Saranac Maple Porter

The second beer I tried out of the “12 Beers of Winter” sampler pack from Saranac was the Maple Porter. The beer is dark brown in color with a light foamy head, The smell is sweet with maple accents. The taste is nutty and has hints of toasted malts, finishing sweet and sugary. There is a very slight maple accent in the taste and a toffee undertone. The alcohol content is 5.3% ABV. I thought this was an interesting take on the porter. The maple ingredient smooths out the toasted edges in the porter and makes this a complex beer.

Saranac Belgian Ale

I picked up the “12 Beers of Winter” sampler pack from Saranac. The first beer I grabbed out of the case was the Belgian Ale. The beer has a golden amber color with red hints and a light frothy head. It smells sweet, malty and peppery. The taste is dry and sweet with a pepper undertone. There is an accent of citrus and raisin as well. The alcohol content is 5.9% ABV. I thought that it was not a bad Belgian style and it leaves a spicy film on the back of the mouth. and I thought that this is an easy drinking beer.

Michelob Jack's Pumpkin Spice Ale

At a bar in Philadelphia I noticed they had Michelob Jack's Pumpkin Spice in bottles, so I ordered one. It turned out to be the last bottle since Halloween was already over. The beer has an orange amber color with minimal head. There was a slight pumpkin aroma. It has a cinnamon and nutmeg taste with a light pumpkin accent. The alcohol content is 5.5% ABV. I thought that Jack's Pumpkin Spice Ale had a decent taste and all of the flavors were balanced. Not one of the flavors stood out, but this was an enjoyable beer.

Victory Vakima Twilight

While out in Philadelphia, I happened upon Victory Yakima Twilight Ale on draft. The beer is dark amber in color with a lofty foamy head. It has a peppery and floral aroma. The taste is sweet and smooth with a crisp hop finish. The alcohol content is 8.7% ABV. I thought that the Yakima Twilight Ale had a great taste and the balance of crisp hops and sweet malts made drinking this beer a very enjoyable experience.

Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA

My taste buds have been evolving and I never used to like IPAs. Recently, I have been enjoying beers with higher hop content, so I decided to give Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA a try since it was on draft at McGrath's. The beer has a copper color with a light foamy head. The smell consists of lemon with a hint of pepper and flowers. The taste is sweet and lemony with a light hop bite. It is very smooth drinking with a round flavor. The alcohol content is 9.0% ABV. I asked myself why I ignored this beer for so long when I had heard many good things about it. I feared it as an IPA originally, but I am very happy that I decided to try it. I thought that this was a very solid beer, easy to drink, and full of flavor. This is definitely a recommended beer and I will order it again and again.

Weyerbacher Winter Ale

McGrath's in Harrisburg recently tapped a keg of Weyerbacher Winter Ale. The beer is a dark amber color with no head. The beer smells malty and spicy, hints of toasted malts also linger. The taste is comprised mostly of toasted malts with slight spice accent. There is a slight hop bite and the beer finishes slightly dry. The alcohol content is 5.6% ABV. I thought that the Winter Ale was very tasty, and I like the toasted malt flavor with the slight hop bite.

Magic Hat #9

The final beer I had in the Merry Winter Sampler from Magic Hat is #9. This is a pretty common beer and I've had it before, but have not provided tasting notes for it. It has a light gold color with a lofty frothy head. The smell is lightly floral, but not overpowering. The taste is smooth and light with a slight hop flavor. It also has a slight cream roundness to the taste. The alcohol content is 4.6% ABV. I thought that #9 is a decent flavored beer, very smooth drinking, and leaves you satisfied. It is no wonder why the beer is so popular.

Magic Hat Odd Notion Winter 09

Another beer in the Merry Winter Sampler is the Magic Hat Odd Notion Winter '09. Magic Hat makes an Odd Notion beer for every season of every year. This version is a reddish amber color with a light head. It smells malty with hints of raspberry. The taste mostly focuses on sour fruits, and I am picking up apple and raspberry. The alcohol content is 4.5% ABV. There is not much carbonation, and the beer is light flavored. The sourness is prevalent, and I thought this was an interesting mix for a winter beer. I think the taste came around the more I drank it and I really liked it by the end of the glass.

Magic Hat Lucky Kat

As part of the Merry Winter Sampler, I tried the Magic Hat Lucky Kat. The beer is a dark golden color with a light frothy head. It smells floral and peppery. The taste is mostly hops, with slight lemon accent and malty sweetness. It dries the tongue due to the hop content. The alcohol content is 5.8% ABV. I thought this was a decent IPA and it was very smooth drinking. The hop accent was somewhat subtle, but not too faint.

Magic Hat Howl

I picked up the Merry Winter Sampler from Magic Hat. The first beer I tried was Howl, the new winter seasonal from Magic Hat. The beer is a dark brown opaque color with a lofty tan head. It smells of toasted malts with hints of chocolate. The taste is a little nutty and dry from a chocolate undertone. It has a very light hop bite. The alcohol content is 4.6% ABV. While I was disappointed in the alcohol content for a winter beer, I thought that the taste and balance was excellent. The beer is smooth drinking and leaves a very good aftertaste in your mouth.

Appalachian Brewing Company Coconut Porter

Appalachian Brewing Company in Camp Hill brewed up a batch of Coconut Porter so I dropped in to give it a try. The beer is dark brown with little head. It has a light malt aroma. The taste is nutty and has an undertone of toasted malts. It is very light on the coconut taste, but the coconut does sweeten the beer. The alcohol content is not available on the website, but I would estimate that it is about 6.0% ABV. I thought that this porter was very tasty, but I had higher expectations for the coconut taste.

Appalachian Brewing Company Traditional Bock

When I was at Appalachian Brewing Company, they had a special home brew called the Traditional Bock. The beer is red-amber color with a foamy head. The smell is floral and fresh. The taste is sweet and malty with citrus tones. The beer finishes with a floral hop bite. The alcohol content is not posted on the website, but I would guess that it is around 7% ABV. I really liked this bock as it has a slight tartness with grapefruit accent. Most bocks do not have the complexity that this one did, and I highly recommend the beer.

Saranac Irish Red Ale

The final beer I tried from the “12 Beers A Falling” from Saranac was the Irish Red Ale. The beer has a red color with a lofty white head. The smell is slightly malty, but not overpowering. The taste is very malty with a slight wheat hint. There is slight toffee and caramel undertones and a very light hop finish. The alcohol content is 4.5% ABV. I thought this was a great Irish Red Ale and would definitely try this beer again.

Saranac India Pale Ale

Another beer in the “12 Beers A Falling” from Saranac that I had was the India Pale Ale. The beer is golden amber in color with a frothy and foamy head. The aroma is floral and peppery. The taste is slightly malty and finishes with a hefty compliment of hops. The alcohol content is 5.8% ABV. I felt that Saranac has a great entry in the IPA category, and the hop content is just right. It is not too powerful and hoppy, but provides a kick that doesn't let you forget that it is an IPA.

Saranac Octoberfest

As part of the “12 Beers A Falling” sampler pack, I tried the Saranac Octoberfest. The beer has a copper color with a medium bodied foamy head. The smell is malty with sour undertones. The taste is malty but is slightly sour with bites from the hops.The alcohol content is 5.4% ABV. The though that Saranac's Octoberfest was a little more bitter than most oktoberfest beers, but it balances nicely with the malts. I thought this was a solid oktoberfest style beer and is worth drinking again.