How Berry Delicious!

A terrible pun, I know.

Though it may not feel like it quite yet, Spring is almost upon us! I admit, I tasted these beers wayyy back during the NFL playoffs, and have been putting off this post until now. Today, I've got for you two Strawberry Beers - one, from our ever-favorite DE brewery Dogfish Head, and the other from UK-Based Samuel Smith Brewery.

Let's start off with the Tweason'ale. I picked this one up when Nick and I made a trip down to Delaware to visit his cousin and to make a stop at Dogfish Head's Ale house in Rehoboth Beach. Nothing's better than straight from the source!

This beer was admittedly not what I expected. It's sorghum-based, (gluten-free!) and includes strawberries and honey. The color is a predictable golden honey color, very clear and bubbly. The head was impressive, but dissipated quickly. It smells sweet, but not too sweet, as in "this definitely isn't a beer" sweet. As for the taste, the strawberry was not overwhelming at all, which made for a refreshing, lighter beer. Very drinkable. At a 6.0% ABV, this runs on the lighter side of DH's beers. Absolutely worth a try if you want a change of pace, and/or want to convince yourself that this beer is "healthy" ;) .

In my opinion, this is a great option for anyone with a gluten intolerance, but who still wants a crisp refreshing beer to drink. Once again, the artwork on the bottles and the 4-pack were super cute, a strawberry and honeybee falling in love? How cute!


Ugh, on to the next one. There's not much I can say about Samuel Smith's Organic Strawberry Fruit Ale. It smells like strawberry jam, tastes like strawberry soda....super duper sweet. 5.2% ABV. It's brewed with strawberry juice, though I'm not sure how great it ferments given how overpoweringly sweet it is. From the appearance, you can see the rich reddish color, and slightly beige head on it. But the beer-ness stops there. I can't even equate this to a wine...that's how sweet it is. Don't get me wrong, I drank it, but don't call it a beer...its a fermented fruit drink.

On the brewery website, they describe this beer as being a refreshing after-dinner beer for the summer. I guess, if I plan on drinking my dessert instead of eating it. For anyone who doesn't really like beer and prefers juice instead, here you go.

Happy Drinking!
-Maggie

Stone Vertical Epic 11.11.11

When I was 11 in early 2002, I wasn't thinking about craft beer. I'm pretty sure I was playing Pokemon and watching Cartoon Network. Stone Brewing Company based in Escondido, California, on the other hand, was thinking of craft beer. While I was learning long division, Stone was brewing up something special. You see, they weren't your average brewery. Oh no, they had bigger plans in mind.

Cue the Vertical Epic Ale series.

From 02.02.02 to 12.12.12., Stone has subsequently released a single brew on dates ending in consecutive numbers one year, one month, and one day apart. Stone has brewed eleven different beers all designed to complement one another in a gustatory symphony never seen by the likes of the craft beer world ever before. I managed to hop on the Vertical Epic train just as the ride was coming to an end. While the earliest brews are exceedingly rare, I was able to snag an 11.11.11 and a 12.12.12. This review will focus on the 11.11.11

I let this beer sit out of the fridge for a little while before I opened it up. It definitely needs to warm up a bit for you to truly appreciate the effort that went into this brew. I poured it into a pilsner glass and observed a light tan head, a hazy orange/brown-colored body and a lacing that quickly dissipated. While the head did stick around, the lacing did not - a bizarre combination. When I put my nose up to the glass, I instantly detected a boozy aroma (which made it seem a lot stronger than its 9.0% ABV would have lead me to believe) with tropical fruits, cinnamon, cloves, and a definite smell of a peppery spice that stung the nose a little.

Now, before I get into the taste, I want to have a quick sidebar about chili beers. I usually lump them into one of two categories - beer with chili as a novelty and beer with chili for actual flavor. The former category, contains beer such as Black Mountain Brewing's Cave Creek Chili Beer, the beer with an actual chili pepper inside the bottle. This beer is terrible and should be avoided at all costs. Try it once. You won't go back. The latter category contains beers like the 11.11.11. These beers are usually better.

With that out of the way, a strange combination of flavors flowed into my mouth. Chili peppers, bananas, cloves, cherries, and hops all combined in a spicy, sweet, and mildly bitter brew that I've never even come close to experiencing in another brew. This beer also drank very nice as a light-to-medium-bodied brew.


Having aged with grace, I'd highly recommend you find Stone's 11.11.11 if you can. My only regret was not holding out to see if I could find some of its older siblings, but with a little bit of digging and a little bit of luck, I'm sure I'll be able to try again.

Go A Few Rounds With Yards Brawler Ale

This post has been a long time in the making and for no reasons other than I'm lazy and school sucks. I have finally decided to write up a review for one of my favorite regular brews.  Being in Philadelphia has afforded me the opportunity to try some very excellent beers from the eastern Pennsylvania area, as well as Delaware and Maryland.  However, this one comes right from the "City of Brotherly Love", Philadelphia, more specifically Yards Brewing Company down along the Delaware River.

Anytime I think of Yards I immediately think of their Brawler Ale.  This is one of their year round available ales.  While very abnormal for craft beer it has a very low ABV coming in at only 4.2%.  This may have you thinking it is a very light and flavorless beer as mainstream beer marketing has unfortunately done.  However, it has a considerably robust and strong flavor, especially since it has such a low alcohol content.  It has a very caramely and almost bready taste to it with subtle hints of lemon or something citrusy at the end.  One would not find this flavor a shock if they did not know the ABV in advance though because it pours a very pretty dark red and brownish color that had a very light, almost white head (that was also very small). It is most certainly a session beer in that it is a very flavorful and filling beer, but drinking one of them will not severely impact your level or judgement and coherence. To me this means it's the perfect beer to have when doing homework and projects at night.  I can grab a few of these and drink them throughout the night and relax a bit without feeling drunk to the point of not being able to complete my work.

I absolutely love the labeling on this bottle as well as it has a classic style image of a manly man boxing a devilish creature.  They also give it the appropriate title of a Pugilist Style Ale (which after using the google machine means it is a "boxer" style ale).  You can certainly go a few rounds with this one.  For someone like myself who is on a somewhat restricted budget these were also great on my wallet not costing much more than a dollar and a half a beer (when purchased in a 6 pack), which I find to be very beneficial for my stomach, liver and wallet.

Hopslamdunk

It's been a little while since our last post, but sometimes life happens. Don't worry though, we haven't stopped trying new beers! Hopefully you've been keeping up with us on Facebook, Twitter, Untappd, and Instagram!

Image courtesy of bellsbeer.com

As we've rolled into February, a few things have happened. Of course, it's been cold - like, too cold to be enjoyable cold - but, this cold weather has also ushered in ton of seasonal brews. Many brewers are releasing hoppy beers from the hops that they picked and brewed at the end of summer. Bell's Brewery of Kalamazoo, Michigan is no exception. The yearly mid-winter release of their Hopslam Ale, a 10% ABV Double and Imperial IPA, is one of the American craft beer communities most sought-after brews.

Having tried Bell's Hopslam in 2012 out of a bottle (yes, I didn't even give Bell's the courtesy of drinking out of a glass), I knew it was good, but I really didn't know how good it could be. Luckily, my favorite watering hole, having recently updated their taps, manged to snag a keg of this year's Hopslam. Suffice it to say, I was stoked to get a fresh glass of the suds.

This beer is strikingly beautiful. It had a translucent, penny-colored body with minimal carbonation and a spectacular white head sat at about 1 finger width in the small goblet glass it was served to me in. The lacing would not budge. The aroma was extraordinary too. Fruitiness, floral tones, a faint sweetness (surely from the honey brewed into it), and the slightest hint of peaches and citrus came through for me. With a beer as strong as this one in the style it was brewed in, I expected it to have a more piney smell that I've been accustomed to with IPA's, but I could barely detect one. Maybe it's because I was coming off a cold, but I'll have to try it again to see if it's there.

The taste is what really makes Hopslam stand out. First off, the name is a dead giveaway as to what's to come. Your taste buds get slammed with hops. Although, not overwhelmingly bitter, it's immediately apparent that you're drinking a hoppy beer. As the smell dictated, fruity and floral tastes were right alongside the bitterness. I tasted a little bit of malt too and I was surprised that for being 10%, I could barely detect a boozy taste. Bell's also made some serious magic in their brewery, because this beer drank super smooth. These stronger beers are usually good for sipping, but I really could have pounded the Hopslam if I wanted to. I had to cut myself short every sip so that I wouldn't go through it too fast.

Bell's set the 2013 bar high with their Hopslam. I'm glad I was able to find it on tap, so I could truly experience a beer that has received so much praise. Between it's looks, taste, and drinkability, this brew is nearly perfect in every way. If you can, snag yourself a glass and try it. Don't be afraid to squirrel away a bottle too, as it can age for a few months!