Electric Ray

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: Electric Ray

• Brewery: Sierra Nevada and Ballest Point

• Style: IPL

• ABV: 8.5

• IBU: 80

• Pour Color: A bronze color in the glass with light coming right thru!

       This one looked great in the glass. A golden slightly hazed bronze that really showed light thru. The scent off the glass was a strong piney and citrusy hops. The yeast smell I've come to expect from sierra beers in this pack also said hello. The head was actually quite fluffy and hung around for a good few sips. The taste was a nice balance of a slightly sweet malt bed with a fully floral hop presence. The flavor is that of a nice full bodied IPL that would be 5% not a big 8.5%.... The 70 IBU can get a IPA lover wondering if this is just a IPA.... Really a amazing beer to be had and maybe the best of this pack!
        Electric ray was the first beer that reminded me of the brewery it came from in collaboration not just produced by. Invasion from Ballest Point has a great hop character that really has it's own floral arrangement. This one had a lot more then just the ballenced approach of a pale. It also had very little back bone of malt at the end. One of the best parts of the invasion from Ballest Point. All and all though i have had few IPLs that live up to the India Pale name that they claim. This one does that and more!

Rating: *****

Double Latte

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: Double Latte

• Brewery: Sierra Nevada and Ninkasi Brewing Company

• Style: Milk Stout

• ABV: 7.6%

• IBU: 60

• Pour Color:Dark black color with no light getting thru.

       A big head came up on this beer and lasted most of the glass. A very formidable foe! A nice chocolate and coffee flavor comes through. A real dark color to this beer and even the head had a nice brown color. The body of the beer is richer but not as thick as I expected from a milk stout. Nice roasted flavor to the whole brew. The sweet character of the milk also comes through. A good milk stout and dark beer from a pack that really seems hop forward so far.
       First dark beer outta this pack and I was all sorts of excited. Every burly hair was waiting for the first sip. The head even when bested was leaving lacing down the whole glass. The mouth feel is the one thing that seemed wrong with this one. Yes it was thicker then most I feel it could have went heavier on that lactose sugar. Slightly creamy feel but just not enough for me. The coffee and roasted malts definitely came through clearly in this one. Really great beer but there and back is still number one in this pack!

Rating: ****1/2

Yonder Bock

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: Yonder Bock

• Brewery: Sierra Nevada and Cigar City

• Style: Tropical Maibock

• ABV: 7.7%

• IBU: 45

• Pour Color: A nice red to orange color

       Really nice red to orange color to this one that light went thru easily. A nice head at the start. I bested it in two or three sips. A nice hoppy almost papaya scent off the top. Slight scent of the yeast too. Really nice bouquet off this one. Really easy drinking for almost being a 8% beer. The yeast is a nice mellow bread flavor. Malts are a mellow caramel flavor that adds a nice sweet. The first hop flavor is in the mouth and goes through a fruit punch of flavors. Pineapple, mango, and apple really come thru most for me. The hops also come thru as a slightly bitter flavor in the swallow. Almost a lime flavor at the end. Sweet and flavor full each sip of this one. Much much more flavorful then most Maibocks I've tried. A really great beer in this box.
      Beer Camp got a little tropical flair in this one. Honestly one of my favorite Maibock. Much more hop forward then most Maibocks I've had and I think that's why i like it. It's also got such a wide variety of flavors that you can't just point out one as your favorite. Really an amazing beer to take a swim in for a glass or two!  

Rating: ****

Chico King

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: Chico King

• Brewery: Sierra Nevada and 3 Floyds

• Style: Pale Ale

• ABV: 6.5%

• IBU: 45

• Pour Color: A golden nearly red pour slightly hazy

      The head of this one held on for quite a few sips. A redish color to the pour that let light straight thru even with a slight hop haze. This is the first beer camp that left rings all the way down the glass as I sipped. The scent off the top is mostly flowery scented hops. A slight scent of the mix of yeast and hops is noticeable if you really try. The follicles frolicked in the resinous flowery hop flavor. A real mellow sweetness also come thru after swallowing. All and all a nice pale ale with a little more hop zip then usual.
      This beer really has a lot to live up to to beat a classic sierra pale. Most find the original pale as a gateway to craft beer and is really easy drinking. This is not that kind of pale. The hops are very prevalent and to a normal pale drinker would be over the top. As a hop head this isn't really a problem for this mustache. Yet this beer has little to no balance. It leaves me wishing that it just had a little more malt backing to even it out. Really really good almost IPA that would impress most beer drinkers. 

Rating: ***1/2

There and Back

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: There and Back

• Brewery: Sierra Nevada and New Glarus

• Style: English Style Bitter

• ABV: 5.6%

• IBU: 40

• Pour Color: A very slightly hazed bronze color

      This one had a head that fought for just three sips. The color was a nice bonze that was fully see thru. A mellow scent of hops off the top. It almost has a pear scent. Tasting it you get a real range of flavors. Lemon and lime are mixed to make a nice bitter flavor. A slight sweetness of pears and a real mellow spice makes it easily palatable. The part that really gets me is the lingering on the pallet of those bitter parts. This really is a treat to taste and one of the best beers i've tasted from the pack.
      I have heard legend of New Glarus but never have had the pleasure. I'm really glad that Sierra decided to have a tour stop with New Glarus. An amazing beer that really makes me wonder what else is out there in ESBs. Honkers is the only bitter I've had consistently but after this one I may have a new style to explore more often. Really great beer!

Rating: *****

Torpedo Pilsner

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name:Torpedo Pilsner

• Brewery: Sierra Nevada and FireStone Walker

• Style: Pilsner

• ABV: 5.2%

• IBU: 45

• Pour Color: Light golden color

      Upon pouring the face and I found it to be very heady and nice and golden. Easily seen thru. The head on this lasted for about half the glass before finally giving up to my follicles. The scent off the top was hoppy and yeasty. Nice tropical/piney scent off the top. The lager yeast was a small contribution to the bouquet. A sweet bready scent. The flavor is that of a strong dose of hops. Sweet meets up with piney tropical hops and really works well as a hoppy pilsner. If your looking for a Canadian pilsner then this one will just be to much for you. Really really good and delivers what it says it will!
      This pilsner is quite delicious. The hand in hand with firestone walker and sierra nevada suggests it will have a good hop flavor and ballance as both sierra and firestone know how to use hops. This pilsner delivers what you would expect and is nice and crisp. The flavors of the hops just make for a more refreshing taste then most pilsner. Having a lower ABV could have hurt it for the time i've let it age but that is not the case. A great beer that anyone would be lucky to find even now when it's not at it's optimal freshness. 

Rating: ****1/2

CANfusion

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: CANfusion

• Brewery: Sierra Nevada and Oscar Blues

• Style: Rye Bock

• ABV: 6.8%

• IBU: 45

• Pour Color: A bronze color with a slightly more red hue.

      The rye bock was slightly over carbonated and exploded out of the can. A bronze slightly red hue to the pour. The head came up and met up with me as soon as the glass was lifted. The head disappeared quick once it tangled with me. The aroma was mostly malts. Slightly sweet lager scent with a slight presence. The hops come thru as a slight citrus scent. Not really much for the rye in the aroma. The flavor is quite sweet. It has a good flavor from the rye but not as spicy as I hoped. The hops are citrus and nice but not enough to balance out the flavor of this sweet bock beer. Wouldn't be one of my every day go tos.
      First review in awhile and the big number 200! Seems fitting that it just happens to be a oskar blues/ Sierra Nevada collaboration. Sorry I waited so long to open this beer camp. Most won't be able to find it now but me and the face found it while travling from NY to FL. Wish this one would have been a better one. Much sweeter then most bocks I've enjoyed and not as rye as I hoped. Really a good offering but not as great as I would hope from two of my favorite breweries. Hope one of my other ones in the box surprises me for a different reason. 

Rating: ***

IPA

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: IPA

• Brewery: WestBrook Brewing Company

• Style:IPA

• ABV: 6.8%

• IBU: 60

• Pour Color: A golden slightly orange color that has a haze. Light still get thru.

      This one poured nice with a nice fluffy head. It fought valiantly but was bested before half the glass. The lacing shows the nice amount of malts used to make this beer. The scent off the top is hop forward but a sweet backing of malts. Quite resiny scent actually. The hops come through as the normal citrus and pine scents. The malts are actual more complex and give it a slightly spicy sweet scent. The taste is a nice resiny and sweet mix of IPA! The malts come in to give that sweetness but also to finish it off with a bit of biscuity goodness. A well ballenced and delicious IPA that luckily comes in cans!
      This one outta South Carolina really nails a balance of east coast malt ability with westcoast hop ability. Amazing how full of flavor this one is. Of course since it's in a can you don't have to worry to much about the dating cause light doesn't get in. I LOVE CANNED BEER! Sorry off on a tangent but this beer is amazing and really easy to drink and quite refreshing! Glad our bud Kristy put it on her Stash Shelve at AJ's Beer WareHouse in Hennrietta NY!

Rating: ****1/2

Hop Ottin' IPA

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: Hop Ottin' IPA

• Brewery: Anderson Valley Brewing Company (California)

• Style: IPA

• ABV: 7%

• IBU: 78

• Pour Color: A slightly hazy bronze that light makes it thru.

      The head came up fluffy and capped the bronze glass of beer well. It laced the glass as I sipped but didn't last very long. The scent off the top is mostly hops with a slight yeast and malt scent. The pine and citrus mix are a nice bouquet with the rose scent they get. Many beers claim scents they don't have, Anderson Valley nails the mix of scents off the glass. While sipping a strong lemon citrus is the first up front flavor. It also has a nice sweetness that balances a quite bitter beer. The echos of flavor come in that sweet flavor almost taking over up front and ballencing that bitter even more. It's not quite a peel bitterness that echos time and again on the back of the pallet. Very good and very refreshing for a mustache bath!
      Anderson Valley just makes good beer. Everything I've had is a experience unto itself and most of the time a great one. I may be bias against this IPA cause i've had Heelch O Hops but this beer is still good. A IPA that I would most likely grab before most on a shelf. I would be down right giddy to see it at a local grocery store near me.

Rating: ****

!Pliny The Elder!

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: Pliny the Elder

• Brewery: Russian River Brewing Company (California)

• Style: Double IPA

• ABV: 8%

• IBU: 100

• Pour Color: A hazy bronze to copper color.

      This pint poured out with a good head and a real hop haze. About two fingers of head that fought the good fight. Eventually i bested it and but each sip left residue of where it had been. The scent off the top was a bouquet of fruit and pine. Pineapple, grapefruit and pine needles all hit you to make a amazing mix! The mix comes through on flavor too. A slight sweetness of the malts try to even it out but the hops are on display. The most amazing part of this beer is the after tones. The echos of citrus peel stay with every follicles in-between sips. Long, Long, Long after each sip! Prost!, Russian River!
      That's right, me, the hop headed mustache, got to swim in a very special bottle of the Pliny elder... I don't know what else to say but AMAZING! This is my unicorn. It took me for a ride and a half. It was just everything I expected and more. Then I hit the bottom of the bottle and now I'll be chasing this beast again. By far the best double IPA I've ever had!

Rating: *****

IPA

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: IPA

• Brewery: Full Sail Brewing Company (Oregon)

• Style: IPA

• ABV: 6%

• IBU: 60

• Pour Color: A golden color that is nearly see thru.

      The pour brought a good head that was fluffy and full. Competed with for about half the glass but my follicles beat it down. The color of the beer was a golden shade and seemed pretty well filtered. The scent off the top is very full of citrus. The taste was full of lemon and grapefruit. It's almost a citrus fruit peel bitterness. It still has a great balance that works. A really interesting and as the say tasty IPA. 
      This is a great IPA. Hoppy and full of flavor in the right way. It's completely citrus flavored though. No hop spectrum but that citrus flavor. That comes across this mustache as a nice refreshing beverage. Not really every hop heads dream though. I'd grab this on hot days any day. Not really a cold weather beer for me though!

Rating: ****1/2

Hop Rod Rye

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: Hop Rod Rye

• Brewery: Bear Republic (California)

• Style: Rye P.A.

• ABV: 8%

• IBU: 80

• Pour Color: A hazy reddish color to this one that lets light thru.

      Pouring it came out to have a nice see thru hazy light red color.  The head held up nicely through most the glass. The scent off the top is a spicy rye. That mixes well with a citrus hop mix that makes a nice bouquet. Slightly thicker feel in the mouth then I expected. The rye is strongly present on the taste and holds up well with the hops. A nice orange and grapefruit mix is what the hops amount to in taste. This beer is actually really bitter to with a little alcohol taste. All and all though really well ballenced!
      I love me a good rye p.a. and this one delivers. Unlike another one of my favorites, Ruthless Rye, this one I can find year round. It's hard though to say which I like better. This is a little thicker and heartier though and is a much better winter beer. You can't get much better then rocking back and fourth on a sea of this one in a pint glass. Heaven for a drinking mustache like me!

Rating: *****