Stone Go To IPA

Holy hops Batman! Even before sipping this IPA I could smell the grapefruity hops assaulting my nose. Pretty low ABV for an IPA, only 4.5%, which in my book, is a good thing...seems to be the new thing - sessionable IPA's. Anyway, it pours an orange color with an almost negative head, it's so small! In addition to the prominent grapefruit, there's also a more subdued mango, peach and pear in the mix. More pine from the hops as it warms up. If you're a hop fan, you've come to the right place!

Goose Island 312 Urban Pale Ale

Received this from a beer buddy the other day, and although I usually like what Goose Island puts out, I'm a bit underwhelmed with this offering. Not that it's a bad beer, but it just doesn't have that unique zip that Goose Island brews usually bring to the table. It pours an amber-orange with a scanty white head, with some medium intensity hop bitterness. There's some floral notes and some biscuity sweetness as well. Not sure how much wheat is in the mix, but there seems to be some wheatiness in there, and a bit of grapefruit in the hops. I wouldn't turn it down, but I doubt I'll be seeking it out

Funkwerks Tropic King Imperial Saison

Pouring a cloudy, apricot hue, with a towering cumulus of a white head. Some sourness putting an edge on the smooth creaminess characteristic of a saison. Lots of tropical fruit, mangoes, pineapple and a little banana on top of pear and apple swirling around amidst the bright bubbling carbonation. Various spices: ginger, white pepper and lemon zest, add a thrill to the mix. Not a session beer by any means, but a perfect foil for barbecued chicken or fish.

Sam Adams Cold Snap Witbier

I'm a little suspicious that Sam Adams is recycling some of their old beers with new names, or making some minor changes and relabeling. This seems a lot like their White Ale, which alternated between the Winter variety pack and the Spring collection a few years back, the link to the November 2010 IGB review of the white ale will follow at the end of this review.

Cold Snap is an unfiltered wheat, with spices added. It pours an apricot hue, with a medium white head. There's a strong aroma of orange peel and a melange of various other flavors such as coriander, lemongrass and a little grapefruit. A hint of orange marmalade hits you after it warms up a bit. Light and refreshing, sessionable with enough complexity to satisfy us beer geeks, but middle-of-the-road enough for the novice.

http://ill-gottenbooty.blogspot.com/2010/11/beer-review-sam-adams-white-ale.html

Sam Adams Escape Route Kölsch

The Kölsch is one of my favorite summer beers styles, but Sam Adams has released their version of the style as we are transitioning out of Winter and into Spring, to help us put the cold behind us. Escape Route pours a cloudy golden yellow with a thin white head. It tastes of subtle floral as well as some subdued citrus. As is typical of the style, the flavors balance the cool clarity of a lager very well. Kind of wheaty as it warms up a bit. Would make a great summer session beer.

Here are some links to some information about the Kölsch style:                                                    

http://beeradvocate.com/beer/style/85

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%C3%B6lsch_(beer)

http://www.germanbeerinstitute.com/K%F6lsch.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/29/dining/kolsch-a-summer-beer-worth-the-fuss-the-pour.html/?_r=0

Miller Fortune

Got a free bottle of Miller Fortune today. Miller-Coors is marketing this as a beer for bourbon drinkers, and suggests that you drink it out of a "rocks" glass. Okay. I often drink my high-end beers, including those that were aged in bourbon oak barrels, from just such a glass, as well as tulip glasses and brandy snifters. Often the different glassware brings out the taste better than a regular pint glass. I'm drinking some now from a Jack Daniels "rocks" glass and I'm just not feeling it. It does have an amber hue suggestive of bourbon and not much of a head, which you wouldn't expect from bourbon, but there really isn't any taste of bourbon that I can detect. So, for the second half of the bottle I'm switching to a Sam Adams perfect pint glass. Despite the misleading marketing, it's not a half bad beer, just not what they say it is. There's some malty sweetness to it, hinting at honey, with very little hoppiness. On the back side there's a little bit of vanilla...and I've got a search party out looking for the bourbon flavor.

Suede Imperial Porter

This is a collaboration among three brewers: Stone, the new kid on the Nebraska block, 10 Barrel, and Blue Jacket (never heard of the other two)

It pours a dark brown, with some light peaking through and a small, one-finger head. Supposedly brewed with honey and jasmine, although I'm not catching either flavor distinctly, although it is really sweet for a porter. Very smooth, with evident chocolate and coffee notes and more carbonation than I expected.

I would never have thought to put flowers (calendula is a flower btw) in a porter, but it works pretty well. Great winter brew, especially since Spring is somewhat delayed again this year!