Abita 25th Anniversary Vanilla Double Dog

I picked up a bottle of Abita 25th Anniversary Vanilla Double Dog from Al’s of Hampden. The beer pours a dark brown color with a lofty and frothy beige-colored head that leaves some lacing on the glass. The aroma consists of dry roasted malts, chocolate, vanilla, and caramel. The taste is smooth and dry with plenty of roasted malts up front. There are coffee, chocolate, and vanilla accents with a caramel finish. The after taste leaves some dry grassy hops and brings back a toast flavor. The alcohol content is 7.0% ABV. If I had one criticism of this beer, it would be that it is too heavily carbed. The mouth feel is a little too bubbly and gets in the way of fully enjoying the great flavors in the beer, although they still are very well detectable. Overall, I liked the beer and would get a bottle of it again.

Weeping Radish IPA 25

As part of the sampler pack, my buddy Jeff brought me back a bottle of Weeping Radish IPA 25. The beer pours a golden color with a frothy white head that leaves some lacing on the glass. The aroma consists of lemon, orange, grass, pine, and a hint of caramel. The taste is big on lemon flavor with a slight pucker built upon a slight caramel base. The focus quickly shifts to the dry, but clean, hop finish that has lots of grass flavors. In the background, there is a hint of pine. The alcohol content is 6.5% ABV. This was a refreshing beer with plenty of lemon and orange citrus flavors that I enjoyed very much, and also liked the dry grassy finish.

Alaskan Perserverance

On tap at Freshcraft during Great American Beer Fest was Alaskan Perseverance, the 25th Anniversary beer, and I did not hesitate to order a glass. The beer pours a black color with a very lofty and foamy tan head. The aroma consisted of smoke, chocolate, toasted malts, vanilla, and oak. The taste is dry and silky smooth because of milk chocolate and the amount of smoke entrapped in this beer. Toasted malts also provide some dryness as well as a hint of caramel. The finish has warming alcohol bite before being smoothed out with some vanilla. The after taste is all about the oak flavor that again is dry. The alcohol content is 9.0% ABV. The Perseverance was a wonderful beer that was very dry and smoky, two things that I definitely enjoy in a beer.

Penn Brewery 25th Anniversary Imperial Pilsner

I went to Bocktown in Pittsburgh for lunch and I noticed they had the Penn Brewery 25th Anniversary Imperial Pilsner on tap, so I jumped at the chance to try it. The beer pours a golden color with a foamy white head. The aroma consists of caramel and lemon, but is somewhat faint. The taste is bitter with lemon and peppery hops on the front end with a caramel and toffee base. There is a dry grassy finish, with a lingering dryness. The alcohol content is not available online, but I would guess it to be approximately 7.5% ABV. This was a great beer that is refreshing and really builds on the Penn Pilsner that has been a staple in my Pittsburgh drinking experiences.