Harpoon One Hazy Summer

The past few weeks I have been slowing down on writing and that is unacceptable. Summer beer season is in full swing and I need to do a better job helping you sort through what’s on the shelves to find the best recommendations possible.

The main reason I have been behind on my blogs is because my summer beer drinking has become predictable. I have been obsessed with Other Half Brewing being in town and frequently find myself stopping there for cans, bottles & pours. The other beers that have taken up a fair amount of space in my refrigerator are Genesee’s Ruby Red Kolsch & Lemon Strawberry Cream Ale. The latter feels like a response to Natural Light’s surprisingly successful Naturday, a Strawberry Lemonade flavored light lager. It could be my local pride talking here but I honestly believe Genesee’s Lemon Strawberry Cream is the better of the two. Genesee’s Lemon Strawberry Cream Ale is not as sweet as Naturday which is a plus and the fruit flavor is dialed back a bit allowing the base beer to come through a bit more. To keep it short, both beers are good, but Genesee’s is better.

Another great summer beer I enjoyed was Couch Tour, a cucumber sour from Three Heads Brewing. It’s very refreshing with just the right amount of cucumber. If you come across it, I highly recommend trying it.

Basically, I have been drinking a lot of great beer but my drinking habits need to expand. So for this blog, I decided to go with a widely released beer from a craft brewery I have not drank anything from in quite some time. I also really wanted summer to be in the beer’s name, so I decided to go with One Hazy Summer from Harpoon Brewery.

Hazy, hoppy beers that get a wide release tend to be hit and miss. For example, I really enjoyed Hazy Little Thing from Sierra Nevada but found Bells Official to be disappointingly bland. Harpoon’s One Hazy Summer is not going to blow you away but it is a decent pale ale. The aroma is floral, fruity & malty. Biscuit in particular really comes through, along with pineapple, mango, berry and a touch of citrus. The aroma matches the flavor for the most part. The hops compliment the biscuity malt profile, adding a touch of brightness. Mango & pineapple come through the most, along with a touch of berry & citrus before a soft, herbal, dry finish.

I was actually surprised by how much I enjoyed One Hazy Summer. It might not be as hoppy as I wanted it to be but it works. It’s a light, easy drinking, reasonable priced, session beer that will work nicely as a beach beer, lawnmower beer, camping beer, basically any summer occasion beer. One that I am glad is taking up real estate in my refrigerator.



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Thanks for reading. Sláinte!

Harpoon The Craic Irish Red IPA

With a snow storm right around the corner, I, like many other beer enthusiasts are preparing for the prospect of being snowed in. Preparation for a storm includes getting all the necessary supplies, and that includes filling the refrigerator with beer. Now, in the past I have had a tendency to just drink beers on the heavier side when snowed in, and while I have plenty of those, this is my first big snow storm as a homeowner and I have been on a quest to find an adequate snowblowing beer. 

For this particular storm, my snow blowing beer will be Harpoon’s The Craic Irish Red IPA. The reason I chose this beer is because it walks the line between a Red IPA & an Irish Red Ale. One style reminds me of some of my favorite holiday & Winter seasonal beers and the other reminds me of Spring and the warmer weather to come. The Craic does a really nice job of balancing both. 

The aroma of toasted bread, caramel, and toffee instantly made me think of St. Patrick’s Day. I then picked up the herbal, pine & citrus notes from the hops. The taste matched the nose for the most part. The malt profile shines nicely before the hops add another welcome layer of complexity. The hops add a nice amount of spice, along with grapefruit, orange and pine. The malt profile was nuttier than I expected but only enhanced my enjoyment of The Craic. The only thing I was not crazy about was the finish. It was earthy, dry, piney, bitter and provided contrast to the malt sweetness but it did not work as well as I hoped it would. This is a small criticism though, this is a really nice beer and has me really looking forward to seeing more Irish Red Ales on the shelf soon.

The Craic is also one of the best beers I have had from Harpoon in a long time. I usually pass on beers from the Boston-based brewery because they are usually average at best. This one however is a lot of fun and will definitely get a repeat purchase from me. It will also make for a nice reward after multiple trips outside clearing snow.

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Stay warm!

Samuel Adams Bavarian Lager

These days, I do not drink many new beers with the Samuel Adams' name on them. It is a shame because the Boston Beer Company played a huge role in me falling in love with craft beer. Occasionally for the sake of this blog, I pick up a new offering from them, but aside from the surprising Sam '76, I have found little outside of the classics(Boston Lager, Winter Lager, Oktoberfest etc.) that I want to purchase again. I decided to pick up their latest release, Bavarian Lager, for the sake of this blog, but I will admit I had higher hopes for this beer than other recent releases. This brewery has made classic lagers and I was hoping that Bavarian Lager would take its place among them.

True to the Helles-style, Bavarian Lager pours a pale golden-yellow. It is unfiltered and the aroma of bread dough stands out along with fruity, citrusy, grassy hops. The flavor matched the nose for the most part-- bread dough with a touch of honey sweetness, with a hint of fruit, orange and grapefruit. The finish is grassy, slightly spicy and a touch metallic. The metallic note did not ruin it for me, it is fairly subtle. Overall, I actually I enjoyed Sam Adams Bavarian Lager a lot more than I thought I would. I think it is a huge upgrade over the subpar Fresh As Helles Lager they first released in 2017. Actually, it is an upgrade over most of the beers I have had from Sam Adams recently.

Sam Adams Bavarian Lager is an easy-drinking, crowd pleasing lager that has a satisfying amount of  body for the colder months ahead. I want to be clear, this is not a beer that is going to blow your mind, it is just a well crafted beer from a legendary brewery. It is also a beer I am happy to say I look forward to buying again, sooner than later.

Overall rating: 4/5



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 for reading. Sláinte!

Georgetown Brewing's Pearl Jam: The Home Shows Pale Ale

Recently, my wife and I traveled to Boston for two Pearl Jam concerts and a chance to try some of the local beer. We had an absolute blast drinking Treehouse, Trillium, Springdale & Jack’s Abby to name a few. 

Visiting the Tree House Brewery was unlike anything I had ever experienced. The line for cans and the ability to buy draft tickets was super long but somehow operated very efficiently. The line to cash in those draft tickets was much longer but again operated surprisingly efficiently. I have waited in line for beer in the past but had never waited that long at a brewery during a mid afternoon visit. The beer, as expected, was well worth it. So much so that I am very much looking forward to visiting there again.

The Tree House beer we bought that was what we drank for most of our visit. The days ranged from a humid 85 degrees to a humid 97 degrees and that gave us the motivation to stay in the hotel room and drink amazing beer before heading to the concerts. While I could blog about the Tree House beers I had, I think it would be fairly pointless. If you are reading this, then most likely you know their reputation or have had their beer. Every beer I have had from them was delicious. One however I will go out of my way to mention is Old Man ESB. It is an excellent example of an underrated style I want to see more of. It was also a fantastic beer to enjoy before a Pearl Jam concert. 

These particular Pearl Jam concerts were part of a baseball stadium tour called The Home & Away shows. The tour opened in Seattle(The Home Show) and continued through Montana, Chicago & Boston(The Away Shows). Each show was epic in its own right but The Home Shows got the royalty treatment including a Pearl Jam themed whiskey, wine and a Pale Ale brewed by Georgetown Brewing. I was hoping there would be a different specialty beer brewed in each of the markets, especially Boston, but that was sadly not the case. I was bummed out by the fact that another Pearl Jam beer existed and I might not get a chance to try it. As I have mentioned in previous blogs, the Dogfish Head Pearl Jam Twenty Beer was awful. I really hoped the latest beer was significantly better. Fortunately, two days after we returned from Boston, a 6-pack of Pearl Jam: The Home Shows Pale Ale showed up on my doorstep and after this extremely long introduction I can finally talk about it.

The aroma of Home Shows Pale Ale is a blast of resinous pine with some orange peel, grapefruit, pineapple, mango with a touch of malt sweetness. After the first taste, the bad memories of the Pearl Jam Twenty beer immediately faded away. Now, I am not saying this is a mind-blowing beer but it is a damn good beer. It is perfect for say, tailgating an epic 3 hour concert. It is light, super easy to drink with grapefruit, pineapple, mango, a light herbalness, some malt sweetness and a really nice amount of pine before a clean finish. The only thing holding me back from fully gushing over this beer is the fact that the hops may have faded a bit and it is a touch watery. Nevertheless, this is a damn good beer and I am ecstatic to be drinking it. 

The Home Shows Pale Ale left me hoping for more of these one-off beers for Pearl Jam shows. The shows in Boston were amazing! While I had no issue sipping a Sam ‘76 and watching the concert, I would have loved to have been sipping this instead. If you come across this beer, it is well work a purchase. Also, if you have yet to see Pearl Jam live, it is well worth going out of your way to do. 

Overall rating: 4/5

Until next time Pearl Jam!

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

Thank you Uncle Jeff! Thanks for reading. Sláinte!

Sam '76

For the first time in a long time, a beer from the Boston Beer Company captured my interest. Then again, the ads for Sam '76 were on my Facebook feed until (and I am totally serious) I finally purchased some. Now, I am not going to go all Fox Mulder on you and suggest something conspiratorial, I am just going to say it was a strange coincidence that the ads finally stopped once the beer took up real estate in my refrigerator. 

Regardless of whether or not I was bombarded by ads for Sam '76, I still would have given it a shot. The Samuel Adams brand is largely responsible for my love of beer in the first place. Like many other beer enthusiasts, their beer was a gateway into the world of better beer. However, over the years their biggest drawback became their lack of finding a way to keep up with other breweries ingenuity. Their approach to distributing an IPA is a perfect example of this. When the market seemed to be leaning toward that particular style, they resisted it until they finally released Latitude 48 IPA. That particular IPA felt more like a halfhearted attempt to appease their customers than a serious attempt at making a good beer.

Over the past decade, I have purchased a fair amount of their new releases but have usually found them to be underwhelming. Their effort at making a shandy(Porch Rocker), was a particularly low point for me with this brewery. Not since my days of giving away their Cranberry Lambic from their holiday mix-pack to whatever unlucky soul was brave enough to drink it have I disliked one of their beers so much. Please don't get me wrong, there is the occasional one I enjoy. One that comes to mind is their Bonfire Rauchbier. That beer was like drinking a campfire and was my gateway into drinking that particular style. A couple of weeks ago, I tried their New England IPA and was shocked at how much I enjoyed it. I am sure I could check my Untappd to find others, but I am here to talk about Sam '76.

The big selling point for me of Sam '76 was the fact that the beer required two active fermentations. They accomplished this by using both an ale yeast and a lager yeast during the brewing process to create a sort of “hybrid” beer. This felt like Boston Beer Company was taking a risk with this beer and it immediately captured my interest. Then again, how could it not?

As I poured a can, I hoped for the best. Scratch that, I was hoping for something unique. The aroma of this slightly hazy, golden yellow brew was doughy, floral, honey-sweet with a touch of grapefruit, pineapple, and herbal spiciness. When I took my first sip, pulled the glass away from my face and puzzled over what I just drank. Up front is a bready sweetness from the malt and a touch of citrus and tropical fruit hops. The hops however are much more prominent in the aroma then the flavor. As soon as you expect the hops to take over and finish like a session IPA, the crisp, clean finish of a lager crashes the party. Each time I took a sip, I tasted a hint of the fruity simcoe hops especially and right when I wanted to taste more of them, everything changed. While, that might sound like a complaint, I actually enjoyed this switcheroo. It was unique, interesting and something that I felt I wanted to buy again. However, this is more of a summer beach beer than a late winter beer. The flavors are light, it lacks body, but it is refreshing and at 4.7% very sessionable. The styles of session IPA and a light lager are blended so well here, it is hard not to look at this as a solid gateway beer and a beer that challenges the expectations of the most refined craft beer palates.

Overall rating: 3.5/5


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!

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!

Night Shift Pfaffenheck German-Style Pilsner

Around this time last year I was in Boston, Massachusetts trying some amazing beers. I particularly fell in love with the beers I tried from Night Shift Brewing. Their Santilli IPA is an absolutely beautiful beer. Their Awake Coffee Porter is one of the best coffee beers I have had. Their summer hefeweizen Furth, compliments warm weather wonderfully. In short, I enjoyed everything I tried from them last summer. When Santilli & Awake occasionally find their way into local bottle shops in my area, I try to pick some up. Taking a sip from each of them instantly takes me back to last summer's amazing wedding anniversary trip with two incredible Pearl Jam concerts. The goodwill I have towards Night Shift Brewing brought me into a bottle shop last week to pick up their Pfaffenheck German-Style Pilsner. I had yet to try it but due to how positive I felt about Night Shift Brewing, this became a beer I looked forward to drinking and writing about. So the question is, would Pfaffenheck take its place alongside the other Night Shift beers I have put on a pedestal? Or would this be the first disappointing beer I have had from a brewery that time has made me think could do no wrong?

It took a lot to resist drinking Pfaffenheck out of the can. I can think of nothing more refreshing on a hot summer day than a fantastic lager out of a can. I resisted that temptation, poured it into the glass and was immediately greeted with aromas of bread dough, grassy, herbal hops and a light honey sweetness. The taste pretty much matched the nose. Pilsner malt, honey, grass, spicy hops immediately attack the palate before a lemony, peppery finish. The finish can certainly be described as crisp but it is by no means clean. The hops linger around on the palate. At first, I did not mind this but by the end of the pint, I had grown tired of this. It is rare that I wish a brewery scaled back the hops on a beer, but in this case it could have significantly improved the beer. Everything else here is really solid. Pfaffenheck is just not the crisp, clean, refreshing beer I hoped it would be.

Night Shift Pfaffenheck is kind of a middle-of-the-road beer to me. It is not a bad beer by any means but with all the goodwill I have towards Night Shift Brewing, I just expected to like it a bit more. If you like pilsners it is certainly worth a try but if you have to chose between this, Awake, Santilli or Furth, I would chose one of the latters instead.

Overall rating: 3/5. It is not a bad beer but it is by no means as good as I hoped a pilsner from Night Shift would be.

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!