Troegs Scratch 67- Brotherly Suds #3

Troegs recently tapped their Philly Beer Week 2012 collaboration Brotherly Suds #3, so I stopped in to give it a taste. The beer is a Vienna Lager and was brewed with brewers from Iron Hill, Sly Fox, Stoudt’s, Yards, and Victory. The beer pours an amber color with a frothy white head that leaves a little lacing on the glass. The aroma consists of caramel, lemon, and grass. The taste is smooth and sweet with caramel before a delicately balanced bitterness comes into play. Lemon, grass, and pepper all come out and dry the finish, leaving a light residual film on the tongue. The alcohol content is 5.2% ABV. This was a well done beer that had a nice balance of flavors, with none overpowering the others. It was refreshing and easy to drink, which is perfect for the summertime.

Sly Fox Ichor Abbey Style Quad

I received a bottle of Sly Fox Ichor Abbey Style Quad from the Michael Jackson Rare Beer of the Month Club, even though Sly Fox is not that far away from me and I hadn’t picked up a bottle of it previously. The beer pours a murky dark brown color with a lofty and foamy tan head that leaves a small trace of lacing on the glass. The aroma consists of raisin, chocolate, fig, sweet malts, and toffee. The taste is smooth and sweet with plenty of caramel and raisin flavor malts up front. Hints of chocolate and toffee peek through before the carbonation settles in and brings some grassy and earthy hops with it. The alcohol content is 10.0% ABV. This was quite an enjoyable quadruple, and I’d say it ranks up there with some of the finer Belgian quads. It had a great smoothness with just a touch of chocolate.

Sly Fox Odyssey

On the cellar bottle list of Harris Grill in Pittsburgh, they had the Sly Fox Odyssey and I decided to order a bottle. The beer pours a caramel color with a bubbly off-white colored head. The aroma consists of pine, lemon, caramel, and pepper. The taste is both bitter and sweet, starting off with toasted caramel, lemon, and pine. The finish dries the mouth with pepper and the after taste leaves some apricot to pair with extreme bitterness. The alcohol content is 8.4% ABV. The nice addition of apricot on the finish to sweeten everything out made this beer, as it complimented the citrus bitterness very well.

Sly Fox-De Proef Brouwerij Broederlijke Liefde

My buddy Matt brought over a bottle of the Sly Fox-De Proef Brouwerij collaboration Broederlijke Liefde (Brotherly Love), the beer brewed for Philly Beer Week. The beer pours an orange-tinted golden color with a lofty and frothy white head. The aroma consists of pepper, lemon, orange, yeast, funk, and vinegar. The taste is smooth and sweet with lemon, yeast, orange, yeast, biscuit flavors on the front end. The finish bring out a slight sour tinge and dry peppery flavors with an earthy hop accent coming alive in the after taste. The alcohol content is 8.0% ABV, very high for a saison. This was a wonderful saison with great earthy and citrus notes, all while packing a nice alcohol punch. As far as collaboration beers, this is one of the better that have been made.

TJ's 7th Anniversary Ale

One of the highlight beers at TJ's 7th Anniversary Party was a beer brewed for them by Sly Fox called 7th Anniversary Ale, a British Pale Ale. The beer pours a golden color with a foamy white head. The aroma is lightly hoppy with some wheat mixed in there, but is not very powerful. The taste has a lot of pale ale malts that are lightly toasted and a good, fresh, bitter hop bite. The alcohol content is 5.4% ABV. Overall, the 7th Anniversary Ale was very delicious and refreshing, and at 5.4% is was the most sessionable beer on the menu.

Sly Fox Royal Weiss Ale

I picked up a case of cans of Sly Fox Royal Weiss Ale prior to going to Ocean City for vacation. The beer pours an orange-amber color with a lofty bubbly white head. The aroma consists of hints of banana and spices. The taste is smooth at first with bits of orange, coriander, pepper, and spices. The alcohol content is 5.6% ABV. The Royal Weiss Ale is a smooth and very enjoyable beer that pairs well with the summer. I highly suggest getting this beer and enjoying it outside, or on the beach as the cans make it safe to bring anywhere and easy to pack.

Sly Fox Route 113 India Pale Ale

I picked up a bottle of Sly Fox Route 113 India Pale Ale when I was last in New Jersey. The beer pours a brilliant amber color with a lofty and foamy white head. The aroma consists of caramel and toffee with a light hop hint. The taste is sweet and malty with a bit of caramel and toffee. The hops hit on the back of the tongue on the finish and a slight sourness to it. There is a faint lemon and grapefruit citrus, but not as prevalent as in some IPAs. Due to the hops, it has a slight dryness to it. The alcohol content is 7.0% ABV. While not as overly hoppy and and citrusy as a lot of IPA, Sly Fox's Route 113 IPA is was quite delicious and very well done. I highly recommend this beer, especially to a new enthusiast who may not like a ton of hops.

Sly Fox Christmas Ale

McGrath's recently added Sly Fox Christmas Ale to their draft lineup and I ordered a glass. The beer is a dark amber color with a light foamy head. The smell is malty with cinnamon and nutmeg liners. The taste is mostly cinnamon with slight spice hints, comprising of nutmeg and allspice. Underneath hints of cherry and chocolate peek through the spices. The alcohol content is 6.5% ABV. Sly Fox has provided a Christmas beer that was not overdone and overall very good. The many flavors made for a very enjoyable experience and they are nicely balanced with each other.

Sly Fox O'Reilly Irish Stout

I noticed that McGrath's had Sly Fox O'Reilly Irish Stout on draft and I ordered a glass. The beer is a dark brown color with a tan head. The smell is slightly nutty with a hint of chocolate. The taste is smooth and consists of milk and creamy flavors. Overall, I thought it was a little sweeter than Guinness. The alcohol content is 3.6% ABV. While I liked this beer, I think it is not quite as good as Guinness. It is a very close race, but Guinness is slightly better.