Brooklyn Concoction

Once I saw Al’s of Hampden had tapped the Brooklyn Concoction, I had to make a trip there to give it a try. The beer pours an amber color with a bubbly white head. The aroma is malty and first but then a wave of other smells come at the nose. There is lemon, a slight funk, orange, and wheat. The taste is big on caramel early on with a hefty amount of spice. Also noticeable are orange peel, lemon grass, caramel, toffee, cloves, thyme, and pepper. There is a slightly fruity sour finish before an after taste settles in with sweet tea and honey. The alcohol content is 7.6% ABV. The Concoction contains lots of spices and is very complex. I would say that the spices work well together, rather than tasting like they were just thrown in there. I enjoyed the finish, with its sweet tea and honey characteristics the most, as they were difficult to pinpoint at first.

Selin's Grove Simon's Private Stock Porter

I ordered a glass of the Selin’s Grove Simon’s Private Stock Porter, which is a bourbon barrel aged porter, while at the brewpub. The beer pours a murky dark brown color with a frothy off-white colored head. The aroma is bourbon up front with toasted malts, chocolate, and oak falling in line like soldiers. The taste is dry and malty with a chocolate taste similar to a chocolate powder. There is a smooth and light bourbon finish, but it is very faint. The beer ends with a vanilla and oak after taste. The alcohol content is 6.8% ABV. While this beer is bourbon barrel aged, I wouldn’t say that the bourbon really makes its presence known. It adds a little vanilla and warmth to the beer, but the main focus here is still the beer and not the bourbon.

Selin's Grove Sour Red

While at Selin’s Grove, I ordered a glass of the Sour Red, a new beer and first attempt for the brewpub at a sour. The beer pours a red tinted brown color with a thin filmy off-white colored head. The aroma consists of vinegar, cherry, and yeast, typical for a Flemish red. The taste is slightly dry with hint of sour vinegar before lots of cherry flavor explodes in the mouth. There is a warming finish before the biggest part of the flavor profile comes out, the dry oak flavor. I would liken the oak finish to a red wine dryness, but it is wonderful. The alcohol content is not available online, but I would estimate it to be about 5.0% ABV. As a first attempt at a sour beer, this was a complete win for Selin’s Grove. I would liken its flavor to the F*Red from Iron Hill, which I also add it a major compliment. If you see this beer on tap at the brewpub, make sure to order a glass before it is gone.

Selin's Grove The Phoenix Kriek

I heard from a little birdie that after The Phoenix Kriek was kicked at Selin’s Gove Brewpub, another one mysteriously appeared, so I made the trip up to make sure I got to try some of this year’s batch. The beer pours a cranberry color with a thin white head. The aroma consists of cherry, cranberry, light vinegar, and sweet malts. The taste is sweet and smooth with a surprising maple syrup flavor on the front end. There are also cranberry, cherry, honey, and sweet malt flavors. The alcohol content is 6.5% ABV. This was a wonderful kriek and I completely loved the maple syrup and honey accents, as they were a surprise and added a nice sweet kick without being too sweet.

Appalachian Brewing Company Trailblaze Organic Brown Ale with Amarillo Hops

I noticed that Appalachian Brewing Company was offering a cask of Trailblaze Organic Brown Ale with Amarillo Hops on my last visit, so I decided to give it a try. The beer pours a brown color with a frothy tan head. The aroma is strong with the smell fresh and clean hops that provide a lemon and pine front end of the nose with a toasted malt accent. The taste is smooth and creamy with lots of fresh lemon and pine. There is a solid caramel and toasted malt base, mostly focusing on the toasted malts. The alcohol content is 5.3% ABV. The addition of the amarillo hops to the brown ale provided a great and welcoming bitter accent to the beer, and this whole new dimension made the beer completely dynamic.

Appalachian Brewing Company Dunkelweizen

While at Appalachian Brewing Company, I ordered a glass of the small batch of Dunkelweizen. The beer pours a copper color with a frothy off-white colored head. The aroma consists of sweet malts, caramel, and a light pine accent. The taste is smooth a sweet with caramel, an enjoyable smoked malt accent, and a toffee finish with a little pepper accent. The alcohol content is 5.5% ABV. The beer is a bit dry, but not as watery as some dunkelweizens can be, which was appreciated. The smoked flavor was nicely done and wasn’t overwhelming, providing a nice dry and smoked flavor without making it seem like you ate a fireplace.

Sierra Nevada Southern Hemisphere Fresh Hop Harvest

I ordered a glass of Sierra Nevada Southern Hemisphere Fresh Hop Harvest from Al’s of Hampden. The beer pours a caramel color with a frothy white head. The aroma consists of the expected fresh hops, lemon, pine, rain, and caramel. The taste is sweet with lots of caramel as a base and a great lemon flavor which is similar to lemon cake. There is a pine and pepper finish that dries out the tongue. The alcohol content is 6.7% ABV. I’m not going to lie, I love fresh hops. With the Southern Hemisphere Fresh Hop Harvest, Sierra Nevada found a way to bring a fresh hop beer at another time during the year, and I want to thank them for that. The lemon flavors in this beer were unreal and overly enjoyable, and the aroma was heavenly.

Appalachian Brewing Company Mad Cameron White

I stopped in to Appalachian Brewing Company to have dinner with family and I received my free monthly mug club beer of the Mad Cameron White. The beer pours a straw yellow color with a frothy white head. The aroma consists of lemon, cream, oregano and other spices. The taste is spicy up front with oregano before some lemon sweetness come out with a pepper pinch. There is a nice creamy finish as well. The alcohol content is 5.2% ABV. I was quite impressed with this Appalachian Brewing Company offering, as it proved plenty of spices up front and sweetened out nicely with some lemon citrus flavors.

East End Bigger Hop

I had my friend Eileen get me some bottles of East End Bigger Hop that I used as an excuse to get to Mount Washington in Pittsburgh to proposed to my (then) girlfriend (she said yes!). The beer pours a golden color with a frothy white head that is about a pinky finger thick and leaves some lacing behind on the glass. The aroma consists of a soft caramel undertone with plenty of bitter hops giving off wonderful citrus notes including orange, lemon, tangerine, and grapefruit. There is also some pepper and pine mixed in as well. The taste is bitter with lemon, orange, tangerine, and grapefruit right up front. The flavor transitions into pine and pepper spicy bite before a sugary sweet grapefruit flavor pokes through with caramel undertones. The after taste is bitter and has a spruce flavor about it. The alcohol content is 9.0% ABV. I was always a huge fan of Big Hop and an even bigger fan of Harvest Hop, and I think this beer is up there with those two beers. The citrus notes that this beer hits is perfect and bitters nicely of a soft caramel base, making this beer all about the hops.

Boulder Sweaty Betty

As part of the mixed case I picked up of Boulder Beer, I tried a bottle of Sweaty Betty. The beer pours a golden color with a very loft and frothy white head that lingers for awhile. I poured the beer in its correct manner, with the glass upside down on the bottle and flipping it over. The aroma consists of wheat, lemon, yeast, grass, weeds, and fresh grass clippings. The taste is yeasty and wheaty right up front with a slight sweetness but it is dry as well. There is a nice lemon zest associated with the beer and a slight peppery and grassy finish. The alcohol content is 5.9% ABV. This was a very nice blonde ale that has a good amount of citrus flavors, nice earthy tones, and a yeasty sweetness.

Short's Peaches & Cream

My friend Deuane pulled out a bottle of Short’s Peaches & Cream while sharing some selection from his cellar. The bottle is vintage 2007 and marked number 290/820. The beer pours an amber color with a foamy off-white head. The aroma consists of peaches and cream (expected!) with some milk, apricot, caramel, and malts. The taste is smooth and sweet with lots of peach flavor. There is a slight pepper spice that accents the peaches nicely, and a creamy and milky finish. The best part is the lingering caramel after taste that also contains hints of apricot. The alcohol content is 9.5% ABV. This was a wonderful fruit-induced beer that didn’t carry along the bad stigma of fruit beers in that it was too sweet; the lactose really kept the fruit in check, but made it a wonderful dessert beer.

Stoudt's Black Eye PA

A beer that my friend Deuane pulled out of his cellar to share was Stoudt's Black Eye PA. The beer pours a cloudy caramel color with a frothy off-white colored head. The aroma consists of caramel, lemon, and pine. The taste is sweet and malty with a caramel sweetness, licorice, and molasses. As far as spices, there is a large pepper profile, which creates a dry finish. The alcohol content is 6.0% ABV. This was a spicy black IPA, and I really enjoyed the entire profile of it. It had a great sweet base to build off of, so the added spices were not overwhelming.

Goose Island Bourbon County Brand Coffee Stout

My friend Deuane pulled out a bottle of Goose Island Bourbon County Brand Coffee Stout while clearing some bottles out of his cellar and shared it with some friends. The beer pours a black color with a thin bubbly tan head. The aroma consists of bourbon, vanilla, chocolate, oak, and coffee. Right off the bat, there is an overwhelming flavor of bourbon, making the taste biting and dry on the tongue. Once the bourbon settles, there is plenty of chocolate, vanilla and roasted coffee grounds to sweeten up the tongue and apologize for hitting it so hard with the bourbon. There is a warming finish which reminds you of the bourbon that you just imbibed. The alcohol content is 13.0% ABV. This beer is a wonderful beer for anyone who likes bourbon (me) and the taste of fresh coffee (also me). Despite my description of the bourbon above and its intensity, it is not overpowering in anyway. It makes is presence known, hides in the shadows, and then returns for one last meet ‘n’ greet.

Cantillon Fou' Foune

One of the best beers I tried the night that my friend Deuane pulled out of his cellar to share with friends was the Cantillon Fou’ Foune, a 2009 vintage. The beer pours a cloudy straw-yellow color with a bubbly white head. The aroma consists of vinegar, lemon, apricot, oak, and yeast. The taste is very sour with lots of bitterness and funk that was reminiscent of sour patch kids. There is a yeast base that sweetens the beer a bit, but the focus here is on the plenty apricot and vinegar that make the mouth pucker and are in the spotlight. Some lemon also comes out in the finish. The alcohol content is 5.0% ABV. This sour was a wonderful blend of apricot, lemon, and vinegar, obviously making the mouth puck a bit, but the amount of fruit flavor, especially after two years, was quite enjoyable.

Jackie O's Vanilla Bean Rum Barrel Dark Apparition

A beer that I was very excited that my buddy Deuane pulled out during his cellar clearing party was Jackie O’s Vanilla Bean Rum Barrel Dark Apparition. This bottle was labeled 41/225. The beer pours a black color with a thin tan bubbly head. The aroma consists of vanilla, rum, milk chocolate, and also had the smell of a packed of hot chocolate. The taste is silky smooth with a sweet chocolate flavor, vanilla, and finished up with a nice warming rum finish. The after taste is where the caramel shines through and the vanilla comes back to sweeten things up a little bit. The alcohol content is 10.5% ABV. The smoothness of this beer was top notch and made it easy drinking despite the high alcohol content. It was nice and sweet, but not too much, and the rum gave off enough warmth to make you forget life’s problems.