21st Amendment Hop Crisis Imperial IPA

Since I had to pick up a case of cans to drink on the beach, I went to Westy’s in Camp Hill and came out with a case of 21st Amendment Hop Crisis Imperial IPA. The beer pours a honey color with a frothy white head that leaves some lacing on the glass. The aroma consists of resiny fresh hops, tangerine, grapefruit, passion fruit, orange, and pine. The taste is bitter and oily with lots of citrus flavors including orange, tangerine, grapefruit, hints of pepper, and pine. Oak comes out in the finish and a lightly sweet orange flavor lingers in the after taste. The alcohol content is 9.7% ABV. The Hop Crisis was a refreshing beer for the beach with an excellent bitter hop flavor to cut through the extreme heat and plenty of hop oils to aid in making you sweat even more.

Dogfish Head Fort (2007)

I was recently on vacation in Ocean City and we decided to drive up to the Dogfish Head Brewpub in Rehoboth. While at the brewpub, my buddy Matt and I decided to order a vintage bottle of Fort, vintage 2007. The beer pours a cloudy amber color with lots of red hues and a thin filmy white head. The aroma is warming with alcohol, a most notable presence, and raspberries, yeast, and raisin aromas as well. The taste is big and bold with plenty of raisin comprising of the base of the beer. On top of the raisin, the raspberry comes to life and provides a tart finish with a warming alcohol after taste. The alcohol content is 18.0% ABV. I had heard good things about Fort, and I was most impressed with the flavor profile of this beer. It kept itself from truly tasting like a “fruity” beer by having a prominent alcohol flavor, but the yeast base and tart raspberry finish were the most enjoyable parts of this beer.

Jailhouse Brewing Reprieve French-style Ale

Another bottle I received in a trade with Lance Martin (Beers of the Night) and Alfred Hugh Leonard III was Jailhouse Brewing Reprieve French-style Ale. The beer pours a straw yellow color with a thin filmy white head. The aroma consists of lemon grass, earthy notes, hay, cream, and has some floral hops as well. The mouth feel is very carbonated with the taste consisting of lemon, hay,grass, and lemon. It has somewhat of a barnyard flavor to it before bits of cream come out on the finish. The alcohol content is 6.0% ABV. The Reprieve is a delicious beer that is light on the tongue, prefect for drinking in the summertime months.

Jailhouse Brewing Breakout Stout

In a trade with Lance Martin (Beers of the Night) and Alfred Hugh Leonard III, I received a bottle of Jailhouse Brewing Breakout Stout. The beer pours a black color with a finger-sized frothy tan head. The aroma consists of mocha, toasted malts, coffee, dark chocolate, and a smoothing vanilla accent. The taste is dry and chocolaty with lots of coffee and mocha on the front end. There is some tobacco that mixes up the flavor, but the focus is on the tasted malts. Vanilla sweetens up the finish, which is quite enjoyable. The alcohol content is 7.8% ABV. While I typically am not a fan of tobacco flavoring in a beer, it complimented all of the other flavors well in the Breakout Stout and I really enjoyed drinking this one.

Alpine Beer Company Pure Hoppiness

I received a bottle of Alpine Beer Company Pure Hoppiness from the Beer Club 4 Men in a trade. The beer pours a golden color with a thin foamy white head. The aroma consists of caramel and lots of it with other accents such as grapefruit, pine, and sugar. The beer has a bubbly mouth feel when drank and the taste is bitter and hoppy with lots of grapefruit, tangerine, and orange peel. Pine, spruce, and pepper come out on the finish with a dry caramel after taste. Some hints of lemon also linger through the after taste. The alcohol content is 8.0% ABV. Pure Hoppiness was an excellent hoppy beer with plenty of bitterness to dry out the mouth, but also plenty of citrus flavors on a massive caramel base to keep the tongue happy.

Widmer Brothers X-114 IPA

As part of #IPADay, I ordered a glass of Widmer X-114 IPA at O’Reilly’s Taproom in Harrisburg. The beer pours an orange-tinted copper color with an orange tint with a frothy white head that leaves a light lace on the glass. The aroma consists of a solid caramel base with orange, tangerine, lemon, and grass. The taste is rather sweet up front with lots of caramel flavor before some bitterness comes out to play in the form of grapefruit, tangerine, and lemon. There is a light grassy hop bit with some pepper as well. The alcohol content is 6.2% ABV. I was surprised at how smooth and sweet this IPA was, rather than being overly bitter and hoppy. It was a rather nice beer to drink and celebrate the world of IPAs.

Nogne-o Two Captains

In celebration of #IPADay, I ordered a glass of Nogne-o Two Captains from O’Reilly’s Taproom in Harrisburg. The beer pours a golden color with a bubbly white head. The aroma consists of lemon, pine, and tangerine. The taste is extremely bitter and biting on the tongue, providing plenty of punishment. Citrus flavors appear in the form of lots of lemon with pine and pepper spices. On the finish, there are hints of caramel as a base for the beer. The after taste is very dry with some spruce accents as well. The alcohol content is 8.5% ABV. Wow was this a bitter hop bomb to drink. I enjoyed is resiny goodness, as well as the citrus notes that accompanied. The flavor of this beer will linger for a while long after you are done drinking it.

Jailhouse Brewing Mugshot IPA

I received a bottle of Jailhouse Brewing Mugshot IPA as part of a beer trade with Lance Martin (Beers of the Night) and Alfred Hugh Leonard III. The beer pours a golden color with an extremely lofty and frothy white head. The aroma consists of lemon, pine, caramel, tangerine, and orange. The taste is rather smooth at first with caramel before a drier toasted toffee flavor kicks in on the tongue. Lemon, tangerine, pine, and pepper come out on the finish of this beer and bitter the tongue a bit. The alcohol content is 6.7% ABV. This was a well done IPA that I could drink all of the time if it was available in Pennsylvania, and I recommend trying it.

Jailhouse Brewing Midnight Special India-style Black Ale

As part of a beer trade with Lance Martin (Beers of the Night) and Alfred Hugh Leonard III, I received a bottle of Jailhouse Brewing Midnight Special India-style Black Ale. The beer pours a black color with a lofty and frothy tan head that leaves lacing on the glass. The aroma consists of lemon, pine, chocolate, toasted malts, and pepper. The taste is really smooth and chocolaty at first with a nice creamy mouth feel. There are some mocha, chocolate liquor accent, and bits of coffee. On the finish, pine, pepper, and lemon dry the mouth and the after taste is warming from the alcohol, which is 10.0% ABV. This is one of the finest Black IPAs /Black Ales/Cascadian Dark Ales that I have had. The mouth feel is so creamy and chocolaty with plenty of sweet and bitter flavors all wrapped into one.

Thomas Creek Up the Creek Extreme IPA

Another beer I received in a beer trade with with Lance Martin (Beers of the Night) and Alfred Hugh Leonard III was the Thomas Creek Up the Creek Extreme IPA. The beer pours a cranberry-tinted brown color with a lofty and frothy tan head, which was not what I was expecting to see. The aroma consists of cherry, caramel, lemon, and sweet malts. The taste is malty and sweet with lots of caramel up front, hints of cherry and honey, orange, and a dry lemon and pine finish. The alcohol content is 12.5% ABV. I would say this is not a conventional IPA, especially since it is noted as “extreme,” but it is wonderfully crafted and I can’t express how much I enjoyed the cherry accents found in the beer.

Red Brick Double IPA

I received a bottle of Red Brick Double IPA in a beer trade (my first ever and also by using Google+) with Lance Martin (Beers of the Night) and Alfred Hugh Leonard III. The beer pours an amber color with a foamy off-white colored head that leaves some lacing on the glass. The aroma consists of sweet grapefruit and tangerine with a large caramel base. The taste is smooth and sweet at first with plenty of caramel before some bitter flavors of grapefruit, lemon, and tangerine kick in on the tongue. There is a bit of lingering pepper in the finish and a piny after taste. The alcohol content is 9.0% ABV. This Double IPA sides on the slightly more bitter side of things rather than sweeter, but it is quite delicious and has a nice citrus profile. I would consider ordering this beer again if I find myself in Georgia.

Troegs Scratch 45- India Pale Ale (6 of 4)

I picked up a case of Troegs Scrach 45 (number 6 in a series of 4 in advance of the Perpetual IPA). The beer pours a golden color with a frothy white head that laces to the glass and plenty of rising bubbles. The aroma consists of grapefruit, tangerine, lemon, pine, orange, and pepper. The taste is lightly bitter on the front end with a bit of grapefruit and lemon, all accented with pepper. The flavor then sweetens with tangerine and orange flavors and a dry pine finish. The alcohol content is 7.0% ABV. This beer provides a wonderful amount of sweet citrus flavors mixing with bitter citrus and spicy pine and pepper. Troegs is on the right path to making an excellent IPA.

Founders Blushing Monk

I picked up a bottle of Founders Blushing Monk from Al’s of Hampden, and I also stashed one away in my cellar. The beer pours a black cherry color with a foamy pink head that dissipates rather rapidly and leaves behind a filmy head. The aroma is raspberry syrup-like, red wine, strawberry, raspberry, and a faint hint of vinegar. The taste is more sweet than sour with lots of raspberry flavor, almost like an ice cream topping. There is a hint of cherry and strawberry before a slight vinegar tongue hits the tongue, but does not make the mouth pucker. The alcohol content is 9.2% ABV. For those expecting a Belgian sour-like beer, this is not for you. However, it is quite a delicious beer, but it definitely falls under the sweeter side of this and is very syrupy. I am very interested to see how this beer ages and if it gets any tartness about it.

Cigar City Jose Marti

My buddy Adam brought a bottle of Cigar City Jose Marti over to my house to share amongst friends. The beer pours a dark brown color with a bubbly tan head. The aroma consists of oak, red wine, toasted malts, earth/dirt, and smoke. The taste brings out some tobacco flavors right up front with some licorice accents. It is a dry beer with plenty of oak flavors. Toasted malts take a back seat, but make their presence known. The alcohol content 8.0% ABV. I would liken drinking this beer to what chewing a cigar must taste like. The malts provide sweetness, but the tobacco and smoky flavors really take over the beer. I didn't hate the Jose Marti like some of my friends did, but I did find it to be dry and very interesting.