Acme California Pale Ale & California IPA (India Pale Ale): North Coast Brewing

Eh...

The early promise of some of the North Coasts that I tried hasn't carried through to some of the latter ones. Does "California" in "California Pale Ale" indicate no hoppiness, no uniqueness? Not a bad brew overall, but there's a grapefruity overtone that I don't find all that pleasant. Nothing overtly wrong with it, it just doesn't sing to me like Red Seal and Rasputin do.

Maybe it's because it's 1:58PM and I'm not eating anything with it...just trying to cut 'em some slack!

Now the IPA is a bit better. Like the first Acme, the color is a golden hue with a little reddish tint, very cloudy, most likely unfiltered. This a bit on the mild side in the IPA spectrum, but in a  good way. I can see knocking back a few of these on a hot summer night with the grill going.

Abita Purple Haze

Okay, I have mixed feelings about fruit in beer, and they're not even calling this a "beer" or an "ale", but a "raspberry flavored wheat brew" - a "fruit flavored malt beverage". What?

Anyway, I suspect this would taste okay ice-cold on a hot day, but it's almost midnight and it's raining, so maybe I'm in the wrong mood. Nothing really special about this "malt beverage".

Steelhead Double IPA by Mad River

About a finger's worth of head topping a cloudy amber colored brew. The first sip unveiled the typical India Pale Ale aroma and taste. Additional sips revealed hints of orange and lemon, even a little grapefruit. This is one strong ale, but not overwhelmingly bitter, very drinkable, extremely thirst quenching.

Steelhead Scotch Porter from Mad River

Pours a steep head that last a few minutes before retreating to brown lace around the rim; dark brown, almost black color. Nice roasted peat and caramel flavors, sweet, bit not overly so. I'm pairing it with a cherry pie, maybe not the best choice, but that's what's working tonight! Heavy malt zing. Wouldn't mind trying this again...one at a time though.

Steelhead Extra Pale Ale from Mad River Brewing

Another offering from Mad River. This one's a pale ale, I'm not sure what's "extra" about it, but it's not too bad. It's got a mild citrusy flavor, but not the bite that you'd expect from a pale ale, more like a summer ale or even a weal lager. Well, you can't win 'em all!

Mad River Brewery: John Barleycorn Barleywine Style Ale

Hey! I just got punched in the face with a fistful of hops! And a 9.1% ABV! First, follow this link for a definition of barley wine :
"It is called a barley wine because it can be as strong as wine; but since it is made from grain rather than fruit it is in fact a beer." (Quote from wikipedia)
When poured, the head was virtually nonexistent, dissipating almost immediately; the color is a deep mahogany and the taste, as I alluded to before is heavy on the hops and you can really feel the heat of the higher alcohol content. It reminds me a bit of Scottish Ale, with hints of smokiness and peat, lots of caramel. Supposedly you're supposed to drink this from a snifter, but I've got it in Sam Adams glass. One of these days I'll have to get a collection of the different types of glasses that the real beer fanatics drink from. Not your everyday ale, but a nice cold-weather treat.

Abita Ale: Turbodog

Turbodog is a dark brown ale brewed with a combination of pale, chocolate malts. Abita classifies it as an English brown ale. It has a chocolaty flavor, a dark reddish brown color and not much of a head. Very rich, medium thick texture. Mild, but discernible hoppiness. A good one that I'll definitely have more of.