The Young’s Double Chocolate Stout from the Charles Wells Brewery located in Bedfordshire, England was the subject of this latest beerventure. Dark and chocolaty, this beer poured out in a nice shade of darkness capped by a nice but less than expected in size head. Aroma was good though, as the chocolate notes easily came out of the glass. The ABV of this stout was lower than what I usually prefer at 5.2% but with a beer like this, it is more often about that decadent dessert feel that you get from a sweet stout.
Speaking of which, the taste of the beer was as solid as I remembered, although there is that thinness of the texture which doesn’t always sit well with me for this style. The stout is essentially the porter’s big brother and should have with it a certain heartiness in my opinion, and although that comes through in the flavor and on the palate; it is the texture that I just find to be a little lacking. This may go to the timeliness of the beer as it hasn’t probably changed in quality, but other brewers with their offerings have just kind of pushed them back a bit in my opinion. With that all being said, it is still a decent beer which is why I rated it 3.5 out of 5. Check out my video here to see more, and to hear more of my in-depth thoughts on this offering.
A look at the Black & Cran from Atwater Brewery brought forth a Russian Imperial Stout that was fermented with cranberries and aged in Bourbon barrels. Coming in with an ABV of 9% and IBU level of 54, my interest was definitely peaked by this craft beer, so obviously I had to pick it up.
Dark in color with very little head, the beer provided a decent aroma. The taste was a little maltier than I expected especially on the initial, but the hoppiness did show up in the finish and the cranberries as well as the barrel aging were both detected pretty easily. Overall it was a good beer for me, which is why I graded it 3.25 out of 5 but check out my YouTube video below to gather more of the details on what I thought about this stout.
My latest beerventure has provided me with the Barkley’s Belgian Style Ale from the solar powered Anderson Valley Brewing. This Belgian Strong Dark Ale comes in with an ABV of 9% however the IBU was unavailable. Anderson Valley really puts out some good beers so I was definitely looking forward to trying this one out, and I was not disappointed.
The appearance was solid as expected and like many of this style, there was no head to really to make mention of as it was very thin. However, the color carried a great darkish tone. But the aroma jumped off nicely as the dark fruits poured out without issue bringing notes of raisin, plum and licorice. I could have spent a good amount of time just smelling this for a period but the taste right, that is what we are really after.
The taste was smooth for me and I can see where this will be dangerous for some as the booziness is not really picked up in this one. And although it is a full body beer and does have some weight, the flavor just popped and I received a nice mouthfeel as well as mouthcoating from it. This beer is tasty indeed as it was able to get my whole mouth tingling. If you like Belgian style ale and especially the dark ale then this one is worth a try for sure. Check out my video here to get more details on this beer that I enjoyed and see why I rated it 4.5 out of 5 on my personal Untappd score. Cheers!
A beer run to Indiana had provided me with the opportunity to look and try to locate some other beers that I may not have tried in the past and this time, one that I found was The Rooftop IPA from the Bloomington Brewing Company which is the focus here of my latest review. This American India Pale Ale comes in with an ABV of 7.4% and 80 IBU.
Appearance:
I really thought the appearance of this one came through well with its deeper orange-yellow sunset like color which was capped nicely by its foamy bone-white head. There was some haziness which of course can be expected, but there was still enough clarity to see some of the lively carbonation that was taking place.
Aromas:
The tropical tones from the hops easily climbed out of the glass and were easy to pick up from those that were used including: Nugget, Cascade and Mt. Hood. Notes of pineapple and mango seemed to come through the most as I inhaled the goodness from this ale.
Flavor / Palate:
The citrus notes taken in on the aroma were right there in the taste as well, with a nice flavor pop really coming on the initial taste along with a malt smoothness that balanced them out and making it feel like nothing near an 80 IBU level. The finish had a nice crisp dry break with very little if any throat scraping on the swallow. The texture did have a little bit of syrupiness to it, but it worked much like some of the others that we often see like Great Lakes Chillwave for example. The mouthcoating and mouthfeel both stood out nicely on this IPA and just provided some of the mouth tingling that I like to find in beers. Read some of my notes here or check out my YouTube video posted below to watch the review.
Overall Summary:
This beer proved to be a decent one indeed and proved to be a great choice from the beer run that was made. I will say though that while I was okay with it on a 22 ounce bottle, it may be a little much for some so a friend may be needed. But if you like IPAs then I don’t think that you will be disappointed. For me on my personal Untappd score it proved to be a solid 4 out 5, and I proved well worth it to go to the Rooftop.
One of the things that I like about supporting local breweries is that often they have other interests in the community which they support. They give back at the local level and that affects lives, so being able to raise a pint to that is always a good thing in my book. Hence, my looking at Entropic Theory from MadTree Brewing which is one of their latest limited release offerings aimed at helping to raise funds and interest for local children that are studying STEM as part of their scientific interests. See and hear a little more about this in the YouTube video attached here in the post. This India Pale Ale comes in with an ABV of 7.5% and 70 IBU making it a somewhat bittering treat for this latest review, but looks aren’t always what they seem.
Appearance:
First of all, I have to give props to MadTree on a well-designed call as the look is just perfect for what was being used as link between the beer and idea. As for the beer inside, the beer poured a nice golden orange-yellow color that ended up being capped nicely by a pretty much dead-on white head. During my pour, I was able to easily gather a two finger head which sat nicely in the glass with a good foaminess. There was some chill haze that added to the appearance, but I was still able to catch some of the bubble action inside as it raced toward the billowiness that was above.
Aroma:
The aroma of the beer was easily able to appreciate as the notes of tropical and citrus did come through from the hops used. To find out more on what these were make sure to go to the MadTree link below about the beer where the details are provided as well as a clone recipe for those that would like to brew it on their own. But the main notes coming through from the beer resonated to me of mango, pineapple, and orange, providing the quality of what one would expect when they think of a tropical type IPA.
Flavor / Plate:
The flavors that I mentioned for aroma were also right there where they needed to be for taste as well. I was able to pick up what reminded me of mango the most, but all came together nicely. The initial burst that I received on the initial was highly satisfying and it didn’t take long for my mouth to really have a nice tingling effect. There was no overabundance of flavor that we are seeing on some IPAs which also sat very well for me. As far as body, I would call this one a nice medium body as it wasn’t overly heavy and while there was some bitterness on the initial and finish, the balance between the malts and hops was decent enough that even the greatest of IPA haters may be able to make it through this one unscathed.
Overall Summary:
As a beer overall, MadTree did a really good job with the beer in my opinion. It is sure to have some of our local beer community buzzing about it. In my opinion, it could easily even rival its main flagship beer which is Psychopathy as that Tropical alternative. Maybe, this one will call for more research and they could bring it back to see…Hmmm I wonder. As to how this one sits on my personal Untappd rating scoreboard, it is 3.75 out of 5 for me. While it is very solid and mouth pleasingly good, it’s not one that I may go after more than once or twice at a time, but it is one that I would to break up a routine of what I may be drinking.
The Latitude Adjustment from Upland Brewing is a pineapple coconut Pale Ale that is offered seasonally and the subject of my latest beer review. Now this was actually done a while ago but is just being uploaded at this time. So if this does pique your interest then make sure to check it out when it returns and if you would just like to just jump ahead to the video review then please feel free to do so by scrolling down to the end of the post. The beer itself comes in at 6.2% ABV and 30 IBU.
Appearance:
The beer itself provided a decent medium color of a beer, a little darker than your light straw but still straw-like and capped by a large, foamy just off- white head. Carbonation was definitely lively as it was able to observe the bubbles just racing up the class. There was some haziness to the body but not too much where I couldn’t see all the way through.
Aroma:
There was no issue at all receiving the coconut and even pineapple aroma, but there was also more of sense of mango and orange making it a nice tropical and citrus feel. The notes of aroma were moderate enough to come out of the glass without as much issue, however what I also sensed was the carbonation much like that of seltzer water which wasn’t as hidden and was lively for sure.
Flavor / Palate:
For 30 IBU I was surprised by the bitterness felt on the initial and on the finish. It wasn’t overly bitter, but it was definitely there, but more than the bitterness the carbonation was very lively. At points, it almost felt like I was drinking a Schweppes, but in a way there was also a refreshing quality around this. The beer did have a nice dry texture as one would expect from an American Pale Ale, and it felt about right with its medium body and tropical taste coming through with each sip.
Overall Summary:
The Latitude Adjustment did one thing I really liked and that was look to be something different. The coconut and pineapple being sought was found and it was like a bit of tropical getaway. I am not sure that I would want to go through a sixer of these, but one or two could easily hit the spot. For me and my palate that likes some bittering at times, this one was 4 out of 5 on my personal Untappd score.
