Beer Review: Platform Speed Merchant

Speed Merchant is a White IPA from Platform Beer Company out of Cleveland, Ohio and comes in with an ABV of 6.6% along with an IBU level of 60. Being in the Cincinnati area, most of the times things said about Cleveland aren’t nice. That is not the case here. Speed Merchant proved to be a nice offering from Platform and provided for me a nice pleasurable experience.


As I mentioned, it is a White IPA bringing in the use of White Wheat to really provide that pale color. This one did well providing fruity, piney and tropical notes as often expected of the style, along with a nice smoothness despite the bittering level. All in all I found this one decent enough to score this one at an 84. I am looking forward to checking out more of their beers and happy to see they are also adding a tasting room here in Cincinnati. Beer bringing cities together…even Cleveland and Cincinnati. Well maybe not yet, baby steps.

Have you had this beer yet? If so then let me know your thoughts as well on it, and check out my video for more about my other thoughts around this beer. Cheers and remember, there’s always time…Get Your Beer On!

Appearance: 12

Aroma: 12

Flavor: 12

Palate: 13

Overall: 35

Total Score: 84

Beer Review: Four String Brass Knuckle

Brass Knuckle from Four String Brewing Company is an American Pale Ale that I happened to stumble across during a Trader Joe’s visit, and the can caught my eye enough that I decided to pick it up and give it a shot and also do a review. ABV on this brew comes in at 5.75% ABV and 36 IBU, not what I think of for a beer calling it itself a hard hitting pale ale but it was worth a go.

I found the beer itself to present a nice appearance and have enough palatable qualities to make it a decent enough pale ale. The flavor was okay to me, okay but not great. The aroma had the bases covered of what to be expected, but for me it didn’t come off as strong as advertised although it was still solid enough to be a refreshing beer leading me to score it a 75. In the end though, bitter and fruity with a dry texture do come together on this one like one would seek for a pale ale.

Check out my video to see more about this one. Cheers, and remember there’s always time…Get Your Beer On!

Appearance: 11

Aroma: 10

Flavor: 9

Palate: 11

Overall: 34

Total Score: 75

Beer Review: Fat Head's Head Hunter IPA

Head Hunter IPA from Fathead’s Brewery is an American IPA and pretty much the flagship beer for this Ohio brewery and it is the subject of my latest review. Coming in at 7.5% ABV for alcohol content and 87 IBU, this beer pretty much embodies all that is a traditional beer of this style. Displaying a deep golden color and nice looking white frothy head, this award winning beer was one worth reviewing just to get a good feel of the style.

The beer uses three hops: Columbus, Simcoe and Centennial which is added to the four malts: Pale, CaraMalt, C-15 and Cara-Pils and together with the American Ale yeast…we have the result of this west–coast style IPA. However, while I found the beer to a solid effort, for me it did come across as being solid, but not as modernized as some of the other ones that are on the market now. Nothing wrong with this one though as it definitely fits the style as mentioned above but the wow factor just wasn’t there for me as much, leading me to score this one an 81.

Check out my video to see more of my thoughts on this one, and if you have had this one previously then let me know what you think by leaving a comment as well. And always remember, there’s always time…Get Your Beer On!

Appearance: 12

Aroma: 12

Flavor: 11

Palate: 11

Overall: 35

Total Score: 81

Beer Review: Sierra Nevada Hop Bullet

Hop Bullet Double IPA from Sierra Nevada Brewing is the latest seasonal beer added to their lineup and the subject of my latest review. I happened to grab this one shortly after it was launched, which was a bit of time before I actually uploaded the review here. Sierra Nevada has always been pretty solid so I usually enjoy checking out their offerings, although I have been not as overwhelmed by them with some of their recent ones. But I do like IPAs especially bigger ones, so I figured why not give it a shot.

Starting with the appearance I found it very nice in its look and display, good color and a nice head made you really want to enjoy this beer. Aroma was very nice coming out of the glass; there was easily some nice dankness from the hops followed by notes of floral and hoppy characteristics for me. There was also a balance where malt could also be detected, which is actually not uncommon for some of the beers of the double IPA style. Despite being 60 IBU, depending on when and how the malts are used can determine how the bitterness truly plays out.

But for me, the flavor played out in the best way of the beer. There was a smoothness that came though and set against that balance of the hops and malts as well as the duration of the flavor, it just provided a great presence of the five hops and five malts used. There was also a sturdy texture to the beer that held up well with its body, and it being carbonated nicely made the finish that much smoother. All in all, I was pretty pleased with this one as I scored it an 88. I found very little to be disappointed about with this one.

Check out my video to see more on this one as well as other particulars, and remember. There’s always time, Get Your Beer On! Cheers!

Appearance: 13

Aroma: 12

Flavor: 14

Palate: 13

Overall: 36

Total: 88

Beer Review: Uinta Brett Croggy Saison

From Uinta Brewing Company comes the Croggy Brett Saison, a farmhouse ale brewed with a dose of Mosaic hops, rolled oats and Brettanomyces among other things and it was the subject of my latest review. I hadn’t thought really of a tart Saison before seeing this, but figured why not pick it up and give it a go.

Once the cork was popped, smoke started climbing out of the bottle nicely and was followed by the tart fruity aroma of the hops which was balanced nicely against the malt background of the beer along with the funkiness of the Brett. The beer itself only has an IBU of 24 so there was no overly bitter feel to it, and at 6.8% ABV the alcohol remained hidden within it nicely. It really did provide that interesting combination in the mouth though: fruity, tart, sour, and dry all coming together along with the undertones of the un-malted wheat base. It really was something different and an effort I appreciated as I scored this one an 82 with really the aroma almost being the star of the beer, which did last for a nice amount of time.

Part of the fun of drinking craft beers is finding the concoctions that are created and sitting back and just enjoying them, this one was a solid enough experience for sure. Check out my video to see more of my thoughts on this ale and always remember, there’s always time. Get Your Beer On…

Appearance: 12

Aroma: 13

Flavor: 11

Palate: 12

Overall: 34

Total Score: 82

Beer Review: New Belgium Voodoo Ranger Juicy Haze IPA

The Voodoo Ranger Juicy Haze IPA from New Belgium Brewing Company joins the ranks of New England IPAs and the craze that still seems to be sweeping the country. And, this ale is the subject of my latest beer review. Coming in with an alcohol account of 7.5% Abv and 50 IBU, this one here seems to come in packing a nice little punch…a fruity refreshing punch. So, what are my thoughts on this one?

I must admit that I was a little doubtful about what this one may offer and I have to say that I was somewhat surprised. The beer itself showed a nice appearance in color and was backed up nicely with the lacing of the foamy head. The notes did well providing citrus and tropical tones, although they weren’t as strong as some others that I have had of this style. However, in talking flavor there was somewhat of a juicy quality and smoothness that went along with the bitterness as a nice balance. Carbonation sat well with the beer and overall the experience was pretty decent, which is why I rated this one out to be an 85. Check out my video review to see more of my thoughts on this newer offering and remember, there’s always time…so Get Your Beer On!

Appearance: 13

Aroma: 12

Flavor: 12

Palate: 12

Overall: 35

Total Score: 85