Review: Blue Moon Caramel Apple Spiced Ale

It is that time of the year again when breweries all across the U.S. shell out their fall seasonal beers and the whole country goes nuts for them. I would be included in that category. The great pumpkin flavor as well as the unique spices that breweries put into these beers makes them truly special and satisfying. Now, if you are a friend of mine, you probably know that I am a huge Blue Moon fan and I considered it to be my go-to beer as well as my gateway beer. The fall season is where I think Blue Moon shines with interesting and great-tasting beers with their fall seasonal sampler pack.

But this is not a review of the Harvest Pumpkin Ale from Blue Moon. This is a review of the limited release Caramel Apple Spiced Ale. As I am sitting here drinking this beer with the official Blue Moon styled glass, I figured, "why not write a review of it?" Because every single one of you need to experience this great beer.

Appearance: 4/5
This beer pours a nice, rich copper color with a light tan-colored head. This color makes you think of the fall season and all of its glory. The head was thick at first and dissipated slowly, but maintained a presence throughout. There is also some slight lacing.

Nose: 4.5/5
This is one of the best but also one of the most interesting smelling beers I have ever put my nostrils to. Immediately the scent of cinnamon graces your nose, but that quickly turns into a subtle scent of caramel. Once the caramel scent is deeply imbedded in your senses, the scent of apples enters and you feel as if you are in a small town cider mill. The feeling of fall sets in full force with this scent. It is almost as if you are back home and it's Thanksgiving and the smell of your mom's homemade apple pie is filling up your house. That is the beauty of this beer's aroma.

Taste: 4.5/5
Caramel Apple Spiced Ale is tasty and tastes like nothing I have ever had before - and I have had my fair share of beer. The cinnamon notes are the first to grace your taste buds and are very prominent, but not overpowering. For some, the taste of cinnamon is a turn-off but I think it goes great with this beer. As the brew flows to the back of your throat, the flavor changes to a nice caramel malt and apple taste giving you the sensation of a fresh caramel apple, perfect for fall. The aftertaste stays the same. The flavor of this beer is not overwhelming but is certainly not lacking any flavor. It is bold and bursting with flavor at every sip, even the very last. At 5.8% ABV, this beer won’t knock you on your ass after three or so, allowing you to fully enjoy the great fall experience that is Caramel Apple Spiced Ale.

Mouthfeel: 4/5
The addition of fresh apple juice in this beer creates a little different experience than most are used to when drinking a blue moon. The apple juice creates a smoother and cleaner feel than a flagship Blue Moon and the cinnamon creates a nice spiced feeling when you are drinking it. The carbonation is not overdone either.

Finish: 4.5/5
When my glass was empty, I felt a little sad inside. This beer truly finished out a like caramel covered apple that had coating of cinnamon. These are all things that I love, and it truly made this brew shine. The beer finishes smooth and goes down very easily leaving the perfect amount of flavor making you want more.

Total Score: 88.5/100

Overall, this turned out to be all I hoped it would be and then some. I truly got the feeling I was eating a caramel covered apple with a coating of cinnamon. This beer was very drinkable which is dangerous because I could have about five of these without even looking. For anyone who loves the fall season and the beers that it delivers should go pick up the Blue Moon fall sampler pack which contains Caramel Apple Spiced Ale. You get three of these bad boys in it with four different blue moon styles to go with it. How could you pass that up?

-Chris

Review: Samuel Adams Harvest Pumpkin Ale

Hi, beer aficionados!

It's a nice, quiet Sunday evening in the late summer, so I figured I'd plop down and have myself a nice fall brew. Ah yes, fall brews are popping up like little buds in stores everywhere. From Sam Adams' Octoberfest (a favorite of mine) to Southern Tier's Pumking (the greatest of all pumpkin beers, in my humble opinion), spicy, rich beers are coming into season.

But this review is about one I haven't seen before. Many breweries have a pumpkin beer. Dogfish Head, Saranac,  and many more. However, other than their Octoberfest, I haven't seen Boston Beer Co. release an actual pumpkin beer until this year. Their release if Harvest Pumpkin Ale. And I'm going to have a glass of it and tell you my thoughts. Here we go!

Appearance: 3.5/5
Harvest Pumpkin pours a nice dark amber color, almost reddish. It's a bold fall color that works. The head left something to be desired, though; it poured a thin layer of head that dissipated much to quickly, and there's no lacing.

Nose: 4/5
I get the pumpkin spices in the nose, exclusively. However, the aroma of these spices isn't very present. I get hints of nutmeg and cinnamon and, luckily, of actual pumpkin. Some pumpkin beers in the business will be called pumpkin beers while they are merely brewed with cinnamon to give drinkers the flavors of pumpkin pie. But ale brewed with real pumpkin is very nice, and that's why it's refreshing to actually smell the righteous gourd in this beer.

Taste: 3/5
Harvest Pumpkin is tasty, but nothing extraordinary. There are notes of cinnamon spice, a tiny hint of pumpkin, and a nice maltiness. The lack of a pumpkin taste kind of left me disappointed because it was definitely present in the beer's aroma, but it falls short in the taste, becoming masked by the spices and malt. However, for what it's worth, I still think the spices are pleasant and not overbearing, which makes this pumpkin ale very drinkable. And at only 5.7% ABV, that's a good thing; you could probably have about 3 of these, still not be drunk, and have enjoyed a nice fall beer experience.

Mouthfeel: 3/5
I think this is where the pumpkin in this brew shines. The body of this beer is not too thick, but medium, and I think the pumpkin has a lot to do with that. The gourd creates a pleasant thickness that sticks around.

Finish: 3.5/5
All that I get in the finish is the lingering of cinnamon and a bit of nutmeg, as well as the thick feeling of the pumpkin. It goes down really smooth and leaves behind just the right amount of flavor.

Total Score: 66.5/100

So overall this turned out to be more of a "pumpkin spice" beer than a real "pumpkin" beer. Don't get me wrong, though: it's nice. It's a solid fall brew that has the right amount of spice and body to be pleasant, but not overbearing. It's good that they released this earlier rather than later in the autumn season because it's a good one for transitioning into fall. Grab yourself one of these in a mixed six pack, or pick up a whole sixer if you wish! It's also available in the Sam Adams Harvest Sampler. Your choice.

Until next time, cheers!

-Blake

Review: Atlantic New Guy IPA

So I hit up my local specialty beer store and picked up a mixed sixer of IPAs. A bit of history with me and IPAs: I used to hate them. I thought they were bitter and boring, but they're all my dad would drink before I turned 21 and could go out and get my own beers. But y'know what? I've come to like the hoppy little guys. There's a distinct power they hold in their delicious varieties of hop combinations and flavor additions.

So here's the first review of this six pack: Atlantic's New Guy IPA. It's not the newest guy on the block from Maine-based Atlantic brewery, but it is named in honor of one of their newest employees, hence "New Guy". So let's get to the breakdown, shall we?

Appearance: 3.5/5
New Guy pours real nice. It's a handsome golden-amber color that really makes me say, "Hey, this looks delicious!" Some IPAs can be rather light and bland in color, but this one looks thicker and more interesting. The head isn't spectacular, but it does leave some nice lacing. And another note is the carbonation: it's very present, and that's a nice little plus.

Nose: 3/5
The aroma of New Guy isn't very strong, but it can be broken down. There's a simple, earthy smell from the Columbus hops used to make this brew. This also makes me intrigued by the brew, because a lot of the time brewers try to find two (or sometimes more for imperial IPAs) hop varieties to create a more diverse taste. But Atlantic went the simple route, and I'm glad they went for an earthy hop and not something floral.Although I like citrus and floral hops, earthy ones are nice for a change.

Taste: 4/5
This IPA tastes surprisingly malty. The first thing I taste is definitely the earthy, bitter hops, which is nice. This is an IPA after all. But there's a thick, bread-like malty flavor behind the hoppiness. Though the flavor is limited to those two aspects (the earthy Columbus hops and the bread-like malt), which for some could be a little boring, the flavor is nice. It's powerful to make up for its limitations.

Mouthfeel: 4/5
As I said, this IPA feels very thick. This is due to the bread-like biscuity malt. The malt makes this beer awesome.

Finish: 3/5
New Guy finishes beautifully. It leaves a strong hoppy taste in my mouth, which is welcome after the malty taste. It's like the beer balances out its two components by starting with hops, going to the malt flavor, then finishing with hops.

Total Score: 72.5/100

So New Guy sizes up to be a pretty average, but still very nice "guy". This isn't a top-of-the-line IPA, but it is quite nice and balanced. Pick up a bottle (or six) and enjoy one for yourself!

Until next time, cheers!

-Blake

Review: Shipyard Summer Ale

Ah, summer ales. From the fruity and over-sweet Straw-Ber-Rita to the tasty, half-lemonade-half-beer Leinenkugel Summer Shandy. Summer is all about light, refreshing beers with a nice zip to them. Sam Adams busted out a great lemony Summer Ale, and so did the Maine brewery, Shipyard.

I've been blessed to spend the summer in Maine because their brewery scene is off the hook. There's Shipyard, Sea Dog, KBC, Atlantic, and many more. I'm starting to think Maine's big selling point should be beer and not lobster (although the lobster's great). Anyway, one brew I keep coming back to this summer is Shipyard's Summer Ale. It's a great seasonal. How good? Well, let's break it down:

Appearance: 2.5/5
Like most summer beers, Shipyard Summer is hazy and light in color. It produces some nice head, but not anything spectacular. Still, for a summer brew it looks nice and perhaps just a little deeper in color than the average summer brew.

Nose: 2.5/5
Shipyard Summer has a nice lager-esque aroma to it. It smells like... well, beer. There's a note of lemon in the nose, but otherwise it noses just like the average lager. It's not bad, but it's not the most impressive aspect of this brew.

Taste: 5/5
This beer is delicious! While the average summer shandy or summer ale will go for an overpowering flavor of lemon, this particular brew goes for a less lemony and more beer-y taste. The lemon comes through, for sure, but it's much more balanced by hops and malts (at least in my palate's opinion).

Mouthfeel: 4/5
The lemon aspect to this brew leaves a sour feeling in my mouth, but there's also a great amount of body to this beer. It feels like a beer and not some fruity summer refresher. I like the complexity and it leaves a great taste lingering in my mouth.

Finish: 3/5
The finish of Shipyard Summer isn't spectacular. It finishes with a nice amount of lemony sourness and also a good amount of malty thickness.

Total Score: 79/100

As far as summer beers go, which aren't meant to be 25/25 material, this is a strong frontrunner in the field. If you have the chance, I highly recommend picking this brew up while summer is still in its height. It's refreshing, delicious, and quite enjoyable for beer-drinkers everywhere.

Until next time, cheers!

-Blake

Review: Rogue's Hazelnut Brown Nectar

Rogue is a brewing company I've only had one run-in with before, that is when I tried their “Dead Guy Ale” on the day of the supposed Mayan apocalypse. Y'know, 2012, ooh ahh scary. That was a nice ale. Nothing ridiculously outstanding, though.

Anyway, this is my second foray into their catalog of beers. In fact, most of their catalog of brews is in 22 oz. bottles, so this is one of the few brews of theirs I've found in 6-pack packaging. The beer in question is their Hazelnut Brown Nectar. My immediate thought: Nutella in liquid form. Sweet. So I picked it up. Here are my thoughts... 

Appearance: 4/5

Hazelnut Brown is a nice, deep amber ale. It almost looks like a porter, but it's not quite opaque enough. It looks nice, almost visibly creamy. The head was great: a nice, thick, 1-inch layer of caramel-colored suds. As I sip on the beer, it leaves nice lacing which doesn't stick around for too long, but looks good nonetheless.

Nose: 5/5

Immediately I get a strong aroma of a light chocolate nuttiness. As contradictory as that may sound, this isn't a stout so it's not going to smell strongly of chocolate like, say, Brooklyn's Black Chocolate Stout. But I must say, it smells great. I get a good whiff of the stuff before each sip and simply love that.

Taste: 3.5/5

Opposite to how this beer noses, the taste is rather more nutty like a nut brown ale. While it's almost a let-down because of how it smells, I like it. It's nutty and dark and lightly chocolatey.

Mouthfeel: 2.5/5

This ale feels not too heavy, but also not too light. It's medium-bodied and dark.

Finish: 4/5

The ale goes down smooth, with not too much of a crazy or complex finish. But it does leave a lingering nutty/chocolatey taste which leaves me wanting more.

Total Score: 77/100

This is a pretty solid ale. It's dark, rather complex, has a great aroma, and is generally enjoyable without being too heavy. If you're not a porter or stour kind of person, this is a perfect ale to sample the darker end of beers with.

-Blake

Review: Sierra Nevada's Bigfoot Barleywine Style Ale (2013)

Hi, beer drinkers and aficionados! It's been a hot minute since I've gotten to do a beer review, mostly because all the beer I drank in the past couple weeks has been to keep me sane under the pressure of graduating college. But now that that's done, it's time to settle down with a nice snifter full of ale. And not just any ale, but Sierra Nevada's self-proclaimed "beast of a barleywine," Bigfoot.

Bigfoot is somewhat of a collector's item because barleywines are kind of like the wines of the beer world. The brewing company makes a batch of this good stuff annually. You can drink it right away or save a few bottles to cellar them and let them age and become something completely different. Me? Well, this is my first time trying it so I'll probably get another 4-pack in the near future to cellar a couple bottles; these puppies I'm drinking now.

Bigfoot is a pretty crazy ale with an ABV of 9.6%. It's brewed with caramel and two-row pale malts as well as whole-cone Centennial, Cascade, and Chinook hops. Some of my favorite hops are in this thing, huzzah! So, let's break this bad boy down...

Appearance: 4/5
Bigfoot pours a very rich red color, nearly reminiscent of red wine, but not quite that blood-red. It's a very nice color as I do tend to like red ales very, very much. The read is pretty good, but nothing extravagant. It does leave a bit of lacing, which is a nice touch.

Nose: 4/5
All the hoppy goodness of this ale can be sensed when nosing it. I get a strong floral scent from Bigfoot that leaves me salivating and dying to try it. Some of the spicy malt notes come through in the nose as well, but not as prominently.

Taste: 5/5
Bigfoot has some nice spice and bitterness to it. The spice and hoppy bitterness balance each other out to create a nicely-crafted taste. There are some sweet caramel notes too, which round out the flavor a bit so it's not too overpoweringly bitter or spicy. Quite nice indeed.

Mouthfeel: 5/5
Bigfoot is quite strong. It has a very rounded medium-to-dark body.

Finish: 5/5
Here's where the hops really shine. A nice citrusy, bitter aftertaste lingers for a good long while after a sip of Bigfoot. It's quite nice to be able to mull over the taste of the great hops they used in this ale after each sip. The beer goes down well, but not so easily as to be forgotten.

Total Score: 94/100

This is one of Sierra Nevada's greatest achievements, if you ask me. Next to their legendary Torpedo Extra IPA, this is one delicious and interesting brew. While Sierra Nevada has released a Summerfest beer (a light pilsner that's very sessionable), this is probably the go-to summer beer from them. It's strong, flavorful, and interesting. Do yourself a favor and grab a 4-pack while they're available. Your taste buds will thank you.

Until next time, cheers!

-Blake

Review: Dogfish Head's Theobroma

I know, I know, I review a lot of Dogfish Head beers. But can you blame me? They're easily at the top of the craft beer game and just have so many unique and interesting brews under their belt. There's a whole fucking section just for their beers at my local beverage store.

Anyway, I picked up a bottle of another beer from their ancient ale series: Theobroma. Theobroma is based on a chemical analysis of ancient pottery from Honduras that revealed a very early chocolate-based alcoholic beverage. So what did Dogfish Head do? They recreated the ancient beer in a modern way, much like they did with Chateau Jiahu (which is delicious). So let's take a look at what Thobroma is all about!

Appearance: 4/5
Theobroma looks quite delectable. It's a nice golden amber in color, but pours with not a huge amount of head. The weird - or possible coolest - part of Theobroma is the amount of yellowish flakes floating around in it. I'm not sure which ingredient they come from, but they're very present and make me very curious about this beer.

Nose: 1/5
For boasting such a wide range of flavors and ingredients (cocoa nibs, cocoa powder, chilies, and annatto), Theobroma has a very neutral aroma. I can kind of pick up some notes of either chilies or chocolate, but nothing more.

Taste: 4.5/5
Despite its amber color, Theobroma tastes a lot like chocolate-infused ale. The chocolate notes are most present, but from my experience with beers using chilies I can definitely pick out the spice from them in the overall taste. It's very complex and tasty.

Mouthfeel: 4.5/5
Theobroma sports a full body and interestingly dark beer for its color.

Finish: 4.5/5
Theobroma goes down quite smooth, leaving behind a sweet, full aftertaste. I feel this beer's presence long after I've taken a sip. It's definitelt full-bodied and has sweet and lightly spicey notes that make you want to go back for more. In fact, I'd say the chilies and annatto come through most prominently in the finish.

Total Score: 72/100

Not all of Dogfish Head's odd brews are winners. Theobroma looks nice and tastes pretty good, but it's not perfect. It has little to no aroma and isn't mind-blowingly original. It is nice, though, and I would recommend it for the interesting blend of honey, cocoa, and spices. Just don't expect a shocking, earth-shaking experience.

Until next time, cheers!

-Blake