Stone 14th Anniversary Ale- Empierial IPA

I picked up a bottle of Stone 14th Anniversary Ale- Emperial IPA. Stone attempted to make an original India Pale Ale, one that had added hops to make the voyage from the British Empire to the Indian colony. The beer pours a golden color with a foamy white head. The aroma is has a good wheat base with lemon and grass accents. The taste is very powerful and really awakens the taste buds. There are flavors of lemon and wheat, with good pepper and pine accents. The beer finishes a bit dry and bitter, yet refreshing. The alcohol content is 8.9% ABV. If this beer was what the British sailors drank in the past, sign me up for Her Majesty's Service. The beer was rather basic in element, but everyone of the flavors flourished and combined to make an amazing beer. The hops with welcoming and the wheat and lemon balanced out the beer rather well.

Middle Ages Druid Fluid

I picked up a bottle of Middle Ages Druid Fluid from Al's of Hampden. The beer pours an orange amber color with a foamy off-white head. The aroma consists of sweet malts and a heavy helping of pine hops. The taste is sweet with caramel, toffee and raisin with some orange accents mixed in there as well. The beer finishes with a peppery hop bite that really does wonders for this beer. The alcohol content is 9.5% ABV. This beer is very bubbly and light drinking, unlike some other barleywines out there. However, it was really enjoyable and I liked the added hop accents that really made this a dynamic brew.

Moylen's Moylander Double IPA

While at Al's, I picked up a growler of Moylen's Moylander Double IPA for a Fourth of July picnic. The beer pours a copper color with a foamy white head. It has a pine and orange aroma with caramel sweetness. The taste is sweet with caramel with a good pepper bite and some excellent lemon accents. The alcohol content is 8.5% ABV. The Moylander was delicious and really enjoyable and has a good bite for a hot summer day. The hop bit was bitter, but the caramel and lemon balanced it out nicely.

Mikkeller 1000 IBU

I stopped in to Al's of Hampden to order a glass of Mikkeller 1000 IBU. The beer pours an orange amber color with a thick foamy white head. The aroma is very hoppy and is extremely noticeable from a distance (read: table to nose). The taste is hoppy, as expected, and piney with a lemon and caramel base. The alcohol content is 9.6% ABV. Surprisingly, this beer had a good balance and was not overwhelmingly hoppy. I was expecting somewhat of a hop-bomb, but that is not how the beer drinks. It was a little bitter but still a very enjoyable brew.

't Smisje Catherine Imperial Stout

For dessert at Cafe Bruges, I decided to order a bottle of 't Smisje Catherine Imperial Stout. The beer pours a red amber color with a foamy tan head which was surprising to me, as I was expecting a dark brown or black color. The aroma consists of roasted malt and is sweet. The taste is strong, malty, and powerful with strong tastes of raisin and toasted malts and a good helping of vanilla. The alcohol content is 10% ABV. This beer was amazing and it honestly lit my eyes up, most likely due to the good alcohol punch. It completely defies definition as it does not follow the properties of a stout at all, but was an excellent experience.

De Dolle Bos Keun

Another beer I ordered from Cafe Bruges in Carlisle was the De Dolle Bos Keun. The beer pours a golden color with a foamy white head that is very lofty. The aroma is sweet with tangerine and citrus. The taste is sweet with plenty of candisugar and lots of tangerine flavor. There is a base of toffee in the background and the beer finishes with a hop bite of pine. The alcohol content is 10% ABV. The Bos Keun was a very delicious and active brew that spices your throat up like a warmer. I highly recommend trying this beer.

De Ranke Guldenberg

I went to Cafe Bruges in Carlisle based on high recommendations from several people. The first beer I ordered there was the De Ranke Guldenberg. The beer pours a golden color with a foamy white head. The aroma consists of candisugar, yeast, banana, and pine hops. The taste is smooth and light with a little bit of sour hops. The most noticeable property of this beer was that is highly carbonated. The beer also had a good taste of sweet malts and some orange zest on the finish. The alcohol content is 8.5% ABV. I thought that this beer was delicious and refreshing and a good start to the evening. If you aren't a fan of carbonation, you may want to shy away from this.

Left Coast Asylum

I picked up a bottle of Left Coast Asylum, a Belgian Style Tripel Ale, from Brass Rail in Campbelltown. The beer pours a brilliant golden color with a thin bubbly white head. The aroma is banana and pepper with some candisugar. The taste is smooth and sweet with strong flavors of Belgian yeast, banana, and some pepper accents. The alcohol content is 11% ABV. Overall, this was a good take on the Belgian tripel with great banana flavors and pepper accents. I really enjoyed the generous amount of Belgian yeast flavors that accompanied this beer. It was good enough of a beer that when I saw it at Flat Rock in Manayunk, I didn't hesitate to order a bottle.

Troegs Drafting Room 16th Anniversary Ale

I got the email from Troegs that their Drafting Room 16th Anniversary Ale was available in the brewery, so I sent my roommate to grab a growler that we could split. The basic breakdown to this beer is that it is Nugget Nectar with Belgian westmalle yeast. The beer pours a brilliant amber color (similar to that of Nugget Nectar) with a hefty and foamy white head. The aroma consists of candisugar, bubble gum,, and fresh earthy hops. The taste is sweet at first with a good helping of Begian yeast, candisugar, and bubble gum. It finishes with a nice pine hop bite that dries the back of the tongue. The alcohol content is 7.5% ABV. The hops in this beer were not too overwhelming, but if you are familiar with Troegs beers and their hop content, you will very much enjoy this beer. The Beglian yeast really throws this beer over the tops in a clash of America versus Belgium, a war that is won by the beer drinker.

Moylan's Hopsickle

I ordered a glass of Moylan's Hopsickle from Al's of Hampden. The beer pours a golden color with a bubbly white head. The aroma is a good balance between lemon and grapefruit. The taste is heavy on lemon at first and finishes with grapefruit bitterness and tart. There are some pepper and pine hops that hit the tongue with some force. A great caramel base that is hidden but very much appreciated comes through after the finish. The alcohol content is 9.2% ABV. The Hopsickle was a very good beer, and that was apparent from the first sip. The caramel undertone that comes through on the finish made the experience very delightful.

Founders Devil Dancer

I went to Al's of Hampden to get a glass of Founders Devils Dancer. This beer is brewed with ten different hop varieties and scores high on bitterness with 112 IBUs. The beer pours an orange amber color with a filmy white head. The aroma is full of lemon and orange with a light hop hint. The taste is full and surprisingly smooth, with the flavor heavy on grapefruit and a little sour. There is a sweet malty and caramel undertone as well. I was a bit surprised that there was not an overwhelming alcohol punch, but the 12% ABV is noticeable. I was thoroughly impressed with the Devil Dancer and I actually brought some bottles home with me. The best part is how smooth drinking this beer is for its alcohol and hop content.

Smuttynose Gravitation

I picked up a bottle of Smuttynose Gravitation from Brass Rail in Campbelltown. The beer pours a dark caramel color with a thin bubbly off-white head. The aroma consists of alcohol, dark fruit, fig, raisin, and a hint of oak. The taste is very bountiful, consisting of raisin and fig, an underlying of dark fruit, sweet malts, and even a bit of chocolate as the beer warmed up. The alcohol has a very powerful bite in this beer that dries out the mouth. The hint of oak in the aroma surfaces in the taste towards the end of the experience on the back of the tongue. The alcohol content is 12.0% ABV. While the alcohol was not hidden at all in this beer, it is a quite delicious quadrupel. The balance with the other flavors is perfect, and the raisin and fig really have a big presence.

Stone/Brew Dog Bashah

I ordered a glass of the Stone/Brew Dog collaboration Bashah from T. Brendan O'Reilly's in Harrisburg. The beer pours a dark black color with a bubbly tan head. The aroma has plenty of chocolate and candisugar in it with a good bit of hops providing a balance. The taste has toasted malts, chocolate, caramel. some banana, and a dry finish. In a way, it tastes almost like a caramel coated chocolate. There is also a slight hop bite bite on outsides of the back of the throat. The alcohol content is 8.6% ABV. The Bashah was a very interesting brew, yet also quite enjoyable. You could tell that there was some Belgian DNA in it, but it also had great chocolate and toasted malt backbone.

Weyerbacher Fifteen- Smoked Imperial Stout

I picked up a four-pack of Weyerbacher Fifteen- Smoked Imperial Stout from Al's of Hampden. The beer pours a dark brown color with a thin bubbly tan head. The aroma consists heavily of chocolate and toasted malts, some milk and coffee, and a light background of smoke and oak. The taste starts off heavily on the dark chocolate flavor but quickly dries out with a big dose of smoke and toasted malts. There is a sharp alcohol bite of the back of the throat that clears the way for some coffee flavor. The beer finishes pretty dry due to the smoke and dark chocolate. The alcohol content is 10.8% ABV. This beer is not for the faint of heart, or those that don't like sitting around a campfire. The warmer the beer, the better it is, as the smoke becomes slightly less dominant and allows the other flavors to come forward.

Sierra Nevada 30th Anniversary Fritz and Ken's Ale

I picked up a bottle of Sierra Nevada 30th Anniversary Fritz and Ken's Ale from Al's of Hampden. This beer brought in Fritz Maytag from Anchor Brewing Company to celebrate Sierra Nevada's anniversary. The beer pours a deep black color with a lofty foamy tan head. The aroma is filled with chocolate, coffee, and a light hint of hops. The taste is powerful with chocolate and alcohol on the front end. The beer finishes smooth and creamy with a coffee and hop bite. The alcohol content is 9.2% ABV. The beer drinks really smooth and is extremely tasty, making it somewhat dangerous with its high alcohol content. However, go out and grab a bottle if you love chocolate and coffee, but even more if you love to celebrate great brewers.