Dogfish Head The Perfect Disguise Double IPA

This, my craft beer friends, is an exciting find. It could be a Kölsch, brewed with Kölsch yeast and lagered for that crisp, smooth taste. But The Perfect Disguise also has enough hops to qualify as a double IPA. So which is it? Who cares? It's a tasty brew, pouring a clear golden hue, with a snowy white head. The hops register at 70 IBUs, a healthy level for a DIPA. There's a melange of flavors, including mango, tangerine, peach and pineapple. The mixture of the two styles results in a smooth summery ale. Enjoy!

New Holland Dragon's Milk Reserve - Scotch Barrel Aged Stout with Marshmallow & Dark Chocolate

New Holland Brewery has been making Dragon's Milk one of their brands, tagging all sorts of stout varieties as Dragon's Milk". This particular iteration is Scotch Barrel Aged Stout with Marshmallow & Dark Chocolate. I'm always up for a barrel-aged stout. Reserve 2 is aged in Speyside & Highland Scotch barrels - the whiskey always adds a distinct character to the ale, in this case, a subtle smokiness. The 11% ABV means it's not for the faint of heart. 30 IBUs gives it a moderate hop bitterness. It pours a chocolate hue with a thin tan head. I'm detecting coffee and dark chocolate, barely catching the marshmallow (which is really vanilla anyway). Another fine late night brew.

Deschutes Black Butte XXXII Imperial Porter

Deschutes is one of  those breweries that can do no wrong. I can't think of one of their beers that wasn't a great representation of the style they were going for. Their regular Black Butte Porter is one of the year-round offerings. Here's a short review from 2013:
https://ill-gottenbooty.blogspot.com/2013/11/deschutes-black-butte-porter.html
Black Butte XXXII Imperial Porter was brewed in recognition of Descutes' 32nd anniversary. It was aged in Colombian rum barrels (mmm) and infused with cold-brew coffee, nutmeg, vanilla bean and sweet orange peel. ABV is a bracing 13.4% with 50 IBUs.

It pours a deep mahogany brown with a two-finger beige head. The aroma arrives as it's being poured (tulip glass in this case) with strong overtones of coffee and vanilla (not unexpected). The main flavors impart a creamy constancy and the rum aging gives it a moderate alcohol heat. It's like drinking a gourmet chocolate brownie.

Mobcraft Low pHunk Sour Ale

The last (for now) of the sours, Low pHunk is SOUR! Their website description reads like a chemistry text, check it out yourself if interested. It pours a pale straw-ish color with no discernible head. Of all the sours that I have sampled over the last few weeks, this one is by far the most tart. The best descriptor that I can come up with is that it tastes just like unsweetened lemonade. They're not trying to re-imagine any of the traditional sour styles, just out to make a SOUR ale.

They succeeded.

Prairie Artisan Phantasmagoria Double IPA

This is the penultimate IPA in this review series, as a reminder, "double" usually indicates elevated ABV or IBUs or both. It's equivalent to "imperial". Phantasmagoria Double IPA pours a cloudy ripe pineapple hue, with a thin white head. The 8% ABV and 70 IBUs put it solidly in IPA territory, but on the low side, in my opinion, of a double or an imperial. The perceived bitterness is somewhat subdued, piney notes that suggest, but don't overwhelm. There's also quite a bit of citrussy hops in the mix as well. There's hints of mango and pineapple, but overall, if I didn't know that the ABV and IBUs were as high as they are, I'd suspect this was a light beer (not in a bad way).

Destihl Wild Sour Series: Flanders Red

The sour adventure continues! I've explained in previous reviews what makes a wild sour, please refer to them for details. A Flanders Red is a specific type of sour ale, characterized by the year-long aging in oak casks and the use of red malts. They typically have intense fruit flavors. Destihl's Flanders Red pours a dark copper color with an almost nonexistent head. At 5.9% ABV and only 18 IBUs, is pretty mild in both the alcohol and bitterness categories. The overwhelming impression is of tart cherries...and boy, the tartness really comes through. Subsidiary flavors include grapefruit, lemonade and green apple.

Melvin Citradamus Imperial IPA

Another IPA with lots and lots of hops. The "Imperial" descriptor originally referred to Imperial Russian Stout, a stout that was shipped to the Tsar in Imperial Russia. It was known for having higher than usual alcohol and bitterness level. These days it refers to any beer where the alcohol or hops levels, or both, are higher than usual. "Imperial" for all practical purposes is equivalent to "double". Citradamus has a respectable 9.5% ABV and 88 IBUs, not as high as that insane 100+ in 2x4, but still pretty stiff. Citradamus pours a cloudy orange, with a yellowish one-finger head. The Citra hops impart a citrus flavor - orange, lemon zest and lime. There's a bit of pine hoppiness, and a honey-ish aftertaste. I can imagine pairing this with hot barbecue, or even some spicy meatballs.

Destihl Wild Sour Series: Lynnbrook: Berliner Style Weisse with Raspberry

It's sour time! Destihl Brewery has been brewing a sour series; Lynnbrook is a raspberry flavored Berliner Wiesse, a wild sour wheat beer. Wild sours ferment using "wild" yeast, i.e. yeast that isn't added by the brewer, but the ale spontaneously ferments due to ambient yeast in the environment. Berliners usually are 25-50% wheat and generally are flavored with added fruit or fruit syrup.

Lynnbrook pours a pale red with a scant pink head. It registers 4 IBUs, hardly any hops at all, probably the lowest bitterness rating of any beer that I have ever reviewed. At 4.2% ABV, it definitely a session beer. Obviously there's a strong raspberry taste, but there's also strong hints of lemon and honey.

If you're a sour fan, Lynnbrook should be on your shopping list.

Melvin 2x4 Double IPA

When I began my India Pale Ale trek a few weeks ago I had picked a few beers that were well outside the bitterness level that I would attribute to an IPA. Coincidentally each one that I chose had higher ABV and IBUs. 2x4 DIPA (double IPA) clocks in at almost 10% ABV and over 100 IBUs. Yes, I said ONE HUNDRED IBUs!  Surprisingly this ridiculously high bitterness level doesn't translate into the astringent, paint peeling quality that ultra-hoppy ales often have. It pours a hazy apricot hue with a pure white FOUR-FINGER HEAD! The astronomically high hop content imbues 2x4 with complex flavors rather than bitterness. There's ripe citrus, pine, honey, pineapple, mango, peach, grapefruit and indistinct floral. All of them swirling around in a tasteful dance.

9.5 on the IGB IPA scale.

Deschutes Fresh Squeezed IPA

The last of the crop of IPAs that I picked up last week, Fresh Squeezed IPA by Deschutes is an ale that I've sampled many times, but just haven't had the opportunity to do a review yet. And, following the trend of increasing IBU counts, this one clocks in a 60, with a 6.4% ABV. Fresh Squeezed IPA pours a orange-ish hue with an off-white head of about a finger and a half. Despite the high IBUs, it doesn't come across as particularly bitter. There's a nice combination of piney and citrus hops, along with floral notes and tropical fruit. As it warms, apple and pear become evident. As with all Deschutes beers, Fresh Squeezed IPA is a top notch ale and rates an IGB score of 9.0.

Upslope Rocky Mountain Kölsch

The Kölsch style is one my favorite undemanding summer beer styles. So much so that I thought I'd explained just what a Kölsch is recently. I had not.

A Kölsch is one of the hybrid styles, based on the type of yeast and method of fermentation (warm, top fermenting) it's an ale, but like a lager it's allowed to age in a cool place (lagering). What you get is a beer where the hidden tastes that come out in an ale combine with the refreshing crispness that comes with a lager. Most Kölsches tend to be on the sweet side - Upslope's Rocky Mountain Kölsch is a bit sweeter due to the added honey, but I'd say they added just the right amount - it's not at all cloying. The sage is very subdued; you can barely detect it until it starts to warm up a bit. There's also some subliminal citrus, predominantly lemon zest. Surprisingly good. Up until now Zipline has been my favorite Kölsch, but I believe that it has now been dethroned.