Saturday, October 19, 2013

Beer Club (October 18. 2013)


Despite heading into cooler weather, no dark styles in the mix this week. Not a problem.

• Arcadia IPA (Arcadia Brewing Company)
• Beyond the Pale Pale Ale (Fish Brewing Company)
• Caldera Pale Ale (Caldera Brewing Company)
• Hunchback (Evil Genius Beer Company)
• Just IPA (The Just Beer Project)
• Kind Ryed (Otter Creek Brewing)
• SweetWater IPA (SweetWater Brewing Company)

Sunday, September 22, 2013

Beer Club (September 20, 2013)


Two thirds of this week's offerings are from west of the Mississippi...

• Black IPA (Otter Creek Brewing)
• Flipside Red IPA (Sierra Nevada Brewing Company)
• India Pale Ale (Avery Brewing Company)
• King's Peak Porter (Uinta Brewing Company)
• Oktoberfest (Great Lakes Brewing Company)
• Vanilla Porter (Breckenridge Brewery)

Friday, July 12, 2013

Beer Club (July 12, 2013)



• All In Amber (Full Pint Brewing Company)
• Circus Boy (Magic Hat Brewing Company)
• Monkey Fist IPA (Shipyard Brewing Company)
• Raging Bitch Belgian-Style IPA (Flying Dog Brewery)
• Snapperhead IPA (Butternuts Beer & Ale)
• Stranger APA (Left Hand Brewing Company)
• Wildeman Farmhouse IPA (Flying Dog Brewery)


Monday, June 24, 2013

Beer Club (June 21, 2013)


Got a couple of repeats this week -- BUT we also had beers from three previously unrepresented breweries, including a collaboration between a nano and a micro out of eastern Maryland. The Beer Club continues to bring good drinking and new discoveries...

• Bedlam! IPA (Ale Asylum)
• Genesis Dry Hopped Session Ale (Shmaltz Brewing Company)
• Hop Mountain Pale Ale (Old Dominion Brewing Company)
• Loser IPA (Elysian Brewing Company)
• Scratch 'N Sniff Red Rye IPA (collaboration between Pub Dog Brewing and Baying Hound Aleworks)
• Seneca Indian Pale Ale (Mountain State Brewing Company)
• Sprung (Evolution Craft Brewing Company)

Saturday, May 25, 2013

Beer Club (May 24, 2013)


A nice variety of styles this week.

• He'Brew Messiah Nut Brown Ale (Shmaltz Brewing Company)
• Headwaters Pale Ale (Victory Brewing Company)
• Saranac Red IPA (Matt Brewing Company)
• Striped Bass Pale Ale (Devils Backbone Brewing Company)
• Sundog Amber Ale (New Holland Brewing)
• Tell Tale Red Ale (Scuttlebutt Brewing Company)

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Full Nelson Virginia Pale Ale (Blue Mountain Brewery)


American Craft Beer Week? Yeah, another commercially manufactured observance, but I'll play along. And it's been so long since I posted a review to this blog that I shouldn't turn down an excuse.

Tonight I am sampling Full Nelson Virginia Pale Ale from Blue Mountain Brewery out of Afton, Virginia. I have no foreknowledge of this brewery, so this beer will be my first impression. I am sampling it from a can, but the website reveals it is also available in 12 oz. bottles.

When poured into my tumbler, a massive quantity of foam was produced -- as in, the glass was basically full of it and I had to wait for it to collapse a bit before I could pour more from the can. The head is lovely and fluffy like sea foam, and just a slightly pink-tinged off-white. Honestly, I would say that this beer's ability to raise and sustain a head is one of its most remarkable qualities. The liquid itself is an appealing copper-amber color.

I am able to just detect the sweet, citrusy aroma at a distance of two feet. With my nose next to the glass, the smell is like a freshly sectioned grapefruit -- delicious!

The taste is good, too. Straight into an earthy hop flavor that does not completely obscure the barley backbone. Just behind the flavor peak is a distinct hop-derived fruitiness, then a slight re-emergence of grain as the bitterness really kicks in with the aftertaste. The mouthfeel has a nice weight to it, and the overall drinkability is high.

I like pale ales that are structured like this. Nothing mind-blowing going on here, but a commendable brew from this relatively new producer.

Get a load of all this copy on the can:

Nelson County: Yeah, we've been called Virginia's love child, and we're OK with that. Backwoods botanical experiments, hillbilly shine and mountain music... Not bad livin' when you consier it. So put a little authentic Virginia terroir in your mouth with a brew loaded with out farm-grown Cascade hops and deep-drawn foothills water. Got a bite, y'all.

Featured beer:
Full Nelson Virginia Pale Ale

Sunday, May 12, 2013

Beer Club (May 10, 2013)



• Baltimore Pale Ale (Full Tilt Brewing)
• Farmhouse Summer Ale (Flying Fish Brewing Company)
• Full Nelson Virginia Pale Ale (Blue Mountain Brewery)
• Oatmeal Stout (Breckenridge Brewery)
• Starr Pils (Starr Hill Brewery)
• Twisted Pine Hoppy Boy IPA (Twisted Pine Brewing Company)
• Wisteria Wheat (Fordham Brewing Company)