Kirin ichiban

Konnichiwa from Japan to the beer geeks, this is Kirin Ichiban, 4.9%R ABV. Kirin is one of the largest breweries in Japan. This is an American Pale lager and is brewed with one hundred percent malt. Kirin pours a light yellow straw color with a thing bright white head that dissipates quickly, and no lacing is left behind. I found lots of light streaming through the mug and plenty of little carbonation bubbles. The aroma of Kirin is malted with big bready and biscuit scents. There also is a slight corn/grain like aroma. But I will say that the aroma overall is a bit thin and light. The taste on Kirin is light and malty, but not a sweet type of malt, it’s more of a gain type of malt flavor. There is sort of a wet cardboard and metallic taste there that is just the tiniest bit off putting. The mouth feel is malted with corn and gains and then is very light almost boarder line watery, but none to bad. Kirin finishes nice clean, crisp and refreshing. It leaves a nice malted grain taste in your mouth that does stay just enough to be good. The aftertaste is nice with that malted flavor of gains. This beer is just the right amount of plain, not to complex or not to boring. I am giving this C. Yes there is room for improvement but I wouldn’t say that this beer should reinvent itself, just some tweaks here and there. This beer is gets a little better with some good seafood; the seafood brings out a little more of the malts used here. So try this Kirin beer and see for yourself. Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!

Pyramid Snow Cap

The west coast of the USA really brews very interesting beer form some of the best breweries, but most people thing of California, but don’t forget the northwest US especially The Pyramid Brewery. They are one of my favorites and this is the winter warm Snow Cap 7.0% ABV. What this is, is a malty sweet winter seasonal beer, with balanced hop presents or big hoppy presents and can be higher in alcohol. Generally this style comes from Britain. Snow is brewed in the British style. This warm pours a mahogany amber color with a darker tan three finger head that sticks around for a while and leaves killer lacing. I found very little light through the glass with some small amounts of carbonation. Snow Cap has a nice slightly hoppy aroma with hints of dark fruits like cherry plum and some raisins. There is also a sweet malty aroma there. The taste on Snow Cap is first bitter and sweet, but not like an IPA, it is more malty than just hoppy. I found there to be a very think roasted coco flavor there and a nice dark raisin plum and cheery fruits there but just slightly so. The mouth feel is medium with a nice bitter finish, but nothing overwhelming, the after taste is what I would call malted fruit hops. I get mostly a sweet low semi roasted bitterness that does finish nicely. You do taste the 7.0% AVB especially as the beer warms and comes close to room temperature. So I would give this an A-. Snow Cap has some good balanced flavors but the finish is hoppier than I was expecting it to be, but over all a great beer with great flavors. Yes I would recommend you try this and I’ll be having it again soon. So go and please try this! Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!  

Shine Wild Hare Pale Ale

Spring is around the corner and now spring seasonal beers are hitting the store shelves, with many different interpretations of spring seasonal beers. This is Shiner’s Wild Hare Pale Ale, American Pale Ale. Shiner uses Munich malt, U.S. Golding hops, and Bravo Hops. I have had this beer at the Shiner Spoetzl Brewery. Wild Hare pours a deep golden sunset orange color with a bright white one finger head that goes away fast and leave not so great faded lacing. I found a good amount of light streaming through the glass and some carbonation that faded out after a while. The aroma is a citrusy orange with a hint of grapefruit and some light hops. Wild Hare smells bright and spring like to me with its nice citrus notes. The taste of Wild Hare is citrusy with orange and hints of grapefruit. There is a hope bitterness following the citrus notes but nothing tongue numbing but nice and bit hoppy. Not to extreme with IBU’s on this beer, it’s low IBU tasting. This beer has a lighter mouth feel with minimal hop bitterness. The finish is hoppy with a nice citrus note. The aftertaste is little hoppier and less citrusy but does stay for a while and finishes nice, sharp and crisp. This is a refreshing hop beer. I am giving this A, a good beer that is easy drinking, with refreshing aftertaste. I would so have this again. But this is not the best pale ale ever in my opinion, but way up there. I like this one and would recommend this to hop head/hop lovers. Go out and give Shiner Wild Hare a try, and see how you like it. Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!

Saranac Black & Tan

In a bar somewhere some time ago someone had the idea to take two beer styles, stout and lager and combine the two, they poured a lager into a glass followed by a stout, the stout would just stay on the top of the lager. But then a while later someone else deiced to brew and bottle it that way, and now we have what is called a Black and Tan. This is Saranac Black and Tan, 5.40% ABV.  This Saranac pour a light black color with a half of a finger of tan head that goes quick. I found very little light coming through the glass and not so much carbonation.  The aroma on Black and Tan is roasted coffee and a little and tiny amount of chocolate. I didn’t fine any lager or lager like scent due to the stronger roasted stout notes. The taste is not as full as you think, but still a nice amount of roasted coffee and a little chocolate, but on the end I found a little lager flavor with a little bitterness. The taste is smooth and surprisingly crisp. The mouth feel is lighter even though there is stout present. Black and Tan finishes nicely and little crisp with a nice after taste of roasted coffee and just a tiny hint of bitterness. Overall I would say this is easy to drink, something you could drink at least three. This doesn’t have a high ABV (5.40%) or overpowering flavors. I am giving this a B+. I found there to be a very tiny bit of bitterness on the end coming from lager here. But this is a easy drinking dark beer, I’d say it is even sessionable. I would recommend this and I would like to have this again but I am not dying to run out and by more as soon as possible. What a great beer from Saranac in New York. So go out and try this Saranac Black and Tan for yourself and see if this is what you like. Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!

The Duck-Rabbit Milk Stout

Well, it still is wintertime outside, well it sure looked like it here over the weekend with big snow hitting the Charlotte area, and I thought that would call for a nice dark stout. So I pick a few, one being The Duck-Rabbit Milk Stout, 5.70% ABV. This is a sweet full-bodied stout, brewed in Farmville North Carolina. This milk stout uses lactose or milk sugar to give this its nice sweetness. They also a nice amount of highly roasted gains. Duck-Rabbit Milk Stout pours a thick black color with a quarter finger tan head that quickly dissipates and does leave tiny amounts of lacing. There was no light coming through the glass and I found no traces of carbonation bubbles. The aroma is big sweet and roasted with a hint of bakers chocolate. The aroma reminded me a little of coffee with cream. The taste is first sweet followed be a chocolate roasted coffee flavor with a hint of baker’s cocoa. The mouthfeel is more on the full side, the flavor really coats your mouth to leave a full finish with an aftertaste of sweet roasted chocolate coffee. But I thought that this Duck-rabbit was easy to drink. I am giving this an A. Good flavors all around on this, and they all work well with one another to create one heck of a good beer. Nothing about this beer is overly done or bad. I do recommend this beer and will certainly have this again. Please go out and get yourself a bottle to try and see what you think of The Duck-Rabbit Milk Stout. Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!  

Sierra Nevada Brewing Company Ruthless Rye

There is a wide range of ingredients when it comes to brewing beer, but some brewers and beer drinkers overlook some. One, in particular, is rye a grain closely related to wheat but tends to be a bit dark in color. There are a few breweries that use rye. Here is one example of a rye beer. This is Sierra Nevada Ruthless Rye 2013 6.6% ABV, which is a west coast style IPA with rye. Ruthless Rye is a seasonal release, and Sierra Nevada Brewing says it fits in between winter and spring, that transition between the two. Ruthless Rye pours darker than most IPAs. It pours a deeper amber/copper color with a three-finger white bubbly head. This beer does have some lacing to the glass. I found some light coming through the class with a very little amount of carbonation bubbles. The aroma is just like a west coast IPA, with a citrusy scent of grapefruit, and a hint of orange peel. The taste of Ruthless Rye has a nice amount of hop bitterness upfront with a nice grapefruit flavor that is followed by a hit of a small peppery spice. There is also a very faint malt character to it. The mouthfeel is light and this beer does finish well with a citrusy grapefruit aftertaste. The aftertaste does say for a little and the fade before your next sip. Well, I like this one because of the rye in it, but it doesn’t WOW me. So I am giving this a B. This is a good effort from the folks the Sierra Nevada. I mean they do hoppy beers well. They were the first breweries to brew pale ale here in the U.S. It’s good too. But anyway, this Ruthless Rye is worth a try, and I would recommend this to any IPA or rye fan. I would have this again. It is a good solid beer. Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!