Firestone Walker 14

There has been quite a hiatus with this blog, but I'm glad to see we are breaking that silence with a beer like this.

The pour is pretty darn close to black with a small tan head. Some ruby notes can be seen around the edges of the glass. The aroma is quite strong with notes of thick bready malts, hints of chocolate, and just a pinch of dark fruits. Flavor is heavy on the bourbon with some sweet bitterness in the finish. Dark fruits, molasses, caramel malts, and spice in the finish. Texture is quite boozy but it balances out very nicely with the sweetness of the body.

Appearance - 4.0
Smell - 4.2
Taste - 3.9
Texture - 3.6
Overall - 3.93/5

Founders Canadian Breakfast Stout

I've been waiting over a year to get my hands on this. Luckily Rattle N' Hum in NYC had a Founders event a little while back and I was able to try a full glass of it.

The pour is dark dark brown with a thin beige head. Great lacing and slight carbonation bubbles throughout the tasting. Aroma is of cream, brown sugar, oak, chocolate, and some booze. Flavor is sharp from the bourbon at first but is much more mellow than the Kentucky Breakfast Stout and transitions nicely into a sweet smokey maple finish. Great mouth-feel. The maple syrup balances out the bourbon instead of overpowering it with sweetness.

If you are a fan of the regular Breakfast Stout and find the KBS to be a little too strong for your liking you have to do yourself a favor and go out of your way to try this, it is damn close to perfection.

Appearance - 4.2
Smell - 4.0
Taste - 4.3
Texture - 4.7
Overall - 4.30/5

Keegan Ales Old Capital

I went to a local liquor store and they had a chance to build your own 6-pack. So I grabbed a bunch of single bottles and this is one of the ones I got.

This beer pours gold, transparent, and produces a nice white head but it collapses on itself quickly. The nose is slightly hoppy but has no other characteristics - disappointing. The taste indicates very smooth malts, slight hints of hops, but not much else. Texture is very carbonated but very smooth and drinkable - ie: bland.

Drinkability is the slogan of Coors Light - that doesn't bode well for this. It's not bad, but it's nothing you should go in search of. I was a little disappointed.

Appearance - 3.3
Smell - 2.6
Taste - 3.2
Texture - 2.7
Overall - 2.95/5

Anchor Liberty Ale

Anchor has an excellent reputation of making solid, reputable beers for a low price in high quantity. I'm here now to try out one of their most recommended offerings - the Liberty Ale.

Beer pours very golden and transparent with a nice, thick, white head. The nose is of smooth hops, light barley and sweetness. The mouth is hoppy, but not bitter. It has a slight vibe of IPA but it's not nearly citrus-y or bitter enough. The texture is quite smooth and frothy. It has excellent flow in the mouth and there's no abrupt changes in any characteristic.

There's nothing hugely outward of this beer, but it's a standard ale, and a very well-produced one at that. I've yet to have a bad sampling of the Liberty Ale and I'd say it's one of the most solid of the easily-attainable ales - highly recommended.

Appearance - 3.5
Smell - 3.5
Taste - 3.6
Texture - 3.5
Overall - 3.53/5

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