Thirsty Dog Brewing Company 12 Dogs of Christmas Ale

Well it’s Christmas time and yes this is a Christmas beer. This beer is 12 Dogs of Christmas Ale, 8.3% ABV, from the Thirsty Dog Brewing Company in Akron Ohio. This came to Brewpublik (www.brewpublik.com). Most of their beers are dog names and/or themed as is this one. 12 Dogs of Christmas Ale pours a deep caramel color with an almost two finger light beige head that thin but sturdy and stays there for a while. It does leave some nice lacing in the glass but that fades rather quickly. The aroma is much like the holiday season; there is toasted caramel with a bit of honey, cinnamon and a nice whiff of ginger and some faint nutmeg. There’s a whole heck of a lot going on with the aroma here. The taste is not as thick as you’d expect it to be. There is honey and cinnamon with a little bit of ginger and caramel but I didn’t get much nutmeg. It was sweet but not overly sweet. The mouth feel is light to medium leaning more towards medium with a nice holiday spiced finish and a sweet honey, cinnamon ginger after taste that slowly fades. Overall a good beer but I was expecting it to be richer and have a thicker mouth feel that is more porter of stout like, still it was more drinkable not being that way which helps. I give 12 Dogs of Christmas Ale a B. This is a beer I would come back to and recommend to others. It had a lot going on and all the flavors together didn’t hurt the overall taste of this beer. It a good Christmas beer that is worth celebrating the season with! Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly! Happy Holidays!!  

Westbrook Brewing Co. Märzenbier

October is over I know and I think you can still drink Märzenbier. I like this type of German beers. I found one from Westbrook Brewing Co, Märzenbier, 6.0% ABV. This is an Octoberfest-style amber larger brewed with Munich and Caramunich malts and hopped with german noble hops with Bravarian larger yeast. Märzenbier pours a rich amber color that almost looks like a darker copper color. There is a nice three and a half finger of semi-off white head that slowly dissipates into nice lacing around the glass stein. The aroma is malted and bread like with a bit of fresh biscuits mixed in. The taste is mild with notes of malted bread and touches of sweetness that don’t overwhelm your taste buds. The mouth feel is a touch on the fuller side but for the most part is medium. The after taste flavors fall a bit short with a sweetness that just stops and turns into a yeasty faint after taste. I think that Märzenbier is good but there are better beers in this style out there. So this is a B- beer. I like it but found it to fall off a bit. I think it is good but need a bit of improvement to make it better. I think it could use a bit more malt to help it. So try Westbrook Brewing Co. Märzenbier for yourself and see what you think of it, and let me know down in the comments below. Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!

Sixpoint Brewery Sweet Action

Here is another one from a new to the Charlotte area brewery, Sixpoint Brewing, Sweet Action 5.2% ABV. One source says that Sweet Action is Cream Ale; while Sixpoint says it’s hard to define and that it is part pale ale, part wheat, part cream ale. Well yes it is all of that but let me tell you what I think it is. Sweet Action pours a deep orangey color with a fizzy two finger white head that fizzed away rather quickly. The aroma is all sorts of things, one being a bit of a faint mild wheat, another is a little pale ale aroma that smells a little off but okay and you also will find a slight creamy scent that is all that but is enough to notice that it a creamy aroma. I did get the most faintest of hop aroma there too but I not sure if that is suppose to be like that from the brewery. The taste is well much like a faintly sweet mild IPA not what I was think it was going to be after see the label but it’s good. I like the sweet mild IPA that Sweet Action is. I was hoping for more of creamy ale than what I got. But after finishing Sweet Action, I wasn’t displeased with it. The mouth feel is medium with a nice mild hop finish and an after taste of a slightly sweet hop flavor. I thought this would turn be different than what it turned out to be. It was good but saying it is one thing and finding out it is another takes the grade down just a little to a B+. I enjoyed Sixpoint Brewery Sweet Action for what it is not what it says it is. So you too should try Sixpoint Brewery Sweet Action for yourself. Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!  

Sixpoint Brewery The Crisp

This is a new brewery to the Charlotte area but the Sixpoint Brewery has been around since 2004. Sixpoint Brewery is located in Brooklyn, New York. This is The Crisp, 5.4% ABV a Lager. The Crisp is dry-hopped with fresh hops. The Crisp pours a golden color with a little thin bight white fizzy head that quickly disappears with nothing left behind. The aroma is bready and much like and common larger or pilsner. The taste is much like you’d expect you get a nice crisp taste of breaded notes and nice cracker as well. The mouth feel is light and crisp with a faint hoppy note on the finish. The after taste isn’t really there but there is a quick note of a crisp breaded hoppy flavor. Over all not what the hope led this beer to be. I didn’t think it was a good as people were saying it was. But I did not hate The Crisp. I give this a C+. The faint hoppy finish keep it from being much better as did the plane flavor, but this wasn’t the worst just not the best. I am glad I tried Sixpoint Brewery The Crisp to see what the hype is about. Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!   

Foothills Brewing IPA of the Month November (Maddie)

Its time again for Foothills Brewing IPA of the Month here is November (Maddie), 7.1% ABV and 78 IBUs. There is only one more month in the IPA of the Month then it will be Hop of The Month where they will showcase a different hop each month instead of a different IPA. This months IPA is brewed with a blend of Amarillo, Horizon, Chinook and experimental hops. Maddie pours a deep copper color with a four-finger bubbly yet fluffy off white head that slowly dissipates into some medium lacing around the glass. The aroma is a little more malt forward than past months IPA. You get a nice faint orange peel and hits of grassy grapefruit that leans on the earthy side. Maddie has sharp taste upfront with nice earth bready flavor surrounded by grassy and earthy yet slightly bitter fruity notes. The flavor was as wow as I was expecting it to be, but still good no less. The mouth feel is medium with a nice bitter finish and an after taste of malted grass with hints of bitter citrus fruits. I didn’t find this to be bad; I just think that this Months IPA isn’t as good as the last couple of months. So I say this, Foothills IPA of the Month November, Maddie is a B. The balance between the hops and malts was slightly off which took this IPA down a notch. The level of bitterness was great on this though which kept it from being any worse. This months IPA does not change the fact that I love the entire series the Foothills has brewed I would have this again and do recommend trying it. So by all means go and try Foothills Brewing IPA of the Month November (Maddie) or any of the coming or previous months. Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!