Blog

Brooklyn Brewery Oktoberfest Märzen Lager

Coming from the New York City borough of Brooklyn and the Brooklyn Brewery, this beer is Oktoberfest Märzen Lager. This is 5.5% ABV. This beer has ready malts and noble hops. This is a seasonal beer, usually for October, hence the name. I’m not the biggest fan, of the Brooklyn Brewery. But I like Oktoberfest beers. I gave this one a try. It pours a copper/amber color with a fizzy one-finger white head. The aroma is sweet, malty, bread, and rich. This beer’s flavor is bread, malty, sweet, rich, and smooth. It does have a slightly thick mouthfeel, but the mouthfeel is medium overall. Then this fest lager finishes with a cloyingly sweet, breaded malt flavor. Then you get a smooth aftertaste of sweetness and bread malt that lingers until you take another sip. This Brooklyn Brewing Oktoberfest Märzen Lager is too sweet for my liking. I give this one a C+. It’s not the worst I’ve had, but the sweetness is a little much halfway through the twelve ounces, and I don’t think I would have another after having one. The beer’s flavor is not terrible, but it does overwhelm the taste buds. Please be kind, stay safe, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

Appalachian Mountain Brewery Boone Creek Blonde

Boone Creek Blonde from Appalachian Mountain Brewery in Boone, North Carolina, is zested with orange and has a hint of Wildflower honey. This beer is 4.9% ABV. This beer pours a light orange color with a one-and-a-half finger white quick head. The aroma is orangey, sweet from the honey. The flavor is sweet honey, a big orange flavor that is candy-like. There also is a light hoppy note. The mouthfeel is light. But almost medium feeling. Then this Blonde beer finishes with a sweet orange flavor. Then comes an aftertaste of honey and orange with a hint of a hoppy noted that lingers. The hoppy note fades away quickly as the big honey/orange stays. This ale is not terrible, but I don’t think I could have more than one or one and a half. The flavor is good. It just becomes slightly overwhelming as you finish a can of Boone Creek. That is why it only gets as low as B-. It’s not bad enough that I would pass it up, but I would if I were having a growler of it. Please be kind, stay safe, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

NoDa Brewing Company Big Slurp Juicy Imperial IPA

This beer Big Slurp is a juicy imperial IPA that is part of the Superior Lupulin Utilization Research Project, AKA Big Slurp (an acronym) from NoDa Brewing Company here in Charlotte, North Carolina. This IPA is 8.5% ABV. This IPA has Galaxy, Cascade, Ekuanot, and Centennial hops. This IPA also has tangerine and orange zest. This beer pours a hazy, juicy orange with a three-and-a-half finger white head. The head is slow to dissipate. The aroma is juicy with citrus orange, hoppy notes, and bitterness. The flavor doesn’t stay far from the smell. There are juicy citrus orange, tangerine, and bitter/hoppy flavors. This beer has a medium, soft mouthfeel. Then Big Slurp finishes with a juicy citrus flavor that is nicely bitter and pleasantly hoppy. Then you’ll come to an aftertaste of fresh orange soft tangerines. This beer is delicious. I give this beer an A. The overall flavor does pack a punch and lets you know that it’s 8.5% ABV. But it is flavorful and delicious. I highly recommend Big Slurp from NoDa Brewing Company. Please be kind, stay safe, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers! 

Westbrook Brewing Co. One Claw Rye Pale Ale

I’ve had One Claw several times before, but I was surprised that I’ve never reviewed this Rye Pale Ale from Westbrook Brewing Co. Now, if you are not familiar with Westbrook Brewing Co. down in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina, I suggest you do. They are a fabulous brewery with great beers. This ale is 5.5% ABV. It has Citra hops, Azacca, Citra dry hops, American Ale yeast, and Rye, Pale, and Wheat, malts. This ale pours a deep golden color with a two-and-a-half-finger white head. The aroma is hoppy, spicy, and bitter. The taste is also hoppy, and spicy. It is also bitter, fruity, and has a faint malty flavor. The mouthfeel is medium. Then this rye pals ale finishes with a bitter and spicy note. Then you get an aftertaste of bitter spiced fruits. The spicy note fades into a malty flavor thattastes like it’s gone off. I would give One Claw from Westbrook Brewing Co. a C+. It is just above average. It’s not that I don’t like rye beers. The aftertaste holds it back a little. Other than that is not bad. I halfway recommend this beer, but I would not rush out for it. This ale doesn’t change how much I like Westbrook Brewing Co. Please be kind, stay safe, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

21st Amendment Brewery Hell or High Mango

This wheat beer from San Leandro, California, Hell or High Mango, is an end-of-summer seasonal. This beer is a version of 21st Amendment Brewery’s other wheat beer, Hell or High Watermelon. This mango wheat beer is 4.9% ABV. This beer has Two-Row, Pale, and White Wheat malts. It also has Magnum hops as well as fresh mangos. This wheat beer pours a yellow color with one finger quickly fading head. The aroma is sweet mangos and wheat. The taste is juicy, big on the mangos, melons, peachy, and wheat notes. The mouthfeel is light and refreshing. Then this mango beer finishes with a juicy tropical fruity flavor. The aftertaste is a sweet tropical fruit, juice, ripe, juicy mangos, and melon. This beer is good, but I think the watermelon version is slightly better. I would give Hell or High Mango a B. It is a solid, refreshing beer that goes down easy. The wheat aspect of this wheat beer is lighter than I would have liked. That might be because mango is the more dominant flavor. That is not so bad. I still enjoyed this, and I recommend this Hell or High Mango. Please be kind, stay safe and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

terrapin Beer Company Carolina Krunkles Peach Tea IPA

This ale is from another local Harris Teeter grocery store’s build-your-own six-pack. This beer is Carolina Krunkles Peach Tea IPA from Terrapin Beer Company. This beer hails from Athens, Georgia. It comes in at 5.2% ABV This beer is part of the Krunkles series. This ale pours a rich orange color with a three-and-a-half finger off-white head. The aroma is peachy, sweet, and a little hoppy. Theflavor is peach, bitter, sweet, and watery. There is a faint black tea flavor too. The mouthfeel is medium. Then this IPA finishes with a bittersweet peach flavor. Then you get a hoppy aftertaste of peach and black tea. This beer sounded like an appealing beer, and it was. But It’s okay. I give this Carolina Krunkles Peach Tea IPA a B-. The tea notes/flavor clashes with the peach flavor, but not enough to ruin this beer. The bitterness is low overall, and it has good peach flavors. I enjoyed this and would have this again, but I would not rush back for one. I do also recommend it. It is a refreshing beer. Please be kind, stay safe, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

Tucher Privatbrauerei Helles Hefeweizen Naturtüb

This beer is Helles Hefeweizen Naturtrüb from Tucher Privatbrauerei. This brewery is in Nüremberg, Germany. Tucher is the oldest wheat beer brewery in Nüremberg, which is Bavaria. This beer comes in a 1-pint .6-ounce can at 5.2% ABV. This wheat beer pours a slightly hazy yellow color with a five-finger thick white head. The head fades slowly into thick lacing. The aroma is banana, clove, sweetness, and light wheat. The flavor is much similar to the smell. There is banana, clove, sweetness, and creaminess. The mouthfeel is medium. Then this Hefeweizen finishes with a banana sweetness that fades into almost a banana bread-like taste. The aftertaste is light banana bread. This is a good beer, and I’d never really heard of Tucher Privatbrauerei before having this. I give Helles Hefeweizen Naturtrüb an A. The whole flavor is lighter than most traditional German Hefeweizens. That’s not bad, but a little unexpected. I would recommend this beer. Yes, I’d have it again in a heartbeat. Please be kind, stay safe, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers! 

Oskar Blues Brewery Mama’s Little Yella Pils

This beer from Oskar Blues Brewery is Mama’s Little Yella Pils. This is a 4.7% ABV Bohemian Pilsner. I reviewed this a long time ago. It has been so long that I can not remember when I did check it. This beer is a core beer offering from Oskar Blues. So you can find this all year round. I found this a my local Harris Teeter grocery store. This pilsner pours a yellow color with a four-finger white steady fading head that leaves behind patches of lacing. The aroma is biscuit grains, sweetness, with hoppy notes. The flavor is similar to the smell of this beer. There are bread grains, sweet notes, hoppy notes, and a crisp & clean flavor. The mouthfeel is light and refreshing. Then comes an aftertaste that is crisp sweet and hoppy. The aftertaste is sweet and hoppy but not as sweet. This is a solid pilsner from a good brewery. Mama’s Little Yella Pilsner is an A+ I have had a couple of pilsners where the flavor is sharper and better, but there are only two pilsners out there that are better. This is a great beer that you need to have in your refrigerator. Please be kind, and safe, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

Fonta Flora Brewery Local Snacks

This beer is Local Snacks from Fonta Flora Brewery, is a mix-fermented ale or Appalachian Wild Ale. It is 6.2% ABV. This ale uses burlap-age hops, mixed house cultures, Riverbend Barley, and Riverbend raw wheat. This beer also uses blueberries, cherries, Muscadine, and Scuppernong grapes. This beer is only available in the summer season. This ale pours a raspberry red color with no head. The aroma is fruity, with cherry, raspberry, and slight grape. The taste is similar to the nose with raspberry, and cherry tartness, but with fewer grape flavors than you pick up on the nose. The mouth is somewhat medium. Then this ale finishes tart and sour with fruity esters. Then you get a tart cherry-raspberry aftertaste that lingers for a second or two and then fades away. This ale is an okay beer, and I give Local Snacks a C+. It has good flavors, but nothing stands out. You have to be in the mood for a sour-mix beer like this. They are neat beers, and you should try them. But would I recommend this one? Not so much, I mean, it’s not bad, but it’s not the best either. Please be kind, stay safe, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers! 

This lager beer is Oskar’s Lager from Oskar Blues Brewery. It is 4.2% ABV. This lager beer has 95 calories and 2.5 grams of carbohydrates. That may seem like a “lite” beer, and that is correct. But as you can probably see, it does not say lite or light on the can. So why is that? That is because “light or lite” beer is usually associated with big macro beer breweries,\ and that would turn off a craft beer drinker, and they probably won’t buy it. This lager pours a light gold color with a one-finger white head that fizzy away rather quickly. The aroma is sweet and bitter, and there is some fruit. The taste is crisp with light sweet notes, there are better notes and fruitiness, and it goes down clean. This lager is a crushable beer, and it is easy to drink. The mouthfeel is very light. Then this beer finishes clean with bitterness and a dry-ish note. The aftertaste is bittersweet and doesn’t linger for a second. This lager doesn’t taste like a low-cal/carb beer at all. I give Oskar’s Lager a B+. The flavor is good but not sharp or flavorful enough to make this a percent larger. I still really enjoy it, and I highly recommend this, even if you are looking for a low-calorie beer. It’s good! Please be kind, stay safe and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!