Best Beer Blog

Throwback Thursday: Foothills Brewing Co. Jade IPA

Posted on June 18, 2020 by Evan

Originally posted December, 21st, 2015.

Well here is yet another IPA surprise! Yes, there are probably a lot of IPA reviews on here since I’ve started The Best Beer Blog IPAs have grown on me, and I enjoy them more than I used to. Here is a Foothills brewed IPA, and no it isn’t the IPA of the Month, spoiler alert that is coming real soon. Anyhow this foothills IPA in question is Jade IPA, 7.4% ABV with 86 IBU (International Bittering Unit). Jade is named after the Jade hop which is found in the orient, is that name still used these days, well Jade hops are in the Pacific area of the globe and have striking tropical fruit notes. That makes sense for a Pacific hop. Foothills also dry hops additions of Chinook and Citra hops. Jade IPA pours a beautiful golden color with a two-finger white head that sticks around for a bit before fizzing away. The aroma is yes tropical with pineapple, mango with earthy notes, and bits of orange from the Citra hops. The taste is hoppy with tropical notes of pineapple, mango orange with earthy hope notes, and a slight bitter kiwi that is faint at best. Jade IPA is strongly hoppy but still easy drinking. You have to see past the bold hoppy bitter flavor and really taste the fruity elements to this IPA. Well, you should drink any or most IPAs that way to enjoy them. The mouthfeel is on the higher side of light barely hitting a medium mouthfeel and has a nice bitter tropical peppery finish that gives way to a bigger bitter hop after taste with some orange and less of a topical fruitiness. This is a hit in my book, YES! I give this an A. The big hoppiness that Jade has is complemented by the tropical and citrus flavor that mingle well together to give way to a great IPA that has a big IBU but does not drink like it. I think that you should try Foothills Jade IPA! Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly! Happy Holidays!

J. Wakefield Brewing Power Up Peach India Pale Ale

Posted on June 15, 2020 by Evan

Coming out of the Wynnwood area of Miami Florida J. Wakefield Brewing Power Up Peach India Pale Ale, 6.5% ABV brewed with Cita, Warrior hops, Florida super corn and, with fresh peaches. Power Up Peach pours a deeper copper orange color with thick and cream three-finger sticky white head that leaves thick lacey wall throughout the pint glass. The aroma is nice with big amounts of peaches, a peach ring candy-like aroma with little hop notes. The flavor is not too far off from its own aroma with big peach notes and a few hoppy flavors that intensify in the back of the mouth with a big peachy hop finish that carries into a nice lingering peach aftertaste, with an almost full mouthfeel. J. Wakefield Brewing Power Up Peach India Pale Ale does, however, have an overall strong flavor to it but I found that to be good quality and I give Power Up Peach an A. What would really push this be over the top would be a little more bitter/hoppy flavors but still really good and you should try J. Wakefield Brewing Power Up Peach India Pale Ale. I’m definitely having this again soon, it was that good. Please stay safe out there and please enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

Resident Culture Brewing Company Second Coming India Pale Ale

Posted on June 13, 2020 by Evan

IPAs or India Pale Ales are everywhere with many different substyles brewed by pretty much every craft brewery because of its popularity. Resident Culture Brewing Company Second Coming, India Pale Ale, 6.5% ABV is a hazy IPA brewed in Charlotte North Carolina, hopped with Strata, Sabro, and HBC 692. Second Coming pours a light orange juice yellow with a two-finger white head with an aroma of juicy oranges, grapefruit, and a nice hoppy note. Second Comming IPA has a taste not -un-similar from its own aroma with juicy fruit flavors of orange, orange peel, grapefruit and its own peels with a nice bitter hop note hitting the rear of the tongue then finishing with a nice bitter juicy fruit flavor and carrying over to the aftertaste with just bit more bitter hops with a medium mouthfeel. Resident Culture Brewing Company Second Coming, India Pale Ale is just another above-average hazy IPA that I give a B-. It has good flavors but they are slightly unmemorable but not so bad that you completely forget that you had drunk Second Coming. It is something you should have a taste of but I would not recommend that you run out and try it immediately. Resident Culture Brewing Company Second Coming, India Pale Ale is not too bad. Please stay safe and please enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

Burial Beer Co. Innertube Lager Beer

Posted on June 11, 2020 by Evan

I know I’ve probably said that Lager is a dirty word in the craft beer world before, and I may still be. But sometimes a craft beer drinker may just want a plain beer, Burial Beer Co. Innertube Lager Beer, 3.5% ABV. Innertube is brewed with Saphire hops. American Pils, corn, and rice. Now I know what you’re thinking a Lager with a 3.5% ABV how can that be any good! Innertube pours an old lager yellow with a one and a half finger creamy white head that doesn’t fade away too quick with sweet corn notes coming off with a nice light bready metallic biscuit note. Now the taste it easy on the taste buds with nice sweet corn/rice notes which are similar to the aroma with nice very light biscuit flavors and a twinge of a faint metallic note that comes to a nice light refreshing semi-sweet finish that carries over to a sweet corn aftertaste with a light refreshing mouthfeel. Burial Beer Co. Innertube Lager Beer is a plain beer that is well-deserving of an A+, and yes for on a 3.5% it does have a great flavor that is refreshing and easy to drink. Burial Beer Co. Innertube Lager Beer is one to always keep in the refrigerator, I highly recommend it! Please stay safe and please enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

Throwback Thursday: Samuel Smith Old Brewery Pure Brewed Organic Lager

Posted on June 11, 2020June 11, 2020 by Evan

Originally posted July 7th, 2013

When it comes to craft beer the word Lager is looked on as a bad or dirty word. That can be so done to BMC (Bud Miller Coors) for brewing such bad or weak tasting beers. But I don’t think that lager is such a foul word. I have had some great lagers and this Samuel Smith Pure Brewed Organic Lager, 5.0% ABV, is what a BMC/lager beer should taste like. Samuel Smith an English brewery has some of the best beers in the world. This lager is no different. Samuel Smith Lager pours a bright golden color with a pure white foamy head that says for a nice while and makes very nice lacing. There are tons of light streaming through the glass with tons of little carbonation bubbles. This is a beautiful look lager beer. The aroma on this English lager is bready from the malted barley used. I also found a cracker-like scent among the bready aroma. The taste is not far off from the nice aroma; I found it bready upfront and a little teeny sweetness toward the end. The flavors on this lager are crisp, sharp, light, and refreshing. The mouthfeel is light and refreshing and has a clean crisp bready like finish. The after taste is a tad bit sweeter than the start but fades out rather quick. I think this is Samuel Smith Pure Brewed Organic Lager is how a BMC should taste. Forget adding SO much water to the darn lager. This Samuel Smith beer is getting A+ from me. This is an excellently brewed lager and a great example of how lager is supposed to be. I have yet to have a bad Samuel Smith beer! All of the beers that they brew are just as excellent as the last. This Organic Lager is something I would have over and over again, and it’s good that it is 5.0% ABV. I highly recommend trying this lager, so go and see how great this beer is! Cheers Please enjoy responsibly!

J. Wakefield Brewing El Jeffe

Posted on June 8, 2020 by Evan

J. Wakefield Brewing Company El Jeffe German-Style Wheat with Coconut, 5% ABV from Miami, Florida is a traditional German Hefeweizen brwed with coconut fresh flakes. I haven’t seen any of J. Wakefield beers anywhere here in North or South Carolina, just only in Florida, specifically Miami, and I found this beer here in Charlotte, NC at Pop the Top Craft Beer Shop. El Jeffe pours yellow with a thick three-finger creamy, fluffy white head with good retention leaving behind some really decent lacing and giving sweet banana, light clove, and coconut aromas with a little nice bubblegum-like note as well. Taste is somewhat similar to it aroma, I found a nice sweet banana clove note that you typically find in a traditional German-wheat/Hefeweizen with some sweet coconut that melds well with the banana notes with a very light/faint bubblegum notes that comes to a sweet coconut finish and continues into the aftertaste with a little Hefeweizen banana that lingers for a minute before it fades into just sweetness with a medium mouthfeel that is lighter than most Hefeweizen beers. J. Wakefield Brewing Company El Jeffe German-Style Wheat with Coconut is a great beer and the coconut really amps the traditional German Hefeweizen to a new level, I give it an A+. El Jeffe is excellent and i highly recommended that you have this beer. Please stay safe and please enjoy responsibily! Cheers!

NoDa Brewing Company Mint Porter

Posted on June 6, 2020 by Evan

NoDa Brewing Company Mint Porter 5.8% ABV is brewed in Charlotte, North Carolina with cocoa nibs, Epiphany malt, and conditioned on mint leaves. This is the last beer in my NoDa Brewing Company Girl Scout cookie inspired beer four-pack. Mint Porter pours a black color with a two-finger beige fluffy head that has a steady fade, giving off boozy mint aromas that are a little like spearmint. Taste is minty with some nice chocolate and faint roasted noted that culminates to a nice minty chocolate finish with a nice minted aftertaste with a medium to barely full mouthfeel. NoDa Brewing Company Mint Porter is a good ported and I give it a B+. it has just the right amount of mint to chocolate flavor, Yes, I do think this is like a Girl Scout cookie, almost all of these NoDa Brewing Girl Scout cookie inspired beers have tasted like a Girl Scout cookie, the Lemon Kölsch not so much. I recommend NoDa Brewing Company Mint Porter and the four-pack it came in. This four-pack is very interesting with four different beers, usual that is found in mostly twelve-pack and sometimes sixers, but never a four-pack or pints. Please stay safe and please enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

Legion Brewing Company FlickerDaze American Wheat Ale

Posted on June 4, 2020 by Evan

Legion Brewing Company FlickerDaze American Wheat Ale, 5% ABV is brewed in Charlotte, North Carolina with Zappa hops and Riverbend malt. FlickerDaze pours a yellow color with a thin clear/white head that quickly fades into nothing with some fruity aromas, lemon, and candy peach, with light wheat notes. The nose of FlickerDaze is light at best. There is a very light sour taste with peach and light lemon wheat notes that come to a light sour finish of light fruits and an aftertaste of very light sour wheat that has a light mouthfeel. I don’t find Legion Brewing Company FlickerDaze American Wheat Ale to be good, and I give it a D+. It’s just too light on flavor for me and the little sourness to it aren’t great, I wouldn’t recommend trying Legion Brewing Company FlickerDaze American Wheat Ale. Please stay safe and please enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

Throwback Thursday: Highland Brewing Company Razor Wit Belgian-Style white Ale

Posted on June 4, 2020 by Evan

Originally posted July 5th, 2014.

One of the best Belgian styles to have in the summertime is wit or white ale, which is just a spiced wheat beer with orange peel or orange zest and a few other spices added depending on how a brewery and/or a brewery brews it. The Belgian Wit style is very popular and lots of brewers brew it. I rather enjoy the style very much, and I find wits to be refreshing and tasty. In the North Carolina Mountains, we have the Highland Brewing Company in Asheville. The Highland Brewing Company makes a Belgian Wit or white ale called Razor wit, 4.5% ABV and is USBTC grand champion in the Wit category. Razor wit a summer seasonal beer brewed with cumin, coriander, grains of paradise, ginger root, sweet orange peel, and bitter orange peel. Razor wit pours a slightly hazy and cloudy yellow color with a three-finger bright white head, with a decent amount of light coming through with some nice carbonation bubble racing to the head. The aroma is much like a Belgian style Wit should be with a nice scent of coriander and sweet orange and a slight hint of lemon. The taste is good with nice subtle spice from the coriander and other spices used and there is a nice sweet orange taste was well. The taste at first has a nice softness to it then fades into the spices and a just the smallest bitter orange taste on the back of your tongue. The taste is nice and refreshing. Razor wit has a nice spiced finish that doesn’t overpower your taste buds and has an aftertaste of lemon and slightly spiced orange flavors that work well together to make a nice pleasant aftertaste. This is a good Belgian style Wit, so I would give this an A. All the ingredients work well with each other creating a nice balanced Witbier. I would recommend try Highland Brewing Company Razor Wit I know I would enjoy it every time. So go out and try Razor Wit and see what you think of it. Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!

Dogfish Head Craft Brewery 60 Minute IPA

Posted on June 1, 2020 by Evan

Dogfish Head Craft Brewery, 60 Minute IPA, 6% ABV with 60 IBUs (International Bittering Units) from Milton, Delaware is their east coast IPA continually hopped with a slew of northwest hops throughout the entire boil acourding to their can. 60 Minute IPA was originally released back in 2003, seventeen years ago & uses a foot-ball-machine-turned-continual-hopper and their addition of equal increments throughout the entire boil. 60 Minute IPA is a classic flagship Dogfish Head beer and can be found pretty much anywhere beer is served and/or sold. 60 Minute IPA pours a bit of a deep yellow near golden copper color with a barely two finger quicky fading white head that gives off a slightly piney citrus note with a bitterness to it that pretty much smells like a typical IPA. The taste is bitter at first with a citrus fruit note that follows with a hoppy slightly piney hoppy note hitting the back of the tongue and carrying into the finish with a little more citrus that has a bitter bite and a bitter citrusy aftertaste that does linger for a little while before fading into bitterness for just a second with a lighter mouthfeel. Dogfish Head Craft Brewery, 60 Minute IPA is not bad but I found it to be just another IPA, and maybe that is what Dogfish Head is going for with it. But I give 60 Minute IPA a C+. It is and IPA that is, in my opinion, it’s the middle of the road and something that you can drink without having an assault on your taste buds, and I would just barely recommend it. It’s not a bad IPA, it’s just above average. Please stay safe and please enjoy responsibily! Cheers!