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Boddingtons Pub Ale

This beer is imported from Manchester, England, and is Boddings Pub Ale. It is 4.6% ABV. It has a nitrogen capsule or ball inside the pint can. When you pour the beer from the can, it releases the nitrogen giving you a hand pull as you’d get in an actual pub. This beer company is an InBev company. This beer pours at first a cloudy light tan color, but after the snowy nitrogen effect clears (which is pretty cool to watch). Then the beer becomes a deep gold with a thick creamy three-finger white head. This beer looks nearly identical to a hand-pulled pint from a British pub. It is a beautiful-looking beer. The beers aroma has light bitterness, sweet notes, and some malt scents. The flavor is creamy, smooth, and sweet but malty, with mild honey flavors. The mouthfeel is light. This beer goes down easy Then you get a lightly sweet and malty finish. Then you’ll find an aftertaste that is a quick malty flavor, but you have to pay attention. It comes and goes super fast. This Ale is a solid A+. If you aren’t drinking this beer, you are missing out. This beer is delicious, and the nitrogen ball makes this a fantastic beer. I would have this over and over because it’s that good. Please stay safe, always be kind to everyone, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers! 

Hi-Wire Brewing 10W-40 Chocolate Taco Imperial Stout

Stouts can be an anytime, any-season beer. I think it depends on your mood. This particular stout or imperial is 10W-40 Chocolate Taco. This beer is from Hi-Wire Brewing in Asheville, North Carolina. It is 8% ABV. It is a variation of their 10W-40. This beer has chocolate, vanilla, and Lactose (a sugar found in milk and other milk-based dairy products). This beer pours a deep, dark, and thick black color with a two-and-a-half-finger brown head. The aroma is sweet with chocolate, vanilla, and a milky aroma. The flavor is not too far off from its smell. This beer is chocolatey, vanilla, sweet, velvety, and thick. The mouthfeel is full and thick. The texture of this beer coats your mouth. Then this beer has a chocolate finish that lingers on into a vanilla/chocolate aftertaste. The beer is very chocolate-forward in a good way. I’d say 10W-40 Chocolate Taco Imperial Stout is an A+. This beer is what you read on the can. I highly recommend it if you’re into dark, strong stouts. It’s good from the first sip to the last. Please stay safe, always be kind to everyone, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers! 

Wiseman Brewing Cosmos Within Tropical IPA

I was in Total Wine over the past weekend. I had a taste of Wiseman Brewing Cosmos Within. So I thought it was worthy of a review. This beer is a Tropical IPA that has Citra, Talus, & Revolution hops. This IPA is 6.4% ABV. This beer pours a hazy yellow color with a two-finger white head. The aroma is fruity with pineapple, and orange. The beer’s aroma is also bitter and hoppy. The flavor is yes tropical with pineapple and orange. It’s also bitter tasting. The mouthfeel is medium but almost feels full. Then it comes to a nice bitter finish with a lite fruit flavor. The aftertaste is a bitter tropical fruit. This beer is good, and I give Cosmos Within a B-. Barely getting a B-. The bitterness covers up some of the tropical fruit flavors, and that brings it down a little. It’s not terrible, and I halfway recommend it. I have had better, but not a lot. Please stay safe, always be kind, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers! 

NoDa Brewing Company Purely Intentional Breakfast Stout

This beer is Purely Intentional Breakfast Stout by NoDa Brewing Company. This beer uses local Pure Intentions Coffee. This beer is 6.4% ABV. This Stout pours a thick dark black color with a one and a half finger beige head. There is some beige around the edges after the head fades. The aroma is roasted coffee and bitter coffee. The flavor is creamy, roasted coffee, bitter coffee, and a little malted noted. The mouthfeel is full, smooth and coats the mouth. Then it comes to a nice bitter-roasted coffee finish. Then you get an aftertaste of bitter coffee with some creaminess. This beer was not so terrible, but I found the bitter notes from the coffee to dominate the flavor a bit. So I would give Purely Intentional Breakfast Stout a B-. The creamy roasted flavor did help. I don’t think this is terrible tasting, but I would not go back to this again for a while. Please stay safe, be kind to everyone, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers! 

Brouwerij Van Steenberge Gulden Draak 9000 Quadruple

This beer, Gulden Draak 9000 Quadruple, is the last from the Brouwerij Van Steenberge mixed six-pack. This beer is a Belgian Quadruple Ale. This ale is 10.7% ABV. That is common for this type of ale. This beer pours a light brown/amber color with a two-and-a-half finger of beige head. The aroma is sweet, fruity (light cherry), and a little boozy. Overall its aroma is deep. The flavor is fruity, sweet, and malty. There is a light cherry and banana there. The mouthfeel is medium. Then this ale finishes with a sweet malt flavor. This ale also had dark fruit notes. The beer then comes to a semi-sweet aftertaste with some malty notes. This ale is a great beer, but it’s nearly as good as Chimay Quad. So I would say Gulden Drake 9000 Quadruple is an A. I can’t find anything terrible about this beer, but Chimay’s is better by just a little. Please stay safe, be kind to everyone, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

NoDa Brewing Company Peach Life Milkshake India Pale Ale

Peach Life is a milkshake IPA brewed by NoDa Brewing Company. This brewery is located in Charlotte, North Carolina. It is 7.0% ABV. This IPA is hopped with Centennial, Amarillo, and Mosaic hops, then fermented on peach puree. This beer also contains Lactose. This IPA pours a thicker yellow color with sediment and a three-finger creamy white head. The aroma is peachy sweet, bitter, and a peach gummy candy-like. The flavor is bitter, peachy sweet vanilla, and has a peach ring candy flavor. The mouthfeel is thick and full. Then this peach has a peachy bittersweet finish. Then you get a fruity, peachy bitter aftertaste that lingers with more bitterness than peach flavor. This beer is good, and I say that because I like peaches and everything. But that aside, it is good. The peach flavor does not clash with the bitterness that compliments the vanilla, making this a good beer. I give Peach Life a B+. I don’t think that you could have more than one. It’s good, but not let’s have another good. I would have this again, and so should you. That’s Peach Life got a lower grade. It’s a delicious “have one, then have something else” type of beer. Please stay safe, be kind to everyone, and enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

Brouwerij Van Steenberge Gulden Draak Imperial Stout

This beer is another out of the Brouwerij VanSteenberge mixed six-pack. This particular beer is Gulden Drank Imperial Stout, 12% ABV. This beer is a Belgian Imperial Stout. This stout pours a deep dark brown color that is nearly black. It also has a three-finger creamy beige head. Then the head slowly fades. The aroma is sweet with some licorice. There is a bitter-roasted scent and a faint coffee-like note. This big stout doesn’t smell like it’s 12% strong. The taste is also sweet and licorice-tasting. This beer has light bitterness, coffee-like flavors, and slight roasted malt. The mouthfeel is on the lighter side of fullness. Then it finishes with bitterness. It has a hint of a sweet note. Then you get a bittersweet aftertaste that starts off coffee/licorice-like. It’s more of a bittersweetness. This beer is a good bet that I give an A. It is not as big, bold, and full as an American craft stout. But I would pass on this one. Please stay safe, be kind to everyone, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers! 

High Branch Brewing Co. Imposter Golden Ale

This beer Imposter Golden Stout is from Concord, North Carolina, slightly north of Charlotte. This golden stout has coffee and vanilla. This beer comes in at 5.7% ABV. I have not had any beer from High Branch, but I have seen them here and there. This style, golden stouts are not made or seen that much. I have only seen one other golden stout Wooden Robot Brewery’s Good Morning Vietnam. This golden stout pours a cream/cloudy yellow color with a three-finger rocky white head. The aroma is sweet with vanilla and some slight coffee. The flavor is vanilla, sweet, faint coffee in the middle of the mouth. There is a bitterness that is more like coffee bitterness. The mouthfeel is medium. Then this golden stout finish with a light Latte flavor. Then you get a bittersweet aftertaste that is slightly more sweet than bitter. Imposter Golden Stout is a C+. I found the bitterness to be a little off-putting. That bitterness does throw off the overall flavor. I don’t think this dethrones Wooden Robot Brewery’s Good Morning Vietnam is my favorite golden stout. Please stay safe, be kind to everyone, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

New Belgium Brewing Co. Voodoo Ranger Experimental IPA

This IPA Xperimental IPA is from New Belgium Brewing Co. Voodoo Ranger line of beers. This beer comes in at 6.6% ABV. This IPA has Ale yeast, Citra hops, Pale, Honey, and Pilsner malts. I was offered this beer by a neighbor for letting his dog out during the day. It’s good to have pleasant neighbors. This Xperimental IPA pours a bright yellow that is a little hazy and has a two finger bight white head. The aroma is dry, citrusy, orange/lemon, sweet, and bitter. The flavor is tasty with citrus orange/lemon, dryness, and hop bitterness. The mouthfeel is medium. Then you get a dry citrus finish. Then the aftertaste of dry bitter citrus fruit comes and lingers, for a short bit. Then slowly fades away. This IPA is good. But I found the dry notes clash a bit with the bitterness. So I give New Belgium Brewing Co. Voodoo Ranger Xperimental IPA a B+. I recommend this IPA. It was refreshing and delicious. I just thought the dryness was a hair too much. But it’s a solid IPA worth trying. Please be safe, be kind to everyone, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

Olde Mecklenburg Brewery Berliner Weisse Style Sour Ale

This is a new beer from local Charlotte, North Carolina brewery Olde Mecklenburg Brewery. This beer is Berliner Weisse Style Sour Ale. This ale comes in a 4.4% ABV This beer is a newer beer from Olde Mecklenburg. Berliner Weisse is a regional variation of wheat beer from northern Germany that dates back to the sixteenth century. This style is made with a low proportion of wheat, usually twenty-five to fifty percent, and deliberately brewed to create a sourness with second fermentation in the bottle or by adding Lactobacillus (a bacteria). This Berliner Weisse pours gold color with a one-and-a-half finger white head that quickly dissolves. The aroma is sour, and tart. You get a tasty apple and pear on the nose as well. The flavor is tart and sour. There is an apple and pear flavor too. It tastes much the same as it smells. This beer is refreshing and somewhat smooth. The mouthfeel is light. It’s not overly tart or sour, just the right amount. Then this ale finishes with a tart sour fruit flavor. Then you come to a refreshing fruity aftertaste that is tart. This beer is a warm-weather type of beer that I highly recommend. It has just enough flavor to refresh you and your tastebuds. The sourness is just the right amount, along with nice tart fruit flavors with hints of wheat. Please stay safe, be kind to everyone, and remember to enjoy responsibility! Cheers!