Boulevard Brewing Smokestack Series Long Strange Triple

In American, almost everything originates from some other country, and that is even truer when it comes to beer/craft beer. The first beer to be brewed here in this nation was from England and later from German and Czechoslovakia. Just look at some of the beer styles on your local beer store shelves and you can find, an IPA, and English style, Weizen, a German-style, Trappist, a Belgian style, and so forth. American breweries brew all the styles. Today’s beer is no different, Boulevard Brewing Company (Kansas City, Missouri) Smokestack Series Long Strange Triple, 9.0% ABV. A Tripel (a Belgian style ale) is referring to the brewing process in which brewers use up to three times the amount of malt than Trappist. Long Strange Tripel pours a darker semi-hazy gold color with a big three and a quarter white rocky/fluffy head that really stay a while and leaves big thick lacing behind. I found little light coming through due to the hazy nature of this beer and found little, but some carbonation bubbles are there as well. The aromas on this Tripel are big with apple fruits and a bit of lemon, with a nice spice note. I also found a bit of coriander, but that was a faint aroma at best. I could smell the aromas of this from were away, and not just when I put my nose to the goblet, and it is an awesome smelling beer. The taste of Long Strange Tripel is big with lemon and apple fruit with a slight spicy peppery like note. You do taste the high ABV (9.0% ABV) on this, more so as it warms up. But it’s not enough to make you stop from drinking it. There isn’t much of the faint coriander in the taste, there is, however, is little zesty zing from the lemon/apple on the back of your tongue. The mouthfeel is medium but does finish well with a slight spice not and bit boozy. The aftertaste is sweetly fruity with a hint of carbonated spice. So this, Long Strange Tripel that I took is getting an A+ from me. This is a really awesomely crafted Belgian style Tripel. It was refreshingly great, and I highly recommend you try this beer!! Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!  

Highland Brewing Company Gaelic Ale

I always believe that one should drink local beer, it make you pound of you area, state and/or region. This beer is no different; this is Highland Brewing Company Gaelic Ale, American Amber ale at 5.80% abv. The Highland Brewing Company is in North Carolina biggest brewing are/town, Asheville, nestled in the beautiful Blue Ridge and Smoky mountains. The Highland Brewery gets its name from the Scottish people that settled there long ago, and they we’re called Highlander, due to high peaks/mountains in Scotland. Gaelic Ale pours an amber/copper color with a big fluffy three finger white head that stay around for quite some time, and leaves such pretty lacing around the glass. There is a small amount of light coming through with a normal about of carbonation. The aroma is malty with a hop note. There is a slight bready character to the aroma as well. The taste on Gaelic ale starts off with a nice small pop of grass and somewhat piney bitterness, due to their use of Cascade and Willamette hops, then you get a nice rich malted taste that balances out the bitterness. The mouth feel is medium and this ale finishes with a very faint hop note, slightly bitter but good. The aftertaste is good with sweetness from the malts used. Overall this beer is well balanced between hop bitterness and malty sweetness. So I am giving this one A, a great well-crafted and balanced beer. It is a slightly different take on the style of American Amber ale, and they crafted it perfectly. So if you have not tried this one please do so, you will not be disappointed. Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!         

Palm Speciale Belge Ale

A great thing about beer is that you can find it in almost all of the countries of the world in many different styles. One of the best beer countries is Belgium and this particular beer is Palm Special Belge Ale, 5.40% ABV. Palm has been in brewing production since 1747 as a new style of al Special Belge, taste complexity of ale brewed to be refreshing like a pilsner of lager.  Palm pours an orange amber color with a three quarter finger white head. The head doesn’t stay to long and does leave some lacing behind. There is some light coming through the glass and plenty of Carbonation. The aroma is orangey like sweet candy orange slices with a hint of a light grassy note. The taste on Palm is of a big sweet citrusy orange with a small fruit candy and light grassy note. The mouth feel is light to medium, and finish nicely with a hint of the citrus sweetness. The aftertaste is somewhat short with light candy orange sweetness. Palm is a good beer, so I am giving this a B grade. Nothing is wrong with this beer, but they do everything well with this beer. Not a mind-blowing beer, but this is a surprisingly tasty beer. I do recommend this beer, its good. So head over to Mike’s Discount Beverage (4700 Park Rd., Charlotte, NC 28209) for a six-pack and/or a case of Palm. Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!

Blue Moon Agave Nectar Ale

Yet another Blue Moon has arrived on the beer scene, and this one is a replacement of Blue Moon Summer, or Honey Moon. This here is Blue Moon Agave Nectar Ale, 5.6% ABV. Yes there will not be any more Blue Moon Summer, I really don’t know why. There just won’t be.  This Blue Moon pours a semi clear deeper gold color, with a nice finger and a half white head that stays a short while, and makes nice lacing. There is a descent amount of light coming through the glass with a normal, steady stream of carbonation bubbles.  The aroma is sweet with just a touch of wheat. I do get a funny scent of what seems to be a fruit juice, something like tropical pineapple but very faint. The taste on this seasonal Blue Moon is crisp like most of their beers tend to be, but there is also a big almost tropic sweetness there from the Agave nectar. You do get a faint yet light wheat flavor as well but it is almost non-present. Taste on this reminds of Blue Moon Summer, which is a great beer. I might go as far and say it is a bit under rated. The finish on this Blue Moon Agave Nectar Ale is sweet clean refreshing, and I found that the aftertaste was just as sweet but a step down, still good and cleaned up nicely. There were no wheat flavors in the aftertaste just the Agave sweetness. This beer is great in the words of my father. So overall I would say this is getting an A from me. This is just an average beer that has been made slightly better than that. But I have to say that the Blue Moon Brewing Co. is rather under rated, they really don’t blow the roof of the craft beer world, but they really brew neat, awesome and great tasting beers. This is a great example of one of those beers. So go and try this one and you’ll really understand where I am coming from. Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!