Newcastle Founders' Ale

Here is a limited offering form newcastle, which is offered in the spring. This is a pale ale in the English tradition. It's cleverly called Founders' Ale, which is to pay homage to the brewery founders. Isn't that nice of them. This pale ale is 4.8% abv. Founders' pours a simi dark gold color with a medium white head. This Newcaste brew has a dry hoppy aroma like a wild flower or grassy greenery. It's reminds me of late spring time. The taste is a dry hoppy flavor with a sweetness rather that a bitterness. But it is not overly sweet, just enough sweetness. The taste is all refreshing clean and crisp. This is rather drinkable. The aftertaste is just as clean and crisp with a hit of sweet malt, but it's very faint on you taste buds. This beer is a good refreshing drinkable beer that would go well after some hard laboring in the yard or washing the car. Yes this is a very refreshing brew. Makes a warm spring day better. I am beer makes any day better, I am right? Yeah I like this, but then again I like all of Newcastle's offerings. The entire line up is wonderful, taste ans oh so great. This just seals the deal. This is not like most pale ales out there. I think its better, it has a wider appeal towards the beer dinker. You too should get this and give it a big try, you'll love it! Cheers! Please drink responsibly!

Abita Abbey Ale

When you here or see Abbey ales that means the beer is in the tradition of monks who perfected the art of brewing beer to support the monastery and the brothers with their "liquid bread". This is beer is a Dubbel, at 8% abv. For every bottle of this Abbey Abita sells 25 cents goes to St. Joseph's Abbey. This Dubbel pours a dark amber color with a slight tan head. There is the aroma of carmel with fruit and cloves. That scent is very true to this style of beer. I find it to be a nice pleasant aroma. Abita top-frements and bottle ages this. Abita Abbey has a nice malty taste to go right along with the carmel and the slight clove flavors. The flavors all have that strongness to them. But I find the aftertaste to be less than good, I do not think Belgian yeast is used here. So it is not as good as other Belgian Dubbels. I would say that this is half as good as others. I did not hate or dislike this Abbey Ale. I really think that Abita tried to do the best they could and came out with something that could use more work and fine tuning to get it as good or better then some of the great Abbey Ales and/or Dubbels out there. Would I try this again? Well yes but I am not dying to have it as soon as possible. It was okay in my book. Cheers! Please drink responsibly!

Abita SOS (Save Our Shore)

This was a part of a New Orleans souvenir. Not such an easy find here in North Carolina, but it is here, not everyone here. SOS or Save Our Shore is an unfiltered wiezen pilsner, 7% abv. Abita was brewed and to be sold with the recent gulf oil spill in mind, what I mean is that for every bottle of  SOS that is sold 75 cents goes to restoring that oil soaked area. That is very kind and thoughtful of them. Well good for them, okay moving on to the beer aspect of SOS. This brew pours a nice brilliant gold color with a nice medium white head. Looks very nice and tasty. But do not judge this guy on his looks or any beer for that mater. This SOS has a scent of sweetness that very powerful or overwhelming on your nose, but the overall aroma is pleasant. Now the taste is good but not for a weizen pils. It's good as a beer. SOS as a nice bitterness that is not what I would expect for this type of pils. There is a sweet malt taste at first, then the bitterness, but not over bitter. The aftertaste on this is a little more bitter that before. This is a good beer just not a good weizen pilsner. I find that all the flavors in this beer are good but when they are called a weizen pils it becomes a little less. Cheers! Please drink responsibly!

New Holland Envious 2011

This is a beer of many different taste. Envious is brewed with pear juice, raspberries and aged on oak. Well I thought that sounded good. Well I was wrong. This pours a deep dark brown with a very thin beige color. It has a strong smokey coffee scent that is not as good as you'd think. I did not like that. This brew has that coffee taste with a fruity undertone that is slightly okay, but not great,  which is followed by a strong smokey bitterness that is not good at all. Kind of gross if you ask me. Envious has a faint smokey yet strong bitterness that make lose it creditably quick. This beer reminds me of rotten fruit and bad smoked meat. I think they were trying to hard to make an interesting beer and it backfired on them. Hey give up! This is no good and should not be had. I do think you should find something else to try. There is to many flavor that do not go well with on another and on top of that the aging on oak makes it just really bad. So stay away from this and you'll be okay. Cheers! Please drink responsibly!

Olde Mecklenburg Brewery Früh-Bock

Yes spring is in the air and it smells like bock, Fruh bock. Fruh Bock meaning early bock, is Olde Mecklenburg's spring offering. This is a 6.0% abv beer. It pours a nice light gold and yellow color with a big thick white head. This bock has a nice flowery scent with plenty of hop scent in the mix. This one smells rather well and make your mouth water.  No this one is not overly scenty just plan, average, and yet smells good. When this Fruh hit you palet you get a crisp faint hoppy flavor that is also faintly sweet, but good. You also get a nice crisp malt taste that is most pleasent. The same can be said about its aftertaste, which is nice, clean, refreshing, and malty with a bit of hops. This bock is not overy bitter, but throughout the taste and aftertaste there is hints of slight bitter, but nothing to write home about. This beer is a good, no great spring time beer. I really love this one its great, I hope that you will feel just the same. Better get this before spring is over! Cheers! Please drink responsibly!

Widmer Brothers Hefeweizen

Now here is a Hefeweizen hailing from Oregon. Portland Or is a big brewing mecca as is the areas around Portland. This Hefeweizen or wheat beer came to be when my father, great man that he is, went to Portland for a meeting. I knew that Portland is a great beer city. He got this growler at the airport, how neat is that. Thank you dad! A growler is either 1/2 gallons to 1 gallon and is filled from the tap and caped with a screw top. Charlotte Douglas Airport, you should read this again carefully(HINT HINT). Yes I kept this growler, it was just to cool to throw away. This hefeweizen is 4.9 abv Now this beer pours a cloudy orange color with a neat white head. Look almost like an orange fruit drink, very inviting. It has a nice wheat aroma with a very very small malty scent. When you taste this you get a good wheat taste that fades kind of quickly and then there is a faint malt taste, but this is a crisp taste overall. I like this ones taste but I would say its average and could be a little better. The aftertaste is wheaty as well but not as present as on the first taste, but it finishes clean and crisp. This is a good drinkable hefeweizen, that is good but not blow your mind good, just good. This is when you just want a good average beer. This could be better, but I don't mind that, I like would like it either way. Not overly done or to pourly done, just good and average for that average kinda day. Cheers! Please drink responsibly!

SweetWater Blue

Yes this is a brewery down in Atlanta, Ga. I have heard of this brewery and was curious about they're beers so I tried this one, they're wheat ale, which has blueberries brewed in. Blue is a 4.6 abv beer. This beer pours a nice yellowish orange color with a nice bright white head. There are lots of wheaty scents on this beer mixed with sweet blueberries. This blueberry wheat has that good wheat taste that is followed by sweet, tart blueberries. The taste is very blueberry, good sweet, tart, and crisp. The finish and after taste is crisp with a faint blueberry taste that is still good. Over all I like this beer. I am a big fan of wheat beer and fruity wheat beers. This is good, and would beer great on a hot day. When you have this one its a good wheat taste with a surprising great blueberry taste. Blue is now one of my favorite wheat beers. This is getting an A from me. SweetWater Blue does not make me blue, but very happy that I am drinking this! Cheers! Please drink Responsibly!

Magic Hat #9

I bought this through a suggestion from a worker at Total Wine and More. This is not quite pale ale from Magic Hat brewery. They have been around since 1994 in South Burlington, VT. I have heard of them before but never  tried or gotten into any of they're beers, until now. Number nine(#9) is 5.1 abv, mildly alcoholic. This I don't know if this is a pale ale or not, pours an orange hue with a small white head that is sort of there. Now this looks promising at this point, that is if you can get past the confusing not quite pale ale on the bottle. It has a nice pale malt sent that is on the boring side but okay. It really has now great scents, all are just plan Jane boring. Now on the taste, you get a nice flavorful feel as soon as it hits you tongue, the it's gone in the blink of an eye. There is a sour flavor that has medium weakness to it, but it not good. I think the hop sour flavor is boringly average. Number nine's taste does not excite my taste buds. The aftertaste is the same as boring sourness as before, and still boring. This is overall boring, so therefor I don't like it. I don't think it is nasty, just not good. I would not pour this out if I am drinking it. This is not a beer I would seek out or have over something else that might be better. But I do hear some beer drinkers do like this, and I am not one of them. I do like a nice pale ale, just not #9. What, did it take them nine times to get this right, well Magic Hat nine more tries might make it good! Cheers! Please drink responsibly!