Founders Doom Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial IPA

The Founders Barrel Aged Series has been fantastic so far. The first entry, Frootwood is a creative example of using a bourbon barrel that held maple syrup to completely transform a cherry ale into something truly unique. The second entry, KBS, needs no introduction. It is an amazing beer that lives up to the hype it generates every single year. The third entry in the series, Doom, is the subject of this blog. Doom is an imperial IPA aged in bourbon barrels that clocks in with an ABV of 12.4%. Due to my love of everything Founders has put in a bourbon barrel(except Lizard of Koz), I had high hopes that Doom, like the others in the series, would deliver another incredible drinking experience.

Founders Doom is a big, interesting beer. From the moment the crystal clear amber-colored liquid hit my glass, I got a whiff of its complex aroma. Caramel, vanilla, oak, spice, bourbon and citrus stand out beautifully. These same notes are what dominate the flavor. When I took my first sip, grapefruit and pineapple greeted me before giving way to caramel, vanilla, bourbon, oak spice and booze. The barrel really shines in the finish here and I absolutely loved that. Then again, this is called the Barrel Aged Series for a reason.

What I had trouble with here is thinking of this an IPA. I know it is, but reminded me more of a hoppy barleywine than anything else. If I had to compare it to another IPA, I could easily compare it to Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA after it had been sitting for a year or more. While I do enjoy drinking an aged Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA, at 10 dollars a bottle, I think you should just put that money towards a really nice barleywine instead. In the case of Doom, you get all the benefits of aging 120 Minute IPA, for less money and you do not have to wait to make it drinkable. I think Doom is delicious but as far as the 2017 Barrel Aged Series goes, I think it is the weakest of the 3 releases so far. Do not let that discourage you though, I feel the first 2 released in the series have been particularly strong and it is hard to top KBS. If you are interested in trying Doom, I would highly recommend doing so.

Overall rating: 3.75/5. While I enjoyed Doom, I can't wait for the next release in the series, DKML. The thought of drinking bourbon barrel aged malt liquor is just as exciting to me now as it would have been when I was in college. Look for a blog on that as soon as it hits Upstate NY.

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

Thanks for reading. Sláinte!

2017 Sierra Nevada Beer Camp Across the World

The 2017 Sierra Nevada Beer Camp Across the World mix pack was a must-have purchase for me. It's also the reason I'm a little behind on my blogging. I wanted to give each beer the proper attention it deserved. The last thing I wanted to do was quickly go through them all in a couple of days. So I took my time and gradually made it through the 12-pack. In the past, I have enjoyed going through the Beer Camp mix packs. I find the whole concept of a fantastic brewery collaborating with other fantastic breweries very exciting. Unfortunately each year, after all is said and done I usually find myself underwhelmed by most of the beers in the pack. Perhaps underwhelmed is the wrong word, a better way to put it is I find most of the collaborations forgettable. Of the mix packs from the past, I honestly can only remember a handful of the beers from them. That's not to say that the beers were bad, they just were nothing I would find myself buying a six pack of. When I saw the list of the 2017 Beer Camp collaborations, I immediately put my thoughts of the previous Beer Camp mix packs aside. Opening it up to breweries around the world is a tremendous idea. I just hoped it would yield some amazing results. This blog is not about reviewing each beer individually, but more about reviewing the pack as a whole. Is it worth the 25+ dollar price tag? Or is your money better spent elsewhere?

The truth is the Beer Camp Across the World is a mixed bag of great, pretty good and bad. We'll start things off with the bad. The worst beer in the pack is the collaboration with The Bruery. Raspberry Sundae may have sounded like a great idea on paper but it is bland and tastes more like soap than beer. Like many others I really enjoy beers from The Bruery, so this one was a huge disappointment. Another disappointment was the Dry-Hopped Berliner Weisse collaboration with Saint Arnold Brewing Company. With a massive cat urine aroma and a bland flavor profile it did not work for me at all. The only other one I really did not like is the Hoppy Belgian-Style Golden Ale collaboration with Duvel Moortgat but I would not put much stock in that. I am not a Duvel fan, so this one tasted pretty much how I expected it to, I just did not enjoy it.

Pretty good is the way I would describe the majority of the beers in the pack. As a one-off they worked for me, but I would hesitate to invest in a 4- or 6-pack of them. In this category I would put Boneyard Beer's West Coast IPA, Garage Project's Campout Porter, Mikkeller's Thai-Style Iced Tea Ale, Fuller's Atlantic Style Vintage Ale, Avery's Dry-Hopped Barleywine and Kiuchi White IPA. I wanted to love the Avery collaboration but found it a touch metallic. The Kiuchi White IPA was a beer I found myself enjoying more and more the further I got into the glass. Of any beers in this category I would want to try again, it would be that one.

The beer I wanted to love was the East Meets West IPA collaboration with Tree House Brewing Company. This was by far the one I was most excited about in the entire pack. I thought it was great, but not as great as it could and should have been.

The best beers in the pack are the Dunkle Weisse from Ayinger Brewery and the Ginger Lager from Surly Brewing Company. The Dunkle Weisse is not as flashy as other beers in the pack and that is what works for it. It's just a great dark wheat beer. I would love to see this get a wide release. The Ginger Lager was something I thought I would absolutely hate. The addition of cayenne pepper added a nice touch of spice and the oak added complexity. When the glass was empty I was legitimately sad at the thought that I might not be able to drink it again.

For me, the Dunkle Weisse and the Ginger Lager were two beers that will stick with me from this year's Beer Camp Across the World collection. For the most part, I enjoyed the beers in this years pack. Sure, a lot of them are better suited as one-offs, but the pack as a whole delivers more hits than misses. If this year's pack did anything, it left me looking forward to seeing what collaborations next year brings.

My overall rating for the entire Sierra Nevada's 2017 Beer Camp Across the World pack as a whole is 3.5/5.

More importantly, is Beer Camp Across the World worth the 25+ dollar price tag? For the most part, yes.

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!

Westbrook Key Lime Pie Gose

The Gose is a style of beer that I admit is underrepresented here in my blog. Admittedly, I do not typically seek them out. When I do buy one, I buy it to drink with my wife or just for her to drink. The first gose I recall trying was Anderson Valley Blood Orange Gose. I heard a lot of positive word of mouth about it, so I bought a 6-pack of it to share with the wife. She instantly loved it and I looked at it like it was on the same level as Bud Light Lime or the retired Miller Chill. I thought it tasted cheap and for some reason it was slightly salty. After paying more attention to the style, as well as realizing the saltiness was part of it, I found some goses that I liked. Now what I mean by that is, I liked them, but not enough to want to drink on a regular basis. That all changed once I came across Westbrook's Key Lime Pie Gose. I do enjoy the Westbrook Gose but the Key Lime Pie Gose is on another level. With one sip, that beer reinforced to me everything I tell other people about sampling beers. Which is that sometimes you have to keep trying a certain style of beer, because eventually you will find one that you love. Well, spoiler, I absolutely love Westbrook Key Lime Pie Gose.

As soon as I got my first whiff of fresh, tart lime, Westbrook Key Lime Pie Gose instantly pulled me in. There is a hint of bread and salt as well, but the lime beautifully dominates the aroma. The same goes for the flavor. The sourness of the lime stands out in the forefront, with a hint of bread, coriander and spice. The finish is salty, crisp, clean and refreshing. The saltiness in particular provides a beautiful compliment to the tart flavor. Normally, that is the part of the Gose I am not a fan of. In Westbrook Key Lime Pie Gose it works perfectly. There is nothing here I would change. Unfortunately, when I went back to buy more it was long gone. If it was more readily available I would make it my go-to beer for the next couple months. It would serve as the perfect beach beer.

This is an excellent example of a fruited beer and of the gose style. I would highly recommend giving this a try if you are lukewarm to the style. It is certainly the best one I have had yet. It also has me looking forward to trying more of them in the near future.

Overall I rate Key Lime Pie Gose a 5/5. I absolutely love this beer.

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!

Grimm Double Dry Hopped Tesseract DIPA

June has arrived and with it comes the best month to be a beer enthusiast in Rochester, NY. The Rochester Real Beer Week is full of amazing events and incredible tap lists. I look forward to this week every year and this year is no different. So for the month of June, I want my blog to mirror how big this month is to “The Flour City”. I am going to be blogging about some of the most popular and sought after beers in my hometown. To do this, there is perhaps no better way to start than reviewing a beer from Grimm Artisanal Ales.

The popularity of Grimm, especially the IPAs and Stouts in Rochester is undeniable. I recall going to a bottle shop without the thought ever crossing my mind that a Grimm IPA was about to be released. When I arrived, the parking lot was full and the line to buy beer was practically out the door. Needless to say, I did not buy beer there that day and sought out another place for a readily available six-pack. To get a can of Grimm IPA in Rochester, you have to look in the right place at the right time. If you are not able to find a can, your only real chance of trying it is looking for it on tap.

I have had a lot of Grimm IPAs. Some I think are fantastic and some I think are worth a lot less than 5 dollars a can, to put it nicely. My favorite one from them is Tesseract Double IPA. I know I am not alone in thinking this, it seems to be the most challenging one to acquire. When I read that they were releasing a Double Dry Hopped version of Tesseract, I basically started drooling. I had to come across a can, I just had to. Lucky for me I was able to find one. When I got home, opened it, poured it and after a moment of staring at it lovingly, I took in the aroma. The aroma was big, dank and piney. There was also a hint of lemon and tropical fruit. The first sip was delightful, resinous, tropical and light on bitterness. After the initial hint of resinous pine, Double Dry Hopped Tesseract softens with the flavors of mango, melon, pineapple, and gummy candy before a nice dry finish. At 8%, this is dangerously easy to drink. The alcohol is hidden wonderfully. This is the kind of beer that can sneak up on you. One minute you are thinking, 'sure I could open that second can.' Then you do and the lights start getting just a little bit dimmer. These things happen when a beer is this well-made.

Much like the Tesseract I know and love, this beer is fantastic. Due to Grimm's unpredictable brewing patterns, it has been a while since I have had Tesseract. I wish I could do a side by side to better explain the difference between the two a bit better. I can say I do not remember the aroma being as big or as dank as it is. However, I do remember it tasting juicy but not as tropical and soft as it is here. Then again, the point of dry hopping is to add to the aroma and flavor without adding to the bitterness. Well, mission accomplished here, Double Dry Hopped Tesseract is a beautiful beer that you should seek out immediately(or during the biggest beer week of the year).

Overall rating 4.5/5. A Grimm beer that lives up to the hype.

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!