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

Strawberry Harvest

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: Strawberry Harvest

• Brewery: Abita Brewing (Louisiana)
  

• Style: Fruit Beer

• ABV: 4.2%

• IBU:13

• Pour Color: A slightly hazy color but totally golden.

      The Face poured this one and it had a head that disappeared quick. The color was golden and hazy, but, light traveled through easy. The scent off the glass was a nice clean strawberry smell. You expect the strawberry to be overbearing but it's not. Light, but clearly their, it really is the taste of a ripe strawberry. It also has a nice citrus taste. As you swallow the nice strong taste of wheat really comes through giving you a great range of flavors. This is a delicious and refreshing beer. 
      This is our first taste of Louisiana and it's starting out great! This is by far my favorite fruit beer I have tasted. Crisp and refreshing it's a great beer to bathe in. On a hot summer day, when you're gonna have four or five, this fruit beer wouldn't be bad at all. I know the Face will be splashing this one on me again real soon.

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: **

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

Old Chub

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: Old Chub

• Brewery: Oskar Blues (Colorado)

• Style: Scotch Ale

• ABV: 8.0%

• IBU:85

• Pour Color: On pour a dark red almost brown, No light passes through

      Right out the can you begin to pick up on those scents associated with other scotch ales. Caramel is there and almost a fig scent on top of it. The pour was a very murky red that is not see through at all. The head was much smaller then I expected and disappeared quickly. As the beer soaked me I realized I was in a malt dream. Sweet and full bodied because of the malts this one has a real nice feel to it. A sweet almost roasted flavor is the main flavor. A nice raisin or fig taste is there too. Finally this beer doesn't have that alcohol taste at the end that some do. Most scotch ale have that almost scotch taste to it. This one though really didn't have that last bite. All and all really strange but wonderful brew that I liked. 
      Kinda feel weird drinking, and liking, an Old Chub... This one though has a complexity and mixture of flavors I haven't found before. Most scotch ales taste like what all the other scotch ales taste like. This one wasn't like that. It had some of the flavors you expect from a scotch ale but, it's a full bodied beer that has a easy drink ability that you can't dislike. If it's next to dale's on the shelf again the Face will be picking it up for me! 

Rating: ****

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: *****

Outburst

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: Outburst

• Brewery: Pyramid (Washington)

• Style: Imperial IPA

• ABV: 8.5%

• IBU:80

• Pour Color: A dark amber color that is see through

      Out the bottle you smell these hops. A nice mix of pine and grass scents off the glass. The color on pour was a dark amber that was easily seen through. On the first splash it's all IPA. Bitter and hoppy who wouldn't love this beer. The nice taste, of a spicy hop, to the grass and pine flavors is great. Not much malt flavor comes through but who really needs that? A really good Imperial IPA and after a taste it echos on each of the follicles.
      Starting to wish I was on the west coast getting some of these guys food too. Pyramid for a long while I didn't see on a shelf and it's reemergence has really made me happy. Hearing that theses guys have a barley wine out soon is really exciting. Great beers that hop heads and wheat heads can get excited about!

Rating: ****1/2