La Perle Blonde

This beer, La Perle Blonde 5.4% ABV, is a French Style craft beer, but it is brewed in Germany until the brewery is open in Alsace, France. This is a pilsner style beer brewed with Alsace’s native Strisselspalt whole hop. La Perle pours a darkish orange color with a two finger bright white bubbly head that slow to fade. There are big amounts of light coming through this one and a great amount of carbonation streaming off the bottom. The aroma on the La Perle is quite floral and slightly hoppy. Perle has both pale ale scent and a nice pilsner scent too. The taste of La Perle is first light and crisp with a nice mellow sweetness, but a nice hop note follows it. There is also a slight bitterness through out but barely. The mouth feel is light, crisp and refreshing with a nice amount of carbonation on your tongue. Perle finish clean and nice, with a hint of a nice bitter hop flavor. Perle’s after taste is like good pale ale with a hint of a pilsner, hoppy yet crisp and refreshing. This is getting a B, I have never really had a hoppy pilsner like this before, so I wasn’t expecting it to taste like it did, not that is was bad. I would have to have to have had more like this before to maybe give this a better or even the same rating. So remember to stop on into Mike’s Discount Beverage’s, 4700 Park Rd Charlotte NC 28209 and please pick Perle up! Cheers! Please enjoy Responsible!

Black Boss Porter

Well it’s that time of year when all of us beer geeks drink darker beers, and this is one of them. This is Black Boss Porter, 9.4% ABV. This is a Baltic porter. Baltic porters are similar to Imperial stouts, in that they are made for the Baltic States (countries). That just means they have more ingredients and a higher ABV to make the long trip from England. Now this isn’t an English beer, it hales from Poland. Most porters originated in London England, but now they can be found most anywhere. Black Boss is brewed by Browar Witnica S.A. and has been doing this since 1845. Black Boss pours a deep dark brown almost black color with a big pillowy tan three to four finger creamy head that slowly fades. The head looks a lot like coffee ice cream. There is plenty of great tan lacing on the glass, but not a lot of carbonation or light coming though. The aroma is nice with a big roasted, smoky malted coffee. There is a very faint hint of chocolate there. The taste on Black Boss is a big roasted malt with I nice slight smokiness as well, and you don’t really taste the 9.4% ABV much. This has a slight creamy taste too. The mouth feel is medium-full, silky and creamy. Black Boss has a good finish that doesn’t have a slight bitterness like some Baltic porters might. It’s after taste is sweet semi smoky with nice roasted malt that lingers a bit on your palate. This is defiantly A+ beer. I was thinking this was going to be good but a lot more of a bigger beer than it actually was. I do highly recommend this to any dark beer or porter lover. So please come on over to Mike’s Discount Beverage’s for this, and for all your fine wine and beer! Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!

Newcastle Brown Ale

Brown Ale’s often get overlooked when it comes to beer, and they shouldn’t they are a very tasty style and one of my favorites. Here is a pretty common English style brown ale. Newcastle Brown Ale, 4.70% ABV, is on of two brown ale styles in England. This style is slightly sweeter and malty than the northern style, which isn’t as sweet but almost a malted. Newcastle Brown pours a redish dark color with a one and half finger tan head that fades kind of slowly. There is tons of light coming through the glass with little to almost no carbonation. The aroma is sweet and malty with nice sugary dark fruits. The mouth feel is light with a nice low body and this does finish nicely with a hint of sweetness. The after taste on this Newcastle is malted and semi sweet but doesn’t really stay long. This beer is really drinkable and light, I would say it is a good entrey into dark beers. This is the first beer I every really feel in love with and I still love it to day. This beer is A all day, really close to being more than that, but the light body keeps it form going any higher but the lightness of this ones body keeps it on an A. Everyone should love this beer it is simple great tasting and fun to have. I highly recommend this to everyone. Please try this NOW! Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!

Nostradamus Belgian Brown Ale

Often good beer drinkers tend to over look the style of Brown Ale, no matter where they come from. This in particular is a Belgian Brown ale, Nostradamus, 9.0% ABV. Brasserie Caracole brews this beer, Nostradamus ale.  This Belgian pours a dark murky brown color with a one finger tan head that fades quickly in a nice little foamy ring.  I found no carbonation coming off this one, but a very tiny about light did peek though the glass. The aroma is of raisins, dark plums. There is a nice burnt sugar and tiny amounts of a malt scent as well. This really smells boozy and dark. The taste of Nostradamus is of dark fruits, such as raisins and plums with a sprinkle of brunt malty sugar.  The mouth feel is light to somewhat medium, not as thick as some brown ale can be. There is a nice slight alcoholic burn going down in the finish. The after taste is plummy and has a nice faint raisin to it. Over all not a bad brown ale, stronger than most, so I am giving this a B-.  The mouth feel was lighter than I was hoping but good, and for 9.0% ABV, not as strong on the booze flavor/feel. I enjoyed this, but this is a good sipping beer to enjoy for while or even longer. Pick up some down at Mike’s Discount Beverage, 4700 Park Rd. Charlotte NC 28209 for a bottle. Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly! 

Samuel Smith's Organic Chocolate Stout

It’s always good when you have a beer from Samuel Smith’s. The best English brewer in my opinion, and this one is no exception. This beer is new to the Samuel Smith line of brews. This is the Organic Chocolate Stout at 5.0% ABV. This is a sweet or milk stout. Milk stout doesn’t mean that milk is used when brewing this, no it just the lactose sugar from the milk is used. But in this Samuel Smith Theobroma coco is used as a more main ingredient. This Stout pours a deep black color with a big four to four and a half finger of dark khaki/brownish beige pillowy head. The head really stick around on this one, with no light or carbonation in the glass. There is tons of great lacing left around the glass. This is just a great beautiful looking stout. The aroma is of a big hunk of good bakers chocolate with a touch milk chocolate and faint roasted malt. But the aroma reminded me of a chocolate drink.  The scents and aromas really give you a wow factor. The taste on this Samuel Smith’s is a big chocolate taste, just really sweet chocolate note hitting you taste buds. There is a faint roasted malt/coffee taste there but it’s really muted from the big chocolate notes up front. The mouth feel is full and rich, with a silky texture. This chocolate stout finishes nicely leave a great after taste of coco, chocolate that sticks around with a quick hint of roasted notes. Wow this is a great beer and I am giving this A+. This is a really great beer to have.  This is a great chocolate stout from start to finish.  Yet again Samuel Smith’s has brewed a beer that should be the best for a long time as they all their beers are. I highly recommend you get this and try this right now. This is an amazing beer. Please tell all your friends and/or share this with them. I think everyone should drink this once. I loved it! Cheers! Happy Thanksgiving! Please enjoy responsibly!