Victory/Stone/Dogfish Head Saison du Buff

My coworker Paul gave me a bottle of the Victory / Stone / Dogfish Head Saison du Buff (brewed at Victory) to try. Having had the other two versions, I jumped at the chance. As with the other two versions, the beer pours an orange-yellow color but this one had almost no head. The aroma consists rosemary, butter, and sage. The taste consists of a smooth and lightly buttery taste yet crisp with orange and lemon flavors and a nice spice bit consisting of thyme, parsley, sage, and rosemary. The finish is a little peppery with a faint citrus accent The alcohol content is 6.8% ABV. Out of the three versions, I think this was my least favorite, but I still really enjoyed the beer. Without the other two versions, this would be a great beer; it's just I enjoyed the Stone and Dogfish Head versions more.

Cisco Whale's Tale Pale Ale

I bought a can of Cisco Brewers Whale's Tale Pale Ale from Brass Rail in Campbelltown, PA. The beer pours a yellow-gold color with a lofty foamy white head and a good lacing that sticks to the glass. The aroma consists of pale malts and a nice helping of hops that smell of pine and pepper. The taste is phenomenal with a good malt base and a bit of buttery crackers. What sets this beer apart is the good hop accents that bring out lemon, pepper, and pine flavors into the beer. The hops are wet and biting, but do not dry out the mouth. The alcohol content is 5.6% ABV. I was thoroughly impressed with this pale ale, as the flavors were well balanced and the hops were a very enjoyable part of this beer.

Kona Longboard Island Lager

I picked up a six-pack of Kona Longboard Island Lager in Ocean City, MD. This was my first experience with Kona, but I have heard good things about the brewery. The beer pours a pale yellow color with a thin bubbly white head. The aroma consists of sweet malts and sour hops with slight accents of lemon and caramel. The taste is very smooth and round, and feels like it fill the mouth more than it actually does (shall we call this expansive?). There are flavors of sweet caramel malts with a lightly balanced sour hop finish. The finish is slightly dry but refreshes nonetheless. The alcohol content is 4.6% ABV. The Longboard Island Lager is a perfectly done sessionable lager that refreshes as much as it satisfies the taste for craft beer. There's nothing experimental in this beer, just quality ingredients and a well done lager for summertime consumption.

Jandrain-Jandrenouille IV

I ordered a glass of Jandrain-Jandrenouille IV, a saison, from Al's of Hampden. The beer pours a golden color that is opaque and unfiltered. The aroma consists of lemon and wheat with banana and pepper. The taste is light and smooth with a good banana and wheat flavor and a pepper and lemon finish. On the finish, there were hints of apricot. The alcohol content is 6.5% ABV. The IV is quite a delicious and smooth brew that is very refreshing. I definitely recommend drinking this beer in the warm sunshine on a hot summer day.

Tommyknocker Hop Strike! Black Rye IPA

I ordered a glass of Tommyknocker Hop Strike! Black Rye IPA from Tj's in Paoli. The beer pours a dark brown color with sudsy and foamy beige tan head. The aroma consists of toasted malts and peppery hops, lemon, pine and a good bit of rye. The taste is well balanced between toasted malts and rye with a sour hop finish and a good amount of lemon. There are bits of oak, coffee, and chocolate in the aftertaste. The alcohol content is 7.0% ABV. This black rye IPA was delicious and really good. I thoroughly enjoyed the balance of malts, hops, and rye, which is quite delicate but very rewarding.

Speakeasy Old Godfather

My girl bought me a four-pack of Speakeasy Old Godfather, a barleywine, from Al's of Hampden. The beer pours a dark amber/copper color with a thin filmy off-white colored head. The aroma consists of of caramel, toffee, fig, and donut glaze. The taste is sweet and powerful with a good helping of caramel and toffee. The beer then bites with a huge alcohol kick that warms the back of the throat. There is a slight hop accent that bites with pepper and the finish on the beer is somewhat dry and syrupy. The alcohol content is 10.2% ABV. What a powerful and flamboyant beer. It announces its presence with alcohol bite, but if you love caramel and toffee, you will love this beer.

Smuttynose Pumpkin Ale

As part of a six-pack, I picked up a bottle of Smuttynose Pumpkin Ale at Pinocchio's in Media, PA. The beer pours a orange-gold color with a foamy white head. The aroma consists of of pumpkin and sweet malts with a light hint of nutmeg, The taste is smooth but bites with nutmeg. The finish is where the pumpkin actually comes into play, sweet and smooth. The alcohol content is 6.0% ABV. This beer was excellent and really tasted like pumpkin pie, especially with the crust accents. While not my favorite pumpkin beer, this was a solid play and would make my starting 11 of pumpkin beers.

Southampton Pumpkin Ale

I picked up a bottle of Southampton Pumpkin Ale from Pinocchio's in Media, PA. The beer pours an orange-copper color with a foamy white head. The aroma consists of nutmeg, pumpkin, cinnamon, and allspice. The taste is actually quite smooth and drinkable. Most of the flavor comes from pumpkin, but there are great allspice, nutmeg, and cinnamon accents. The alcohol content is 5.5% ABV. I thought that this was well balanced pumpkin beer, without any of the spices overwhelming the others. The Southampton Pumpkin Ale comes highly recommended by me.

Duck-Rabbit Rabid Duck Russian Imperial Stout

I picked up a bottle of Duck-Rabbit Rabid Duck Russian Imperial Stout from Pinocchio's in Media, PA. The beer pours a black color with a lofty foamy tan head that has a good lacing on the glass. The aroma is filled with chocolate, coffee, and roasted toffee. The taste is very chocolaty with a strong espresso presence and a smooth roasted malt finish. The aftertaste is milky and smooth as well. The alcohol content is 10.0% ABV. The Rabid Duck was an ideal Russian Imperial Stout. The chocolate and espresso flavors were overwhelmingly amazing and really danced across my tongue.

Left Hand 400 Pound Monkey

I picked up a bottle of Left Hand 400 Pound Monkey, an English-Style India Pale Ale, from Pinocchio's in Media, PA. The beer pours a golden color with a frothy and lofty white head. The aroma consists of light lemon and pine hops with a butterscotch and toffee undertone. The taste is very light and smooth, mostly with a light lemon flavor and a peppery hop finish. The aftertaste has a sour grapefruit punch and a bit of mandarin orange. The alcohol content is 6.7% ABV. The 400 pound monkey can be summarized is two words: very drinkable. It is not overly hoppy or overly sweet, but just drinkable and enjoyable.

Arcadia Ales Hopmouth Double IPA

I picked up a bottle of Arcadia Ales Hopmouth Double IPA from Pinocchio's in Media, PA. The beer pours a dark amber color, which was much darker than I expected, with a foamy tan head. The aroma consists of sweet caramel and toffee with fresh accents of pine and grass and a light touch of butterscotch. The taste is sweet and smooth with toasted caramel and toffee. I must say that I expected the hops to hit a little harder, but what is there is pine and lightly lemony. The finish on the beer returns the flavor of the toasted caramel, which is a very welcome return. The alcohol content is 8.1% ABV. This was a very smooth and sweet drinking beer, but misses out somewhat with balancing hop bitterness. I did enjoy drinking it, but felt that the lack of hops made me feel like I was let down somewhat by this beer.

Dogfish Head Ryehoboth

Despite previously reviewing the beer, my palette has evolved enough that I thought re-reviewing Dogfish Head Ryehoboth when I was at the Rehoboth brew pub was worthwhile. The beer pours a golden color with a frothy white head. The aroma consists mostly of rye and light hints of lemon. The taste is dry but smooth with some lemon flavor and big rye accents. There are bits of pine hops come forward on the finish. The alcohol content is 5.5% ABV. I really enjoyed the Ryehoboth, as it is a delicious and refreshing brew with a very smooth finish. It seems that this beer appeals to a wide variety of beer drinkers and is an excellent summer beer.

Dogfish Head Wrath of Pecant

I ordered a bottle of Dogfish Head Wrath of Pecant from the brew pub in Rehoboth Beach, DE. The beer pours an amber color with a frothy off-white head. The aroma is sweet and nutty with a slight hint of plantains. The taste is smooth and sweet with a great nut flavor and a roasted toffee undertone. The beer also has a light pine hop finish. When pairing with my dinner, the plantains really evolved in the flavor. The alcohol content is 6.3% ABV. I thought the Wrath of Pecant was an amazing beer and I thoroughly enjoyed the nutty flavor, but was quite surprised at the roasted toffee flavors.