Beer Review at the Ballpark: Shock Top Belgian White (so they call it)

Thanks to a roommate I got to experience Pennsylvania's newest AAA baseball team, the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs. Aside from occasionally resembling the Bad News Bears, the game wasn't too bad considering they had decent beer at an almost decent price. In the interest of trying every beer in the world, I passed up the local micros for Anheuser-Busch's Shock Top Belgian White, formerly known as Spring Heat Spiced Wheat.

Beer Review
Shock Top Belgian White
Anheuser-Busch
C+ / 3.2
look: 2.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 2.5 | drink: 3.5

On-tap for $5, not bad for a stadium.

Appeared a dark yellow with not head or lacing. So there's no complimentary foam and it's too dark. The aroma is of dry, spicy orange. The flavor has that same orange, with bland Belgian-like spice (corriander, pepper). The flavor and aroma aren't bad, certainly not normal for the style, but it's an overall agreeable experience. A real wit has more delicate spices with vanilla and mellow wheat. The body here is also surprisingly heavy, with a sort of medium strength. And the mouthfeel is a bit chaulky and salty. Well... it's better than the vast majority of A-B's beers.

Beer Review: Breckenridge 471 IPA

And now for what I think is an under-rated beer:

Small Batch 471 IPA
Breckenridge Brewery

I'd call this a nicely balanced DIPA, off the bat it reminds me of the DIPA from Capt. Lawrence. There isn't anything over the top and it's quite drinkable while maintaining a big hop flavor. The only thing it's lacking for me is a big bitter punch to the tongue.

The body is orange-amber with a short white head and lacing the aroma is a mix of biscuity malts with floral perfume and big grapefruit and tangerine. The flavor is both resinous and crisp - a nice pairing there - with more of a citrus zest flavor and a hint of grass.

This isn't the biggest DIPA, but it's got a very nice mix of hops flavors and is dangerously drinkable. Worth a try if you dig hops.

Beer Review: Ten Fidy

It's been a good couple weeks for beer drinking. I've tried a lot of tasty malt beverages as well as found a number of brews I'd been lusting after for months. In general, I find most beers don't live up to their hype. I've tried nearly 60 from the top 100 list on BeerAdvocate.com, and don't really feel like most of those beers are among the best 100 beers in the world. This holds even more true when I get beers close to the top, sure they're pretty amazing, but it's hard to accept that, for instance, only nine beers are better than Russian River's Pliny the Elder. Yes, it's damn tasty, but so are a lot of beers.

I say this because I recently had the pleasure of trying Ten Fidy from Oscar Blues, a Russian Imperial Stout I'd been hearing buzz about for a while but hadn't seen in the flesh. Well come last weekend it alluded me no more, and just a few days ago I sat down to drink it. Again, I found a tasty yet seemingly over-rated beer (#56 in the world). That's not really the beer's fault, so I hold no grudge. Besides, the black can is pretty sweet.

Ten Fidy
Oskar Blues Grill and Brewery

B+ / 4
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | drink: 4

Wow, it does pour like oil from a can. It's sitting pitch black and viscus in my glass with a short tan head.

The aroma is hoppy at first then I'm pulling out cracker and toasted biscuit with a light note of dark roasted grains. It tastes a lot like slightly watered down chocolate syrup in that its got a lot of cocoa with sweet sugary feel. The aftertaste has a hit of roasted brley along with citrus rind and grapefruit hops.

Overall, the flavor profile and aroma are different than the average RIS. And for a 10% beer, it's pretty drinkable and the alcohol is well hidden. However, for such a big beer, I'd expect bigger flavor.

Beer Review: Great Lakes Nosferatu

I'm still going through the goodies I picked up from Bocktown Beer and Grill outside Pittsburgh. For folks unfamiliar with Bocktown, it appears to be an unassuming strip-mall restaurant from the outside. However, once inside you're met with a long wall of beer coolers and a bar serving nothing but craft beer. In short, it's a bar chalked full of awesome beer that also serves up some tasty grub. Worth a visit for anyone in the area that loves beer. Anyways, here's my review of Nosferatu, one of the gems I got there to-go:

Nosferatu
Great Lakes Brewing Co.

B+ / 3.95
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | drink: 3.5

Interesting - like a good strong ale should be. The main elements here are the chocolate biscuit malts and the grassy and citrus hops. The appearance is a dark red with off-white lacing. The aroma focuses on grassy hops with a hit of sharp grapefruit and peel. The hops are pretty interesting, but seem to have a celery note (I'm not a fan). I can't decide if I like how they work with the malt, but like I said, it's interesting. Definitely worth a try if you dig strong ales. This is one of the few beers I didn't necessarily enjoy, but would still recommend.

Beer Review: Sam Adams Honey Porter, Scotch Ale, and Red Ale

I don't usually buy beer in anything larger than a 6-pack (in the name of variety, of course), but a Sam Adams Variety Pack ended up in my shopping cart and I found myself with three beers I've never tried before. Check it-

Sam Adams Honey Porter
B / 3.6
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | drink: 3

Oh, this is a nice looking beer. A dark brown body with a tall light tan head that leaves thick lacing. The rest of the beer, unfortunately, is less impressive - though still good.

The aroma is of sweet bready grains and honey. The flavor expands on the honey, adding a small, but crisp hop bite with subtle chocolate and caramel malt flavors. The flavor is a touch plain, but the overall feel has a great balance between the honey sweetness, dry malts and hops. Worth a try if you like honey, but this can't stand up to most porters.

Sam Adams Scotch Ale
B+ / 4
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | drink: 4.5

In a word - smoky. Not overpowering though. this beer appears a dark amber with a thin white head a nice, thin lacing. The aroma focuses on the smoke with a hit of toast and wood. The flavor however, expands with the malts and mild hops.This is wonderfully balanced beer. There's an element of the smoked peat that blends with dry cocoa and toffee malt flavors and a balancing slightly herbal bitterness.

This is a great scotch ale and worth trying if you're into the style.

Sam Adams Red Ale
B+ / 3.95
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | drink: 4

This is good. It immediately reminds me of the Thomas Hooker Irish Red Ale. The Sam Adams, however, is drier yet very rich in flavor. There's a dry caramel and toffee flavor similar to the Boston Lager, but it's complimented by spicy and smokey flavors like you'd expect out of a Scotch ale. It may be a little off for the style, btu it's still darned tasty. This is very much an American interpretation of the style. The flavors are big and the yeast doesn't do much, but this is a must-try if you dig red ales.

Beer Review: Stone Brewing Co. Oaked Arrogant Bastard

Oaked Arrogant Bastard
Stone Brewing Co.

A / 4.3
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | drink: 4.5


Single from Bocktown Beer and Grill

Appears dark red with a short white head and lacing. The aroma has a smooth mixture of the citrus hops and oak. It comes off like one note, making it unlike other hoppy beers. There's a dry, woody flavor, not like your normal oak, it seems like there's more spice to it. The hops are big with spicy citrus juice and a dry grapefruit finish that lasts long into the aftertaste. Yummy.

Now this is an American strong ale. Big, bold, and completely out there.

Beer Review: Captain Lawrence Fresh Chester Pale Ale

Captain Lawrence Brewing Co.
Fresh Chester Pale Ale

Before any trip I always check BeerAdvocate's BeerFly guide and Beer Mapping to ensure I don't miss out on any opportunities for great beer. On a drive back from New Haven, CT these great websites led me to the Captain Lawrence Brewing Co. tasting room. Delicious.

After trying a few offerings I settled on their Fresh Chester Pale Ale and I took home a growler. Check it out:

A- / 4.1
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | drink: 4.5

Poured from a growler 24 hours after being filled.

I'm not often impressed by pale ales, but this beer got me. All the flavors were familiar, but it was like they were turned up to 11. The malts are a big bready mix of biscuit, toast, and all-grain crust. Pizza and sandwiches need to be paired with this beer.

Then there's the hops. A great profile of American citrusy hops with grapefruit and a harsher fruit zest finish. All very tasty and in a nice balance to the malts.

Basically this pale ale is big on flavor and bitterness while still maintaining bitterness. A must-try for pale ale fans.