Founders All Day IPA
It’s turning into a three beer kind of week, but I’m going to start off a little easy. Tastes pretty good, not super malty like some IPAs, and the mild ABV and IBU means I can drink it without it taking over the evening.
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Alright, first up is “Merica” by Prairie Artisan Ales from Oklahoma.
This is a bit of a funky flavored farmhouse ale. Not funky in a bad way. It has a nice bright hop flavor up front that melds into a more mellowed out sweetness, and then into an after taste that reminds me of a very slightly sour dough bread. Kinda complex, took a while to pin the flavors.
The whole beer smells kinda funky, like an old farmhouse that’s been slightly renovated into a historically accurate time capsule style museum. And actually, it also starts to smell like slightly over ripe fruit, just before it goes bad. If that all makes sense… It’s not a bad smell for a beer, just different.
Very drinkable, but not crushable like other cheap light beer. (This was not a cheap bottle.) It’s a bit heavy and malty for a lighter colored beer, which that has to do with the 7.5% ABV. Probably enjoyed after a long hot day, but best drank slowly to avoid feeling bloated.
I’m gonna go 8.5/10 and would totally buy this again. But I wouldn’t drink this every day if I could, it’s kinda something you have to be in the mood for.
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Fine @behindthetimesgamer I’ll do it.
This is a pretty good one, but not quite as it seems or as expected.
Aroma is very roasty, almost like a rich brown ale, with hints of coffee (I mean, it is a coffee beer) and very rich but not overwhelming. Flavor is strong up front but quite dry for a stout and not as heavy as one might expect. I liken it much more to a porter in terms of mouthfeel and much of the stout and coffee flavors fade quickly leaving a light hint of vanilla behind for an extended period.
It’s very pleasant. I wish it were maybe 35°F outside and I had a fire going, this’d be perfect for a late Autumn evening, or maybe post-lunch midday on a weekend.
7/10, loses a point for being a little deceiving. Would definitely drink again.
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Holy shit this stuff is adult soda!
It’s pretty much exactly what the label says it is. Mildly tart and very effervescent, it has a strong lemon kick at the beginning and fades quickly to the blueberry flavor. Doesn’t sit long in the palette, and makes me wish it were still 90° outside. In a dry heat anyway.
8/10 this is going to make into my summer beer rotation for sure.
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Lone Pine Brightside IPA
I’m not sure what to say about this one other than it’s an IPA? It’s good overall, but nothing too memorable. Shame, because their other beers are actually quite good.
6 out of 10 I guess. Certainly not bad, but I don’t think I’d bother getting a 4 pack of them.
Does get brownie points because I was actually on the clock.
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Started drinking again after about 10 years. My wife decided it was an appropriate age to partake so I figured why not? I joined her in her endeavors.
Anything blonde or honey blonde (heh) I really love. Most of the stuff I’ve been drinking is local brew stuff at the establishment.
Outside, mainstream stuff, I still love Sierra Nevada Pale Ale or Rye, Fat Tire, and Smithwick’s.
Don’t know what IPA is, although I see it all the time and could very well be drinking it 
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IPA stands for India Pale Ale.
Generally they’re pale to about amber in color, malt characteristics are restrained (but still there), relatively bitter, and hoppy. Imagine a hoppier version of the Sierra Nevada Pale Ale and that’d be an IPA. Or try Sierra Nevada’s Hop Hunter or Torpedo so you don’t have to settle for imagination 
Brewers Association has guidelines for almost any beer you’ll find commercially, it’s a good tool if you want to read up on beer styles.
https://www.brewersassociation.org/resources/brewers-association-beer-style-guidelines/
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Allagash Two Lights
One of the beers I forgot to post a while ago.
It’s a beer brewed with sauv blanc must and fermented with lager and champagne yeast. The malt base is 2-row with some oats, hops are Amarillo, Simcoe, Nelson Sauvin.
This beer was actually the first real disappointment I’ve had from Allagash. Some people rave about it, but to me it just doesn’t mesh right. I like the malt bill, I like the hops, the sauv blanc provides a nice complexity that’s hard to get from just hops and grains, and the champagne yeast adds a pleasant crispness.
What I do not like is the mouthfeel. It is way too creamy/silky for something that tastes like it should be something like a gose or even a pale ale. It tastes like it should be crisp and light, but it feels heavier or thicker in the mouth. The beer is made of high quality parts, its very apparent that it’s an Allagash beer, but the sum just doesn’t add up.
As such it’s getting the lowest score I will hopefully ever give an Allagash beer, a 6 out 10. So in the patented w.meri scoring system™, it’s in the “meh” category.
EDIT: The texture of pressed orange juice might be a good comparison.
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Two Roads Sauvignon Blanc Gose
This is almost exactly what I wish the Allagash was. It’s fruity, floral, citrusy, crisp, and clean. The malt bill is much more subdued, it’s more of a base for the flavors than a distinct flavor itself. The salinity and sour add a crisp and light note to the beer without it making it taste like the ocean or anything like an adjunct lager. The sauv blanc brings some of the floral scent and a rather distinct taste of green apples.
This is a beer I could probably down a few of in an afternoon, and I’m normally set with a single 12oz bottle if I’m not with friends. I like goses, and this one is definitely a good one.
A solid 8 out of 10. I think this was my second beer with grapes in it (Two Lights being the third), and has definitely piqued my interest. Maybe a stout aged in some Rioja Reserva barrels next?
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Baxter Brewing MHT IPL (Maine Huts and Trails India Pale Lager)
A charity beer with money from each sale going to Maine Huts and Trails.
Although I will probably always have a soft spot for charity beers, this is actually a decent lager. It’s something like 35% wheat, and you can definitely taste and feel that, but it’s still clean and crisp like a traditional lager. The hops add a nice pine characteristic without going overboard.
Probably a nice 7.5 out of 10. I’d probably describe it as “uncomplicated”, but not in a bad way. You can taste and smell the barley, you can taste and smell the wheat, you can taste and smell the hops.
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Sierra Nevada Beer for Drinking
In return for helping with the basement lights yesterday, I received a can of beer. For drinking.
Smells and tastes like pale malts and piney hops. Starts with a hop bite, then tapers off with some residual sweetness.
A 7 out of 10 I guess? I do think the beer is good, but I’d probably keep it as a beer if you want craft, but you also only want one.
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Local brewery. They’re not big enough to mass produce stuff, and they usually have limited runs or each that they rotate through. This is one of my favorites from them. Very hazy and juicy.
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Prairie Artisan Ales “Twist” Dry-Hopped Farmhouse Ale.
See my review above for the 'Merica beer by the same company, and turn the flavor profile down a notch, and increase the “dry” mouth feel by a little bit. Lower the ABV and you have this beer.
Lazy review is lazy. 7.5 out of 10, would drink again.
I got another can of that new low or no alcohol Budweiser beer that tastes great but I sure as heck didn’t pay for it as I will only drink liquor now as when I spend money on alcohol I want to get a buzz / drunk.
jack daniels, old granddad, wild turkey, and jim beam!
like the flavour.
cant drink much beer something in beer does not agree with my system and i get sicker than hell
never had a hangover but then again Im not a heavy drinker either.
Ugh, this one is not a favorite.
Vas Deferens Ale out of Ashland, Oregon.
It’s like they tried to put too much into one Belgian style malt beverage. 8% ABV, and verrrrry malty. Too much for my taste.
Notes of spices, vanilla, dark chocolate, dash of citrus, orange bitters, etc.
All of that, and they still managed to make it taste uninspired and kinda bland. The flavor is all there, but in equal parts where none stand out. It all just blends together with no separation of flavors. Leads to a bland drinking experience and makes this beer a chore to finish. Overall mouth feel is thick and malty.
5/10 not my cup of tea. Won’t get it again.
This one is way better than the last beer I tried.
Cascade Brewing “Noyaux Northwest Style Sour Ale” 2014 project. Out of Portland, Oregon.
This particular beer was made from sour Blonde Ale aged in oak wine barrels along with apricots and raspberries, for 24 months.
This beer has a wonderful taste of raspberries and apricots, with raspberries being the dominant flavor. It is not too sour, like most sour Ales that I have tried, in that the sour flavor is a little bit more subdued and it doesn’t attack your senses.
The beer smells of oak wine barrels (go figure, since that’s what they what it was aged in) , and the overall flavor profile has a tiny bit of oak wine flavor to it.
The initial taste is smooth, and transitions quickly to a sour raspberry and slight apricot flavor, then the after taste is a little dry with oak wine barrel taste to finish on.
Overall a great sour that has a great overall flavor profile and character. Did I mention this was 9.3% ABV at 750ML per bottle? Great to share, but I wouldn’t blame you if you finished it off yourself.
8.8/10, love this style and I will be looking for this again.
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this is the only beer ive ever enjoyed, is there anything better or similar i know nothing about beer
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Seems like it’s a “European Strong Lager” style beer.
I’m not familiar with that style at all (I like the dark and heavy stuff), but beeradvocate has compiled a pretty long list:
Nearing close to the Allagash tour, moderately excited.
If I’m allowed, anybody care about pictures? The tour is three hours long, so I could probably get a couple in there.
Only 4 days, 1 hour, and 36 minutes to go…