Ommegang Biere de Mars

My buddy Jordan brought over a bottle of Ommegang Biere de Mars. The beer pours a dark golden color with a lofty and frothy white colored head. The aroma consists of lemon, grass, hay, barnyard funk, pepper, brett, and spices. The taste is light and funky with a brett funk to it. The beer says it was bottled in November 2008 (batch #3), and the age seems to show in the beer with some cardboard flavors. It finishes dry with some pepper, hay, and grass with a light lemon accent. The alcohol consists of 6.5% ABV. I’m not sure about this beer, and it may be because of the age. It wasn’t terrible and had some decent flavors, but it had a cardboard flavor that did get in the way of the total enjoyment of it.

Otter Creek Russian Imperial Stout

I was very curious to try the Otter Creek Russian Imperial Stout (I love the label!) and I ordered a glass on tap at the new Federal Taphouse. The beer pours a black color with a frothy tan colored head. The aroma is big on toasted malts with chocolate and vanilla mixing in as well. The taste is dry with dark chocolate and lots of toasted malt flavors. A dry finish arrives that leaves behind hints of pepper and vanilla with a bubbly and carbonated mouthfeel. The alcohol content is 10.0% ABV. This beer exceeded my expectations and was a quality beverage. I think it represents the style was and had a robust and bold flavor.

Old Forge Bourbon Barrel Quad

I dropped in to check out the new Federal Taphouse in Harrisburg and I ordered a glass of Old Forge Bourbon Barrel Quad. The beer pours a dark brown color with a frothy tan colored head. The aroma consists of vanilla, coconut, raisin, fig, caramel, Belgian yeast, and grass. The taste is sweet and smooth with raisin, fig, caramel, and Belgian yeast on the front end. Spice, light vanilla, and coconut from the bourbon come out in the finish surprisingly with no alcohol burn. The alcohol content is 9.0% ABV. I really enjoyed the vanilla and coconut notes from the bourbon that were imparted on this quad, and I would drink this again if I saw it on tap.

Duclaw Old Flame

I ordered a glass of Duclaw Old Flame while at Al’s of Hampden. The beer pours a dark amber color with a thin filmy cream colored head. The aroma consists of cinnamon, nutmeg, caramel, and raisin. The taste is dry with a cinnamon and nutmeg spices before being overcome with sweet raisin and caramel. A dry grassy finish arrives that leaves gingerbread flavor behind on the tongue. The alcohol content is 7.5% ABV. This was a very sweet and malt-forward brew that could have benefited from a little more balancing. The spices were nice and helped to balance out the sweetness somewhat, but not quite enough.

Dark Horse Thirsty Trout Porter

Another beer I ordered at TJ’s in Paoli was the Dark Horse Thirsty Trout Porter. The beer pours a black color with a thin filmy tan colored head. The aroma consists of chocolate, vanilla, and toasted malts. The taste brings out the toasted malts first with a healthy helping of dark chocolate. Caramel sweetens the tongue before a dry and bitter finish arrives with pepper and lemon. The alcohol content is 7.0% ABV. I can’t say this beer was overly memorable, but it was a solid player in the Baltic Porter category. I enjoyed bitter finish that overcame the sweetness on the front end.

Brash The Bollocks

While at TJ’s in Paoli, I ordered a glass of Brash The Bollocks. The beer pours an orange amber color with a thin filmy white colored head. The aroma is candy-like with caramel, toffee, tangerine, and spruce. The taste is sweet on the front end with caramel and toffee before the finish bites with alcohol. Lingering remainders of the beer are toasted toffee, spruce pine, pepper, lemon, tangerine, and pink grapefruit. The alcohol content is 12.0% ABV. There were definitely a lot of flavors to process in this beer, and it hit pretty hard with the alcohol bite. Overall, I was impressed with it and would order it again.

Blue Mountain Barrel House Dark Hollow Chocolate & Coffee Aged

With my February Rare Beer of the Month Club, I received a bottle of Blue Mountain Barrel House Dark Hollow Chocolate & Coffee Aged. The beer pours a black color with a bubbly tan colored head. The aroma is bold with toasted malts, dark Belgian chocolate, coffee, espresso, vanilla, cherry, and caramel. The taste is rich with dark chocolate, sweet with vanilla and coffee, and has a solid toasted malt base. A dry oakiness arrives with a twist of cherry. The alcohol content is 10.0% ABV. What a wonderful beer this was! It was full of a variety of flavors and the cherry accents from the bourbon really made it, and I would highly recommend this beer.

Birra San Martino La Gold

As part of the February shipment for the Rare Beer of the Month Club I received a bottle of Birra San Martino La Gold, a bock. The beer pours a copper color with a lofty and frothy cream colored head that leaves some lacing on the glass on the way down. The aroma consists of sweet caramel, raisin, cherry, alcohol, radish, and tomato. The taste is sweet and bold with plenty of caramel, toffee, and raisin on the front end. Some alcohol, pepper, cherry, and yeast spice up the beer and provide some balance while alcohol arrives in the finish and warms the throat. The alcohol content is 7.6% ABV. This was a nice, earthy bock with a bold sweetness that is mostly balanced with the alcohol and the yeast used.

Great Lakes Brewing Alchemy House Double IPA

I picked up a four-pack of Great Lakes Brewing Alchemy House Double IPA at Giant Eagle while in Pittsburgh. The beer pours a golden-amber color with a frothy white colored head that leaves a lacing on the glass as it subsides. The aroma consists of passion fruit, orange, lemon, mango, tangerine, and fruit cup. The taste is sweet with citrus hops before a bitterness settles in. Plenty of passion fruit, pineapple, and mango dominate the palate with some tangerine, orange, and lemon accents. Some pine, pepper, and floral flavors make an appearance but are not dominant. The alcohol content is 9.4% ABV. This was a solid Double IPA and a departure from the prototypical one that grapefruit and tangerine dominate, as this one focused on passion fruit and mango flavors.

Captain Lawrence IPA

In a beer trade with my friend Tim, I received a bottle of the new Captain Lawrence IPA. The beer pours a golden color with a lofty and frothy white colored head that leaves a few specks of lacing on the glass. The aroma consists of tangerine, pineapple, grapefruit, passion fruit, and plenty of orange. The taste is bitter and hop-forward with plenty of citrus flavors including passion fruit, pineapple, orange, tangerine, and grapefruit. A spicy pepper and pine flavor comes out and mixes with the carbonation, drying the finish. The alcohol content is not available online, but I would estimate it to be about 6.5% ABV. This was a really fresh and fruitful IPA that push home the citrus and not just the typical tangerine and grapefruit but rather pineapple and passion fruit. It was really delicious, and I recommend trying it.

Brasserie des Sources Bellerose Biere Blonde Extra

As part of the January shipment from the Michael Jackson Rare Beer of the Month Club I received a bottle of Brasserie des Sources Bellerose Biere Blonde Extra. The beer pours a golden color with a lofty and frothy white colored head that leaves specks of lacing on the glass as it subsides. The aroma consists of grass, earthiness, wheat, lemon, peppercorn, and a hint of raisin. The taste is light and bready with solid biscuit flavor on the front end. A spicy earthiness makes an appearance with some lemon, wheat, and peppercorn flavors. The finish is dry and grassy with a touch a raisin sweetness. The alcohol content is 6.5% ABV. This was a nice, easy, and refreshing beer to drink with a solid bready base and a great compliment of spices.

Troegs Scratch 88- Chocolate Stout

I went to Troegs tasting room to pick up a growler of Scratch 88- Chocolate Stout. The beer pours a black color with a frothy tan colored head that leaves specks of lacing on the glass. The aroma consists of dark Belgian chocolate, toasted malts, milk, lemon, and pine. The taste is very dry with chocolate powder and gristle on the tongue. Plenty of toasted malts arrive as well with some lemon and pine accents. It actually has quite a potent hop bite, but it balances well with the robust chocolate offering. ON the finish, a light hint of vanilla lingers behind. The alcohol content is 7.0% ABV. This beer tasted like biting into a bar of unsweetened chocolate, but was quite delicious. While it may have been a little powdery and gritty, it wasn't
 unbearable like some others I've had.

Dogfish Head-Sierra Nevada Life and Limb Rhizing Bines

I received a bottle of Dogfish Head-Sierra Nevada Life and Limb Rhizing Bines from Dogfish Head and poured it into one of the new IPA glasses. The beer pours a golden color with a very lofty and frothy off-white colored head that leaves a think but nicely patterned lacing on the glass. The aroma consists of pepper, fresh cut grass, wheat, light hints of caramel, and a pungent hop oil. Orange, apricot, and tangerine provide subtle accents as well. The taste is bitter and hop-forward with lemon, pine, pepper, and grass flavor all coating the tongue with an oily residue. A solid malty backbone provides support for this beer, a little more so than I expected. It has has a light wheat taste white somewhat bridges the gap between the bitter and the sweet by adding a light dryness. Tangerine, orange, passion fruit, apricot, and pineapple give the a noticeable fruity character. On the finish, oily residue is left behind on the tongue with a pronounced bitterness. The alcohol content is 8.0% ABV. Overall, this beer wasn’t as bitter as I had expected, but it was definitely a hop-forward with with plenty of hop profile. It has a quite refreshing quality about it while driving home hop oils that linger.

Guinness Black Lager

My brother-in-law brought over a bottle of Guinness Black Lager for me to try. The beer pours a black color with a frothy cream colored head that leaves a lacing on the glass as it subsides. The aroma consists of caramel, chocolate, wet cardboard, and toasted malts. The taste is very light with faint hints of chocolate, toasted malts, and caramel. A light sweetness takes over with some vanilla hints, and it finishes with a spice. The alcohol content 4.5% ABV. This beer was not that enjoyable, and I absolutely would rather have a Guinness Stout. The flavors fell very short and it was almost watered down.

Dogfish Head Birra Estruca Bronze

I picked up a bottle of Dogfish Head Birra Estruca Bronze from Al’s of Hampden. The beer pours a bronze color with a lofty and frothy white colored head. The aroma consists of wheat, grapes, pomegranate, honey, caramel, and raisin. The taste is light and fruity with white grapes, pomegranate, raisin, and honey all on the front end. An earthy root flavor comes out and spices the beer a bit and it finishes with pepper lingering on the back of the throat. The alcohol content is 8.5% ABV. I can’t say that I liked this beer off of the first sip, but it grew on me as it warmed up and as I drank more of it. The fruit juices were too sweet at first, but they mellowed and became more complimentary as it went on, so I may actually get this beer again.