Birra del Borgo Duchessic Ale Lambic

I picked up a bottle of Birra del Borgo Duchessic Ale Lambic from Discount Wines and Liquors in Boonton, CO.  The beer pours a golden color with a frothy white colored head that leaves specks on the glass. The aroma consists of vinegar, barnyard funk, hay, grass, and horse blanket. The taste is light and refreshing with lemon, vinegar, wheat, hay, and grass. The finish is light and peppery. The alcohol content is 5.9% ABV. Despite the largely funky nose, this beer was rather easy to drink and quite enjoyable.

Pizza Boy Brewing Holy F-

I stopped in to Al’s of Hampden to try a glass of Pizza Boy Brewing Holy F-, Terry Hawbaker’s first beer for the brewery. Holy F- is an American Wheat beer brewed using no hops in the kettle, only whole leaf Columbus hops in the whirlpool. It comes in at 77 IBUs, which is amazing to me. The beer pours a golden color with a frothy white colored head. The aroma consists of lemon, tangerine, orange, and caramel. The taste is light and focuses on wheat at first before pepper, lemon, earth, and funk accent the beer, all leading to a bitter finish. The alcohol content is 5% ABV. For not having any hops added in the boil, this sure is a bitter beer, but it absolutely is easy drinking and quite refreshing.

Adroit Theory Brewing Company B/A/Y/S Imperial Stout

Another bottle I was given by the brewer from Mud Hound was Adroit Theory Brewing Company B/A/Y/S Imperial Stout, his other brewing project. The beer pours a black color with a lofty and frothy tan colored head. The aroma consists of strong toasted malts and plenty of caramel. There are also hints of vanilla, milk, and dark chocolate. The taste is bold and very strong with plenty of toasted malts and dark chocolate. A milky finish with a caramel sweetness and a touch of vanilla really balance the toasted flavor and make it quite a tasty beer. The alcohol content is 9.1% ABV. This was a wonderful Imperial Stout with a great bitter toasted malt flavor that was well balanced with chocolate, milk, and a cornucopia of caramel.

Mud Hound Brewing Company Barrel Aged Oatmeal Stout

I was given a bottle of Mud Hound Brewing Company Barrel Aged Oatmeal Stout by one of the brewers . The beer pours a black color with a very lofty and frothy tan colored head that leaves specks of lacing on the glass as it subsides. The aroma consists of oat, milk, toasted malts, oak, whiskey, rye, vanilla, and lots of caramel. The taste is dry but smooth and has milk, cherry, chocolate, vanilla, and toasted malt flavors on the front end. It dries out even further on the finish with whiskey, rye, and oak. The alcohol content is 6.5% ABV. This beer played very nicely balancing the smooth and sweet flavors with the dry and oaky flavors, all combining to make a rather complex and enjoyable beer.

8 Wired Fresh Hopwired IPA

I picked up a bottle of 8 Wired Fresh Hopwired IPA from Discount Wines and Liquors in Boonton, NJ. The beer pour an amber color with a frothy white colored head that leaves specks of lacing on the glass. The aroma consists of lemon, pine, spruce, passion fruit, caramel, and pineapple. The taste is passion fruit and pineapple forward with a solid caramel base. There is a dry pepper and spruce finish the slight hints of orange and tangerine. The alcohol content is 7.3% ABV. This beer had a solid and sweet caramel base with fresh and bitter hops that gave some great fruit flavors.

Long Trail Brewmaster Series Imperial Pumpkin

I picked up a bottle of Long Trail Brewmaster Series Imperial Pumpkin at Discount Wine and Liquor in Boonton, NJ. The beer pours an orange-tinted amber color with a bubbly white colored head that leaves specks of lacing on the glass. The aroma consists of nutmeg, cinnamon, allspice, and pumpkin. The taste is sweet at first with pumpkin and caramel before the spices of cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice settle in. This beer isn’t overly spiced which is great but provided plenty of balance. The alcohol content is 8.0% ABV. This was a rather nice pumpkin beer with just the right amount of sweetness and perfect balance of spices.

Fabrica della Birra Tenute Collesi Nera Imper Ale

My buddy Matt brought over a bottle of Fabrica della Birra Tenute Collesi Nera Imper Ale. The beer pours a brown color with a frothy off-white colored head. The aroma consists of caramel, toffee, and grass. The taste is strong with caramel, toasted toffee, and malts. There is a dry and grassy finish with light hints of pepper. The alcohol content is 8.0% ABV. This was a nice and solid beer with great caramel flavors and dry offsetting hop flavors.

Cascade Brewing Apricot Ale

I ordered a bottle Cascade Brewing Apricot Ale from their online website and shared with friends. The beer pours a golden color with a bubbly white colored head. The aroma consists of apricot, vinegar, tartness, wheat, and oak. The taste is tart and vinegary with a great apricot flavor that is strong and lasts throughout the taste. The finish is dry with oak and another round of tartness. The alcohol content is 7.76% ABV. This was a wonderful sour beer with a great and powerful apricot flavor. I would absolutely order another bottle of this and recommend that you do as well.

Sierra Nevada-Russian River Brux

My buddy Matt brought over a bottle of the Sierra Nevada-Russian River collaboration Brux. The beer pours a golden color with a thin filmy white colored head. The aroma consists of banana, clove, grass, pepper, and brett. The taste is light bodied and grassy with a strong pepper presence. There is a light brett funk with some hay and barnyard flavor. The base is built upon a caramel flavor that is light and not overpowering. The alcohol content is 8.3% ABV. If you are expecting a big time sour beer, this will not deliver. It has a nice funky flavor with a solid base and was quite delicious.

The Bruery Fruet

My buddies Adam, Matt, and I decided to split a bottle The Bruery Fruet. The beer pours a brown color with a bubbly cream colored head that fades pretty quickly. The aroma consists of caramel, bourbon, oak, vanilla, toffee, and raisin. The taste is smooth with caramel, raisin, and toffee on the front end before a nice bourbon flavor hits the tongue and warms the throat. There are oak and vanilla appearances as well. The after taste leaves some oak linger behind with some pepper spices as well. The alcohol content is 15.5% ABV. This was a wonderful beer that hit so many flavors on the tongue. The sweetness was spot on with raisin, toffee, and caramel, but completely balanced with bourbon, vanilla, and oak.

Millbock Hop Slobber Double IPA

I went to the Warwick Hotel in Hummelstown for the release of Millbock Hop Slobber Double IPA. The beer pours an amber color with a thin bubbly white colored head. The aroma consists of tangerine, lemon, pine, orange, spruce, and caramel. The taste is bitter and first with a nice mix of sweet caramel. Tangerine, orange, lemon, and grapefruit all make quick appearances before a pine, spruce, and pepper finish. There is an alcohol burn after taste. The alcohol content is 9.8% ABV. I enjoyed this Double IPA. It wasn’t a complete hop bomb, but it care to balance the sweetness and bitterness throughout the experience and was easily drinkable.

Samuel Adams Fat Jack Double Pumpkin Ale

I picked up a bottle of Samuel Adams Fat Jack Double Pumpkin Ale from Al’s of Hampden. The beer pours a brown color with a lofty and frothy cream colored head. The aroma consists of strong nutmeg, allspice, and cinnamon with a backbone of caramel and pumpkin. The taste is spicy with nutmeg and allspice right up front with hints of cinnamon and toasted malts. A ginger bite really kicks this beer into high gear. Pumpkin sweetens up the finish with some caramel. The alcohol content is 8.5% ABV. I can’t say this was one of my favorite pumpkin beers, but it was better than the ones that are all about the spices. This at least has a solid base with a variety of flavors, and the ginger spiced it up nicely.