Sierra Nevada LIfe & Limb

Brewed in: Chico, California

Style: American Strong Ale

ABV: 10.2%

Served: Draft

Tasting Notes:

Black with a strong alcoholic aroma. This is a fantastic beer. There are sweet flavors that are hard to pinpoint but they mirror a barleywine of sorts. Bittersweet but not nearly as alcoholic.

Sierra Nevada Jack & Ken

Brewed in: Chico, California

Style: American Barleywine

ABV: 10.2%

Served: Draft

Tasting Notes:

This is a dark barleywine, almost black as it pours and settles a dark red. It's sharp and bittersweet. It's a very good barleywine but a bit tougher to drink than the Bigfoot from Sierra Nevada.

Sierra Nevada 2x4

Brewed in: Chico, California

Style: Belgian Strong Dark Ale

ABV:

Served: Draft

Tasting Notes:

This is an ugly looking beer... don't often see that. It's a cloudy brown with a light head that almost exists underneath the top of the beer. There's hardly any aroma at all. It has a light mouthfeel and there's hardly any specific tastes. There are some light sour notes near the finish but that's about it. It's a strange brew.

New England Imperial Stout Trooper

Brewed in: Woodbridge, Connecticut

Style: Russian Imperial Stout

ABV: 9.2%

Served: Draft

Tasting Notes:

It's as black as night with just a thin head. It's about what you'd expect from the aroma. The alcohol is very present and one of the most intense Imperial Stouts I've had. The mouthfeel is very thick and almost syrupy. It's a nice, heavy beer that's good for the cold winter months.

Founders Kentucky Breakfast Stout

Brewed in: Grand Rapids, Michigan

Style: American Imperial Stout

ABV: 11.2%

Served: Bottle

Tasting Notes:

I wanted to get everything I noticed about this beer down on paper immediately. When I first popped open the bottle I took a smell and my first instinct was alcohol. Upon further invesigation there are other spice-like aromas present. Its almost a dry alcoholic aroma. It pours very thick. There's absolutely no head out of this bottle and it's very black but there is a brown color around the rim. The aroma softens out in the glass but remains that same dry alcohilic aroma.

It has a very thick mouthfeel. That dryness continues to exist in the taste but all the breakfast flavors are present, as well as the barrel aged notes. The most obvious flavor is likely the coffee, mostly present at the finish. The front and middle are mostly dominated by the alcohol that stings a bit but is never overpowering. The chocolate notes are more of a strong, dark chocolate as opposed to the sweet chocolate you'd get in a desert beer like a Rogue or Southern Tier Chocolate Stout. It's a bitter chocolate like that which you'd bake and not necessarily snack on.

Expectation surrounded this tasting and I never expected the KBS to live up to them however when it comes to Imperial Stouts, Russians, Americans, whatever, I would call this the best of the bunch I've had to this point. It balances the alcohol, the mouthfeel, the flavors and the consistency very well. It's not the best beer I've ever had and it might not even be the best stout I've ever had but its a top notch brew.

Abita Turbodog

Brewed in: Abita Springs, Louisiana

Style: English Brown Ale

ABV: 5.6%

Served: Bottle

Tasting Notes:

I was very excited about this beer from Abita and it didn't disappoint. It has a brown pour with a red look when held under the light. There are stout-like aromas (chocolate, maybe mocha) and there's a very malty presence with a nice sharp carbonation to it.

Abita Restoration

Brewed in: Abita Springs, Louisiana

Style: American Pale Ale

ABV: 5.0%

Served: Bottle

Tasting Notes:

Here's another beer from Abita that I expected to be on the avoid shelf despite how much I've liked all their beers. The Restoration has a bitterness to it but its extremely light and actually comes across as sharp and almost spicy instead. It makes it very tasty and what I would describe as a good beer for a BBQ.

Abita Jockamo

Brewed in: Abita Springs, Louisiana

Style: American IPA

ABV: 6.5%

Served: Bottle

Tasting Notes:

I don't like IPAs, but even Abita can't turn me away with theirs. It has a reddish gold color and a nice head with floral, citrusy aromas. It is hoppy throughout but never very bitter. It's one of the most refreshing and drinkable IPAs I've ever had.

Abita SOS

Brewed in: Abita Springs, Louisiana

Style: Pilsner

ABV: 7.0%

Served: Bottle

Tasting Notes:

This is a nice wheaty looking beer that's a bit darker than the norm. It is an extremely refreshing beer. It has a sharpness to it that balances out the tasty sweetness. This is almost a combination of a pilsner and a hefe or white as far as the flavors and mouthfeel. Another good beer from Abita!

Chimay Tripel

Brewed in: Baileux, Belgium

Style: Belgian Tripel

ABV: 8.0%

Served: Draft

Tasting Notes:

This beer has a huge foamy head with a golden and cloudy color. There's a belgian sweet aroma. It's VERY sweet. There's hardly any bitterness or alcohol present. It's a good beer for the summer but it lacks that refreshing crispness I like in a beer.

De Ranke Saison De Dottignies

Brewed in: Wevelgem, Belgium

Style: Saison/Farmhouse Ale

ABV: 5.5%

Served: Draft

Tasting Notes:

This is a light golden color with a cloudy look and a thick head. It has a very light sweetness in the aroma with a spiciness present somewhere. That sweet and spiciness is there in the taste but there's not too much of either. It's very dry in the middle and the finish but it has a thick mouthfeel.

Mikkeller Yeast Series: Hefeweizen

Brewed in: Kobenhaven, Denmark

Style: Hefeweizen

ABV: 8.0%

Served: Draft

Tasting Notes:

Pours a foggy brown with a lasting white head that looks pretty good. It has a bitter aroma with the normal hefe sweetness present. It has a creamy mouthfeel with a creamy taste mixing with the sweetness. There's a bitter after taste that gives the beer a little kick at the finish. A+! Great beer!

North Coast Old Rasputin

Brewed in: Fort Bragg, California

Style: Russian Imperial Stout

ABV: 9.0%

Served: Bottle

Tasting Notes:

Most of this beer is a pretty standard imperial stout. It pours very black with a short white head. Alcohol is present in both the aroma and the taste. It doesn't have any prominant additional flavors, but the full body and present alcohol make it a nice beer to sip on on a cold day. It's a slow drinker that's overall, pretty satisfying, even if I was hoping for better.

Meantime London Stout

Brewed in: London, England

Style: English Stout

ABV: 4.5%

Served: Draft

Tasting Notes:

This is a very light stout. It's dark with no, head and hardly any aroma. Should likely be defined more as an English Porter but there is a stout thickness when it comes to the finish. It's good and has a nice crispness to it that makes it both easy drinking and refreshing.

Duvel Green

Brewed in: Breedonk-Puurs, Belgium

Style: Belgian Ale

ABV: 6.8%

Served: Draft

Tasting Notes:

Pours almost clear and settles a light golden color with a good head. There's the belgian sweetness in the aroma but this beer is a bit better than the standard sweet Belgian ale. It has a crispness that balances out that strong sweet flavor and it allows the beer to be refreshing as well as tasty.

Delirium Nocturnum

Brewed in: Melle, Belgium

Style: Belgian Strong Dark Ale

ABV: 8.5%

Served: Draft

Tasting Notes:

Pours a dark brown with a long tan head. There are sweet notes in the aroma but they're very light. It has a vanilla flavor with a malt sweetness. There are sour notes but it tastes mostly like an American Brown. It's a nice looking beer and one of the better belgians I've had.

Delirium Tremens

Brewed in: Melle, Belgium

Style: Belgian Strong Pale Ale

ABV: 8.5%

Served: Draft

Tasting Notes:

A nice golden color with a white head. This beer is just the same old Belgian sweet beer, both in aroma and taste. From start to finish, front to back, there is that belgian yeast-style sweet taste that's good if its what you are looking for but it doesn't throw any curves and isn't worth the price.

BBC Coffeehouse Porter

Brewed in: South Deerfield, Massachusetts

Style: American Porter

ABV: 6.2%

Served: Nitro Draft

Tasting Notes:

A nice nitro pour, brown with a tan to white head that slowly disipates. There are light coffee notes in both the aroma and the flavor but ultimately this is a smooth, easy drinking porter with a slight sharp, crisp presence that makes in a nice beer.

Nøgne Ø Sunturnbrew

Brewed in: Grimstad, Norway

Style: American Style Barleywine

ABV: 11.0%

Served: Draft

Tasting Notes:

Pours a dark brown with no head. There's a faint aroma if any at all. It has a very smooth, medium to full bodied, almost syrupy taste. The alcohol builds from the middle onto the fiinish. It seems to be well-aged as there's a good balance of alcohol and sweetness.

Pretty Things Fluffy White Rabbit

Brewed in: Cambridge, Massachusetts

Style: Tripel

ABV: 8.5%

Served: Draft

Tasting Notes:

Has a golden, wheat-looking color with a good head. There's a sweet, floral aroma that is very belgian-like. There's a light bitterness up front but that's about all the hops have to offer. It finishes sweet. There's a medium body but ultimately, its a pretty standard, belgian-style tripel.

Weyerbacher Double Simcoe IPA

Brewed in: Easton, Pennsylvania

Style: American Imperial IPA

ABV: 9.0%

Served: Draft

Tasting Notes:

A golden, copper looking color with a nice head. There's a strong hoppy aroma and a good, strong bitterness that almost stings the throat. Personally, I don't like this beer but it's what a DIPA should be.

Element Dark Matter

Brewed in: Miller's Falls, Massachusetts

Style: Black IPA

ABV: 8.8%

Served: Draft

Tasting Notes:

Pours dark brown with a 1-inch head. There's a fruity and nutty aroma and bitter hop flavors. That bitterness starts in the middle and continues on to the finish making it much like an IPA or a hoppy brown.

Rogue Double Mocha Porter

Brewed in: Newport, Oregon

Style: American Porter

ABV: 8.2%

Served: Draft

Tasting Notes:

Black with a tan head. There's not much mocha there in the aroma or flavor. If there's any flavor, its very subtle. It has a medium to heavy body. It's drinkable, an average porter but ultimately disappointing.

21st Amendment Back in Black

Brewed in: San Francisco, California

Style: Black IPA

ABV: 6.8%

Served: Can

Tasting Notes:

It pours black and tastes and smells like an IPA... The bitterness calms a bit once poured into a glass but there isn't much here that distinguishes it from a normal IPA. On the flipside, it's not terrible. I just don't like IPAs... that hasn't seemed change.

Dogfish Worldwide Stout

Brewed: Milton, Delaware

Style: Imperial Stout

ABV: 18.0%

Served: Draft

Tasting Notes:

Black with a tan head. A very expected alcoholic aroma, however it is somewhat light. There are chocolate and creamy flavors. The alcohol burns the throat on the finish but it is somewhat bearable. The chocolate stout flavors with some burnt coffee notes are there balancing it out and making the beer quite good.

Green Flash Imperial IPA

Brewed in: Vista, California

Style: Imperial IPA

ABV: 9.4%

Served: Draft

Tasting Notes:

A light aroma with a hoppy presence and a light golden color. There's a bitter aftertaste but its very light for an imperial IPA. It's surprisingly drinkable.

Green Flash Double Stout

Brewed in: Vista, California

Style: American Imperial Stout

ABV: 8.8%

Served: Draft

Tasting Notes:

Pours very black and thick with a 1-inch tan head. There's an alcoholic aroma with chocolate notes. The alcohol is present up front but it fades into a lighter mouthfeel than expected. There's maybe a hint of licorice in the taste. Disappointing in the end but a decent stout.

Great Divide Hoss

Brewed in: Denver, Colorado

Style: Marzen/Oktoberfest

ABV: 6.2%

Served: Draft

Tasting Notes:

A shiny golden amber colored beer. There's hardly any aroma at all and while it looks nice and refreshing, I didn't expect much. Then... a creamy front, a thick mouthfeel but smooth and a lighter finish. Nothing dominant flavor-wise but a great beer.

Harpoon Island Creek Oyster Stout

Brewed in: Boston, Massachusetts

Style: English Stout

ABV: 5.5%

Served: Draft

Tasting Notes:

A black pour with a spicy aroma and some coffee flavored notes. Very smooth taste with a light mouthfeel. There are not dominant flavors that might have been suggested in the aroma but its a very good beer. Harpoon continues to impress!

Firestone Abacus Barleywine

Brewed in: Paso Robles, California

Style: American Barleywine

ABV: 13.0%

Served: Draft

Tasting Notes:

This is a very strong and potent barleywine that may have been sitting for a bit longer than I would have liked. There's a strong bourbon aroma and the taste is pretty decent with a few sweet notes left over but but it has aged a bit too long.

The People's Pint Our Oatmeal Stout

Brewed in: Greenfield, Massachusetts

Style: Oatmeal Stout

ABV: 4.9%

Served: Bottle

Tasting Notes:

Pours black with hardly any head. Oaty, nutty and chocolate aromas all blend great. Slight tartness but no bitterness. Oats and nutty flavor present but thats about it. Medium bodied with a light finish. Relatively easy drinking stout.

Firestone Walker Double Jack

Brewed in: Paso Robles, California

Style: American Imperial IPA

ABV: 9.5%

Served: Draft

Tasting Notes:

This beer is golden a lively with a thick head. It's actually not too hoppy or bitter for an imperial. It's well balanced but still an IPA. Better than I expected but I would never pick out of a lineup.

Mayflower Spring Hop Ale

Brewed in: Plymouth, Massachusetts

Style: American Pale Ale

ABV:

Served: Draft

Tasting Notes:

Pours a dark gold, almost brown with a nice one-inch head. It has a hoppy aroma and a hoppy, spiced taste that really lingers on the tongue. It's a refreshing beer, great for spring, but it's also an acquired taste that may take until summer.

Clown Shoes Hoppy Feet

Brewed in: Ipswich, Massachusetts

Style: American Black IPA

ABV: 7.0%

Served: Draft

Tasting Notes:

I was a big fan of the Hoppy Feet 1.5 as it showcased a wide variety of tastes and feels. This is nothing more than an IPA with a dark color. There are stout-like flavors in the aroma and maybe somewhere in the taste but it's ultimately an IPA through and through.

Wachusett Larry

Brewed in: Westminster, Massachusetts

Style: American Imperial IPA

ABV: 7.5%

Served: Cask

Tasting Notes:

This beer has the expected bitter aroma but it's not too overwhelming. It has a golden color with a great looking head. There's a spicy bitterness to the taste, unusually for a typical double IPA. It's almost sour. It's certainly not my taste but I can see how IPA drinkers would like it.

Saranac Irish Stout

Brewed in: Utica, New York

Style: Irish Dry Stout

ABV: 5.5%

Served: Bottle

Tasting Notes:

Dry and light like a guinness with a similar look, aroma and mouthfeel. This may get a leg up for being a bit heavier like an American Stout and it has a bit of a bitter taste at the front. Overall, a good St. Patty's Day Brew!

Great Divide Grand Cru

Brewed in: Denver, Colorado

Style: Belgian Strong Dark Ale

ABV: 11.0%

Served: Draft

Tasting Notes:

A dark brown pour with a light head. It has a spicy aroma with a spicy and sharp taste. It's not bitter like an American Strong Ale but rather has some sweet and sour tastes that are well balanced.

Brasserie Dubuisson Freres Scaldis (Bush Ambree)

Brewed in: Leuze Pipaix, Belgium

Style: Belgian Strong Pale Ale

ABV: 12.0%

Served: Draft

Tasting Notes:

A golden color with a thin head. There's a very hoppy aroma, however the taste is balanced and crisp with an almost sweet finish. There are sour notes in the middle. A very interesting beer but good overall.

Sierra Nevada Pale Ale

Brewed in: Chico, California

Style: American Pale Ale

ABV: 5.6%

Served: Draft

Tasting Notes:

A very easy drinking pale ale. It's not bitter at all but rather has a slight malty and smooth taste to it. It's a very refreshing beer with a medium body and golden color. Quite tasty.

Butternuts Brutus Imperial IPA

Brewed in: Garrattsville, New York

Style: Imperial IPA

ABV:

Served: Draft

Tasting Notes:

A dark gold/red color with a light hoppy aroma and sour notes. This beer isn't too bitter for an imperial IPA until the finish where the hoppy bitterness becomes more present. There's a decent balance throughout however making it a pretty drinkable IPA.

Element Red Giant

Brewed in: Millers Falls, Massachusetts

Style: American Amber/Red Ale

ABV: 8.0%

Served: Cask

Tasting Notes:

This is a beautiful looking beer with a reddish/brown color and a great head. There's a bitter taste, high for a regular amber but it's not too overwhelming. This really should be defined as a imperial amber as it has those characteristics.

Wexford Irish Cream Ale

Brewed in: Suffolk, England

Style: English Bitter

ABV: 5.0%

Served: Nitro Draft

Tasting Notes:

A very nice looking beer poured on a nitro line. A layered head settles into a nice thin top of a golden color. There's a light hoppy/bitter aroma with vanilla or creamy notes. It's a smooth mouthfeel but has a somewhat bland flavor.

Left Hand Milk Stout

Brewed in: Longmont, Colorado

Style: Milk/Sweet Stout

ABV: 5.2%

Served: Draft

Tasting Notes:

A black pour with a thin tan head. It has a fresh, sharp taste to it with a very, very lightly bitter finish. It's mostly smooth with a subtle creamy and sweet flavors.

Abita Amber

Brewed in: Abita Springs, Louisiana

Style: Vienna Lager

ABV: 4.5%

Served: Bottle

Tasting Notes:

A beautiful golden color with a foamy white head. A creamy aroma with light notes of vanilla. Carbonated and great if served real cold. A very refreshing beer with a low alcohol. THIS IS A SESSION BEER. Very easy to sit back and drink a few. There's a creamy, almost sweet taste but its very subtle. Not quite like an Anderson Amber.

Smuttynose Robust Porter

Brewed in: Portsmouth, New Hampshire

Style: American Porter

ABV: 5.7%

Served: Draft

Tasting Notes:

This pours a dark black with a nice head. It's very much like a stout with chocolate notes on the aroma, the heavier body and subtle but balanced flavors. There's a sharp and strong finish that completes the beer in good fashion.

Clown Shoes Eagle Claw Fist

Brewed in: Ipswich, Massachusetts

Style: Imperial Amber

ABV: 8.0%

Served: Draft

Tasting Notes:

Amber/red in color and has the typical amber aroma. There's a light bitterness in the aroma as well. That bitterness becomes much stronger when tasted. It fades at the aftertaste to balance the beer out and it goes down light. A bit too bitter and strong for an enjoyable amber.

Farnum Hill Semi-Dry Cider

Brewed in: Lebanon, New Hampshire

Style: Hard Cider

ABV: 7.4%

Served: Draft

Tasting Notes:

It pours a light gold and has a very distinct apple cider aroma. Its very crisp and still looking. It tastes dry but there is a sweetness with an apple cider taste. I don't tend to like ciders but this is a good one with being too dry or too sweet.

Geary's Cooledge Oatmeal Stout

Brewed in: Portland, Maine

Style: Oatmeal Stout

ABV: 5.1%

Served: Draft

Tasting Notes:

A faint but pleasent oatmeal stout style aroma with a nice dark look and thick foamy head. The taste is light, smooth and slightly bitter with a present but subtle oatmeal flavor. It's good and not the same old oatmeal stout, which adds points.

Rapscallion Premier

Brewed in: Holyoke, Massachusetts

Style: American Blonde Ale

ABV: 7.0%

Served: Draft

Tasting Notes:

A golden color beer with a fruity aroma. There's a good sharp taste with a fruity and sweet aftertaste that sticks around. Somewhere, there's a subtle and very light bitterness that balances it out.

Dogfish Head Midas Touch

Brewed in: Milton, Delaware

Style: Herbed/Spiced Beer

ABV: 9.0%

Served: Draft

Tasting Notes:

As this beer pours it looks like a wheat beer. It then settles looking like a pale ale or a light IPA. There's hardly any aroma too it but it has a very sublte spiciness to the taste. That blends well with a somwhat sweet finish making for a good blend but overall, nothing too special. Not Dogfish Head's most interesting beer by any means.

Victory Yakima Glory

Brewed in: Downington, Pennsylvania

Style: American Black Ale

ABV: 8.7%

Served: Draft

Tasting Notes:

There's a hoppy aroma but not too dominate like a strong IPA would have. It's got a great dark brown color with a nice looking head. This is a surprisingly refreshing beer considering the ABV. There's a light bitterness to it with present hops but they are used in moderate fashion as to not overwhelm the overall taste.

Ballast Point Black Marlin Porter

Brewed in: San Diego, California

Style: American Porter

ABV: 6.0%

Served: Draft

Tasting Notes:

A black porter with a nice head. Has subtle coffee notes in the aroma as well as the taste. It's light but smooth, a refreshing porter.

Notch Session Ale

Brewed in: Ipswich, Massachusetts

Style: Session Ale

ABV: 4.5%

Served: Bottle

Tasting Notes:

There's a fruity and malty amora and taste. It could almost be considered a complex beer which again, like the Pils, wasn't terribly bad but wasn't suited for the session beer that it is. I wasn't a huge fan of the beer in general and likely wouldn't go for it under any circumstance but there is too much going on in this beer for it to be a "sit back and enjoy several" choice.