Day #336 – Dogfish Head Pangaea

Dogfish Head Pangaea

This one only recently came into our market and I was pleased to see it. This beer has been brewed using ingredients from all 7 continents. Here is the listing of ingredients and where they originate:

Crystallized ginger from Australia

Water from Antarctica

Basmati rice from Asia

Muscavado sugar from Africa

South American quinoa

European yeast

and North American maize.

What results is what sits in front of me, a spice beer that has 7% ABV.

Clouded orange pour with small bits of sediment that float in the pour. Large white head.

Spicy smell with hints of ginger. Also smells of grain and lots of citrus notes. Orange peels that smell very fresh.

Taste has immediate sweet spice, such as ginger and cinnamon. Easy grains creep in following that. Finishes with light hints of the previous spice. I don’t get any Penguin poop so that’s cool. Probably the closest I will ever been to Antarctica though. Glad to have tried this.

Cheers!

Day #327 – Samuel Adams Winter Lager

Short review today as it’s THANKSGIVING! Cowboys win; heck yeah.

Samuel Adams Winter Lager

This is the winter seasonal from Samuel Adams which is technically a spice beer. it is 5.6%.

This beer pours a dark brown color that edges on red. Red highlights through the light. White type head.

Aroma is grainy for certain with some cinnamon spice and all-spice. Dark malts as well.

The flavor is much the same with spice and dark malts abound. Finishes dry spice that turns ever bready as it warms.

Cheers!

Day #318 – Anchor Our Special Ale

This beer is one of the best Christmas beers out there, and I happened to stumble upon 2 different vintages. I will be sampling this from 2009 and 2010.

Anchor Our Special Ale

This beer is a spice beer, which is said to have been brewed with a differing recipe every year. However, as of 2005 the recipe has been so similar there is little to tell difference, save for the spice amount. 5.5% ABV.

Anchor 09

This beer pours a dark ruddy brown color with a foamy off-white head. Appears rouge through the light.

Aroma is definitely spicy. Perhaps ginger is what I’m thinking, mixed with a soapy lavender scent? Smells Christmasy.

Flavor is spicy ginger, hops and leaves with a dry finish of old folks home. Like decorative soap. Interesting but I think the flavor is starting to fall off a bit.

Anchor 10

This beer pours a dark ruddy brown color with a foamy off-white head. Appears rouge through the light.

Aroma has the same Ginger smell but it is far more subdued. Very interesting as I would have thought the spice would be stronger in the newer batch.

The flavor isn’t nearly as tasty as the 09. It only has a faint reminder of spice with an overly bitter root flavor. Not as good by far.

Day #289 – Saint Arnold Pumpkinator

Went for a bike ride tonight and stopped in at the Gingerman. I was glad I did as I discovered that they had a new/old beer from Saint Arnold on tap! I’ll explain the new/old reference in a bit.

Saint Arnold Pumpkinator

This beer was originally a recipe in their Divine Reserve series, number 9. It was put out as an Imperial Pumpkin Ale as it was the winning homebrew recipe in a contest they held. It got a fairly good response so they decided to scale it up for seasonal production. It is now named the Pumpkinator and is sitting in front of me now. I remember trying the DR #9 for the first time 2 years ago and it was absolutely fantastic. My hopes are high that they did not change the recipe. 11% ABV…yikes!

This beer pours black in the middle with a lighter brown touch near the edges. Wheat brown head. It was served in a half pint due to the high alcohol level.

As I’m typing my intro I can already smell a glorious candy corn aroma wafting from the glass. Lots of bazooka Joe sweetness too. Caramel notes on the nose with the aforementioned notes as well. A sense of alcohol is also felt. Winter spice begins to emerge as the beer begins to warm. Interesting that the pumpkin smell shows up later in the sniff. Winter spices bring cinnamon and nutmeg to the table.

Very creamy mouthfeel with an immediate tingle on the tip of the tongue. Abv is felt and warms up the tongue. Warm gingerbread taste and caramel malts. Pumpkin taste is much less perverse than I was anticipating after watching the video of how much they put in it. It doesn’t show up till near the aftertaste and sits fantastically. Tastes like a warm Christmas cookie that was given to me by a pixie in an elf costume.

Fan-freaken-tastic.

Day #287 – Post Road Pumpkin Ale

The Rangers are going to the World Series!!!! Back to back American League Champions baby! I was working the game last night doing valet parking and that place went nuts after the win! Crazy night.

Post Road Pumpkin Ale

I’m back on my pumpkin kick. This one is by Brooklyn Brewing even though it isn’t under the Brooklyn name. Pumpkin spice beer at 5%.

This beer pours a clear rusty orange color with a tall foamy beige head. The head response is pretty quick and lasting.

Wow I could smell this beer from the moment I popped the top! Lots of pumpkin notes in this. Ginger spice and nutmeg are also prevalent but the pumpkin was very strong.

The flavor however was a bit disappointing. Some pumpkin flavor but it is more astringent and bitter now. As the beer warms the astringency intensifies to the point where I didn’t even finish this one. Too bad.

Cheers!

Day #285 – Buffalo Bills America’s Original Pumpkin Ale

The pumpkin beers continue!!

Buffalo Bills America’s Original Pumpkin Ale

Buffalo Bill’s Brewery is a small company that has their beer brewed by Pyramid. The main thing they do are fruit/vegetable beers, and some of them are actually pretty good. This is their pumpkin spice beer.

This beer pours a clear copper orange color with very little carbonation. It started off with a big fizzy head that very quickly disappeared. The result is what you see in the picture below.

The aroma is light pumpkin, ginger spice and cinnamon. Fairly nice and gentle smell.

Flavor is light pumpkin that is almost a background flavor. The ginger and spice come through way more than the pumpkin but it turns out pretty well.

Cheers!

Day #283 – Dogfish Head Punkin Ale

I’m finally caught up with my posts and boy what a beer to catch up with!!

Dogfish Head Punkin Ale

Dogfish Head started back in the mid 90’s, and the story Sam tells about it is that he entered a pumpkin food contest by brewing a pumpkin beer and it won the whole thing! This beer is truly one of DFHs first and most sought after beers. This is a pumpkin spice beer at 7%. And believe me, this beer does not hang around for long so try it when you can!

This beer pours a rich orange color that touches on red. Very pretty hue, with a foamy off-white colored head.

Aroma is everything you would expect after pulling the lid off a smoke-stained jack-o-lantern with tons of spice. Cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, all spice…the list goes on. The pumpkin smell isn’t as prevalent on the nose but it’s there.

Flavor is fantastic, there’s just nothing more to it. Lovely spiced flavors mentioned above with a soft pumpkin flavor coming through. Finish is a lingering of the spice. Wow very good. Try it if you can!

Cheers!

Day #278 – Samuel Adams Harvest Pumpkin Ale

Really not too happy with my phone right now as I typed out this entire review and it crashed and lost it. Ugh.

Samuel Adams Harvest Pumpkin Ale

This beer is new to the SA line-up this year. It appears in the Harvest mix pack. So you can expect at least 1 more review from them coming up. This is a pumpkin spice beer that is brewed with real pumpkin. Apparently it has been made for the company Halloween party for years and they just now decided to put it into production. 5.7%.

Pours a dark amber orangish red color with a white type head.

Aroma is pumpkin, ginger, and sweet Malts. Lots of autumn spices in this.

Some spices with pumpkin flavorings and a sweet/spicy finish. Slight ginger that leads all the way to the finish. Definitely a spiced beer.

Cheers!

Day #168 – Shiner Ruby Redbird

Today is going to be a great day. It’s a beautiful day outside (albeit hot) and tonight is the start of Drum Corps season! For those of you that do not know, Drum Corps International is an organization made up of several drum corps. These drum corps can have up to 150 members that either play a brass or percussion instrument, or are members of the color guard. Each group travels around the country during the summer months and competes with other groups like them. At the end of the season all the corps compete in the World Championships. I was a member of the Cavaliers Drum & Bugle Corps for 2 seasons in 2005 and 2006. In 2006 we won the world championship and it was one of the most fantastic experiences of my life! Today is the opening show of the season and they are holding it less than a mile from my house! In honor of drum corps season and summer officially arriving, I present a summer beer.

Shiner Ruby Redbird

I have tried this beer numerous times already in both bottles and on tap, and it seems to be a “love it or hate it” kind of beer. After speaking with several individuals who enjoy it, the common thread seems to be that this beer would best be enjoyed outside on a scorching hot day. As it is currently 104 degrees outside my apartment I think today qualifies as a ripe opportunity to try this beer!

The Ruby Redbird is Shiner’s new summer seasonal and it is said to have been brewed with real Texas grapefruit and ginger. ABV is 4.2%.

Outside I go to pour this beer and it looks quite nice lounging in the grass next to me. I pop the top and pour it into the glass. It has a slightly hazy yellowish orange color and if you notice in the picture, no head. That’s right no matter how hard I tried, the head on this beer fizzled up and out as fast as it could. It was almost laughable how quickly the head disappeared.

The aroma is lots of grapefruit, almost pungent so. There is also a fair amount of ginger sweetness giving this beer an almost floral nose.

The flavor is exactly like the nose. Lots of tart grapefruit and soft ginger. I hate to say it but this reminds me of hand soap. Almost like a detergent taste.

Ok so I have tried this numerous times and have not liked it any time, but I will admit when you are outside in 104 degree weather, your mind is on other things beside the taste of this beer. So if you are to drink this, I’d recommend sweating beforehand.

Go Green Machine!

Day #69(!) – Magic Hat Circus Boy

Today rocks.  It’s day 69, which is awesome in itself; it’s the beginning of Spring Break and it feels awesome outside.  I currently have the windows open with the breeze coming in while watching Conan that I have DVRed.  Today rocks and I hope the beer does too.

Magic Hat Circus Boy

Circus boy is confusing to me already.  The bottle clearly says “Hefeweizen” on the front but the site that I pull most of my stats from classifies it as a spice/herb/vegetable beer.  Apparently the reasoning behind this is that a Hefeweizen should be free of adjuncts, while this beer was brewed with loads of lemongrass.  I don’t think I’ve ever encountered lemongrass.  5.4%, let’s see how this turns out.

This beer pours a very hazy golden orange color with lots of floating sediment.  There is a decent white head atop the beer that appears quite foamy.

The aroma is interesting.  Lots of peppery notes with dried grass, lemon zest and like a musty dry wheat.  There is a certain smell that I always pick up while driving down Fielder Road in Arlington right by the open field next to the Freemason retirement home.  I don’t know how else to explain it; you’re just going to have to drive down there and see for yourself.

Flavor is zesty, lemon, dried leaves and grass and some strange mustiness.   There is a large tingle on the palate which is interesting and unexpected.

Well it’s strange and different which I don’t know why I expected anything less from Magic Hat.   They seem to push the envelope on everything they do.  Sometimes it pays off; sometimes it’s Circus Boy.

Cheers!