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Monday, October 19, 2015

Anderson Valley Brewing Company the Kimmie, the Yink and the Holy Gose Ale.



I have not many beers within this beer style, two mostly. The first one being Westbrook Gose, and this Anderson Valley the Kimmie, the Yink and the Holy Gose Ale, 4.2% ABV. Anderson Valley Brewing is from Boonville California. This Gose Ale pours a bright but hazy yellow color with a bright two finger head that quickly disappears with nothing left behind. The aroma is a bit beach like with a salted note hitting you hard with a slight lemon note. Anderson Valley Gose is really refreshing with a nice tartness of lemon and sea-salt that work well together making one tartly refreshing beverage. I wouldn’t say that this is better than Westbrook Gose but it’s still a solid beer. The mouth feel is light and refreshing and yet a bit juicy. This Anderson Valley Gose has a nice tart salted lemon finish that continues into the after taste with a slightly saltier taste than lemon. I don’t think that this Anderson Valley Gose Ale is the best because I only had to examples of this style and the other one; Westbrook Gose is a bit better. So this beer is a B-, it falls short with it tartness and the salted flavor, I like salty foods etc.… But this was still good and I would recommend trying them both, I just think Westbrook is a bit better in my opinion. I have reviewed Westbrook Gose not to long ago, I suggest that you read that review if you haven’t already done so, or you can just reread it if you like. Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!

Sunday, October 18, 2015

Foothills IPA of the Month October (Hops)



Foothills IPA of the Month is back once again with October (Hops), 6.6% ABV. This mouths IPA is brewed with Citra, Sorachi Ace, and Czech Saaz hops. I have found out from Foothills Brewing that the IPA of the Month will not bee continuing next year, but they will have a new monthly series entitled Hop of The Month, in which each month they will be showcasing one particular hop. October pours a deep yellow with bits of light orange color with a four finger off white head that slowly dissipates into somewhat thick lacing. The aroma is of juicy citrus grapefruit and a bit of melon and pineapple with hits of earthy tones. The taste has nice juicy grapefruit with a slight mix of melon and faint pineapple. There are nice hoppy, bitter, earthy and piney notes that surround the fruity flavors. The mouth feel is medium with a hoppy slightly bitter finish of juicy grapefruit and an earthy note. October has a bitter fruity aftertaste that lingers for a few seconds before the next sip. Yet again Foothills Brewing has brewed another wonderful IPA of the Month. So October (Hops) gets A+. After two years of this series I will say that these IPAs are quite drinkable and not slamming you with huge amounts of bitter hops. Foothills Brewing really shows you the range of wonderful flavors that and IPA can have, and how not all IPAs have the same of similar flavor. I highly recommend try October and all of this year and last years IPAs. You will come to liking IPA more when you do! Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!   

Brouwerij Van Steenberge Gulden Draak Ale


Belgian beer is probably the best beer in the world in my opinion. The Belgians has thousands and thousands of years of brewing experience and know how when it comes to brewing beer. Van Steenberge Gulden Draak, 10.5% ABV, which takes it’s name from the statue on the top of the belfry in Ghant Belgium, the brewery is in Ertvelde Belgium. Gulden Draak is dark ale similar to a triple but dark. This beer pours a dark brown ruby color with a four and a half finger beige head that slowly dissipates into thick lacing. The aroma has nice caramel to it with a little raisin like scent. The taste is strong with a bit of alcohol. But there is a bigger sweet caramel, toffee, and raisin flavor with touches of darker malts. You do get plenty of carbonation hitting your tongue but nothing that overwhelms you, but enough to let you know it has more carbonation. The alcohol does come though more as the beer warms. The mouth feel is medium to the slight bit heavy. Gulden Draak has a sweeter finish with a little alcoholic bite that leads into a caramel and toffee aftertaste. This is a wonderful beer. I really enjoyed Gulden Draak. This is an A+ beer. It has a lot of bold flavors that really coat your taste buds. The bottle is really handsome as well, I feel as if I shouldn’t throw it away or recycle it. The black red white and gold really catch your eye and make you want to buy and drink it. I highly recommend trying Van Steenberge Gulden Draak. Pick up a few and share with friends. Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!

Monday, October 12, 2015

Ichtegems' Grand Cru Flemish Red Ale


My favorite beer producing country is Belgium. I really enjoy the Belgian styles of beer. Ichtegem’s Grand Cru 6.5% ABV is brewed in Ichtegem Belgium By Brewery Strubbe, This is Flemish Red Ale aged or matured in oak Barrels. This beer pours a dark red almost a black color with a little tan head that leaves nothing behind. The aroma is like a smooth or faint cheery with a little cola aroma. The taste has a faint fruit taste to it that is a little cheery flavor with a bit of sourness to it. The flavors are smooth with this and yes you get a little bit of oaky flavor towards the end with the faintest vanilla flavor. The mouth feel is smooth with a touch of sour, and this Flemish red has nice sour cheery aftertaste that linger enough for ones enjoyment. I found this to be surprisingly good. I think the oak barrels work like magic on this beer. It really brings out the already great flavors within the beer and just makes them even better. It also adds another layer of flavor that makes this beer an A+. I really enjoyed this beer. I found to be easy to drink as well. I highly recommend trying

 Ichtegem’s Grand Cru. It’s SO good! Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!

Caldera Brewing Company Ashland Amber



I haven’t really had too much amber ale, not to say I don’t like that style or that I find it to be bad. I find them to be average to good. It is a fairly common style of beer. You can find amber ale quite easily. Caldera in Ashland Oregon brews Ashland Amber Ale, 5.6% ABV, which comes in a greenish can. Ashland Amber pours a lighter amber color with a sort of off white two finger head; it has more of a tan tint to it. The   head dissipates kind of slowly leaving not very much behind. The aroma is slightly malted with a bit of a cracker like aroma. Ashland has a nice smooth taste of that same malt and cracker you get on the aroma. Not much really going on otherwise with the taste of this Amber. The mouth feel is light to somewhat medium and has a smooth drinkable finish. The aftertaste is plain with a bit of smooth tasting malt. I found this to be okay but a little on the boring side, not real boring but not exacting either. I found this Ashland Amber to be a C+ beer, slight above average. The can is colorful and cool look but that isn’t what makes a great beer. I will say that Ashland Amber is drinkable and a bit refreshing. So try Caldera Brewing Company Ashland Amber for yourself and see what you think. Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!

Sunday, October 4, 2015

Great Divide brewing Co. Yeti Imperial Stout

This beer that I have here, Great Divide Brewing Co. Yeti imperial Stout, 9.5% ABV and 75 IBUs is a widely popular stout. Great Divide is located in Denver Colorado. Yeti pours a pitch-black color with a dark brown almost black six finger head that never goes away but does shrink down a little. Nothing is visible though this beer. The aroma on this big beer is like brunt coffee with a little bit of brunt toast and yet the faintest scent of chocolate. Yeti has a big bold bitter roasted taste to it that is a little harsh in my opinion. This beer has a whole burnt theme going on with its taste and flavors that was off putting to me. Not enough roasted notes to this nor was any coffee like notes present except for the overly burned coffee flavor. I found this beer to be bad, bad like crappy cup of strong bitter burned coffee that has been sitting out on the hot stove to long. I didn’t like this one at all so I give this an F. I might be one of only a few that does not like nor care for Great Divide Yeti Imperial Stout. This beer didn’t have a little bit of each flavor to help it. It was just in your face with a burned flavor profile that I found displeasing and down right bitter. I would not try this beer at all, so please don’t! Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!