Allagash Brewing Company White

Hello beer lovers and welcome to another edition of the NorCal Beer Blog's brew review.

Tonight’s featured beer is Allagash Brewing Company White - Beer Brewed with Spices. 

From the Allagash Brewing Company website: “Our interpretation of a traditional Belgian wheat beer. Brewed with a generous portion of wheat and spiced with coriander and Curacao orange peel, this beer is fruity, refreshing and slightly cloudy in appearance.”

Let’s get started!

Appearance: Pours a hazy pale yellow with a thin white head and light lacing.

Aroma: Wheat, banana, coriander, Belgian yeast, orange peel and clove.

Taste: Wheat, coriander, clove, banana, Belgian yeast, citrus and a touch of sweetness.

Overall: Refreshing and highly drinkable, Allagash Brewing Company White is excellent.  At 5.1% ABV this is a beer you’ll want more than one of.  I know I did!

Cheers!

Mark Harvey

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Yellowstone Valley Brewing Company Huckle-Weizen

Hello beer lovers and welcome to another edition of the NorCal Beer Blog's brew review.

Tonight’s featured beer is Yellowstone Valley Brewing Company Huckle-Weizen.

Commercial description: “The Huckleberry Wheat is bear food in a bottle! Most other fruit beers have such a tart snap that you can't taste the beer. The Huckle-Weizen is BEER with just enough huckleberry to make you yearn for the wilderness!”

Let’s get started!

Appearance: Pours a pale orange color with nice white head and slight lacing.

Aroma: Sweet huckleberry, floral hops and cereal malts.

Taste: Sweet and tangy huckleberries upfront followed by grainy malts, slight hop bitterness and slightly wheaty and sour finish.

Overall: A good summer beer, I’d certainly drink another Yellowstone Valley Brewing Company Huckle-Weizen if in the area under the right weather conditions.  If you’re a fan of fruit beers this semi-sourish 5.3% offering is worth a shot. A bit fruity sweet, but I expected it and wouldn’t knock it for that reason.

Cheers!

Mark Harvey

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10 Barrel Brewing Company OG Wheat IPA

Hello beer lovers and welcome to another edition of the NorCal Beer Blog's brew review.

Tonight’s featured beer is 10 Barrel Brewing Company OG Wheat IPA. I picked this bottle up at Broken Top Bottle Shop (here) in Bend, OR.

From the 10 Barrel Brewing Company website: “Usually Wheat beers and IPAs are on the opposite sides of the spectrum but we beg to differ…time for old school to meet new school!”

Let’s get started!

Appearance: Pours a hazy golden color with a large white head and soapy lacing.

Aroma: Citrus, tropical fruit, banana, caramel and wheat.

Taste: Tropical fruit (pineapple, mango) and citrus (orange, grapefruit) hop bitterness up front balanced well with caramel malt and wheat.

Overall: A nice Wheat/IPA hybrid, 10 Barrel Brewing Company OG Wheat IPA is refreshing and very drinkable.  This 6.5% ABV offering has great aroma and taste due to great hop and malt balance.  I highly recommend this one!

Cheers!

Mark Harvey

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Calicraft Brewing Company Wild Wit Fresh & Floral Sparkling Ale

Hello beer lovers and welcome to another edition of the NorCal Beer Blog's brew review.

Tonight’s featured beer is Calicraft Brewing Company Wild Wit Fresh & Floral Sparkling Ale. I'm a big fan of Calicraft Brewing Company's beers so whenever I see another one on the shelves I pick it up immediately.

From the Calicraft Brewing Company website: “What happens when beer wanders off the trail into wine? It heads into a whole new brewing wilderness we call Sparkling Ale. Wit and sauvignon blanc yeasts add surprising complexity. California wildflower honey, orange zest, coriander and poppy seeds infuse citrus notes and a hint of spice. Wild Wit is both beer and wine and something new altogether.”

Let’s get started!

Appearance: Pours a hazy golden color with a giant white head and nice lacing.

Aroma: Wheat, citrus, banana, coriander and a slight honey scent.

Taste: Wheat, citrus zest, honey, spices, lemony tartness, clove, coriander, fruity and light. The wine yeast is detectable in there and lends to the flavor profile very nicely.

Overall: Sweet and crisp, Calicraft Brewing Company Wild Wit Fresh & Floral Sparkling Ale is deliciously drinkable.  This 5.4% ABV offering is unique and definitely worth a try!

Cheers!

Mark Harvey

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Crux Fermentation Project Tough Love Imperial Stout Brewed with Spices - Aged in Bourbon Barrels - 2013 Release

Hello beer lovers and welcome to another edition of the NorCal Beer Blog's brew review.

Tonight’s featured beer is Crux Fermentation Project Tough Love Imperial Stout Brewed with Spices - Aged in Bourbon Barrels - 2013 Release. I picked this bottle up at the brewery and now wish I had bought a case.

Commercial description: “Tough Love is bold but nuanced, an homage of sorts to the traditional Russian Imperial Stouts and the ruling style of Catherine the Great. We Construct it with dark, roasted malts, malted rye, and oak-smoked wheat, and then banished it for nine months in Kentucky Bourbon Barrels. The aging smooths out the edges on an otherwise bold statement, and bitterness succumbs to tender strokes of vanilla beans, hints of dried cherries, and new layers revealing themselves with each sip.”

Let’s get started!

Appearance:  Pours black with a tiny mocha colored head and spotty and sparse lacing.

Aroma: Bourbon, dark chocolate, oak, vanilla, coffee and roasted malts.

Taste: Dark, sweet chocolate, vanilla, roasted malt, slight oak, bourbon, and dark fruit.

Overall: Rich and sweet, Crux Fermentation Project Tough Love Imperial Stout is incredible! This 11.5% ABV offering is balanced, delicious and smooth. As I said in the beginning, this is the kind of beer I wish I had more of…a case.  Next time I’m up in Bend, OR I plan to get A LOT of this one!

Cheers!

Mark Harvey

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Boulevard Brewing Company Pale Ale

Hello beer lovers and welcome to another edition of the NorCal Beer Blog's brew review.

Tonight’s featured beer is Boulevard Brewing Company Pale Ale.  I picked up this and several other bottles of Boulevard Brewing Company beers from the brewery on a recent trip to Kansas City, MO and thought I should review this one first as it is Boulevard’s flagship beer.

From the Boulevard Brewing Company website: “Boulevard Pale Ale is a smooth, fruity, well-balanced beer with year-round appeal. A variety of caramel malts impart a rich flavor and amber color, while liberal use of whole hops adds zest and aroma. Pale Ale is the first beer we brewed, and continues to be a perennial favorite.”

Let’s get started!

Appearance: Pours a slightly hazy orange color with a big cream colored head and nice lacing.

Aroma: Sweet caramel malt, floral, pine, spicy and citrus hops and a touch fruity.

Taste: Sweet caramel and pale malt upfront followed by citrus, floral and a slight pine hop bitterness.

Overall: Highly enjoyable and drinkable, Boulevard Brewing Company Pale Ale is a malt forward Pale Ale that is well balanced and delicious.  I’m a big fan of this 5.4% ABV offering. I’ve had it in a bottle and on tap at the brewery.  I wish this one was available locally.

Cheers!

Mark Harvey

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Almanac Beer Company Bourbon Sour Porter

Hello beer lovers and welcome to another edition of the NorCal Beer Blog's brew review.

Tonight’s featured beer is Almanac Beer Company Bourbon Sour Porter – Sour Ale Aged In Used Bourbon Barrels. I picked up this bottle at Royal Liquors in San Jose (here).  If you haven't already gone there to check out their selection you should.  Consider "liking" them on Facebook as they post when they receive new and rare offerings. (This is not a paid endorsement or advertisement)

From the Almanac Beer Company website: “The life of a Kentucky oak barrel is one of giving: first to bourbon, then to dark strong ales, and finally we inoculate it with our Dogpatch Sour culture and fill it with robust porter. This inky black ale blends flavors of coffee, chocolate, dried fruit and Kentucky Bourbon with a pleasant tartness and funk. Pair with hearty winter stews or freshly shucked oysters.”

Let’s get started!

Appearance: Pours black with a nice tan colored head and spotty lacing.

Aroma: Sour and funky with bitter chocolate, vanilla, bourbon, oak and roasted malts.

Taste: Sour and very tart upfront, dark fruit, roasted dark malts, chocolate and coffee, vanilla and just the slightest hint of oak and bourbon.

Overall: A nice balance between a barrel aged Porter and Sour, Almanac Beer Company Bourbon Sour Porter is delicious and drinkable.  I bought a second bottle of this 6% ABV offering to age as I am interested in seeing how it matures.  If you’re a fan of the style check this one out!

Cheers!

Mark Harvey

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Bear Republic Brewing Company Apex Special IPA

Hello beer lovers and welcome to another edition of the NorCal Beer Blog's brew review.

Tonight’s featured beer is Bear Republic Brewing Company Apex Special IPA. I picked this bottle up at Royal Liquors (here).

From the Bear Republic Brewing Company website: “Apex: The Highest point, the culmination or climax. In racing, the apex of a turn is approached differently as conditions dictate, but always with a forward looking mindset. This beer is a culmination of years of brewing and drinking hop forward IPAs. We reserve the right to move forward, to advance the style to the next Apex.”

Let’s get started!

Appearance: Pours a golden copper color with a nice white head and sticky lacing.

Aroma: Citrus, tropical and pine hops, stone fruit and a solid malt backbone.

Taste: Pine, citrus and tropical hop flavors and bitterness balanced excellently by caramel and bready malts.

Overall: The name says it all and Bear Republic Brewing Company Apex Special IPA is superb! This 8.95% ABV offering should NOT be missed by fans of the style.  A NorCal Double IPA at its best!

Cheers!

Mark Harvey

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Auburn AleHouse Fool's Gold Pale Ale

Hello beer lovers and welcome to another edition of the NorCal Beer Blog's brew review.

Tonight’s featured beer is Auburn AleHouse Fool's Gold Pale Ale. I had the chance to try a number of their beers on tap a year ago and was happy to find a few bottles to bring home recently (strictly for review purposes).

From the Auburn AleHouse website: “The Pale that Packs a punch!

Foolish amounts of North America’s finest pale malted barley infused with a ton of Pacif­ic Northwest hops sets this west coast strong pale ale apart from others. Our pale pours bright golden in color with a fragrant, dense, foamy head. Sharp, yet well balanced on the palate, Fool’s Gold is not your ordinary Pale Ale. Don’t let the golden color fool you, this nugget weighs in at 7.8% abv.”

Let’s get started!

Appearance: Pours a golden orange color with a nice off-white head and good lacing.

Aroma: Pine, citrus, biscuit and toasted malts.

Taste: Pine and citrus hops, biscuit and toasted malts and a slight caramel malt sweetness.

Overall: Drinkable and delicious, Auburn AleHouse Fool's Gold Pale Ale has great flavor and drinks more like an IPA than a Pale Ale. I recommend this 7.8% offering.  Well done!

Cheers!

Mark Harvey

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