Stoudt's Heifer-in-Wheat

I recently read in All About Beer magazine about Stoudt's Heifer-in-Wheat and was very intrigued. The beer consists of 50% malted barley and 50% malted wheat, making a hybrid heiferweizen and wheat beer. The beer pours an opaque orange, hinting at both types of beer included in this brew. It has a fresh and slightly citrus-like aroma, making it very enticing. The taste is extremely smooth, with hints of citrus, and a very clean and refreshing finish. The alcohol content is 5.0% ABV. This beer is very enjoyable and I highly recommend picking up a case. I wasn't sure exactly what to expect with the beer, but the Heifer-in-Wheat came out totally satisfying. I think this is a beer that can be enjoyed by people of all types, even those light beer drinkers.

Civil Disobedience

In a new segment that I am going to try, I am going to upload random funny photos that I have. These updates will only occur when I find a funny situation. I have a backlog of a few, so that shold get things started.

For the first entry, I will title this picture "Civil Disobedience."

After Midnight Project- Take Me Home

I have been listening to the two EPs from After Midnight Project for about a month now, and I feel it's time you are aware of them. I totally dig these guys and they will be on the Warped Tour this summer. Their first full-length LP titled Let's Build Something to Break will hit stores on August 11, 2009 and I am highly anticipating it. Let me know what you think.

Dogfish Head Alehouse, Gaithersburg, MD

While on the way to see the Harrisburg City Islanders take on DC United at the Maryland Soccer Plex, my boy Matt and I dropped by the Dogfish Head Alehouse in Gaithersburg, MD. I've been to the Alehouse in Rehoboth, but not to the one in Gaithersburg. I tried two new beers from Dogfish Head that I had not previously tried.

The first new beer I tried is the Sah'tea. I hadn't heard much about the beer, but the description intrigued me since the beer has ginger, black tea, and cinnamon. It pours a gold color with a spicy aroma. The taste is sweet and caramel-like at first, with a spicy finish. The alcohol content is 9.0% ABV. I thought this was an excellent beer and reminds me of winter brews with ginger, but of a much lighter body. I highly recommend trying the Sah'tea, and I plan on getting some more.

The second beer I tried was the Aprihop. I have been intrigued by the beer, but did not want to buy a whole case without trying it first. The beer pours a dark amber. There was not much of an aroma, but a slight sweetness was detectable. The Aprihop has a sweet taste with a slightly tart and dry after taste. There is a minimal hop undertone, which is very enjoyable. The alcohol content is 7.0% ABV. I didn't have high expectations for the Aprihop, and it by far succeeded.

Rogue Imperial Red Ale

The final beer I have to review from my Fourth of July drinking festivities is the Rogue Imperial Red Ale. The beer pour a dark brown with a hint of red. The aroma is filled with hops and is very floral. The taste was sweet at first, but had a very hoppy after taste. The alcohol content is 9.0% ABV. Overall, I wasn't too into this beer due to the amount of hops included, but it was a drinkable beer that was slightly enjoyable. I recommend starting the day with this beer rather than trying to drink it later in the day after a few other beers.

Left Hand Rye Bock Lager

My friends and I opened a bottle of Left Hand Rye Bock Lager to share. The beer pours a dark amber. The aroma is very sweet with a sharpness to it. The taste of the Rye Bock Lager was sweet with a nice spice undertone, coming from the rye. The alcohol content is 7.6% ABV. The Rye Bock Lager is brewed in the style of a Dopplebock and I thought it was an excellent beer. I will definitely try this one again.

River Horse Summer Blonde Ale

Continuing the Fourth of July drinking, I tried a glass of River Horse Summer Blonde Ale. This summer seasonal is light and opaque in color, with a warm citrus aroma. I thought the taste was sweet with a decent hint of citrus. The after taste was very clean and fresh. The alcohol content is 4.0% ABV. This is a very nice summer beer, especially with burgers on the grill. I recommend trying this one this summer if you get the chance.

River Horse Double Wit

Another beer I tried during my holiday festivities was the River Horse Double Wit. The beer pours a white opaque color with a sweet citrus aroma. The taste had a significant amount of citrus flavor that was very sweet. I thought the beer had a nice hop bite in the after taste, complimenting the entire experience. The alcohol content is 7.0% ABV. I thoroughly enjoyed the Double Wit and plan on drinking more in the future.

River Horse Special Ale

At the holiday picnic, I opened a bottle of River Horse Special Ale. The special ale is an Extra Special Bitter, or ESB. I'm not always a fan of ESBs, but I thought I would give it a chance. The beer pours an opaque dark amber without much aroma. I thought it had a very clean taste but the only flavor I could come up with is the malt, and there wasn't any flavor accents. However, the beer was very smooth and refreshing. The alcohol content is 4.5% ABV.

Gruut Belgium Amber Ale

I tried a bottle of Gruut Belgium Amber Ale at the cookout. The beer pours a nice dark amber and has a spicy and strong aroma. Initially, it has a malty and smooth taste, but the after taste is lacking something. It seemed empty and unsatisfying. The alcohol content is 6.6% ABV. Overall, I thought this was an ok beer, but not really worth another purchase.

Ellicottville Blue Berry

As part of the Fourth of July weekend festivities, I attended a cookout with a bunch of friends in New Jersey. The best part about the cookout was the selection of craft beers that my friends picked up for the holiday. The first beer I tried was the Blue Berry from Ellicottville Brewing Company. The beer is very light in color and had a slightly sweet aroma, but there was not too much to the aroma. The taste was very crisp and clean with a subtle hint of blueberry. The alcohol content is 4.2% ABV, which I feel is pretty low for a fruit beer. I don't think there are a lot of blueberries used in the brewing, which is why the beer only has a subtle hint of blueberries and does not have high alcohol content. However, it is a very refreshing beer and a great way to kick off a cookout.

Troegs Hopback Amber Cask Ale

While at Troegs yesterday, the employees opened up a keg of a special brew. This was a special run and an experiement, but they took a keg's worth of Hopback Amber Ale and conditioned it in a cask prior to putting it in a keg for serving. The result was miraculous. The aroma mostly comprised of the Hopback with a floral scent, but there was a hint of oak. I felt that the conditioning in the cask really rounded out the flavor and smoothed the hop bite. The beer took on a different character all together. I would assume the stats are the same as the Hopback, which has an alcohol content of 6% ABV. I would really like for Troegs to try this again, as I thoroughly enjoyed this special brew.

Troegs Scratch 20- Apollo Imperial Ale

I went to Troegs yesterday for happy hour and decided to try Scratch #20- Apollo Imperial Ale. Troegs brewed this batch for The Drafting Room as their Anniversary Ale for 2009. It pours a dark amber color and has a sweet floral aroma. The scratch has a malty taste with a crisp hop bite in the after taste. It was noted by my coworker Ben that it is almost creamy in taste. The alcohol content is 7% ABV and the it's bitterness is 115 IBUs, making it a little on the hoppy side, but it was still a very enjoyable beer. I took home a growler of the beer.

Ithaca Partly Sunny

The final brew I have in my Ithaca sampler pack is Partly Sunny. The beer has a light amber color that is semi-transparent. Its smells of lemon with a hint of spice. The Partly Sunny tastes sweet and creamy at first, but a slightly sour after taste, coming from the lemon addition to the beer. The spices in the beer are very subtle and compliment the beer nicely. There is not any hint of hops with this beer. The alcohol content is 5.0% ABV. Overall, this is a decent beer for the warmer months.

Ithaca Pils

Continuing with my Ithaca sampler pack after vacation, I opened a bottle of the Pils. It has a very nice medium amber color and a nice floral aroma. The taste is fresh and smooth at first, with a slight hoppy finish. It is a refreshing summer time beer and I enjoyed it thoroughly. The alcohol content is 5.5%. Just be careful taking this one out of the fridge as it likes to explode out of the bottle.