Captain Banana

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: Captain Banana

• Brewery: Three Heads Brewing (New York)

• Style: Unfiltered Wheat

• ABV: 6%

• IBU: 18

• Pour Color: A very hazy gold to dark yellow color. Little light gets thru. 

      A decent head as we started to eye each other up. The color was a nice full bodied gold. You can tell this beer was not filtered in the slightest. I hit the foam full force and bested it. A nice wheat flavor to this beer. Almost a slight sour dough flavor to. The banana that they advertise on the side of the bottle gives it a slight sweetness and evens it out nicely. The banana comes through as a slightly under ripened banana. A really nice wheat beer through and through. 

      Captain banana is another great logo and story from three heads. Luckily it's also another good beer. You can tell right from the get go that if you don't like unfiltered beer this isn't down your alley and the wheat flavor is gonna be heavy. The balance that the banana brings to the mix is what makes it a easy sipping beer. Great beer to take a swim in and make my return to beer reviews! Glad i got to try it with some cookie dough at hometown throwdown at lovin cup recently!!!!

Rating: ****

Choklat

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: Choklat

• Brewery: Southern Tier Brewing Company (New York)

• Style: Imperial Stout

• ABV: 10%

• IBU: ?

• Pour Color: Just black and no light gets thru!

      The head of this beer wasn't very high and didn't really last that long. It's a black hole of a stout poured into a glass. Absolutely no light makes it out of the glass. A sweet alcoholic scent comes off the top. The flavor is bitter, sweet chocolate and a nice compliment of roasted malts. Not really much hops to mention. The alcohol though has a strong bite and really isn't hidden. The high ABV is right up front but still a great dessert beer!
      The only problem this beer has is that alcohol flavor and scent. As you drink this one it nearly has legs like wine. It has a strong alcohol scent too. Then you sip it and find it too has a alcoholic kick. All and all this one tries to mix in with that ABV instead of hiding it like some others. This can easily alienate those who buy it thinking it's liquid Hershey's. Myself though found it to be delicious.

Rating: ****

Sun Block

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: Sun Block

• Brewery: Captain Lawrence Brewing Company (New York)

• Style: Unfiltered Wheat

• ABV: 4.5

• IBU:

• Pour Color: A hazy yellow pour with a fluffy light head.

      Poured into a typical pint glass and it was hazy and yellow. Light made it through but you couldn't see through this beer. The top had a yeasty sour dough scent that mixed with a slight hops presence. The feel in the mouth wasn't that much different then most summer beers. It has a little more heartiness because of the unfiltered quality. The taste was a bitter sour dough. As you swallow you get a nice wheat character. It's really a drinkable pale wheat beer for summer.
       Another summer beer but this one says unfiltered. So i made sure every bit of that yeast bed came back up. When a company points out an unfiltered beer it's the only thing to do. I also think this was important because it adds to the variety of flavors and textures in the bottle. Those flavors and textures really help add to the uniqueness of this beer. I like this beer a lot and would probably grab six packs again and again in the summer.

Rating: ****

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: *****

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: *****

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: *****

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

EuroTrash Pilz

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: EuroTrash Pilz

• Brewery: Southern Tier Beer (New York)
  

• Style: Pilsner

• ABV: 5.2%

• IBU:

• Pour Color: Easily see thru straw color.

      The pour had a nice fluffy head to it. That would end quickly and a laced top would be seen for most the rest of the glass. A nice golden color that was easy to see through and actually quite bubbly. The scent off the top is a mostly malts. Wheat smell mostly and a little hint of hops. The taste is the same way. Very strong wheat and yeast flavor. The back ground isn't really bittered much by the hops. It's a sweet, slightly floral mix, toward the end of the taste. The wheat flavor lingers long after a sip. An average pilsner really.
      This is one of the few southern tier beers that just is boring to me. The hop really doesn't excite and the malts are just to sweet. It's really one of those yellow fizzy beers that other mass makers make. Yeah it's got a kick of a little more flavor but it's not really unique. If your a pilsner guy I can't see you being disappointed in this one. If you'er not a pilsner guy this isn't going to switch you to this style. Good beer but not great. 

Rating: **

Brooklyn Lager

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: Brooklyn Lager

• Brewery: Brooklyn Brewing Company (New York)

• Style: Lager

• ABV: 5.2%

• IBU: 33

• Pour Color: Nice yellow golden color that has a slight haze. 

       The head was fluffy at the beginning and became a nice lacing at the top for the rest of the glass. The scent off the top was much more malts then anything else. The hops were only slightly noticeable. The color of this one is a little more amber then most lagers I've had. The caramel malts are there but don't add to much sweetness. An malt explosion on taste. Nice bready and yeasty flavor that gives you the bread in a bottle taste. The hops lend a bittering that makes it very ballenced though. This is a very nice beer.
      So if your like me lagers ain't the first beer you goin for. Usually, just a little to mellow on flavor and really easily forgotten. This is not one of those beers my friend. This one is full of flavor. It's on the malty side so you ain't gonna get that hop head fix. That said though it's not lacking on the floral hop tone either. This is a working mans beer that doesn't leave you feeling unfulfilled like one of those big market lagers! 

Rating:****1/2

2XIPA

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: 2XIPA

• Brewery: Southern Tier Brewing Company (New York)
  

• Style: Double IPA

• ABV: 8.2%

• IBU:?

• Pour Color: This beer has a nice golden color light travels thru easy.

      This poured with a fluffy head that no Face could pass up. The bath in it was quick though and it left a nice film in the middle of the glass. A nice strong citrus scent off the top of this one also. The taste was a nice hop malt blend. The sweet malts ballenced the bitter well to this one. The citrus was there too and  The high alcohol still lends to the flavor too. Really good double IPA that's hard to pass up.
      This is a mustache kicker! You got bitter and sweet covered in the flavor and you got high alcohol almost hidden by the blend. Few times do you find the double just as smooth as the normal IPA. This one is more balanced to me then the normal IPA that really goes for the hop heavy. Still a great hop presence and one of the smoothest beers over 8% I've taken a bath in!

Rating: *****

Big Moose Ale

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: Big Moose Ale

• Brewery: Saranac Brewing Company (New York)

• Style: American Pale Ale

• ABV: 5.3%

• IBU:?

• Pour Color: A dark amber color that can be seen through.
  

      This one poured with a fluffy head that last for a few sips. Once bested it only was a small film island at the top of the glass. The color was a nice copper like amber, as it was slightly darker then most pale ales. The scent off the top is pale malt and hop character.  The malt and the hop again commingled in the taste too. The taste was fairly bitter in mouth with a malt backing. The malt backing is slightly sweet. A extremely dry finish to this one though. That nice sweetness is no where to be found once you swallow. Although the malts do have a nice baked or toasted flavor at the end. This is a regular in my follicles come winter.
      For a triple dry hopped beer you'd expect a better bouquet to this one. As far as a pale goes this is a nice offering. It's not the kind of super hop flavor dales has. Instead it tries to balance the sweet with the bitter and make it easily drinkable. I'd definitely take a dip again in this one. Even if it's not super hopped!

Rating: ****

2XMas Ale

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: 2XMas Ale

• Brewery: Southern Tier Brewing Company (New York)

• Style: Spice Beer

• ABV: 8.0%

• IBU: 

• Pour Color: A nice seasonal shade of Christmas red.

      Wow! This one poured out and didn't have much of a head. The color was a nice  almost burgundy. Easily seen through and it let light pass easy. Not to carbonated looking either. I started by pouring this in a pint glass. Didn't seem right so I switched it up to one of my goblets. The scent off the top is intense. Orange, nutmeg, cinnamon, and ginger all of which come right up and bite you in the nose. The taste is the same thing a huge amount going on! You sip and orange hits you with a ginger and cinnamon bite. The spice combination of flavors. It really reminds me of a eggnog mix of spices. The malts make it quite sweet and not really bitter. Although the alcohol in this one isn't hiding at all. This is really a fairly tasty fun seasonal that I would have again and again each year!
      This is one of the most strange beers I've had as a seasonal. Extremely spicy and different. As far as the holidays go I feel this encapsulates it. You want the classic feel and flavor of the holiday of course. You also finding yourself wanting to get sloshed when the relatives are round. This has you covered in both cases with the 8% ABV! Wow strange but actual I enjoyed the swim in it a lot!

Rating: *****

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

Wizard's Winter Ale

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: Wizard's Winter Ale

• Brewery: Middle Ages Brewing Company (New York)

• Style: Strong Ale

• ABV: 6.8%

• IBU: ?

• Pour Color: A nice amber nearly orange color to this one.

      The pour on this one yielded a nice full head that hung around a good while. The color was a nearly orange color. It's easily seen through and light makes it glow. A scent of hops and malts off the top but not really much spice to me. The flavors are fairly sweet in the mouth. You notice a alcohol taste to it this one. The malts are darker and the hops are only slightly bitter. Really earthy flavors through out really. The swallow leaves a bitter taste and seems strange. More like a malty, bready wine flavor to the end. Unusual mix but not that bad. I'd drink this one again but wouldn't be my first choice in winter ales.
       Of course as I opened this one I had to have some Transiberian Orchestra playing. Having had wailing wench this one I expected to be more. Also a strong ale but not nearly as amazing. As a seasonal this one works I would get a six pack or two through the season and that would be it. Couldn't imagine every grabbing this on a spring day. Decent but nothing to send to your buddy. This mustache didn't mind the swim though.

Rating: ***

Brooklyn Winter Ale

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: Winter Ale

• Brewery: Brooklyn Brewing Company (New York)

• Style: Scottish ale

• ABV: 6.1%

• IBU: 25

• Pour Color: A nice shade of red that shows tons of bubbles and light.

      This one poured a nice shade of red in the glass. The carbonation seemed a little higher then most. The head fizzed quick but would only be a film for most the glass. The Scottish malts give it a nice caramel scent. This one seems to have a spice but thats prolly just the higher carbonation. The real star of this one is the caramel malts. A slightly sweet fairly strong tasting beer. The yeast also has a role in the flavor that blends into a nice bread taste. The hops really take a back seat to all the malt flavor that's going on in this one. Still this mustache thinks it's a good scotch ale!
      Brooklyn makes tons of great beers. At the local store to day I got to meet there buffalo and Rochester rep. Unlike the big names it seems that Brooklyn wants educated beer people to do there representing, not young good looking girls that are just learning beer for the first time. If you're in Brooklyn anytime soon try some "there will be black" for me and let me know how it is!

Rating: ****

Autumnation

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: Autumnation

• Brewery: Six Points Brewing Company (New York)

• Style: Pumpkin Ale (More A Pale)

• ABV: 6.7%

• IBU: 74

• Pour Color: A totally transparent orange, amber.

      This one raged out the can. The head was high and pretty thick at the top the glass. Fought this mustache to a stand still. It would be hanging around as a fluffy island in the glass for a long time. Residue of that head went down the glass  as i drank. The scent off the top is a bitter orange peel and a pine kick. You can really smell a difference in wet hops. The color is a nice see through orange. The kind of color you expect from autumn. The spices you expect from a pumpkin ale are really toned down in this. You get a slight pumpkin but it's more about those hops. The flavor is strong tones of citrus, pine and a balance from the pumpkin. A well ballenced beer that I'll swim in again and again.
      Ahhhhh a december posting about a pumpkin ale... I know, it isn't the season anymore. Yet I'm still finding Autumnation and I shouldn't be. This has been one of my favorite beers for a couple of weeks now. A pumpkin that has this kind of kick of hops can't be ignored by true hop head mustaches. The can says to get one by the end of December so get your face's on that!

Rating: *****

Bengali Tiger

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: Bengali Tiger

• Brewery: Sixpoint Brewing Company (New York)

• Style: IPA

• ABV: 6.4%

• IBU: 62

• Pour Color: A slightly murky orange color.

       The head came up on the pour, it was about a finger high out of the can. It sat at that level for about half the beer. A nice hazy orange color in the glass. The scent off the glass was a nice pine and lemon kick. Not much of the malts in the smell though. On taste it's more of a grapefruit flavor and pine mix in the taste. The malts are just sweet enough with the caramel flavor to balance this delicious beer. Amazing how good it is. 
       Another sixpoint beer and another amazing one. This had all that you could ask from a IPA. A lot of hop flavor kicks this one off and ends it well. Somewhere in the middle you get that nice taste of malts that makes it a real great experience. I know it's rough but it's another one that you gotta try! So... Go get it!  

Rating: *****

Post Road

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: Post Road

• Brewery: Brooklyn Brewing Company (New York)

• Style: Pumpkin Ale

• ABV: 5%

• IBU: 24

• Pour Color: A see thru orange color to this one!

      This one was a nice pour that had a low head. It only came up to about a finger tall but then hung out at the top of the glass for a good while. The color of this one was orange and allowed light to pass through easily. The scent is the pumpkin and the nutmeg that are main ingredients. When tasting it you find a new respect for pumpkin beers. Most try to go for the pumpkin pie taste this one goes for a pumpkin beer taste. Not to sweet, or overwhelming clove flavors, like many others. I can see the follicles frolicking in this one again soon!
      Fall is almost here, and for some reason, there's nothing but pumpkin ales from every single company. This however is not one of the many that have just popped up. Post Road I have seen for many years and now I'm reviewing it. This is a great beer that really balances pumpkin and malt to give it a great taste. If you skip most pumpkin ales this autumn make sure you give this one a try. I doubt you'll be disappointed!

Rating: ****1/2

Apollo

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: Apollo

• Brewery: Sixpoints Brewing Company (New York)

• Style: Krystalweizen

• ABV: 5.2

• IBU:11

• Pour Color: A light yellow color, Has a cloudiness

      A summer wheat again and another totally different take on it. Smelling the top you get that nice clove scent, a fresh bread too,  and then a weird fruity medley. The head fluffed up quick and was gone quickly. No match for this mustache. The color was a real hazy gold. The taste I found very offsetting from the get go. This is supposed to be a sour style but this was beyond what I enjoy. It was more a banana cider taste then anything else. A fruit medley flavor with a backing of the clove. Vary strange and not to delicious to me. I could see where some could find this refreshing but I didn't. 
      This just wasn't my type of wheat beer. The only Krystalweizen i've ever had I can't really compare. Being a almost hefe but then brightening it with a lot of fruit flavors that just overpowers the beer taste to me. This would be a great beer to cook with but drinking it again really isn't on the Face's agenda so I won't be swimming in it soon...

Rating: *

BlueBerry Blonde Ale

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: BlueBerry Blonde Ale

• Brewery: Saranac Brewing Company (New York)

• Style: Fruit Beer

• ABV:5.0%

• IBU: 18

• Pour Color: Golden but hazzy, can't see through it.

      The pour was golden and hazzy. A malty blueberry scent off the top of the glass. The head was nice and fluffy and only hung out for a few sips. The taste is not over overbearingly blueberry tasting. It's in the sip but it's light. You notice more tones of the wheat malts and oats that give it a good wheat taste. A little thicker then some other summer ales. Still easy drinking and a nice blueberry kick on it that's nice on a summer day.
      Summer fruit beer and I gotta say I enjoy it. This is another beer that comes in a can and makes it nice for next to the pool or on the beach. Light on the fruit flavor unlike most fruit beers this one only gives you a hint. If it's hot, and your looking for a refreshing change to the summer seasonal with lemon, then grab this one and give it a try. 

Rating:***1/2