Brew Tasting the Nineteenth

And we're back! We're gonna start the final stretch off with a new category of brew by an oh-so-familiar company - Southern Tier. Here's to a solid finish of the year. Listing after the break.

1) Southern Tier Back Burner

Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA

This is a personal review of mine. I've had the 120 Minute IPA (quite possibly the strongest brew I've ever had), so I figured I should try out the roots of this fine brew and half the brewing time.

It pours a very golden color with a simple head and transparent body. It has a fruity smell with oranges in the aroma but not much else. It tastes quite bitter - like any good IPA will. It has that classic hint of orange and tart as well. But, it has a pretty thing complexion. It goes in slightly carbonated and once the bubbles part, bitterness sets in with that slight orange taste.

As I've noted before, I'm probably not a huge fan of the IPAs unless the alcoholic content is so high, I can't notice the taste (in the case of the 120 Minute). This was a decent brew and it was really nice to have with pizza (the meal I had while I reviews this). Just, if you're not a big IPA guy, don't expect this to change your mind about them.

Appearance - 4
Smell - 3.6
Taste - 3.8
Texture - 3.7
Overall - 3.78/5

Konings Hoeven Quadrupel Trappist Ale

This is a speciality company that Fonnie suggested to me that makes classic Belgian Strong Ales. He got two of their wares as birthday brews from his father, so here we are now testing them.

It pours a nice amber color that is very transparent. It has a soft carbonation with a brilliant head. It smells of sweetness; honey, perhaps. It's rather mellow and has the standard trappist ale scent with a dash of hops. The taste comes in mellow, with a dash of honey. It moves onto a bitter taste from the roasted malts and a slight bite at the end from the alcohol. The texture is quite curious. It was very carbonated to start, has a quick transition to the end with the alcoholic bite. It leaves an aftertaste of the bitter malts.

Overall, a very interesting and well done trappist ale. It's not the best we've had, but we've had some very very good trappist ales. For the untrained tongue, a fantastic intro to the trappist ale category.

Appearance - 4
Smell - 4.1
Taste - 3.7
Texture - 3.8
Overall - 3.9/5

Konings Hoeven Quadrupel Trappist Ale

Another Quadrupel, which is probably my favorite style, lets see how this holds up since it is the first beer from this brewery that I've had. Like all brews in this style it has a rather high ABV and comes in at 10%. It pours dark amber brown with a nice robust off-white head. It is extremely carbonated. The aroma is of golden malts, honey, wheat, I can't smell the alcohol at all. The taste is very similar to the smell and quite nice all around: honey, dark malts, dark fruits, and has a slight alcohol sting at the end. Very smooth and an all around good Quadrupel, I would recommend to anyone wanting to try something with a kick but as smooth as ice (should be everyone).

Appearance - 4.2

Smell - 3.8

Taste - 4.2

Texture - 4.0

Overall - 4.05/5

Brew Tasting the Eighteenth

Continuing on...more reviews. This will be our last one before Thanksgiving break. We might have a couple solo reviews between now and then but no promises. Listing after the break.

1) Konings Hoeven Quadrupel Trappist Ale