Summerbright Ale

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: Summerbright Ale

• Brewery: Breckenridge Brewing Company (Colorado)

• Style: Wheat Beer

• ABV: 4.5%

• IBU: 15

• Pour Color: Golden, light can easily pass through.

      This one poured like a champ for the Face and I was anxious to take a swim! The head was fluffy and actually quite thick for a summer wheat beer. The head hung around for a good while too. The color was light golden was nearly transparent. The scent off the glass was a wheat one of course. A slight hint of citrus in there too. The beer it self is very light bodied and ballenced well. It has a nice sweetness in the malts. A very wheat flavor too. The citrus kick is what makes this refreshing. It gives it a crispness in flavor that works really well to just give a little bitter. I really enjoyed this summer ale. 
      Another summer seasonal and another really good beer. With Sam Adams summer you get hit with lemon hard. Now, myself, I really enjoy it. This one doesn't do that though. The orange and the lemon peel mix well to give a great flavor.  Most the summer ales I've reviewed don't fall under 5% abv. This is a great easy drinking ale that won't knock you on your butt on those 95 degree days. Also a real delightful kick of citrus that gives it character. Treat your mustache (upper lip) to a dip in it today!

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

Summer Love

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: Summer Love

• Brewery: Victory Brewing Company (Pennsylvania)

• Style: American Blonde Ale

• ABV: 5.2%

• IBU:

• Pour Color: A nice golden yellow color easily seen through.

      The pour made me curl just a little bit extra. A perfect, nearly clear golden color, with a nice head. The head was about two fingers high, this one would sit at the top of the glass for awhile. The scent off the top was a piney grassy scent with a malty hint. Slightly higher carbonation then most beers. This one has a thicker body then you would expect by color. The hops really come through in a verity of tones on the taste. Pine grassy tastes are there but you also get a nice citrus that compliments a lemon tone. You also have a nice biscuity taste to the malts that just give the hops a nice back ground. This is a great beer for summer.
      Being a hop head, this is the beer I love this summer. It just seems to have that perfect balance of hops and malts this season to make a blonde ale something interesting. With most seasonal I'm happy to see a rotation. Something new or different just as the seasons change. This one I'm going to miss. Luckily you got Hop Devil and Hop Wallop to get you though!

Rating: *****

Tweason'ale

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: Tweason'ale

• Brewery: Dogfish Head Brewing Company (Delaware)

• Style: Fruit/Gluten free Beer

• ABV: 6.0%

• IBU:15

• Pour Color: A dark golden color almost a bronze. Light travels through.

      Seeing this one poured was strange. Very carbonated compared to most beers. Also had no head what so ever. These I'm sure are a constant when you're making a grain less beer. The scent of this one was so weird. You get a yeast and a slight raisin scent. The taste is very strange too. The yeast is a strong part of the flavor. It also does have a slight malty flavor to it. A wheat flavor comes through with the raisin tone. The honey made this one slightly over sweet. The strawberry came through slightly but not very much. I found it drinkable and better then some beers that over do the fruit flavor.
      This is my first venture into gluten free beer. This mustache has a strong tolerance to gluten in most it's forms. The Face chose this one cause he has friends who can't drink beer. A strange blend of flavors in this one. Probably not the type of thing I'll be soaked in again. Although I get told all the time gluten free beers suck and are undrinkable. This one I actually found to be decent.

Rating:**

BlueBerry Blonde Ale

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: BlueBerry Blonde Ale

• Brewery: Saranac Brewing Company (New York)

• Style: Fruit Beer

• ABV:5.0%

• IBU: 18

• Pour Color: Golden but hazzy, can't see through it.

      The pour was golden and hazzy. A malty blueberry scent off the top of the glass. The head was nice and fluffy and only hung out for a few sips. The taste is not over overbearingly blueberry tasting. It's in the sip but it's light. You notice more tones of the wheat malts and oats that give it a good wheat taste. A little thicker then some other summer ales. Still easy drinking and a nice blueberry kick on it that's nice on a summer day.
      Summer fruit beer and I gotta say I enjoy it. This is another beer that comes in a can and makes it nice for next to the pool or on the beach. Light on the fruit flavor unlike most fruit beers this one only gives you a hint. If it's hot, and your looking for a refreshing change to the summer seasonal with lemon, then grab this one and give it a try. 

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

Saison Du Buff

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: Saison Du Buff

• Brewery: Victory Brewing Company

• Style: Saison

• ABV: 6.8%

• IBU:?

• Pour Color: A slightly off colored gold slighly hazy.

      This was an interesting pour to a beer. Not quite a golden color and just a light haze to the beer. Still it was almost see through. The head was there for a few seconds. Quite a spicey scent off this one. Parsley is the main smell off the top of the glass with a slight citrus tone. That citrus tone comes through so much more in the taste. The spicey taste continue too. The yeast comes through very strong on taste also. This is an extremely unique saison, a style of beer I usually don't like. This one is delicious though.
      A great range of flavor and a delicious taste. However, this one I couldn't see myself drinking everyday. Cooking with it though could go on for months. The flavors of this one are so far ranging and could make a lot of dishes taste great. Chicken soaked in this, and a few extra spices over night, would be great on the grill.  

Rating:****