Goose Island Fulton Street Blend Coffee Ale

One might expect a coffee ale to be dark-colored, and usually coffee flavoring is added to stouts and porters; I was surprised to see how light-colored this brew was. Fulton Street Blend is named after the street where Goose Island is located, as well as their neighbor, cofee brewer Intelligencia. Fulton Street Blend is a golden ale, pouring an apricot hue with a one-finger white head. At 20 IBU's there's not a enough hop bite to overcome the coffee flavor, which is frankly overwhelming. In addition to the strong coffee aroma, there's hints of cocoa and vanilla. The underlying beer is pretty decent though, similar to a pale ale. A bit strong for everyday drinking, but okay for holiday parties.

Abita Christmas Ale

I've never had an Abita Christmas Ale, but I really enjoyed this one. It poured a dark honey color with a scanty copper head. It's classified as a red ale, and tastes somewhat like a pale ale. Floral hoppiness blends well with a mild caramel-toffee finish. There's some hints of maple and ripe apples, as well as vanilla and a teeny, tiny bit of nutmeg. Pretty solid Holiday Ale.

Young's Double Chocolate Stout

Even though I had some New Belgium in the fridge, I was in the mood for a nice stout. (For those of you unschooled in beer styles, this is probably the dark beer that you don't like) and was unwilling to crack open the chocolate quad set aside for Friday. This beauty poured a deep, dark brown with a healthy tan head. Of course chocolate is the dominant flavor, but there is also vanilla, coffee and a little bit o' licorice. There is also a surprising amount of hop bite. This is definitely a go-to beer for the cold winter months that will surely arrive shortly.

ТРЕХГОНОЕ Trechgornoe

Guest review by Scott Knost, who actually consumed this beer in  Moscow

Golden lager with creamy head. Hoppy and slightly bitter finish. Hints of pine. Originated in Moscow around 1875. 4.9% alcohol. Rumor has it that people used to put salt on the rim of the canned version. Enjoyable beer for the price. I got a bottle for about 40 cents."

Beer Review: New Belgium Ranger IPA

Notes from October 2010

Clear and golden with a lacy white head. Pretty mild for an IPA, in fact I thought it tasted more like a regular Pale Ale instead of the usually hoppier India Pale Ale despite the advertised 70 IBU's. It did have the higher ABV, 7% which gave it a nice kick. I'd recommend it to anyone wanting to try out an IPA for the first time.

Added notes December 14, 2015

Apparently they lowered the ABV to 6.5%, but the IBUs are still 70. I can't imagine why I thought that this was a mild IPA! It pours a reddish amber, with a bright white head, highly carbonated. In many circles Ranger is considered the standard against which all IPAs are measured. The hops are a balance, no, a battle,  among the Chinook, Simcoe and Cascade hops, with both pine and citrus notes. Floral notes round it all out.

Don't settle for run-of-the-mill IPAs!

New Belgium Fat Tire Amber Ale

I've reviewed many of New Belgium's beers over the years, but for some reason I have never reviewed their flagship brew, Fat Tire, amber ale. I'm not sure if I've ever even tried it before. Maybe I'm so on the lookout for exotic styles that I bypass the simple, basic beers that made all the exotic styles possible. Well here goes: Fat Tire pours a golden-copper color, with a nondescript two-finer head. There's a nice bite of piney hops right off the bat, with some subtle aromas of fresh baked bread and caramel. Despite the hop presence, there is also a nice sweet balance of maltiness. This is definitely a solid, go-to beer, even for my Budweiser and Pabst buddies!

Ben & Jerry's Salted Caramel Brownie Brown Ale by New Belgium

Picked up a New Belgium Folly 12 Pack today, and included in it was this oddball: Ben & Jerry's Salted Caramel Brownie Brown Ale. Pretty interesting, even though I usually am not impressed by the novelty beers. It's, as advertised, a partnership between two Colorado favorites: Ben & Jerry's, the progressive ice cream dudes, and New Belgium, the beer giants of the Rocky Mountains. I expected something a lot more obviously like a dish of ice cream, and I'm sure that a scoop of ice cream in a mug of this ale would be great, but it comes across as simply a well-crafted brew. It poured a chocolatey brown with a two-finger tan head. Aromas of chocolate and (as expected) and a strong chocoalte taste with a less-obvious hints of caramel. I'm not detecting any of the saltiness however. Overall, a strong contender, but ultimately just a novelty act.