223. Doc's Draft Pumpkin Hard Apple Cider

"I would rather sit on a pumpkin and have it all to myself, than be crowded on a velvet cushion." Henry David Thoreau

A unique, hand-crafted pumpkin hard cider.

Made from pressed NY state apples and fresh pumpkins, fermented with champagne yeast and alic acid to excite the action.

I'm catching up on some older entries and decided to go with a cider as my next entry.  I've had some Doc's ciders before and wasn't terribly fond for it, but I've warmed up a bit to them since then.  I love Ace's pumpkin cider, so I was hopeful that this would be more of the same goodness, just in a bigger bottle.  The contents were poured into a pilsner glass.  It has a clear, yellow color to it with a quick dissipating head.  I picked up aromas of pumpkin, apple, ginger, cinnamon.  Doesn't smell too sweet.

This beer has some tart and tang to it.  Not too sweet.  The spices are most prominent with the ginger and cinnamon.  Pumpkin comes next, although the apple comes through towards the end.  As the base, it's masked pretty well by the other flavors.  Light bodied, a little slick.  Moderate carbonation.  

If I compared this to Ace, this doesn't match up.  It's a little more lacking in flavor, a little more watery.  Still, a solid effort from Doc's and depending on the price point, I'd pick it up again.

Grade: C+

Price Paid: $2.00 (22 oz bomber)

Haul for 2/23

After my wife's monthly pregnancy checkup, we stopped nearby at Whole Foods to look around and get a couple of things (Whole Foods = Whole Paycheck).  I didn't realize that there was a Triangle Wine Company store that was right next door.  They advertised craft beer along with the wine and I just had to venture in and see what their selection looked like.  It wasn't too shabby, and I found myself unable to leave without picking up a thing or two.  Here's the haul:

• Smuttynose Frankenlager - This was offered as a special for a steep discount, and I figured it wouldn't hurt to give it a try.  Price paid: $2.99
• Coronado 18th Anniversary - Never had any beers from Coronado before, just thought I'd try something different on a whim.  Hoping for good things..!  Price paid: $6.99

222. Shipyard Pumpkinhead

Drinking this while watching NC State vs. Miami in ACC college basketball play.  First time trying a Shipyard (http://www.shipyard.com) product. Poured into a tulip glass.  Half a finger of white head.  Little to no retention, similar to a cider or soda. No discernible lacing on the glass.  Copper color with rose colored highlights.  I can smell more pumpkin pie spice such as cinnamon and clove than I do actual pumpkin.  Any semblance of pumpkin is hard to pick up.  

The taste provides malt sweetness, some spice notes, and that's about it.  It's quite watery, lacking flavor, little body, with high carbonation.  There is a bitter finish, but not in the way that I think it's the hops.

Overall, this is a pretty bad beer.  I'm contemplating giving it the drain pour, but I think I'll hold onto it.  It's more cider than beer, maybe they should try to market this as one.  Yeah..I'm not drinking this ever again.

Grade: D

Price Paid: $1.67 (12 oz bottle)

221. Fullsteam Fearrington Fall Heirloom Apple Rye IPA

"Rustic, tangy, bitter, sweet.  The true flavors of fall in the South.  Because the world has enough pumpkin beers.

Pressed heirloom apples - Foggy Ridge, Dugspur, VA

Wrens Abruzzi Rye - Harvested by Carter Farms, Eagle Springs, NC and malted by Riverbend Malt House, Asheville, NC

Jarrylo and Cascade hops

7% ABV, 58 IBU"

Decided to have a beer  to go with my dinner (jambalaya) while watching the NFL playoffs (Arizona Cardinals vs. Carolina Panthers).  Fullsteam looks to be embracing locally sourced products to go with their beer.  Definitely helps with their marketing, although I haven't had a beer from them that has wowed me yet.

This beer was poured into a Guinness pint.  It has a clear caramel color with two fingers of beige colored head with a sea foam consistency.  Moderate retention that leaves sheets of lacing around the glass.  I detect aromas of apple, grass, tangerine, pine.  

The aroma of apples is not nearly as apparent in the taste.  It's less than subtle, almost a little hard to discern.  I can taste more pine and a slight spicy note from the rye.  Very silky smooth mouthfeel.  Lightly carbonated and surprisingly full bodied.  Finish is is bitter as expected, although it's tamer and more reminiscent of an APA than an IPA.  Bitter finish.  

The combination is ambitious, certainly intriguing, but I think it fails to really deliver.  I know my curiosity was piqued, which led me to purchase the beer.  It's tasty, different, but otherwise forgettable.  

Grade: C-

Price Paid: $6.49 (22 oz bomber)

220. Woodchuck Hopsation Hop Forward Cider

"We start with our original small batch hard cider and infuse cascade hops to impart their sensational pine and citrus aromas.  The smooth apple character of our signature hard cider balances perfectly against the bitterness of the hops.  Some may just call it a hopsational cider."

After having several stretches of beer or liquor drinks, I had the hankering for a cider and grabbed the first one I could find and put it into the fridge.  Lo and behold, Woodchuck's Hopsation is what I ended up grabbing.  The beer was poured into a pilsner glass.  It has a pale, straw color with green highlights depending on the lighting.  Pretty interesting, actually.  Interesting aroma of sour apple, lemon, lime, and a touch of pine.  It certainly left me wondering what I might be in for.

The first thing I notice is the sweetness, as in, the lack thereof when compared to other Woodchuck ciders.  Less cloying, more refreshing.  Also, I can taste some of the hop influence, but it's very subtle.  I've had the green apple cider before and I can say that I like the complexity of this beer more than the green apple variant.  Some grassy notes also extend on the palate.  Light bodied, but medium carbonation.  

I know when I first got into hard ciders, my primary experience was with Woodchuck.  My taste has changed with the times and I'm sure I wouldn't rate those ciders nearly as favorably as I had in the past.  That said, I feel like this is one of the better offerings I've had from Woodchuck and is different from many of the others I've had, aside from the barrel aged variants.  If you find this one, give it a try.

Grade: B+

Price Paid: $1.79 (12 oz bottle)

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)