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!

Craft Beer Recommendations For Your Stubborn Macro Beer Drinking Family Member: From Your Pal, Sean

My Dad and I have a bit of a Thanksgiving tradition. He comes over and asks to try whatever beers I recommend from my refrigerator and I oblige. His sampling usually goes on for several hours. He calls it his “Trip Around the World.” At the end of it, he will pick his favorites, as well as tell me which ones he did not enjoy. He will then go home and the next beer he will buy on his own will still be Heineken, Corona or Guinness. While I have nothing against those beers, I still hold out hope that one day he will find a beer in my refrigerator that breaks this habit. One that is so good to him that it finds its way into his regular drinking rotation. I know I can't be alone in this. We probably all have a family member that regularly drinks macro beer when we wish they would find their way into the craft beer domain. So instead of reviewing beer this week, I am going to recommend what I consider several gateway beers that I use to try and steer people into craft beer. They are not crazy, complicated beers, they are just solid beers that are an excellent introduction to their respective style.

I mentioned earlier that my Dad likes Guinness. I gave him Left Hand Milk Stout Nitro for the first time and his mind was blown. Think of this as a slightly sweeter, more boozy version of Guinness Draught. At 6%, the booze is beautifully hidden behind semi-sweet chocolate and roasted malt. This is a perfect beer for the cooler months ahead. It's also super fun to pour...

(Sweet shirt, right?)

Saisons are not the easiest beer to give an inexperienced beer drinker. Some of them are too spicy. Some of them are a bit too funky. I have even had some that have tasted like I was drinking an ashtray. Brooklyn Brewery makes one of the best saisons I've had. It's a wonderful showcase for the sorachi ace hop. It has a beautifully light lemon note and a wonderful malt backbone. It's easy to drink and deceptively strong at 7.2%. If you know someone or are someone who absolutely despises saisons, try this one. You and/or they might be pleasantly surprised, I know I was.

Ithaca Apricot Wheat is a beer I had back for the first time in 2004. It was also one of the first fruited beers I tried. In my early days of craft beer drinking, I did my best to steer clear of fruit beers. I immediately enjoyed this one and to this day find a way to have a few. I actually got my wife into craft beer by having her try this beer. Because of that we actually served it at our wedding. It was a big hit with some people and too big of a hit to others. Simply put, this is a super easy drinking, fruit-forward beer. If you like apricot, you will probably like this.

Finally, I couldn't write this blog without touching upon something hoppy. Jack's Abby Calyptra Session India Pale Lager is perfect for your macro lager drinking friends. It has a wonderful lager backbone with a beautiful but not overwhelming tropical and citrus hop profile. At no point does it get too bitter. It is just an easy drinking 4.9%, and is perfect for a long, drawn out holiday celebration. This has also become a favorite of my father, I just can't seem to get him to remember the name. He just calls it “the purple can” and encourages me to bring it over when I visit. I have a fridge full of it for Thanksgiving, so I hope with repetition he finally remembers its name.

All of these beers are easy drinking and a beautiful example of their respective styles. Each one is extremely easy to drink. I just hope you err on the side of caution if you decide to have a session with the Sorachi Ace. I also hope that these recommendations help you, or help you get a friend or family member a bit more into craft beer.

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

Thanks for reading and Happy Thanksgiving Sláinte!

Firestone Walker Lil Opal Barrel Aged Saison Farmhouse Ale

I always seem to miss out on the Firestone Walker limited edition beers. Something always comes up that prevents me from getting to the bottle shop in time to buy one. To make things worse, if I do get there I seem to just miss them. For example, one time I walked into a bottle shop right as someone was walking out with the last bottle of Firestone Walker 19th Anniversary. Another time, I was next in line as the last Velvet Merkin went to the customer ahead of me. The point here is I have no luck with the “Box” beers Firestone Walker releases throughout the year. What I do have luck with however, is the Firestone Walker Barrelworks beers. I passed twice on the first release in the series, Bretta Rose. To this day, I ask myself, “why?” I still have yet to find a good enough answer. By luck again I stumbled upon Lil Opal, a farmhouse saison aged 17 months in American and French Oak Barrels. This time, I decided to purchase a bottle for 2 reasons. The first being I could write a review on it. The second being I get to publicly vent about my frustrations of not getting any of the “Box” beers. I feel like it is a good way to commiserate because I know many of you out there are in the same boat as me. So for all of us, here's hoping we get one on the next release! In the meantime however, I was just hoping Lil Opal was worth the purchase.

As I stared at Lil Opal's hazy golden orange color and white fizzy head, I could not help but hope more that usual that it was going to be a good beer. This is because the cost of this beer per ounce is slightly higher than what I usually review here. At a little over a dollar an ounce I hoped that the luxury the bottle promised would translate to the glass. I was relieved to find that the aroma delivered the complexity I was looking for. Brettanomyces funk, tart lemon, pepper spice, vanilla sweetness and oak were what greeted me in the aroma. There was much more going on when I took my first sip. Brett funk, lemon, and a lactic sourness start things off before giving way to the barrel which is a bit too understated. After spending 17 months in a barrel I thought the barrel would have a bit more of a presence in Lil Opal. It did provide a bit of spice and a nice vanilla sweetness that added a bit of creaminess to the mouth feel. I just wanted a little more of that. The finish brought yet another layer to this complex beer by being reminiscent of dry white wine. To sum things up, Lil Opal did not disappoint in bringing the complexity.

I enjoyed drinking Firestone Walker Lil Opal. I thought it was a good beer and that it was worth the purchase. Drinking it felt like a long, complex journey. Like any long journey, fatigue began to set in around the midway point. The funk and tartness which I enjoyed in the beginning began to grow a bit stale. Then after it had some time to warm, the vanilla sweetness became a bit more present. I felt revitalized from that and it got me into finish the glass. The thought of drinking another Lil Opal however seems exhausting. For that reason I can't say it would be worth a second purchase. Of course that would mean I am lucky enough to stumble upon it again to make that statement a bit more meaningful.

Overall I would rate Lil Opal a 3.75/5. It's a good beer and I enjoyed drinking it. I just wish I had shared it with someone. Believe me when I say 6 ounces goes a long way 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

Thanks for reading. Sláinte!

Uinta Cucumber Farmhouse

The first time someone offered me cucumber water I thought they were messing with me. At that time I did not see much use for the cucumber. I found it to be the boring veggie I would typically eat first in my salads to make sure it did not affect the flavor of anything I actually did want to eat. I had no idea adding a cucumber to water would not only pleasantly enhance the flavor of the water, it seemed to make it even more refreshing. From that point on, I developed an appreciation for the cucumber. I found myself enjoying it more on its own. I stopped eating it first in my salads. I also felt it was only a matter of time until the refreshing flavor of cucumber found its way into some of the beers I drink. At a recent bottle shopping excursion, I was excited to see Cucumber Farmhouse from Uinta Brewing Company on the shelf. To make the first cucumber beer I have seen on shelves even more interesting, I saw that it was aged in gin barrels. I quickly picked it up, placed it in the fridge and waited to drink it on an incredibly hot day. Well, that day is today and I hope this beer is as flavorful and refreshing as it appears to be.

Cucumber Farmhouse pours a dense cloudy gold with a fizzy white head. The aroma is lightly spiced with clove, banana, coriander and cucumber. I rushed the aroma part because it is extremely hot and I had high hopes that this beer would be extremely cooling and refreshing. I was half right. The cucumber flavor stands out nicely. It hit my palate immediately before giving way to lemon, banana and clove. The finish then hit me with a lot of pepper and a hint of gin and oak. To put it simply, there is a lot going on here. Some of it works and some of it does not.

For my longtime readers you know I am a huge fan of barrel aging. In this particular case, I do not think it was needed. The light gin and oak notes do not seem to add anything positive to the beer. If anything they subtract slightly from the saison yeast in the finish. I think the light, crisp lemon flavor adds a nice touch to the beer. It provided a nice balance to the sweetness of the cucumber. Sadly, it got lost in a muddled finish with the a strong pepper flavor and a hint of oak. That being said there are some really nice flavors going on here, they just do not compliment each other well. I do feel there is a lot of potential for cucumber in beer. I would not be surprised if various styles of cucumber beer become a summer mainstay in the next few years.

Overall I would rate Uinta Cucumber Farmhouse a 2.5/5. There are just too many flavors here that do not go well together. There is potential for cucumber in beer however and I look forward to trying more of it in the future.

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!

Allagash Saison, Tripel and White Ale

Like the season premiere of your favorite show, I'm back with a new round of beer reviews. It's been far too long since I sat behind this keyboard talking about whether a particular beer happens to be good or not. So to make up for lost time I'm going to start my “new season” of beer reviews off with a bang. In this review I'll be looking at 3 Belgian-Style beers that just hit the western New York area and all of them are from the Allagash Brewing Company in Portland, Maine.

Typically I have little to no interest in seeking out Belgian-Style ales. For as long as I have been drinking beer, I have found the spiciness of them to be overpowering and completely unbearable. But due to the overwhelmingly positive reputation of the Allagash Brewing Company and my never ending curiosity to all things beer I felt it was time to put my feelings aside, keep an open mind and try some new beer.

The first beer I tried was the Allagash Saison. This beer poured a clear light yellow with a thin white head. The aroma was a little grassy with lemon and spice. Upon tasting I was hit with the taste of herbal lemon that gave way to the clove flavor of the Belgian spice before finishing with a hint of pepper. And while that may sound intriguing I assure you it is not. To me it is a boring by the numbers saison. That being said, it is by no means terrible but nothing about it truly stands out. If you are looking for anything groundbreaking, here you won't find it. Overall I'd rate Allagash Saison a 2.5/5.

Next up is the Allagash Tripel Ale and it poured a hazy golden yellow with a slightly off-white head. The aroma was bready, sweet, and fruity with a hint of spice. Upon tasting I knew immediately I had found something special. The flavor of bready malt, banana and pear immediately stood out before finishing with a hint of hops and spice. The flavor of the hops pleasantly lingered until I took my next sip. And believe me when I say I was looking forward to every single one. There is almost no trace of the powerful 9% ABV hidden behind the beautiful flavor of this beer which makes it a bit deceptive. My advice is to drink it slowly. Overall I'd rate Allagash Tripel an 4.25/5.

At this point I was pleasantly surprised to find one Belgian-Style ale I truly enjoyed. I felt I was playing with “house money” when I tried the Allagash White ale. I felt there was no way it was going to be better then the Tripel ale and I can't tell you how pleased I am to say I was wrong. Allagash White ale pours a cloudy straw color with a thin white head. The aroma is spicy with a hint of banana and citrus. The flavor was incredibly complex. With each sip I seemed to detect something different than the previous one. The flavor of coriander, pepper, clove and light bready malt are prominent before a crisp, peppery finish that remained on my palette between sips. Bottom line, this is an exceptional beer. It's extremely sessionable and the best white ale I've had. Overall I'd rate Allagash White Ale a 4.75/5.

Bottom line, I'm extremely impressed with the first beers I have tried from the Allagash Brewing Company. They have taken styles of beer I don't typically seek out and given me a whole new appreciation for them. While there are other beers from Allagash I look forward to trying, the White Ale is going to have a regular place in my fridge for the foreseeable future.

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 at @ACraftyLook

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

Thanks for reading. Sláinte!