Samuel Smith Yorkshire Stingo

My buddy Matt brought a bottle of Samuel Smith Yorkshire Stingo over to my house to share. The beer pours a caramel color with a thin filmy off-white colored head. The aroma consists of oak, caramel, raisin, pepper, and fig. The taste is sweet and smooth with a bit of a carbonation bite to it. The sweetness contains some raisin, fig, and caramel. There is a dry oaky finish that is really complimentary of the entire beer. The alcohol content is 8.0% ABV. This beer was greatly helped by the oak accents, as otherwise I would have thought it to be too sweet. However, it was nicely balanced and very well done that left a great flavor in the mouth.

Samuel Smith Winter Welcome Ale

McGrath's recently received Samuel Smith Winter Welcome Ale. I have previously had this beer but have not provided a review of it. The beer has a copper color with a light head. The smell is light and malty. The taste is sweet and malty with nice spice accent with a nice and easy dry hop finish. The alcohol content is 6.0% ABV. I thought that this was an excellent beer and can really warm you up on a cold winter's night. I really like all of the Samuel Smith beers that I have had, and this one was no different.

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.