Chatoe Rogue First Growth Wet Hop Ale

Hello dear readers, haven't posted anything in a while. My attention span lately has been more Twitter and less Blogger. Sorry about that.

I picked up the Chatoe Rogue First Growth Wet Hop Ale (CRFGWHA for short?) at the inimitable State Line Liquors in Elkon, MD, along with a bunch of other great beers. I was unaware Rogue was putting out a fresh-hop, so when I saw the last one sitting on the shelf, it was all over. I cracked it open Tuesday night with some Cabot cheddar cheese my uncle Bob from VT gifted me with the weekend before. Let the reviewing commence:

Appearance: Poured a dark amber color with good head retention. Color was darker than I anticipated, but it that's not a bad thing.

Smell: Fresh hops are obviously front and center. Grassier than an IPA with kiln-dried hops, the organics of the fresh hops used here remain.

Taste: A lot sweeter than the smell let on. I was surprised how much the sweet malts came through, but I guess I was in more of a DIPA mindset going into this beer. This is a pale ale by my standards, but the fresh hops add another dimension to the mild bitterness. It went great with the cheddar.

Mouthfeel: Nice and balanced, medium carbonation. No aftertaste really stuck around too long.

Drinkability: I doubt anyone would have too many of these on hand at once, but this beer is very drinkable. At 6.4% ABV and 40 IBUs its not too strong to enjoy a couple pints if you see it on tap anywhere. As Jimmy noticed, there's at least one more beer in this Chatoe Rogue series, so I'm looking forward to see what else they can cook up with their own hops in the kettle.

Stone Pale Ale

[Before I start the review, I need to take classes or read books on particular beer attributes for reviewing all 5 of the standard Beeradvocate categories. Any recommendations fellow Hopheads for me, JimmyHoppyHead that feels like his reviews are falling off the face of the earth as if it was a square like some of Christopher Columbus's nemesis' told him]

Never had this beer from one of my favorite west coast breweries, as well as wanting a light beer to mellow out to after a strenuous day at the office, are the main reasons why I picked up a 6 pack back in the middle of September at State Line Liquors in Elkton, MD. Lets see what my sub par review instincts can handle:

Appearance: Pours pale goodness with shades of an orange brown leather. Head dissipates from 1/4 finger of head to a remote fragile island in the middle of my 8oz NY Craft Beer glass. Surprisingly not as clear as expected for a pale ale but I can make out our pretty blog as I star gaze through the glass. Carbonation dies down after 3 minutes making the ale look uninviting as if Public Safety rolled in and broke up the party.

Smell: Nutty butternut squash aromatic qualities surround my nose with grassy hop characteristics.

Taste: Sweet and faint caramel touch to the tongue that is more weighted towards the malt side of the spectrum rather than hops in terms of the balance. The hops taste almost sour (probably from the yeasts) and give it a fruit like appeal - lime orange?

Mouthfeel: Carbonation bites the tongue and you can trace a little rascal of aggressive hops that shocked me in a pale ale. Caramel sweet not so pleasant aftertaste lingers. Beer goes down smooth but the carbonation makes it coarse.

Drinkability: Interesting...the appearance looked boring after awhile but the over carbonated mouthfeel was the opposite. Same with my smelly, which picked out different malts and hops then my taste(less) buds. All in all, an interesting Pale Ale that I say is well balanced and I would have another before changing flight to something more "extreme" for the night. 5.4% abv, 41 IBUs and 7.5/10 for me.

Victory Vista Harvest Ale

While on our way to a fantastic wedding in the Downingtown, PA area, Alex, Jimmy and I stopped in for lunch and a few brews at Victory Brewery. First off, if you haven't been and you live even remotely close, I highly recommend it. They had 4 beers on cask and a whole bunch more on tap, along with an awesome menu. Secondly, if you have about half an hour to get to a wedding that's ten minutes away, and its on a busy Saturday both at Victory and on the roads, we don't recommend filling up your growlers. Chances are, you'll have to break a few driving laws in order to make it to the church just before the bride gets out of the limo. Totally unrelated, I have a growler of the Vista Harvest Ale that I would like to review for you all now.

Appearance: This has been sitting in the fridge for a while, but I am still shocked at how much carbonation there still is, with a good couple fingers of head, however it recedes fairly quickly. There is a light golden color, very clean and clear.

Smell: Mmmmm, great grassy, herbal, and floral hop aroma, but that is pretty much it, maybe a little sweetness. Not necessarily a bad thing, it is a very pleasant smelling beer.

Taste: What an interesting mix of flavors, with your grassy and herbal hops and definitely more noticeable yet still light nutty malts. It is as crisp as the appearance suggests, and has good balance for a seemingly lighter brew.

Mouthfeel: Light to medium bodied (more towards light), a tiny bit thin, but a great oiliness texture that coats your mouth, followed by a gentle bitterness aftertaste.

Drinkability: I could drink this all day out on the porch one summer day. It is extremely easy drinking, and even though I don't have an exact abv on this, I have to imagine it falls below 6%. I would rate this comparable to a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, but with a little bit cleaner finish and a little bigger bitterness bite. I wish this was released in bottles so I wouldn't have to lug my growler down to Downingtown, but I guess that's what makes it special. Like I said before, if you have the chance to go to Victory, do so, because you will find great stuff you can't get in stores, along with their entire selection of craft brews. For this style, it is very close to being the gold standard, and in my humble opinion, that is not an exaggeration. 9/10

Serving type: Tap/Growler
Glass type: Sam Adams glass

Drinking My First Home Brewed...Brew

So the day has finally arrived. Time to see if my hard work (if you want to call it that) paid off by trying a bottle of the first batch I ever made. Remember, the ingredients were sub-par, it was my first time (tee-hee), yadda yadda yadda, and whatever other excuses I can add in here. This bottle was bottled and left for carbonating in the basement at room temperate, ~66 deg. Fahrenheit, for two weeks, then put in the fridge overnight. I'll review it like any other beer, but I'm not expecting much. So I present to you....

Mikey's Pale Ale

Appearance: A very light golden yellow (the pic makes it look amber, but believe me, its yellow), extremely crisp and clear, about half a finger of head that disappears pretty quickly, hell I'm glad/relieved there is any carbonation whatsoever.

Smell: A very light and slight floral hop smell eminates from the brew, with a tinge of either citrus or something sour, I'm a little worried about the sour part...

Taste: Actually, it's not too bad, by that I mean I'm not vomitting, a light citrus hop flavor with almost no malts to speak of, which isn't surprising since if you can remember, the ingredients were the pale ale malt extract and the Booster, Sierra Nevada Pale Ale it isn't, but it's not embarrassingly bad.

Mouthfeel: Watery, light, thin, slightly carbonated, barely any alcohol sensation, but it is alcoholic at least.

Drinkability: Light, watery, thin, barely any noticeable hops, a little sour...hmmm...I've made Coors Light! All joking aside, it is somewhat drinkable in that someone might want to drink more than one to be nice to me, but I don't know how many I could have. The only difference between this beer and the mass produced light beers is a tinge of bitterness, different hop flavors, and a little sourness which I will attribute to sanitization issues, yet the sourness isn't that extreme. Actually I would almost compare this to alcoholic apple juice, like a cider. All in all, considering I had absolutely horrible expectations when sampling the fermenter, I'm pleasantly surprised it turned out ok. It also gives me hope for the batch Jimmy and I brewed. I give this a 3/10, but I'm a little biased because it's my baby! I'll have to give it to the other hopheads to sample and see what they say. Happy home brewing!

Glass type: Sam Adams glass
Serving type: Bottle

Avery Redpoint Ale

I pawned this one off of Alex after a party involving midgets, porn, and Napolean (Bonaparte, not Dynamite, and yea, don't ask about this one, either). He wasn't too high on it at the time, so I figured I would give it a whirl.

Appearance: Pours with a dark amber color that is pretty cloudy as bubbles are slowly released from the bottom and rise up, about half a finger of head with decent lacing.

Smell: Nice subtle herbal aroma from the hops, but after that its all sweet and caramel malts, overall the smell kind of remind me of apple pie (bizarre, I know).

Taste: Malts dominate all the way through, but not in a good way, hops are barely noticeable, they appear for an instant, if that, left a weird dank aftertaste that isn't too pleasant.

Mouthfeel: Some carbonation to tickle the mouth, light and a little watery, nothing great or even noticeable, aftertaste is still dominating, though, maybe ruining the effect.

Drinkability: Well, for a beer that's only 5.5% abv, there is a strong taste of alcohol, not what I was expecting. The aftertaste really is the one thing standing out to me, which is why I am harping on it. Its not one that makes me want more, but rather put it down and start with something else. I mean yea, its not horrible, I'll still finish the glass, but not what I was expecting from a brewery like Avery, which has quite a few beers I'm fond of. Looks like Alex's instincts were right, I give it a 6/10.

Glass type: Sam Adams glass
Serving type: bottle

Defiant Golden Nugget Ale

I stopped by this hidden brewery in my neck of the woods over at Pearl River, NY by the train station this past Friday evening. It looks like an abandoned warehouse on the outside, but there are some serious brewers just waiting for beer drinkers to come in and taste their creations. I ended up having their Golden Nugget pale ale as well as their stout. I brought home of growler of the pale ale. He is what I think:

Appearance: Clear amber pour with 1/2 finger of carbonation (this is from the growler) that dissipates within a couple of minutes. Looks simple and basic to drink in one gulp.

Smell: A well blended clash of sour orange nugget hops and yeasty malts.

Taste: Crisp and refreshing with now more hints of smoky malts.

Mouthfeel: Thin on the palate (this could have been the growler as the pint at the bar had more body). Kind of a musty hop after taste.

Drinkability: I found this to be extra hopped compared to your typical pale ale. Very easy to consume and I would definitely have another one. Not bad for the locals. 7.5/10; guessing ~5% abv

Lagunitas Pale Ale

It is Saturday night and I need a beer! My brother bought this one for me for Christmas at Oak Tree Discount Wines & Spirits at South Plainfield, NJ.

Appearance: Pours a clear mellow yellow at a 3/4 finger of head. Not too much carbonation.

Smell: Piney hops hit my nasal passageway first, followed by musty malts with a tinge of chamomile.

Taste: The musty malts taste more toasty now and prevail over the hops which are holding up the rear in a sneaky manner.

Mouthfeel: It may feel light and smooth in the palette, but this beer comes packed with a well balanced flavor. Bitter aftertaste that you get with an IPA or ESB.

Drinkability: Goes down smooth at 6.4% abv. I could definitely have another, make that at least 3 to get the evening going. For a Pale Ale, I give it 7/10 hop nuggets.

Founders Dry Hopped Pale Ale

Jimmy and I are doing some NFL playoff football beer reviews. Picked these up from the local store, nothing too special.

Appearance: Pours with a golden color, but the head was out of control. Someone must have shaken the bottles or something because we had to measure our head in fists. Bubbly, alive, and definitely keeps its sudsy head.

Smell: We had two different smells from two different bottles: Jimmy had a musty smell that overpowered any distinction between hops and malts, while I had some piney hops that grabbed you right away, dominating away any scent of malts.

Taste: A lot more mellow than the piney hops leads you to believe. Jimmy put it well saying the hops made you almost expect an IPA, but the mellowness of the pale ale really showed while tasting. A hint of sweet malts that weren't present in the smell come alive.

Mouthfeel: Pretty smooth, not biting, no carbonation attack which kind of allows the taste to shine, a slight bitter tang aftertaste, a little thin but not really watery.

Drinkability: The mildness allows you to drink a lot of it, but we feel like you would get bored after a while. Kind of bland in the sense that there's nothing left to explore after the first couple sips. Jimmy: "It's like you want to press Next on your iPod." At 5.2% abv you won't have to take a nap afterwards, but it will leave you looking for more. We both agreed without looking at each others answers of 6.5/10, decent beer, but probably won't go out of our way for it.

Great Divide Fresh Hop Pale Ale

I picked up this bomber from State Line Liquors in Elkton, MD. Ever since trying some of Sierra Nevada's Harvest series, I have been looking for other fresh hop style ales to try. I love the smell and taste of hops, I wish there was a cologne with that scent. Enough of my hop loving dreams, here goes the review:

Appearance: Pours 2 fingers of head due to my awful pouring abilities, but dwindles down to an inch. Inviting carmel cherry wood color that is permeable. I can almost read the label of the bottle when looking through the glass.

Smell: A blend of the crisp Rocky Mountain air and Pacific Northwest hops put a huge smile on my face as I take a deep 5 second long sniff. Oops, I got some foam on my noze. Intense srassy hops with some sweet malts lingering too.

Taste: Very fresh and relieving type of taste. I taste more hops then what the 55 IBUs for this beer is. The sweet and musty malts stand out and hide the lawn grassy hops overpowering taste that I was going to expect (I was expecting that spicy fresh hop taste). It gave me a "Got Beer?" style mustache :)

Mouthfeel: Unlike the appearance, this brew is not as smooth, especially with the constant carbonation attacking the tonuge. The bitterness aftertaste would even be tolerable for a non-hop-lover I guess.

Drinkability: This beer leaves a spiderman web of hop lacing all over my tulip glass. I wonder if it is doing the same thing in my stomach right now. The beer is catergorized as an American Pale Ale, so it is hard to compare to other fresh hop ales. It was easy to consume and I think I could have a couple more...would be a good session beer if the price was right. I will give it a 8/10. 6.1% Alcohol By Volume. Cheers mate!

Oskar Blues Dale's Pale Ale

Appearance: Copper hue, about a finger of head, maybe more. Served in a pint glass.

Smell: Pretty standard hoppiness, sweet, nothing really blows me away.

Taste: Similar to Sierra Nevada's Pale Ale. Light and hoppy with pine-y bitterness. Not real citrussy but there is a sweet aftertaste to go with the bitterness left on your tongue.

Mouthfeel: I bought some of these for memorial day festivities, and this is a leftover from the weekend. I bring this up because I seem to remember a little more carbonation in my earlier experiences with Mr. Dale. Who knows, but this particular beer's mouthfeel was a little flat. I think some more bubble action could have made this a little more lively of a beer.

Drinkability: By no means a bad can of beer, but for $18 for 12 I might be inclined to go with a Sierra Nevada 12-er instead. 6.5% ABV.

Southern Tier Imperial Hoppe Extra Pale Ale

Bought this at State Line Liquors in Elkton, MD.

Appearance: Pale mellow yellow; like a bright lemony orange. Poured about 3/4 finger of head

Smell: Strong scent of sweet malts and leafy hops attack my nostrils

Taste: Its like a pale ale on steroids. Hard to determine the specific tastes, but I would say its the same as the smell.

Mouthfeel: Smooth yet the flavors of this beer last in your mouth for at least a minute.

Drinkability: Just one is good for me as it didn't quite arouse my beer senses. It is 10% abv and I don't even know....scary!

Dogfish Head Shelter Pale Ale

Bought a 6pack of this at Whole Foods in Greenwich, CT last Thursday. Quite a surprisingly decent selection despit the baller prices. Here we go for the review:

Appearance: Golden yellow brown that reminded me of autumn. Barely any head (1/4 finger) but it may be due to the wide open glass I poured it into Carbonation does not go away however.

Smell: Refreshing barley scent with a malt dominance over the hops

Mouthfeel: Carbonation kicks it up a gear and is just mellow and relaxing as I whine down after a long day at the office.

Taste: The ingredients to this pale are very well balanced and seem extremely fresh. I noticed a slight hop aftertaste, which as you know my palette just loves.

Drinkability: Great beer that stands out for its freshness I felt. Would definitely drink it again in the summer when you just want to chill and not get too drunk