27. Carolina Brewing Spring Bock

Yeah, that's a pretty bad picture, but bear with me.  Little to go with.  #2 of the 4 beers I sampled during my inaugural brewery tour was the Carolina Brewing Spring Bock.  This was their spring seasonal offering, and I was geared towards their offerings that I couldn't normally get in the grocery store.  

The spring bock, at 6.5% ABV, can pack a punch if you drink too quickly.  After my stint at the brewery, I definitely drank a little too quickly.  Took a couple hours to get back into a good state of mind.  Anyway, the taste.  I thought the beer was on the sweet side.  It was a light colored beer, a little thin tasting.  For a Maibock, it seemed a little different, but as a person just getting into this, it's very likely that I don't know what I'm talking about.  At all.  

Grade: C
Price Paid: Free (Draught pint)

26. Carolina Brewing Nut Brown Ale

Carolina Brewing Company's Nut Brown Ale is entry number 1 of 4 that was sampled during my first ever beer tour.  Checking out their website (http://www.carolinabrew.com), I noticed that they offered free tours on Saturdays and made the decision to go.  

To describe the tour, we had the chance to try a beer before the tour started.  It took all of twenty minutes to get through it, and then we went back to sampling and drinking.  Not that I'm complaining about the tour and all, especially when I can get back to drinking.  The beer itself was typical of an English brown ale.  Nevertheless, it wasn't better than a Newcastle or some other nut brown ales that I've had.  It lacked that nutty bite, and also lacked body.  Too many other beers around that are the same style, but taste better.  Pass.

Grade: D+

Price Paid: Free (Draught Pint)

25. Ommegang Abbey Ale

I ended up picking up the Ommegang Abbey Ale from Lowes Foods.  Not part of the build-a-six-pack, but just an interesting brew that I wanted to try.  Basically, I noticed that they had the 750 mL bottles available for a hefty price, and I could sample a smaller version for cheaper.  I picked it up, like the cheapskate I am.  

When I saw Ommegang (http://www.ommegang.com), I thought I was getting some import from Belgium.  Wrong.  They're based out of New York.  Cooperstown of all places (Baseball hall of fame for those of you that don't care about sports).  I didn't expect that it was a US brew, but I'm not complaining either.

What I found was a tremendously tasty beer.  8.5% ABV, but you wouldn't know it while you're drinking it. I didn't get a boozy taste while drinking it.  I never had a dubbel before, but I tasted this beer and simply went "wow".  Then I took the time to savor every last drop.  This beer is a winner, and one that I would definitely have again.

Grade: B+

Price Paid: $3.30 (12 oz bottle)

24. North Coast Red Seal Ale

The last entry from the build-a-six-pack at Lowes Foods comes Red Seal Ale from North Coast Brewing (http://www.northcoastbrewing.com).  Now as a huge fan of Red Oak, I had some high and hopeful expectations for this beer.  Basically, if it could taste remotely like Red Oak, it was getting an a-ok in my book.  Alas, Red Seal did not meet my current "gold standard" with red/amber ales.  There was a nice thick head, and the copper color certainly had its appeal.

Now it could be the fact that my tastes for beer are still being refined and ever changing.  I believe the reason I didn't like this beer as much was the fact that the hop taste was more evident.  Even now, I'm starting to get more adjusted to extra hops and if I have a second go-round with this ale, my thoughts might be different.  For now, I'll leave the grade as-is, but reserve the right to change it in the future.

Grade: C
Price Paid: $1.50 (12 oz bottle)

Haul for 11/26/12

I was in Asheville for work again and dropped by the Appalachian Vintner (http://www.appalachianvintner.com) based on the recommendations at Beer Advocate.  Selection was pretty good, prices seemed a little on the high side, but I could get over that.  Picked up a couple of bombers, sampled a few brews (which will be reviewed not in the near future, considering my brew backlog, but I'll get there eventually).  Anyway, here's the haul:

• Foothills Brewing Barrel Aged People's Porter.  I've had the People's Porter before, interested to see if the bourbon barrels will change the taste enough for me to notice.  I'll need to pick up some of the regulator People's Porter for a comparison.  Price paid: $6.99 (22oz bomber)

• Olde Hickory Death by Hops.  I'm not into hoppy beer, but I've started to develop a tolerance so I thought I'd give this one a try.    Price paid:  $6.99 (22 oz bomber)

23. Breckenridge Vanilla Porter

#5 of the create-a-six-pack from Lowes Foods, I snagged it based on the premise that I would get a vanilla porter.  For those of you that don't know, I tend to favor porters and stouts.   I was a little surprised to come across a beer from Colorado (http://www.breckbrew.com); I mean, I know they exist, but usually in the Coors Light variety.  Not that I'm complaining or anything.  Breckenridge is a ski slope, I believe, and there's probably some sort of connection there.

I remember the porter being a deep brown color with a tan head, maybe about a finger's worth.  Little lacing, gave me the impression that this porter would be on the thin side.  My nose could detect the vanilla, which gave me something to anticipate.  From a taste perspective, I found the porter to be average and had a difficult time picking up the vanilla.  Maybe it was because of the carbonation..this porter did have some pop behind it, which could have kept the other flavors from coming through.  Based on my scores for this six-pack, I'm starting to see a trend that I'm either really good at picking crap/average beer, or the store folks are smart in only putting average brews out as singles.  I'm pretty sure grocery stores aren't that clever, and I just have terrible taste.  I'll work to correct this in the future.

Grade: C

Price Paid: $1.50 (12 oz bottle)

22. Dark Horse Raspberry Ale

Entry number four from the Lowes Foods create-a-six-pack goes to Dark Horse's Raspberry ale.  The brewery (http://www.darkhorsebrewery.com) is based out of Michigan and emphasizes the beer over the fruit.  It is evident in this beer because the raspberry taste is mild and there's just enough to distinguish that it exists.  

When I sat down to drink this, I expected a bigger raspberry taste.  Why call it a fruit beer, or a raspberry anything, if it's difficult to pick up on that flavor?  If you're going to do that, then the beer itself better be worthy without the fruit.  Sadly, in this case, the ale doesn't hold up.  It's not terrible by any means, it's just very ordinary, very average.  Average doesn't cut it, especially considering the thousands upon thousands of offerings that are available.  Onto the next one!

Grade: C-

Price paid: $1.50 (12 oz bottle)