Long Trail Harvest Vermont Maple Brown Ale

I believe I have written this before but if I see a beer with maple syrup in it, I am going to buy it. Not all the beers I have had with maple syrup in them have been winners, but like coconut in beer, I can’t seem to pass them up. When I saw Long Trail Ale Harvest, a Vermont Maple Brown Ale, I had to give it a try and write about it.

Over the years, I have become a fan of Long Trail Brewing’s catalog. The VT IPA in particular tastes fantastic and is very reasonably priced for a 12-pack. I also really enjoy their Cranberry Gose, Limbo IPA and their flagship Long Trail Ale. I had high hopes that their Harvest Ale would become a fall staple in my refrigerator. From the moment I got a whiff of Long Trail’s Harvest, a Vermont Maple Brown Ale, I thought I found a beer that was going to do just that. Chocolate, maple syrup, caramel, toffee, coffee, earthy hops all seemed to beautifully come together in the aroma.

Before I took my first sip, there was something that kept my hopes in check-- the 4.4% ABV. That is light beer territory and for a Fall beer that is extremely low. Not only did that give me concerns about the flavor but it also gave me concerns about body. I think it goes without saying but the cooler weather of Fall demands a beer with a bit more body and warming alcohol to it. I wanted Long Trail’s Harvest Ale to prove me wrong on all of these fronts but it sadly did not. It had the mouthfeel of light beer. There is decent flavor there but it is extremely watered down. The dark chocolate, coffee, maple syrup and toffee are muddled together before an earthy hop finish. The beer finishes clean, but what would you expect from a light beer masquerading as a brown ale for the Fall season?

While Long Trail’s Harvest lacks the flavor and body one would expect from a Fall beer, I did not completely hate it. As I said earlier it by no means tastes bad, it is just incredibly average. I would love to see this beer with at least a 5.5% ABV. More body would give this beer a chance to let its flavors shine. I have a feeling that would dramatically bring my overall rating up.

Overall rating: 2.75/5


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!

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For more beer reviews check out: http://www.acraftylook.com

Thanks for reading. Sláinte!

Fall Recommendation: Southern Tier Harvest

Fall beer is everywhere now and after several days on the cooler side, as well as the return of football, I’m finally excited about it! When I reach this point I tend to go to a bottle shop and look for my fall favorites and a few new ones to try. One of my particular favorites is Southern Tier’s Harvest Ale.

As I mentioned in my previous blog, I think ESB(Extra Special/Strong Bitter) is an underrated style that I wish more breweries took on. I understand it is not a particularly flashy style but sometimes the occasion just calls for something very drinkable. I have always found Southern Tier’s take on Harvest Ale to be particularly fun because it really turns up the hoppiness for the style. It is noticeable the second you start to pour it into a glass.

Southern Tier Harvest Ale moves away from the sessionable beers of summer with a higher ABV(6.7%) and a lot more flavor. The great thing about Harvest Ale is its balance and drinkability, which is typical of the style. While the grapefruit, orange, pine and earthy hops are a bit more pronounced than the style typically calls for, the malt sweetness provides the right amount of balance to this. The finish is crisp, dry, and clean, making it easy to reach for a second bottle. Unlike a summer beer however, the ABV starts to show up a bit sooner.

Southern Tier Harvest Ale was one of the first Fall seasonal beers outside of the Oktoberfest lagers & Pumpkin Ales I tried during my early days of craft beer drinking. I found it complimented the crisp, cool Fall weather perfectly. It has been a beer I have enjoyed for over a decade now and recommend everyone give it a try at some point.


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Thanks for reading. Sláinte!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Overall rating: 4/5

Until next time Pearl Jam!

Rating Scale:
1. Repugnant and undrinkable
2. Acceptable but forgettable
3. Good, worth a purchase
4. Excellent, a step above the norm
5. Truly Exceptional. Drop everything, BUY IT NOW!

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Look for me on Instagram & Untappd and Twitter @ACraftyLook

For more beer reviews check out: http://www.acraftylook.com

Thank you Uncle Jeff! Thanks for reading. Sláinte!

2018 Sierra Nevada & Weihenstephan Oktoberfest

I had been trying to resist purchasing Fall beer until the start of September, but I recently caved. Three beers immediately caught my eye and I was waiting for any reason to drink them. A couple nights on the cooler side occurred recently and I felt it was the perfect time to start sampling some of my Fall favorites. The first was Southern Tier Warlock and this year’s batch is delicious. It delivers the taste of Fall in a bottle. The second beer I could not pass up on is Genesee Oktoberfest. It is an unmatched value that delivers tremendous flavor. Finally, I could not resist purchasing Sierra Nevada’s latest Oktoberfest collaboration with the world's oldest brewery, Weihenstephan Brewery.

Cutting right to the chase, Sierra Nevada & Weihenstephan have brewed the best Oktoberfest beer in the series so far. Up until this point, the 2015 collaboration with Riegele was my favorite in the series. That delicious beer now takes a distant back seat to this year’s collaboration. The look, aroma and flavor here is wonderful. The aroma is floral and slightly sweet with caramel, biscuit dough, a light nuttiness and fruitiness, with grassy and spicy hops. The first sip pretty much matches the nose. The caramel sweetness shines initially before some biscuit dough comes in adding another beautifully complimentary layer. The nuttiness I mentioned in the aroma is bit more pronounced in the flavor. There is a touch of fruit before a light, grassy, spicy hop flavor that provides a beautiful balance to the sweetness of the malt. Everything works here and I am actually feeling giddy here writing about it.

I mentioned earlier that this was the best Sierra Nevada Oktoberfest collaboration with a German brewery yet. That feels like an understatement. This year’s collaboration takes its place as one of my favorite Oktoberfest beers of all time. I assure you, it is well worth a purchase.

Overall rating: 4.75/5


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!

Two Roads & Industrial Arts Bloomerang NEIPA

I am a fan of Industrial Arts Brewing Company and I am a fan of Two Roads Brewing Company. Both make really nice New England-Style IPAs with both Wrench and Too Juicy respectively. So, I was excited to hear about their most recent collaboration, Bloomerang, a New England-Style IPA with hibiscus. When I mentioned last week that I left the bottle shop with fresh hops, the beer I was most excited to try was Bloomerang.

From the first pour, I loved what I saw. The hibiscus gave the hazy IPA a pinkish-hue that made it reminiscent of grapefruit juice. The aroma was floral with lemon, passion fruit, berries, melon, bready malt, and an herbal spiciness. What I liked here was how strong the presence of the hibiscus was. It gave Bloomerang a blast of lemon tartness. Even though this is a trait that hibiscus flowers add to the beer, it is very strong here. It overshadows the grapefruit, pine, melon, berry, bready flavors that play more as a compliment here to that tart lemon note, than shine on their own. The strength of the lemon goes right into the finish that is dry and herbal.

With so many variations of New England-Style IPAs, Bloomerang certainly breaks from the norm, providing a really interesting and creative take on the style. While I did enjoy it, one can of it goes a long way. After my glass was empty, I was ready to look for something else to drink. That might sound a bit harsh but this is a bold, tart take on a NEIPA. I really did enjoy it but it is by no means a sessionable beer. If you are looking for something different, it certainly delivers on that, I just do not see Bloomerang working for everyone.

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!

Last Call for Summer Beer

I seem to complain about this every year but I am not quite ready to drink Fall beer. They are already on shelves and I can't help but think it is way too soon for them, This past weekend the temperature was in the 90's and not once did I think 'man, I could really go for a refreshing pumpkin ale'. So I decided to take a trip to the bottle shop in full defiance mode, looking for light, fruit forward summer seasonals. I left with three fruit forward beers and a couple of fresh IPAs. The latter has no impact on this blog, I just wanted to admit I still could not pass up new hops. For this blog however, I wanted to blog about those three fruit forward beers and let you know whether or not they are worth taking up real estate in your refrigerator.

The first beer is Pineapple Cart from Golden Road Brewing in Los Angeles, California. It is part of the brewery's "Cart" series based on LA's fruit cart vendors. I have not had any other entries in the series but after drinking half a can of Pineapple Cart, I don't think I need to. It is a mess of a beer. While it is a pineapple wheat ale, it is also brewed with strawberries and blood oranges. The latter has basically zero presence in the beer. The strawberry overpowers the pineapple in the nose and left me confused which fruit this beer was supposed to be based on. The heavy graininess of a wheat ale is also very noticeable in the nose. The flavor of the beer is a muddled mess. The pineapple hits up front, is followed by strawberry, lots of grain and a tart, dry, phenolic finish. The whole beer falls apart in the finish. I appreciate Golden Road trying to dial back the sweetness but the end result here is a mess.

Is it worth a purchase? Absolutely not.

Next up is Harpoon Brewery's Camp Wannamango, a mango infused pale ale. I had this beer in Boston for the first time about two years ago. I remember liking it but it got lost in the fold with all the other amazing beer I drank that week. Revisiting it, I realized I still liked it. It is a very easy to drink fruit forward beer that allows both the base beer and the fruit flavor to shine. The pale ale shines at first, with some caramel, toasted bread, passion fruit before the mango extract rushes in and then finishes with a light citrus, pine, herbal hop finish. My only complaint for this beer is the vegetal flavor towards the finish that is not ideal but does not ruin the beer either. This is an easy drinking beach beer and I see it returning to my refrigerator before the summer is out.

Is it worth a purchase? Yes

And last but not least is Victory Brewing's Limey Gose. When I went into the bottle shop, I had every intention of finding a citrus forward gose. When I saw Victory's latest gose, I knew I had to purchase it for two reasons. One, I love Victory's Kirsch Gose. Two, I wanted to see how it compared to my beloved Key Lime Pie Gose from Westbrook. Before I opened the bottle I will admit I had high hopes for this beer and they were rewarded. It is very tart and very refreshing. The lime flavor is strong and hits aggressively, followed by bread dough, a touch of lemon, lactic sourness, green apple and a saline finish. The flavors do not mesh as well as they do in Westbrook's version but they work really well here. It is very effervescent and very refreshing. I know goses are not for everyone, but if you are going to give one a try, this and Victory's Kirsch Gose are a nice place to start.

Is it worth a purchase? Absolutely

While August usually functions as a "last call" of sorts for the summer seasonals, there is still plenty of summer left and still plenty of great warm weather beer on the shelf. That being said, I don't blame anyone who makes the early shift to fall beer. It is easily my favorite beer drinking season. However at this moment, I am just not ready to say goodbye to beer's most refreshing season. Cheers!


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For more beer reviews check out: http://www.acraftylook.com

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.



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!