90. Sierra Nevada Northern Hemisphere Harvest Wet Hop Ale

Last night, I decided to crack this one open and give it a go.  I poured into a snifter glass.  Amber colored beer with about two fingers of off-white head.  Moderate retention, left some splotches of lacing on the glass, but not a whole bunch.  Aromas of malt, pine, biscuit, and grapefruit were detected.

How about that taste..?  Starts off sweet, the malts and biscuit taste on theforefront.  Then comes the onrush of piney hops that smacks you hard and leaves a significant lingering bitter taste in the mouth.  The beer tastes balanced, but the aftertaste throws that out.  I'm still getting adjusted to that bitter aftertaste, and it was just too bitter for me.  The lingering aftereffects put a bad taste in my mouth.  I found the beer to be oily and slick, with moderate carbonation.  Next year, I'd like to get this again and see if my tastes have been refined. For now, it doesn't get as high a mark in my books.

Grade: C+

Price Paid: $5.99 (22 oz bomber)

89. Crispin Bare Naked Organic Cider

After having a lot of beers lately, I felt like mixing it up and cracking open one of my ciders.  On second thought, I probably should have went with Foxbarrel since I have more quantities there, but I'm not going to complain too much about going with its first cousin.

I poured the cider into a snifter glass.  No head, retention, lacing to speak of.  Poured a champagne like color with some light golden hues added in.  Cloudy and unfiltered, the bottle encourages to tilt and swirl prior to the pour.  Aromas of..guess what..apples!  A little bit of yeast is also picked up, but the whole point of the cider is that it is cider in it's near purest form, without a whole bunch of additives and different flavors.

It's not Woodchuck sweet.  Mild sweetness, which I'm growing to prefer more and more.  Slightly dry, felt like I was drinking a cider crossed with a white wine.  Light boozy finish at the end.  I'm sure the various flavors are nice, but sometimes it's great to have cider in its purest form.  I know this isn't the "purest" form, but it's pretty close, and it's pretty good.  

Grade: B+

Price Paid: $5.99 (22 oz bomber)

88. Carolina Brewing Company Winter Porter

Couple of days ago, took the time to crack open another of my recent purchases in having the Carolina Brewing Company's Winter Porter,which is their seasonal offering.  The beer poured a nice dark brown to near black, with some reddish hues just outside of it.  Aromas of chocolate, coffee, roasted malt.  Very pleasant.  I poured the beer into my snifter glass and was able to get about a finger of beige head.

The taste of the beer was remarkably balanced, better than I was expecting.  Light bodied, a little watered down, but I don't need every beer to approach 10% ABV to get my attention.  Could still taste the chocolate and coffee, but didn't have a pronounced malt kick.  Light bitterness right at the end.  Of the seasonals I've had so far from CBC, I think this is my favorite, and not because I'm biased towards porters.  If you see this one around, give it a try.

Grade: B

Price Paid: $1.66 (12 oz bottle)  

Haul for 2/12

Before I went to the Lonerider Brewing Company to get some brews, I had some time to kill.  The Total Wine in Brier Creek was close by and I thought I'd peruse the aisles to see what they had.  I have noticed that for this particular location, they're seriously lacking in seasonal singles/goodies.  It could be possible that Total Wine is just slow to get things together, or they are resistant to constantly changing the counter space.

What do I mean?  I could see some Founders Imperial Stout, Oskar Blues Ten Fidy, Highland Britches Brew IPA, or Great Lakes Conway Ale and see that they're on sale as four/six packs, but not priced for create-your-own six packs.  I will admit that in some of the releases, Total Wine will put some out, but I don't feel like they do it for everything, and I've left a Total Wine with less goodies as a result.

Anyway, what did I pick up?  Remember what I said about trying to focus on NC Brews?  Found one that I didn't get from The Beer Dispensary and didn't want to leave without getting something.  Also noticed that the beer I picked up from The Beer Dispensary was being sold for $3-$4 dollars cheaper.  Crap..oh well.  So here goes:

• Olde Hickory Seven Devils Bourbon Barrel Scotch Ale - Anything with a bourbon barrel gets my attention, and this one did too.  Had a relatively affordable price point that was too difficult to let go, so I made the purchase.  Price paid: $6.99

87. Lonerider Deadeye Jack Porter

"A wandering Lonerider, never staying in one place too long.  Deadeye Jack represents our seasonal porter consisting of a strong malty background with hints of roasted chocolate, subtle sweetness and low hop bitterness."

The second (and last) beer I had while visiting the taproom at Lonerider Brewing Company was their Deadeye Jack, their GABF silver medal winner.  I didn't pick this one because it was an award winner..I'm just partial to porters.

The beer poured a near coffee black in color.  Again, because of the pour, I had little to no head.  (Edit 1/9/14, when I poured out of the bottle, I nearly had four fingers of cappuccino colored fluffy seafoam head with lots of sticky lacing on the sides of the glass.  Lovely.)  Aromas of coffee and dark chocolate was heavy, along with roasted malts.  

Tastes of roasted malt, bittersweet chocolate come to the forefront, with coffee notes in the backdrop.  Light bodied with a surprisingly clean finish.  Didn't get a bitter bite, but the beer wasn't overly sweet either.  It's a solid porter, very representative of the style.  Nevertheless, this is one of the better porter's I had, because of the great balance.  If they do more limited bottle releases, I might take another crack at this one.

Grade: B+

Price Paid: $2.50 (8 oz draught)

86. Lonerider The Preacher Saison

I was able to go to the tap room of the Lonerider Brewing Company (http://www.loneriderbeer.com) as part of a work/group function and wasn't about to stop by and chat without helping myself to a couple of brews.  The location is tucked away, near the Brier Creek area, and I missed the turn the first time around and drove very slowly down the road, unsure which building was actually the one I was looking for.  I ultimately ended up guessing and found myself to be lucky, but the folks drinking and smoking outside also gave me a pretty good clue.  I know I can find their standard stuff (Peacemaker, Shotgun Betty, Sweet Josie Brown) in the grocery stores, so I decided to zone in on their seasonal selections this time around.

One of those seasonal selections is called "The Preacher".  It's of the saison style, and I have helped myself to some black saisons, so I was ready to figure out what a standard saison might be like.  The beer poured a golden yellow color, slightly cloudy.  Not much head, but that was because of the pour.  I did what I could to pick out the aroma, but it was a little tough.  Some sweet malt, maybe a little bit of spice, but that was all I could discern.  

The taste was also different and hard to determine.  At first, I wondered if I got the wrong beer.  My first impression was that it tasted pretty good, but I couldn't figure out what I was tasting.  I could get the malt sweetness, with a light bitterness.  A little bit of spice.  I hear that farmhouse ales have "funk".  Was I tasting funk?  The impression I had was that I was drinking a wheat beer.  Heavy on the wheat or the yeast or something, but it gave it a unique taste.  Medium bodied, it had a creamier mouthfeel, maybe because of the yeast.  I definitely to try this one again, when I have more saison experience under my belt.

Grade: B-

Price Paid: $2.50 (8 oz draught)

85. Lagunitas IPA

Ok, so it took a few days to get around to catching up, but here we go!  The snow has stopped for now, but I'm hearing that some more flurries are on the way.  I'm pent up in the apartment, staying warm.  About to crack open a beer, which will be reviewed before the end of the night.  Anyway, back to Monday, I wanted to try two different IPAs, and Lagunitas IPA (http://www.lagunitas.com) was the second drink in the doubleheader.  

The beer poured a burnt orange color that had more ruby/amber highlights.  Two fingers of slightly off-white head.  Decent retention, nice lacing that coated the sides of the glass.  I detected aromas of citrus and pine and malty sweetness.  Aroma didn't have a lot of pop.  

While the other IPA gave me some sweeter citrus notes, this one was more bitter, more pomelo than tangerine.  Could still taste some of the pine notes, and the sweetness and bitterness had very solid balance.  Very smooth IPA, moderate carbonation.  Keeps you wanting more.  I think this is the type of IPA that would be solid in the fridge.  I think I like the Sweetwater IPA more, but this would be a close second.  Very good beer.

Grade: B

Price Paid: $1.66 (12 oz bottle)

84. Yazoo Hop Project IPA

Alright, so I decided to take advantage of a Monday and help myself to two beers.  The first was Yazoo's Hop Project.  It's an experimental line by Yazoo, using different hop combinations in a one-shot batch, then bottling and releasing.  I can't recall which batch I had, didn't really see anything definitive on the label.  Granted, I wasn't really looking that hard.  I'm pretty sure all of the Hop Project beers are of the American IPA style, but it wouldn't surprise me if they tried something different that had plenty of hop pop.

The beer I had was lighter than the one pictured.  I used my ol' fashioned beer snifter for this one.  Had more of a burnt orange color, with about two fingers of off-white head.  Retention was moderate, with light lacing on the side.  Sweet malty aromas and tangerine aromas were evident in the beer, but I also picked up some dark fruit and pine.  Different combination there.  

The taste was a little sweeter than most IPAs that I've enjoyed lately, but not in a bad way.  There was a slight bitter finish, as expected.  Kept the beer drive, left me thirsty for more.  It was moderate to high carbonation, which gave the IPA a little bit of spiciness as well.  This was a very good IPA, although it's a little disappointing if they come up with a winner, then never make it again.  These one-shot batches are fun, but I think I prefer a more consistent product from month to month.

Grade: B

Price Paid: $2.39 (12 oz bottle)

Haul for 2/9

Alright, the haul is short and sweet this week, as I'm supposed to be out of $$ for the month.  That said, I decided to drop by the Apex Dispensary to get some local NC brews, particularly of the bomber variety.  That said, I failed on all accounts.  Was looking to get some offerings from Olde Hickory, particularly their Redeemer and Seven Devils brews.  Nope!  Maybe next time.  

I have noticed that I'm missing out on some particularly awesome brews that have come out.  Hopslam has come and gone.  I didn't have the freedom to slip out at 1 or 2 in the afternoon to go get it.  I'm also not that desperate.  Foothills Brewing Sexual Chocolate came out on the first of February and I doubt I'll get to that too.  Barrel Aged Sierra Nevada Bigfoot?  I want, but I'm sure it'll pass me by too.  Oh well.  So what did I get?  Here goes:

• Mystery Brewing Six Impossible Things - I said I'd get a growler of this if I ever saw it, and sure enough, it was there!  I didn't hesitate to pick up, as I was looking forward for more of this.  A really, really good beer.  Highly recommend.  Price Paid: $9.99
• Heavy Seas Uncharted Waters Siren Noire - Chocolate stout?  Yummy.  Chocolate stout that's been aged in bourbon barrels?  Sign me up!  I was leaning between this and Redeemer, but my love of chocolate stouts got the best of me and I went with it.  Granted, the winter season is ending and these wonderful stouts won't taste as delicious in the heat, but I figure that I can hold on until November and December since most stouts age very, very well.  

83. Twisted Pine Big Shot Espresso Stout

Alright, I'm writing this review in live time, with the beer right in front of me.  I decided to go through a bomber for a change, and I'm on the back half of it.  Brought to you by the good folks of Twisted Pine Brewing Company (http://www.twistedpinebrewing.com), I was looking forward to drinking some combination of coffee and beer.  I'm pretty sure I picked this one up at Bottle Revolution in Raleigh.

The beer poured a very dark brown to almost near black, with a finger of mocha head into a pilsner glass.  Solid retention, leaves small uniform splotches of lacing on the sides of the glass.  Good looking beer.  Aromas of roasted malt and coffee.  The coffee/espresso aroma is strong in this one, and any subtle aromas would be pretty hard to pick out, but I'm sure there's someone out there that can come up with 4 or 5 different aromas.

Tastes of coffee dominate the beer, with the malt as the base and some light notes of dark chocolate.  The beer finishes with a light bitterness that's just about right.  If it didn't have any bitterness, I certainly wouldn't complain..any more and I probably would.  Carbonation is medium to high, although the carbonation isn't as high in the bottom half of the bottle in comparison to the first.  Medium bodied with a slightly creamy mouthfeel.  If you like coffee and not much else, then this is a very good coffee.  If you're looking for more complex aromas and flavors, you'll probably be disappointed.  However, the beer lives up to its name and billing, so if you know what you want, and that's coffee and beer put together, then this'll work just fine for you.

Grade: B+

Price Paid: $5.99 (22 oz bomber)

82. Green Flash St. Feuillien Friendship Brew

I decided to try this particular brew a couple of days ago, for no real particular reason except for the fact that it was in my fridge and I was ready to have a beer.  Green Flash (http://www.greenflashbrew.com) is based out of California and their labeling is pretty consistent and easy to pick out.  If I remember right, I picked up this beer in Tennessee.

I poured the beer into a snifter glass, much like the one in the pictured.  Poured a near black with a thick, tan head.  I gave it a rather vigorous pour and got four fingers of head out of it.  Long retention, leaving splotches of lacing all over the glass.  Good looking beer.  The aroma was unlike anything I've picked up in a beer.  I could smell some roasted malts, but the aroma was dominated by spice...can't quite figure out what it was, but it's some mix of anise, allspice..cardamom?  I don't know my spices real well, but this was the aroma that I was getting.  Not unpleasant, just different.

The spices would come through in the taste as well.  It gave the beer a peppery finish.  The beer would start sweet, from the roasted malts, then finish with a slightly bitter hop bite.  I found it to be well balanced.  This is only my second saison by my count, but I found this one to be much better than the one I tried at Mystery Brewing.  The beer was light bodied with moderate carbonation.  I've seen some harsh reviews on this beer, but I found this beer to be very good, easy to drink, and I'd gladly have another.

Grade: A-

Price Paid: $3.00 (12 oz bottle)

81. Harpoon Oktoberfest

No, this is not a "blast from the past" post.  I'm finally getting around to cracking open another Oktoberfest beer.  Here's to hoping that it's still any good!

Beer was poured into a pilsner glass.  It had a nice toffee color, with a little bit of a reddish haze to it.  Little over two fingers of cream colored head with solid retention, leaving a nice ring of lacing around the glass.  Aromas of malt and caramel dominate, little bit of biscuit and a faint aroma of hops.  Also detect some dark fruit as well.

Beer is hop forward as it hits you relatively quickly.  The malt and caramel sweetness comes through on the front end before the hops come through and the bitter aftertaste finishes it out.  Could also taste roasted grains.  A little oily on the tongue.  Carbonation is light to medium.  I think this is a solid tasting beer, decently balanced.  I don't know if I like the fact that it is hop forward..I'm used to Oktoberfest's that try to bring the malt character out.  Nevertheless, it never hurts to be different and separate yourself from the pack.  A solid session beer.

Grade: B-

Price Paid: $1.99 (12 oz bottle)

80. Woodchuck Private Reserve Pumpkin Hard Cider

It's been a while since I last enjoyed a hard cider, so I decided to crack open this bad boy the other day.  Woodchuck's pumpkin series gets the private reserve line, which basically means that they don't make a whole lot of it.  I really liked the Ace Pumpkin, so I was interested to see how it would compare.

The cider was poured into a pilsner glass.  Fizzy, bubbly.  No head or retention to speak of...after all, it's a cider, not a beer.  Looks slick.  Color was a burnt sunset orange, had a really good look to it.  Apple is still the dominant aroma, so dominant that it was difficult to pick out the pumpkin (granted, considering that I'm into February and now getting around to drinking this, it wouldn't surprise me if the subtle pumpkin flavor was long gone).

I could detect some trace hints of pumpkin in the ace, along with some other spices.  Apple pie spices..pumpkin pie spices..it isn't too much different from Woodchuck's fall seasonal cider.  Incredibly sweet like the fall cider too..not like Ace's offering.  If you gave me a blind taste test, I'd have a hard time picking one from the other.  I attribute some of that, however, to my relatively "young" palate.  Body was slick, as expected.  Mid to high carbonated, provided plenty of pop in the mouth.  Had a slight alcohol taste at the end.  Overall, I like Ace's pumpkin better than Woodchuck's.  I think I might be getting more acclimated to drier beers and the sweetness can be a little off-putting.  Still, if you have someone in the family that doesn't like beer, Woodchuck's is probably the best gateway to hard ciders, at the very least.

Grade: C

Price Paid: $1.99 (12 oz bottle)

79. Mother Earth Sunny Haze Hefeweisen Ale

By the 12 oz can in the picture, you can figure out that I must have also brought this beer to the Atlanta Motor Speedway.  Another offering from Mother Earth.  I didn't do this on purpose, there was only so much selection for canned beers at Total Wine, and several happened to come from the same brewery.  Sunny Haze is labeled as a hefeweisen, so there are similarities to the weeping willow wit that they have.  

Couldn't get a pour as I was drinking out of the can.  I could get light aromas of banana, malt, and some spice.  Actually had a pretty good aroma, but left me curious about what I might end up tasting.

I thought I'd be hit with a banana bomb, and I'm not a fan of banana.  Fortunately, those tastes were mild, which made it easier to enjoy.  There was some spiciness on the back end, aided by the carbonation.  Light to medium mouthfeel.  Another winner from Mother Earth, as I would gladly drink this again.  I am convinced, however, that there are better interpretations of this beer out there.

Grade: B

Price Paid: $1.79 (12 oz can)

78. Mother Earth Second Wind Pale Ale

In my experiences, I've found Mother Earth to be a pretty solid brewery based on their year-round and seasonable/one-shot offerings.  In this 'blast to the past', I brought this beer with me to the Atlanta Motor Speedway to watch a NASCAR race.  Bottles weren't allowed, but cans were.  Still true to my roots, I did not bring a 6 pack of Budweiser, I didn't bring a 6 pack of the same beer.  No, I brought half a dozen different canned beers with me, knowing that I could put together a cocktail that might leave me hovering over a trash can (good news, it never happened.  Also, I never went through all six).  

As you can imagine, I drank directly out of the can.  Didn't have the advantage of a glass receptacle to look over the beer.  Based on the picture I used, I'd imagine that it had a golden orange color, capable of generating two fingers of fluffy white head.  As far as my notes for aroma goes, they were minimal.  I could only take so much mental notes during a race.  I did catch whiffs of citrus, but not the grapefruit type.  It was sweeter, more like oranges.  Aside from that, there was some malt balance and some hop balance to round it out.

It tasted good.  All the beers that I tasted during the race were good.  Left me nodding my head in approval. Orange notes on the front end, I had to remind myself that I wasn't drinking a wit, as I'm a little ingrained to make oranges synonymous with Blue Moon and their ilk.  Had a slightly bitter finish, but not nearly as pronounced as an IPA.  It was a clean finish, and on a hot day, very refreshing.  I'd like to give this one another shot, analyze it a little better, but I'll take what I can get for now.  

Grade: B-

Price Paid: $1.79 (12 oz can)

77. Sweetwater Exodus Porter

Ok, so this is the second beer that I decided to try while at Taco Mac during my vacation to Atlanta, GA.  I wanted to get a local brew and for whatever reason, they didn't have a lot to offer.  I went with the Exodus Porter, since it met my easy requirements.  

Beer was served in your standard pint glass.  It poured a dark brown color, but a bit lighter than other porters that I've enjoyed.  By the time I got my beer, there was no head, very little lacing.  Aroma was lacking..maybe some roasted grains/malts, and maybe some coffee, but that was about it.  

Tasting the beer, I picked up some coffee and more of the graints/malt.  If there was any chocolate in there, it was hard to notice.  Carbonation was light, and the mouthfeel was between light and creamy.  I found the beer to be a solid offering, but it didn't wow me with its bold flavors.  I'd give it another go in the future, but only if the other selection is lacking.

Grade: C

Price Paid: $5.50 (12-16oz draught pint)

76. Sierra Nevada Narwhal Imperial Stout

While this would constitute a "blast from the past" entry, I currently poured the 3rd beer (of 4) into a snifter glass and it's sitting right in front of me, so I figured that I'd go ahead and give the Narwhal its proper review.

The beer pours a near black..it's really more of a very dark brown, as the light seems to penetrate during the pour.  I was able to conjure up almost two fingers of mocha colored head.  There's medium retention, with sheets of lacing going down the sides of the glass, along with a khaki colored film on top.  Good looking beer.  I currently have a cold, so forgive me if I can't discern all the aromas coming out of the beer.  I can smell roasted malt, some chocolate, some dark fruits (raisin) as well.  I don't know if it's the cold or not, but I wish that the aroma was more pronounced.

Upon tasting the beer, you get a little bit of malty sweetness.  The dark fruits are more pronounced, and there's a bitter finish that lingers at the end.  I can pick out some bitter chocolate, and there's a boozy finish that lets you know that this baby is 10%+ ABV.  The bitter finish can make someone thirsty for more.  I just picked up some coffee right at the tail end, so it's in there..!  There's a very creamy mouthfeel to the beer, and there's low carbonation.  The more I drink, the more I think about the Uinta Cockeyed Cooper, with its complex flavor profile.  The only thing is that they're two completely different types of beer!  I really liked Narwhal the first time I tried it, and I still like it now.  Nevertheless, it's not as impressive to me as it was when I first tried it, but this is still a solid beer for Sierra Nevada, and I'll be hoarding my other Narwhal for a few months before I finally get around to finishing it.

Grade: B+

Price Paid: $2.05 (12 oz bottle)

75. Ommegang Witte

Another throwback to the past, I was in Atlanta, GA to watch the NC State Wolfpack get beat by the Tennessee Vols in the Chick-Fil-A kickoff.  After the end of the game, and being too cheap to eat dinner there, my brother and buddy were starving and was looking for something open late.  We ended up going to Taco Mac, which would do the trick.  For those of you unfamiliar with Taco Mac, it's basically bar food that specializes in offering at least 100+ different beers to sample.  Unfortunately, those beers don't come cheap, but more on that later.

The wit I ordered came in a pint glass with about two fingers of head.  Golden colored, but a little cloudy.  Low retention, light lacing.  Familiar aromas of yeast/wheat, some spice, and some citrus..tangerine?  

The beer itself tasted like a familiar wit.  Went down easy, moderate carbonation to keep you honest.  Malt and wheat taste comes through heavy, but then the acidity pops up towards the end.  It's probably one of the better to best wits that I've had the pleasure of drinking.  Price is high enough that I'd rather just go to Total Wine and buy a whole bunch of beer than to go sit at a bar for the same experience.

Grade: B+

Price Paid: $6.00 (12-16 oz draught)