an orange flavor. There is a lot of carbonation in this beer, but it does not ruin the texture or flavor. The beer has a burnt caramel finish on the back of the tongue. The alcohol content is 9.8% ABV. It is noticeable in the flavor and by the pinch on the tongue that this beer has a high alcohol content. I was thoroughly impressed with this Grand Cru. I was overwhelmed with the orange flavor and it was delicious. I will definitely seek this beer out again to purchase.