Brew Dog Tokio

My buddy Adam gave me a bottle of BrewDog Tokio for my birthday, and I was really excited to give it a try. The beer pours a dark brown color with a foamy tan head. The aroma consists of chocolate, coffee, espresso, oak, and cream. The taste is smooth but huge on the tongue with lots of chocolate and coffee right at the forefront. The beer then has a warming alcohol bite that taste like bourbon. There is a sweet finish with juniper, molasses vanilla, and cherries. The alcohol content is 18.2% ABV. The warmth that comes with this beer accompanied with chocolate and coffee is such an enjoyment on the tongue that I really wanted to have another one of these, although at 18.2% ABV it is not advisable to have another one.

Southern Tier Iniquity

I ordered a bottle of Southern Tier Iniquity at Underdog in Harrisburg. If you have not been to this place, it may be the cheapest craft beer place I’ve seen. The 22oz bomber was $6, as are all bombers, and 12oz craft bottles are $3.50. The beer pours a dark amber color with read hues and a frothy tan head. The aroma consists of toasted malts, raisin, fig, chocolate, and banana. The taste is smooth with raisin and chocolate, fig, and a great yeast profile. The alcohol content is 9.0% ABV. The Iniquity was amazingly smooth and extremely flavorful with plenty of Belgian-inspired flavors. While the beer wasn’t exactly what I was expecting for a black ale, it was quite delicious and I would drink it again.

Brasserie Dieu Du Ciel Peche Mortel

I picked up a bottle of Brasserie Dieu Du Ciel Peche Mortel from a beer bottle shop in Niagara Falls. The pours an extremely dark brown color with a frothy tan head. The aroma consists of coffee, dark chocolate, roasted malts, and cream. The taste is dry and huge on coffee flavor with a wonderful alcohol bite on the finish. Dark chocolate lingers in the after taste and really sparks on the tongue. The alcohol content is 9.5% ABV. The Peche Mortel may be one of the better coffee beers that I have had and it achieved a wonderful balance of chocolate, coffee, and alcohol. It will surely warm you up on a cold night and wake you up when you are tired.

Snowshoe Snoweizen Wheat Ale

The final beer I received in my beer of the month club was the Snowshoe Snoweizen Wheat Ale. The beer pours a golden color with a lofty and frothy white head. The aroma consists of lemon, cream, wheat, and grass. The taste is smooth and filled with lemon. The beer has a light body with some wheat flavor and a faint spice to it. The alcohol content is 5.1% ABV. This beer was a little too light bodied and not full of enough flavor for me. While it could be refreshing in the summer, it just didn't excite my palate.

Showshoe Grizzly Brown Ale

One of the beers that came in my beer of the month club that I got for Christmas was the Showshoe Grizzly Brown Ale. The beer pours a dark amber color with a thin bubbly off-white head. The aroma consists of toasted malts, nuts, chocolate, and sawdust. The taste is big on toasted malts with a light chocolate flavor and vanilla accents. The after taste is dry and roasty. The alcohol content is 5.6% ABV. While the beer is not too intense, it is a solid brown ale that has a creamy mouth feel and a wonderful toasted flavor.

Dogfish Head Sah'tea

I picked up a bottle of Dogfish Head Sah'tea from Al's of Hampden. I previously had a glass of this at the Dogfish Head Alehouse, but decided to give it another review. The beer pours a golden color with floating yeast flakes and a frothy white head. The aroma consists of grapes, tea, Chai tea, cherry, and berry. The taste is smooth at first before the Chai has a nice bite on the tongue and dries with some cinnamon. The Juniper berries come into play on the finish and really sweetens out the finish. The after taste brings back the tea, which pairs really well with the berries. The alcohol content is 9.0% ABV. I really enjoyed the berry and tea balance in the beer with wonderful spices dancing on the tongue.

Brooklyn Black Ops

While at Al's of Hampden, I noticed a case of Brooklyn Black Ops sitting in the hallway. I tweeted Al to find out when it would be released, and he came over to sell me a bottle (do you see why I go there so often?). The beer pours a syrupy black color with a frothy tan head that fills the glass nicely. The aroma consists of lots of coffee and dark chocolate with some espresso and toasted malts. The taste is big and bold with lots of chocolate flavor, both dark and milk chocolate, with plenty of coffee dryness. The finish is smooth and dry with a bourbon bite. The after taste lingers on the back of the mouth with some chocolate and warms the throat with the bourbon. The alcohol content is 11.3% ABV. The warmth that comes in the bottle of Black Ops was perfect for a cold windy night and has nice accents of coffee and chocolate.

Jolly Pumpkin La Roja Amber Ale

I picked up a bottle of Jolly Pumpkin La Roja Amber Ale from Al's of Hampden. The beer pours a reddish-amber color with a lofty, frothy white head. The aroma consists of sour cherry, caramel, oak, and grass. The taste is sour and slightly puckering but wonderfully smooth with caramel and malts. The mouth feel is light and bubbly on the tongue. The finish is drying and leaves the flavor of oak to linger on the tongue. The alcohol content is 7.2% ABV. I'll be honest in saying I picked up this bottle expecting a standard amber ale, but was pleasantly shocked to find it was a sour beer and had a wonderful sour cherry profile to it.

Selin's Grove Snafu IPA

I took a trip to Selin's Grove Brewing Company with the girlfriend, and one of the beer I ordered there was the Snafu IPA. The beer pours a dark amber color with a frothy off-white head. The aroma consists of caramel with lots of pine hops and lemon. The taste is bitter with lemon and pine at first before some sweet caramel kicks in. The finish is dry and bitter with spruce. 7.2% ABV. The IPA came out darker than expected, but was excellent beer with lots of hop bitterness and pine flavors.

Port Brewing Old Viscosity

As part of my girlfriend's Christmas gift of a beer of the month club, I received a bottle of Port Brewing Old Viscosity. The beer pours a black color with some red hues and a lofty, foamy off-white head. The aroma consists of chocolate, cream, oak, coffee, and molasses. The taste is smooth and silky with a good chocolate base, toasted malts, coffee, and a good oak accent. The alcohol content is 10.0% ABV. The hefty dry chocolate flavor balanced with coffee and toasted malts makes a wonderful blend and yet a nicely smooth drinking beer.

Brew Dog Paradox Isle of Arran

I picked up a bottle of BrewDog Paradox Isle of Arran from Al's of Hampden. The beer pours a black color with almost no head; the head that is there is bubbly and tan. The aroma consists of chocolate, coffee, molasses, and whiskey. The taste is dry and filled with dark chocolate, molasses, coffee, and a nice whiskey bite. The whiskey dries out the after taste and leaves the mouth with an oak flavor. The alcohol content is 10.0% ABV. The beer has a wonderful blend of whiskey and chocolate that dries out the mouth but provides a wonderful sweetness over the entire drinking experience.

Boaks Wooden Beanie

I ordered a glass of Boaks Wooden Beanie on cask from McGrath's in downtown Harrisburg. The beer pours a deep red/brown color with a foamy tan head. The aroma consists of red wine, caramel, and toffee. The taste is smooth and light bodied with a big red wine bite and creamy mouth feel. The alcohol content is not posted online, but I would estimate it to be around 7.0% ABV. I thought that the cask really enables this flavors in this beer and the beer really pulls the properties of red wine, which makes it an enjoyable beer.

Troegs Scratch 40- India Pale Ale (4 of 4)

I picked up a case of Troegs Scratch 40- India Pale Ale from the Brewery, the fourth in a four part series leading up to the Perpetual IPA release. The beer pours a golden color which is lighter than previous beers with a frothy white head. The aroma consists of lots of fresh grapefruit with sugar, tangerine, and grass. The taste is big on fresh and slightly sour grapefruit with a nice does of sugar, tangerine, lemon, and orange. The after taste lingers with dry grapefruit and a little pine hidden underneath. The alcohol content is 8.1% ABV. If this is the final recipe for the Perpetual IPA, I will be the first in line to purchase the beer when it is released. The citrus content and delicate hop balance makes for a wonderful brew.

Appalachian Brewing Company Ragged Edge Espresso Stout

I stopped in to Appalachian Brewing Company on release day for the new Ragged Edge Espresso Stout. I previously have had the Cornerstone Espresso Stout, a one-off, and completely loved the beer. This version was made with coffee from Ragged Edge in Gettysburg. The beer pours a thick black color with frothy tan head. The aroma consists of dark chocolate and fresh espresso beans. The taste is dry and chocolate with lots of bitter coffee. The alcohol content is 4.6% ABV. While the Ragged Edge Espresso Stout was good, it was not quite as good as the Cornerstone Espresso Stout, and I really wish ABC would bring that one back.