Abita Brewing Co. 30th Anniversity Ale

Wow thirty years is a long time to be in business, but the Abita Brewing Co. has been in the brewing business for that long. To celebrate their thirtieth anniversary they brewed 30^th Anniversary Ale, 7.0% AVB. This is a Belgian-Style India Pale Ale to celebrate the Belgian settlers of New Orleans, and is brewed with pale, pilsner and wheat malts and it is hopped and dry-hopped with German Hallertau Blanc Hops. 30^th Anniversary Ale pour a deep hazy orange color with a bone white three finger head that slowly fades into decent lacing throughout the glass. Aroma is fruity with nice green grapes and bitter hop notes with bit of a pilsner like scent. Taste is fruity with green grapes up front with a bright flavor in the middle with mild hop bitterness with touches of a slight earthy note on the end or back of the tongue. 30^th Anniversary Ale finishes nice and easy, especially for 7.0% ABV, with a bit of a very faint bitter earthy note. 30^th Anniversary Ale has a nice fruited after taste that linger for a bit then turns to a slight yet faint bitterness that all ends easily. This is an easy drinking beer, and a bit dangerous for a 7.0% beer. I give Abita Brewing Co. 30^th Anniversary Ale an A+. I would love to have this again and I highly recommend that you try it. It’s well balanced, easy to drink, plenty of nice flavors, and not overly bitter. Abita Brewing Co. always brews some great beers and this is on exception. Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!

Rivertowne Brewing Co. RT Lager

I am a slight fan of the Lager beer style but not all lagers are equal. Rivertowne Brewing Co. in export Pennsylvania outside of Pittsburg, brews RT Lager, 5.5% ABV. This is more of an Amber Lager brewed with seven different malt varieties with additions of Cascade hops. RT Lager pours a copper orange color with a bright one finger white head that is fizzy and fades into a terrible looking white ring. The aroma is sweet with malt in a bad candy way. The taste of RT Lager is a bit overwhelmingly sweet with malt flavor that overshadow the hops. There is a cloying taste of something metallic and sweet that sticks to the tip of your tongue after each sip. The mouth feel is high on the medium side with a manufactured finish that is pretty much the same on RT Lagers finish. I found RT Lager to get worse as you get to the bottom of the beer. I give Rivertowne Brewing Co. RT Lager an F. It is a fake sweetness that is too thick and too much flavor that takes all goodness out of this beer. It reminded me bit like medicine. I don’t think anyone should try this beer, and I will be doing the same. Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!    

Heavy Seas Powder Monkey

This beer, Heavy (Baltimore, Maryland) Seas Powder Monkey 4.8% ABV a pale ale is named for the young sailors who hefted bags of gunpowder to the canon aboard ships. Powder Monkey is traditional English-style pale ale. Powder Monkey pours a deep orange almost copper color with a half finger of fizzy white head than leaves the thinnest bubble halo at the top. Aroma is on the sweeter side with malts and a faint earthy note. Powder Monkey has a taste similar to the aroma with nice orange candy like semi-sweetness with a little bit of an earth flavor, and nice malt touches. The mouth feel is medium with a nice smoothness to it that flows into a smooth malted earthy finish that is somewhat sweet. The aftertaste is much like Powder Monkeys finish but with a hoppy lingering flavor around the malted notes. The last Heavy Seas beer I had, which was the first, I didn’t like very much, but this is pretty good and well balance. I think it’s a B+ beer. It’s a slight bit too sweet but just so. That doesn’t kill the beer just takes down just a bit. Heavy Seas Powder Monkey is drinkable balanced English-style Pale Ale that I would recommend and would have again. Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!

Best of a Mixed Six-Pack Final

Well it’s finally time to see which of the six beers in The Best of a Mix Six-Pack it the best. I have individually reviewed each of the six beers and have come to a final conclusion on which is the best and to serve to a broad range of beer drinker. Well this is where they stack up…

  6.   Fullers ESB Extra Special Bitter - F+    

  5.   Bells Brewery Best Brown Ale – A    

  4.   Unibroue Blanch De. Chambly – A

  3.   Westbrook Brewing Co. White Tai – B+

  2.    Founder’s Brewing Co. All Day IPA Session Ale – A+

  1.    Fullsteam Brewery Paycheck Pilsner – A

The Best of a Mixed Six-Pack winner is Paycheck Pilsner! It is one easy drinking smooth Pilsner that everyone will enjoy even the non craft beer drinker, or Joe six-pack. It is a better version of stereotypical beer, and something you can drink many of without it being too much, flavorful or heavy. Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!

Founders Brewing Co. All Day IPA Session Ale

I have here the fifth beer of The Best of a Mixed Six-Pack. This fifth beer is Founders Brewing Co., All Day IPA Session Ale, 4.7% ABV and 42 IBUs. Founders Brewing Co is up there in Grand Rapids Michigan. The idea behind All Day IPA is that with the lower IBU and ABV IPA is something that you can drink all day long. Not that I think you should, but I think they mean you can have many and share with friends and such. All Day IPA pours a copper orange color with a one and a half finger of brilliant white that fades a semi-quick pace and leave some lacing behind but nothing really to right home about. Aroma is quite pleasant with nice wooded aroma with earth and pine with some grapefruit notes and faint hints of some bitter orange. All Day IPA has a clean taste of earthy light grapefruit flavor with a touch of pine and bitter hops and balanced out with some grain like notes. Mouthfeel is on the lighter side with an easier quality about it. The finish is smooth and clean for an IPA with enough stratifying bitterness. Aftertaste is much like a sessionable IPA should finish with nice fruited bitter notes with bites of earthy pine. This is one easy drinking IPA, and I think it deserves an A+. I would say this is an IPA you give to someone that has yet to try an IPA. All Day IPA is a gateway to the IPA style if you will. It’s well balanced with nice flavors. I highly recommend Founders Brewing Co., All Day IPA Session Ale. But is this beer the Best of a Mixed Six-Pack? Keep it here to find out soon! Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!