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: ****

Racer 5 IPA

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: Racer 5 IPA

• Brewery: Bear Republic (California)

• Style: IPA

• ABV: 7%

• IBU: 75

• Pour Color: A golden slightly amber color with a haze. Light travels thru easily!

      I've got my follicles all in this one. The head was fairly high and lasted as a lacing for most the glass. The color was a very hazy gold. The haze and scent off the top screamed dry hop! A nice bouquet of citrus and alchol off the top. A fairly sweet back ground for a IPA. The hops come through as a mix of citrus and pine. Noticeable alcohol taste in mouth too. A nice original tasting IPA.
      An IPA that tastes different then most I have tasted before are hard to find. Racer 5 really is one of those kind of IPAs. The really sweet backing is usually found in a slightly overly bitter pale ale. Dale's uses it nicely. Deviant Dale's does too. This one isn't on par with those for me but this mustache enjoyed this beer. The alcoholic bite is just a little to much for every day of the week..

Rating: ****

Lunch

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: Lunch

• Brewery: Maine Beer Company (Maine)

• Style: IPA

• ABV: 7%

• IBU:

• Pour Color: A extremely hop hazed golden/amber color

      You open this bottle and find out quick you in a hop haze! The scent comming out the bottle gave a preview of the glass. It was strong pine, citrus, and passion fruit. A bouquet that made the face's wife look at me and say "I can smell it from here!" The color of the pour is gold and quite hazy showing the hop residue in this IPA. The head was fluffy and big and didn't just go away. I was afraid it was going to be over whelmed. The flavor is where it just gets real so much better! You got a buffet of hop goodness just dancing on the follicles! Passion fruit, orange, pine, and a slight grassy flavor. All and all it's the most flavor packed IPA I've ever had. This beer is incredible!
      As far as a IPA goes this is it. As far as a great beer with complexity and verity in flavor this is it! Recently i've had Heady Topper and Ghandi-Bot also top rated beers but still I compare them to my favorite beer. Dale's is my favorite beer period. Deviant Dale's used to be my special occasion must have beer. There is no question that this is now my must have for,or just after, any celebration that's really special!

Rating: *****

Snow Cap

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: Snow Cap

• Brewery: Pyramid Brewing Company (Washington)

• Style: Winter Warmer

• ABV: 7%

• IBU: 47

• Pour Color: A brownish red color to this one. Light travels thru easy.

    

       This one poured with a nice fluffy head that would last a few sips. After it went down though it didn't even leave much lacing. Nice see thru dark color to this one. The scent off the top is toffee, ginger, and caramel. You can tell that a nice hop presence is in this one too. The taste has a mix of chocolate, caramel, and toffee flavors. The spicy flavor of this one has a ginger taste to me to. The alcohol in this one is pretty straight forward in flavor to. Not a bad winter warmer.
      Winter brings out darker beers. As a hop lovin mustache this really makes me depressed. Everyone wants hearty and not enough want refreshing. This is a strange conundrum for that reason. A warmer usually is to much for me. It's spicy and thick, not really a drinking beer. This one isn't quite as bad as others. Yes the spice and alcohol have a strong taste, but the hops stand up and make it refreshing. Not a every day beer for me but not a bad seasonal for a cold day!

Rating: ***1/2

Old Man Winter Ale

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: Old Man Winter Ale

• Brewery: Southern Tier Brewing Company (New York)

• Style: Old Ale

• ABV: 7.0%

• IBU: 

• Pour Color: Dark red to brown color when poured

      Old man winter pours kind of dark and ominous. Really a dark red to brown. The head popped up quick but was bested easily by my locks. It would be a thin film at the top of the beer for the rest of the glass. The scent off the top is dark sweet malts and citrus to grassy hop smells. Amazing how you get a pretty even amount of malt and hop as you smell. The taste also has that balance. The sweet malts cover the alcohol flavor fairly well. A caramel and spice mix to this malt backing. The hops come off more earthy in the taste. Gives it a slight bit of bitter. All and all a good seasonal offering. 
      Haven't had a lot of old ales myself, this may even be a first. Drinking this one reminds me of a strong scotch ale. Sweet like that but they go strong on the hops. This I consider a easily drinkable beer that tastes good. It's not as good as harvest ale from last season though. Still real easy to see why some people love this beer!

Rating: ***1/2

Aprihop

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: Aprihop

• Brewery: DogFish Head (Delaware)

• Style: IPA

• ABV: 7%

• IBU: 50

• Pour Color: A bronze color, transparent

      I saw the dogfish head logo and knew it was good! The Face poured and it was actually kind of uneventful. Not really a head on it and a bronze color to it. The scents coming off the glass were apricot and hops. The second it hit the follicles I knew this wasn't just a fruit beer. Apricot isn't the star of this one but only a flower in the flavor bouquet that blooms. Both bitter and slightly sweet this one is another great beer. It proves again that Dogfish Head is amazing at making beer. 
      Dogfish Head and IPA always means I gotta try it. This is a hop heads kind of beer while also being a spring kind of beer. It blows me away how this one can feed you so much hop and finish it off with a sweet apricot taste. This is another one that I have to say, if you ain't tried it go get one now! Can't wait to see if it's better off the tap!
      
      

  
Rating: *****

UBU

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: Ubu Ale

• Brewery: Lake Placid Brewing (New York)

• Style: English Strong Ale

• ABV: 7.0%

• IBU: 30

• Pour Color: A red see through pour

      The Ubu ale poured much darker then I expected. The head was no where near worthy of me and I chopped it down easily. A sip or two it was gone. There really wasn't a scent off the top of the beer. As it crept up to soak me i didn't know what to expect. The first taste was bitter from the hops but malty at the same time. As a English strong ale it has that earthy taste that you expect from the English. More a cross between a scotch ale and a red ale in flavor. It also had almost a sour taste that didn't seem to come from expiration. Not one I would go for again. This one the Face can keep.
        Lake Placid is another one of the beers made locally. Actually the same place that does Saranac does lake placid the way I understand it. This is the beer I see most of theirs on shelf and seems to represent them. I personally think there's a lot of English strong ales that are balanced and delicious. This one just wasn't one of em as far as my hairs could tell.



 Rating: ***1/2

Sly Fox 113

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: Route 113

• Brewery: Sly Fox (Pennsylvania)

• Style: I.P.A.

• ABV: 7%

• IBU: 113

• Pour Color: A Golden transparent color.

 


       Another can... Of craft goodness! Look this sly fox 113 is an another amazing IPA. The head disappeared quick. Splashing on to me I realize this one is a much bitterer beer then most. The hops send you on a interesting ride. In your mouth you taste one combination and on the swallow it's very different. In the mouth the hop is the star and as you swallow the malt tries to take position. It really fails miserably as you notice the hoppy goodness lingering much longer. This one makes me realize I'm a lucky mustache to get to drink such great craft beer.
      The first Sly Fox I had was their raspberry reserve. The wife wanted a fruit beer, and I saw that huge cork, and got excited to buy a couple of expensive specialties. That reserve was delicious and very raspberry. This however this is not a fruit beer. 113 is a higher bitterness then Hop Stoopid with nearly the strength. This one however is not a task to drink. It's a privilege. If you have this in your local gas station then you are a lucky son of a gun. Go grab this one that's what I would do!

Rating: *****

Cascazilla

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: Cascazilla

• Brewery: Ithaca Beer Company(New York)

• Style: Red Ale

• ABV: 7%

• IBU: 50

• Pour Color: A slightly cloudy red. Light easily travels through.

     

       This ale is a hoppy treat. Very different than most red ales. You do get a nice malt flavor as you swallow it down. Not the smoothest beer. The richness is seen through the glass when held up to light. The head is thick and of course gets stuck in all the right places in me.

       I'm located pretty close to Ithaca. the Face and I both love this brew. Strange thing is we both aren't normally fans of red ales. The amount of hops in this one leaves you with a bitter delicious taste usually found in pales. Overall more than you expect, and quite delicious for Mustache and Face alike.

 
Rating: ***1/2