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Armored Cow Brewery Porter of the Phoenix

Posted on by Evan

It is winter time, and usually that means darker beer. That usually means beer such as brown ale, porter, stout, black IPA (Casadin dark ale), black lagers (dunkle), dark hefeweizens (dunkleweizen), etc. This beer, from Armored Cow Brewery, is Porter of the Phoenix. This is a Harry Potter-themed Porter beer. This porter comes in at 6.5& ABV. This porter pours black with a one-finger sticky tan head. The aroma is roasted, malty, and coffee. The flavor is lightly smoky, roasted, light chocolate, malty, and a bit of coffee. The mouthfeel is medium to almost full. This porter has a roasted and semi-dry finish. The aftertaste is malty with some roasted notes. Port of the Phoenix is a good beer with some good dark beer flavors. I give this porter a B+. The flavors are good, but they don’t wow me or blow me away with how good/delicious they are. The beer’s flavors are good, and I would recommend Porter of the Phoenix. Please stay safe, be kind to each other, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

Brewery Ommegang Passport Royale Mixed Culture IPA

Posted on by Evan

Passport Royale from Brewery Ommegang is a Mixed Culture IPA in collaboration with Liefmans Brewery (Belgium) and Birrificio Ducato (Italy). This beer is basically a 7.5% sour IPA, dry-hopped with Citra and Mosaic hops. This IPA also has Pilsner, Pale, and wheat malts. It also has spices such as coriander and orange peel. I have never heard of this type of mixed culture IPA before. This beer pours deep orange with a one-finger white steady head. The aroma is sour, fruity, tart, hoppy, and bitter. The flavor is Belgiany, tart, and citrusy. This beer has a light bitterness. The flavor tastes faintly like two different beers. But more like a sour beer than IPA. The mouthfeel is light. Then it finishes with a tart bitterness. The aftertaste was weird. It has a sour hop note that ends badly. Passport Royale is not great; it’s a D+. Yes, I finished a pint of it, but I wouldn’t reach for another one. This beer was weird, but not terribly bad, yes. No, I would not recommend Passport Royale. The whole thing was like drinking a weak-flavored IPA, then drinking a mild sour beer. It had no balance. Please stay safe, be kind to each other, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers! 

Highland Brewing Cerveza Oscura Mexican-Style Dark Lager

Posted on by Evan

Thereares a number of craft breweries that brew Mexican-styleLagersr. I see quite a few on store shelves. But I have not seen a dark Mexican-style Lager. But on a recent trip to my local grocery store, I spotted Cerveza Oscura from Highland Brewing in Asheville, North Carolina. This is a 5.2% ABV Mexican-Style Dark Lager brewed with Perle hops, Munich 10, Vienna, Midnight Wheat, and Flaked Corn. This lager pours deep brown with tan/beige edged and a one-finger beige head. That head fade rather quickly. The aroma is roasted, semi-sweet (cocoa), and has a dry-ish note. The flavor is roasty, dark bread, malts, a little bit of spicy notes, and cocoa sweetness. This dark lager has a lightmouthfeelh. This beer finishes with a sweetness and a dryness. The aftertaste is slightly roasted and sweet, but fades a bit quickly. This is better than most traditional dark Mexican Lagers. Cerveza Oscura is an A-. It is lighter in flavor, so you could have three or more. But as dark lagers go, there are better ones. German Dunkels are one great example. But that style is slightly different from this one. I would, however, recommend Cerveza Oscura. It is a good beer that I will go for again. Please stay safe, be kind to each other, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

Birdsong Brewing Company Morning Train Oatmeal Stout

Posted on by Evan

Dry January is over, and we are back to regular beer reviews. This beer is from Charlotte, North Carolina’s own Birdsong Brewing Company, and it is Morning Train Oatmeal Stout. This stout is 5% ABV and brewed with Mars Otter Malt, roasted barley, and oats. This oatmeal stout is a lower ABV scale than some oatmeal or regular stouts. That is a positive. This stout pours black, almost inky, with a two-finger steady beige head. The aroma is mildly sweet and dry with an oaty/roasted note. The flavor is again mildly sweet, dry, and has a roasted flavor. This beer had a medium body feel in the mouth. Then this stout has a dry, semi-sweet, and roasted finish. The aftertaste is a little less dry than the finish, with a mild roasted note. This oatmeal stout is good and leans more towards the lighter side with decent flavors that aren’t overpowering. This beer is a B. I would have this again, and the flavor isn’t just right for having two. So go and drink Birdsong Brewing Company’s Morning Train Oatmeal Stout. Please stay safe, be kind to each other, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

Brauerei Zirndorfer Kellerbier

Posted on by Evan

Brauerei Zirndorfer Kellerbier, another from my German exchange student, is 4.9%. Kellerbier is an old style. It is an unfiltered and unpasteurized lager that dates back to the Middle Ages. This beer style matured in deep vaults. This specific Kellerbier is brewed in Zirndorf, Germany. This beer pours a cloudy orange color with a two-finger off-white head. The aroma is malty, sweet, and yeasty. The flavor is sweet, malty, and yeasty. It is smooth. This has a medium-bodied feel to the mouth. This beer finishes with a creamy malt flavor. That flavor carries over to the aftertaste but fades away. This is a great beer, and I think it’s an A, and one I’d recommend. Most of the flavors of this Kellerbier come and go; nothing really stays around. That doesn’t bring the grade down too much. That’s the only negative thing about this beer. German brewers know how to brew simple beers well. This is a good example of that. This is the last beer from Germany, and I will be participating in dry January. Please stay safe, be kind to each other, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

Kloster Schetern Kloster-Gold Hell

Posted on by Evan

Kloster-Gold Hell is a 5.4% Helles brewed by Kloster Scheyern. This beer is from Scheyern, Germany, and was brought to me by one of my German exchange students. This beer isn’t imported into the USA. This Helles Lager pours golden with a two-finger thick white head. The aroma is malty, sweet, and crisp. The flavor is far from the aroma; it’s malty, sweetened, clean, crisp, and has a warm spiced note toward the end. This beer then has a nice malted and spiced finish. The aftertaste is malty, but not as sweet, with a nice crispness. This has a light-bodied feel in the mouth. This Kloster-Gold Hell is a delicious beer that I give an A. The flavor does not linger enough after each sip. That is the only thing that I didn’t like too much. But if you come across this beer, you must have it. It’s great! Please stay safe, be kind to each other, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

Kloster Bräu Schwarzer ABT

Posted on by Evan

Over the holidays, one of my German exchange students and his wife visited. He brought a few beers, Kloster Bräu Schwarzer ABT. This 3.9% ABV beer is a Schwarzbier, brewed in Nueller, Brandenburg, Germany. It has been a while since I have had and reviewed a Schwarzbier. This beer pours black, forming a two-finger beige head with brown edges. The aroma is light, smoky, malty, and coffee. The flavor starts with a smoky flavor, then transitions into a malted flavor with a bit of sweet coffee notes. This beer reminds me of a cola. Overall, this beer has a light-bodied feel. The finish is malty with a light smoky aftertaste. This beer was a fabulous beer that I give an A+. This beer has the right combination of flavors that, when all together, make a great beer. It’s delicious, and I recommend it. Please stay safe, be kind to each other, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

Schulzens Brauerei Altmark Gold

Posted on by Evan

One of my first exchange students from Germany came to visit with his wife. He brought Schulenzs Brauerei Altmark Gold. This beer is a 4.9% ABV Pilsner. This brewery has a restaurant, a hotel, and a brewery in Tangermünde, Germany. This Pilsner pours a cloudy yellow with a one-finger white head. The aroma is Pilsner malt, tart/sweet notes, and a grassy aroma. The flavor has light sweetness with grassy flavors. There is a bit of tartness, but it is so faint it’s not there. This beer has a medium-bodied feel in the mouth. Then it finishes with a light Pilsner malt flavor. The aftertaste has a semi-sweetness to it, but not much else. Altmark Gold is a B+ beer. It is good, but the overall flavor is not as good as some Bavarian-style pilsners. I still think this is a good beer. If you can get one, drink it. It’s delicious! Please stay safe, be kind to each other, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

Samuel Smith Winter Welcome Ale

Posted on by Evan

Brewed in Tadcaster, England, Samuel Smith Winter Welcome Ale is a 6% beer. This ale is brewed around Christmas with whole-dried Fuggle & Golding hops. There is malted barley, water, yeast, and seaweed Finings. This ale is the same each year, except for the artwork on the label. That is the only yearly change. This ale pours a deep golden color with a creamy two-finger white head. The aroma has a light sweetness and is malted. The flavor is lightly sweet, smooth, and somewhat spiced. It has a bit of malt flavor. This beer has a light-bodied mouthfeel. Then it comes to a nice, semi-sweet, and smooth finish. This has a nice and light aftertaste with a faint bread note. It doesn’t stick around too long. This beer is good, but it isn’t exceptional; it’s a B+ beer. It’s a good drinking beer, meaning it is easy to drink and you could have three or four. I would recommend it. Just remember, there are slightly beer versions of this beer out there. Please stay safe, be kind to each other, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

Straffe Hendrik Xmas Blend Barrel Age Quadruple Blend

Posted on by Evan

I have been to Brewer De Haan Man in Bruges, Belgium. They produce Straffe Hendrik, and this particular beer is the Xmas Blend Barrel-Aged Quadruple, which is 11% ABV. This beer is only available at Christmas time in 750ml bottles. This quad is bottled fermented and aged in American or French oak, either a whiskey, rum, or Bordeaux, and Calvados. They also use young quadruple ale as well as barrel-aged beer. This quad pours brown with a one-finger cream beige head. That head sticks to the top of the beer like a creamy film. The aroma is of vanilla, sweetness, and it’s boozy. The flavor is sweet, vanilla, booze, and light nutty flavors. This has a full-bodied mouthfeel. Then this beer finishes with a rich vanilla and boozy flavor. The aftertaste is light, with sweet vanilla notes that do linger for a while. This Xmas Blend is a delicious beer that gets an A+. It is 11% ABV, but that is not really reflected in the flavor. I would highly recommend this to you. It has a good, strong flavor without being too overpowering. This would be a great addition to any holiday party. Please stay safe, be kind to each other, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!