Hopportunity Knocks

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: Hopportunity Knocks

• Brewery: Caldera Brewing Company

• Style: IPA

• ABV: 6.8%

• IBU: 100

• Pour Color: red and light travels thru.

      The pour brought about a redish colored pour. The head was a good size and laced the glass most of the way down. The scent off the top was kind of unsettling. Smelled like sweet resinous smell but the malt blend had a funk to it. The flavor had a hop presence like a IPA should. Those hops came through as a artificial alcoholic flavor more then a real bitter kick. The malts were over bearing and seemed to have a slight smoked flavor that was way out of place. Really a weird IPA. 
      This beer may be one of the worst IPAs I've ever had. It's a IPA cause of the 100 IBUs yeah.... they chose to bury the IBUS with a absurd blend of malts that didn't just try and balance the beer but tried to take it over. On top of that the scent off the top was just about stomach turning before I took a swig. The date on the can said canned 4/15/15 so I would expect 120 day window would still be good for freshness. Really really disappointed by this beer and wouldn't get it again ever. 

Rating: 

Total Domination

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: Total Domination

• Brewery: Ninkasi Brewing Company (Oregon)

• Style: IPA

• ABV: 6.7%

• IBU: 65

• Pour Color: A nearly see thru dark golden color. 

      The scent as it poured was a piney slightly sweet scent. The golden darker color had a good haze to it showing it was hoppy and unfiltered. The head on the top of the beer was fluffy and faded down quick. It did leave lacing down about half the glass before totally dissipating. The flavor was a little off to me. The bitterness of the hops came across as more of a peel bitter. It also had a slightly sweet and sour backing that was weird. As you swallow this on though you get a strong alcohol taste for a few seconds and it echos for awhile. Very strange beer that I probably wouldn't go out of my way to find. 
      This really wasn't my favorite beer. The bottle didn't have a best by date or born on date. So the sour flavor I got off it could have been it sitting to long. That sour flavor really was off. This experience alone would make me personally shy away from taking a swim in Ninkasi beer from now on. Luckily this isn't my only experience with ninkasi and I know they have other beers that are good. Maybe soon I'll get a fresh IPA from them and it'll change my mind but for now Total Domination isn't a accurate description of what was in this bottle.    

Rating: **1/2

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

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

Citra Blonde 2013

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: Citra Blonde (2013)

• Brewery: Widmer Brothers Brewing (Oregon)

• Style: Blonde

• ABV: 4.3%

• IBU: 20

• Pour Color: A Golden easily seen thru pour with a nice fluffy head!

      This one was a golden color and had a fluffy head. Seemed a little extra fizzy. The head disapeared quick and left no trace though. The scent off the top was more wheat scented malts then anything else. The citra hops lend a slight lemon scent. The flavor is slightly bitter citrus notes and a wheat malt flavor. Really a typical summer beer that's light and easy to drink.
      Another beer of summer that really just fits in instead of stands out. It's light and not overly bitter or overly sweet. Instead of using the lemon that all the other beers of summer use though they create it with the citra. Refreshing, crisp, and clean and would make a good golf course beer. Can't really see taking a deep in it otherwise though.

Rating: ***

VooDoo Dounut Chocolate,Peanut Butter, And Banana Ale (2013)

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: Voodoo 2013

• Brewery: Rogue Brewing Company (Oregon)

• Style: Fruit/Nutbrown

• ABV: 5.3

• IBU: 25

• Pour Color: A brown that lets a little light thru. 

     The pour came out good. People say the head has no retention and no lacing. That wasn't the case for me. It held it's own and was still round half the glass! The scent off the top is mostly that chocolate banana mix that you would expect. I found more of a peanut not a peanut butter aroma too. The color was a dark brown and makes me think of a nut brown instead of a fruit beer. The taste though was strong. You get the mix of peanut and banana when it's in your mouth. You swallow and get that nice chocolate echo that mixes well with the peanut flavor. I think this beer has what's advertised and delivers it pretty cleanly. NOT BAD AT ALL!
      People seem to be complaining about this ones extract flavors. I don't find the flavors to be that low of quality. Yeah they could of mellowed the banana flavor like a dream weaver but is that the profile of a doughnut? NO! I think as a dedication to a doughnut, and a novelty beer, they knocked it out of the park! It's over the top, it's wild and crazy, and it comes in single large bottles to enjoy with friends! This isn't a session beer, it's a special experience and I enjoyed dipping every follicle in it! My one complaint is that I think it could have been creamier. Still an amazing beer with an amazing flavor profile!

Rating: *****

Yellow Snow IPA

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: Yellow Snow IPA

• Brewery: Rogue Brewing Company (Oregon)

• Style: American IPA

• ABV: 6.2%

• IBU: 70

• Pour Color: Golden and hazy color to this one.

      It poured with a slight tinge of yellow in the head. A golden color on the pour. Very murky compared to a lot of IPAs. I imagine that it's the hop haze causing that cloudy murkiness. The head was big and fluffy for most of the beer. Spicy and grassy scents come off the top of the glass. The taste is a nice balance. The hops is a nice mix of flavors. It's spicy and citrus mix is really good. The bitter of the orange peel and grapefruit flavors lingers. The malts give it a nice mix of sweet and buttery flavor. A really savory IPA that some might not like. I found it to be delicious.
      This is a nicely done IPA. Not only bitter but long lasting taste.  You swallow and a few minutes later you're still tasting bitter peels. I could defiantly see me picking this up again and again cause you really can't get board of these flavors. Also you get the fun of telling your friends your going to drink yellow snow. All and all a great beer that this mustache loves!

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: *****

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: ****

Mocha Porter

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: Mocha Porter

• Brewery: Rogue (Oregon)

• Style: Porter

• ABV: 5.1%

• IBU: 54

• Pour Color: A Dark brown, hardly any light gets through

     I knew as the mustache I was the first defense from Rogue hitting the face. The smell was a nice chocolate. The head was originally thick and creamy. After a few duels with me it was done in. The beer itself is also on the thicker side. A strong smokey taste is complemented by chocolate and coffee. Although gone this one is not forgotten stuck in my thick follicles.
      The Face loves his coffee shoving that down me all the time at work. Now that jerk tries to splash coffee flavored beer at me. Rogue porter though is different. With the mix of tastes on top of the coffee makes it unique. Few beers dance in the hairs like this one. Even a mustache can love the full body of this dark beer and deal with the left overs. I mean it is for the Face's protection.

Rating: *****