Weyerbacher Imperial Pumpkin Ale

An imperial pumpkin ale... interesting. This brew pours light brown with some orange and red tint thrown in. The white head is barely a ring around the top of the glass and fades into good lacing. The aroma is of pumpkin pie, coriander, cloves, cinnamon, caramel. It is a tad sweet but very spicy with a lot of yeast notes. The flavor is of slight pumpkin with a touch of spiciness much like the aroma. A lot more watery and light-bodied than I was expecting at 8% alcohol with an extremely dry finish.

Appearance - 3.4
Smell - 3.9
Taste - 3.4
Texture - 3.2
Overall - 3.48/5

Harpoon Leviathan Belgian Quad

I think this will be our first review from Harpoon Brewery from Boston. If it does well then I will try to get some more from them to review. The pour is semi-translucent brown/red with a thin white head that fades quickly into a small ring around the glass. The aroma is of plums, grapes, alcohol, caramel, and berry syrup. Flavor is of sharp alcohol at first but transitions into bitter/sour fruits and cane sugar in the finish. Dry and medium/heavy bodied.

Not bad, but not very good for the style.

Appearance - 3.5
Smell - 3.9
Taste - 3.2
Texture - 3.2
Overall - 3.45/5

Breckenridge Vanilla Porter

I enjoy vanilla flavors quite a bit, so when I saw this beer showcased at a local liquor store, I was dying to try it. Nice hearty porter with vanilla? Count me in.

Beer pours very dark with a slight red tint and opaque characteristics. It has a nice, full head and produces good lacing on the glass. It smells of, you guessed it, vanilla. Also hints of roasted malts, bits of dark chocolate and hints of dark fruits. This beer has a classic porter taste at the beginning, spicy, roasted tongue in the middle and a very strong, vanilla finish. Wonderful flow of flavors. The texture is bitter in the middle due to the malts but the finish is very smooth. It also seems a little frothy and airy.

Overall, a very solid beer and something very good for the winter or early spring. Nice and heavy and solid flavor. No real downsides to this beer.

Appearance - 4.0
Smell - 4.2
Taste - 4.0
Texture - 3.7
Overall - 3.98/5

Delirium Noel

Kind of a strange time to review a Christmas beer on this site, oh well, screw it.

Pours light brown with a slight orange tint throughout and a thin white head. Lacing is decent and it appears to be quite carbonated. Aroma is straight forward for a Belgian ale: cloves, grapes, plums, bananas, vanilla. The taste is kicked off with some initial sweetness but then grows spicier. Some slight alcohol throughout and a clean dry finish. Medium bodied with good carbonation.

Appearance - 3.5
Aroma - 3.8
Taste - 3.6
Texture - 3.6
Overall - 3.63/5

Monks Café Flemish Sour Red Ale

I've been holding on to this for a while but haven't had a chance to try it yet. This beer is actually made by Brouwerij Van Steenberge but in the united states it is sold as Monks Cafe Flemish Sour Red Ale so I will be reviewing that version of it (if there is a difference).

This brew pours dark brown with a slight red tint and a thin just-off-white head. The aroma is quite strong with notes of sweet cherries, lactic acid, and a touch of vinegar. Flavor is quite mellow compared to the aroma with a slightly sour cherry start and a strong malty/sweet finish. A tad thin, light to medium bodied and a decent amount of carbonation. If you are a fan of the sweeter wild ales then this is worth a try if you can find it.

Appearance - 3.5
Smell - 3.8
Taste - 4.2
Texture - 4.0
Overall - 3.88/5