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NoDa Brewing Company Hoppy Holidays India Pale Ale

Posted on by Evan

Local Charlotte, North Carolina NoDa Brewing Company, Hoppy Holidays, 6.5% ABV which was purchased from the local Harris Teeter grocery. Hoppy Holidays which is a holiday seasonal beer is brewed to give you the flavor of a pine or Christmas tree, and pours a light copper color with a three finger slightly off white slow head giving off huge piney aromas with orange/grapefruit bitterness that leads you to a flavors big piney notes with a slight sweetness with some bitter grapefruit citrus with a nice pine finish and a citrus piney aftertaste with a medium mouthfeel. This ways surprising how NoDa got Hoppy Holidays to taste like a Christmas tree and that is good, I think it is an A. But one pint is enough because if another is had the big piney flavor overwhelms the mouth and all you’d taste after would be this otherwise fabulous beer, and one that I highly recommend trying! Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!

Triple C Brewing Co. White Blaze Winter Ale With Spices Added

Posted on by Evan

Triple C Brewing Co. White Blaze Winter Ale With Spiced Added, 6.0% ABV, a winter warmer, brewed right here in Charlotte, North Carolina that was picked up at my local grocery store is a winter seasonal beer. White Blaze pours a deep amber almost brown color with a light beige one and a half finger head that slowly dissipates into little bits of lacing that give off sweet almost cinnamon spice aromas with a very light boozy note that pulls you into a sweet flavor at first followed by a cinnamon spice note that is reminiscent of a cookie that does get a bit strong but otherwise enjoyable with a nice sweetly spiced finish and a sweet spiced boozy aftertaste with a more full mouthfeel. Triple C Brewing Co. White Blaze Winter Ale With Spiced Added which I think is cinnamon is definitely a winter beer and isn’t overwhelming on your taste bud but think that two pints of White Blaze beer is enough for your taste buds, but it’s a B+ beer and has the right amount of spice, some have to much wintery spices and it just doesn’t go well. But this Triple C Brewing Co. White Blaze Winter Ale With Spiced Added is great and I do recommend it! Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly

Westbrook Brewing Co. IPA

Posted on by Evan

Coming out of Mt. Pleasant South Carolina Westbrook Brewing Co. IPA, 6.8% ABV which I picked up from the local grocery store is brewed with a base of pale, Munich, and Caraplis malts and blended with different American hop varieties and added four times in the kettle and again in the fermentor. Westbrook Brewing Co. IPA pours a slightly darker yellow color with an almost two finger slow white head with fruity sweet and slightly bitter juiciness aromas wafting in to your nose that then take you to a semi-sweet fruit juice flavor with a nice pungent hoppy bitterness that lingers into a bitter finish with a light juicy fruit and a hoppy fruited aftertaste with a lighter mouthfeel that is a bit refreshing. Westbrook Brewing Co. IPA is a well balanced IPA and gets an A-, the hoppy bitter flavors start to get to be slightly too much at the very end, but that just barely holds an otherwise good India Pale Ale, one that I recommend that you try! Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly

Throwback Thursday: Oskar Blues Brewery Death By Coconut Irish Porter

Posted on by Evan

I have grown a liking to beers brewed with coconut or coconut beers. But I’ve not had a lot of coconut beers, nor have I had a lot of Oskars Blues Brewery beers. But I got this beer from Brewpublik (www.brewpublik.com), Oskar Blues Brewery Death By Coconut Irish Porter, 6.5% ABV. Oskar Blues Brewery is in Longmont Colorado, and here in Brevard North Carolina. This Can is labeled Colorado Death By Coconut Irish Porter uses Cholaca.com dark chocolate and extra dark caramel malt. Death By Coconut Irish Porter pours a black color with tan/beige edges with two to three finger beige head with nice retention, but does fade into a spotty head and some okay looking lacing. The aroma is sweet with vanilla, chocolate, coconut and slight sweet malts. Taste is sweet up front with a nice hit of coconut and vanilla, and then you get nice flavors of chocolate with the coconut that comes as the vanilla fades. This is like mounds bar. But this beer is sweet through out but nothing overly sweet; it has the right amount of sweetness. The mouth feel is full and rich, and has a sweet finish with a nice amount of chocolate and the coconut flavor. Death By Coconut Irish Porter has a nice sweet chocolate-coated coconut after taste that last long enough for you to really enjoy. This beer really surprised me. I wasn’t expecting to be this good. But Oskar Blues Brewery Death By Coconut Irish Porter is an A+. It has just the right balance of flavors to it without being overly sweet. The chocolate and coconut really work well together, creating a wonderful beer. But I think that I would only drink about three of Death By Coconut Irish Porters, after that it might start to become a bit much. But that is nothing to hold it back. It’s a good one! Cheers Please enjoy responsibly!

The Beer News

Posted on by Evan

Here are this week’s news and events happening in the Charlotte, North Carolina area!

  • Wednesday, November 28th. Plumdinger Smoked Plum Porter Release. Thirsty Nomad Brewing. 4 pm-9 pm. Sometimes for charity auctions, we give away “brew a beer with the Nomad” as an offering. This time around, we worked with Quentin and Erin Cash and came up with the idea to brew this subtly smokey, plummy and altogether excellent porter! Come out on Wednesday 11/28 to try it out. One keg only and once it’s gone, it’s gone.

  • Thursday, November 29th. BK -> CLT: Sixpoint Brewing Queen City Launch. 6 pm-8 pm. Brooklyn is Taking Over Charlotte! At least for a night…
    Join us as we welcome our sister brand Sixpoint Brewery to the Queen City!
    We have an AWESOME Brooklyn-inspired night planned with DJ, pizza, cool swag and of course a lot of Sixpoint beers.
    Stay tuned for more info.
    UNTAPPD BADGE INFO: The first 50 to check in and show your badge to your server/bartender will earn a limited edition Sixpoint t-shirt, designed specifically for the event.

  • Thursday, November 29th. New Beer Thursday, Belgian Quad Release. Catawba Brewing Company. 3 pm-10 pm. Sweet, strong and delicious.

  • Friday, November 30th, Saturday, December 1st. Weihanchtsmarkt. Olde Mecklenburg Brewery. 4 pm-9 pm & 2 pm-9 pm. OMB is the place to gather with friends, drink fresh beer, shop for gifts and celebrate the holiday season!
    Friday, November 30th is going to be one festive day at OMB with the release of Yule Bock, a visit from Santa Claus and the launch of Weihnachtsmarkt (Christmas Market). Weihnachtsmarkt will then continue for the first three Friday/Saturdays in December. Now in its 7th year, Weihnachtsmarkt is a Charlotte holiday tradition full of joy and community.
    This year, we’ll have over 45 vendors each weekend – our largest market ever! Some vendors will be in traditional wooden huts, but all will be decorated to the max and full of local crafts and baked goods. Like the Christmas Markets of Nuremberg, Germany, OMB’s Weihnachtsmarkt will also have fresh beer on tap (including our winter seasonal brews Dunkel & Yule Bock) and Gluhwein (pron. “Gloo-vine”), a mulled red wine served hot and fresh.
    Look for our full list of vendors in the Discussion tab. See our other event pages for more details on Yule Bock & Santa. Under 21 is welcome at OMB. Pets are welcome outside in our Biergarten. Thanks & Prost!

  • Friday, November 30th. Yule Bock Release. Olde Mecklenburg Brewery. 11 am-11 pm. Friday, November 30th is going to be one festive day at OMB with the release of Yule Bock, a visit from Santa Claus and the launch of Weihnachtsmarkt (Christmas Market).
    Yule Bock usually sells out before the end of Weihnachtsmarkt, so drink it while you can! This holiday delight is an authentic “Weihnachtsbock” (Christmas Bock), which is a really fantastic traditional German holiday beer style. Premium European barley malts and noble hops give this bock lager its rich crimson color and smooth malty character. The perfect beer for when the weather turns cold and spirits turn warm. If you’re looking to add some happy to your holidays, well, you’re looking at it: Yule Bock.
    Like all OMB beers, Yule Bock is all-natural — brewed in strict accordance with the famous German beer purity law of 1516: the “Reinheitsgebot.” In line with Reinheitsgebot, it was brewed using natural carbonation from the pure CO2 produced by the yeast during fermentation. We pull our brews from our lager tanks weekly, so you know it’s fresh. And, it was kept cold from production to delivery to you, because all beer should be kept cold to maximize freshness. We hope you enjoy this pure, fresh, cold beer.
    See our other event pages for more details on Santa & Weihnachtsmarkt. Under 21 is welcome at OMB. Pets are welcome outside in our Biergarten. Thanks & Prost!

  • Saturday, December 1st. Lenny Boy Q and Brew. Lenny Boy Brewing Co. 11 am-11pm. Q & Brew is a monthly event at the Lenny Boy Taproom. The first Saturday of every month we have Live Music, New beer and kombucha releases, and fun vendors on-site. And of course, local BBQ smoked on-site 🍻
    Saturday, Dec 1st
    Free live music from 3 – 6pm with Joh Linker     🎸
    New Beverage Release::
    Just Peachy – a Peach Berliner Weisse
    The Hunter’s Wife will be smoking up some amazing BBQ all-day.

  • Tuesday, December 3rd. NoDable Release: Merry Funking Christmas. NoDa Brewing Company. 4 pm-9 pm. Every single week, we release a brand new “NoDable” beer on Tuesday. This week’s brew is a blend of our Welcome to the Farmhouse and Berliner-wiesse. The lactobacillus and Brett make for a tart and funky flavors that will help get you in the Holiday spirit!
    While you’re here, be sure to try a few of our 25+ brews and some TIN Kitchen for dinner. And, don’t forget you can take this week’s NoDable and many of our other beers to-go in a crowler!  

  • Tuesday, December 4th. Breakfast for Dinner With Bell’s Brewery! Queen City Craft and Gourmet. 4 pm-8 pm. Our first beer dinner is finally here! We are going to be warming up with breakfast for dinner and some amazing brews from Bell’s Brewery. Your ticket to this event gets you five breakfast-inspired courses from Chef Jon and five beers to pair with them.
    Course one: Eggs Benedict with Smoked Ham and Bell’s Two Hearted Hollandaise paired with Two Hearted Ale
    Course two: French Toast with Cherry Compote and Candied Pecans paired with The Wild One
    Course three: Sweet Potato Hash with Country Ham paired with Christmas Ale
    Course four: Biscuit Bread Pudding with Sharp Cheddar and Bacon paired with Larry’s Latest Quad
    Course five: Coffee Cake with an Arabicadabra Reduction paired with Arabicadabra
    Reserve your spot now! Tickets are available by calling the restaurant at (980) 339-5610. $50 per person.

Left Hand Brewing Co. Pixar Pepper Porter

Posted on by Evan

I received Left Hand Brewing Co. Pixan Pepper Porter, 7.2% ABV from a friend for Thanksgiving which is brewed in Longmont Colorado. Pixan pours a black oil color with brown/beige edges and a two finger beige head that slowly to fade, giving off slight dark stone fruit with some roast pepper malt notes with a hint of a spiced coffee, that leads to a spiced dark stone fruit flavor with malted pepper notes which seem faint on barely there with a faint peppered finish and a spiced aftertaste that is mild at best with a medium mouthfeel. Left Hand Brewing Co. Pixan Pepper Porter is not a great pepper Porter, its a D. The pepper flavor is mild and sometimes barely present in this beer, which makes me think Left Hand Brewing is using a mild pepper of not enough peppers in this Porter. I generally like a pepper beer but this was more like off spiced dark coffee, which I am not going to recommend, no. I just think Left Hand needs to strengthen the pepper flavor on this to make it better. Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!

Blowing Rock Brewery Shadow Mountain Black IPA

Posted on by Evan

Blowing Rock Brewery Shadow Mountain Black IPA, 6.5% ABV, picked up from the local Harris Teeter grocery store is brewed Hickory North Carolina and uses Cascade, Columbus and Chinook hops in the brewing process of this winter seasonal, which pours dark, black color with brown edges and a one and a half finger beige head that slow dissipates into a quarter of foam giving off slight yet faint roasted hop notes that are like a faint earthy coffee with a slight roasted earthy coffee bitter malted flavors where the IPA bitterness comes in on the back of the tongue with a bitter finish that is very faint lay roasted with malt and a earthy roasted bitter aftertaste with high-medium mouthfeel. Shadow Mountain Black IPA is a not a bad beer the roasted noted overshadow the hops and bitter notes of the IPA, so overall I give Blowing Rock Brewery Shadow Mountain Black IPA a C+, slightly above average. Blowing Rock Brewery Shadow Mountain Black IPA could’ve had more hoppy IPA qualities to help it and could have Balanced the roasted notes, the dark malts with the IPA notes to really make it a great beer. But I found it to be slightly above average and I think that two is about where this Blowing Rock Brewery Shadow Mountain Black IPA would get to be to much flavor but I still kind of recommend trying it. Please enjoy responsibly!Cheers!

Highland Brewing Stargazer White

Posted on by Evan

Highland Brewing, brewing since 1994, Stargazer White, 4.8% ABV from Asheville, North Carolina is a season Belgian White Ale brewed with grapefruit peel, and ginger and coriander and is a quite popular style of beer many other breweries brew the Belgian White style of beer. Stargazer White pours a yellow color a two finger bright white head that fizzles down to almost less than on finger giving off grapefruit and faint ginger with a slight spice note that leads you to a flavor of fruitiness with grapefruit and some orange notes with slight spiced ginger that is different for a white ale gives it a slight tropical feel with a slight grapefruit finish and more fruity grapefruit aftertaste with a light mouthfeel. I like my Belgian White to have a more fuller mouthfeel and this was on the light side and the ginger and grapefruit did quite meld together well but was kind of alright. I give Highland Brewing Stargazer White a D+. It was a different take on a White Ale that sounded alright but tasted not as good as it sounded, and wasn’t the worst Belgian Style White Ale I’ve had. The thin mouthfeel with the ginger and grapefruit peel did go well together in my opinion. I can tell what Highland brewing is going for with Stargazer White, it’s more of a summertime White Ale and I know it’s not summer now but that’s not why I didn’t like it. Stargazer White is not how I like white Ales. Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!`

Foothills Brewing Oktoberfest

Posted on by Evan

Foothills Brewing Oktoberfest, 5.8% ABV picked up from my local Harris Teeter grocery store is a seasonal from the Winston-Salem based brewery. Prince Ludwig was a man of the people, which is why when he married in 1810, he invited the entire town of Munich. That is where Oktoberfest celebration comes from. Foothills Brewing Oktoberfest pours a deep red/brown color with a two finger white head that disappears quickly giving off malty sweet aromas with a faint barely-there hop note that takes to a flavor that is similar to the aroma with a malted sweet flavor that has a little hint of hoppy dark fruits, but just barely so, with a sticky finish that linger into a sweet and sticky aftertaste, with a slightly full mouth feel. Foothills Brewing Oktoberfest is a good beer a B, and I would not expect anything different from Foothills, they brew such great beers time and time again. I’ve not really had a bad beer from them. This, there Oktoberfest is a beer that you could drink a six pack of but not much more than that because I think the malty quality would then be to much, but one that you could really celebrate Prince Ludwig with and I hope you try it! Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!

Throwback Thursday: Thomas Creek Brewing Octoberfest Lager

Posted on by Evan

Originally posted on August 22nd, 2013


Each year the beer world celebrates October fest, by brewing up Oktoberfest beer, which is either called, fest beer or Märzen (March). This type of beer was kept cool in a cave until October and brewed with higher gravity so they would keep. This particular beer is Thomas Creek Octoberfest Lager 6.0% ABV, from Greenville South Carolina. This Thomas Creek Octoberfest pours a nice bight copper/amber color with a finger and a half of whitish head that is dissipated at a quick pace. Some light came through the glass, with a nice amount of carbonation bubbles. The aroma is big with a nice malty caramel scent with the faintest hop note. The taste on Octoberfest Lager is sweet with a caramel malt flavor up front, and then toward the back, you get the faintest hoppy flavor that quickly turns sweet. Then mouthfeel is light to medium, with a nice sweet caramel malt flavor. The aftertaste is sweet with a hint of very light vanilla and malty flavor. I have to say this beer is surprisingly good and well brewed, so this is an A beer. This Tomas creek is not overly sweet and malty, but just enough to keep this beer tasting good. I would surely recommend that you try this beer! Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!