Tag Archives: craft beer

March 16, 2014 · 12:04 pm

Wookey Jack (beer)

Wookey Jack is a craft beer from California’s Firestone Walker Brewing Co. I decided to try it because I’m a nerd and the name reminds me of Star Wars. The label says it’s a Black Rye IPA but Beeradvocate.com says it’s an American Black Ale. They need to make up their minds. It pours a dark brown, almost black, with a thick tan head that lingers for a while. It has an intriguing aroma. I get citrus hops, roasted malt, rye, spice, and maybe a little chocolate. The flavor profile is a good balance between hops and malt, and spicy rye. I also taste bitter chocolate and a hint of smoke. It has an 8.3% alcohol content, so your head will be buzzing pleasantly after a couple of sips. This is a very satisfying beer with lots of flavor and personality. I suggest that you try it. But I won’t take it personally if you don’t.

Critically Rated at 15/17

Written, Rated, and Reviewed by Brendan H. Young

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February 26, 2014 · 12:40 pm

Dubbel Fisted (beer)

Vista, California’s Iron Fist Brewing Company presents Dubbel Fisted, a Belgian Style Dubbel. This is a pretty hefty craft beer, rich in flavor and aroma, and with a relatively high 8.10% alcohol content. It pours a cloudy, dark amber with a thin tan head. It smells of plums, chocolate, caramel, nuts, and malt, maybe a little spice as well. It tastes great, malty and rich with brown sugar. I also get hints of plum, caramel, chocolate, molasses, and spice. It’s the first beer I’ve tried from Iron Fist, and it made a great first impression. I can’t wait to try their other offerings. It’s always awesome discovering a new brewery making amazing libations. Try Dubbel Fisted if you get the chance.
Critically Rated at 14/17
Written, Rated, and Reviewed by Brendan H. Young

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February 11, 2014 · 11:53 am

Matt’s Burning Rosids

Matt’s Burning Rosids is a Saison/Farmhouse Ale from Stone Brewing Co. It’s called Matt’s Burning Rosids in honor of Matt Courtright, who worked at Stone Brewing who passed away in 2013. This beer is brewed in his memory and uses his recipe. They encourage you to drink it to celebrate life and laughter and good friends. I think I will take them up on that. This is a great craft beer, brewed with cherrywood-smoked malt, which lends it a slightly woody and sweet malty aroma with scents of banana, cloves, and spice. I can taste bitter hops, bananas, cloves, smoke, wood, citrus, pepper, and spice. It has a 10.5% ABV, which is pretty impressive because the beer doesn’t taste boozy. It’s not the best beer I’ve had, but it’s one of the most interesting beers I’ve had. It’s best enjoyed inside on a cold rainy day.

Critically Rated at 14/17

Written, Rated, and Reviewed by Brendan H. Young

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January 9, 2014 · 9:59 am

New Dogtown Pale Ale

New Dogtown is a pale ale from Petaluma’s Lagunitas Brewing Company. It’s a pretty standard American pale ale. It’s hoppy, it’s malty, and it’s delicious. It has a floral and citric nose with prevalent hops. It has a bready malt taste, it’s kind of sweet, but it’s balanced by bitter pine and citric hops. There’s a slight hint of caramel, resin, and flowers. It’s 6.2% alcohol, pretty standard for a craft brewed pale ale. Overall New Dogtown is a very satisfying pale ale. It’s not too complex but it’s not boring either. This is what you should expect from a pale ale. It’s a great template/standard and you should compare other pale ales to this one. It’s hard for Lagunitas to do any wrong.

Critically Rated at 14/17

Written, Rated, and Reviewed by Brendan H. Young

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December 20, 2013 · 11:10 am

Betrayal Imperial Red Ale

Betrayal Imperial Red Ale is a limited series beer brewed by San Francisco’s Speakeasy Ales & Lagers. It has a nice balance of toasty and caramel malts with piney and citrus hops in the nose. It has a very sweet flavor, mostly of chocolate and caramel malts with a little bitter pine hops to even it out. It’s not too carbonated, making it very drinkable and smooth. The 8.2% alcohol content makes it a well-rounded red ale, and worth trying for anybody who enjoys quality craft beers. The artwork on the label is cool too. There’s a seductive young flapper gazing over her shoulder and it seems as though she’s looking right at you. It seems innocent enough, until you notice the silhouette of fedora-wearing man in her hand mirror. There’s something scandalous going on, and you’re going to have to buy the beer to see what the betrayal is all about.

Critically Rated at 13/17

Written, Rated, and Reviewed by Brendan H. Young

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December 15, 2013 · 6:18 pm

Oaktown Brown Ale

Oaktown Brown Ale is a bold & soulful American brown ale from San Jose, California’s Calicraft Brewing Co. It has a rich malty aroma with hints of roast coffee, nuts, chocolate, caramel, and oak. It smells like it has a lot of flavor, but the first sip is disappointing. I can taste coffee, nuts, wood, roasted malts, chocolate, caramel, and toffee but it’s too thin and feels watered down. It’s not exciting. It’s bland. And you don’t want your craft beer to be bland. It has a 6.7% alcohol content, which is decent but not good. There’s not anything special about this beer. There’s nothing terrible about it, but I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone and I definitely wouldn’t expect to be hailed as a hero for bringing it to a party. It’s a boring and forgettable beer. Even the label is boring. The only reason to try it is to say that you tried it. And that’s not a good enough reason.

Critically Rated at 9/17

Written, Rated, and Reviewed by Brendan H. Young

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December 4, 2013 · 11:17 am

Dogfish Head 90 Minute Imperial IPA

Dogfish Head was one of the first craft brewers to really explode and kick off the current beer renaissance that we are enjoying today. Their 90 Minute Imperial IPA has won them awards and recognition from beer drinkers from all over the world. A lot of people say it is a perfect IPA. You can’t consider yourself a beer buff if you’ve never tried it. It has a well balanced aroma of hops and malt, flowers and honey. The flavor is pine and citrus hops, bready malt, and hints of coffee and caramel. It goes down clean, creamy, and smooth. It’s very well-rounded and you can’t even notice the 9.0% alcohol content. This is a gateway beer. Once you try a premium craft beer like this, you can’t go back to that mass-produced lager bullshit.

Critically Rated at 16/17

Written, Rated, and Reviewed by Brendan H. Young

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December 2, 2013 · 11:00 am

Double Bastard Ale

Double Bastard Ale is the older brother to Stone Brewing’s Arrogant Bastard Ale. It’s an American Strong Ale with a hearty 11.2% ABV. Long story short, it gets you drunk. It smells of coffee, chocolate, pine, bourbon, and toasted malt. It’s very bitter on the tongue. Like shockingly bitter. You should take a deep breath and mentally prepare yourself before you take your first swig. It’s almost like biting into a lemon. You can taste pine and citrus hops, caramel and coffee malts, and dark fruits. My one complaint is that it’s almost too boozy. It tastes too much like alcohol on the first couple of sips. It settles down eventually though, and each sip seems to get better. This is a genuine craft beer, full of flavor and personality. But I still think Arrogant Bastard is a little better.

Critically Rated at 14/17

Written, Rated, and Reviewed by Brendan H. Young

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