Robust Porter

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: Smuttynose Robust Porter

• Brewery: Smuttynose Brewing Company (New Hampshire)

• Style: Porter

• ABV: 6.2%

• IBU: 43

• Pour Color: Black...

      Pouring this one told a story. The head wasn't super big but creamy. The scent off the top was a roasted coffee scent. The carbination wasn't even seen through this beer. It was just a black hole of a beer absorbing every bit of light! The head by this time had went down to just a lacing. The flavor on sip was a nice full roasted flavor. Smoke, coffee and slight chocolate to it but also a fuller body. It really has some bulked up body to this one even though the head didn't show it.
      Delicious is how I would describe this. It's bitter in the roasted sense more then the IBU bitter. It's a extremely dry finish to it. Still it's got so much flavor you can't dislike it. Roasty and full bodied this one is making me glad I can flavor save. Smutty makes a good IPA and now I know they make a good dark beer too! 

Rating: ****1/2

Dunkel Lager

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: Dunkel Lager 

• Brewery: SlyFox Brewing Company (Pennsylvania)

• Style: Munich Dunkel Lager

• ABV: 5.3%

• IBU: 21

• Pour Color: A amber color that light traveled thru easily.

      The pour left a head that was slightly fluffy for a sip or two. Then the head was gone. The top of the beer had lacing. Only a slight sweet malt scent off the top. The color was a amber that looked rather thin and allowed light thru. The malts were a sweet sour dough. The hops really added little to no bitterness or flavor. A lager like beer, not much more. 
      I'm not a lager fan and it takes something special to impress me. This isn't one of those special beers. This is overly sweet and sour. The mix makes for a weird swallow while also tasting the bready finish of yeast and malt. I really don't see myself grabbing another one of these.

Rating: *

Strawberry Wit

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: Strawberry Wit

• Brewery: Ass Kisser Brewing Company

• Style: Ass Kissers Beverage Co. (California)

• ABV: 5.8%

• IBU: ?

• Pour Color: Golden and hazy really a good looking beer! 

      The head disappeared quick and lacing didn't really happen going down. The scent off the top was strawberry and lemon. The color was gold and hazy even though the light passed thru easy. The taste was malty at first. The malts were forward until swallow. Swallowing led to the mix of the strawberry/lemon that was promised in the scent. All and all a great fruit beer that doesn't just lean on the fruit to hard.
      The fruit of this beer is what makes it good to me. It's mellow enough to call this a beer with fruit instead of a fruitbeer. The malts are the star with a strong wheat flavor until the swallow. Once you swallow you get a nice mix of hops strawberry and lemon zest that really makes it refreshing. This is the type of fruit beer that this mustache likes to swim in instead of has to swim in!

Rating: ***1/2

Censored

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: Censored

• Brewery: Lagunitas Brewing Company (California)

• Style: Amber Ale

• ABV: 6.75%

• IBU: 25.08

• Pour Color: A hazy deep amber color that light gets thru. 

      The pour came out with a nice fluffy head. It lasted a little while before disappearing. The scent off the top was malt heavy. Strong aroma of toasty caramel malts of some sort. The color of the beer was a darker amber that had a haze to it. The flavor of the beer was much less sweet then the scent would have led me to believe. This beer has a character that is unusual for a amber ale. It's got a full body and a malty taste that just is bigger then most ambers. The yeast and the toasted malt mix to give you a nice fresh bread or biscuit flavor. On swallow you get that familuar red ale finish of caramalts. A nice amber ale in my opinion. 
      Most amber ales just are fairly boring to this mustache. I'm actually more inclined to grab a wheat ale. That being said this is a lot different. Normally if I'm going to give a amber a distinction it's cause of the hop heavy way they did it. This beer here has little hop flavor but still awakes the taste buds. Another swim in this one is gonna be come shortly cause this is a good beer!

Rating: ****1/2

Odyssey

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: Odyssey

• Brewery: SlyFox Brewing Company (Pennsylvania)

• Style: Imperial IPA

• ABV: 8.4%

• IBU: 90

• Pour Color: Slightly hazy and orange color

      The head came up and was fluffy. It lasted for a good while as I swam but soon was just lacing down the glass. It's a hazy orange color that light passed thru. The scent off the top was a lot less hops then I would expect. It was more earthy spicy tones to the bouquet then citrus or fruit. Slightly sweet malt scent. The mix of spicy hops, sweet malts, and yeast all have a slight liquorish taste to me or almost a root-beer. Not really my favorite to bathe in.
      This really is a strange double IPA. It's only a 8.4% alcohol beer and is fairly smooth at that level. The scent off of it was fairly boring. The taste profile too was strange and much more malt and yeast then hops. It does give you a nice bitter tone but it's more a biting a orange peel. Another thing that made this beer strange to me. Some will love this beer I guarentee but me... I'm not one of em.

Rating: **

Monster Ale

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: Monster Ales

• Brewery: Brooklyn Brewing Company (New York)

• Style: Barley Wine

• ABV: 10.1%

• IBU:

• Pour Color: A nice copper color that let light pass easy.

       This beer poured with a head that disappeared quick. The scent off the top was a mix of apples and hops. Almost a falconers flight scent. The color was pretty much a copper and could easily be seen thru. The flavor gives you a nice mix of hops and malts with a yeasty taste. Not to sweet really and not really tasting like it's 10 percent. The hops are really the lightest taste not really bright or crisp. The hops might be the apple taste and scent I'm getting. The star is obviously the malts and yeast as you get a toasted roasted flavor while in mouth. Slightly sweet too. On swallow it turns to a yeasty biscuity taste that taste strange. It's a barley wine for sure though!
      At such a high alcohol you'd expect that you'd taste it. You really don't though. 10.1% and it's still fairly mellow. The taste though is off kilter to me. I swam in it and it really reminded me most of the Brooklyn IPA but not really much more. If you're looking for a high ABV that will be fairly easy drinking this is it. Not personally a favorite in the mix of flavors they did this with. I'm actually really disappointed cause most of the time Brooklyn hits a home run in my opinion!

Rating:***1/2

Captain's Reserve

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: Captain's Reserve IIPA

• Brewery: Captain Lawrence Brewing Company (New York)

• Style: IIPA

• ABV: 9%

• IBU: 80

• Pour Color: A darker yellow color that can be seen through.

      The head came up and stayed up for a good while. Lacing would happen all the way down this one. The scent is a little less then you would expect from a Imperial IPA. You get a nice fruity tangy scent off the top. It has passion fruit in there, but also something that gives the nostrils a sting. When tasting it you find another surprise. The alcohol of a 9% is there but is nearly covered up. It has a nice sweet malt backing that competes right with the hoppy spice/fruity flavor. This makes it easy to swallow the beer before the real bite. The malts again make an appearance in the swallow with a nice biscuit finish. This isn't your normal IIPA it's pretty easily drinkable!
      Hopstoopid ain't this smooth! I mean you get the realization that this, as you drink it, is a imperial. It's not that it lacks flavor... It just has a mellow alcohol flavor that doesn't need a huge backing to cover up. It's a really well ballenced beer that doesn't seem to go hop insane. The beer doesn't have a flat boring taste profile either. Mellow crisp and easy to drink. Really a great beer that not many can rival!

Rating: *****

Exposed Cream Ale

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: Exposed Cream Ale

• Brewery: Horny Goat Brewing (Wisconsin)

• Style: Cream Ale

• ABV: 5.3%

• IBU:

• Pour Color: Bright yellow color that was slightly cloudy.

      This one poured with little enthusiasm. I mean the head came and went but left some lacing on the top. It was a golden color with a little cloudy color. The scent off the top was mostly malt and biscuit. The taste was mostly those biscuit/bread tasting malts. The feel in the mouth really was fizzy and boring. Not really that creamy. This isn't one I'm going back to get again.
      On the website they list this as a session beer. Which is incorrect. If you're meaning it's easily drinkable then yes this is a "session beer". If you go by the actual meaning of "session beer" then you need a 5% or lower ABV . This obviously is not the case with this beer. This is important, cause a session beer is to be enjoyed over a long period of time and a 5.3% abv, may be a little high to bring on a hot day playing golf. It's easy to bathe in this beer cause it has such a mellow charicter with the 5.3%. That also lends to it being pretty boring in a world of craft beer. Really a everyday beer drinkers dream, in a craft beer bottle. If you've experienced craft beer, more then once, you probably left this kind of a beer in the review long ago!

Rating: *

Simcoe Spring

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: Simcoe Spring

• Brewery: Peak Organic (Maine)

• Style: Pale Ale

• ABV: 5.4%

• IBU: 66

• Pour Color: A golden copper color that is easily seen thru

      This one was a darker straw color as it poured and left a nice head. The head would leave a nice island at the top and lacing all the way down. The simcoe comes through as a nice fruity scent. A citrus and pasion fruit scent are easy to smell. The feel in the mouth is light and smooth. The malts give a nice sweet flavor that just makes it easy drinking. A interesting pale. 
      I'm kinda blown away by this one. I like overly hopped or so dark you can't see thru it. This is neither of those. This is a nice spring offering that really gives a kick with simplicity. One hop really gives a lot of character in a beer I expected to be an average pale. It being by a organic brewery makes you think twice on what matters in brewing too!

Rating: ****1/2

3Beans

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: 3Beans

• Brewery: Six Points Brewing Company (New York)

• Style: Baltic Porter

• ABV: 10%

• IBU: 85

• Pour Color: Extremely dark and light is slow to pass thru

      The pour came out dark as a porter should. The scent is strong with a sweet chocolate fig scent. The alcohol also comes through on the bouquet.  The head frosted up but disappeared quickly. Chocolate and fig are also in the flavor as you sip. On the swallow comes the strong roasted tones of coffee with the alcohol taste. The roasted malt coffee flavor echos long after the liquor taste though. It's not often a beer has me talking about hops after the malts but that's this beer. At 85 IBU, they add some nice brightness in this dark beer, but not much. This really  is a porter that makes even a mustache dizzy!
      If you drink beers cause they may be smoother then liquor, this is not the beer for you. First sip and any-ones mustache is gonna curl. Give it another chance though! It's taste two or three that you realize how good this is. The coffee and the chocolate make it not so heavy hitting. Malty, bitter, and demands to be enjoyed not just chugged, a really great dark beer!

Rating: *****

Eliot Ness

The Beer Stats: 

• Beer Name: Eliot Ness

• Brewery: Great Lakes Brewing Company (Ohio)

• Style: Amber Lager

• ABV: 6.2%

• IBU: 27

• Pour Color: A amber color that light got thru easy

      The color was a toasted amber color along the lines of almost a red. The head came up frothy and eventually mellowed, although it left a trace of it self the whole way down! The scent off the top is malty yeasty and toasty. Not really a hop lovers beer here. The taste is much sweeter then I usualy enjoy. That though is mixed with a toasty almost biscuity taste. The only hops come through as a earthy variety, not very bold though. Really a lager that has some soul not just fizzy yellow sugar like some. 
     This is a nice light amber that is light but not. 6.2% abv gives it a little kick that most ambers wouldn't have. The toasty flavor and easy drinkability make this a pretty good beer. Not something to go tell the neighbor hood about either. Any speak easy or every day bar should have something this smooth on!

 
Rating: ****1/2

Red IPA

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: Red IPA

• Brewery: Saranac Brewing Company (New York)

• Style: IPA

• ABV: 6.0%

• IBU: 63

• Color: A dark amber that can easily be seen thru

      The head of this beer was real fluffy from the get go. Easily distinguishable as a IPA as soon as you smelt the top. A nice citrus grassy smell. The color was obviously a red ale with a dark amber tone to it. Lacing began at the top and started tracing down as I bathed splash after splash. The bitterness is there for a IPA but it has a nice back bone to the sips. Hops are of course the star though. Citrus, grassy, and pine flavors are all easy to find. These flavors also echo long after the bathe and sip are over. Really one of the better spring seasonals I've had.

      Wow. Let me start by saying if you want a great 12 pack, you should get the 12 beers a springing from saranac. It's basically a IPA love triangle in that thing, plus a few more hop heavy favorites. This is the one I think is the best of the bunch though. The yeast flavor that most of the Saranac beers have, maybe it's a house yeast, don't blend this well. The yeast just fills out the flavor profile as you get a strong dose of bitter hops and slightly sweet malts. A IPA loving mustache like me can't help but love this one! Maybe this one will go full time soon like the White IPA!

Rating: *****

Mardi Gras Bock

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: Mardi Gras Bock

• Brewery: Abita Brewing Company (Louisiana)

• Style: MaiBock 

• ABV: 6.5%

• IBU: 25

• Pour Color: A copper golden color

      You get both the yeast and the malts in the scent off the top. The head hung out rather low for a good portion of the glass. Slight traces of lacing on the sides. The color was a copperish golden color. It could easily be seen thru. The malt and yeast though tell this beers story. You got a nice mix of sweet malt and bread tones. The hops just helps add a little contrast that doesn't over take the beer. The yeast and the malts also echo long after the sip! Not really ballenced but actually very easy for a mustache to swim in frequently.
      Abita makes some good products. Another seasonal from them and another I would have again and again. Malty and hearty while not being to think to drink a whole night. Although the 6.5% ABV may be a little high to have all night. It's just a beer that any whiskers should be pleased with!

Rating: ****1/2

Lagunitas Sucks

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: Lagunitas Sucks

• Brewery: Lagunitas Brewing Company (California)

• Style: Imperial IPA

• ABV: 7.85

• IBU: 63.21

• Pour Color: Gold easily light travels thru!

      The scent off the top is all IPA! Color is just a golden color that is easily seen thru. The scent off the top is a strong pineapple/citrus scent. The head came up and stayed very fluff for most the glass. Lacing from the head was seen the whole way down. The taste is a mix of citrus and grassy hops to me. The malts have a nice backing that really gets nearly drown out by the hops. It seems to try to be ballenced but really has that hop kick you would expect from a IIPA!
      Lagunitas sucks.... Not my experience but I also haven't tasted Brown Shugga before. Maybe not having it really does make them suck. Me though I love the IPA and I love Maximus! IPA's ain't a problem for Lagunitus and this isn't an exception. Delicious, bitter, and all the tastes you'd expect in a IPA. Let the other idiot faces think this beer or Lagunitas sucks you and this mustache know better!

Rating: *****

Nippletop

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: Nippletop

• Brewery: Lake Placid Brewing Company (New York)

• Style: Milk Stout

• ABV: 4.9%

• IBU: 

• Pour Color: Dark Dark Brown... Light fails to make it thru!

      Nippletop is a dark beer on pour. Even that head on the top had a dark brown color. The head was nice and creamy on the top. It stuck around for awhile. The scent off the top is roasted malts and alcohol. The taste has a nice complexity of roasted malt, coffee and chocolate. The feel in the mouth is much fuller then most beers. It shows the use of oatmeal and lactose sugars in the brewing. It leaves a nice creamy feel all around. Not a bad beer to come down from the mountain for!
    Nippletop is a good but not great milk stout. It's got your strong malts to warm the insides. It's also got a great feel in your mouth. That coffee roasted flavor is really good too. All of these things though just don't go far enough for me. It's almost watered down at the finish to me. Still a good stout that most beer drinkers will like!

Rating: ***1/2

All Day IPA

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: All Day IPA

• Brewery: Founder's Brewing Company (Michigan) 

• Style: Session IPA

• ABV: 4.7%

• IBU: 42

• Pour Color: Golden straw color easily seen thru

      The Face poured it and we found it was a nice see thru gold color. The carbonation seemed rather high as bubbles are seen all over the glass. The head sat at about a inch and hung around for a good while. The lacing went down the whole glass. The scent off the top was a piney/earthy combination. Much stronger and bolder then most session IPAs. The taste came through as a piney grassy taste. The malts, unlike alot of founders beers, stayed very mellow. It comes across as almost a wheat beer flavor.
      Normally I expect a session ale to be rather light and boring. Although in the vein of most craft beer types they just are too mellow to really be a everyday pick up. I find this one to be different. The hops that a IPA lover is looking for is strong in this beer. Both scent and flavor you get a nice kick. Although since the ABV is lower you can drink two or three of these and still golf. You really might have a hard time doing the same with two or three breakfast stouts! It's definitely worth spending all day with this IPA!

Rating: ****1/2