Grimm Lumen, Candlepower & Sugarmaker

I am not typically one who likes to wait in line for beer. That is not to say I will not do it. I have waited in line like so many before me for a case of Heady Topper. I have waited in line for Goose Island Bourbon County. I have waited in line for Firestone Walker Velvet Merkin. I accidentally waited in line for Westbrook Mexican Cake. In the case of the Westbrook Mexican Cake though, I was told they would be arriving shortly. Moments later more people started showing up. A half hour later Mexican Cake had still had not arrived but a lot more people did. At that point I felt like since I had already waited that long, I might as well see it through.

For the Mexican Cake, Velvet Merkin and Bourbon County lines I only got a bottle or two. That is perfectly fine with me because those beers last. I can put them in my fridge and stare at them proudly for a while before the occasion calls for me to drink them. For me, that is perfectly acceptable. One thing that I do not understand is waiting in line for a single can of an IPA. I fully understand waiting in line for a 4 pack or a case of an IPA but just a single can seems like a waste of time. I feel this way for two reasons. One, is their short shelf life. The refrigerator admiration time for these limited IPAs is very short and I personally enjoy that time. Another thing, on a more serious note, is that frankly there is not a good enough IPA distributed in this area to make me want to spend a portion of my day waiting in line for it. That includes the entire lineup of Grimm IPAs. A lineup which I find to be very hit and miss. The hits(Tesseract, Magnetic Compass, Lambo Door) are fantastic but the misses(Forcefield, Dreamweapon) leave me feeling cheated out of 5 dollars. Still, these Grimm IPAs get people excited unlike any other beers distributed in my area. So, for this blog which happens to be my 3 year anniversary blog, I am going to review 3 beers recently released by Grimm including their IPA Lumen. Hopefully, from these reviews I can give you a better idea of whether these are worth waiting in line for, or just looking for on draft.

Grimm Lumen was the first IPA I was able to try from Grimm. I thought it was a really nice beer then and I still do now. The bold passion fruit aroma is wonderfully complimented by the aromas of pineapple, peach, grapefruit and pine. This beer is really juicy. The passion fruit is there along with orange, pineapple, mango with a bitter grapefruit and pine finish. Bold, juicy hop flavor is showcased wonderfully here with biscuit malt sweetness in the background. As I said earlier, it is a really nice beer. If you have never had an IPA from Grimm, this is a great place to start.

Overall rating 4.25/5.
Would I wait in line for it? Only if I could get more than a 4 pack

Next up, we have Grimm Candlepower, a farmhouse saison with brewed sage and pink peppercorns. I really enjoy when sage is used in saisons. I think it compliments the flavor nicely and it does that here. The issue with this beer is the malt. The sweetness of the malt overshadows everything else going on here which is a shame. Notes of lemongrass, funk, citrus with a pepper finish are nice and if not overshadowed would have been made this a really nice beer. I shared this bomber and I am glad I did. I could barely get through half a glass of it.

Overall rating 2/5
Would I wait in line for it? No, in fact I do not think I would walk across the street to try it again.

Finally, Grimm Sugarmaker Imperial Milk Stout brewed with vanilla and maple syrup. I have enjoyed every Grimm stout I have had, especially Double Negative. Personally, I think Double Negative is the perfect imperial stout and I am looking forward to its next release. Sugarmaker is a solid beer but nowhere near the class of beer Double Negative is in. The aroma is very roasty, smokey with chocolate, vanilla, lactose and maple. Much like the aroma, the first sip is roasty and smokey with a creamy chocolate, vanilla and maple finish. Initially Sugarmaker does not live up to its name. It is sweet but not too sweet. As it warms the maple really comes out in the finish and it is candy sweet. The promise of this being a sweet stout is delivered. I really liked the fact that the maple syrup was noticeable. Too many beers, including some I have reviewed here fail to deliver on the maple flavor. Sugarmaker does not and I am excited for that. Unfortunately, as much as I enjoyed the maple sweetness, like Candlepower, the sweetness became a bit too much. Also, just like Candlepower, I am glad I shared the bottle.

Overall rating 3.5/5
Would I wait in line for it? No, but I would wait in line for Double Negative

Normally, I enjoy beers from Grimm a bit more than I did here. Perhaps, this was a weak release from them or maybe, just maybe, not everything they produce is worthy of the hype. I think Lumen is a really nice IPA. If you like the style you will really enjoy it. I would just recommend seeking it out on draft.

Rating Scale:
1 - Repugnant and undrinkable
2 - Acceptable but forgettable
3 - Good, worth a purchase
4 - Excellent, a step above the norm
5 - Truly exceptional

To discuss this blog or all things beer follow me on Twitter, Instagram & Untappd at @ACraftyLook

For more beer reviews go to: http://www.acraftylook.com

For my most recent appearance of 13 WHAM's Good Day Rochester: Click Here!

Thanks for reading. Sláinte!

Ballast Point Red Velvet Oatmeal Stout

The first time I laid eyes on Ballast Point's Red Velvet Nitro Oatmeal Stout, I experienced some mixed feelings. My first thought was Ballast Point's transition into a gimmick brewery was now complete. This was particularly disappointing to me because I have enjoyed so many of their beers. In a previous blog, I discussed my love of Grapefruit Sculpin, Victory at Sea, Habanero Sculpin and Calm Before the Storm. I think all of those beers are creative, fun and most importantly taste great. I also think Grunion Pale Ale is one of the better pale ales on the market. If you have not had it, I recommend trying it the next time you see it. My thoughts on Ballast Point took a turn for the worse last February when Ballast Point released Watermelon Dorado, Mango Even Keel and Pineapple Sculpin. Those three beers ranged from mediocre to terrible. They also seemed to open the flood gates for more ridiculous offerings like Cinnamon Raisin Commodore, which is terrible, and Thai Chili Wahoo, which tastes way too artificial. At this point, I honestly look at all new offerings from Ballast Point with mixed feelings. On one hand, I want them to return to the glory days of when I tried Grapefruit Sculpin, Habanero Sculpin and Victory at Sea for the first time. I want to be absolutely blown away by a brewery willing to push the envelope of creativity. On the other hand, I feel like now they are simply flavoring beer just because they can and not because it works. I think that is disappointing, lazy and uninspired. So when I picked up Red Velvet, which is a golden oatmeal stout that uses beets for coloring, I admit I could see the creative potential of what they were trying to do. I even thought the beer would have looked cool in my Valentine's Day blog if I decided to go that route. Even with that optimism, I just could not shake the thought that this beer was going to disappoint like so many of their other recent offerings.

Whether Red Velvet was going to be good or not was irrelevant as I dumped it into my stout glass. I love pouring nitro beers and watching them settle. The fact that this one was a reddish pink in color made it an even more enjoyable experience. Unfortunately, the pour was the last thrill this beer provided. The aroma was interesting, it had some earthy chocolate notes, with some vanilla sweetness which I am guessing is supposed to be frosting. There is a hint of cherry in the aroma as well. My first sip brought some mixed results. The chocolate is there along with an earthy spice. There is also a hint of vanilla and cherry as well. This might sound good but it really isn't. None of the flavors work well together. The fact that it is watered down and thin tries to hide this but it does not work. To make things worse, there seems to vegetal note in the finish as well which does not do it any favors either. The further I got into the glass the more I could see the potential of what they are trying to do. Some of the flavors are quite nice, they just needed to work better with everything going on here. I usually sip a stout slowly to allow it to warm up but I did not see taking my time with this one doing it any favors.

I am disappointed to see another Ballast Point not live up to its potential. Clearly they were more worried about putting out a nitro stout with a cool color than one with a good flavor. I wish I could say this beer has taught me to stay away from Ballast Point but it has not. I am still going to keep trying their new beers hoping to find the one that brings me back to my glory days with the brewery. I know its sad but sometimes drinking bad beer comes with what I do here.

Overall I would rate Ballast Point Red Velvet a 2/5. It is not a terrible beer but aside from its color there is nothing worth remembering here.

Rating Scale:
1 - Repugnant and undrinkable
2 - Acceptable but forgettable
3 - Good, worth a purchase
4 - Excellent, a step above the norm
5 - Truly exceptional

To discuss this blog or all things beer follow me on Twitter, Instagram & Untappd at @ACraftyLook

For more beer reviews go to: http://www.acraftylook.com

For my most recent appearance of 13 WHAM's Good Day Rochester: Click Here!

Thanks for reading. Sláinte!

Ellicotville Chocolate Cherry Bomb

Founders Frootwood

I have been writing this blog for 3 years now. In that time, I do not think I have been asked about a beer more than I have about Founders' Frootwood. Whether it's a face to face conversation, a phone call, a text message, an email or a carrier pigeon letter, it seems like everyone wants to know how this maple syrup bourbon barrel aged cherry ale is. I think there are multiple reasons for this, the first being that Founders is a great brewery that makes some wonderful beer. The second being, Lizard of Koz was a surprisingly disappointing barrel aged offering from the makers of CBS, KBS and Backwoods Bastard. The final reason is a maple syrup bourbon barrel aged cherry ale sounds crazy. My initial reaction when Frootwood was announced was a mixture of excitement, confusion and curiosity. Since I was not the only one feeling that way, I picked up a 4 pack and made Founders Frootwood the subject of this week's blog.

I am glad I picked up a four pack of Frootwood because trying to figure this beer out with just twelve fluid ounces was not happening. The aroma was interesting. The cherry is tart, not sweet and significantly scaled back behind oak, bourbon, vanilla, bread and a hint of maple sweetness. I honestly did not know what to think from the aroma. It seemed like whatever expectation I had for this beer was out the window. Then from the first sip of my first bottle to my last sip of my third bottle, I found Frootwood to be one of the strangest flavor combinations I have ever experienced in a beer. The barrel is out front and center. Oak, vanilla, spice and bourbon are on full display initially before giving way to tart cherry and bready malt. The finish is where the maple syrup sweetness comes into play, providing balance to the tartness of the cherry. This might sound very strange and it was, but I liked it. These flavors may not work in perfect harmony together but they do work. I think it was smart to feature the barrel more than anything else here. In Lizard of Koz, the barrel took a backseat to the big sweet flavor of chocolate. That proved to be a costly mistake as I assume you will find 2016 Lizard of Koz bottles on shelves until at least 2020.  Frootwood works because the flavor of the cherry ale is pleasantly subdued allowing the barrel to shine. This is definitely one of the most unique beers I have tried. Founders is off to a great start with their new Founders Barrel Aged series. I am now looking forward to seeing what else they have in store for 2017.

Overall I would rate Frootwood a 4/5. Strange, unique and a lot of fun. A really nice showcase for barrel aging.

To discuss this blog or all things beer follow me on Twitter, Instagram & Untappd at @ACraftyLook

For more beer reviews go to: http://www.acraftylook.com

For my most recent appearance of 13 WHAM's Good Day Rochester: Click Here!

Thanks for reading. Sláinte!

Marble / Odell / Stone Megawheat IPA & Stone Ripper Pale Ale

For some reason I appear to have a surplus of beer from Stone Brewing Company in my refrigerator. My previous blog featured their brand new Mint Coffee Milk Stout. Like many of their beers I found it to be quite enjoyable. At the time I purchased that beer, I also picked up their brand new collaboration beer. Later that week I picked up a few cans of Stone Ripper Pale Ale as well. I do not know why I picked up so much Stone beer but that appears to be my predicament at the moment. So I thought, why not keep the trend of reviewing Stone beer going for one more blog?

The reason I was drawn to Stone's brand new collaboration beer, Megawheat IPA, is because of one brewery in particular that they collaborated with. Odell Brewing Company is a brewery I have heard a lot of good things about but have yet to try anything from. My uncle moved out to Fort Collins, Colorado and says they are quite popular out there. He has sent me glassware and t-shirts from Odell, reinforcing the fact I need to get to Colorado for a visit and to check out their local beer scene. I admit I do not know much about Marble Brewery unfortunately, but I definitely would like to. From a standpoint of Odell though, if this is my first taste of their beer, I think it is quite good. The huge aroma was noticeable about a foot from the glass. Tangerine, orange peel, tropical fruit and lime seemed to jump out of the glass. The first sip was interesting, full of citrus notes, tropical fruit with a silky smooth mouthfeel. Notes of tangerine, orange, mango and spice gave way to a bitter lemon, lime and boozy finish. I have to admit, the finish was particularly jarring, especially early into the glass. I did not expect it to be as bitter and tart as it was. The lemon and lime flavors were so aggressive that my mouth was puckering. From an ingredient standpoint, the finish is really a showcase of the Motueka hop, which really brings out those flavors. I really enjoyed this beer for it being aggressive and unique. It definitely gives me reason to see what else they are doing at Odell. As far as Megawheat goes, I enjoyed it but at 8 dollars for a 22 oz bottle, I do not foresee myself picking up a second bottle.

Overall rating: 3.5/5

The reason I picked up Stone Ripper Pale Ale is a lot simpler. I wanted to drink a solid, sessionable beer out of a can to drink while watching professional wrestling. Stone Ripper Pale Ale fit that bill nicely by delivering exactly what I looking for. I realize at 5.7%, that is borderline sessionable ABV-wise. Still, its light, easy-drinking flavor can be enjoyed for a duration of time. Juicy citrus and tropical notes work beautifully with Ripper's nice malt backbone. The only thing about this beer that is not ideal is the bitterness in the finish. The grapefruit rind bitter finish lingers for quite sometime. It's not ideal but it's not a deal breaker. If this is a regular part of Stone's lineup, I am looking forward to drinking a few cans of this when the weather gets warmer. For the time being, I think it makes for a great game day beer.

Overall rating: 3.75/5

To discuss this blog or all things beer follow me on Twitter, Instagram & Untappd at @ACraftyLook

For more beer reviews go to: http://www.acraftylook.com

For my most recent appearance of 13 WHAM's Good Day Rochester: Click Here!

Thanks for reading. Sláinte!