The Brew Works Insidious Imperial Stout Ale

I picked up a bottle of The Brew Works Insidious Imperial Stout Ale from Al's of Hampton. The beer pours a dark black color with a very loft foamy head; the cork almost hit the ceiling after popping. The aroma has a good helping of chocolate with bits of vanilla, coffee, and oak. The taste is mostly chocolate, but is rounded out with some oak on the outside of the mouth. The beer then dries a bit with a coffee finish that leaves the mouth a bit thirsty. The alcohol content is 9.0% ABV. The alcohol in this beer does also help to dry the mouth a bit. I really enjoyed this beer, but be sure to have a glass of water handy, as you will need to refresh yourself while drinking this beer.

Bullfrog Brewery Edgar IPA

Another beer I ordered while at Bullfrog Brewery during American Craft Beer Week was the Edgar IPA. The beer pours an orange color with a thin filmy white head. There is an orange and lemon aroma. This beer drinks with a big hop flavor and has some lemon and pepper hidden in there as well. The beer finishes with a dry pine hop flavor. The alcohol content is 8.0% ABV. This was a great IPA in my opinion. It may be a bit too powerful for those new to the hop experience or those with sensitivities to hops, but if you like IPA, be sure to check this beer out.

Bullfrog Brewery Lights Out Stout

I went to Bullfrog Brewery during American Craft Beer Week to check out the Lights Out Stout. This stout was aged for three years in oak barrels with coffee, chocolate, and wild yeast. The beer pours a deep black color with a foamy tan head. The aroma is deeply chocolate with hints of oak and coffee. The taste is smooth and great tasting and is very creamy due to being served from the hand pump. This beer is very chocolaty with a good helping of coffee. The kicker is that there is a bit of a raspberry bite in the middle with an alcohol finish that is dry. The beer completes itself similar to a chocolate covered raspberry and is very surprising and delicious. There is no alcohol content posted online, but I would assume it to be around 9.0% ABV. The beer beats up the tongue a bit with the sour raspberry that is created with the wild yeast, but this brew is extremely delicious and addicting. The entire drive home to Harrisburg I was left wanting more of this beer.

The Brew Works Hop'solutely

I picked up a bottle of The Brew Works Hop'solutely at Al's of Hampton after talking with the distributor at Westy's. I wasn't sure I wanted to drop $70 on a case of Hop'solutely, but he informed me where I could pick up a bottle to try before I purchased a case. The beer pours a brilliant golden color with a slowly rising white bubbly head. The aroma consists of with a fresh hop scent and plenty of citrus, including lemon, grapefruit, and orange. The taste is smooth a sweet, like a sugar coated grapefruit. The beer then has a nice peppery and pine hop bite of the outsides of the mouth. It finishes with a smooth caramel finish that goes down really easy. There is even a hint of oak underneath all of the flavors. As the beer warmed, a honey sweetness emerged. The alcohol content is 11.5% ABV. This beer was stunningly delicious. It is not overly hoppy, with just the right amount of hops, that are smoothed out by sweet citrus and caramel. I will definitely go pick up another bottle of this beer, or possibly even a case.

Weyerbacher Verboten Belgian Style Pale Ale

I picked up a case of Weyerbacher (a much improved website!) Verboten Belgian Style Pale Ale from Westy's during American Craft Beer Week. The beer pours a golden amber color with a foamy tall white head. The aroma consists of sour hops and a light bit of lemon and banana. The taste is heavy on banana with some biscuit flavors. The beer finishes a little dry with some lemon and pepper hops bite. The alcohol content is 5.9% ABV. This was a very smooth drinking beer that actually has a bit more of an alcohol bite than it actually contains. A good assortment of flavors, including banana, pepper, and lemon really gives this beer all the dimensions it needs to create an excellent experience.

Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA

I picked up a case of Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA during American Craft Beer Week. The beer pours a yellow color with a foamy white head. The aroma is lightly citrus with malts and some caramel hints. The taste is sweet with caramel and toffee at first, with a nice dry lemon hop finish. There is a bit of pepper and dryness on the tongue on the after taste.There is also a bit on sweet malts mixed with sour hops that lingers. The alcohol content is 6.0% ABV. I thought the 60 Minute IPA was a solid beer. It may not be as adventurous as the 90 Minute IPA or as over-the-top amazing as the 120 Minute IPA, but it really is an easy drinking beer with an excellent amount of flavors.

Stoudt's Brewers Reserve Gemutlichkeit Ale

I picked up a bottle of Stoudt's Brewers Reserve Gemutlichkeit Ale from the brewery on my way home from working in Reading. The beer pours an amber color with a bottle of foamy white head. The aroma lightly malty with sour hops. The taste is smooth and malty with a bit of caramel and a bite of hops. The alcohol content is 6.8% ABV. I was a big fan of this beer, as it finished very crisp and refreshing with a good amount of flavor.

Stoudt's Blonde Double Mai Bock

I picked up a bottle of Stoudt's Blonde Double Mai Bock from the brewery on my way home for working in Reading. The beer pours an unfiltered golden color with a bubbly white head. The aroma is sweet with lemon and apricot. The taste is dry and sweet with lemon and a bit of lemon meringue/ There is a a bit of sour hops on the finish and also a pepper bite. The alcohol content is 7.0% ABV. I thought that this was a thoroughly delicious brew and very satisfying. It left a great citrus after taste in the mouth and was very refreshing.

Stoudt's Old Abominable Barley Wine Ale

I picked up a bottle of Stoudt's Old Abominable Barley Wine Ale from the brewery on my way home from working in Reading one day. The beer pours a dark amber color with a foamy tan head. The aroma consists of fig and toffee with a light hint of pine. The taste is is sweet with caramel and toffee. The beer finishes dry from the alcohol and pine hops. There is also a bit of fig and apricot and a bit of oak on the outside of the mouth. The alcohol content is 9.0% ABV. Stoudt's has provided a fantastic barley wine that could not be better. This barley wine fit the style perfectly, and the oak accents round out the beer nicely.

Long Trail Brewmaster's Series Winter White

I picked up a bottle of Long Trail Brewmaster's Series Winter White from Barley's and Hops in Pittsburgh. The beer pours a golden color with a bubbly white head. The aroma is orange and citrus with a mint background. The taste is heavy on orange and other citrus, such as lemon and tangerine. The beer then foams with a lot of carbonation and finishes with a bit of a mint hop bite. The alcohol content is 7.2% ABV. The beer was great with the fruit accents without being too sweet, thanks to the carbonation. It was a very pleasant beer, even if I consumed in the spring season.

Abita Abbey Ale

I picked up a bottle Abita Abbey Ale from Barley's and Hops in Pittsburgh on my last visit. The beer pours a reddish amber ale with a lofty, foamy, and creamy colored head. The aroma consists of sweet malts, yeast, and alcohol. The taste is sweet that comes from a caramel flavor. There are lots of malts and it is very very bready. Underneath the caramel, there is banana, green apple some dark fruits and cloves. The alcohol content is 8.0% ABV. This was a delicious Abbey Ale and I really enjoyed it. The sweetness was there, but not too overpowering. The clove and alcohol toned down the sweetness on the finish, and made drinking this beer a very pleasurable experience.

Lagunitas Wilco Tango Foxtrot

I picked up a bottle of Lagunitas Wilco Tango Foxtrot from Barley's and Hops in Pittsburgh. The beer pours a brown-amber color with a frothy tan head. The aroma consists of raisin and malts, with some underlying caramel. The taste is filled with raisin and fig with some caramel and toffee sweetness. There are also hints of apricot and orange peel. It finishes with some bitter chocolate and a some flowers and pine. The alcohol content is 7.83% ABV. I thought that the flavors in this beer were very random but worked really well together. It was a truly enjoying brew that kept the tongue guessing through the entire experience.

Cricket Hill Reserve Ale- No. 3 Barleywine

Another bottle that my friend Jeff picked up from Cricket Hill for me was the Reserve Ale- No. 3 Barleywine. The beer pours brilliant amber color with a frothy white head that sticks to the side of the glass. The aroma is malty and sweet, with bits of orange peel, caramel, and toffee. The taste is sweet and malty with a good dose of raisin, toffee, and caramel. It has a slight orange zest on the finish with a modest compliment of dry hops. The alcohol content is not posted online, but I would guess around 8% ABV. This barleywine is everything that a barelywine should be, and I highly recommend checking it out. The orange zest that came with the drinking of this beer was a pleasant surprise and really rounded out the flavor.

Fat Head's Head Hunter IPA

I ordered a glass of Fat Head's Head Hunter IPA when I was last in Pittsburgh. The beer pours a golden color with a bubbly white head. The aroma consists of lemon and pine. The taste is lemon and pine with bits of caramel, pineapple, and grapefruit. The alcohol content is 7.0% ABV. I thought that the Head Hunter was a delicious IPA and really well done. This is a quality IPA and should be tried by those of you who like hops.

Maredsous 8- Dubbel

I ordered a glass of Maredsous 8- Dubbel at Fat Head's in Pittsburgh. The beer pours a brown color with a tan bubbly head. There is raisin and fig in the aroma with some hints of chocolate. The taste is smooth and creamy, which I found surprising. The beer was heavy on fig and raisin and had a smooth and sweet chocolate finish. The alcohol content is 8.0% ABV. I thought that the 8 was overly delicious and would definitely order this beer again.