Triple C Brewing Co. Smoked Amber

A few years ago I stumbled onto the Smoked Beer style and found that I really like it. In Germany it is known as Rauchbier. Some smoked beers can be really smoky which some would say it is like breathing in a campfire, and other are not as intense. Smoked beers come in a few sub-styles, like wheat, Marzen, Amber, and bock. This smoked beer is a local beer, Triple C Brewing Smoked Amber, 5.5 ABV and 29 IBU. This is another beer delivered from the great people at BrewPublik (www.brewpublik.com). Triple C Brewing Co. is located here in Charlotte North Carolina. Triple C uses cherry wood smoked malts on this amber. Smoked Amber pours a deep hazy brown color that is a bit murky, with a two finger off white head that dissipates at steady pace and does leave behind some lacing. I found no light coming through the glass nor could I make out any carbonation bubbles. But the bubbles are there. The aroma on Smoked Amber is yes smoky like a barbeque. I found not as intense as some smoked beer are. I found a bit of caramel sweetness there as well. The taste is first malty and sweet with hints of caramel and nice accompaniment of smoky flavors. It reminded me of nice barbequed meat. Smoked Amber has a very faint smoky coffee flavor on the end. The mouth feel is medium with a nice smoky, malty and sweet finish. The after taste is more reminiscent of a light smoky sweet coffee barbeque flavor. I know that those two kinds of flavors don’t go together but the barbeque flavor is more predominate that the coffee. I really enjoyed this beer a lot it is an A+ in my book. I really loved how every flavor worked well with on another. It was a well brewed beer. I love the smoked beer style and I really enjoyed Triple C Brewing Co Smoked Amber. I really recommend try this one for yourself. Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!

Harpoon Brewery UFO Gingerland

I’ve had ginger beer but never had gingerbread beer. This gingerbread style of beer isn’t a common style but there are some out there. Some gingerbread beers are stouts, porters, dark lagers, pumpkin, or even wheat beers. This is Harpoon Brewery UFO Gingerland, 5.2% ABV. UFO is a line of Harpoon that means UnFiltered Offering. These beers are usually wheat beers, as most are unfiltered. Harpoon claims Gingerland a gingerbread inspired beer. Gingerland pours a hazy pumpkin orange color with a one and a quarter finger of white head that fades quickly. I didn’t see much light coming through this beer but I did see a nice amount of carbonation. The aroma is like a cookie with a light gingerbread spice. I didn’t find much else on the aroma. The taste is a winter taste with a nice gingerbread spice up front with a little light wheat in the middle with a light touch of gingerbread in at the end that fade quickly. The mouth feel is medium with a nice sweet finish. The after taste is faint with gingerbread but there is a wheat spice that is right along side it. Harpoon UFO Gingerland is not bad, so this gets a B-. I did enjoy this but I think it would be a bit better if it were just bit sweeter, but not a lot. What I did taste was good. And the wheat flavors didn’t over power the gingerbread spice and vice versa. It has a good balance of flavors. So go and try Harpoon Brewery UFO Gingerland! Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!   

Cerveza Dos Equis XX Dos-A-Rita Lager Margarita

Here we have quite an interesting style of beer that is somewhat popular here in the U.S. as well as Mexico. Lager Margarita. This is Cerveza Dos Equis XX Dos-A-Rita, 7.2% ABV imported from Monterrey, Mexico. Dos-A-Rita is sweetened will 100% Agave Nectar. Agave is a plant that grows in the Southern, Western U.S., Central and tropical South America. This plant looks similar to the yucca and aloe plant, and gives us sweet nectar that is used in Tequila and beer. Dos-A-Rita pours a gold color with a one finger thin white head that fades quickly. I found enormous amounts of light coming the glass with a nice group of carbonation bubbles. The aroma is sweet and effervescent scent that is reminiscent of a faint margarita mix. The taste is effervescent and sweet with a fruity tropical note that lingers on your palette before fading to the back of the mouth. I found the taste and flavor to be surprisingly good for what it was. Better than I expected. The mouth feel is light and refreshing with a nice sweet, crisp and refreshing finish. The after taste is of tropical fruit and the agave nectar with a little effervescent bubble. This is better than I was expecting it to be. I say this is at least a B+. This is a sweet; crisp and refreshing take on a Lager Margarita. It really does remind you of a Margarita with a lager beer mixed in it. I recommend trying Cerveza Dos Equis XX Dos-A-Rita Lager Margarita. Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!     

Starr Hill Brewery Northern Lights India Pale Ale

I have been getting into more IPA’s in few years and at first I wasn’t really into them but the more I try the more I start to like them. Some I enjoy better than some and some I don’t enjoy. But that is true with most beer. This IPA here is Starr Hill Northern Lights India Pale Ale, 6.5% ABV and 52 IBUs (International Bittering Units) from Charlottesville Virginia. This is another beer delivered by Brewpublik (www.brewpublik.com). Northern Lights uses Cascade, Willamette, and Columbus hops with Two Row, Caramel, Munich, and Wheat malts. Northern Lights pours an orange sunset color with a one and a half finger white head. The head dissipates quickly leaving nothing behind. I found there to be some light coming through the glass with decent carbonation bubbles. The aroma on Northern Lights is bitter with earthy hop notes and hints of oranges. The taste isn’t far off from it’s own aroma and the bitters is low. I found it to have a slight piney earthy flavor to it with some oranges along side. I don’t get any other fruit notes on this, but I did get a little light grassy not in the middle and the back. Northern Lights is much easier to drink than some IPAs I’ve had. The mouth feel is medium and has a nice light bitter finish. The after taste is bitter but nothing face wrecking with a light earthy orange flavor. Northern Lights is pretty good so I say it a C+. I like the way it easier to drink them some IPAs. The IBU isn’t very high and it’s not overly bitter in your face. That is good. But I was looking for more the common fruity flavors that you might find in a good IPA, but I found none. Not to say that it makes this a trash or bad beer. It’s good but not great. I did enjoy this and I might have this again. So go and try Starr Hill Brewery Northern Lights India pale Ale. Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!

Lakefront Brewery, INC. Fixed Gear American Red Ale

Here is another beer that I’ve received from BrewPublik (www.BrewPublik.com). This is from Lakefront Brewery Inc. in Milwaukee Wisconsin. Lakefront has been brewing beer since 1987. The beer is Fixed Gear American Red Ale, 6.8% ABV. Red or Amber ale is primarily a catch for any beers less than a dark all in color, ranging from amber to deep red in hues. This style of beer tends to focus on the malts, but hop character can range from low to high. Expect a balanced beer, with toasted and a light fruitiness in most examples. The range can run from basic ale, to American brewers who brew faux-Oktoberfest style beers that are actually ales instead of lagers. I haven’t really had to many of this style before. Fixed gear pours a deep red color that looks purple in some lights with a two finger thin off white head.  I found very little light coming through the glass and found there to be minimal amounts of carbonation due to the beers dark red hue. The head does fade rather quickly leaving nothing behind. The aroma is faintly malty with a slight aroma of hops. I also found a very light orange smell on the aroma. The taste on Fixed Gear is faintly malted at first then a bit hoppy in the middle with some faint orange flavors and as it gets to the back the hops become slightly hopier but nothing overly hoppy.  Fixed Gear has a light to almost medium mouth feel and finishes a bit hoppy. The after taste is reminiscent of a pale ale with less malts. The hoppy after taste fade slowly but grows a little as it fades. I have mixed feelings about this beer. I found it to more bitter than I was hoping and less malted than this style should have. But I didn’t hate it. I say this is C. I wasn’t impressed with any of this beer flavors but I didn’t dislike them either but it was close to it. The only thing about this beer that I sort of liked was the faint orange flavor here. I am not sure but it taste like Citra Hops are used in this beer, but I couldn’t really find any evidence that Citra is used. This beer is kind of okay, so go and give lakefront Brewery INC. Fixed Gear American Red Ale and see what you think of it. Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!