Stone/Brew Dog/Cambridge Juxtaposition Black Pilsner

My friend Jeff ordered a bottle of the Stone Brewing/Brew Dog/Cambridge Juxtaposition Black Pilsner at RattleNHum bar in New York City. The beer pours a black color with a thin filmy head. The aroma consists of oak and strong with raisins, vanilla, and milk chocolate. The taste is big on raisin with some chocolate, vanilla, brown sugar. The beer also has a dry finish, and a little tobacco in the after taste. The alcohol content is 10% ABV. I really enjoyed this black pilsner, a new style to me. The dark flavors such as chocolate and raisins went down smoothly and drank like a pilsner.

Bosteels Pauwel Kwak

I ordered a glass of Bosteels Pauwel Kwak from Al's of Hampden. The beer pours an orange amber color with a thin filmy white head. The aroma consists of wheat, alcohol, earthy hops, apple, and pear. The taste pops out with sweet fruits, apple, pears, honey, and earthy hops. The finish has a strong alcohol content the bites the tongue. The alcohol content is 8.1% ABV. This beer has an excellent flavor with a big explosion, and a good, but not overpowering, alcohol accent.

Tommyknocker Imperial Nut Brown Ale

I picked up a bottle of Tommyknocker Imperial Nut Brown Ale from Al's of Hampden. The beer pours a dark brown color with a frothy tan head. The aroma consists of toasted malts, caramel, toffee, and maple syrup. The taste is smooth at first with caramel and toffee but quickly transitions into a beer that bites the tongue. In the bite is alcohol and a light hop flavor. The final transition into the finish reveals the nutty background and brings the smooth and sweet flavor of maple syrup, an ingredient that is brewed with the beer. The alcohol content is 9.0% ABV. I really enjoyed the well-balanced sweetness with the Imperial Nut Brown Ale. I had a fear that the maple syrup might make this beer too sweet, but it was perfectly balanced with alcohol and hops.

21st Amendment Fireside Chat

While at The Ginger Man in New York City, I ordered a glass of 21st Amendment Fireside Chat, their winter warmer. The beer pours a dark amber color with a thin tan head. The aroma is malty with cinnamon and nutmeg and some mahogany. The taste is toasted malts, caramel, vanilla, and honey with a good cinnamon and nutmeg accent. There is a dry finish that is bitey followed by a Belgian spicy aftertaste. The alcohol content is 7.9% ABV. A big mix of flavors come with this beer and none overpower the other, all while providing a smooth and warming finish for those cold winter nights.

Bavarian Barbarian-Bullfrog Gothika

My coworker Jack stopped into TJ's in Paoli when he was in the area to pick up a growler of the Bullfrog/Bavarian Barbarian collaboration Gothika. To set the mood, watch the YouTube video about this beer:

The beer pours a dark red-brown color with a bubbly tan head. The aroma consists of sweet malts with raisin, chocolate, smoke, cherry, and oak. The taste is smooth at first before a flavor explosion of alcohol, cherry, dry dark Belgian chocolate, and raisin. Then the smoke sets in and slightly dries out the finish. 9.2% ABV. Devious, check. Evil, check. This beer is just as good as advertised and comes alive (back from the dead?) in the mouth. Lots of flavors for the tongue to process, going from a sweet cherry and chocolate to a dry smokey finish. The best part? The cherry comes back on the finish. Despite it's evil label, this beer is like a Belgian chocolate delicacy.

Springfield Brewing Company Mueller Pale Ale

I was given a bottle of Springfield Brewing Company [Facebook link] Mueller Pale Ale by my coworker Jack to try. The beer pours a golden color with a bubbly white head. The aroma consists of sweet malts and sour hops in a good balance. The taste is smooth at first with a sweet malt start before turning a little bitter with sour hops. The finish on this beer is dry and bitter, and leaves a lingering sour hop flavor. The alcohol content is not available online, but I would assume it is around 6.0% ABV. This was a solidly performing pale ale with a great sour hop flavor that overbalances on the sweet malts.

Troegs Scratch 36- Bruce Wit

I stopped in to the Troegs tasting room to pick up a case of Scratch 36- Bruce Wit. This beer is a white beer with Belgian spices and a Belgian yeast. The beer pours a pale yellow color with a foamy white head. The aroma consists of lemon and light Belgian yeast and spices. The taste is sweet and lemony with a good creamy accent. The beer finishes with a Belgian yeast and spice accent that dries out the mouth a bit. The alcohol content is 5.5% ABV. The sweet to dry transition of this beer plays nicely on the tongue and I really enjoyed the amount of spices present in the beer. Too bad this beer arrived at the end of October as opposed to the beginning of May.

Jolly Pumpkin La Parcela No.1 Pumpkin Ale

I picked up a bottle of Jolly Pumpkin La Parcela No. 1 Pumpkin Ale from Al's of Hampden. This is Jolly Pumpkin's first pumpkin beer, despite their name, and they added a new twist by making it a sour beer. The beer pours a golden-orange color with a frothy white head. The aroma consists of sour pumpkin and a soft wheat background. The taste is sour at first before a sweeter pumpkin flavor comes through with spiced finish and a hint of chocolate in the after taste. The alcohol content is 5.9% ABV. I really enjoyed this fresh approach to a pumpkin beer. It really mixes up the somewhat tired offering from every brewing company that has pumpkin and spices. The sour beer may not be or everyone, but I really enjoyed this offering.

Long Trail Ale

As part of the sampler pack that my girlfriend picked up, I tried the Long Trail Ale. The beer pours a golden color with a foamy white head. The aroma consists of caramel with soft fresh hops underneath the sweetness. The taste has sour hops hit on the front end with a smooth caramel finish that dries out the tongue a bit. The aftertaste leaves a bit of earthy hops. The alcohol content is 4.6% ABV. There is nothing too intense in this beer, but it was an easy drinking and smooth beer.

Stone 10-10-10 Vertical Epic

As soon as it was available, I stopped into Westy's in Camp Hill and picked up a case of Stone Vertical Epic 10-10-10. The beer pours a vibrant golden color with a foamy white head. The aroma consists of grapes, sweet Belgian yeast, and a hint of pepper and Belgian spices. The taste is sweet and smooth with a sour grape bite on the side of the mouth with a great Belgian yeast flavor profile. The finish is smooth, with some grassy and earthy hints. The alcohol content is 9.5% ABV. I really enjoyed how this year's Vertical Epic really took on the profile of a sweet white wine while maintaining a solid Belgian beer base. The sweetness wasn't too overpowering, and a slight sourness balanced everything out.

Founders Backwoods Bastard

Al's of Hampden tweeted that they had four-packs of Founders Backwoods Bastard in stock, so I made the trip to get some. I previously have reviewed the Dirty Bastard, and this is the same beer aged in bourbon barrels. The beer pours a brown color with a foamy off-white colored head. The aroma consists of sweet caramel malts with raisin and oak accents. The alcohol also tingles the nostrils. The taste is sweet and smooth with a big bourbon and oak bite on the tongue. On the finish, some raisin and caramel peek through and the after taste is dry and tastes just like bourbon. The alcohol content is 10.2% ABV. The Dirty Bastard was a very enjoyable beer, but the Backwoods Bastard even topped that. I really enjoyed how the bourbon really played with the caramel and toffee in the beer without overpowering the flavor.

Long Trail IPA

My girlfriend picked up the Long Trail sampler pack for a tailgate, and I set aside one of each of the bottles to review. The first beer I tried was the IPA. The beer pours a golden color with a frothy white head. The aroma consists of lemon and pine hops with a light malty backbone. The taste has a nice caramel malt base with a good lemon accent and a pine hop finish. The alcohol content is 5.9% ABV. Nothing in this beer attacks the tongue, so it will not go over well with hop heads, but could be used as a transition beer for those that fear hops.

Mikkeller Barrel-Aged Black Hole Series

My roommate and I decided to go in on all four Mikkeller Barrel-Aged Black Hole beers, especially since Al's of Hampden was running a special on all four for $30.

The first beer sampled was the Black Hole aged in rum barrels. The aroma consists of chocolate, vanilla, and honey flavors with a great rum accent. The taste is a dry, biting flavor with oak and rum hitting on the sides of the mouth. As a spoiler, this was the best one of the four in my opinion, but really close to the Bourbon. I personally like rum better as a spirit, and I thought that it was really complimentary to the beer.

Of the four beers, the Whiskey barrel aged beer had least head. Most noticeably, the beer had a potent whisky and oak aroma that really covers the chocolate, vanilla, and honey present in other versions of the beer. Furthermore, the dry, smokey flavor overpowers the flavors in the beer and even has a dry and smokey finish. Of the four, this was the least favorite as the whisky and smoke took over the beer and made it really difficult to drink a whole (or half) glass.

The bourbon barrel aged Black Hole had a similar aroma to the rum, but I thought it was a little sweeter. There was a a little bit of smoke and oak in the taste with a good sweetness added, all while maintaining the dry chocolate finish. I would say the bourbon barrel aged Black Hole was just as good as the rum barrel aged beer, but I voted the rum aged beer slightly higher.

The final beer was the Black Hole aged in wine barrels. Most noticeably, this version sticks the most to the glass. I thought it has somewhat of a subdued aroma but the chocolate seeps through with a hint of grapes. The taste starts with chocolate and leaves a sour bite in the back of the mouth. Overall, the chocolate and grapes work well together, and leaves a nice dry finish similar to red wine.

Troegs Scratch 34- Tim's Belgian Brown

I stopped in to the Troegs tasting room to sample a glass of Scratch 34- Tim's Belgian Brown. The beer ran in to some issues with carbonation prior to bottling, so as of now it was only available on draft in the tasting room. The beer pours a brown amber color with a thin filmy off white head. The aroma consists of sweet malts and raisins. The taste is big and malty with chocolate and caramel flavors coming through. There is a good lemon and pine bite with some Belgian spices sneaking in there on the finish and a slightly bitter finish. The alcohol content is 7.8% ABV. Overall, the beer was a little heavy for those of you that really enjoy Belgian style beers, as this is a partial brown ale. However, it was a great mash between two styles.

Bullfrog Busted Lawnmower

A beer I noticed on the menu at Al's of Hampden was Bullfrog Busted Lawnmower, a saison, and I decided to order a glass. The beer pours a pale golden color with a thin filmy white head. The aroma consists of lemon with rosemary. The taste is lemon, cream, rosemary, and pepper. The alcohol content is 6.2% ABV. I thought the Busted Lawnmower had a similar profile to Saison du Buff from Stone, Victory, and Dogfish Head, just not quite as intense. This beer was very delicious and a good substitute if you cannot find the Saison du Buff collaboration.