This here is an anniversary ale from the folks at Highland. Being (nearly) born and bred in Asheville, I have a special place in my heart for Highland. I’ve always enjoyed their brews, and they bring to mind images of good times in the mountains. While it isn’t exactly a cold winter night right now (perfect for an English-style old ale), I’m still anxious to give this one a taste.

The pour here is a cloudy brown color – almost chocolaty in both color and consistency – with a thin caramel head that leaves traces all down the sides of the glass. In the nose, this beer is fairly nondescript – there are metallic hints, a slight bite of aniseed, and just a tiny bit of chocolate, but altogether not nearly as aromatic as I expected. In the mouth, however, this brew really begins to shine. Right at the front of the mouth, we get some bright fruity sweetness reminiscent of dark cherry. As the beer begins to traverse the tongue, much richer flavors evolve, including a very rich malt and some developing lighter chocolate. Through the mouth, this richness evolves exceptionally, giving this beer a huge mouthfeel and great flavor. Some of that early dark fruit flavor even continues to build, providing hints of grape towards the back of the mouth. The aftertaste of this is also a treat – thick, rich, and warm, it sticks around for a solid minute after the beer is gone. Overall, I’d consider this a good take on the genre. I haven’t had a lot of “old ales”, and I feel like the variety leaves some room for interpretation, but this is big and rich and continues to warm you with its high abv down the throat. This may just be a one-off brew from the folks at Highland, but I’d consider it quite a success.

Author: Ben
Categories: Beer Reviews, Highland, Old Ale
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Seriously, folks, am I the only person here who pretty much only drinks Red Stripe because of the excellent bottle? I mean, it’s not a *bad* beer, but it’s also not a great beer. But somehow, some way, that stubby little bottle makes the stuff so darn refreshing on hot day. Well, this is the main reason I was so excited to run upon North Peak brewing company out of Traverse City, Michigan. I’m sure they don’t get quite so many balmy days in Traverse City as they do in Kingston, but that doesn’t mean they can’t still bottle their brews in stubby little bottles.

I can’t tell you exactly what this beer looks like, because I’m not willing to pour it out of the bottle unless it’s going straight into my mouth. However, from holding the bottle up to a light, I can tell you that there is plenty of debris in here and a nice cake of yeast settled to the bottom of the bottle. The aroma seems sweet and light, with some candy-like hints to go with the light bready scent. In the mouth, I find this beer very tasty. The flavor isn’t anything new to fans of the variety, though it does seem to skew to the Bavarian take on the genre. There is plenty of light wheat sweetness here, some lighter-than-average banana hints, and a greater-than-usual candy sweetness. The candy flavors taste a bit like someone crumbled up a SweetTart or two and sprinkled it in – but just a couple. It isn’t overwhelming, and has just enough tartness to it to enhance the thirst quenching effect. Overall, I’d kill to have a six-pack of this stuff beside me on a beach somewhere. Maybe a Majestic in one hand and a bocce ball in the other? Yeah, that’d do just fine…

Author: Ben
Categories: Beer Reviews, North Peak, Wheat Ale
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Honestly, I wasn’t even planning to review this particular beer. But then I realized that there is a two-headed winged demon goat on the label. So I decided I’d better say something about it.

This brew pours a super dark, though not terribly viscous, deep brown with a light caramel head and tons of coffee bean in the nose. In the mouth, this beer brings forth tons of sweetness at the front of the tongue, full of toffee, caramel, and coffee flavors – practically a boozy version of Starbuck’s latest dessert creation. Along with the sweetness, there is a decent bready malt complement, giving this a rather thick mouthfeel despite the lack of thickness in texture. Through the mouth, the sweetness maintains and lasts long into the aftertaste, making this a rather unilateral flavor experience. However, I can’t deny that the flavor in question is absolutely delicious. I was initially blown away by how tasty this beer is, and I’m still enjoying it towards the end of the bottle. However, I could see the benefit of a more pronounced bitter flavor to balance things out.

It’s interesting to find a coffee doppelbock, which is actually a variety of lager. In general, we’re accustomed to seeing coffee paired with ales such as stouts or porters. I’m not sure if this contributes to the more focused flavor profile, but it’s worth noting. Nevertheless, I’m just being a devil’s advocate here (a two headed goat devil, perhaps). This is altogether a fabulous beer, and one I would highly recommend, especially on a cold snowy night like tonight and every recent night here in Michigan. Dark Horse has yet to let me down – their beers are consistently excellent and robust, and their label art is yet to disappoint. I’m hoping to fit in a couple more before my sentence here in MI is complete…

Author: Ben
Categories: Beer Reviews, Dark Horse, Doppelbock
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(I originally wrote this review of “The Naked Pint” as a guest post on A Blog About Beer. For those that missed that post, here it is on Sevenpack.)

When I think “beer book” I envision an oversized book found on one’s coffee (or beer) table, filled with glossy pages of beer bottles standing next to their beery contents poured exquisitely into proper, typically brewery and/or beer labeled, glassware (i.e. beer porn photos). Sure the photos are accompanied by tasting notes, and occasionally brief descriptions of the beer’s history, but with so many beers the words seem to mesh together after awhile (though some books do pull off the beer and pictures theme quite well). Well The Naked Pint is nothing like that. Okay, “nothing” is a bit too strong because the book does contain some tasting notes. Besides the few ink sketches however, there are no beer photos to speak of, so you will have to go elsewhere for your beer porn.

What The Naked Pint lacks in pictures, it makes up for in beer knowledge. Do not get me wrong, this book is not the end all be all of beer tomes. It does however give the craft beer beginner a very good start into craft beer culture. It also provides a good reference point for craft drinkers who want to learn a bit more history about the beers they have been drinking, or venture into other aspects of craft beer culture.

The book starts out simply enough with beer’s ingredients, how those ingredients become beer, and what those ingredients add to beer’s taste. The authors also discuss lagers vs ales, IBUs, ABVs, beer bar etiquette, mouth feel and criteria for a great beer. The book then moves onto beer styles. The styles start with the most accessible (Pilsners, Hefes, etc) and culminate with the most adventurous (wild ales,
IIPA, etc). I found this to be the best section of the book, and fortunately it was the longest. The styles were not overly esoteric, with someone being able to bump into them at a good beer store or craft beer bar. The book describes each style’s tasting points and it delves into the style’s history, introducing both sides if there is debate about said history. Then it lists two to five beers (depending on the style’s popularity) representative of the style, with short one to two sentence tasting notes. Though all “representative beers” are probably not available to all readers, I felt obtaining one per style would not be too much of a hassle (though MA has pretty good beer distribution, so people’s experiences will vary). In all, enough information was provided to whet my appetite but not so much as to bog me down with the minutia of style information. I found this kept the book moving and provided a nice jumping off point for further style history investigation if I was so inclined.

With the styles out of the way next came talk of glassware, stocking one’s fridge, and brief points on aging. One thing that irked me was the fact the authors write that only a wine fridge will do for beer storage and not some college dorm fridge. Ahem. Sure it is not as pretty as a wine fridge but it certainly is less expensive, especially if such a fridge was left over from said college years. Anyway, only a minor gripe.

Next the book rolls along into beer and food. The book discusses beer and food “pairings” and though it gives some specific examples of pairings, it gives more general hints then anything else and leaves the topic with a “try it yourself and experiment” vibe. The book also provides a bunch of recipes with beer as an ingredient. The recipes look promising, if not a little daunting, but I have yet to cook any of them.

From cooking, the book moves to home brewing, discussing the tools, vocabulary, and steps of home brewing. The book even includes some home brew recipes. As the book concludes it discusses ideas on how to entertain with beer (tasting parties, beer dinners, etc) and further beer reading resources.

Though the book is written more for the “new to craft beer” person, I still found intriguing little tid-bits of information scattered through out. I also believe the book makes a nice quick reference source due to the book’s general knowledge and extensive index. I do wish the book provided a full list of all the beers mentioned in the styles section, because that list would make a real handy reference too (maybe in a follow up version). The book also got me more interested in beer history, which led me to include The Zythophile and Shut up About Barclay Perkins in my RSS feed. Overall I enjoyed reading the book and found it quite entertaining.

Author: Dave
Categories: Beer Reviews
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Here’s another new (to me) beer from the folks at Short’s. Again, I haven’t had *too* many beers from this brewery – each time has been in a pub while passing through Michigan. However, I also can’t claim to have ever tasted a bad Short’s beer. Like many Michigan breweries, they seem to float under the national radar while putting out fantastic beers. I hope this one lives up to my expectations!

The Soft Parade pours a lovely deep rose color – hazy with just a hint of brown in an otherwise pinkish glass of beer. The head on this is more-or-less white, though some caramel tints also present themselves. In the nose, this beer is fruity and acidic with hints of berries galore – it smells super refreshing. The flavor confirms this suspicion. Rather than being syrupy sweet, this beer leans more towards a tart acidity no doubt lent by the combination of blue, straw, rasp, and black berries that went into it. The initial sensation is a light burn on the tongue, followed by some sourness that makes you pucker up a bit. Shortly thereafter, however, the berry sweetness begins to shine through subtly, balancing the flavor of the beer. That sweetness sits on the tongue long into the aftertaste, while the acidic sourness blazes down the tongue and throat, diminishing quite fast after the beer is gone. This beer is just aching for a summer day (not the ‘severe snow conditions’ we’re currently experiencing here) – I’d place it right up there with a good saison ale on the refreshment level. In fact, this reminds me a lot of a homebrew that Matty and I did last summer – a witbier brewed with raspberries. To be honest, it didn’t come out as sweet or delectable as we’d hoped, but the sourness and subtle fruit made it a big hit on a warm day – I feel like the Soft Parade accomplishes much the same.

Did I mention both the label art and the name are swell? I’ll let you figure out the title reference…

Author: Ben
Categories: Beer Reviews, Fruit Ale, Short's
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Hey folks,

I know it’s been a long time since I rapped at ya, but life’s dealt a few busy months for the Ben – too busy even to write about his favorite libations. However, I now find myself spending a few weeks around Michigan and, knowing how many delicious brews this state produces, I could hardly stand to sit idly by and not document a few of ‘em. So, I apologize for my absence… I can’t promise that I’ll be such a frequent visitor as I have been in past years, but I’ll do my best to let you know when I find something I find new and delicious.

Tonight I’m sipping on a tasty Scotch ale with a pretty sweet name – the Scotty Karate. This comes from the folks at Dark Horse. Frankly, I haven’t had a lot of beers from this brewery – in fact, I think the only place I’ve ever enjoyed their beers is at Foran in downtown Detroit (my favorite pub IN THE WORLD).

This one pours a deep brown color with some translucence around the edges of the glass and a fluffy off-white head. The aroma here is full of dark chocolaty malt and displays a bit more molasses than I usually expect from a Scotch ale. In the mouth, this is certainly a larger than usual Scotch, as well. The mouthfeel is instantly thick and viscous on the tongue, and a rich molasses sweetness washes over the tastebuds. As the beer develops through the mouth, this flavor never really dissipates – rather, it is simply joined by a few sweet dark malt flavors and a balancing bitterness that is earthy and redolent of aniseed. Down the throat, the flavor sticks around rich and dessert-like. It’s a very tasty beer for those who appreciate this genre, and it’s size and richness only increase as the beer warms – eventually reaching a critical mass worthy of the 9.5% abv on the label. Another tasty offering from Dark Horse – I hope I’m able to try out a few more of their beers over my coming weeks here in Michigan…

Author: Ben
Categories: Beer Reviews, Dark Horse, Scottish Ale
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