Winter Red Ale

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: Winter Red Ale

• Brewery: Otter Creek Brewing Company (Vermont)

• Style: American Amber Ale

• ABV: 5.5%

• IBU: 45

• Pour Color: A reddish dark amber to this one.

      The head wasn't to fluffy when The Face poured this one. Just about a half inch of head that went down on fist sip. It would linger as a film in the center of the glass and on the outskirts. The light traveled thru this one easy. You get a scent of the caramel malts and the hops off the top. Not a real strong scent but you know both are there. The flavor was a well ballenced mix of hops and malt. Citrusy and spicy the hops are a good portion of flavor. The malts are sweet and slightly roasted. Not really overly sweet. Not a totally dry finish to the swallow either but the sweetness doesn't linger to long. All and all a good winter red ale that has a good hop kick.
      This is Otter Creeks winter offering and I could see swimmin in it next to a fire. When picking this one up you can't expect and Irish Red. This is much more a hopped up amber ale then anything else. It just doesn't have that biscuity sweet flavor a Irish Red has. That's probably why I enjoyed it as much as I did. 

Rating: ***1/2

Encore

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: Encore

• Brewery: Magic Hat Brewing Company (Vermont)

• Style: IPA

• ABV: 6.4%

• IBU: 45

• Pour Color: A hazy amber color. Cloudy but light travels through easy.

      The head of the beer was fairly low. Hung around at the top for awhile as a thin film. The pour in the glass looked to have a strong hop haze from the dry hopping. The scent off the top of the glass didn't really offer that sense though. You get a little hop and a little wheat kick in the smell. Tasting this one gives you a mix of flavors. While in mouth your getting a nice kick of pine and citrus hops. It also has a orange peal bitter taste. Then as you swallow that kick of the wheat comes in strong and clean. Not a bad wheat IPA. 
      This is a good beer that does what it aims for. You get a nice hop presence and a nice wheat end. It has a nice crisp clean taste that puts a lot of pale wheat ales to shame. Being a hop loving mustache though it's not hoppy enough. It does have another factor on it's side though. At 6.4% ABV it's actually a higher ABV then most wheat ales. Remember when drinking this one, although very smooth, it ain't a session beer. I wouldn't shy away from this one if I found myself hovering above it again. 

Rating: ****

Pumpkin Ale

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: Pumpkin Ale

• Brewery: Otter Creek Brewing Company (Vermont)

• Style: Pumpkin Ale

• ABV: 5.3%

• IBU:

• Pour Color: Another orange colored pumpkin ale.

      This one poured and the head was about a finger and a half. I fought with it for a sip or two then it was nowhere to be found. The color in the glass was another orange copper shade. The scent was a fresh pumpkin scent. Nutmeg, clove, and cinnamon can be smelt off the glass too. Even with all of these flavors and smells the taste is quite light. The pumpkin in taste is the star and really is delicious. If I were you this is another one I would try!
      Wolaver's goes the organic route and uses local pumpkins and spices to make this beer. It comes out great. This maybe my favorite beer from Wolaver's. I could see at the thanksgiving game popping a few of these open and enjoying! I'd suggest you too do the same since it's a seasonal. So go get one before it's too late!

Rating: ****1/2

Headwaters Pale Ale

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: Headwaters Pale Ale

• Brewery: Victory Brewing Company (Vermont)

• Style: Pale Ale

• ABV: 5.1%

• IBU:?

• Pour Color: A hazzy golden color that light passes through.

      On pour, you could see a head coming up that was fluffy and would be drenching me sip after sip. A nice hoppy scent of grapefruit and grassyness coming off the glass. It sat golden and looked tauntingly delicious to this mustache. The taste of this one is more hop then malt, as you would expect from a pale ale. The citrus grassy taste comes through quickly and is a nice mix of hops. The malt is a nice mellow background flavor. Not really a sweet flavor like some pales like to go with. Overall a really good pale ale that I would make the face buy again.
      First question I ask when tasting a pale. Is this like dales? I say no on this one. That isn't a real problem though, as this one is still great. The hops to make it a pale are all there and as I said this one isn't a sweet malt. That just allows you to take all that hop goodness in. That crisp taste of hops makes this a great beer for a warm summer day. I really really liked this beer each and every time it got stuck in the follicles. 

Rating:****1/2

Double Bag

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: Double Bag

• Brewery: Long Trail Brewing Company (Vermont)
  

• Style: AltBier

• ABV: 7.2%

• IBU: 25

• Pour Color: Nice see through amber color.

      First off Double bag is a great name. The head fluffed up quickly and covered me complexly. The scent off this glass is a nice caramel malt and bready scent. You can tell that this one is a heavy alcohol beer by smell alone. The follicles started to tense as the Face lifted. On taste comes a sweet bitter mix that no other beer has ever gave me. Caramel comes through cleanly. The hops biter it slightly but not much. Very earthy flavor. It also has a certain licorice taste to it too. Very strange but really a delicious beer. 
      With triple bag out and on the shelve it's hard to find myself soaked in a double bag anymore. A great well rounded beer! Easily delicious enough to consume too quick and find yourself in trouble. But when your a mustache... Who really cares? Other then the faces out there!

Rating: ****1/2

Demo

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: Demo

• Brewery: Magic Hat Brewing (Vermont) 

• Style:Black IPA

• ABV: 6%

• IBU: 45

• Pour Color: A black as night beer letting no light through

      The pour was quite dark and the head fluffed up. Didn't go down to quick either. The scent off the glass was caramel and toffee no real hint of hops. The taste of this beer is deep and malty but has a nice sweetness. Chocolate and coffee pretty much tell the story of this one. The hops for a black IPA really are absent. A really good dark beer though.
      A decent beer all and all but not really a black IPA. The bottle claimed a IPA on tour. Closer to a porter but another beer that I enjoyed from magic hat. #9 used to be the only beer I enjoyed from em, but next time I need a coffee porter I'll grab another of these.    

Rating: ***1/2

Spring Bock

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: Spring Bock

• Brewery: Otter Creek (Vermont)
  

• Style: Bock

• ABV: 6.2%

• IBU:

• Pour Color: A golden slightly murky color.

      The bottle is opened and you get a nice sweet malty yeasty scent off the spring bock. The head started fluffy but faded fast. The color was a golden orange that had a cloudy quality. The hop flavor in this one is a nice earthy back ground. The malt is a nice sweet barley flavor. Really a nice lager flavor. The one downside, much like the copper ale, is that it has a slight alkaline taste that again is a weird off flavor. Nice and light this one was a decent spring offering. 
      This is the last that is in their spring sampler, and I found the sampler wide ranging. The Copper Ale wasn't to good. The Bock is average. Yet the Stovepipe Porter and the Black IPA were great. When it comes to Otter Creek Brewing I'm gonna keep it dark from here on out. Otherwise the follicles pick up on a metal taste that isn't appealing.

Rating: ***

Stovepipe porter

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: StovePipe Porter

• Brewery: Otter Creek (Vermont)
  

• Style: Porter

• ABV: 4.4%

• IBU: 28

• Pour Color:  A black pour letting little light through the bottle.
  

     On pour this one had a nice fluffy head that you would expect. Chocolate, roast, and a slight sweet smell comes off the glass when smelled. On first splash you realize this one has a nice thick body. Like a porter should. The taste is a nice smokey, roasted, chocolate taste. Almost a hint of coffee in there too. Really a great porter that no one could complain about. 
     This one is a nice full bodied porter. I find this to be a good beer to use for chili or stew. A nice dark roasted flavor to this one helps add to most recipes. This one also ain't to bad just out the bottle either. Here's a recipe using this one in chili. Enjoy!

     

Rating: ****

Black IPA

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: Black IPA

• Brewery: Otter Creek Brewing (Vermont)
  

• Style: Black IPA

• ABV: 6.0%

• IBU: 60

• Pour Color: A dark pour that can't be seen through, black.

      Nice citrus and pine scent out the bottle. On pour, it was black, letting little light through. The head held for a few seconds but not too long. The scent off the glass is a slight roasted scent and the pine and citrus scents of hops. The taste is where it gets really good. It splashed up and I got a nice bitter taste of hops. Once my follicles got used to that it was easy to taste the coffee and roasted barley flavors. Really really delicious smooth porter feel with the hops of a IPA. This is by far the best of the four I got in the Otter Creek sampler. 
      Black IPAs seem to be coming out more and more each day. If done well these are some of the best beers out there. Why settle for a IPA or a porter when you can have both? That nice roasted flavor and bitter hop make for some great mixes of tastes. Otter Creek happens to have a real good one too. So go try it.

Rating: ****1/2

Copper Ale

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: Copper Ale

• Brewery: Otter Creek (Vermont)
  

• Style: Altbier

• ABV: 5%

• IBU: 32

• Pour Color:  a copper color to the pour easily seen through.

      On pour this one had a quick rising head. That was quick lived as it disappeared almost instantly.  The scent off the glass is a sweet malty scent. The caramel malt is what you catch most of in scent. On sip you get a strong taste of those caramel malts again. A slight roasted taste to it too. It also has a alkaline flavor that I found to be off setting. Overall the hops only add slight tones. Almost a spicy kick but really don't come through strong. This one is a very malty earthy beer. 
      Being Otter Creek's flagship beer I expected more. The earthy spicy tones of the hops, that you could taste, was good. The alkaline almost metal taste though was really not good. This isn't one that I would buy again on any occasion really.

Rating: **

Oatmeal Stout

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: Oatmeal Stout
  

• Brewery: Wolaver's (Vermont)

• Style: Stout

• ABV: 5.9%

• IBU:40

• Pour Color: Pour is black and lets little light through

      The beer pours black like a good stout should. The head was fluffy but didn't last long. As Face brought it up to me I could smell the roasted malts and a coffee scent. On the sip you realize how full bodied the oats make this one. A nice almost gritty feeling in the mouth. chocolate and coffee make up most the flavor on sip. Although the smoke of the roasted malts is hard to ignore. This one is a really good stout that most mustache's can appreciate.
      This one is more of a coffee beer then the Alta Gracia. A delicious dark beer that really isn't that hard to drink. Some darker beers have to thick a body. This one though is really nice and creamy not just thick. Really the best beer out of this sampler and a great beer that I would go back to again and again.

  

Rating: ****1/2

Brown Ale

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: Brown Ale
  

• Brewery: Wolaver's (Vermont)

• Style: Brown Ale

• ABV: 5.7%

• IBU: 55

• Pour Color: Brown almost amber color not quite see through.

      The pour came up with a nice creamy head. A nice malty scent off the beer with a sweet caramel smell. This one was another balanced taste of hops and malts. The roasted malts are obvious with a nice chocolate kick. It also seemed to have a coffee character too. The hops on this brown was where it got interesting. Quite a bit more hop then most browns giving it a bitter not to sweet flavor. The body and taste all blend nicely for a smooth taste. 
      Another good organic offering. Most browns have a almost watered down taste to it. Don't have to worry about that here. This one has got a good hop character and a delicious malt fullness. Really one of my favorite browns I've ever had.

  

Rating: ****

Alta Gracia Coffee Porter

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: Alta Gracia Coffee Porter
  

• Brewery:Wolaver's (Vermont)

• Style: Coffee Porter

• ABV:6.6.%

• IBU:64

• Pour Color: A brownish red color that light still gets through

      A nice pour and color to this coffee porter. Didn't know what to expect cause it was on the lighter side of the porters I've seen. A nice chocolate and caramel scent off the top the glass. The head started fluffy but disappeared quickly. The taste was a nice sweet malty taste. Coffee, chocolate and caramel are accompanied by a nice smoked taste. An amazing balanced coffee porter that most couldn't pull off.
      As a huge fan of coffee beers I was excited to try this one. A real nice balance and a good coffee taste is what I got, and honestly what more can you ask for.  It's easy drinking not being to thick or dark and really refreshing. This mustache enjoys it greatly.

  

Rating: ****

Wolaver's IPA

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: IPA
  

• Brewery: Wolaver's (Vermont)

• Style: IPA

• ABV:6.5%

• IBU: 50-60

• Pour Color: A transparent gold to copper color on pour.

      This one poured like most the IPAs. Golden color, pretty see through, and a fairly nice looking head. The head disappeared quick on a sip of two. The scent was a nice bouquet of hops. The fact they use caramel malts shows through with a nice taste of sweet malt each sip. The mix of bitter and sweet really was done well. A balanced beverage for sure that any follicles would be lucky to take a dip in.
       Gonna be honest here and tell ya the Face ain't bought many things organic in his life. This one was a dollar more then the southern tier sampler twelve pack and he went with the Wolaver's. This being the first of the four, it's really a decent IPA. Hoppy and malty I really enjoyed it and hope the coffee porter and oatmeal stout are better yet. The Face and I will let you know soon though.

  

Rating: ***1/2

UFO Hefeweizen

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name:UFO

• Brewery: Harpoon (Massachusetts/Vermont)

• Style: Hefeweizen

• ABV: 4.8%

• IBU: 19

• Pour Color: A very murky yellow color

      This one was a golden color with a nice thick fluffy head. It didn't last long and then i saw the murkiness. A splash of this one and you don't get what you expect. With most unfiltered beers you have a thicker body. The UFO doesn't seem to have that quality. It's quite light in body in fact. On top of that the flavors of the normal Hefeweizen isn't really that strong. I would consider this one more of a wheat beer then Hefe because of it's really light character.
      The other Hefeweizen I reviewed was Dreamweaver. That one went heavy on flavor and blended it well. This however is a different animal. It blends it's flavors well but they are really more subtle then I personally like. My follicles forgot this one soon after it splashed up, and that usually doesn't happen. I could see the face grabbing this on a hot day but that's about it for such a mellow beer.

Rate: ***

Celtic

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: Celtic Ale

• Brewery: Harpoon (Massachusetts and Vermont)

• Style: Irish Red

• ABV: 5.4%

• IBU: 25

• Pour Color: A dark red color fairly see through

     The Face grabbed some Celtic for the review today. The pour looked almost the same as the Great Lakes Conway's Irish Ale. Light red and no cloudiness to it. The follicles tensed up as the Face lifted it to me in excitement. I'm learning to like red ales as I'm going. The head was big and fluffy on the pour as you can see in our photo. The taste however is quite balanced. Celtic doesn't bring out a sweetness like Conway's and presents an interesting contrast.
      Red ale number two leading up to the holiday. Really two different beers in the same style and one I'd order any day of the week the other just for the saint paddy's day. Great lakes has a more interesting beer with bolder flavors. All things considered I'd probably order a Harpoon IPA before either anyway. 

 


Rating: ***1/2

BlackBeary Wheat

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: BlackBeary Wheat

• Brewery: Longtrail brewery (Vermont)

• Style: Fruit Beer

• ABV: 4%

• IBU:8

• Pour Color: A transperent golden color

     A extremely light beer. The head was gone before Face lifted it to me. A quick whiff sends the scent of blackberries to your nose. The crisp taste of blackberry is also the first thing you taste with this beer. As a fruit beer you expect sweet. No mustache wants sweet in it. Sweet means sticky. This, however, isn't a super sweet beer. Overall a nice easy drinking beer most people wouldn't mind.
       Another delicious beer from another great brewery. Long Trail is one of my favorite breweries and this is one of my favorite summer beers. Also another great beer to lure she-staches in. If you're having a family BBQ or a day at the beach this one is a great bring along. Both refreshing and light; it's really a decent brew.

Rating: ***1/2

#9

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: # 9

• Brewery: Magic Hat (Vermont)

• Style: Fruit Beer

• ABV: 5.1%

• IBU:20

• Pour Color: A clear bronze

      The head of this one disappeared after the first sip. So my wax held stiff making sure I look good. This ones a easy sipping beer with a little hop and malt kick. Most fruit beers just attempt to give you a taste of that said fruit. #9 showcases the apricot brightening up an American Pale. The apricot hits you with a lil hops at first sip. Once you swallow the malts build up still blending well with the apricot.

      #9 really started me on craft beer. The Face didn't like beer and after tasting blue light or a miller either did I. We would go out to bars with friends and the Face kept ordering it. I don't mind being soaked in a light beer like #9 on a summer day. Also I see a lot of mustached ladies grabbing themselves #9. Always nice to find a good beer that the ladies like.

Rating: ***