Beer Review: Cigar City Sea Bass

Kick his ass...

I got this bottle of Sea Bass from my friend Greg in a trade about a month ago during our epic beer weekend. It's been in the fridge in the on-deck status since then. This only the second brew from Cigar City for me. I pulled this from the fridge on Friday evening as my wife requested a Saison. She's a big fan of the style, and I have become rather fond of it recently. I figured that this would be a nice refreshing treat.

Poured in to a Duvel tulip. It appears brown, slightly translucent with a mega foamy off-white-almost-tan head and constant carbonation streams coming from sediment. The carb streams continued heavily throughout the entire tasting, about 30 minutes. I was disappointed in the extremely subtle aroma. I was expecting more of a spice presence and got some light sour fruit aromas.

On to the tasting. Whoa. Crazy funky tart from the very beginning, almost from before it even hits the lips and tongue. I was definitely not expecting that. I was picking up tart cherries, sour grapes and bitter grapefruit. The bitter citrus note surprised me quite a bit. As it warmed it got kind of a creamy smooth middle. It finishes with a long and sour tart aftertaste. I would not recommend drinking this cooler than 50-55 degrees Fahrenheit. I found all of the flavors much more enjoyable as it warmed. I should not have stored this in the fridge, rather I should have cellared it and chilled for 20-30 minutes prior to the tasting.

This beer really threw me for a loop. As I said before, I haven't had many from Cigar City so I'm not sure if this is standard practice for them. I'm a long time fan of the loose style of the Saison. But, from the very beginning of the pour through the end of the last sip I struggled to find any obvious saison characteristics. If you go in to this tasting with the same mind set that you would an American wile ale, you will love it. For that style I thought it was very good. I know nothing on the background of this specific brew, but was something wild let loose inside?

Beer Review: Harpoon UFO Raspberry Hefeweizen

Refreshing and tasty

I enjoyed this pint of UFO Raspberry Hefeweizen from Harpoon last week at Metropolitan in Baltimore. It was the first time in a while for me for this beer. This sweet treat came to me in Flying Dog pint glass. Love the local brewery shout out!

It appears pinkish orange with a thin white head and steady carbonation streams. UFO smells of tart raspberry with just a hint of fruity sweetness. No surprise there, but sometime no news is good new. The flavors up front and in the middle are of creamy bread sweetness with raspberry note. The raspberry influence is obvious but not over done. In my opinion this is should be the goal of any adjunct ingredients. It finishes tart and bitter. For a deliberately fruity hefe, this is perfectly balance in my opinion.

This is a very good beer for what it is. If you like fruit wheats, this is one of the better brews out there for you. Perfectly balanced flavor profile, unique in color and easy to drink. I picture this is an excellent Summer beer. Now...if only it came in cans...

Beer Review: An evening with two IPAs from Flying Dog. Snake Dog & Single Hop Imperial IPA with Simcoe.

Last Friday I picked up the Flying Dog Alpha Dog mixed 12 pack from Cindy's in Elkridge, MD for about $21. This box includes three each of the Single Hop Imperial IPA with Simcoe, Raging Bitch Belgian-Style IPA, Snake Dog IPA, and Doggie Style Classic Pale Ale. I've long been a fan of their brews. I bought this pack for the new Imperial IPA. I really dislike the fact that I had to buy 9 other bottles of beer, when all I really wanted was the new one. But, the other three are pretty decent on their own, so there's no real loss.


Up first was the Snake Dog IPA. The 12 oz bottle is stamped "221A11", which I poured into a Weyerbacher tulip. From what I can figure that means that it is "best by" August 9th, 2011 and bottled on March 22nd, 2011, making this bottle about six weeks old at the time of this tasting. Not super fresh, but certainly not stale. I may have misread or miscalculated these dates, I welcome corrections.

Snake Dog IPA

It appears copper and slightly hazy with a fluffy white head and decent light lacing. The medium bubbled head sticks around through the tasting. The aroma is not as pronounced as I had hoped. I'm picking up very light grassy aromas and only a faint note of some hop bitterness. It tastes of sharp citrus bitterness up front, like very bitter grapefruit. There is an earthy feel to it as the burnt sugar sweet middle sets in. It finishes with a long slow tart flavor.

This feels to me like a good entry level IPA. It's not overly complex or bitter and is well balanced between sweet and bitter. The aroma left a lot to be desired, but the flavor profile is good. I'd have to assume that a fresher bottle would have a much more robust aroma. The 7+% alcohol content cannot be found at all which makes this very easy to drink.

Next up was the Single Hop Imperial IPA with Simcoe. From what I can tell this is the second in the series, the first showcasing the El Dorado variety. I've been enjoying reading about many of the single hop IPAs that have been coming to the craft beer market recently. My buddies and I have tossed around the idea of having a Mikkeller night to try out all 10 brews in his single hop IPA series. Being a home brewer apprentice I can find some scientific value in an event like this. I've also seen that the folks up in Boston are doing a similar project in the context of a mixed 12 pack of their Latitude 48 Deconstructed IPAs, showcasing five different hop varieties in the same IPA base.

Imperial IPA with Simcoe

This 12 oz bottle is stamped "227A11" which I poured in to a Pirat tulip. Using the same "Julian minus 140 days" logic that I used above puts this "best by" August 15th, 2011 and bottled on March 28th, 2011, making this bottle about 5 weeks old at the time of this tasting. This appears to be about one week fresher that the Snake Dog bottles in this pack.

It pours almost clear light copper/faded orange with a fine bubbled fluffy white head and constant carbonation streams. The lacing is very heavy and sticky showing evidence of some decent head retention. It smells creamy, almost of sweet dairy. There are some faint bitter notes. This is another IPA from Flying Dog whose aroma does not impress me one bit. As I sip on it I am surprised by a balanced flavor profile. At 70 IBUs I wasn't expecting this to be a super bitter bomb. The bitter and sweet is superbly balanced, hiding all flavors of alcohol and allowing the beer to maintain some depth. At 10% alcohol by volume, this is no small feat. The hop bitterness appears up front, settles in creamy and sweet and fades away leaving a light reminder of what was just had. The flavors aren't overly complexed, but this was expecting coming from a single hop recipe.

I'm impressed with this beer, and very happily so. It feels extremely well balanced. The stats on this beer would lead you to believe that it will punch you in the face with bitter hops and alcohol, but it doesn't. It's very easy and enjoyable to drink. You'll feel all warm and fuzzy after one. Don't forget that this one is part of Flying Dog's Canis Major "big" beer series. It's a true ass kicker in disguise.

So there you have it, a fun Tuesday night sipping on some fine Maryland craft brewed IPAs. Don't forget to support your local brewers. Buy their beers. Advocate for them. Introduce them to your friends. Go take the tour. Talk to their brewers. Enjoy!

Beer Review: Benelux Archangel Ale

What's it's all aboot, eh?

I had Benelux Archangel Ale on tap at Metropolitan in Baltimore, MD last Thursday evening. This was my first visit here. I'd heard good reviews of this place and have been following the bar on Twitter for some time now. Archangel was my first beer of the evening. My wife, Erin had this a few weeks back at Frisco Taphouse and remembered enjoying it. I'm not always jumping for a Belgian Pale Ale, but I figured I'd give this one a shot since I'd never seen it on tap before.

It came to me hazy gold with a fluffy white head with mild carbonation streams and not much lacing to speak of. It smells mildly sweet with a yeasty spice. Almost like a very mild and subdued Saison. On the first sip a mild bitterness is present and settles in to a sweet and creamy middle. As it warms a tart and almost rooty note appears with a few grassy flavors. It finishes with a faded hoppy bitterness. The overall profile is very clean with each unique flavor element having it's own chance to shine. This is a rare feat in the beer world, at least in my experience.

Overall I was pleased with this beer. Felt like a nice treat. At $9 a pint its kind of pricey, but for a full pint of an imported craft beer it's not totally outrageous. It's totally worth the money, but only every once in a while. Thanks the fine brewers at Benelux Brewpub & Café in Quebec for sending this goodie down South to party. Now, is it really a retired brew? If so, that's too bad.

Beer Review: Avery & Russian River Collaboration Not Litigation Ale Vintage 2008

Haven't seen you in three years.

My Amish friend Josh brought this bottle of Collaboration Not Litigation to share with my wife and I. Josh rarely brings over anything besides chips, plates and napkins. So, we were pleasantly surprised that he brought this along with several other choice goodies. This beer has a very cool story behind it. Google it! Two breweries, same name, different beer. Mix 'em. Boom! (said as Frank Caliendo as John Madden). I had this back when it was fresh in 2008. Very interested in trying it again nearly three years later.

It pours hazy ruby brown with an off-white head and sticky lacing. There is not much head retained through the tasting, but some sticky lacing hangs around. It smells yeasty, fruity, bready sweet with light roasty and chocolate notes. It tastes of gingerbread and roasted coffee up front with a fruity tart middle and a long sweet and sour finish. It feels thin for the flavor and color profile. I was expecting a big sticky chewy beer. Not at all. I'm not sure if this is a good thing or not. It's just different. 

As I remembered it, Collaboration is a very enjoyable beer. It's somewhat heavy on the palate due to complex sweet and sour elements. But, the 8+% alcohol content is very well hidden. Thanks again to Josh for bringing this fine brew over and spending the evening with Erin and I.

Beer Review: JW Lees Harvest Ale 1999 Vintage

12 years have done you odd

To me J.W. Lees Harvest Ale is the gold standard for English barley wines. Between my buddy Greg and I we've got several vintages in our collections. Up to this point my favorite has been the 2002 vintage. For this special occasion Greg brought over his oldest bottle, 1999. Hell yeah. Nothing like drinking a fine beverage that was brewed before I was of legal drinking age. Let's see what a 12 year nap has done. By the way, I need to say that I hate that American brewers have to label their versions as "barley-wine style ales". Dumb laws.


It pours deep ruby red and very murky. It's got a light tan head and thin lacing that hangs around for a while. It smells of peppermint. Wait, what? Yeah, peppermint. I was certainly not expecting that. In addition to the mint it smells mildly earthy with a menthol/alcohol black licorice aura.


Tastes of rooty mint, anise and mild chewy fruity juicy goodness. Some malty fruit and black licorice through the finish. It's feels medium in body and lacks the warmth that usually accompanies a brew of more than 11% alcohol content


The '99 Lees is a very enjoyable and unique beer. This vintage is quite different than the others I've had. The peppermint and menthol notes set it apart from the rest. This experience makes me want to try barley wines of older vintages and from other makers. 


I had the pleasure of attending a vintage barley wine dinner back in February for my birthday. Tasting over 20 fine brews, but I did not take notes. Some of the brews I apparently sampled that day included a '98 & '99 Thomas Hardy and '93 & '96 Lees. That was a fine evening. 


So, cheers to a cellar filled with some choice old brews!

Beer Review: Nøgne Sweet Horizon

Well, hello.

My buddy Greg was generous enough to share this bottle of Sweet Horizon with me last weekend. This was my first experience with any brews from Nøgne. I don't know much about their beer or their brewery, so naturally I went in to this tasting not knowing what to expect.

Sweet Horizon pours dark, dark brown, with a thin tan-ish head and no lacing to speak of. The aroma just about knocked me out of my chair. And that's not because we'd had several craft goodies prior to this one. No, really. It smells divine. The aromas include waffle syrup, some oak notes, smoky and roasty notes and strong alcohol. There's a lot going on here.

After we finished staring at this one and smelling it for several minutes I took my first taste. It's malty sweet and tart like cherries up front. As it settles in some coffee roast notes with a smoky and savory feel. The beer finish tastes of sweet cocoa covered cherries. Throughout the sipping you are totally aware of it's 14% alcohol content.

This beer is an excellent sipper. A 2-3 oz. pour is perfect, so this bottle can be comfortably shared with 3-4 craft beer fans. I found Sweet Horizon to be wonderfully complex and very enjoyable. As the canister says, this beer isn't to be served with dessert. It IS dessert.

Here are some close up shots of the bottle and tin: