Westbrook 4th Anniversary Chocolate Coconut Almond Imperial Stout

One of the best feelings in beer collecting is finding that rare beer you have been going store to store looking for. Depending on the level of effort you put forth and whether you have had the beer before, the act of chasing it down a lot of times can be more satisfying then drinking it. The more effort and miles you put in, the more special it can become. This process occasionally creates unrealistic expectations for the right occasion to drink said beer. This is what I ran into when I finally obtained a bottle of Westbrook 4^th Anniversary Stout.

In some areas Westbrook 4^th Anniversary Chocolate Coconut Almond Imperial Stout just sits on shelves collecting dust, waiting for someone to purchase it. In the area of Upstate NY I live in, Westbrook 4^th was only available for a couple of hours making it quite the challenge to obtain. When I got one of the last bottles I felt a tremendous swell of pride. I was excited to have it and was certain I would be drinking it immediately. But then a week went by and I felt that the beer was so rare that I had to save it for a special occasion. Then a month went by and it was still sitting the fridge. Then another month passed, and it finally hit me I need to drink that beer now before any of its interesting flavors fade away prior to drinking it. So instead of a special occasion I decided to treat myself to this beer on a random Thursday night watching cheesy horror movies--an occasion I viewed just as good as any.

Westbrook 4^th Anniversary Chocolate Coconut Almond Imperial Stout pours a rich, thick black with a dark brown head that slowly dissipates. The aroma is incredible, full of dark chocolate, vanilla and roasted malt. Simply, it smelled like chocolate milk for grown ups. And while the aroma was delightful, I was disappointed to not detect any coconut but hoped it would come through in the flavor. Unfortunately worrying about finding coconut in the flavor was the least of my worries because this beer is a mess. Much like the aroma, chocolate, vanilla and roasted malt are noticeable right away before a dry, nutty, espresso-like finish. While that may sound good initially(it is), the sloppiness of blending those flavors becomes intolerable by the end of the bottle.

One of the best parts of drinking a truly complex imperial stout is allowing the beer to warm so the flavors typically start to open up and more subtle flavors are noticeable. Here, when the beer warms, it becomes an overly sweet, clunky mess. It seems Westbrook 4^th does not seem to know which flavor it wants to showcase, but it certainly does not try to showcase the coconut. In this beer, warm or not the coconut is pretty much non-existent. To a point, I honestly do not know why coconut was on the label. The almond flavor is there but that falls victim to the poorly blended bigger flavors of the roasted malt, sweet chocolate and vanilla. Basically this is a beer that tries to be too complex for its own good and it suffers because of it.

Westbrook 4^th Anniversary Stout is an example of a rare beer that arrives with a bunch of hype but fails to live up to the expectations. For this particular beer, chasing it down was by far the most interesting part about it. With the ingredients involved there was a lot of potential for it to be great but unfortunately the clunkiness of its' craftsmanship left a lot to be desired. I hope to see other coconut stouts hit my area in the future and hope someone can get this style of beer right.

Overall Westbrook 4^th Anniversary Chocolate Coconut Almond Imperial Stout gets a 2.5/5. While it is not terrible, it is a mess of big flavors that do not seem to fit well together. A prime example of a big stout that failed to live up to its potential.

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!

Sam Adams Rebel Rouser IPA

I've always viewed beer from the Boston Beer Company, better known as the makers of the Samuel Adams, as a gateway to craft beer. They were certainly mine so many years ago. Their seemingly endless catalog of beers provided me with the opportunity to try my first Octoberfest, Cream Stout, Winter Lager, Hefeweizen, Imperial Pilsner, Double Bock...well you get the point. But as my palate matured I found myself leaving the beers of Sam Adams behind in favor of those from breweries all over the world. I frequently wonder why this was the case? I think one reason is that while they made a lot of beers, there were only a few that were truly unique. I always felt a lot of their dark beers shared a familiar malt profile that made buying a mix pack from them a lot less exciting and adventurous then it seemed. Another reason I think I shied away from them was their lack of IPAs. Years ago while other breweries were producing IPAs to meet the growing demand from hopheads nationwide, Boston Beer Company seemed to want to go in any direction but one that involved them making one. And worse, when they finally did produce an IPA(Latitude 48) it was lackluster. When they tried again with their supposed west coast style Rebel IPA, it was also lackluster. So as you can imagine going into my first Rebel Rouser IPA, I was not very optimistic about it being anything other then a forgettable beer from the brewery that once taught me there was more out there then just the yellow mainstream fizz. But after tasting it I am pleased to say I was pleasantly surprised.

Rebel Rouser pours a beautifully clear gold with an off white head that leaves plenty of lacing. The aroma is quite pleasant, full of citrus, pine and a hint of malt sweetness. The 8.4% ABV is slightly noticeable in the aroma, letting you know you are about to drink a big beer. It was at this moment, I experienced a swell of optimism thinking the folks at Sam Adams had finally succeeded in making a quality IPA. This feeling was confirmed when I took my first sip. Bold tropical fruit, citrus and pine flooded my palate immediately before finishing with a clean malt sweetness that seems to fade a bit too quickly. While there is an expected bitterness from the hops in the aftertaste, there is almost no indication in the flavor that Rebel Rouser carried such a high ABV which falsely gives the idea that it is sessionable. While that is not a knock against the beer, the fact that the flavor comes and goes so quickly is. It seems like Rebel Rouser is almost too polished and too conservative to live up to its' rebellious graffiti themed label. That being said, this is a good beer and a step in the right direction by the Boston Beer Company to satisfy hop heads nationwide.

Overall I would rate Sam Adams Rebel Rouser a 3.5/5. While it does not break any new ground, Rebel Rouser finally proves that Boston Beer Company can make a respectable IPA.

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!

Tocobaga Red Ale

One of my favorite things to do on vacation is try to find new and exciting beer I can't get at home. If I go out to a restaurant I look for something on the menu I do not recognize. When I go to the beer store I look for reputable breweries that do not distribute to my area or I look for something locally made. Most recently I made my way down to Tampa, Florida, where I found myself all about seeking out beer from Cigar City Brewery. Famous for making Jai Alai IPA, Cigar City makes a wide array of delicious and experimental beer. While in their tasting room I tasted some incredible beers, with the standouts being the Nitro Vanilla Maduro Brown Ale, Milkmaid White Stout, Strawberry Shortcake Lager and Salted Chocolate Peanut Butter Porter. But due to the constantly positive reviews I see, there was one Cigar City beer in particular I wanted to try and that beer is Tocobaga Red Ale.
Tocobaga pours a slightly hazy reddish amber with a light tan head. The aroma is strong and welcoming with caramel malt, floral notes and lots of citrus. The flavor delivered what the aroma promised and then some. At first I was hit with the flavor of citrus up front with a nice caramel sweetness. This gives way to a grassy, herbal hop finish that paired with the perfectly sweet caramel malt to create a melon or pear like finish. A pleasant pine residue lingers on the tongue between sips but never becomes overpowering. It is there to remind you to take the next sip and when its gone, remind you of the fantastic beer you just experienced.
To me, this is normally a style of beer that is difficult to perfect. Some are too malty, some are too hoppy, some are too boozy etc. Tocobaga Red Ale, while on the hoppier side than most, seems to be perfectly balanced to handle that. It is also bursting with flavor and its 7.2% ABV is virtually undetectable. Bottom line, this is an exceptional beer and if this was distributed to upstate NY it would be a staple in my fridge.

Overall, this beer is the best red ale I have ever had and for that reason I am going to give Tocobaga Red Ale a near perfect 4.75/5. If you are a fan of this style of beer, this is truly worth seeking out if you are in Florida.

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!

Shiner Birthday Beer Chocolate Stout

Ever since I saw the bar scene in Quentin Tarentino's Death Proof I wanted to try Shiner Bock or any of the Shiner brews. But up until a little over a year ago, drinking anything from the Spoetzl Brewery in Shiner, Texas meant I would have to be traveling outside the state of New York. This made drinking a Shiner beer feel special. Even though the taste of the Bock is nothing amazing, it still felt special to drink one. But now that it is easily available in New York it is often an afterthought when I look through the beer aisle. But recently their latest limited offering caught my eye. Shiner Birthday Beer is a chocolate stout that commemorates the 106^th anniversary of their brewery. With winter still in full swing, trying a rich chocolate stout seemed like a wonderful idea. Unfortunately, Shiner Birthday Beer did not live up to expectations.

Shiner Birthday Beer pours a dark black with ruby highlights and a light tan head. It looks unusually thin for a chocolate stout. but with an ABV of 5% this does not come as a surprise. The aroma is rich with chocolate. The chocolate in the aroma is almost so strong it became a challenge to find anything else. I think I detected some smoke but that might have been reaching. The flavor is full of candy sweet chocolate and roasted malt. There seems to be little to no complexity though. The chocolate dominates the flavor and then it washes away cleanly. The mouth feel doesn't feel right either. A beer like this should be at least a little thicker, Shiner Birthday Beer is so thin it seems like it would fit in nicely with the Michelob Ultra line of beers.

Overall I would rate Shiner Birthday Beer a 2/5. It has a thin one note flavor but delivers if you are looking for a chocolate fix.

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!

Prairie Artisan Ales BOMB!

When I was in college I thought the idea of paying 10 dollars for a 12 oz. bottle of beer would have been as ridiculous as it was irresponsible. At that time spending 10 dollars on beer meant buying a 6 pack of Sierra Nevada, Heineken or Sam Adams. And after purchasing one of those, I would spend an evening feeling like I was drinking like a king. This all changed the first time I saw Dogfish Head 120 minute IPA. I was shocked at how expensive it was but nevertheless intrigued by how fast it would fly off the shelves. What made things even worse for my bank account was how delicious it was. Fast forward a number of years later, and I still find the idea of paying 10 dollars a bottle ridiculous. But I, like many others are guilty of trying to find those rare high end beers that come to town. One of those high end rare beers is Prairie Artisan Ales BOMB! and recently I was able to find a bottle. So what better way to kick off a new year of reviews then reviewing one of the more complex beers I have ever had?

Prairie Artisan Ales BOMB! is an imperial stout that pours a rich, thick black with a dark brown head that does not stick around long. The aroma is very heavy on coffee and roasted malt; as well as sweetness from chocolate and vanilla with a hint of spice. Because this beer was 13% ABV I knew I was going to be working on it awhile and I had no issue savoring every last complex drop. Upon initial tasting I was flooded with the flavor of coffee with a slightly spicy finish. As BOMB! began to warm the flavor of chocolate and vanilla became more noticeable. It got to a point where the delightful flavor of chocolate seemed to move to the forefront, with coffee becoming a complimentary flavor. The spice of the chili peppers also seemed to disappear altogether as the beer warmed. This was about the only thing I can say I was disappointed by. I really wanted to see more spice, but after experiencing such a flavorful beer it does feel like nitpicking.

Overall I was very impressed with Prairie Artisan Ales BOMB! It was full of flavor and the 13% ABV was hidden quite well but not altogether. As I was making my way through the glass I knew I was drinking something quite strong. While the price tag is high I think it is a worthwhile one-time purchase. It could be interesting to have it once yearly to see how the beer, as well as your palette evolves, but there are cheaper and easier to find beers for that.

Overall I'd rate Prairie Artisan Ales BOMB! A 4.75/5. It's a fantastic, complex beer that lives up to its hype and reputation.

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 at @ACraftyLook

For more beer reviews go to: http://acraftylook.blogspot.com/

Thanks for reading. Sláinte!

Victory Winter Cheers

Perhaps the most versatile style of seasonal beer is the winter beer. On the shelves right now you will find many different styles including but not limited to: IPAs, porters, stouts and Belgian spiced ales. And each and every single one of those beers has a winter or holiday theme on the label. But how do you know which one to pick? Well hopefully I can help you out with that. The holiday beer I'll be looking at  this week is Winter Cheers from Victory Brewing.

Boasting a 6.7% ABV, this self described 'celebratory wheat ale' pours a slightly hazy straw yellow with a white head. The head lingered providing a beautiful lacing on the glass. The aroma is light but spicy, with hints of banana and clove. Unfortunately the flavor was light as well. There is an initial pleasant malt sweetness. This gives way to the light flavor of banana, pepper and clove before a light grassy hop finish that lingers on the palate. While that might sound like there is a lot going on in the flavor, there is not. This is a straight by the numbers wheat ale, that truly lacks any imagination. Which is unfortunate because Victory does make some terrific beers. Winter beers for better or worse are usually bursting with flavor, this one unfortunately plays it safe. For example, this winter beer feels like a safe beer you give your craft beer-phobic Heineken or Budweiser drinking family member around the holidays. At the same time, this is not a beer you'll impress your craft beer-enthusiast friends who are still chasing down Bourbon County Stout.

Overall I would rate Winter Cheers a 2/5. A boring, safe winter beer from a solid brewery. On that note, if you can still find their Harvest Ale, try it you won't be disappointed. But I digress, while winter beers usually have a lot going on, this one does not.


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 at @ACraftyLook

For more beer reviews go to: http://acraftylook.blogspot.com/

Thanks for reading. Sláinte!

He Said Belgian Tripel & He Said Baltic Porter

Pumpkin beer seems to be everywhere and with the season fading fast, I wanted to review at least one before they left stores and made way for the beers of winter. As luck would have it the 21^st Amendment Brewery and Elysian Brewing collaborated on brewing 2 different styles of pumpkin beer and packaged them together(talk about a 2 for 1). He Said Belgian Tripel and He Said Baltic Porter offer 2 unique takes on the pumpkin beer. As excited as I am to try these beers, my expectations are tempered because I find that pumpkin beer is commonly hit or miss. Some of the time you will find a beer that captures the unique flavor of pumpkin and complements to the fall season wonderfully. Other times you will find a mediocre beer that is heavily spiced to a point you can taste little else. Needless to say I was curious to see which side of the coin the He Said Porter and He Said Tripel would land on.

He Said Tripel pours a clear golden yellow with a white head. The aroma is filled with clove, coriander, pepper and pumpkin. The flavor however does not seem as complex. The initial flavor is pumpkin but it is very light and it is followed by a strong candy sweetness, then a spicy finish from the yeast. The is a slight burn from the alcohol(8.2% ABV)hat grew the further I got into the glass. While that did not bother me, the growing flavor of the Belgian spice did. It got to a point where I could no longer taste the pumpkin and felt like I was drinking nothing more then an average tripel ale. By the time the glass was empty I felt it was more of a below-average tripel and I was happy this beer drinking experience was over. I then hoped I would have more luck with the He Said Baltic Porter.

He Said Baltic Porter pours a rich black with red highlights and a khaki colored head. In the aroma I detected roasted malt, chocolate, pumpkin and nutmeg. The flavor was fairly on point with the aroma. The initial flavor is roasted malt, pumpkin, with light chocolate sweetness that finishes dry with nutmeg and ginger. And while that might sound fairly interesting, it seemed more middle of the road to me. There is really little here that you can't find in other beers. With that being said if you ordered this beer hoping try something new that fits the season then you wouldn't be disappointed.

As a whole I felt underwhelmed by the He Said 2-pack. To me, neither beer stood out and I feel like I can safely say I won't be purchasing either one again. In my opinion there are a lot better-tasting and more economical pumpkin beers on the market. But if you insist on finding a pumpkin beer with a higher ABV and more flavor I'd recommend Southern Tier Warlock.

Overall I'd rate He Said Tripel a 1.5/5 and He Said Baltic Porter a 2.5/5. I honestly can't see why either brewery would be proud of these beers. I'd expect something this boring to come from one of the mass produced American beer giants then two reliable microbreweries.



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 at @ACraftyLook

For more beer reviews go to: http://acraftylook.blogspot.com/

Thanks for reading. Sláinte!