Boulevard Smokestack Series Tank 7 Farmhouse Ale

It looks like I have been reviewing a lot of Belgian-style beers recently, well that is true, I have. Well that is because I love Belgian and Belgian-style beers very much, and I think that most concerning beers drinkers do as well. The Belgian-style beers are popular among brewers and breweries; there are some that brew the Belgian-style only. Well this beer here no different from that; here is Boulevard Brewing Smokestack Series Tank 7 Farmhouse Ale, 8.5% ABV. Boulevard Brewing is from Kanas City, Missouri and this is part of the Smokestack Series that is named after the tall old brick smokestack at their brewery. Tank 7 pours slight hazy light copper color with a two and half, almost three finger white head, that somewhat slow to dissipate but does so into nice lacing around the glass. I found very minimal light streaming through the glass with a decent amount of carbonation bubbles. The aroma on Tank 7 is a bit fruity with some tropical fruit notes, like a little faint pineapple. There is a tiny-spiced not that is barely noticeable. Tank 7’s taste is sweet and bready from it’s malts used and I found there to a tropical spiced fruit similar to the fruit aroma of pineapple, but there is a little faint mango as well. Tank 7 has crispness with little lemony flavor towards the back. The mouth feel is medium, with a nice somewhat sweet bready and spiced finish and an after taste of spice and bready malt that linger long enough for enjoyment. Boulevard Brewing Smokestack Series Tank 7 Farmhouse Ale gets an A. I though this was good Belgian-Style Farmhouse ale, the really captured the style well with Tank 7. It had nothing wrong with, nothing overdone. Tank 7 is actually easy to drink for being 8.5% ABV and you don’t really taste that is that high in ABV. Now yes that could be a bit dangerous, but Tank 7 only comes in 12 ounce 4 packs and 750ml bottles. Yes I would recommend this to anyone. So go out and try Boulevard Brewing Smokestack Series Tank 7 Farmhouse Ale! Cheers! Please enjoy responsible!    

Avery Brewing White Rascal Belgian-Style White Ale

Belgian-style White ales are one of the most popular style of beer out there. There are many different breweries brewing this style of beer, that is what Blue Moon is and so is Shock-Top. White ales, or Wits are not overly complicated with flavors, spices and so on. I find them be refreshing and tasty. Well I have here is Avery Brewing White Rascal Belgian-Style White Ale, 5.6% ABV. Avery is out of Boulder Colorado and has been brewing beer since 1993.  This beer is brewed with Rocky Mountain water, malted barley, malted wheat, hops, coriander, Curaçao orange peal and Belgian yeast.  White Rascal pours a slightly hazy yellow golden color with a bright one and half finger white head that dissipates quickly. I found a little bit of light coming through and some carbonation bubbles stream up to the top from the bottom. The aroma on White Rascal is a lot like most Belgian-style white ales, it has a little bit of spiced sent from the coriander with a bit of a wheat like scent. The taste isn’t much different from your average Belgian-style white ales, You get some of the coriander spice with a little bit of the orange peal and some hints of the wheat. Nothing is really different or new here. The mouth feel is medium with a nice spiced wheat finish. The after taste is of wheat with faint spiced notes. I like this Avery White Rascal, but I was thinking that I might like this, because I like most Belgian-style whites. I give Avery White Rascal and B. I solid white ale here. Nothing is really out of the ordinary for a Belgian white, just they way it supposed to be. I like that about this, it Avery really hit the nail on the Belgian-style white ale. I do recommend that you try Avery White Rascal. Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly! 

Goose Island Sofie Belgian Style Farmhouse Ale

Belgian style beers are widely popular with concerning beer lovers/drinkers. They are some of the best beers in the world. I am a huge Belgian beer fan. One thing about Belgian beer is that is not just only one style, Belgium has many beer styles, such as Abby, triple, wits, browns, sours (both dark and light), Lambic, IPA, pale ale, lagers, quadruples, saisons stouts, blondes. But this beer isn’t all the way from Belgium; no it’s from Chicago Illinois from Goose Island. This is Goose Island Sofia Belgian Style Farmhouse Ale, 6.5% ABV. This Farmhouse ale is 80% Belgian style ale blended with 20% Belgian style ale aged in wine barrels with orange peel. Aging beer in barrels isn’t anything new; brewers have been doing this for a very long time. Some use bourbon barrels, some use rum barrels, and some use barrels made of different types of wood, like oak, or cedar wood. Sofie is sold in twelve ounces four packs or 750ml bottles. Sofie pours a yellow light straw gold color with a two finger bright white bubbly head. I found tons of light streaming through the glass among the many carbonation bubbles. The aroma on Sofie is a bit like old green grapes, you know when they are bit older and taste a bit tart. There isn’t much of the orange peel there but there is a bit of a faint citrus aroma though. The taste on Sofie is a little similar to the aroma with a tart green grape leaning toward a faint sour flavor, and you do get the orange peel but I didn’t find a spicy white pepper that is advertised on the label. This beer is mostly tart. The mouthfeel is light to somewhat medium and has a nice tart refreshing finish, with a nice softer aftertaste of very faint vanilla that comes from the wine barrels. Sofie is on great beer so I am giving this an A-. I found this beer complex but in a good way. Bells Oarsman is similar in taste (Oarsmen is a Berliner Weissbier) to this but not as complex and easy drinking. Sofie is still an easy drinker just not as easy. I found it refreshing as well and good to have with nice creamy cheese and meats. I highly recommend trying Goose Island Sofie! It’s a good one from a great brewery. Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!     

Lagunitas New Dogtown Pale Ale

I have heard that Lagunitas is a very popular brewery among craft beer drinkers and they have been around for a while brewing beer in Petaluma, California, north of San Francisco.  This is Lagunitas New Dogtown Pale Ale, 6.2% ABV. New Dogtown is American Pale Ale that pours a deep yellow gold color with a two and a half finger of white head that bubbles and fades rather rapidly. I could see light coming through with fast trails of carbonation bubbles rushing and racing to the fading white head. The aroma on this is piney and more along the sent of an IPA (India Pale Ale) with bits of grassy notes along side the larger piney aroma. New Dogtown has an aroma that is more like an IPA that a pale ale in my opinion. The taste on New Dogtown is similar to the aroma with piney flavors and bits of grassy hoppy notes. I find the flavor/taste to be a bit hoppy for pale ale. I didn’t really get any other flavors on the taste. The mouth feel is medium with some bitterness from the hops. New Dogtown finish with a grassy, piney bitterness that I find to be okay in an IPA, but not so much in pale ale. The aftertaste is just a continuation of how New Dogtown taste. There is hoppy flavor that grows a little as the aftertaste lingers for a bit. I didn’t like this Lagunitas New Dogtown Pale Ale, so I it gets a D+. For me this pale ale was more like an IPA, and I don’t mind IPA’s but when the label says pale ale I would like for it to be that, and it wasn’t. I think New Dogtown could use more malt to balance the hoppy nature of this beer and it might be better. It didn’t seem to have enough balance of flavors; it was just too much hoppy flavors here (grassy, piney, and hops). But I know that this beer is better with more people, I just found it not so good because it was something different than what it is supposed to be. Cheers! Please Enjoy responsibly!        

21st Amendment Brewery Sneak Attack Saison

This time of year seasonal beer are usually darker wintery beers, but not according to the 21^st Amendment Brewery in San Francisco California. One of their winter seasonal beers is a Saison (farmhouse ale), which you would normally see in spring or summertime.  21^st Amendment beers only come in cans that are adorned with cool art. This 21^st Amendment beer is Sneak Attack Saison 6.2% ABV and 38 IBUs. This Sneak Attack is Farmhouse Ale brewed with Cardamom. Sneak Attack pours a light copper color with a three finger white head that stick around before slowly fading away into some nice light whips of lacing. I found good amounts of light coming through the glass with nice carbonation bubbles. The aroma on Sneak Attack is a little semi-sweet with big yeasty notes and a tiny touch of fruitiness. The taste of Sneak Attack is pretty much what you get on the aroma. There is a slight fruity taste up front that is apple like and then you get a yeast flavor that is a tad bit chalky with a little spiced note wheat note, but its not cardamom spice that you are tasting, I never found where cardamom is in all the flavors. But as Sneak Attack warms the chalky flavor subsides a bit and the beers becomes just a bit smoother. The mouth feel is medium with a yeasty wheat finish with an after taste of a bright spicy flavor with hints of a fruity note. I like 21^st Amendment but this was not what I was used to in a Saison and I found it to be a little off the mark, so I would give 21^st Amendment Brewery Sneak Attack Saison a C-. I would say that the chalky flavors I found in this really let this beer down. I have had some of the best Saison beer out there so this is not anywhere close to this. It’s not great, but close to bad, and not something I would pour out. I just wouldn’t have Sneak Attack again. I found the can to be pretty cool and that is a small part of why I picked this beer up. I don’t think you should try 21^st Amendment Brewery Sneak Attack Saison. Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!