Founders Frangelic Mountain Brown

I picked up a bottle of Founders Frangelic Mountain Brown to share with friends. The beer pours a light brown color with a very lofty and frothy cream colored head. The aroma consists of strong and fresh coffee, toasted malts, cream, hazelnut, and a hint of caramel. The taste is bold with lots of coffee on the front end. Hints of cream, lots of hazelnut, and a strong roasted malt flavor come forward before a caramel and cream sweetness come out on the finish. The alcohol content is 9.0% ABV. This was a bold coffee beer that had a strong toasted malt flavor to balance that imposing flavor. This was well balanced and very enjoyable.

Allagash Victor (2009)

At our weekly bottle share, my buddy Adam brought over a bottle of Allagash Victor, vintage 2009.The beer pours a golden color with a frothy white colored head that leaves some lacing on the glass. The aroma consists of grapes, banana, yeast, and a hint of pepper. The taste is bold and slightly sugary with lots of grape flavors. Banana, pepper, and cloves round out the taste. The alcohol content is 9.0% ABV. This was a smooth drinking beer with lots of fruit flavors including banana and grapes. I enjoyed how bold it could be with 9.0% alcohol, but so easy to drink.

Mikkeller Beer Geek Brunch Weasel Cognac Barrel Aged Version

My buddy Ed brought over a bottle of Mikkeller Beer Geek Brunch Weasel Cognac Barrel Aged Version to share. The beer pours a black color with a bubbly tan colored head. The aroma consists of cognac, coffee, oak, chocolate, and is boozy. The taste is bold and boozy with chocolate, coffee, milk, and toasted malts. The finish brings out the cognac flavor with plenty of oak dryness. The alcohol content is 10.9% ABV. This was a pretty solid beer with a great cognac flavor added to it. The oak dryness in the finish really rounded out the flavor to this beer and made it a great tasting beer.

Maui Brewing-Jolly Pumpkin Sobrehumano Palena’ole

My buddy Matt brought over some cans of the Maui Brewing-Jolly Pumpkin collaboration Sobrehumano Palena’ole, the version brewed at Maui Brewing. The beer pours a gold-tinted amber color with a thin bubbly white colored head. The aroma consists of passion fruit, fruit salad, cherries, and pineapple. The taste is very similar to a fruit cocktail, passion fruit, tart cherries, pineapple, orange, and ruby red grapefruit. The finish is a little peppery and slightly watery. The alcohol content is 6.0% ABV. I thought the beer was refreshing and had plenty of fruit flavors, but I also thought it tasted similar to canned fruit cocktail, something I am not too keen on.

Troegs Scratch 72- Tim's Brown Porter

My buddy Matt brought over a growler of Troegs Scratch 72- Tim’s Brown Porter to share. The beer pours a dark brown color with a lofty and frothy tan colored head that leaves a thin lacing on the glass. The aroma consists of chocolate, coffee, toasted malts, and milk. The taste is dry and roasty with plenty of toasted malts on the front end. A bitter coffee flavor takes over and finishes with a hint of chocolate. A light milk accent sweetens the experience. The alcohol content is 5.5% ABV. This was a well done porter with plenty of toasted malt, coffee, and chocolate flavors that blend really well together.

Duck-Rabbit Hoppy Bunny American Black Ale

Another beer I ordered while at Fat Head’s in Pittsburgh was Duck-Rabbit Hoppy Bunny American Black Ale. The beer pours a black color with a frothy tan head, similar to the appearance of all of the Duck-Rabbit beers. The aroma consists of lemon, pine, chocolate, toasted malts, and tangerine. The taste has a strong roasted malt presence with chocolate, coffee, pine, and spruce accents. Lemon and tangerine appear on finish. The alcohol content is 7.3% ABV. This was a bold and delicious beer, and I was more than impressed with this new offering from Duck-Rabbit. Now only if they would update their website...

Avery Nineteen Belgian-Style Tripel

I ordered a glass of Avery Nineteen Belgian-Style Tripel while at Fat Head’s in Pittsburgh. The beer pours a golden color with a thin bubbly white colored head. The aroma consists of banana, pepper, Belgian yeast, grass, earth, and Belgian spices. The taste is dry, biting, and peppery with a faint banana sweetness in the background. A spicy finish and yeast after taste rounds outs the experience. The alcohol content is 8.2% ABV. This was a great beer and a departure from typical sweet tripels. I enjoyed how spicy and peppery it was rather than banana- and yeast-forward.

Columbus Brewing Bock

As part of a beer trade, I received a bottle of Columbus Brewing Bock The beer pours a dark copper color with a lofty and frothy beige colored head. The aroma consists of sweet caramel, malts, light toasted malts, and grass. The taste is sweet and smooth with plenty of caramel popping out of the beer. There is a hint of pepper and has a nice roasted malt flavor. The finish leaves a little dryness on the mouth and leaves some grass flavors behind. The alcohol content is 7.0% ABV. This was a wonderful full-flavored beer with lots of sweetness, but enough toast to balance the beer perfectly.

Troegs Scratch 71- DMB Wit

I picked up a case of Troegs Scratch 71- DMB Wit. The beer was named to attempt to lure the band to the brewery on a recent concert trip in Hershey. The beer pours a pale yellow color with a frothy white colored head that leaves a little lacing on the glass. The aroma consists of thyme, coriander, lemon, wheat, and pepper. The taste is refreshing and light with a strong lemon presence. Coriander, pepper, and thyme leave a lasting impression on the tongue and provides a wonderful balance to the beer. The alcohol content is 5.2% ABV. This is one of the more refreshing wit beers that I have had, and the best of the three I have had from Troegs. I hope they continue this beer’s production some point in the future, possibly as a summer seasonal.

Brew Kettle Four C's American Pale Ale

I received a bottle of The Brew Kettle Four C’s American Pale Ale from Cleveland Food and Brews in a beer trade. The beer pours a golden color with a frothy white colored head. The aroma consists of lemon, orange, tangerine, pine, spruce, and a light funk. The taste is light bodied with a solid caramel base. Lots of hops provide wonderful balance with orange, lemon, tangerine, and a funky hop flavor. The finish has a pepper and pine accents give a nice spice. The alcohol content is 6.0% ABV. This was a nice American Pale Ale with a very hop forward flavor and just enough base to balance everything.