Brewery Website: http://www.averybrewing.com/
Type of Beer: Winter Warmer
Alcohol Content: 8.3%
Beer Review -
Appearance: This holiday beer pours a deep, rich mahogany color with good clarity. Has an off-white, creamy, one-finger head that didn’t stick around too long leaving behind decent lacing.
Smell: The smell is soft and sweet. Hazelnuts are easy to pick out as are the dark fruits and roasted malts. There isn’t much in the way of spices or hops. There is however a subtle alcohol smell most likely due to the high abv.
Initial Taste: Unlike the smell the flavor is in no way subtle. Big sweetness from the hazelnuts, figs and caramelized sugar making a delicious initial flavor. Followed by porter-like roasted malts and bittersweet chocolate. There is a small yet earthy hop presence that helps to cut through the sweetness and round things out with a needed bitterness.
Thoughts: Avery is a known champion when it comes to developing full-flavored rich beers and their Old Jubilation is no slouch. With it’s big malt profile this Winter Warmer certainly tips the scales on the sweet side of things with flavors of hazelnuts, caramelized sugar, chocolate and roasted malts. This brew actually drinks more like a porter than a winter ale. There is a nice hop bitterness that helps to balance things out on the finish of this bold beer. As far as winter warmers go this is a very good representation of the style, especially with that high 8.3% abv!. If your a fan of the style I highly recommend Old Jubilation. Happy Holidays.
Brewery Website: http://www.saranac.com/
Type of Beer: Märzen / Oktoberfest
Alcohol Content: 5.4%
Beer Review -
Appearance: Clear amber-copper complexion with fluffy, two-finger, off-white head. Sadly head retention was just ok, lasting only a few moments and then settling to a thick film. Lacing was pretty much non-existent with only a skeleton of a spider web remaining on the glass. The mass of cascading bubbles show what should be some decent carbonation.
Smell: Scent is clean with a grainy, bread-like malt smell. Lots of sweetness comes through with notes of caramel and toasted sugar. Small sampling of hop spiciness makes it’s way across the nose but it’s only a wisp and grows more faint as you drink.
Initial Taste: Starts off pretty mild and sweet with vanilla, caramel malt and toasted sugar flavors hitting the tongue first. The flavor then starts to dry out with a hop bitterness that is spicy more than floral. While the hops are certainly present they only make a dent in the malt-heavy backbone. Finish is somewhat dry with little to no aftertaste.
Thoughts: Saranac has created yet another very drinkable seasonal brew. The flavor is what you would expect; heavy on the malts, just like most other American Oktoberfests, with a hop bitterness that tries to balances out the sweetness. This is a solid, middle of the road Oktoberfest that is easy to drink and pairs well with German food. While the flavor isn’t really all that provocative this is forgivable as the lager is really sessionable. I believe this to be an acceptable trade off. I recommend this beer as it’s usually easy to find (and drink) and sure to please even the most untrained palates. Though if you you are looking for an Oktoberfest beer with lots of flavor you are best to look elsewhere. Cheers.
Brewery Website: http://www.harpoonbrewery.com/
Type of Beer: Märzen / Oktoberfest
Alcohol Content: 5.5%
Beer Review -
Appearance: Pours a copper-red with a two-finger, off-white head. Head recedes slowly leaving behind incredible lacing that looks like it’s been painted on. Very attractive looking beer.
Smell: The first thing I noticed was the hops, they are quite fragrant but in no way do they seem overwhelming. The sweetness from the 3 different styles of malt helps to add some balance to the nose. There is a subtle fruitiness in the finish.
Initial Taste: The malt sweetness comes through first creating a very smooth and creamy mouth-feel. Much like what you would expect from a Marzan. The malt gives way to the hops that give a welcome but gentle bitterness that gains a little momentum towards the finish. The flavorful mixture of bready malts, bittersweet chocolate and citrus hops create a balanced and very tasty Oktoberfest beer. Finish is dry and clean making this high in drinkability.
Thoughts: Like many of the other American craft Oktoberfest beers this is an American style Oktoberfest. Which really isn’t a true German Oktoberfest beer but rather a Marzan boosted with hops (us Americans love our hops!). That being said, this beer is one of the best available for the style. Harpoon has created a perfect balance with what is traditionally a malty beer. They have mixed three different kinds of malt (chocolate, Munich and pale) with tettnang hops that give a spicy flavor that balances out the sweetness. The end result is a beautifully smooth beer that delivers on both the sweet and hop front making this a great session brew. This easily has become my go-to beer for American Oktoberfests. I highly recommend to Oktoberfest and craft beer lovers alike.
Brewery Website: http://www.atlantabrewing.com
Type of Beer: Amber Ale
Alcohol Content: 5.70%
Beer Review -
Appearance: Unsurprisingly the color of this amber ale is…amber! Clarity is about 100% and poured with a nice two finger white head that didn’t hang around long leaving behind some fairly decent lacing.
Smell: Not a whole lot going on with the smell on this ale. Toasted caramel and bready malts dominate the nose. Quite a sweet and light smelling beer. There is a very slight earthy hop smell on the end.
Initial Taste: Starts off with nice toffee sweetness picked up from the caramel malts along with soft bread-like yeast flavor that helps mellow out the sweetness. The light flavors that kicked this beer off gave way to a slight bitter hoppy profile. The earthy bitterness continues to the finish leaving you with a somewhat dry aftertaste.
Thoughts: There is actually a story behind this beer. Laughing Skull beer was a special beer brewed by Red Brick Brewing (formerly Atlanta Brewing Co) for The Vortex restaurant in Atlanta. The beer was discontinued in 2005. However in 2009 after a few years of upset beer lovers and letters to the brewery Red Brick decided to bring this uniquely named beer back to the market. However this time it has been released as an Amber Ale and not a Bohemian Pilsner like the original. Sadly this beer is only available in the Southeast. Red Brick states that since it’s re-release this beer has been their biggest seller. There is good reason why this beer is so popular, the flavor is sweet, mild and pretty well balanced with a nice earthy hoppiness. There is not offensive about this beer, just a nice (low flavor) ale that makes for great drinkability. So as an Amber Ale there are much nicer beers out there but as a session beer, this does just fine. I highly recommend.
Brewery Website: http://www.starrhill.com
Type of Beer: Irish Red Ale
Alcohol Content: 4.80%
Beer Review -
Appearance: The color is a deep red honey. Clarity is great but the color is just a bit too dark to see through. Poured with a nice two finger fluffy off-white head that dissipated to a film that lasted during drinking leaving little to no lacing.
Smell: As in true Irish Red Ale style the smell is sweet and malty. The first scents that come wafting through are caramel and bready malts followed by subtle dark fruits. There are little to no hops in the nose of this beer making it smell like quite the malty Irish brew.
Initial Taste: Like the smell the flavor of this beer light and sweet. The smell is mainly sweet malts and toasted sugar. Even though this is predominately a sweet malty beer there is still a nice hoppy bitterness that helps cut through the malt and balance the beer (with the scales still on the malt side). There is a slight graininess to the beer as well which plays nicely with the other flavors. The finish is slightly sweet and yet dry enough to make this a great session beer.
Thoughts: Irish Red Ales have always been hit and miss for me as the balance of malt and hops can easily become one-sided on the side of the malts making the beer overly sweet for me. Thankfully the brewmasters over at Starr Hill have come up with an award winning recipe that maintains a strong malty sweetness and has enough hops to help balance the scales. This beer has won the Silver Medal at the 2005 Great American Beer Festival, which is quite an honor. The beer is well rounded and what I believe to be a fantastic session brew due to the sweet yet dry finish that leaves you looking for the next bottle. I highly recommend this beer to malt and ale lovers alike.
http://www.smithwicks.ie
