Ithaca Nut Brown

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: Ithaca Nut Brown

• Brewery: Ithaca Brewing Company (New York)
  

• Style: English Brown Ale

• ABV: 5.4%

• IBU: 

• Pour Color: Dark brown but lets a little light through.

      A brown ale always goes well with a brown mustache. The Face poured this one and you couldn't quite see through it. A nice fluffy head came up quick and left just as quickly. The scent off the top is a nice roasted caramel or toffee. The flavor is a nice raisin at first. Then you notice a nice roasted walnut taste. Finally a nice roasted flavor at the finish. All and all a really good beer that drinks much darker then most brown ales. 
      This is a sweet bitter beer that rounds out your average meals. Pair it with grilled meats, or a nice pizza, and it don't get better. Got a day planned round the grill? Bring some nut brown and everyone will thank you.

Rating: ****

Stovepipe porter

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: StovePipe Porter

• Brewery: Otter Creek (Vermont)
  

• Style: Porter

• ABV: 4.4%

• IBU: 28

• Pour Color:  A black pour letting little light through the bottle.
  

     On pour this one had a nice fluffy head that you would expect. Chocolate, roast, and a slight sweet smell comes off the glass when smelled. On first splash you realize this one has a nice thick body. Like a porter should. The taste is a nice smokey, roasted, chocolate taste. Almost a hint of coffee in there too. Really a great porter that no one could complain about. 
     This one is a nice full bodied porter. I find this to be a good beer to use for chili or stew. A nice dark roasted flavor to this one helps add to most recipes. This one also ain't to bad just out the bottle either. Here's a recipe using this one in chili. Enjoy!

     

Rating: ****

Phoenix

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: Phoenix

• Brewery: SlyFox Brewing (Pennsylvania)
  

• Style: Pale Ale

• ABV: 5.1%

• IBU: 40

• Pour Color: Nearly a golden color that easily lets light through

      Another pale ale and another beautiful color. Not quite a gold but very bright and light passes through real easy. The head came up fluffy at first and disappeared quick.  You get nice citrus and pine tones in the scent of the beer. A nice balance between hops and malts in this one. Both add to the bitterness of this one. A nice pine taste to the hops, and a citrus kick of almost a grapefruit, make this a nice pale ale. I'll be soaked in this one again for sure!
      The Sly Fox cans are always full of color and catch the Face's attention. Like a moth to a light your sure if it's in a shiny can he's gonna try it. Lucky for me really. This one, like all of the cans I've tried, pour like there off tap. Some of the bottles over the last few months didn't. Sly Fox is quality served in a can, don't pass it by!

Rating: ****1/2

Barney Flats Oatmeal Stout

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: Barney Flats Oatmeal Stout

• Brewery: Anderson Valley Brewing Company (California)
  

• Style: Stout

• ABV: 5.7%

• IBU: 13

• Pour Color:  A black pour letting little light the glass.
  

      The Face and I have a fascination with cans for sure. The Stout poured out the can quite black. Little light travels through the beer. The head was huge and fluffy. The scent off the glass was a nice sweet caramel and toffee. The taste out the glass gives you a nice range. You get a nice toasted biscuit taste while also getting a nice roasted barley/coffee taste to the beer. The body of the beer really adds to the experience too. Thick and rich, bitter but sweet, it's got the full spectrum. This really is an amazing stout that brings you to all the best places a dark beer can. 
      Wow. An oatmeal stout that delivers. Both thick and smooth this one hit the spot. This one was another example of exemplary beer being served out the can. If you're a dark beer lover or a coffee lover this beer would be great for ya. If you're not I'm wondering whats wrong with you...

Rating: *****

Southern Tier IPA

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: IPA

• Brewery: Southern Tier Brewing (New York)
  

• Style: IPA

• ABV: 7.3%

• IBU: 65 maybe?

• Pour Color: A copper color on the pour. Not quite gold and light traveled through.

      The Face opened it and poured it. The head was ready to contend right away. Being freshly waxed I was up to the challenge. Golden and fluffy headed I dove in smelling sweet malts and pine hops. As it soaked me I could taste grapefruit, pine, and grass. Bitter but with a real strong slightly sweet malt taste. Well ballenced and actually quite good. I would have this one again anytime. 
      A hop head would enjoy this one a lot. A nice blend of a lot of flavors in those hops. The sweet malts help yank it out of total bitterness. Which I actually could have went for. Although not everything I want in my IPA, it's still a great IPA.

Rating: ****

Pennant Ale '55

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: Pennant Ale '55

• Brewery: Brooklyn Brewery (New York)
  

• Style: EPA

• ABV: 5%

• IBU: 24

• Pour Color: Nearly a golden color that easily lets light through

      On the pour, the head was fluffy and nice. The scent off the glass is a slight roasted malt scent but very sweet. As you sip this one you get hit by malt from all sides. A sweet roasted malt comes first to the front. This is accompanied by a nice citrus and grapefruit taste. Finally as you swallow comes a super bitter taste with a nice biscuit finish. All and all a real exciting journey that I enjoyed. 
      It's baseball season and here is a beer for it. Dedicated to baseball history pennant ale is a good beer. Light crisp but not just water. Real light on the hop character but has a nice bitter kick. Turn on the Mets, Yanks, or Dodgers and bathe in one of these. Win or lose you made out in this deal!

Rating: ****

Chocolate Stout

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: Chocolate Stout

• Brewery: Rogue Brewery (Oregon)
  

• Style: Stout

• ABV: 6.0%

• IBU: 69

• Pour Color: Black through and through.

      Reading chocolate I'm scared this one might be sticky and sweet. On the pour it almost is black as melted chocolate. Even the head takes on that brown color of this beer. Smelling it doesn't give you a strong chocolate scent. A sweet scent comes off the glass but mostly you get coffee and roasted barley off the top. Tasting this you realize that this is a real stout. Thick and bitter it's a real dark beer. The taste you get of chocolate comes through  but it's a dark dark chocolate taste. This is a great beer, not just a novelty. 
      I'm a big fan of what Rogue does with dark ales. One of my favorite dark beers is the Mocha Porter. This one is a new favorite now. Dark, thick, and really bitter this beer gives you all the tastes a stout should and only comes in the 22oz. What more could a mustache wish for?

Rating: *****

Vanilla Java Porter

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: Vanilla Java Porter

• Brewery: Atwater Block Brewery (Michigan) 
  

• Style: Java Porter

• ABV: 6.0%

• IBU: 12

• Pour Color: A brown color once poured in the glass.

      Once opened and poured this one gives off that great coffee scent. A nice tone of chocolate comes off the glass too. The head didn't really come to fruition but left a creamy foam on the top of the beer. As it splashed up the vanilla was all I could taste at first. A strong taste of extract more then anything. After the first few sips the coffee and chocolate taste come forward with a nice roasted smoke. The vanilla really is the only down side of this nice full bodied beer. 
      Michigan checks in with this one. Really bold flavors and a thick full bodied beer. I found the vanilla to taste to extract like though. Maybe if it was toned back it wouldn't have almost a maple end to it. Pretty good overall if your looking to drink one. Two or Three may get a little heavy on a mustache.

Rating: ***

Black IPA

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: Black IPA

• Brewery: Otter Creek Brewing (Vermont)
  

• Style: Black IPA

• ABV: 6.0%

• IBU: 60

• Pour Color: A dark pour that can't be seen through, black.

      Nice citrus and pine scent out the bottle. On pour, it was black, letting little light through. The head held for a few seconds but not too long. The scent off the glass is a slight roasted scent and the pine and citrus scents of hops. The taste is where it gets really good. It splashed up and I got a nice bitter taste of hops. Once my follicles got used to that it was easy to taste the coffee and roasted barley flavors. Really really delicious smooth porter feel with the hops of a IPA. This is by far the best of the four I got in the Otter Creek sampler. 
      Black IPAs seem to be coming out more and more each day. If done well these are some of the best beers out there. Why settle for a IPA or a porter when you can have both? That nice roasted flavor and bitter hop make for some great mixes of tastes. Otter Creek happens to have a real good one too. So go try it.

Rating: ****1/2

Strawberry Harvest

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: Strawberry Harvest

• Brewery: Abita Brewing (Louisiana)
  

• Style: Fruit Beer

• ABV: 4.2%

• IBU:13

• Pour Color: A slightly hazy color but totally golden.

      The Face poured this one and it had a head that disappeared quick. The color was golden and hazy, but, light traveled through easy. The scent off the glass was a nice clean strawberry smell. You expect the strawberry to be overbearing but it's not. Light, but clearly their, it really is the taste of a ripe strawberry. It also has a nice citrus taste. As you swallow the nice strong taste of wheat really comes through giving you a great range of flavors. This is a delicious and refreshing beer. 
      This is our first taste of Louisiana and it's starting out great! This is by far my favorite fruit beer I have tasted. Crisp and refreshing it's a great beer to bathe in. On a hot summer day, when you're gonna have four or five, this fruit beer wouldn't be bad at all. I know the Face will be splashing this one on me again real soon.

Rating: ****1/2

Copper Ale

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: Copper Ale

• Brewery: Otter Creek (Vermont)
  

• Style: Altbier

• ABV: 5%

• IBU: 32

• Pour Color:  a copper color to the pour easily seen through.

      On pour this one had a quick rising head. That was quick lived as it disappeared almost instantly.  The scent off the glass is a sweet malty scent. The caramel malt is what you catch most of in scent. On sip you get a strong taste of those caramel malts again. A slight roasted taste to it too. It also has a alkaline flavor that I found to be off setting. Overall the hops only add slight tones. Almost a spicy kick but really don't come through strong. This one is a very malty earthy beer. 
      Being Otter Creek's flagship beer I expected more. The earthy spicy tones of the hops, that you could taste, was good. The alkaline almost metal taste though was really not good. This isn't one that I would buy again on any occasion really.

Rating: **

Long Hamer

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: Long Hammer

• Brewery: Red Hook (Washington)
  

• Style: IPA

• ABV: 6.5%

• IBU: 44

• Pour Color: See thru golden color

      This is one of the few IPAs that the face poured that was perfectly golden. A slight low head on this beer, and slightly murky, the light still makes it through. The scent, as the face lifts it, is hoppy and slightly malty sweet scent. The taste of this one is a nice malty IPA taste. More of that biscuit flavor to the malts then most IPAs. This one really was a delicious malty IPA that had bitterness and sweetness that blended well.
      This IPA is much more malty then most. It also has a nice hop character too. One of the few IPA's I would describe as ballenced and still give a 5 star rating. With that biscuit taste this one is so delicious but still has that citrus/pine flavor that a IPA should have. Really this mustache loves this one!

Rating: ****1/2

Old Chub

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: Old Chub

• Brewery: Oskar Blues (Colorado)

• Style: Scotch Ale

• ABV: 8.0%

• IBU:85

• Pour Color: On pour a dark red almost brown, No light passes through

      Right out the can you begin to pick up on those scents associated with other scotch ales. Caramel is there and almost a fig scent on top of it. The pour was a very murky red that is not see through at all. The head was much smaller then I expected and disappeared quickly. As the beer soaked me I realized I was in a malt dream. Sweet and full bodied because of the malts this one has a real nice feel to it. A sweet almost roasted flavor is the main flavor. A nice raisin or fig taste is there too. Finally this beer doesn't have that alcohol taste at the end that some do. Most scotch ale have that almost scotch taste to it. This one though really didn't have that last bite. All and all really strange but wonderful brew that I liked. 
      Kinda feel weird drinking, and liking, an Old Chub... This one though has a complexity and mixture of flavors I haven't found before. Most scotch ales taste like what all the other scotch ales taste like. This one wasn't like that. It had some of the flavors you expect from a scotch ale but, it's a full bodied beer that has a easy drink ability that you can't dislike. If it's next to dale's on the shelf again the Face will be picking it up for me! 

Rating: ****

Deviant Dale's

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: Deviant Dale's

• Brewery: Oskar Blues (Colorado)

• Style: Imperial IPA

• ABV: 8.0%

• IBU:85

• Pour Color: A bright amber not quite golden but see through

      Deviant comes in the tall boy can delivering the fresh taste you crave. The deviant has a slightly stronger scent to it then Dales Pale. The hops come forward quickly backed by the malts. The head is tall fluffy and thick. Now on taste comes a interesting orange taste to this one. Both sweet and bitter it's got a nice balance. It also has a linger that lasts. All that hoppy goodness echos lowly forever. I don't know if I should curl tighter or droop lower. Deviant may have given me a wedgie and made off with my wax. It was worth it though!
      I think I said this before. Dale's may be the best beer on the market as far as I'm concerned. Deviant has a lot of the things I love about dales. It also has a higher alcohol kick. Dale's easy drink ability still pulls it ahead slightly for me. Still an amazing imperial IPA.

Rating: *****

Outburst

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: Outburst

• Brewery: Pyramid (Washington)

• Style: Imperial IPA

• ABV: 8.5%

• IBU:80

• Pour Color: A dark amber color that is see through

      Out the bottle you smell these hops. A nice mix of pine and grass scents off the glass. The color on pour was a dark amber that was easily seen through. On the first splash it's all IPA. Bitter and hoppy who wouldn't love this beer. The nice taste, of a spicy hop, to the grass and pine flavors is great. Not much malt flavor comes through but who really needs that? A really good Imperial IPA and after a taste it echos on each of the follicles.
      Starting to wish I was on the west coast getting some of these guys food too. Pyramid for a long while I didn't see on a shelf and it's reemergence has really made me happy. Hearing that theses guys have a barley wine out soon is really exciting. Great beers that hop heads and wheat heads can get excited about!

Rating: ****1/2

Widmer Brothers Pitch Black IPA

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: Pitch Black IPA

• Brewery: Widmer Brothers Brewing (Oregon)

• Style: Black IPA

• ABV: 6.5%

• IBU: 65

• Pour Color: Black on pour letting little to no light through

      On pour this one had a nice fluffy head that even as you drink holds on the top. It's one of the first beer that had a low head all the way down. A roasted sweet caramel scent first thing you smell. Mixed with a pine and citrus hop blend. The cascade hops come out as the first star of this beer. As it splashed up on me it was all I tasted at first. A nice sweet roasted taste to the malts balance it well. This one is a really good Black IPA.
      Some real dark beers this week but still a real nice hop presence. For some reason that chocolate/coffee flavor works so well with the bitter hops. This is another balanced beer that a hop head or dark beer lover can get into.  I'd recommend your face get one today!

Rating: ****

Yakima Glory Ale

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: Yakima Glory Ale

• Brewery: Victory brewing (Pennsylvania)

• Style: Dark IPA

• ABV: 8.7%

• IBU:?

• Pour Color: Pours a very dark red.

      This one poured a dark colored red that let through little light. The head was big and fluffy but disappeared quickly. The scent of this one is earthy. You get a slightly fruity scent off it too. Those scents also have a slight sweet smell of malts to it. On taste you get hit with tons of flavors. Sweet roasted flavored malts are there in that dark color. The hops though are spicy and grassy. There's a flowery hint to this one too. Wow the range and flavor of this one is great and not scene often!
      Not quite as hoppy as a IPA usually is but nothing to complain about. This beer has a nice scent and a nice taste. The malts are strong as the hops and this leads to a nice balance. The crisp flavors are met by roasted dark malts and neither are left to go it alone. This one makes me glad the face is going to a victory take over in his home city!

Rating: ****1/2

Righteous Ale

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: Righteous Ale

• Brewery: Sixpoint Brewery (New York)

• Style: Rye Beer

• ABV: 6.4%

• IBU: 57

• Pour Color: A golden slightly brown color.

      On Pour this one was quite hazy with a nice fluffy head. The scent off the glass was the rye in this one. The hops had a scent of grass and pine. Tasting it you get huge tones of the rye. Giving it both a spicy taste and bitter aspect really adds to this beer. Then the hops comes pine and citrus flavors. Really much more malty flavor in this real hoppy beer then most. Unique and delicious!
      This is a huge malt fest with that rye and tastes quite spicy. Really a bread in a bottle taste to it. I found it to be great but those who don't like rye should avoid it. This isn't the type of beer the Face would get normally, but I'm glad he did.
     

Rating: ****1/2

Nugget Nectar

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: Nugget Nectar

• Brewery: Troegs brewery (Pennsylvania)

• Style: Imperial Amber Ale

• ABV: 7.5%

• IBU: 93

• Pour Color: A darker amber color

      On pour it's completely see through although a redish/orange color. The head was fairly fluffy although disappeared after a sip or two. Smelling this one is a hop fest with a slight scent of malts. The taste is a nice mix of pine, spice, and grass. The malts of this one are easy to taste. They come through as a nice earthy fresh taste. Almost a biscuit taste to it. Great spectrum of flavors in all the important parts of a beer.
      Troegs Imperial Amber is amazing. Nugget Nectar is a great name that explains everything you need to know about this one. The Nugget comes through and really mixes well with the malts. Almost a toasty flavor that rally make this one a treat. All you mustaches out there need to get the Face to buy a few of these. YOU'RE WELCOME!

Rating: *****

Rocky Mountain IPA

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: Rocky Mountain IPA

• Brewery: Fort Collins Brewery

• Style: IPA

• ABV: 6.2%

• IBU: 80

• Pour Color: Almost a orange color really. very murky.

      On pour this one had a nice head that was fluffy it held fairly well. As the Face lifted the glass it was a nice floral and pine scent off it mainly. The malt does come through on scent too though. On taste the malt again is only in the back ground as the hops comes forward. Bitter with almost a grapefruit and pine mix. Really a well balanced beer that lingers on the follicles between sips.
      An Elephant on your bottle is a easy way to get the face to try your beer. Easily mesmerized that one. Anyway Fort Collins Brewery joins the list of great Colorado breweries. This IPA is another great example of delicious beer from the rocky mountain state. Canned or bottled I'm enjoying Colorado beer!

Rating: ****1/2

Raspberry

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: Raspberry

• Brewery: Sea Dog Brewing (Maine)

• Style: Fruit Beer

• ABV: 4.7%

• IBU:

• Pour Color: A dark beer on pour. When held up to light shows red through.

      Another sea dog beer and another fruit flavor. I think the face likes these guys or something. On pour it's golden and crisp. The head really didn't show up when this one was poured. The scent is a sweet raspberry. On taste it's also the taste of that sweet raspberry. The wheat is mellow but it's there especially as you swallow. Almost a biscuit flavor that mixes well with the echos of raspberry. 
      Sea Dog really knows how to make fruit beers drinkable. At 4.7% this one has a higher alcohol level then most the fruit beers out there. As with the other Sea Dog this one is a fruit first beer. The difference with this one though, is that it has the wheat flavor, really making the fruit crisper. This is a really good fruit beer.

 

Rating: ****

Vanilla Porter

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: Vanilla Porter 

• Brewery: Breckenridge Brewery (Colorado)

• Style: Porter

• ABV: 4.7%

• IBU:16

• Pour Color: A dark beer on pour. When held up to light shows red through.

      This one looked to me to be another flavored novelty beer that the Face likes to get. It poured and had a slight head that went away fast. That worried me to. The came the scent off the glass. It was scent of coffee, slight nuttiness, and sweet caramel. Altogether just in scent I started to twinge waiting for a splash. Then it came and I twisted a little tighter. A nice little taste of caramel and coffee are heightened with a nice roasted flavor. Chocolate comes through and a nice cereal taste on top of it. Then comes their vanilla taste. Not to strong at all it really seems to help brighten the other flavors in this one. This one is light for a porter in body but all and all lots of flavor. 
       Colorado is starting to flow pretty regularly on me.  Oskar blues is one of my favorite breweries. This one though just made me a fan of Breckenridge Brewery too! A nice balanced porter with a extra kick of vanilla. A beer no one should be sad to have in their mustache. Thanks again Face!

  

Rating: ****1/2

Brother Thelonious

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: Brother Thelonious 

• Brewery: North Coast Brewing (California)

• Style: Belgian Style Abbey

• ABV: 9.4%

• IBU: 32

• Pour Color:  Poured a very dark red almost brown

      Poured nice and see through although dark. The head was fluffy and held for awhile. A sweet fruity scent to this one that most ales don't have. On taste you realize it has a fig and/or raisin flavor. The yeast in this one is a star all it's own though. It adds a spicy flavor that melds well with the malts. The malts themselves have a nice caramel flavor that nears that of a scotch ale. Really great complimenting flavors in this one. A great beer that helps a good cause in supporting jazz education.
      I've had some really bad abbey ales for the most part. Beers that get the malts and the flavors wrong while melding and come out being real gross. All of them to me seemed to have a nasty acidic tasting sour and a really over done sweetness. Leaves you feeling like it's vomit in a glass. Brother Thelonious changed that point of view. A well balanced beer that has a 9.4% alcohol, this one goes way past most expectations.

  

Rating: *****

Stone IPA

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: Stone IPA 

• Brewery: Stone Brewery (California)

• Style: IPA

• ABV: 6.9%

• IBU: 77

• Pour Color:  A murky golden color that light makes it through

      Seeing Stone brewery on the side of a bottle always makes me curl a little bit more. This is our first time getting the IPA instead of a Ruination. The pour really was murkier then most and gave it a unfiltered look to it. The head of the beer was fluffy but disappeared fast. The scent off the glass was that of grapefruit and floral tones. Stone balanced this one really really well. The malts are a nice slight sweetness that set the stage for the hops. Citrus, floral, earthy tones come through strong and make this a nice IPA. Unlike the Ruination though this one doesn't sit and echo hops for days. Fairly easy drinking IPA that tantalized the follicles. 
      Another gargoyle on a bottle and you know that means quality. Stone seems to have the right mix of malt and a whole lot of hop to everyone of their beers. Yet when you taste Ruination compared to this IPA they both stand alone as really good beers. I've found you can't go wrong when choosing Stone!

  

Rating: ****

2X Stout

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: 2x Stout

• Brewery: Southern Tier Brewing Company (New York)

• Style: Milk Stout

• ABV: 7.5%

• IBU:50

• Pour Color:  This beer is a black abyss in a glass

      As the Face poured this one it was just black in the glass. The head was fairly fluffy and held on for a few sips. You can smell the lactose in this one off the top of the glass. That is accompanied by a nice sweet chocolate and roasted smell smell. A very strange range of flavors as you taste. Roasted malts back a really sweet chocolate stout. The milk is a strong presence and adds to the beers body. The hops kick in during the taste and almost add a sour flavor. This one is a nice well rounded beer with a little extra kick.
      I enjoyed this one a lot. A mix of good flavors and an actual milk tone to what calls itself a milk stout. The creaminess is what makes this one. The hops were a kick that you really don't expect but gives it it's own character. Balanced and unique, what more could you want?

  

Rating: ****