Lord Hobo Pineapple Glorious IPA

Shopping for beer to bring on a weekend getaway always seems to take me way longer than it needs to. It has gotten to a point that I can’t do it with another person because they quickly lose patience while I ponder what would work best. I swear, I can switch the beers I am going to bring multiple times before I finally settle on what I consider are the beers to bring. Even when I’m given guidance and am told to bring cheap, sh—ty beer, I can’t bring myself to do it. If I am drinking beer all weekend long and sharing it with friends I want it to be something good.

Before this past weekend’s trip, I spent about a half hour in the beer aisle before I finally made a concrete decision on what to bring. There were a ton of great options but I decided to go with a couple of my local summer favorites: Three Heads Couch Tour Cucumber Sour and Genesee Lemon Strawberry Cream Ale. I love both beers. They are delicious, crowd-pleasing, low ABV session beers with a fantastic price point. I felt great about going with just those beers until I saw Lord Hobo Pineapple Glorious IPA. For some reason, I could not pass that beer up even though there were a few red flags attached to it. The first being Lord Hobo’s catalog is very hit & miss. The second being pineapple beer is also very hit & miss. Seeing “ale with natural flavor” was the third red flag. Then finally the price point for the beer was a bit more than you typically want to spend for a beach beer but I decided to go for it anyway and hope for the best.

Lord Hobo’s Pineapple Glorious IPA certainly delivers the pineapple. The aroma is full of it, along with peach, passion fruit, grapefruit, grass, herbal and floral notes, and bread dough. The first sip was a little disappointing due to the artificial taste of pineapple. The use of natural flavoring does not always get the best results and here is a perfect example of that. It is by no means a drain pour but it’s nothing special either. Peach, citrus, grass, doughy malt, and passion fruit go fairly well with the pineapple flavoring before an aggressive finish of bitter grapefruit rind and black pepper. In future batches I hope they soften the finish a bit.

It took a couple cans but I ended up kinda liking Pineapple Glorious IPA. However, I can’t bring myself to recommend you go out and purchase it at its current price point. I, for one, will probably not buy it again without a fairly dramatic price drop. I also can’t say it’s an upgrade over the base beer Glorious. As I mentioned earlier, Lord Hobo’s beers are hit & miss. Overall, I would list this one as a miss. At 13 dollars a 4-pack, you should expect better.

Natural Light Naturdays

When I first read about Natural Light Naturdays I thought it was a joke. I took it about as seriously as a snail flavored beer announcement of April Fool’s Day. Then when I found out it actually was a real beer, I instantly dismissed it. I knew I would try it at some point, but I thought for sure my low expectations would not be met and I would end up dumping the remainder of it down the drain.

When Naturdays started getting distribution to Western NY, I found myself  in no rush to buy it. However, I was stunned by how quickly it was flying off of shelves. Then, in an even more surprising turn of events I started hearing positive things from fellow beer enthusiasts. I was still skeptical but I decided to accelerate my time table for trying it and purchased a 30-rack. I justified that purchase because it was extremely inexpensive and  I was having a get together over the weekend. I thought most people there out of curiosity alone would give it a try. Later that night, I opened a can and got the biggest surprise of all.

After I took my first sip of Naturdays, I found myself staring at the can, stunned. I took another sip, then another, and before I knew it the can was empty and I was reaching for another. I could not believe how smooth, refreshing and easy to drink Naturdays was. It beautifully blends together strawberry lemonade and a light lager. Both are present and neither dominates the flavor. It is not overbearingly sweet either, and I was thrilled about that. The finish is crisp and clean, and that concluded a shockingly good drinking experience.

There is no need to dive deeper into more subtle notes of Naturday. I do not believe one spends less than 20 dollars on 30 beers to do that. I will just say that Naturday is a really fun, refreshing, crowd-pleasing summer beer. One that goes very fast at a party and one that I can’t believe will be taking up real estate in my refrigerator all summer long.


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Thanks for reading. Sláinte!

Dogfish Head Super Eight Super Gose

From the moment that Dogfish Head & Eastman Kodak's collaboration beer SuperEIGHT Super Gose was announced, it was only a matter of time until I blogged about it. I am a fan of Dogfish Head's beer and I am the son & nephew of long time makers of Kodak film products. For that reason alone, I could not pass up an opportunity to try this beer as soon as distribution hit Western NY. 

What makes SuperEIGHT fun is that it is a 2-for-1 beer. It is a light, fruited session gose and it also develops Kodak's Super-8 film. It pulls this off by having a low pH which means that SuperEIGHT is going to be a touch acidic but that should work perfectly for the style.

As the can says, SuperEIGHT pours a vibrant red. Besides the beautiful color, the lemon, lactic sour aroma was the first thing I noticed as I poured the beer. The aroma is also very fruity, grainy, and a touch floral with the berries and prickly pear really shining. The pear added a really nice note of watermelon and that is the first thing I noticed and loved about my first sip. Raspberry and watermelon really come through in the flavor before a touch of malt and grain. The finish is very tart, with a touch of salt, bubble gum, green apple and lemon rind. The lemon rind lingers on the palate long after the beer is gone and to be honest is not ideal. Also, I can't say all SuperEIGHT ingredients are noticeable. The mango in particular seems MIA which is disappointing but there is still a lot going on here and this beer is a lot of fun. 

SuperEIGHT is one of those beers where Dogfish Head's unrelenting creativity pulls off something really cool. Sometimes, their use of adjuncts goes a touch a overboard and while this beer is no different, I found myself really enjoying it. With summer just around the corner, SuperEIGHT would serve as a wonderfully refreshing beer to both make and develop summer memories. I highly recommend picking it up.

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Thanks for reading. Sláinte!

Cherry Chouffe

Over the past few weeks I have been a bit obsessed with Rodenbach Alexander. It has been a mainstay in my refrigerator since I blogged about it and I do not foresee that changing anytime soon. Unfortunately, I cannot blog about Rodenbach Alexander every week, that would get fairly boring. So, to keep it fresh I picked up the new cherry forward offering from Brasserie D'Achouffe, Cherry Chouffe.

I will start this out by saying this beer is by no means as good as Rodenbach Alexander. In fact, I would say this straight forward Belgian-style fruit beer tastes more like Nyquil than Alexander. Being cherry forward is about the only thing these beers have in common. When I took in the aroma, I got a strong hit of cherry cold medicine. The phenols were noticeably strong in this beer. This carried over into my first sip. The cherry note is fantastic at times. It added a nice bit of tartness and blended well with the sweetness in the finish. There is a touch of graininess, licorice, toffee, chocolate and a vegetal note but they are mostly hidden behind the cherry. It’s weird to put it like this, but if you like the taste of cold medicine, you will enjoy this beer. If you hate the taste of cold medicine, I would strongly encourage you to purchase something else.

For me, Cherry Chouffe is definitely a one and done. It was by no means a drain pour for me but it is a beer I have little interest in purchasing it again. Cold medicine is a flavor I expect from cold medicine, not from my beer.

Once again, if you are looking for a cherry forward beer, go with Rodenbach Alexander.


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Thanks for reading. Sláinte!

Lagunitas Super Cluster & Cherry Jane

One thing I love about Lagunitas Brewing Company is their reasonable prices. As someone who is currently trying to furnish a home, I am looking for values in any place I can find them, especially when it comes to purchasing beer. As hard as it is for me to admit, I find it difficult to justify purchasing several 15-20 dollar 4-packs while sitting on one of two chairs in an otherwise empty living room watching television. If I was in college, I could easily justify this but it gets a failing grade when it comes to adulting. For this blog, I am not so much reviewing beer but offering two great options at more reasonable prices.

I came across Lagunitas' Super Cluster DIPA and stopped in my tracks. Super Cluster is an 8% Citra-Hopped DIPA, priced under 20 dollars for a 12-pack. Without even trying it, that price alone felt like a steal and I could not wait to get home and give it a try. What I found when I did was an excellent West Coast DIPA that is bursting with citrus & pine resin. The first sip does not disappoint, delivering a healthy dose of bright, citrus flavors. Orange, grapefruit, passion fruit and a touch of lemongrass come through at first before a piney, herbal finish. The 8% ABV is hidden fairly well, making this even easier to drink. Super Cluster is beautifully crafted and a steal at its price point.

Another solid offering from Lagunitas is their cherry sour ale, Cherry Jane. The price point for Cherry Jane is around 13 dollars a six-pack which is a touch more than I was looking to spend but I could not resist a beer brewed with Turkish Delight Cherry Juice & Brettanomyces. The Brett delivers just the right amount of funk to the dominating flavor of tart cherry juice. The sourness is not particularly aggressive, it plays as more of a compliment to the cherry juice. I, in particular love tart cherry juice so this beer definitely worked for me.

Both of these beers are solid offerings from Lagunitas. I would highly encourage you to pick up Super Cluster in particular. It is easily one of the best values I have come across in beer that did not have the name "Genesee" on it.



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Thanks for reading. Sláinte! 

Lost Coast Watermelon Wheat Ale

The weather is getting warmer and that means it is time for the return of one of my favorite warm weather beers, 21st Amendment's Hell or High Watermelon. I have never talked about that particular beer on this blog because it is my guilty pleasure beer. I call it that because every family member, friend, enemy and general acquaintance I have given a can to seems to think it is absolutely terrible. At first I was confused and disappointed by this. I thought, “how could anyone possibly dislike this beer?” Hell or High Watermelon is perfectly refreshing on a hot day. The watermelon flavor is light and does not overpower the beer as a whole. Eventually I gave up, or just ran out of people willing to try it, not sure which came first. Now I just keep the beer in the fridge for myself and welcome its return each year. I also find myself looking forward to trying other watermelon beers in hopes of finding one I enjoy more and/or one that might be more of a potential summer crowd pleaser. That is what caused me to purchase Lost Coast Brewery's Watermelon Wheat Ale and start writing this blog.

Lost Coast Brewery out of Eureka, California was a brewery I fell instantly in love with in my early days of craft beer drinking. I loved their Downtown Brown Ale, Indica IPA and Eight Ball Stout, as well as their creative bottle artwork. It has been a long time since I have had any of those beers. Still, I felt enough good will towards Lost Coast Brewery to pick up their Watermelon Wheat Ale and give it a shot. Unfortunately, that good will only could go so far.

Perhaps, there is no better way to put it than that Lost Coast's Watermelon Wheat Ale is terrible. I really wanted to like it but I just could not. The aroma was nice, mostly watermelon candy and a hint of malt. The nose did not come close to the first sip and that is where things went off the rails. The sweetness of the artificial watermelon candy started things off before giving way to a metallic, spicy, extremely chalky, astringent finish.  The chalky finish paired with the artificial fruit flavoring makes this beer seem almost medicinal. Outside of the aroma, there is nothing good going on here. Each additional sip I took I kept looking for something that resembled a refreshing summer beer. I did not find anything of the sort and was disappointed by a brewery that helped build my love of craft beer. Sadly, any good feelings of nostalgia I had went down the drain along with this beer.

Overall a 1/5. I may not understand why someone would dislike Hell or High Watermelon but I definitely understand why someone would dislike this beer.


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Ellicotville Chocolate Cherry Bomb

Founders Frootwood

I have been writing this blog for 3 years now. In that time, I do not think I have been asked about a beer more than I have about Founders' Frootwood. Whether it's a face to face conversation, a phone call, a text message, an email or a carrier pigeon letter, it seems like everyone wants to know how this maple syrup bourbon barrel aged cherry ale is. I think there are multiple reasons for this, the first being that Founders is a great brewery that makes some wonderful beer. The second being, Lizard of Koz was a surprisingly disappointing barrel aged offering from the makers of CBS, KBS and Backwoods Bastard. The final reason is a maple syrup bourbon barrel aged cherry ale sounds crazy. My initial reaction when Frootwood was announced was a mixture of excitement, confusion and curiosity. Since I was not the only one feeling that way, I picked up a 4 pack and made Founders Frootwood the subject of this week's blog.

I am glad I picked up a four pack of Frootwood because trying to figure this beer out with just twelve fluid ounces was not happening. The aroma was interesting. The cherry is tart, not sweet and significantly scaled back behind oak, bourbon, vanilla, bread and a hint of maple sweetness. I honestly did not know what to think from the aroma. It seemed like whatever expectation I had for this beer was out the window. Then from the first sip of my first bottle to my last sip of my third bottle, I found Frootwood to be one of the strangest flavor combinations I have ever experienced in a beer. The barrel is out front and center. Oak, vanilla, spice and bourbon are on full display initially before giving way to tart cherry and bready malt. The finish is where the maple syrup sweetness comes into play, providing balance to the tartness of the cherry. This might sound very strange and it was, but I liked it. These flavors may not work in perfect harmony together but they do work. I think it was smart to feature the barrel more than anything else here. In Lizard of Koz, the barrel took a backseat to the big sweet flavor of chocolate. That proved to be a costly mistake as I assume you will find 2016 Lizard of Koz bottles on shelves until at least 2020.  Frootwood works because the flavor of the cherry ale is pleasantly subdued allowing the barrel to shine. This is definitely one of the most unique beers I have tried. Founders is off to a great start with their new Founders Barrel Aged series. I am now looking forward to seeing what else they have in store for 2017.

Overall I would rate Frootwood a 4/5. Strange, unique and a lot of fun. A really nice showcase for barrel aging.

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Thanks for reading. Sláinte!

Sierra Nevada Tropical Torpedo IPA & Sidecar Pale Ale

Two beers I will never review here are Sierra Nevada Pale Ale & Sierra Nevada Torpedo Extra IPA. The reason for this is quite simple, you should have already tried them. They are both excellent examples of their respective styles. Sierra Nevada Pale Ale in particular is one of my favorite stand by beers, it never disappoints. Sierra Nevada Torpedo Extra IPA is just a solid IPA and an excellent representation of the style. I'm trying to avoid sounding like a commercial but Sierra Nevada Brewing Company does a lot of beers extremely well. Now that I have made my love of those beers known, I think it is time to talk about the beers I will be reviewing. Sierra Nevada Tropical Torpedo IPA & Sierra  Nevada Sidecar Pale Ale are a brand new spin on two styles of beer they are known to do very well. So would that success translate onto this brand new beers? Or would these beers be disappointing entries into a solid catalog of beers?

I'll start things off with Tropical Torpedo IPA which of the two I was more excited about. I'll admit I have lower expectations for Sidecar Pale Ale because it seems to be playing off the recent trend of fruited pale ales & IPAs. Tropical Torpedo IPA however is not fruited. It gets its big tropical aromas from a fantastic hop blend that includes two favorites of mine, citra and mosaic. The big tropical aroma is mostly dominated by passion fruit. There are also notes of pineapple, papaya and mango. The aroma however does not translate to the flavor. Tropical Torpedo is really a nice showcase of bready malt with some grapefruit hop bitterness. The Munich malt in particular comes through nicely. Actually, I think this is the exact same beer as the 2016 Beer Camp Tropical IPA that Sierra Nevada released last year. Just like last year I was disappointed that the big tropical aroma did not translate into the flavor. Nevertheless, this is still a nice beer. I just wish they brought out some bigger hop flavors.

Overall rating: 3/5

Next up, we have Sierra Nevada Sidecar Pale Ale. The orange that this beer promises is definitely in both the aroma and the flavor. Much like the Tropical Torpedo, bready malt, especially the Munich malt comes through in the flavor. There is also a light hop bitterness on the finish. Everything here tastes fine but it is just a bit too light on flavor. For the most part though, Sidecar Pale delivers on what it promises. It is by no means anything special. It is just an easy drinking pale ale with a tangy orange flavor that would work nicely during the summer. It just seems out of place during the cold winter months. This is the kind of beer you bring to a beach picnic. It is light, easy to drink and sessionable. From a flavor standpoint though, this comes nowhere near the fantastic flavor of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. It's also significantly lighter that Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. I think this would work nicely as an introduction to someone that may be new to pale ales.

Overall rating: 2.75/5

Tropical Torpedo IPA & Sidecar Pale Ale are both underwhelming beers. I am not saying they are bad beers. In fact, I think they are both quite drinkable. Both just failed to deliver a drinking experience in the same league as Torpedo Extra IPA & Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. Tropical Torpedo has a wonderfully complex aroma but delivers a rather basic flavor. Sidecar Pale Ale just seems like a watered down pale ale with a lot of orange flavor. I would recommend you give both of them a try, just lower your expectations.

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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.

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Thanks for reading and Happy Thanksgiving Sláinte!

High Water Cucumber Kolsch Specialty Ale

As the calendar goes from August to September, one thing is very clear; I am not ready to let go of Summer. Now don't get me wrong, I love the Fall season and everything that comes with it. The leaves changing color; the return of football; Halloween; and most importantly, Fall beer. Now, I understand you might be ready for all that I just mentioned. I however, am choosing to be stubborn because I am not ready to give up the warm weather, trips to the beach, flip flops(although this one I probably should), outdoor concerts, and knowing that snow is not right around the corner. So as you can imagine, when fall beers arrived on shelves in mid-July, I began to feel irritated that breweries were trying to cut my Summer short. This should go without saying, but mid-July is way too early to see anything Fall or pumpkin-related. I decided then, I was going to wait until the start of September to do a Fall review of any kind. Well, now that September is here the weather is still well into the 80's. So, I am not exactly feeling motivated to do a Fall review. Plus I also just picked up a beer that sounds perfect for the weather we are currently experiencing. So I am going to put off switching to Fall seasonal beer for just a littler longer so I can say goodbye to Summer with one final light bodied, fruity, sessionable, Summer-like beer.

For my final fruit-forward beer of the Summer season, I decided to close like how I started, with a cucumber beer. Out of Pittsburg, California, High Water Brewing Company's Cucumber Kolsch is pretty much everything you would want from a cucumber beer. The aroma and flavor is dominated by cucumber and it is refreshing. The appearance of the beer however, leaves something to be desired. It looks murky, like puddle water with a fizzy white head. If the aroma was not as promising as it was, I might have had second thoughts about drinking it. The pleasant aroma I mentioned of cucumber is balanced by grain, honey and coconut. My first sip was just like the aroma. There is a lot of cucumber with a light, spicy coconut finish. The pilsner malt also provides a nice, delicate backbone to the beer. The light coconut flavor also works but it is very light. I think putting “Brewed with Cucumber & Coconut Water” on the can made it sound more interesting that it is. When all is said and done, I do like this beer. It's an easy drinking fruit-forward beer that is definitely worth a try if cucumber is your thing.

Overall I would rate High Water Brewing Company's Cucumber Kolsch a 3/5. It's heavy on cucumber so if that sounds good to you, you will like it. If that does not sound good to you, it might be time to start looking at the Fall 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!

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!

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!

Founders Mango Magnifico

I'm no stranger to malt liquor. In fact I spent more than a few nights in college at the local food mart trying to decide between Mickey's, Old English, Colt 45 and Magnum 40 as my pregame beverage before heading out on the town later that night. While I did have trouble deciding which one I thought tasted the best, I knew Magnum 40 tasted the worst. To me it tasted like bottled urine with a hint of kerosine. But this is not a review of Magnum 40(that might work in the future), this is a review of Founders Mango Magnifico, a beer which flavor took me back to my college days and not in a good way.

Founders Mango Magnifico pours a slightly hazy gold with a fizzy off white head that faded quickly. The aroma reminded of the cheap malt liquor I drank in college with a ton of mango sweetness. Frankly, the smell was so sweet I began to worry about what the flavor would bring. Upon first taste, I knew I hated this beer. The flavor is of malt liquor, drowned in candy mango with a boozy, spicy pepper finish. To cut right to the chase, absolutely none of this works together. On its own the base beer would have tasted fine if it was in a 40 ounce bottle and cost about 8 dollars less. Where it starts to go wrong is in adding the mango. It has no place here and normally I enjoy bold tropical flavors in my beer. The habanero pepper finish just seems like someone added it as a joke. If anything, it draws more attention to the fact that Mango Magnifico has a 10% abv by adding to the burn of the alcohol.

I struggled to see if I could say anything positive about this beer because up until I tried Mango Magnifico, I had yet to have a truly bad beer from Founders. In fact, they make some of the best beers I have ever had. It actually blows my mind that the same brewery that makes KBS, CBS, Backwoods Bastard, Mosaic Promise and Blushing Monk could make something this awful. I love when brewers take risks and experiment with creating new flavors but at no point did anything in Mango Magnifico seem like a good idea. The next time I drink a 40 of malt liquor it won't just bring back college memories. It will help me forget this disaster of a beer.

Overall I would rate Founders Mango Magnifico a 0.25/5. This beer is so bad, I felt bad for my sink as I poured it out.

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　

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Thanks for reading. Sláinte!