Shiner Lemon Pils

The Shiner brand first got on my radar in 2007. I was sitting in a movie theater watching characters in Quentin Tarantino’s Death Proof enjoying a beer I had not seen before. At that time in my life I bought into whatever Tarantino was selling. I thought he was the absolute greatest thing to happen to movies and if he put his endorsement on a beer, I had to try it. Product placement worked on me and I began my quest to find Shiner Bock as soon as I left the theater. It took a few years, but I finally came across a 6-pack in Wisconsin. As I sipped it while tailgating a Pearl Jam show later that day, I remember thinking it was a solid beer. It was not the magical libation I thought it was going to be but it was a good beer. Fast forward almost a decade later, and it is still the only beer from the Shiner brand I have enjoyed.

My feelings on beer from Spoetzl Brewery come from years of disappointment. I keep trying their beer with the hope that I will find one that I enjoy enough for a repeat purchase, but outside of the Bock that has yet to happen. For this blog I wanted to take the time to vent about how I felt about the Shiner brand, but also review one of their latest offerings that I had yet to try in hopes of possibly finally finding a beer from them I could say something nice about.

Shiner’s Lemon Pils lined up with my current drinking habits. It’s a warm weather, sessionable lager with a hint of citrus. I had the hope that it would work as a summer crusher. I had no aspirations that this was going to be a world class beer, I just wanted a beer that would work well as a “lawnmower” or “beach” beer. The nose of Lemon Pils gave me some hope. It had a touch of citrus, particularly lemon, bready malt, grains, and a nice touch of floral notes with an herbal spiciness. While the aroma worked for me, the first sip was not what I had hoped it would be. Lemon Pils is surprisingly sweet up front. Lots of bready malt, and cereal grains before lemon and citrus come in. The finish is spicy and bitter with a lemon rind note that is a bit more aggressive then necessary. There is a disappointing metallic note in the finish as well. Lemon Pils is also extremely watery. Sadly, there is just not a lot to like here and this just turns out to be another mediocre beer from Shiner. I can't even recommend it as a "lawnmower" beer because there are so many better options out there.

Honestly, at this point I am not holding out hope I will find a beer outside of Shiner Bock from the Spoetzl Brewery that is worth purchasing again. I will give anything a try, especially for this blog, but even for blogging purposes my money is better spent elsewhere. I recommend you spend yours elsewhere, as well.


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Thanks for reading. Sláinte!

Genesee Ruby Red Kolsch

I bought Genesee's Ruby Red Kolsch initially out of respect for my hometown's legendary brewery. While Genesee is making some incredible beer right now, this fruited offering did not initially appeal to me. Fruited summer ales like shandies/radlers for example, are something I typically avoid drinking. I understand why people like them, they just have not clicked for me. I can actually only think of two summer radler/shandies I have enjoyed over the years. One was a Peach Radler from Niagara Brewing Company just across the Canadian Border. The other was Boulevard's Lemon Ginger Radler. While I may enjoy these beers, the tap list would have to be bare bones for me to actually order them.

I find that the fruited radler/shandy is just too much of a departure from what I want in a beer. Sure, they are easy to drink but the fruit flavoring usually tastes a bit too artificial and drowns out the part of the beer I want to taste the most, the actual beer! This is why this beer surprised me so much. Genesee's Ruby Red Kolsch definitely reminds me more of the shandy style than a kolsch ale. The strong grapefruit presence does take over the beer but in this case it worked for me. For a style like this I would normally complain about the grapefruit flavor. However, the grapefruit does not taste artificial, it's delicious actually. Then again, with the beer Genesee has been making and I should not have been so surprised.

As I work through my second 12-pack(which is priced under 10 dollars) of Ruby Red Kolsch, I feel fairly certain I have found a beer that I will drink regularly over the coming months. The grapefruit is the star of the show here and its presence works beautifully in both the aroma and in the taste. The flavor in particular reminds of eating a juicy grapefruit with a touch of sugar sprinkled on it. Basically I equate that flavor to a semi-healthy breakfast. Now, I am not saying you should have this beer for breakfast, I am just saying that I personally will not be able to eat grapefruit again without thinking of it. I also got a touch of bread, honey sweetness, cereal grains and grassy hops in the flavor as well.

Ruby Red Kolsch is not a complex beer, it is a simple summer crusher meant for refreshment on a hot day. The kolsch ale does take a back seat to the grapefruit, but there is just the right amount of it here. The end result is a light, easy to drink, super affordable and extremely refreshing beer. Try it and see for yourself!


Overall rating: 3.75/5



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!

Zero Gravity Keller

I have spent the last few blogs talking about stouts. The main reason for that is winter weather will not seem to leave NY, so I went ahead and used that as a reason to deplete my stash of stouts. Like many of you, I am now officially sick of the endless winter weather. So for this blog, I am going to start dreaming of warmer weather and a beer I fully intend to drink until/when it arrives.

Zero Gravity's Keller is a take on a style that as of late seems to be reemerging and we all are better for it.   In case you are unaware of the style, Kellerbier is an unpasteurized & unfiltered lager, that is rich in vitamins & cloudy in appearance all because of the leftover yeast. So, if you think like I do, you are even more excited about this style because it is both delicious & has nutritional value. Zero Gravity's take on the style impressed me so much that it has been consistently taking up Real Estate in my refrigerator.

Keller won me over with its aroma of toasted bread, herbal hops, grass, and a nice fruitiness. Keller is dry hopped with Mandarina Bavaria hops which adds that wonderful fruitiness to the beer. Unfortunately, this tends to fade from both the aroma and the taste rather quickly. I have bought three 6-packs from the batch canned on 2/28/18 & there is definitely a drop off in the hop profile the older it gets. So to enjoy this beer at its best, check the date at the bottom of the can before you buy it. When it's fresh, it absolutely fantastic! That delightful fruitiness I mentioned earlier blends nicely with the flavors of pilsner malt, corn, grass, a peppery spiciness before a refreshing, crisp, dry finish. Aside from time causing Keller to fade a bit, there is also a slight vegetal note to it. It is not strong enough by any means to make drinking this beer less enjoyable, but nevertheless I would prefer it was not there.

Lagers are making a big comeback with a lot of craft breweries and I am very excited about it. With the cold weather lingering way longer than it should, I could not seem to step away from stouts. Now, I am getting to a point where I am ready to drink some flavorful, crisp & clean lagers while doing outdoor activities. Zero Gravity's Keller is a beautiful session beer. It will also work nicely as a lawnmower/yard work beer. Its flavorful, refreshing, sessionable and deserves a spot in your refrigerator or beach cooler.

Overall rating: 4.5/5 (remember the fresher, the better)


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!

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!

Blue Point Hazy Bastard IPA

It has been a long time since I have purchased anything from Blue Point Brewing Company. Back around 2007-2009, I was a big fan of their Oktoberfest. I bought it fairly regularly actually, then one night I had a few too many of them and to put it simply, my desire to drink it never came back. That setback aside, that has nothing to do with why I do not purchase anything else from their catalog. My reasoning for that is, outside of the Oktoberfest, I found everything I tried from them to be alarmingly average. Nothing was terrible, nothing was great, for the price however there was always something better out there to purchase. When Anheuser-Busch InBev purchased them in 2014, I thought it was a bummer but it did not affect my purchase habits in any way. When I shop for beer, Blue Point has become almost invisible to me. I could pass through a bottle shop, look right at a shelf of Blue Point and not give it a second thought. I said “almost” earlier because I actually did see a Blue Point beer that caught my eye. Their Hazy Bastard New England-Stye IPA got the better of my curiosity and I found myself purchasing a 4-pack of it. As I walked out of the store, I couldn't help but look forward to trying macro beer's take on a beloved style in the craft community and writing about it.

The aromas of orange, grapefruit, passion fruit, pineapple, pine and biscuit greeted me and gave me high hopes for Hazy Bastard IPA. The fact that the beer was canned just a few days ago makes it even more exciting. Is this the beer that puts Blue Point Brewing Company back on my radar? The answer to that question is yes and no. Hazy Bastard NE-IPA is a good beer. The taste of orange jumped out at me during the first sip. There were notes of grapefruit, passion fruit, guava, pineapple and biscuit before a peppery, bitter, astringent finish. There was also a hint of onion coming through as well, but it was mostly overshadowed by the tropical & citrus flavors. Pretty much, everything worked for me here up until the finish. The lingering astringency seemed out of place here. I was expecting a softer finish but that was not in the cards. The initial citrus and tropical notes were bold and fantastic. Those flavors were quite refreshing and paired nicely with a hot September day. The astringent finish can be felt long after taking a sip and that did not particularly work for me.

So the first question is, how did Blue Point(AB InBev) do with the style? I think they did surprisingly well with the NE-Style. Second, does that mean it stands up to some of the best beers that represent the style? Absolutely not. This is a serviceable NE-IPA. It hits a lot of the notes you would expect it to and aside from a messy finish delivers a pleasant drinking experience. However, it does not come close to the craftsmanship of others in the style. Finally, did it put Blue Point back on the map for me? I'm not sure, but it is September, perhaps I should give that Oktoberfest one more try.

Overall rating: 3.75/5


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!

Dogfish Head Lupu-Luau IPA

Dogfish Head's latest IPA, Lupu-Luau, got my attention the minute I first heard about it. A beer brewed with experimental hops, dehydrated coconut water and toasted coconut sounded fun and unique. It also sounded like a perfectly refreshing beverage for a hot summer day. Honestly, to me, it seemed like it would be a perfectly refreshing beverage for any kind of day. Lupu-Luau also continues my fascination with drinking coconut-flavored beers. One of the better ones I have tried recently is Prairie Paradise Imperial Stout. It is a beautiful beer with just the right amount of coconut. The 13% ABV is hidden nicely. Like all of the offerings from Prairie Artisan Ales, the price is a little steep. I assure you, this one is well worth a purchase. This blog however is not about Prairie Paradise, it is about Dogfish Head Lupu-Luau so it is time to get back on track and start the review.

Golden, hazy and bursting with tropical aromas, Lupu-Luau had me excited from the moment I opened the bottle. The aroma of pineapple in particular was immediately noticeable as soon as the cap came off of the bottle. The aroma also had a nice earthy woodiness to it, along with some citrus and some breadiness from the malt. The coconut is fairly subdued in the aroma, which was a bit disappointing and I hoped to get more of it when I took my first sip.

The fact that it was brewed with coconut water is immediately noticeable and quite refreshing. I really enjoy coconut water, so I am particularly geeking out for this part of the beer. The toasted coconut is there as well but I honestly wanted more of it in the flavor, a lot more of it. Pineapple, passion fruit, mango, grapefruit, candied orange, vanilla and a hint of grassiness before a woody, spicy, bitter finish round out what is essentially a solid India Pale Ale. The vanilla helps give Lupu-Luau a subtle creaminess which I really enjoyed. No matter what, after each sip, I kept looking for more coconut and was saddened not to find it. I really think even more coconut here would have made this beer even better. However, nothing here tastes artificial and that is not a bad thing.

Lupu-Luau is one of those beers I really liked that I wanted to love. The coconut water was a fantastic idea and definitely added a lot to the beer. It was a creative touch and I would definitely like to see more breweries give this a try. My only disappointment here is I wanted more toasted coconut it in the flavor. I love the pineapple, passion fruit and mango flavors but I am here for the coconut, so give me it! Still, Lupu-Luau works as another solid IPA in Dogfish Head's illustrious catalog. It may not have hit every note I wanted it to but I am happy I purchased a 6-pack of it. At 7.3%, it might be a little too strong for session drinking but it is perfectly refreshing for a hot summer day.

Overall rating 3.5/5. While I wanted Lupu-Luau to have more of a dessert coconut flavor to it, it is still a good beer that is worth a try.

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!

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.


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!

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!

DuClaw Dirty Little Freak Brown Ale

I, like every other beer drinker get very excited when an established out-of-market brewery finally arrives at my local bottle shops. For example, I was excited when Avery Brewing Company became regularly distributed here. I counted the days until New Belgium finally took its rightful place in NY beer aisles. And I always get a little too giddy when Cigar City Brewing occasionally finds its way to Upstate NY. Recently, I was thrilled to see DuClaw Brewing Company beer for sale in my market. This excitement is solely based on their chocolate peanut butter porter Sweet Baby Jesus. I found Sweet Baby Jesus to be a very fun beer when I tried it a year ago. Because of that, I became quite interested in trying some of their other beer, especially Dirty Little Freak. Aside from its completely ridiculous name, the idea of a coconut caramel chocolate brown ale sounded way too good to pass up. So when a friend texted me and told me it was for sale at a local beer store, I dropped everything and bought it immediately. I just hoped Dirty Little Freak, and a few of the other beers I picked up from DuClaw, would live up to the hype I somehow placed on them.

DuClaw's Dirty Little Freak poured a rich brown with a khaki colored head. The aroma gave me the idea this was going to be a very fun beer. Sweet coconut, chocolate, caramel, toffee and vanilla dominated the aroma. I thought to myself, what is there not to like here? Then I tried Dirty Little Freak and the answer turned out to be everything. The first sip brought the flavor of roasted malt & dark chocolate before finishing with the flavor of coconut hand soap. Yes, this seriously reminded me of hand soap. The taste of this beer took me back to the day I dropped my first F-Bomb in front of my parents. I thought I was a pretty cool kid until they promptly washed my mouth out with soap. It was a moment I would rather forget, but the poor flavor of this beer brought that memory flooding back.

The funny thing is I do not have a lot else to say about this beer. I just could not get past the soapy flavor. I think I tasted a little bit of vanilla in there but that may have been wishful thinking. Also, the roasted malt & dark chocolate flavor I mentioned earlier gave the impression that if this was not drowned in coconut flavoring it would still be an extremely boring brown ale. To put it simply, this is bad beer. I would not recommend anyone drink it. I would also not recommend drinking a few of DuClaw's other beers. The Neon Gypsy IPA & Blood Orange Gypsy IPA were fairly poor. The Blood Orange Neon Gypsy IPA in particular tasted like the bad homebrewed IPA I made back in college. The Funk was OK but tasted slightly medicinal. In short, if it is not Sweet Baby Jesus, spend your money elsewhere.

Overall I would rate Dirty Little Freak a 1/5. I did not swear, why is my mouth getting washed out with soap?


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!

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!

Galaxy Andromeda IPA

It dawned on recently that I have been writing beer reviews for the past two years and I have yet to review a draft beer. Each and every single review I have done has come from a bottle or a can. Now I realize I could remedy this by purchasing a growler/bomber, but if the beer is bad finishing one of those can turn into quite a commitment. The other reason I have not reviewed a draft beer is when I go to a bar, I don't typically take a notepad or a laptop. For this review I decided to do something different. Much to the chagrin of my lovely wife I decided to take notes on my freshly poured pint of Galaxy Brewing Company's Andromeda IPA on our most recent date night. After several long pauses for note taking, awkward glares and some quiet contemplation, I felt I had all of the information I needed to write this review.

Andromeda IPA has been a beer that up until now I have seemingly ignored. Despite being told time and time again it is worth trying, I always found a way to order something else. What makes it strange is I have had several really nice beers from the Binghamton, New York Brewery. I just had not tried their flagship beer. So as I stared at its beautifully clear copper color and off white head, I had high hopes I was in for a long overdue treat. The aroma reinforced that thought with toasted malt, pine, citrus & tropical notes. The flavor matches the aroma, blending the tropical flavors of tangerine, pineapple and passion fruit with pine, citrus and a nice toasted malt backbone. If I had to describe Andromeda IPA in one word it would be balanced. The malt and hops compliment each other nicely providing a smooth, easy drinking experience.

Galaxy Andromeda IPA is a good beer plain and simple. While it doesn't really stand out as one of the best IPAs I have had. It is definitely good enough to merit a purchase each time I see it from this point forward. They seem to be doing some pretty nice things at the Binghamton Brewery.


Overall I would rate Galaxy Andromeda IPA a 3.75/5. A solid IPA for a dinner date night, a solid IPA for any night.


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!