New Holland Brewing Co. Dragon’s Milk Reserve S’mores

Posted on by Evan

This is another New Holland Brewing Dragon’s Milk beer. This one is Reserve S’more, an 11% bourbon barrel-aged stout from Holland, Michigan. This stout pours dark and black with a two-finger beige head. The aroma is milk chocolate, toasted marshmallow, graham cracker, and malts. This really smells like a s’more. The flavor is milk chocolate, marshmallow, graham cracker, and oak bourbon barrel. This stout has a full, rich mouthfeel. It finishes with a nice vanilla sweetness, plus chocolate and graham cracker. The aftertaste is a delicious s’more. This one was outstanding and gets an A+. It really does taste like I was eating a s’more. I highly recommend this if you love a good dessert stout. I really love what Dragon’s Milk is doing. Check them out! Please stay safe, be kind to each other, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers! 

New Holland Brewing Co. Dragon’s Milk Crimson Keep Bourbon Barrel-Aged Red Ale

Posted on by Evan

New Holland Brewing Co.’s Dragon’s Milk beers have really grown on me. I am really liking what Dragon’s Milk is doing. I was recently at my local Total Wine and came across Dragon’s Milk Crimson Keep, an 11% bourbon barrel-aged red ale. Dragon’s Milk ages this red ale in bourbon barrels for one month deep in their cellars. This red ale pours deep red with an off-white one-finger head. The aroma is malty, stone fruit, and some sweetness. The flavor is malty, light stone fruits, caramel, toffee, and light oak. This has a full mouthfeel. This ale finishes with some toffee and caramel flavors. The oak notes are muted on the finish, as are the malts. The aftertaste is malty, mildly sweet, and has some faded oak. This is a good beer that is an A. I found this beer similar to a Belgian double. I enjoyed that. The beer is matured just the right amount of time, creating a wonderful bourbon barrel-aged beer that you should try. Please stay safe, be kind to each other, and remember to enjoy responsibly. Cheers!

Boulevard Brewing Co. Cherries Jubilee Quad

Posted on by Evan

Sometimes I buy beer because it sounds interesting, like Boulevard Brewing Co.’s Cherries Jubilee Quad. This 12.9% Belgian-style Quad is infused with Washington and Belgian tart cherries and matured for 13 months in oak apple brandy barrels in Kansas City, Missouri. That sounded interesting to me. This quad pours a deep, dark red with a beige one-finger head. The aroma is bozzy, tart cherry, and sweet. The cherries give off a licorice-like scent. The flavor is tart, cherry, boozy, malty, and brandy-like. This has a full but mellow mouthfeel. The finish is malty, cherry, light oak, and boozy. The aftertaste is malted cherry and some bozzy brandy. This is a big beer, and I think it is a high C+. It’s a little too boozy, and the barrel hides the cherry flavor.  But it’s not bad, and I would recommend it. Please stay safe, be kind to each other, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

Birrificio Birra Baladin L’IPPA

Posted on by Evan

This beer, purchased from World Market, is another Birrificio Baladin beer from Piozzo, Italy. This is L’IPPA, a traditional 5.5% IPA. I have been to their brewpub in Rome, which I recommend visiting. This IPA uses Water from the Maritime Alps, Barley malt from our fields in Basilicata and Apulia, Italy. The hops come from our fields in Piozzo and Busca, and the yeast is made in the Piozzo brewery. This IPA pours deep orange with a two-finger white head. The aroma is orange, bitter, sweet, and light yeast. The flavor is Tangerine, orange, light melon, light mango, and bitterness. I didn’t really get any sweet notes. This beer has a medium mouthfeel. Then it has a bitter fruit finish and a slightly strange off-flavor. The aftertaste is citrusy fruit and bitterness that doesn’t linger long. This is an above-average IPA. It’s a C+. The weird finish doesn’t make the beer terrible overall. I can’t say I would or wouldn’t recommend this. It’s just a little above average. Please stay safe, be kind to each other, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

Boulevard Brewing Co. Mimosa Sasion

Posted on by Evan

Sometimes, when I am out buying beer, a label persuades me to buy it. A good example is Boulevard Brewing Co.’s Mimosa Saison, an 8% blood orange saison or farmhouse ale, brewed in Kansas City, Missouri, and owned by Duvel Moortgat. This beer pours a blood orange with a one-finger quick white head. The aroma is oranges/blood oranges and grapefruit. It has a sweet aroma too. The flavor is also orange/blood orange and grapefruit.  It has bitterness in the middle of the tongue. The flavor starts decent. Then it falls off. This has a medium mouthfeel. The finish is effervescent and orange. The aftertaste is bitter orange. I started liking this beer. But in the end it was just somewhat okay. I give Mimosa Saison a C. It sounded and looked more interesting than it actually was, and I don’t think I would recommend it. Please stay safe, be kind to each other, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers! 

Burial Beer Co. Enlightened Aren’t We All India Pale Ale

Posted on by Evan

It’s been a while since I’ve had and reviewed a Burial Beer IPA. I have been trying and reviewing their non-IPA beers. But I thought it was time for one of their IPAs. This one is Enlightened Aren’t We All. It is 7.2% and made with oats and wheat. It’s whirlpool-hopped with Mosaic, Incognito, and hand-selected Mosaic Cryo. This IPA is also dry-hopped with 3 different kinds of hand-selected Mosaic hops grown in Oregon’s Lakeside Ranch and in Idaho at Central Cove. Burial usually does a lot to make an IPA. This beer pours a hazy yellow with a two-finger white head. The aroma is fruity and hoppy. There are light wheat aromas with some piney notes. The flavor is juicy fruit, pine, and light wheat. It has a nice hoppy taste. The mouthfeel is medium. This IPA has a bitter and fruity finish. The aftertaste is faint wheat and a nice piney/fruity flavor. This is a good beer, and a lot went into it. I give Enlighten Aren’t We All an A. As I drank this, I thought it was a B+. But that went up while writing. This IPA has good flavors that all come together for a delicious IPA that is worth drinking! Please stay safe, be kind to each other, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

Birrificio Baladin Birra Nazionale

Posted on by Evan

I hadn’t really bought beer from World Market before, until this past Saturday, when I bought two. This is Birrificio Baladin Birra Nazionale. This Italian beer is a 6.5% Belgian Blonde ale from Piozzo, Italy. It’s from the province of Cueno. I have been to their brewpub restaurant in Rome for Pizza and beer. That is a must-visit brewpub. This beer pours a deep gold with a one-finger white head. The aroma is spiced with light coriander; it’s fruity and sweet. The taste is lightly spiced with coriander; sweetness comes from light fruity notes. This beer has a warm and semi-sweet finish that isn’t great. The aftertaste is a faded sweet/spiced flavor. I have had much better versions of this style of beer. Birra Nazionale gets a C-. It wasn’t bad enough not to finish; I did finish. I wouldn’t recommend it. But I wouldn’t say that it was terrible. The flavor was a bit weak overall, and it had a strange finish. I have one more beer from this brewery, which I will be reviewing soon. Please stay safe, be kind to each other, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

Aslin Brewing Company Summer Fruittata

Posted on by Evan

Sour beers are an interesting style. They can range from tart to sweet, and even mildly sour. This beer is Aslin Brewing Company’s Summer Fruittata, a sour ale with 6% ABV, featuring plum, peach, blueberry, vanilla, and milk sugar. That is an interesting combination. This sour ale pours orange with a two-finger off-white head. The aroma is vanilla, sweetness, and peach. Smells pretty good. The taste is sweet with vanilla, peach, and light plum. There is the faintest blueberry flavor here. This has a lightly thick mouthfeel. The finish is sweet and has a sour bite. That all fades into a peach aftertaste with a weird blueberry note. This beer could do without blueberries. That gives Aslin Brewing Company’s Summer Fruittata a D+. The peach flavor was decent, as was the plum. But the blueberries did not play nice with the rest of the flavors. I wouldn’t drink this. I got through this beer and will not do that again. Please stay safe, be kind to each other, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

Burial Beer Co. Silhouette Rice Lager

Posted on by Evan

I don’t see rice lager-style beer from any craft breweries. That is, until yesterday, when I was at my local Harris Teeter grocery store and spotted Burial Beer’s Silhouette Rice Lager. Rice Lager is a lager brewed with a substantial amount of rice (10% to 30% or more). Rice lagers are usually associated with brands such as Sapporo and Kirin.  This rice lager is malted with Extra Pale Pilsner malt, Eraclea, and rice. They also whirlpool this beer with HBC 1134 and Saaz hops in collaboration with Nation of Language (a Brooklyn-based indie/synthpop band). I find that rice lagers are great with Chinese and Japanese foods. This lager pours a clean golden color with a light white one-finger head. The aroma is clean and crisp with bread notes. The flavor is crisp and clean with sweet floral notes and a bit of sweetness. This has a light-bodied mouthfeel. The finish is clean and crisp with a fading floral note. The aftertaste is crisp and light with a lingering, faded sweet note. Silhouette Rice Lager is a high B+. It has a bit more flavor than the macro rice lager I’ve had. But I do think that if you get halfway through the fourth one, the flavor becomes a little boring, but not bad, and yes, I would recommend Silhouette Rice Lager. Please stay safe, be kind to each other, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

Belleflower Brewing Co. Light Bearer

Posted on by Evan

I visited the Belleflower Brewing Co. in Portland, Maine. I had Hidden Vine (a good beer), a wild ale with Sauvignon Blanc grapes, while my dad had Light Bearer, a 10% ABV triple New England haze IPA. Halfway through my beer, I had an Icelandic hot dog from Gunnar’s Icelandic Hotdogs food truck. An Icelandic hot dog, known as pylsa, is a popular street food made primarily from a unique blend of local lamb, pork, and beef. It is served in a bun with everything.  Very delicious and a must-eat! After my hot dog, my dad bought a 4-pack of Light Bearer to bring back home. This big IPA uses Nelson Sauvin, Nectaron, Motueka, and Alora hops. Light Bearer pours a hazy yellow with a two-finger white slow head. The aroma is fruity, pineapple, tropical, and bitter. The flavor is pineapple, tropical, smooth, and bitter. This beer has a full and creamy mouthfeel. Then it finishes with papaya, pineapple, and bitterness. The pineapple lingers in the aftertaste along with some bitterness. But this IPA finishes smoothly. Belleflower Brewing Co.’s Light Bearer is a good beer; I give this an A. It is refreshing, especially on a hot day, even if it’s 10% ABV. It does not drink like a 10% beer. The delicious flavors do a good job of masking that. So I would recommend Light Bearer. I wish I could buy more. Please stay safe, be kind to each other, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!