Anchor Special Christmas 2009

I noticed that McGrath's had Anchor Special Christmas Ale 2009 in their bottle selection so I ordered a bottle. The beer is a dark amber color with no head. It smells of cinnamon and allspice. The taste is full of allspice and ginger and is somewhat dry. It also has a slight piney flavor. The alcohol content is 5.5% ABV. My friend Alissa said that it “smells like Christmas in a glass.” I could not agree more, and this beer provides the entire Christmas memory experience. It takes you back to your childhood memories while enjoying a great beer in your adulthood.

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.

Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout

Katie at McGrath's informed be that they had just received bottles of Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout, so I eagerly ordered a bottle. The beer has a deep black color with a tan foamy head. There was not too much to the aroma, but a slight chocolate hint could be detected. The taste is milk chocolate with a sweet and smooth finish. The alcohol content is 10.6% ABV. I thought that this beer was very excellent and I cannot say enough good things about this beer. The chocolate flavor was perfect without being overpowering and the mouth feel was not too dry. It has a nice alcohol content without hinting at it. This beer comes highly recommended by me.

Smuttynose Star Island Single

McGrath's in Harrisburg picked up Smuttynose Star Island Single on draft. The beer has a light gold color with no head. The smell is sweet and malty. The taste is light and lemony but no hop bite. I thought that the beer was decent overall, but not a great beer. The alcohol content is 5.8% ABV. The Star Island Single was a very drinkable beer, but not very memorable.

Troegs Scratch 25- Magical Moustache Rye

I stopped by the Troegs brewery today because I received a Twitter alert that Scratch 25- Magical Moustache Rye was released. The beer is an amber color with a lofty head that sticks to the glass. The aroma is lightly hoppy with pine accents. The taste is slightly creamy at first with a sweet malt accent. The taste then moves in with hops that leave a pine after taste in the mouth. I learned that the Bravo hops were bio-manufactured to have a pine taste and that they were a relatively new hop. Very few breweries have actually used these hops to date, so Troegs is a pioneer with this hop. The alcohol content is 6.5% ABV. This beer has an excellent multi-dimensional flavor that really hits all areas of the palette. It will satisfy all types of beer lovers. It starts with the sweetness for the malt lovers, hits the hops for the hop lovers, and finishes with the pine flavor for those that are interested in the earthy flavors a beer can provide. I highly recommend that you stop by the brewery and grab this beer while it is available.

Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale

I ordered a glass of Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale at McGrath's in downtown Harrisburg. The beer has an amber color with a light bubbly head. The smell is slightly hoppy. The taste is very hoppy with lemon and pepper accents. Overall, it is a pretty dry beer with a decent taste. The alcohol content is 6.8% ABV. I thought the hops were a little too overpowering in this IPA and it was not an enjoyable beer. After finishing the glass, I really wanted a water because my mouth was completely dry.

Bell's Christmas Ale

McGrath's in Harrisburg recently added Bell's Christmas Ale to their draft lineup and I was eager to order a glass. The beer is amber in color with red hints and a light foamy head. The smell is light with spice accents. The taste is smooth with slight sour cherry bite and a touch of honey. The alcohol content is 5.4% ABV. I thought this Christmas Ale was very good and smooth with the honey making the beer. The honey made the taste nice and sweet and made the beer very drinkable.

Bell's Kalamazoo Stout

I picked up a bottle of Bell's Kalamazoo Stout on a whim and because I really like Bell's products. The beer has a deep black color with a lofty brown head. The aroma is sweet smelling with licorice accent. The taste is chocolately with roasted malts and licorice accents. The alcohol content is 6.0% ABV. The robust amount of flavors makes this a very enjoyable beer and I am a big fan of it. I would highly recommend this beer, even if you don't like licorice, as it is not an overpowering flavor.

Breckenridge Autumn Ale

I grabbed a bottle of Breckenridge Autumn Ale because I liked their Vanilla Porter. The beer is a dark brown color with a thin tan colored head. It smells is malty with hints of toffee. The taste is sweet and malty with an undertone of chocolate and toffee. There are also some mahogony accents. The alcohol content is 6.7% ABV. I thoroughly enjoyed this beer with the sweet caramel accents on top of the chocolate flavored base. I would recommend this beer and I look forward to trying additional Breckenridge beers.

Philadelphia Rowhouse Red

I picked up a bottle of Philadelphia Rowhouse Red. The beer has a red copper color with almost no head. The aroma is malty and hints at hops. The taste is light and malty at first and finishes with a hop bite that tastes like pepper and toasted malts, but not a good taste of roasted malts. The alcohol content is 5.0% ABV. I thought that this was not a very good beer, and I wouldn't necessarily buy more of it. I think that the hop accent didn't accentuate the flavor but actually hindered it.

Saranac Winter Lager

The sixth and final beer I had out of the “12 Beers of Winter” sampler pack from Saranac was the Winter Lager. The beer is a dark brown color with minimal head. It has a slight malt aroma. The taste is very sweet and malty with a very light hop accent. It also has a slight caramel accent and a dry coffee taste on the finish. The alcohol content is 5.9% ABV. This was a very excellent lager and would rank up there with my favorites. There are a variety of flavors and this beer is very dynamic.

Saranac Rye IPA

The fifth beer I had out of the “12 Beers of Winter” sampler pack from Saranac was the Rye IPA. The beer has a gold color with a frothy white head. There is a fresh and slightly hoppy aroma. The taste is slightly sweet at first with a peppery hop bite on the finish. There is also a light lemon accent. The alcohol content is 6.0% ABV. I liked this Rye IPA and thought it was not just about the hops, but more about the balance of citrus, hops, and malts.

Free My Beer

Sheetz is behind a movement in Pennsylvania to Free My Beer. The premise is that Sheetz wants to revise Pennsylvania's awful beer distribution laws and allow six packs to be purchased at convenience stores (that would be a convenience in my opinion). From the website:

If you support the convenient and responsible sale of beer in Pennsylvania’s grocery and convenience stores, join us as we work to change the state's restrictive and out-of-date beer laws.

The current PLCB ruling that allows grocery stores and Sheetz to sell six packs is being challenged in the State supreme court and if overturned would forever defeat six pack sales in PA. So please sign this petition and help Sheetz make purchasing beer in PA a better and more convenient experience.

Red Hook Limited Release Tripel

I picked up a bottle of Red Hook Limited Release Tripel at D's Six Pax and Dogz in Pittsburgh. The beer is a yellow gold color with a light frothy head. It smells sweet with pepper and cinnamon hints in the background. The taste is very sweet and this beer hits strong with the alcohol punch. It finishes with banana flavors, which smooths out the alcohol impact. The alcohol content is 10.2% ABV. I thought that this was a fantastic tripel and I really enjoyed it. It actually ranks among my favorite tripel beers.

Saranac Black Lager

The fourth beer I opened out of the “12 Beers of Winter” sampler pack from Saranac was the Black Lager. The beer has a deep brown color with a creamy foamy head. The smell is heavy on sweet malts with hints of coffee. The taste is dry and slightly bitter at first, but the taste sweetens with hints of chocolate and a slight coffee undertone, which is what makes it dry. The alcohol content is 5.5% ABV. I really enjoyed this beer with the coffee and chocolate tastes and thought it was a very dynamic experience.