186. Cisco Whale's Tale English Pale Ale

While I was in Providence, I had a dinner at the Public Kitchen and Bar, which is the restaurant within the Renaissance Providence Hotel.  I helped myself to some clam chowder (When you're in New England, you have to try the chowda!) and a flatbread pizza.  I paired it with Cisco Brewer's (http://www.ciscobrewers.com) Whale's Tale English Pale Ale.  

It was served in your standard pint glass with about half a finger of soapy, off-white head.  The restaurant was dimly lit, so it was difficult to discern the color.  I'd have to guess some type of amber color.  Aromas were primarily of caramel, toffee, malt, and some citrus notes.

The taste of sweet malt, biscuit, and caramel kicked things off, subtle tastes of pine, pear, and tangerine would develop in the slightly bitter aftertaste.  The bitter aftertaste isn't as predominant as expected in a pale ale.  I tend to assume that English pale ales are a bit more muted in the aftertaste department.  The beer also finished a little drier than expected.  Light to average body with moderate carbonation, this beer would suffice as a pretty good daily drinker.  I didn't find the beer to be very remarkable however.  A solid beer, but nothing remarkable or memorable about it.  

Grade: C+

Price Paid: $5.50 (16 oz draught)

167. Samuel Adams Blackberry Witbier

"The Belgian witbier tradition dates to medieval times, when brewers used spices like orange peel & coriander instead of hops.  We balanced these signature spices & wheat character with the mellow sweetness and tartness of Marion blackberries harvested from family farms at the foot of the cascades in Oregon.  Cheers!"

Another dinner, another beer to go with my dinner.  This particular brew was poured into a stemless brandy glass.  It had a hazy, golden color to it with three fingers of off-white head.  Low retention, little to no lacing on the glass.  Blackberry is easily picked up on the nose.  I can barely detect the wheat.  I could also smell some spice, reminds me of coriander.  

The berry taste is muted in the taste, but at least it still exists.  The wheat is more forward, as expected, but it also doesn't seem to overpower the beer.  This tastes like a cross between a witbier and a fruit beer, and I'm thinking there's a heavier lean towards fruit beer than the wit.  I could also detect the coriander, and a little bit of citrus. Medium bodied with moderate to high carbonation.  It's a decent beer, this one just fails to wow me.  I think it would be better if it tried to be a full-on fruit beer or a full-on wheat beer.  This in-between state tends to muddle the effectiveness of the beer.  Agree or disagree?  Let me know.

Grade: C

Price Paid: $1.66 (12 oz bottle)

154. Harpoon IPA

You think I would only have beer the day before a wedding?  Of course not!  This was the second of two beers I had before my old roommate's wedding.  I figured I'd be the only guy there drinking something that was an IPA.  

Just like the Yuengling, the beer was served in a 12 oz bottle, so I can't judge appearance.  IPAs typically have more aroma, so I was able to get a soapy hop aroma.  Didn't do too much sniffing after that.  In the taste, I found more floral hops, with a little bit of piney hops.  A slight bit of malt sweetness in the finish, the bitter bite isn't too bad.  Moderately carbonated with a light-medium body.  Maybe it would taste better out of a glass, but I found this to be slightly above average.  Too many good IPAs out there, and this one didn't stand out.  Agree or disagree?  Just let me know!

Grade: C+

Price Paid: $4.00 (12 oz bottle)

91. Harpoon 100 Barrel Series #44 - El Triunfo Coffee Porter

I was off to New Bern, NC for a marriage function and decided to bring a brew to keep me company while I was there.  After the sessions were over and I was able to retreat to my room, it was time to crack this baby open.  I didn't have the luxury of a refrigerator to keep it cool, so the temp wasn't the most optimal, but I was ready to accept the shortcomings.

The beer poured a dark muddy brown, with an off white head.  I brought my own pilsner glass since a mug or plastic cup wouldn't do.  Medium retention, not much lacing, and I was a little impatient to wait.  Aromas of coffee, roasted malts, burnt sugar, vanilla, and chocolate caught my attention.  It smelled incredibly delectable.  

The strong coffee, burnt sugar/malt came through on the taste.  There was also this taste of old coffee or maybe espresso beans..it was this coffee on coffee taste.  Wasn't bad, just fortified the coffee.  Chocolate notes were also evident.  Slick feeling and light bodied, this one wasn't all that difficult to drink.  Unfortunately, as late as it was, I ended up going to bed without finishing the whole bomber, but then had good enough fortune to have a decent taste left in the bottle when I tried to use it as a morning pick-me-up.  This is a very good coffee porter, dare I say it..better than the Big Shot Espresso Stout I had and reviewed just a short while back.  Too bad it's only a one-shot..hope you get the chance to enjoy!

Grade: A-

Price Paid: $6.49 (22 oz bomber)

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)

55. Sam Adams Merry Mischief Gingerbread Stout

The last offering for the Music City Bowl game (since there was no way this was going to OT), was Sam Adams' Merry Mischief Gingerbread Stout.  My buddy was specifically interested in trying this one, so I made sure that it would be part of the offerings for the game.  If you couldn't tell, I started with the lightest beers and then went darker throughout the game.  I figured that porters/stouts can be a wash, but stouts were known to be strong porters, so I went with this one last.  And if you can't read the label above, it comes in at 9.0% ABV, so it packs some punch.

The beer poured a near black with a nice tan head.  I was able to get a finger and a half worth of head.  Moderate retention with some decent lacing.  I could pick up the aromas of gingerbread, which was very pleasant.  There's nothing worse than to be told to expect a certain aroma, then not be able to pick it up.  I could definitely pick up the gingerbread.

Fortunately, I could also taste the gingerbread.  The lactose from this beer gave it a sweeter taste than expected.  I slowly began to realize that I had picked a lot of sweet beers over the course of the game.  Not on accident, but I certainly had my fair share.  The common realization was that I liked the beers, but I can't find any of them to be sessionable.  I only need to drink a glass or two and I'm done, kaput, finito.  The lactose also gave the beer a medium body and a bit of chewiness to it.  Another enjoyable beer, one I'd have again.

Grade: B

Price Paid: $6.99 (22 oz bomber)

52. Harpoon 100 Barrel Series #43 - White IPA

Alright, so I did a decent share of drinking on New Years Eve, but not for the sake of ringing in the new year.  No, I was hosting the in-laws, where the consuming of alcoholic beverages is frowned upon, so I did my brunt of drinking while watching the Music City Bowl game between NC State and Vanderbilt.  I had a lot of reasons to drink, that game.  Anyway, I told my buddies that I would crack a different beer each quarter and they could share in what I was drinking.  Quarter #1 was Harpoon's (http://www.harpoonbrewery.com) 100 Barrel Series #43 White IPA.  This was on my list because the beer had already surpassed the "best by" date and I needed to drink it down.

Now as the "pretentious beer snob", my friends give me a ton of crap.  So when I poured the glass and looked at the one finger of white head, with light retention and light lacing, they rolled their eyes.  When I was trying to describe the color, they suggested "dehydrated pee" color, which would be remarkably accurate, but not a good name.  It does pour a hazy siena color.  Floral and citric hops pop in this one.  Grapefruit, oranges, the like.  Very pleasant aroma.

My buddy doesn't like IPAs.  The description of this particular brew is that it crosses with a wit to give it a different flavor profile.  Upon first taste, the hoppiness was there.  Left a nice bitter finish.  The more I drank, however, the more I liked it.  There was an effervescence in this one that got better as the beer warmed.  I found the brew to be light bodied, easy to drink.  As it lost carbonation, I thought to myself that this would do really well as a cask beer, if it was ever converted that way.  This is my first "White IPA", but if this is consistent with the style, then I'd definitely get some more.

Grade: B+

Price Paid: $5.99 (22 oz bomber)

34. Samuel Adams Winter Lager

"German brewers may have been onto something centuries ago when they created rich bock beers for the winter.  Our brew is a dark wheat bock subtly spiced with fresh ground cinnamon, ginger, & orange peel for a deep smooth flavor that's perfect on a cold winter's night.  Cheers!"

Mm..Sam Adams.  It may have started as a microbrewery, but now they're a macrobrewery (http://www.samueladams.com), constantly putting out new offerings, almost too many to track.  Almost.  I ended up visiting my alma mater to do judge some oral presentations.  Afterwards, I caught up with some of my buddies from college, headed to the Ale House to get some food.  While I was there, I opted to try the Winter Lager.  After my last Christmas like brew, which was a disappointment, I was hoping for better.  

My beer came in your standard pint glass.  It had a nice amber color with a cream colored head.  Retention was average, didn't see any noticeable lacing.  My friends made fun of me while I examined my beer.  I didn't care.  Didn't detect a lot of flavor.  Malt was noticeable, along with a nutty taste.  Didn't taste a lot of lingering spices, but that was probably my lack of awareness shining through as I was distracted from really making a thorough assessment.  Overall though, it wasn't bad, and I'd have it again.

Grade: C+

Price Paid: $4.50 (draught pint)