Beer Review - Stone Brewing Ripper Pale Ale

Stone Brewing - Ripper Pale Ale

Beer Type: American Pale Ale - 5.70% ABV

Appearance: Stone in a can! Got the stone devil with some bright surfer type colors on it. Beer poured a copper/amber color with a beige head.

Smell: Dank hops aroma with pine, grapefruit, and resin. Doesn't smell like a pale really.

First Drink: Something a bit soapy? Otherwise it's pretty much like it smells only with more malt.

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied and a bit sticky with a bite from the carbonation.

Last Drink: A bit more tropical fruit flavors coming out of the hops and malt combo now.

Drinkability: It's a bit odd for a pale ale and not what I was thinking it would be.

Notes: Hard to follow up my last pale ale review with this one. Not even the same.

Verdict: 3 out of 5. Too malty and dank for my pale ale needs.  

Beer Review - Lagunitas 12 of Never Pale Ale

Lagunitas Brewing Company - 12th of Never Ale

Beer Type: American Pale Ale - 5.50% ABV

Appearance: Cans man. Cans! I think the name refers to never putting beer in a can. Beer poured a clear straw color with a fluffy white head.

Smell: Hops at the front with some citrus, floral, and pine aromas all at once. Not in a bad way.

First Drink: Similar to the smell but not as hops forward. A nice malty flavor comes through as well as some bitterness.

Mouthfeel: Medium-light and refreshing with a good amount of carbonation.

Last Drink: More hops funk coming out now. Citrus comes through nicely.

Drinkability: Very drinkable. Could easily drink a few of these in one sitting.

Notes: Kind of hard to find this in my area. Hoping it becomes more widely available.

Verdict: 4.75 out of 5. Very well done pale ale that doesn't skimp on the flavor or aroma.   

Beer Review - Blackrocks Starman Pale Ale

Blackrocks Brewery - Starman Pale Ale

Beer Type: American Pale Ale - 5.60% ABV

Appearance: Black space art on a shiny can. Beer pours a hazy straw color with plenty of off-white head.

Smell: Not a lot coming out but I can certainly smell a mix of hops.

First Drink: Same as the aroma. Early hit of hops followed by just a bit of sweetness then back into a mellow citrus/hops bitterness to finish.

Mouthfeel: Thinner and crisp. Pretty smooth and easy drinking.

Last Drink: More complexity with the different hops coming through now.

Drinkability: Nice easy drinker for those times when you just want a pale ale.

Notes: Just became available in my neck of the woods but it's brewed way up in the UP eh.

Verdict: 4 out of 5. Blast off into the hops zone.   

Beer Review - Odell Brewing St. Lupulin Extra Pale Ale.

Odell Brewing Company - St. Lupulin Extra Pale Ale

Beer Type: American Pale Ale - 6.50% ABV

Appearance: 12 brown bottle with a classy Odell-style label of a saint of hops/grain printed on it. Beer poured a hazy-straw yellow color with a thin head that faded quickly.   

Smell: Bit of piney hops and bready malts. Not too sweet smelling. Pretty mellow aromas.        

First Drink: Bitter up front followed by a nice sweet orange malt flavor with a bitter hop finish. Yum!  

Mouthfeel: Medium body but nice and smooth going down.     

Last Drink: The sweetness is coming out more now with a flavor that is a bit like honey. Also getting more of the hops bitters throughout.         

Drinkability: Pretty darn interesting flavors for a pale ale!          

Notes: I have been a fan of the Odell beers for awhile now and this one does not disappoint. Pretty sure this is a seasonal brew.         

Verdict: 4.25 out of 5. Good flavors and easy going down. What more could you want out of a session beer? 

Beer Review - Left Hand Brewing The Stranger Pale Ale.

Speaking of strangers... 

Left Hand Brewing Company - The Stranger Pale Ale

Beer Type: American Pale Ale - 5.00% ABV

Appearance: 12 brown bottle with the shadowy stranger on the label. Makes me think of Repairman Jack by F. Paul Wilson (and not the other "stranger" sometimes associated with the left hand). Wonder if it is supposed to? Beer is a golden-straw color with a nice fluffy beige head that leaves lots of lace. Bubbly! A pretty looking beer.  

Smell: A light malted aroma and something a bit woody? Maybe it's just all the yardwork I was doing before drinking this beer.        

First Drink: Light like the smell, a bit of citrus hops comes out, also a bit of grassy flavor.  

Mouthfeel: Quite nicely carbonated. I would say it's pretty light otherwise.     

Last Drink: More bready malt coming out now and the hops finish is quite nice.         

Drinkability: I wouldn't kick it out of my fridge but the price for this beer is a bit hefty for the flavor it brings when compared to more local MI brews.         

Notes: People swear by Left Hand but I haven't been very excited about their beers. It's well made but nothing mind blowing.        

Verdict: 3.5 out of 5. I like the way it looks in this pint glass and I like the label. Beer's okay too!

Beer Review - Full Sail Pale Ale

That's it!! I haven't been adding enough beer reviews to the site - mostly because I have a hard time finding "the right post" to include them on. Not anymore! Starting now I will be putting them up as there own separate entries. I'll try to get a new one up each week but I there won't be any hobby information with them. This week we have a "classic" beer from an equally "classic" brewery...

Full Sail Brewing Company - Full Sail Pale Ale

Beer Type: American Pale Ale

Appearance: 12 oz. brown bottle with the tell tale Full Sail label - tan/gold with blue and white lettering. Light amber in color with a thick off-white head and some slight lacing.

Smell: Something grassy and green with some sweetness to it. Can't really smell much hops.

First Drink: Really sweet but not in a cloying way. Initial sweetness gives way to a bit of malt and some banana/citrus flavors.

Mouthfeel: Not as smooth as I normally like, a bit of carbonation gives this a bite.

Last Drink: A little more of the hops comes through at the end and as the beer warms but not nearly as much as I would expect from a Pale Ale.

Drinkability: Easy to drink but not a lot going on here.

Notes: This beer has a pretty loyal following but I doubt I will be going back to this one when I want a pale. Reminds me a bit of the Alaskan Pale Ale I had last year but I liked that one a little more.

Verdict: 3.25 out of 5. Not bad but not outrageously good either. A good pale for those who are afraid of hops perhaps?

Links: Beer Advocate and Full Sail Brewing Company.

30 years of what the hell am I doing!?

Well the day is finally here. Today I turn the big three-oh. 30 years of not really knowing what the hell to do with myself and what do I have to show for it? Well aside from a pretty damn good life I have a kick ass and supportive girl. We made a wonderful baby beer together and bottled it just the other day - we named it Black Ork Ale.

Can you see why!?

It would probably be easier to put the beer in a keg but there is something about cracking open a bottle of your own beer that is just too good to pass up. Plus it makes it easier to share it with friends and family. Here is what our little bottling setup looks like (the red thing is called the "red baron" and is used to put the caps on the bottles).

It is my job to put the caps on and bring new bottles while they are being filled.

Now the Black Ork Ale is finishing in our cupboard where it will sit for another 2-3 weeks before it is ready to drink. In the meantime there is a whole batch of our last beer (a Brown Ale) in the fridge to finish before this one has to move! It's a tough job but someone has to drink all this homebrew!

It has been too long since I posted a beer review. Here is one I had after my trip to Fort Collins, CO back in January of this year (so long ago now), Alaskan Pale Golden Ale.

Alaskan Brewery - Alaskan Pale Golden Ale

Beer Type: American Pale Ale

Appearance: 12 oz. brown bottle with a kind of crappy looking label (featuring a font I strongly dislike). Don't let the crappy label fool you though, this beer is quite nice to look at. The beer poured a clear golden color with a short lived head.

Smell: Carmel with a bit of citrus and hops.

First Drink: A sort of sour citrus up front followed by sweeter caramel flavors. I can just make out some hops in the taste but the bitterness is what really comes through.

Mouthfeel: Light and maybe a bit thin? The carbonation is a little high for me but it is well balanced overall.

Last Drink: Still a lot of sour flavors with a bit of yeast or bread flavors as well.

Drinkability: Overall this is quite different from the Pale Ale I typically drink. Not too light and not too heavy and a little creamy, this is a good session drink.

Notes: Another beer from my trip to Fort Collins, CO. This brewery is not available here in Texas that I have seen but they make a lot of beers. I also have some of their Amber to review and I hope it is as good (or better).

Verdict: 3.75 out of 5. I could finish off a six pack of this without a complaint.

Links: Beer Advocate and Alaskan Brewery.

So what is in store for my 30th birthday you ask? Well I intend to eat some breakfast tacos, drink some coffee, paint some models, play some Warhammer Fantasy, and drink plenty of beer. Not too different from a typical day really, but at least today I can blame the drinkin' on the birthday and not the work day!

Homebrew review.

Here it is. This is our first baby beer. Homebrew!

Looks pretty tasty doesn't it?

Frandall's Brewbucket - AHS Newahtarillo Pale Ale

Beer Type: American Pale Ale

Appearance: 12 oz. brown bottle without a label - recycled and washed out from a batch of New Belgium something or other.

Smell: Fruity hops and malty biscuit aromas.

First Drink: A three pronged attack of hops. First a sweet bitter, followed by a floral flavor, and finished with an earthy note.

Mouthfeel: Smooth and well carbonated but a bit acidic feeling.

Last Drink: The high ABV of this homebrew comes out more as it warms. There are distinctly alcoholic flavors in the aftertaste.

Drinkability: I couldn't ask for a more drinkable first attempt at homebrewing. If all our beers come out near this we'll be doing good!

Notes: This beer started out a bit rough but has really mellowed with age. It seems to be a "fan favorite" as well - a majority of this batch went to friends and family and nobody spit it back out!

Verdict: 3.5 out of 5.

Links: Austin Homebrew Supply.

Yum!