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Damm Complot Mediterranean IPA

I am in Barcelona, Spain, and I saw Damm Complot Mediterranean IPA at the hotel rooftop bar. This 6.6% ABV beer, made by Damm, is produced by Estrella Damm. This beer uses eight hops, such as Nugget, Summit, Willamette, Citra, Centennial, Simcoe, Amarillo, and Mosaic. These are grown on the Mediterranean coast. This beer is only sold in Spain. This IPA pours orange with a one-finger white head. The aroma is bitter and hoppy with a slight earthy note. The flavor is bitter up front with an earthy flavor. There is a slightly orange/grapefruit flavor on the back of the mouth. This has a medium body mouthfeel. Then this IPA finishes with a bitterness. The aftertaste is of bittering hops, and it goes quickly. This is an okay IPA, but it lacks the flavor of other IPAs. But you can drink a few of these. The flavor is not too much. I give this a C-. The flavor profile is just one note, but that is not too bad, and due to the uniqueness of this beer, I would recommend it. But if you don’t have this beer, you won’t miss much. Please stay safe, be kind to each other, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

Hacker-Pschorr Oktoberfest Märzen

Still on the Oktoberfest beer kick and this Oktoberfest Märzen is from Hacker-Pschorr. This is a Munich beer with an ABV of 5.8%. Thia Märzen is only made in October. This beer pours a darker copper color with a one-finger quick head. The aroma is malty and deep. But it is a medium malt aroma. The flavor is somewhat sweet and malty with a hint of a bread note. This has a medium-bodied mouthfeel. The finish is malty with less sweetness than the initial flavor. This beer has a malty sweet aftertaste that lingers briefly. This is a good solid German Oktoberfest, but it was plain and good overall. I give this Oktoberfest a C+. I would halfway recommend it but I think if you missed it then it would be fine. Please stay safe, be kind to each other, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

Resident Culture Brewing Disco Baby India Pale Ale

It has been a while since I’ve had a Resident Culture Brewing beer (residentculturebrewing.com). So I saw Disco Baby India Pale Ale at my local Harris Teeter grocery store. This beer is 6.5% ABV, and it is hopped with Amarillo, Citra, and Simcoe hops here in Charlotte, North Carolina. This beer pours a hazy yellow with a two-finger white head. The aroma is bitter and orangey, with a light, sweet note. It has a thick feeling in the mouth. This IPA finishes with a bitter orange flavor with a hint of sweetness. The aftertaste is not as orange-flavored as the one you get on the first sip. But the orange is there with a lingering bitterness. This IPA is good, B-. It is just bitter orange, and that is pretty much the only two flavors to it, so that is a slight knock against it. But this is still good, and I’d still recommend Disco Baby India Pale Ale. The orange bitter IPA is not a bad choice. Please stay safe, be kind to each other, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

Highlander Brewing Clawhammer Oktoberfest


It’s October and fest beers are on the store shelves. I like the Oktoberfest beer over the pumpkin beer. This one is a local North Carolina offering from Highland Brewing in Asheville (highlandbrewing.com). This beer is a Märzen Lager called Clawhammer Oktoberfest. This lager is 5% ABV. This beer has hops such as Hallertau, Mittlefrue, and German Spalt Select. It also features malts such as 2-row, Munich, Vienna, Caramel, and Pilsner. You can only find this beer from July through September, and can buy some that is leftover in October. This beer pours a copper/brownish color with a one-finger beige head. The head is fairly quick-fading. The aroma is malty, sweet, and clean. It does, however, have a light bread note. The flavor is sweet and malted with a light and clean body. The same goes for the mouthfeel. Then you come to a clean and malty-sweet finish. That same flavor carries over into the aftertaste with a slight linger. This beer is a good light Oktoberfest beer. I would say this is the best. I give Clawhammer Oktoberfest from Highland Brewing a B. The overall flavor of this beer is mild, but that’s okay. It is solid and worth a try. Please stay safe, be kind to each other, and remember to enjoy responsibly! 

Brewers at 4001 Yancey Crown Town American IPA

I like IPAs, but the market is overflowing with them. A lot of IPA choices out there, and this one is Brewers at 4001 Yance Crown Town American IPA. This American IPA is 7.5% ABV. This is a local brewery with different breweries. These breweries are Sixpoint, Victory, Southern Tier, and Bold Rock Cider. Crown Town is a nickname of Charlotte, NC. We’re known as the Queen City after Queen Charlotte. This IPA pours a copper color with a two-finger white head that leaves beautiful lacing behind. The aroma of this IPA is dank, bitter, and piney. The flavor is dank with pine notes. There is light onion and bitters with grapefruit flavors. This has a medium body feel to the mouth. This American IPA finishes with a pine bitterness. The aftertaste is a lighter pine flavor with deep bitter notes. This is what I remember IPAs to be back twenty-five years ago, before they exploded in popularity. This is a solid IPA that is an A-. The only downside to this beer is that the bitter flavor starts to become too much after the second. But I would still recommend it! Please stay safe, be kind to each other, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

Guinness Drought Stout

I have been watching The House of Guinness on Netflix, which is a good show about the Guinness Brewery and the Guinness family in Ireland. So I decided to review Guinness Draught Stout. This beer is brewed at the St. James Gate brewery in Dublin, Ireland. This dark beer is 4.1% ABV, composed of water, malted barley, roasted barley, regular barley, hops (the type of which is not specified), nitrogen, and yeast. The nitrogen is in a widget inside the can, and that gives this Guinness a smooth texture. This beer pours what looks black at a glance, but when held to some light, it is dark ruby red. This beer has a generous three-finger creamy off-white head that is robust and leaves thick lacing behind. Pour this beer aggressively and watch it cascade like snow forming the grand head. The beer’s aroma hints of coffee and chocolate. The flavor is smooth and not really what you’d think it would be. This Guinness is smooth and bitter, balanced, and it has roasted notes. This beer is easy to drink. This has a light-bodied feel in the mouth. This beer comes to a smooth finish of light chocolate and some coffee. The aftertaste is slightly bitter and creamy, with light roasted coffee. This is not the world’s best stout. It is, however, a really easy-to-drink ”light” stout. I give this one a B-. The stout flavor is light overall, but they are good. I am sure if you follow my blog, then you’ve probably had a Guinness. Please stay safe, be kind to each other, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

Left Hand Brewing Co. Coconut Milk Stout

This review is a re-review of Left Hand Brewing Co. Coconut Milk Stout. I originally reviewed this back in February of this year. From time to time, I will re-review a beer. This is Coconut Milk Stout, a seasonal beer available during winter. This beer is 6% ABV. It is made with Rocky Mountain water, malted barley, lactose (milk sugars), flaked oats, toasted coconut, yeast, and natural flavors. I couldn’t find those natural flavors. This stout pours black with a two-finger beige head. The head is pretty robust. The aroma is sweet, with notes of coconuts, malts, and roasted flavors. The flavor is of toasted coconut and some chocolate. This has a full, creamy textured body. This beer has a sweet coconut finish and malt roast. The aftertaste is less coconut, but has a nice sweet malt/roast flavor. This beer is still as good as when I first reviewed it. I give Left Hand Brewing Co. Coconut Milk Stout an A. It’s not overly stout feeling. It is just right and one you should drink. Please stay safe, be kind to each other, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

Burial Beer x Cloudburst Brewing Co. The Scars On Greedy Palms India Pale Ale

This India Pale Ale is a Collaboration between Burial Beer and Cloudburst Brewing. This IPA, 6.8% ABV, was brewed for Burial’s annual Burnpile festival (2025). Mashed with wheat and oats. Whirlpooled with Simcoe, Nectaron, and Simcoe Dynaboost. Double dry hopped with Amarillo Fresh CGX Nuvo, Nectaron, and Citra Cryo. The IPA pours bright yellow with a bright two-finger white head. The aroma is tropical and citrusy, with notes of orange/grapefruit. It also has a herbal aroma. The flavor is a combination of orange, grapefruit, light tropical notes, and dank, with a dry finish. The finish is light on fruit. Then it has a dry, dank fruit aftertaste. This beer has a medium body that somewhat coats your tongue for a second. This is a good beer. It’s not the best, but still something I’d recommend. It’s an A-. I wasn’t a fan of the dryness of this beer, but the tropical and citrus flavors helped. Please stay safe, be kind to each other, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. x Störtebeker Brauspezialitaten Oktoberfest Festbier

This limited Oktoberfest Festbier is a collaboration between Sierra Neva Brewing Co., here in Asheville, NC, and Störtebeker Brauspezialitaten of Stralsund, Germany. This beer is just called Oktoberfest Festbier. This beer is 6% ABV with Munich, Pale, and Pilsner malts. There are Magnum, Opal, Perle, Spalter Select, and Tettnang hops. The yeast used is Lager. This beer is only available in limited quantities this year. Sierra Nevada collaborates with a different brewery each year for a fest or Marzen-style beer. This beer pours a deep gold with a one-and-a-half finger white head. The aroma is malty sweet, with a light bready note. The flavor is malty sweet. There is a light citrus taste. This beer is overall crisp and doesn’t feel like it has a 6% ABV. This has a medium body. The finish is malty and bread-like. The aftertaste is not that malty; it fades really quickly. This is a good Oktoberfest beer. It leans more to the lighter side. I give this a B-. I like to see this have more malt character. But I would still recommend it. So try it! Please stay safe, be kind to each other, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

Sierra Nevada Premium Pils Craft Lager

I have heard that Sierra Nevada was going to make a Pilsner beer. I kept my eye out for Sierra Nevada Premium Pils Craft Lager. I found this at my local Harris Teeter grocery store, along with another Sierra Nevada beer (stay tuned for that). This beer has a 4.7% ABV and comes in 8.4-ounce cans. This beer is packaged in eight packs. This Pilsner is more akin to a German Pilsner. Traditionally, in Germany, they would serve a pilsner in a smaller glass to keep it cold and preserve its great taste. Pilsner malts, Sapphire, Crystal, and Lupulin hops are used. They also use Lager yeast. This pilsner pours gold with an almost two-finger white head. The aroma is slightly bitter, citrusy, and light on hop aroma. The flavor is slight hoppiness, crisp citrusy notes, and some sweet notes. This has a light-bodied mouthfeel. The finish of this pilsner is lightly fruity with some bitterness, but it is a cleaner finish. Then you come to an aftertaste that is less bitter than the finish, with some citrusy notes. This is a delicious Pilsner beer, which I give an A. I have had more flavorful and bolder Pilsners, but those are more of an “American” style of Pilsners. Most “American Pilsners originated from German or Czech Pils. I do recommend this Premium Pils from Sierra Nevada. Please stay safe, be kind to each other, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!