Abita Andygator

On my recent trip to New Orleans, I ordered a glass of Abita Andygator while at the Abita Brewpub in Abita Springs. The beer pours a golden color with a thin bubbly white colored head. The aroma consists of alcohol, caramel, grass, toffee, and malts. The taste is sweet with an earthy spice, grass, and pepper. Caramel and toffee construct a sweet base, while a slight alcohol burn appears on finish. The alcohol content is 8.0% ABV. This beer was sweet but well balanced overall and had nice alcohol burn on the finish that really tied the beer together.

Selin's Grove Mai Bock

Being that I visited Selin’s Grove Brewery in May, I had to order a glass of the Mai Bock. The beer pours an orange-amber with a thin bubbly white color. The aroma consists of sweet malts, lemon, and tangerine. The taste is sweet and smooth at first with a nice alcohol bite before a bitter lemon finish with some pepper accents kicks in to play. The alcohol content is 6.5% ABV. This was a surprisingly hoppy and dry Mai Bock, but also quite excellent. The caramel backbone is wonderful, which was expected, but the bitterness that is also present gave a new perspective on this style.

Fort Collins Maibock

Before leaving Denver, I picked up a bottle of Fort Collins Maibock and shipped it back to myself for review. The beer pours a caramel color with a bubbly off-white colored head with a light lacing on the glass. The aroma consists of sweet malts, banana, and pepper. The taste has a sweet base before a bite of pepper kicks in on the tongue. There are plenty of sweet caramel malts setting up the base of the beer with hints of pepper and banana. The alcohol content is 6.3% ABV. This was a well put together maibock and is very smooth and sweet with a nice spicy accent. The hints of banana really added to the beer and gave it that nice sweet and fruity twist that the maibock needs.

Summit Maibock

I recently picked up a six-pack of Summit Brewing Company's Maibock. This came at the recommendation of the employee behind the counter at the distributor in New Jersey. With the pour, the beautiful amber color is present, with a light creamy head. The aroma is sweet and malty. The taste follows suit, a little sweet but refreshing. There is a complimentary hop after taste that balances the beer perfectly. The alcohol content is 6.7% ABV. I believe this beer is excellent for sitting outside on the warmer days of spring and summer.

A Night at the Office

I'm in New Jersey for the Nine Inch Nails- Jane's Addiction concert (NIN|JA tour 2009) and we decided to hit Morristown Friday night for some drinks and social situations. We chose to go to The Office, as it has a decent selection of beers on tap and an extensive bottle selection.

The first beer I had was Rammstein Maibock. It has a nice dark amber color. The Maibock taste sweet, with a malty after taste. There is a minor hop bite, but it is very subtle and complimentary. The alcohol content runs between 6-6.5% ABV. I thoroughly enjoy the smoothness of this beer and considered getting a second glass, but there were so many more beers to try.

The second beer I ordered was Southern Tier Mokah. My only complaint is that the bar did not fill the entire glass. This beer was fantastic. It had a wonderful coffee and chocolate aroma. The head was frothy. The beer was very sweet and full of flavor. It almost reminded me of an Arby's Jamocha milkshake. I thoroughly enjoyed the flavor experience of the Mokah and would highly recommend this beer. The alcohol content is 11.0% ABV.

Thirdly, I ordered a pint of Leffe Blond. This beer was very round in its flavor and smooth to drink. The taste had a hint of bananas in it. I thought that it was a little sweet, but all in all it was easy to drink. The alcohol content is 6.6% ABV.

The final beer ordered for the evening was a Samuel Smith's Taddy Porter. [Note: No Samuel Smith's website exists] The chocolate accent in the porter was very noticeable and very appreciated. The beer has the taste of dark chocolate, making this an excellent porter. The beer was a little thick and was somewhat dry, but not to the detriment of the beer. I was very impressed with the Taddy Porter, as I usually am with Samuel Smith's brews. The alcohol content of the beer is 5.0% ABV.