Victory Wild Devil

At TJ's in Paoli I ordered a glass of Victory Wild Devil to finish out my meal and give my mouth some sweet and sour flavors after a spicy buffalo chicken wrap. The beer pours a golden orange color with a thin filmy white head. The aroma consists of sour cheery with a light wheat background. The taste is bitter and sour with plenty cherry on the forefront, a light hop balance, and a caramel undertone. The alcohol content is 6.7% ABV. I have really been coming around to sour beers, and I find this one somewhat easy to drink. However, others in my party did not agree and did not enjoy their pucker faces, so it may be a little intense for the faint of heart.

Manayunk Yunkin' Punkin'

I stopped in to The Drafting Room in Exton on the way to the final Union home match of the year and picked up a growler of Manayunk Yunkin' Punkin' for the tailgate. The beer pours a red amber color with a foamy off-white head. The aroma contains lots of pumpkin with some well-balanced cinnamon and nutmeg accents. The taste is sweet and has a good helping of pumpkin, a good amount of malts, and a light cinnamon and nutmeg finish. The alcohol content is 5.5% ABV. The Yunkin' Punkin' is all about the pumpkin flavors and and light on spices with a good malty backbone. This post is a cheers to a very well done pumpkin beer that I recommend trying if you have the chance.

Ithaca Cascazilla

Another beer I ordered during the Ithaca event at TJ's in Paoli was Cascazilla. The beer pours an amber color with a bubbly off-white head. The aroma is malty with caramel and fresh pine hops. The taste is malty with caramel and lots of carbonation. There is a slight toasted malt accent, but not a lot of flavors come forward in this beer. The alcohol content is 7.0% ABV. While this is not a poor beer, I was slightly disappointed in the complexity of the beer and it left me wanting more, specifically in the flavor category.

Ithaca Cold Front

I stopped in to TJ's in Paoli for the Ithaca event that they had recently. The first beer I ordered was the Cold Front. The beer pours an amber color with frothy off-white head. The aroma consists of caramel, chocolate, candisugar, and malts with a good helping of Belgian yeast. The taste is big and bites hard with caramel and toasted malts, lots of spices, chocolate, raisin, and a nice hop bite. The carbonation in this beer is a little high and it definitely tingles the tongue. The alcohol content is 7.2% ABV. I enjoyed the smorgasbord of flavors encompassed in this beer and it really kept my tongue working throughout the experience to pick up all of the flavors. I would like to give this beer another try and see if I can pick up some additional flavors or aromas.

Appalachian Brewing Company Tripelocity

I stopped in to Appalachian Brewing Company to order a glass of their newly released one-off Tripelocity, a Belgian Tripel. The beer pours a golden color with a thin bubbly white head. The aroma consists of Belgian spices, banana, and cloves. The taste is big on banana with lots of spices that really work the tongue. While the spices dance on the tongue, a bubbly hoppy finish with lots of carbonation take over and dry out the mouth. The alcohol content is not available online, but I would estimate it to be approximately 8.0% ABV. This Belgian tripel was solidly done, but not overly experimental. Sometimes perfecting something like a tripel can/should be appreciated, and ABC nailed it with the Tripelocity.

Joe's Strong Ale

As I have stated in the past, I am always willing to give my friends' home brews a try and feature them on the site. My friend Joe, who has been brewing for about a year, invited me over to sample his Strong Ale. The beer pours a dark amber color with a bubbly tan head. The aroma is malty with caramel and fresh pine hops. The taste is big and malty with a good amount of caramel. I would estimate the alcohol content is be approximately 7.0% ABV. Overall, the Strong Ale has a similar profile to Stone Arrogant Bastard but a little less malty. I like the dry hoppy finish that he was able to achieve with this beer, and I look forward to future offerings from Joe.

Bell's Hell Hath No Fury Ale

While at Al's of Hampden, I ordered a glass of Bell's Hell Hath No Fury Ale. The beer pours a black color with a thin bubbly tan head. The aroma consists of chocolate, licorice, toasted malts, Belgian spices, and banana. The taste is big on the chocolate with lots of toasted malts, some banana and a spiced up finish. Spruce and yeast linger in the after taste just before the alcohol kicks a little bit. The alcohol content is 7.5% ABV. While the spruce after taste was completely unexpected, it made the beer better than expected and memorable.

Widmer Brothers Deadlift Imperial IPA

I ordered a glass of Widmer Brothers Deadlift Imperial IPA from Al's of Hampden. The beer pours a golden color with a foamy white head. The aroma is full of grapefruit and sugar with hints of pine in the background. The taste has lots of grapefruit and is slightly bitter with a nice accent of sugar and some orange hidden in there as well. There is a pine hop finish that dries the mouth somewhat. The alcohol content is 8.6% ABV. Overall, Deadlift tastes like a fresh grapefruit with some sprinkled on top. This Imperial IPA hit every note in a beer that I thoroughly enjoy, making it a top beer for me.

Cricket Hill Hopnotic IPA

I ordered a Cricket Hill Hopnotic IPA from O'Reilly's in Harrisburg. The beer pours an amber color with a frothy white head. The aroma consists of caramel with lemon and pepper. The taste is big and smooth at first with a burnt caramel taste, followed by a good peppery hop bite, and a light lemon accent. The alcohol content is 6.0% ABV. I thought that the Hopnotic IPA was very delicious and a rather off-the-wall IPA. The burnt caramel taste was very pleasant and a very different offering from most IPAs out there.

Boulder Mojo IPA

I stopped in to O'Reilly's Irish Pub in Harrisburg and I ordered a Boulder Brewing Company Mojo IPA on nitro. The beer pours a golden color with a frothy white head. The aroma consists of lots of lemon and fresh pine hops. The taste is creamy with lots of lemon in it, aided by the nitro no doubt. There is a light caramel background. I really enjoyed the bitter hoppy pine finish and the dry after taste. The alcohol content is 7.2% ABV. The Mojo IPA was really enjoyable, especially on nitro as the lemon really leaped to the foreground of the beer. Furthermore, this is a great beer for hop heads.

Southern Tier Backburner

I picked up a bottle of Southern Tier Backburner Imperial Barley Wine from Al's of Hampden based on the recommendation of one of the employees. The beer pours a reddish amber color with a foamy beige colored head. The aroma consists of chocolate and raisin with a good mix of dark fruit, caramel malts, and a hint of pine hops. The taste is big and malty with lots of raisin flavor. In the mix you can also find dark fruits, caramel, chocolate, toffee. The finish is perfectly balanced with the sweetness with a light but bitter pine hop bite. The alcohol content is 10.0% ABV. This is by far the best barleywine that I have ever had. Most barleywines hit a little too much on the sweetness or try to overbalance with too many hop. Southern Tier hit the perfect balance without being to sweet or bitter.

Nogne-o Tyttebaer

I picked up a bottle of Nogne-o Tyttebaer from Al's of Hampden. The Tyttebaer is a wild ale brewed with Scandinavian cranberries. The beer pours a red amber color with a lofty and frothy white head that fizzles as it dissipates. The aroma consists of sweet and sour cranberries with a fresh zest of cherries and wheat. The taste is bitter and sour with a big helping of cranberries and some sour cherry underneath. The beer is light and bubbly on the tongue and it foams in the back of the mouth and has a light wheat after taste. The alcohol content is 8.0% ABV. I really enjoyed the refreshing nature of this beer despite being sour and bitter. Nogne-o has provided an excellent wild ale, especially with the addition of cranberries.