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New Beer Blog New Belgium And Odell Brewing FOCOllaboration American Pale Ale

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In this beer blog, we are going to get into collaboration from New Belgium and Odell Brewery.  It is their FOCOllaboration American Pale Ale.  If you read my earlier beer blog on both of these breweries’ beers, you know the history of this craft breweries.  If you have not, please, read them to get to know these craft breweries.  Let us get into this American Pale Ale.

This American pale ale has a clear copper color with a white constant head. The aroma has grapefruit to piney notes with a slight but fated citrus notes. The taste has a sweet fruity to piney notes with citrus to grapefruit notes for the aftertaste. It is pretty drinkable beer.

Here is a description from the beer bottle:

We teamed up with our hometown hop heroes at Odell to brew a FOrt COllins collaboration. Our proximity allowed sharing of ingredients to create this unique Pale Ale. If only we could employ the prairie dogs that inhabit the space between us to courier the Fawcett malt, an Odell standard, we used to complement our favored Centennial, Cascade and Citra hops. Best enjoyed with a neighbor!

Here is a description from their website (www.newbelgium.com):

We teamed up with our hometown hop heroes at Odell Brewing to brew a FOrt COllins collaboration. Our proximity allowed sharing of ingredients to create this unique Pale Ale. If only we could employ the prairie dogs that inhabit the space between us to courier the Fawcett malt, an Odell standard, we used to complement our favored Centennial, Cascade and Citra hops. Best enjoyed with a neighbor!

Here is their website and twitter addresses:

Website:  www.newbelgium.com and www.odellbrewing.com

Twitter:  @OdellBrewing and @newbelgium

In closing, I love both of these breweries and their beers they come out with.  Odell’s, I wish was in the State of Michigan.  I will have to do trades to get some of their beers.  I have had pretty much all of their beers and blogged about them.  I was happy to see this beer make it to the state.  It was a no brainer to pick up this brew.  It is an American PAle Ale but just a little different.  I really enjoyed the hops and nice malty backbone.  I highly recommend this brew and I would get out to find it as soon as possible.  There is a limited of bottles in the market.  Go get some!  Drink it!  Enjoy it!  Metal it!  \m/

Cheers!

Bill DJ Weiser

Email:  djweiser13@comcast.net

Twitter:  @djweiser

Instagram:  @djweiser13

New Beer Blog Cheboygan Brewery Lemongrass Wheat

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In this beer blog, we are going to sample another brew from a Michigan craft brewery.  It is Cheboygan brewery.  It is their Lemongrass Wheat.  I want to thank my friend Mike for bring this beer and two others beer from this craft brewery.  Hentschel brothers open Cheboygan Brewery in 1872.  The lumber industry was growing and the brewery growing at the same time.  As the lumber industry slowed down and moved out of Michigan.  The brewery closed in 1911.  After about 100 years later, this brewery reopen their doors with newer beers and one throw back brew which will be reviewed down the road.  Let us get into this Lemongrass Wheat.

It has a clear dark golden color without a head on this wheat ale.  The smell has hints of hay and slight lemon notes.  The taste has earthly with a smooth lemon notes.  The aftertaste has a lemon finish.  It is extremely drinkable beer.

Here is a description from their website (www.cheboyganbrewingcompany.com):

Pale malts are mixed with whole kernel and flaked wheat. This combined with a low rate hopping schedule create a light bodied beer with little bitterness. Fresh lemon zest and fresh lemon grass provide an invigorating finish. Mix with sunshine, and enjoy. 5.0% ABV

Here is their website and twitter addresses:

Website:  www.cheboyganbrewingcompany.com

Twitter:  @CheboyganBrew

Closing, the history of this craft brewery is pretty interesting.  This craft brewery is really the oldest craft brewery in the State of Michigan.  I believe Frankenmuth brewery has it because they did not close.  Anyways, I was pretty shocked that I enjoyed this beer as much as I did.  I am not a wheat beer fan.  I love Hefeweizens.  This beer has a nice light to medium body with some nice lemon notes.  This is a great beer for the spring and summer.  I highly recommend this beer.  Go get some!  Drink it!  Enjoy it!  Metal it!  \m/

Cheers!

Bill DJ Weiser

Email:  djweiser13@comcast.net

Twitter:  @djweiser

Instagram:  @djweiser13

New Beer Blog Magic Hat Hocus Pocus

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In this beer blog, we are going to get into another beer, which is Hocus Pocus, from Magic Hat Brewery.  If you read my earlier beer blog posts, you know the history of Magic Hat Brewery.  If you have not, please, read those beer blog posts to get to know this craft brewery.  Let us get into Summer Wheat Ale.

It has a light to normal copper color with a semi white constant head.  The aroma has a citrus notes but it is pretty fated.  The taste has a light carbonation to smooth lemon notes.  The aftertaste has a hoppy dry finish.  It is a nice refreshing drinkable brew.

Here is a description from the beer bottle:

The ancient ritual of brewing a distinctly rich and flavorful beer is a performance to behold.  Our mysterious melange of time-honored ingredients harmonize with chaotic chemistry, humble patience, and blind faith to create unique beers to share in the rousing company of kindred spirits.  Cheers!

Here is a description from their website (www.magichat.net):

A light, crisp ale with a malty sweetness and delightfully tart finish.

A toast to weeds, rays and summer haze. Hocus Pocus is a light, crisp ale for mowing lawns, hitting lazy fly balls and communing with nature. It is offered up as a summer sacrifice to cloudless days. Its malty sweetness finishes tart and crisp and is best appreciated with a wedge of orange.

Here is their website and twitter addresses:

Website:  www.magichat.net

Twitter:  @magichat

In the end, this is a nice summer drinkable but yet refreshing beer.  It is a nice relaxing beer to put down while doing the summer things like lawn work or pick me up baseball game.  It has some nice wheat ale notes but yet light in body to keep you drinking it through out the day.  There is some nice sweet malty notes but a nice fruit to tart finish.  It is drinkable.  I am not a huge fan of wheat ales but it is still pretty average brew.  I recommend it if you like mass-produced or wheat beers.  Go get some!  Drink it!  Enjoy it!  Metal it!  \m/

Cheers!

Bill DJ Weiser

Email:  djweiser13@comcast.net

Twitter:  @djweiser

Instagram:  @djweiser13

New Beer Blog Sierra Nevada Brewery Hoptimum Imperial IPA 2014

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In this beer blog, we are going to sample one of my favorite Imperial India Pale Ale.  It is Sierra Nevada Brewery Hoptimum Imperial India Pale Ale.  If you read my earlier beer  blog posts on their beers, you know the history of this craft brewery.  If you have not, please, read them to get to know Sierra Nevada Brewery.  Let us get into this Imperial IPA.

It has a clear copper color with a constant white head.  The smell has a heavy piney to earthy notes.  The taste has a heavy piney to earthy notes with a heavy dry hop bitter finish for the aftertaste.  It is a nice to comfortable sipping beer.

Here is a description from the beer bottle:

Hoptimum is the biggest whole-cone IPA we have ever produced: a 100 IBU, whole-cone hurricane of flavor.  Aggressively hopped, dry hopped AND torpedoed.  Hoptimum delivers ultra-intense flavors to hop fanatics everywhere.

Here is a description from their website (www.sierranevada.com):

Hoptimum® Imperial IPA

A whole-cone hurricane of flavor.

Hoptimum is a hurricane of whole-cone hop flavor. Hopped, dry hopped and torpedoed for incredible hop flavor and complexity, Hoptimum is the pinnacle of whole-cone hoppiness and the biggest Imperial IPA we have ever produced. It features resinous hop varieties: Magnum, Chinook, Simcoe and a new experimental hop variety exclusive to Sierra Nevada. With intense hop flavors and aromas of grapefruit rind, pine, herbs and tropical fruit, Hoptimum is an aggressive drinking experience. Originally created as part of our Beer Camp program, Hoptimum throws down the gauntlet to all other IPAs.

Dry Hops

We work hard to get strong hop flavors into our beers and one of the ways we do that is through dry hopping. Dry hopping refers to the addition of whole-cone hops to the fermentation tanks. The addition of hops to cold beer allows the aromatic oils and resins to infuse the beer with flavor and aroma without adding any additional bitterness.

Here is their website and twitter addresses:

Website:  www.sierranevada.com

Twitter:  @SierraNevada

In the end, I love Sierra Nevada and their beers.  This brewery does not make a bad beer and I had pretty much all their brews.  This is one of the best all around craft brewery and I feel they are very under rated.  I believe that is because there are so many new breweries around.  They just get forgotten in the mix.  If you have not went back and retry their beers, I highly recommend doing so.  I believe you will be stun at how good their beers are compared to other breweries’ beers.  I am not saying they are the number one brewery but pretty close.  I love the IBU count in this beer.  It is like eating a whole hop cone.  This is a great beer and it has a nice malty backbone.  I highly recommend this beer.  Go get some!  Drink it!  Enjoy it!  Metal it!  \m/

Cheers!

Bill DJ Weiser

Email:  djweiser13@comcast.net

Twitter:  @djweiser

Instagram:  @djweiser13

New Beer Blog Greenbush Pete’s Red Hot

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While at Ashley’s Westland, we are going to sample Pete’s Red Hot from Greenbush Brewery.  Yes, it is a winter warmer.  It is rare to see a nice winter ale in the middle of the summer.  If you read my earlier beer blog posts on their beers, you know the history of this western Michigan craft brewery.  If you have not, please, read them to get to know Greenbush Brewery.  Let us get into this winter warmer.

This winter warmer has a dark amber to redish brown color with a constant slightly off white to a light tan color head.  It has a slight smell of malt to other spices notes.  The taste has a light carbonation malty notes with other spices like nutmeg to cinnamon.  The aftertaste has a dry bitter hop finish.  It is a nice sipping beer for winter that can be kind of drinkable beer.

Here is their website and twitter addresses:

Website:  www.greenbushbrewing.com

Twitter:  @greenbush_brew

In closing, I did not realize what I order until it came to me.  I was not expecting to see a winter seasonal on tap at Ashley’s.  This is brew is one of their anniversity beers that some craft breweries did for them last year.  I guess they had a keg left over.  I am not complaining.  This is a great beer and I wish they would package this beer.  This beer has a ton of flavor with a full body.  If you have not had this beer, I recommend you getting up to Ashley’s to try it.  It will be gone here soon.  Go get some!  Drink it!  Enjoy it!  Metal it!  \m/

Cheers!

Bill DJ Weiser

Email:  djweiser13@comcast.net

Twitter:  @djweiser

Instagram:  @djweiser13

New Beer Blog Oddside Ales Paranoia Imperial India Pale Ale

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In this beer blog, we are going to get into another brew, which is Paranoia Imperial India Pale Ale, from Oddside Ales.  If you read my earlier beer blog posts on their craft brews, you know the history of this Michigan craft brewery.  If you have not, please, read them to get to know Oddside Ales.  Let us get into this glow in dark label Imperial IPA.

This Imperial India Pale Ale has a clear dark copper color with a semi white head.  The aroma has earthy notes.  The taste has earthy with some light carbonation.  The aftertaste is dry hop bitter finish.

Here is their website and twitter addresses:

Website:  www.oddsideales.com

Twitter:  @oddsidesales

In closing, I love this brew as far as the taste profile.  However, I am really not a huge fan of the dry hop bitter finish, it is a little too powerful for me.  I normally do not mind but today I was little turn off on it.  This is a great beer and I know many craft beer and hopheads drinkers will love this beer.  I love the hops they picked in this brew.  They did a great job designing the malty backbone.  I highly recommend this brew, plus, it glows in the dark.  Go get some!  Drink it!  Enjoy it!  Metal it!  \m/

Cheers!

Bill DJ Weiser

Email:  djweiser13@comcast.net

Twitter:  @djweiser

Instagram:  @djweiser13

New Beer Blog Short’s Brewery Bourdon Sustanance

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While at Ashley’s Westland, we are going to sample Short’s Brewery Bourdon Sustanance.  If you read my earlier beer blog posts on their brews, you know  the history of this craft brewery.  If you have not, please, read those posts to get to know Short’s Brewery.  Let us get into beer.

It has a jet black color with a constant off white color head.  The aroma has a heavy chocolate to bourdon notes.  The taste has a bourdon bite at the front and a nice smooth chocolate malty notes to finish it off.  The aftertaste is a nice crisp finish.  It is sipping beer.

Here is a description from their website (www.shortsbrewing.com):

Bourbon Barrel Soaked Sustenance Black Beer

Bourbon Barrel Soaked Sustenance Beer is our spring Schwarzbier (black lager) aged in bourbon barrels for 10 months. It features rich roasted malt qualities with bold flavors of vanilla, charred oak, and even a slight nuttiness. The light, crisp finish makes this bourbon soaked beer light in flavor, which is wonderful because it highlights the complexities of the bourbon aging process. The light body also makes it an ideal beer for a springtime refreshment.

6.5% ABV

22 IBU

Here is their website and twitter addresses:

Website:  www.shortsbrewing.com

Twitter:  @shortsbrewing

Closing,  I will be upfront and honest.  I am not a huge fan of Short’s beers.  I just believe almost everyone  in the State of Michigan over rates their beers.  With that said, I have to say most underrate Greenbush’s beers.  So I had the chance to try this beer and a beer from Greenbush at the same time. I can’t remember what beer.  I was so disappointed with the Greenbush and was really impressed with this beer from Short’s.  No, it is not odd.  I love my German Beer Styles and it took me a long time to come around to respect these beer styles.  This Black Lager that is aged in Bourdon Barrels gives the beer drinker something different from the normal German Black Lager.  Schwarzbier is name Black Lager in German.  I highly recommend this beer and I will be searching for this beer in bottles.  Go get some!  Drink it!  Enjoy it!  Metal it!  \m/

Cheers!

Bill DJ Weiser

Email:  djweiser13@comcast.net

Twitter:  @djweiser

Instagram:  @djweiser13

New Beer Blog Right Brain Brewery Stowaway Saison Ale

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While at Ashley’s Westland, we are going to sample Stowaway Saison Ale from Right Brain Brewery.  If you read my earlier beer blog posts, you know the history of this craft brewery.  If you have not, please, read my beer blog posts about their beers to get to know this Michigan craft brewery. Let us get into this beer.

This Saison Ale has a clear golden color with a nice constant white head.  The head of the beer has small bubbles.  The aroma has Belgian spices with a citrus notes like lemon.  The taste has a light carbonation Belgian spice with citrus notes.  The finish is a refreshing slight hop aftertaste.  It is pretty drinkable beer.

Here is a description from their website (www.rightbrainbrewery.com):

STOWAWAY
Style: Reclaimed Saison
ABV: 5.7%
A traditional Saison with a hazy golden color, fruit-forward aroma, crisp complex flavor, and mildly acidic finish. #RBB brewers cultivated the reclaimed yeast used for this beer over a span of 7-months.

Here is their website and twitter addresses:

Website:  www.rightbrainbrewery.com

Twitter:  @rightbrainbrew

In closing, I will be perfectly honest with you.  I did not like this beer the first time I tried it.  I had to try this beer one more time just because I love this brewery and I am a huge fan of them.  I do not know if it was what I was eating or the beer I had before trying this beer.  The second time that I have had this beer is a positive thought towards this beer.  I really enjoyed this beer.  I love the refreshing taste profile that this beer provides to the craft beer drinker.  I love the hops used in this beer.  I will be looking for this beer again on my next beer run or at my neighborhood bar.  I highly recommend this beer if you are a light beer drinker or love your Saison Ales.  Go get some!  Drink it!  Enjoy it!  Metal it!  \m/

Cheers!

Bill DJ Weiser

Email:  djweiser13@comcast.net

Twitter:  @djweiser

Instagram:  @djweiser13

New Beer Blog Coronado Brewery Islander IPA

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In this beer blog, we are going to sample Islander IPA from Coronada Brewery.  I had a chance to try this brew from a tap take over a few weeks ago. I was not impressed with this beer and rest of their brews.  I loved their Orange Wit but there was a few people who did not like and others that did.  Coronado Brewery was founded in 1996 by Ron and Rick Chapman.  They founded the brewery in Coronado City, which is their hometown.  The brewery brews several different beer styles.  However, like most West Coast craft brewery, they are known for their India Pale Ale.  Let us get into this flagship brew.

It has a clear golden color with a semi constant white head on this IPA. The aroma has a grapefruit to mango notes.  The taste has a heavy citrus notes like mango and grapefruit with a dry hop bitter finish.  It is kind of drinkable.  The aftertaste keeps you coming back for more of this West Coast IPA.

Here is a description from their website (www.coronadobrewingcompany.com):

Description:

Named after Coronado Island, our original India Pale Ale is a liquid expression of hometown pride. Centennial, Chinook and Columbus hops combine to provide an explosive burst of piney bitterness and luscious notes of apricot, grapefruit and mango that are sure to evoke imagery of swaying palms and sun-kissed shores.

Here is their website and twitter addresses:

Website:  www.coronadobrewingcompany.com

Twitter:  @coronadobrewing

Closing, I do not know if it was dirty lines or a bad keg.  I have to say I was not a fan of this brew on draft at that tap take over.  It is possible that it could have been a bad keg.  I love this better in bottle and it was so much better than the keg.  There was a difference in this brew.  I love the hops that they picked for this beer.  It is kind of drinkable beer, however, the aftertaste is dry that will keep you coming back for more.  This is a great beer and I highly recommend this beer.  Go get some!  Drink it!  Enjoy it!  Metal it!  \m/

Cheers!

Bill DJ Weiser

Email:  djweiser13@comcast.net

Twitter:  @djweiser

Instagram:  @djweiser13

New Beer Blog Palm Speciale Belge Ale

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In this beer blog, we are going to same Speciale Belge Ale from Palm Brewery.  If you read my earlier beer blog posts on their beers, you know the history of this east Europe brewery.  If you have not read my earlier beer blog posts, please, do so to get to know this import craft brewery.  Let us get into this Belgian Amber Ale.

It has a clear amber color with white head on this Belgian Amber Ale.  The smell has notes of caramel and spices.  The taste has spicy to caramel notes with a watery malty finish.  It is pretty drinkable beer.

Here is a description from the beer bottle:

Palm was originally brewed at the beginning of the 20th Century as a new style of ale.  Speciale Belge – taste complexity of an ale brewed to be refreshing like pilsner or lager.  It is Palm’s perfect balance of flavor and approachabilty that makes it Belgium’s Amber Ale.

Here is a description from their website (www.palm.be):

PALM

the sociable beer for every day, for everyone

“Speciale Belge” is one of the better Belgian beers of the early 20th century. This smooth-drinking, amber-coloured top-fermentation beer has a sensible alcohol content.
Special PALM malts determine its honey-like mellowness and PALM’s own selected yeasts give it a fruity yeast aroma. Fine aroma hops from Kent afford subtle harmony. PALM is the absolute number one “BELGIAN AMBER BEER”.

Here is their website and twitter addresses:

Website:  www.palm.be

Twitter:  @palmbeer and @palmale

Closing, I love the aroma and the taste profile from this amber ale.  It is smooth and drinkable brew.  This is not my favorite beer but it is not bad beer.  I just do not like the fact that it has to travel a ton to make it to the United States.  I recommend you trying this beer and please, share your thoughts.  Go get some!  Drink it!  Enjoy it!  Metal it!  \m/

Cheers!

Bill DJ Weiser

Email:  djweiser13@comcast.net

Twitter:  @djweiser

Instagram:  @djweiser13