Review # 12 Founder's Brewery: Curmudgeon Old Ale

When new stuff from Founder's comes into work I get pretty excited.  We have been lucky to get our hands on most of the seasonals this year, and none of them have been a disappointment.  In fact, living here in New York, I have been able to try about a dozen of their offerings on taps and in bottles around the area and I can honestly say that they do not make a bad beer.  Going a little further than that, I feel that every beer I have tried of theirs is at or near the top of its category. 

Founder's wants you to think of olde thyme fishing ports, old fisherman, and the pubs they frequented when drinking this beer.  I will tell you what, if this is the beer of fishermen, sign me up for a job!

This Old Ale pours a wonderful amber color with a very tiny head.  The nose is malty with notes of molasses, butterscotch, raisins or prunes, and a hint of vanilla.  It is easy to drink despite its alcohol content (9.8% ABV) with a smooth, soft mouth feel.  The malt and molasses continues in tasting, and just when you might think it's too sweet, there is a nice mild hop kick (50 IBU's) that balances out the sweetness perfectly.  There is a slight flavor of the oak aging present in the finish right before you taste just a little bit of the alcohol on the back of your tongue.  A wonderful drinking experience. 

OK, really fan boy? :  Yes, really.  Easily one of the best Old Ales I have ever had.  If you like Old Ales, Strong Ales, or Barleywine, you are going to love this brew.  If you don't, I would still give anything with a Founder's label on it a try if you come across it.

Review # 11 Samuel Adams: Summer Ale

I will start by saying this:  I am not a Sam Adams hater.  There is a lot of talk about Sammy being the biggest craft brewery and getting too big for their britches.  So what?  They have delivered decent beers to America as a small company for years, and have been successful in doing so.  If they make two million and one barrels, should they have to lose their "craft beer" label.  Not in my opinion.  As long as they still produce the same beer with the same quality ingredients, what is the problem with a business growing and appealing to more people, especially as the craft beer movement keeps gaining strength?  Samuel Adam's has always made a consistent product, that appeals to people across all markets, and in turn introduces many people to craft beer who would normally not drink it.  Not to mention the fact that their successful year-round brews and seasonal beers allow them to make things like Utopia, Triple Bock, and sponsor a home brewer contest where winners get to have their beers produced by Sam and distributed to the entire country.  Not so evil, eh?

So what are you trying to say Kenny?:  I don't like this beer.  It lacks character, body, and flavor.  While this does make it surprisingly easy to drink, it does no justice for the price tag.  I might call it the Miller Lite of Summer beers.   Yeah, I think that pretty much sums it up.

Review#10 Lagunitas: Wilco Tango Foxtrot

I am going to say something here that I have probably said 100 times at work in the last three months:  This is my favorite limited/seasonal release of this year so far.  There are many close seconds, but each time I grab one of these I remind myself of just how much I love this beer.

For me, this beer achieves the perfect balance between hops and malt, which is kind of unusual for the folks at Lagunitas.  It pours brownish red, with a white head that disappears very quickly.  There are hints of sweet malt, toffee, caramel, some hops, yeast, raisins and berries in the nose.  Most of these take a back seat in the taste when the malt kicks in with a hint of sweetness and the hops come around every now and again to give your taste buds a little wallop.  It finishes a little dry with just the slightest bit of bitters, and makes you want another swig.

Just thinking about it makes me want one right now.

It's not a lightweight either, as its 7.83% ABV will attest too.  And priced between $4-5 for a 22 oz. bottle, its also not a drain on your wallet.

So do you really like this beer?:  Hell yes I do!  I would recommend this beer to anyone, even if you are new to craft beer, or have never had one, this could be a great starting point.  I would just like to know one thing from Lagunitas; Why The Fuck isn't this available year round?  I guess I will just have to stock up, or just wait until October when my other Lagunitas favorite, Brown Shugga' becomes available.

Review #9 Captain Lawrence: Smoke from the Oak batch #4

I didn't get to make it to the release for this beer a few weeks ago, but luckily my buddy and fellow beer lover @paul_mar hooked me up with a couple of bottles.

This is the fourth batch of Smoke from the Oak, a smoked porter that was aged in wine barrels.  The three previous releases were done in rum, apple brandy, and port barrels.  The next one in line is currently being aged in bourbon barrels.  Get pumped!

The white label on the bottle reads:
Highly Carbonated
Refrigerate at least 24 hours before serving

What it should have said:
Grab a fucking tarp and a mop, its gon' rain!

All joking aside.  Open this in the sink, or maybe the bath tub.  Once the geyser is done erupting you are left with one hell of an awesome beer.  It is very deep brown in color, almost like a cola, and smells sour, fruity, vinous (thanks thesaurus.com), and malty.  The flavors of roasted malt, sour fruit, and wine permeate through the beer.  There is a definite acidity present, along with a little vanilla, a little smoke, and call me crazy; but I detected some chocolate in there too.  This beer is awesome.  Everyone who tried it with me seemed to agree as well.

What it is, yo?:  I don't think you can get this anymore, so I can't really say "GO GET IT!" like I would want to.  What I can say is that if you are in the NYC area for one of the upcoming Smoke from the Oak releases at Captain Lawrence, you should definitely check it out.  I will be there.  Also, luckily for me, I have another bottle in my fridge.

Review #8 Peak Organics Summer Session

Ahhhhhh, Summer.  Baking in the sun.  Being covered in sweat just from walking to the corner bodega.  When the subway is a sauna and everyone smells pretty gross.  Yet it is still one of our favorite times of the year, but why?

Drinking outside.

There are not many things as enjoyable as a great cold beer on a hot Summer afternoon outdoors.  It is for this reason I will try to review every Summer beer I can get my hands on this season, starting with Peak Organics Summer Session.

Normally I am not really excited by Peak's offerings.  They just strike me as kind of "meh".  They aren't bad, but I would definitely choose something else to drink.  But, when I heard that this was actually a Three Floyd's recipe (unconfirmed, but from a reliable source) I wanted to give it a go.

What I found was a smooth, summery beer with a creamy white head, that smelled and tasted like lemon and wheat the whole way through.  That's it.  Nothing more, nothing less.  It is simple, but not boring, very refreshing, and remarkably easy to drink.  There is a slight hint of sweetness and a dry finish that make it a great beer for pairing with almost any Summer food.  In true session fashion it is only has 5% ABV, which I think is great for those long days of drinking and barbecuing.

What do I think?:  If you are tailgating, barbecuing, or just hanging out in the park, this beer will do you no wrong.  I cannot for the life of me think of anything that I will eat in the next three months that would not pair well with this beer.  I will definitely buy this again, and you should too.  Plus, it's organic for crying out loud, at least your drinking could have some benefit for the planet.