The Pike Brewing Co. Extra Stout

There are many different styles of beer but none have more different kinds within a style as stouts do. Some breweries will brew stouts with milk sugar, candy sugars, peppers, peppermint, coffee, chocolate, oatmeal, and some with fruits, creams, or age them in a barrel. Stouts can range from 5.0% ABV to as high as 18.0% ABV. This stout is The Pike Brewing Co. Extra Stout, 7.0% ABV with an IBU (International Bittering Unit) of 65. Extra Stout pours a thick black color with brown edges and a two finger dark beige head that is slowly dissipates into thick lacing around the glass. There was no light coming though the glass due to the big dark hue of the beer and the same could be said of the carbonation bubbles. The aroma on Extra Stout is big with raw chocolate that is coca like with a nice roasted scent around that. The taste on Extra Stout is semi sweet up front with a chocolate flavor and followed by a roasted note that has a bittersweet flavor following it. The mouth feel is rich and heavy and coated your tongue and mouth. Extra Stout has a bittersweet finish that is reminiscent of coffee bitterness. The after taste is more of that coffee bitterness with a hint of baker’s chocolate. Overall Extra Stout isn’t a sweet beer but has its moments, so it is getting a B here. This beer is really good until the bitterness hits and then it loses itself just a bit. It’s not overly bitter nor is the bitterness bad. The bitterness is good; it’s more of a coffee bitterness than a hoppy bitterness, which in my opinion is a better type of bitterness. I did enjoy this Extra Stout, and would have it again. So go out and try The Pike Brewing Co. Extra Stout and see what you think of it. Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!  

Pike Brewing Post Alley Porter

I have not had much of The Pike Brewing Co. beer before, but I’ve seen their beers quite often at various stores. So I thought I would pick up a Pike beer and give it a review. The Pike Brewing Co. has been brewing beer since 1989 in Seattle Washington. This Pike Brewing Co. beer is Post Alley Porter, named after the entrance to their brewery. The Pike Brewery uses 2 Row Malt and Yakima Hops for this porter, and it has an IBU (International Bittering Unit) of 32. Post Alley Porter pours a thick black color with an almost two finger nougat beige head, that dissipates slowly into great tan lacing. Due to dark color of this beer I found no light coming through the glass and no carbonation bubbles either. The aroma on Post Alley Porter is rich and roasted with a nice chocolaty aroma. The taste on Post Alley Porter is big with a roasted coffee like note and bit of sweetness for a good chocolate flavor, but not overly sweet. Toward the back you get the faintest bitter flavor that doesn’t stay for very long. The mouth feel is full and rich, and does coat you mouth with all the goodness. Post Alley Porter finishes nice with a faint hint of bitterness, but is overshadowed by a roasted flavor that has a nice sweetness to it. The after taste really sticks in your mouth with a nice roasted sweet coffee like flavor. This beer, Post Alley Porter is good, so it gets an A here. The Pike Brewing Co. has really nailed what a true porter taste like. All the ingredients are well balanced with one another to make a great porter. I recommend that you try Post Alley Porter. So go out and try this Pike Brewing Co. Post Alley Porter and see what you think. Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!

Strongbow Hard Cider

Recently hard cider has gained popularity, and more and more we are seeing a growing number of cider makers popping up. Cider is usually made from apples, but some is made from pears, but that is called parry. This cider is a pretty common English hard cider, Strongbow, 5.0% ABV from H.P. Bulmer Ltd, and they have been around since 1887. Stongbow pours a gold copperish color with no head (most ciders don’t have much head), and there is tons of light pouring in through the glass. There is a great carbonation level on this cider, making this very effervescent. The aroma on Stongbow Hard Cider is of a crisp green apple with an apple juice aroma. The taste is much like the aroma with a crisp apple and apple juice. The taste is just average, nothing really noteworthy here but not bad for a cider. The mouth feel is light with a crisp but dry finish leading into a sweet and faintly tart apple after taste that fades as quickly as it comes.  Strongbow is not really exciting, nor is it boring, and with that said Strongbow gets a B. There’s not a lot going on in this, but that’s just how most ciders are. The apple flavors on this aren’t as sharp as some others might be, but that could be a good thing depending on your taste buds. I liked this Stongbow Hard Cider. So go and give Stongbow a try and see how you like it. Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!  

Southern Tier Hopsun

During the summertime the most widely seen beer is a wheat beer. They are great for that time of year, but they can also be good anytime of the year. There are lots of different takes on a wheat beer some are made with fruits; some are brewed with spices, and darker malts. This one beer, Southern Tier Hopsun, 5.1% ABV, is a summer wheat beer. Hopsun pours a slightly hazy yellow color with a one and a half finger white head that dissipates quickly. There are nice amounts of light streaming through the glass with nice carbonation bubbles racing upwards to the white head. The aroma is hoppy scented with grassy grain notes and just a hint of wheat. The taste on Hopsun is at first hoppy with a grassy like note, then you get a slight tinge of wheat hitting you taste buds. There is a slight hidden faint clove taste there as well, but it was slightly hard to notice. The finish is slightly dry and hoppy with floral like notes, that leads into a light hoppy flavor that doesn’t stay to very long. The mouth feel is light to almost medium. Overall this is a good beer, but it is trying to hard to be two different things instead of make one thing from two, like a hoppy beer and a summer wheat beer. So Hopsun is getting B-. Not a great beer, but an okay to good beer. So go out and try this Southern Tier Hopsun and see what you think of it. Cheers! Please drink responsibly!

Great Lakes Brewing Co. Commodore Perry IPA

IPA’s have widely grown in popularity today and there are many brewers whom focus on hops that are found in most IPA’s. IPA stands for India Pale Ale. This IPA is Great Lakes Brewing Co. Commodore Perry IPA, 7.5% ABV, from Cleveland Ohio. Commodore Perry is an English Style IPA. Commodore Perry pours a light copper color with a three and a half finger white head that stick around a while and leaves behind great lacing. There is a nice amount of light streaming through the glass, but I wouldn’t call this beer crystal clear, there is also a good amount of carbonation bubbles stream to the top. The aroma on Commodore Perry is earthy with grassy gains and big bitter floral hops, and a tiny citrus aroma. You can really smell the aroma on Commodore Perry as soon as you begin to pour. A slight floral note that seems to be shadowed by a citrus flavor bitter up front follows the taste. There are hints of grass earthy notes throughout the taste of Commodore Perry IPA. The mouth feel is medium with a dry earthy yet hoppy finish. The after taste is slightly less hoppy, but still dry with a floral note, it really stays in your mouth leaving it dry and sticky. This is a bold beer with lots of big bold flavors. This beer is a good English Style IPA. Commodore Perry IPA gets B+, a solid effort from Great Lakes Brewing Co. Commodore Perry is what an English IPA should be, it taste great, but for how great it taste I think that I ABV should have been a little lower. But Commodore Perry is still a good IPA. If you have not tried this one the please do so! Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!