Kentucky Vanilla Barrel Cream Ale

Alltech Lexington Brewing & Distilling Co. makes a lot of barrel aged beers. I love barrel aged beers so this should be a match made in heaven. Unfortunately, I have yet to have anything from them I really enjoyed. The most disappointed I have been trying one of their beers was the first time I tasted their BA Barleywine. It was thin, lacked depth of flavor, and since I was in Tampa it took away from precious time drinking Jai Alai & Red Tocobaga from Cigar City. Their products make it to NY but I rarely purchase them. I keep waiting for one of my beer enthusiast friends to tell me I have to try one of their beers. That day has still yet to come. In fact I have heard that for the price, try anything but their stuff. I have stuck to this up until the last time I visited a bottle shop. It was there that I came across their Vanilla Barrel Cream Ale. For some reason, I could not pass up the opportunity to try it. It just sounded like a beer I wanted to like, I just wondered if I would.

As I poured Vanilla Barrel Cream Ale, I could not help but notice its similarities to cream soda. It was the same color, had a fizzy white head and had a massive amount of vanilla in the aroma. Due to my love of cream soda, I began to get a bit more optimistic about this beer. There was also a fair amount of graininess(corn) to the aroma as well, with a touch of biscuit. From the aroma alone, I could not tell that this beer was barrel aged. The flavor of the beer pretty much matched the nose. It was very grainy, with a lot of vanilla sweetness and a touch of biscuit. The graininess carried into a finish that balanced the sweetness of the vanilla, with a welcomed amount of hop bitterness, an occasional touch of whiskey and some oak spice. The barrel aging is only slightly there but you really have to look for it. The finish also leaves a fairly unpleasant grainy, bitter aftertaste that seemed to only grow in strength the further I got into the glass.

I was not disappointed I purchased the Vanilla Barrel Cream Ale. I am happy for the opportunity to try it. However, I can safely say that I will not be purchasing it again. Everything seemed a touch muddled here and nothing really flowed together. Also, what is the point of barrel aging this beer for 2 months if there is practically no presence of it in the flavor? That just seems to me like an irresponsible business decision on the brewery's part. I am fairly certain this beer would taste close to the same with or without that short time in a barrel. Either way, it is nothing that special.

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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Thanks for reading. Sláinte!

Not Your Father's Vanilla Cream Ale

Over the course of the 2 years I've been writing this blog, there is one review I wish I could get back. I'm not saying I was necessarily wrong with that particular review, I just think I was blinded by the excitement of what the product was. The review I am speaking of is my glowing assessment of Not Your Father's Root Beer. To be clear I do like Not Your Father's Root Beer, I just no longer think it is the 4.5/5 beer I rated it at the time. Since then I have found it to be a ridiculously inconsistent beverage that seems more like a mixed drink than an ale. At the time, I think I gave it that rating because I had never had anything quite like it before. It was authentic-tasting alcoholic root beer that hit the exact flavor profile I wanted it to. Before I tried that beverage I, like many others have tried to add liquor to root beer with mixed results. I can safely say that no matter how many times I've tried, I've never quite been able to attain the successful flavor that Not Your Father's Root Beer achieved. To sum it all up, at the time I reviewed NYFRB I was too caught up in the exciting concept that my favorite childhood beverage could now get me drunk to properly see it for what it was. Still, I have no intention of changing that review. What's done is done and it's time to move on. I feel this way because I am currently staring at a glass of Not Your Father's Vanilla Cream Ale, about to find my redemption.

Arriving with a lot less fanfare, along with the very low ABV of 4.1%, Not Your Father's Vanilla Cream Ale pours exactly like cream soda. It's copper with a fizzy white head that fades quickly. The aroma is interesting. It almost smells like cream soda. Lots of vanilla stands out but there is a rather unpleasant sourness to it as well, that reminds of old whipped cream. The taste is very similar to the aroma. While Not Your Father's Root Beer tastes like authentic root beer with a slightly boozy finish, this tastes like sour cream soda. Each sip gets more and more unpleasant. There also seems to be a repulsive aftertaste that continues to get worse with each sip. The best way to describe it is being reminiscent of overripe fruit. The alcohol stands out in the aftertaste as well, which is strange since it has less alcohol than a Bud Light. To put it simply, this is poorly crafted and nothing works here.

I was hoping this review would look more like what I wanted the Not Your Father's Root Beer review to look like if I wrote it today. I was hoping to say this was a nice beverage that is definitely worth your time and money. Instead I find it to be one of the worst beverages(don't want to call it beer) I have had since starting these reviews. This is a failure on every level, but what should I have really expected? This seems more like a cash grab, capitalizing on the success of NYFRB, than an attempt at making a successful adult beverage. Oh well, down the drain it goes.

Overall I would rate Not Your Father's Vanilla Cream Ale a 0.5/5. It tastes more like a mixed drink made with cheap vanilla vodka and spoiled whipped cream than a beer. It's gross.


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!

Vacation Beers! (Marz Community Brewing's Jungle Boogie & Building 8 Brewing's The Session IPA)

Whenever I go on vacation, one of the first things I do is look for beer I have yet to try. This past weekend I did a bunch of that with my wife in Boston. We were in town for our 2 year wedding anniversary, as well as seeing Pearl Jam rock the hallowed grounds of Fenway Park. The shows were incredible and so was some of the beer.

This may have not been a proper Beercation, but we did the best we could with the time we had. On the way into Boston we stopped in Framingham to visit Jack's Abby. There, my mind was blown by the greatness of the Bourbon Barrel Aged Graham Cracker & Mole Framinghammers. I hope one day to hold a bottle of one or both in my hands. They were that good.

We also went to Boston Beer Works just outside of Fenway Park. While nothing stood out dramatically as being great, the Boston Cream Ale and the Equinox hopped SMaSH Works beer were quite drinkable. The watermelon ale was what you would expect and the house IPA is something I hope to never drink again. It seemed to swing & miss on every flavor note I wanted it to hit. Still it was a great place to visit right before a game or a show.

We also took time to hit a couple bottle shops while in town to stock up the hotel beers and secondly find some cool stuff to bring back. While we did not bring back a large amount of beer (mainly because of all the Red Sox themed Pearl Jam merchandise in the car), we brought back beer that sounded interesting to both of us. So for today's review I will be taking a closer look at 2 of those.

Marz Community Brewing's Jungle Boogie seemed like the perfect post-concert beer to kick off this blog with. This pale wheat ale brewed with rooibos tea poured a dark amber with an off white head. The aroma was sweet, fruity, herbal with a lot of mango. When I took my first sip my mouth was hit with the wonderful flavors of tropical fruit. Mango especially shined, along with pine, vanilla, a herbal spiciness I could not quite put my finger on and a crisp grapefruit finish. This is a beer I would drink regularly. They seemed to bring out the wonderful flavors of the mosaic hop nicely. I hope to see this on the shelves in Upstate NY regularly.

Overall I would rate Jungle Boogie a 4/5. Great beer, super sad I only brought back one can.

I stumbled upon Building 8 Brewing's The Session IPA by accident. I was looking for something completely different but there on the floor stood a very limited supply of an extremely fresh IPA. In my experience, even though I have not heard of the beer, it's worth a shot because of that alone. The Session poured a straw yellow with a white head. The aroma was very light but was very juicy with grapefruit and pineapple standing out nicely. The flavor was not as light as the aroma. Grapefruit, passion fruit, tangerine and pineapple stood out wonderfully before an underwhelming peppery finish. Without the pepper finish I would rate this as one of the best session IPA's I've had. It just felt completely out of place here.

Overall I would rate The Session IPA a 3.5/5. With some slight tweaking this beer would be amazing. I am definitely looking forward to trying something from this brewery again 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/

Oh and Happy Anniversary Alicia! We're still Rockin' In the Free World!

As always, thanks for reading. Sláinte!

Ballast Point Calm Before the Storm Cream Ale

Since my first sip of Grapefruit Sculpin, I have been a fan of Ballast Point Brewing Company. I found Grapefruit Sculpin to be delicious, fun and unique. It instantly became a summer favorite of mine. I had a similar reaction during the winter when I tried Victory at Sea Imperial Porter. It was rich, full bodied and showcased the coffee & vanilla in it wonderfully. Victory at Sea was something I felt I could drink year round but the fact that it is full bodied, complex and strong(10%) does not always pair well with a 90 degree humid summer day. So when I first heard Ballast Point was making a warm weather alternative to Victory at Sea, called Calm Before The Storm I became instantly excited. It lived up to the hype when I tried it last summer and I hoped to see its return this year. When I finally saw it again last week, I realized I was not as excited as I wanted to be. This is because my feelings towards Ballast Point Brewing Company had taken a turn for the worst. This change of heart occurred over the past year when they started drowning the base beers in their catalog with flavoring, leading to mixed results. While I admire them trying something different, I feel like saying mixed results is being very polite. For example, the Pineapple Sculpin is a huge letdown compared to the base beer and the Grapefruit variant. The Mango Even Keel tastes like candy sweet mango soda. And the Watermelon Dorado is completely undrinkable. The Thai Chili Wahoo was fun but not something I am looking to have again anytime soon. Basically what I am trying to say is if my feelings towards Ballast Point have changed, would my opinion of Calm Before the Storm change with it?

I pondered that thought as Calm Before the Storm poured a beautifully clear gold with a fluffy white head. Upon closer inspection there was a light amount of sediment floating in the beer but it is barely noticeable. The aroma is slightly sweet, toasty, with coffee standing out. There is a light vanilla in there as well, along with very little hop presence. After my first sip, I realized Calm Before the Storm Cream Ale was just as good as I remembered it. There is a light toasty malt, coffee, a hint of cream and vanilla before a clean, refreshing finish. The coffee is showcased wonderfully without being overwhelming. It reminds me of the refreshing feeling of enjoying an iced coffee on a hot day. The light vanilla only reinforces this. There is no real noticeable hop presence and it is not needed here. This is a cream ale that works well.

While I may not agree with overusing fruit flavoring in beer, I admire the creativity Ballast Point Brewing Company continues to display. Beers like Grapefruit Sculpin, Victory at Sea, Calm Before the Storm, Indra Kunindra and even Habanero Sculpin offer something different and unique to beer drinkers. While the beers they have released recently, that I mentioned earlier have been inconsistent, they are consistently trying to create something different. That alone is what makes trying their beer fun. I look forward to seeing what is coming out next from them.

Overall I would rate Calm Before the Storm a 4/5. This beer is a must try for summer iced coffee drinkers.


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!

Narragansett Summer Ale, Anderson Valley Summer Solstice & Magic Hat Stealin' Time

While summer has officially arrived, summer beer has been here since April. While that is all well and good, I am not interested in drinking a beer with a beach or sun on the label if snow could still fall at any moment. Now that it's late June and there have been consecutive 90 degree days, it's time for some light, crisp summer beers. But where to start? Beer aisles right now are loaded with summer beers trying to catch your eye and find their way into your coolers. So instead of letting you know if just one beer is good or not, I am going to review three very different summer beers so you can have a better idea of what is out there.

First up is Narragansett Summer Ale. This is a light, crisp pale ale that pours a clear gold with a white head. The aroma of bready malt, citrus and pine is very light but pleasant. After tasting, the flavor is very similar to the aroma. There is a light malt sweetness up front before the light flavor of citrus comes in and washes away fairly clean. I keep using the word light because that is exactly what this is. To be specific, it is a watered down pale ale. Normally I would make this a huge issue, but for a summer beer it works. This is an easy-drinking, sessionable beer that would work perfectly on a very hot day. Its 4.2% ABV puts it on the same level as Bud Light, it just tastes a lot better.

Overall I would rate Narragansett Summer Ale a 2.5/5. If you are looking for a light, easy-drinking beer for a day at the beach, this works nicely. If you are looking for something with a bolder flavor profile, I would leave this on the shelf.

Next up is Anderson Valley Summer Solstice. This is an interesting cream ale that pours a slightly hazy ruby brown with an off-white head. The aroma is slightly sweet, with caramel and lots of vanilla. Much like the aroma, the vanilla really stands out in the flavor as well. Right off the bat I was hit with caramel malt, followed by the bold flavor slightly sweet vanilla. These initial flavors work really nice together. They provide just the right amount of sweetness. But pleasant flavors then give way to a bland hop finish which really takes away from how good this beer could have been. That's not saying it's a bad beer, it's not. It's just a fun take on a cream soda beer with an underwhelming finish.

Overall I would rate Anderson Valley Summer Solstice a 3/5. I wanted to love it, I really did, but the finish just did not work for me. That being said, it's still too fun not to try.

Finally, we have Magic Hat Stealin' Time. Before I get started, I want to take a moment and mention that I really wanted to like this beer. This past winter I reviewed Magic Hat's Snow Roller and gave it a fairly harsh critique(you can read that by clicking here). I was hoping this pale wheat ale with ginger would restore my faith in the Magic Hat name. I am sad to say, it did not. Stealin' Time poured a crystal clear golden yellow(I thought it was unfiltered) with a fluffy white head. The aroma contained wheat malt, citrus, pine and ginger. Just from the aroma, I was fairly optimistic I would like it. When I tasted it, I realized how mistaken I was. Grainy malt comes through right away before pine, a light hint of lemon and a whole lot of ginger. The ginger is fairly strong and it could have worked if not for the strong metallic flavor that came along with it. Midway through the glass, all I could taste was ginger and metal. I ended up dumping out my glass which makes this the second Magic Hat beer I've reviewed and not finished.

Overall I would rate Magic Hat Stealin' Time a 0.5/5. It certainly lives up to its name. It steals time from drinking a good 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　

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!