202. Samuel Smith's Winter Welcome Ale

I've heard a lot of good thing about the beers out of Samuel Smith's Old Brewery.  They actually have a pretty impressive list of varieties (http://www.samuelsmithsbrewery.co.uk) to offer.  This happened to go with a dinner of fried chicken, potato salad, coleslaw, and hushpuppies (Wager a guess as to where I went..?)  

The beer was poured into a stemless brandy glass.  It has a light color copper with about two fingers of fluffy off white head that leaves a spiderweb trail of lacing on the glass.  Aromas of faint grassy hops, smoke, caramel, toffee, toast, and spices that I can't discern.  Smells nice.

The taste first gives me the impression of a nut brown ale, but with a little more character.  I can taste burnt toast, caramel, some fruity esters, clove.  By the end of the drink, I feel like I'm drinking a roasted ESB.  My palate just seems to be all over the place with this one.  I'm not sure if that's a good thing.  Still, I found the beer to be quite enjoyable, and with a medium body and moderate carbonation, it goes down pretty easy.  With this good experience, I look forward to having more from Samuel Smith!

Grade: B-

Price Paid: $2.49 (550 ml bottle)

201. Lonerider Trick Shot Impy India Wit

While I was still at the Lonerider tap room, waiting for dinner time, I decided to give a go with this collaboration brew from Lonerider and Trophy Brewing.  Trophy Brewing (http://www.trophybrewing.com) is one of the newer breweries to show up in the Raleigh scene.  Trickshot is labeled as an imperial india wit, which I guess translates to an Imperial White IPA.  

Again, I ordered a half pint of this particular brew.  It came with a half finger of off-white head.  Decent retention.  A sheet of lacing surrounds the interior of the glass.  Nice.  It has a hazy golden color to it with some orange highlights.  Aromas of wheat, lemon, pine, and tangerine stand out, along with a biscuit malt base.  Not bad.

Tastes of citrus and pine dominate and clash with the taste of the wheat and the biscuit malts.  It's not very synergetic, unfortunately.  The malt sweetness doesn't play nice with the wheat, and the very bitter aftertaste doesn't do the wheat any favors either.  It is a full bodied brew, with moderate carbonation.  This wasn't my favorite, but I did end up drinking it down.  Just a lot of conflict within the beer, I think some adjustments to the ingredients might do this one good.  I also think it would be better as a White IPA instead of an Imperial White IPA.  The malt base is a little much.  Agree or disagree?  Just let me know!

Grade: C-

Price Paid: $2.50 (8 oz draught)

200. Lonerider Peacemaker Nitro Pale Ale

"Don't let the badge fool you - Peacemaker is popular with lawmen and outlaws alike.  This well-rounded West Cost-style pale ale uses several hop varieties and a special blend of American and European malts for a unique and bountiful hop aroma with a balanced bitterness." 5.7% ABV

I was getting with my friends and college buddies to enjoy a dinner together and watch some football.  The gang was supposed to meet late for dinner, and I had some time to burn, so me and my buddy went to the tap house within the Lonerider brewery to have a beer or two before dinner.  I think I've had the Peacemaker Pale Ale before in the past, but they were offering the nitro version and I wasn't going to pass it up.  

I ordered the half glass, which is somewhere in the neighborhood of an 8 or 10 oz pour.  The beer poured a murky golden yellow color with a finger of off-white head.  Since it's a nitro, that means the head goes on for near forever and it doesn't really go away.  I detected odd aromas of yeast, malt, with a little bit of hop presence.  

It doesn't taste much like your prototypical American Pale Ales.  Maybe it's closer to a European version, I don't know.  The malt flavors come in heavy, the hops are quite mild by comparison.  I tried a sample of both the nitro and the regular version to compare the tastes to each other.  The nitro is medium to full bodied with low carbonation.  Very creamy mouthfeel, but when paired with the APA taste profile, it doesn't hit its mark.  I prefer the non-nitro version better.

If you find it in nitro form, give it a try if you'd like, but it's just not really my thing.  Agree or disagree?  Just let me know!

Grade: C-

Price Paid: $2.50 (8 oz draught)

199. Stoudts Pils

Another dinner, another opportunity to crack open a beer to compliment my food.  The beer was poured into a pilsner glass.  3 plus fingers of white frothy head paired with a hazy golden color.  Nice looking beer.  Solid retention with the head, it leaves a lot of sticky goodness on the interior.  Aromas are muted and simplistic.  Floral hops paired with some grassy notes and crackers.

The taste isn't what I'm expecting.  Has a sourdough bread type of taste blended with some peppery notes from the carbonation, some faint citrus (lemon) notes, and butter.  The buttery taste gives it a slick mouthfeel, to go with a moderate body and moderate carbonation.

I have to admit, the taste was something I had to get used to.  Wasn't expecting the sourdough bread to come through as it did.  Still, I found the beer to be easy to drink.  I don't know how representative this beer is of the style, but it was a solid brew and I'd drink it again.  Agree or disagree?  Just let me know!

Grade: B-
Price Paid: $2.50 (12 oz bottle)

198. Sierra Nevada Ruthless Rye IPA

I decided to go with Sierra Nevada's Ruthless Rye IPA to go with dinner.  It was bought a while ago, so some of the flavors may be different. It was poured into a stemless brandy glass.  It has a orange tinged copper color combined with two fingers of off white head.  The head has a soapy consistency to it.  Retention is average, splotches of lacing left on the interior.  Aromas of rye is predominant..now that I'm getting a feel for what rye smells like, it's not too difficult to find.  Pine notes are more predominant than citrus notes.  Other aromas of caramel and spice are also picked up.  

There's some bitterness up front from the hops, then the peppery taste of the rye comes next, the sweeter malt coming last before the rush of hops to provide the slightly bitter finish.  It's not as hop forward as expected.  The beer has a slick, oily mouthfeel.  Carbonation is average, maybe it would be more potent if I was consuming earlier in the year.  Body is also average, appropriate for the style.  

It's a pretty good beer, but I don't find the rye to be a game-changer in the IPA world.  It adds a different dimension, but I've yet to come across a rye beer that stands out.  Give this one a try if you like IPAs, but I think there are better ones out there.

Grade: B-

Price Paid: $1.90 (12 oz bottle)

197. Green Man The Dweller

While I was at Bottle Revolution for my last haul of the year, I figured I'd have a beer while I shopped.  Bottle Revolution offers somewhere in the neighborhood of ten taps and one of them had Green Man's The Dweller.  I've seen it bottled but it was a little pricey, or at least I thought it was back before I didn't think paying $15 for a bomber was a big deal.  I'd probably pick up a bottle now, but since the opportunity came to have it on draught and for a pretty good price, it was an easy decision.

The beer was poured into a plastic cup.  It pours a very dark brown, almost black color.  There was a finger of mocha colored head. It had great retention, I had to take a lap around the store and still had some head remaining.  I eventually got impatient and started drinking it anyway.  I detected aromas of roasted malt, bittersweet chocolate, and medium roast coffee.  I thought I would pick up some dark fruits, but I didn't sense any.

The taste was consistent with the aroma with tastes of bittersweet chocolate, chocolate cake, cocoa, burnt coffee and even tobacco.  It starts sweet but it finishes bitter.  Medium bodied but very creamy with a low carbonation.  Very easy to drink.  The alcohol hides itself with little effort.  

This is a very good stout.  It doesn't feel like an imperial stout, but I think it's very good as a tweener.  I'd gladly drink this again.  How does it fare with some of the other stouts I've had?  It's right up there with some of the best.  Agree or disagree?  Just let me know.

Grade: A-

Price Paid: $5.00 (10 oz draught)

196. Big Boss Sack Time

After a long day, I wanted a beer, and this was one of the four that was sitting in the refrigerator rotation.  Big Boss' Sack Time is a rye beer, touting seven varieties of malt in this bad boy.  So how did it turn out?  Keep reading and see..

The beer was poured into a stemless brandy glass.  It has a nice, deep ruby red color.  About one finger of light khaki colored head.  Light to medium retention, leaving a thin sheet of lacing right at the beer's surface.  Aromas of brown sugar, caramel, toast, and rye are detected, as expected.  

This is certainly a malt forward beer, hop heads probably won't appreciate.  Tastes of toast, rye, brown sugar and malt come right through.  The rye brings the pepper and spice in the finish.  It's light to medium bodied with moderate to high carbonation.  I actually would find this beer to be quite sessionable and enjoyable to have.  A little light hop would be nice, but maybe it wouldn't be indicative of the style.  Just a personal preference.

Grade: B

Price Paid: $1.69 (12 oz bottle)

195. Doc's Draft Apple Cider

After the beer I had at Aviator, I almost went a whole week without beer.  True story.  It got to the point that I asked the wife to put in a beer for me so I would have something cold to drink when I got home.  She grabbed the first thing she could find..and well, it wasn't a beer.  It was a hard cider.  I wasn't complaining though, I was slightly in the mood for one of those too and that would work just fine.  

The beer was poured into a pilsner glass.  It had a clear, pale, yellow color, very reminiscent of a pinot grigio.  No head, no retention.  Aromas are primarily of apples and wine.  I get the impression that this could be a very sweet cider.

I was wrong.  This cider isn't sweet at all.  It tastes more like the aforementioned pinot grigio, a little tart and dry, but not overly sweet.  That said, the wine like taste, combined with the apples is not blending well at all.  There was this earthy or yeasty element to it that made the aftertaste off-putting.  I mean, it was bad enough that it was a borderline drain-pour.  I didn't finish the contents within the bottle.  Light bodied, slick, and high carbonated.  I really thought this would be better.  Maybe I got a bad bottle, I don't know.  I still have a pumpkin version available and will eventually get to it.  For now, this one ends up on my "do not want" list.  Agree or disagree?  Just let me know!

Grade: D

Price Paid: $2.59 (12 oz bottle)

194. Aviator Hot Rod Red

The Saturday after Thanksgiving was spent having a boys day with my brothers and my dad.  Played some Par 3 golf.  My two brothers don't play golf so they were learning.  We also went out and played some tennis.  All of us played tennis in high school, only 3 of us were actually any good while we were in high school.  In between the two sports, we ate some lunch at the Aviator restaurant.  They have their bar setup across the street in the old train depot, and the restaurant part across the street.  Very good food for a brewery, I had a big burger that was more than enough for me.  The best part is you can replace your two sides with a beer if you want.  A burger and a beer was all that I needed for lunch.

So which beer did I get?  I went with the Hot Rod Red, Aviator's flagship brew.  I received my beer in your standard pint glass with about half a finger of tan head.  Solid retention, it left a sheet of lacing around the rim of the glass.  A very nice red, copper color, deeper and darker than some of the amber ales that I see.  I detect aromas of malt, toast, earth, and light herb.  I guess I don't have a lot of this style of beer, especially when in hindsight I was thinking that this would fall in the amber category.  I was wrong.

The taste is different and interesting.  It's a little more earthy and has this mouthfeel and bitter finish I would associate with unsweet tea.  There's some candy corn sweetness that goes with the toasted malt taste.  Pretty complex, maybe even appropriate for the style, but it just wasn't singing in my mouth like some beers can.  Both the carbonation and the body was moderate.  As far as sessionable goes, this one is borderline, depends on your tastes.  Not a bad beer at all, I'm surprised it took so long for me to get around to drinking it.  Still, I plan on tasting the rest of their wares down the line.  

Grade: B-

Price Paid: $5.00 (16 oz draught)

Haul for 12/10

Alrighty ladies and gents, I can confidently say that this is my last haul for the year.  I came in to Bottle Revolution with the purpose of picking up a gift certificate for the guy who helped with the financing of my new home, thought it would be nice to get him something for Christmas.  Of course, I couldn't just walk in and pick up a gift certificate and just leave, that would be highly improper and unlikely.  I did try to keep the haul short, and I think I succeeded for the most part.  

Unfortunately, my hauls are going to be more scarce and limited in the near future.  I'm having to cut my alcohol budget for 2014 (to $0), which means my beer now has to compete with video games, vacations, clothes, and anything else I want to buy (I still give myself some fun money to spend on myself every month).  I'll try to set up some funds aside, but it'll be hard, especially if I plan to go on a big trip.  Anyway, enough of my sob story, here's the haul:

• Bruery Six-Geese-A-Laying - So I now have 4, 5, and 6 in the series.  I really wish they would re-release 1, 2, and 3 for those of us who weren't into the beer scene at that point in time.  My loss.  Price paid: $12.49
• Lagunitas Hairy Eyeball Ale - I like Lagunitas.  The beer was cheap.  What's more to say?  Price paid: $4.49
• Sweetwater Whiplash White IPA - I think this is the winter seasonal from Sweetwater.  Chalk another one off my list from this Georgia brewery.  Price paid: $1.59
• Red Brick Vanilla Gorilla - It's been a while since I've seen anything unique come out of Red Brick.  I know they're doing things, I'm just not sure if it's been getting distributed up in this area.  I don't think this is the smoked version, just the regular thing.  Looking forward to it.  Price paid: $3.39
• Red Brick Sacred Cow - This has a very interesting flavor profile.  A chai milk sweet stout?  Yeah, I don't know what to think about this, but I'm willing to give it a try.  Price paid: $1.79
• Samuel Smith Winter Welcome - I hear a lot of good things about Samuel Smith beers.  I tend to avoid them, mainly because they're not domestic and that's where my focus is, but I decided to mix it up and actually get a European beer.  I think I'll even drink it before the end of March!  Price paid: $2.49
• Lagunitas Sucks - I have tried this beer before (#105, Grade B) but understood that I was with my drinking pals who like to drink more than they like to savor and I really wasn't on my game when I tried to judge it appropriately.  I know the hype behind this beer, so I figured I'd grab one while it was available and see if a second trying could change my mind.  Price paid: $1.79
• Railhouse Ka-Bar Brown Ale - This was the first time I've seen Railhouse offered in bottles.  I already had the Mastiff, so I went with the other beer that I haven't tried yet.  Price paid: $1.59

Haul for 12/5

Asheville, NC is known as a beer mecca for the east coast.  I fortunately had the opportunity to be in the area for work and decided to drop on by a beer store before leaving the NC mountains.  Unfortunately for this trip, I didn't get a chance to visit a brewery or do anything fun like that.  Still, going to beer stores is fun for me too.  In this case, I ended up going to Appalachian Vintner, which is a wine and beer shop nearby the Biltmore Estate.  They have a great selection of beers on tap and the beer bottle selection isn't too shabby either.  Anyway, there's the quick plug, here's the haul:

• Nantahala Brewing Dirty Girl Blonde - I tried to focus on getting NC beers that I can't find in Raleigh.  I had not seen this beer before, figured I'd give it a go.  Price paid: $5.99
• Sierra Nevada/Asheville Brewing Christmas Jam Session Ale - This one is a collaboration between the two breweries and while I'm not a huge fan of Asheville Brewing, I am a big fan of Sierra Nevada, so I'll give it a go.  Price paid: $2.99
• Epic Big Bad Baptist - Okay, so I don't tend to get multiples of beer that I already have, but this was too good to let up.  It's not too often I get to see this beer in the area, and I've enjoyed this before on tap (Beer #160, Grade A).  I could have splurged and bought half a case, but I am on a budget and can't get away with hoarding like that.  Price paid: $11.89
• Olde Hickory The Event Horizon - So this was the grand prize of my haul today.  I walked in and there was about 8 cases of the beer sitting there.  8!  I bet at the beer stores in Raleigh, they're lucky to get 2.  Is this beer worth all the hype?  I probably won't drink the thing for another year or two, I'll let you know then.  Price paid: $14.99
• Blue Mountain Barrel House Dark Hollow - I kind of wish that more beers were brewed and bottled for the 12 oz consumption variety.  I don't have to pay so much for a bomber, but still get to enjoy a sizable amount.  I've seen this around before, but felt like pulling the trigger today on it.  Price paid: $6.79
• Terrapin Wake N Bake (4 Pack) - W-N-B is another beer that's very dear to my heart (Beer #149, Grade A).  They didn't have singles and I was a little afraid that it would be very scarce in Raleigh.  I'll never get my hands on the Cinnamon Bun W-N-B (I don't keep track of twitter feeds and can't leave work on a whim for special releases), so this is my consolation prize.  Price paid: $14.99
• Pisgah Valdez Coffee Stout - Pisgah is another brewery I don't find too much in Raleigh.  The part that said coffee caught my attention so I decided to pick it up.  Price paid: $6.99

193. Foothills Torch Pilsner

During the 2nd intermission in the hockey game I was attending, I felt like having one more beer to call it a day.  I decided to go with the Torch Pilsner from Foothills to wet my whistle.  I've had this beer before, I just haven't reviewed it, and now I would be able to cross it off my list.

The beer was poured into a plastic cup, leaving a finger and a half of frothy, off-white head.  I think it has something to do with plastic, but the retention was very good, it took several minutes for the head to subside.  Small rings of lacing were left around the glass, I'm curious if the pattern would change if I was using something made of glass instead of something made of plastic.  The beer had a nice brass color to it, much more attractive looking than the southern pale ale from earlier.  Floral notes, grass, and fresh baked bread tends to be the extent of the aroma, with maybe just a hint of hops.  The aroma seems to be picking up more bread and dough than I expect.  It smells very clean and refreshing.

The beer starts a little dry yet crisp, the bread coming to the forefront, very neutral.  Then the floral hops and grassy notes blend with the hops for a grassy and every so slightly bitter finish.  The medium carbonation gives it a peppery feel.  Light bodied, this beer is very sessionable and easy to drink.  I think this is a solid mainstay for anyone that likes pilsners and flavor neutral beers.  This does have some flavor to it, but it's not too overwhelming.  I would be glad to give this one a go when I'm in the mood for this style beer.  

Grade: B-

Price Paid: $10.00 (24 oz draught)

192. Natty Greene's Southern Pale Ale

I have a 12 game ticket package to watch the Carolina Hurricanes.  During Thanksgiving, a lot of my wife's family comes to town and she would rather spend time with them since she doesn't see them as often then to go with me to a hockey game.  Fortunately, I can lean on some of the men to take her place, such as my wife's cousin's husband.  We went to see the Hurricanes face the New Jersey Devils (Hurricanes lost, 5-2).  I felt like having some beer at the game, and this was the beer I picked up for the first and second periods.

The beer was poured into a 24 oz plastic cup.  There was little to no head with little lacing, but that was mainly because our server wanted to get as much liquid into the glass as possible.  I wasn't going to complain too much about it.  It had almost a murky brown color to it with some gold highlights, to the point that it certainly didn't look like an appealing beer.  I could detect aromas of grass, honey, orange, and caramel.

The taste at first was a little more hop forward than I was expecting.  It kind of reminded me of Sierra Nevada's Torpedo IPA with the way the bitterness shot up to the forefront, as if it was trying to suggest it was an IPA instead of an APA.  As the beer warmed, the bitterness wasn't as forward.  By then, the caramel malts had a more defined presence, and the beer was easier to drink.  Light bodied with moderate carbonation, it felt refreshing to drink.  The alcohol is subdued, not a lot of worries about this beer sneaking up on anyone.  This is probably one of the better pale ales I've had from an NC brewery, but in the grand scheme, it's not terribly memorable.  I'd still drink it again if given the chance though.  

Grade: C+

Price Paid: $10.00 (24 oz draught)