highend beer

New Beer Blog Griffin Claw Brewing Grind Line Pale Ale


image

Starting a new tab, we are going to get into the second brew from Griffin Claw Brewing.  It is their Grind Line Pale Ale.  If you read blog post from yesterday, you learn that I could not find too much information on this brewery.  If you know anything, please, let me know anything about this brewery so I could share with the world.  Let us get into the beer.

It has a clear copper color with a white head on this pale ale.  The smell is slight earthy notes.  The taste has an extremely light earth notes to creamy caramel notes. It is pretty drinkable.

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

Our gold-medal-winning Grind Line Pale Ale gets its name from equal parts Detroit Hockey and Detroit Automaking. Everything about this Ale works together to form the whole – just the right amount of malt and hops. A good place to start if you’re having trouble deciding.

Here is their website and twitter addresses:

Website:  www.griffinclawbrewingcompany.com

Twitter:  @Griffinclaw

Closing, I have to say this brew was so much better than their IPA.  I realize they are two different styles.  I could drink this brew.  It is pretty drinkable and there is a nice hop balance here with the malty backbone.  I will not say this was the best pale ale that I have ever had.  It is not the worse.  There are pretty good pale ales out on the market.  I was pretty happy to try it.  I will try it again just like their IPA to get a true sense of how I feel about this beer.  I right now feel this is average to below average brew.  I recommend you trying this brew.  Please, let me know what you think.  Go get some!  Drink it!  Enjoy it!  Metal it!  \m/

Cheers!

Bill DJ Weiser

Email:  djweiser13@comcast.net

Twitter:  @djweiser

New Beer Blog Dark Horse Brewing 4 Elf Winter Warmer Ale


image

In this winter beer blog, we are going to sample out a winter brew from Dark Horse Brewing.  I am talking about their 4 Elf Winter Warmer Ale.  If you have read my review on one of their brewpub beers, you know the history of this western Michigan Craft brewery.  If you have not, please, read beer blog posts to get to know this brewery.  Let us get into the beer.

It has a dark brown to black color with a head on this winter ale.  The smell has a heavy cinnamon notes.  The taste is a malty, cinnamon, and nutmeg notes.  The aftertaste is a warm cinnamon notes.  It is pretty drinkable beer.

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

A spiced Winter Warmer brewed with nutmeg, clove, allspice and other holidayflavors.

ABV: 9.0%

Availability:  Released to ALL markets in September

Package: Cases / 4 pack of Good ol’ Bottles

Here is their website and twitter addresses:

Website:  www.darkhorsebrewery.com

Twitter:  @DarkHorseBrewCo

In the end of the winter season, Dark Horse Brewing was the only Michigan brewery that I had a chance to get in the Chicago market that I could get.  I love their beers.  I have to say Dark Horse Brewing has out did themselves with this brew.  I love the warmth of the species that this beer kicks off.  It is pretty balance and does not drink like 9% brew.  I picked up hints of cinnamon and they do not list it on their site.  I highly recommend this awesome winter seasonal.  Go get some!  Drink it! Enjoy it!  Metal it!  \m/

Cheers!

Bill DJ Weiser

Email:  djweiser13@comcast.net

Twitter:  @djweiser

New Beer Blog Sixpoint Brewery Global Warmer


image

In this beer blog, we are going to sample another brew from Sixpoint Brewery.  It is their new winter seasonal, which is Global Warmer.  If you read my earlier beer blog posts, you know the history of this brewery.  If you have not, please, read my earlier beer blog post to get to know this great New York City brewery.  Let us get into the beer.

It has a cloudy amber color with foamy white head on this winter ale.  The smell is notes of citrus and malty.  The taste is a citrus to malty notes with a dry bitter hoppy aftertaste.  It is kind of drinkable beer.

Here is a description from the beer can:

Some say the world will end in fire, some say in ice. From what I’ve tasted of desire I hold with those who flavor fire. A Winter Warmer to warm your Globe, or a Global Warmer to warm your Winter? There’s no denying the Beer Climate is changing.

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

Global Warmer

Some say the world will end in fire, Some say in ice. From what I’ve tasted of desire I hold with those who favor fire.A Winter Warmer to warm your Globe, or a Global Warmer to warm your Winter? There’s no denying the Beer Climate is changing.

Here is their website and twitter addesses:

Website:  www.sixpoint.com

Twitter:  @sixpoint

In the end, as many of you readers know I am a huge fan of this brewery.  I believe they are one of the best breweries out of New York City.  I never had Bronx Brewery and they are on my list to try in the future.  I love Blue Point out of Long Island.  Sixpoint tries to push the limits of beer brewing that is what I love about this brewery.  I am not a fan of red ales but I have to say this brew is pretty good.  I love the hop character that lives in this beer.  The other red ale that I like is from Bridgeport Brewery and it is called Kingpin Red Ale.  I highly recommend this brew.  Go get some!  Drink it!  Enjoy it!  Metal it!  \m/

Cheers!

Bill DJ Weiser

Email:  djweiser13@comcast.net

Twitter:  @djweiser

New Beer Blog Speakeasy Butchertown Black Ale


image

In this beer blog, we are going to sample out another brew, which is a limited release, from Speakeasy Brewery.   The brew is their Butchertown Black Ale.  If you read my earlier beer blog posts, you know the history of this brewery.  If you have not, please, read these beer blog posts to get to know this great west coast brewery.  Let us get into the beer.

It has a jet black color with a white constant head on this black ale.  The smell slight chocolate with a heavy citrus notes.  The taste has chocolate citrus notes with bitter hop aftertaste.   It is kind of drinkable beer.
image

Here is their website and twitter addresses:

Website:  www.goodbeer.com

Twitter: @SpeakeasyBeer

Closing out, this beer is something else.  I really enjoy drinking this beer.  This is a big boy beer for the experienced hop heads in the world.  The hops shine nicely through the chocolate notes.  They did a great job on the picking of the hops.  I love the bitter aftertaste.   They found a way to heavy and in your face but not making you run away from the beer.  I am hoping they make their way to the Michigan Market, if not I will be making road trips back to Chicago.  I am glad I am back in Michigan this is one of the breweries I will miss getting on a regular basis.  I highly recommend this beer and their other brews.  If you are in San Fran, you need to get by their brewpub.  Go get some!  Drink it!  Enjoy it!  Metal it!  \m/

Cheers!

Bill DJ Weiser

Email:  djweiser13@comcast.net

Twitter:  @djweiser

New Beer Blog Blue Point Brewery White IPA


image

In the beginning, we will sample out another brew from Blue Point.  I am talking about the new beer style in the world of white IPA’s.  It is their version of White IPA.  If you read my earlier beer blog posts on their beers, you know the history of this brewery.  If you have not, please, read those beer blog posts to get to know this great New York brewery.  Let us get into the beer.

It has a clear golden color with a constant white head on the beer.  The smell is heavy wheat notes.  The taste is a slightly lemon with citrus and honey notes.  It is pretty drinkable beer.

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

Remaining at the forefront of experimentation, the brewers at Blue Point have produced a white beer/IPA hybrid that is well on its way to creating a new style for the beer description books. Our White IPA is an unfiltered European-style white ale with a fresh American IPA finish. Brewed with malted and unmalted wheat and just the right amount of west coast hops, it’s fermented with German yeast to give it a perfectly balanced character with less bitterness than traditional IPAs.

Here is their website and twitter addresses:

Website:  www.bluepointbrewing.com

Twitter:  @BluePointBrewer

Closing, I will have to say I am not a huge fan of this beer style in India Pale Ale world.  I do not know who makes a better Wheat IPA or White IPA.  I am up in the air between New Belgium Brewery’s new winter seasonal Accumulation White IPA and Blue Point Brewery White IPA, which is featured on this blog.  I love the balance between the India Pale Ale style and the wheat ale style.  Blue Point did a great job on this brew and I will be adding it to my line up of IPA’s in the future.  I recommend you trying this beer. Let me know what you think about it. Go get some!  Drink it!  Enjoy it!  Metal it!  \m/

Cheers!

Bill DJ Weiser

Email:  djweiser13@comcast.net

Twitter:  @djweiser

New Beer Blog Gigantic Brewing Hellion


image

Starting a new tab, we are going to get into another brew from one of my favorite craft brewery from Portland, Or.  I am talking about Gigantic Brewing and their Hellion.  If you read my earlier beer blog on this brewery, you know the history of this little brewpub.  If you have not, please, read those beer blog posts to get to know this great craft brewery.  Let us get into the beer.

It has a clear golden color with a constant white head on this brew.  The smell is a sweet Belgian notes.   It has a farmhouse smell notes.  The taste is citrus notes of spices with a crisp dry hop finish.  It is pretty drinkable beer.

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

Hellion

To some a Hellion is a troublemaker, to others a messiah. Our dry-hopped Belgian-style golden ale will bring out one or both in you. Which will it be?

“The tall tree catches much wind”    -Japanese Proverb

Beer Style: Dry-Hopped Belgian-Style Golden    ABV: 8.5%    23 IBU

Label Artist: Shohei Otomo www.Hakuchi.jp

Notes: Dry-hopped with Sorachi Ace and Simcoe = lemon, grapefruit and dill aromas. Complex aroma and flavor of ester and spice from a Belgian yeast strain.

Availability: July-October 2013 in Oregon, Washington, California, British Columbia, Alaska, Vermont and Chicago.

Here is their website and twitter addresses:

Website:  www.giganticbrewing.com

Twitter:  @GiganticBrewing

Closing out of the tab, this is a great beer and I really enjoyed drinking this brew.  This is a well made beer and they brew this beer as close to the classic beer style.  It is an American craft version of Duvel.  I love Duvel and I found hints of this beer when I was drinking it.  I can see many craft beer drinkers thinking this a great version of Duvel.  I highly recommend you trying this brew.  Go get some!  Drink it!  Enjoy it!  Metal it!  \m/

Cheers!

Bill DJ Weiser

Email:  djweiser13@comcast.net

Twitter:  @djweiser

New Beer Blog Upland Brewing Strawberry Lambic


image

In this special beer blog, we are going to get into a project that Upland Brewing did not know was going on in their brewery.  One of their assist brewmasters started a sour and package it.  Everyone at the brewery loved his sours.  Sour ales take years to make and is one hardest beer style to make.  If you mess it up, you need to start over. If you read my earlier beer blog post on their Dragonfly IPA, you know the history of this brewery.  If you have not, please, that beer blog post to get to know this brewery.  Let us get into this sour ale.

It is a cloudy strawberry color without a head on the beer.  The smell is a sour strawberry.  The taste is extremely sour strawberry and tart with sour aftertaste.  It is not drinkable.

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

Man, that’s sour.  Made with real strawberries.

Here is their website and twitter addresses:

Website:  www.uplandbeer.com

Twitter:  @UplandBrewCo

Closing, I have to say I am a huge fan of sours and Upland Brewery.  I was excited to get my hands on this brew.  I know this sour is hard to get on the market.  I have to say this brew is pretty sour.  I like it but I wished I had cork to save it for the next day.  The color, smell, and taste are sour strawberry notes.  This is an awesome beer and they have done a great job on this brew.  I hope to get a chance to try their other sours in the near future.  I highly recommend their sours.  Go get some!  Drink it!  Enjoy it!  Metal it!  \m/

Cheers!

Bill DJ Weiser

Email:  djweiser13@comcast.net

Twitter:  @djweiser

New Beer Blog Liberty Street Brewery My Beer Flight


image

In this beer blog, we are going to get into a newer brewery in the last ten years in the southeast part of Michigan.  The brewery is called Liberty Street Brewery.  They opened back in 2008.  There is not much history on this young brewery.  I did find some information on their website.  Let us get into the beer.

American IPA

It has a clear copper color without a head on it. There is really no smell to me. The taste is piney to earthy notes with a weird but good aftertaste. It is almost like Jolly Rancher or candy aftertaste. It is a mild IPA but pretty drinkable beer.

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

A decidedly hoppy and bitter, moderately strong American pale ale.  American hop character can be described as being citrusy, piney, fruity and resiny.

Starkweather Stout

It has a jet black color with a tan color. There is chocolate to a touch of coffee smell to this stout. The taste is a heavy coffee but a smooth taste to it. THe aftertaste is dry chocolate notes. It is drinkable for the type of stout.

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

This stout is full of chocolate flavor and aroma coming from grain only.  A rich mouth feel mellows the slight hop bitterness and makes this an easy drinking stout, even in warmer weather.

Porter

It has a dark brown to black color with a fluffy tan color head. The smell is of burned chocolate. The taste is the same as the smell. There is an aftertaste but pretty fade. It is like dry chocolate. It is drinkable like the porter for the type of beer style.

American Farmhouse IPA

It has a cloudy bright yellow color without a head. The smell is a heavy farm like smell. This is a Belgian Saison. The taste is like a saison with some citrus to funky spices. It has citrus to slight dry hop finish. It is a pretty drinkable beer.

Here is their website and twitter addresses:

Website:  www.libertystreetbeer.com

Twitter:  @Liberty_Brewer

Closing, I have been wanting to stop by this brewery and check out their beers.  I had a chances a few months ago and I am glad I did.  I have been a little behind on my posts and I am glad I am getting it out now.  I became a fan of this brewery pretty quickly.  I loved both of their IPA’s.  I had their C-Monster at the Michigan Brewer’s Guild Summerfest.  I thought that was pretty good too.  I love their porter and stout.  Since I have moved back to Michigan, I will be by this brewpub a lot more. I highly recommend this brewery and now they are packaging their beers.  Go get some!  Drink it!  Enjoy it!  Metal it!  \m/

Cheers!

Bill DJ Weiser

Email:  djweiser13@comcast.net

Twitter:  @djweiser

New Beer Blog MacTarnahan’s Brewing Goose Bump Imperial Stout


image

MacTarnahan’s Brewing Goose Bump Imperial Stout is the brewery and beer featured on this beer blog post.  This beer is no longer being made.  If you are interested in trying this brew, you better go out and find this beer.  If you read my earlier beer blog on their Belgian Style Ale, you know the history of this brewery.  If you have not, please, read that beer blog post to get to know them.  Let us get into the beer.

It has a jet black color with a constant tan color.  The smell is like burned chocolate with slight coffee notes.  The taste of this big body beer is creamy and smooth chocolate notes with notes of coffee.  The aftertaste is dry crisp coffee bean that fades out.  It is a sipping beer.

Here is their website and twitter addresses:

Website:  www.portlandbrewing.com

Twitter:  @PortlandBrewing

Closing, I brought up a ton of this brew because it was marked down.  I know for past experience with Imperial Stout.  They can last for a good five years.  I was not worried about buying this beer out of code this year.  This brew is really good right now and it will get better over time.  The coffee is pretty heavy at first but it calms down in the later part of the bottle or the drinking experience.  This is a great beer and I am sad they stop making this brew. If you can find, I would try it.  Go get some!  Drink it!  Enjoy it!  Metal it!  \m/

Cheers!

Bill DJ Weiser

Email:  djweiser13@comcast.net

Twitter: @djweiser

New Beer Blog Green Flash Brewing Green Bullet Triple India Pale Ale


image

In this beer blog, we are going to get into the second brew from Green Flash Brewing and it is an unique brew, which is Green Bullet Triple India Pale Ale.  If you read my earlier beer blog, you know the history of this brewery.  If you have not, please, read that beer blog post to get to know this brewery.  Let us get into the beer.

It has a clear dark golden color with a thick, creamy, and constant white head on this IPA.  The smell is piney notes.  The taste is a carbonated piney notes with dry hop aftertaste.  For being a big and high-end beer, it is pretty drinkable beer.

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

Green Bullet

Named after a super-robust New Zealand hop, Green Bullet™ is a well-balanced Triple IPA being bottled today for the 1st time ever. Brewmaster, Chuck Silva initially released this Pacific Gem to celebrate the Green Flash 9th Anniversary in 2011, and it was an immediate hit! Now, this cult favorite will be available from coast-to-coast as a seasonal release from September through December 2013. Be on the lookout for this high-caliber addition to our arsenal in 4-packs, 22oz bottles and on draft, because you do not want to miss the release.

Here is their website and twitter addresses:

Website:  www.greenflashbrew.com

Twitter:  @Greenflashbeer

Closing, leave it to a west coast craft brewery to try to create a new beer style in the IPA world.  This is pretty much what Green Flash from California has done.  This Green Bullet Triple India Pale Ale has everything for the hop head is looking for on the next level in their beers.  I love the hops they are using in this brew.  New Zealand hops have grown on brewers and hop lovers in the last few years.  It is not a surprise that newer hops are popping up from New Zealand like Green Bullet.  Green Flash named their brew after the hop.  I love malty backbone to cut down on the hop’s intense feel.  This is a great brew and I sad it is a seasonal.  Go get some!  Drink it!  Enjoy it!  Metal it!  \m/

Cheers!

Bill DJ Weiser

Email:  djweiser13@comcast.net

Twitter:  @djweiser