Crescent City Brewhouse Belgian Ale

While in the French Quarter of New Orleans, I stopped in to Crescent City Brewhouse to try a few beers, the first of which being the Belgian Ale, one of their Special Ales. The beer pours an amber color with a frothy cream colored head. The aroma is spicy and yeasty with some raisin accents and is a little musty. The taste is caramel, candi sugar, Belgian spice, yeast, grass, and has a peppery finish. The alcohol content is not available online, but I would estimate it to be about 6.0% ABV. This beer can best be described as a decent homebrew, and nothing more. I wasn’t impressed with it, and the flavors did not blend well together at all.

Birrificio Le Baladin Nora Sour

I ordered a glass of Birrificio Le Baladin Nora Sour while at Avenue Pub in New Orleans. The beer pours a golden color with a faint bubbly white head. The aroma consists of lemon, tartness, bread, and a hint of vinegar. The taste is refreshing and lemony with a light grass flavor. Overall, it is lightly tart with a slight barnyard funk and a bready mouth feel. The alcohol content is 6.8% ABV. This was a wonderful tasting beer with a great tart flavor. This would be a beer to give to a sour novice to help them get in to the style, but is also appreciated by someone who loves sours.

Saint Arnold Divine Reserve 12

I was able to get a glass of the Saint Arnold Divine Reserve 12 on release day while at Avenue Pub in New Orleans. The beer pours an amber color with almost no head. The aroma consists of caramel, toffee, lemon, and grass. The taste is boozy with a caramel and toffee sweetness. A helping of hops gives the beer a grassy finish with a hint of lemon, and pepper lingers in the after taste. The alcohol content is 10.0% ABV. This beer was pretty decent while drinking fresh, but I feel that with age it would become even better. The alcohol was a little too hot in this beer, but the rest of the flavors were quite exquisite.

Evil Twin Yin and Yang Black and Tan

While visiting Avenue Pub in New Orleans, I ordered a glass of Evil Twin Yin and Yang Black and Tan. The beer pours a black color with a bubbly tan head. The aroma consists of tangerine, grapefruit, orange, spruce, chocolate, and toasted malts. The taste is bitter and dry with plenty of citrus including tangerine, orange, and grapefruit. These bitter flavors play well with dry toasted malts. A dark chocolate finish and spruce after taste finish out the beer drinking experience. The alcohol content is 11.1% ABV. The impact that both the Double IPA and the Imperial Stout had in the beer was amazing, as neither drowned the other. Each provided wonderful notes and made a very dynamic beer.

Abita Turbodog

Another beer I ordered while at the Abita Brewpub in Abita Springs, LA was Turbodog. The beer pours a dark brown color with a frothy beige head that leaves a film on the glass. The aroma consists of caramel, toasted malts, and strong coffee. The taste is bold with coffee before settling in with some chocolate and a strong toasted malt presence. There is a dry roasted finish as well. The alcohol content is 5.6% ABV. This was a very well done English Brown Ale that had a great coffee presence, tying the chocolate and malt flavors all together nicely.

Abita Andygator

On my recent trip to New Orleans, I ordered a glass of Abita Andygator while at the Abita Brewpub in Abita Springs. The beer pours a golden color with a thin bubbly white colored head. The aroma consists of alcohol, caramel, grass, toffee, and malts. The taste is sweet with an earthy spice, grass, and pepper. Caramel and toffee construct a sweet base, while a slight alcohol burn appears on finish. The alcohol content is 8.0% ABV. This beer was sweet but well balanced overall and had nice alcohol burn on the finish that really tied the beer together.

Joboy's BrewPub BPA (Belgian Pale Ale)

On a recent trip to Joboy’s BrewPub in Manheim, PA, I ordered a glass of the BPA (Belgian Pale Ale). The beer pours a golden color with a frothy white colored head. The aroma consists of yeast, pepper, Belgian spices, banana, cloves, and grass. The taste is sweet and spicy at the same time with a good banana base with lemon accents. Pepper and Belgian spices accentuate the sweetness nicely and it has a grassy finish. The alcohol content is 4.5% ABV. I enjoyed this Belgian Pale Ale, as it was neither overly sweet or spicy, but very complimentary on both sides.

Duclaw eXile X-1 Imperial Chocolate Rye Porter

I had my buddy pick up a bottle of Duclaw eXile X-1- Imperial Chocolate Rye Porter and I decided to share it at our weekly bottle share. I previously had the bourbon barrel aged version of this beer, but I wanted to try the base beer. The beer pours a black color with a frothy tan colored head. The aroma consists of rye, toasted malts, coffee, chocolate, and milk. The taste is toasted malts, coffee, rye spiciness, and an overall roasty flavor. The finish is pepper and most rye spiciness. The alcohol content is 8.0% ABV. This was a rather delicious beer, and it was only spoiled by the fact that I had the bourbon barrel aged version prior to this one.

Ommegang Biere D’hougoumont

My buddy Matt brought over a bottle of Ommegang Biere D’hougoumont to share at our weekly bottle share. The beer pours a viscous golden color with a frothy white head. The aroma consists of grass, lemon, wheat, maple syrup, and oak. The taste is dry and sweet with a light grassy flavor with some lemon accents. It has a bready mouth feel. A bit of maple syrup comes out in the finish and dries out with oak. The alcohol content is 7.3% ABV. This was a very different beer that played with a nice dryness and that is complimented well with maple syrup, yet I feel that it fell a little short of being overly enjoyable.

New Belgium Lips of Faith Prickly Passion Saison

My buddy Matt picked me up a bottle of New Belgium Lips of Faith Prickly Passion Saison and I opened it to share at our weekly bottle share. The beer pours a golden color with a bubbly white head the recedes rather rapidly. The aroma consists of passion fruit, pear, fruit cup, pineapple, and orange. The taste is fruity at first with passion fruit, pineapple, orange, pear, green apple, and a fruit cup. Then a cardboard funk comes out and has a hint of pepper. The alcohol content is 8.5% ABV. This beer didn’t hit any saison flavors on my tongue and really left a somewhat foul taste behind. I really wanted to like it, but the fruit flavors muddled the better flavors in the beer and made it very disappointing.

St. Boniface 3 LB IPA

My friend Tierney brought over a growler of St. Boniface 3 LB IPA to share at our weekly bottle share. The beer pours a golden color with a frothy and lofty white colored head. The aroma consists of pine, lemon, grapefruit, and tangerine. The taste is dry and bitter with a large citrus profile that has grapefruit, tangerine, orange, and lemon. The finish has some pepper and spruce to it, which is quite nice. The alcohol content is 6.0% ABV. This was a nicely hoppy beer with a base that provide a solid backbone, while allowing for the hops to shine.

DC Brau Brewing Oaked Penn Quarter Porter

In a beer trade with my buddy Michael, I received a bottle of DC Brau Brewing Oaked Penn Quarter Porter. The beer pours a black color with a thin bubbly tan colored head. The aroma consists of chocolate, caramel, cream, strong coffee, oak, and a hint of whiskey. The taste has a strong chocolate and cream base before lots of rye whiskey flavors take over. The alcohol bite is not there, but blends very well together. Coffee lingers in the finish before some oak dryness hits the tongue. The alcohol content is 5.5% ABV. The rye whiskey flavor in this beer blended very well with the strong chocolate and coffee base of the porter.

Brouwerij De Ranke Noir De Dottignies

My buddy Matt brought over a bottle of Brouwerij De Ranke Noir De Dottignies to share with me. The beer pours a dark brown color with a lofty and frothy white colored head that leaves a light lacing on the glass. The aroma consists of raisin, fig, malts, molasses, and caramel. The taste is dark and fruity with fig, raisin, and caramel on the front end. Hints of chocolate, toffee, and molasses shine through. On the finish, a white grape sweetness comes out with some toasted malts. The alcohol content is 9.0% ABV. This beer had some many complex flavors and was absolutely wonderful. It had a nice sweetness that was balanced with dry fruits and a nice toasted malt flavor.

Cigar City Cucumber Saison

For my July shipment from the Michael Jackson Rare Beer of the Month Club, I received a bottle of Cigar City Cucumber Saison. The beer pours a golden color with a very lofty and bubbly white colored head and leaves some specks of lacing on the glass. The aroma consists of fresh cucumber, lemon, pepper, wheat, and barnyard funk. The taste is dry and has a very strong and fresh cucumber flavor. There is a bite that comes along with it and a strong pepper spice. The finish has some lemon, coriander, and peppercorn. The alcohol content is 5.0% ABV. While this beer was very different, I absolutely loved it. It was fresh tasting and was like being in a springtime garden.

Lavery Brewing Liopard Oir

I picked up a bottle of Lavery Brewing Liopard Oir from Carson Street Deli in Pittsburgh while I was visiting. The beer pours a golden color with a frothy white colored head that leaves specks of lacing on the glass. The aroma consists of lemon, grass, barnyard funk, Brettanomyces, light tartness and pepper. The taste is dry and lemony with a light body. It has a peppery flavor with a Brett funk to it with a light tartness on the finish. The alcohol content is 4.8% ABV. This was a nice and funky farmhouse ale that brought some citrus, but was more memorable for the Brettanomyces content.