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Olde Mecklenburg Brewery Olde Meck Premium Light Lager

Posted on by Evan

Light beer isn’t associated with craft beer. It is a bad word with craft beer enthusiasts. I am one of those enthusiasts. I usually don’t go for light beers. But I heard that the Olde Mecklenburg Brewery was going to brew one. I bought Olde Mecklenburg Brewery’s Olde Meck Premium Light Lager. This beer is a 4.0% ABV year-round light Lager, using American Barley malt and Noble European hops. This beer pours a very light yellow with a one-finger, thin white head. The aroma is light/clean, and with a very light sweetness. The flavor is light, clean, smooth, with very light sweetness. It has a nice, crisp and light malt flavor. This has a light mouthfeel. The finish is light, with not much else. The aftertaste has a faint sweet/bread aftertaste that quickly disappears. This beer isn’t bad for a light lager; I give it a B. It is better than the macro light beers out there. I wouldn’t say this is perfect. But it is good for what it is. As the beer gets warmer, the flavors fall off. But I would recommend Olde Meck Premium Light Lager. Please stay safe, be kind to each other, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

Bell’s Brewery Octoberfest Beer Märzen

Posted on by Evan

It’s that time of year again: Oktoberfest. We have Bell’s Oktoberfest Märzen. This 5.5% ABV beer spends six weeks maturing in fermentation vessels in Comstock, Michigan. This style is generally seasonal and celebrates the harvest. This beer pours copper with a one-and-a-half-finger white head. The aroma is malty/sweet and clean. It has a smooth, sweet flavor that isn’t too much. This has a light mouthfeel. The finish is less malty and sweet. The finish is smooth and light with a fading malt flavor. This is a good Oktoberfest Märzen, and it’s a B+. It has good flavors that work well. The malt flavors needs to be turned up a bit. I think this Bell’s Oktoberfest is a good session beer. Go and try it! Please stay safe, be kind to each other, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

Wise Man Brewing Scoop Dogg Golden Ale

Posted on by Evan

Wise Man Brewing brews Scoop Dogg Golden Ale in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. This 5.6% ABV golden Ale is named Scoop Dogg because Snoop Dogg said that when he finished rapping, he would open an ice cream shop called Scoop Dogg. From what I found on the can, I think this beer uses Crystal hops. This golden ale pours gold with a bright one-finger white head. The aroma is light malt and corn. It is dry and clean. The flavor is creamy, smooth, clean, and dry. The mouthfeel is light. The finish is clean and dry. It has a light, sweet malt flavor. The aftertaste is dry with corn and malt flavor. Scoop Dogg is an A+, and I found nothing wrong with this golden ale. All the flavors come together nicely, creating a wonderful, delicious golden ale you should drink. Please stay safe, be kind to each other, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

Royal Bliss Brewing Co. Heart of Berries Fruited Sour

Posted on by Evan

Royal Bliss Brewing Co. in Denver, North Carolina, one of my favorite breweries, makes this: Heart of Berries. This is a 5.1 ABV fruited Sour. This sour is infused with mixed berries. I don’t know which types of berries they use. This sour pours a red or light copper color with a quickly fading one-finger white head. The aroma is strawberries and raspberries. It is a crisp yet tart aroma. This beer has berry flavors. Light sour, tart, and sweet. The mouthfeel is light. The finish is berry tartness with some sweet notes. The aftertaste is light berry and tartness that does linger as the sweet notes fade. This is not overly face-puckering sour. It’s a B+ sour beer. More berry flavor would be nice, but I’d still recommend Heart of Berries. Royal Bliss did a good job with this beer. Check out all their beers; they are delicious. Please stay safe, be kind to each other, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. West Ghost Modern West Coast IPA

Posted on by Evan

Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. is one of the best breweries. They brew great beers. This beer is West Ghost Modern West Coast IPA. I had this beer before, on September 11, 2023. Then it was part of FOMO beer and had more of a Pac-Man label. This IPA is 7.2% ABV with Carapils, Two-Row Pale malts, Amarillo, Citra, Idaho 7, Magnum hops, and ale yeast. This is a throwback to West Coast IPA before the whole hazy IPA craze. This beer pours gold with a two-finger big white head. Sunlight is hitting the glass, making the beer look copper; it’s not. The aroma is bitter, piney, light citrus, and hoppy. The flavor is also bitter, piney, citrusy, and hoppy. The piney notes have a grassy taste. This beer has a medium mouthfeel. This IPA finishes bitter and citrusy with light pine notes. The aftertaste is a lingering bitter/hoppy note with fading citrus. Overall, it is good and gets an A, which is what I gave it three years ago. Hazy IPAs are good, but they tend to be for the masses or for people who kind of like the hoppy bitterness of an IPA but really like the fruity nature of them. This West Ghost IPA is for an IPA fan. This is a must-drink for you! Please stay safe, be kind to each other, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

Burial Beer Life Moves Right Through You India Pale Ale

Posted on by Evan

Burial Beer in Asheville, North Carolina, probably brews the best IPAs. They are my favorite brewery. This India Pale Ale is Life Walks Right Through You. It is 7.2% ABV, mashed with wheat and oats, and whirlpool-hopped with Nectaron and Citra Cryo hops, and Citra Incognito. It is double dry-hopped with Citra, Nectaron, and Vic Secret, finished with a dab of Citra Cryo. Lots going on with this IPA. This IPA pours a hazy yellow with a yellow-ish/white two-finger head. The aroma is juicy, sweet, and fruity. The taste is dry-hopped, bitter, sweet, juicy, and citrusy. This beer has a medium mouthfeel. The finish is bittersweet, dry-hopped, and fruity. The aftertaste is a light lingering of bitter citrus fruit. I would say that Life Moves Right Through You IPA is an A+. I really enjoyed this IPA from Burial Beer, and I would recommend it. All the cutting-edge brewing techniques and ingredients really come through and make a delicious, wonderful beer. Please stay safe, be kind to each other, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

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!