Brother Thelonious

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: Brother Thelonious 

• Brewery: North Coast Brewing (California)

• Style: Belgian Style Abbey

• ABV: 9.4%

• IBU: 32

• Pour Color:  Poured a very dark red almost brown

      Poured nice and see through although dark. The head was fluffy and held for awhile. A sweet fruity scent to this one that most ales don't have. On taste you realize it has a fig and/or raisin flavor. The yeast in this one is a star all it's own though. It adds a spicy flavor that melds well with the malts. The malts themselves have a nice caramel flavor that nears that of a scotch ale. Really great complimenting flavors in this one. A great beer that helps a good cause in supporting jazz education.
      I've had some really bad abbey ales for the most part. Beers that get the malts and the flavors wrong while melding and come out being real gross. All of them to me seemed to have a nasty acidic tasting sour and a really over done sweetness. Leaves you feeling like it's vomit in a glass. Brother Thelonious changed that point of view. A well balanced beer that has a 9.4% alcohol, this one goes way past most expectations.

  

Rating: *****

Stone IPA

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: Stone IPA 

• Brewery: Stone Brewery (California)

• Style: IPA

• ABV: 6.9%

• IBU: 77

• Pour Color:  A murky golden color that light makes it through

      Seeing Stone brewery on the side of a bottle always makes me curl a little bit more. This is our first time getting the IPA instead of a Ruination. The pour really was murkier then most and gave it a unfiltered look to it. The head of the beer was fluffy but disappeared fast. The scent off the glass was that of grapefruit and floral tones. Stone balanced this one really really well. The malts are a nice slight sweetness that set the stage for the hops. Citrus, floral, earthy tones come through strong and make this a nice IPA. Unlike the Ruination though this one doesn't sit and echo hops for days. Fairly easy drinking IPA that tantalized the follicles. 
      Another gargoyle on a bottle and you know that means quality. Stone seems to have the right mix of malt and a whole lot of hop to everyone of their beers. Yet when you taste Ruination compared to this IPA they both stand alone as really good beers. I've found you can't go wrong when choosing Stone!

  

Rating: ****

2X Stout

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: 2x Stout

• Brewery: Southern Tier Brewing Company (New York)

• Style: Milk Stout

• ABV: 7.5%

• IBU:50

• Pour Color:  This beer is a black abyss in a glass

      As the Face poured this one it was just black in the glass. The head was fairly fluffy and held on for a few sips. You can smell the lactose in this one off the top of the glass. That is accompanied by a nice sweet chocolate and roasted smell smell. A very strange range of flavors as you taste. Roasted malts back a really sweet chocolate stout. The milk is a strong presence and adds to the beers body. The hops kick in during the taste and almost add a sour flavor. This one is a nice well rounded beer with a little extra kick.
      I enjoyed this one a lot. A mix of good flavors and an actual milk tone to what calls itself a milk stout. The creaminess is what makes this one. The hops were a kick that you really don't expect but gives it it's own character. Balanced and unique, what more could you want?

  

Rating: ****

Indian Brown Ale

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: Indian Brown Ale

• Brewery: DogFish Head (Delaware)

• Style: Indian Brown Ale?

• ABV: 7.2%

• IBU: 50

• Pour Color: A golden color on pour.

      On pour this one was dark and seemed to be thick. The head to it went up high and fluffy and fought back as I attempted to soak in the beer. The scent off the glass is a mix of a spicy hop and a roasted caramel. On sip you get a nice coffee flavor right away. You also notice the roasted malts quickly too. A bitter smokiness is tasted and it mixes well with the sweet chocolate and caramel taste on swallow. This beer is another one that is just a sea of flavors. All of them seem to be the right flavors though.
      Hops or wine hybrids seem to be the name of the game for dogfish, when you look at my reviews. But that's really not all these guys offer to tantalize the follicles. This one showcases a understanding of strong malts. A really great brown ale that has a little extra hop and scotch ale kick.

  

Rating: ****1/2

Flower Power

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: Flower Power
  

• Brewery: Ithaca Beer Company (New York)

• Style: Flower Power

• ABV: 7.5%

• IBU:75

• Pour Color: A golden color on pour.

      On pour it had a nice fluffy head. The scent off the glass is full of different smells. Citrus, floral, grassy, earthy, spicy scents from every which way. This is just a sea of hop flavors that most other beers can't get. There's also a slight flavor of the malts to this one. The malts mostly come through as a sweetness to contrast the hop bitterness slightly. Really a delicious beer that is made for the hop heads. 
      This was my first experience with flower power. I really have trouble not grabbing a Nut Brown or a Apricot Ale when looking at Ithaca beers cause those are the old stand by. I'm happy to find out they know how to make one of the best IPA's I've had. Peace, Love, and hops in a bottle.

  

Rating: *****

Resin

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: Resin
  

• Brewery: Six Points (New York)

• Style:Imperial IPA

• ABV: 9.1%

• IBU: 103

• Pour Color: Transparent red color

      Just seeing the can you know it's something different. The head on the pour was big and fluffy and hung around for a few sips. The smell off the glass is nice and hoppy. You get a floral earthy scent off the glass from the dry hopping. The malts give this one a nice sweet flavor in the mouth. The variety of flavors in the hops is amazing. Floral, citrus and even spicy tones are in this one. Just a huge bouquet of flavors that this mustache really loved.
      This is one of those beers I'm gonna say you need to try! A great beer that any hop head would love. At 9.1% this one could easily leave you stumbling in the four packs they offer it in. This is one of the best all around beers I've been soaked in. What are you waiting for? GO GET ONE NOW!

  

Rating: *****

Shock Top Wheat IPA

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: Wheat IPA
  

• Brewery: Shock Top

• Style: IPA

• ABV: 5.8%

• IBU:

• Pour Color: See through golden color

      Me and the Face really ain't Shock Top fans for the most part. As a hop lover I had to try the Shock Top IPA. The head was actually quite fluffy for a minute. As the beer was lifted to me I started to believe this was a IPA. It had a hop aroma to it. Then on the sip I realized why it's a wheat IPA. The wheat flavor is strong in this one. A normal shock top will try to complement the fruit flavors, with  the malts, this one didn't. I will say that this is one of the few Wheat beers I would order in a restaurant. Nice and crisp in the mouth it's really not what I expected.
      Honestly this one I think is closer to most micro brewed pales instead of Indian pale ale. Seems like shock top wanted to cut into the IPA market in name only! The wheat IPA though, with that smoothness, would be a good beer for summer. Still not going to be popular with everyone cause it's bitterer then most "normal" beers, and it's not really up to par with micro brewed IPAs. At 6.99 a growler fill at Face's spot, you really can't complain. Ahhh the luxury of not really being microbrewed. 

Note: If you can't find this one on tap then I would skip it. It really lacks any kind of hop flavor to it at all in the bottle. I was amazed at how boring a beer this was once bottled.

  

Rating: ***