219. Saranac Caramel Porter

The second beer I decided to try while I was at Brixx's Pizza, this one was recommended by our server for the night.  In hindsight, I should have went with something different, mainly because I was drawn to the sound of caramel porter.  Most malty beverages taste of caramel..duh.  Had a brain fart there but for $1.95, I wasn't going to complain too much.  I think this is the first time I've posted about Saranac http://www.saranac.com, although I'm convinced I've had their beer before.  

Beer was served in a standard pint, little to no head or signs of lacing apparent.  I do enjoy that restaurants want to fill the beer to the brim, get my money's worth and all, but it doesn't help when I do these reviews.  It has a shiny brown color to it.  Aromas of caramel, brown sugar, toast, reminiscent of a caramel chew.  

The beer was sweet, but not cloying and not as sweet as I had anticipated.  Still, the beer seemed to lack body and flavor.  I could taste caramel, toffee, sweet malt, a touch of butter, and some flavors that tasted artificial.  The more I drank it, the more I found the beer to be quite ordinary and the caramel and artificial flavoring notes more off-putting.  Light to medium body with medium carbonation, this beer is easy enough to session if you're going to be hitting the cookies or brownies for a while.

All in all, I found the beer to be slightly less than average.  Probably a decent gateway beer for those trying to expand their horizons.

Grade: C-

Price Paid: $1.95 (16 oz draught pint)

218. Triangle Brewing Habanero Pale Ale

Caught up with some friends from college and went out to Brixx Pizza, which is a regional chain that sells wood-fired pizza pies.  I had the pimento cheese pizza and decided to have a couple beers to go with it.  Certainly $1.95 domestic drafts on Monday is an absolute plus, considering their solid selection of local craft beers.  

Triangle Brewing's Habanero Pale Ale sounded appealing and I decided to go with that.  The beer was served in a standard pint.  Since it was dark and rainy and the lighting was dim, the beer had an amber look to it.  Less than half a finger of off-white head.  Aromas of, you guessed it, chili peppers.  There was also some aromas of cracker and some grassy hop notes.  

From a pale ale perspective, I've had better pale ales.  The hop presence was on the mild side, which is pleasant considering I've been getting a lot of pale ales that could fall into the IPA category.  The pepper taste is evident, but where's the heat?  I've had a jalapeno pale ale that was mild, I expected habanero to have more kick, make my tongue tingle, something like that.  Nope, nothing.    As for the rest of the beer, it was slick and light bodied, with average carbonation.

I was left underwhelmed by the lack of spice and punch.  I've had spicy cocktails that are absolutely delightful so I know that the heat can be upped and still be pleasant.  Maybe there's another brewery out there that isn't afraid to bring some heat.  Maybe I'm just unlucky and got a bad batch.

Grade: C-

Price Paid: $1.95 (16 oz draught pint)

217. Pisgah Valdez Coffee Stout

"Adhering to the strict philosophy of the Pisgah brewers, this mouth watering coffee stout is brewed just miles downstream from America's most precious watershed.  Brewed with Dynamite Roasters beans, the aroma of freshly ground coffee leaps from the glass, and lingers long after.  Treat yourself to the finest coffee stout this season.  Unfiltered for your enjoyment."

I decided to crack open this beer as  a treat to myself for dessert after a long day's work.  The beer was poured into a Guinness pint.  Dark brown color, not quite black.  Hues of brown and red along the edges.  A big fluffy three fingers of mocha colored head after a vigorous pour. Solid retention, leaving splotches of lacing along the edge of the glass.  Aromas of coffee dominate.  Couldn't really determine any other subtle aromas.  I can pick up just the slightest amount of semi-sweet chocolate.

The taste is predominantly coffee as expected, but then there's a few unexpected tastes as well.  There's a bitter, tangy, sour finish that does not sit well with me.  It definitely separates itself from the other coffee stouts I've experienced, and not in a good way.  The bitterness lingers a bit and I'm wishing that the aftertaste was sweeter.  Additionally, I don't know how this classifies as an American Imperial Stout.  The brew rates at 6.8% ABV.  Based on some quick research, there isn't a standard naming nomenclature for what constitutes as a an imperial or a double, which I think is kind of silly.  If a beer can't crack the 7.0% ABV number (I'd argue 7.5% even..), then it shouldn't be classified as an imperial or double.  The beer is surprisingly light bodied, with light carbonation, again a contrast to what I'd expect from an imperial stout.

I'm not sure if I ended up getting a bad batch of beer or if this is how the beer truly tastes.  Nevertheless, I can only go on what is here in front of me.  I was ultimately surprised by this beer as it wasn't as potent, not as thick, and had a sour finish and aftertaste.  All these things add up to a beer that I wouldn't recommend.

Grade: D

Price Paid: $6.99 (22 oz bomber)

216. Schilling Oak Aged Cider

"Semi-dry.  Scotch character.  Smokey cinnamon.  Clove and vanilla.  Extra smooth finish.  Perfect at 45 deg. Schilling oak aged."

I like to mix things up.  Beer, wine, cider, spirits, I'm all over the place.  Today I had a beer.  Yesterday I had gin with cranberry juice.  The day before I had wine.  Before that, beer.  Since I like to rotate, I usually get the urge to have a hard cider.  Today wasn't that day, but that day did occur sometime last week.  Schilling is a new brewery to me (http://www.schillingcider.com), but apparently they are from Washington and I'm glad that their stuff is getting distributed out to the east coast.

The beer was poured into a Guinness pint, served somewhere in the neighborhood of 45 degrees as recommended.  Clear yellow color, decent carbonation.  Aromas of apple, honey, oak.  

Much of the nose is in the taste, with a touch of sweetness and the wood lingering in the aftertaste.  The can advertises scotch, cinnamon, clove.  I could pick up the scotch but the spices weren't quite there.  Not overly complex, nor is it meant to be in my opinion.  Finish is a touch on the tart side.  Light bodied with medium carbonation.  

I wasn't sure how I felt about this cider initially.  I've only had so many ciders that went through the barrel process and they were excellent.  I knew from the get-go that I like the combination, and I liked this one.  I'm curious to see how much better it could get if the brewery decided to try and get creative with their offerings.  That said, for one of their standard bearers, this one is solid.

Grade: B

Price Paid: 2.09 (12 oz can)

215. Howard Action Man Lager

I had this beer over a year go but I'm finally getting around to getting this posted.  I was visiting a roommate from college and having dinner together at a restaurant.  Ended up ordering this beer, which came from a nearby brewery.  They had just recently put out a canning line.  I was given a can and a glass to pour it in.

The beer was an amber color with some orange highlights.  A rigorous pour provided about two fingers of foamy, off-white head.  Moderate retention, leaving a healthy amount of lacing on the glass and film at the surface.  Considering this is a lager, I didn't expect a lot of crazy aromas.  Sure enough, I picked up toast, caramel, and a hint of pepper.

The taste was very similar to what I picked up on the nose, fresh toasty bread, a touch of sweetness, and a slightly spicy finish.  Medium body and carbonation makes this one a little on the lively side.  

It's not often that I get my hands on lagers since most breweries tend to focus on ales instead.  Still, I found this one to be quite palatable and definitely refreshing in its own right.  I haven't had a lot of Vienna Lagers, but I'm sure that down the road I'll be more familiar with the style.

Grade: B-

Price Paid: $4.00 (12 oz can)

Haul for 10/17

The second of two hauls, this one the most recent since I pulled this one off yesterday.  Just swung by Tasty Beverage after work and went a little out of control.  I guess I won't be buying much beer next month based on what I splurged on today.  Here's the haul:

• Boulevard Collaboration #4 Saison - For this collaboration, they paired up Ommegang to create a saison.  I don't think I've ever had Boulevard beers before, but I am a fan of Ommegang so I figured I'd give it a try.  Price paid: $8.99
• Boulevard Smokestack Bourbon Barrel Quad - I have to admit, I was drawn to several beers that were labeled as one or two per customer only.  I understood that meant they were either in high demand, were rare, or both.  I pounced on the most of them in the store, considering they were reasonable in price.  Price paid: $12.99
• Stone Enjoy By IPA - My date was 10/31/14, and it was consumed last night.  That means that you'll likely see a review next year.  Ha.  No, I'm going to try and get my recent drinks completed and then work backwards to manage my pending list.  Every time I turn around, this beer is sold out so I considered myself lucky that I'd finally get to try this bad boy.  Price paid: $6.99
• Wicked Weed Briars & Brett - I'm not sure if I've ever had a sour before.  Again, was drawn to the one-per-customer thing.  I know Wicked Weed recently opened the Funkatorium; they basically have over a dozen taps dedicated to sour ales.  I figured I'd let this one age and go experiment with sour ales in the near future.  Oh yeah, this one was aged in gin barrels with blackberries.  Interesting combo.  Price paid: $9.99
• Highland 20th Anniversary IPA - Would you believe that this was the beer that drove me to come by the store?  I had the previous 2 anniversary beers and this was the 3rd beer (There are releasing more beers than that to celebrate 20 years, but I'm only focusing on the beers that are labeled as 20th anniversary beers) of 4.  Price paid: $8.99
• Fullsteam Fearrington Apple Rye IPA - I was intrigued by the combination of apple, rye, and IPA.  They said they used apple because everybody else is focused on pumpkins.  I just hope the combination pays off.  Price paid: $6.49
• Fullsteam Tree to Sea Gose - I was impressed by the fact that they used NC ingredients to make this beer, and it came from all over the state.  To support my love for NC (I know, silly right?   I could be supporting my love for NC a myriad of different ways than buying this beer) I decided to buy this beer.  Call me a sucker.  Price paid: $12.99 

Haul for 10/10

Remember when I said I'd try to get 6 complete last week?  How much did I get done?  1!  Talk about not meeting one's goals.  I'm not pleased with myself, but now I've had the chance to enjoy a lazy Saturday, lounge for a bit, recuperate a bit.  Yeah, my goal is to finish two hauls and at least 4 reviews for a total of 6 posts.  Like my chances?  I don't, but until the wife gets home, I like my likelihood of having the free time to do what I need to do.  It's not often that I get to go by Bottle Revolution anymore, but I was in the area and decided to drop by and get a quick 6 pack.  What did I get?  Here's the haul:

• Red Brick Brother Leo Belgian IPA - Part of Red Brick's Brick Mason series, I had tried or at least purchased some of their other Brick Mason series offerings, so I figured I'd snag this one too.  Price paid: $3.39
• Schilling Oak Cider - I haven't had a lot of ciders aged in wood, but the ones I have tried have been great.  I've never heard of Schilling before, so I figured I'd give them a go.  Price paid: $2.09
• Schilling Ginger Cider - Since the price was affordable, I didn't just get the oak cider but the ginger cider as well.  Hope these cider makers know their stuff..!  Price paid: $2.09
• Unknown Over the Edge IPA - I've passed this Charlotte based brewery several times and wondered when they would have something that I could buy in stores.  Time to figure out how they rank with the other NC breweries..!  Price paid: $1.99
• Weyerbacher Autumnfest - I feel like I missed Oktoberfest.  September came and went so quickly.  What's the deal that Oktoberfest is really held in September?  Anyway, I'm ready to make up for lost time, plus I may not get around to drinking this until next year.  Price paid: $2.09
• Duck-Rabbit Marzen - Continuing my need to celebrate Oktoberfest, I decided to pick this one up at well.  Looks like Duck-Rabbit is spreading out their offerings.  And better yet, I just realized that they finally updated their website.  Finally a website that matches the quality of their beer.  Price paid: $1.79