Pizza Boy Brewing Citra Hopgasm

I ordered a glass of Pizza Boy Brewing Citra Hopgasm at Al's of Hampden, a fresh hopped beer. The beer pours a cloudy golden color with a frothy white colored head. The aroma consists of tangerine, orange, grapefruit, candy, pine, and hop funk. The taste is bitter and sweet all at the same time with candy-like backbone. Tangerine, orange, grapefruit, pineapple, and passion fruit all surface with sugar on the finish. The after taste starts with pine before pure hop oil takes over the mouth. The alcohol content is 8.4% ABV. I overly loved the flavors in this beer, especially how candy-like it was. If I had one complaint it would be that the beer was a little light on the carbonation, but that is not enough of a deterrent to keep me from coming back to this beer.

Pizza Boy Brewing Royal Tannin Bomb

I stopped in to Al's of Hampden to try some newly tapped Pizza Boy Brewing beers, the first of which was the Royal Tannin Bomb, a blueberry sour. The beer pours a rose color with a light bubbly white colored head. The aroma consists of blueberry, vinegar, and horse blanket. The taste is tart, full of blueberry, and has a solid wheat base,.Hints of lemon peek through with vinegar tagging along, and a dry finish that is fruity and fresh. The alcohol content is 4.5% ABV. The Royal Tanning Bomb was a wonderfully tart beer that left a bitter flavor on the tongue, but it had just enough blueberry sweetness to balance everything nicely.

Elevation Beer Company Prostator Smoked Doppelbock

With the September shipment from the Michael Jackson Rare Beer of the Month Club, I received a bottle of the Elevation Beer Company Prostator Smoked Doppelbock that benefits Pints for Prostates. The beer pours a dark brown color with a foamy cream colored head that leaves a thin lacing on the glass. The aroma consists of smoke, barbecue, raisin, caramel, and malts. The taste is smoky and smooth at the same time which is remarkable. There is some raisin, malts, and caramel flavors that make up the base before a wonderful smoke content comes into play and dry out the flavor. It brings along with it some barbecue flavors and charred coals. The alcohol content is 7.5% ABV. I really liked the smoke addition to a strong a chewy beer style that really balances out the beer very well.

Horseheads Brewing Black Horse Ale

On my trip to the Finger Lakes, I picked up a bottle of Horseheads Brewing Black Horse Ale. The beer pours a black color with a very lofty and frothy beige colored that leaves a moderate lacing on the glass on its way down. The aroma consists of fresh piney hops, lemon, chocolate, spruce, and caramel. The taste is dry and bitter with a fresh hop profile on the front end. Lots of lemon, pine, and spruce hit the tongue before a large toasted malt and dark chocolate flavors take over the mouth. The finish has some pepper spices and a caramel sweetness with a very dry after taste. The alcohol content is 7.4% ABV. I really enjoyed this American Black Ale, as it had a great hop bitterness and a solid backing. It really left a bitter flavor lingering on the tongue making me want to drink more.

Full Pint Night of the Living Stout

The final beer I had a Fat Head's in Pittsburgh on a recent trip was Full Pint Night of the Living Stout. The beer pours a black color a thin brown colored head. The aroma consists of chocolate, vanilla, milk, caramel, and toasted malts. The taste is dry and chocolaty with a big toasted malt profile. Milk, caramel, and vanilla come out on the finish to mellow it out and the flavors remain on the tongue for some time. The alcohol content is 7.1% ABV. What a night cap this beer was! If you love bold chocolaty stouts, this is the beer for you (as it was me). All in all, another winner from Full Pint!

Fat Head's Spooky Tooth Imperial Pumpkin Ale

I ordered a glass of Fat Head's Spooky Tooth Imperial Pumpkin Ale while at Fat Heads in Pittsburgh. The beer pours a dark amber color with a thin bubbly white colored head. The aroma consists of cinnamon, pumpkin, and nutmeg. The taste is dry with cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, ginger, and pie crust. The finish has slight peppery spice with a brown sugar after taste and a lingering pumpkin flavor that also gives it a creamy mouth feel. The alcohol content is 8.7% ABV. Fat Heads has provided a rather delicious pumpkin beer and while I wouldn't say it's the best one on the market, it's worth getting again if you find yourself in the restaurant.

Fat Head's Hop Stalker Wet Hop IPA

While in Pittsburgh for business, I went to Fat Head's for dinner and ordered a glass of Hop Stalker Wet Hop IPA. The pours an amber color a frothy white colored head. The aroma consists of lemon, tangerine, orange, hop oil, and caramel. The taste is fresh and dry with lots of hop oils, tangerine, orange, lemon, and grapefruit. Pine and spruce come out on the finish with lots of pepper bite. The alcohol content is 7.1% ABV. I loved the hop content of this beer and freshness of it. If I had one complaint, it would be that the body may have been a little light and didn't help balance the hops.

Troegs Scratch 77- Rye IPA

As per usual when a Troegs scratch beer is release, I show up to the tasting room to try it. This time it was Scratch 77, a Rye IPA. The beer pours a cloudy orange-amber color with a frothy cream colored head that leaves plenty of lacing on the glass. The aroma consists of hop spice, rye, lemon, and orange. The taste is dry and spicy with solid citrus background including orange and lemon. A solid rye presence on the finish makes the beer announce itself. The alcohol content is 6.3% ABV. I would be happy with this beer being served at my wedding, as it was brewed for one of the employee's weddings. The spiciness blended very well with citrus flavors and it had a solid backbone to carry the flavor through the experience.

Foothills Bourbon Barrel Aged People's Porter

I picked up a bottle of Foothills Bourbon Barrel Aged People's Porter from the brewery in Winston-Salem, NC, and opened it to share with friends. The beer pours a black color with a bubbly tan colored head. The aroma consists of vanilla, bourbon, oak, chocolate, and coffee. The taste is dry and full of bourbon, oak, coffee, dark chocolate. The finish brings out a light vanilla sweetness and a recurrence of bourbon. The alcohol content is 6.0% ABV. A wonderfully aged beer with plenty of body, flavor, and a solid base. I did pick up a second bottle to see how age will treat this beer, and I assume it will do it no harm.

Duclaw 31 Double Spiced Ale

I picked up a bottle of Duclaw 31 Double Spiced Ale from Honeygo Wines & Liquors in Maryland and decided to share it with friends. The beer pours a brown color with a bubbly off-white colored head. The aroma consists of orange peel, nutmeg, allspice, and caramel. The taste is gingerbread, pumpkin, allspice, cinnamon, nutmeg, and caramel. The finish is lightly dry and spiced, but very smooth. The alcohol content is 5.1% ABV. The 31 Double Spice Ale was another great offering from Duclaw, as they are one of the brighter stars of new breweries. It certainly holds its own against the competition of pumpkin beers.

De Proef Brouwerij Zoetzuur

My buddy Matt brought over a bottle to share of De Proef Brouwerij Zoetzuur while I was brewing. The beer pours an amber color with a bubbly white colored head. The aroma consists of cherry, strawberry, vinegar, sourness, and sugary crust. The taste is lightly sour with vinegar, cherry, raspberry, and strawberry. A light crusty finish comes out with a dry after taste. The alcohol content is 7.0% ABV. The light tartness to this made it very enjoyable with a cherry dessert-like experience. I would get another bottle of this beer if I ever saw it again.

Brauerei Hofstetten Hofstettner Heller Bock Saphir

At Discount Wines & Liquors in Booon, NJ, I picked up a bottle of Brauerei Hofstetten Hofstettner Heller Bock Saphir. The beer pours a golden color that looks solid with some floatables and a light bubbly white head. The aroma consists of lemon, grass, wheat, and hay. The taste is light and refreshing with some lemon on the front end. A hint of pepper and hay comes out on the finish with some earthiness about it. The alcohol content is 7.4% ABV. This beer had a meringue mouth feel with a good overall spiciness about it, focusing heavily on the lemon. It was refreshing and definitely a beer I'd come back to in the future.

Big Muddy Brewing Saluki Dunkeldog

I picked up a bottle of Big Muddy Brewing Saluki Dunkeldog from Discount Wines & Liquors in Boonton, NJ. The beer pours an orange-amber color with a frothy cream colored head. The aroma consists of caramel, chocolate, toffee, and grass. The taste is big on toasted malts, and nice roasty flavor, caramel, toffee, and pepper. There is a dry and grassy finish with some burnt crust in the background. The alcohol content is 5.4% ABV. I thought there was a nice roasted flavor to this beer with a bit of burnt bread flavor in the background. Overall, I would come back to this beer.

Meantime Coffee Porter

At Discount Wines & Liquors in Boonton, I picked up a bottle of Meantime Coffee Porter. The beer pours dark brown color with a frothy tan colored head. The aroma consists of strong dark coffee, chocolate, vanilla, and caramel. The taste is bold with fresh roasted coffee that takes over the mouth. Hints of dark chocolate, toasted malts, and vanilla make up the finish, with a dryness lingering behind. The alcohol content is 6.0% ABV. I enjoyed the amount of coffee added to this beer with a solid base that allowed the flavors to carry through the experience.