Lagunitas Sucks

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: Lagunitas Sucks

• Brewery: Lagunitas Brewing Company (California)

• Style: Imperial IPA

• ABV: 7.85

• IBU: 63.21

• Pour Color: Gold easily light travels thru!

      The scent off the top is all IPA! Color is just a golden color that is easily seen thru. The scent off the top is a strong pineapple/citrus scent. The head came up and stayed very fluff for most the glass. Lacing from the head was seen the whole way down. The taste is a mix of citrus and grassy hops to me. The malts have a nice backing that really gets nearly drown out by the hops. It seems to try to be ballenced but really has that hop kick you would expect from a IIPA!
      Lagunitas sucks.... Not my experience but I also haven't tasted Brown Shugga before. Maybe not having it really does make them suck. Me though I love the IPA and I love Maximus! IPA's ain't a problem for Lagunitus and this isn't an exception. Delicious, bitter, and all the tastes you'd expect in a IPA. Let the other idiot faces think this beer or Lagunitas sucks you and this mustache know better!

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

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

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

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: ****

Winterbraun

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: Winterbraun

• Brewery: Lost Coast Brewing Company (California)

• Style: English Brown Ale

• ABV: 8%

• IBU: ?

• Pour Color: A brown red color

      Ok head on this one not to fluffy but held for awhile. The scent off the top was coffee and chocolate. You also get a full smell of the high alcohol in this one. The color is a brown to red. The taste is a mix of caramel sweetness. Coffee and chocolate bitter flavors too with a little bit of smoke. The alcohol isn't really in the taste. All and all this is a really malty sweet beer that has little balance to it.
      So this one is beloved by many. I unfortunately don't feel the same. It's just to sweet for me being a mostly malt beer. The chocolate and the smoke I like in dark beers is there but really no bitter to be found. As a hop lover mustache, a bath in this just was just to sweet. Really a good dark beer even though it wasn't in my wheel house!

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

Celebration Ale 2012

The Beer Stats: 

• Beer Name: Celebration Fresh Hop Ale 2012

• Brewery: Sierra Nevada Beer Company (California)

• Style: IPA

• ABV: 6.8%

• IBU: 65

• Pour Color: A nice amber orange color, Easily see through.

      The pour looked great on this one. The head was nice and fluffy and stayed that way for awhile. The color was a shade of amber. The scent off the top was strong and full of hop aroma. The pine and citrus hit you hard like most sierra beers. You only get a slight notes of the malts in it. The taste is a explosion on every follicle. The hop flavor is strong up front and bitter. The malts are there the whole ride and balance out that bitter well. Slightly dark bread flavor to those but also a slight sweetness. All and all one of my favorites for the holiday season.
      Sierra has a few seasonals that just make the year. This is one of em. A nice fresh hop beer that has a lot of hop character without being over bitter. The fresh hop flavor is there to. Bright and crisp making this one of the most refreshing beers ever. Being a hop loving mustache, like I am, this is a special Christmas season treat for me!

Rating: *****

Never Summer Ale

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: Never Summer Ale

• Brewery: Boulder Beer Company (Colorado)

• Style: Winter Warmer

• ABV: 6.5%

• IBU: 40

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

      The head didn't come up fast on this one and would only be a film at the top for most the glass. The color was a nice ruby red that's easy to see through. The scent off the top is a caramel and spice. The roasted caramel malts give both sweet and bitter flavors. The spices give a nice warming sensation in mouth. A nice cinnamon, coriander mix that makes the follicles frolic. A nice piney earthy flavor to the hops. Really a nice mix of spices and flavors to make a nice winter warmer. 
      Another great brew from Colorado, Maybe it's something in the water. I only like a few winter warmers cause most of the time the spices feel out of place. This one seems to be made by that warmer sensation. That sensation gives you a liquor warmth that, with the caramel malt, makes you think it's stronger then it is. This is the type of beer you can drink on the snow covered deck and it's gonna keep a chill away!

Rating: ****1/2

Diesel

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: Diesel

• Brewery: Sixpoints Brewing (New York)
  

• Style: Stout

• ABV: 6.3%

• IBU: 69

• Pour Color: Black no light travels through

     The scent of the beer was caramel and roasted. The head was big and fluffy on the top and lasted a while. Tasting it you get a nice hop presence for being a stout. Nice and earthy however quite sweet in the mouth. A slight toasted biscuit taste on the swallow. The hoppyness leaves a bitter grassy essence long after. This is a nice little dip for a mustache or the tongue. 
      Another can and another nice experience. Although a little late for the pick up of a winter ale this one tasted great. A nice mix of sweet and bitter that you find in black IPAs. Sixpoint has been one of my favorite beers to be soaked in, and I can't wait to stop by the booth at the Boston craft beer fest.

Rating: *****