Oskar Blues Death by King Cake

Oskar Blues is one of those breweries that usually finds a way to pique my curiosity with each new release. They always seem to release something fun & creative on a large scale. When I think of fun & creative recent beers I really enjoyed from them, last year’s Guns-N-Rosé immediately comes to mind. That, and their amazing Barrel Aged Ten Fidy variants. The Hot Buttered Rum was my particular favorite from the series.

What I am trying to say is their expanding catalog is full of great beers that, when available in limited quantities, would get me to call in a favor to my Uncle in Colorado or even drop everything and go chase down a can. Locally, in Western New York their beers no longer require the intense chasing they used to. However their brand new white porter Death By King Cake did give me that urge to chase it down. This happened for two reasons. The first being, I love their Death By Coconut Irish Porter, so playing off of that name is a smart way to get my attention.. The second being, I had never tried a white porter before and I wasn’t really sure what that was.

When I finally got my hands on a can, I cracked it open, poured it into a glass and felt something I wasn’t used to with Oskar Blues: disappointment. Most of the promised adjuncts were missing from the aroma. There was a hint of vanilla, a touch of chocolate and a whole lot of grains, especially corn. The closest comparison I had for the beer is Genesee Cream Ale. That’s why I chose the glass in the picture above. The taste was pretty close to Genesee Cream Ale as well but with a noticeable vanilla creaminess. Call me crazy but nutmeg & cinnamon are fairly strong flavors and I honestly could not find them here. Same goes for the orange peel which is also strangely missing. I got a hint of chocolate but really had to look for it. All I really got out of Death By King Cake was the taste of an inexpensive cream ale in a 4 dollar can.

This is a really disappointing beer from a fantastic brewery. On paper, it sounds like a great idea but the execution is lacking. The price point does it no favors either. I would recommend skipping this one and hope that this was an anomaly in the Oskar Blues catalog.

Overall rating: 2/5

New Belgium Brut IPA

For a New Year's blog a champagne-like beer seemed appropriate, so I decided to take a look at New Belgium's Brut IPA. The Brut IPA puts a fun champagne-like spin on the style. It's wonderfully effervescent, super dry, light on hop bitterness and very refreshing. After some deliberation while beer shopping, I decided to purchase New Belgium's Brut IPA for this blog. As a fan of New Belgium, I was particularly excited to see their take on the style.

As I started pouring Brut IPA, I found myself enjoying the sight of a light golden, clear IPA. I am by no means tired of hazy NE-IPAs but this was a nice change of pace. The aroma is tropical, citrusy(zesty lemon, grapefruit & orange), and a touch white wine-like, with herbal tea notes. The first bubbly sip was enjoyable with grapefruit, lemon, white grape, pineapple, grass and herbal tea. The hops are a dialed back a bit as expected with the style but what is there is really nice. The finish is where things took a turn for me. While a dry finish it is what you should expect from the style, in New Belgium's Brut IPA's case it is extremely dry & astringent, to the point I felt I needed a tall glass of water once I finished it.

New Belgium's take on a Brut IPA is not all bad but one bottle goes a very long way. As I mentioned earlier, I really enjoyed the hop flavor. There was a nice touch of grain in there as well, it just all fell apart in the finish. This is a beer I would love to revisit down the line to see if the recipe gets tweaked slightly. The potential for something great is there. In its current state, it would work for a toast at midnight on New Year's if options are limited. As a session beer, I advise you to look elsewhere.

As far as the style of Brut IPA goes, I am excited to see how big this style gets. Brut IPAs are growing in popularity by the day with more and more breweries attempting them. I look forward to trying and writing about many more.

Overall rating: 2.5/5


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. Drop everything, BUY IT NOW!

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Look for me on Instagram & Untappd and Twitter @ACraftyLook

For more beer reviews check out: http://www.acraftylook.com

Happy New Year!

Beating The Cold With Beer - Oskar Blues 2015 Tequila Barrel Aged Gubna Imperial IPA, Night Shift Village Lager, Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale

It is absolutely freezing in the Northeast. Temperatures are below zero, wind chills are below zero and I am fairly certain we now live on Hoth. The good news is there is hope in the forecast ahead and slightly warmer days are on the way. For right now though, the best bet to beat the weather is to stay inside. What I mean by that is, stay inside and open some fantastic beers.


Last night, I took a very long look at what was in the refrigerator and after some careful deliberation, I decided to open up a can of Oskar Blues Gubna Imperial IPA Aged in Tequila Barrels. I was particularly intrigued by this beer because it was canned on December 16, 2015. A little over two years is a lot of time to change a beer and when I took my whiff of the aroma I saw the first casualty of aging was that the hop bite had drastically faded. The aroma of bready malt, wood, caramel and some earthiness stood out the most, with just a little bit of tequila in the background. When I took my first sip, I was not sure what to think. It was woody, earthy, bready and spicy, and while this should not have been surprising it somehow caught me off guard. As I worked my way a little deeper into the glass, I started to fall in love with it. There were some really interesting notes that began to emerge as it started to warm a little. There were nice hints of citrus, mango and pineapple. The tequila was there too and that kept confusing my senses. It was like merging irresponsible college drinking and responsible craft beer appreciation. In this beer, worlds were colliding and eventually I found a way to love it even more. Like the Rum Barrel Aged Death By Coconut I reviewed a few weeks ago, Oskar Blues has another barrel aged winner here. I hope to try this one fresh one day to see how it compares with the 2 year old version. For tonight however, this 11% treat provided a nice bit of warmth on this cold night.

Overall rating: 4.25/5


When it gets cold out, I sometimes crave a lager. I think this has to do with great memories I have drinking lagers on cold nights in college, as well as some fantastic nights drinking PBR in the backyard of one of my favorite bars. After some pondering, I settled on Night Shift Brewing's Village Lager and it was delicious. It seemed to hit all of the flavor notes I was looking for. It was grainy, bready, slightly fruity and had a nice bit of spice on a finish that was crisp and clean. At 4.8%, Village Lager is perfectly sessionable and is something I would love to regularly have in my refrigerator.

Overall rating: 4/5


Finally, I opened my last bottle of Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale. While there was nothing to celebrate on this cold night, Celebration Ale remains a seasonal favorite in our household. This is a beer I largely attribute my love of craft beer to. I do not think it is necessary to break down its flavor notes. This is one of those beers you should have already tried.

Overall rating: It's awesome!


That wraps up my first night of beer tasting to beat the cold. While this particular weather event is not as bad as I assumed it would be, it certainly has left me with no desire to leave my couch. For me, this is just one of those times of year where there is nothing better to do than stay in, read a book, write a blog, watch tv or play video games. Then again, I try to find a reason to do those at any time of year, so I guess the cold does not matter. Stay warm out there, everybody! Cheers!



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. Drop everything, BUY IT NOW!

To discuss this blog or all things beer like my Facebook page

Look for me on Instagram & Untappd and Twitter @ACraftyLook

For more beer reviews check out: http://www.acraftylook.com

Thanks for reading. Sláinte!



 

Oskar Blues Rum Barrel Aged Death By Coconut

The first taste of liquor I ever had was at a friends birthday party. The alcohol being passed around was Captain Morgan's Parrot Bay. In case my mother is reading this, it was totally a 21st birthday party...totally. We sat around in a circle, waiting for our turn to take a shot out of the only shot glass we had available. When it came to my turn, I blown away by how smooth, warming, and easy to drink Parrot Bay was.

I only had Parrot Bay once more after that night. It was a Duty Free Store purchase on the way into Canada. While it made for a nice hotel room beverage for an uneducated palate, it took a toll on mostly everyone in the hotel room. I have practically little to no interest in ever drinking Parrot Bay again. That is a type of booze for a younger(definitely 21, Mom) person. However, when I took my first whiff of the aroma of Rum Barrel Aged Death By Coconut, I was instantly transplanted back to my younger self and my days of drinking Parrot Bay. Except this time, there was a bit more sophistication behind it and I really enjoyed it.

On December 9th, Oscar Blues Brewery in both North Carolina and Colorado released their Rum Barrel Aged version of their coconut flavored Irish porter Death By Coconut. I am fortunate to have an uncle in Colorado, so just in time for the holidays I asked for a favor. I really wanted to try this beer, not only because I enjoy regular DBC but because this sounded like a blend of my early days of drinking with where I am now. I received a text from him saying “mission accomplished,” and a week later the beer was in NY. I placed it in my refrigerator and gave it a night to chill, I opened it the next night.

It is difficult to describe how big the amount of rum was in the aroma of Rum Barrel Aged Death By Coconut. It was practically jumping out of the glass. As I was trying to take a picture from above, I was about a foot away and I could smell the rum practically just as much as I could with my nose close to the glass. There were other notes in the aroma, like coconut, molasses, vanilla, and chocolate, but they all seemed to be hidden behind the rum. It was almost shocking how strong the rum was in the aroma, and it definitely foreshadowed what was to come when I took my first sip.

In simple terms Rum Barrel Aged Death By Coconut tastes like coconut rum with a beer backbone. The rum is there right up front and it is there on the finish. Non-barrel aged Death By Coconut definitely has a strong flavor but after some time in a rum barrel, the strength of that flavor is greatly diminished. Coconut and chocolate were all that really stood out from beer after the barrel aging. Take those flavor notes and add the sweet flavor of vanilla from the barrel, and you get sweet, decadent, dessert beer. Not having the biggest sweet tooth in the world, I wanted there to be more roasted bitterness to balance out the sweetness. As it warmed, some roasted bitterness did come out in the finish but not enough to stand up against the intense sweetness here. I could complain about this but I will not. This is a rum barrel aged coconut porter, being on the sweet side is to be expected. I mean, when was the last time you heard someone say rum is too bitter? Exactly.

From a critical standpoint, I wished the base beer would have been able to stand out a bit more but overall, I am very excited I got to try this beer. I felt a bit nostalgic as it brought back memories of trying that Captain Morgan Parrot Bay and merged in with my present day love of craft beer. While I have zero interest in drinking Parrot Bay again, I would be more than happy to drink this again. If you like rum and you like Death By Coconut, you will enjoy this beer too.

Overall rating: 4.25/5

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Thanks for reading. Sláinte!

Odell Jolly Russian

This summer I was fortunate enough to try several beers from Odell Brewing Company's catalog. The one I most most excited about trying was their flagship ale, 90 Schilling and it did not disappoint. It had a unique and complex malt body with a beautifully hoppy finish. After each sip, I found myself staring at the glass, almost stunned by how complex and refreshing it was. It is one of those beers that you could give someone who is not quite into craft beer and they would find it enjoyable.

90 Schilling was not the only beer from Odell that I was impressed by. Their IPA is quite impressive. It has a nice malt body, reminiscent of an English IPA with a beautiful hop profile. Their St. Lupulin Pale Ale was soft and easy drinking, with nice tropical and citrus notes. It is the kind of beer that leaves you looking for another bottle once your glass is empty. The worst beer I had from them was Nail Knot Craft Lager and that was still a good beer. I could keep listing the other beers I enjoyed from Odell but I feel I am somehow turning this blog more into a commercial than something critical, so I will stop singing the praises of their catalog and start reviewing their Rum Barrel Aged Russian Imperial Stout, Jolly Russian.

Jolly Russian is the one beer from Odell I found myself holding on to longer than the others. It sounded unique and as it sat in my refrigerator, I found myself putting it on a pedestal. This was mainly because I rarely see rum barrel aged beers in Western NY outside of Rum Barrel Aged Pumking every fall. While I enjoy the base beer, I am not a fan of that particular rum barrel aged beer. It tastes like someone dropped a shot of rum in old Pumking and that is about it. At its price point, I do not think it is worth it but this blog is not about Rum Barrel Aged Pumking, so I will now get back on track.

For two months, I waited for the perfect opportunity to open Jolly Russian. It turned out that moment came on a random Thursday evening and not the special occasion I envisioned it for. I took a moment before I opened it, pondering whether or not I should, before closing my eyes, hoping for the best and opening the bottle. As I poured Jolly Russian, I found myself thinking it looked a little thin. At above 13%, I was expecting a motor oil-like pour but that was not the case. The mouthfeel however quieted any fears I had about it being too thin. Instead it was silky smooth, coating the palate with rich flavors...but I am getting ahead of myself. The aroma of Jolly Russian was wonderful. Strong barrel notes of vanilla, oak, rum, spice, and leather were blended beautifully with chocolate, molasses, roasted malt and a touch of fruitiness. The first sip was complex and unique. Rum, chocolate and booze stood out the most. I frankly thought it would be a touch smoother but the booze hit a little too hard in the finish. There was also vanilla, molasses, roasted malt, coconut, leather, dark fruit before a tobacco, spicy, and as I mentioned earlier, an intensely boozy finish.

What I enjoyed the most here was the leather note. The only other beer that I can recall where that flavor is so pronounced is my favorite beer, Bourbon County from Goose Island. Needless to say, this put a big smile on my face. Speaking of bourbon barrel aged beers, I enjoyed the differences between bourbon barrel aging and rum barrel aging in an imperial stout. Rum barrel aging, as expected, leaves a beer on the sweeter side. This became very clear as Jolly Russian began to warm. By the last third of the beer, I was getting nervous it was going to get a bit too sweet and become difficult to finish, but fortunately it did not. At the same time, I will say that due to the strength of the ABV and the level of sweetness coming with each sip, one bottle is more than enough.

Overall, I really enjoyed Jolly Russian. I also enjoyed every beer I was able to try from Odell. In my small sampling of beers from Odell, I found them to be consistently good. They also make some fantastic barrel aged beers. Another great one I had from them is Mountain Standard, a Black IPA aged in bourbon barrels. At this point, I think you have probably gathered that I really like this brewery and that I hope to see their beers in Upstate NY soon.

Overall rating: 4.25/5

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. Drop everything, BUY IT NOW!

To discuss this blog or all things beer like my Facebook page

Look for me on Instagram & Untappd and Twitter @ACraftyLook

For more beer reviews check out: http://www.acraftylook.com

Thanks Uncle Jeff & thanks for reading. Sláinte!

Breckenridge Stranahan's Well Built Burton Style Ale

Breckenridge Brewery's Vanilla Porter is a beer everyone into craft beer should try at some point. If you have yet to try it, do so, you might not be blown away by it now, but understand that beer was a big deal several years ago. I remember trying it for the first time and being absolutely loving it. I revisit it from time to time and it brings back fond memories, but it is now overshadowed by better local offerings in my area. The whole point in drinking it now is to “respect the classics”. I tended to stay away from many of Breckenridge's other offerings because a lot of them are average or completely unpleasant to drink. Recently, I sampled their Salted Caramel Brown Ale and could barely get through 3 ounces of it. Their Breck IPA is as uneventful as it gets. Their Oatmeal Stout had a decent flavor but was incredibly thin. I honestly can't remember anything else I have had from them outside of this. Recently, my Uncle Jeff(thank you!) brought me an incredible amount of beer from Colorado. Most of it I had never heard of, but I am extremely excited to try all of it. In the incredible amount of beer my Uncle brought to NY, he brought a Burton Style Ale aged in Colorado Whiskey Barrels from Breckenridge Brewery. This sounded creative, exciting, and if I was going to try a memorable beer from Breckenridge Brewery, it was going to be this one.

Stranahan's Well Built Burton Style Ale poured a deep reddish amber with a thin white head. The barrel aging in particular shined in the nose. Oak, bourbon, vanilla, caramel, spice, raisin, brown sugar and hint of cherry greeted me and continued to raise my hopes that Breckenridge had made something special here. Unfortunately, when I took my first sip, things started going downhill. A big hit of dark fruit, bourbon, vanilla, caramel and toffee greeted me immediately before giving way to a dry, oakey, astringent finish. At first, I liked it but held off on judgment until it started to warm. As it warmed, the flavors started to became disjointed and the astringent finish began to wear on me. On paper, the maltiness of Well Built should have blended nicely together with the barrel aging. Instead the beer and the barrel seemed to be at war with each other. Drinking Stranahan's Well Built felt like more like I took a shot of whiskey and then used a malty beer as a chaser to wash it down than anything else. Even more unpleasant, the more it warmed, its thin, oily mouthfeel only enhanced my dislike of everything going on here. It is a shame because the base beer alone might not have been bad and the whiskey aged in the barrels might not have been bad. Together however, they left me not wanting to try either.

This beer may have been named “Well Built,” but I assure you it is not. This is a messy barrel aged beer from a brewery that aside from their classic Vanilla Porter, seems to offer very little for a repeat purchase. I really wanted to like this beer. There are some nice things going on here initially but if you treat this like a sipper and you should, it all falls apart. I really want to find a beer from Breckenridge that justifies their national distribution but I am not holding my breath that I will.

Overall rating: 2.25/5. Stranahan's Well Built is another forgettable offering from Breckenridge with a higher price tag.

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. Drop everything, BUY IT NOW!

To discuss this blog or all things beer like my Facebook page

Look for me on Instagram & Untappd and Twitter @ACraftyLook

For more beer reviews check out: http://www.acraftylook.com

Thanks for reading. Sláinte!

New Belgium + Ben & Jerry's Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ale

This past week, my wife and I traveled to Burlington, Vermont for our annual Beercation. We pick Burlington for several reasons. The town is beautiful, the food is fantastic and some of the best beers I have ever had are readily available. This year we enjoyed Lawson's Sip of Sunshine, Hill Farmstead's Sumner, Edward, and George, Fiddlehead's Mastermind Double IPA and The Alchemist's Heady Topper, Focal Banger, and The Crusher. While I could write a review on all of those beers, I am not sure it would be appropriate. I say that because I feel I love those beers so much, my blog would sound more like a commercial for them than a critical review. I will say this though, if you get a chance to try any of those beers, do it. They are all incredible and will not disappoint.

We also love Vermont for more than just beer. We love to walk through their state parks. We love to stop at their Farm Stores. We love their maple syrup and cheddar cheese. We also love Ben & Jerry's. For us there were two big goals on this most recent trip: go to The Alchemist's Visitors Center and go to Ben & Jerry's. For Ben & Jerry's, it did not have to be the factory tour(we've done that), we just had to go to one of their locations. Our visits to both of those were absolutely fantastic. So at this point you are probably wondering just where this blog is going. Well instead of reviewing a Vermont beer (because everything I had with the exception of my flight from Vermont Pub & Brewery was fantastic), I decided to review a beer with a taste of Vermont. That beer is New Belgium's latest collaboration with Ben & Jerry's, a Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ale.

Before I continue with the review portion of this blog, I think it is important to mention that I think this beer sounds gross. I've drank a lot of beers with ridiculous flavoring in my time but none in recent memory seemed as ridiculous as cookie dough ice cream. That being said, I really wanted it to be good. I really like Ben & Jerry's and I hope they would not put their name on something terrible. My gut just told me the Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ale was going to be an artificially flavored mess of a beer that I was most likely going to pour down the drain.

I watched the fizzy white head dissipate on this golden yellow ale and tried to work up the courage to take my first sip. The aroma was light but sweet with chocolate, vanilla with some grainy malt sweetness. Frankly, the aroma reminded me more of Cocoa Puffs than anything else. I do like Cocoa Puffs so I began to feel a bit of optimism. This feeling was fleeting as I took my first sip. The flavor is not as gross as I first feared, but it is just not that good either. There is a light, almost cereal-like chocolate taste in the beginning that lingers with some vanilla creaminess and doughy malt. The finish brings in the hop bitterness that stays longer than it needs to on the palate. I was fairly lukewarm on this beer until the finish where I think it completely fell apart. To the beer's credit, the flavors are not overwhelming here. This could easily have been overwhelmingly artificial and sweet. Fortunately it's not, but unfortunately it's just not that good. This is just another example of a bland base beer with some flavoring to cover it up. All New Belgium's Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ale really did was make me want to forget about the beer and grab a pint of Ben & Jerry's Cookie Dough Ice Cream. It certainly would taste better.

Overall I would rate New Belgium's Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ale a 1.5/5. To sum everything up, go to Vermont, drink the beer and enjoy some ice cream. Just don't combine the two.


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

Until next time Vermont...

Thanks for reading. Sláinte!

Oktoberfest! Part 1 (Hacker-Pschorr, Spaten, Sierra Nevada, Left Hand)

Since Oktoberfest actually takes place during the month of September, I can no longer wait to review Fall beer. Up until now, I have done a superb job of ignoring it every time I entered a bottle shop. Just last week, I reviewed High Water Cucumber Kolsch with the sole purpose of ignoring that Fall was coming. Fall is coming though, and the food & festivities of Oktoberfest are coming along with it. So for me the question became, “which Oktoberfest should I review?” The only answer I could settle on was a bunch of them. So over the next two weeks, I will be trying a few different Oktoberfest beers to help you find one that works best for you.

For my first Oktoberfest beer, I feel it would be wrong to start anywhere else other than Germany. Brewed in Munich, Hacker-Pschorr Original Oktoberfest Amber Marzen, according to the Brewery's website is so popular it is brewed year round. It pours a rich copper with an off-white head. The aroma is everything you would expect with lots of caramel, toasted bread, and toffee with a little bit of fruitiness. The first sip I got all of those flavor notes. The malt profile here in this beer is absolutely beautiful. It is everything you would expect from the style. The malt sweetness is balanced nicely by slightly bitter, spicy hop finish. I want to give this a rave review but unfortunately I cannot. There was a slightly metallic note to the finish that became a bit of a distraction the further I got into the glass. It did not ruin the beer for me but it kept it from being a Fall mainstay in my fridge this Oktoberfest season.

Overall rating: 3.25/5

For our next Oktoberfest I'll be staying in Munich with another year round beer I have a bit of history with, Spaten Oktoberfest. In the fall of 2004, a friend and I were ready to share our extensive beer knowledge with our college campus. The previous school year we had tried over 100 different beers and felt extremely confident sharing our expertise with anyone who would listen. Not to brag(still going to) but we had a solid run. “The Brew Review” went all the way from the irrelevant 5th page of the “Campus Life” section to the very front page. One of the reviews that got us there was Spaten Oktoberfest. At the time we both thought it was an average Oktoberfest beer that we could not give our seal of approval too. It was boring, bland and not worth the price of a six pack. For this review I could not pass up an opportunity to give it a second chance and review it one more time.
Sadly, it turns out I was right the first time. Spaten Oktoberfest is as middle of the road as it gets. As expected it pours a dark amber with an off-white head. As expected, there is a lot of toasted bread in the aroma, accompanied by caramel malt and an earthy spiciness. Finally, as expected the taste brings the bland flavor of toasted bread, caramel, molasses before finishing with a bland earthy, spicy hop flavor that did not wash away clean. Over 10 years ago, I thought this was the definition of a mediocre, by the numbers Oktoberfest. That feeling still has not changed.

Overall rating: 2/5

To go from Germany to the US, the next Oktoberfest is a collaboration between the Sierra Nevada Brewing Company and Mahrs Brau. Last year, Sierra Nevada collaborated with Brauhaus Riegele to deliver a particularly wonderful Oktoberfest beer. So my hopes were high they were going to once again knock it out of the park. The 2016 version pours a beautifully clear golden yellow with a fizzy white head. The aroma is grainy, bready with a hint of spicy, grassy hops. Crisp, clean and easy to drink would be how I would describe this beer. The bready, grainy, honey malt sweetness up front is balanced nicely by a grassy, spicy finish. This is definitely slightly lighter than the others I have reviewed so far but is stronger than both at 6.0% ABV. Unfortunately I do not think it is not as good as last year. Make no mistake though, this is a good beer. One I am looking forward to having again.

Overall rating: 3.5/5

Finally, out of Longmont, Colorado, Left Hand Brewing Company's Oktoberfest. Pouring dark amber with a khaki head, this 6.6% Oktoberfest was quite delightful. The aroma is quite wonderful. It is nutty and full of caramel & toffee. From my first sip to the time my glass was empty, I felt like I went on a journey. At first I was not impressed, but each sip I thought it got better & better. By the time my glass was empty, I was looking for a second bottle. Toasted malt with a strong nut flavor dominates before a spicy, caramel sweet finish that washes away clean. The stronger than normal 6.6% ABV is hidden beautifully. This is a great choice for those cooler Fall Nights. Left Hand Oktoberfest is definitely my favorite Oktoberfest of the week.

Overall rating: 4/5

I'll be back next week with reviews of Ayinger, Bells & more!


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 & Untappd at@ACraftyLook

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

Thanks for reading. Sláinte!

New Belgium Citradelic Tangerine IPA

When I heard the news that New York was getting distribution of New Belgium Brewing out of Fort Collins, Colorado, I was fairly indifferent. This reason for this is while on vacation I went out of my way to sample a few of their beers and was fairly underwhelmed. Most notably I remember trying Fat Tire Amber Ale for the first time, looking down at my glass and thinking 'that's it?' But I do not want to start this review giving you the idea that all New Belgium Beers are underwhelming. I felt based on their reputation that perhaps I need to give them another chance. That is why on a recent trip I picked up New Belgium's latest offering, Citradelic Tangerine IPA. I felt that if I enjoyed that beer, perhaps I could get excited for them hitting the beer isles in New York.

New Belgium Citradelic Tangerine IPA pours a crystal clear golden yellow with a white head. The aroma is immediately noticeable. It is bursting with tangerine, grapefruit, orange zest, mango and just a little malt sweetness. The flavor pretty much matches the aroma. A light malt sweetness hits the palate before the citrus and tropical fruit notes come flooding in. Tangerine, orange and bitter grapefruit shine before giving way to a slightly sweet almost melon like finish. There is a lot going on here and I probably missed a few flavor notes, but that is what a second and third bottle is for. To put it simply, if you are a fan of a more tropical fruit forward IPA this is for you. It works and it works well.

Citradelic delivers the bold tropical aromas and flavors it promises. It also got me excited to see what else New Belgium Brewing has to offer when they become a mainstay in the New York beer market. My only real complaint about Citradelic is that I wanted it to have a little more body to it. That is nitpicking though, but that is what I do here. The lighter body and the 6% ABV does make this beer is fairly sessionable. That means it is a perfect beer to compliment warm summer weather or if you just want to try a lighter-bodied IPA.

Overall I would rate New Belgium Citradelic an 4/5. This is a perfect summer IPA if you are looking for something with bold flavor but on the lighter side.


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 & Untappd at @ACraftyLook

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

Thanks for reading. Sláinte!