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

Smuttynose Winter Ale

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: Smuttynose Winter Ale

• Brewery: Smuttynose Brewing Company (New Hampshire)

• Style: Dubbel

• ABV: 5.83%

• IBU: 30

• Pour Color: A dark red color. Light makes it through.

      The head was quick to raise in the glass. Had a nice brown shade to the head too. It lowered after the first few seconds and hung low at the top. The smell was almost a raisin, chocolate, caramel mix. The color is a nice shade of red that makes it very appealing really. This one hits the mouth and you start to get a warmer sensation. The caramel character is there and a nice fruitiness. As you swallow you get a nice bitter finish. 
      Smuttynose brewing is a trip! You see the two guess on there IPA bottle and one of em is in a red flannel and suspenders. When I went to the American Craft Beer Festival in Boston that man was at the booth. He was more willing to talk beer then any other person in the place. That's the kind of person who loves his product. Also the kind of person that makes great beer. This mustache hasn't found one Smuttynose he wouldn't swim in again. Even if it's just one time a year for a specific style!

Rating: ****

Pumpkin Ale

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: Pumpkin Ale

• Brewery: Smuttynose Brewing Company (New Hampshire)

• Style: Pumpkin Ale

• ABV:5.84

• IBU:35

• Pour Color: A very hazy copper color to this one. 

      The head of this one on pour came up and sat at about two fingers high. Once I bested it, it stayed at the top of the glass as a film. Light has a hard time passing through this pumpkin brew. The scent off the top was much more spicy then most the other pumpkin ales I've reviewed. The cinnamon and the nutmeg where extremely strong scents off the glass. Almost a pure pumpkin pie smell. Tasting it is another strong spicy experience. There's pumpkin in this ale but the spices are really the stars. Nutmeg and Cinnamon really overwhelm the pumpkin and make it taste a little less fresh compared to the other pumpkin ales I've reviewed. At thanksgiving dinner I think you need a ale like this to hold it's own. Any other time though I'm probably going for a different fall style beer. 
      This is one of those ones that really goes more pumpkin pie in flavor then pumpkin beer. Really really spicy through the whole experience. However, they don't go overly sweet. That's what makes it fairly drinkable. I'm sure a lot of mustaches would love to swim in this beer but it just wasn't the best in my book. 

Rating: ***

Smuttynose Summer Weizen

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: Summer Weizen Ale

• Brewery: SmuttyNose Brewing Company (Delaware)

• Style: Wheat Beer

• ABV: 5.46%

• IBU:15

• Pour Color:A nice see through golden color, very bright! Slight hazy look.

      The pour of this one was a nice gold color and had a finger and a half high head. The head didn't stick around to long. It had a nice yeasty wheat scent off the top. Held up to the light you notice a nice slight haze. A nice strong taste of wheat and yeast up front. The hoppyness starts coming through as a nice citrus grassy tone. A slightly sour to this one makes it quite refreshing actually. I really liked this beer. 
      The Summer Weizen is another summer wheat beer. I feel bad I didn't find it earlier this summer. It's got that nice wheat taste you would expect and a lot of hop character. The sour dough taste at the end is just enough to be delicious and refreshing. Summer is a great season for seasonal beers!

Rating: ****1/2

Shoals Pale Ale

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: Shoals Pale Ale

• Brewery: SmuttyNose Brewing Company (New Hampshire)

• Style: Pale Ale

• ABV: 5.4%

• IBU: 30

• Pour Color: A dark copper color to this one.

      This one poured a darker color then some other pales. Although murky light passed through this beer easy. The hop presence in this one is easily smelt off the top. Pine and citrus hop scents come off the glass. The head wasn't too fluffy and disappeared quick. The flavor of Shoals is a hop heavy affair. The pine, citrus and grassy tones make for a nice bouquet of flavor. This one though over powers any malt flavoring with that hop. A slight sweetness is added through those malts. Over all a really hop heavy pale.
      SmuttyNose has some great beers I'm quickly realizing. This one is much more like a IPA then just a pale. Very hoppy and not showing to much malt flavor. With all the hops and only a slight sweetness of flavor it's hard to believe this is a 30IBU beer. I really doubt a hop headed Mustache would mind being soaked in this one. I certainly didn't mind!

Rating: ****