Grand Teton Brewing Bitch Creek ESB Ale Extra Special Brown

Brown ales are one of my favorite beer styles. They aren’t as heavy as a porter or stout but they can and tend to have much similar qualities. Brown ales originated in England but now are all over the world and are quite popular among beer drinkers. Bitch Creek ESB Extra Special Brown, 6.0% ABV and 60 IBUs from Grand Teton Brewing in Victor, Idaho is one brewers take on the brown ale style. This is a bottle-conditioned beer. Bitch Creek pours a deep brown color, with one finger to one and a half finger beige head that quickly disappears with no lacing left behind. There is no light coming in or is they any visible signs of carbonation, The aroma is sweet like a brown ale but with a little bit of a hoppy scent that lightly lingers around the sweet toffee notes. Up fount Bitch Creek is a little different with the taste with caramel and toffee notes with some subtle sweetness that become a bit stronger on the middle of the tongue then bitters up a bit on the back. I found the taste to be not what I’d like in brown ale. The mouth feel is medium with a bitter finish and an after taste of bittersweet toffee and caramel notes that thankfully fade quickly. I don’t think the bitterness of Bitch Creek shouldn't be in this at all, so with that said Bitch Creek is a D-. It didn’t have any strong lingering sweetness that you’d get in a good brown ale nor did have a silky, creamy texture. I just though this wasn’t good brown ale at all nor was anyone part average. Bitterness should be a part of brown ale in my opinion. It just does go well together. I don’t think one should try Grand Teton Brewing Bitch Creek ESB Ale Extra Special Brown. Cheer! Please enjoy responsibly!  

Birrifico Del Ducato & Abita Brewing Co. Two Boots Saison

I am growing a liking to Saisons the more I have and I am looking out for them when I am beer shopping. Two Boots Saison 6.2% ABV is a collaboration between two countries and their great and celebrated breweries, Italy’s Birrificio Del Ducato and Louisiana’s Abita Beer. The name is from the fast that both Italy and Louisiana are shaped like boots. This saison is brewed with pepper, honey, lemon balm, pilsner and wheat malts. Two boots pours a lighter gold color with a four finger pillowy white head that sticks around for a while till fading into nice traces of lacing. Minimal light shines through with nice carbonation. The aroma is nice with a slight pepper and full honey with spots of lemon. Two Boots taste is yeasty with lemon and pepper notes towards the middle and back of the tongue. I found a bit of funky flavors on the end that wasn’t so bad but was also a bit mild in flavor. The flavor on this is average at best but not bad. The mouth feel is medium and has a nice spicy pepper finish and with a after taste of yeast pepper and lemon. Overall this Two Boots Saison Collaboration is not so bad but there are much better saisons out there. This is a C+ beer. I just think this is average with out being on the bad side. But when you get towards the end of the bottle it becomes a bit boring. I would have this again but not too soon though. Like I said there are better saisons out there to have then this. Not bad though just not as great as some. Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!  

Fullsteam Brewery King Basil Bière De Garde

I have never had the style Bière De Garde before till now. I found one from Fullsteam Brewing from Durham North Carolina. King Basil Bière De Garde, 8.0% ABV is brewed with five types of Basil. King Basil pours a copper/deep gold color with a two-finger white head that stays around long enough for a good look before fading into some halfway decent lacing. Not too much light comes through and with that said not so much of the carbonation could be seen. The aroma is perfume like with nice basil notes and a very faint yeast scent. King Basil has a nice light yeasted flavor followed quickly by a big rush of basil that hits the taste buds nicely. This taste is somewhat similar to Summer Basil but this one has a broader basil flavor. The mouthfeel is light to medium with a nice faint basil finish that leads into a nice floral after taste with little yeast notes. This is a great beer and a refreshing one as well. I say this is an A. I like how more than one type of basil is used in this to really broaden the basil flavor. That really makes this beer good and keeps it from being a stronger version of Summer Basil. I really recommend that you try Fullsteam Brewery King Basil Bière De Garde. Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!

Foothills Brewing IPA of The Month September (Coach)

It time again for Foothill IPA of the Month, September (Coach), 6.9% ABV. This months IPA is brewed with Horizon and Chinook hops. September pours a deep gold color with a 4 finger pillowy white head that sticks around for a while before fade into thick white laces around the glass. Nice amounts of light stream in between nice bubbles of carbonation. September has a nice malted earthy orange/grapefruit citrus aroma, with a nice malted bitter citrus taste that isn’t too harsh on the tongue. But there is a slight tingle of bitterness on the back of the tongue and mouth. The mouth feel is medium and slight malted with a nice bittersweet finish with bitter orange and grapefruit candy like after taste with touches of earthy notes. I say this months IPA from Foothills Brewing is a real treat, so it’s an A+ with me. There is Lots of balance between earthy bitter and malty flavors with this IPA. This is something worth trying for ones self. Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!   

Service Brwing Co. Ground Pounder Pale Ale

I have grown a like to pale ales over a few years. They are a nice balance between hoppy and malted sweet flavors. But pale ales sometime are overshadowed by IPAs and they big popularity. Service Brewing Co. out of Savanna Georgia, named for Military service, brews Ground Pounder Pale Ale, 4.6% ABV. Ground Pounder takes it name from the oldest part of the military. Ground Pounder pours a deep orange color with a two and half finger white head that leaves decent lacing behind. There are nice amounts of light coming through with good carbonation.  The aroma is big with citrus orange and some earthy notes. This beer has a smell like both an IPA and Pale Ale in my opinion. Ground Pounder has nice big orange flavor up front with a bit of a little earthy pine and malted flavor in the middle with a hoppy bite towards the end. The mouth feel is medium with a nice hoppy finish and a hop orange after taste that lingers for just a moment of enjoyment then fades before your next sip. I thought this beer was good but it could have been just a little bit better, so this Ground Pounder pale ale is a B. The finish was just a little hoppy for what I like, but the rest was good. If you like a nice pale ale then Service Brewing Co. Ground Pounder Pale Ale should be tried. Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!