Stone BELGO Anise Imperial Russian Stout

I picked up a bottle of Stone BELGO Anise Imperial Russian Stout from Al’s of Hampden. The beer pours a black color with an extremely lofty tan head that leaves some lacing on the glass. The aroma consists of chocolate, sweet yeast, toasted malts, pine, and lemon. The taste is smooth and creamy with plenty of sweet yeast flavors up front before chocolate, toasted malts, caramel, and a pine twist kick in on the tongue. The finish is slightly dry and bitter with hops. The after taste brings out some smoked meat flavor, which is quite interesting and enjoyable. The alcohol content is 10.5% ABV. This was a great imperial stout with a wonderful Belgian twist of yeast. I think I may like the original IRS better, but the Belgian accent was very welcome.

Stone Imperial Russian Stout

I picked up a bottle of Stone Imperial Russian Stout from Al’s of Hampden as a precursor to trying the BELGO Anise Imperial Stout. The beer pours a black color with a lofty and frothy tan head that leaves plenty of lacing on the glass. The aroma consists of chocolate, coffee, toasted malts, caramel, toffee, and pine. The taste is strong and large with plenty of toasted malts and a hefty helping of chocolate. There is a dry coffee finish with hints of cream, vanilla, caramel, and toffee. The after taste is spicy with pine and pepper. The alcohol content is 10.5% ABV. This is a quality example of an Imperial Russian Stout, but non-hop heads should beware, as it does have a spicy and peppery after taste that I loved, but some may not. It really adds an element to the beer not found in most others within this style.

Deschutes Hop in the Dark

My buddy Matt picked up a bottle of Deschutes Hop in the Dark from Capone’s in Philadelphia. The beer pours a black color with a frothy tan head that leaves a nice lacing on the glass. The aroma consists of caramel, sweet milk chocolate, bitter dark chocolate, cream, lots of coffee and espresso. The taste starts off with toasted malts before bringing out plenty of dark and milk chocolate, caramel and cream. The finish is dry with lots of coffee bean flavors and some espresso shot, all mixed in with a bit of spruce and pine. The after taste is similar to drinking a cup of black coffee, with the same mouth feel, and also has some more chocolate flavors. The alcohol content is 6.9% ABV. The Hop in the Dark was a great beer with many levels of complexity and plenty of flavors to go around and satisfy all parts of the tongue. It finished like coffee, but was much more enjoyable.

Terrapin Side Project Volume 15- Indiana Krunkles

My buddy Matt picked up a bottle of Terrapin Side Project Volume 15 Indiana Krunkles and decided to share it with me. The beer pours a golden color with a frothy white head that leaves some lacing on the glass. The aroma consists of wheat, lemon, orange, and coriander. The taste is smooth and sweet at first with lemon, wheat, and caramel. The finish dries out a little bit with peppery hops and an orange twist. The after taste brings back the wheat flavor and leaves it on the tongue. The alcohol content is 7.3% ABV. This was quite a smooth and refreshing beer with plenty of citrus and sweet flavors that are balanced well with pepper and spices.

Harrisburg Brewers Fest 2011

Harrisburg Brewers Fest

Becoming a yearly tradition, I was able to attend the Harrisburg Brewers Fest 2011, hosted by Troegs and benefiting the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. This year’s event raised a reported $115,000 for CF, and was much cooler, albeit humid, that in years past. Below are my tasting notes and pictures of the beers to accompany. Keep in mind that with smaller samples and an expedited schedule, my tasting notes a bit more brief than normal. As always, if I get the chance to review these beers again, I will expand on them.

From Brewers Fest 2011

Ohio O’hoppy IPA

The beer pours a caramel color with a frothy off-white head. The aroma consists of caramel, lemon, orange, and tangerine. The taste is bitter with lemon, orange, tangerine, and toasted caramel flavors. The alcohol content is 7.0% ABV. On a side note, I overheard two guys from Ohio Brewing trashing Dogfish Head, saying they were the most overrated brewery in America. While everyone is entitled to their opinion, who are you, Ohio Brewing?

From Brewers Fest 2011

Old Forge Altbier

The beer pours a caramel color with a bubbly tan head. The aroma is faint but has some caramel and lemon hints to it. The taste is smooth and sweet with caramel and is lightly bitter with lemon and tangerine. There is a hint of oak in the finish. No alcohol content is available online.

From Brewers Fest 2011

Uinta Detour Double IPA

The beer pours an amber color with a foamy white head. The aroma consists of hop oils, grapefruit, tangerine, orange, lemon, and caramel. The taste is smooth and sweet with orange and tangerine before bitter lemon comes in to play. The alcohol content is 9.5% ABV. This was an excellent beer and was my favorite/most memorable beer of the day.

From Brewers Fest 2011

Elysian Jasmine IPA

The beer pours a golden color with a foamy white head. The aroma consists of lemon, jasmine, and pepper. The taste is powerful with jasmine right on the front end, light lemon, wheat, and some pepper accents. The alcohol content is 6.3% ABV. I thought the jasmine flavors were a little bit intense, but not a terrible beer.

From Brewers Fest 2011

Elysian The Immortal

The beer pours a golden color with a bubbly off-white colored head and some floating yeast flakes. The aroma consists of lemon, tangerine, and caramel. The taste is smooth and has a great caramel flavor. The finish brings out the lemon and tangerine bitterness. The alcohol content is 6.21% ABV.

From Brewers Fest 2011

Nodding Head BPA

Apparently Nodding Head does not like the fact the Ommegang stole the BPA name from the, even though they stand for different things (Bill Payer Ale vs. Belgian-style Pale Ale). The beer pours an amber color with a bubbly white head. The aroma consists of lemon and tangerine. The taste is bitter with plenty of lemon, tangerine, and pine. The alcohol ocntent is 5.0% ABV.

From Brewers Fest 2011

Duquesne Pilsner

The beer pours a golden color with a bubbly white head. The aroma is faint but has some wheat and sweet malts in there. The taste is smooth and sweet with a light caramel flavor, some malt and barley accents, and faint hop flavors on the finish. No alcohol content is available online. A decent beer that is plenty refreshing.

From Brewers Fest 2011

Union Barrel Works Simcoe Pale Ale

The beer pours a golden color with a bubbly white head. The aroma consists of grapefruit, caramel, and spruce. The taste is bitter with grapefruit, tangerine, and lemon, but something about the flavors seems unbalanced. There is also a watery finish. No alcohol content is available online, but the regular Pale Ale is 5.5% ABV. I did not really enjoy this beer, as I felt it was missing something.

From Brewers Fest 2011

Iron Hill Berlinerweiss

Another one of my favorites of the day, the beer pours a pale straw yellow color with a bubbly white colored head. The aroma consists of wheat, lemon, and pepper. The taste is sweet yet tart with lemon and wheat all prevalent on the tongue. The alcohol content is 2.8% ABV (Uber-sessionable!). This beer had a great flavor and I will order it again at the restaurant if I see it.

From Brewers Fest 2011

Roy Pitz Ludwig’s Revenge Smoked Lager

The beer pours a dark brown color with a bubbly tan head. The aroma consists of smoke and malts, simple but enjoyable. The taste is sweet at first with malts and caramel before the smoke comes out in finish and dries the mouth. The alcohol content is 5.0% ABV. I liked the smoke flavor in this beer and thought it was a decent beer.

From Brewers Fest 2011

Otto’s Maibock

The beer pours an amber color with a thin bubbly off-white colored head. The aroma consists of malts and caramel. The taste is sweet and smooth with lots of caramel and malts to make the tongue happy. No alcohol content is available online. Overall, this is a good maibock.

From Brewers Fest 2011

Southcounty AmericAle Dry Hopped Amber

The beer pours an amber color with a bubbly off-white colored head. The aroma consists of pine and lemon built upon a caramel base. The taste is dry and bitter with lots and lemon on a caramel base. The alcohol content is 6.3% ABV. This beer was excellent and I can’t wait to try the other beers from this brand new brewery.

From Brewers Fest 2011

Spring House Seven Gates Pale Ale

The beer pours a golden color with frothy white colored head. The aroma is fresh with lemon accents. The taste is slightly bitter with lemon, pine, and wheat. The alcohol content is 5.6% ABV.

Overall, I enjoyed Harrisburg Brewers Fest once again. It’s never the most intense or insane beer fest, but the crowd is well controlled, well behaved, and it is a solid beer fest. Furthermore, it’s for a great cause, so nothing beats a good excuse to drink great beers.

Lawson's Finest Liquids Chinooker'd IPA

My buddy Matt received a bottle of Lawson’s Finest Liquids Chinooker’d IPA and offered to share it with me. The beer pours a murky caramel color with a frothy white head. The aroma consists of sweet grapefruit, pine, spruce, lemon, caramel, and tangerine. The taste is powerful and bitter with lots of pink grapefruit, tangerine, and lemon all resting upon a lofty caramel base. The finish brings out strong pine, spruce, and grassy hops that are extremely bitter and dry out the mouth. The alcohol content is 6.9% ABV. This is wonderful bitter IPA with lots of hop bitterness and plenty of citrus flavors, but just enough caramel sweetness to bring it all together.

Hoppin' Frog Hop Dam Triple IPA

I picked up a bottle of Hoppin’ Frog Hop Dam Triple IPA from Al’s of Hampden. The beer pours a an orange-amber color with yeast flakes that float with a frothy off-white colored head that leaves laving on the glass. The aroma is grapefruit, tangerine, lemon, caramel, pine, and spruce. The taste is intense and both bitter and sweet at the same time with a bold toasted caramel base. There is a bitter hop accent that brings out tangerine, grapefruit, pine, and spruce hops. There is a slight sugary sweetness on the finish and then the hop oils linger, drying out the mouth. The alcohol content is 10.0% ABV. This was a wonderfully hoppy beer with lots of oil and bitterness about it with a great caramel base and plenty of citrus flavors.

Brouwerij Van Steenberge Monk's Cafe Flemish Sour Red Ale

While at Al’s of Hampden, I ordered a glass of Brouwerij Van Steenberge Monk’s Cafe Flemish Sour Red Ale. The beer pours a brown color with red and cranberry hues and a thin bubbly off-white colored head. The aroma is malty and yeasty with sour cherry and raspberry. The taste puts the vinegar upfront, but not too sour or puckering, with a sour cherry twist, all built on a caramel and yeast backbone. The after taste has a sweet cherry tinge to it. The alcohol content is 5.5% ABV. Monk’s Cafe has a great flavor mixture, but I was surprised that it was not overly sour. I would recommend this beer for those that have not converted themselves to sour beer drinkers yet, as it is quite tasty and not too intense.

Appalachian Brewing Company Hinterland Hefe Weizen

While at Appalachian Brewing Company prior to the Marcy Playground concert, I ordered my monthly glass of Hinterland Hefe Weizen. The beer pours an opaque golden color with a frothy white head. The aroma consists of wheat, lemon, pepper, and grass. The taste is sweet and smooth with lemon and wheat on the front end. Pepper and grass hops come out in the finish. The alcohol content is 5.3% ABV. I thought that this was a decent hefeweizen. It isn’t too memorable, but it quite refreshing and provides plenty of great flavors, making it worth ordering.

Moylan's Old Blarney on cask with American Oak and Vanilla Bean

I stopped in to Al’s of Hampden for a few beverages and I ordered Moylan’s Old Blarney on cask with American oak and Vanilla Bean. The beer pours a red-amber color with a filmy white head. The aroma has lots of caramel, raisin, oak, malts, and vanilla. The taste is smooth and creamy on the tongue with lots of alcohol and malts. There is a sharp dry bite from the alcohol before caramel, raisin, and vanilla arrive and give the beer its sweetness. There is a dry oak finish with some pine hop flavor. The alcohol content is 10% ABV. This was an excellent dry and sweet beer that packs a flavor punch, an excellent example of what a casked barleywine should be.

Fish Tale Organic India Pale Ale

I noticed that McGrath’s had Fish Tale Organic India Pale Ale in the cooler, so I ordered a bottle. The beer pours an orange-amber color with a frothy off-white head. The aroma consists of grapefruit, tangerine, pine, and caramel; all-in-all it is a very fresh smelling aroma. The taste is smooth at first with caramel before tangerine and grapefruit bitterness kicks in. The after taste brings out the pine and spruce hops. The alcohol content is 6.5% ABV. This IPA was very bitter and hoppy, but excellent and quite enjoyable. It didn’t leave a hop film behind in the mouth, but definitely left behind plenty of bitterness.

Samuel Adams Cherry Chocolate Bock

Despite having the Samuel Adams Cherry Chocolate Bock at Extreme Beer Fest in Boston and not really enjoying, I decided to give it another shot when I saw it on draft at McGrath’s in Harrisburg. The beer pours a dark brown color with a thin foamy tan head. The aroma is sweet with cherry, sugar, chocolate, and candy flavors hitting the nostrils. The taste is smooth and sweet with cherry up front and a toasted malt and chocolate backbone. There is a dry finish with the toasted malt flavor and a tinge of alcohol. The alcohol content is 5.9% ABV. I will admit that the Cherry Chocolate Bock was better than I remember and noted at EBF, as I equated it to cherry cough medicine. I’m glad that I gave it another shot, and I’m not quite sure why I didn’t like the sample I received previously.

Kind Beers Belgian Style Red Ale

While out at McGrath’s in Harrisburg for a friend’s birthday, I ordered a glass of Kind Beers Belgian Style Red Ale. The beer pours a red amber color with a thin filmy off-white head. The aroma consists of yeast, caramel, toffee, and spices. The taste is spicy with lots of yeast, caramel, and toffee, providing a sweet front end to the beer. There is a dry, spicy, and peppery finish. The alcohol content is 6.0% ABV. This was an excellent red ale with great spices and yeast flavors all built upon a sweet caramel base.