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: ****

Censored

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: Censored

• Brewery: Lagunitas Brewing Company (California)

• Style: Amber Ale

• ABV: 6.75%

• IBU: 25.08

• Pour Color: A hazy deep amber color that light gets thru. 

      The pour came out with a nice fluffy head. It lasted a little while before disappearing. The scent off the top was malt heavy. Strong aroma of toasty caramel malts of some sort. The color of the beer was a darker amber that had a haze to it. The flavor of the beer was much less sweet then the scent would have led me to believe. This beer has a character that is unusual for a amber ale. It's got a full body and a malty taste that just is bigger then most ambers. The yeast and the toasted malt mix to give you a nice fresh bread or biscuit flavor. On swallow you get that familuar red ale finish of caramalts. A nice amber ale in my opinion. 
      Most amber ales just are fairly boring to this mustache. I'm actually more inclined to grab a wheat ale. That being said this is a lot different. Normally if I'm going to give a amber a distinction it's cause of the hop heavy way they did it. This beer here has little hop flavor but still awakes the taste buds. Another swim in this one is gonna be come shortly cause this is a good beer!

Rating: ****1/2

Simcoe Spring

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: Simcoe Spring

• Brewery: Peak Organic (Maine)

• Style: Pale Ale

• ABV: 5.4%

• IBU: 66

• Pour Color: A golden copper color that is easily seen thru

      This one was a darker straw color as it poured and left a nice head. The head would leave a nice island at the top and lacing all the way down. The simcoe comes through as a nice fruity scent. A citrus and pasion fruit scent are easy to smell. The feel in the mouth is light and smooth. The malts give a nice sweet flavor that just makes it easy drinking. A interesting pale. 
      I'm kinda blown away by this one. I like overly hopped or so dark you can't see thru it. This is neither of those. This is a nice spring offering that really gives a kick with simplicity. One hop really gives a lot of character in a beer I expected to be an average pale. It being by a organic brewery makes you think twice on what matters in brewing too!

Rating: ****1/2

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: *****

Lagunitas IPA

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: Lagunitas IPA

• Brewery: Lagunitas Brewing Company (California)

• Style: IPA

• ABV: 6.2%

• IBU:

• Pour Color: A golden see through color slightly orange.

       The pour brought about a head that wouldn't quit. Even when I thought I had beat it down it sat at half a finger. The color was a light see thru copper. Smelling the top of this one is a real treat. Nothing but pine, grass and citrus hitting you in the face. The taste is a little different. The malts really do hold there own making this bitter treat quite ballenced. The hops on taste are much more the grassy earthy veriety then the scent would lead you to belive. It really has a very fresh hop taste and that flavor echos long after you have swallowed. With the malts having a slight sweetness everything in this one just works!
      WOW! This is a great IPA. Bitter but still ballenced with a sweet malt it works well. My other favorite Lagunitas brew is hop stoopid and it's hard to compare. The Imperial IPA is nothing but hops. This is alot more then just hops. Refreshing and delicious, you're really lucky if your gas station has this one in town! So GO GET IT!

Rating: *****

Dark Depths

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: Dark Depths

• Brewery: Sam Adams Brewing Company (Massachusetts)

• Style: Black IPA (Baltic IPA)

• ABV: 7.6%

• IBU: 55

• Pour Color: A clear red color when held up to the light!

      The pour came out much lighter then most dark IPAs. A head came up quick and sat at the top for awhile. It was easily two fingers high. Smelling the top of this one you get a sweet roasted caramel and almost a grapefruit hop scent. On the sip you get a mix of coffee and caramel malts. The hops come through slightly while in mouth but disappear quickly once swallowed. This is really a dark beer before a IPA and really only hits a pale ale bitterness to me.
      This one to me really seemed to mislead the drinker. If I was trying to get one of my Guinness drinking buddies into a hoppy beer I would go with this one. Much more a dark beer then a IPA really. The hops just are in a sea of malt flavor and aren't enough to get a avid IPA drinker excited. This one I would swim in again but it's not the first one I'm reaching for!

Rating: **1/2

Festina Peche

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: Festina peche

• Brewery: DogFish Head Brewing Company (Delaware)

• Style: Berliner Weisse

• ABV: 4.5

• IBU: 8

• Pour Color: A nice golden slightly green color and with the slightest fog to the glass.

      Just as the Face opens the bottle I get a nice scent off this one. A nice peach scent is easily smelled before it's poured. The pour came out golden and slightly hazy. It still can be seen through easy. The head was about a finger high for a few seconds before it disappeared. The scent off the glass was a little more of a fresh sour dough and peach mix. This one is a sour wheat beer and tastes like it. The peach though really makes a weird balance that seems to work. The echo of the wheat on the after taste is my favorite part of this one. Really a decent summer seasonal. 
      This one is a nice little seasonal that some really wouldn't enjoy. The sour is certainly in the taste of this one. While to me Apollo was overpoweringly sour, I didn't get that from this sour beer. It had enough bread and peach to give it a crispness and a balance. That nice peach flavor makes it quite refreshing for a summer swim in.

Rating: ****

Dry Hopped Pale Ale

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: Dry Hopped Pale Ale

• Brewery: Founders Brewing Company (Michigan)

• Style: American Pale Ale

• ABV: 5.4%

• IBU: 35

• Pour Color: A nice golden color, Slightly hazy but light travels through.

      Right away on the pour you can see the hazy dots floating in the pale. A nice sign that this one was dry hopped! The head on the top of the beer was fairly lack luster. Came up slightly and disappeared quick. The smell off the glass was quite malty. A sweat wheat scent. The hops scent was slightly grassy. On taste the malts have a slight toasty taste. There is a mix of bitter flavors in this pale. A nice pine and almost lime citrus flavor. The bitter isn't deep but you know it's there! Overall a really good pale.
      Another beer from founders and another good one. The malts are done in a decent way but the hops are the star of this one. Seems more bitter then the 35 it says on the bottle. The dry hop taste comes through nicely on this one and brightens everything up. A really refreshing beer for a summer or winter day.

Rating: ****1/2

Red's Rye IPA

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: Red's Rye IPA

• Brewery: Founders Brewing Company (Michigan)

• Style: Red Rye IPA

• ABV: 6.6%

• IBU: 70

• Pour Color: Slightly hazy red color to this one. Light travels through easy

      The head up top this one was big and came up just over two fingers. Nice and thick for a few sips. It would hang out at the edges for the rest of the glass. The color in the glass was a transparent red. It had a haziness to it too. Just dots suspended in the liquid. A malty hoppy scent off the top. Very sweet caramel scented. You still get a nice earthy aroma from the hops though. The taste is really well ballenced. A strange flavor packed sip in the mouth and a strong taste but a nice clean finish. You get a nice spicy taste in the mouth prolly from the rye kick. It also has a nice citrus hop kick to it. The bitter plays off the sweet too well in this one. A delicious balance that surpasses most beers that I have tasted!
      Founders just recently started poping up in my area of NY. I had heard of it for awhile but never could get it. Well worth the wait though! This is another great example of hugely hoppy red ale. I would say this along with cascazilla are some of my favorite red ales out there. I love the caramel character and hopping that out is a real treat for anymustache. Go get one of these now!

Rating: *****

Five Crown Imperial Stout

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: Five Crown Imperial Stout

• Brewery: Samuel Adams Brewing Company (Massachusetts)

• Brewer: Joe Formanek

• Style: Munich Dunkle Lager

• ABV: 8.9%

• IBU:?

• Pour Color: Dark ruby red tone to it, light passes through easily.

     Poured super thick and super dark.The head appeared for a second and then disappeared quickly. The scent off the top was quite strong. It had a mix of chocolate and caramel to the bouquet. On taste the malts are the star. Giving it a chocolate caramel flavor that is strong. A slight roasted coffee flavor is in this one too. The alcohol is known too with a very dry finish. Hits almost like a bourbon aged brew. The hops come through with a slight bitter earthy tone but not much. Another good home brew. 
      Sam Adams found a decent stout to put on the big stage. Joe knows how to make a nice full flavor stout that can kick the crap out of you. That's the main problem with this beer for me. The high alcohol content leads to a high alcohol flavor i just don't like. Plus this thick beer just gets stuck in the follicles. How unpleasant is it to get showered in a mustache's stash of thick porter? Not at all really.

Rating:***1/2

Brooklyn Summer Ale

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: Brooklyn Summer Ale

• Brewery: Brooklyn Brewing Company (New York)

• Style: English Pale Ale

• ABV:5.0%

• IBU: 18

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

       The pour was nice. A fluffy head crowned a nice golden beer in the glass. The scent off the top was quite malty, with a nice tone of citrus. The head quickly sank to the sides of the glass where it would reside for the rest of the beer. The initial taste of this one is yeasty and malty. A strong taste of bread to this. After that comes a nice crisp presence of lemon and grass flavors to the hops. On swallow you get a nice biscuit taste. Really a good summer experience in a world of summer wheat beers.
      Brooklyn makes great beers! This is another one that I enjoy. Not my favorite summer ale, but still one I get a hankering for when in season. Extremely malty compared to most summer ales, it gives you something different for the season. Also it comes in a can. Don't bring bottles to the beach... Go grab a twelver of this one!

Rating:***1/2

Hoptimum

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: Hoptimum

• Brewery:Sierra Nevada brewing company (California)

• Style: Imperial IPA

• ABV: 10.4%

• IBU: 100

• Pour Color: A easily seen through orange golden color. 

      This beer has a nice color on pour. Looked to be more carbonated then most. The light passes through the glass easy. The head was small but lasted around the edge of the glass the whole beer. The scent is that of a bouquet of hops. Piney and grassy and somewhat floral too. The taste is bitter and hoppy for sure. It's really a firework display in hops. You get grassy tones, you get citrus tones, then you notice a pine. All of this is backed by a malt that has a super sweet taste that barely competes with so much bitter. An amazing hop summit that no one should pass up.

     If you hate hops then my choice in beers is probably a disappointment. This again will be one of those. This has the hop character of a Hop Stoopid yet a better balance of malts. While Hop Stoopid seems to go for a malt liquor feel this one has the class of a Sierra Nevada beer. Also Hoptimum is offered in 12 ounce bottles while you can only find 22 ounce bottles of Hop Stoopid. Sometimes a mustache can't take a imperial IPA for 22 ounces. All and all I would much rather have this one then most other Imperial IPAs. A great beer and another great hop fest from Sierra Nevada! 

Rating: *****

Red Nectar

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: Red Nectar

• Brewery: Nectar Ales Brewing Company (California)

• Style: Red Ale/Amber Ale

• ABV: 5.4%

• IBU: 35

• Pour Color: A clear orange color that really has little carbonation.

      On pour, this one had a nice original color that not many ales have. Orange and pretty perfectly clear. The carbonation seemed very low out the bottle, however the head raised quick. That was gone quick though and didn't leave a trace at the top. You really only get a malty caramel scent off the top of this one. No real hop presence in the smell. On taste you get a nice sweet malt up front. Caramel is there too in the taste and a nice grassyness to the light hop flavor. There also is a weird off flavor of iron in this one. Not my favorite red ale but also not one me or the face would turn down.
      This one really was a middle of the road red ale/amber ale. The balance of flavors is done well but with the weird iron flavor every few sips is off putting. The light carbonation and light body though makes this easy drinking. I would recommend it to red ale lovers but I don't think a average beer drinker will enjoy it.

Rating: ***

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

Hebrew Nut Brown Ale

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: Nut Brown Ale

• Brewery: Shmaltz Brewing Company

• Style: Nut Brown Ale

• ABV:5.5%

• IBU:

• Pour Color: Brown color that looks like a light red as light passes.

      This one poured and very little of a head came up. A light scent of malts came off the top of the glass. A brown color that easily allowed light through.Very thin light body to this one. The sweet malts come through initially on taste. You taste a light nut flavor and the hop flavor come through very earthy. All and all not a memorable beer. 
      Although I enjoy nut browns for the most part, this one wasn't that great. Very thin and light bodied and not much flavor. The hop character is the best part and even that can't really brighten this one enough. I'd grab a Ithaca or a Goose Island nut brown before this one everyday!

Rating: **

Goose Island Nut Brown Ale

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: Nut Brown Ale

• Brewery: Goose Island (Illinois)  

• Style: Nut Brown

• ABV:5.3%

• IBU:25

• Pour Color: Brown color letting light through easy.

      This one the face poured and the head fluffed up quickly. That would stick around for a good while as a film at the top of the beer. The scent off the glass is a nice mix of caramel and roasted malts. Slight nuttiness to the scent to. As you sip this one takes you on a journey. The body is fuller then most ales. The caramel malts come through and you get notes of roasted chocolate malt too. The nuttiness is a nice accent to the flavor too. The hops are a light note in this one. A really really good nut brown.
      First from the goose island guys for me. Really Really good though. Not bitter at all and so full of flavors. This one would be good paired with just about anything. We got this one on tap now at the station and the Face better get a growler for us!

Rating: ****1/2

Noble Pils

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: Noble Pils

• Brewery: Samuel Adams Brewing (Massachusetts)

• Style: Pilsner

• ABV: 4.9%

• IBU: 34

• Pour Color: A bright golden color that is easily seen through

      On pour this one got a fluffy head that hung around for a good while. The nice golden color is perfectly clear. The scent, is a slight sweet malty scent, and a nice hop tone to it. The hops in this one come straight at ya on taste. The curl got a little tighter as this one hit me with pine and earthy tones. The malt is in the back slightly sweetening this one up. Really a great pilsner any one should try.
      Sam Adams puts a lot of stock in the "noble hops". These are grown where it's the best hop growing condition. There pils though is helped by this pickyness.  The hops in question some times don't make a great IPA, but a hoppy pils like this is perfect with em. I look forward to spring cause I've grown accustom to sam's noble pils. Now that it's a year round beer the Face gets it all the time!

Rating: *****

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: **

Long Hamer

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: Long Hammer

• Brewery: Red Hook (Washington)
  

• Style: IPA

• ABV: 6.5%

• IBU: 44

• Pour Color: See thru golden color

      This is one of the few IPAs that the face poured that was perfectly golden. A slight low head on this beer, and slightly murky, the light still makes it through. The scent, as the face lifts it, is hoppy and slightly malty sweet scent. The taste of this one is a nice malty IPA taste. More of that biscuit flavor to the malts then most IPAs. This one really was a delicious malty IPA that had bitterness and sweetness that blended well.
      This IPA is much more malty then most. It also has a nice hop character too. One of the few IPA's I would describe as ballenced and still give a 5 star rating. With that biscuit taste this one is so delicious but still has that citrus/pine flavor that a IPA should have. Really this mustache loves this one!

Rating: ****1/2

Deviant Dale's

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: Deviant Dale's

• Brewery: Oskar Blues (Colorado)

• Style: Imperial IPA

• ABV: 8.0%

• IBU:85

• Pour Color: A bright amber not quite golden but see through

      Deviant comes in the tall boy can delivering the fresh taste you crave. The deviant has a slightly stronger scent to it then Dales Pale. The hops come forward quickly backed by the malts. The head is tall fluffy and thick. Now on taste comes a interesting orange taste to this one. Both sweet and bitter it's got a nice balance. It also has a linger that lasts. All that hoppy goodness echos lowly forever. I don't know if I should curl tighter or droop lower. Deviant may have given me a wedgie and made off with my wax. It was worth it though!
      I think I said this before. Dale's may be the best beer on the market as far as I'm concerned. Deviant has a lot of the things I love about dales. It also has a higher alcohol kick. Dale's easy drink ability still pulls it ahead slightly for me. Still an amazing imperial IPA.

Rating: *****